Retrospective 2010 - Part 4

RED

In October, RED aka Retired Extremely Dangerous arrived in theaters and outperformed fellow DC owned (Homage comics) actioner The Losers to the tune of $89 million.

The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

The bigger event in October was the countdown to and debut of Avengers Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Disney released one 5 minute micro episode online each day for the 20 days leading up to the series premier. Avengers hasn't held back, airing 16 of its scheduled 52 total episode run in just 2 months giving various main and secondary characters a chance at the spotlight.

Superman / Shazam! The Return of Black Adam

In November, Superman / Shazam! The return of Black Adam headlined a rare misstep release from DC animation. The double short (20 minutes) itself was well done, though once again Captain Marvel and Superman are hardly lesser known heroes who were indicated as the targets for these shorts. The problem was that the DVD only contained this short and "extended" versions of the previous 3 shorts whcih had already been used to encourage purchase of pricier special edition releases throughout the year. In all the full priced purchase got you at most 60 minutes of content and at worst 20 minutes of content. The extended versions of the the shorts were also a joke as someone would have to watch them side by side to discern any difference. Sales were modest, and it looks like the shorts may be on hold, which is a shame becasue it was the marketing, not the quality, that fell short.

Megamind

2010 may have been the year of the super villain. The Summer offered up a huge hit with Despicable Me and Dreamworks hoped for a similar success with Master / Oober / MegaMind in which a super villain had to become a hero to thwart a bigger villain. In the end, the movie was not a big hit, earning nearly $150 million, and less overseas, in a very competitive computer animated market making a sequel unlikely.

Young Justice

The highlight of the Fall for me had to be the debut of the Young Justice animated series. The double length premiere saw Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Superboy (along with Miss Martian) forming a covert team under the supervision of the Justice League. The show has fantastic animation and a serious tone that played perfectly. The creator is fresh off The Spectacular Spider-Man series, the Web-Head's finest to date, and hopefully this lives up to that standard.

Firebreather

Following the debut of Young Justice, Cartoon Network also released the computer animated Firebreather movie based on a comic series about a kid with a dragon dad. I didn't catch this one.

Joker's Funhouse

One last gem that shouldn't be overlooked was the online animated "commercial" for Super Friends toys from Fischer-Price. The animated short titled The Joker's Playhouse is a work of genius and hopefully will find its way to DVD somehow soon.

And that my friends is a wrap. Twas a busy year but next year is going to be even busier. Imagine 2010, but instead of Vertigo and Homage Comics' unpowered "heroes" getting movies we will have Marvel and DC busting out some top tier super powered heroes. It should be fun.

New Megabland Trailer Hits the Net

Did we really need THREE Dreamworks movies this year? I mean it sorta seems like the well is running a bit dry. Also, I think Despicable Me may have stolen a bit of this movie's thunder. Who knows, maybe the movie is awesome but the trailers aren't, I mean thats kind of Pixar's marketing strategy.

Another Megamind Trailer Elicits More Yawns

While better than the teaser, this just seems like a ripoff of so many things like Austin Powers and the Incredibles. Also, there weren't any hints of the potentially interesting "villain turns hero" plot line that was originally rumored.

Megamind Teaser Fails to Please

Hopefully they are just holding back the "good parts" because there is nothing in this teaser that makes me want to see this movie. In fact, I am now less interested in it than I was yesterday. It just doesn't look funny in spite of what looks like a promising cast list. Its still early, but this teaser seems like a total waste.

What to Expect in 2010 - Part 2

Part 1 covered upcoming shows through June. In part 2, we will finish off 2010.

02 Jul 2010 - The Last Airbender

Avatar: The Last Airbender is an amazing TV series. I do not expect The Last Airbender movie (having dropped the Avatar to avoid confusion with the current phenomenon) to be as good, but hopefully M. Night Shyamalamading-dong can do the series some justice. If not, at least we will always have the animated version. Either way, landing the 4th of July weekend was a big win for this movie and may allow it to follow in the footsteps of last years Ice Age 3 (released during the same weekend made $884 million worldwide) on its way to global domination.


Summer 2010 - Batman Under the Red Hood

Though no details have been released, the title for DC's summer DtV movie Batman: Under the Red Hood has been announced. Believe it or not, this is only Batman's second solo feature in the line and the first, Gotham Knight, was more of a gimmick that a movie with a story. So, I am looking forward to this one even though it seems like focusing on an obscure villain is an interesting choice. Who knows, its possible Red Hood is the Joker. That makes more sense.

Augustish 2010 - Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

I don't know much about Scott Pilgrim other than that he is a comic book character that must defeat 7 ex boyfriends to win a date with a bonnie lass. Does that make him a superhero? I guess that depends on whether or not he wins.

05 Nov 2010 - Megamind

Originally Master Mind then Oobermind, its now Megamind. Dreamworks is no Pixar but its also no Fox animation studios, so maybe this will be an interesting "fractured fairy tale" like take on the Superhero genre.

17 Dec 2010 - The Green Hornet

Will The Green Hornet be this years surprise hit as was Sherlock Holmes? Maybe. If it is a big hit, I will be surprised. Will it be this generations lackluster Dick Tracy. Also fairly likely. Then again this picture is all we have to go on thus far.

Sometime in 2010, Maybe

A couple of other projects are in the works with release dates that are still up in the air.

The Black Panther will be the star of an animated mini-series on BET. The motion comic style episodes may air elsewhere as soon as February, but in these United States we still don't know when they will arrive.

The Canadian made Woody Harrelson film Defendor debuted in 2009 at the Toronto film festival and will probably be seen in broader release at some point. Does this description excite you? "Arthur Poppington is a regular but delusional man who believes that he is a superhero named Defendor. He combs the city streets at night in search of his arch enemy, Captain Industry, befriending a young prostitute in his quest."

Lastly, the Phantom having already aired in Canada is set to debut as a mini-series on SyFy. Hardly anyone seems to have watched it when it was on, but those that did don't have much favorable to say. So, don't go signing up for cable to watch this one.

With so many projects forthcoming, surely some of them have to be good. Right? If not, fear not. In part 3 we will look at all those other sci-fi and fantasy movies that will be vying for your hard earned cash.

Logos a Go Gos

Some preliminary movie title cards have debuted, and if you can get excited about these, perhaps you have some sort of heightened excitement mutant power, cuz there aint too much to see.

The first and best is from Dreamworks upcoming Oobermind (formerly Master Mind) which hopes to satiate the thirst for The Incredibles 2 (it won't). Here we get our first look at some of the characters from the film described as "a villain gets depressed after accidentally killing his superhero nemesis Ooberman."

Up next. Look! Its Iron Man. Yeah, he pretty much looks like he did last time. I guess we can conclude that Iron Man will indeed be in Iron Man 2.

Next. Title cards for Marvel's slew of Avengers themed movies. Excited yet?

And perhaps least exciting of all, a tease for Spider-Man 4 which from the card may or may not have Spider-Man in it. But it looks like it might at least have some webbing.


Wow, I sure feel teased...

What to Expect in 2010

Since these projects are a little farther off, the knowledge about them is a bit more limited. Here's the news I have managed to scrape up.

Feb 2010 - Planet Hulk (Animated DVD)

Now this is a project I can get behind. I assume this will be based on the comic book story of the same name which involves a secret group of superhero leaders called the Illuminati who consider the Hulk an unacceptable potential risk to Earth. They rocket him into space to live a peaceful existence on an uninhabited planet, but due to a trajectory fail, the Hulk crashes on the violent planet Sakaar where he becomes an intergalactic gladiator. So, basically Hulk meets Gladiator in space. Whats not to love? Seems like Hulk Smash and DVD are a match made in heaven.

07 May 2010 - Iron Man 2

This has a shot at being the biggest earner of 2010. The story may deal with Stark's alcoholism as Tony develops a drinking problem when he is unable to cope with his age and Pepper getting a boyfriend. It does not, however, look like the Demon in a Bottle arc, the quintessential Iron Man story, will be adapted just yet. It may be held for Iron Man 3. Fine, if they don't want to give that story its due yet that's their prerogative, BUT hero turning dark in part 3 didn't work out so well in Superman 3 or Spider-Man 3. On the other hand, this may be a smart move to build anticipation for part 3 because this is such a well known tale. Bottom line for me, if they want to hold off, I hope they are still delivering the goods in part 2.



In part 2, I expect S.H.I.E.L.D. will continue to have a major role and Black Widow (thanks to ScreenRant.com for the look at ScarJo as BW) and War Machine are also expected to play major roles. Sam Jackson as Nick Fury is also expected to have a pre-closing credits role this time around.

As for villains, It looks like we will be getting Whiplash as opposed to the previously rumored Crimson Dynamo. Whiplash will get his technological toys from Anti-Stark industrialist Justin Hammer. No word if we will see Iron Man nemesis Mandarin, or if he is being held for another day.

I have high hopes for Iron Man 2. Its got a lot to live up to, but if it keeps the balanced tone and humor of the first one, lighting could strike twice.

25 Jun 2010 - The Green Hornet

I have a couple of problems with this project. First, I don't really care about the Green Hornet and I am not sure that anyone else does either. The TV show was big in the 60s from what I hear, but Kato played by Bruce Lee, Hornet's sidekick eclipsed the hero in popularity. At best, I can see this garnering up the level of interest of Dick Tracy, and that got a fairly lackluster response. The other concern I have I that there have been any number of "creative differences" during the film's early production which has lasted for years on end. The movie may or may not see the light of day, but we will at least know soon if a 2010 release is going to happen.

06 Aug 2010 - Jonah Hex

Ah, so Warner Brothers is aware that DC has more characters than just Batman and Superman. Right now I only have mild interest in this western anti-hero and I admit I don't know much about him other than he lives in the old west and kind of looks like Two-Face. Wikipedia adds that he was an officer for the Confederacy during the American Civil War and he is surly and cynical. I need to learn more, but I am not lining up for this yet.

05 Nov 2010 - Master Mind

No, this is not an adaptation of the classic board game - that would be a disaster. Instead, it is Dreamworks Animations answer to The Incredibles. The movie is described as "a villain gets depressed after accidentally killing his superhero nemesis Uberman." I am guessing that there will be plenty of pop culture references to keep it "hip," and though it may be fun, it will not rise to the level of Pixar greatness.

17 Dec 2010 - Green Lantern

Definitely my most anticipated release of next year will be Green Lantern, that is if it gets made. At this point, the idea sounds too good to be true, so until filming actually gets under way I will remain cautiously optimistic. The movie is rumored to focus on the Hal Jordan origin story, borrowing heavily from the Emerald Dawn storyline. Just like in the upcoming Green Lantern: First Flight animated tale, Hal will be under the tutelage of one Green Lantern Sinestro. Together they will fight Legion and Hector Hammond. There are also rumored appearances by the fashion challenged bowl cut and double breast touting Lantern Guy Gardner as well as Clark Kent.


If done well, this could be the beginning of a cohesive DC universe leading to a Justice League movie modeled after Marvel's Avengers initiative begun in Iron Man. There is also talk of plans for a Green Lantern trilogy that will include John Stewart and possibly other' Lanterns in the sequels. No matter how it turns out, it will have to be better than the Jack Black Green Lantern spoof that was gearing up back in 2006.

T.B.A 2010 - The Phantom

Created in 1936, The Phantom was the first crime fighter to wear the skintight costume and the first to wear a mask with no visible pupils, both superhero standards. I am pretty sure he remains one of the few heroes give purple such prominence in his costume.


The Sci-Fi channel (SyFy now) is reimagining The Phantom for modern times. He has a high tech nano-suit resistant to heat, bladed weapons, falls, impacts and small-arms fire. It also increases the wearers strength, and incorprates wireless communication devices.


I'm sure some will be outraged at the changes to this hero, but honestly I think its pretty much the only way to make the dude relevant anymore, especially after the 1996 Phantom film's horrible reception. Then again, he pretty much looks like the "Purple Arrow" from Smallville. Still, this looks better than Mansquito or the other made for SyFy movies we usually get. No official date has yet been given for this made for TV project.