While most of the fanboy nation is already waiting with baited breath for May 4th to come and all of us to see Marvel’s super film The Avengers, director Joss Whedon is already thinking about where he wants to go with the proposed sequel to the film.

It turns out that while this Avengers film is going to have plenty of big “splash page” style action, Whedon told Digital Spy he would like the next film to play a bit smaller, and more personal for each character.

“By being the next thing that should happen to these characters, and not just a rehash of what seemed to work the first time. By having a theme that is completely fresh and organic to itself.”

Whedon joked that a sequel could take heed from crime classic The Godfather II ”by having flashbacks to young Michael Andolini escaping Sicily to come to New York, where he will be called Corleone”.

“Sequels are always better when that happens,” he quipped.

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Just when you thought things couldn’t get much better than the awesome trailer fans got during this year’s SuperBowl for The Avengers, things just got a little bit better.

The newest trailer just hit the intertubes, and boy is it sexy. You’ve got everything you wanted before the May release: more Hawkeye, Hulk, Stark, and even a better glimpse at the threat that could be Kree, Skrull, or whoever. This may also be the first time we’re getting to see more of Robert Downey Jr. being the lovable jerk that he was in the first two Iron Man flicks.

The trailer just hit the interwebs now, so be sure to check out the full thing after the jump, alongside the brand new payoff poster with the whole gang looking epic and awesome in the streets of NYC.

So what are you waiting for? Behold the wonder after the jump, and catch Avengers in theaters on May 4th.

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Any serious toy collector knows that it’s not Toys R Us that has the top quality new toys you need to display on your shelf. It’s the low production run collectibles that are sold at the comic book retailers that come from Diamond Select that you need to watch out for and snatch up the section they hit the rack. This past week at Toy Fair, Diamond revealed their upcoming slate of Marvel licensed products. This year’s line focuses on the Avengers movie, the Amazing Spider-Man film and a new lineup of Minimates.

Both the Avengers movie versions of the Hulk and Hawkeye are getting their first Marvel Direct treatment since the Hulk model will be updated from previous films and Hawkeye never his from his brief cameo in Thor.

In addition, the Amazing Spider-Man will be getting figures and busts made in the likeness of bother Spider-Man and the Lizard. These are the first images allowing people a true full unshadowed view of the Lizard who was disguised by shadow and fleeting high speed motion in the recent trailer.

Though Spider-Man purists may be able to get past the redesign of the Spider-Man costume, it is going to be a challenge for some to get over the look of the Lizard who somewhat resembles the look of the Goombas from the early 90s Super Mario Bros feature film. The duo will also be getting a Minimate treatment as well.

The Minimate line will also be giving other characters the treatment for the first time with new Minimates such as the new Ultimate Spider-Man and Dazzler. Take a look at the full gallery below and make sure to let us know what you think about all the upcoming Marvel characters from Diamond Select.

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That is right folks, earth’s mightiest heroes are finally hitting it big time. Going where only such luminaries as Snooki and Khloe Kardasian have tread before, the land of scented liquids. Jads International, a company known for their geeky scents, is rolling out a new series of colognes based on The Avengers.

A quick glance at the Jads website showcases some of the awesome scents they have rolled out in the past, including a Slave Liea perfume and a great series of Star Trek fragrances that include Red Shit and Pon Farr for Her.

The upcoming Avengers colognes are based on Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and the Hulk:

PATRIOT Cologne (Captain America)

A cologne that pays homage to the confident, stand-up-to-bullies, hard working average Joe in every man. PATRIOT Cologne is both reserved and sexy; like a symbol on a shield or a moniker on a motorcycle helmet. Fresh notes of green lime and white pepper are the first to hit with dry oak wood, sandalwood and tequila accords finishing the adventure. Perfect for any time or place, PATRIOT Cologne puts the Novus Mundus in your strong, sensuous hands for you to embrace and discover.

Check out descriptions of the rest of the series after the jump.

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One aspect of the upcoming Avengers film that people sort of take for granted is that three of it’s main cast were the leading men in four previous movies. We have been used to seeing these heroes as traditional, singular forces of good in films bearing their names in the title. How will it work cinematically when these characters have to share screen time with other prominent characters?

Well this is something that the filmmakers are also thinking about, and Joss Whedon recently talked to EW about what hero’s perspective the movie will follow.

“So much of [The Avengers] story takes place from Steve Rogers’ perspective, since he’s the guy who just woke up and sees this weird-ass world,” Whedon says. “Everyone else has been living in it. He’s the guy that feels that sense of loss.”

This makes a lot of sense, and is a welcome direction for the film to take. The recent (excellent) Avengers cartoon series focused on Iron Man putting the team together, and there was concern that The Avengers would just be Iron Man 3 based on the popularity of Robert Downey Jr.’s take on the character. Thankfully, Whedon choose to go with a more traditional angle on an Avengers origin story, which hopefully will make for a better film this summer.

Lists are fun. Lists are, at least in some cases, easy to create. In this case, the list in question for today is The Five Best Movies Adapted From Comics.

I know what you’re thinking. Why five? Well, it sorta works with the word “Flickcast” and we’re fans of alliteration around here, so that’s one reason. Of course, it also means I only need to come up with five items to fill the list, so that might have something to do with it too. I’ll never tell.

I’m also in the process of preparing a list of the worst movies adapted from comics as well because what’s a “best” list without a “worst” list, right? Right.

However, in this case, we’re talking best. And do we have a lot of great “best” ones to choose from. That’s not a question, we do.

The ones I’ve chosen are not only great examples of comic book adaptations done right, they’re also great movies too. From a clever screenplay to expert direction, exciting visuals, to compelling characters and performances, these five films deliver on many levels and also manage to demonstrate a real love for their source material.

Okay, enough setup. On with the listing of the things.

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It may seem like an odd choice for a company famous for its books with all the pictures, but Marvel has announced they will be taking their most famous superhero creations and putting them into a brand new format: prose novels. The first of these novels will tell the story of Civil War, Marvel’s “event” from a few years back.

From the official press release:

“Releasing our most acclaimed graphic novels as prose fiction not only allows us to reach a different audience with these stories, but also gives us a chance to bring those readers back to the comics that started it all,” said David Gabriel, Senior Vice President of Sales, Marvel Entertainment.

“Civil War is easily our best-selling graphic novel of the past decade and certainly one of the most influential in recent memory, so it was the perfect launch title for this new line. Not only will you get all the action that Mark Millar and Steve McNiven delivered in comic form but no fan will want to miss the new wrinkles we’ve added in this novel. ”

Well then, there you go. You really can’t blame Marvel for trying to find a way to make more money off of its comic book properties. After all, the comic book business is not doing that well and they already have these stories just sitting there so, why not?

Anyone got a problem with it? Sound off in the comments.

It is quite possible The Avengers is the most important superhero film of all time. It could singlehandedly set a bar for audience acceptance in multi-film, continuity heavy, comic book franchise.

Not to mention the fact that this is essentially the sequel to four different individual franchises. So yeah, people pay attention when things like two new banners are unveiled.

Yahoo! Movies and Moviefone both debuted one of the two new character banners for The Avengers. The first depicting the main four heroes from previous franchises, and the other showcasing supporting characters and the villain of the movie.

These are very standard looking character posters, but there are a few interesting things we are seeing here. For one, this is the first time I have seen Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner and I see the character more so than the actor. Also, Captain America is the only one in mask and not showcasing a star of the film.

This might be some extreme over analyzation, but I think it really fits the character of Cap to stay in his mask, as opposed to the nigh celebrity in Tony Stark, who is on the poster sans helmet.

Compared to the Comic-Con connected character posters, these banners seem almost lazy. It is almost like they had a series of cool character posters and chained them together for the sake of creating something banner sized. It would have been much more exciting to see the comic style painted posters as a banner and these cut up into individual pieces.

Take a look at the full spread of posters after the jump.

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Many times when previews arrive for upcoming comics we will take a few moments and talk about them and how cool they seems. This time around, however, we’re going to let the preview artwork for Marvel’s upcoming Carnage speak for itself — mostly. Besides, we didn’t do that with the trailer from earlier today so really, why start now?

Even though the artwork is pretty impressive, we do want to provide a bit of the story, just to help set things up. Here’s the scoop on the comic, which is written by Zeb Wells with art by Clayton Crain, directly from Marvel:

Leaving a wake of bloodshed, no one is safe from Carnage’s lunacy – even the Avengers! Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man and more of Earth’s Mightiest must go on a brutal hunt to capture Cletus Kasady before the American heartland falls under his mass-murdering spell.

Sounds good, right? Ok, let’s get to the images.

Check them out after the break. Look for Carnage #1 to arrive on December 7th.

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We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: It’s no secret that one of the most highly anticipated comic book movies of all time is Marvel’s upcoming The Avengers. Directed by Joss Whedon and featuring an all-star cast, the movie’s geek pedigree could not be better.

It has all your favorite characters including Iron Man, Captain America, Nick Fury, Thor and Scarlett Johansson in skintight leather. Come one, what more could you want from a comic book movie?

Recently, we shared some cool pics from the upcoming film. Today, we’ve got something even better: the first trailer.

In it we get our first real look at the film, the characters and what’s going to be the biggest movie of 2012. And man, does it look good.

Check it out after the break. The Avengers, which stars Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Samuel L. Jackson, arrives in theaters on May 4, 2012.

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Award shows are all the rage these days. When people get burned out on the big three, the Oscars, Emmy’s, Golden Globes, they turn to more fun and entertaining (albeit less important ones) award shows. One of the more fun ones is definitely Spike’s annual Scream Awards.

Starting off celebrating the world of horror, the award show has since become a haven for all things pop culture and geeky, giving awards to the likes of Frank Miller or Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd for Back to the Future. This year, two modern icons are finally getting some love.

Two-time Academy Award nominee Robert Downey Jr. will attend to accept SCREAM’s prestigious Hero Award. With wildly successful films like “Sherlock Holmes” and “Iron Man,” Downey has captivated fans and critics alike with his daring and iconic interpretations of some of cinema’s most beloved characters.

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When was the last time you were excited about a move-game tie in? Was it Days of Thunder 2011? Tron? It was Tron…wasn’t it?

Games based on movies are notorious for their lack of ingenuity, polish, and often times, any respect for the source material whatsoever. This, of course, means that any tie-in games that do show potential can never see the light of day, as it would upset the balance universal karma… or something.

THQ studios in Brisbane were working on a promising Avengers game to release alongside the 2012 summer blockbuster movie. Keyword being “were”. Due to a “strategic realignment” of its development studios, THQ elected to close the studio down, halting production of any current projects. Normally, I’d say bully for THQ – with their recent releases falling into the “decently subpar” category ( Homefront and 40K: Space Marine among them) I would be alright with them taking a step back from their full-speed-ahead mentality.

But not this time. The Avengers was going to be a first person shooter / beat ‘ em up combo focusing on four-player co-op. Showcased in the pre-alpha footage below are Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, and Thor – all as playable characters. While some aspects (such as Cap throwing his shield) didn’t look brilliant, it still looked like a lot of fun; especially for any True Believers out there.

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