Author: Nigel G Mitchell

At the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel dropped a huge bomb on the crowd when announcing the next slate of movies. It was revealed that Natalie Portman will be taking over the role of Thor from Chris Hemsworth in the next installment, called Thor: Love and Thunder. How is it possible? What was the inspiration for the change? Let’s go over all the details. The last few Marvel movies put Thor through a rough time. His hammer Mjolnir and the world of Asgard were both destroyed in Thor: Ragnarok, most of the surviving Asgardians were killed in the beginning of…

Yesterday, Mandla Maseko died in a tragic motorcycle accident. We’ve seen countless obituaries that describe him as the future first black South African in space, and we’re not trying to disrespect his memory but to clear up misconceptions. Maseko was a DJ and a visionary and an inspiration, but he had not gone into space, and was (as far as we know) never going into space. The story of Maseko as the first black South African* astronaut (or “afronaut” as he called himself) began in 2013 when he entered the Lynx Apollo Space Academy competition. The worldwide competition was a promotional…

The science fiction anthology The Twilight Zone has returned to television, CBS All Access’ streaming service. Originally aired in 1959, The Twilight Zone has been revived twice, and this is the third attempt to recreate the magic of the original series. We’ll be reviewing the first season. Today, the seventh episode, “Not All Men.” Mark Twain once said the essence of good writing is a simple story well-told. That’s what I thought about the episode “Not All Men,” and it’s probably my favorite of the new series so far. It does what the original Twilight Zone did, which is tackling a social problem through a…

In Spider-Man: Homecoming, we saw the Vulture, a villain who had never been adapted for a movie before. The trend will be continuing in Spider-Man: Far From Home where Spider-Man will be meeting a mysterious new hero, Mysterio. Of course, comic fans will know that Mysterio is one of Spider-Man’s oldest villains so…spoiler alert! Let’s get into Mysterio and how the chromedome became one of the Web-Head’s Rogues Gallery. 1. Mysterio Was One of Spider-Man’s First Villains Of all his classic villains, Mysterio is one of the oldest. Mysterio was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko way back in…

The science fiction anthology The Twilight Zone has returned to television, technically CBS All Access’ streaming service. Originally aired in 1959, The Twilight Zone has been revived twice, and this is the third attempt to recreate the magic of the original series. We’ll be reviewing the first season. “Six Degrees of Freedom” is a classic Twilight Zone story, and that’s the problem. When you think “Twilight Zone,” you think twist endings. However, twist endings are hard to do, partly because it’s tough to keep the audience from seeing the ending coming, but also because we’ve seen so many twist endings before. “Six Degrees” fails on…

The science fiction anthology The Twilight Zone has returned to television, technically CBS All Access’ streaming service. Originally aired in 1959, The Twilight Zone has been revived twice, and this is the third attempt to recreate the magic of the original series. We’ll be reviewing the first season. NOTE: I skipped over “A Traveler” to watch “The Wunderkind,” so the “Traveler” review will come later on. In “The Wunderkind,” Raff Hanks (John Cho) is a campaign manager who was disgraced when he failed to get the President re-elected, but he gets an idea as crazy as it is ingenious. An eleven-year-old YouTube star Oliver Foley…

Since the eighties, Howard the Duck has been synonymous with failure. Created by George Lucas in 1986, Howard the Duck was one of the first movies based on a Marvel comic, and remains one of the biggest commercial and critical bombs in Hollywood history. Yet the comic book the movie was based on is considered a classic of comedy and satire, and Howard’s fans have long hoped for a do-over. Since the character made an expected cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy, interest was renewed in Howard, and it looks like he finally has a chance to redeem himself. Marvel…

The science fiction anthology The Twilight Zone has returned to television, technically CBS All Access’ streaming service. Originally aired in 1959, The Twilight Zone has been revived twice, and this is the third attempt to recreate the magic of the original series. We’ll be reviewing the first season. The lack of diversity in science fiction has really hurt the genre because even the most unique concept is limited by the ubiquity of white male perspective. Time travel, teleportation, and cloning all seem like they’ve been done to death until you consider minorities. For example, if a white man travels to the 1950s, his biggest concern…

Opportunity in Endurance Crater (via Wikimedia) It’s hard to believe that the Mars Rover Opportunity was only supposed to last for ninety days. Instead, it went on to last over fifteen years. Now that mission has come to an end in a heartbreaking way. Opportunity, also known as MER-B (Mars Exploration Rover – B) or MER-1, landed in Meridiani Planum on January 25, 2004, three weeks after its twin Spirit (MER-A) touched down on the other side of the planet. With a planned 90-sol duration of activity (slightly more than 90 Earth days), Spirit malfunctioned while Opportunity was able to…

Those who claimed that Marvel movies had become formulaic and predictable weren’t ready for Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Infinity War ends with the disintegration of some of the most beloved characters in the MCU including Black Panther, Nick Fury, and Spider-Man. Endgame turned up the heat with more plot twists than the previous twenty movies combined. Now that we’ve had a few weeks to digest it, let’s talk about the ten most shocking moments in Avengers: Endgame. We called this article “shocking,” not because these moments were all bad. Some were shocking in how great they were. But…

Avengers: Endgame Poster They knew it would be big, but no one expected it to be that big. . This weekend saw the release of the highly anticipated sequel Avengers: Endgame, and it dominated the box office. In fact, Disney reported that Avengers: Endgame made $357.1 million in the US alone, $107.5 million in China alone, and $866.5 million globally. That adds up to a staggering $1.2 billion at the worldwide box office for its opening. And that’s just in its opening weekend. This is a big deal. Here are some ways that it’s a big deal. That’s more money…

The science fiction anthology The Twilight Zone has returned to television, technically CBS All Access’ streaming service. Originally aired in 1959, The Twilight Zone has been revived twice, and this is the third attempt to recreate the magic of the original series. We’ll be reviewing the first season. “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” is one of the Twilight Zone’s most iconic stories. The original in 1963 and the remake in 1983’s Twilight Zone: The Movie both centered on the premise of a nervous man on an airplane who sees a creature (gremlin) tearing apart the engine. He tries to warn everyone, but no one believes him,…

The science fiction anthology The Twilight Zone has returned to television, technically CBS All Access’ streaming service. Originally aired in 1959, The Twilight Zone has been revived twice, and this is the third attempt to recreate the magic of the original series. We’ll be reviewing the first season, starting with the pilot, “The Comedian.” You’d think the show would start with its best episode. If “The Comedian” is the best the show has to offer, it’s in trouble. In “The Comedian,” we meet failing comedian Samir Wassan (Kumail Nanjiani) who does political humor that bombs on stage. When he meets legendary…

In case you haven’t heard, Brie Larson is a master of social media and that’s how she unceremoniously dropped a clip from her upcoming movie, Captain Marvel. Brie Larson (“Room”, “Kong: Skull Island”) will be starring as Carol Danvers, a human woman taken by aliens who returns to Earth with incredible powers. It’s the first female-led superhero movie for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, following in the footsteps of Wonder Woman from the DCEU. Set in 1995, the story follows Danvers as she becomes Captain Marvel after the Earth is caught in the center of a galactic conflict between two alien…

It’s been speculated for a long time that Ben Affleck would no longer play the grizzled Batman in the DC Extended Universe, and it’s finally been confirmed. Deadline reports that DC plans to release the standalone movie The Batman on June 25, 2021, and Affleck will not be playing the title role. Affleck is joining the ranks of Henry Cavill who’s also no longer playing Superman. This sets up a full reboot of the principal characters in the modern DC cinematic adaptations which are rumored to be breaking up its shared universe. Standalone movies seem to be the way DC is…

It’s back! It’s Would You Rather, the game where we ask you to make the tough choices. Today, we’ll be asking you to pick knowledge of your past or your future. THE QUESTION Would you rather have the knowledge that could change your past or your future? THE SCENARIO You are a test subject for human experimentation at Wood University, and the lead scientist Professor Rather gives you a tough choice. The scientists have developed a form of time travel, but the twist is that it doesn’t transport your body through time, but your mind. They can send your current…

CLEP/CNSA One of the biggest challenges of a Moon colony is that of supply. As of now, astronauts have to carry everything they need from Earth, including food and clothing, but the dream is to be able to grow their own food and make their own clothing. Chinese scientists have taken one step closer to that dream…but not as big a step as they hoped. Last week, China landed the space probe Chang’e-4 on the far side of the Moon. It had a small canister that served as a miniature biosphere including water, soil, air, a heat control system and some…

Black Panther had a lot of Marvel and comic book fans excited when the 2019 Golden Globe nominations were announced because it showed up in three categories including the coveted Best Motion Picture in the Drama category. Those same fans were disappointed when Black Panther lost all three. Let’s talk about why. As the saying goes, it’s an honor just to be nominated. For a Marvel superhero movie to be up for Best Picture in any prestigious award was probably more than Marvel could have hoped for and will forever be a feather in its cap. Marvel is probably already printing…

I’ve always been a fan of Aquaman, even during his orange shirt and seahorse-riding ways. Maybe it’s because I have a great love of the ocean and sea life, so exploring the underwater world of ancient civilizations and weird sea monsters appeals to me. Also, Aquaman is the ultimate underdog superhero. He’s never been held in high regard among superheroes, but all that has changed with Aquaman: The Movie. Instead of the prequel approach that Wonder Woman took, most of Aquaman takes place after Justice League. The opening gives Arthur Curry his origin as the son of an Atlantean queen…

Some people wondered in advance of the release of Aquaman whether it would be a success. Would it fall into the disappointing pit of other DCEU releases like Justice League or Suicide Squad? Or would it achieve critical and commercial success like Wonder Woman? While those in the US have been eagerly awaiting the release on December 21 (unless you got to see the Amazon Prime early showing), Aquaman has been making the rounds in other countries, and it’s been a shock. That’s because it’s already made back its budget and become a blockbuster, even without the United States. How much…

Dardevil (Charlie Cox); Source: Marvel/Netflix On Netflix, Daredevil has fought the Kingpin, ninjas, Bullseye, and the Punisher but it turns out the enemy that finally killed him was Disney. On November 29, Netflix announced that its original series Daredevil has been cancelled and will not have a fourth season. A Netflix spokesman said in a statement, “We are tremendously proud of the show’s last and final season and although it’s painful for the fans, we feel it best to close this chapter on a high note. We’re thankful to showrunner Erik Oleson, the show’s writers, stellar crew and incredible cast…

If you’re a fan of the TV show Firefly, you know the ship’s engineer Kaylee loves strawberries. However, this has led to an awkward clash between fans of the show and the actress who played her. The adorable Kaylee Frye was played by Jewel Staite, and her character’s love of strawberries was established in the first episode. In the future world of Firefly, strawberries are a rare delicacy, and Shepherd gave the Firefly crew a box of strawberries to buy passage. Kaylee proved to be quite fond of them. Don’t remember? Oh, all right, here it is. Ever since, fans have been…

Filming has begun on the new Joker standalone movie, and we have our first real glimpse at the new villain’s look. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, the movie (which won’t tie into the existing DC movie universe) will focus on the untold origin of the Clown Prince of Crime. WBPictures posted a screen test with Joaquin Phoenix as Fleck slowly transforming into what appears to be his version of the Joker. We’ve put it into this video that combines the reveal with some spy footage taken on the set (from Splash News). Of course, there are a lot of questions raised. In the spy…

On October 5, 2018, the Spider-Man spin-off Venom will be released in RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema and IMAX in the United States. The movie is centered on Eddie Brock, a journalist who becomes bonded to an alien symbiote and given powers. Originally a villain to Spider-Man, Venom branched off in the comics to become an anti-hero and that’s the angle the solo movie will be taking. You probably have questions about Venom and his big-screen reboot, and we’re here to answer them. Here are the five biggest questions about Venom, and the answers. 1. How is Venom connected to Spider-Man?…

Star Trek: Voyager – Anika Hansen / Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) If you loved Star Trek: Voyager, you probably loved Seven of Nine, played by Jeri Ryan. First appearing in season four, Anika Hansen AKA Seven of Nine became a regular cast member in the last three seasons. Portrayed by the beautiful Jeri Ryan as a former Borg drone, she captured the imagination of the audience with her intellect and exploration of the human condition. But let’s be honest, her curvy body looked good in a catsuit. We previously talked about the struggles with her costume in our article about…

YEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! Sorry, got a little excited there. Hello, what have we here? No, too much. Let’s start again. After years of campaigning by fans, the Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Billy Dee Williams will be returning to his iconic role as Lando Calrissian in the next installment of the Star Wars series. Billy Dee Williams first appeared as Lando in 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back, an old friend of Han Solo who became the Baron-Administrator of Cloud City on the planet Bespin. While he betrayed Solo to the Empire, he redeemed himself (in the minds of some fans) by helping…

This article will contain major spoilers for Batman #50 by Tom King, Mikel Janin, June Chung and Clayton Cowles. Yeah, I didn’t want to hate this book. In fact, I thought the hate was overrated. Surely it couldn’t be as bad as everyone said. It is. In this book, the long engagement between Batman and Catwoman was finally supposed to end. Well, that did happen. First, the good. The writing is good, very emotional without getting overly sentimental. Watching them plan this spontaneous wedding was fun. IF a wedding was going to take place between Batman and Catwoman, this is how…

James Gunn is known as the writer and director of the hit and critically acclaimed Guardians of the Galaxy movies, but he’s also a huge nerd who has encyclopedic knowledge of comic books and culture. That’s why Batman fans rose up in anger when he seemed to dismiss their beloved superhero. In a brief interview with a TMZ reporter, Gunn said he would love to have Batman in one of his movies but added he would kill Batman easily by just throwing him off a roof. It was an idle but clearly controversial comment. Of course, Batman fans began flooding him and the…

One of the newest, most loved, and diverse characters in comic books today is coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We’re talking about Kamala Khan, also known as the Muslim Ms. Marvel, and the head of Marvel Studios says he’s working on bringing her to the big screen. Who is Kamala Khan? Kamala Khan was one of the biggest success stories in Marvel’s push to add female and minority heroes to its lineup. Created by editors Sana Amanat and Stephen Wacker, writer G. Willow Wilson and artist Adrian Alphona, Khan made her first appearance in 2013’s Captain Marvel #14 before starring…

Avengers: Infinity War is already a groundbreaking film as it’s a culmination of ten years of interconnected and well-made movies. The groundwork for the movie was laid all the way back in 2012’s The Avengers (or arguably 2008’s Iron Man). For that reason, this is already an amazing movie but the studio surprised us by making it a great film. In Infinity War, Thanos finally takes center stage as he begins gathering crystals that date back to the beginning of the universe called the Infinity Gems. He wants to place the gems into the Infinity Gauntlet in order to wipe out…