Avengers

Over the weekend, I saw Ghostbusters. I loved it, but I’m not here to review it. Obviously one of the things that everyone has talked about is the female cast. There’s been a lot of backlash against it, and a lot of people defending the choice, and a plenty saying it shouldn’t matter. But honestly, I think it does matter, and I’m all in favor of it. In fact, I want to see more women-dominated reboots of previously male-dominated properties. Here’s the thing: We need more movies with woman-led casts, and that makes a movie like this even more exciting, but there’s more to it than that. Changing up the cast automatically gives the movie a freshness it wouldn’t have had with men.

John Byrne is a controversial figure in comics, all the more so as he's moved to disavow his work with mainstream publishers, yet his legacy within the industry is undeniable, and his contributions to iconic franchise properties and to early creator-owned independent work are worthy of celebration. Born on this day in 1950, John Byrne moved from England to Canada at the age of eight, and it was here that he first encountered American superhero comics. He enrolled in --- but dropped out of --- the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary, and began contributing to Roger Stern and Bob Layton’s Contemporary Pictoral Literature. Their character Rog-2000 was spotted by Charlton Comics, and the team began contributing back-up stories in the pages of E-Man.

Marvel released a bafflingly oblique teaser image on Tuesday, the words 'DEAD NO MORE' against a black background, prompting fans to speculate which of Marvel's heroes is next in line for a resurrection, even as they're debating which hero will die (for a while) in the pages of Civil War II. Before any kind of consensus could be achieved, Marvel released a second teaser today, 'BEST BEWARE MY STING', against a black and yellow background. A quote from Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, the line and colors both suggest the character Wasp, aka Janet Van Dyne. But Janet already came back from the dead; surely the first teaser can't be about her? So what other theories do we have? Well... is it possible that Marvel is hinting at a relaunch of Slingers?

We’ve been hearing bits and pieces about various elements of ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron,’ from the origins of Ultron and Vision to who Andy Serkis might be playing in the film. But we haven’t heard a whole lot about what’s up with Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, the super-powered twins teased at the end of ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier.’ What we do know is that they’re going up against the Avengers. What we haven’t known is why…until now. Plus, Marvel has released a bunch of photos from the upcoming sequel, in case you felt like Hulking-out.

Guardians Of The Galaxy just enjoyed a very successful weekend at movie theaters, taking home around $94m, far in excess of expectations. The movie also stands at 92% positive reviews on aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, joining all previous Marvel Studios movies in receiving predominantly favorable notices. Marvel Studios is doing very well. In six years and ten movies, it has avoided both critical and commercial disasters, and frustrated naysayers who hailed the demise of the superhero movie at every step. Marvel's rivals at Fox, Sony Columbia, and Warner Bros, have enjoyed commercial success as well -- but not with the acclaim, consistency, or proliferation of Marvel. So how does Marvel do it, and can they keep doing it?

New photos from the 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' set have surfaced featuring Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver.

2015 looked to be the battle of the blockbusters with Avengers 2, Star Wars VII, Hunger Games and even Superman/Batman. In a recent announcement, Warner Bros. and DC pulled the release date for their upcoming DC team-up movie from summer 2015 to 2016.

Like cockroaches lurking in the darkness waiting for their chance to attack the fruits of someone else’s labor, writer/directors Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer (‘Date Movie,’ ‘Epic Movie,’ ‘Disaster Movie,’ et al.) sit quietly, antennae twitching, primed for their attack. Their targets this time around: ‘The Hunger Games‘ and ‘The Avengers.’

Did you go see ‘The Avengers‘ this weekend? Are you a big ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ fan? Do you still watch old episodes of ‘Firefly?’ If you answered yes to any of those things, Joss Whedon has something he wants to tell you. Thanks.

A group of superhero fans on YouTube have made an impressive ‘Sweded’ remake of the highly anticipated “Avengers” trailer complete with flaming cars, cardboard versions of the film’s iconic Marvel superheroes and even a hilarious A capella take on the Nine Inch Nail’s song “We’re In This Together”.