Black Manta

Black Manta

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Arkham Origins, Deathstroke and the Suicide Squad


From   
 Blackgate to Belle Reve



Could it be?

for today, let's just say that it's happening! 
How would you want the game to play?


And who would you want to line up the team?


Is Slade going to take Flags place as field team leader?



Last but not least, who would be the big bad guy?



Monday, October 14, 2013

Arrow-fication


Michael Jai White: Bronze Tiger



file name:  Benjamin Turner

Affiliation:  Task Force X 
aka,  the Suicide Squad

Abilities:  Ben is a skilled tactician and strategist
but excels as a hunter killer. Even though he rarely kills
his target. The skills of an assassin and his natural
athletic talents are paramount and is only tempered
by his inner Shogun

I've been hearing the casting is inspired. I would say so ( to the obvious choice). The martial arts master of the DCU and the real life martial arts master in the flesh.


Sports fans this should be good. The second episode of Arrow is Identity, featuring China White and DC's ultimate Super Spy the Bronze Tiger.






The shows executive producer, Marc Guggenheim, said

Michael is such a badass. His performance, our incredibly talented 
costumer designer, and our very gifted props master ... they've all combined their A-games
to create a really great representation of this DC comics character. 
If your a fan of the character
from the comics. You are going to really be happy with his Arrow-fication.




Arrow will also feature Amanda Waller and the Suicide Squad, Black Canary, 
Sebastian Blood, and the scarlet speedster himself the Flash





Well true believers,  what do you think?
Is the uniform what it should be?
Does the master of the empty hand need Catman's  claws?
Should the Tiger mask show up?
Why was the design so close to Wolverine?
And whatever else you got.

Tao












Sunday, October 6, 2013

Aeternus Malum


Sea of Change

the ONE SHOT I've been waiting for and DC delivers. The Crime Syndicate has taken over the world, every prison has been busted open from Belle Reve to Blackgate. The JL, JLA and JSA are all dead or missing and the only Heroes that can do anything about it are Villains. 

Enter David Ray: AKA

Privateer
Treasure Hunter
Weapons Inventor 
Pirate Assassin
come Anti Hero




(Dude don't do it. she sexy and everything but don't fall for it)


From this point the conversation is interrupted by an attack on Belle Reve. 
Nothing new right? Not this time, the evil Justice League has attacked the entire earth and shit has really hit the fan. Imagine everything that could go wrong, all goes wrong at the same time. Amanda  leaves to do her thing 
and King Shark, well ..... does his thing and eats a couple of guards.



At this point Manta walks thru the prison chaos, gets his gear and leaves via some helicopter pilot named Brisco. For real Suicide Squaders this is a sort of easter egg and  a memory of better days.


Manta goes to the big bad guy pow wow the Syndicate throws and is unimpressed.   Matter of fact, he takes Aquaman's trident from some A list killers, disregards what Ultraman is saying and walks right out of the damn meeting like the G he is. 
On a real note. I really like what Geoff Johns has done with this issue. He gave us another look and a deeper sense of who Black Manta is,   the respect he commands from his peers and the independence of an alpha character that can hold down a solo book with no problem.






Now.... after neatly giving us a brief recap of the character without going thru a whole origin story,  and tying the character directly into DC's new big event;   Geoff humanizes Black Manta and shows us a man,  a son lay down the pain of the loss of his father.    The hate that burned hotter than Vesuvius that controlled his life is over










the hate was over.   So much for that.
Let's go Killla

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

the Unknown Soldier











Rangers lead the way:  Lonzo is the highest caliber special forces Green Beret.

Stalker is the proven truth when it comes to Army Special Operations; ready to deploy by land, air and sea anywhere in the world at a moments notice to respond to the latest contingency or crisis.  This Green Beret has executed the most critical special missions of direct action,  hostage rescue,  clandestine night fighting,  air field seizure,  infiltration and advanced Recon.  Missions so critical his superiors , superiors can't even talk about them.  The perfect warrior and epitome of the Ranger Creed.



The field commander of the original G.I.Joe team which consisted of Rock N Roll, Short Fuse, Scarlett, Breaker, Grunt, Zap, Grandslam, Snake Eyes and Flash.




Stalker has been in the OA1 top five figures since 1982, his first appearance.
Me and Stalker has destroyed all my neighborhood  friends teams of Joe's.
We firecracker ed their guys, won their vehicles and took home their weapons. Alpha Fight stands undefeated.

I still have multiple versions of the figure. Their a little rough for wear but who doesn't have battle scars? Here's one or two from my collection,  I added in a few new one's with my old ones and a couple of custom jobs too just to let you know were ready to roll if that's what you want to do (just saying).






Stalker with Rhino vehicle



Stalker: Infiltrator unit


Stalker was always prominent in the figure realm and has a multitude of action figures. In the G.I.Joe comics and cartoon though he had no true presence. After the first season of the cartoon he wasn't included at all.  Roadblock was the big strong Black guy that spoke everything in rhyme, that always bragged about being a gourmet cook. He's the African American that is G.I.Joe spotlighted not the multilingual medic bad ass Green Beret.?.  Don't get me wrong, I like Roadblock and I chalked it up to Stalker and Duke are figuratively the same guy;  the leader, the main character, the most interesting character to build around. So they couldn't have two (riiight). Add in that later the word stalker became a socially used negative descriptive word. Still, no excuse not to use Stalker the G.I.Joe in the mainstream (unless you have no creative talent).
Well Stalker was cool when he was in the cartoon.




Stalker could easily move right into his own individually mainstreamed verse in the world of G.I.Joe. With his own supporting cast of joes to go along with him. 
His squad would be Beach head, Gung Ho, Airborne, Shipwreck, 
Doc (Carla Greer) and Bomb strike.




Duke's team is usually Roadblock, Scarlett, Flint, Lady Jaye and Stalker

Snake Eyes support team is usually Storm Shadow, Jinx, kamakura, Quinn, the Hard master and the Blind Master. sometimes Stalker.

So these guys can cameo when it's Stalkers time to shine. 
I'd back up Lonzo's 1st team with 
 Spirit, Snow Job, Recondo, Bullet Proof, Dial tone and Alpine. 
But this is a OA1 dream production so who knows who might show up.
the October Guard would for sure.











Thursday, August 1, 2013

Bronze Tiger: Michael Jai White



Suicide Squad's 
Spec Ops secret weapon the Bronze Tiger will show up in season 2 of Arrow.  The word on the wire is that BT will form an uneasy alliance with China White, the leader of the triads in Star City. The Squad is said to be forming and the Bronze Tiger is the first agent of Waller's on the show. Bone crushing kick assery is sure to ensue.


Bronze Tiger is a martial arts Grand Master and former LOA assassin. Michael Jai White being a martial arts master himself understands how DC's super spy's fight game should be executed. The only question left is what will he look like.


this photo is from Michael Jai White's twitter page. I'm thinking this is from the set of Arrow so we might have the sneak peak at what the Tiger's urban ninja is going to be. Will he have the Tiger mask at some point in the Task Force X movie, will the claws be tricked out (come on DC let's do it

Truly I was hoping for a modern version of the BT classic look or tactical battle gear with martial arts accents. The leather jacket is cool too.
Believe me I'm not complaining.

  BT is in the building and the excitement level is high sports fans.



Essential Bronze Tiger

Who's Who may 85 volume III

Detective Comics #485,  489

Legends #1-6

Checkmate #6, 7 (Greg Rucka)

Suicide Squad  vI (John Ostrander)

SS mini series Raise the Flag #1-8

Suicide Squad #67 / Secret Six #17, 18


Best stand alone issue: Suicide Squad #38



Checkmate #7

Michael Jai White is














Saturday, July 27, 2013

Comic Con 2013: the Cosplay experience


Coming of a Geek Planet

what I've been hearing is cosplay is the new cool, the next big thing, 
and Geek is good. I know Geek girls rule, in which cosplay has released
the dormant powers, the expressive feminine appeal and the over all
awesomeness of our heroine teammates.


Lady Sagat


Misty Knight



Velma: Zombie Hunter 2012 
I like the concept. So she makes the cut



Captain Universe
                                    


Domino



And  for us guys cosplay has also revealed the dormant chivalry
and heroic nature of us workaholics and sofa coaches. 
You do get some creeps out of the lot.
But overall thru cosplay we become 
King.

T'Challa
the Black Panther


Power man and Iron Fist


                 
                     
                          Cable                                                             Redhood























Cyborg



No matter what universe you like better 
or what super team you side with
suit up have fun and 

Cosplay!




Galactus



If you could put together a costume
 hooked up exactly how you want it sparing nothing. 
Who would you go as?
and
What would your equipment do?










































Monday, July 22, 2013

Jungle Fever


Rima
is the essence of nineteenth century romanticism and the twentieth century ecological movement.
Green Mansions
explores love somewhere between reality and imagination


1st true appearance is in W.H. Hudson's 1904 novel 
a Romance of the Tropical Forest (Green Mansions)
Rima comes from a lost white tribe in the Venezuelan mountains. 
An exotic beauty with ash blonde hair,
can communicate with animals and is an expert in wilderness survival. 
She has an affinity to animals
and can communicate with them through an understanding of sounds and calls. 
She's been called  Rima the bird girl; 
however her main companions in the comics is a rare white Jaguar and a Bear.




































Rima went from novel to movie to her own 7 issue run from DC comics.
Joe Kubert: covers
Nestor Redondo: interior art












Rima appeared in three episodes of the Super Friends

Fire / River of Doom / Return to Atlantis


 re-imagined in a 2010 mini series Next Wave





W.H. Hudson was also the founder of 
the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
Therefore a memorial to him and a testaments to the character he created
Rima has her own statue in London's Hyde Park



..... and I just thought Rima was a sexy female knockoff of Tarzan.
Who knew this character would become the member of the Super Friends with
so much unknown cultural importance?