Super Duper

Okay, time to get your geek on. As some of you may remember I’ve got a buddy who’s working on the Batman -vs- Superman flick. She loves me like a puppy and STILL won’t dish any hot gossip. However, the couple of things she did share all proved true. Right now she’s admitted that Batman will be wearing armor and not just tights. Which makes sense if he’s going to fight Superman. The fight, which has to happen to justify the title, should be near the beginning of the movie. She said they are basing it on this clip from the Dark Knight Returns animated movie. I specify “based on” because the plots of the live action and the animated versions are going to be totally different. But, if you click the link, it will give you a taste and you’ll understand the whole “armor” thing much better. One dude, named Alex Luthor (yes, really) has created a fan made trailer using the cartoon as his template and cutting together footage from existing movies and adding a few special effects. Click on his name to read all about it and watch it yourself. It is pretty fucking cool if you’ve got your geek mojo rocking. While we’re on the subject, Henry Cavill, the dude playing Superman, says that the movie WILL NOT be split into two parts. That rumor began when a cell phone pic of the trailer’s header was leaked and it showed a movie titled Batman -vs- Superman Part 1: Enter the Knight being released in October of this year. Despite Mr. Cavill’s blunt assertions it may still happen. They shot a ton of footage, some of it here in Chicago, and may simply need to do it that way to tell the whole story.

So what don’t we know about this film or these films, as the case may be? Quite a bit. For example, we know that Scoot McNairy, of Gone Girls fame, has been cast, has shot all his scenes and still can’t tell us who he plays or what he does.

Adam Holmes at Cinema Blend has the whole non-story.

Although details surrounding the plot of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice are being kept under wraps, we know who most of the main players will be – ranging from Jesse Eisenberg’s antagonist Lex Luthor to Gal Gadot’s Amazon demi-goddess Wonder Woman to Jeremy Irons’ butler extraordinaire Alfred Pennyworth. Among the few roles that are still a mystery, however, is the character being played by Scoot McNairy – Ben Affleck’s costar from Argo and Gone Girl. Despite his casting being announced five months ago, the production has kept his character’s identity locked up tighter than Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. But now the actor has offered fans some new clues for us to mull over.

McNairy was playfully vague with his answers about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice during a recent interview with USA Today, saying that while he would love to talk about who he’s playing, that might result in him not being able to score a film role again. However, he did give us some new clues to who he is playing – specifically that the part is unlike anything we’ve ever seen him play before. Said McNairy,

“It’s definitely 100% a character I’ve never played and I can’t speak too freely on it, but yeah, getting into that thing was definitely something I had to wrap my head around emotionally in order to play that character. But with that being said, I had a lot of fun doing it when I was in the process of shooting on it — my head was in a different place but I’m really excited to see how it turns out and what they do with it and see the film.”

Not having played this type of character doesn’t narrow things down much, although if you spent enough time browsing his filmography, you might be able to exclude a few options. McNairy’s recent roles include starring as Gordon Clark on the AMC series Halt and Catch Fire and as Tommy O’Hara in 2014’s Gone Girl, so computer expert and former boyfriend of a kidnapped woman must be off the list. The only visual clue we have so far is a leaked picture of McNairy on the set wearing green-screen socks over his calves.

It was these photos that led some fans to speculate that he might be playing The Flash, though Ezra Miller being cast a few months ago as the Scarlet Speedster put that idea to rest. Other guesses have ranged from Superman’s cyborg nemesis Metallo to an older version of Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen. There’s also the possibility that he’s playing someone original to the film, and those socks will be used in post-production to make it look like his legs have been injured. Since McNairy described the role as putting his head in a whole different place, I’ll assume that my theory that he’s the hot dog vendor camped outside The Daily Planet is incorrect.

Damn! I was looking forward to an epic hot dog vendor scene.

Okay, all silliness aside, everyone working on this film had to sign a nondisclosure agreement that made hardened lawyers tremble in fear. While my friend has snuck me a nugget here and there they have all been nuggets that were slated for public release shortly thereafter. She’s being very careful, which isn’t really like her. How tight is that agreement she signed? So tight that it includes a provision preventing people from talking about the agreement. That, boys and girls, is tight.

The other monster comic book based movie that’s due to overtake the universe is The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Our homie H. Shaw-Williams over at Screen Rant has done the digging on that for us, so I’ll share what he knows.

As the third highest-grossing movie of all time (and the highest-grossing comic book movie full stop), The Avengers left a big legacy to live up to. Next year director Joss Whedon will attempt to match (or even beat) his own record with sequel The Avengers: Age of Ultron, in which the titular superhero team will face off against a new threat: the indomitable android Ultron (James Spader).

Concrete plot details are currently scarce, but the powerful sibling duo Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) will be joining the fray, as teased in the mid-credits scene for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Filming began in worldwide locations earlier this year and production is currently focused in London, with the release date for The Avengers: Age of Ultron now less than a year away.

For those who can’t bear the wait, however, JoBlo claims to have a small collection of plot and character tidbits from a “trusted and proven source.” There is nothing that could be really be considered a spoiler, but those who would prefer to remain totally in the dark about The Avengers: Age of Ultron until the trailers are released may want to give the following details a miss.

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[Warning: Possible mild SPOILERS for The Avengers: Age of Ultron ahead.]

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Iron Man leads the pack

It’s no secret that Tony Stark is currently the figurehead of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Iron Man was Marvel Studios’ first movie and Iron Man 3 was second only to The Avengers in its total box office gross. According to JoBlo‘s report, the dissolution of S.H.I.E.L.D. in Captain America: The Winter Soldier means that Tony will be picking up the tab for the Avengers in Age of Ultron. The former Stark Tower is left with its single “A” and becomes the new HQ for the team, as well as the central hub for global security. Tony uses his seemingly bottomless wealth to fund new costumes, a new Quinjet, and new tech.

That new tech will include an army of Iron Man drones similar to those used in Iron Man 3, which allow Tony to “keep the peace” since he’s not able to be everywhere at once. There is something a bit unsettling about an army of robots being used as a police force around the world, governed by a single man. Maybe it’s just the impending release of X-Men: Days of Future Past that’s soured the idea a little, though. Either way, we already know from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. that Stark has “privatized” the remaining forces of S.H.I.E.L.D., so these ideas seem reasonable enough.

In addition: having been plastered all over international news during the attack on New York, the Avengers are officially out of the superhero closet and have publicly made clear their intention to keep the world safe. It won’t be an easy task.

The Avengers assemble

According to JoBlo‘s source, The Avengers: Age of Ultron won’t waste time retreading the exhausting process of getting the group of strong personalities to work together as a team again. An opening battle near the start of the film will provide the first “hero shot” of everyone together as they take on Baron Von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann) and encounter the twins for the first time.

To symbolize their status as a proper team, Tony Stark has designed costumes for everyone that all feature an Avengers logo (this detail seems to be true, based on set photos of Captain America’s new uniform). Black Widow has been gifted two new batons with the ability to shock enemies into submission, Hulk has been given some stretchy pants to help preserve his dignity, and Hawkeye will sadly be covering up his guns with a long-sleeved jacket, also seen in set photos.

Explicit android-on-android action

Why have one Ultron when you can have three? There will apparently be three different versions of Ultron featured in The Avengers: Age of Ultron as he transitions from a rudimentary original state to something much more advanced. He is coated in Vibranium and spends much of the movie seeking out more raw materials in order to continually upgrade. At least one version of Ultron will be mo-capped by Spader.

Paul Bettany, who has played Tony Stark’s friendly artificial intelligence system J.A.R.V.I.S. in the movies so far, will be getting an upgrade in this movie to become Vision, an android and member of the Avengers in the comics. According to this report, Vision will not make his appearance until the third act of the movie, suggesting that he may be something of a secret weapon for the Avengers when all their usual methods of attack fail against Ultron.

Although all these details are rumor for now, they definitely do seem to fit with the glimpses of The Avengers: Age of Ultron that we’ve seen in set photos so far. It makes sense that Marvel would want to maintain Tony Stark as leader, and it will be gratifying to see the Avengers organizing themselves now that they’re out from under S.H.I.E.L.D.’s thumb.

Which, when you add it all up, gives us more to go on that we might have hoped.

If you click on all the links provided you’ll get all of the background info that was referenced. We’re all cool like that.

Now, admit it, you want them make me adult size superhero Underoos don’t you? Well you’re in luck, at least if you gender identify as female that is. Super Hero Stuff, yes, that’t a real company, has a complete line of superhero underwear including see through lace Super Girl panties.

Who says I’m not here to help?

By the way, if you click on my email below you’re welcome to send me pics of you trying some of this stuff on.