Today, we celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, a man who has dedicated his life to equality between people of all races. In the 1960s, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the X-men, a comic book about a team of superheroes dedicated to equality between human and mutant. Even though the cast was all Caucasian at the time, the book explored race relations in a profoundly brilliant manner without the material being heavy handed. Over time, the team’s roster would expand to include heroes from many different backgrounds, from the Jewish Kitty Pryde and the African Storm to the Native American Mirage. Throughout their 40+ year history, the X-men have seen many ups and downs, both in and out of comics, and video gaming is no different. What better way is there to celebrate Dr King’s dream than to have a look back at the interactive adventures of Xavier’s finest? In the first part of this two part special, we’ll take a look at some of the earliest games starring the children of the atom. The second part, coming later this week, will feature the Marvel vs Capcom games as well as Activision’s X-men titles. [Read the rest of this entry…]
In 2004, developer Raven created the smash hit X-Men Legends. This game took Marvel’s merry mutants and sent them throughout the X-men universe in 4-player action rpg goodness. The game featured customizable stats, upgradable powers, and a huge load of fan service. Raven followed up the following year with X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse which addressed the small amount gameplay issues found in the original XML and featured a story which included even more of the X-Men universe, including elements from the Age of Apocalypse storyline. In 2006, Raven decided to let the whole Marvel universe get in on the act with Marvel Ultimate Alliance. This game allowed fans to experience their favorite (and not so favorite) Marvel super heroes in a way they never imagined possible. [Read the rest of this entry…]
So its seems there was some truth to those rumors after all.
Action-Figure.com brings us a look at the forthcoming Spiral figure. Hailing from X-Men lore, this six armed beauty is Mojo’s personal assassin/messenger. She will have a removeable helmet and shield, sword accessories and what appears to be six double jointed elbows. If only her knees were so lucky.
Thanks to Icarus of the FANtastic Forums for linking to the article and indirectly bringing it to my attention.
CoolToyReview.comhas gotten word from a ‘reliable source’ (grain of salt recommended) for the lineup for the next wave of Marvel Legends. Curiously, the listing also shows UPC numbers. The wave will consist of the following:
Adam Warlock (UPC # 65356931894)
Black-suit Spider-man (UPC # 65356931891)
Silver Savage (UPC # 65356931893 – Silver Surfer from the Planet Hulk storyline)
Spiral (UPC # 65356931895)
USAgent (UPC # 65356931890)
Union Jack (UPC # 65356931892)
And it appears that they have wildly guessed on the Build-A-Figure for the wave so I won’t even mention what it was.
I am ecstatic about a Spiral figure, assuming its done right, but rather apathetic to the rest of the wave. I’m still waiting on a Nimrod Build-A-Figure. Make it happen Hasbro!
Did you know that the modern X-Men logo was originally designed by Jim Steranko and made its debut in X-Men 50 in November of 1968 (as seen in the above post banner)? In a surprisingly interesting series of articles, Todd Klein, who has done a wide variety of work as a letterer and designer, has assembled an exhaustive analysis of logos for the X-Men related books going as far back as issue 1 of X-Men from 1963. You can see his blog here and for the specific articles, see the direct links below.
Part 9 was particularly interesting because it shows the most recent iteration of the X-Men logo and many of the other designs that were submitted with it all mocked up on the same cover for issue 233 (I suspect this is just filler numbering and lettering because we are currently only on issue 203 at retail and Whedon and Cassaday have never been revealed as the creative team for X-Men that I am aware of. Not sure what the cover art is from or will be.) I kind of liked this one:
Throughout the series, Klein offers up glimpses of logo art samples that could have been. See below for an example of that for the X-Factor logo.
I should also note that Klein designed several X-Men related logos himself, including an X-Factor logo and an Excalibur logo. I found it interesting he noted in several places that when given a choice of logos, the editorial staff often chose the one closest resembling the original Steranko logo.
by FakeTrout, filed in Comics, Movies on Oct.23, 2007
The first spinoff of the X-Men movie series will be titled “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and will star Hugh Jackman in the role that made him famous. The release date is currently set for May 1, 2009. Variety reports:
“Wolverine” is expected to feature many other mutants — some new to the film franchise and some from one or more of the three “X-Men” films. Liev Schreiber is reportedly in final talks to take on the role of a younger version of nemesis William Stryker, played by Brian Cox in “X2.”
Filming will begin later this year with Director Gavin Hood in Austrailia and New Zealand before moving to New Orleans, leading more than a few comic fans thinking the mutant Gambit may play a role. Victor Creed is mentioned, but no announcement has been made if Tyler Mane would reprise the role of Sabretooth from the first X-men film.
David Goyer’s “Magneto” movie should follow soon after. Its not known at this time if an “X4” will happen, or if the franchise will continue to spin off characters into larger roles.
On Friday, Marvel released a teaser image for what appears to be another Marvel event focusing on the X-Men. I’ve mirrored the image below. The only other information released with it was a date. September 10th, 2007. Thats tomorrow. Whatever this is about will most likely be announced at a Diamond event for ‘Direct Market retailers’.
Is it me, or is that Hisako (Armor from Astonishing X-Men) in the upper right corner of the teaser?
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Today, we celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, a man who has dedicated his life to equality between people of all races. In the 1960s, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the X-men, a comic book about a team of superheroes dedicated to equality between human and mutant. Even though the cast was all Caucasian at the time, the book explored race relations in a profoundly brilliant manner without the material being heavy handed. Over time, the team’s roster would expand to include heroes from many different backgrounds, from the Jewish Kitty Pryde and the African Storm to the Native American Mirage. Throughout their 40+ year history, the X-men have seen many ups and downs, both in and out of comics, and video gaming is no different. What better way is there to celebrate Dr King’s dream than to have a look back at the interactive adventures of Xavier’s finest? In the first part of this two part special, we’ll take a look at some of the earliest games starring the children of the atom. The second part, coming later this week, will feature the Marvel vs Capcom games as well as Activision’s X-men titles.
