Of course the Batman scribe gave nothing big away, but he did whet fans appetites for the big finale:

I can tell you there are definitely some insane moments in the conclusion and some crazy things happen so, I’ve always been braced for it as something that isn’t designed to just shock for the sake of shocking, but is the culmination of the story in a way that feels organic and surprising. I can’t remember who it was, but I had a teacher that gave me a writing quote when I was a student that said ‘Every ending should be both inevitable and totally surprising,’ and I completely believe that. Hopefully this is an ending that feels organic to the story we’ve been telling, and when you get there you’ll say ‘I can’t believe this just happened,’ and at the same time, you’ll feel that it’s a cumulative, horrible thing out of everything that’s been going on.

It’s hard to imagine with a title like Death of the Family that everyone is going to make it out in one piece. While the story won’t conclude the Batman line, it does have some parallels to Dan Slott’s Spider-Man #700. Snyder recalls joking about the conclusion with his friend Slott:

I was actually joking on the phone with Dan Slott after “Spider-Man” #700. I was telling him how I felt so bad because it sounded like things got crazy for him, and he said, “Wait until you get to ‘Batman’ #17! You’ll have the same.” So honestly, maybe I will go be in a bunker somewhere the day that issue comes out. But I believe in the ending very strongly. I believe in the story beat we’re headed towards.

Two pages of Greg Capullo’s art have also been released to hype up the highly anticipated finale. Issue #16 was an absolute treat. The two page spread featuring the “throne room” was stunning. What do you think will happen in the final pages of Death of the Family?

Cody "The Thorverine" Ferrell, Scott Snyder Teases Death Of The Family Conclusion: Plus Preview Pages

We also have some details on characters who are very likely to show up in the game. The list includes: The Thing, Juggernaut, Sandman, Green Goblin in a OsCorp Tower level, and Magneto.

Traveller’s Tale took on the DC universe in Lego Batman 2: Dc Super Heroes, a result of the studio being purchased by Warner Bros. in 2007. Because WB owns DC and the gaming company, many thought a Lego Marvel videogame was all but impossible. The fact TT is working on a new Lego game featuring over 100 Marvel characters came as quite the surprise to fans and the game’s developers alike.  In a recent write-up in the newest issue of Game Informer, thanks to our friend Llama for some scans, the company talked on the new project and teased new details for the upcoming game.

Jonathan Smith, TT Games head of production, touched on the seemingly impossible task of WB making a Marvel game:

The experience we’ve had with massive media organizations is that they’re not entirely stocked by bad people. This may come as a shock to people on the internet, but it turns out that big media organizations are capable of making really good decisions with players’ best interests at heart.

The article reveals that the game will feature The Avengers as an important part of the game, but it will work in other characters, factions, and groups inside the Marvel universe. The game’s story will be written by Mark Hoffmeier. The writer is no stranger to big franchises having written some for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, and Marvel Super Hero Squad.  The story is still under wraps but it appears Loki will reach out to an unnamed villain to create a “bad-guy alliance to defeat the heroes who stand in their way.”

Two of the game’s most unique characters will be Spider-Man and Hulk. The city of New York will be destroyed in part and rebuilt by players, but gamers can cause destruction of their own with Hulk. The game developers had to work a lot of things around the green behemoth who will be a major focus of the game. Objects have to be destroyable and react to Hulk’s hyperstrength. While the Lego game will have the skillset characters of the previous game, Spider-Man seems to be in a class of his own. Instead of having isolated areas for web use like Batman’s grappling hook, the web slinger can use his webs to stick to any surface and swing wherever players want. Spider-Man’s webs can also be used to tie up bad guys and grab/pull objects. The trademark Spider sense is also in the game. According to one developer “Spider-Man is quite possibly the most difficult of the characters we’ve worked on, but he’s becoming the most satisfying from a design perspective.”

You can learn even more about the upcoming Marvel Lego game by picking up the newest issue of Game Informer. It sounds like this will be going well beyond the usually superhero Lego game fare. With the level of detail and free playing ability to Hulk and Spider-Man, it will be exciting to see what they bring for the other 100+ characters. What do you think? Will you be picking this game up?

Cody "The Thorverine" Ferrell, UPDATE: New Details For The Lego Marvel Super Heroes Game

For about US$7.99 a month, Netflix members can instantly watch movies and TV programs streamed over the internet to PCs, Macs and TVs. Among the large and expanding base of devices streaming from Netflix are the Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and Sony PS3 consoles; an array of Blu-ray disc players, internet-connected TVs, home theatre systems, digital video recorders and internet video players; Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, as well as Apple TV and Google TV. In all, more than 800 devices that stream from Netflix are available. For additional information, visit www.netflix.com.

· Netflix is gift of unlimited entertainment – offers great movies and TV shows for everyone in the family

· Netflix is anytime/anywhere – works on over 800 different devices ie iPads/tablets, smart phones, game consoles, etc

· Netflix is launching its own Original programming – including bringing back Arrested Development

· Netflix is affordable – streaming memberships are $7.99 mos – half the price of one movie ticket in NY!

The Prizes

Six (6) winners will each receive one (1) Netflix gift card redeemable for 6 months of Unlimited Streaming service

The Rules

- Follow us on Twitter and post the following text to your page:

- Leave a comment in the comment section below with a link to your Twitter page to verify your entry

* Sweepstakes begins today, Saturday, December 30th, and ends Friday, January 11th, 2013. Winners will be contacted immediately after the Sweepstakes ends. If a winner fails to claim their prize within three days of notification it will be awarded to a randomly selected entry.

* Only one entry per registered account holder over the age of eighteen (18) will be accepted.

* Open to members from the United States and United Kingdom.

* Gift cards are valid for 6 months of Netflix Unlimited Streaming membership for either new or existing customers. Internet access and valid payment method are required, however you will not be charged during your complimentary membership period.

 

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

wolverinept, NEW YEAR GIVEAWAY: Netflix Unlimited Streaming Memberships

Ralph is a very simple movie at heart, but has plenty of deeper messages.  Kids will see what they want, and so will adults.  Kids will see a man who thinks he is bad be a good person.  Adults will see a complex film about heroes and their somewhat ambiguous morality.  It’s amazing how easily the movie balances these two extremes.  Never does the audience feel like these plot twists are forced or shoved in for the sake of it.  Everything feels natural for the story.  The plot does a great job of giving the audience to care for each and every character.  Even a character like King Candy, who turns out to be a villain for the movie.  The rules of the world are also stated nicely.  The audience doesn’t have to sit through some long exposition scene about how and why they game jump.  The rules are brought up naturally, or in a funny way.

Yes, there are video game references a plenty.  They go from obscure arcade games like Tappers, to main stream characters like Sonic.  The majority of Ralph takes place in a Mario Kart knock off, with plenty of jokes at that series.  It should take a couple viewings to get all of the hints and nods to games.  While many movies have tried to have their setting be a video game, none have succeeded.  But Ralph soars in this setting.  It’s clear the creators have a love for video games, and know what they are about.  There are plenty of jokes at modern and classic video games, but there is a respect behind those jokes.

The special effects are on the same level of Pixar.  8-bit characters move in quick motions, as they would when playing the game.  If something in an 8-bit game splashes, the puddles are squares.  It’s a small thing, but goes a long way to help sell the world that these characters are in.  Another big thing is having every character react as they would in their game.  On a small scale, this is to be expected.  But when there is a huge scene, filled with hundreds of characters, every character acts accordingly.  Sonic is in the background of one of these scenes, and we see him get hit with debris.  Naturally, he starts blinking and shoots out coins.  He was so far in the background, I almost missed it.

Wreck-It Ralph isn’t perfect though.  While the writing is great in most scenes, occasionally the writing gets a little on the nose with their message.  The movie treads the line well of adult and kid content, but the script creeps into preachy territory every so often.  It’s jarring, considering there are a few scenes that are quite dark emotionally, and filled with subtlety.  Then we go to a scene that lays everything out on the table.  It doesn’t ruin the movie by any means, but it could have been changed.

The voice actors create a great team.  No one steals the show, but they all work together to create a better movie.  John C. Riley makes Ralph lovable, and instantly the audience feels for the guy.  Sarah Silverman makes Vanellope annoying as hell, then the audience’s heart just breaks for her.  Her voice is one of the few who can’t be picked out right away.  Jane Lynch plays the tough as nails commander well, in a tongue-in-cheek fashion.  Jack McBryer was hysterical as Fix It Felix.  But the biggest surprise was that Alan Tudyk played King Candy.  He sounds nothing like Tudyk’s normal voice.  And as I have always said, “Putting Alan Tudyk in your movie ALWAYS makes it better.”

If Wreck-It Ralph proves one thing, it’s that kids don’t need a movie that coddles them.  Ralph deals with some heavy emotions that are accentuated by some perfectly voiced scenes.  It seemed almost un-Disney to have these characters so sad.  But it works.  Kids loved the movie, and many were screaming that they wanted to see it again.

Wreck-It Ralph gets 4/5.

MrComicBook, Wreck-It Ralph Review

Seasons 1 & 2, 2 disc set

The guild, the Knights of Good consist of Codex (played by Day) who is a sheepish and terribly awkward young woman with an addiction to online gaming; Vork, the cheap leader who steals both his dead uncle’s Social Security checks as well as his ailing nieghbor’s property and wifi; Tinkerballa, the nihilistic young woman who’s penchant for dealing out death online is only equaled by her taunting of her teammates; Clara, a housewife and mother who is so addicted to gaming that she neglects her children, husband and own sister’s wedding; Bladez, the high schooler, who’s greed and male modeling has gotten him in deep with both his guild and the Axis of Anarchy and then there’s Zaboo, perrenial momma’s boy and stalker of Codex whom he flirts with in game and maybe read things the wrong way.

The Guild, "the Knights of Good"

I heard about this show a while back and then streamed it on Netflix last year, before shelling out and buying copies of seasons 1-4 on Amazon. The group has even shot multiple music videos such as “Do you want to date my avatar?” a comedic song about how people can seem a lot sexier when they’re just pixels and a voice in your headset. I have to say I am a huge fan, despite not doing any online gaming and not being into turn based combat. Come to think of it I haven’t really used my PS3 for much more than a link to Netflix lately. And at one point I owned all the next gen consoles. But I sold my Wii for straight up cash to pay a debt, traded my XBox 360 to a friend for some awesome tattoos, and held onto the PS3. I even have an unopened copy of Batman Arkham City collecting dust on top of it. The reason being is I don’t want to play City before I finish Asylum. And at the rate I am churning out artwork for the upcoming Comic Con season, that might be a while.

The Guild, so good it has Memes!

But if you love awkward comedy, and you’ve always wanted to see Star Trek TNG’s Wesley Crusher be a total dick, while wearing a kilt than The Guild is the show for you. Each season is about an hour long. I know, I wanted more myself, but that’s what makes the show even better, waiting and wringing your hands in lust for the goofy crew of companions who just can’t get enough of their fantasy world. And I think we can all relate. For some of us, we throw ourselves into work. For others it’s movies. Most of us on here call comic books good rainy day, or hell, any day comfort reading for that matter. And I can relate to this on so many levels.

Professional wrestler Colt Cabana (real name Scott Colton) posing with a fan's "hammer" at XPW X (10th Anniversary Show) on August 22, 2009. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you’re new to the Hardcore Review, you may wonder, what makes it hardcore? Well, usually I am swearing up a storm and tend to write these things while I’m drinking. But what makes the Hardcore Review different at its core, is the grading system. I love professional wrestling. And I base my grades on moments in wrestling history. The more bloody, gratuitously violent, funny, great promo, or sex laden the more you need to read, watch or listen to whatever happens to be on the menu. Today I am going with professional wrestler Colt Cabana, who is an indy star and former WWE Superstar for about 5 minutes. What Vince and “creative” failed to see is Colt’s ability to bring comedy wrestling to the forefront. And his patened move of a simple flying hip attack that he calls, “the Flying @ssh*le.” It’s great as the fans love to chant along with Colt right before he executes it. Also, if you’re interested in Colt and his work you gotta check out his weekly podcast called, “The Art of Wrestling” where he sits down and talks with other wrestlers to find out what makes them, and the world of “sports entertainment” click. Go to www.welovecolt.com or subscribe to it on itunes!

John Chihak, The Hardcore Review: Going Viral With The Guild

ZenithWillRule, Zenith Interviews Andy The Movie The Game