The Batman Family: Cassandra Cain, The Black Bat

The Batman Family:
Cassandra Cain, The Black Bat

Origins:
Just as there are many Robins in the Batman family, there are multiple Batgirls to keep note of. This post is dedicated to Cassandra Cain who is the second incarnation of the Batgirl. Cassandra Cain was raised in the League of Assassins. Her sole purpose from when she was born was to be the perfect body guard for Ra's Al Ghul. Her father, David Cain looked for the perfect mother in order to have the perfect ninja baby. He found this in Lady Shiva. From birth Cassandra was trained to be the ultimate martial artists. She wasn't even taught how to speak, but the areas in her brain responsible for speaking were trained instead to map out other opponents movements and anticipate their actions, an extra sense in place of speaking.

Oracle's Ward:
When she was 7 years old her father took her to murder a businessman in order to complete her training, though he disguised it as a game. When she killed the man she was scarred emotionally and abandoned her father realizing that it was wrong to kill after "reading" the businessman's final moments in life. She went to Gotham where she became an agent of Oracle, (the original Batgirl). When Cassandra saved Commissioner Gordon's life, Oracle and Batman contemplated letting the young girl in on their secrets. However, Batman feared she would meet the same fate as Jason Todd. He would not let her become the Batgirl until she could adequately defend herself. During this time a telepath helped her rewire her brain to understand English easier and begin to speak. She was soon ready to become Batgirl.

Batgirl:
She became Batgirl but wished that she could relearn how to read people's movements, like she had before the telepath "fixed" her. She met up with Lady Shiva in order to relearn her old talents. Lady Shiva agreed to help, only if they could duel to the death in a year. Cassandra willingly went along with it, knowing full well that she could not kill and would rather be "Perfect for a year" rather than "mediocre for a lifetime". When the fight came Cassandra was killed in minutes, Lady Shiva realized she wanted to die rather than actually fight. So Lady Shiva revived her and Cassandra found out that she was indeed her mother. She continued to be Batgirl.

Batman R.I.P:
Batman had become a father figure in Cassandra's life. When he was found out to be dead, (seemingly), she became disillusioned with her alter ego as the Batgirl and left the Wayne Manor leaving Tim Drake and Dick Grayson to run the operations in Gotham.

The Black Bat:
However, Tim Drake stayed in contact with Cassandra even after Bruce returned to create Batman Incorporated. The mantle of Batgirl had been passed on. Tim tries to persuade Cassandra to return to Gotham who had become an anonymous vigilante in Hong Kong. She refuses saying that Batgirl has moved on from her. So Tim gives Cassandra a copy of her old suit and tells her to keep the logo and join the corps of Batmen across the globe. So with that, Cassandra altered her costume and now fights crime in Hong Kong.

Star Wars Spin Offs

Star Wars Spin Offs:
With the massively successful release of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens today, I have decided rather than spoil everything and talk about the movie, I would give you a post full of what may come next in the Star Wars universe regarding the very promising spin offs that have been confirmed and what we'd like to see. Now obviously we have Episode VII, and we will for sure get episodes VIII and IX. But in addition to these Disney has confirmed three spin off films in addition to the new trilogy. They have even given one of the spin offs a name. So lets talk about that.

Now you may be wondering, "Star Wars doesn't count as comics! Why are you writing about it on a comic book nerd blog?" There are Star Wars comics, and the majority of them are really good, so all this is still relevant, and I needed something topical for this week.

A Note Regarding Continuity:
So the Star Wars continuity has become a little complicated in order to make it a lot more simpler. When the original trilogy was released it wasn't long before the expanded universe began. The expanded universe is a large collection of books, comics and video games telling more stories and detailing the background of the Star Wars Universe. As it continued to grow Star Wars become exponentially more popular. However, the expanded universe is often mocked for containing too much backstory, (For instance, you can find a character bio on Wookiepedia.com for almost any alien in the Cantina scene from A New Hope). In order for Disney to wipe the slate clean they branded all the books and comics as "Legends", meaning that they are just stories, not actual canon.

So what is canon nowadays? The stories that are officially considered canon and will be recognized in the movies are:
 The prequel trilogy (despite how awful it is).
The Clone Wars TV Series.
The Rebels TV Series
and of course, The Original trilogy.

There have been some comics that have been made since they cut down the canon but all you really need to remember are the big movies. Now, on to the actual spin offs.

Rogue One:
Star Wars: Rogue One is the only officially announced Star Wars spin off at the moment. It chronicles the adventure of an X-wing fighter squadron called Rogue One. Their mission is to steal the plans to the Death Star in order for the Rebel Alliance to destroy it. It is set before A New Hope and will be released in December of 2016. This is promising because it's set alternately to the original trilogy and may give us a good look some old faces, (*cough cough, Darth Vader). Disney has also confirmed that there are two other spin offs that have not been announced, but they will show one between Episode VIII and IX and one after. So let's speculate what these other spin offs should be about.

Official Promotional Photo of Rogue One.

Obi Wan Kenobi Solo Movie:
There have been rumors floating around about this, and I'm one hundred percent on board. Just imagine this, Obi Wan Kenobi has  "killed" Anakin, he is in hiding, the Jedi order is disbanded and he's forced to live in hiding until Luke is ready to become a Jedi. We see a fairly stark contrast between Episode III Obi Wan Kenobi and the Ben Kenobi of Episode IV. He goes from a very disciplined and focused warrior to a grizzled old man who will cut your arm off when he's had enough of your crap. I want to see that transformation. I want to see what years of isolation and solo adventuring would be like for him. We could see a re-return of Darth Maul and how Obi Wan has to deal with that. Maybe he searches for other Jedi. Or maybe he literally just farms moisture on Tatooine. Regardless, I want to see it. Ewan Mcgregor has even expressed interest in reprising the role.

Boba Fett Solo Movie:
There have been rumors and I think this one is as good as confirmed. Here's why a Boba Fett movie would be cool. In the expanded universe Boba Fett is like the Batman of the Star Wars Universe. He's got a gadget for everything, a flamethrower, a sweet jetpack that he actually can control, and some really great stories revolving around him. But since everything but the movies have been retconned, he is actually just an idiotic Stormtrooper who was given a jetpack. And what would you expect a Stormtrooper to do if you gave him a jetpack? Fall into a Sarlacc pit because he didn't know how to work it. Lets see what led him from a rage filled boy who's father was decapitated to a bounty hunter who for some reason, hasn't ended up like all the other clones and knows how to aim. Lets see him either crawl out of that Sarlacc pit, or somebody else fishes his armor out of it and takes up the mantle. Do the character some justice.

Han and Lando:
There has been lots of speculation and interest towards a Han Solo film. It would most likely tell the story of him growing up, becoming a smuggler, doing something that makes Chewbacca owe him a life dept and obtaining the Millennium Falcoln from Lando. Or maybe just make a Han Solo/Lando Calrissian buddy movie. How great would that be? The Adventures of Han and Lando, with intermittent flashbacks to their childhoods. Is this a good idea? I don't know, there just so much potential for anything.

Darth Vader and the Empire:
There is a particularly good comic book called Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison. It tells of Darth Vader and his quest to save a mortally wounded Emperor Palpatine. In his plight to save him he will seek out the Ghost Prison in order to save him. This is just one story that is very promising but a movie focused around Vader and the Empire would be really cool to see. Maybe a Force Unleashed movie rendition, (The Force Unleashed being a video game about Darth Vader's secret Sith apprentice). I think there is some good material here and it isn't based in the unnecessarily convoluted prequel trilogy.

In conclusion, there are a lot of ideas to go with and honestly, I'm fine if we keep getting Star Wars movies forever. Here's how it works, if a garbage Star Wars movie is made, it will only increase the fandom's love for the originals, but if there is a new addition that is good, then hooray for everyone. But really in the end.....it's all just to sell more toys.

The 5 Smartest People in the Marvel Universe

Top 5 Smartest People in the Marvel Universe:

Due to the slight popularity of my "Top 5 Smartest People in the DC Universe" post, here is one detailing the brilliant heroes found within the Marvel Universe. Again, it takes a certain level of intelligence to become a super hero that doesn't horribly fail at everything, but these are those that stand out. So from smart to smarter here are the five outstandingly heroes in the Marvel Universe.

5.) Tony Stark
Little known fact, Anthony "Tony" Edward Stark was in fact adopted by Howard and Maria Stark. His actual biological parentage is unknown. Tony was enrolled in boarding school at the age of 6. He would grow up to be the valedictorian of his high school and majored in physics and electrical engineering, receiving masters degrees in both. When he was twenty one his parents were killed in a car crash and he was forced to inherit the company his father had built. He furthered the company into a multi-billion dollar organization that primarily supplied the U.S. with advanced weapons and munitions. Until he was supervising a field test for a weapon of his in Afghanistan. During the demonstration he tripped on a landmine, shrapnel pierced his heart and he was captured by revolutionaries in Afghanistan. To save his life, Tony built a metal suit in order to escape and keep the shrapnel out of his heart. After escaping he changed the direction of his company and upgraded his suit and continues to battle evil with his updated "Ironman" armor. He has become a philanthropist in that he betters the world with his technology and what he cannot buy he buries with his suit. Truly a nice, smart guy.

4.) Victor Von Doom

Victor Von Doom was born in a Romani camp in Latveria. His mother was killed when a bargain with Mephisto, a demon from a hellish realm, went wrong. His father fled the camp with little Victor into the cold night. His father died of the chilling weather but Victor lived on. He decided to make learning about science and magic a priority in order to better understand the deal that killed his mother and possibly save her. During his studies he received a scholarship to the State University in Hegeman, New York. There he met Reed Richards and Ben Grimm. Victor was focusing on building an inter-dimensional portal into other realms. Reed pointed out a flaw in Victor's design but Victor, thinking Reed just wanted to upstage him, went on with the experiment. The machine indeed was flawed. It exploded, scarring Victors face and he was soon expelled from the university. He blames Reed Richard for the catastrophe. So Victor left America and traveled back to Latveria in a suit of armor built by himself and overthrew the government, declaring himself King of the land. He uses the country to further his plans for world domination. He is a formidable foe of everybody from the Avengers, to the X-men to Asgard. He is a master of Techno-magic and frequently ushers destruction to the world.

3.) Bruce Banner

Robert Bruce Banner was born to Brian and Rebecca Banner. Rebecca loved Bruce but Brian hated him. Brian was an alcoholic who was very angry at Bruce for being the object of Rebecca's love. Brian, who was an atomic physicist, believed that his exposure to radiation had given him a mutant child, (remember, in this world mutants are perceived as bad). Brian abused Bruce and murdered Rebecca. Brian was then sent to a mental institution with Bruce now raised by his aunt Susan Banner. Bruce was so enraged by his cruel father but Susan taught him love and compassion as she would her own child. Bruce would grow up as a highly intellectual and withdrawn child prodigy. Bruce would graduate high school and study nuclear physics at Navapo, New Mexico. He also studied at Pennsylvania State University and Harvard. He would end his studies after obtaining a doctorate degree from the California Institute of Technology. Wanting to turn to philanthropy but not having the funds to do so, Bruce turned to the U.S. Defense department where he designed and built the G-Bomb, a bomb using gamma radiation. During it's first underground detonation a civilian wandered on sight. Bruce found the civilian but the bomb went off. Bruce threw the civilian into a safety trench but failed to shield himself. The gamma radiation did not kill Bruce, but it turned him into a large green monster later called the Hulk. From then on Bruce would turn into the mindless and bash monster when he was angry, (though he keeps his intelligence even when we turns into the Hulk, though he cannot focus it correctly). He remains a constant force for good, be it through philanthropy or smashing whatever gets in the way of what is right.

2.) Hank Pym

Henry Jonathan Pym was born to Brad and Doris Pym in Nebraska. His father being a factory foreman and his mother a librarian, they realized he was quite the smart little boy. Tested at the age of 3, the doctors found out that he was more intelligent than both of his parents. When his grandmother fell terminally ill, Hank tried to invent a contraption to save her. His grandma recognized it was her time and told Hank never to stop inventing. When she passed away, he angrily smashed his contraption on the floor. But he still went on to graduate college earning a doctorate while his friends were still undergrads. Hank then married a Hungarian immigrant named Maria. He was working on shrinking technology but could not find the funding. Maria convinced him to return to her country but when they arrived a political enemy shot her and killed her. Hank went on a rampage trying to find the killer but was sent back to America for his arrest. After this he eventually became worlds hardest working biologist but due to the lack of imaginative freedom at his current job he quit and began working on his shrink technology where he discovered a new particle that he termed "Pym Particles" These particles allowed him to shrink, grow, and fight crime with his second wife, Janet Van Dyne. Hank was the Antman/Giantman and Janet was the Wasp. He channeled his shrink technology to fight injustice and keep the world safe. Hank would also help form the Avengers and later become Yellow Jacket with the Antman suit passed onto Scott Lang. He also created Ultron, the super A.I. turned against the Avengers and the bane of their existence. During an encounter Hank confronted Ultron as a distraction for the Vision to phase into Ulton and kill him once and for all. Ultron told Hank that he had all of Hank's memories and subconscious hate for humanity. As the Vision tried to kill Ultron, the A.I. faked utter pain, Hank held the "dying" robot, but as Vision phased out, Ultron caused Hank to phase into himself. Currently Ultron possesses the consciousness of Hank Pym and is a force not to be reckoned with.

1.) Reed Richards:

Reed Richards was the only son of Nathaniel and Evelyn Richards. Evelyn died when Reed was only seven but his father guided him into using his intelligence for good and enrolling him in the courses he need to take to benefit Reed. By age fourteen he was taking college level classes. He had a natural aptitude for mathematics, mechanics, and physics. It was at the State University in Hegeman, New York where Reed met Ben Grimm and Victor Von Doom. His room mates, Victor who took an immediate dislike to Reed, moved out. Reed and Ben became best friends, Reed telling him of his plans to create interstellar travel in a spaceship. Ben jokingly told Reed he would pilot this vehicle if it ever happened. (In the early days of the Fantastic Four comics, Reed and Ben Grimm fought in World War 2 were they met Nick Fury). Three years before Reed's starship was tested, his father disappeared when his attempt to create a time machine actually transported him to an alternate universe. However, Reed's father left him left two billion dollars to him and with that Reed built his starship in Central City, California. With further funding from the federal government Reed finished his starship and tested it out with Ben as the pilot, his girlfriend Susan Storm and her brother Johnny. However, the shielding on the starship did not hold up and the cabin was blasted with cosmic radiation from a solar flare giving the gang different powers, with Reed being able to control every atom in his body and form anything, (though usually just sticks to stretching about). After this Reed, as Mister Fantastic, and the rest of the Fantastic Four would save the earth multiple times. Reed would marry Sue Storm and start a family and continue to aid the Avengers, X-men and Guardians of the Galaxy in his ultimate quest to save the universe with his wits and intelligence. He is so smart in fact, that in every dimension and alternate universe, Reed has become the smartest man, sometimes wielding the Infinity Gauntlet, sometimes an evil dictator, but always the most powerful and intellectual man in the universe.

Why Batman v. Superman is a Good Idea. (and a call-to-action).

Why Batman v. Superman is a Good Idea (in Theory).

So the latest trailer for Dawn of Justice landed this week and we got a look at some pretty sweet things: Doomsday, more Lex Luthor, fun exchanges between Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent, also Wonder Woman looks like she kicks butt. All fun stuff, and maybe it revealed a bit too much about the movie. We know now that Batman and Superman will fight a bit, but then they'll be friends. But this post is not even about the trailer, (though it may reference it to further my point). That point being, that this movie is doing something that comic book movies haven't done yet: give us a movie without an origin. Batman, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman just turn up in this movie, with no origins. Lets talk about that.

 Here's why this is cool. It's never happened in the movies before. Think about your favorite stand alone comic books, they did not include the origin of the title hero, (Unless it's Batman: Year One). I'm saying that in this movie, we will be dropped into a universe that has all of it's heroes well established. Joker is running about, Aquaman has been King of the ocean and Wonder Woman looks as if she's been doing this for a while already. Robin has been killed. Even Batman has faded into urban obscurity. We know everyone's origin already, Batman got his parents killed, Superman is the last son of Krypton, Aquaman is half human, half Atlantean, Wonder Woman is an Amazon, now make a movie. In a sense it's easier than making an origin story we have to sit through (again) and we can cut to the good stories in the DC universe.

Why watch this movie? Let me put it this way, if I had to choose between this movie and Captain America: Civil War, I would choose Dawn of Justice. We have never seen Batman and Superman on screen in live action before. These are the two most recognizable superheroes in the history of comic books. The fact that they are in a movie together should have audiences already in the seats of the theatre. Granted, I cannot wait for Civil War , but we already know the characters in Civil War, and if you chose to miss it you would find out enough about what happened through context in the other Marvel movies. But Dawn of Justice is new, it's never been done before and it's kicking off an entire expansive universe for us to enjoy. All you Marvel Supremacists out there are saying, "But it's too late to do a movie like this." "Marvel already has a monopoly on comic book movies." "DC's TV shows are better than this movie."

To that I say, Shutup!!! Quit criticizing everything that isn't Marvel. So what if Marvel is killing it in the movies? DC sells more original comic book stories, has better animated movies, and more great TV shows than Marvel does, but that doesn't make DC fans hate Marvel, (at least I'd hope not)! And it's not like Marvel has never had a bad movie, (2003's Daredevil, Fan4stic, Hulk). All I'm saying is that this is a great time to be a fan of comic books altogether as a whole. Coexist people! You will miss out on so much other good content if you live such a close minded life of hating one. Loving one doesn't mean hating the other, that's what this blog is all about. So let's optimistically look forward to every comic book movie that is put out, be it DC, Marvel, or even an Image comic movie, (even though Spawn wasn't the best). Let the comic book movies and superheroes come, we'll be waiting, ready for something good.

Civil War: What's the Deal?

Civil War: What's the Deal?
So the trailer for Captain America: Civil War, dropped this week and it has had comic book movie fans all in a frenzy. It looks really good. So rather than tell you the things you may have missed from the trailer I would like to speculate what exactly is going on with the movie based on what we see in this trailer. Bear in mind that there will be spoilers for the comic book it's based off and potential spoilers for the movie, if you want to go into the show blind, probably don't read this.

Comic Book Ties:
From what I can tell from the trailer it seems to be quite the departure from the actual comic book. In the comic, a horrific accident involving foolhardy superheros decimates a small town killing many people. Because of this the government forces heroes to reveal their identities and pretty much sign on to be super-cops for the government. Ironman, despite his rebellious nature sees this as a necessary step into stopping injustice. Captain America is very much about the opposite, and to many heroes such as Daredevil, Falcon, half the Fantastic Four and even the likes of The Punisher, Captain America is the guy to follow. It results in an all out war between many superheroes and quite an epic comic. But is the movie going to be like the comic?

Dark Knight Much?
Everyone knows that Batman v. Superman is taking ques from Frank Miller's, The Dark Knight Returns, but to me it seems that Civil War will follow that story line even more. From the Civil War trailer we see a lot of Captain America, which makes sense. It's not The Avengers: Civil War, it's Captain America: Civil War. With that said the trailer seems to tell us this:
We have a pretty great superhero who is considered a "vigilante" and the government wants to stop them, so who do they send in? The most powerful superhero they can think of to stop him. That's the exact plot of The Dark Knight Returns. The thing is that there will be more superheros fighting each other rather than just Batman and Superman, and this story affects a heck of a lot more than two heroes. All I'm saying is that I think this movie will not follow the comic book as much as we thought, and it doesn't have to. But those who want this movie to be a shot for shot cinematic adaptation, too bad! Marvel Studios doesn't even have half the roster it would take to remake the comic.

Introduction Of Other Superheros:
Lastly I'd like to talk about new heroes, well all want that right? In the comic book, all the heroes have been introduced already, which makes for some epic battles. However in the movie they don't have near as many, but they have the chance to introduce a few heroes worth mentioning here. Obviously we see Black Panther running around in his sick costume, he is of course the King of Wakanda, the fictional country that the Avengers visit in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Also, we know that Spiderman will play a role in this movie, like he does in the comics. Tom Holland has been cast as the webslinger, and it will be interesting to see the role that Spiderman will play within the movie. Now, there haven't been many rumors circling Captain Marvel but it will be very interesting to see any references there may be to her or perhaps a quick cameo of her character, Carol Danvers. Perhaps we may see some teases of Dr. Strange, which would be awesome. Also, I think this is a good opportunity to integrate some of the Netflix heroes into the movie, (Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, The Punisher), because this "hero registration" or "Sokovia Accords" very much affects street level characters. But I bet that if we see any of them it will probably be like one shot of them all fighting together or something. And maybe Agent Coulson will show up, and maybe he'll die again, for good. Who knows? What's for certain is that this is going to be a phenomenal comic book movie event.

The 5 Smartest People in the DC Universe

The 5 Smartest Men of the DC Universe:

The DC universe is literally jam-packed with smart people left and right. I think you need to be fairly intelligent to fight crime and save the world on almost a daily basis. But that doesn't mean that some people are more intelligent than the rest. These are the five people that through whatever means and reasons are the smartest of the smart, a League of Intelligent Men. This list will give a brief summary of the character and just how exactly smart they are and what separates them from the rest of the DC universe. So without further ado, the 5th smartest man:

#5, Ted Kord:
Theodore Kord graduated from high school at the age of 16, developed drones the size of insects at the age of 19, stopped the world from being taken over by his insane uncle while he was in college, revamped his fathers dying industry soon after and became the tech powered superhero known as the Blue Beetle. He's a brilliant scientist, a genius engineer and an all around nice guy to be around.

#4, Ray Palmer:
While studying at Ivy University in Connecticut, young Raymond Palmer found a piece of a white dwarf start that had fallen to earth. After this discovery his interest in matter suppression grew and he deduced that if he made a focused lense from the dwarf star material and shown an ultraviolet ray through it, he could shrink anything, and it did. He learned how to shrink matter in his first couple of years in college, leading to the construction of PalmerTech and The Atom suit and his ability to shrink at sub atomic levels and study atoms very very closely.

Ray Palmer as portrayed by Brandon Routh in the CW's "The Arrow"

#3, Michael Holt:
At a young age of 6, Michael Holt would read the works of Bohr, Einstein, Planck and Feynman in order to gain a greater understanding of the world of science. Growing from age six he studied space and time. Michael himself admits to having "a natural aptitude for having natural aptitudes." Before he began his superhero career of being Mr. Terrific he already had 14 Ph.Ds. Soon after he developed T-spheres (allowing one to be completely invisible to all technology), he was a self-made multi-millionaire, owned his own company and was a gold medal Olympic. As a superhero he plays a vital role in solving the worlds problems and is the chairman of the Justice Society of America.

#2, Bruce Wayne:

"Sometimes I think of Bruce as a man in a costume. Then, with some gadget from his utility belt, he reminds me that he has an extraordinary inventive mind. And how lucky am I to call on him."

~Superman

As a young boy Bruce wear tear through old literature ranging from Dickens to Tolstoy, he was always searching for something new to learn. After Bruce Wayne saw his parents gunned down in front of him, he swore an oath to protect his city that was tearing itself apart. At age 14 he would attend seminars and courses at Cambridge, the Sorbonne, and universities across Europe. He traveled the world for nearly a decade in order to reach physical and intellectual perfection training in everything including but not limited to: Chemistry, Forensics, Escape Artistry, Martial Arts, Disguise, and Martial Arts. He trained with Kirigi the Japanese ninja to learn stealth, Nepalese monks to learn healing, man hunting from the Frenchman Henri Ducard, hand to hand with World Class Boxer David Cain, and even trained in archery under Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow. He was soon to join the FBI at age 20, but deduced that he would not get to fight crime in Gotham the way it needed to be done. Bruce may not know as much about astrophysics as Michael Holt, or shrinking technology like Ray Palmer, but he has made it a priority to become proficient enough at literally everything in case it was ever needed in his crime fighting.

#1, Lex Luthor:

Alexander Luthor was born in the poverty stricken neighborhood called Suicide Slums in Metropolis. His parents were abusive and living the slums instilled aspirations to become better, somewhat. He dedicated his life to bettering himself and as a teenager orchestrated the death of his parents in order for him to gain a large life insurance from their deaths. With this money he created LexCorp. He would build this company from the ground up until it owned every media corporation in Metropolis, and was creating technology for the betterment of man. By the time he was a young man he was sitting atop a throne he had built himself. If anyone got in his way, he had blackmail on them. He kept the gangs of Metropolis active by selling them weapons and then striking the gangs down as a philanthropist, making himself appear as a hero. Everything he has was because of himself and nobody else. This is perhaps why he hates Superman so much. For as long as Lex has lived everything that has happened to him was through his own hard work, his own smarts, and here comes Superman, everything given to him from birth. Because of this, Lex developed Kyrptonite technology in order to keep Superman at bay. When Gotham was destroyed by an earthquake and abandoned by the government it was Lex Luthor who poured his funds into fixing the broken city. All in all, it shows the darker side of being the smartest man in the world, the one where he uses his smarts to gain advantage for himself. It's a shame that the smartest man in the world is a very crooked and bad man, but in the more recent comics he is portrayed as more of an anti-hero, even teaming up with the Justice League at times to save the world and his own empire. Too bad the only thing he can't seem to invent is some form of working hair growth serum.

Captain Britain, A Brief History

Captain Britain:

Since Captain America: Civil War is more than six months away, lets talk about Captain Britain, (see that perfect segue).

In all seriousness though, on the list of the most popular Marvel characters from a poll by Observationdeck.com, Captain Britain came out number 28, above Deadpool, Loki, Namor and Black Panther. Is this correct by any standards? No, I don't know who they were polling, (Probably Britain), but he isn't that popular. However, he has gathered sort of a cult following, and I'll admit, I've always been intrigued by him. So lets take this journey together, to find out who he really is.

Origins:
Brian Braddock was born in Malden, Essex. He was a graduate student in physics from England's Thames University. He worked under his mentor Dr. Travis at the Darkmoor Research Centre. When Darkmoor was raided by The Reaver, (a British Crime Lord), Brian jumped on his motorcycle to get help but was quickly run off the road and crashed by the Reaver's men. Luckily he was approached my Merlin, a man shrouded in mystery with a gift to give Brian. He told him that in order to survive he would need to become Britain's great hero by choosing between two artifacts, The Amulet of Right and The Sword of Might. Brian didn't consider himself much of a warrior so he chose the Amulet. When he touched the amulet he was transformed into Captain Britain with costume and super strength, he was then given the Star Sceptre by Merlin which enabled him to fly. Unfortunately the Reaver caught up with Brian. The Reaver claimed the sword turning him into an armored knight with great strengths. Brian defeated the Reaver and so Captain Britain was born.

Captain Britain in the Early Days

America:

Through his adventures in Britain he had various run-ins with many villains indigenous to Europe and even teamed up with Captain America to defeat the Red Skull during his escapade to England. It wasn't until Brian was studying abroad that he came to New York City and shared a room with Peter Parker at Empire State University. They did not know of eachothers alter egos, but as superheroes they teamed up a lot, finally Spiderman deduced his British Roommate was indeed Captain Britain, though Brian remained unaware that Spiderman was Peter Parker. 

Excalibur:

Upon Brian's return to Britain he would face many other villains but ultimately retire the life of being a superhero to his twin sister Betsy (better known as Psylocke from the X-men), who was quickly blinded while fighting crime in Britain. Through twin telepathy Brian felt her pain and went after the offender, The Slaymaster. Brian killed him and then resumed the mantle of Captain Britain. During the Fall of the Mutants, Brian was so upset over his sisters death that he took to heavy drinking and it wasn't until Nightcrawler threw Brian off of a lighthouse and convinced him that the other mutants needed saving. While successfully saving the X-men, Captain Britain and a few other mutants formed Excalibur, the premier British superhero team.

The Avengers:

After the Skrull invasion Captain Britain joined MI-13. While working at MI-13 he was approached by Steve Rogers at an international meeting and asked to join the Avengers as a reserve member, only fighting if they needed him. He joined despite murmurings from the other MI-13 members. He was just a reserve member at first but soon became a sworn in member of the Avengers at one point.

Captain Britain Corps:

During a multiverse crisis all iterations of Captain Britain banded together in order to fight the evil threatening the multiverse. This group of alternate Brian Braddocks is known as the Captain Britain Corps. During incursions where worlds collide the original Captain Britain was thrown back to his own Earth while the rest of the Corps was wiped out, and Brian losing an eye at some point.

Presently...

Presently Captain Britain is part of the Illuminati, (A think tank organization consisting of Reed Richards, Tony Stark, Namor, Stephen Strange, and other smart minds). He helps them find a solution to the many incursions popping up around earth during Time Runs Out.

Most Powerful Weapons in the Marvel Universe

Most Powerful Weapons in the Marvel Universe:

What is the most powerful weapon in the Marvel Universe? It could come in handy when the Avengers battle Thanos, or whenever they decide to fight Galactus, (Hopefully they'll get the rights to that). So rather than try and rate these by how powerful they are, we'll go over some noteworthy items in the Marvel Universe that are hailed as super powerful, then I'll tell you what is actually the best one. Lets get started.

Mjolnir:
Thor's hammer, Mjolnir is regarded in Nordic mythology as one of the most fearsome and powerful weapons capable of leveling mountains. According to Nordic legend the dwarves Sindri and Brokkr messed up on the length of the hilt making it shorter than intended, but still deadly enough for the God of Thunder to wield it effectively. The interesting thing about Thor's hammer is that it can only be wielded by those that are worthy, courtesy of Odin, (noteworthy people who can do this are, Captain America, Storm, Beta Ray Bill, etc). So why doesn't it fall to the ground when he hangs it on a coat hanger as seen in the movies? Is the coat hanger worthy? I popular theory as to why is that the hammer is sentient to some extent, meaning it knows when it's being handled by a human and when it's just being placed on a hanger. A sentient hammer capable of leveling mountains? Pretty great!

The Mandarin's Rings:

The Mandarin, (not Trevor the actor, the real Mandarin), is one of Ironman's most terrifying foes. What makes him so terrifying are the ten rings that he wears, (the Ten Rings being the name of the terrorist group in the movies). These rings can do a lot of stuff. They are almost like the b-list Infinity Stones. Not only are they functional for combat, but they are also very magical. Take a look:

The Destroyer Armor:

It is briefly seen in the first Thor movie but this thing is some seriously powerful stuff. It was created as a brainchild of Odin, Zeus, and Brahma; the three gods of their respective pantheons. The Celestials decided to judge humanity and cut their ties to the other worlds so Odin built this armor out of an unknown mystical metal and enchanted it to be stronger. The armor housed the powers of all three of the God Kings in order to stop the Celestials. It resides in Asgard and Odin only uses it under dire circumstances.

The Evil Eye:

It is a rod with a translucent eye forged of another unknown metal. It is indestructible and has the power to manipulate matter at a molecular level, shoot fire, break down force fields, create force fields, suck energy from power sources and has time/dimension traveling capabilities. It's like the Swiss army knife for superheros. Not only that, but if it's power is charged too high it would burst into six beams of light destroying everything in their path until they reach a sun.

The Infinity Gauntlet:

The glove of Thanos. Something that the MCU has been building up to for nearly ten years now. It houses the six infinity stones and has the power to do almost anything. Rearange matter? Done. Traverse time? Easy. Reverse the laws of nature? No problem. Punch someone really hard? That works too. This gauntlet has to be the most powerful things right? Not quite.

The Most Powerful Weapon Is....

DareDevil's Staff/Grappling Hook/Escrima Sticks:

No no no, just kidding. But seriously, as far as nonpowered, purely technological weapons go, his multi-functional fisticuffs assistance apparatus is really effective when it comes to battling crime from Hell's Kitchen to Thanos. The actual most powerful weapon is....

The Ultimate Nullifier:

Gifted to Reed Richards by The Watcher in order to fight Galactus, the literal "eater of worlds". It has the power to erase somebody from existence. It is the only thing in the entire Universe that Galactus fears and is the only reason that he didn't eat the planet Earth. It also has never actually been used. Reed only threatened Galactus with it and keeps it at the Baxter building in case Galactus ever comes back for more. It seems underwhelming, and it is, but the fact that for whatever reason Galactus is afraid of it, makes it the most powerful weapon in the Marvel Universe.

Educate Yourself: Blue Beetle

The Blue Beetle:

For those of you who missed the first part of this two-part series, (Educate Yourself: Booster Gold), let me bring you up to speed. Booster Gold is a superhero from the future and great friends with the Blue Beetle. DC announced a teamup movie in the works with the creators of The Flash and Arrow on board. It will play as a buddy-cop comedy and is extremely exciting for these cult classic superheroes.

 The Blue Beetle is a title passed on through three people. This post will give a brief rundown of the three bearers of the name.  Keep in mind, we do not know which Blue Beetle we will see in the upcoming movie, but it is 99% going to be the second one. In comic book history Blue Beetle was acquired by DC comics in the Charlton comics buyout and has remained a big part of the DC universe ever since, no matter how small the role.

Dan Garrett:
In ancient Egypt, the Pharaoh Kha-Ef-Ra was said to have possessed a legendary artifact, a figurine in the shape of a Blue Scarab. With it, Kha-Ef-Ra protected his people from all evils and danger until he died and it was buried in his tomb. Many were killed trying to find it but never could, until Dan Garrett entered the tomb with his companion Professor Luri Hoshid just before the start of World War 2. The tomb started to collapsed as they entered the room with the Pharaoh's sarcophagi. Dan leapt to save Luri and the Blue Beetle resting atop the coffin lit up transforming Dan into the Blue Beetle and transferring it's powers, allowing him to stop the cave-in and save Luri. With his newfound abilities he became one of the mystery men of WWII and moved on to help with the Vietnam War. Little is known of Dan's career after that, but he was married and had a child. He settled down to teach archeology at a university where he met Ted Kord.

Ted Kord:

Theodore Kord, 5th smartest man in the DC universe, was 16 when he graduated from High School. At age 19 he developed a new way to create drones the size of an insect of which Lex Luthor said was "revolutionary". In college, Ted's uncle planned to take over the world, with the help of his archaeology professor Dan Garrett he planned to thwart his attempts. During the battle Dan was killed and passed the Blue Scarab to Ted. Unfortunately the idol did not work for Ted, but Dan's acts inspired him to train himself to his physical peak, create a vehicle adequately named "The Bug" and created a costume resembling Dan's. He revitalized his fathers company and created Kord Industries, rivaling S.T.A.R. Labs. During the Crisis on Infinite Earths he met Booster Gold where created a lifelong friendship surpassing their sarcastic whit and tomfoolery. 

Sadly after all his adventuring, Ted was killed by his old friend Maxwell Lord shortly after losing the Blue Scarab at the Rock of Eternity, (The Wizard Shazam's home). Maxwell shot him in the head with Ted's dying words being, "Rot in hell, Max." With the deed done, Barbara Gordon who was a long time friend of Ted, created a memorial for the hero. But the mantle of the Blue Beetle was yet to continue.

Jaime Reyes:

Jaime Reyes was a normal high school student in El Paso, Texas, until he found the Blue Scarab half buried in a disused lot. (When the Rock of Eternity was destoryed in a battle between Shazam and the Spectre all it's contents were blown across the world, the Blue Scarab landing in El Paso). With the discovery the Blue Scarab latched itself into Jaime's spine sending off signals that he was now a magical metahuman and giving him all it's powers and magic armor when in danger. Booster Gold sought out Jaime, for Booster had been to the future where Batman would look for The Brother Eye, and fail, getting killed. (The Brother Eye being a interdimensional phantom satellite capable of monitoring anything no matter where). The Blue Scarab was the only thing capable of finding the Brother Eye. Booster took Jaime to Batman and with Jaime's help, the Brother Eye was destroyed. Jaime is the current Blue Beetle.

Regarding the Movie:

As I said earlier, the Blue Beetle that will appear in the movie is 95% going to be Ted Kord. The movie will be set in the Arrow-verse, and there have already been easter eggs regarding Kord Industries. It only seems natural to pull both Booster Gold and The Blue Beetle in. Since Booster Gold is from Gotham City it may lead to even more references to Gotham within the Arrow-verse. Exciting things are in the works for the the Arrow/Flash Universe and for the DC Cinematic universe as well.