Marvel's Starting Line-Up (Must Read !)

[Marvel Merchandise: you might need it for all the cool stuff coming out soon]
Written by GL

Just the other day by the pool-side of the JLA Training Center (I mean, Jerudong gym), Kal-El and I were discussing the release of Marvel shows vs DC shows. We were talking about how it seems that Marvel is really quick on the ball about getting their movies and shows out - almost in a factory-like fashion. We agreed that they were fast, perhaps even faster than their closest competition.

I think the rest of you, dear readers, will agree that we've got wave upon wave of Marvel Entertainment things to look forward to and what better way to look at it all than in list form.

Just this morning Marvel Entertainment reported its earnings for the second quarter of 2007. Along with their financial report was included the company's upcoming projects. Here's line-up of things in the works (I love looking at this list!) :

Feature Films
Wolverine - Director (Gavin Hood), produced by Fox
Punisher 2 - Director (Lexi Alexander) and lead actor (Ray Stevenson), produced by Lionsgate

Film Projects Being Developed (Not Complete)
Iron Man - Completed shooting; May 2, 2008 release
The Incredible Hulk - Started shooting; June 13, 2008 release
Ant-Man - Writer found (Edward Wright, Joe Cornish) and Director (Edgar Wright)
Captain America - Writer found (David Self)
Nick Fury - Writer found (Andrew Marlowe)
Thor - Writer found (Mark Protosevich)
The Avengers - Writer found (Zak Penn)

Animated TV Projects
Spider-Man - In Development (by Sony)
Wolverine and the X-Men (India) - 26, 30 minute episodes in development (by First Serve Toonz )
Iron Man (France) - 26, 30 minute episodes in development (by Method Films)

Animated Direct-to-DVD Projects
Doctor Strange - August 14, 2007 release (by Lionsgate)
Teen Avengers - Targeted July 2008 release (by Lionsgate)
Hulk Smash - Targeted October 2008 release (by Lionsgate)

Live Stage Projects
Spider-Man the Musical (Hello Entertainment/David Garfinkle, Martin McCallum, Marvel Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment) - In development/opening date to be determined; Julie Taymor (director); music & lyrics by U2's Bono and The Edge

2008 Video Game Releases
Iron Man - Targeted 2008 (by Sega)
The Incredible Hulk - Targeted 2008 (by Sega)

As it stands, the company looks like they've got almost every based covered; from gaming to live stage musical (?). It'll be really interesting to see what DC can come up with to compete with this line-up. And lucky for fans such as you and me, we get to be there to see all this cool stuff be released. Keep watching, true believers.

Star-Spangled Kid

[ Meet Courtney Whitmore and her bodyguard]
Written By Kal-El

One of the original features of The House of El is to deliever informations on Superheroes and Villains, Sometimes special Info Pieces on stuff that we don't normally talk about as well, but one thing is for sure, We not only will be talking about your average everyday Superheroes and villains like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spiderman, Wolverine, The Incredible Hulk, Daredevil etc. We also would like to share more information on other unmentionable superheroes. So today,I'd like firstly to ask you readers, Do you know a girl that goes by the name "Star-Sprangled Kid"? If you haven't heard of her, read on readers.

Stargirl, who was previously called Star-Spangled Kid, is Courtney Whitmore, stepdaughter of Pat Dugan. Courtney Whitmore found the original Star-Spangled Kid's gear in her stepfather's belongings and donned the costume in order to annoy him as partial revenge for marrying her mother and supposedly forcing the family to move from Los Angeles to Blue Valley, Nebraska. Dugan, a skilled mechanic, designed and built S.T.R.I.P.E., a robotic suit which he rides in to accompany and protect her.

During her time in Blue Valley, her frequent nemesis was the young villainess known as Shiv, daughter of the immortal Dragon King. The two had their most recent rematch in Infinite Crisis, in a page added to the hardcover edition.Eventually, Courtney joined the Justice Society of America and, after being given Starman Jack Knight's cosmic rod/staff, changed her identity to Stargirl.

[ Star Powered Teenager ]

Courtney has appeared in most issues of JSA and it was in these pages that her little sister Patricia Dugan was born.During her time with the team, she confronts her predecessor's killer. Solomon Grundy, driven further into madness by the Joker, attacks the JSA headquarters with the head of a giant statue. With the aid of only Jakeem Thunder, Courtney fights him in the streets and into the tunnels below. The two heros barely defeat Grundy. Jakeem's Thunderbolt fixes the statue.

Courtney encounters Merry Pemberton, the sister of her predecessor. Originally, tensions existed between the two as Merry had feelings about her brother's legacy and also did not like the fact young superheros operated on the same field as adult ones. These problems were resolved when the two were part of a larger battle against the forces of Klarion the Witch Boy. Courtney even saves Merry's life from an attacking Amazo. During this incident, Courtney temporarily has the body of a much more mature adult.

Later, she discovers her biological father working as a common thug for an incarnation of the Royal Flush Gang.Despite a glimpse into the future, which showed an adult Starwoman married to Albert Rothstein a.k.a.Atom Smasher (member of JSA), Courtney briefly dated another JSA member, Captain Marvel, who in his true identity of Billy Batson is actually younger than her. However, Captain Marvel was, by all appearances to those not knowing Billy's secret,an adult, and the relationship between Marvel and Stargirl drew the attention of JSA members Jakeem Thunder and Jay Garrick, the original Flash. After being confronted by Garrick over the issue, Marvel chose to leave the JSA and Courtney instead of telling the team his secret. Marvel has recently reappeared in the JSA and revealed he can't give out his true identity due to the wisdom of Solomon blocking him.

Courtney's family was murdered by agents of Per Degaton. She traveled with the rest of the JSA back to 1951. The time-traveling adventure featured the newest versions of classic JSA members meeting and fighting alongside the originals to try to save her family and the future. During this adventure, she found herself forced to work with Atom Smasher again, for the first time since he defected to Black Adam's rival team. Following this, she apparently forgave him, but Atom Smasher was then nearly murdered by the Spectre. Though Atom Smasher was saved, the events clearly revealed the depth of feeling she has for him. She was quite relieved to return after this time-travelling adventure to see that her family was still alive.

Later, Atom Smasher was tried and convicted for actions he took while working for Black Adam, and during a TV appearance, Courtney stated that even though Al was in prison, she would "wait for him."

[Courtney Sneaking out]

Over the years Courtney has been a little careless with her secret ID with many school friends and even some villains learning it.In fact Courtney revealed her ID (to her friend Mary) moments into her first outing (though she was at this point only dressed as a hero having yet to decide to give it a go as a career). It's currently unclear how public her ID is though it seems to be known by many in the heroic community. (This is in fitting with the current DC practice where most of the heroes seem to know the others on first name basis).

She has developed from a bit of a brat to a well-rounded heroine. She is best friends with Hawkgirl and is also close to Power Girl, whom Courtney considers a role model of sorts. As well, she has started to befriend with Supergirl, Kara Zor-El. She has also developed good leadership skills and courage, often throwing herself directly into harm's way. She can also be quite violently effective when angered. After Courtney's family was killed by Per Degaton's Forces (incident later erased from history) she used the rod to disintegrate all of the attackers.

As well as her relationships with Atom Smasher and Captain Marvel, Courtney is the object of a crush held by Jakeem Thunder. She has also been stalked by Solomon Grundy who was at one point obsessed with her. It was also said in a comic issue story that Courtney dropped hints of having a crush on our young Robin (Tim Drake),But that hasn't been picked up for years now.

[Star & S.T.R.I.P.E.]

Stargirl also made several appearances in the Action animated series of The Justice League Unlimited, Along side with her is her usual sidekick (or Step Dad) S.T.R.I.P.E. When you watch Justice League the Animated series, be sure not to miss Stargirl as she goes on kicking bad guys butt out of the way. So there you go guys, Watch out for more Origins here at The House of El.

Friend or Foe

Written by Kal-El

Firstly my thanks to Parker for telling me about this game, although i apologized for the time taken for me to post this up. But anyways, Spider-Man: Friend or Foe is an upcoming Spider-Man computer and video game based on the comic book series and Spider-Man motion pictures. The game's arrival is scheduled for fall 2007.

Spider-Man: Friend or Foe was originally announced via a promotional page on the back of the Spider-Man 3 video game instruction booklet. The teaser stated that the game would be a "A new twist on the legend. A new take on the movies." The game's confirms that the Green Goblin will make an appearance. It also confirms that the game will be expected for release during October 2007.

Activision had previously announced Spider-Man: Trilogy. The game, believed to be a retelling of the three films, is also set to be available for purchase sometime in fall 2007. It is thought that Spider-Man: Friend or Foe is the final name for Spider-Man: Trilogy.

According to the company report, Spider-Man: Friend or Foe is a unique take on the franchise. Inspired by the movies Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3, this action adventure game reinterprets big-screen moments and battles with a humorous twist. Players team up with famous heroes from Marvel Comics to fight the bad guys and then convert them to sidekicks after defeating them in epic boss battles. Experience ground-breaking cooperative multiplayer, as Spider-Man or a sidekick, in exotic spots around the globe, including Tokyo, Egypt and Nepal.

Spider-Man: Friend or Foe is being developed by three different companies depending on the platform. The Wii, Xbox 360, and PS2 editions are being created by Next Level Games who created both Mario Strikers titles: Super Mario Strikers and Mario Strikers Charged. Beenox Studios will be taking care of the PC edition. Beenox has been porting games to the PC for years including titles from the Tony Hawk Pro Skater and X-Men Legends franchises. Artificial Mind and Movement will be handling the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP edition of the game.

Watch out for this game Spidey-Fans, It might just come out during Puasa time, so that will be a good time for your to kill some time Ya Heard!

Smoke & Fire

Created by GL
[click on image to download wallpaper]

Spiderman Is Unleashed

[Spiderman 3: still going strong]
Written by GL

You'd think after the number of months that have passed since the Spiderman 3 movie, the merchandising would have slowed down, but it hasn't.

Pictured above are samples of the upcoming Spiderman Unleashed 360 line, releasing next month from Hasbro and apparently, the detail is the best yet for a mass-market action figure line. Each of these figures comes in an attractive box (shown) with multiple points of articulation and a play-set addition that should make your figure look pretty awesome. On top of that, these fellas are 7 inches tall.

Other characters you can expect from this first wave are: Venom, Sandman and New Goblin. I think the black symbiote variant above is cool.

Expect to pay about US$25 for each figure (or just under B$40). Head to Entertainment Earth or Big Bad Toy Store to pre-order them now.

The First Supergirl On Smallville

[Helen Slater: love, love, love the costume]
Written by GL

Smallville fans can start rejoicing as more and more new and attractive characters are added to the roster of the successful drama's actors list. The newest addition to the cast is former Supergirl star Helen Slater.

Slater has signed on to appear on Smallville where she play the aunt of the show's recently cast Supergirl (Laura Vandervoort - that hot blond thing we posted about a few weeks ago). Slater will appear in the sixth episode of the upcoming season. This episode comes two weeks after the ex-Superman Dean Cain (of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman) is scheduled to appear as well.

Unfortunately, Helen Slater has not done anything big, in terms of Hollywood-budget movies, but she has appeared in Grey's Anatomy and several other dramas. I should really start watching Smallville.

Dark Phoenix Takes Over

Written by Kal-El

Hi guys i'm back now, sorry haven't been around lately, was away during the weekend. I wanna thank my second in command, guardian of the universe and a good friend of mine GL, for being truly dedicated to the blog. Thanks GL!

Ok, back to business, it's monday and the votes are in, Your votes for "Who is the most sexiest and yet also the deadliest?" goes to DARK PHOENIX! Not bad, must've had alot of Xmen fans out there. I must agree tho, she could be the deadliest amoungst the nominated ones. Although some of you guys also voted for Poison Ivy [1 vote] i could see why also, she could seduced you and yet poisoned you with her kiss of Death. Then other also voted Mystique [2], for which her shape shifting and maybe sometimes showing off her sexy scaled skin and be attractive and yet her deadly skills to kill people without leaving a trace and lastly [1 vote] Catwoman, now no doubt, the sexy cat with the tight leather skins could also seduce and ripped your heart off at the same time.

In conclusion, i applaud you all for your participation, thanks for all your support. Keep on reading superfans.

Majestic Man Of Steel

Written by GL

This is something I think Kal-El would love, love, love to have. Only for the true Superman fan, this Diamond Select sculpt is based on the very awesome work of artist Jim Lee, and sculpted by Tim Bruckner.

You know the job on this amazing statue is good because it's hand-painted, made of cold-cast porcelain and stands at 6-inches tall. You also get a 4-color box. And undoubtedly, it'll make any house look like a Fortress of Solitude.

It's going at Entertainment Earth for US$54.99 (or B$82.50). Get it quick and make Kal-El go the same color of kryptonite in envy.