As many of my readers who regularly follow the blog know, I really love Marvel’s blue, furry X-man Beast. I’ve written poems about him, and even my local comic book store regularly puts aside issues in which he appears for me to pick up. Seriously, it doesn’t matter what the book is about, I will buy it if Beast is in it. About a year ago I decided that I wanted to find a Beast statue, so I enlisted Andrew to help me look. I had no idea what I was getting us both into.
The first place I looked for Beast was, naturally, New York Comic Con. Conventions are often a great place to get hard to find collectible items. Lots of times comic book store owners will bring comics and collectibles that have been sitting in their stores for a long time, and they are willing to strike a bargain to avoid taking them home again. So I enthusiastically started at one end of the floor and headed toward the other. I have to be honest; I didn’t scour NYCC for a Beast statue. That was my first convention and I was pretty overwhelmed with the shiny things on both sides of me. Besides, how hard could it possibly be to find a statue of one of Marvel’s more popular characters? That was probably a poor choice of rhetorical questions. Continue reading →
It really is too bad that X-Men: Days of Future Past will not be released in theaters until next year. Since the “future” part of those days takes place in 2013 (impossibly far away from the year it was written), there would have been some satisfaction in seeing the movie be released this year. However, Marvel fans will have to wait until May of 2014 to see this visual masterpiece on the big screen. In preparation, I read the comic books on which the movie is based and I have some thoughts on what I am excited to see as well as some things that should be made clearer in the movie than they are in the books.
The first big difference between books and movies is that comic books are released much more quickly than movies. This allows for more continuity in the books and keeps them from having to explain and re-explain relationships and back stories. Because of this difference, and because certain things were not explained well in X-Men: The Last Stand, I am hoping for a little more clarification on certain storylines.
A little more of this, please!
For instance, I really want more screen time for Kitty Pryde and Peter Rasputin (Sprite and Colossus). The comics in the DoFP saga do not really explain much about their history, except, of course, to mention that they are married in the future. The few sparks of romantic in me would like to see some of their love story.
I did not originally like Ellen Page’s Kitty Pryde, but she has grown on me and I am excited to see more from her. She is one of the most important characters in the DoFP storyline. In the X-men movies, her character really wasn’t fleshed out very much. In fact, I didn’t even realize that Ellen Page was playing Kitty Pryde until halfway through X-Men: The Last Stand. This was mostly due to the fact that Last Stand Kitty seemed much more interested in Bobby Drake (Iceman) than she was in Colossus.
I am also excited to see more of the Uncanny X-men who have grown on me, such as Storm and even Nightcrawler (although he still creeps me out a little). I am curious whether Ben Foster will be asked to reprise his role as the Angel. He was a very minor character in Last Stand and I felt no real connection to him, so it would not bother me at all if that part were recast for Days of Future Past.
The Sentinels are another highly anticipated plot feature, of course. Even more fabulous is the announcement that one of my favorite actors, Peter Dinklage, will be playing their creator, Bolivar Trask.
See the resemblance?
Although the Scarlet Witch and her brother Quicksilver do not appear in the comics for the DoFP story, I am excited to see them on the screen for the first time. Scarlet Witch has one of the coolest super powers that Marvel has ever dreamed up, and I am eager to see how that is translated into film.
Of course, I am also looking forward to seeing my very favorite X-man, and giant crush again also. Hank McCoy will always be my not-so-secret love. However, I am sad to see the Kelsey Grammar is not playing the Beast again this time. My fingers are crossed that Nicholas Hoult will do an equally amazing job.
There are a few things I am not looking forward to seeing, however. Jennifer Lawrence does not play a convincing Mystique, and I really wish she had been recast. She was one of the most disappointing performances in X-men: First Class. Fortunately, Mystique IS a shape-shifter, so perhaps we will not have to look at Lawrence all that much.
I also am not a fan of Anna Paquin’s Rogue. Come to think of it, these actresses look and act a lot alike. Perhaps they’re just not my type.
All in all, May 2014 cannot come soon enough for me! In the meantime, I’ll just have to break out Andrew’s list of things to do while I wait. Also, I will be enjoying tomorrow evening’s 8/7 pm premiere of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC.
I was talking to the fearless leader of Therefore I Geek a couple of weeks ago about what my major was here at school, and what I want to do when I grow up. As I described my ambitions to him, we both started to realize that they sounded very familiar. In fact, I just want to be Hank McCoy. Who wouldn’t?? He’s brilliant and powerful. He has connections to heads of state, and the kinds of people who can kill you with their minds. So here is my ode to the sweet and sexy Beast—I just want to be him!!
I want a full scholarship to a private university with all the research grants I could possibly desire and a limitless opportunity for travel due to my unrestricted access to a private jet.
Come to think of it… I want to beHank McCoy.
I dream of opportunities to rescue humanity from itself, although I realize that it would take superhuman talent and power to actualize my savior complex.
So in other words… I want to be Hank McCoy.
I want the brains of an old world, Ivy League educated sphinx, and the physical power of an NFL linebacker in the prime of his youth.
Yup… I want to be Hank McCoy.
I want to have a working understanding of many fields—to be the epitome of a Renaissance (wo)man. I want appropriate literary quotes to roll off my tongue with ease.
Oh wait… I want to be Hank McCoy.
I speak Spanish, and some German and French. I’m hoping to learn several other modern languages so that I can easily communicate with foreign dignitaries.
He did that too?! I want to be Hank McCoy.
Someday I want to have easy access to the White House as I work to smooth things over between nations at odds with each other. I want to practice diplomacy at home and abroad.
So… I just want to be Hank McCoy.
It’s really quite simple: if that’s what it takes to get the brains and the sexy, leather suit, I’ll take the blue fur and the frequent changes in physique.
You got it! I want to be Hank McCoy.
And maybe, if I do a good job at all of these things, they will make a movie about events in my life. (Although, being Hollywood, they’ll probably change half of it.)
Therefore I Geek 