Iron Man vs Steel

If you have not read any of my previous “VS” articles, you will find more here:
Hulk vs Doomsday
Batman vs Daredevil

When you think of a genius in robotics who just so happens to love pounding bad guys into the ground with his armored plated fists, no one comes to mind more than….Well both Iron Man and Steel, depending on if you are talking about the Marvel or DC Universe.

Steel:  When John Henry Irons was saved by Superman, he decided to devout his life to being like Superman.  He wanted to “live a life worth saving” as Superman had told him.  When the genuine article died at the hands of Doomsday, several new Supermen showed up in Metropolis, one of them being Steel.  With the power of flight, enhanced strength, and a giant steel hammer, Steel can handle himself against the best of them.

Iron Man:  Tony Stark is very different from John Henry Irons.  Tony Stark is a rich playboy with an ego problem.  Though he becomes a better person as time goes on, and learns to fight for the right reasons, he certainly has his share of demons to deal with.  Iron Man has had many different suits of armor, sometimes built specifically to handle a certain situation.  He has most of the same abilities as Steel, just with a bigger arsenal.

The Fight:  As I mentioned before, Tony Stark has the bigger arsenal of weapons.  This gives him a distinct advantage against Steel.  His armor also makes him stronger than Steel.  In many ways, Steel is just a poor man’s Iron Man.  He isn’t weak by any means, he just isn’t on Iron Man’s level.  Considering Steel comes from the Superman universe, this is odd, but it’s how it is.

It would be a tough fought battle, both guys would give it their all, but in the end Iron Man comes out with the victory.  Iron Man is just too strong, smart and durable for Steel to finish off.  Both of these guys can hang with the heavy hitters, Iron Man just hits a little harder and has more experience.  He also has longer range weapons that pack more of a pop.  The only way Steel could win was if he ran into Iron Man on a day where he was struggling with alcohol or something of that nature.

The Winner:  Iron Man

Marvel Studios Producer on Iron Man 3

Marvel Studios producer Kevin Feige recently spoke about the direction of Iron Man 3:

“It’s not a serious movie, but we seriously dig into exploring more of Tony. The trick is just trying to make great movies. We try to make them all great, all different and all fresh. What you’ll see in Iron Man 3 is some very unique directions that were taken.”

Director Shane Black also commented:

“We’re not aiming for bigger, necessarily. We’re aiming for different and fresh and new. It’s all about capturing that lightning-in-a-bottle feel, about trying to get as much into this as we can. We’re looking to get a ton of thrills into a short space, to make a nice little stew for you.”

Robert Downey Jr. also weighs in:

“You can dissect why [The Avengers] was the right movie with the right people and the right director at the time. But we feel the same way about Iron Man 3 now.”

Iron Man 3 Official Trailer

Looks great!

The Iron Man 3 Sneak Preview

Short clip, doesn’t show much, but here it is!

Official Synopsis for Iron Man 3

Marvel Studios’ Iron Man 3 pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy’s hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale with Jon Favreau and Ben Kingsley, Iron Man 3 is directed by Shane Black from a screenplay by Drew Pearce and Shane Black and is based on Marvel’s iconic Super Hero Iron Man, who first appeared on the pages of Tales of Suspense (#39) in 1963 and had his solo comic book debut with The Invincible Iron Man (#1) in May of 1968.

Iron Man 3 is presented by Marvel Studios in association with Paramount Pictures and DMG Entertainment. Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige is producing and Jon Favreau, Louis D’Esposito, Stephen Broussard, Victoria Alonso, Alan Fine, Charles Newirth, Stan Lee and Dan Mintz are executive producers. The film releases May 3, 2013, and is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Hulk vs Doomsday

If you have not read my last installment of “VS”, you may do so here: Batman vs Daredevil

When you think of some of the biggest and baddest creatures from the Marvel/DC Universe, The Hulk and Doomsday have to come to mind.  These characters are almost mirror images of each other.  Both are giant raging monsters who smash everything in their path.  So what happens when what’s in their path is each other?  Let’s find out!

Hulk:  Born out of gamma radiation, whenever Dr. Bruce Banner becomes angry,  he turns into a giant green rage monster.  Though the Hulk is a good guy and has gone through several changes over the years, we will be dealing with the savage Hulk.  The version who doesn’t think so much and mostly just smashes.  The more angry the Hulk gets, the stronger he becomes.

Doomsday:  Created on Krypton, Doomsday was born out of pain.  His only real desires are to kill, destroy and bring pain to others.  Most famous for killing Superman in a one on one battle, Doomsday is obviously very dangerous.  Like the Hulk, Doomsday has had a few changes over the years but we will once again stick with the savage, mostly unthinking version.

The Fight:  Both of these guys are big, bad, and love to destroy everything in front of them.  While the Hulk can become stronger the more angry he gets, Doomsday can adapt to become more and more powerful so that he won’t lose to the same person twice.  Doomsday is basically just the Hulk on steroids and covered in bones (sharp enough to cut even Superman).  This fight is going to be a slug fest, there will not be a lot of technique used.  And wherever it takes place, not much will be left standing.

Doomsday was able to do something the Hulk never has (in crossover comics), defeat Superman.  I think Doomsday is stronger, can take more damage and is just all around more powerful than the Hulk.  Though it would be a good fight, while it lasts, Doomsday will be left standing when it’s all said and done.  On top of just being physically superior to the Hulk, Doomsday also has his bone claws, which serve as both offense and defense.  As much as I like the Hulk, I just don’t see how he wins this one.

Winner:  Doomsday

Iron Man 3 Trailer to Debut on October 23

The teaser trailer for Iron Man 3 will be release on October 23rd at 12:01 a.m.  I will be curious as to the feel of the film since it will have a different director than the first two Iron Man movies.  Of course with three appearances on film already, Iron Man has already been established, so the director, Shane Black, can just stick with that.

Robert Downey Jr. suits up on the Iron Man 3 set

What do you guys think?  I’m not sure I like the new Armor very much but it might look better on film.

Batman vs Daredevil

If you have not read my last installment of “VS”, you may do so here: The Green Lantern vs The Silver Surfer

In past installments we have looked at some of the most powerful characters in existence.  This time we are going to scale things back a bit and check out some characters who don’t (for the most part) have any superpowers.

Daredevil:  Daredevil does have a few powers, mostly revolving around heightened senses, but he is also blind.  He has a sort of radar vision, which allows him to know where objects are due to sound waves reflecting off of surfaces.  He uses a cane that turns into a weapon and allows him to travel rooftops.  He is a highly trained athlete, pushing himself to the edge of human limits.

Batman:  Batman doesn’t actually possess any superpowers, but he does have an arsenal of high tech gadgets and a wide variety of skills.  Trained in multiple forms of martial arts and having a knowledge of science, Batman is also called the world’s greatest detective.  Like Daredevil, Batman has pushed himself to the limits of human potential.

The Fight:  Daredevil’s super-senses would allow him to detect Batman before he ever got to him.  Both of these guys are in peak physical condition and a fist fight between them would be a good one.  Both guys would take some major damage but I think Batman has the edge in fighting ability.  Batman has also fought the tougher opponents between them and has came out on top many times.  If Batman brings all of his technology into the battle (Batmobile, Batwing, etc) this one is over quick.

I think the deciding factor would be Daredevil’s superhearing.  Batman, being the detective that he is, would probably uncover Daredevil’s weakness at some point in time during the battle.  All Batman needs is a device with a high pitch sound to completely cripple Daredevil and put him away.  So, after a tough battle where both guys take a beating, I have Batman coming out on top.  His slight edge in fighting ability combined with his level of technology just puts him slightly ahead of Daredevil in my book.

Winner:  Batman

Hugh Jackman: “The Wolverine Will Be A Standalone Film”

Some interesting news from the X-men world. The new Wolverine movie is not a direct sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I kind of like the idea of the X-Men movies not really needing to be connected. X-Men comics have been around for so long and there are so many stories you can convert to film from the series, why be bogged down by something a director in the past has done?  

Ignoring past, not very popular, films in a franchise has been done before. X-Men: First Class took this approach when it completely ignored the events of X-Men 3 and Superman Returns did the same with Superman 3 & 4. Of course, it would be nice if everyone of these projects was simply done well in the first place, so future directors wouldn't have to ignore them, but it's also interesting to see each director put their own unique spin on things.  

Mr. Wolverine himself, Hugh Jackson, had a few things to say about the new film:  

"We've deliberately not called it Wolverine 2 because we want it to be placed and feel like a standalone picture," Jackman said. "With an all-new cast and setting it in Japan, it's going to give us a whole new visual aesthetic." 

"The approach to character means we won't be overloaded with mutants and teams and the like, so it'll be more character-based. I think in many ways it will feel like a completely different X-Men film."  

I do like a less cluttered movie. Having lots of characters works better in a comic book because there are so many issues (and many characters get their own spin off comics) that we really get to know each character. In a movie, you only get around 2 hours so it's hard to really build 5 or more character up in that time. Typically they end up focusing on one character the most and ignoring the rest (like Cyclops in the original X-Men movies).

The Green Lantern vs The Silver Surfer

Welcome to my second article in the “VS” series.  If you have not read my first one (Superman vs Goku) you can check it out here:  http://cinemakingdom.com/?p=67

Green Lantern:  The Green Lantern isn’t just one person, it’s actually a job title for his position as a cosmic police officer of sorts.  While there have been many Green Lanterns, we are going to focus on the most classic version of Green Lantern, Hal Jordan.  Hal was given a power ring by the Guardians which grants him all kinds of powers and abilities, including:  Flight, Super Strength, Energy Projection, Light Constructs,  Phasing and much more.  Green Lantern’s power is limited only by his imagination….and the need to charge his ring’s battery every so often because it runs out of energy.

Silver Surfer:  Norrin Radd was just a regular man (though Norrin is not from Earth) who had an encounter with a being a Cosmic being named Galatus.  In order to save his people he agreed to become Galatus’ Herold and lead Galatus to planets to feed on that had no life forms on it.  Norrin Radd was altered from his very core and remade into a new being:  The Silver Surfer.  Like the Green Lantern, The Surfer can manipulate energy and has a wide range of abilities.  The Surfer can do anything Green Lantern can do except for creating light constructs.  The Silver Surfer doesn’t need to eat or breathe and travels on a surf board that he controls and can use as a weapon.

The Fight:  As mentioned, both of these characters are similar in a lot of ways and share basically the same power set.  The main difference between them is that Hal Jordan manipulates energy that comes from will power by using his ring, The Surfer manipulates cosmic energy by using his own body.  While Green Lantern has limits; how strong his will power is, the life of his ring’s battery, still being a human, the Silver Surfer has no limits.  The Surfer doesn’t need to eat, breathe, rest, his entire molecular structure has been changed.  If Hal Jordan doesn’t have his energy shield up, he can be killed like an ordinary man, the Surfer is nigh invulnerable.

All in all, anything Green Lantern can do, the Silver Surfer can do bigger and better.  He simply has more power and in greater amounts.  Throw in the fact that he doesn’t have limitations that humans have, or a limited supply of energy and this battle has to go to the Silver Surfer.  The only advantage Hal Jordan really has on the Surfer is that he can call for back up from about a million other Lanterns, but considering the Surfer can travel at the speed of light, he would be long gone to celebrate his victory before any of the arrived.

The Winner: The Silver Surfer

Hugh Jackson on the Set of ‘The Wolverine’

Here is the first picture of Hugh Jackson on the set of ‘The Wolverine’, which started filming this week.  This is a totally different look than we have seen before for Wolverine.  With the Comic Book movies lately the bar has been set very high.  I can only hope this movie is better than ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’.

The Wolverine Starts Filming in a Week

Anyone who is a Wolverine fan should be happy to know 'The Wolverine' starts filming next week.  Based on the 1982 Wolverine series which takes place in Japan.  'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' was a bit of a letdown, it will be interesting to see if this is a stand alone story or if it will be connected to the other movies. 

It looks like High Jackman is still excited about the character saying:

"I have been working for 12 years on the Wolverine character and while the franchise will go well beyond me, it really has been the backbone of my career.” Adding that he will call it quits “when I stop loving it."

 

More Marvel Movie Logos Released

Ant-Man is the only new character out of these three films.  In the comics he is one of the founding members of the Avengers.  He can change his size, but even if he shrinks down to the size of an ant he still maintains the same strength he had as a full sized human. 

I would have liked to see a Hulk 2 announced, especially after how popular he was in the Avengers. 

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Logo Released

Marvel has release the logo for the Guardians of the Galaxy film, coming in 2014.  What do you think about this choice for one of their new properties?  I don't think most average people know much about this comic as compared to many others like The Hulk, Avengers, Iron Man, etc.

There have been a couple of different versions of this team so I do not know exactly what the movie will be about but the original Guardians of the Galaxy was about a team of superheros from the 31th century in an alternate time line in the Marvel Universe.  It will be interesting to see how they tie into the Avengers and the other Marvel heroes in the already established movies.