Jaeger Bomb

Wil and I made you a Sparks McGee T-Shirt! 

sparks mcgee t-shirt wil wheaton sharksplode

Confused? Of course you are! Read up on Sparks McGee and his awesome adventures.

Guys, please go see Pacific Rim. Let’s cancel this film’s financial apocalypse before it happens. Let’s be the giant robot heroes that stand up for the a movie that is basically a love letter to monters movies, robot movies, sci-fi, and nearly everything I hold dear all at the same time. Seriously, if my kid was in this movie I would probably cry just thinking about it.

Remember a few years ago when all the economists said the economy was going to go in the shitter, so people got terrified and stopped buying stuff and the economy went in the shitter? The jackbags calling an early death for Pacific Rim are participating in the same self fulling negativity. The more people that read “this movie is probably going to loose a hundred million dollars,” the more people are going to say “Meh, that won’t be good enough for the theater. I’ll see it on the bluetubes.” Stand up for scifi and robots and monsters and Idris Elba! GO SEE PACIFIC RIM THIS WEEKNED!

[Sweet miserable crapbastards, please don’t let this be another Prometheus…]

COMMENTERS: Have you ever assumed something (a movie, a tv show, a book, a game, a whatever) was no good because you read a bunch of negative press about it (not bad reviews, just general negativity), only to find out later that it was great? On the other hand, what thing that was SUPER HYPED WITH OVERWHELMING POSITIVITY were you the most disappointed in?  

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jjp's avatar

jjp · 101 weeks ago

District 9
The Lone Ranger.

What? I liked it!

1 reply · active 101 weeks ago

Myles's avatar

Myles · 101 weeks ago

Woo! High five!

I think part of why I liked it was expecting it to be a 3-4 out of 10 at best, so I was pleasantly surprised it was about a 7 for me. Also, having few to no expectations due to never having seen/heard any old lone ranger episodes.

Kernanator's avatar

Kernanator · 101 weeks ago

Meanwhile, in Ancient Greece, someone complains that they like Hercules better when he was called Gilgamesh.
You’re our only hope.
Daveren's avatar

Daveren · 101 weeks ago

godspeed you fancy bastard.
Fren's avatar

Fren · 101 weeks ago

Whether or not it sucks, I’m giving them my money just to support the concept. We NEED more film like this. Where’s my live-action Voltron?

I’m just glad they stopped making films based on board games. Rock ’em Sock ’em Robots: The Movie was horrid, Battleship was worse, and Hungry Hungry Hippos the TV program is bluh. Give us more kaiju!

2 replies · active 101 weeks ago

lou's avatar

lou · 101 weeks ago

There’s a Hungry hungry Hippos TV show?!
Fren's avatar

Fren · 101 weeks ago

You may refer to it as Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo.
Super hyped with overwhelming positivity, but ended up sucking? Easy.

Star Wars: Episode I.

Remember how excited we all were when the trailers came out for that? It was going to be so great! *sobs*

1 reply · active 101 weeks ago

Had the world ended after the trailers for episode 1 but before the movie came out, we’d all be happier.
DuckAmuck's avatar

DuckAmuck · 101 weeks ago

All of the Matrix movies.

I read/heard bad things about the first one, which turned out to be awesome.
Everyone super-hyped *all others* which sucked so much I refuse to admit they exist.
The “story” didn’t need them.

1 reply · active 101 weeks ago

Myles's avatar

Myles · 101 weeks ago

wait, you heard the first sucked but the others were awesome?

Your friends are from a mirror universe. Draw goatees on their faces then kill them to preserve the sanctity of our existence.

Godzilla. The one in the late 90’s with the guy from that movie where he does that thing.

2 replies · active 101 weeks ago

Oh man. That was a MEDIA FUCKTON BLITZ, wasn’t it? I probably still have one of those Taco Bell cups somewhere.
Oh god…. I have the movie on VHS somewhere. I was young and naive and knew nothing of the true greatness of the King of Monsters so I thought it was a good film…

That’s all been rectified now that I know better

Dave's avatar

Dave · 101 weeks ago

Got to see a free advance screening of Pacific Rim yesterday.

GO SEE THIS MOVIE. I never watch movies twice but I’m going this weekend because it’s good enough that I should have paid for it…. so I will.

It is SO much fun you guys. It’s the perfect example of the difference between a big dumb fun movie that doesn’t ask you to think and a big asshole movie that assumes you are too stupid to think.

Beautiful fun escapism as opposed to whatever the hell Michael Bay thinks he’s doing.

Go See It.

2 replies · active 101 weeks ago

Dave's avatar

Dave · 101 weeks ago

Go see it and find out for yourself!
Katie's avatar

Katie · 101 weeks ago

Prometheus. I caught it on cable recently and really enjoyed it. Yeah, there are some plot problems with it, but not enough to warrant the hate it got.

As for a super-hyped shitty movie… I don’t know. Maybe Sucker Punch? Was that movie super-hyped? I know I absolutely hated it.

2 replies · active 101 weeks ago

It wasn’t so much super hyped as it was SUPER directed at nerds, so I think we felt it more than most. And yes it was terrible.
HandiGoat's avatar

HandiGoat · 101 weeks ago

I think that movie was more of a demographic fail than an honestly bad movie. As an appreciator of both nerditry and “film art”-type-movies, I would put it 100% in the latter category. My girlfriend (who mostly loves foreign and independent films) absolutely adores it.
Jenn's avatar

Jenn · 101 weeks ago

I have never assumed a movie would be bad and got a surprise of goodness, but I have had a hyped up movie disappoint me… Avatar was NOT as good as everyone said it was. I am not saying it was horrible, I just felt it was merely an ok film that was hyped to be the be all and end all of the film world. A CG’d live action FernGully is all I got out of that.
Kirby's avatar

Kirby · 101 weeks ago

I’m bad at not liking things. I’ve only ever disliked one movie that I’ve seen, and that was because I was a kid, wanted to see a war movie, and went to see Jarhead.

I always like movies when I go to see them. Sucker Punch, John Carter, the Matrix Sequels… the Star Wars Prequels… etc.

1 reply · active 101 weeks ago

lou's avatar

lou · 101 weeks ago

You’re a brave person to admit those things.
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Chaucer59 · 101 weeks ago

God, so many bad, over-hyped movies:

Avatar (Dances with Toruks or Ferngully in Space)

Aliens (Alien was a brilliant horror movie. Aliens was a 2hr 17 minute long demo for a single-shooter video game)

There Will Be Blood (should have been here called There Will Be Rigo Mortis)

Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet (Branagh must still be picking scenery out of his teeth)

Dances With Wolves (if I were Lakota Sioux, I would hunt down and kill Kevin Costner with my bear hands)

2 replies · active 101 weeks ago

Upvoted for Avatar; wanted to downvote for Aliens.
HandiGoat's avatar

HandiGoat · 101 weeks ago

You’re so racist: Native Americans don’t actually have bear hands. They do have eagle wings, however.
Candace's avatar

Candace · 101 weeks ago

Yeah, I thought Avatar was overrated, too.

I don’t usually let bad reviews put me off of seeing a movie I otherwise would want to see. I often find that I disagree with critics and the opinions of the majority.

John Carter. I’m the only person I know who saw it in theatres and everyone I know who saw it later loved it.

1 reply · active 100 weeks ago

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anxiety.junkie · 100 weeks ago

This +1000. I loved this movie, and I actually have read the book (and most of the sequels). Love it.
HandiGoat's avatar

HandiGoat · 101 weeks ago

Pleasantly surprised by: Harry Potter. I was expecting a bunch of kids’ movies. What I got was a bunch of teenager movies, so I’ll call that a win.
When Legally Blonde first came out, I thought “Oh, great, a movie about a rich ditzy blonde – PASS!”

And then much later I saw the film described in ways that made me think “wait – WHAT?” and I rented it… and discovered how dreadfully wrong I’d been. I don’t know if the advertising was misleading or if it was my own internal biases or a little of both, but it’s now one of my favorite films. (The sequel… not so much; the main reason to see that is for Bob Newhart.)

1 reply · active 101 weeks ago

Trebor's avatar

Trebor · 101 weeks ago

I thought it’d be such a chick flick that I refused to acknowledge it when it came to the cinema. Then when a friend got me the DVD as a *Joke* present I decided to watch it one afternoon when I was bored. I couldn’t believe how funny it was and Reese Witherspoon did such a good job with the part.
Just saw Pacific Rim. Delightful fun. Robots smash monsters.
Now I want Guillermo del Toro to direct a Rufallo Hulk movie.
Mcecny's avatar

Mcecny · 100 weeks ago

Pacific Rim was fantastic! Great movie
Stranger's avatar

Stranger · 100 weeks ago

The Dark Knight Rises. UGH. Such a great predecessor, and Nolan gives us that trainwreck?

Handshake Deal

 Guys, Turbo looks BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD. By which I mean to say it looks AWFUUUUUUUUULLLLLLLLL. By which I also mean to say, kids are going to love this shit and it’s going to make a billion dollars and I am probably going to have to take my daughter to see it.

You know what looks cute? The Boxtrolls.

COMMENTERS: What kids movie were you dragged to by your little ones that you actually ended up enjoying? What kids movie were you dragged to that, upon completion, you wished you had been subsequently dragged into a hole in the dirt, covered in dirt and left there to become more dirt?

I really enjoyed How to Train Your Dragon way more than I assumed I would. I actually nodded off during Cars 2. That was a hell of a joyless cashgrab. I accidentally wrote “cashcrab” then changed it, but I think cashcrab fits. Fuck that cashcrab.

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Best: Toy Story; Worst: Anything Pokemon
Greg's avatar

Greg · 102 weeks ago

My little girls are just a little bit too little to drag me to films however I foresee lots of Princesses and fairies in my movie-going future. Kill me now.

1 reply · active 102 weeks ago

Greg's avatar

Greg · 102 weeks ago

That said, if “Ben and Holly” (a British children’s cartoon) ever do a movie version, I’d see that happily, it’s actually rather good.
Hot tip: don’t actually fuck that cashcrab. Chitin chafes.
Chris's avatar

Chris · 102 weeks ago

Easy – the Last Airbender – that was atrocious.

1 reply · active 102 weeks ago

Ali's avatar

Ali · 102 weeks ago

Every mention of that film makes me cringe.
seriously's avatar

seriously · 102 weeks ago

My young nephew and niece drag me to a kiddie movie every time they visit and so far the best was Despicable Me, the worst Oogieloves.
Brit's avatar

Brit · 102 weeks ago

No kids, but my former roommate let her inner child shine through way too much when it came to watching movies. Did you know there are three sequels to the Swan Princess? Three! And one of them is a Christmas movie. Luckily when you don’t have to be responsible for the interested party’s upbringing you can turn crappy kiddie movies into drinking games.
Watching kids movies is the best part of being a dad… OK, one of the best… I usually really like the kids movies.

My Little Pony is one of the worst things about being a dad…

1 reply · active 99 weeks ago

Josh's avatar

Josh · 99 weeks ago

I was surprised that My Little Pony is actually clever and funny sometimes. Strawberry Shortcake and the Care Bears make me want to open a vein, though.
I don’t have one for myself since I don’t have kids but I can tell you the “kids” movie my father enjoyed the most that he took me to when I was in 5th grade. PORKY’S. 😉 true story.
jiynx's avatar

jiynx · 101 weeks ago

wallace and grommit was probably as much for me as for my son…

my kids are odd… kids movies they’re like eh, but my son is practically rabid over ‘pacific rim’, and my daughter is a total nut for kung-fu movies…

1 reply · active 101 weeks ago

jiynx's avatar

jiynx · 101 weeks ago

ages eight and six, respectively.
Fren's avatar

Fren · 101 weeks ago

Encourage your daughter. She sounds rad. Your son’s already on the right track.
Stephen's avatar

Stephen · 101 weeks ago

In regards to the cashcrab: the guy in the last panel is making crab hands. Love your comics. Even (sometimes especially) the lo-fi ones.
In a couple years you’ll also have to take her to see “Turbo 3: That Snail Is In A Slightly Different Setting Now.”

#standwithjorel

CLOSEOUT SALE in the HE Store is still going on! 

These shirts are marked down to $14.95 and leaving the HE Blind Ferret Store for good!

Team EdwardEwok StareShow Us On The TrilogyWinter Is Coming and Sci-Five
Ladies versions of these shirts are on sale too!

These shirts are marked down to $9.95!

OvipositorUnicorn PoopAnd My Axe (Ladies), SyFy Movie Title Generator and British Knights

Texas is a hard place to call home sometimes. Texas has a reputation of deeply ensconced bigotry, misogyny, and “as long as I’ve got mine…” attitude. The face we show the rest of the country and world, through our elected officials, education system and treatment of the marginalized is an often times embarrassing one. Still, there are brave people in the Texas legislature that go to great lengths to remind us that our state can be better, more compassionate  more empathetic and less oppressive to women, minorities and the disenfranchised.

If you do one thing today, try to empathize with someone more marginalized than yourself. Try to understand an issue that doesn’t touch you personally from the viewpoint of someone who is deeply affected by it. Try not to allow your personal opinions or beliefs (be they based on faith, family tradition or your own experiences) deprive anyone else of their rights.

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Echelon Four · 103 weeks ago

I’m glad we have SciFi to describe these ridiculous situations that no one would attempt in the real world.
When the planet is a rockin’ don’t come a knocking’
It’s amazing to me that the politicians against Wendy Davis last night use Jesus as their reasoning … the same Jesus that said, “Treat others as you would want to be treated.” Amazing how little empathy they have.
Jeff W.'s avatar

Jeff W. · 103 weeks ago

Nice thoughts Joel!!
I saw this conversation play out on Twitter and I have to say, you rock. Also “BORE El has left the building.” is some masterful writing.
Greg's avatar

Greg · 103 weeks ago

Your characterisation of Texans is pretty accurate from my experiences. I get the feeling Texans would prefer it if the state was physically cut loose from the continent and set adrift in the Pacific.

1 reply · active 103 weeks ago

Living here for 32 years, it’s STILL hard to tell if the majority of Texans are like that or if it’s just the loudest, proudest idiots who are like that. I really don’t know. I DO know that I never have a hard time finding people in Texas (even in Dallas) who are intelligent, compassionate, open minded, creative and interesting. Buuuuuut… I definitely have to seek them out on purpose. They aren’t just lying around for me to trip over. The majority of crowded areas in texas are crowded with the typical stereotypes, it seems.

Sometimes it feels like an occupied state. Like those of us that actually want to be a part of the rest of the country as well as the world keep quiet because we don’t know if it’s safe to talk.

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mike-O · 103 weeks ago

I have been living in NC for twenty rears now. Lately, our state legislature has been trying real hard to prove that our state can be just as backwards, bigoted and narrowminded as Texas, maybe even more so.
Take heart, though. The cool people in states like ours tend to be REALLY cool. It’s almost like they have to overcompensate for all the bigots.

1 reply · active 103 weeks ago

Fren's avatar

Fren · 103 weeks ago

The darker the times, the brighter your light shines and all that.
On the other hand, what other state can pull off a giant set of bull horns on the front of their cars?

Phun In The Sun

My Ewok Stare shirts are only $15 while they last! 

Guys, Phoenix is phucking hot. It’s just a phact. Phoenix is hotter than Texas. Another phact. That ANYWHERE ON EARTH can be hotter than Texas and still sustain life is a testament to the tenacity of the human spirit with regards to defying nature and common sense to colonize a sweltering, lifeless desert. Between the heat and the escalating racism, it’s like Phoenix is trying to bite Texas’s whole style.

The ONLY embellishment in this comic is that Phoenix doesn’t have any birds because they all died. Also, David didn’t quite die. He wanted to, but I wouldn’t allow it. I needed him to help me take our booth apart after the convention.

COMMENTERS: What is the MOST BRUTAL heat you’ve ever been in? For me it was probably in highschool during marching band practice. We’d lose two weeks of summer vacation to prance around on asphalt in 105 degree weather at 98% humidity with zero shade and zero places to sit down that weren’t capable of producing 3rd degree burns. Add to that holding 15 pounds of brass in your hands and forcefully expelling all of your superheated oxygen through a tube, and it makes for a pretty abismal experience.

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Liam's avatar

Liam · 107 weeks ago

The humidity in the South is terrible. It is all moisture and as soon as you step outside you can feel it.

1 reply · active 107 weeks ago

The Unknown FB's avatar

The Unknown FB · 107 weeks ago

Agree with that. I exchanged Ohio-class lake effect snow and the two seasons of the year (Winter/Construction) for 108 degree summers with enough humidity to make we want to move to Phoenix just so I wouldn’t have to deal with sweat in hot weather.
I’ve lived in the PNW my whole life, so I’m basically part salamander. Which means I’m uncomfortable in any temperatures above 80 and any humidity lower than 90%. That said, I find heat ANYWHERE but hear to be bearable, because y’all are prepared for it. AC abounds, so its easy to get away from.

I once had a job canvassing in PDX, in 95 degree heat, during THE hottest part of the day, and I literally couldn’t carry enough water with me to keep from passing out. At one point I think I stopped asking for donations & just asked if I could lie in peoples sprinklers.

Kuwait 110-120 F. Antiperspirant was useless, deodorant only slightly less so.

The best was the sandstorms. You are soaked in sweat about 4 steps from the door, then the blowing sand & stuff turns the sweat to mud the some concrete like substance.

StephC's avatar

StephC · 107 weeks ago

I know the feeling. I’m from WNY, and our biggest band season is field band in the Fall when it regularly snows later in the season. That being said, our jackets were dark navy and weighed about 7 lbs so we wouldn’t freeze. We would always go on band trips in the Spring and once went to Florida with those jackets. And the weekends around Memorial day were always Spring competitions…and warm.
seriously's avatar

seriously · 107 weeks ago

Worst summer job I ever had was working as a theme park mascot in 100+ weather.
You couldn’t take the head off for ANY reason once you stepped into the park, you only got two 30 minute breaks, and my boss frowned upon us using our lunch breaks to soak in the pool to cool down.

I lasted two and a half weeks.

very, very carefully.
I have to disagree about dry vs. damp heat; at least with dry heat it’s theoretically possible to just keep drinking water, iced tea, etc. to stay hydrated, and if there’s a bit of a breeze it feels less hot than it is. If it’s humid, though … nothing but electrically-powered comfort (A/C and/or dehumidifiers) will help, otherwise you just freaking steam to death. [And anyone who looks down on Mexican culture for the siesta – that is, not working during the most viciously hot part of the day – is a freakin’ idiot.]

1 reply · active 107 weeks ago

lou's avatar

lou · 107 weeks ago

We need siestas here in America. They sound awesome!
Lynne's avatar

Lynne · 107 weeks ago

The past eight summers I’ve worked at an outdoor day camp in the DFW area, and the hottest I’ve ever been was one day when it was 106 but humid enough that the heat index was 115. We canceled all activities not involving water, set up sprinklers all over camp so the kids could play in them when not swimming or doing the slip-n-slide, and didn’t have our afternoon staff meeting for the first time in camp history. The best part was that I had to direct traffic out in our parking lot during pickup, where we literally fried an egg on the asphalt once the cars had left. I have pretty good heat tolerance, but that was absolutely miserable.
Any time I think it might br “too hot” I just think back to that February when it was minus 40 and the heater in my car broke and I had to drive with the windows open or the front window would freeze over on the inside and I’d have to scrape ice off of the inside at stop lights…

There’s no such thing as too hot out.

chris's avatar

chris · 107 weeks ago

An Ohioan here… we really do get the worst of both worlds. Freezing cold winters, and 90+degrees, 90% humidity summers. Hooray!

1 reply · active 107 weeks ago

The Unknown FB's avatar

The Unknown FB · 107 weeks ago

The heat lasts for about 2 days between winter storms, or de-slush time/slush up time as well.
tudza's avatar

tudza · 107 weeks ago

I had the heaves once, but it was OK because it was the dry heaves.
Paul's avatar

Paul · 107 weeks ago

I was in Phoenix once to hear a morning DJ declare “It’s going to be cool today, 90 degrees” and to find out the Phoenix Zoo ships out their aquatic animals during the summer because they can’t keep the water cool enough for them.

The WATER is too hot for life in Phoenix.

I have a photo of a thermometer in the shadows under the eaves of the kitchen building at the orphanage in Mozambique where I spent a week showing 50 degC (122F). It was hot. Although we were relatively near to the coast, so there was a breeze for some of the time, so I coped.

I also spent a week in Tunisia on holiday with teh wife a number of years ago. Burnt the tops of my feet on the first day. They went purple. Spent most of the week in a long-sleeve t-shirt, trousers, socks and shoes, seeking out air conditioning. Even went riding on a camel into the Sahara. Don’t know the exact temp, but it was decidedly warm…

 Stephen's avatar

Stephen · 107 weeks ago

My band director had the sense (as much as he hated it) to move our rehearsals inside when the a Judge told the schools that they couldn’t work their students outside. It was only like 101 though. We could have made it. LOW BRASS FOREVER!

P.S. I live in Mississippi, where it is almost always 90+% humidity. While I understand that you have no desire to be baked in an oven (and neither do I), we would love to get a little dry heat every once and a while.

1 reply · active 106 weeks ago

Allen's avatar

Allen · 106 weeks ago

Oh damn. I remember summers in marching band practice (Trombone player here). I also remember the heat causing me to have dizzy spells twice.
Lawrence's avatar

Lawrence · 107 weeks ago

Golan Heights in Israel in July. it was 105 in the shade and super humid. No A/C, and fans just made it worse. I just tried not to move. I wanted to kill myself, but that would have required moving.

And dry heat is much more tolerable because of a little thing called evaporative cooling. The next year I was in Vegas for two days with highs of 112. It was beautiful.

1 reply · active 107 weeks ago

Gotta agree — an 83 degree humid summer day here in New York is absolutely more miserable than a dry 98 degree day in Arizona.

Although 112 is damn hot, no matter how little moisture is in the air

scarlettb's avatar

scarlettb · 107 weeks ago

El Paso, Texas. August. 112 degrees. Outdoor wedding. Polyester bridesmaid’s dress.

1 reply · active 107 weeks ago

Several years ago, I was at an outdoor softball tournament in Indianapolis in 112 degree heat. I got second degree burns on my nose and now for the rest of my life, I have to put sunscreen on it every time I go outside lest I get cancer.
Dan's avatar

Dan · 107 weeks ago

I’d rather be dead in California than alive in Arizona.
Spacey's avatar

Spacey · 107 weeks ago

Ages ago back in HS I was in a marching band that played in a parade in Vegas. While everyone else was passing out I was doing fairly well since I grew up just outside Phoenix.
Mark's avatar

Mark · 107 weeks ago

It was about 115 in Baghdad during the summer, and I was usually sitting in the turret of a Bradley Fighting Vehicle wearing an OTV (flak vest)….so about 120+ degrees Fahrenheit. Think that was bad? At least I usually had my hatch open so I could feel a breeze, the dismount troops in the back didn’t even have that.
Nephaline's avatar

Nephaline · 107 weeks ago

Rarely get high temperatures in the Canadian Prairies, but one summer there was a week of 44 Celsius with high humidity. Thankfully I had air conditioning.

The worst heat I can remember when travelling, was in Texas in June back in the 80’s. The humidity was so high, I couldn’t sweat, and felt like I was being smothered when trying to sleep at night in hotels that didn’t have air conditioning.

Trips to California, Florida and Arizona were always in the winter, so the weather was mild, sometimes even a cold snap. Our family always stood out as the crazy people wearing shorts, and the only ones at the beach.

Joe Sanderson's avatar

Joe Sanderson · 106 weeks ago

Here in the UK, hot days are a blessing, as our summer for the past few years seems to have been ‘the one day in June when it didn’t rain and everyone in the country had a barbecue.’
But, in May this year, I was doing Anglo-Norman reenactment at a castle in Shropshire and the heat for all three days was intense. It was made worse by the fact that I was wearing two linen tunics, a gambeson (padded armour- imagine a wearable duvet) and then 45lb of chainmaille over all of that. Oh, and a nasal helmet. The metal became too hot to touch to the extent that people were burning themselves, salt started crystallizing on my gambeson when it was exposed to direct sun, and I had to ring my tunics out repeatedly.
I live in Phoenix so…

When I was young, my friend had some cousins stay for the summer from the northeast. His father took them out to the street like the second day, broke an egg on the asphalt, and as they watched it fry (because they really will) he said, “This is why we don’t go outside without shoes.”
People going barefoot in summer is something we only see in books and magazines.

Mary's avatar

Mary · 105 weeks ago

I’m native to Phoenix. The temperature made 122 degrees a few years ago in July. Its only for a few days each year that we top 110.
Acadius's avatar

Acadius · 104 weeks ago

Spent a blistering weekend doing Amtgard at Fort Travis Seashore Park, Bolivar Peninsula, TX. Roasted all weekend getting 2nd degree sunburns and no way to walk down to the water and cool off, painful! Winning the Kingdom of Wetlands first Kingdom-wide Jugging tournament, Priceless!
Yeah, unless I’m wearing a suit or something, I can typically shrug off heat up to about 110. But there’s something about that number. And the fact that Phx so often surpasses it. It just breaks your spirit.
A couple weeks ago I interviewed for a job in western Washington.

Sometimes When We Touch

PHOENIX COMICON BOOTH LOCATION CHANGE!!!

David and I will be at booth 243, NOT 1749 and NOT by the LEGOs. Come in the main entrance, hang a left and head to the back corner. Here’s a photo of David peeking over a handy map.

COME SEE ME AND DAVID IN PHOENIX THIS WEEKEND, APRIL 23-26! BOOTH 1749 way in the back by the LEGOs! BOOTH 243! More details HERE

Welcome to the wonderful future we live in. A time where nerds get mad when maybe not a white guy plays a super hero in a movie. I don’t I can’t…

Michael B. Jordan on the Possibility of a Black Human Torch: “It’s 2013″

COMMENTERS: Who was your favorite super hero to ever be portrayed against their established type (different race, different gender, etc) in film or on TV? I’m sure Sam Jackson as Nick Fury is near the top of everyone’s list.

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Luckily, this is why Johnny is able to turn off his flame in certain portions of his body so that he can make catches like that, lol.

2 replies · active 108 weeks ago

So, assuming at least 2/3 of his body would still be on fire in order to maintain flight, the person he saved would just need all new skin. Got it.
Jules's avatar

Jules · 108 weeks ago

Yeah, there was a point where just being *near* the torch would melt *cars.* I’m guessing that was a difficult time for the FF.
Sam's avatar

Sam · 108 weeks ago

Michael Clarke Duncan did an awesome job as Kingpin in Daredevil.

1 reply · active 108 weeks ago

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jessie_monster · 108 weeks ago

I can’t think of a single actor who could of portrayed that better. The physicality, the gravitas. Perfect.
Vertiga's avatar

Vertiga · 108 weeks ago

Not strictly a superhero, but I love Maximiliano Hernández as Agent Sitwell in the MCU.
Idris Elba as Heimdall is a definite contender as the answer for that question. MCD as Kingpin was definitely a good one too.
James's avatar

James · 108 weeks ago

Nobody complained when Marvel made Nick Fury black in 2001 for their Ultimate Universe, because he was based on Sam “The Man” Jackson. A decade later, who do most people associate with Nick Fury? A white dude in blue spandex? Or Sam Jackson?

9 replies · active 107 weeks ago

Richard's avatar

Richard · 108 weeks ago

I think the problem most people have with it is that it’s established that he’s Sue’s brother. Sure there probably are actual racists mad about a white character being played by a black person, but the majority of the people that are mad about it are comic book geeks who hate continuity changes for what they don’t see as a reason. Same reaction with the Mandarin.
Fren's avatar

Fren · 108 weeks ago

Simple. Not altogether familiar with the continuity, but if Sue is the elder then her parent divorced and remarried a black person. Bam, next kid is black. Works for me.
I thought the Storm Human Torch died in-continuity a while back? Why would the assumption be that this isn’t another “Human Torch”? dunno, I don’t follow comics religiously…

I liked the John Stewart Green Lantern, but that’s mostly because for me, it’s DCAU, not DC.

lou's avatar

lou · 107 weeks ago

John Stewart, in the comics, was the second or third human to join the Green Lantern Corps after Hal Jordan
That really begs the question “where are the FF during the Avengers film”?

Obviously Fury would know about the FF and if it was important enough for him to find Banner in the middle of nowhere, then it should have been important enough for him to call his sister and get some help from “the smartest man on the planet”, Reed Richards.

Not to mention that the other FF members could have been phenomenally helpful once the fighting started — after all, they called in Hawkeye and Cap for that when their powers pale in comparison to the other Avengers. Any member of the FF on the other hand are right up there with Thor, Hulk and Iron Man.

Well okay, maybe the human rubber band isn’t all that helpful in a fight, but he’s “the smartest man on the planet”, so…

Kirby's avatar

Kirby · 108 weeks ago

The easy answer is that the rights are owned by different companies so there won’t be a connection.

Not to mention the FF magically get their powers at a certain point, so even if they were in everything together, they could have gotten their powers later.

(Yes I realize they didn’t actually get them magically, but they might as well have for all the sense it makes/as much it matters)

To me, Nick Fury will always be portrayed by David Hasselhoff, as God intended.
Dean's avatar

Dean · 108 weeks ago

Heresy. Bruce Campbell.
Bea Aurthur as an alien bartender?

No wait… Alice Eve as a British daughter to mean old Admiral Robocop.

Not a superhero, but StarbuckStarbuckStarbuckStarbuckStarbuckStarbuckStarbuckStarbuckStarbuckStarbuck
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StarbuckStarbuckStarbuckStarbuckStarbuckStarbuckStarbuckStarbuckStarbuckStarbuck
StarbuckStarbuckStarbuckStarbuckStarbuckStarbuckStarbuckStarbuckStarbuckStarbuck

2 replies · active 108 weeks ago

Since when is Starbuck *not* a superhero? [S]he can fly, has Stark-level field-op tech-hacking skills, can shoot just about anything with a barrel, and has more lives than a DC second-stringer. In both incarnations.
DuckAmuck's avatar

DuckAmuck · 108 weeks ago

Not a HERO, but how about Mr. Freeze played by Arnold Schwarzenegger?

Or did you mean not a sarcastic favorite?

2 replies · active 107 weeks ago

Oh if we’re doing sarcasm, then I’ve got to include Jim Carey as the Riddler… I really wish we’d had a Riddler faithful to the comics and I’d have cast Alan Rickman.
lou's avatar

lou · 107 weeks ago

Carrey’s portrayal was stunningly similar to Frank Gorshin from the 60’s TV show, and that portrayal made the Riddler popular in the comics
Not a hero, but I thought the casting decision for Wilson Fisk (Kingpin) in Daredevil was just really poorly made. I’d hate to think that anyone would consider me a racist for wanting a murderous criminal to be portrayed as white, but I felt like there were real historical reasons for his character being white. Fisk as representing organized crime in a way represents both the criminal underworld and “the man” as in the cops, the government and even corporate America. Shit, god knows he’s got more than his fair share of influence in all of those places anyway. But really, ‘the man” as in “the white man” who keeps everyone else down. Maybe nobody else agrees with me, but I thought it was important to the character. I would have liked to see him played by Pruitt Taylor Vince.
I’m looking forward to seeing Lawrence Fishburne’s take on Perry White
Denzel Washington as Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing. I know that’s not a superhero movie, but I mention it because I’d love to see them use a similar approach as the model for a black Johnny Storm. They never mention his race in the film. You just roll with it because he’s Denzel and he’s awesome and OF COURSE he’s in charge, even if it is seventeenth century Italy.
StephC's avatar

StephC · 108 weeks ago

I figured it was because it would have been awkward to have Chris Evans play Human Torch again, so they went for someone who looks nothing like him to distract you. Although I’d love to see the interaction between Cap and Johnny if both were still played by Evans…
Personally, I’d like to see a black Reed Richards over a black Human Torch. Really smart, uptight, leader-guy who happens to be black? It could totally work. Plus, then you don’t have to have the whole mixed-race siblings issue with Sue and Johnny.