Comic Onslaught

It all started in the summer of 2000 with the release of the X-Men; the movie that spawned a new generation of comic book movies. This was what comic book collectors the world over have been anticipating for over a decade and even then we were already taking our pick at who should play what character in the movie. Nothing prepared us for what was to come. Our favourite comic book heroes on screen, larger than life and more realistic than we could have ever imagined.

Prior to 2000 - Blade, Barb Wire and Dick Tracy were probably the only comic book movies to have made an impact on the masses; and even then, Dick Tracy was probably the only character that was known by the public to have originated from the pages of a comic book. Every other production fell short – Spawn, The Flash, Spiderman, The Incredible Hulk, Witchblade, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. The public’s perception of comic book heroes in the movies was that they were for kids. Then X-men came and changed everything. Suddenly heroes could die; villains lived on. Sex, violence and carnage spread across the screen like never before and a “PG-13” tag had to be placed on it. The real people behind the books came up and started a revolution. They showed Hollywood that when you take a comic book hero, you don’t rewrite the plot. Just take the freaking book as the storyboard you dummies. It’s all drawn out in full colour.

Thus far we have seen the silver screen’s rebirth of the Dark Knight, The Man of Steel, Punisher, your friendly neighbourhood Spiderman and The Incredible Hulk. To add to an already spicy dish we have since been served with Constantine, Ironman, 300, Sin City, Aeon Flux, Catwoman, Daredevil, Elektra, Fantastic Four, Ghost Rider, Hellboy, V for Vendetta and then some.

I was so amazed with the realism of Tony Stark’s suit that I watched Ironman 5 times in a fortnight. The Incredible Hulk was just as amazing in the way they brought to life the comic book Hulk and still manage to add a little television sentimentalism to it. Tonight I will be watching the sequel of Batman Begins, The Dark Knight. To prepare for his role as the Joker, Ledger locked himself in a hotel room for a month drawing inspiration from Alan Moore’s comic "Batman: The Killing Joke" and "Arkham Asylum” and from characters from Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange”. Sir Michael Caine is of the opinion that Heath Ledger did better than Jack Nicholson’s Joker.

"If you gotta go; Go with a Smile!"

Dark Knight - Bank Heist Scene

There is more to come. Before the year ends, I’m going to catch Ray Stevenson in Punisher: War Zone and Frank Miller’s “The Spirit” (assuming this makes it through our censorship board). Next year, the fallen return in the Transformers’ sequel and the Watchmen investigates the death of an ex-superhero. In 2010 we can look forward to Thor and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Stan Lee has already thrown at us collectors a little bone in the Ironman and the Incredible Hulk. Samuel L. Jackson appeared at the end of Ironman as Agent Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD. He mentions the “Avenger Initiative”. Then at the end of The Incredible Hulk, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) makes an appearance and speaks to the General about the Avengers. The Avengers movie is set to release in 2011 and would most likely comprise of Wolverine, Mr. Fantastic, The Hulk, Ironman, Spiderman and Thor.

For those who didn’t read comic books or were born after 1983.

• Lou Ferrigno who played the Hulk in the television series back in the seventies appeared in both Hulk (2003) and The Incredible Hulk (2008). He was also the voice of the Hulk in the 2008 release.
• In X-Men, when Wolverine complaint about the suit he was made to wear, Cyclops asked him if he’d rather wear yellow spandex. Wolverine’s original suit in the comic is predominantly yellow spandex.
• Original promotion for Spiderman showed the World Trade Centre as a feature of New York City. These were later removed after 9-11 though you can still catch a blur glimpse of the WTC in the movie.
• Nicholas Hammond the actor who played Spiderman in 1978 appeared at the World Unity festival scene.
• The Iron Man Mark I armour weighed 90 pounds
• In the scene where Pepper discovers Tony removing the damaged Iron Man armour, you can clearly see Captain America's shield partially constructed on a workbench.
• Paul Soles who portrays "Stanley", the owner of the pizza shop, provided the voice for Dr. Bruce Banner in the 1960s "Hulk" (1966) animated series

Stan Lee (co-creator of the Marvel Comic characters) did a cameo appearance in all Marvel character movies:

X-Men - Man at hotdog stand when Senator Kelly comes out of the water.

X3 - Man holding water hose in beginning of movie

Spiderman - Appears in the scene where the Green Goblin attacks the balcony at the World Unity Festival.

Spiderman 2 - Saves a bystander form falling debris during the battle to save Aunt May.

Spiderman 3 - Appears as the man who tells Peter how great Spider-Man is.

Fantastic Four - Willy Lumpkin, the Fantastic Four's kindly old mailman.

Fantastic Four 2 - Rejected wedding guest.

Ironman - Man with 3 blondes that Stark mistakes for Hugh Hefner at the charity event.

Incredible Hulk - Man who drinks the soft drink contaminated with Bruce Banners blood.

You.

For a brief moment, when time stood still, I felt my heart stop. The ticking clock above a copper framed Wheat Field on the olive green wall was soundless. The bees that hovered over the hibiscus grove beyond the olive wall in an untended garden, buzzed a violent silence. The whispering wind rustling in the frangipanis beyond the hibiscus grove suddenly fleeted into the earth. Raging traffic no longer passed the frangipanis like faded memories. Fishes in streams far from the traffic drifted in confusion as the waters paused and rocks on the river beds rolled no longer. Rays slept in timelessness as dolphins lost their bearings in the deaden ocean. No longer was there day or night for the Earth froze in place as the evanescing sun took with her the moon and the stars. The gods slumbered and demons fled the nether world. For a brief moment, time stood still and I felt nothing. For a brief moment I was nothing.

Everything around me faded to black.

Then, as suddenly as stillness enveloped my being, my sensory overloaded with every single nuance of existence. I felt the beating of my pulse as blood raced through every crevasse of my body; the tingle on my skin; the electricity raging through each and every neuron in my brain; the banging clock above a shouting copper framed Wheat Field on the olive green wall; the violent buzzing of bees over the hibiscus grove beyond the olive wall in that untended garden; the annoying wind rustling in the frangipanis beyond the hibiscus grove; the storming traffic that passed the frangipanis; fishes swarming the streams as rocks assaulted each other on the river beds; rays hunted through the endless clacking of dolphins raping Poseidon’s blows; the scorching sun; the glowering moon; the restless Earth; the thundering gods clashing in the heavens and malevolent demons cursing from hell.

Colours, vibrant. Sounds, clearer. Smells, cleansing. Taste, heavenly.

But time stood still. I stood still. My eyes fixated. My mind emptied but of one thought.

You.

Your soft curls resting on your lovely shoulders like soft pink satin sheets. Stars sparkle from your lovely dark eyes like the night sky in summer by the beach. Your eye lids fluttering like butterfly wings in a soft cool autumn breeze. Your sensuous lips glistening as you mutter sweet pleasant nothings. Your voice as soothing as the sound of La Vein Rose on violins while sipping on a glass of wine in Paris. Your skin tender like the soft brushing of a purple velvet curtain in a warm lit room after a romantic candlelight dinner for two.

I want to take your hand and hold it if only for a moment. To feel your touch, your soft skin on my palm. I want to dance with you, with your hand on my palm and my hand on the small of your back. I want to dance with you slowly as we gaze into each other’s soul while Elvira Madigan[1] brings us on a quiet boat ride in the evening sky.

Let us go then, you and I,

When the evening is spread out against the sky [2]

You.

You who would taste so sweet on my tongue as a fine glass of aged merlot. I would kiss your tender lips so slow as to savour that moment that I will forever remember how soft and warm they are. To feel your supple cheeks on mine as I would caress the nape of your neck and hold you like a newborn, fragile and delicate. I would whisper sweet words in your ears and your smile will light the space we are in so brightly that darkness would fade forever away. I would not let you go for you are to me very dear. I would want you in my arms forever to love and care for; and I would kiss you in the mornings and in the afternoons and in the evenings and before you slumber. I want to hold you as you fall asleep to the beating sound of my heart; you breath on my chest. I want to stroke your soft hair and keep you safe and warm. I will watch you as you dream dreams and when you wake I will still be there beside you greeting you with more loving kisses.

I will ward off your demons and battle your dragons. I will catch your tears and hide your fears. I will hold you close till the storm fades and the sun is smiling on your face. I will hold your hand and walk beside you through the every tides of time always with you. I will snatch falling stars out of the sky and place them back in your eyes. For you I will walk to the ends of the world and swim the deepest oceans just to be by your side.

No matter where you go, I will find you

If it takes a long, long time.

No matter where you go, I will find you

If it takes a thousand years. [3]

You.

You who gives me strength and will. You who give me life and reason to live. You who are my inspiration, my muse, my Calliope. You who are my burning paraffin in the dark. You who lifts me up and give me wings. You who are my friend and confidante. You who are my very soul. You and only you.

You.

The one who brings down my walls of Jericho. The one who weakened Samson. The David of my Goliath. My Cleopatra. My Juliet. My Eloisa.

So, come sit with me for awhile. Come speak with me for a moment. Give me a heartbeat of your time. Just for an instance, if only but a minute. If only for a moment, if only briefly, if I could be with thee, I would take you with me till my life’s end. My heart is yours till you want it no longer, and even then it is still yours to keep.

You.

[4] Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer's lease hath all too short a date;

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;

Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee

1. Elvira Madigan or Mozart’s Piano Concerto 21

2. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Elliot

3. Lyrics from "I Will Find You" by Enya with the Clannad

4. Sonnet 18 by William Shakesspeare