15 December 2009

Marvel UPDATES: IRON MAN's Virus Continues! Sam Jackson Is 'Furious' with THOR

Believe it or not, we have yet to exhaust our Marvel movie news, but tonight's blog should put Iron Man 2 and Thor to bed -- at least until Christmas Day, when second Iron Man's first trailer opens ahead of Robert Downey, Jr.'s new Sherlock Holmes. However, we have told a few friends they'll see a short but sweet Black Widow bio on the comicsblog this week - so keep your eyes peeled, Scarlet Johansson groupies.
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Dabblers, y'all better buckle in. What could've been an isolated incident when we blogged it only a few days ago is now looking like it's here to stay, and if you haven't given the first round of Iron Man 2's viral marketing campaign a closer look, trek back down the comicsblog and do that now.
A second viral bit hit the web on Monday, popping up on Screen Rant, followed today by a third clue this morning on CHUD. Scrutinizers of the pics, as well as last week's Whiplash teaser,are now referring to them as clues, as each of the images appears to be emphasizing a different word within it. This weekend's clue called attention to the word 'SECRET', while Monday's has highlighted the "STARK." This morning's faux-photo puts "CONFESSION" front and center.
Iron Man 2 : Viral Specimen #2
Iron Man 2 : Viral Specimen #3
If you jump the pics above, you'll get a better look at Monday's image-- all attention seems to be drawn to the photo below 'Walking on Air,' and you can see someone dressed in a Roman kilt (or something similar) apparently doing just that. But whether that's also a clue we're meant to find or not is anyone's guess. Screen Rant's posted several theories plus tons of feedback postulating on what these three clues may mean, so you might want to check it out. You'll know where to go at the link. [Link]
Unless we're alerted to some earth-shattering revelation tied to Iron Man 2's viral campaign, we've decided to refrain from posting future clues to the comicsblog. A t this rate, we're expecting a new clue to show up somewhere every day, and unless one suddenly appears in our in-box, we'll let interested dabblers pursue this mystery on the their own!
Yes, you know who that is. That's the guy from your home movies....err, and our's, too. No joke -- Samuel L. Jackson's such a prolific actor that he and an unknown collie be in the photo of the next picture frame we buy at Wal-Mart! Seriously, though, we dig the dude, and we can all rest a bit easier now that the 'I's' have been dotted and the 'T's' crossed, as Marvel has confirmed once and for all that Mr. Jackson will be reprising his role as SHIELD Col. Nick Fury in Kenneth Branagh's Thor.
Jackson's been signed to a multi-picture deal, as his Fury will appear in every Marvel movie up to and including 2013's Avengers motion picture. It's possible that he'll even play the lead in an all Nick Fury movie, although Marvel Studios has only speculated on that possibility. But the comics publisher did recently add Jackson's name to the cast on their Thor hub-site , and the larger picture gets even bigger, one day at a time.
Marvel also posted a this poster at the Thor hub, which showcases Thor artist Olivier Coipel's interlocking cover art from the recent six-issue Thor limited series, Tales of Asgard. You can't tell by looking at it, but the poster's actually made of vinyl, and stretches over 10 feet wide. Coipel's an amazing illustrator, and his Thor work has never been less than impressive. He's captured 63 different Asgardians in the piece - which is a helluva closer to being mural-sized than poster-sized -- which makes this Sistine Chapel rival more than an ample primer for the feature film.
Marvel's also created an ENORMOUS legend to help fans and film followers identify each one of the Norse gods Coipel's portrayed. We decided against posting to abbracadabbling, as no amount of enlargement we could offer would give you the close-up that Marvel can. You'll find Marvel's legend -- and Coipel's fantastically drawn heroes of myth -- at the link! [Link] (BTW, interested shoppers who may want to buy their own ten feet of Thor should see their local comics retailer.)
However...! We did go through the trouble to pull up some great scans of Thor's very first comic book appearance, just in case a few of you might enjoy a flashback to the Norse God of Thunder's humble beginnings. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduced Thor in August of 1962, inside the pages of Journey Into Mystery #83. The comic had long been the home of horror stories, monsters, and aliens, but when superheroes once again became popular and the Silver Age of Comics began, Journey Into Mystery shifted its focus to Thor's adventures. Thor headlined Journey through Issue #125, after which the comic was retitled The Mighty Thor.

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