Monday, August 31, 2009

Anime Content and Its Effects

A lot of people today know at least something about Anime. Some may refer to it as Japanese Animation, while others may say that they're cartoons that look a lot better than American toons. Well, both of those appear to be correct if you ask the majority of Anime fans out there. Anime has been around for a long time and it is definitely blossoming everywhere across the world. Since this has been in effect, Anime on the internet has been expanding as well.

According to the Internet age early in the 1990s, Anime was slowly approaching to its fans diversely across the web. Different websites were made to display different Anime series by giving the visitors content to come back for. Around this time, Anime fans were more into searching for their favorite Anime series and finding media such as images and screenshots from the specific shows that they watched and enjoyed. Inspired by Japanese Animation, these fans were verily into drawing their own Anime pictures. When this trend vastly became popular, fans began to submit their Anime fan art to websites, so that others can view their work. This, however, was only its starting point as Anime started to reach out to thousands of people.

After 1995, amassed Anime shows from Japan had entered the television networks of America. Popularly known cable television channels such as Sci-Fi, Cartoon Network's Toonami, WB, and FOX took part in this new revolution and millions of Anime fans started to watch their very own Anime programs! Primarily, these television networks aired shows such as the popular Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, and Gundam Wing. But as the numbers watching Anime in the nation grew to a certain point, even more shows were available to the fans. Once again, it all came back to the Internet as an evolved form.

Movie clips and other multimedia became broadly accessible to the public now. Fans started downloading countless of video clips based on their favorite Anime series. Soundtracks and albums were also out, along with DVDs that can be purchased online and in stores everywhere. This "age" of Anime content on the web lasted quite a few good years until, of course, the modern days of Anime kicked in. This period of time is what I refer to as "Unlimited Anime", meaning that there is basically no limit to what sources have to offer in the field of Japanese Animation.

Finally it happened. Fans can now download full episodes of numerous Anime series, with no strings attached. But this doesn't mean that just anybody can download full episodes, because you had to have met the minimum requirements. This condition means that the person who wishes to download this content has to generally have the original DVD of that particular Anime series. So if users that download Anime full episodes don't have DVD copies of the series, the website isn't responsible for their actions. A website offering this type of content to Anime fans normally has a Terms & Policy statement, which elucidates all possible rights and wrongs, stated on a portion of their website. These webmasters let their visitors download full episodes by either direct linking to the URL, uploading it as a zip or compressed file onto a P2P network, or submitting it as a BitTorrent media, which is by the way the latest method used today.

I host an Anime website, by the name of DJ's Anime, that basically presents this major Anime multimedia to the public. You can view my website at "http://djs-anime.uni.cc/" and view the Anime content that I offer. It's currently a new project of mine and will soon expand to a much larger audience.

I was born on May 7, 1988 in India. I came to America at an early age for education and a better future. I currently live in Orange Park, FL of North America. I'm in high school right now and being a webmaster is what I do at home on the internet. I have mastered HTML and other languages that are necessary to know when designing websites. I have made several successful websites online and each time, my knowledge reaches a new height. I am concentrating on web marketing for my website by taking part in several affiliation programs in order to gain traffic and possibly towards making money.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Arrowette

Arrowette is the name of two fictional superheroes in the DC Comics universe. The first character is the mother of the second.

Miss Arrowette


Bonnie King debuts as Miss Arrowette in World's Finest Comics #113.
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance World's Finest Comics #113 (November 1960)
Created by Lee Elias (art)
In-story information
Alter ego Bonnie King

The first Arrowette (properly known as Miss Arrowette) is Bonnie King, a would-be sidekick and general nuisance to Green Arrow. She first appears in World's Finest Comics #113 (November 1960).

When Bonnie was a child, her mother Millie put her to archery training, controlling her progress all the time. She turns out to be very good and even goes to the Olympic Games, where she wins a Bronze Medal. Millie, though, had expected a Gold, argued with her daughter over her alleged failure. After that, Bonnie abandoned both home and archery. She never talked to her mother again.

Alone in Star City, she eventually becomes inspired by Green Arrow and Speedy and decides to use her skills in a way that counted. She makes a costume for herself and officially becomes Miss Arrowette. She carries trick arrows such as the Powder Puff Arrow. After that, she helps both archers a few times, even when they did not want her to. Bonnie turns out to be too clumsy to become a hero and too vain to wear a mask. Bonnie briefly dates Green Arrow in his civilian identity of Oliver Queen, as shown in Justice League of America #7 (October-November 1961).
The adult Bonnie King appears in Young Justice.

At some point, she meets journalist Bernell "Bowstring" Jones, who remembers her from the Olympic Games and is probably the only human being to consider her a star. She nicknames him Bowstring because he is as thin as one and takes him briefly as her sidekick so he will give her publicity in his journal. Finally, Green Arrow asks her not to help them anymore.

She has to permanently leave archery because of carpal tunnel syndrome in her wrists, and also due to her job as a secretary. She talks Bowstring into marrying her and, one year later, she has a daughter named Cissie King-Jones. When Bowstring dies five years later from fish poisoning, Hal Jordan (working as an agent for the company that holds Bowstring's life insurance policy) gives Bonnie and Cissie the policy's beneficiary check; the money enables Bonnie to turn Cissie into a superhero. Cissie hardly has time to breathe between lessons of archery, judo, kick-boxing, gymnastics, ballet, and many other fields, and comes to resent her mother deeply.

Bonnie's name is a parody or play on Green Arrow's civilian name, Oliver Queen.

Arrowette


Arrowette, by Todd Nauck
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance Impulse #28 (August 1997)
Created by Tom Peyer
Craig Rousseau
In-story information
Alter ego Suzanne "Cissie" King-Jones
Team affiliations Young Justice
Abilities Arrowette is an Olympic-level archer.

Forced by her mother to adopt a version of her old costume, Cissie King-Jones becomes the second Arrowette. Arrowette first appears in the pages of Impulse wearing a frilly costume and a bejeweled mask that apes her mother's old costume. Despite Arrowette's success as a heroine, Impulse's mentor, Max Mercury, is concerned by what he sees as Bonnie's exploitation of her daughter. Child Welfare Services gets involved, and Bonnie loses custody of her daughter, who is sent to the Elias School for Girls, a boarding school.[1]

Arrowette next appears in Young Justice #4 wearing a more practical costume. Acting alone, she battles the villainous Harm and is injured by him with one of her own arrows. However, she manages to escape and contact Young Justice, later joining the team, along with the second Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark) and Secret (Greta). The three quickly become close friends.
Cissie King-Jones appears in her original Arrowette costume.

After her school therapist - one of the few adults whom Cissie trusted - is brutally murdered, Cissie tracks down the killers in a violent rage. She nearly kills one of them herself, but is stopped by Superboy. Cissie is so shaken by the incident that she vows never to be Arrowette again.

Despite leaving the team Cissie remains close friends with her teammates, and eventually reconciles with her mother, who convinces her daughter to try out for the "Summer Games" in Sydney (a thinly veiled reference to the 2000 Summer Olympics, due to DC not being an "official partner" of the Games). With her battle-honed abilities, Cissie ends up taking home the gold, and becomes something of a celebrity, guest-starring on Superboy's favorite TV show, "Wendy the Werewolf Stalker" (a parody of Buffy the Vampire Slayer). She helps the Red Tornado's daughter, Traya, adjust to life at Elias and later, when Secret was returned to humanity, Cissie helps to organize a placement for her at the same school.

Now retired from superheroics, Cissie never expresses any desire to return to her life as a superhero, despite the best efforts of several of her former teammates. They even involve her in a baseball game on an alien planet, with the fate of many innocents riding on the outcome. Cissie is enraged because they chose her instead of many other superhumans, but she participates as best as she can. Her team barely wins. Cissie still remains committed to justice and compassion. During the Imperiex war, she served as medical aid volunteer, again working with Young Justice.[1]

Cissie made a brief appearance in Teen Titans (v3) #7 when Helen Sandsmark attempts to enroll Wonder Girl into the Elias School (which seems to have expanded its student body to boys as well as girls). With Greta Hayes (formerly Secret), the girls threaten to leave the school and take Cissie's celebrity status as a gold winning archer with her, if Wonder Girl is not allowed to enroll. The school gives in to her demands. Cissie makes a second appearance in Teen Titans and Outsiders Secret Files 2005, joining Wonder Girl on a trip to San Francisco, California. Cissie wishes to give her best friend moral support as Cassie battles with the decision to tell her friends that her father was the Greek God, Zeus. At the funeral for her former YJ teammate, Bart Allen, she is mentioned in passing during a video made by Bart prior to his death. Cissie also makes a flashback cameo in Teen Titans #50.

Cissie was last seen hanging out with Cassie and Anita in Wonder Girl #2, now sporting short hair. She is seen again in "Wonder Girl #3" with Anita, as the they help Cassie realize that she has truly gotten over Superboy's death. For the first time since 'retiring' from super-hero work in the pages of Young Justice, Cissie wears a new Arrowette costume that resembles the second one to aid Wonder Girl rescue her mother in Wonder Girl #4.

Skills and abilities

Cissie is a normal human with above average strength, stamina and agility for a girl of her age. She has exceptional hand to hand combatant ability with skills as an Olympic gold-medalist longbow marksman and possesses above average intelligence.

Friday, August 28, 2009

DareDevil

Daredevil is one of the powerful superhero characters and powerful despite the fact he's blind but he could see when she wears her costumes, and especially if it is not superhero if you can not eradicate evil on earth continue to follow this blog and get many other stories super hero .. .




By : Lupus

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Dazzler

Dazzler (Alison Blaire) is a Marvel Comics superhero, associated with the X-Men. She first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #130 (February 1980).

A mutant with the ability to convert sound vibrations into light and energy beams, Dazzler was originally developed as a cross-promotional, multi-media creation between Casablanca Records, Filmworks, and Marvel Comics until the tie-ins were dropped in 1980. The character was created by a committee of Marvel staff, principally writer/editor Tom DeFalco and illustrator John Romita, Jr.

Despite the fact that Dazzler was originally commissioned as a disco singer, the character shifted to other musical genres, including rock and adult contemporary. She starred in a self-titled solo series in the early 1980s which lasted 42 issues, a Marvel Graphic Novel titled Dazzler: The Movie, a 4 issue limited-series co-starring Hank "The Beast" McCoy titled Beauty and The Beast, and later joined the cast of the X-Men. She was briefly a member of the spin-off group Excalibur but now has re-joined the X-Men.

A dazzler is a type of a directed-energy weapon employing intense visible light, usually generated by a laser (laser dazzler). It is a non-lethal weapon intended to cause temporary blindness or disorientation. The first reported use of laser dazzlers in combat was by the British, during the Falklands War of 1982, when they were fitted to various Royal Navy warships in order to hinder low-level Argentinian air attacks.[1][2] Blinding weapons are banned by 1995 United Nations Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons. Dazzlers are not intended to cause permanent blindness, therefore are thought to be able to skirt this regulation.

Narrowband optical filters tuned to the frequency of the laser used may provide a good defense against laser dazzlers. On the other hand, the dazzlers may employ lasers using more than one wavelength, or tunable lasers with wider range of output. Photochromic materials capable of becoming opaque under high light energy densities may provide protection as well. Non-linear optics techniques are being investigated as well; eg. vanadium-doped zinc telluride (ZnTe:V) can be used to construct electro-optic power limiters capable of selectively blocking the intense dazzler beam without affecting the weaker light from the observed scene.

Optionally they can operate in infrared when their targets are electronic sensors. Most of the contemporary systems are man-portable, and operate in either red (a semiconductor laser) or green (a DPSS laser) part of the spectrum.

Some searchlights are bright enough to cause permanent or temporary blindness and have been used to dazzle the crews of bombers during World War II. Handgun mounted lights may also be used to temporarily blind an opponent and are sometimes marketed for that purpose. In both cases the primary purpose is to illuminate the target and their use to disorient is secondary.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Superheroes Have Saved the World

Over the years many superheroes have captured our attention to entertain and amuse through many forms of media, from their original comic books to the big budget film adaptations.

The Superman character first made an appearance in Action Comics in 1938, he was born on the planet Krypton, was sent to Earth on a rocket by his father, who was a scientist, moments before the planet of Krypton was destroyed. Arriving on Earth, Superman was found, and adopted by a Kansas farmer and his wife and was raised as Clark Kent. From a very early age he developed super human abilities and as he grew up he used his powers to the benefit of others on Earth. Clark Kent assumed Superman's secret identity and worked for the Metropolis newspaper the Daily Planet as a reporter where he worked closely with Lois Lane his co-worker with whom he becomes romantically attached.

Batman first appeared in Detective Comics in 1939. Batman's secret identity is Bruce Wayne who after the murder of his parents, sets himself on a mission to fight crime in Gotham City with Robin. Batman is involved in a continual fight against the Joker and other villains.

Spider-man originated in 1962 and is one of the most popular superheroes. After a bite from a spider exposed to radiation, Peter Parker gains super powers enabling him to become superhuman with the ability to cling to walls. He becomes extremely intellectually advanced with superhuman powers to fight evil.

The Hulk first appeared in 1962 and is one of Marvel Comics most famous characters. The Hulk was born after Dr Bruce Banner the physicist was inadvertently exposed to the radiation from the blast of a gamma bomb. When converted to the Hulk, Banner gains immense strength and his strength increases as his anger increases. The Hulk is often pursued by the armed forces and the police.

Iron man first appeared in 1963 and originated from Marvel Comics. Iron man was Anthony (Tony) Edward Stark who created for himself a suit of power armor which was laden with sophisticated technological devices to make him so powerful. He was involved in the fight against communism, terrorism and corporate crime.

Without these superheroes many would agree the World would not be the place it is today.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Ultimate Spider Man - The Superheroes Super Game

Flash games have started their reign on the gaming industry and nobody seems to be complaining as they have quite efficiently managed to engage the users with their rich web design and anime appeal. People love to play the Online flash games and they seem to be the next big thing after the 2D and 3D games. These days, gaming portals have incorporated the Flash player to double up the gaming experiences. The Ultimate Spider Man is the recent game which got a Flash makeover.

The Ultimate Spider Man is played on DS gaming console, hence, questions on the clarity and effect of the graphics never arise. The game has most salutary voice work and music and the graphics are mind-blowing. The presentation of the game is extremely appealing to the senses. It actually seems to be reiterating the movie with augmented essence. The recent cartoon 'The Ultimate Spider Man', rendered by CGI, looks like the source of idea of this game. The dialogues are voiced in an extremely professional manner which accounts for an engrossing play. The game coupled with exciting scores builds up the interest.

The cell-shaded polygonal backdrop gives a splendid view and appeal to the game. The well-animated sprites are the perfect mood-boosters in this game. The camera zooms at frequent intervals to give a dramatical glamour to the stunts. It's rather hard to find another game with a better 3D interface.

The viewpoint shifts from spider man to Venom and vice-versa, occasionally. The closer glimpse of the characters reveals the brilliance of the designer. Even microscopic details have been given the appropriate attention. You will never stop praising the master work as even the minute segments are as appealing as the larger ones. There is a remarkable stage in the game in which the two characters race through different parts of a museum. The levels of exhilaration mount to the peak level as the view switches back and forth at the various checkpoints.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Otaku Nation: Anime Effect on American Pop Culture

The modern age of Anime arrive in Japan in the 1960s, and over the course of the next decade or so boomed into the giant robot, space battle genre bender that we would soon recognize as the anime of today.

Evolving over the next 30 years or so, it reached a peak where it could begin to overtake and become an integral part of other cultures, much like the Hollywood of the 1930s quickly grew to encompass the rest of the world and inform their pop culture. In the same manner, American pop culture becomes increasingly informed by the trends and cult response to anime.

Anime first appeared in the US market in the 60s with shows like Kimba the White Lion and Astroboy. However, the national consciousness as to where these shows came from as well as the poor marketing of the shows made them forgettable and rather than a jumping in point, they act as a nostalgic reminder.

When Speed Racer arrived, the beginnings of a true consciousness that Japan was creating something new and exciting began to set in. The popularity of Speed Racer was never that of its American contemporaries, but it created in a set fanbase the willingness to devour newer offerings later on in Starblazers and Robotech (a convoluted perversion of multiple animes, but still a relative success in the states). Still, the affect was mostly underground.

In the 1980s, the introduction of Beta and VHS made it possible to join together with friends and watch more varying forms of anime. Truly it was the technological revolutions of the coming years that would make it truly possible for anime to perforate the American entertainment bubble. When Akira arrived in 1989, the effect was palpable. Receiving only a limited American screen release, few saw it in initial release, but the copying of VHS tapes and word of mouth made it something of a cult sensation. Those that knew of Akira were fans for life, eagerly awaiting their chance to partake more and more of the growing trends out of Japan.

For Japan’s part, this era was a period of major expansion, a veritable boom in the business. The 1980s saw the success of shows like Gundam and Dragon Ball overgrow the national consciousness and become runaway sensations. The explosion of the manga industry before hand, with serializations of works by Akira Toriyama and Katsuhiro Otomo in the early 80s simmered in the youth of Japan and finally seeing the commercial possibilities of these works, creating in the process a major conglomerate of companies in the Akira Committee to bring the massive budget of Akira to fruition.

By the 90s anime was the mainstream in Japan, and the result was the ramping up of production and increased output of shows. In part because of the simple, streamlined art style, multiple artist were able to work on a single project and create on episode a week for years at a time, resulting in monumental runs such as the case of Dragonball (156 episodes) and Dragonball Z (276 episodes). The ability to serialize and turn a story into something that millions of youths would tune into each and every week made companies billions (of yen) and secured the kinds of commercial sponsorships and funding necessary to undertake incredible projects that would require vast sums of money to complete.

Back in America, a few executives were beginning to see the effect these shows were having in Japan. Slowly and very carefully they began taking the most popular, Dragonball Z and Sailormoon for example and finding timeslots very early in the day, before the daily retinue of American cartoons, testing the waters of marketability. In 1995, the trickle of anime into the states was just that, a relative trickle. Sailormoon aired every morning in syndication, but chopped up and missing key seasons to relate the endings of important storylines. Dragonball Z ran an equally mild run early on Saturdays in syndication that was abruptly cut when the rights to the show were lost by the initial company and purchased by Funimation.

All the while, works from Japanese masters like Hayao Miyazaki were being overlooked, passing unnoticed through limited release in the states, while making him a God of his craft in Japan. All the while companies like Manga, Funimation, and Viz were buying up licenses and releasing little known, untraceable shows that no one knew the origin of. The shows were treated poorly, often dubbed and cut up to match American audiences. Viz even launched the first Anime magazine in 1993 with Animerica, primarily reviewing their own products but still giving a view of the culture that no one knew anything about.

But, in 1995, the release of the shows in America along with the premiere and rave reviews of Neon Genesis Evangelion in Japan, Otaku interest abroad began to spike. Otaku is a bid of a misnomer as it’s a bit of an insult in Japan, a mean spirited way to call someone a nerd. Here though, it generally means a purveyor of Japanese pop-culture and with the Otaku so in style right now it’s less of an insult than a clique. The import and fan subbing of shows began in earnest via VHS editing software that few if anyone had access to. The early 90s was a time of massive growth of interest in the little known import of Anime though, and the American marketplace wasn’t slow to react.

In 1997, television networks made broad sweeping moves to bring shows to the mainstream. The Sci-Fi channel had always had a small niche in its latenight line up for cult classics like Vampire Hunter D, but Warner Bros finally brought the genre to primetime. Funimation finally got their licensing figured out and Dragonball Z saw its triumphant return to the Cartoon Network, with new episodes to follow a year and a half later. And in 1998, a little known video game for the Gameboy exploded in the American market, bringing along with it its entire arsenal of marketing ploys, including the overwhelmingly childish, but enormously popular Pokemon anime. Finally, children across the nation were gluing themselves to the television set as earnestly as their Japanese counterparts had for nearly a decade before hand.

Miyazaki’s new film played to better reception, receiving a proper release via Miramax. Princess Mononoke was a success in the terms of the time, even receiving the coveted two thumbs up (let alone a review at all) from Siskel and Ebert. Films began to arrive in America more liberally, still finding limited release, but release at least. And the shows began to pour in. At the time, the fansub scene was more or less the only way to get access to some of the more obscure titles being released in Japan. But as the market boomed, so did the licensing by major companies, and it actually started to become illegal to fansub certain shows because they might be released by a company eventually.

Thus began the final and full assimilation of Japanese pop culture into American. The DVD format sped up the process, as more episodes of a show could be packed into a disc than a VHS and production costs plummeted, removing a lot of the financial risk of an untested foreign product in the American marketplace. Cartoon Network debuted its Toonami afternoon cartoon slot, in which they featured anime that had been around for a little while, but managed to appeal to a much larger demographic and spread the word about these great story driven cartoons from across the ocean. An entire generation grew into the growing popularity and became entranced by the epic storylines, amazing storytelling and ability to show in a cartoon what many considered adult themes and much more mature perspectives on things like competition and personal success. The Japanese ability to cross genre and the extremely high production values that started to go into shows made in the late 90s and beyond meant amazing shows that appealed not just to children but to adults and beyond.

What started as a crossover, slowly began to actually change the way in which American’s marketed their television to children. Shows with more adult content appeared, and in some cases emulated the Japanese format. The writers at Pixar crafted brilliant, more maturely themed cartoons without the silly musicals of Disney past, and Disney even dissolved their tried format in favor of more mature, complete stories. The devolution of American quality in cartoons though as they attempted to match the output meant even more Japanese entries in the market. Now, if you turn on Fox kids in the morning you’ll find over half of the shows on are animes. And Cartoon Network still presents multiple entries themselves, with more mature offerings in their Adult Swim block late at night. Spirited Away won the Oscar for best animation in 2003 and South Park, the quintessential American barometer of cultural trends at first knocked the trend with their Chinpokemon episode, later to embrace it (while still mocking it) via changing their own art style in the Weapons episode just a couple years ago.

Nowadays, you’ll find anime oriented t-shirts everywhere, an entire aisle devoted to DVD releases in Best Buy (compared to the one row only seven years ago) and the success of the Anime Network, a channel solely devoted to Anime programming. Magazines like Newtype, a Japanese trade magazine for the Anime industry is now translated and released in America every month with previews of new shows, and American directors like James Cameron are looking to direct live action versions of manga like Battle Angel Alita.

Now, we see new releases from Japan within six months, and the fansub community has to scramble to keep up with what’s legal and what’s not legal to offer via their online services. The internet itself has made it a huge community, where a show can be recorded on Japanese television, ripped and subbed, then uploaded within a couple hours for the world to view. There’s no lay over, and new shows are immediately available. And it’s evident in the universities too. Japanese is one of the most sought after languages, filling up immediately with a yard long waiting list every year, and more sections being added every year.

Japanese pop culture managed to tap a certain perspective that American counterparts were unable to do themselves and in so doing, cornered and grew in a market that few thought existed in America.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Andrea Strucker


Baron Strucker instilled his Nazi values in his children.In retaliation for stopping Andreas from raping a woman while on a hunting trip in Africa, Andrea shot Storm (who was powerless at the time)in the head with a rifle and left her for dead. It failed to do much damage and only grazed her.Some time later, Andrea and Andreas attempted (and failed) to assassinate Magneto at his trial for crimes against humanity.Andrea and Andreas continued being low-level villans, occasionally pestering the X-men and various other X-teams with villainous acts such as attempting (and again failing) to kill Banshee and Forge, attempting (and yes, yet again failing) to join the Upstarts by capturing various members of The New Mutants and the Hellions, having a run-in or two with Generation X, Quicksilver, or Gambit, and generally being villainous, but in general, (last time I'll use the word) failing to do much of anything.Recently, Andrea was killed by Baron Heinrich Zemo(the 13th) after she, at least on some level, figured out that he was posing as Citizen V. Andreas, who was being controlled by the Purple Man at the time, flayed off some of the skin from her corpse and preserved it so he could continue to use his powers. It is wrapped around the hilt of his sword.



Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Ant Man

Ant-Man is the name of several fictional characters in the Marvel Comics Universe. The first Ant-Man, Henry Pym, was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and first appears in Tales to Astonish #35. Since Pym, both Scott Lang and Eric O'Grady have used the name Ant-Man.



Saturday, August 15, 2009

Absorbing Man


The Absorbing Man (Carl "Crusher" Creel) is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Journey into Mystery #114 (Mar. 1965) and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

Crusher Creel's life was little more than that of any common criminal. Although he did spend some time as a boxer, he usually resorted to petty crime. It was on one such extortion racket that he was convicted of aggravated assault and remanded to prison. Loki, the Asgardian god of mischief, knew Creel would be the perfect unwitting agent to battle Thor, so he slipped an enchanted potion into Creel's drinking water in the prison commissary. Filled with power, Creel broke out of prison and soon found himself in conflict with Thor. He found he could absorb the properties of Thor's hammer as well as Thor himself, and Creel, calling himself the Absorbing Man, managed to force Thor to flee. In fact, Thor was told that his love, Jane Foster, had been kidnapped by Loki, and he left to rescue her. A braggart and lout to the end, Creel flaunted his "success" until Thor returned after making sure Jane Foster was safe. A violent battle ensued, but Thor managed to use his hammer's magic to alter the elements Creel had transformed into. Suddenly forced into the qualities of helium, the Absorbing Man drifted apart.

Loki wasn't finished with his lackey, yet. He helped Creel re-form his body and transported him to Asgard, in hopes that he would help him take over. But when the Absorbing Man dared to consider his power better than that of Odin's, lord of the Asgardians, he challenged Odin and was waved away, transported into space. Creel eventually managed to return to Earth by hitching a ride on a comet and immediately encountered the Hulk. The Absorbing Man nearly defeated his powerful opponent, lying him low and about to crush him with a huge boulder. But, in absorbing the Hulk's power during his transformation back into his alter ego, Bruce Banner, Creel was also transformed back to normal and buried by his own boulder. Loki freed him again so as to challenge Thor once more, but Thor tricked him into turning into water, and the Absorbing Man was dissipated. A short time later, Creel managed to reintegrate himself, fight Thor and later the Hulk, only to find himself defeated time and again.
Lightningbolt
Enlarge
Lightningbolt
Eventually reassembling his body after his last defeat, Creel was fed up at fighting and losing to super-human champions. He wanted to flee the country, but by taking a hostage, he alerted his presence to the Avengers. Even though he managed to keep the Avengers at bay, Creel escaped by diving into the ocean, transforming himself into water. He finally reintegrated himself on Easter Island but suffered from a deranged mind as a result of his body being so long intermingled with the ocean. Neurotically frightened of any one with a superpower, he was convinced that the normal Bruce Banner, who also happened upon the island when fleeing Japan as the Hulk, was a superhuman. It was only a matter of time before the Absorbing Man and the Hulk clashed, and Creel tried to absorb the entire island to defeat him. The Hulk swatted him away, and Creel's mental state made him think he actually was an island, floating mindlessly at sea.

Eventually coming to his right mind and returning to America, he stalked Dazzler to acquire her light-powers to use against the Avengers. He was defeated, however, when Dazzler sought aid from the Fantastic Four and found Black Bolt instead. Black Bolt's sonic powers combined with Dazzler to overpower the Absorbing Man.

Creel was abducted from prison by the omnipotent alien known as the Beyonder to fight in the so-called Secret Wars, after which he was restored to Earth. During this time, Creel met the villainess Titania (Mary MacPherran), and the two developed a relationship. Upon their return, Creel and Titania were contacted by the second Baron Zemo, who was forming a new Masters of Evil. After several independent assignments, they were defeated by the Ant-Man (Scott Lang) and the Wasp.

Creel continued to engage in various criminal activities, most often with Titania, although the two often ran afoul of one superhero or another, including his arch-enemy Thor. Perhaps again tiring of battling superhuman opponents, the Absorbing Man seemed committed to try to give up his criminal ways, earning a friendly respect with the hero Thunderstrike, but later abandoned such attempts.

After many months, Titania and Creel got married. Both villains had turned away from more malicious actions, preferring to quietly keep each other's company, although they never gave up bank robberies and other activities completely. Creel and Titania occasionally continued to come into conflict with superheroes, such as when the Black Widow (Natasha Romanova) was under a vendetta to dispose of all Avengers' villains, and she shattered Creel's altered form. Another time, Creel was duped by the villain Crossbones to keep Captain America busy while Crossbones ignited a bomb. Creel, however, claiming not to be a murderer, absorbed the properties of Captain America's shield to save the city from the explosion. Creel escaped to seek revenge on Crossbones, but the details of the outcome have yet to be revealed.

When Titania was diagnosed with cancer, the couple felt that they had nowhere to turn. They kidnapped a doctor but were confronted by Thor, who convinced them to seek professional care. About this time, Thor assumed the rule of Asgard and brought it into Earth's plane of existence. He attracted a religious following while helping humanity, and Creel became one of his followers.
At some point, Creel was imprisoned in a maximum-security penitentiary. He had also somehow developed a new aspect of his powers, allowing him to take over the mind of another. He used this ability to take control of the Hulk and make an escape. In the battle that followed, the Absorbing Man defeated the Hulk but was tricked into trying to take over the mind of a corpse. His real body withered and died. He was imprisoned again, serving time at Pym Experimental Penitentiary Number One, a prison that kept its super-powered inmates miniaturized, and participated in a breakout led by the Mad Thinker only to be thwarted by She-Hulk.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Booster Gold

Booster Gold is a fictional character, a superhero in publications from DC Comics. Created by Dan Jurgens, he first appeared in Booster Gold (vol. 1) #1 (February 1986) and has been a member of the Justice League, DC Comics' all-star team of heroes. The character is initially depicted as a glory-seeking showboat from the future, using knowledge of historical events and futuristic technology to stage high-publicity heroics. Booster develops over the course of his publication history and through personal tragedies to become a hero weighed down by the reputation he has created for himself.[1]
Booster Gold first appeared in Booster Gold (vol. 1) #1 (February 1986), being the first significant new character introduced into DC Universe continuity after the reboot of Crisis on Infinite Earths. The next year, he began to appear regularly in the Justice League series of comics, remaining a team member until the group was disbanded in 1996 to make way for the new line-up introduced in the Justice League: A Midsummer's Nightmare miniseries (and featured in the ongoing series JLA). He and his former Leaguers subsequently appeared as the "Superbuddies" in the Formerly Known as the Justice League miniseries and its JLA: Classified sequel "I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League."

On March 16, 2007 at Wizard World Los Angeles, Dan DiDio announced a new ongoing series titled All-New Booster Gold, which was later published as simply Booster Gold (vol. 2). The series follows the events of 52 and was initially co-written by Geoff Johns and Jeff Katz, with art by creator Jurgens and Norm Rapmund.[2][3] The series focuses primarily on Booster Gold's clandestine time travel within the DC Universe.[4] The series also features Rip Hunter, Skeets, and Booster's ancestor Daniel Carter as supporting characters. The tagline of the series is: "The greatest hero you've never heard of!"[5] Katz and Johns later announced that they would be leaving the book after 12 issues (#1-10, #0, and a One Million issue). Jurgens and Rapmund stated that they would stay on the series, which would be written by Jurgens following four issues by guest writers Chuck Dixon and Rick Remender.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Black Canary

Black Canary is a fictional character, a DC Comics superheroine. Created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Carmine Infantino, the character first appeared in Flash Comics #86 (August 1947).

Black Canary is noted for her martial arts skills and her "Canary Cry" – a high powered, sonic scream with the ability to shatter objects and incapacitate villains. Among the first generation of superheroes, she was a member of the Justice Society of America, the first superhero team to appear in comic books.

In the 1980s, the character's history was rewritten to make her two entities: Dinah Drake, who took part in Golden Age adventures and married Gotham City detective Larry Lance, and their daughter Dinah Laurel Lance, who has appeared in modern stories.

The combination of the Black Canary's courage, fighting prowess, and her sex appeal (accentuated by her costume's characteristic fishnet stockings) has resulted in her being referred to as "The Blonde Bombshell."


Sunday, August 9, 2009

Captain Universe


Captain Universe is a disembodied superhero in Marvel Comics' universe who was created by Bill Mantlo and Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Micronauts vol. 1 #8. It is the guardian and protector of Eternity. Rather than a character with a single identity, Captain Universe is a persona that has merged with several hosts during its publication history.





Colossus


Colossus (Piotr Nikolaievitch Rasputin) is a fictional character, a superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer Len Wein and illustrator Dave Cockrum, he first appeared in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975). A Russian mutant, the character is a member of the X-Men, and is by far the physically strongest X-Man. Even without his powers he still cuts a physically imposing figure standing at 7'5". Throughout the series he has been portrayed as a quiet, shy character, honest and innocent. He's now a man without a family, having lost all whom he's ever loved including his parents, brother, sister and even Kitty Pryde, his primary romantic interest. He has had a fairly consistent presence in X-Men-related comic books since his debut. Also a talented artist, he only reluctantly agrees to use his powers in combat, feeling it is his responsibility to use his abilities for the betterment of human and mutant-kind.

Daniel Cudmore portrayed the Russian superhero in X2: X-Men United and X-Men: The Last Stand. Wizard Magazine ranked Colossus the 184th best comic book character of all time, of their list of the Top 200 Comic Book Characters of All Time. [1]





Wednesday, August 5, 2009

The Lion King


The Lion King is a 1994 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. Released to theaters on June 15, 1994 by Walt Disney Pictures, it is the 32nd film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. The story, which was strongly influenced by the William Shakespeare play Hamlet, takes place in a kingdom of anthropomorphic animals in Africa.[3] The film was the highest grossing animated film of all time until the release of Finding Nemo (a Disney/Pixar computer-animated film). The Lion King still holds the record as the highest grossing traditionally animated film in history[4] and belongs to an era known as the Disney Renaissance.[5]

The Lion King is the highest grossing 2D animated film of all time in the United States,[6] and received positive reviews from critics, who praised the film for its music and story. During its release in 1994, the film grossed more than $783 million worldwide, becoming the most successful film released that year, and it is currently the twenty-fourth highest-grossing feature film.

A musical film, The Lion King garnered two Academy Awards for its achievement in music and the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. Songs were written by composer Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice, with an original score by Hans Zimmer.[7] Disney later produced two related movies: a sequel, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride; and a part prequel-part parallel, The Lion King 1½.

The Lion King takes place in the Pride Lands of the Serengeti, where a lion rules over the other animals as king. Rafiki (Robert Guillaume), a wise old mandrill, anoints Simba (cub by Jonathan Taylor Thomas, adult by Matthew Broderick), the newborn cub of King Mufasa (James Earl Jones) and Queen Sarabi (Madge Sinclair), and presents him to a gathering of animals at Pride Rock ("Circle of Life").

Mufasa takes Simba on a tour of the Pride Lands, teaching him about the "Circle of Life", the delicate balance affecting all living things. Taking advantage of the cub's naive nature, Simba's scheming uncle Scar (Jeremy Irons) (who is angry because Simba's birth means that he's no longer next in line to the throne) tells him about the elephant graveyard, a place where Mufasa has warned Simba not to go. Simba asks his mother if he can go to the water-hole with his best friend, Nala (cub by Niketa Calame, adult by Moira Kelly). Their parents agree but only if Mufasa's majordomo, the hornbill Zazu (Rowan Atkinson), goes with them. Simba and Nala elude Zazu's supervision ("I Just Can't Wait to Be King") and go to the graveyard instead. There, the cubs are met by Shenzi, Banzai and Ed (Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin and Jim Cummings), spotted hyenas who try to kill them, but they are rescued by Mufasa.

On the way home, Mufasa orders Zazu to take Nala home so that he may 'teach his son a lesson'. Once left alone, Mufasa tells his son how very disappointed he is in him and how he put both Nala's and his own life in danger. He further explains to Simba that being brave doesn't mean to go looking for danger, and reveals he was scared he might have lost him. Having reached an understanding, they play together in the fields, where Simba asks his father if they will always be together. Mufasa tells him that the Kings of the Past are among the stars in the sky. They will be there to guide him and, when Mufasa's time comes, so will he.

Meanwhile, Scar gains the loyalty of the hyenas by claiming that if he becomes king, they'll "never go hungry again" ("Be Prepared"). During the song, Scar tells the hyenas that for this to happen they must kill Mufasa and Simba, thus establishing his plan of regicide. Some time later, Scar lures Simba into a gorge for a "surprise from his father" while the hyenas create a wildebeest stampede. Alerted by Scar, Mufasa races to rescue Simba from the stampede. He saves his son but is left clinging to the edge of a steep cliff. Scar, instead of helping Mufasa, flings his brother into the stampede below. Simba sees his father fall and rushes down the cliff after him, only to find him dead. Scar convinces the young cub that he was responsible for his father's death and recommends that he flee from the Pride Lands to avoid punishment. Scar once again sends Shenzi, Banzai and Ed to kill Simba, but he escapes. Scar informs the pride that both Mufasa and Simba were killed and that he is assuming the throne as the next in line. Scar proclaims that "this is the dawning of a new era, in which lion and hyena come together", thus allowing the hyenas into the Pride Lands.

In a distant desert, Simba is found unconscious by Timon and Pumbaa (Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella), a meerkat-warthog duo who adopt and raise the cub under their worry-free philosophy ("Hakuna Matata"). When Simba has grown into an adult he is discovered by Nala, who tells him that Scar, through his irresponsibility, has turned the Pride Lands into a barren wasteland. She asks Simba to return and take his place as king but Simba refuses, still believing he caused his father's death. Simba shows Nala around his home and the two begin to fall in love ("Can You Feel the Love Tonight"). Nala, however, tells Simba that she does not understand why he will not return to Pride Rock and they end up in a quarrel. Rafiki arrives and persuades Simba to return to the Pride Lands, aided by Mufasa's presence in the stars.

Once back at Pride Rock, Simba (with Timon, Pumbaa and Nala) is horrified to see the condition of the Pride Lands. Timon and Pumbaa create a diversion, allowing Simba and Nala to sneak past the hyenas guarding Pride Rock. After seeing his mother Sarabi struck by Scar for criticizing him, Simba announces his return. In response, Scar tells the pride that Simba was responsible for Mufasa's death and corners Simba at the edge of Pride Rock. As Simba dangles over the edge of Pride Rock, Scar proudly but quietly reveals to Simba that he killed Mufasa. Enraged, Simba leaps up and pins Scar to the ground, forcing him to admit the truth to the pride. A raging battle then ensures between the hyenas and the lionesses.

Atop Pride Rock's peak, Simba corners Scar. Attempting to gain Simba's mercy, Scar blames everything on the hyenas which Shenzi, Banzai and Ed overhear. But Simba is unfooled and orders Scar to go into exile. Scar pretends to leave but turns to attack Simba, resulting in a final duel. Simba triumphs over his uncle by fliping him over a low cliff. Scar survives the fall but finds himself surrounded by the now-resentful hyenas, who attack and kill him by eating him alive. Simba and Nala become the new king and queen of the Pride Lands. The film concludes with the Pride Lands turning green with life again and Rafiki presenting Simba and Nala's newborn cub as "The Circle of Life" continues.