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I saw the trailers for Hancock - then when I did finally see the movie it was a completely different movie from the trailers. The beginning was good...it fell apart in the middle. I had a really hard time believing that Will Smith and Charlize Theron would just happen to come across each other by chance. That twist was just kinda lame. If that had been worked out differently - more smoothly or better - the movie would have been great. I'm not really sure what a sequel would accomplish - - what story is left to tell?  

I don't see this live-action movie happening any time soon. Mainly because the animated series is still pretty recent, along with the New Frontier: Justice League movie. That was just last year...? Both were very good. I would like to see a live-action movie, if only to erase the live-action Challenge of  the Super-Heroes specials from the '70's.
 
I honestly can't see a Justice League or anotherSuperman movie without Tom Welling in it. Like him or not, he's been playing Clark Kent for nigh unto a decade (okay, eight seasons), now. Sorry, I was not impressed with the story that Brandon Routh was in, or his performance. As much as I like Bryan Singer - he should have stayed to make X-Men great. Give Richard Donner whatever country or state he wants, so he'll direct the next one. I'm starting to believe that Smallville should make the jump from the small screen to the big screen. And, Superman should launch Justice League. Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale can be involved on the perifery. Superman is the most logical choice, unless a Flash or Green Lantern movie happens. Justice League would be a perfect spotlight for Barry and Hal as the alternate to Clark and Bruce. Arthur, Diana and J'onn would be seen through their eyes. Hal would have a better grasp of it. Barry's mind would just be blown by how fantastic all these people are. Throw in Superman and Batman at the end...Barry's head would explode.

Just my two cents...        

Right now, I'm thinking that all eyes are gonna be on Kenneth Branagh and Thor. Iron Man is a done deal. The first one didn't suck, and if Marvel gives Jon Favreau enough room the sequel should be pretty good. The Incredible Hulk worked for me. Ed Norton rocked! And, it looks like The Leader is coming and maybe Doc Samson one day... I can see Captain America working - c'mon third time's gotta be the charm - I've seen Honey, I Shrunk The Kids, so Ant-Man should work. As long as Hank Pym isn't a d***. I've always seen Hank and Jan as Marvel's version of Carter and Shiera Hall, or The Dibneys, or Barry and Iris Allen. Forget the spousal abuse and domestic violence, and I'll be happy.      

I really enjoyed The Original Series (TOS). That was the Trek that I grew up on in re-runs. The films were hit or miss. I liked the even ones, the odd numbered ones, not so much. TNG was pretty good. Those films were probably what killed the franchise. From the trailer, I'm excited to see what this movie is all about. It could be very cool. 

The Avengers 56 "Death Be Not Proud"

I remember when I first started reading comics, that, I found a reprint of The Avengers 56 where Captain America along with The Black Panther Hawkeye, Goliath and The Wasp use Doctor Doom's time machine to go back to that moment where, in the skies high above war-torn Europe, in his battle against the nefarious Baron Zemo, The First Avenger and Bucky lept onto a runaway missile. This classic was written by Roy Thomas, edited by Stan "The Man" Lee and pencilled by Sal Buscema. The Wasp stays behind to montior Doom's machinery, and nearly falls alseep or something and everybody else barely makes it back. The point of the story is that no one could undo Bucky's death. Since his return and joining The Avengers, this is the burden that Steve Rogers carries. That Bucky is dead and he is alive. 

This was kinda like what was going on over in Amazing Spider-Man. Peter Parker lives with the burden that, except for his own selfishness - being a selfish kid, maybe - he could have prevented his uncle Ben's death.
 
DC's Zero Hour produced only one really solid hit. Starman. Written by James Robinson, pencilled by Tony Harris, inked by Wade Von Grawbadger and edited by the legendary Archie Goodwin.

David Knight's death is part of Jack Knight's origin as Starman. David became Starman out of a sense of duty to his father, Ted, the original, classic, "Golden-Age" Starman. David wasn't the most capable or able Starman. In issue zero he's murdered. It is his death that at first divides Jack and Ted. Later it is his death that finally unites them. 

One of my favorite issues is the first "Talking With David '96". Jack, and everything around him, is in black and white and David is in color. They argue, they battle, they trash a cemetary - and then they clean it up. They make up. David returns several times over the course of Starman, giving Jack a chance to reunite with his mother;  and other Golden Age heroes. He also talks with Mikaal Tomas, the '70's hippy-dippy Starman. [SPOILER ALERT - Stop reading if you don't want to find out what happens next] It turns out that David and Jack are able to reunite through the power of Kent Nelson! All of the things that have gone, unsaid between David and Jack are fixed because of Kent Nelson, the former Dr. Fate!
 
The cool thing about how this all works out is that it all plays out so realistically. There's a pretty reasonable explanation for how everything has worked out from the beginning of the series to the final page of the final issue.

Even during the "Grand Guignol", when Ted faces his "Moriarty", The Mist one last time - the two take their "plunge over Reichenbach Falls" - Ted uses his gravity rod one final time to lift the building he and The Mist are on into the sky for their final battle it is amazing. 

James Robinson used death to create something incredibly powerful.

Look at the third "Talking With David". David brings Jack to dinner with Zatara, Black Canary, The Atom, Hourman and The Red Bee. The entire time The Red Bee is a pompous ass - until he admits why. He stops being a guy in colorful pajamas, and he becomes a real person. Or someone you could believe would be a real person. And this is after he's dead. Haven't you ever found out something about your grandparents or parents after they passed away that creates a better understanding or a depth that you didn't see before? And James Robinson did it with a character from the '40's with a green and red costume with a fin on the cowl!

Imagine that.  

Gotta love that new theme song! I never caught the '90's or MTV versions. I still remember the '60's Spider-Man and that kid from Sound of Music in the CBS live action series.

This series has the feel of Speed Racer and Battle of the Planets with the big eyes.

So far it's been a pretty cool show. Better than The Batman. That was okay, but a train wreck.

Why can't Marvel or DC produce animated shows about characters other than the big names? Probably because they're not big enough names to be worth the risk of an animated series?

Why Tony Stark is COOLER than Bruce Wayne (feel free to chime in with YOUR two cents)

What the h--- does Wayne Industries do anyway? Is it an investment company? I've been a huge Batman fan since I saw Adam West tell me that brushing my teeth would help me catch a Batarang in my teeth and I have absolutely no idea what Wayne Industries specializes in. Okay, maybe I missed the mini-series or story-line that mentioned it. I stopped reading the mainstream titles around Crisis on Infinite Earths and went Animated Series since. I guess the Wayne family was pretty wealthy. Maybe they always were. Thomas Wayne was a doctor - a rich doctor - who set up Wayne Enterprises for philanthropic purposes. There are all these subsidiaries of industry that generate a huge amount of unspecified revenue that Bruce Wayne uses to fund Batman. It is so big and massive that he can hide equipment, armament, vehicles - even the JLA watchtower satellite as an R & D line item!

Stark Industries does one thing - and apparently does it pretty well, as some canucks might say - Stark Industries makes weapons. Tony's dad was part of the Manhattan Project. He pretty much "saved" the world. Now Stark uses his own sharp noodle - and company equipment - to build the Iron Man armor. I haven't read Iron Man since the "Demon in a Bottle" days - good stuff.

Where Bruce Wayne has been rather vague, Tony Stark is pretty simple and straightforward.

Is it cooler to swim in a hotel fountain with a couple of beauties or swig a drink in a Hummer in Afghanistan?

Is it cooler to buy the hotel so you CAN swim in said fountain with said beauties or is it cool to buy a painting because you can and hold your private jet and everybody on it to Afghanistan for THREE HOURS - like JetBlue - 'cause you can?

Is it cool that you don't care if the world KNOWS you wear armor and kick @$$; or cool that YOU know you kick @$$ and act like the biggest jack@$$ on the planet to hide the fact that you can kick@$$?

Why hasn't anybody pushed real hard for a Batman/Iron Man crossover? Or an Iron Man/ Green Lantern crossover? I'm sure that there's at least one fan-fiction crossover. You would think that Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark tag-teaming on Luthor or the Mandarin would be a natural.

Well, maybe NOW...

Cap's kind of a tough one. I remember Reb Brown from the '70's Marvel explosion. Then it was Matt Salinger from the '90's. Both were - and are still - unknowns that were pretty laughable as Cap.

Nobody thought Michael Keaton could be Batman - Bruce Wayne, not so much - but he did a pretty decent job. He didn't kill the franchise. Did you laugh at Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man? Are you still laughing? Tobey Maguire may not be everybody's cup of tea, but the Spider-Man movies have done pretty well.

For my money the Marvel movies are better than DC. DC does pretty good animation.

I don't have a favorite for Cap. I would have to say a big NO on Brad Pitt (I almost vomitted in mine own mouth). It all comes down to the story, the script and the director. If McCaunaghey (sp?) is part of what Favreau did with Iron Man, or something like Spider-Man or the X-Men movies, this could be another Marvel butt-waxing for DC.