Watchmen: What Went Wrong?

From Left to Right: The Comedian, Nite Owl, Rorschach, Dr. Manhattan, The Silk Spectre, Ozymandias
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Watchmen: What Went Wrong?

Watchmen is hailed as one of the greatest graphic novels ever created. It won so much critical acclaim and when reading it, it seems it would easily translate to film. So when the movie was released back in 2009, why didn't it? The graphic novel itself is on DC's list of "essential" reads, along with V For Vendetta, The Killing Joke, and Batman: Year One. But the movie tanked at the box office? Lets explore why, and what could be done to give this story the cinematic adaptation that it deserves.


Watchmen is set in an alternate 1985 where the world is on edge and paranoid for the start of World War III. The worlds group of major superheroes and masked vigilantes have been outlawed and must therefor work for the government which causes a slew of chaos amongst the world when the only two heroes on board with the government are either killed or exiled. One by one we see these masked heroes get picked off by an unknown villain and it's up to the vigilante Rorschach and the old gang of Watchmen to find out who, and before World War III starts.

Credit: www.superhero-wallpapers.com

It's a simple enough tale, but the graphic novel was hailed for it's psychological writing, it's gripping narrative and parallel structure that made it a truly amazing book that should have translated well into a movie. So why did the movie fail to bring such acclaim at the box office? For starters, it was not exactly comic accurate. The director, Zach Snyder, even used the actual comic as a storyboard for the project, but the end of the story was changed. It wouldn't be that bad if the tone of the book wasn't changed altogether. In the book all these heroes are very normal humans who just happened to become heroes, (minus Dr. Manhattan). However in the movie, the heroes are all portrayed with some superhuman level of crime fighting. The action is emphasized more than the psyche of the heroes, which is a very sad thing to see take precedence.
But to those who hadn't read the book, the movie might not have been that bad. But it still didn't do that well. The reason could be as simple as saying that it's just too obscure of a story, and that the fan base is far and few between in the general public who are generally more interested in the more recognizable superheroes like Superman and Batman, even though the Watchmen movie opened bigger than Superman: Returns or Batman Begins.

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But even to the general public, most will agree that the trailer for this movie was astounding, enough to catch the average person's attention, (Go watch it, it's seriously one of the best trailers I've seen). But to most, the movie was just underwhelming compared to the hype of the trailer and the expectations of the fans who knew the story. Perhaps it wasn't meant to be made into a movie, or maybe it just didn't go the direction that director Zac Snyder had hoped.

Even though Watchmen seems like it could have been made into an excellent movie, a movie cannot contain everything that made the graphic novel good. It had all the little backstories, the offshoots of parallel stories coinciding with the main tale. The truth is, unless you had a lot of time and patience, it just wouldn't make a good movie to include all of that. As an attempt, I think Watchmen might have paved a way out of obscurity but I'd like to see a newer incarnation. I bet it would work as a TV miniseries, if DC struck a deal with Amazon or something and made this into a show akin to BBC's Sherlock. Marvel has jumped into the Netflix game, maybe DC should try their hand at it and have another careful try at Watchmen again, and this time do the story the justice it deserves.

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Marvel's Exciting Netflix Plans.

Credit: www.Pocket-Lint.com.

Marvel's Netflix Game:

Marvel has always promised very good content in the last seven years as their movies have come out. In having so much success they can take more risks than other comic book movies, (I.E. DC Comics, or Fantastic Four). One thing that Marvel excellently excelled at was making a Netflix Original TV show, and not just any TV show, they made Daredevil. Unlike Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. we actually see a hero that we are (slightly) familiar with, rather than Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. where a bunch of made up people are standing around in nice clothing, (it's not really that bad of a show). But not only did Netflix's Daredevil bring a bigger named character to the small screen, it brought something that Marvel hadn't really explored before, that is street level grit. The first season of Daredevil was very dark, violent, and honestly awesome in everyday. It is the Dark Knight of the Marvel franchise. The best part is that it is all part of a plan to show Marvel's more brutal street level fighters. After Daredevil, a Jessica Jones Netflix show will be released, followed by Iron Fist, and finishing the phase with Luke Cage. This is such an exciting time within the Marvel Universe because we are finally getting more small scale heroes that don't just play extras in the bigger movies (like Hawkeye did in the first Thor. What? You didn't know he was in it? Hardly anyone did. So please please please do a Hawkeye Netflix TV show.) I thought that Marvel had a monopoly on the movie industry and that DC was getting their best content from TV shows and animated films. As much as I love Arrow and The Flash, nothing comes close to Daredevil. Marvel, (Disney), really does seem to control everything and I'm not all that upset about it.

Daredevil in the Netflix Original TV Show.

Jessica Jones

Iron Fist

Luke Cage

Civil War: Whose Side Are You On?

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Whose Side Are You On?

Probably the most anticipated Marvel comic book movie at this very moment is Captain America 3: Civil War. Unlike most of the previous MCU movies, this one will explicitly draw from the comic book story of the same name. A trailer was released on Saturday, August 15th, but only at the D23 Expo. For those of you who don't know, here is the premise of Civil War, (be advised, here are some spoilers, for those of you who want to go into this movie blind).

The government passes a Superhero Registration Act in which if you are a superhero you must register with the government to continue being a superhero. To Tony Stark, that seems like a pretty good idea, seeing as he creates 95% of all the villains that him and the Avengers must face. But to Captain America, he remembers another time that people were forced to be registered, in Nazi Germany. How good of an idea was that? Clearly there is a rift drawn through the superhero community and two teams are formed. The purpose of this post is to give you an idea of who are on the two teams and speculation as to what roles they play within the war itself.

Now obviously Marvel can't have every single superhero in this movie. Either they haven't been introduced yet or they lie outside of Marvel's grasp, (X-men, Deadpool, Fantastic Four). So the aforementioned superheros will not appear in this movie. However, in order to speculate for future opportunities Marvel may gain I will list the heroes who are in the comics as well, because this may only be the start of the war, meaning it may very well end in a later movie, therefore allowing other heroes to be drawn in at a later time.

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The Avengers (Team Ironman):
Once again, those fighting for Ironman are in favor of the SuperHero registration act. Based upon the trailer these are the people we know for sure are on IronMan's team to begin with.

• The Vision
• Black Widow
• Spiderman (Yay! He's in the Universe).
• War Machine

It's surprising that Black Widow is on the team of Ironman because she is so close to Captain America, but it is rumored that there is a double agent on one of the teams. This could be her. And it's likely that Spiderman will have a change of heart and join Captain America's team, but no promises.

To give you an idea of how epic this would be in the comics, here's a few of those also on his team, (though keep in mind, it may change for the movie).

• Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards)
• Yellow Jacket (Hank Pym)
• She-Hulk
• Ms. Marvel
• Tigra
• Ragnarok (Evil Thor)
• Bishop
• Maria Hill
• Deadpool (but like, he probably doesn't care)
• Blade

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The Secret Avengers (Team Cap.):

These are the ones opposing the Superhero Registration Act. Based upon trailers and previous films, this is who we know are on Cap.'s team.

• Falcon
• AntMan
• Winter Soldier
• Scarlet Witch
• Hawkeye

In the comics, these are the people that appear on the team of the Secret Avengers.

• Luke Cage
• Cyclops
• Storm
• Daredevil
• Iron Fist
• Wolverine
• Nick Fury
• Black Panther
• Ghost Rider
• Invisible Woman

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Speculation and Rumors:
Now, we know that Nick Fury and Thor will not be in this movie, (besides I'm sure he's got worse things to deal with when Ragnarok is going on). Mark Ruffalo has been seen on set, and it's rumored he may even fight the Red Hulk,(which is speculated to be General Ross). That's only if the Hulk isn't lost in space with the Guardians like I hope. Black Panther will make an appearance, but we don't know whose side he's on. Probably Iron Man's as it is also rumored that the Winter Soldier killed his father, (as well as Tony's. . .ouch). It's not too fare-fetched to expect heroes from Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D and the Daredevil TV show, which would hopefully bridge the gap between the movie and TV universes like we are all waiting for, (maybe Agent Coulson returns and shows them all that they should quit fighting!)

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Captain America's Death:
In the comics and probably in this movie, we will see the death of Captain America. Chris Evan's contract is almost up and it would leave the mantle of the Cap open for the next one (which will either be The Falcon or The Winter Soldier). The killer of Cap is Crossbones, who we saw in Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier. He was pretty beat up and being pulled out of the S.H.E.I.L.D building on a stretcher.

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Conclusion:
Whatever side you're on, it's going to be an epic movie and will really push forward lots of development within the MCU and because of that I am very excited to see this film, not only for the heroes that will be introduced but because it will literally change things forever within the story. Like I said earlier though, this may be the beginning of the war, but it might not necessarily be the end of it, (meaning it may carry on into other movies).

Credit: Andrew SS7

The Infinity Stones? Where Are They All?

The Collector and his Targets.
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Where Are All the Infinity Stones:

The current Marvel Cinematic Universe seems to be progressing towards one thing. That is the Infinity Stones being united, be it by the forces of good or the forces of evil. Before the universe began the Infinity Stones were collected in one entity which split the powers of the universe into six "concentrated ingots". It is said that whoever obtains all of them shall rule the universe.

 Be warned now, this list will have spoilers from almost all the movies in the MCU. Not only will we be speculating where the remaining stones are hidden, but we will recap where the found ones currently are.

Before we begin, here are a couple things to note. The infinity stones all have distinct names and colors. Their colors are different in the movies than they are in the comics but they still serve the same purpose. So in order of appearance, lets review the stones.

The Space Gem:
The Space Gem was the first one we saw, it has the power to manipulate space. It was originally locked up in Asgard's vaults under King Odin's jurisdiction, but it was lost due to an unknown factor. It ended up on earth where it was hidden in Germany before the offshoot Nazi army, Hydra, took it. At Hydra, The Red Skull unknowingly possessed this cosmic force and armed his troops with this space tech. The stone itself is encapsulated in a blue cube or a Tesseract. During the events of Captain America: The First Avenger, the Red Skull touched the raw stone which resulted in him being pulled into space and never seen again, (Possibly to return?). The stone then fell into the ocean where it was found by Howard Stark and kept by S.H.E.I.L.D. During The Avengers it was taken by Loki and used to start an invasion on earth by tearing a hole in space, allowing aliens to roam freely to Earth. Luckily Loki was defeated and the stone was returned to Asgard where it rests for now.
However, due to the events of Thor 2: The Dark World, It is also good to note that at the end of this movie, Loki is ruling over Asgard under the guise of Odin, who is dead. So in essence, Loki is in control of the aforementioned Space Gem.

The Tesseract, casing the Space Gem
Credit: www.marvelcinematicuniverse.wikia.com

The Reality Gem:
The Reality Gem is capable of breaking down the rules of logic making the laws of nature bendable to the users will, (it could make 2+2=5, if one wanted it to be). It is also a sentient gem, it looks for a host. The first appearance of this gem came about in Thor 2: The Dark World. It was known as the Aether and was portrayed as a floating liquid-like substance. It was highly sought after by the king of the dark elves who eventually took control of the gem. Thor defeated the dark elves and the Reality Gem was contained and brought to the collector in the after credits scene of the movie. And in the collectors grasp it has remained?

The Collector, holding the Reality Gem
Credit: www.marvelcinematicuniverse.wikia.com

The Power Gem:
The Power Gem has the ability to level cities, destroy worlds, and pretty much annihilate anything the user wishes. It first appears in The Guardians of the Galaxy, where we find many people who are after it. One person in particular is Thanos, somebody who is looking to unite all the stones. In The Avengers mid-credits scene it is shown that Loki was vicariously working for Thanos. We also see that The Collector is looking for it as well. He may want to unite the stones for reasons unknown. Fortunately for the universe it is Peter Quill, or Starlord who finds the orb that acts as a casing to the Power Gem. After teaming up with the rest of the Guardians he brings the stone to The Collector for a hefty bounty. The Collector's servant tries to use it to overthrow The Collector. The stone explodes killing the servant and nearly destroying the Collection, (possibly losing the Reality Stone? It's made unclear). After a struggle to regain the gem, it is Ronan, (Kree warlord working for Thanos.), who takes the stone. Towards the end of the movie the Guardians take back the stone and it is kept safe by the Nova core, which is arguably the safest place in the Universe for an Infinity Stone.

The Power Gem, being revealed from it's Casing.
Credit: www.marvelcinematicuniverse.wikia.com

The Mind Gem:
The mind gem is capable of controlling others minds as well as amplifying ones own mind. Note: we technically saw this gem in the first Avengers movie, but it wasn't revealed to be an actual Infinity Stone until the second Avengers film. Loki's staff contains the Mind Gem, which is how he could control the minds of Hawkeye and other members of S.H.E.I.L.D. After the events of Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier, we see in the post credit scene that Baron Von Strucker has been using the staff for his experiments. The Avengers take the staff back in The Avengers 2: Age of Ultron and Tony unwittingly uses it to creates Ultron. During the course of the film we see Thor having a vision of the 6 stones and possibly Ragnarok?  Ultron steals the stone and uses it to create a better body for himself. The Avengers steal the body and Thor wakes it up. This becomes known as The Vision, who has the mind stone in his head, where it rests for now. Surprisingly enough, at the mid-credit scene of Age of Ultron, we see Thanos putting the empty Infinity Gauntlet on saying, "Fine I'll do it myself." hinting that he will go for the stone himself.

The Mind Gem, now in control of The Vision
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The Time and The Soul Gem:
Now we don't know exactly where the next two of these stones are but it's worth the speculation. The Time Gem can manipulate time, (I.E. Time travel) and the soul gem can trap souls in an idyllic world or peer into another's soul revealing all about the person being invaded, (It's also a sentient gem). In the comics it was Doctor Strange who had the Mind gem. They could be changing it for the sake of the movies. It could be that Doctor Strange has the Soul gem, and not the Time gem as Doctor Strange doesn't typically time travel, (but perhaps Doctor Who has the Time gem. . .). It could be that Thor: Ragnarok will give us a look at a new gem, or just Loki gathering old ones. I'm also willing to bet that we might see one in Guardians Of The Galaxy 2.

The Infinity Stones
Credit: www.comicvine.com

Adam Warlock;
This does not pertain specifically to any one stone but it is noteworthy. In the Collectors museum we see a grotesque cocoon looking thing. Probably just alien junk, or is it? The cocoon could, and most likely, contains Adam Warlock. In the comics, Adam Warlock was an attempt at a perfect being, but when he emerged from the cocoon he lashed out at his creators because they sought to use him for evil. Adam Warlock is important because he is one of the few people that end up possessing the Infinity Gauntlet with all the gems inside. However, for the movies it could be that he has the Soul Gem with him inside that cocoon and he's just waiting to hatch.

Adam Warlock's Cocoon
Credit: www.ibtimes.co.uk

That is the conclusion of this list. We will have to wait and see what the MCU will bring to the table before the Infinity Wars movies come out and we see the superhero brawl of the century.

Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet
Credit: www.Screenrant.com

Why Aquaman Doesn't Suck!

Why Aquaman Doesn't Suck:

Aquaman has been given a lot of flack in the past, I mean like a lot of crap from people, so much in fact that I'm probably going to get a lot of people that pass this post by, thinking: "Nope, he sucks, nothing you can say will make me believe otherwise. All he does is talk to fish." (A wrong assumption, as you'll find out.) Every single super hero goes through an awkward stage in the comics/movies. I suppose Aquaman's awkward phase killed his image, but nowadays he's become a very legitimate superhero. Since he's coming up soon in Batman v. Superman, here are a few ways that Aquaman is kind of really awesome and a worthy addition to the Justice League.

Half Atlantean:
Here's something I didn't know about before doing research. Aquaman, or Arthur Curry, is actually half human half Atlantean. He was the heir to the Atlantean throne until he eventually took the throne in his adulthood. Because he is half human as well, he keeps ties to his human ancestors, bridging the bitter gap between the Atlanteans and the Surface Dwellers. He also gets to keep all the powers of being an Atlantean, (super strength and super speed), as well as a few other perks. The thing is, he is the only person who has routinely convinced Atlanteans not to come kill us all since he feels a connection to us surface dwellers. Without him all those not living underwater are dead.

Arthur Curry as seen in the DC animated film, Throne of Atlantis.
Credit: www.ScreenRant.com

Founding Member of the JLA:
Little known fact, Aquaman helped build the Justice League of America from scratch. Just after the foundations for the JLA were forming Aquaman got in on the action and helped solidify the team that keeps the planet Earth and the Universe safe. He's just as much of a key player as Batman, Wonder Woman, or Superman.

The Official New 52 Justice League
Credit: www.Dccomics.com

Underestimation;
The New 52 comics became a little meta, with every villain making fun of Aquaman and underestimating his powers. This might be his greatest advantage because he then just kicks their butt, not only for being criminals but for making fun of him in the first place. A prominent example is in the Justice League reboot in the 90s when the Justice League is pitted against the Hyper Clan. A team of white martians that have literally every power of the Justice League tries to take over Earth, and Aquaman holds his own fighting them all, until Batman finishes the rest of them off.

Credit:dc.wikia.com

He has near Bullet Proof Skin:
After years of living in the ocean, it has made his skin impenetrable from bullets, they merely glance off of him when he is shot. They also render "just punching" him to be a helpless result, as your hand will brak. So as you shoot at him, you become confused as to why the bullets don't penetrate, then you're confused about the trident careening towards your face.

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Super Strength and Intelligence:
Not only is he super strong, but he's also super duper smart. With his strength, he can best Superman, (You starting to realize Superman isn't all that powerful yet? Good). Aquaman isn't lame because he is one of the few who can actually punch Superman. And it's not like he can just punch Superman and not break his hand. He can straight up knock him on his butt and skip him across the ocean, (see picture). Not only this but he has been known to have an intellect rivaling that of Batman. Aquaman is not somebody to mess with.

And Lastly:

Credit: oneofus.net

He Does NOT talk to Fish:
When somebody says that he talks to fish, the picture of Aquaman pulling a Little Mermaid and talking to fish like Flounder. He does not talk to fish per se, he telepathically has them do his bidding. It's a little less humane, (probably cause it's Atlantean), but he almost controls their mind. It's similar to how Marvel's Antman can control ants,(and nobody gave him and crap about it). But Aquaman doesn't need an earpiece to do it, it's already hardwired into his brain. What is the use of this you say? Because sharks, killer whales and giant squids come in handy every once in a while.

Credit: hcrealms.com

Show Some Respect:
I'd like to conclude by saying that I'm thoroughly looking forward to Aquaman (who will be portrayed by Jason Mamoa), appearing in Dawn of Justice. Snyder's vision isn't actually crap and it still holds the key elements of what makes Aquaman the best. Many of the elements mentioned in this post should make their way into the movie and if so I shall applaud Aquaman. So show him some respect from now on.

Jason Mamoa as Aquaman

Killing Superman: Five Ways One Could Defeat Superman

Killing Superman:

Wait. . .what?

You can't kill Superman he's. . .well he's Superman. Even when Lex Luthor shoves Kryptonite in his face in every movie he still manages to escape, he's invincible. WRONG!!!
Here are more than a couple of ways for somebody to best Superman if they needed to, and believe it or not, some of these instances have occurred within the comics. Without further ado lets get started.

Kryptonite:
For those of you who don't know, and have never seen anything Superman related, Kryptonite is radioactive material from his home planet of Krypton, non poisonous to humans, definitely poisonous to him. It weakens Superman, prolonged exposure could kill him. Somehow Lex Luthor always gets a hold of this stuff and uses it against Superman. Also, Batman happens to have the largest ammount of Kryptonite in the world collected in one place, partly so that it's harder to find and won't be used against his friend, but also in case Supermarn turns evil.

Credit: screenrant.com

Blunt Force Trauma:
As Mr. Sunday Movies on Youtube put it, "Superman, like anyone, if you hit him hard enough, can be hurt. The only difference is, you have to hit him really, really, really hard." There are a few people who can do this: Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Shazam, Batman, (when using his Superman killing suit that he built himself.), and Doomsday. In fact, in the comic book titled: The Death of Superman, it is Doomsday who ends Superman once and for all. Also, I'm willing to bet that if The Flash got a running start, (of about the circumference of Earth), he could create a windup that would loosen the Man of Steel's jaw.

Credit: www.Danscottart.com

Magic:

This is definitely a lesser known weakness, but can prove fatal for Superman. For whatever reason, Superman is just susceptible to magic leaving him vulnerable to other people such as, Wonder Woman, Shazam, Black Adam, Felix Faust, Klarion, Dr. Fate, or Zatanna. In fact anyone wielding a magical item, (like Wonder Woman's Sword), technically can hold their own against Superman. And perhaps it's not too far fetched for even Batman, somebody who trained to be good at everything, has a few spells up his sleeve. I would even go to say that this is his worst weakness because anyone, (even people from the Harry Potter Universe), could kill him.

Credit: www.thedevilseyes.com

Red Sun:

Red Sunlight emanates naturally from a Red Sun, (like the one that Krypton orbited). Red Sun Radiation makes Superman lose his powers, this is why no Kyrptonians have superhuman powers on Krypton, but on earth their skins drink our yellow sunlight. In Superman: Red Son, Batman exploits this by exposing him to the Red Sun lamps that he designed. If Superman were to be exposed to this one would either just have to shoot him, or lock him up and he would live his days out like the rest of us.

Credit: Dc.Wikia.Com

High Frequencies:

Lastly, this one wouldn't technically kill Superman on the spot, but it would render him helpless. Superman's hearing is enhanced to the point where every single thing said on earth can be heard from him, (this is how he locates danger globally). But if somebody were to exploit this in anyway it could cause Superman a great amount of pain, (Like we see near the beginning of Man Of Steel). Lots of people can do this, Lex Luthor has done it, Wonder Woman can do it, Batman has exploited it, and I'm willing to bet that Black Canary can do it.

Credit: www.Moviepilot.com

So there you have it, Superman is not invincible, there are actually a bit more ways you could best Superman, like Lead, (he can't see through it, build a stealth suit out of lead. . .like Batman did.) Anyways, if there is anything we have learned from this list, it's probably that Wonder Woman is obviously better than Superman.