The WrestleMania Match We Will Never Get. Spider-Man Vs Spider-Man

As Marvel gets ready to start shooting on Captain America: Civil War, most of us comic book geeks are wondering if the movies is going to have Black Panther take over the role that our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man had in the comics, as it's been rumored. That was before Marvel and Sony came to an agreement that will allow Spidey to cross over into the Marvel cinematic universe and have Marvel put out a new Spider-Man movie, with Sony distributing the film as well as having final say on matters, which could be disastrous. We all say The Amazing Spider-Man 2. I know, I did say it was the best Spider-Man movie ever made at the time I first saw it. However, I am allowed to change my mind.

Now, with each Dylan O'Brien rumor of his impending casting as the new Wallcrawler, I thought I would take an objective look at both Spider-Man franchises and see which one was truly better. Who played Peter Parker better? Who was a more comic book accurate Spider-Man? Could Andrew Garfield's hair actually fit under that mask? And yes, I know there are already tons of comparison articles out there. But here's another anyway.

I took a few days to watch all five Spider-Man movies. I started at the beginning with the first Sam Rami movie and ended with the Amazing Spider-Man 2. I tried to pay more attention to the acting, the costumes, the overall feel of the movie I was watching before I came up with a decision. I also broke down what I was watching for in categories which you will see as you read along.

I also want to stress that this is just MY opinion and my opinion only. I have been a massive fan of the character since I could read and I still remain a huge fan to this day. Spider-Man means so much to me and always will. So, I guess those are my only qualifications toward judging between the two.

Let's Get Started:

Which Origin Story Was Closer To The Comic?

When watching both movies, I realized the origins of both Spider-Men was similar, but different. Both were bitten by super spiders, although I don't think either were radioactive like in the comics. But that's where the similarities end.

In Sam Rami's Spider-Man, the origin story from the comics is followed almost faithfully. Peter Parker is bitten by the spider on a class trip, gains spider powers, tries to use the powers to gain money by getting into a wrestling match and gets gypped by the owner of the promotion. Owner gets robbed, Peter lets the robber get away when he could have stopped him, robber later shoots Uncle Ben leaving Peter to go after the killer and then finding out it was the same robber and he could have stopped him and prevented Uncle Ben's death does he realize he is to use his powers for the good of humanity.

In Marc Webb's Amazing Spider-Man, Peter Parker is trying to find out information about his father. He finds that his dad used to work with Dr. Curtis Connors, who works at Oscorp. Parker sneaks into Oscorp and accidentally walks into a room with a bunch of super enhanced spiders, one of which stows away in Parker's shirt and bites him on the neck as he's talking to Gwen Stacey. Parker later gets into an argument with his Uncle Ben, storms out of the house leaving Uncle Ben to follow after him. Parker then goes to buy himself some chocolate milk and is short a couple of pennies The clerk refuses to let him slide a couple cents. As Parker is leaving, he witnesses the store getting robbed and does nothing to stop it, even accepting the milk from the robber. As the robber is fleeing the scene and running into people, he drops his gun and Uncle Ben is there to try and stop the robber and gets shot in the process. Parker goes after the killer later on and is attacking every one who bore a resemblance to the killer, but never finds him. He only goes after the Lizard after he realizes that it's exsistance is partially his fault and he wants to go and stop it.

In Rami's Spider-Man, Parker becomes Spider-Man to make the world a better place. In Webb's Amazing Spider-Man, Peter becomes Spider-Man only to find the killer of his Uncle Ben. Not exactly heroic. In my opinion, This round goes to Rami's Spider-Man

Spider-Man 1,  Amazing Spider-Man 0

Who Was The Better Peter Parker?

In the comics, Peter was the ultimate nerd. Ignored by women, beaten up by jocks, made fun of by the cooler kids. Peter was always searching for acceptance and when he became Spider-Man, his confidence grew. We see this in Tobey McGuire's portrayal of the character. Tobey's Peter Parker is a nerd and is always looked down on by those around him except Mary Jane, Harry Osborne and Aunt May. Tobey's Peter Parker was Charlie Brown and that is what he was in the comics. Nothing ever goes right for him.

My main problem with McGuire's Parker is that while he was nerdy, he was also goofy, border lining on stupid. His goofy smile while "Rain Drops Keep Falling On My Head"plays in the background in Spider-Man 2, his dancing in Spider-Man 3 just made my skin crawl. Then there was his crying. I mean, he cried wayyyyy too much. Parker was never this goofy or whiny in the comics.

Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker was more hipster than nerdy. Sure he was smart, bullied and barely had any friends, but this Parker had some balls to him. He stood up to Flash Thompson, rode his cool skateboard in the hallways and flirted with Gwen Stacey. This was not your father's Peter Parker. Hell, he wasn't even the Ultimate version of Peter Parker. He was almost too cool to be an outcast, brooding at times as well. He even talked back to adults, like when he offered to send Captain Stacey a link to the video of himself that went viral.  Don't get me wrong, I liked Garfield's performance, but if we are going by comic book standards, Garfield's Parker would have been perfect as Peter Parker, college student as he had a lot more confidence by this point.

Even with the crying and stupid dancing, McGuire wins this round.

Spider-Man 2, Amazing Spider-Man 0

Who Was The Better Spider-Man?

After watching the movies the past few days, I noticed that both actors portrayed Spider-Man differently. Tobey McGuire's Spider-Man was not the Spider-Man I wanted. Although his Spider-Man had the costume right, his portrayal missed the mark. He, in my opinion, played Spider-Man almost exactly as he played Peter Parker. There was a twinge of geek in there and some Charlie Brown in Spidey. If the Black Cat had been around, I bet she would have blew him off. Another thing that cheesed me about McGuire was his habit of removing his mask all the time. What the heck?? Spider-Man barely had his mask removed in the comics. If the reasoning behind this was to get Tobey's reactions then that is a piss poor excuse. There are other ways to express Spider-Man's reactions to what was going on around him than to see McGuire's facial expressions.

Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man was pretty much on the money, with the exception of the outfit, which really did not bother me as much as I thought. Garfield as Spider-Man was bold, smart, and had something that was really missing from McGuire's Spider-Man....one liners. That to me was something I loved about Spider-Man. No matter how dire the situation was, Spidey had a string of one liners ready to zing at his opponent during his battles. He threw them at the Lizard and called Electro "Sparkles", He was even sarcastic with the two bit thug he stopped from stealing a car in the first movie. To me, the fact that Spider-Man can make light of heavy situations is one of his trademarks and for McGuire's Spider-Man to be void of that is a major mark against his Spider-Man. Oh, and Garfield had web shooters, not organic webs (Thank you so much James Cameron for that idea.)

This round goes to our favorite hipster.

Spider-Man 2, Amazing Spider-Man 1

Overall Tone Of The Movie

I remember when I first saw the trailer for Spider-Man and feeling so excited. I had been waiting for Spider-Man to be made into a film and I was finally getting it. When I saw the movie I walked out feeling satisfied with what I got. Sam Rami was obviously a fan of the character because when I watched this movie I felt like I was reading an issue of Spider-Man from the 1960's. I could see John Romita Sr. Drawing these characters. Spider-Man looked almost exactly like he did in the comics, with the exception of the spider on his back and lack of web shooters (Thanks again James....you know what, forget it. Just forget it.). I still feel like this to this day when I pop in the movie, as well as Spider-Man 2 in the Blue Ray player. I could watch both movies over and over again and never get tired of them.

Plus, Rami had dead on portrayals of characters like Flash Thompson, J. Jonah Jameson, Robbie Robertson, Norman Osborne, Aunt May, Uncle Ben, Harry Osborne and Otto Octavius. His only failure was Mary Jane. No offense to Kirsten Dunst, but she wasn't glamorous enough to pull off Mary Jane. Plus, she became a self absorbed, selfish woman as the series went on. It got to a point where I almost didn't want Spider-Man to save her.

We won't even go into Venom.

In The Amazing Spider-Man, it seems to me like Marc Webb used the Ultimate Spider-Man and Batman Begins as his template. I don't mind that all too much. The essence of Spider-Man was in this film. But it wasn't like he jumped out of the comics like the Rami's Spidey did. They altered the costume a bit in the first one and then he was more closer to the Spider-Man we know in the second film. Webb's first film was a lot darker than it probably should have been. Spider-Man is not a dark, brooding character. It seems like Webb tried to bring out Spider-Man's inner Batman at times and that didn't work.

Webb didn't bring a lot of Spider-Man's secondary characters into his movies. Yes, we had Uncle Ben and Aunt May. We had Gwen Stacy and Captain Stacey as well as Flash Thompson. We got Harry Osborne in the second movie as well as Norman, but Norman was wasted in a five minute bit with Harry. We did get Felicity Hardy, who would become the Black Cat, a version of the Rhino, The Gentleman, Dr. Kafka (even if he was a woman in the comics) and Alister Smythe but we never saw these characters develop as there was too many characters in the second film. You would have thought that Sony would have learned from Spider-Man 3.

I genuinely enjoyed the first film and still do. I think it's on par with Rami's first Spider-Man. I may have it above that movie just slightly only because I liked Garfield as Spider-Man so much. But, we are trying to determine which movie felt like what a Spider-Man movie should feel like and as much as I liked Garfield, this movie doesn't have that tone.

Spider-Man 3, Amazing Spider-Man 1

Wow. I was pretty shocked with myself after I watched all the films. I have been on board with Andrew Garfield being a better Spider-Man. While I do believe that he is a better Spider-Man, McGuire's Parker is more on point and Rami's movies were more Spider-Man-ish, if that makes any sense. I do think if the Amazing Spider-Man would have been a better movie, Webb's series would have come out on top and we wouldn't be getting yet another reboot of Spider-Man in 2017.

So, as I eat my words, I will proclaim that Sam Rami's first two Spider-Man movies are the standard bearers for all Spider-Man movies to be judged by. Has the perfect Spider-Man movie been made? I do feel that Spider-Man 2 is as close to one as you can get. Maybe Marvel will make that perfect Spider-Man movie. It depends on who they cast to play Spider-Man Dylan O'Brien is rumored to be the lead for this role, but Logan Lerman is another top choice) and direct (Drew Goddard is being considered to write and direct) the movie. But with Marvel involved, I feel a lot better about the films chances to be Spectacular and maybe even Ultimate.

I Think This May Be Bigger Than A Womp Rat

Ever since I was 6 years old, Luke Skywalker has been my favorite Star Wars character. Whenever I would get Star Wars toys as a kid, somewhere in the lot there would be a Luke Skywalker I would gravitate to and play with above all the others. I wish I still had them all, but I lost them in the great war of 1982 when my sister and I were at war and destroyed each others toys. She threw out all my Star Wars stuff and I played skydiving with her Barbies from our 6th floor window.

Ever since I decided to restart my Star Wars collecting, I made sure I focused on Luke Skywalker, picking up as many pieces of him as possible. From puzzles to action figures to cups to calendars, anything that has Luke on it, I usually picked up. But I can't say I'm doing it all by myself.

My buddy, George, gave me some late Christmas presents and one of the items fits right into my Skywalker collection.

Recently, Hasbro released some Star Wars Titan figures in their Star Wars: Rebels line. I've never seen the show on Disney XD, so I don't know if it's any good. To me, if it has nothing to do with my beloved characters from Episodes III, IV and V, I have no interest. I gave the Prequel characters a chance and wasn't crazy about them. Also, I'm not sure why Luke was released in this line, unless he will make an appearance on the show or will at some point. All I care about is I get a new Luke Skywalker in my collection.

As with all Titan figures, they come in a box with a cellophane front and some art underneath. In this case, we get a Stormtrooper with the classic Star Wars lettering under the Stormtrooper, which is enough to make me squeal like a 10 year old.

I love the back of the box as it a has a great action shot of the final battle between Luke and Darth Vader in Return Of The Jedi. The picture captures Vader down for the count with Luke about to deliver that final blow that chops Vader's hand off. If I was Luke, I would have been like "A hand for a hand, eh Daddy"? That is probably why I will never be a Jedi. Much anger in this one. Then again, there is no such thing as a Jedi Knight, no matter what those cos players tell you at conventions.

I had wanted to keep the box for display purposes, especially since I was digging that picture on the back so much. Unfortunately, Hasbro did not make getting the figure out all that easily. I would have hoped I could have slide the figure out, but no. It was tied down to a piece of cardboard that was glued to the box. What the heck?? I had to tear apart the box to get the figure out so I could cut the elastic like strings off to set him free. After I was done, there was no box. just one long piece of cardboard. It looked like a piece of the skin off an orange if you peel it right.

Here is Luke out of the package. Right off the bat, I like that he's wearing his Jedi outfit from Return. He also looks enough like Mark Hamill for this figure to work out well.

I did say he looked enough like Hamill, not totally like him. There's enough there where you can look at the figure and say, "OK. I see it." Only thing I might have done was darken his hair just a little. Mark Hamill has dark blonde hair. Not very light blonde that the companies have been putting on him since the 70's. I never got that.

The only accessory that came with the figure was his green lightsaber, which I'm glad we got. Of the two lightsabers Luke had, the green by far is my favorite. Not sure why since blue is my favorite color. I thought, and still do, that the green made Luke more of a bad ass than the blue one did. The hilt on this lightsaber is a little bit bent, so I will have to figure out a way to straighten it out since I'm pretty sure Luke had a straight hilt and not the curve on the end that I have seen on some lightsabers.

There is barely any articulation to this figure. Luke's head turns slightly from left to right, the arms do a full 360 rotation at the shoulder and the legs go up in front and that's it. That's not a problem for me. My problem is if we weren't going to get wrist articulation, why is Luke's hand out stretched instead of at his size? It's not like we can pose this figure, so I fail to see the reasoning for the palms out theory with this figure.

Maybe Luke is asking Vader for some long overdue child support? No wonder he chopped Vaders hand off. The cheap Sith Lord.

The paint on the back of the figure is as good as the front is. Hasbro did a bang up job on the paint application. I did not see any splotches or messed up paint on any part of the figure.

That's as much posing as your going to get out of this figure, but I really don't care. It's a new Luke Skywalker figure that has been added to my collection and I am very glad to have it. Once I am able to display my collection, I figure (Pun intended, heh heh) this will have a prominent spot next to my other larger Skywalker figures.

Like most of the free world, I am looking forward to Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I usually avoid seeing a newer release with crowds, but I may break that rule just to see this movie. I have been on such a Star Wars kick lately. I've watched New Hope, Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi all weekend get my Star Wars mojo flowing. The 2 best things about The Force Awakens? We get the original cast back and we are sure to get more Skywalker collectables for me to pick up. That's a win win...for me at least.

I Was Doing The Batutsi Recently

I haven't been purchasing much for myself lately as money has been pretty tight. However, I did have a Amazon gift card I got for Christmas had been saving for a rainy day.  As of late, I haven't had a whole lot to smile about, so I decided to rectify that and placed an order with Amazon. My order came a couple days ago and I started to giggle like The Riddler as I opened the box.

I finally decided to pull the trigger and picked up the Diamond Select 1966 Batman Bust and I am so thrilled to finally own this piece. It's my first Batman statue of any sort and I'm happy it's of my favorite Batman of all time.

As you can see, the front of the box has a great image of the statue you are getting as well as the 1966 Batman logo in the upper right hand corner and a great picture of the Bat Signal signing above a silhouette of Gotham City. The box alone was enough to get strange stirrings in my utility belt.

Both side panels of the box had just about the same image as the front did, sans Bat Signal.

The back as the same imagery as the side did, except there is a brief write up about the Batman. If you don't know who the Batman is, please leave your address down in the comments below and I will have the geek police stop by and pick up your geek card.

The top of the box features a nice artist rendition of my favorite car, the George Barris Batmobile. I swear, if I ever win the lottery, I will be having the guys at Fiberglass Freaks build me a Batmobile.

And here is the Piece De Resistance. When I took this out of the box, I was blown away with how good this bust looks. This is 6 inches of pure Adam West Sexiness. This bust was designed by Barry Bradfield and sculpted by Jean St. Jean and limited to 3,000 pieces. I am just amazed at how much this bust looks like the Adam West Batman. The facial features and body type are dead on to how Adam looked on the TV series.

One of my favorite parts of this bust is the base. The base has been carved to depict the closing of the TV show. The shadows of Gotham City, the dark blue of the night sky as the Bat Signal cuts through it, alerting Batman and Robin that treachery is afoot and they are needed right away in Commissioner Gordon's office. The base is genius.

The back looks great. I love how the cape is scultped with folds and the paint is spot on. The colors are perfect to how they looked on the classic TV show. The base continues with more shadows of Gotham City in that dark blue sky. I'm glad they didn't stick another Bat Signal here.

The bottom of the base gives you the trademark info as well as who and where the bust was manufactured. This base also gives you the number it is. Mine is a high number, 2,676 out of 3,000. I know a lot of collectors would rather have a low number in their collection. I'm just happy I was able to get this bust in my 1966 Batman collection.

Plus, I get a Certificate Of Authenticity which tells you this is an authentic Diamond Select Toys Batman Bust. It shows off another picture of the bust as well as the numbering of the bust you have in your possession.

So, no doubt you practically read me drooling over this bust as I reviewed it. It's a fantastic piece and I'm so proud that I can own one. Do I recommend this? YES, YES, Oh HELL YEAH! OK, got my wrestling catch phrases in there as well. Not only do I recommend this piece to a fan of the TV show, but I would tell any Batman, pop culturist, comic book fan to race out and grab this piece before it is gone. Diamond Select has also released a Robin, Joker and Riddler and I plan to pick up all of them. I do hope we get a Batgirl and Catwoman soon as well.

This bust has bought me the same amount of joy I get whenever I get to watch the TV show. Yeah, I know it's campy and not the serious, emo Batman we are all used to, but this show celebrated how comics were at that point and I think we can be thankful Batman didn't go into outer space like he had in the comics earlier in the decade. I love the show and always will. This bust will become a featured piece in my collection for a long, long time.

And just because I feel generous, here is the greatest opening to a television show, ever!

Sexy Geek? Maybe It Should Be Old, Picky Geek

Every New Years that passes, I think about another year that passes and how much closer to the grave I am. There's a lot I want to accomplish and still hope to in my life. I would like to see if my writing can take me anywhere aside from my blogs. I would also like to do a podcast with one of my very good friends. When the two of us are together, we crack each other up and I think we could have a great podcast. We have discussed it and hopefully it will come to fruition. It's really my fault for the delay as I don't have a microphone on my laptop and I would like to have a better laptop as well. Hopefully soon. Most of all, when I do think about things, I do think about my collection and what direction I'd like it to go.

I know I have discussed this topic in previous blog posts, but as of late, I have been really considering downsizing it and concentrating on what I really like to collect. I feel as of late I have been stagnate when it comes to my collection. I haven't really been adding to it, not because I'm out of work, although that does come into play. I just haven't found really anything I've wanted to add. A lot of the stuff that comes out these days are not things I have been quick to open my wallet for. In my opinion, the stuff that comes out is too expensive and your really not getting the best bang for your buck.

There have been stuff that I have been excited for on paper, yet when I saw the finished product I was like, ehhhhhhhhhh. Like the 1966 Batman figures. I only got the Batman and Surf's Up Batman in my collection and I'm fine with that. I wasn't really impressed with the quality of the figures and the likenesses of them. Plus, I was a bit ticked that Robin was only released in a box set and is supposed to be released in another box set with Batman and Batgirl. When that will be released, I don't know. Also, at $22 bucks, these were pretty expensive figures. I'm sure I will get the rest at some point, but not anytime soon.

Don't get me wrong, I know that stuff is expensive these days. It's part of the hobby and if I want to have a sweet collection, I will have to spend, spend spend. I'm just not going to spend anymore on every Spider-Man or Batman item that comes out. I think it's time to concentrate on specific characters or things or people I m passionate about.

1-Batman Pre 1989

I enjoy the Christopher Nolan movies. I really think those are the best Batman movies ever made, aside from the 1966 Batman movie, which I enjoy the hell out of. I will admit something though, I hate the all black Batman outfits. My Batman has grey in it. Blue and grey to be specific. I can't explain the joy I feel whenever I see a Batman figure in those colors. It takes me back to my childhood when I used to sit in my room, watching the Super Friends while noshing on a bowl of cereal or when I opened Christmas presents and got a Batman Mego with Batmobile. So I decided I will start focusing my collection on Batman before the Tim Burton movie. I love the 1966 TV show, so I will buy stuff that fits that part of my collection, vintage or modern releases. I love the Super Friends Batman and have the figure. I want that Hot Wheels Super Friends Batmobile and I also want the statue and will get them eventually. I can concentrate on just this period of the character and have a pretty kick ass collection.

2-Spider-Man

I don't see myself really changing in how I collect Spider-Man. I will probably continue to collect him as is.

3-Statues

One thing I want to do is add more statues to my collection. I figure if I don't spend money on newer releases at Toys R Us or Target, I can save up for some really cool pieces. I have been wanting to start collecting the Batman Black And Whites. I want to pick up the upcoming Adam West Batman statue. There are some really nice Spider-Man pieces I want also like the Origins piece and the half Peter Parker/Spider-Man bust that I drool over each time I see it on eBay.

4-Hot Toys

These are some of the most beautiful and expensive figures you will ever see. I see some of these figures in comic book shops or cons and I just start getting feverish and itchy and I start walking toward the figure like I'm looking for my next fix. I, unfortunately, do not own a Hot Toys figure. Part of it is I haven't had steady work in almost 2 years and part of it is because I spend, spend, spend. I couldn't save a dollar even if I knew I was getting thrown out tomorrow. I'll still be at Toy's R Us buying that cheap plastic Spider-Man that I really don't need. This year, I will try my best to save for at least 1 Hot Toys figure. I'm leaning toward 1966 Batman to be my first Hot Toys figure.

5-Luke Skywalker/Star Wars

I have been collecting anything and everything Luke Skywalker I can get my hands on. I just recently got a Luke Skywalker Titan figure that I love as a late Christmas gift. I will be reviewing it in the near future. I also want to pick up some vintage Star Wars figures and play sets. I still want the Death Star playset. I also need a vintage X Wing too.

6-Beatles

Some of the most expensive collectibles you will find are Beatles items from the 60's. Because of that, most of the Beatles things I will own will be modern Beatles releases. Right now, my Beatles holy grail is the set of Beatles cartoon figures that McFarlane put out. That box set goes for close to $200.00 bucks on eBay.

7- Back To The Future

I really don't go out of my way to pick up Back To The Future stuff, even if it's my favorite movie of all time. I haven't picked up the Funko POP's yet. I haven't thought about grabbing the Hover Board I've seen. If I come across it and feel like picking it up, I will.

So, I've managed to streamline my collecting habits to 7 categories, and that's not even mentioning my sports collectibles. I won't be collecting Kiss or Iron Man or anything else I was picking up before. The Simpsons are a category that I also don't normally collect, but I have picked up a piece here and there and will probably continue to do so. I can also see myself knocking off a category or two in the future. Why?

Well, I need room to walk around. My room is starting to become cluttered. I have no space to display my stuff and in the future, what if I don't have room for display then either? I have always hated collections that look so cluttered, unorganized and I never want mine to look like that. I will display in cabinets and shelves, but I want it to be a neat display. Also, money. I don't have a million dollars to spend on figures and collectibles. I barely have $50.00 at times. I need to pick and choose what to get. I want to pick up the best things for what I can afford.

When going shopping, my buddy and I don't buy just anything anymore. We look for the "Wow" factor. Something that I will not put back after holding it and walking around the store. If I have to think about it, it goes back. Maybe I'm trying to grow up a bit or maybe as I reach my 44th birthday in April, I am starting to realize I cannot own everything. That's not what collecting is all about. It's about picking up pieces that you will be proud to display and never, ever want to let go. I want to be able to look at my collection years from now through coke bottle glasses and smile as I sit n my rocking chair.

Some Random Thoughts

A lot has gone down since I was blogging regularly that I have not been able to post my opinions on at the time they were news worthy. I'm feeling like sharing those thoughts now.

Remember, these are my opinions and mine alone. If you don't agree with my thoughts, be nice about it or don't leave a comment. If you agree, that makes you smart. (I keed, I keed)

1-I'm Not So Sure About The Ant-Man Movie

Now, don't get me wrong. I do think that Ant Man should be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He was an original member of the Avengers in the comics. He was a part of the Ultimate Avengers straight to DVD movies and he was a part of the very awesome Avengers Assemble cartoon. Ant Man is an important character and he deserves his time in celluloid.

My issue is I am having a problem deciding if he is worthy of a stand alone film. I mean, unless your a big time comic book fan, chances are you may not even know who the character is. Which may be why his is getting a movie. To introduce the character to the movie going public and possibly set him up to join the Avengers for two part Avengers: The Infinity Gauntlet in 2018 and 2019. If that is the thought process, then it may be a smart move on Marvel's part.

If I was it was up to me, I would have had Hank Pym in the first Avengers movie. Even if he wasn't going to be a part of the alien invasion of New York at the end of the movie, at least have him as a scientist for S.H.I.E.L.D and make some sort of reference to the fact that he becomes Ant Man at some point. Maybe have him d
iscover his power to shrink and grow or even show the suit. Maybe the not so knowledgeable fan wouldn't get the reference, but the seed is planted for later use.

And another problem for me is they aren't even making Henry Pym the main character. Henry Pym is going to be an older character, played by Michael Douglas. Paul Rudd will be playing a totally different character. Why not have it Hank Pym? And will we see the Wasp in this movie? Which character is playing her if we do?

I like Paul Rudd and I've always been a Michael Douglas fan. I really hope this movie does well. After the success of Guardians Of The Galaxy, are you betting against Marvel? I'm not. But by the same token, I also wouldn't be surprised if this is Marvel's first disappointment.

2-What In The Uncle Ben Is Going On With The Spider-Man Franchise?

A lot has happened since the end of the Amazing Spider-Man 2's run in theaters. Rumors have been abound that Sony and Marvel would be meeting in a "Spider-Man Summit" in January 2015. The Sinister Six had been scrapped and it was on again and due to start filming. Andrew Garfield was fired as Peter Parker/Spider-Man for opening his mouth about Sony executives sticking their noses in during the filming of Amazing Spider-Man 2 and then not showing up for a very important Sony dinner, which insulted the executives. There have been so many rumors that I really don't know what to believe anymore.

Here's what I do believe. I do believe that Marvel and Sony were going to discuss a possible Spider-Man appearance in Captain America: Civil War. If you have read the story, you know that Spider-Man was one of the main characters in that story arch. In my opinion, you can't have a Civil War without him. I mean, he revealed his secret identity to the world because he sided with Tony Stark at first before realizing that he's heart was not in on Stark's beliefs and moved over to Captain America's side. Because nothing could be agreed upon, Spider-Man will not be in the picture and his role in the story has been, presumably, given to Black Panther.

I also believe with the departure of Amy Pascal as co-chair person of Sony Entertainment will open up negotiations to allow Marvel to eventually be able to use Spider-Man in future Marvel movies as well as start a franchise for Spidey. Pascal was championing Garfield as Spider-Man and when he was let go it might have been the beginning of the end for her. Do I think we may see a Spider-Man reference at the end of Avengers: Age Of Ultron? No, but we may see something at the end of Captain America: Civil War. I had heard he may appear in the upcoming Thor movie, but I really don't think it makes any sense for him to show up in that film.

Either way, would it really shock anyone reading this that an announcement be made during this summer's San Diego Comic Con? Can you imagine Kevin Feige on stage talking. The lights go down and a Spider-Man logo comes on the screen with Marvel's logo as well as a release date for a Spider-Man movie? I think the crowd reaction would be louder than the one that the 1 minute footage of Batman Vs Superman got.

3-So Marvel Is Now Copying DC Comics?

OK, admittedly, I have not read a comic book in a few months time. Not that I have lost interest in reading them. Because I have been out of work for most of 2014, I decided that I would give up buying single issues and just read the trades instead. Would save me money (kind of) to wait until the collected works of a particular story arch come together under one cover. Plus, it saves me storage room. But, I do try to keep up with the happenings in the comic book world.

Which is why when I heard the announcement for Secret Wars and how it would end the Marvel Universe as we know it made me go hmmmmmmm. 

I know most of you already know what's coming up in Secret Wars. But in case some of yo missed the memo on this, don't worry. The Sexy Geek's got you covered.

Basically, what will happen is by the time the first issue of Secret Wars hits the stands in May, every world in the Marvel Multiverse will be destroyed with pieces of each coming together and forming Battleworld, which is where the story will take place. 

After the Secret Wars story arch ends, there will be a whole new world combining elements of not only the Marvel Universe and Ultimate Universe, but maybe other worlds as well coming together to form the All New Marvel. Essentially, they are taking the best of each world and making one. They may actually bring back old characters in this new world, so if they wanted to bring back Uncle Ben or Gwen Stacey, they can. 

Is this a reboot? Sure as heck seems like it. 

This smells to me like what DC did with Flashpoint a few year back and restarting their universe and forming New 52. A lot of DC fans didn't like it then and some still don't to this day. Once can argue that only a few titles, like Batman, Justice League, Aquaman and Green Lantern are good reads under the New 52 banner. That may not be a fair statement, but I'm just going by what some of the regular comic book readers I know have told me. 

Now, is this what Marvel is going for with their "reboot"? I don't think so. I think that with the success of their movies they have gained a lot more people jumping aboard the Marvel bandwagon, people who may not have read a comic before or kids who seen the movies are are now just starting to read the books themselves. I see this as a way for Marvel to clean up their universes and make it into one tight universe so many readers can follow the stories of their favorite characters. Maybe even make the books in line with he movies, which may or may not be such a hot idea.

I think it could be a good thing as long as the stories are good. I am now more open to change when it comes to comics than I was before. Remember, I was pissing and bitching about how making Doc Ock switch bodies with Peter Parker and killing him off was a bad thing until I read Superior Spider-Man and realized it was a damn good read. I also think I felt better about it knowing with Amazing Spider-Man 2 coming out soon they would have to bring back Peter Parker, so I relaxed and enjoyed the story arch, knowing I'd have my Spider-Man back. What I'm saying is, let's not be so quick to dismiss what Marvel is trying to do. Let's read a few issues of the All New Marvel before we formulate an opinion. If there wasn't a New 52, do we get Court Of Owls, Throne Of Atlantis or Death Of The Family? As long as they don't change too may things, I think this could be a good thing. Now, if Marvel listens to some geniuses and make Milo Morales the only Spider-Man I may not be too pleased with that.

Again, these are just some of my own opinions on what's been going n the past couple of months. I may be wrong in some of what I said. I may be off base on some of my theories or just insane, which wouldn't be the first time I was accused of that. That's why I love talking comics and all things comic book related. There are so many different opinions and thoughts and some awesome conversations are sure to come up within the next few months over these subjects. Let's see what happens and if we, as fans accept what we are given.

I'm Baaaaaaack! And I Have A Figure To Show!

It's been a while. 4 months to be exact. 2014 was not the greatest year for this Sexy Geek. I lost a lot and one of the things I lost was the passion I had to blog about pop culture. It's not that I didn't love all the things I wrote about. I still love Batman and have been dying to get the '66 series on Blu-Ray. I still love comic books, even though I haven't really bought any in a long time and I am really lost. I went to buy all the Spider-Verse issues last weekend to catch up and was told there was another story line along with it to read. Way to confuse me Marvel! I've also been following the big announcement that Marvel made last week regarding Secret Wars and the impact it will have on the Marvel Universe after, which was what I was going to blog initially. But two things happened. I realized that I am out of the comic book flow, so I may not be the best person to state any opinions on this topic.

And I won a contest.

Let me explain, over on Facebook, I follow Funko and every Friday, they run a contest. I have entered a few, never winning any. Then during New Year's week, I get a notification from Funko on Facebook that I won the last contest I entered. I was beyond thrilled, to say the least. When the package arrived last Saturday, I was beside myself with joy.

Look what I won.

I won a Distressed Amazing Spider-Man 2 Funko Hikari. How freaking awesome is this thing? I had seen Hikari figures in Barnes N Noble before, but never picked any up because I really couldn't afford the 50.00 price tag these figures carry. But thanks to the kindness of the good folks over at Funko, I now have a Hikari of my very own. Let's take a look at the box.

I absolutely love the back light effect this box gives off. Spidey looks amazing (no pun intended) against the black of the box.

Now, against my better judgement, lets take Spidey out of the box and take a closer look at him.

Wow, this keeps getting better and better. This figure is numbered 1 of 750. I have the very first figure made. Even if it's not, I'm sticking to that story.

Right out of the box I can tell you this one awesome figure. The figure seems to be made of a heavy plastic. It feels heavier than a POP or one of their bobbleheads would. The fact that it's taller may have something to do with that as well. I also like how the colors pop out on this figure with some backwash on it as well. You can definitely see the Japanese influence in these figures.

The back of this figure looks great as well. If your wondering about articulation, There is very little, much like with a POP. The head does a full rotation and the arms will rotate as well, but that's pretty much it. Who cares? This figure is pretty damn sweet.

Just in case you wanted to see the tag on the figure.

And a close up of Spidey's mug. You can really see the fantastic work that went into this figure when you look at it up close. Ok, I'll stop drooling now.

For size comparison, I bought out my Spider-Man and Amazing Spider-Man 2 POP vinyl figures and you can see the Hikari Spider-Man towers over his smaller brothers. I wanted to have my Amazing Spider-Man POP join the others for this picture but it was too busy avoiding Sony executives.

Again, I cannot thank Funko enough for this awesome figure. It made this Spider-Man collector a very happy geek and it will have a prominent place in my Spider-Man Funko collection forever.

By the way, The Sexy Geek's House Of Swag is now on Facebook. Please swing by and like the page. I plan to add my blog posts from the House of Swag and The Sports Room on to the page as well as have conversations and post pictures of newsworthy items. You can check it out here:
https://www.facebook.com/TheSexyGeeksHouseOfSwag

I hope this is the beginning of my return to blogging. As long as I have something to say or a new item to show off, I will still continue to post blogs. It's one of the few things I feel I am good at and as long as I enjoy blogging (and I do), I will keep at it.

So I Walked Into A Bookstore The Other Day...

Don't you hate it when you go out some place, not looking to pick anything up, yet you walk out spending a some of your hard earned green backs? Neither do I.

I went to pick up some photos over by Union Square yesterday. Since I was in the area I decided to stop off in Barnes N Noble to use their facilities and see if there was anything interesting.While there, I stopped by the section that had POP figures. Unfortunately, I didn't see anything there so I moved along. While passing by this section where the Walking Dead stuff was, tucked between a couple of zombies I found this cool Spider-Man item:

Not sure where I would put this as I don't own a computer monitor, but it's going to look pretty sweet with the rest of my Spider-Man Funko collection.

So, I went to pay for the Spider-Man computer sitter when I noticed a huge display of POP figures right by the registers. Yeah, go ahead and put a huge collection of items that I'm going to want to purchase right by the register. Genius.

While standing on line, I peruse the Funko Pops on display when I saw them right next to each other. I knew it was fate that they would be coming home with me.

Anytime I can pick up a new Luke Skywalker item for my Skywalker collection, I am grabbing it. I had heard of a new Luke Skywalker POP in his Hoth gear paired up with a Wampa and I saw it at Barnes N Noble, but I decided to pass on it as it was a bit pricey. But I did find this Luke solo (No, not Han), so he came home with me.

But Luke was not alone. Right next to him was a POP I had been looking for:

Spider-Man, of course. Duh.

I had been looking for this Amazing Spider-Man 2 POP ever since the movie came out, yet I had trouble finding it. I was all set to order it from eBay like I did with the first Spidey POP, but lucky for me, he and Luke were chilling out, waiting for this sexy geek to grab them both and bring them home.

Since I'm here, Let's take a look at Spidey out of the box and check him out.

Right off the bat, I love the sculpt on this POP. unlike the last Spider-Man, the web lines are not colored in, but it doesn't take anything away from this figure. The Spider symbol is also larger on this POP then the last one as well.

Check out the eyes on him. Awesome job Funko.

Here's the back of Spidey. The paint on this figure is fantastic. There is nary a sploch, messed up line or anything negative to say about the paint application on this POP.

Heck, I even like the Spider on his back.

I always said two Spideys are better than one. I initially thought that the blue on the ASM 2 was lighter, but that isn't the case. The eyes are also wider on this POP. To tell you guys the truth, I can't decide which POP I like better. To me, both have great qualities that I love and because of that, I'm not going to even try to figure out which I like better, so NAHHHH!

What made this trip to Barnes N Noble even sweeter was that I had a 30 % off coupon, so this sweet shopping spree cost me less than $20.00. As Mel Brooks once said, "It's Good To Be The King".