Comic Strip: ‘Avengers’ vs. ‘X-Men,’ First ‘Man Of Steel’ Review and the Dark Elves of ‘Thor 2′

ScreenCrush’s Comic Strip is a weekly roundup of the hottest superhero movie news items. From Marvel to D.C. and points in between, if it pertains to costumed comic-book heroes, we’re covering it here, bringing you our expert analysis. This week, we have an official ‘Thor’ Web site, ‘Wolverine’ cover shots, the first ‘Man of Steel’ review and much more.

Quicksilver

The biggest story in comic-book land last week was the casting of Quicksilver in his second major movie franchise.

No, I never thought we’d be paying so much attention to Pietro Maximoff, but then Bryan Singer upped the ante by revealing via Twitter that he’d be using Quicksilver in the mutant-laden ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past.’ Singer cast ‘American Horror Story’ co-star Evan Peters in the part, adding one more name to the growing ensemble of the massive sequel.

Why is this a big deal … or any deal at all?

Because weeks ago, Joss Whedon dropped a bomb by saying the brother-sister duo of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch would be characters in his ‘The Avengers 2,’ and now we have a tug-of-war over a tertiary character from the Marvel universe.

The character, as conceived in the Marvel comics, is a better fit in Singer’s world, as he’s the mutant-born son of Magneto … a major villain in every ‘X-Men’ movie to date. Yet, when we polled you guys on where you thought Quicksilver best fit, you had no real problems with him showing up in both movies.

Heading into the weekend, Whedon had the most recent word on Quicksilver, telling talk show host Jimmy Fallon about his plans for the siblings.

Do you think the Quicksilver controversy is over? Or are heated debates over the hero’s fate just getting warmed up?

‘Thor: The Dark World’

With ‘Iron Man 3’ already in theaters (and crossing the $1.1 billion mark on the worldwide box office), Marvel can turn its attention to November’s release of ‘Thor: The Dark World.’ The sequel to the demi-god’s origin story is due to arrive on Nov. 8. And with that news comes the launch of an official ‘Thor’ Web site, which you can access right here.

The “Video” section basically consists of the 1:47 trailer:

But the site also contains sections on “The Story,” “Downloads” (for your Twitter skins and wallpapers), and a “Gallery” of hi-res-images.

-- Speaking of, Empire Magazine has a new ‘Thor’ story, which is accompanied by a slew of fresh images. The spread gives us our best look yet at Malekith – the movie’s villain – and his Dark Elves.

-- Meanwhile, rumors are running rampant on the discussion boards at Film Score Monthly that 'Thor 2' composer Carter Burwell has been removed from the project and that director Alan Taylor has fallen out of favor with Marvel, as well. The “source” is beyond vague, so take all of this with a grain of salt.

‘The Wolverine’

Entertainment Weekly launched its new channel on Sirius-XM recently, kicking things off with a Town Hall conversation with Hugh Jackman – sporting fabulous Wolverine muttonchops because of his schedule filming ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past.’ Obviously, the actor talked about ‘The Wolverine,’ and what fans can expect from the standalone film:

Do you think Jackman’s participation in the Town Hall had anything to do with Wolverine showing up on the most recent issue of EW? Nah … probably just a coincidence.

Truthfully, I think he looks cooler on the cover of the limited-edition Empire issue. More badass, more exotic, more … berserker.

‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’

Emma Stone reportedly spoke to SFX (via Digital Spy) about Gwen Stacy’s fate in an upcoming Spider-Man movie, quite possibly ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2.’ Want to know what she said, exactly? Click this link, though you are diving deep into spoiler territory if you do.

-- Marc Webb, meanwhile, continues to scrapbook his ‘Spidey’ shoot on his Twitter feed, taking advantage of some sunny New York afternoons to capture Spider-Man on the basketball court, or a showdown on Manhattan’s famed Park Avenue. That looks like a fake, painted backdrop on a studio lot …

Who are the police officers facing off against? My guess is The Rhino, as played by Paul Giamatti. ComingSoon has odd photos of the actor in a cast-iron suit, which I think might give you an idea of the scale of the Rhino, once he has been enhanced with digital effects.

-- Jamie Foxx, who plays Electro in Webb’s sequel, says Spidey fans should book flights to San Diego Comic-Con, because the movie’s coming to town, and plans to show the first bits of footage. Be there, true believers!

-- Finally, ComicBookMovie shares this outstanding video produced by Amalgamated Dynamics, Inc., who worked on Sam Raimi’s original ‘Spider-Man’ movie and have some behind-the-scenes footage of the finale between Spidey and The Green Goblin:

‘Man of Steel’

One of the first official, spoiler-filled reviews of Zack Snyder’s ‘Man of Steel’ landed on AICN over the weekend. It comes from a reader who caught a preview of the film in Australia. The site has checked his info, and it appears to be legit. Read the review if you are interested. If you still want to stay pure regarding ‘Man of Steel,’ we pulled these quotes, which reveal very little but may still get you pumped.  

The visual effects are amazing, despite how outrageous and clearly CGI they are. Superman hasn’t been done better than this. Overall, it’s gloriously flash and fun, bold and hallucinogenic, all the while having a touch of grit, grain and gravity. What it is, is seriously geeky, and was probably made to appeal to Superman fans first and foremost.

-- You don’t want reviews. You want footage! For that, I bring you TV spots Nos. 6, 7 and 8 for Snyder’s blockbuster.

-- There is a lot of talk about “hope” in those TV spots. D.C. Comics fans also hope that ‘Man of Steel’ can lead to a crossover film between Batman and Superman. On the possibility of just such a team up, ‘Man of Steel’ star Henry Cavill said to SFX:

I think it would be really interesting with the age-old Batman/Superman conflict, because they are two different sides of the same coin and their methods are entirely different. And I think it would actually make for an interesting story as to why, first of all, they were going head to head and how. I think that would make a great story.

So do we. Can Warner, and possibly Snyder, make that happen?

-- Finally, if you want to try your hand at actually BEING Superman, the Web site Metropolis Mayhem puts you in the suit and boots for a browser-based game.

‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’

Marc Webb isn’t the only director taking over a major U.S. city to film a superhero movie. Anthony and Joe Russo have been blowing up downtown Cleveland while shooting scenes for ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier.’ Of course, onlookers are grabbing video of car chases and explosions. These come to us courtesy of ComicBookMovie and SlashFilm:

-- We don’t see Chris Evans in these clips. But we did dig up a look at concept art for Cap’s new suit, courtesy of a comprehensive rundown of all that we know about the sequel so far (via ComicBookMovie).

-- Lastly, Toby Jones spoke to SuperheroHype about the return of his villain, Arnim Zola, to the ‘Winter Soldier’ world. As you remember, Zola ran with the Red Skull back in the World War II days. So how does he figure out how to torment Cap in modern times? The actor reveals:

"All I can say about it is that I was pleased to be brought back. … I thought I might be--because you'd know better than I do--but Zola finds a way to defeat time and you won't be disappointed with the way that's been treated in the film, that's what I would say."

‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ will be in theaters on April 4, 2014.

‘Guardians of the Galaxy’

Let’s get you out of here on some interesting ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ news. HitFix reported over the weekend that John C. Reilly, of all people, has been offered the role of Rhomann Dey, a human liaison who serves as a bridge between the Earth-bound scenes and the celestial sequences that will pop up in James Gunn’s movie. The character is described as the new Agent Coulson, a bit of comic relief that’s able to connect the worlds in ‘Guardians’ without stretching the audience to thin.

The same report says that ‘Guardians’ will go to great lengths to establish each member of the team as having a grudge against Thanos … but that Thanos will NOT be the chief villain in ‘Guardians.’ That role will fall to Michael Rooker, who earlier was cast as Yondu. And Reilly’s character, if he chooses to accept the role, will have a partner … perhaps played by Alan Rickman or Ken Watanabe.

Needless to say,the casting couch at Marvel – and specifically on ‘Guardians’ – is beyond bizarre, but I’m loving every minute of it. Are you?