There was big Internet news the other day when Marvel revealed that Robert Downey Jr. was returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe…and that he'd be playing Doctor Doom (?)
The thrill of seeing RDJ on stage sent the audience into thunderous applause of course…we all love this guy ...

The Idea Stage
Banes at 12:00AM, Aug. 1, 2024The Mantle Theory
Banes at 6:47AM, April 25, 2024
The Reggie Mantle theory is different. It involves chasing other guys' girlfriends and still expecting to be loved and admired by all. That's another article…
If anyone was following the behind-the-scenes drama at Marvel Studios in the past year or so, you may have heard about the idea from ...
Concepts into Characters...into Canada?
Banes at 12:00AM, Feb. 22, 2024
I'm not sure if we've talked about this before, but character creation has so many possible roads.
An interesting one is turning a ‘concept’ into a character. It's been done many times - of course, there are the ancient Gods and Goddesses, that personify different aspects of reality ...
They Make You Believe
Banes at 12:00AM, Aug. 24, 2023
A long time ago I read something, I think an interview with a respected screenwriter or something, where he brought up the movie “Rain Man”.
If you haven't seen it, it's about a struggling wheeler-dealer type guy, played by Tom Cruise, who goes on a road trip with ...
Orphans
Banes at 12:00AM, May 25, 2023
It never really occurred to me how many of our heroes are orphans.
Superman was the last survivor of a planet that perished. He was adopted by loving Earth parents, but he's one of the iconic orphans in fiction.
His counterpart Batman, of course, lost his parents at an ...
The Before Picture
Banes at 12:00AM, Nov. 4, 2021
Awright, first things f*ckin' last…
I just saw a clip of Robert Englund, iconic in his role as Willie on the old TV show “V”…oh, and also as the
horror legend Freddy Krueger, talking about the Nightmare on Elm Street remake, and why it didn't work out ...
Captain America Civil War
Banes at 12:00AM, Feb. 18, 2021
I've compared “Avengers Infinity War” to the classic movie cliffhanger in The Empire Strikes Back.
But the Marvel Cinematic Universe actually pulled off an almost-“Empire”-level story a couple years before that, in Captain America: Civil War.
The MCU started off with multiple movies setting up Iron Man ...
The Walking Dead
Banes at 12:00AM, Oct. 29, 2020
The Walking Dead has been a successful comic-to-screen adaptation. Back when the show started, in 2010, the comics-on-film trend had not hit high gear.
High gear wasn't far off, though. Iron Man had already come out and was huge, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe was soon going to take ...
San Diego Comic Con Rocks Southern California this Week
kawaiidaigakusei at 12:00AM, July 15, 2019
San Diego Comic Con comes to town in a few days to begin a new Hotelacolypse, or when hotels run out of space in downtown San Diego. The line ups are going to range from new film and series announcements with the casts of Game of Thrones, IT 2, and ...
Farewell to Stan Lee
Banes at 12:00AM, Nov. 15, 2018
Stan Lee
1922 - 2018
'Nuff said.
No, of course, ‘nuff can likely never be said about this man and the body of work he’s left behind for us.
It's been a rough couple days for comic fans. I must admit, I've been a bit of a wreck ...