Superman will be returning to the silver screen in 2013 with Zack Snyder’s ‘Man of Steel’, which released a trailer recently in front of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ (2012) and at San Diego Comic Con 2012. It will be the second reboot of the character after Brian Singer’s ‘Superman Returns’ (2006), which did not do well critically nor at the box office. It has been a struggle to get the Man of Steel onto the big screen again after the lackluster response to his previous film, but even now, there are some fans who are in doubt.

First of all, Zack Snyder is a very divisive director. He has given the world gems like ‘Dawn of the Dead’ (2004), ‘300’ (2007), and ‘Watchmen’ (2009), but his recent films have shown a dip in quality. ‘Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole’ (2010) and ‘Sucker Punch’ (2011) are the reasons he has come under fire due to the gratuitous use of slow motion and focus on effects rather than good storytelling.

Snyder is complimented because of his ability to create visually stunning scenes as seen in ‘300’ and ‘Watchmen,’ but he also has a habit of focusing too much on the aesthetics. Thus, many fans are worried that the same will happen as he tackles the mythology and superhero themes associated with Superman.

Another cause for concern is the low-key tone and muted colors of the trailer. These aspects show the influence of the film’s producer, none other than the brilliant Christopher Nolan. Nolan’s work with rebooting Batman has made him a legendary filmmaker, but it may also be what makes this trailer somewhat dull. Nolan prefers to introduce heroes using realism and character-based drama. While this is certainly a good thing in some respects, Superman is far more of a fantasy character than Bruce Wayne. Thus, approaching two different comic book characters in similar fashions may not be the way to go.

On the one hand, focusing on Superman as a character is a welcome approach to the upcoming film. It is important that the audience sees all sides of him, understands where he comes from, sympathizes with him, and feels inspired by his creed to save the innocent. Nolan has shown remarkable strength in creating memorable dialogue and heart-wrenching drama with Batman and his supporting characters. If the ‘Man of Steel’ script takes the same approach to Clark Kent, he may come off better received than with Brian Singer’s Superman, who came across as rather bland and forgettable.

On the other hand, Superman is not as relatable as Bruce Wayne. While the two share copious amounts of handsomeness, Superman has a positive outlook on life and humanity and is concerned with being an inspiration rather than someone to fear. His most common problem is learning how to control his unbelievable power and blend in, whereas Bruce Wayne’s most common problem is his mortality.

The threat of Superman’s villains are also on a much larger scale as many of them seek to conquer or destroy the world rather than just one city. It will be difficult to tackle any sense of realism when you have a character who can hold his breath for hours at a time, shoot laser beams from his eyes, and freeze people with his breath all on top of flight.

The main problem with the ‘Man of Steel’ trailer seems to be that it is does not live up to the inspiring feeling of seeing Superman on the big screen. It looks very similar to the first trailer for ‘Batman Begins’ (2005), and while the dark tone and gritty realism worked wonders for the Caped Crusader, it falls short with Superman. A more impressive trailer would have played on all of the great action scenes that are inherent with the character of Superman as he smashes through buildings, stops speeding trains, and catches falling airplanes.

There are only brief references to fights in the trailer and while the shot of Superman breaking the sound barrier is cool, there does not appear to be one big ‘wow’ moment. For example, compare the ‘Man of Steel’ trailer to any of the Marvel films’ trailers. Nearly all of them have funny dialogue, gripping action, and one truly epic scene that hook the audience in and make them want to see the film.

‘The Man of Steel’ is still a year away and so it has plenty of time to release a second, third, or even fourth trailer to get fans excited. Few people are concerned about the movie being bad because Henry Cavill looks great in the costume and the casting is solid. Still, the audience will need more convincing that the fantasy elements associated with Superman will be intact so that they are left with a film worthy of the Man of Tomorrow.

Image Courtesy of  Miro Vrlik Photography / Shutterstock.com

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On July 13, lucky fans at the 2012 San Diego Comic Con were able to enjoy the Nerd HQ panel, hosted by Zachery Levi (“Chuck” (2007), ‘Tangled’ (2010), starring geek god Nathan Fillion (“Firefly“ (2002), “Castle“ (2009) and fan favorite Adam Baldwin (“Firefly,” “Chuck”). The panel was also streamed live online to be enjoyed from coast to coast.

The format of the panel is similar to other ones at San Diego Comic Con. Fillion and Baldwin sat down and selected questions from audience members and answered them with plenty of jokes and interesting anecdotes. The fans’ questions ranged from personal to work-related and were delightfully diverse rather than simply focusing on the actors’ work on Joss Whedon’s “Firefly,” which incidentally had a reunion panel earlier that day. The highlights of the panel are below.

One fan asked Fillion and Baldwin what they considered to be the best lines from “Firefly” and ‘Serenity’ (2005), and if they could act them out. Baldwin did the infamous “we get paid” line from the pilot episode and then Fillion did Jayne’s line about his “very favorite gun” from “Our Mrs. Reynolds,” and then closed out the reenactment with the famous, “I’ll be in my bunk” quote that all fans know and love.

Another fan asked about what kind of pranks went on during the filming of ‘Serenity.’ Fillion was eager to tell them about how he copied some photos of a teenaged, goofy looking Alan Tudyk and then plastered the pictures all over the back of the bar scene in ‘Serenity’, which utterly confused Tudyk when he saw them and caused the crew to crack up when Tudyk confronted him.

Someone asked Fillion what his thoughts were on George R. R. Martin’s “Game of Thrones,” both the novels and the HBO series, and Fillion was excited to share how he got into it and demonstrated the many range of emotions he goes through while watching an episode. He noted that he is particularly fond of Tyrion Lannister.

A “Castle” fan asked if “Castle” season five would deal with Castle’s father, whom he does not know but was suggested to be involved with the CIA, and Fillion confirmed that it would be addressed later on in some capacity.

Fillion also pointed out a few “Castle” cast members he would like to see return like Adam Baldwin’s character, Ethan Slaughter, who appeared in season four, Michael Trucco’s character Det. Demming, who appeared in season two, and Fillion even said he’d love to see Zachary Levi join the cast in the future. Levi eagerly accepted the invitation.

Speaking of Levi, Fillion also said he has dreamt of being able to voice a character in a Disney/Pixar film, which amused Levi as he voiced the roguish thief Flynn Rider in Disney’s ‘Tangled.’

A young boy named Connor asked Fillion if he was excited about voicing Hal Jordan, aka the Green Lantern, in two DC Animated Original films, and the actor confirmed this by revealing how he wore his Green Lantern shirt in the recording booth each time he went in. He then started to say the oath, but then changed it into a hilarious little parody poem instead.

One of the “Firefly” fans asked where Fillion and Baldwin thought Mal and Inara would be five years after the events of ‘Serenity’ and both men agreed that by then, the pair would have consummated their relationship, but would not have settled down for a normal life.

The panel was topped off by a fan donating $1000 to charity in order to see Fillion and Baldwin give Zachary Levi a smooch each. Both men tossed down their own cash and planted big wet ones on Zachary, who sheepishly complied to the request, which set the room ablaze with laughter and applause. The panel could not have ended on a better note.

San Diego Comic Con 2012 is still underway so more news of the “Firefly” veterans will be coming in over the weekend. Stay tuned.

Image Courtesy of  Gage Skidmore

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‘The Legend of Korra’ (2012), the sequel series to the critically acclaimed ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ (2005), has officially received an order for 26 more episodes from Nickelodeon. The show’s huge viewership and steady ratings through season one, which premiered April 14, 2012, encouraged the Nickelodeon executives to give it another shot.

The new order for episodes will be in addition to the 14-episode second season, which is set to premiere some time in 2013. The creators of ‘Korra’ held a panel at San Diego Comic Con on July 13 where they showcased new character models and backgrounds for the upcoming season. The cast and crew for ‘Korra’ also showed up to answer questions and sign autographs for excited fans.

‘Korra’ tells the story of the 17-year-old Korra (Janet Varney), the new Avatar following Aang. It takes place seventy years in the future as she has learned to master earthbending, waterbending, and firebending, but needs to learn airbending to become a completely realized Avatar. Aang’s eldest son, Tenzin (J.K. Simmons), was set to teach her airbending, but he is called away to Republic City, a large city riddled with crime and tension between the benders and non-benders. Impatient, Korra follows him to the city and gets into trouble, but through her determination, Tenzin decides to let her stay at the airbending temple with his family and start her training.

However, Korra has a difficult time understanding that airbending requires patience, peace, and repetition. She feels frustrated with her inability to airbend and her isolation on the island. She sneaks out one night after listening to a pro-bending match. Pro-bending is a competition where benders compete to knock each other out of a ring and Korra finds herself in love with the sport.

She bumps into Bolin (P.J. Byrne), an earthbender for the Fire Ferrets, and he invites her to watch the match. Bolin’s brother, Mako (David Faustino), assumes Korra is just another one of Bolin’s many fangirls and treats her coldly until he realizes she is the Avatar. Soon afterward, their third team member quits and Korra volunteers to take his spot so the Fire Ferrets can compete in the championship tournament.

Tenzin discovers that Korra is playing in the arena and demands that she return home, but she refuses. She struggles to stay on her feet in the match, but then she remembers Tenzin’s training and eventually helps the team win. After seeing her improvement and her zest for probending, Tenzin agrees to let her stay on the team.

The main plot of ‘Korra’ is centered around the tension between benders and non-benders in Republic City. A mysterious masked man named Amon (Steve Blum) appears and claims that he and his followers, the Equalists, will stand up for non-benders. He demonstrates that he has the ability to remove a person’s bending, thus becoming a threat to all the benders in the city.

Furthermore, Councilman Tarrlok (Dee Bradley Baker), wants to hunt Amon down and secure himself as the savior of Republic City in the meantime. He and Korra butt heads repeatedly because of his misuse of the police force and blatant manipulation of Chief Lin Bei Fong (Mindy Sterling), daughter of Toph.

The 12-episode season ended June 23, 2012 and fans are still reeling from the action-packed, emotional roller coaster the show put them on. The season finale was one of the highest rated and widely watched shows on that Saturday morning and contributed greatly to the decision to order more episodes.

‘Korra’ is expected to return with a 14-episode second season some time in 2013. Don’t miss it.

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As the comics industry looks forward to flourish at another Comic-Con jam-packed with the industry’s greatest talents, IDW Publishing has the following schedule to give fans the opportunity to meet the creators, available at booth #2643 throughout the show.

Thursday July 12th

11:00 – 12:00 Deadworld – Gary Reed

12:00 – 1:00 The Cape: 1969 – Joe Hill, Zach Howard (Check out the show exclusive Comic.)

1:00 – 2:30  Richard Stark’s Parker: The Score – Darywn Cooke (*Check out the show

exclusive hardcover)

3:00 – 4:00  Godzilla – Duane Swierczynski

3:00 – 4:00  Love and Capes – Thom Zahler (Check out the show exclusive Comic)

4:00 – 5:00  TRANSFORMERS – Chris Metzen, Flint Dille, John Barber, Livio Ramondelli, Brendan Cahill, Andrew Griffith, Scott Mairghread, Priscilla Tromontano

5:00 – 6:00  30 Days of Night, Frankenstein: Alive, Alive – Steve Niles

6:00 – 7:00  Smoke & Mirrors – Mike Costa, Jon Armstrong

6:00 – 7:00  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Dan Duncan

Friday July 13th

10:00 – 11:00 Kill Shakespeare – Andy Belanger

11:00 – 12:00 Star Trek: TNG/Doctor Who – Scott Tipton, J.K. Woodward

11:00 – 12:00 Memorial  – Chris Roberson

12:00 – 1:00 The Cape: 1969 – Joe Hill, Zach Howard (Check out the show exclusive Comic)

1:00 – 3:00  Richard Stark’s Parker: The Score – Darywn Cooke (*Check out the show

exclusive hardcover.)

3:00 – 4:00  KISS – Gene Simmons, Chris Ryall, Jamal Igle (*ticketed signing – See employee for details)

4:00 – 5:00  Dungeons & Dragons  – Steve Ellis

5:00 – 6:00  Locke & Key – Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodriguez (*Check out the show exclusive

hardcover & exclusive keys by Israel Skelton!)

6:00 – 7:00  Ghostbusters  – Dan Schoening, Erik Burnham, Tristan Jones, Luis Antonio Delgado, Nick Runge

6:00 – 7:00  Crawl to Me  – Alan Robert

Saturday July 14th

10:00 – 11:00  Night of 1,000 Wolves – Bobby Curnow, Dave Wachter

11:00 – 12:00  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Dan Duncan

11:00 – 12:00  Zombies vs Robots – Chris Ryall, Brea Grant, Jeff Conner

12:00 – 1:00  The Crow – John Shirley, Kevin Colden

1:00 – 2:00  Locke & Key – Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodriguez (*Check out the show exclusive

hardcover & exclusive keys by Israel Skelton)

1:00 – 2:00  Silent Hill – Tom Waltz

2:00 – 3:00 Star Trek: TNG/Doctor Who – Scott Tipton, David Tipton, J.K. Woodward

3:00 – 4:00  Star Trek: The Next Generation – Brannon Braga, Joe Corroney (Get a free limited signing card)

4:00 – 5:00  Star Trek – Mike Johnson, Joe Corroney

5:00 – 6:00  Nevsky: A Hero of the People – Ben McCool, Steve Saffel

5:00 – 6:00  G.I. JOE– Mike Costa, Larry Hama (Check out the show exclusive Comic)

6:00 – 7:00  True Blood – Michael McMillian, Joe Corroney

Sunday July 15th

11:00 – 12:00  Doctor Who – Mark Buckingham, Joshua Fialkov

12:00 – 1:00  TRANSFORMERS – Chris Metzen, John Barber, Livio Ramondelli, Andrew Griffith, Scott Mairghread, Priscilla Tromontano

1:00 – 2:00  Zombies! – Craig Yoe, Steve Banes

2:00 – 3:00  Smoke & Mirrors – Mike Costa, Jon Armstrong

3:00 – 4:00 Danger Girl  – J. Scott Campbell

Look for more signings to be scheduled. Rocketeer, Joe Jusko, Amanda Conner; All this, plus Ashley Wood and the 3A crew signing all weekend.

Image Courtwesy of   architecturegeek

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