Coming together ("assembling") nicely!

Our first look (slightly blurry) at Marvel Studios’ live-action Avengers from the Licensing International Expo in Vegas, courtesy of SuperHeroHype!

Better, but still not impressed.

I’m glad the newly released Green Lantern footage from this year’s WonderCon focuses heavily on the sci-fi elements, but I’m still underwhelmed.

Want me to buy a ticket? Less Ryan Reynolds goofing around, please.

The first Green Lantern trailer so badly eroded my confidence in the film, I’m still not sure about seeing this one in the theater. And I’m a superhero fanatic.

I love the casting – Mark Strong as Sinestro, Geoffrey Rush as the voice of Tomar Re – when it comes to the supporting players.

Oa looks fantastic. The aliens certainly look cool.

CG Sinestro, however, looks goofy. As does GL’s mask.

And the oath?

Yeah, about that.

While it’s true you can’t have a GL movie without the oath, I cringe every time I hear it. It looks like Hal’s going to say the whole thing at least twice onscreen, the last, given the reading, being at the climax of the film I’m guessing.

Hopefully, that’s the extent of it.

Sorry to all the hardcore GL fans out there, but the oath is just one of a great many silly aspects of the Silver Age Green Lantern mythos. On the written page, you can get away it. But spoken aloud?

Don’t get me wrong. I’m incredibly relieved that in the film universe, Hal Jordan’s first recitation of the oath appears to be the result of a Battery-induced mind whammy.

Smart move. Audiences wouldn’t buy Ryan Reynolds saying those ridiculous sounding lines with a straight face otherwise. (The sort-of-funny-in-theory Pledge Of Allegiance riff also helps.)

Comic book fans, myself included, have had decades to get used to the oath. We’re no longer impartial. We’re inured to the silliness.

Hearing a grown man speak the words aloud? Silly.

Like hearing Topher Grace’s voice coming out of Venom’s mouth in Spidey 3.

Like carefully worded thought bubble soliloquies, or supervillain names that end with “o.”

(Mag-neat-o!)

(Sinister! With an "o!")

Also, superhero names ending in “man.” Or “lad.”

Used sparingly, and in the proper context, the oath can still be used effectively for dramatic purposes.

Take the final issue of Kingdom Come. Captain Marvel saying, “Shazam” (even more ridiculousness, in concentrated form) over and over and over again, raining thunder bolts down on Superman’s head, grinning like a madman, dodging the lightning with the speed of Mercury.

Powerful stuff. When it’s done right.

If I had my way, I’d save the oath until the end of the movie, ideally after the audience has had time to fully acclimate to the universe, fully bought in to the reality of alien do-gooders in green suits and matching masks patrolling the galaxy, and finally, and most crucially, having developed some measure of emotional attachment to the characters.

Maybe, an abbreviated version of the oath in the first act. Save the “Let those who worship evil’s might” jazz for later.

Take a cue from the Bond reboot. When Daniel Craig’s 007 finally delivers the character’s signature line at the end of 2006′ s Casino Royale, there’s nothing silly about it.

The line – “Bond. James Bond.” – pre-Daniel Craig, was a joke. Casino Royale managed to make it cool again.

The trailer looks great. I’m really looking forward to seeing this in theaters, along with Thor which opens May 6.

Green Lantern? Not so much.

"Green Lantern Takes A Star-Spangled Shield To The Face"

(Read more about my thoughts on the mostly “meh” Green Lantern trailer in this earlier post.)

If the trailers for Thor and Cap are any indication, Marvel Studios looks to be on a bit of a roll.

While last year’s Iron Man sequel was a bit of a disappointment to many, it was still a lot of fun.  This, despite being rushed into production a year ahead of schedule.

If the creatives at Marvel Studios continue to produce movies that are at least as good as 2008′s The Incredible Hulk (the one with Ed Norton), that’s a good thing.

While certainly not in the same league as Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk was still a fun time and worth the price of admission, unlike, say, Elektra, Ghost Rider, or X-Men Origins: Wolverine, all of which were painful to watch and just plain awful.

Chris Evans looks up to the task of filling Cap’s shoes, and I can’t wait to see more of Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull!

Here’s hoping DC Entertainment get its act together in time for the Man Of Steel’s next big screen outing…

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of Tobey Maguire’s Spiderman costume from the previous trilogy and the newly revealed, rebooted Spidey costume:

(Well, True Believers, which Spidey/Spider-Man costume do you prefer?)

I’m digging the updated look.

The new design accentuates Peter Parker’s traditionally slender build, and aside from the stylized “gloves,” which remind me a bit of Spider-Man 2099′s costume, actually, and the elongated spider emblem, the costume’s pretty faithful to the comic book version.  It even has mechanical web-shooters.

The newer costume’s webbing is less pronounced, also, black, not silver, this time around.  Again, closer to the original source material.

There’s a lot less red around the arms, but it is there if you look closely.

(Not part of the costume obviously, but the backpack’s also a nice touch.  It is a school night, after all…)

Now all that remains is to see what the updated mask looks like.

Judging by what we’ve seen of the new costume, the missing mask will probably have more exaggerated features (eyes) this time around and won’t have the raised webbing of the previous suit.

So less like this:

And more like this:

("Ultimate"ly, it'll probably look something like this.)

I have to say.   Not impressed.

It looks as though Ryan Reynolds’ Hal Jordan – surprise, surprise – is, at least at the start of the film, something of an irresponsible, cocky type: always cracking wise, never on time for the important stuff, bedding hot chicks while flirting with, and secretly pining for, fetching fellow test pilot Carol Ferris (played by Blake Lively).

Cliche-ridden, predictable stuff.

(Also, since they’re both test pilots at Ferris Aircraft, then it stands to reason Carol’s daddy owns the company.  Seems likely Papa Ferris is going to take issue with his little girl risking her life flying experimental, super-sonic planes…)

Sigh.

From a screenwriting perspective, Hal does need to show some kind of character development, so it only makes sense that throughout the course of the film he has to grow into the role of daring, cosmic superhero.

The only problem I have with having Hal start off in the role of irresponsible, yet likeable jerk:

Why on Earth would the ring choose him in the first place?

Hal’s future potential?  Some outside force manipulating events from afar (to be revealed in a sequel)?   Or perhaps, given Abin Sur’s (the bald purple guy’s) deadly crash landing, the ring decides that Hal will do in a pinch?

The abs?

Guessing it’s the first one.

From the trailer, it looks as though Hal’s suffered some terrible, flight related incident that’s keeping him from reaching his full potential, making him afraid to push further (hence, the sweat beading on his face prior to ejecting) even though he’s supposed to be a daring test pilot.

It’s a lot like Tony Stark in Iron Man, really.

Well, sans the near death experience and the tragedy and guilt associated with Yinsen’s death.

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The trailer’s not all bad.

I like the bit where the ring seems to be taking Hal to Oa for the first time, in his civvies.

Sinestro (the purple guy with hair) looks terrific.  As does Kilowog.

And I like the glowing green fist bit ( a boxing glove would’ve been a bit silly I suppose).

Hector Hammond (the guy with the big head), while certainly grotesque looking, is still pretty silly looking, in my opinion, and an odd choice for the main antagonist.  Looks as though they’re setting up/saving Sinetro for a sequel.

The costume effects are still unconvincing, especially towards the end.  The mask doesn’t look like it has any dimension at all – painted on, if you will – even though it appears that way in other sequences and in the image up top.

Hoping it’s just a matter of tweaking the effects prior to release.

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While the trailer has me a bit concerned, I’m probably going to see this when it comes out in theaters, if only to support DC Entertainment’s efforts to bring the best and brightest of the DC Comics superheroes to the big screen.