See the X-Men First Class Mutant Cameo

A little birdie told me Wolverine was in X-Men: First Class after all, or at least James Howlett was. It may be pre-Weapon X and pre-amnesia but he was still a cigar chomping, f-bomb dropping, liquor drinking, no nonsense mutie.

Introducing Miss and Mrs. Mystique

Be on the look-out for a surprise cameo by the original older, original Mystique in X-Men: First Class.

Presenting Bladanime

Blade Anime or "Blado" will join Iron Man, Wolverine, and X-Men later this year.



Thanks to BleedingCool.com for the "scoopo."

Spotlight on Sebastian Shaw

Sebastian Shaw, leader of the Hellfire Club in which he is known as the Black King, first appeared in 1980's Uncanny X-Men #129. Not to be confused with Ariel the Mermaid's crustacean friend, this Sebastian has the ability to convert kinetic energy into strength.


The appropriately black haired Shaw first appeared in X-Men the animated series' epic telling of the Dark Phoenix saga in which the Hellfire Club was known as the more kid friendly Inner Circle. Along with Emma Frost the White Queen, Selene Gallio the Black Queen, Harry Leland the Black Bishop, and Donald Pierce the White King, Shaw unwisely attempted to tap the Phoenix force buried within Jean Grey.

Once again not knowing when to leave well enough alone, Shaw and the Hellfire Club were next seen in 2008's Wolverine and the X-Men where once again they attempted to harness the Phoenix force.


Finally, in 2011 Shaw (played by Kevin Bacon) and his Hellfire Club will be front and center in X-Men: First Class. In the film, the club consisting of Shaw, Emma Frost, Azazel, and Riptide find themselves at odds with Magneto and Chuck's young X-Men.

More Green Lantern Propaganda

C'mon, I can't be the only one who thinks this looks awesome.

Onscreen History of Magneto

Magneto, the Master of Magnetism first appeared in 1963's X-Men #1 squaring off against Professor X's first class of X-Men.

"Magneto" made his onscreen debut a few year later in the 1967 Spider-Man series... or did he? Although a magnetic villain named Magnet-o did seek revenge on the Web-Head in "The Revenge of Dr. Magneto," he bore a closer resemblance to Albert Einstein than the helmet wearing baddie we all love to hate.

In 1978, Magneto (now with helmet) took on the H.E.R.B.I.E. incarnation of the Fantastic Four. He was foiled by a wooden gun.

In 1981, Magneto paid a pair of visits to the amazing Spider-Man, first horning in on Spidey's solo series.

Magneto crashed Spidey's party for a third time later in 1981 on the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends series.

In 19889's Pryde of the X-Men pilot, Magneto finally faced off against the X-Men along with new recruit Kitty Pryde.

Magneto played an on-again off-again adversarial role against the X-Men in the 1992 animated series, though Magneto tended more often than not to team up with Professor X's team against common enemies.

Beginning in 2000, Magneto of the X-Men live action trilogy was similarly portrayed as an enemy to the X-Men only as much as they got in his way. Not believing that humans and mutants could peacefully coexist, Magneto sought to eradicate homo sapiens, but he was more than willing to enlist the aid of the X-Men to preserve the lives of mutants.

Although Magneto started off as a major adversary to the X-Men in 2000's X-Men Evolution, as the series progressed they settled some differences to prevent the rise of Apocalypse.

In 2008's Wolverine and the X-Men, Magneto was the leader of the mutant country Genosha.

2009's Super Hero Squad Show gave Magneto and his kids Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver the spotlight in Hexed, Vexed, and Perplexed.

The 2011 prequel X-Men: First Class will return to the roots of the schism between Professor X and Magneto explaining the events that drove Magneto off of the X-Men team.

DC Reboot to Pave the Way for Cinematic Multiverse?

Ladies and gentlemen, your new Justice League. Sometimes news is so big that even though it may not at first seem to have much to do with superhero shows, it most certainly does. Yesterday, it was revealed that come September, following the events of the time altering Flashpoint event, every book in DC comics line up will be renumbered starting at number 1. This is being done to provide a new entry point for current non-readers and a excellent opportunity (HERE IT IS) for harmonization with DC's upcoming superhero movies. One of the highest profile properties to get the makeover will be the Justice League. The most notably revised and newly movie adaptable team members are Wonder Woman, rockin' pants, and Superman who has finally lost the red skivvies. Is this a glimpse at what DC has in store for a rumored Justice League movie or even The Man of Steel which are currently in development?

Onscreen History of Beast

Dr. Henry Philip "Hank" McCoy better known simply as Beast first appeared in 1963's X-Men #1 along side other founding X-Men Marvel Girl Jean Grey, Cyclops, Angel, and Iceman. Although he was originally just acrobatic and strong, Beast later developed a much more beastly appearance.


Beast's onscreen debut occurred in 1966 during an episode of The Sub-Mariner that ran as part of The Marvel Super Heroes animated series. Although the series primarily adapted stories directly from the page to screen, the X-Men filled in for the Fantastic Four during this particular adaptation.

A still hairless Beast next appeared briefly during a flashback of The Origin of Iceman, a second season episode of the 1981 Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends series.

Finally blue and ready for business, Beast was a main player in the 1992 X-Men animated series. Unfortunately, Hank spent most of the first season locked away in prison.

In 1995, the Beast from the X-Men series made a crossover appearance along with his fellow X-Men on a two-part tale during the Spider-Man animated series.

Although Beast did not appear during the disastrous 1999 Avengers: United They Stand series, a portrait of the furry fellow could be spotted by eagle eyed viewers in the Remnants episode.

Dr. McCoy's transformation into the perma-Beast was one of the plot elements of the animated X-Men Evolution series in 2000.

While originally the intention was for Beast to be included in the first live-action X-Men movie, his character was cut out. When X2: X-Men United premiered in 2003, even though Beast was still not included in the cast, fans were treated to a Easter Egg in which the mutant scientist was briefly seen on television advocating for mutants.

Oh my stars and garters! Finally, in 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand, Beast got an official onscreen treatment fighting along side his former X-Men teammates.

Beast was once again spotted in the 2008 Wolverine and the X-Men series. In this series, Beast took a leading role, second only to Wolverine as the leader of the reformed X-Men team.

The X-Men Anime series which is set to debut in the US later in 2011 also features Beast, notably combining a more feline take on the character seen in more recent comics with the traditional simian form.

2011's X-Men: First Class will present the transformation of Beast from simple nerd to full blue form for the first time in live action.

By movie's end, Beast will have transformed into the lovable and refined hairball that we all know and love - set to steal the show in potential Wolverineless sequels.

Animated Thor Sales Tell a Sad Tale

First week sales for Thor: Tales of Asgard are in and according to The-Numbers.Com which estimates DVD sales, the news is not great. Granted, Blu-Ray sales, which are an increasing piece of the pie, are not taken into account. Nevertheless, in the Marvel line of films sales for Thor only surpassed those of the disappointing Next Avengers movie mustering just $951 thousand bones. The estimate was less than half of those for first week sales of February's All Star Superman DVD from the DC line.

Its been sad to watch as DVD sales in general have dwindled, but in particular watching the reduction in the profitability of the Direct to Video superhero sales has me a tad fearful even for the future of the DC line. Having said that, this Thor movie seemed an odd choice and tough sell and it ended up performing about the same as the previous chance Marvel took on teen superheroes. In any case, if Marvel DtV's rise like the phoenix from its ashes hopefully these figures will encourage more Hulk Vs type stories and less super kids.

Onscreen History of Mystique

Raven Darkhölme AKA Mystique shape-shifting foe of the X-Men first appeared in 1978's Ms. Marvel #16. She has also been a mainstay of onscreen X-Men projects appearing in each of the animated series as well as four of the five live action films.

In the 1992 X-Men animated series, Mystique was the leader of the Brotherhood of Mutants and an ally of Apocalypse. She was also the mother of Nightcrawler and the adoptive mother of Rogue.

Mystique's big break came during the X-Men trilogy of live-action films beginning in the summer of 2000. The scene stealing Mystique kept turning up when you least expected her and even managed to survive a Wolverine strike to the stomach. Mystique remained loyal to Magneto throughout the series until he abandoned her when her powers were stolen by the mutant cure.

Later in 2000, Mystique returned in X-Men Evolution as a partner to Magneto and the undercover principle of the mutant's high school. As the series progressed she went from being able to shapeshift into people, then animals, and eventually pretty much anything thanks to powers from Apocalypse.


Mystique once again took orders from Magneto in 2008's Wolverine and the X-Men series. In this take on the character, it was revealed that Wolverine and Mystique were not only former lovers, but were both a part of the Weapon X program. Alas, Wolverine's amnesia kicked in.



Mystique dropped in on the Super Hero Squad show in 2009 posing as the Black Widow.



Mystique is slated to play a major role in X-Men: First Class in which she befriends Charles Xavier at a young age and joins the X-Men.

As a member of the team, at first Mystique had not embraced her mutated appearance and she still preferred to be clothed. By the end of the film, her desire to fit in with society may have dwindled.

By Odins Beard, Thor Readies For Box Office Competition

During its fourth weekend in the box office, Thor suffered modest declines earning another $12 million during the Memorial Day holiday, good enough for 5th place. The current domestic total of $162 million continues to increase toward a hopeful $180-190 million. Thor's worldwide total of $411 million is already impressive when compared to the Incredible Hulks total worldwide take of just $268 million - though I am guessing Hulk sold more "Hulk Hands" than Thor has sold rubber hammers. This Friday, fellow Marvel heroes in X-Men: First Class may inflict some damage on Thor's box office legs as they two films cater to similar audiences. It remains to be seen which of the two films will end up with the bigger opening weekend total. Tune in next week once the dust settles to fins out.

Crisis Clue #1

for ages past and future, it's coming...