Thus far, Beenox has proven their love of working on the Spider-Man franchise between Spider-Man: Edge of Time and Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. Between the alternate versions of Spider-Man and the original takes on some of his villains, Beenox has shown a deep understanding and respect for the character. Now, they face a new challenge with the tie-in to the Amazing Spider-Man movie. While some major points of their story are often dictated by the events of the movie, Beenox has chosen to open the world up to players much like the previous developer Treyarch had done but has taken steps to improve on their much beloved formula.

In previous titles when a player shot their web, players were forced to let the game instinctually choose an appropriate target for them to sling off of. This was also the case in combat where the foe most often closely centered in the screen became the default target for Spidey to aim at. Now, Beenox has decided to give this control to the player instead with the feature they call the Web Rush for the Amazing Spider-Man game.

Using the Web Rush, time slows down for players, presumably to represent Spider-Man’s hyper-fast reflexes like it was seen in Sam Rami’s Spider-Man film where Peter Parker dodged the bullying of Flash Thompson. During this slow down, players are given all possible targets on screen where they can aim themselves. This can be a great resource for strategically setting themselves into different combat situations.

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These new TV spots don’t really give us much more information than we already have. Still, it’s nice to see the PR machine is cranking up to full power in anticipation of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises.

Of course, if you’re like us, you don’t really need a reason to see this movie and will probably be there at midnight when it opens. That doesn’t mean it isn’t fun to see these new TV spots.

Although, and maybe I’m in the minority here, I’m still not sold on Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. Sorry folks, she just seems like the weakest link here and I can’t shake that feeling no matter how much I try. Let’s hope she doesn’t ruin the experience.

The Dark Knight Rises hits theatrs on July 20. Click through for the videos.

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The DC animated universe is fantastic. Bruce Timm has been masterminding gold standard animation for nearly two decades, and his crew is finally taking on one of the most important Batman stories ever told, Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns.

This epic two-part animated event has already been officially announced, but The Hollywood Reporter has announced the principle voice cast:

Peter Weller (Robocop) will star as Batman/Bruce Wayne and Modern Family’s middle child Ariel Winter will play Robin… Also in the cast are David Selby, the veteran actor who starred in the original Dark Shadows soap opera as well as the classic 1980s soap Falcon Crest; Wade Williams (Prison Break) as Harvey Dent/Two-Face; and Michael McKean as Dr. Wolper, the psychiatrist who releases the Joker from the insane asylum.

Fan favorite Michael Ironside played the role in a classic episode of Batman: The Animated Series that payed homage to the seminal story. While it would have been nice symmetry to have him back, Peter Weller is an amazing choice for the role.

The story is being split into two animated features, the first of which will be hitting shelves later this year, followed by the second part in early 2013.

The Dark Knight Rises looms. As The Avengers makes ungodly sums of money and other potential blockbusters come and go, the true tenor of the season wont be determined until Batman has his say.

Warner Bros. has released a new one sheet for the anticipate super hero conclusion, and it really plays up the ‘fire rises’ motif that has been a constant in the marketing. The ad campaign for the sequel has thus far been much less interesting than for The Dark Knight.

The viral aspects seem to cause less of a fervor among fans, there is nothing like those variant Joker tagged posters that popped up in theaters after a few months of the regular ones hanging on those walls. Just on the whole the marketing for this movie just seems to have less impact. Of course this could be on purpose, you don’t need much impact when everyone and their mother saw the last film.It is still interesting to see the different tactics in play.

As for the quality of this particular poster, it is rather nice. Getting a splash of color in there is a good touch, and I like the symmetry of this design and some of the earlier teasers.

Check out the full poster after the jump.

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This is an open letter to anyone at 20th Century Fox, with how I would handle their X-Men Universe in the wake of The Avengers and their successful First Class Pre-Boot-quel-thing. 

The X-Men cinematic universe was the first major franchise launched in this modern era of comic book blockbusters. The original X-Men film managed to successfully lay in the groundwork of how these types of films can be a success without losing their comic book soul.

The sequel was a massive leap forward in both action and general cinematic quality. While the other sequels have received mixed reviews, it was clear that despite the reboot happy tendencies of modern hollywood. Fox remained committed to the continuity of the universe they established in 2000.

Just a few weeks ago The Avengers made more money than conceivable in its debut, representing the culmination of a five-year, 6 movie plan. The newly established ‘shared universe’ model demonstrated by Marvel Studios could be a new gold standard for what a studio can do with these types of properties.

So it is with that context that I present my plan for a smaller scale ‘shared X-universe’ that can allow Fox to use it’s already established property in an exciting new way.

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Before I recount the gory details of Battleship‘s disastrous opening weekend, it behooves me to let you know yet again that The Avengers won the weekend. I adore The Avengers, but it has made so much money so fast that we are just about out of things to say about it in the Box Office report.

It settled a measly 46.6% for another $55+ million at the domestic box office. The Avengers scored a few more speed records, such as fastest film to $450 Million domestic, in 10 less days than the next best film. Next weekend will be interesting though, its first (potentially) non-first place hold will give a decent indication of how big of a final total we can expect.

The good news for Battleship is that it isn’t a complete and utter disaster worldwide. With its international release weeks in the film has already made over $200 Million. Of course it made a paltry $25 Million here in the states and will be viewed as a the new John Carter (and THAT film’s reign as biggest cinematic black eye might end up short-lived).

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Last night during the season premiere of America’s Got Talent, all five of the NBC viewers were treated to an extended ‘super’ preview of The Amazing Spider-Man. Basically it super-sized the most recent trailer with an extended scene, some dubstep-ish cues and a couple of choice new shots.

The movie is in an odd place for the general public. We are not that far removed from the Raimi series, and despite the vocal internet backlash to the third film, it was a success. So Sony has to win over a skeptical public on top of the already difficult task of competing with this summer’s other two comic book goliaths.

To Sony’s credit this extended trailer marks the most interesting and inciting glimpse at their reboot. It showcases one of the most important aspects of Peter Parker that was almost missed completely in the Raimi films, the personality of Spider-Man.

Spider-Man is a wise-cracking, naive, and most importantly noble hero. There is a duality to Peter that is much more subtle than in a character like Batman, but is no less important. If the Marc Webb reboot can tap into that, we can all be in for a very pleasant surprise this summer.

Check out the full trailer after the jump.

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Idris Elba will be returning as Heimdall in the Thor sequel. While that might seem like a bit of ‘well duh’ kind of news, it is nice to hear none the less. Considering the man is a very talented and very busy actor, whose role in Thor was pretty small, it would not have been terribly surprising if he didn’t have the time for another minor role right now.

However, Mr. Elba recently chatted with Collider who got the confirmation direct from the man himself:

Yes, I am.  I’m definitely going to do my man in a suit film… I’d just like to get to know him a bit more.  Who is Heimdall?  He guards the gate.  Okay.  Is there anything else?  I don’t know what is in the script because I haven’t read it yet.  But, the audience has responded to Asgard and wants to know more about who lives there and what it’s about.  I’m sure, if they do that, Heimdall will be featured more.

Not only is he coming back, but clearly Elba is eager to explore his character more. It would be really great if they allowed him that opportunity, especially the way the story is set up. Heimdall guards the Bifrost, the Bifrost has been destroyed.

That could make for some juicy stuff for Elba to sink his teeth into, and maybe a far more interesting way to incorporate another famous Asgardian who has a few obscure ties to Heimdall, Amora the Enchantress.

If there’s one thing Marvel has proven over the last several years it’s that Iron Man is as popular as ever. With the character’s succes in movies come a renewed level of interest in his comic book exploits as well.

Fortunately, Marvel isn’t resting on its laurels and keeps turing out great stories for its major characters, Iron Man included. Now, with things heating up in the Marvel U and Tony Stark having problems, a new Iron Man is coming to take matters into his (or her) own hands.

That’s the story in Marvel’s upcoming Invincible Iron Man #518. The story, from writer Matt Fraction and artist Salvador Larroca, concerns “the Spymaster’s rampage within Stark Resilient and that incident’s bloody end. The Mandarin is throwing everything he’s got at Tony Stark including amped up super villains. With a big target painted on his back, can Tony Stark make it out alive? Can the new Iron Man save him in time?”

I guess we’ll see when Invincible Iron Man #518 hits comic shops, the Marvel Comics app, and Marvel Digital Comic Shop on June 6. In the meantime, check out some previews for the comic after the break.

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One of the surprise films of 2010 was Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass. Based on the Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. graphic novel, the movie told the tale of a high school nerd who decides to be a super hero, despite his lack of any super powers.

The movie was a loud, vulgar, and gory explosion of awesome and it left many wanting more. Unfortunately the movie landed director Vaughn a chance at the “big leagues” and he went on to make the best X-Men movie to-date. With the head honcho otherwise occupied, it looked as if Kick-Ass 2 might not see the light of day.

Well that turns out not to be the case. Deadline is reporting that Universal is in talks to make the sequel as early as this year”

Universal Pictures is in talks to make Kick-Ass 2, with Jeff Wadlow directing his script. I’m told the intention is to get the film in production by August. Discussions are just getting underway with such original cast members as Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and they will have to be signed to new deals to reprise their roles.

The Wadlow script was actually written at the request of Vaughn who wanted work on the sequel to happen while he was occupied in the X-Universe. At first the concept of losing Vaughn might seem harsh to the fans of the first film, but knowing that he was involved at some point early on, and gives his blessing now is an encouraging sign.

Forget about it being AMC’s top rated series. Forget about Volume 1 being the number one selling graphic novel of April 2012 despite it being published more than eight years ago and seven other volumes filling up the top 10. And even forget about it being the title that made Robert Kirkman a superstar comic writer.

The Walking Dead is now a video game too. And yes, we were just as hesitant when we heard about it as anyone else. As much as we appreciate a studio like Telltale with a pedigree of former Lucasarts employees and titles like Monkey Island franchise and Sam & Max, we know the dangers of a licensed franchise being brought to the gaming world. Luckily, Telltale showed us once again that the right team working with the right property can bring magic on screen.

Gameplay:

The Walking Dead comes to players as a newer style of point and click adventure game. Traditionally, the genre revolved around players sorting through an environment with trial and error until they found the proper combination of items and persons needed to solve a puzzle. Now, The Walking Dead steps up the ante with a faster paced and more natural feeling action oriented adventure.

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If you’re one of the millions of people who read comic books on your iPad or iPhone, this post should be of particular interest to you. That’s especially true in this case if you love Marvel Comics.

Why? Well, today ComiXology and Marvel Entertainment have announced a multi-year deal where Marvel will distribute its digital comic single issue titles excessively through ComiXology. According to the report and interview with Marvel SVP and General Manager of Digital Media David Phillips, the deal was actually signed on May 1 but the announcement was delayed to coincide with the release of Marvel’s The Avengers.

“This partnership will allow us to innovate and advance the digital storytelling and reading experience,” said ComiXology co-founder and CEO David David Steinberger.

Phillips added that ComiXology’s “technology is by far the best.”

In addition to the Marvel deal, ComiXology also announced that over 65 million digital comics issues have been downloaded on all of its platforms, including mobile and desktop. That number is quite a jump from the 50 Million the company announced in January.

Certainly there’s other options for reading comics on the iPad, but it would seem with this latest deal, and the one they already have with DC, ComiXology is definitely asserting its dominance in the digital comics space.