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Showing posts with label wolverine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wolverine. Show all posts

May 29, 2011

My Top 12 Fictional Brothers

If there is one thing that I’ve learned lately in life it’s that family is important. They are the people who will always be with you, especially your siblings. I grew up with an older brother and he used to be such a pain in the ass! I remember this one time we were fighting over the remote control, so he held me down and just started punching me. But as we’ve grown up I’ve realized that he is the best friend I’ll ever have. He knows everything about me, and I about him. We’ve been through the good and the bad. But, I also know that you don’t have to be blood to be brothers.

12) John and Dan Dorian (Scrubs)
“Hey little brother,” is a phrase I would love to use, but unfortunately being the little brother I don’t get too. Dan always says it to his brother, while he’s scaring the crap out of him, wrestling him to the ground, or coming to tell him their dad has died. Through eight seasons on Scrubs we saw J.D. tell his brother to grow up, and he actually did. Meanwhile Dan made sure J.D. had a good role model, even if it wasn’t him, and bought him a car so he could go visit his child. They’re typical brothers. No one bugs them more, but no one care for them more either.

11) Wolverine and Sabertooth (X-Men)
Talk about dysfunctional. These two take sibling rivalry to a whole new level. Origin writer Paul Jenkins never said that the two were brothers, but in his tale he had a character named Dog, which resembled the beginning of Sabertooth. And in the 2009 film, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, 20th Century Fox ran with that idea. I for one think it fits well so I’m now running with it too.
Sabertooth has always been jealous of Wolverine because he knew he was everyone’s favorite. Their powers are similar, but though Wolverine suppresses his animal side, Sabertooth embraces it. Sabertooth’s jealousy even brought him to kill Wolverine’s lover, Silver Fox. After many years of fighting it all came to an end when Wolverine decapitated Sabertooth with the Muramasa sword. Recently Wolverine’s soul was sent to hell and guess who was there? Nothing like a family reunion to warm your heart. Warm you’re heart, get it?

10) Alvin, Simon, and Theodore (Alvin and the Chipmunks)
The brothers that sing together, stay together, or something like that. These bros. have been doing their thing for almost fifty years now and I doubt they’ll ever stop. They’ve been on trips around the world, created a timeless Christmas song, and starred as CGI animals with Jason Lee and Zachary Levi. Alvin is always up to something and he seems to pull his brothers in with him. Simon is the intellectual one, and Theodore is a slave to his stomach. If it wasn’t for those two I feel like Alvin would have been road kill years ago, but if it wasn’t for Alvin the other two would be the biggest losers alive!

9) Nathan and Peter Petrelli (Heroes)
Both of these guys are out to save the world, but they just have very different ways of doing it. In season one of Heroes, Nathan tried to keep his powers a secret while Peter tried to embrace his. When it came down to the end and it looked like Peter was going to destroy New York it was his brother who saved him.
As the series continued these two were always there for each other, even when they disagreed. I could always feel the mutual love for one other. Even when they were against each other they were always on the same side. When Sylar killed Nathan their mother and Noah Bennet had Nathan’s mind put into Sylar’s body to keep Nathan alive, but it was always doomed to fail. Nathan’s subconscious was eventually driven out as Peter and Nathan had one last moment before Nathan fell to his death. Too bad flying couldn’t save him then.


8) Dick Grayson and Tim Drake (Batman)
Dick Grayson, then Nightwing, went to the circus looking to reminisce in his past, but what he found was a young boy who had a dream of getting the band back together. Tim Drake had done something nobody else had done, he figured out Bruce Wayne was Batman. Not bad for a boy who hadn’t even hit puberty yet. Tim knew Batman needed Robin to tow the line and keep him from going over, but Bruce was still mourning from Jason Todd’s death. Tim had to prove himself, but eventually he became the third Robin.
Since then Dick has been a big brother to Tim. They train together, both growing-up in the crime fighting life, and they bitch to each other about what a hard-ass Batman is. The two have become closer than any brothers, and this was never more apparent than when Bruce supposedly died, leaving both without their surrogate father figure. When a god kills your father it’s always nice to have a brother there.

7) Seth Cohen and Ryan Atwood (The O.C.)
Life in the Orange County was a beach for every kid except Seth Cohen. This comic loving geek got picked on constantly until his dad brought Ryan home after he was caught stealing a car. Ryan was the first person to stand up for Seth and help him calm his neurotic ways. If it wasn’t for Ryan, Seth would never have even showed up on Summer’s radar and they never would have gotten married. I wonder if the rest of the comic book club was in attendance at the wedding?

6) Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
What can I say except, Cowabunga! Created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird these brothers have been tearing up the entertainment industry since the mid-80’s. They were mutated by a mysterious ooze and then trained by Splinter in the ways of ninja. But it wasn’t until their highly successful cartoon series in 1986 that the Turtles really took off.
They’ve been in live-action films, CGI films, comic books, and several television series. They are all very different, but “when the evil Shredder attacks, these turtles boys don’t cut him no slack.” Oh come on, you know the lyrics! Word has it another live-action film is on the horizon and as a child of the 80’s I can’t wait to see the boys in green back on the big screen. Turtle Power! “Leonardo leads, Donatello does machine. Raphael is cool, but rude. Michelangelo is a party dude!”

5) Vincent and Johnny “Drama” Chase (Entourage)
Johnny always looks out for his baby bro, from making sure he has a good breakfast every morning, to kicking anybodies ass who bad mouths his brother’s films. Johnny started out as the star, but when his career went sour it was Vince who rose to be the Hollywood blockbuster. Vince is there to support Johnny by helping him hook-up with ladies, and re-start his career. Meanwhile, Johnny helps Vince when he feels blue. Let’s just hug it out now bitch.

4) Rex, Speed, and Spritle Racer (Speed Racer)
Speed was just Spritle’s age when he saw his brother die right before his very eyes. He idolized his big brother so much that it’s part of the reason be became a race car driver himself. But Rex didn’t die, he faked his death to save his family and become Racer X. Racer X takes down villains and along the way tries to protect his brother Speed, and likewise. While they defeat the bad guys Spritle and Chim-Chim occasionally catching a ride, causing all kinds of mischief. Speed doesn’t know his brother is alive, but I think deep down he knows his brother is always watching over him.

3) Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker (Star Wars)
When you go through ten years of training and missions followed by a three-year-war together you become very close, and that’s why Anakin’s betrayal hurt Obi-Wan so much. Obi-Wan never wanted Anakin to even become a Jedi, but he made a promise to his dying master. Anakin was wreck less, arrogant, and always seemed to know just how good he really was. But you could always tell with every act of disobedience of Obi-Wan there was also an act of love to go along with it.
Anakin’s attachment for his mother and wife helped him fall to the dark side of The Force, which concluded in an epic battle between the old friends that ended in Anakin’s own damnation. They met years later on the Death Star, where Darth Vader got his revenge. But Obi-Wan went on to become more powerful than Anakin could possibly imagine.

2) Scott, Alex, and Gabriel Summers (X-Men)
When Scott and Alex jumped out of that plane, leaving their parents to their own fate, they never knew what lives they had ahead of them, or that they had a younger brother. Scott and Alex went into foster care, became mutants, and both found their way to Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. Alex has swayed several times from good to bad, sometimes being jealous of Scott, but eventually returning to his brother’s side. But then the third Summers brother revealed himself.
When Scott and Alex’s parents were captured by the Shi’ar they killed their mother, but not before taking the baby out of her womb. For years Gabriel was a slave to the Shi’ar until his mutant powers developed and he broke free. Xavier helped re-unite the brothers until tragedy struck. Xavier erased Gabriel from Scott’s mind to spare him the pain of his brother's death, but Gabriel returned very powerful and exposed the truth. He vowed revenge on Xavier and the Shi’ar. He went to space looking to destroy the Shi’ar. Xavier, Alex, and a handful of X-Men followed.
The boys father, Corsair, now a space pirate, joined the small band of X-Men to stop his son, but his own child was his end. Gabriel seized control of the Shi’ar Empire and killed his father in the process. While Xavier returned to Earth to help Scott lead the mutant race from becoming extinct Alex stayed in space to fight, stop, and possibly kill his own brother. Good stuff, eh? And this doesn’t even include the boys love lives. That’s a whole blog unto itself.

1) Sam and Dean Winchester (Supernatural)
Of course it’s fate that my own brother turned me on to the greatest brother duo of them all. Years ago their mother found a demon hovering over Sam’s crib. Then their father walked in and found his wife burning to death. He took the boys and got out, and then spent the next 20 years trying to find the demon that killed his wife. But it was his sons that completed that mission, and along the way they’ve killed a lot of monsters in between.
They cruise the country hunting monsters, blasting classic rock, and driving a 1967 Chevy Impala. It’s every boy’s fantasy. Unfortunately Sam and Dean’s fates were decided for them long ago, back when their mother made a deal with the devil, literally. Come Armageddon Dean was to be the vessel for the angel Michael, and Sam the vessel of Lucifer. The boys refused, which pissed God and all his angels off, but they eventually stopped Judgment Day from happening.
Their adventures started out simple and continue to get much bigger as the seasons go on. They are each other’s one weakness, and every supernatural being knows it. They've both been to hell and back, but they are there for each other no matter what. I think if you’re not willing to go to hell for your brother then you’re not allowed to call them that.



May 9, 2011

Casting Call: Astonishing X-Men

As everyone knows I’m a life-long X-Men fan, and in this last week it seems I’ve been on an X-Men kick. I watched the Astonishing X-Men motion comic on instant Netflix, read the storylines The Curse of the Mutants and Second Coming, and also watched the first two X-Men movies. But yesterday morning I woke up to find X-Men: The Last Stand on television. Seeing how I only had The Daily Show and The Colbert Report on my DVR to watch I decided to stick with the Marvel mutants. And of course, just like all the other times I try to watch this film, I turned it off twenty minutes in and demanded Brett Ratner be hung in a public forum.
The film can barely be called an X-Men film due to how wrong the characters were portrayed and the mockery made of two great X-Men storylines. Chris Claremont’s The Dark Phoenix Saga and Joss Whedon’s Gifted were raped in order to make this horrible, horrible film. When Whedon is done with The Avengers I would love to see him make a live action, and true-to-story, adaptation to his Gifted comic book. If that dream ever becomes a reality here are my casting picks for Astonishing X-Men.

Joshua Jackson as Scott Summers/Cyclops
I’ve followed Joshua Jackson’s career ever since he played Charlie in The Mighty Ducks trilogy. From there he went on to play Pacey Witter for six seasons on the teen drama Dawson’s Creek. But it wasn’t until his current role as Peter Bishop on the Fox show Fringe that I thought he could pull of the current Scott Summers.
At the beginning of Astonishing X-Men Cyclops has just lost the love of his life, Jean Grey, and is currently dating Emma Frost, the woman he technically cheated on his wife with. It wasn’t physical though, only psychological. Scott has a bit of an edge to him in the comics these days which I love! He’s leading an entire species on the brink of extinction and with the edge that Jackson brings to Fringe every week I think these two would go together like peanut butter and jelly.

January Jones as Emma Frost/the White Queen
When I first heard that January Jones was playing The White Queen in this summer’s X-Men: First Class I thought it seemed like a great casting so why change it. Jones’s role on Mad Men shows she has the acting chops to play a woman who used to be a villain and is now running a school for the hope of all mutant kind.
Emma Frost is as cunning and bitchy as she is knock-out gorgeous. Her only soft spot seems to be for the late Mr. Summers. In Astonishing X-Men you’re never quite sure where Emma stands with everyone, which makes her a great character. Did I mention she once tortured most of her current teammates?

Sam Worthington as Logan/Wolverine
He’s the best he is at what he does, and what he doesn’t isn’t very nice. Wolverine is the most famous X-Men character, so much that he has been the center of four X-Men films. He’s great and all, but I’m so glad we’re getting at least one X-Men film without him this summer.
Sam Worthington has the tough guy act down with roles in action films like Avatar, Clash of the Titans, and Terminator: Salvation. He can pull off the fight scenes, the deep tough guy voice, and as long as he can do the rage scream I think we’re in business. Of course Wolverine is pretty short and I’m not sure how tall Mr. Worthington is. That's my only complaint about Hugh Jackman.

Karl Urban as Dr. Hank McCoy/Beast
At some moments he seems to be the heart of the X-Men, always trying to lead them away from a dark path by being the voice of reason. In Astonishing X-Men, Beast, however, has a hard choice to make. When a cure for mutation is found he must choose whether to use it on himself, or stay the blue, furry animal that humanity sees him as.
I cast Karl Urban for his distinctive voice and acting abilities. It was only after I started writing that I realized he already played a character named Dr. McCoy, so I knew I had the right guy. Urban is known for his roles in The Bourne Supremacy, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and playing Dr. Leonard McCoy in Star Trek. Just think what would happen if they ever had a Star Trek/X-Men crossover like on the comic books. Classic!

Owain Yeoman as Peter Rasputin/ Colossus
Peter Rasputin is the tough guy on the X-Men, but his most solid muscle is his heart. He can turn his skin to steel but he has more compassion than anyone on the team. In Astonishing X-Men Colossus returns from the dead after being experimented on for quite some time. He also is reconciled with his former girlfriend, Kitty Pryde. Oh and did I mention he is prophesized to destroy an entire alien race?
Owain Yeoman is currently playing CBI agent Wayne Rigsby on CBS’s The Mentalist. To play Colossus I needed a big guy who looks very non-threatening at times, but can make you piss your pants at other times. I think Yeoman can even pull off the Russian accent.

Ashley Greene as Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat
Joss Whedon’s entire run of Astonishing X-Men is centered around Kitty Pryde. This young girl returns to a place full of memories to help Scott and Emma teach young mutants. In that time though she finds her dead boyfriend alive, gets her mind royally screwed with by The Hellfire Club, and becomes the only hope for Earth. Whedon sure does love his female heroines.
Ashley Greene is most know for her role as Alice in the Twilight Saga. But she’s one of the few actors I find non-annoying in those silly films, and out in the real world she is really hot. Her upcoming film, Skateland, has her playing a girl-next-door character. I think this fits her well. She seems like a cute girl who is very approachable and down to Earth. Don't worry, there’s only one team in this franchise Ms. Greene. Unless fans are still having their Team Jean vs. Team Emma debates.

Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Patrick Stewart not only played captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise for years, but also Professor Charles Xavier for three films. He’s the only bald man I trust in cinema. It’s a shame that Brett Ratner killed him along with Cyclops in X3. Does Ratner know how many times Professor X has died and came back in the comic books? Judging from X-Men: The Last Stand I doubt he’s ever even read an X-Men comic. Damn you Brett Ratner!

Angelina Jolie as Special Agent Abigail Brand
Agent Brand is the leader of S.W.O.R.D. Don’t ask me what it stand for because I can barely get S.H.I.E.L.D. right. Brand is trying to stop an alien world from being destroyed, and also trying to make sure they don’t destroy Earth as well. Her run-ins with the X-Men are rarely nice, and over time she and Beast kind of develop a crush on each other.
Bring in the queen beotch herself. Angelina Jolie has made a career of not only being a tough girl on the screen with films like Salt and Mr. and Mrs. Smith be she also stole Brad Pitt away from one of America’s sweethearts. I think she has more than what it takes to play tough girl Brand who gives even Emma Frost a run for her money in the bitch department.

Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
In main stream Marvel comics Nick Fury was a white guy. When the Ultimate universe was created they based Nick Fury off of bad-ass mother f%cker, Samuel L. Jackson. Which is now ironic since he plays Nick Fury in the current Marvel Studio films.
Fury runs S.H.I.E.L.D. and starts out as the go-between guy in Agent Brand and the X-Men's relationship. He doesn’t care much for mutant kind, but he just wants to make sure sh*t doesn't hit the fan on Earth. Roles like these are why we love you Mr. Jackson. It’s why we love you.