Marvel

Morbius and Spider-Man go way back: The living vampire was first introduced to Marvel Comics readers in the pages of “The Amazing Spider-Man” in 1971. And it’s been a turbulent relationship, at best. But Morbius and the Superior Spider-Man – still Peter Parker’s body, but now controlled by the consciousness of arch-nemesis Dr. Octopus – will first cross paths Wednesday in “Morbius, the Living Vampire” No. 6, and writer Joe Keatinge is making the introduction. The tragic Michael Morbius is, as Keatinge had the character introduce himself in No. 1, “vampire-ish” – he has a taste for blood, yes, but also for garlic (especially in a nice pesto dish). His vampire traits came not from the bite of a bloodsucker, but from a failed experiment to rid him of a rare blood disorder. So far in the new series the […]

It comes as no surprise that Joss Whedon, who created one of fandom’s most beloved superheroines in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” thinks Hollywood should make more movies about female superheroes. Whedon is credited with writing strong women in genres where female characters often fall victim to cliched, two-dimensional portrayals. With so many comic book heroes dominating the multiplex, “The Avengers” director is upset at the scarcity of women in leading roles. “Toymakers will tell you they won’t sell enough, and movie people will point to the two terrible superheroine movies that were made and say, ‘You see? It can’t be done,’ Whedon told the Daily Beast this week. “It’s stupid, and I’m hoping ‘The Hunger Games’ will lead to a paradigm shift. It’s frustrating to me that I don’t see anybody developing one of these movies. … My daughter watched […]

Steve Rogers won’t be back on the big screen until next year, when Marvel releases “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” but a tiny, blocky Cap is set to feature prominently in one of the year’s most anticipated video games. The patriotic hero will be among the 100 playable characters featured in “Lego Marvel Super Heroes” — an impressive all-star ensemble that includes Wolverine, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk and Silver Surfer, with the mercenary Deadpool dropping in and out to offer commentary on the action. In the game, due on all major platforms in October, the Marvel team is called upon to save the world from new threats from Loki and the hunger of Galactus, and to find the powerful pieces of a shattered Silver Surfer surfboard. Cosmic cubes, Asgard and the Daily Bugle all make appearances, as does a […]

Find the best and the brightest of the comic book world right here, before the books hit the shelves. Thumb through the gallery above, and click on thumbnails below for larger images. We’ll update the post throughout the month so check back to see this growing gallery of covers and pages from upcoming releases from top publishers. To see more art from recent releases, check out our comic book news section and archive of comics-art galleries. Follow us on Twitter: @LATHeroComplex RECENT AND RELATED Marquez: X-Men, Spider-Man 3-D graphic novel Orson Scott Card: Stoking Superman fan rage ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’: Watch exclusive clip ‘Spider-Man’: Dan Slott talks Peter Parker’s fate Peter Dinklage joins ‘X-Men’ film cast: As Puck? ‘X-Men Legacy’: Simon Spurrier’s task is Legion Avengers vs. X-Men: The fate of Professor X Robin killed? Grant Morrison speaks out Jeff Lemire on superhero inspiration ‘X-Men’ superhero proposes to his boyfriend

Coulson lives! After nearly a year of rumors and anticipation among Marvel fans, ABC officially ordered a first season of the new television series “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” last week, sending Marvel fans all aflutter. “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” is set in the same world as last summer’s blockbuster smash “The Avengers,” which united Marvel’s muscled superheroes Iron Man, Captain American, Thor, the Hulk and others, and featured the international law enforcement and espionage organization. Clark Gregg, who played S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson in “The Avengers” and previous Marvel films, is reprising the role for the TV series, donning his suit and sunglasses once more to lead a team of crime-fighting agents: Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), highly trained in combat and espionage; Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen), expert pilot and martial artist; Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker), brilliant engineer; Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge), […]

So it turns out that rescuing a bunch of people sucked out of a hole in Air Force One at 30,000 feet is actually harder than Robert Downey Jr. makes it look in “Iron Man 3.”  Who knew? The audacious action sequence that occurs midway through director Shane Black’s superhero sequel, known by those on the film crew as the “barrel of monkeys” scene, required a mix of real-world guts and digital ingenuity to pull off. The guts were supplied by the Red Bull skydiving team, who stand in for the crew of the president’s plane in the scene — the effects that placed them believably within the story came from Digital Domain, the VFX shop that created about 250 of the shots in the movie, including 35 different Iron Man suits, a wholly digital Air Force One and a […]

Walt Disney Animation Studios is announcing its first movie inspired by a Marvel comic Thursday, an adaptation of a lesser known crime fighter series called “Big Hero 6.” Directed by Don Hall (“Winnie the Pooh”) and due in 2014, the CG-animated movie will center on a robotics prodigy named Hiro Hamada and his robot companion BayMax, who join a team of superheroes in a high-tech city called San Fransokyo. (For a closer look at the city of San Fransokyo, see the video above). Even die-hard comic book fans may have trouble recalling the Marvel series, which was created by Steven T. Seagle and Duncan Rouleau in 1998 and is something of a whimsical love letter to Japanese culture. Characters in the original comic include a samurai, an agent who invented a nanotechnology-based Power Purse and a monster born from a […]

Looks like “Iron Man 3″ director Shane Black is sticking with the world of superheroes for now. Sony announced today that Black will co-write and direct “Doc Savage,” a new film based on the popular pulp hero from the 1930s and ’40s. First introduced in 1933, Clark Savage Jr. was a physician, scientist, inventor and adventurer who had great strength, a photographic memory and was skilled in martial arts.  The character has appeared in comics and on radio and other media — he’s had a movie as well, 1975′s “Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze,” starring Ron Ely. Black, who co-wrote the “Doc Savage” screenplay with Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry, told Hero Complex last month that he would be interested in following “Iron Man 3″ with “an adventure picture,” and “Doc Savage” certainly fits the bill. PHOTOS: Shane Black: […]

“Iron Man 3″ pits genius billionaire Tony Stark, played with panache by Robert Downey Jr., against a terrorist plot that threatens to bring the most powerful people in the world to their knees. But that threat is not quite what it seems. Reader beware: Spoilers lie ahead. Ben Kingsley’s Mandarin may be the face on the posters and the focus of the movie trailers, but lurking in the background is Aldrich Killian, another visionary genius like Stark, but one whose circumstances led him down darker paths. Killian, played by Emmy-winning actor Guy Pearce, is the founder of the private brain trust AIM, which helped develop the Extremis virus. Extremis imparts superhuman strength and regenerative powers to its subjects, and Killian takes full advantage of the effects. In many ways, Killian is a foil for Stark, using his mind (and the […]

Iron Man is back in the multiplex in a big way this weekend with “Iron Man 3,” but the character also features prominently in “Marvel’s Avengers Assemble,” a new animated series set to premiere July 7 on the Marvel Universe block on Disney XD, with a special one-hour sneak preview on May 26. Hero Complex is bringing you a new look at the team. The heroic lineup, which also includes Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye and Black Widow, is the same as the Avengers who assembled for Joss Whedon’s 2012 blockbuster, with the notable inclusion of one of Captain America’s oldest friends and partners, the Falcon. A previous series, “The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes,” offered glimpses of numerous Marvel characters, but “Avengers Assemble” marks the first time this lineup has appeared on a television show. The series stars Adrian Pasdar […]