Author Archives: Sasha McBrayer

About Sasha McBrayer

Sasha McBrayer is a fan of Marvel Comics, science fiction films and bright nail polish. A list of her published, short, speculative fiction stories can be discovered over at her blog: nikanors-inn.livejournal.com. To see her weekly movie review visit coastalcourier.com and click on "Showtime with Sasha". http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/b6c8a69f9da49400b44cfcaa28774e90.png

‘Arrow’ Dealt DC’s Royal Flush Gang

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No hero can shine without being tested by a solid villain. Batman has The Joker (and now Bane). Superman has Lex. Well, Oliver Queen, the wealthy playboy turned vigilante, has got the Royal Flush Gang. Yep, all five of them! …At least, there were five in the comics.

That’s right, Arrow has come to the CW network. In the series, actor Stephen Amell is Arrow, a hip take on classic DC comics hero, Green Arrow. The series premier hit the airwaves on October 10th. Entertainment Weekly thought the show looked promising. The called our hero a “gritty, urban Robin Hood,” and the show, a good deal “darker” than Smallville. Worth giving, “a shot”, har har har.

I’ll tell you what I like about the series. Recurring cast members have been listed as Deadshot and The Huntress. That’s cheer-worthy. But this week’s news revolves around a whole deck of villains.

Series producer Andrew Kreisberg has announced that DC’s Royal Flush Gang has been adapted to appear on Arrow. The pack of villains has found its “King” in actor Currie Graham, known for his role on Criminal Minds. His gang-mate, “Ace” will be portrayed by Kyle Schmid.

You’ll see with the Royal Flush Gang, that the dynamic of the family, and the iconography of the playing cards are going to be there, without the supernatural bent. I think we’ve come up with a really clever way to portray them in a more grounded, realistic world. The Royal Flush Gang are in episode 6, and we’re really proud of that episode. We think it’s one of the most successful attempts at alchemy that we’ve performed. The Huntress is pretty much straight out of the book because she’s such a grounded character, but the Royal Flush Gang were the most outlandish villains from the comics, but they turned out to be our most grounded villains, and the relationship that Oliver has with King, the leader of the gang, we’re really proud of it,” said Kreisberg.

If you’re wondering why the supernatural had to be curbed, its because the comic book version of the group had super human abilities. In the DC universe this is referred to as being metahuman. That’s very similar to the idea of a mutant in the Marvel-verse. “King” could shoot blasts of plasma, “Ace” was a female psychic who could make anyone insane, “Jack” was your basic elastic-man, “Queen” had telekinesis, specifically working with metallic objects, and the final member of the Royal Flush Gang, a guy called “Ten” had the strength of ten men.

Sounds like this could be an episode to watch. I don’t mind the omission of super powers. I think this tends to make everything a little more plausible. Just look at the way Christopher Nolan re-imagined the Bat-mythos in Dark Knight Rises to make a more down to earth Bane and Talia Al Ghul.

Arrow comes from Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg and David Nutter. It’s being hailed as action-packed and unfolds five years of no word from billionaire Oliver Queen. He returns home after his strange sabbatical with a mysterious crusade in mind and crazy new set of skills. Archery anyone? The show also stars Katie Cassidy as Dinah “Laurel” Lance. If that name sounds familiar, comic fans, its because that’s also the name of the Black Canary.

Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones Season 3 Pictures Released

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Game of Thrones

For fantasy fans, their one true love, the best fantasy series on television, is returning. What can we expect from Game of Thrones, season three? Well, Peter Dinklage’s character, Tyrion Lannister, still bears a scar from his season two exploits. Rumor has it Daenerys may encounter new love. Now that has certainly perked my interest! Brynden Tully; Messandei, acted by the beautiful Nathalie Emmanuel; Orell, acted by Pirates of the Caribbean actor Mackenzie Crook; Jojen and Meera Reed and The Queen of Thorns are all new characters you’ll see on the set. Also, Ciarán Hinds of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, The Debt, and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance won the role of Mance Rayder, the Wildling “King-Beyond-The-Wall”. I’m really happy about that. Speaking of the set, we’d like to take you there now!

Dubrovnik in Croatia is where Game of Thrones, season three has been filming for over 90 days now. Members of the press were invited out to what passes for King’s Landing thanks to the wizards at HBO. That means we have photos. It’s always lovely to see characters in costume for the series, but what is especially interesting about this batch of images is that the scene being captured doesn’t come directly from any of George R.R. Martin’s books. HBO’s Game of Thrones is usually pretty faithful to the print series of novels. There must be good reason for the addition of something a bit original.

In the scene in question we witness Littlefinger, acted by Aidan Gillen, along with Sophie Turner’s Sansa Stark, Ros, acted by Esme Bianco, and Shae, portrayed by Sibel Kekilli, meeting at King’s Landing.

This particular scene aside, season three of Game of Thrones will follow the third book in the series, A Storm of Swords. It hits HBO on March 31, 2013. I know that seems ages from now, but you don’t get the kind of production quality and action-packed story lines as Game of Thrones is famous for simply overnight. If the wait is killing you, look into playing the RPG from Cyanide and Atius. It’s available for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

But speaking of costumes, aren’t they as lovely as ever? I particularly like the teal and red gown. The sea also looks inviting in Croatia.

When last we encountered the world of Thrones, our dearest Jon was grappling with some killing he was practically forced into executing. He also sees where the wildings are amassing. Meanwhile, White Walkers are on the march and Tyrion has been told some unsettling things about his sister.

Not yet a fan of Game of Thrones? Now’s the time to get on board. Season two saw over 8 million viewers and 12 Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones

The Walking Dead

McFarlane Designs ‘Walking Dead’ Series 3 Action Figures

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The Walking Dead

The master of action figures, Mr. Todd McFarlane has conquered the likenesses of comic book and anime characters, but he’s also the king of the horror action figure. To prove he’s worthy of that crown, the toy designer has been hard at work on a series of figures inspired by the hit AMC network offering, The Walking Dead.

In fact, collectors have plenty to look forward to when it comes to making their purchases of miniature tributes to the ultimate zombie series. McFarlane has not yet released his line of Walking Dead, Series 2 figures for purchase, but we can assume they’ll be available soon. Do you know why? It’s evident by today’s headline. There’s already a Walking Dead, Series 3 line of action figures. You can take a look at the awesomeness right now.

Talk about attention to detail! When I first saw the Michonne figure, I thought it was a photograph. I was ready to compare the photo of the character to the McFarlane toy. If you look closely; however, you can see where her arms and legs are moveable at the creases. The jeans, as well as Michonne’s hair, reveal incredible realism. Check out the dirt on her shoes, too. The Katana wielding former lawyer will be acted by Danai Gurira in The Walking Dead‘s upcoming third season.

These actions figures will be released in March of 2013. Though season three returns to the airwaves on October 14th, fans will only be able to devour the first 8 episodes at that time. It’ll be around the time these toys are on the market that the second wave of 8 episodes will hit.

Another character in McFarlane’s batch is the Merle Dixon figure, but you didn’t think the master of horror would stick to human subjects, did you? Not for the weak of stomach are “the Autopsy Zombie” figure, and both of Michonne’s “pet” zombies. She’s so hardcore. If you are a fan of the original Image comic book series from which the show was inspired, you’ll even find variations Michonne and her “pets” in black and white. We hear the MSRP on each figure will be $14.99. You can pre-order yours today by visiting bigbadtoystore.com. They come in singles as well as in sets.

If keeping zombies in your home isn’t quite your style, but you still just can’t get enough of the zombiepocalypse and all the Walkers it brings, don’t forge to check out the web series the show and comics have inspired. It’s called Cold Storage.

The Walking Dead

Summit Launches ‘Area 52’ Adaptation

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The Image comic book titled Area 52 is soon to become a feature film. Summit Entertainment bought the film rights last year, after a handful of studios and production companies juggled the material, but with ultimately unfruitful results. The story is paranormal in nature, as you would expect from the title. Johnny Rosenthal has been hooked to write the screenplay for the live action motion picture.

Rosenthal is also the writer behind Bad Santa 2, the film to be directed by Hot Tub Time Machine director Steve Pink. In case you are curious, Billy Bob Thornton is returning with that title.

Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian are producing the Area 52 adaptation. Di Bonaventura has seen success with thrillers like Angelina Jolie’s spy flick, Salt, and another comic book adaptation, RED. In fact, he’s hard at work with Bruce Willis currently for the sequel, RED 2, which is also a Summit Entertainment title.

Area 52 is about a rag-tag contingent of quirky soldiers stationed at a dreary military base on the continent of Antarctica known of course as Area 52. Tasked with keeping the storage facility secure, things get a little intense for the troops when an alien hatches from one of the top-secret artifacts hidden with the other tech and extraterrestrial memorabilia. Then, much like a good Alien picture, the being starts hunting down the soldiers.

The original Area 52 comic was penned by Brian Haberlin. He also wrote for the popular Witchblade comic series and contributed to Shi, Aria, and Spawn. Yep, he’s a bit of a rock star. He did colors as well as writing.

J.C. Spink, Chris Bender and Jake Weiner will serve as executive producers on the project and production president Erik Feig of Lionsgate and Summit’s vice president of production, Meredith Milton, are keeping their eagle eyes on the progress.

Science Fiction fans no doubt also have their eye on Summit property, Ender’s Game, the disgustingly highly anticipated adaptation of the beloved Orson Scott Card novel. That one is coming November of 2013.

I’m always ready to cheer on a good sci-fi project. We’ll have to wait and see more on the style and tone of this one. Depending on the production value and originality, this could be just another cookie cutter horror film. Cowboys & Aliens was a sci-fi comic book adaptation that had fan boys and girls quite a bit excited until it’s release, which seemed to ring out as a bit underwhelming in the end.

This material also reminds me of Vin Diesel’s upcoming Riddick film. Due out sometime next year with Karl Urban and Katee Sackhoff, there should be plenty of aliens in that one, too.

Lynne Ramsay’s ‘Mobius’ is ‘Moby Dick’ in Space

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Moby Dick is Herman Melville’s great American classic. It takes place aboard the Pequod, commanded by Captain Ahab, a man obsessed with avenging the loss of his leg and a previous vessel to Moby Dick, a giant sperm whale. It’s written from the point of view of Ishmael, a sailor aboard the ship. Now, Hollywood has plans to transform the 1851 drama into a space-age motion picture.

Watch your back Prometheus, Mobius is coming.

Scott Pictures is run by Scott Steindorff, who has just agreed to finance Mobius, Lynne Ramsay’s pet project. The science fiction tale is inspired by Moby Dick. It’s so far described as a psychological thriller with loads of action, which takes place in deep space, where one ship’s captain is consumed by the need for vengeance. Never mind the expense of the crew or the fact that his war against a mysterious alien is basically suicide. No word yet on what shape this key alien will take. Will he look like a whale? Will he have the capacity for speech?

Ramsay is working with Rory Kinnear on finishing the script for Mobius. The pair worked together on the script for We Need to Talk About Kevin, as well. Ramsay helped write, produced and directed the film adapted from the Lionel Shriver novel. Starring Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin follows the aftermath of a terrible and tragic massacre at a high school.

Steindorff, who produced The Lincoln Lawyer, has also worked with Lynne Ramsay before. This was news to me until I did some research on the upcoming film, Jane Got a Gun. It inspired lots of buzz as it was shopped around during Cannes. Scheduled to begin filming in early 2013, the picture stars Natalie Portman as a woman who asks her ex-lover for help when her new outlaw husband is threatened by a gang out for his blood. This sounds a bit like Ryan Gosling’s Drive plotline. Jane Got a Gun is a Western; however, and will be very high profile, so we should hear much more about it soon. Michael Fassbender is Portman’s co-star and I think that’s a very hot match-up. The pair should really sizzle.

I also think it is good timing to feature another space opera at the box office and for a Moby Dick tale as well. So many people I spoke to where chomping at the bit for a chance to see Prometheus when it premiered.

Shamefully, I never read the classic, Moby Dick. My experience with it comes entirely from pop culture. Recently, in the Mixed Martial Arts film, Warrior, Nick Nolte is listening to the book on tape. In the X-Files, Scully reveals her father, a former Navy Captain, used to call her Starbuck. When she inherits a pet dog for a time, she calls him Queequeg. And of course Battlestar Galactica featured Starbuck and Boomer, names you’ll hear aboard the original Pequod. This much is true: The material lends itself well to sci-fi.

First Look at the Animated Adventures of ‘Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United’

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If you just can’t get enough of The Avengers, then today’s match up is one you’re going to love. Two members of the all-star Marvel super hero team are together again, this time as stars of an animated adventure. Marvel Animation Studios will release, direct to video, on April 23, 2013, Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United. The animated film has a slick look, but don’t take our word for it. Check out this glimpse at the art from the upcoming animated flick.

Three images were released to Entertainment Weekly, just to tease us about this animated film. They depict Hulk and Iron Man; brawn and brains. In Joss Whedon’s 2012 live action blockbuster, The Avengers, Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk and Robert Downey, Jr.’s Iron Man teamed up with Hawkeye, Black Widow, Captain America and Thor to battle Loki with the help of S.H.I.E.L.D. In their Heroes United storyline, Hulk and Tony Stark do battle against the villain called Zzzax.

How did the artists come up with such rich color in these images? Well, the process is described as a hybrid of computer-generated and hand-drawn animation. Kudos to the team! These look great!

Jeph Loeb, executive Vice President of Marvel’s TV division, wanted audiences to know that Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United isn’t intended to be a direct sequel to Marvel’s live action film The Avengers, but “We welcome people to interpret any way they like. In tone and character, we want to follow our best leader.”

With a total gross of something like $1,511,679,547.00, worldwide, yes, I’d agree that Loeb’s definition of The Avengers as a leader is most accurate.

Adrian Pasdar, the actor from TV’s Heroes who portrayed high flier Nathan Petrelli, lends his voice to Iron Man in this picture. Meanwhile, Fred Tatasciore is voicing both Bruce Banner and his Hulk alter ego. Tatasciore is an old pro at giving Hulk his signature sound. Dee Bradley Baker is also rounding out the voice acting cast as the villainous Zzzax. He’s best known for his role as Klaus the fish on American Dad!

This won’t be the last time you see a Heroes United animated title. If folks watch, then Marvel plans to release similar pictures.

It’s our hope that we will start doing more feature-length direct to Blu-ray and DVD stories,” Loeb said. “They’ll more than likely be in team-up situations. We find it works really well when we have big exciting adventures with two or more of our heroes.”

The Hulk really stole the show in The Avengers live action film. I was very skeptical of Mark Ruffalo’s ability to play the haunted scientist, but not unlike Anne Hathaway’s turn in the DC flick, Dark Knight Rises, both actors really pulled off their comic book inspired roles. Even when Hulk was, well, The Hulk, he got some of the biggest laughs from audiences. I’m guilty of viewing the youtube video of Hulk versus Loki in Stark Tower more than once. It’ll be nice to get more Hulk, even in animated format. Teaming him with the witty ladies man, Stark himself, ought to be a hoot.

Which Heroes United team-ups would you like the future to bring? How about an Avengers prequel featuring Hawkeye and Black Widow. Toss in a cameo or two from other Marvel heroes and that would be really awesome. Or Wolverine and Spider-Man? You know they’ve been known to put their names on The Avengers roster, too, in the comic book pages. Of course Captain American and Thor also have some fans.

‘Walking Dead’ creator Robert Kirkman Pens Prequel Novel ‘The Road to Woodbury’

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The Governor is coming. All indications say the character debuting on The Walking Dead, Season Three on AMC, will be just as formidable as the Walkers are. That exciting season kicks of October 14th, but you can also find more about The Governor in print. And I’m not just talking comic book pages.

The Governor, to be acted by David Morrissey on the popular series, rules Woodbury with an iron fist so to speak. But all good villains have an origin story. Ready to learn his?

Well, get ready, because The Walking Dead comic writer and television series executive producer, Mr. Robert Kirkman, has been illuminating the past of The Governor and his rise to dictatorship with some help from coauthor Jay Bonansinga. The end result are a series of books on the subject.

Last year The Rise of the Governor debuted in print and now the sequel (to the prequel), titled, The Road to Woodbury, becomes available on in Oct. 16th, where ever books are sold. And the Governor isn’t the only topic in the story. Biographical material is present on several other Walking Dead comic book characters.

Entertainment Weekly asked Kirkman some questions about all things zombie. The first of which was about what collaboration between himself and Jay Bonansinga has been like.

The easiest way to say it is that I write a skeleton and then he comes in and turns it into a human being. I write a document that’s basically, ‘Here’s the characters, here’s the journey, here are these events that happen to them.’ …he comes in and miraculously spins it into prose and adds all of the vocabulary that I don’t understand and turns it into a well-rounded novel.”

Next, the creative mind was asked about having sympathy for The Governor, to which Kirkman explained that human beings do tend to empathize with what his apocalyptic survivors are going through.

He says, “For the most part, the majority of the decisions [The Governor’s] making, and the actions he’s taking are the kind of things that you would have to do to be a leader in this world. That’s a little terrifying and it’s supposed to be a little uncomfortable but, you know, there’s definitely a lot of grey areas going on in this guy’s life.”

Kirkman also revealed that he plans to pen at least one more novel in this series.

The second novel progresses the Governor’s timeline a lot more and is getting you closer and closer to the events that occurred in the comic book series. And so some of the events in the comic book series are actually going to appear in the third novel. The third novel is going to be a whole new story but you’re actually going to get to see Rick Grimes and Michonne and some of the other characters, which you haven’t seen in the novel series thus far. So I’m pretty excited about the third novel. But I’m not as excited about that as I am the second novel, which everyone should rush out and buy!”

Lastly, and most comically, Entertainment Weekly asked Kirkman to comment on the gruesome killing of a major character in this summer’s 100th issue of The Walking Dead comic book. Don’t worry, there are no spoilers here, but can you imagine how the actor in the AMC network series reacted when he learned of this?

It was very awkward for me. It’s very difficult for me to say this without spoiling who it is but this is the first time I killed a comic character and had to encounter the actor after doing it. So it was a little awkward. I just kind of walked up to him and was like, ‘So, um… Sorry?'”

Hey, that’s the way the zombiepocalypse crumbles.

Seed

Amazon Studios Options Ania Ahlborn’s ‘Seed’

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Seed

Horror is coming to Amazon, hopefully in a very good way. Amazon Studios is the department of the web giant where original content is fostered. It has also just optioned the rights to Seed, from author Ania Ahlborn. Seed began as a very popular horror novel for 47North, which is Amazon Publishing’s science fiction, fantasy, and horror imprint.

Seed first made its debut in 2011 as a self-published work of scary fiction. Amazingly, it soon became Amazon’s #1 best-selling horror novel. There was no real advertising campaign in place either. Seed‘s popularity is due to its genius and to word of mouth.

After the initial run, Seed was re-released in 2012. This occurred after some re-tooling by Ahlborn, who also added over six thousand words to the original manuscript.

The story of Seed‘s success sounds an awful lot like the story of Hugh Howey, who self published his short story/ novelette, Wool, also through Amazon and gained uncommon notoriety through word of mouth. Howey reportedly fixed typos along the way thanks to readers’ feedback. Wool is now an entire series and may have a big screen adaptation in its future as well.

That’s the big news this week. Amazon Studios wants to make Seed into a feature film. They have already began the testing phase for an adaptation.

The novel takes place in the deep South and centers around a man who unfortunately has a demon who won’t get off of his back, literally.

This is the first time Amazon Studios has ever optioned a novel in its circulation before. Usually only movie scripts and episodic series projects are funneled through Amazon Studios.

Our primary objective at Amazon Studios is to develop great, commercial projects that our customers love,” said Roy Price, Director, Amazon Studios. “Ania Ahlborn’s Seed has been a top seller for Amazon Publishing’s 47North so we already have a sense of the mainstream attraction of the story and are excited to keep the project in-house for movie development.”

A trailer contest was recently held, allowing fans of the horror novel the chance at creating what would be chosen to be the official Seed book trailer. The winning entry is called “Grinning Demons”. It’s makers won $3,000, and was personally selected as the best by the author Ania Ahlborn. Her other big news is that her second book, The Neighbors, premiers November 27.

Here’s the synopsis for Seed:

With nothing but the clothes on his back—and something horrific snapping at his heels—Jack Winter fled his rural Georgia home when he was still just a boy. Watching the world he knew vanish in a trucker’s rear-view mirror, he thought he was leaving an unspeakable nightmare behind forever. But years later, the bright new future he’s built suddenly turns pitch black, as something fiendishly familiar looms dead ahead.

When Jack, his wife Aimee, and their two small children survive a violent car crash, it seems like a miracle. But Jack knows what he saw on the road that night, and it wasn’t divine intervention. The profound evil from his past won’t let them die…at least not quickly. It’s back, and it’s hungry; ready to make Jack pay for running, to work its malignant magic on his angelic youngest daughter, and to whisper a chilling promise: I’ve always been here, and I’ll never leave.

Writer Danny Strong Joins ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay’

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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay

I’ll admit I was hoping the circumstances behind The Hunger Games movie could be repeated for all the sequels. The screenplay for that film, the first adaptation based upon the series of best sellers penned by Suzanne Collins, was written by the man who was also the director, Mr. Gary Ross. He had some help from Collins, the author herself, and screenwriter Billy Ray. That’s the writer behind Hart’s War and State of Play, not the country music singer.

I guess keeping this formula was a wish that couldn’t be granted. When we look back at the Twilight movies and The Harry Potter series, directorial duties often changed hands from sequel to sequel. It’s probably a lot to ask of one director to commit so many years to one franchise. Of course, the actors do it, don’t they? And in these particular cases, they are young actors, so there’s a bit of a rush to push these film adaptations out before they age too much and can’t believably portray their characters anymore. The nice thing is, we do see characters like these grow up as their stories unravel, so a little aging is natural and it works.

At any rate, film two in The Hunger Games series is called Catching Fire. It premiers November 22, 2013 from Lionsgate and has a screenplay by Simon Beaufoy and Michael Arndt. Beaufoy won both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay when he penned Slumdog Millionaire, which means two things. For one, the Catching Fire script is in wonderful hands. For another, this man knows adaptations. He wrote the big screen adaptation of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, which was one of the most believably adorable romances I’ve seen in years. Catching Fire will be directed by Water for Elephants director Francis Lawrence.

It is the third film in the franchise, Mockingjay, which is making headlines this week. The writer doing the adapting for the screenplay for that installment will be Danny Strong.

I recognized Strong’s face right away as belonging to the actor who was Paris Geller’s boyfriend Doyle McMasters on the set of Gilmore Girls. Remember him? Well he also writes screenplays. In fact, he wrote the film adaptation of Game Change, which was based on the book written by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin called Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime. I know that’s a mouthful, but just remember it’s the film Julianne Moore portrays Sarah Palin. Strong has two Emmy Awards. That’s nothing to sneeze at. Rumor has it he was approached about doing an adaptation of Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol, too.

The Hunger Games is on DVD now. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire opens on November 22nd, 2013 and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 is slated for November 21st, 2014. It will be followed by Part 2 on November 20th, 2015, provided there’s no apocalypse before that time, and we don’t find ourselves living in a real life dystopian society like the one in The Hunger Games.

S.H.I.E.L.D.

Meet Joss Whedon’s ABC ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Team

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S.H.I.E.L.D.

By now you know The Avengers was one of the biggest films of 2012 and one monster of a comic book movie. Where else, aside from within the pages of a Marvel comic book, have you ever seen such A-List super heroes together in one place? You’ve probably also heard that the director of Avengers, the legendary Mr. Joss Whedon has a vision for a TV show inspired by S.H.I.E.L.D. If you’re like me, you probably thought the reality of such a thing coming to fruition was a little too good to be true. We Marvel fans have been on a lucky streak. It has to end somewhere, right? Well, so far, so good. We’ve learned even more details about the ABC network project.

Now, in the comics the S.H.I.E.L.D. team is sort of militarized group of covert humans tasked with policing super heroes. They get around on their giant Helicarrier, which I believe also sometimes doubles as a prison for the super powered. I seem to recall an issue of X-men where the Canadian team, Alpha Flight guest starred and the two gangs had to fetch Sauron, a Savage Land mutate who looks a lot like a man-sized Pteranodon. He had just escaped the Helicarrier. At any rate, Nick Fury is in charge of the black ops group. He was acted by Samuel L. Jackson in The Avengers film and in the preceding flicks, like Iron Man and Thor.

These days S.H.I.E.L.D. stands for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. This is a modern update on the original acronym. You see, created by Stan “The Man” Lee, as many most popular Marvel heroes also were, S.H.I.E.L.D. has been around in print since 1965. Phew! Let’s not ask Nick Fury how old he is. We don’t want to incur his wrath.

So, here are the latest details about the show, which is still moving forward with a green light. Joss plans to write the live-action series with his brother Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen. Speaking of super heroes, don’t the names Joss and Jed sound like alter egos? Makes you wonder!

The Buffy creator has outlined some of the characters we can expect to meet as agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Let’s take a look.

SKYE | This late-20s woman sounds like a dream: fun, smart, caring and confident – with an ability to get the upper hand by using her wit and charm.

AGENT GRANT WARD | Quite the physical specimen and “cool under fire,” he sometimes botches interpersonal relations. He’s a quiet one with a bit of a temper, but he’s the kind of guy that grows on you.

AGENT ALTHEA RICE | Also known as “The Calvary,” this hard-core soldier has crazy skills when it comes to weapons and being a pilot. But her experiences have left her very quiet and a little damaged.

AGENT LEO FITZ and AGENT JEMMA SIMMONS | These two came through training together and still choose to spend most of their time in each other’s company. Their sibling-like relationship is reinforced by their shared nerd tendencies – she deals with biology and chemistry, he’s a whiz at the technical side of weaponry.

I won’t get my hopes up until the pilot airs. I mean we all saw what happened to the DC comics reboot of the Wonder Woman TV show. It was cancelled before the pilot ever aired. Sometimes a good show is even cancelled mid-season. So, we’ll have to wait and see.

My other concern is this: Will there be actual Marvel heroes making guest appearances on the show? The appeal of this series is that it’s based on Marvel comics, yet not a single super hero has been identified as appearing on the series. Will Samuel L. be making appearances? What about Coie Smulders? If the show centers on S.H.I.E.L.D. and makes up original mutants for the team to interact with, why give it the S.H.I.E.L.D. name at all? It could be any bunch of humans dealing with any bunch of super powered individuals. I think this will have to be more like Smallville to work. Fans want to recognize the names of the mutants that our team is sent in to police. Who knows, if this show really, really succeeds, maybe actors like Chris Hemswroth, Chris Evans, and Scarlet Johansson will put in cameos. That, true believers, would be a dream come true.

If I went even further with my wishlist, the S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series would keep the chronology of the films. I daresay Joss could introduce the character of Agent 13. She’s a certain blonde S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who is a relative of a certain lady from Captain America’s past. Introduce her on television, then graduate her character to one of the Captain America sequels. Wouldn’t that be something?