Thanos Rising #1

/ / Comics

Thanos Rising #1I was justifiably concerned when Marvel Comics announced their plans for a mini-series looking in-depth at the life and childhood of Thanos. I can’t say Thanos Rising #1 is worse than I expected, but the misadventures of a teenage outcast on the moons of Saturn is exactly as insipid as I dreaded it would be from a company that learned nothing of George Lucas‘ (flawed, but still vastly superior) attempt at similar themes in the Star Wars prequels.

I can’t lay all the blame at the feet of writer Jason Aaron as the entire idea behind the comic is pretty damn bad. (Seriously, who at Marvel thought this was a good idea?) However, Aaron certainly does nothing to save the situation by offering up a Dawson’s Creek version of Thanos’ adolescence that is just as awful as it sounds.

After giving us the birth of the blue-skinned baby Thanos in a world filled with bland suburban Caucasians, the story follows the outcast finally making friends and to learn his first lessons about death. None of which is of any interest. Pass.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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Detective Comics #19

/ / Comics

Detective Comics #19At $8 Detective Comics #19 is overpriced for anyone who isn’t a huge fan of Man-Bat. All but one of the stories (involving Bane created a Venom-powered army to continue his vendetta against the Court of Owls) contained in this issue deal with Batman responding new a Man-Bat outbreak (which includes a Man-Bat version of Zsaz) started by Emperor Penguin to steal Gotham blind during the chaos or its consequences.

In an inexplicable chronological snafu set by the launch of the New 52 (and Grant Morrison‘s insistence to keep using Man-Bats as Talia‘s soldiers), we get out first introduction to Kurt Langstrom (the scientist who invented the Man-Bat serum) and, in the New 52 version is far, far, far from being the first to transform into a half-man/half-bat hybrid.

Other stories involve Emperor Penguin’s soldiers bilking Gotham out of millions, the Penguin planning his escape from prison and revenge against his former assistant, Mrs. Langstrom’s plans to save her husband, and a disagreement between cops, one of whom was infected by the Man-Bat virus, over Batman’s proper role in the city. For fans.

[DC, $7.99]

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XIII – Rampage

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: XIII – Rampage
  • tv.com: link

XIII - Rampage

Following the bombing at Synequanon, whose 84 victims included Amos’ (Greg Bryk) wife and daughter, President Carrington (Stephen McHattie) extends the powers of the Patriot Act to track down The Veil. Meanwhile mysterious double of XIII (Stuart Townsend), who is actually responsible for the bombing, returns to The Veil to accept responsibility and convince Vargas (Bruce Ramsay) and the other members of the activist organization to continue down the road he has started. Meanwhile the real XIII remains trapped in the brainwashing facility as his double continues to try to convince XIII that he is responsible for the terrorist attack, which is exactly what Jones (Aisha Tyler) believes when Carrington shows her security footage of the attack.

…

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Nikita – Tipping Point

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Nikita – Tipping Point
  • tv.com: link

Nikita - Tipping Point

Michael‘s (Shane West) obsession into finding the secret organization Dr. Heidecker (John Billingsley) once worked for leads Michael and Nikita (Maggie Q) to an empty high security office building and an unexpected gift of a new hand for Michael. However, to earn the help of  attaching the new hand Division is offered a deal – the surgery in exchange for Nikita stealing a biotech device from a lab in China. Although Nikita and Michael are able to make it out with the technology, the third member (Patrick Kwok-Choon) of the team isn’t so lucky which does nothing to help Division’s low morale.

…

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Elementary – Snow Angels

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Elementary – Snow Angels
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“Who’s driving you around?”
“Pam.”

Elementary - Snow Angels

On the eve of a brutal Northeast snow storm Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) and Watson (Lucy Liu) are called in to consult on what initially appears to be nothing more than a straightforward robbery and homicide. However, when Holmes discovers the thieves threw away all the brand new cell phones hours after killing a guard for them he begins to suspect the case may have more to hold his interest than he initially believed. Returning to the building, Holmes and Watson perform a more thorough investigation only to discover the thieves true robbery wasn’t the phones but blueprints in an architectural firm twelve flights up.

…

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