
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Promo Artwork for Marvel's Thor & Captain America

Saturday, May 10, 2008
Captain America's Shield is in Iron Man?!
You might have thought that all Marvel buzz was over as of last week with the announcement of their upcoming line-up - but guess again. I have confirmed myself, along with our comic book expert Roman Chavez, in person that Captain America's shield is actually in Iron Man. Yes, you heard me right, and if you need to go out and see it again this weekend I suggest you do. We'll provide the information on when and where it shows up below if you care to go find it, but we're pretty damn sure this is it. As for what this means for the Marvel universe and future movies - who knows? I thought Captain America wasn't around at this time and I thought he got his shield from S.H.I.E.L.D.?
The scene in which you can see the shield is after Iron Man returns from Afghanistan after fighting with the Mark III red/gold armor for the very first time. Right after he fights the two F-22 fighter jets, it shows him back in his lab trying to remove his armor but having trouble. Right as Pepper Potts walks down into his lab and asks him "what is he doing?", the shield can be seen sitting on one of his tables behind him in the lower left corner. This happens around 1 hour and 30 minutes into the movie. Make sure to account for trailers if you're going in. We confirmed it at a 6:40PM showing and the scene played at around ~8:18PM. Here is a very low quality photo just for reference. It looks much better in the movie.
The shield is actually red, white, and blue, although you can't see the red in the photo. But if you see the scene in the theater, the shield is actually there and very identifiable. It looks like it is half-constructed and being built by Tony Stark, but you can definitely see the unique star. It is a round shield with circular red, white, and blue stripes. What does this mean?
Apparently Captain America was actually given his shield from the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization, which could make sense in this universe. Maybe Tony Stark has been building a shield, for whatever reasons, and eventually S.H.I.E.L.D., who was revealed at the end of the movie, will find out about it at a future point and suggest they give it to Captain America for his use. And this means maybe it will involve some sort of awesome Tony Stark technology instead of just being a metal object he throws around. How about that for a concept?
There are so many considerations and ideas for discussion surrounding this reveal, that almost anything right now is valid. The common reaction seems to be "that is very interesting" with much speculation thereafter. Why is Tony Stark building a shield when, as far as we know, Captain America hasn't been introduced and isn't around? Is Samuel Jackson's appearance at the end and mention of other superheroes in this universe a hint that Captain America is already around? What do you make of this?!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Rumor: Matthew McConaughey Possibly Captain America - Blasphemy!
Say it ain't so! Hot on the heels of Marvel's announcement yesterday of a Captain America movie for 2011, a scoop from Cinema Blend names Matthew McConaughey is one of the actors in the running for the lead role. Please tell me this is all just a big phoney rumor like Hayden Christensen as Superman! It would easily be the biggest travesty in all of Marvel history if McConaughey was cast as Captain America. The scoop says that although the film is still three years out from release, they're currently searching for their star and he is one of the few that is being considered. I really hate talking about rumors like this, but everyone is hungry for something to chew on after Marvel's announcement and here it is.
While Cinema Blend claims their source is reliable, this whole idea is not only a bit far fetched, but a final decision won't be made for quite some time. In case you're not familiar with Captain America, he is (typically) the altar ego of Steve Rogers, a sickly young man who was enhanced to the peak of human perfection by an experimental serum in order to aid the United States war effort. He can be identified by his American flag-like uniform and indestructible shield that can be thrown as a weapon. In the most recent comics, he has become the leader of The Avengers, which seems like the direction Marvel is going in with the movies: The First Avenger: Captain America and The Avengers both in 2011.
The real question regarding the upcoming The First Avenger: Captain America is how they're going to turn him into a character that can actually be appreciated in today's day and age. Captain America was originally created in the 1940's as patriotic government propaganda in order to help encourage even more animosity towards the Nazis. Matthew McConaughey is not only a piss poor actor to begin with, but he really doesn't seem to find the iconic Captain America that I envision. Not only does the right person need to be a very commanding actor, but the character needs to really be adapted into modern times and given the right story to succeed in a world where patriotism isn't the biggest focus anymore.
I'm pretty sure I know that everyone is on the same level of me in my distaste for McConaughey as Captain America. Instead, I'm curious to hear what people really think about the character and who might be a better choice consideration the aspects of him. Leave your thoughts below!