Marvel fans who have been dreaming about future sequels to Iron Man, X-Men, The Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man might be entering into a creative nightmare. According to The Hollywood Reporter the children of comic book icon Jack Kirby have officially sued Marvel to terminate copyrights and gain profits from such lucrative comic creations as Iron Man, X-Men, The Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man.

The suit, officially filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, is a follow-up move from the 45 notices of termination the estate sent out to Marvel, and owner the Walt Disney Co., as well as Sony, Universal, Fox in September of 2009. Marvel responded in January, filing its own lawsuit, claiming the creations were “work-made-for-hire” and that Marvel was the real “author” of such works under the 1909 Copyright Act.

Kirby’s heirs are seeking declaratory relief, including copyright termination and profits, focusing on Kirby’s chief creative period, from 1958 to 1963, when Marvel existed in a tiny office with few employees and relied upon “freelancers to which they had little or no obligation.” As such, they are disputing Marvel’s claim that all creations were “work for hire.”

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This week on the radar we’ve got news on Steven Spielberg’s potential return to dinosaurs, the status of the third Mortal Kombat film, NBC gets a Gold in the ratings competition, and what comic book legend may show up on one of our favorite shows, The Big Bang Theory.

Let’s see what blips are on the radar this week.

Boba Fett, finally the deadliest action figure in a galaxy far, far away

If you’re like me, you grew up on the first generation of Star Wars toys and action figures. You know the ones, they had a massive (sarcasm) five points of articulation. Well, one figure that was sort of an urban legend was the missile-firing Boba Fett.  We all heard of it, but rarely saw it.  Well, now it can be yours with the purchase of five other figures!  Offer expires 3/31/2011, while supplies last, only valid in US and Canada…and a whole lot of other legal fine print I’m sure.

Tron: Legacy viral campaign starts to gear up

Disney teased everyone at last year’s Comic Con about a Tron viral campaign. With the highly anticipated film set to open this December online viral goodness have started to trickle out.  The first is a new site with a somewhat enigmatic theme to it.  Can you figure out what it is?  I don’t want to ruin it, but if you must know check this link out.

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If you haven’t heard by now Clerks and Cop Out director Kevin Smith was asked to leave a Southwest Airlines flight last weekend.  The reason, he was deemed a “safety risk”, or in Smith’s words, “too fat to fly.” That’s right, Southwest Airlines tossed “Silent Bob” off a flight. What has the world come to?

Smith has come out and said he wasn’t drinking, acting out-of-the-ordinary, or too fat to fit in the seat:

“Dear @SouthwestAir, I flew out in one seat, but right after issuing me a standby ticket, Oakland Southwest attendant Suzanne (wouldn’t give last name) told me Captain Leysath deemed me a “safety risk”. Again: I’m way fat… But I’m not THERE just yet. But if I am, why wait til my bag is up, and I’m seated WITH ARM RESTS DOWN. In front of a packed plane with a bunch of folks who’d already I.d.ed me as ‘Silent Bob.’”

Armrests securely down, he was all prepared to leave (with his bag stowed no less) when the Captain asked that he be removed. Granted, anything could have happened on that flight, but the fact Southwest Airlines tried to issue him a $100 voucher in response (which he refused) doesn’t help their case.

All that said, a number of people have come to Smith’s defense, including Marvel’s own Stan Lee.  Speaking via Twitter, Lee made a few remarks in support of Smith’s case:

@smilinstanlee: The only way Kevin could look really fat would be if he packed his pockets with cards bearing the names of each of his 1,600,000 followers!

@smilinstanlee: Maybe us thin guys who don’t take up the whole seat on a plane should ask for a discount! It ought’a work both ways!

While humorous, Lee’s remarks note one very important thing; Smith has over a million followers on Twitter.  Sure, there could be a lot of spam accounts in there but let’s assume even half (I’m sure there are more than that) are real people.  500,000 or so individuals following, listening and generally waiting for Smith to say something.

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We at The Flickcast are pretty diligent about serving up all the news that comes out each week. However, try as we may to cover it all, some things occassionally slip by. Well, no longer.

Welcome to On The Radar! This weekly post will be your premiere destination for a comprehensive roundup of items that may be developing stories we’re watching, Twitter commentary, or other relevant news that wasn’t quite ready for prime time just yet.  In short, a grab bag of geek items which are sure to please.

Let’s see what blips are on the radar this week.

‘Zombieland’ devours video rentals

Zombieland dominated the video lists this week, “…on the Nielsen VideoScan Blu-ray Disc chart, “Zombieland” went three for three, bowing at No. 1 and …racked up 31% of its total first-week sales from the Blu-ray Disc.” Way to go Zombieland, we can’t wait for the sequeal.

‘Avatar’ 3D boosts Cineplex ticket sales in Canada

3D showings of Avatar did wonders for Cineplex’s bottom line in Canada, “Despite running for only 13 days during its latest financial frame, “Avatar 3D” was Cineplex’s biggest boxoffice performer during the fourth quarter to Dec. 31, and has done around $74 million in Canadian ticket receipts to date.” No surprise really given the popularity of this film and the fact 3D showings are still being sold, out or causing line-ups.

Geek flicks drive Viacom profits

DVD and Blu-Ray disc sales from Star Trek, Transformers 2 and G.I. Joe stimulated Viacom’s fourth quarter earnings to the tune of $694 million.  Not bad considering the $173 million it made in the same quarter in 2008.  Also helping was the indie hit Paranormal Activity which increased operating expenses by 24%.

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When you think of comics and comic history, one name probably comes to mind pretty quickly: Stan Lee. Having created or co-created some of the most famous and popular characters in comics history, his name has become synonymous with comics and Marvel, the company he helped put on the map.

Now, “The Man” is lending his talents to a new project for Marvel, the Marvel Digital Holiday Special. This four-part comic is available only online and features a story by Stan lee himself. For more info on the comic and where to get it, check out the official press release. And, be sure to check out some pages and a cover from the comic after the jump.

‘Tis the season to celebrate! And what better way to do so than with the 2009 Marvel Digital Holiday Special – an exclusive, four-part comic available only at Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited (www.marvel.com/digitalcomics). The legendary Marvel founding father Stan “The Man” Lee makes his Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited exclusive debut, penning a special Fantastic Four tale with art by Nick Dragotta that could only be called Marvel Digital Holiday Special: Rock of Ages. Check out a free preview right HERE!

The Thing teaches the rest of Marvel’s First Family all about Chanukah, and in turn, they impart some lessons of their own on some would-be street toughs. All this plus an art cameo by Lee’s FF co-creator Jack Kirby in a one-of-a-kind story that should not be missed!

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Excelsior! Sorry, couldn’t resist. Actually, that word completely applies in this case seeing as how the X-Men were created by the great Stan “The Man” Lee and Jack “King” Kirby. Still, its a pretty good day today and a pretty cool thing we have to share with you right now.

Our pals at Marvel have provided us with a new video showing a bit of behind the scenes with the folks who make the Astonishing X-Men motion comic. Hosted by producer Kristine Stone, you get a tour of the production facility and get to meet many of the people responsible for putting this cool project together. All in all, not a bad way to spend a few minutes.

You get to learn some things and have a little fun too. What could be better than that? Not much, so be sure to check out the video after the jump. The Astonishing X-Men MOCO is available now at iTunes and on Hulu.

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The dust has settled, the bar tabs and hotel bills have been paid and Comic-Con is a slowly fading memory of whirlwind good times, crowded floors, costumed fans, celebrities, new films and tv shows, comics, interviews, photos and a whole lot more. With all the sites covering the Con and providing a great deal of content, The Flickcast included, its sometimes hard for readers and fans to separate out, and in some cases find, all the stuff they want to take a look at.

We had a lot of great coverage from the Con this year and in order to do it, and its subjects, justice and bring it out into the light, I’ve put together a list of the highlights for you. With this, you can see what you may have missed or go back and experience some of it over again.

We will also be bringing you more interviews, reviews and more from the Con as the weeks and months progress and those projects get closer to being released.

But for now, click away, go back in time a bit, and enjoy some of what the Con, and The Flickcast, has to offer. Until next year.

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Sure, you could go to your local multiplex and watch the big screen, action packed Spider-Man movies featuring Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and directed by Sam Raimi. Or, you could just sit back, relax in the privacy of your own home and enjoy some cool Spider-Man action online via your computer.

How is this possible? Well, thanks to the folks at Marvel Digital, the adventures of Spider-Man are coming to a computer near you today! Want to know more and find out how you can join in all the fun?

Fortunately, Marvel has graced us with all the scoop via an official press release. Check it out!

New York, NY (August 5, 2009) –Adding to its ever-growing selection of streaming video, featuring award winning animated TV series and innovative original short-form video, Marvel Comics announced the launch of the 1994 animated series, Spider-Man on Marvel.com, featuring Marvel’s seminal web-slinging Super Hero.

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Chris and Matt have been back from Comic-Con for a few days now and have had time for a little reflection about the Con, its highlights, lowlights and what it all means. Joined by special guest Elisabeth Rappe, the three try to explain the magic of the Con, its shortcomings, what they loved and hated about it and why you never, ever, piss off Gary Oldman.

The three also make their picks of favorite moments from the Con and talk about what the Con can do better to make it more enjoyable for attendees and exhibitors alike. Its a no-holds barred hour of discussion that leaves no topic unturned. If you missed the Con or even if you did attend and just want to make more sense of it, you don’t want to miss this.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques or offers of sponsorship, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter and at Facebook, MySpace or via email. Thanks for listening.

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There’s not doubt that Stan Lee is one of the most successful, talented, creative and beloved figures in comics around. His creations, including Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, The X-Men and Iron Man, are among the most successful and well-known characters ever to grace the pages of comics and the silver screen.

More recently, Lee has been hard at work on a new project with his partners at Disney, the multi-platform series Time Jumper, which will appear online and on portable devices such as iPods and iPhones. This new project concerns the character of Terry Dixon, who is an agent of a secret government organization known as HUNT (short for Heroes United, Noble and True).

He has a cellphone called The Articulus that has the one feature you can’t get — yet — from Apple’s iPhone: a time machine. I had a chance to talk with Lee during Comic-Con and we discussed, among other things, his new project, his thoughts on current Marvel movies and what he think the future holds for comics.

QUESTION: Stan, hi. Can you describe the process of how Time Jumper began?

STAN LEE: Time Jumper began as an idea that I had. I wanted to do a time travel story and my little company Pow Entertainment has a deal with the Walt Disney Company, it’s called a “first look” deal. Everything that we do that we wanna do we have to offer to Disney first and if they like it they do it. If they don’t wanna do it then we’re free to take it elsewhere.

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