The Original Bat-Girl

Bette Kane is a fictional character in DC comics. She first appeared in the sixties as "Betty Kane", the Bat-Girl. Later, her character history was retconned and she took on the mantle of Flamebird.

The original Bat-Girl was Betty Kane (first appearance: Batman #139, 1961), the niece of Kathy Kane, Batwoman.

Batwoman and Bat-Girl were created to be romantic interests for Batman and Robin, respectively, as well as wannabe crime-fighting associates. Bat-Girl wore a red-and-green costume to "flatter" Robin. Bat-Girl appeared seven times between 1961 and 1964, but then disappeared in 1964 (along with Batwoman, Ace the Bat-Hound, and Bat-Mite) when new Batman editor Julius Schwartz decided she and other characters were too silly. It has been suggested by scholars that the characters of Batwoman (in 1956) and Bat-Girl (in 1961) were introduced in part to refute allegations of homosexuality in Batman comics; specifically, the enduring claim that Batman and Robin were homosexuals. [1]

Batwoman and Bat-Girl were later revived in the late 1970s. Bat-Girl even became a member of the Teen Titans West. However, she only appeared four times in this era.

Batgirl (Barbara Gordon)

Barbara Gordon debuted in Detective Comics #359 (1967) as the daughter of Gotham City's Police Commissioner James Gordon. On her way to a costume ball dressed as a female version of Batman, Barbara intervenes in a kidnapping attempt on Bruce Wayne by the villainous Killer Moth, attracting the Dark Knight's attention and leading to a crime-fighting career.

In her original adventures during the Silver Age, Batgirl is depicted as a librarian by day, and a spirited, if inexperienced, crimefighter by night. After a handful of guest appearances in Batman stories, she was given her own back-up strip in Detective Comics. This allowed the character to be fleshed out considerably, with the shy, mousey, bookworm version of Barbara Gordon quickly giving way to a more modern, confident character. Devoid of her plain-Jane glasses and hair bun, Barbara starts to date what would be a succession of boyfriends, the most popular being Vietnam veteran turned private investigator Jason Bard.

Barbara proved to be more popular than her predecessor (Bette Kane, the Bat-Girl), as readers requested for her to appear in other titles. In addition to her appearances in both Detective Comics and Batman, Batgirl made a guest appearance in World's Finest Comics where she met Superman, Supergirl, Bat-Mite, and Mxyzptlk for the first time. She also fights alongside the Justice League of America against the villainous Queen Bee. She encounters Supergirl again in Adventure Comics #381 when both heroines separately investigate a female criminal gang.

In Batman: The Killing Joke, a graphic novel by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland, the Joker, as part of his plan to drive James Gordon into madness, shoots Barbara through the spine, paralyzing her and ending her career as Batgirl forever.

Initially, Barbara's paralysis plunges her into a period of depression. Eventually, she realizes that, in a world increasingly centered on technology and information, she had a tremendous repository of skills which could be potentially useful to fight crime. These qualities include a genius-level intellect, a photographic memory, a vast knowledge of computers and electronics, expert skills as a hacker, and her training as a librarian.

After having a dream where Barbara (in her previous Batgirl persona) sees an all-knowing woman (similar to Oracle at Delphi of Greek mythology), she adopts Oracle as her new codename. She now acts as an information broker, gathering and disseminating intelligence to law enforcement organizations and members of the superhero community. She has also trained under the tutelege of Richard Dragon, one of the world's premier martial artists, who has trained some superheroes, to engage in combat (usually escrima) from her wheelchair should the need arise.

Barbara first uses the Oracle identity to assist her father on an extremely difficult murder investigation, and later takes it to the Suicide Squad. For a time, she relocates to Belle Reve prison in Louisiana to work with the team under the alias of "Amy Beddoes". After leaving the Suicide Squad, she returned to Gotham City and begins aiding Batman and his protegés frequently, as well as many other heroes. Just after her debut as Oracle in the pages of the Suicide Squad, Barbara appeared in the 12-issue mini-series The Hacker Files. This was her second appearance as a hacker in the DC Comics universe.

Later she joins the Justice League of America, and was an active member for some time, serving as both an information and communications resource. She is currently on inactive status with the group. In mainstream DC continuity, an alternate-reality Batgirl/Barbara Gordon was granted posthumous honorary membership in the League after she sacrificed herself to defeat Hal Jordan (a.k.a. Parallax). Therefore, two Barbara Gordons are members of the Justice League.

comic books

Batgirl (Cassandra Cain)

Cassandra Cain, is a fictional character in the DC Universe, and was the most recent Batgirl. She gave up her superhero identity in the final issue of her own series Batgirl #73 (2006). Cassandra is the daughter of assassin David Cain and Lady Shiva. She first appeared in Batman #567 (1999), and was created by Kelley Puckett and Damion Scott (though it was Alex Maleev who designed her costume).

Baby Doll

Mary Louise Dahl, aka Baby Doll, is a fictional villain in the Batman universe, invented exclusively for the original animated series. Alison LaPlaca initially provided Baby Doll's voice. In her second appearance, Baby Doll's voice was supplied by Saturday Night Live alumna Laraine Newman. She has only appeared in two episodes of Batman: The Animated Series.

Artemiz

Artemiz (most often referred to as Artemis) is a New God of Apokolips in the DC Comics universe.

A member of the Female Furies, Granny Goodness' cadre of female warriors, Artemiz is a fierce archer that uses her bow and arrows as a weapon, as well as her cyberpak, Unus, Secondus, and Tertius, a trio of ferocious cybernetic wolves. Artemiz was not one of the original Furies, but rather joined after Lashina was betrayed by Bernadeth and left on Earth. Granny Goodness recruited Artemiz into the Furies to fill the loss. During the battle with Suicide Squad, Artemiz battled Nightshade, who defeated her but didn't kill her. Granny Goodness, after Nightshade's boasting, told her she should have. Later, she joined the Furies as they battled Supergirl while searching for Twilight. She often bickered with Stompa, but got along well with the other Furies. Her keen senses are often helpful, and the Furies occasionally have her scout the area rather than stay with the team.

Artemis of Bana-Mighdall

Amazon superheroine Artemis of Bana-Mighdall (created by writer William Messner-Loebs) first appeared in Wonder Woman #90 (September 1994).

Artemis briefly took over the mantle of Wonder Woman from Diana Prince in The Wonder Woman comic.
She was six foot two, 155 pounds with green eyes and (very) long red hair.
Although she died as Wonder Woman, she got better and went on to be known as Javelin in the group Hellenders.
She also trained both Cassandra Sandsmark (Wonder Girl) and Supergirl in combat.

Tigress

Tigress is the name of three different DC Comics supervillains.

The original Tigress was a Golden Age villainess who battled Zatara. The second Tigress was a member of the Young All-Stars, who later became a villainess named the Huntress. The third Tigress is the daughter of the second Tigress, and is a member of the Injustice Society.

The first Golden Age Tigress was a thief/spy and foe of Zatara in the late 1930s. She debuted in Action Comics #1 (June 1938), and was created by Fred Guardineer.

She wore tiger-striped sweaters and ran gangs of thieves and murderers. Apparently, she had no powers.

The second Tigress is Paula Brooks. She was a member of the Young All-Stars and later became the villainous Huntress. She later married the Sportsmaster, and had a daughter, Artemis Crock, who carries on as the third Tigress.

Artemis Crock is the daughter of the Golden Age villains Paula Brooks and Crusher Crock. She had taken up a career in crime, modeled after that of her parents, but only after some years did she take on the mantle of Tigress.

`Ghost Rider' Tops Box Office With $52 M - Forbes.com

`Ghost Rider' Tops Box Office With $52 M - Forbes.com: "

Nicolas Cage's comic-book adaptation 'Ghost Rider' led a rush of new movies, debuting with $52 million over the four-day President's Day weekend."

Arrowette

Arrowette (I guess "Arrow Girl" was taken) is the name of two female superheroes in the DC Comics universe. The first character is the mother of the second.
The first one was actually one of those annoying wannabe sidekick characters back in the early 60s. Of course she wanted to be (surprise) Green Arrow's side kick and she was formally known as Miss Arrowette.
Her name was Bonnie King (Bonnie KING, Oliver QUEEN...get it?) , former Olympian Bronze medal winner in archery. She became inspired by Green Arrow and Speedy and decided that like them, she wanted to use her Archery skills for good. She made a costume for herself and became Miss Arrowette. She carried trick arrows like a Powder Puff Arrow.
I wonder if she had Barbara Gordon's number on speed dial?
"Hello Babs? I need to annoy our Dynamic Duo here in Star City. Any ideas?"
But unlike Batgirl and Batman, Bonnie did actually date Green Arrow a few times.
That doesn't work out and she meets a guy, they get married and have a kid, he dies of food poisoning (kinda mundane death for a comic book huh?) and she gets her beneficiary check from her insurance agent (get this) Hal Jordan!
Small world huh?
Anyway, of course(?) Bonnie decides to take the money and mold her daughter Cissie into a superhero (since that worked out so well for Bonnie).
So Cissie debuts as Arrowette and Bonnie gets the distinction of being the first superhero mother to get Child Welfare Services called on her for forcing her kid into a life of crimefighting.
See why Bruce Wayne kept his identity secret?
Of course as always with comics, the truth isn't what it seems and Cissie MIGHT actually be the daughter of Green Arrow.
Someday somebody's gonna haul the Emerald Archer onto Maury Povich for one of those DNA shows.
Cissie, Shado, Connor Hawke...it's a good thing Hawkeye works for Marvel.

Ghost Rider Tops Weekend Box Office, Listens To Carpenters

Ghost Rider Tops Weekend Box Office, Listens To Carpenters
February 19th, 2007 at 13:30 by Stuart Heritage

We've never been able to figure Nicolas Cage out all that much - his career path has taken him to some bloody odd places in his time, and now thanks to a stunt racer in a wig listening to The Carpenters he's at the top of the US weekend box office.

After the dismal critical or commercial failures of The Wicker Man, World Trade Centre, The Ant Bully, The Weather Man and Lord Of War, Nicolas Cage is back at the top of the US weekend box office with Ghost Rider - a loopy-looking comic book film that's had one just good review, and that was only because the guy who wrote it lived down the road from where it was filmed. It's not all bad news, though - Ghost Rider's box office success will no doubt mean that a Ghost Rider sequel is in the works, and any film that stops Nicolas Cage from making another film where he runs up a hill dressed as a bear and punches a girl in the face is just dandy with us.

http://www.hecklerspray.com/ghost-rider-tops-weekend-box-office-listens-to-carpenters/20077054.php

"‘Ghost Rider‘ lights box-office fire

Dunton Springs: "‘Ghost Rider‘ lights box-office fire
2007/2


By DAVID GERMAIN, AP Movie Writer 2 minutes ago
LOS ANGELES - Satan‘s bounty hunter has looted the wallets of movie-goers. 'Ghost Rider,' Sony‘s comic-book adaptation starring Nicolas Cage as a motorcycle stunt driver moonlighting as a collector of evil souls for the devil, debuted as the top weekend movie with $44.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The movies bumped off the previous weekend‘s No. 1 flick, DreamWorks‘ Eddie Murphy comedy 'Norbit,' which slipped to third place with $16.8 million, lifting its total to $58.9 million. "

Arisia

Arisia is a fictional character featured in comic books published by DC Comics. Arisia is a humanoid alien with golden-yellow skin, hair and eyes. She has pointed, elven ears.

Arisia is named after the planet Arisia in the Lensman novels by E.E. Smith, due to the resemblence between the Lensmen organisation and the Green Lantern Corps (Smith's Arisians could be compared to the Guardians of the Universe.)

Arella

In the Teen Titans comics and animated universe, Angela Roth, commonly called Arella, is the pacifist mother of the superhero psychic Raven. She is the wife of Trigon the demon, who seduced her in order to produce someone who would later serve as his portal to Earth.

Her name was changed to Arella after she was taken to "Azarath", where she healed under the care of Azar, the ruler of the pacifist dimension.

In the Teen Titans animated series, Arella makes a short appearance in the episode "The Prophecy". While meditating, Raven envisions herself in Azarath, her home dimension, where she encounters her mother tending to a whole flock of doves. Raven begs her mother to help her prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled, but Arella (echoing Slade, albeit in a much kinder tone) tells her that it is no use, that Raven's destiny was chosen at her birth and it is a destiny she must carry out, like it or not. Arella is Latin for angel, suggesting that she might be one herself.

It is then revealed that Azarath has already been destroyed (or from the look of the city, deserted at least), and that Arella is apparently dead,--although this is debatable--having given her daughter her last words through a telepathic voice-mail of sorts. She was played by Virginia Madsen. It is arguable that the people of Azarath are not dead but, as in 'Teen Titans Go', are now the Phantasm, making her mother still alive to speak to her but not corporeal.

Aquagirl

Aquagirl is the name of several fictional characters who were superheroes featured in comic books published by DC Comics. Although there have been four different characters bearing the name, only two are canonical, the most recognizable being Aqualad's Atlantean girlfriend.

Lisa Morel (first appearance: Adventure Comics (vol. 1) #266 (November 1959)) was among several violet-eyed Atlantean children who were born unable to adapt to the watery world, and would soon die. To save them, they were ejected in waterproof lifeboats to the surface, to live among land-dwellers. Lisa was adopted by the scientist Hugo Morel and his wife.

When Aquaman was in danger, her water-breathing and telepathic powers awakened. She made herself a costume identical to his, took on the name "Aquagirl" and fought alongside him. But her newfound powers were short-lived, and she permanently lost them. She is not considered to have been active as Aquagirl in current continuity.

Selena (first appearance: World's Finest Comics #133) was a young Poseidonis teenager who teamed up with Aquaman under the name "Aqua-Girl" in order to impress her boyfriend and become a superheroine. However, as with Lisa Morel, Selena only appeared once and was never mentioned again. She is also not considered to have been active as Aqua-Girl in current continuity.

Tula is the first canonical Aquagirl. After losing her parents soon after her birth, she is found and adopted by one of the royal families of Atlantis. Given the title of princess of Poseidonis, Tula is schooled in Atlantean traditions. She never leaves the royal palace until she meets Aqualad at age 15.

Tula sometimes helps Aqualad with missions during his time with the Teen Titans; eventually, she also becomes an honorary member. She takes the name Aquagirl to honor her boyfriend as well as Aquaman. When Aquaman leaves his throne to search for his then-missing wife Mera, Nakran takes over Atlantis as a dictator. His reign falls only when Tula leads a rebellion against him. Tula continues her life after this, resuming her life with Garth (Aqualad) when he returns to Atlantis. She continues to be an ally to Garth and the Teen Titans. She and Garth aid the Titans in bringing down the H.I.V.E. once and for all.

During the Crisis on Infinite Earths mini-series, Aquagirl is killed by the villain Chemo after she drowns in water that he has poisoned.

Years later, in the Tempest mini-series, a woman claiming to be Tula enters Garth's life. In truth, it is a doppelganger created by the villainous Slizzath as part of an elaborate plan to siphon Garth's mystical energies for his own dark purposes. Garth sees through the ruse and is able to defeat Slizzath, and finally gain a sense of closure about Tula's death. It is also at this time that Garth adopted a new identity as Tempest.

Most recently, Tula reappears in Teen Titans (vol. 3) issues 30 and 31. Aquagirl is brought back by Brother Blood - along with Hawk and Dove, Phantasm, and Kole - to fight against the Teen Titans. After being freed by Beast Boy and Raven, Kid Eternity is able to lay the deceased Titans back to rest.

Tula has a statue in the "hall of fallen Titans" at Titans Tower, alongside the original Hawk and Dove, Kole, and others.

Lorena Marquez is going on a date at the San Diego Zoo when an earthquake shakes the city and causes it to sink deep into the sea, killing thousands, including Lorena's entire family. She comes into contact with Aquaman, who nurses her back to health, while discovering that she has developed the ability to breathe underwater like an Atlantean.

The two manage to locate the other survivors of the quake, and Geist, the scientist responsible for the catastrophe. They have no choice but to begin rebuilding the city as 'Sub Diego'. When Ocean Master switches lives with Aquaman, Lorena assumes the identity of Aquagirl. After Aquaman exposes Ocean Master's scheme, Lorena keeps her Aquagirl costume, and the two carry on protecting 'Sub Diego'.

In the Titans Tomorrow timeline, Lorena, as Aquawoman, is a member of the Titans. It is revealed that she has developed telepathic powers which she had used to kill (or paralyze) former Titan member Garth.

Aquagirl is a member of the Teen Titans during the events of 52. She assisted Steel in launching an attack on Lexcorp when Natasha was captured by Luthor.

Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld

Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld was a series of comic books by DC Comics published in the 1980s. They followed the adventures of a young girl named Amy Winston who discovers on her 13th birthday that she is in fact the Princess from a magical world. Amy also learns that her parents that she has known are not her real parents, her real parents are dead, and a dark figure from Gemworld is out to destroy her. Now Amy must travel to Gemworld, becoming older through the voyage (since time moves differently in Gemworld, Amy ages into a woman in her early twenties while there) and fight the evil that is attacking her.

Comics Should Be Good! » 365 Reasons to Love Comics #41

Comics Should Be Good! » 365 Reasons to Love Comics #41:

"365 Reasons to Love Comics #41
Posted by Bill Reed, Saturday, February 10th, 2007 9:11 PM
There are too many prospects for a Black History Month spotlight. This can only be a good thing. Today’s featured character, however, has had only a few appearances, and isn’t really that great. So why does she appear in this list? Find out after the fold.
2/10/07"

Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace is a fictional character, from DC Comics, part of Darkseid's Elite.

Amazing Grace lives among the lowlies of Apokolips. A loyal agent of Darkseid, she pretends to preach opposition to Darkseid's word and encourages them to revolt. When they do, they are easily defeated, thereby crushing their revolt and their spirits.

When Superman infiltrated Apokolips, trying to prove he was behind G. Gordon Godfrey's reign of terror on Earth, Grace was "captured" by Darkseid's troops and was to be thrown into the firepits; all to lure Superman out. He saved her, but he himself fell into the firepits. He survived, but with no memory or powers. Grace, on the behalf of Darkseid, seduced him, and convinced the man of steel that he was Darkseid's son. Superman was given his powers back when he allied with Darkseid, and he battled Orion, during which his memory came back. Grace still serves Darkseid among the denizens of Apokolips today. She first appeared in SUPERMAN (2nd series) #3.

Like her brother Glorious Godfrey, Grace is a master in mind manipulation, who uses those powers to subtly influence others.

X-Men: The Last Stand

X-Men: The Last Stand is the third film adaptation of the Marvel Comics' X-Men superhero comic books. It was directed by Brett Ratner and written by Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn. The previous two movies were X-Men (2000) and X2: X-Men United (2003). The movie revolves around a "mutant cure" that causes serious repercussions among mutants and humans, and on the mysterious resurrection of Jean Grey, who appeared to have died in X2. The film is based on two X-Men comic book story arcs: writer Chris Claremonts and artist John Byrne's "Dark Phoenix Saga" in The Uncanny X-Men (1980) and writer Joss Whedon's six-issue "Gifted" arc in Astonishing X-Men (2004).

The film was released May 26, 2006 in the United States and Canada, and one or two days earlier in approximately 22 other countries. Despite mixed reviews from critics and fans of the comic book series, the film has done extremely well at the box office. Its opening-day gross of $45.5 million is the third-highest on record while its opening weekend gross of $103 million is the fifth highest ever. Currently it holds the record for highest grossing movie during Memorial Day weekend totaling nearly $122.9 million in its first four days.

The film is sometimes colloquially referred to as X3 or X-Men 3.

Bryan Singer, the director of the first two X-Men films, left the project during preproduction in order to direct the film Superman Returns. He was joined by X2 screenwriters Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty and composer / editor John Ottman. Though Singer, Harris and Dougherty had yet to complete a script, the director has revealed that at the time of his departure they had partially completed a story treatment for the film which would have focused exclusively on Jean Grey's resurrection with the new villain Emma Frost, a role intended for Sigourney Weaver.

Simon Kinberg was hired as writer soon after Singer's departure, and speculation arose to Joss Whedon directing the film. Rob Bowman and Alex Proyas were also rumoured, though the latter personally turned it down. Despite the controversy over Singer's departure, the cast and producers were still clearly keen to return.

Matthew Vaughn was hired as the new director for the project. He cast Kelsey Grammer as Beast and Vinnie Jones as Juggernaut, but family issues reportedly led him to withdraw before shooting began. Vaughn was replaced by Singer's friend Brett Ratner, who was among those originally considered to direct the first film — and coincidentally was considered by Warner Brothers to direct the 2006 Superman project before it evolved into Superman Returns.

On June 13, 2005, a review of an incomplete early draft[13] of the screenplay posted by Drew McWeeny from Ain't It Cool News sparked controversy from fans, due to certain main characters' storylines; however, that draft was the very first of over two-dozen drafts the film went through and has had numerous changes happen to the storylines. Most notably the Golden Gate Bridge was originally in the middle of the film, but Ratner decided it would create a more dramatic climax if moved to the end, whereas it was originally to take place at Washington D.C.

Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen were made to look 20 years younger through "digital skin grafting".X-Men: The Last Stand began shooting in August 2005 and ended in January 2006. Much of X-Men: The Last Stand was filmed in Vancouver, Canada. According to associate producer Dave Gordon, "This is the biggest production ever filmed in Canada. It used to be X2, now it's X3."

Senior actors Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen had their faces completely "de-aged" by complex keyframing, in which no CGI elements were used. A technique called "digital skin-grafting" was employed to make them look 20 years younger in the first-scene flashback.

The film has extensive wirework, where many of the actors performed some of their own stunts. The whirlwind wire-stunt performed by Halle Berry during one fight scene reportedly caused Berry to become so nauseated that she vomited. The crew actually had to bring in buckets for her before shooting her scenes. Angel's wings were initially too heavy for Ben Foster, and were remade from foam.[18] Despite his fear of heights, Foster performed a single second unit stunt where he escapes Worthington's facility.

X2: X-Men United

X2: X-Men United was first released in the United Kingdom on April 24, 2003, and in the United States on May 2, 2003. The film is the second part of the trilogy; following X-Men (2000), and preceding X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). It was directed by Bryan Singer, and starred an ensemble cast including Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Rebecca Romijn, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Shawn Ashmore, Kelly Hu and Alan Cumming.

The film is loosely based on the 1982 X-Men graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills. In the film, William Stryker is a high-ranking army colonel who leads an assault into Professor Xavier's school to build his own version of Xavier's mutant-tracking computer Cerebro in order to destroy every mutant on Earth. The X-Men are forced to ally with Magneto and Mystique to defeat Stryker. X2: X-Men United, which introduced Nightcrawler to filmgoers, surpassed the initial film at the box office, earning approx. $215 million in North America compared to $157.3 million for X-Men, making the sequel one of the top ten movies of 2003.

The basic story elements, involving Stryker's plot to use Xavier's powers against all mutants, and the X-Men's resulting alliance with Magneto, are loosely adapted from the graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills by Chris Claremont. In that story, Stryker has a military background, but is currently a religious leader whose wife gave birth to an obviously mutant infant. In a fit of rage, he killed them both and decided that he had been chosen by God to destroy mutants. In the film, his military background is moved to the foreground, and the religious aspect of the character is eliminated. Instead of killing his wife and son in childbirth, the Stryker of the film sends his son (loosely based on the character Mastermind from the comics) to Xavier to be cured of his mutation. Unable to change his mutation, and resentful of his parents, he began tormenting his mother by projecting nightmarish images into her mind, causing her to commit suicide by drilling a hole into her head. Stryker responded by giving his son a lobotomy, and extracting his brain fluid, which he now uses to control other mutants.

Bryan Singer credited The Empire Strikes Back and The Wrath of Khan as his influences on this film. The latter film also features a voice-over at the end from a dead character, hinting at their resurrection in the next film.

X-Men

X-Men is a 2000 American action movie, featuring a group of comic book superheroes called the X-Men. It formed a major part of the current revival in comic-book adaptation movies.

The movie was directed by Bryan Singer and explores the ideas of prejudice and discrimination in the United States. The screenplay was written by David Hayter (who has a cameo appearance in the film as a police officer in the Statue of Liberty area). A sequel, X2: X-Men United, was released in 2003 and a third film, X-Men: The Last Stand, was released in 2006. The film franchise also brought up interest in a Wolverine-centered film and a Magneto-centered film.

According to Joss Whedon, who made an early draft of the screenplay, only two parts of his draft made it into the final film. The first is the exchange between Wolverine and Cyclops ("It's me." "Prove it!" "You're a dick."); the other is Storm's, "Do you know what happens to a toad when it's struck by lightning? The same thing that happens to everything else." Whedon was disappointed with Halle Berry's over-dramatic delivery of the latter line, which he imagined as an offhand, casual comment.

Wolverine's claws required a full silicone cast of Hugh Jackman's arm, and 700 versions for Jackman and his stunt doubles.

The scene at the train station where the young boy smiles at Cyclops, and Cyclops smiles back was unplanned. The boy was a huge fan of the X-Men, and Cyclops was his favorite. The scene originally called for Cyclops to look at the train schedule, however, according to Bryan Singer, the boy could not stop smiling at James Marsden (the actor playing Cyclops). Finally, during one shot, Marsden just looked back at him and smiled, much to the boy's delight. Bryan Singer liked the idea so much, he kept it in the film, and told the actress playing the boy's mother to react the way she did.

The relatively unspectacular scene where the X-Men leave the X-Jet and hop over a wall to step into the Statue of Liberty caused much hilarity. The reason was that the actors Berry, Janssen, Marsden and Jackman wore such tight fitting costumes that they simply could not make the jump over the small ledge. Another problem was that they were supposed to hold their breath to avoid clouding in the cold weather, a point which Berry forgot at least once. This can be all seen on the blooper reel of the DVD X-Men 1.5.

During the film, as Logan mocks the X-Men's black uniforms, Cyclops replies: "What would you prefer? Yellow spandex?" This is a reference to Wolverine's blue-and-yellow uniform from the comics.

At one point in the film, Toad grabs an iron pole and proceeds to twirl it around in a fashion not unlike that of Gambit. In actual fact this was in reference to the Star Wars character Darth Maul, whom actor Park had portrayed in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

When appearing at Wondercon 2006 to promote Superman Returns (2006), Bryan Singer mentioned that he originally approached composer John Williams to compose the score for X-Men, but Williams was too busy composing the score for Saving Private Ryan (1998).

In the scene when Senator Kelly emerges from the water at the beach a hot dog vendor that can be seen. The vendor is Stan Lee, the original creator of X-Men. George Buza, the voice of Beast in the X-Men animated series, has a cameo as the truck driver who brought Anna Paquin's Rogue to the bar at the beginning of the film.

Much of the film was shot at locations in and around Toronto, Ontario. Casa Loma, a local landmark and museum, was used as the set for all above-ground scenes inside Xavier's school. The scenes in Cerebro were filmed in a large soundstage within the downtown CBC building. Hamilton's Liuna Station, a former train station converted into an event hall, stood in for the Westchester train station in the unavailability of Toronto's downtown Union Station. A beach in nearby Oakville was originally intended to serve as the beach where Senator Kelly washes up after his escape from Magneto.

During filming of the scene just outside the train station, Bryan Singer was prevented entry by a local police officer, who was assisting with crowd control. Singer's youthfull appearance and casual dress failed to impress the officer, who flatly refused to believe that the "kid" in front of him was even involved in the film, let alone somebody important.

The film went on to become one of the biggest hits of 2000, taking in more than $296 million worldwide and becoming the 8th highest grossing film, domestically, of that year. The film is also widely credited as being the patriarch of the current "Comic Book Movie Age" that Hollywood is currently experiencing with releases such as, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3, Daredevil, Fantastic Four, The Punisher, Constantine, Sin City, Batman Begins, V for Vendetta, The Hulk, Superman Returns, Ghost Rider, X2: X-Men United and X-Men: The Last Stand.

Some fans were not entirely pleased with the first large scale adaptation of the X-Men. Many fans complained about the change in costumes and the overall depiction of Rogue as frightened, naive, and defenseless - even with her powers. Another overall complaint was that the other X-Men, featured so prominently in the comic books, were relegated to playing second fiddle against Wolverine. Many fans felt that Cyclops in particular, the field leader of the X-Men, and his long-term romance with Jean Grey were minimalized to emphasize Wolverine's role in the group, and Wolverine's infatuation with Jean.

Wonder Woman The Movie

Wonder Woman is an announced superhero film based on the fictional DC Comics character Wonder Woman. The film was originally intended to be written and directed by Joss Whedon and produced by Joel Silver, but Whedon left the project due to script differences. A new director and writer has yet to be determined for Wonder Woman.

n January 2001, producer Joel Silver approached Todd Alcott to write the Wonder Woman screenplay with Silver Pictures backing the project. Early gossip included actresses such as Mariah Carey, Sandra Bullock, and Catherine Zeta-Jones for the role of Wonder Woman. Sandra Bullock was a strong candidate for the project, according to producer Leonard Goldberg in a May 2001 interview. The project did not take off for the time being, but instead went through various screenplay drafts written by Alcott, Jon Cohen, Becky Johnston, and Philip Levens. By August 2003, Levens was replaced by screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis.

In March 2005, Warner Bros. and Silver Pictures announced that Joss Whedon would write and direct the film adaptation of Wonder Woman. Since Whedon was busy directing Serenity at the time, and still had to research Wonder Woman's background, the director did not begin writing the screenplay until late 2005. According to Joel Silver, the script would involve the origin of Wonder Woman and have the presence of the character Steve Trevor, explaining, "Trevor crashes on the island and they go back to Man's World." Silver expressed interest in having Wonder Woman filmed in Australia once the script was completed.

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Watchmen

Watchmen is a film adaptation of Alan Moore's twelve-issue Hugo Award-winning comic book Watchmen. The adaptation is directed by Zack Snyder, who helmed 300.

On June 23, 2006, Warner Bros. announced that Zack Snyder would direct Watchmen with Alex Tse attached to write the script. The director previously filmed 300, a Warner Bros. adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel 300.

Alex Tse wrote a new script that drew the best elements from two of David Hayter's previous drafts in the new script. The script did not keep the contemporary atmosphere that Hayter created, but instead returned to the original Cold War setting of the Watchmen comic. Snyder said that Warner Bros. was agreeable to the 1980's script that had been turned in. In the script, the director had also added a title montage sequence to introduce the events of alternate history United States in that time period to the audience. "The Black Freighter", a comic within the Watchmen comic, was included in the script, but the director said that he did not know if the potential narrative device for the story would make it into the film.

Snyder said of his plans for filming Watchmen: "There are so many easter eggs in the frames (of the comic) so you want that level of detail in the movie itself." The director said that he planned to use a combination of sets and green screens. The scenes that take place on Mars, Antarctica, and in "The Black Freighter" would require green screens, while the rest of the film would take place on sets. Snyder said that he hoped to speak to Watchmen author Alan Moore before filming, though Moore had sworn off involvement with film or television productions after his disagreement with the V for Vendetta film adaptation.

In November 2006, Zack Snyder said that he planned to begin working on Watchmen right after completing 300. Snyder explained that the "The Black Freighter" was written into the script in a way that the story could be left out if necessary and not affect the rest of the film. The director hoped to include scenes of "The Black Freighter" on the Watchmen DVD release if the studio decided to leave out the story due to time constraints. "I'm totally fine with that, but I feel like that's a battle I haven't lost yet, so I'm not going to concede to it yet," Snyder said. Snyder hopes to begin production in spring 2007.

In December 2006, comic book artists Adam Hughes and John Cassaday were confirmed to work on character and costume design for Watchmen.

In an interview with Variety's Danny Graydon, Watchmen writer Alan Moore adamantly opposed a film adaptation of his comic book, arguing, "You get people saying, 'Oh, yes, Watchmen is very cinematic, when actually it's not. It's almost the exact opposite of cinematic." Moore said that Terry Gilliam, preparing to direct Watchmen for Warner Bros. at the time, had asked Moore how the writer would film it. Moore told Graydon about his response, "I had to tell him that, frankly, I didn't think it was filmable. I didn't design it to show off the similarities between cinema and comics, which are there, but in my opinion are fairly unremarkable. It was designed to show off the things that comics could do that cinema and literature couldn't."

Moore also told Entertainment Weekly in December 2001, "With a comic, you can take as much time as you want in absorbing that background detail, noticing little things that we might have planted there. You can also flip back a few pages relatively easily to see where a certain image connects with a line of dialogue from a few pages ago. But in a film, by the nature of the medium, you're being dragged through it at 24 frames per second." Moore had opposed the adaptation of Watchmen from the beginning, intending to give any resulting film royalties to Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons. According to Moore, Hayter's script "was as close as [he] could imagine anyone getting to Watchmen". However, Moore added, "I shan't be going to see it. My book is a comic book. Not a movie, not a novel. A comic book. It's been made in a certain way, and designed to be read a certain way: in an armchair, nice and cozy next to a fire, with a steaming cup of coffee."

In an early interview with Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker, Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons said that he thought the time had passed to make a Watchmen movie. At the time, Darren Aronofsky was expressing interest in directing the film under Paramount Pictures. Nevertheless, Gibbons said, "It was most likely to happen when Batman was a big success, but then that window was lost." Gibbons also told Neon, "In a way, I'm glad because it wouldn't have been up to the book."

Wanted (set to be released 2008)

Now this looks really interesting.....
Wanted is a creator-owned comic book miniseries, consisting of six issues written by Mark Millar with art by J. G. Jones and published by Top Cow. It features an amoral protagonist who discovers he is the heir to a career as a super-villainous assassin in a world where such villains have secretly taken control of the planet.

The series is very adult in nature, similar to more grown-up 'super-hero' titles such as The Authority. Like the Authority or The Squadron Supreme, several characters are based on DC Comics super-villains. Rumour states that the series was originally supposed to be a revamp of the Secret Society of Super-Villains. The series bears a resemblance to Fight Club as it is about a despondent man in an unfulfilling white-collar job who finds a new lease on life but becomes extremely violent and marked as outside of 'normal' society. There is also a parallel between Wanted and The Matrix, particularly in the concept of a world secretly run by powerful, superhuman villains as well as the balletic gun battles between leather-clad fighters.

The Sunday Times dubbed the title "the Watchmen for super-villains."

Timur Bekmambetov will direct a film adaptation starring James McAvoy.

Virus (1999)

Virus is a sci-fi/horror film released in 1999 about an alien lifeform which primarily inhabits electronic devices. The lifeform invades Mir (the Russian space station) and is transmitted to a Russian research ship, and sets out to exterminate the crew of a tugboat who find the derelict ship. To do this, the alien creates cyborgs by fusing the corpses of its victims with various electronic parts. These creations are manufactured in a mini-factory it built in the ship. The film is based on a Dark Horse comic book of the same name by Chuck Pfarrer.

Vampirella (1996)

Vampirella is a fictional character, a comic book vampire heroine created by Forrest J. Ackerman for Warren Publishing's namesake black-and-white horror-comics magazine, and developed by Archie Goodwin with artists Frank Frazetta and Tom Sutton.

After appearing in Warren magazines from 1969-1983, Vampirella was sold to Harris Comics, which has been publishing her in various series and miniseries from 1991 to 2007. At the Fangoria Weekend of Horrors convention in January 2007 Scott Licina, Editor-in-Chief of Fangoria Comics announced they had acquired the character from Harris, and that it was not a licensing deal.

Vampirella was originally presented as an inhabitant of the planet Drakulon, a world where people lived on blood and where blood flowed in rivers. Drakulon orbited twin suns, Satyr and Circe, with the former erupting at irregular intervals to destroy all life on the planet. As the effects of the explosion wane, a new civilization begins. The race of which Vampirella was born, the Vampiri, were able to transform themselves into bats at will, sprout wings when required, and drink blood.

The story begins with the inhabitants of Drakulon being destroyed slowly by Satyr's latest eruption. The last few lie dying when a spaceship from Earth crashes on the planet. Vampirella, sent to investigate, is attacked; retaliating, she discovers that the astronauts have blood in their veins. In order for her race to survive, she manages to pilot the ship back to Earth where her adventures begin. Vampirella becomes a "good" vampire, and devotes her energy to ridding our world of the homegrown "evil" kind.

Harris Comics revived Vampirella in the miniseries Morning In America, written by Kurt Busiek. Soon thereafter, Vampirella was established as being brainwashed by her sister and brother (in the story "Mystery Walk") and led to believe she was from the planet Drakulon. She learned that she was, in fact, the daughter of Lilith, the first wife of Adam from the Book of Genesis. Lilith would not submit before Adam and was cast out of Eden. She mated with demons in hell, giving birth to vampires who would kill the offspring of Adam and Eve on Earth. Later, she sought redemption from God and gave birth to Vampirella, whom she sent to Earth to kill all evil vampires. According to this account, Drakulon was a part of Hell where Lilith lived and ruled.

Vampirella was made into a 1996 feature film starring Talisa Soto and Roger Daltrey. This film was directed by Jim Wynorski.
Now this movie is what bad cinema is all about.
Avoid it.

V for Vendetta (2006)

V for Vendetta is a 2006 action-thriller film set in London, England in a dystopian near future. The film follows the mysterious V, a freedom fighter seeking to effect sociopolitical change while simultaneously pursuing his own violent personal vendetta. The film is an adaptation of the graphic novel V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. V for Vendetta was directed by James McTeigue and produced by Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers, who also wrote the screenplay. The film stars Natalie Portman as Evey Hammond, Hugo Weaving as V, Stephen Rea as Inspector Finch, and John Hurt as Chancellor Sutler.

The film's release was originally scheduled for Friday, November 4, 2005 (a day before the 400th Guy Fawkes Night), but was delayed; it opened on March 17, 2006, and was generally well-received by critics and audiences alike. Alan Moore, facing his disappointment in both From Hell and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, refused to view the film and subsequently distanced himself from it. The filmmakers removed some of the anarchist themes and drug references present in the original story and also updated the political message to be more relevant to a 2006 audience. Due to the politically sensitive content of the film, V for Vendetta attracted much attention from groups on both sides of the political spectrum and has received both great praise and harsh criticism in turn.

The cast and film-makers attended several press conferences that allowed them to address issues surrounding the film, including its authenticity, Alan Moore's reaction to it and its intended political message. The responses given at the conferences made it clear that the film was intended to be a departure from some of Moore's original themes. In the words of Hugo Weaving: "Alan Moore was writing about something which happened some time ago. It was a response to living in Thatcherite England... This is a response to the world in which we live today. So I think that the film and the graphic novel are two separate entities." Regarding the controversial political content in the film the filmmakers have said that the film is intended more to raise questions and add to a dialogue already present in society, rather than provide answers or tell viewers what to think".

The film takes extensive imagery from the infamous 1605 Gunpowder Plot, where a group of Catholic conspirators plotted to destroy the Houses of Parliament in order to spark a revolution in England. The film was originally scheduled for release on the weekend of November 5, 2005, the 400th anniversary of the Plot, with the tag line "Remember, remember the 5th of November", taken from a traditional British rhyme memorializing the event. However, the marketing angle lost much of its value when the release date was pushed back to March 17, 2006. Many have speculated that the delay was due to the London tube bombings on July 7 and 21. The film-makers have denied this, saying that the delays were from the need for more time in order to finish the visual effects production. V for Vendetta had its first major premiere on February 13 at the Berlin Film Festival. It opened for general release on March 17, 2006 in 3,365 theatres in the United States, the United Kingdom and six other countries.

Thor (2009)

Thor (often called The Mighty Thor) is a fictional character and a superhero appearing in the Marvel Universe.
Based on the god of the same name from Norse mythology and created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Journey into Mystery # 83 (Aug. 1962). The uncredited initial inker was Joe Sinnott.

In mid-2006, Marvel Studios announced plans to release a Thor feature film scripted by Mark Protosevich.

UPDATE: In December 2008, Kenneth Branagh confirmed to MTV News that he has been hired to direct the Thor movie. He described it as "a human story right in the center of a big epic scenario.”The film has a scheduled release date of July 16, 2010.

TMNT (2007)

TMNT, to be released March 23, 2007, will be the fourth film released in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. This film was created using computer-generated imagery (CGI) by Imagi Animation Studios. It will be the first film in the franchise in 14 years, the previous film having been released in 1993. The film is rated PG by the MPAA for mild action violence, monster images that may frighten young children and mild rude humor.

A teaser was released in July. It starts out above the buildings on a dark night. When it finally stops moving, the turtles open their eyes and all that can be seen is the whites of their eyes against the dark background. Then, the turtles start maneuvering across the tops of the buildings, finally jumping down and landing in a dark alleyway. As each one lands, they perform kata with their respective weapon to a techno version of Flight of the Bumblebee. After Leonardo finishes with his kata, Michelangelo can be seen falling into a dumpster. As Donatello opens the dumpster, Michelangelo says "I'm okay." A police siren is heard and then the car pulls up. The officer shines his light down the alley, but the turtles have already disappeared. The camera pans down the alley to show a manhole cover being slid back into place, with the name "TMNT" on it.

http://tmnt.warnerbros.com/

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III is a 1993 live-action film, the second sequel to the 1990 live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film. This is the most cartoon-like of the three movies, but the turtles use their weapons more than in the second movie. A full- and wide-screen DVD version was released on September 3, 2002.

April O'Neil finds a scepter and is sent back in time to feudal Japan, and in her place, a man from feudal Japan comes to present New York City with the same scepter, but from his own time. The turtles take the scepter and travel back in time to save April. When the turtles arrive in feudal Japan, many people in a local village understand English because the village has strong trade relations with England. The turtles fight Lord Norinaga and the English trader Walker to stop a war.

The film was criticized by fans of the first and second films who said that it was too cartoony and that the plot was unrealistic and silly; to make matters worse, it also has the least combat. Notably, the turtles only fight three battles, only one of which features all four turtles. Critic Fred Topel called it a "Terrible conclusion of the trilogy."Some fans state that their only real complaint is the less-realistic costumes and puppetry of the turtles and Splinter.

Peter Laird has gone on to note in interviews that the fourth in the movie series will retcon the third movie out of existence, and base it in the continuity of the first film, and the portions of the second that made sense to him (the TMNT learning their origins and Shredder's death) much like Superman Returns is based on the first Superman movie and aspects of Superman II.

Released in 2,087 theatres, the film proved to be very popular at the box office, taking in $12,419,597 on its opening weekend in the United States. The film would gross $42,273,609 in the domestic market, accumulating more than double its budget of $21 million.

Although Corey Feldman returned to voice Donatello for this film, he did not provide his voice for the 2nd film.
Robbie Rist and Brian Tochi (who did the voices of Michaelangelo and Leonardo, respectively) are the only two voice actors to voice the same character throughout all three TMNT movies.
The scepter is quite possibily a nod to the "Sacred Sands of Time Scepter" from the original Eastman and Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic series, from the crossover story with Dave Sim's Cerebus character.
The Shredder does not appear in this film.
This was the last Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film released by New Line Cinema and also the last live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film. (The fourth film will be released by Warner Bros. Pictures, The Weinstein Company and Imagi Animation Studios and will also be computer-animated. It should be noted that Time Warner owns both Warner Bros. and New Line.)
According to Troma Films creator Lloyd Kaufman in his book "Everything I Learned About Filmmaking I Learned From the Toxic Avenger", Kaufman says that New Line did not live up to their end of the contract and the film was not made. Kaufman has speculated that New Line bought the rights because they were in negotiations to make the sequels to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and wanted to use the Toxic Crusaders movie as leverage against the owners of the rights to TMNT. Troma sued New Line and was awarded an undisclosed amount in damages.