Nerdy Bits: Le Sexy Female Shao Kahn, Honest Trailers Takes on Breaking Bad, Dress Like Kitty Pryde, and MOAR!!!

Every day the internet produces an astounding amount of goodies and gems. Most hilarious, some amusing, but all worth at least a few seconds of your time. We here at Nerd Bastards try to bring you the best bits of news and nerdery the webz has to offer, with a bit of snark thrown in. But sometimes not everything makes the cut. Monday through Friday we'll be bringing you our inbox leftovers, our forgotten bookmarks, the nerdy bits that simply slipped through the cracks. You can submit items to Nerdy Bits by emailing us at nerdybits@nerdbastards.com

ABOVE: For the tanned Jersey guidos who's doucheness levels are over 9000, here's Dragon Ball Z hair wax. [Kotaku]

Batman and Superman caped footie pajamas, because it's the P.J.'s you deserve and heck, they're the P.J.'s you need right now. I'd rub my feets on the floor and repeatedly shock people with finger pokes. I'd laugh and say "I'm Batman", then shock then again. [FashionablyGeek]

Nicole Marine Jean as le sexy Shao Kahn. She will Finish You, and you won't even be mad about it. You'll probably ask her to do it again. [CBM]

Kitty Pryde costume tee. Cut a whole down the neck (makeshift v-neck) and Lockeheed be checking out your cleavage. Creeper dragon, with a creeper smirk. [ThinkGeek]

Every year, guests flock to the Castle Theater to watch an installment of the long running show Bill and Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure. Seen as a running tradition for Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood, Bill and Ted is a combination of dance and skin with an abundance of popular culture mixed in for safe measure. So after last year's wildly successful show, how does Bill & Ted 2013 fare? [Page2]

Game Boy hard-shell carry on luggage. It can hold clothes, gaming gear or your make believe girlfriend once she is suitably deflated. [Geekologie]

Andrea, like many sane people, is a huge fan of Harry Potter. Knowing this, her boyfriend Jaysin planned an elaborate proposal inspired by the magical world. He took five months to plot an elaborate scavenger hunt with letters and clues like the Hogwarts acceptance letter that would send Andrea after puzzles, trivias, and riddles. Watch how it all plays out, it will get you right in the feels. [NerdApproved]

Hey Mario song, because the world needs more Mario. [GAS]

Honest Trailer takes on television's golden child, Breaking Bad. I love Breaking Bad and still cracked up watching this. [Screen Junkies]

And now, T-Shirts You Gotta Buy...TODAY! (Before they're gone.)

And don't forget the ever-popular official Nerd Bastards tee available at Red Bubble:

WANT MORE NERDY BITS? CLICK HERE!

Meryl Streep Gets Witchy for ‘Into The Woods’

If it isn't superheroes, it's fairy tales, right? That seems to be the way of pop culture these days, and you only have to scan our front page to see it's true; what with articles about Age of Ultron, Batman vs Superman, Cinderella or Frozen. And here's further proof, our first look at Meryl Streep as The Witch in the upcoming big screen adaptation of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Into The Woods.

To truly appreciate what a remarkable make-up job they've done on Meryl, go check out the super hi-res image provided by Bleeding Cool.

She isn't the only big name filming the latest movie musical, Into The Woods also stars Anna Kendrick as Cinderella, Johnny Depp as The Big Bad Wolf, plus Chris Pine and Jake Gyllenhaal as a couple of princes among others. Honestly, this has the makings of being a really spectacular adaptation. Lapine has written the screenplay and Sondheim is providing a new song. Rob Marshall is directing, and as shown by his previous work on films like Chicago, I believe he's quite capable of helming a movie musical.

Any interest in Into The Woods?

Source: Bleeding Cool

Martin Freeman to Play Lead in ‘Fargo’ Miniseries

British actor and nerd luminary Martin Freeman, known best for his work in The Hobbit, Sherlock, The World's End, and The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, has been cast as Lester Nygaard in the upcoming tv miniseries based on the Coen Brothers' 1996 film classic Fargo.

The role is apparently analogous to William H. Macy's character: Jerry Lundegaard-the pathetic, amoral car salesman who hired kidnappers to abduct his wife in order to pay off his debts with the ransom money paid by his wealthy father-in-law (if you remember.....great movie).

The 10 episode series will be produced by Joel and Ethan Coen and, according to The Hollywood Reporter, will

"follow an all-new 'true crime' story with a new case and characters all seeped in the humor, murder and 'Minnesota nice' of the original."

This new adaptation of Fargo is due to air in the Spring of 2014 on FX.

Source: GeekTyrant

Pryde’s Picks 9/27/13 – Comic Book Reviews

EDITORS NOTE: In partnership with Youtube personality Kelly Carlton (aka F'N Pryde), we bring you another weekly installment of badass, foul mouthed comic book reviews. So without further ado here's F'N Pryde with her weekly comic book rundown. It's "Pryde's Picks!

I don't know if you can feel it but down here in Swelterville, Florida, I'm noticing the weather is a little less miserable. Fall is coming and with that all my favorite shows are back on TV! Lucky for you guys I was able to squeeze in a hefty load of comics between season premieres and eating my feelings.

I have to say Marvel is dancing a thin line with me as of late. I am loving/hating Battle of the Atom with every other book. Luckily, their god awful A+X is so trashy it's almost a guilty piss-on-it pleasure. DC's villains month can't end soon enough but they did deliver a pretty solid book with Secret Society #1. Unfortunately for the big boys, Image Comics has won my pull this week. Image delivered some trashy reads and surprisingly warm fuzzies. If you want sex that'll blow your mind and stop time, foul mouthed little girls killing orcs and The Lion King with a super hero twist... This is your week!

(Oh and sorry I frakked up on my Lion King metaphor. Simba's mom is Sarabi not Nala. I'm such a jackwagon.)

As always, if you're easily offended tread carefully. Pryde's Picks is full of boisterous inappropriate humor and way too much geek rage.

This week features: Guardians of the Galaxy #6 Wolverine & the X-Men #36 (Battle of the Atom: Chapter 5) A+X #12 Joker's Daughter #1 Sinestro #1 Secret Society #1 Saga #14 Revival #14 Jupiter's Legacy #3 Rat Queens #1 Sex Criminals #1

Like what you see? There is more on YoutTube page and you can also"like" me on Facebook!

Via: Pryde's Picks

‘Breaking Bad’ Finale: An Open Discussion *SPOILER ALERT*

*Spoiler Alert*

This is an open discussion of the finale episode of AMC's Breaking Bad and there will be spoilers in the post and comments section. If you don't want to know, get out now.

It's over, the last episode of Breaking Bad has aired and those of us that have had a chance to watch it, know it all. Or do we? One of the things I have always loved about Breaking Bad was reading what others had to say about the latest episode, things I missed, or just didn't see the significance of at the time. So I am looking forward to seeing what comments everyone has about the series.

I guess I'll start it off with a few things that I really enjoyed about the series and the finale in particular.

1. Jesse does Todd. It was so satisfying to see Jesse exorcise some of his personal demons and get some payback for everything Todd has done to him and those he loves.

2. The red pointers in the shadows turn out to be Badger and Skinny Pete. I love those two guys. They've brought some of the funniest scenes to the show and I love that they got one more scene before it all ended.

3. Lydia proves that no one should be so predictable when your dealing with a criminal genius. I wonder if there will be any changes in sales of Stevia after this?

Now we want to know about your views on the series and finale.

Where there any loose ends that weren't tied up?

Are you OK with Jesse not shooting Walt at the end?

Where you satisfied with how the series ended?

Let it all out in the comments section below!

I found the parody ad below on the Internet today and thought my fellow fans of Breaking Bad should see it. Brendan Tobin is the creative genius behind this little gem.

Nerdy Bits: Lady Deadpool Cosplay, Be a Weeping Angel, Indiana Jones Monkey Brains Cake, and MOAR!!!

Every day the internet produces an astounding amount of goodies and gems. Most hilarious, some amusing, but all worth at least a few seconds of your time. We here at Nerd Bastards try to bring you the best bits of news and nerdery the webz has to offer, with a bit of snark thrown in. But sometimes not everything makes the cut. Monday through Friday we'll be bringing you our inbox leftovers, our forgotten bookmarks, the nerdy bits that simply slipped through the cracks. You can submit items to Nerdy Bits by emailing us at nerdybits@nerdbastards.com

ABOVE: Lady Deadpool. If she is the merc with the mouth, then I would listen to every word she had to say. [ShiveeeJam]

Official Doctor Who weeping angel mask, giving your friends even more reason not to look at you, [SuperheroStuff]

Indiana Jones chilled monkey brains cake. Imma hold out for the the snake surprise. [GAS]

Gown is a living Star Wars crawl. Gotta love the creativity of cosplayers. [Blastr]

Official TETRIS costumes. The famous line piece, is well known throughout the globe as being the best, greatest, or even holiest piece of them all, but I see the costume making for appropriateness bar pick up lines (no punt intended) - "Hey baby, I'm the long piece you've been longing for". [FashionablyGeek]

Game of Thrones house sigils carved out of crayon. In the Game of Thrones you color in the lines or you die. [Geekologie]

Another lady Venom cosplay. She is Symbi-hot! [ObviousWinner]

All science fiction ships on one massive chart [Kotaku]

Skylanders meets Disney Infinity. You don't mess with the magic of Disney. [Dorkly]

And now, T-Shirts You Gotta Buy...TODAY! (Before they're gone.)

And don't forget the ever-popular official Nerd Bastards tee available at Red Bubble:

WANT MORE NERDY BITS? CLICK HERE!

‘The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug’–New Banner Today, New Trailer Tomorrow

Above you see the new banner for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug-it was released today by Warner Bros. in anticipation of the film's new trailer, due out at 9:00 am EST tomorrow.

The film, the follow-up to 2011 s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, is second in a trilogy of films directed by Peter Jackson based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.

The Hobbit is best known as the precursor to the Lord of The Rings novels and the book that introduced readers to the fictional universe of Middle Earth.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is scheduled to hit theaters on December 13.

Source: /Film

Yes, Whedon’s Got Plans for Widow and Hawkeye in ‘Age of Ultron’

For The Avengers: Age of Ultron, writer/director Joss Whedon has a lot of proverbial plates that he's going to have to keep spinning. Not only are there the original six Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. characters like Nick Fury and Maria Hill involved so far, but the sequel will add the villainous robot Ultron and rumored new Avengers, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. So when we're talking about 11 characters minimum in the film, it's going to be tricky for any one of them to take the spotlight.

But in Whedon we trust, right? And according to the filmmaker, he's going to give a couple of members of the team their fair due in the upcoming superhero sequel. If you're a fan of either the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) or Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), this one's for you. In an interview with Nerd HQ, Whedon said that the Widow is going to play a big part in the sequel:

Natasha is a huge part of the sequel because you do want to concentrate on the people who don't have their own franchises. Although she in 'Cap 2,' [and] she's great. She was the most fun for me because she's not a hero, you know, and it's something that I read-and I feel bad that I can't remember who wrote the book-but it's in one of the books explaining, 'These guys are heroes, you are a spy. It's a different thing-it's a different skill set-and you don't have their moral high ground or any of that good stuff.' And that just makes her so interesting to me. So yeah, the stuff I've got going on with her in the second one is killer.

I assume that's pun intended. As for Hawkeye, who spent the majority of the first Avengers movie as Loki's personal flying monkey, he'll also have a beefed up part to play in Age of Ultron, at least this was according to Whedon (and Screen Rant) during this past summer's Comic Con.

It's very much a global Avengers film. A lot of the movie has to do with their place not just in America, but the world. Part of the fun for me, definitely this time around, is writing Hawkeye. He did get possessed pretty early by a bad guy and had to walk around all scowly for most of the movie so now it's nice to actually have the character there and see him interact with the other guys.

It's not easy being the only non-super powered members of The Avengers, so they might as well get more screen time.

Avengers: Age of Ultron comes out May 1, 2015. Look for more news about the film as it develops, in the meantime, watch the full Nerd HQ video below.

Source: Cinema Blend

J.J. Abrams Finally Admits to His Lens Flare Addiction

J.J. Abrams. Lens flare. You already know where the joke is going. The man likes his lens flare, so much so it literally litters every one of his films, and none more than Star Trek and its sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness. While promoting the Blu-ray release of the latter, Crave Online was able to stick to Abrams about the lens flare, and his response may surprise you,

I know I get a lot of grief for that, but I'll tell you, there are times when I'm working on a shot, I think, 'Oh this would be really cool... with a lens flare.' But I know it's too much, and I apologize. I'm so aware of it now. I was showing my wife an early cut of Star Trek Into Darkness and there was this one scene where she was literally like, 'I just can't see what's going on. I don't understand what that is.' I was like, 'Yeah, I went too nuts on this.'

This is how stupid it was, I actually had to use ILM [Industrial Light & Magic] to remove lens flare in a couple of shots, which is, I know, moronic. But I think admitting you're an addict is the first step towards recovery.

The first step is admitting you have a problem. Most of us can usually skip the 'have ILM remove all evidence of your fixation' step , but y'know. Hey, at least he apologized, and with Abrams not returning to direct Star Trek 3 I expect we'll see less and less lens flare in the future of the franchise.

But man, can you imagine what Into Darkness looked like before ILM removed some flare?

Yikes!

Source: Crave Online via Nerd Approved

Want More ‘Harry Potter’ Spin-Offs? You’re Gonna Get Them!

Harry Potter is one of the biggest money-making franchises of the last ten years, so naturally Warner Bros isn't going to let that big fish get away just because they ran out of books to adapt. That's why lately there's been rumblings about new movies based in the Harry Potter universe, but don't necessarily involve Harry, Ron, Hermione and the rest of the characters we know and love.

Undoubtedly, you've already heard the recent news about Warner Bros developing a new film based on the book within a book, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, and now, it seems that the studio is looking at two other inner-Potter tales, Quidditch Through the Ages and Tales of Beedle the Bard .

Bleeding Cool is reporting that Warner Bros has trademarked those two books as potential fellow franchises. In addition, the trademark covers not just live-action movies, but cartoons, spin-offs, comics, video games and just about any other transmedia option you can name. In other words, from the sounds of it, Warners wants to turn the world of Harry Potter into a Marvel-style all you can eat franchise buffet.

Quidditch Through the Ages, in the Harry Potter books, chronicles the history of the broom-riding sport enjoyed by many of the kids at Hogwarts, so you can probably guess what this movie's going to be about. According to Bleeding Cool, the team names Wimbourne Wasps, Chudley Cannons and Kenmare Kestrels have also been trademarked as well as the name of the fictional book's fictional author Kennilworthy Whisp. Presumably, he, like Fantastic Beasts author Newt Scamander, will be a main character.

Tales of Beedle the Bard, meanwhile, is the key to the adventure in The Deathly Hollows seeing as how the story about the Hollows was in the fairytale book Tales of Beedle the Bard, which was given to Hermione by Professor Dumbledore. Perhaps it will be an anthology-esque movie featuring various tales from "the Bard" like "The Wizard and the Hopping Pot" and "The Fountain of Fair Fortune."

There's no release date or any other concrete information, but if you're a fan of anything Harry Potter this is very good news indeed. What do you Bastards say, want to see some Potter-less Harry Potter movies?

Source: Cinema Blend

‘Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ Round Up: Final Poster, EW Covers, and IMAX Featurette

Do you hunger for more Hunger Games? Of course you do! Any excuse to see more Jennifer Lawrence, amirite? This week is chocked full of Hunger Game: Catching Fire loot. There's a new (and final) poster for the film, Entertainment Weekly covers and an IMAX featurette. And, oh yeah, tickets went on sale today, too!

The final poster for the film (above) is all super serious, but all I can notice is Lawrence's inverted elbow... and now you see it too. Ewww!

Here are the EW covers, featuring Katniss, Peeta, Gale and Finnick:

As I mentioned, tickets went on sale this week, though the film won't open for another several weeks. To mark the occasion, IMAX released a new trailer. In it, director Francis Lawrence explains the arena scenes are shot in IMAX - you know, to help sell the idea that Katniss is going through one hell of an experience. Ohhhh, IMAX!

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire opens November 22.

THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE begins as Katniss Everdeen has returned home safe after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark. Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a "Victor's Tour" of the districts. Along the way Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell) - a competition that could change Panem forever.

‘Who’ News – Moffat Talks Female Doctors and Weeping Angels, Plus 50th Anniversary Special Air Date

Every once in a while, Doctor Who's showrunner Steven Moffat steps up and lets us know what's on his mind. He usually tends to get more vocal when something is happening in Who-land, such as an impending change of Doctor during a particular 50^th Anniversary Special. This time around, Moffat rehashes an old issue and gives his two cents on the likelihood of a female Doctor as well as discussing a Who-monster that may not be making a return to the show (at least during the remainder of his tenure). Check out what he had to say along with some 50^th Anniversary air date news after the jump.

First and foremost, what about that whole female Doctor thing that people are always arguing about? Any potential there, or what? In interview with Nerd Cubed, Moffat had this to say:

The problem with this whole [female Doctor] argument is everybody [just] says 'a woman' - you don't ever cast 'a man' as the Doctor, you cast a particular man.

One day I'm reasonably confident somebody in this [showrunner] role - whether it's me or someone else - will say not, 'Let's cast a woman', they'll say, 'That person, that's the one who could the be the Doctor'. You're just casting someone that you think will set that role on fire. I think for now that is Peter - I thought it was Matt [Smith] before - it's not about the gender thing.

Well, we'll just have to wait a few years and see what happens there.

Next up, in the same interview, Moffat had a few things to say about the role of certain monsters in the show:

I'm probably done to be honest on what you can do with the Weeping Angels. But other writers have to have a go. There's only so many times you can think, 'Right, it's a chase scene and statues'. How many times can the lights flicker? What happens if a moth sees them? Is the alien invasion cancelled at that point?

Some may be disappointed, but he can always change his mind, so don't fret too much. In fact, read what he had to say next:

It's not going to happen but a very good Doctor Who writer pitched a great idea for the Weeping Angels the other day and I was very excited about it. We had a long phone call about it and I went away thinking, 'That is going to be brilliant!' And about two days later he admitted he wasn't going to have time to do it. Hopefully we'll get to it in the next year.

And finally, news that should make everyone happy - it looks like America will not have to rely on torrents or live-streaming to get a look at the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special! Coming to the small screen on November 23rd, it looks like the BBC finally got smart on this one and realized that we're going to watch it with or without their help. Check out the official BBC America statement below:

Announced today, BBC AMERICA will simulcast the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special, The Day of the Doctor, in the U.S. on November 23, 2013. For the first time ever, the world's longest running and most successful sci-fi series will be broadcast simultaneously to millions of viewers worldwide in a global simulcast.

From the U.S. to the U.K., Canada to Colombia, Brazil to Botswana and Myanmar to Mexico, fans in at least 75 countries spanning six continents will be able to enjoy the episode at the same time as the U.K., with more countries expected to be confirmed within the next month. The one-off special stars Matt Smith (the Eleventh Doctor), Jenna Coleman(companion Clara), David Tennant (the Tenth Doctor) with Billie Piper and John Hurt.

In addition, BBC AMERICA will be dedicating an entire week to Doctor Who in November, including the new film An Adventure in Space and Time, marathons and new specials to be announced.

On top of the worldwide TV broadcast, BBC AMERICA will announce in the coming weeks details of select 3D screenings of the anniversary episode in theaters in the U.S.

"Few TV shows can still lay claim to being appointment viewing but Doctor Who takes this to another level. In its 50th Anniversary year we wanted to create a truly international event for Doctor Who fans in as many countries as possible and the simultaneous broadcast and cinema screening of the special across so many countries will make for a fitting birthday tribute to our Time Lord," states Tim Davie, CEO of BBC Worldwide.

Steven Moffat, Showrunner for Doctor Who and Executive Producer of the 50th Anniversary episode, adds: "The Doctor has always been a time traveler - now he's traveling time zones. On the 23rd of November, it won't be the bad guys conquering the Earth - everywhere it will be The Day of the Doctor!"

In London, birthplace of the iconic series, the 50th Anniversary weekend will also see over 20,000 fans gather at the ExCel exhibition and convention centre for the official celebration event which will feature appearances from cast old and new including Matt Smith and former Doctors Sylvester McCoy, Colin Baker and Tom Baker.

And if you've read all that and made it all the way down here, you get a free Internet cookie.

Thanks to Blastr and BBC America for the heads-up.

How Does This Week’s ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Ratings Stack Up to the Pilot?

Last night's episode revolved around the team investigating an "0-8-4," but the big push in the teasers leading into the episode seemed to be for the special ending credits cameo. While I was disappointed by last night's episode, I must say, they delivered on that last scene, which was a pretty neat surprise. But, how did that translate in the ratings?

After last week's record-breaking 4.7 rating for the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot, the show took a 34% dip in its second episode's ratings. Last night's "0-8-4 aired to a solid 3.1, which are still fairly good ratings, but shows quite a few viewers have already dropped off the S.H.I.E.L.D. hype train.

While these numbers certainly don't put the show at risk of being canceled, the steep decline in viewership, coupled with last night's lackluster showing, may be cause for concern for the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. crew. What did you think of last night's episode, or were you one of the viewers that didn't bother tuning in? Let us know in the comment section below!

[ComicBookMovie]

Holy ‘Half Life 3′ Batman!!! Valve Files for European ‘Half Life 3′ Trademark

There's some Half Life 3 shenanigans going on over at Valve, some goings-on and flipery-dippery-doings. Yeah, I don't really know what that means either, but I do know that a resourceful fan of the gaming forum, NeoGAF dug up confirmation that Valve has trademarked Half Life 3 for European markets.

This is just the latest in a series of Half Life 3 tidbits that are all pointing toward Valve finally bringing the third installment of Gordon Freeman's Odyssey to save humanity to gamers everywhere.

Don't forget that Valve is working on a box system of hardware to compete with other gaming consoles. What better way to promote the debut of that system then have one of the most requested and anticipated video games of all time as the flag-ship game for that new system.

The storm is gathering, whether we'll actually get some Half Life rain this time around is still uncertain, but where there's smoke, there's fire, and Valve is puffing like Snoop Lion at a concert back stage.

What do you think? Is it finally going to happen? Will it, could it possibly live up to all the Internet hype and expectations?

Via: Kotaku

TOYS FOR TOTS - You Can Help Make Some Child's Christmas a Great One!

Well, it looks like the Holiday Season is upon us again, arrgghh! But here at the BAT-BLOG.COM we plan to make the best of it. Every year, around Christmas, we always support a wonderful Children Charity called TOYS FOR TOTS! We collect toys all year to donate and then try to get the word out about this really great organization. So, please be sure to tell all your friends about it. You can re-tweet this post, share it on Facebook, or just call your friends on the phone & tell them about it!

TOYS FOR TOTS is run by the United States Marine Corp. They have drop-off boxes located at many different locations where you can donate new un-opened toys. It's so easy to do and you'll really fell great about it. Plus, the important thing is it will help create a special moment for some kid who is going through hard times. Who knows, YOUR donation might help change a child's life for the better!

For more information please click here, TOYS FOR TOTS, and also please remember to share this information. Getting the word out to as many people as possible and getting as many donations as we can is our top goal. If you think you can not drop off a toy at your favorite location then please make a monetary donation at their website, every bit helps. Thank you.

Fun Photography - Famous Movie Scenes Revisited

Here's a fun photo I came across the other day that was taken by an Artist/Photographer named Christopher Moloney. His idea was to get a photo of a famous scene from a movie, print it out, and then go to the actual real-life location where that scene was shot, and match-up the pieces. The idea is not completely original, as this has been done before, but it's always really fun to see and Christopher does a pretty good job.

The example up above is BANE from THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Batman Movie when he paid a visit to Wall Street, but if you click this LINK you can see many many more. Some of my other favorites are "The Ghostbusters" and "Die Hard: With a Vengeance".

Hugh Jackman’s New Job: Trying To Kill Peter Pan

OK, so we're only guessing at the whole "trying to kill Peter Pan" thing, but it would seem to be part of his job. Jackman's signed on to play Blackbeard in Pan Begins, oh, sorry, it's just called Pan.

Before you ask, yes, it is a Peter Pan origin story, where we find out where everybody's favorite child abductor came from. As for what Blackbeard has to do with it, and where Hook is, here's the plot summary according to Variety:

The origin story revolves around an orphan who is taken to the magical world of Neverland where he becomes a hero to the natives and leads a revolt against the evil pirates. The idea is that Blackbeard is the film's main antagonist while Hook would serve as Pan's close ally before turning bad.

So essentially it's The Last Samurai, except with children fighting pirates. Jackman is currently working on Neil Blomkamp's Chappie, which is basically "Hugh Jackman adopts a robot", and then he'll become Blackbeard.

Mostly we'll be curious to see how Warner Brothers expects to sell a Peter Pan movie. Despite the belief that every property people grew up with will be an instant hit, Peter Pan hasn't fared so well in the movies. Hook is a movie many look on with great affection, but let's face it, it's not Spielberg at his best. Similarly, the 2003 Peter Pan wasn't exactly a huge hit, although admittedly opening anywhere near The Lord Of The Rings will kind of limit your ability to make money. But, hey, in the long run, at least some of the money will go to sick children, so it's a win either way.

(Image courtesy of Gage Skidmore on Flickr)

Amazon And Steam Both Want All Your Video Game Money This Week

Hey, were you hoping to save a few dollars over the holidays? Maybe hold off on any gaming purchases until you got a sense of your gifts and how long you're going to stay in a gaming hole? Amazon and Steam would like to break your resolve over their knee and take you for all you're worth with their video game sales.

First up, the Steam Holiday Sale. We all know the drill: Valve starts the sales at 33% and starts cutting prices willy-nilly from there. As of this writing, Monaco is $3, BioShock Infinite is $10, Dishonored is $7.50, and those are just the deals going away at 1pm EST. This being Steam, pretty much everything is cheap right now: If you really want to relive the disappointment of Spore, you can do that for $5, for example.

Meanwhile, Amazon has decided to try and get some of your cash as well. Amazon, though, is focusing more on bundles. For example, both Borderlands games are $12, all three BioShocks are $15, you can get both Manhunt games for $3, and so on.

But if that doesn't do it for you, you can just browse the 1,334 games they've got on sale. Yes, they've got a lot of games on sale. Kind of the whole idea. Also, certain purchases will entitle you to $5 off Amazon's games of the year.

In short, you will be able to stock up on games right before the holidays. And then immediately forget about them as new games come out that you want to play. It's the circle of life!

See, THIS Is How You Do An Iron Man Cartoon

Animation was, even in the days of the dreaded Marvel curse, a bright spot for the House of Ideas. But sometimes the fans just do it better. Like Anthony McGrath, an animator at Evolution Studio, who cut together something that will be passed off as an Iron Man 4 trailer, no doubt.

Essentially, it's a short subject about why you don't fire missiles at Tony Stark. Because Tony Stark always has his Iron Man armor. Always.

Or if you just want the highlight in GIF form:

McGrath actually did most of this himself, if you examine the credits, although he did have some help with the modeling and one or two people pitched in elsewhere. But mostly we find ourselves wondering why this guy doesn't already have a job at Marvel. OK, so it likely took McGrath a lot of time to properly animate and render this, and it's a minute and a half of animation, but who wouldn't buy an entire movie of this? Or watch an animated series? Or buy a "Tony Stark Car Armor" toy?

At the very least, he should be thrown some cash so he can put the AC/DC song that was obviously removed from the credits back in. It's just not Iron Man without heavy metal.

A Compendium of Cool Comics Cosplay – Best of 2013 (Part 1)

Once again it's time for our Friday comics cosplay feature, casting the spotlight on the best comics related costumery from the cosplay community. As always, we're focusing on those cosplayers who we think deserve special recognition for their hard work creating the best costumes, whatever their budget, and also the work of those photographers who capture them for posterity.

This week we're presenting a special seasonal bumper edition, spotlighting some of the best cosplay of the year. 2013 s produced some amazing costumes - so much that we couldn't pack it all into a single week, so sit back and enjoy the first part of our selection, with characters including:

Ultron, Talon, Kid Omega, Deathstroke, Miss Thing, The Penguin, Venom, Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Thanos, Clayface, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Joker, Hope Summers, Superman and Squirrel Girl!

Be sure to check back next week for more amazing costumes.

Gamma Squad is committed to giving a voice to the cosplay community that thrives in communities like our friends at TheSuperheroCostumingForum.com. Each week we aim to spotlight our favorite costumes and, in addition, we also host a regular cosplay contest, with the results forming a special theme week. We invite all cosplayers, costumers and photographers to submit pictures of their work that relates to the theme (or any cosplay in general!) to our Flickr group to be considered. We'll then pick our top choices and post them on Gamma Squad for the adoration of all.

Our current theme is:

• Elseworlds and What Ifs..!

For now, enjoy this week's selection.

Ultron cosplay by Zaxmon at Dragon*Con 2013. Photo by Pat Loika. Submitted via the Gamma Squad Flickr Group.

Talon cosplayer photographed by Tarz n de los Gnomos. Source: Flickr

Kid Omega cosplay by My Brass Clue at Wondercon 2013. Photo by Pat Loika. Source: Flickr

Deathstroke the Terminator photographed by Random420. Photo by Random420.
Submitted via the Gamma Squad Flickr Group.

Miss Thing cosplayer at Heroes Con 2013. Photo by Pat Loika. Submitted via the Gamma Squad Flickr Group.

The Penguin cosplayer at London Super Comic-Con 2013. Photo by Rob Schofield. Source: Flickr

Lady Venom cosplay by Mad Maven. Photography by Carlos Adama. Submitted via the Gamma Squad Cosplay Group.

Blue Beetle and Booster Gold at Wondercon 2013. Photo by Pat Loika. Submitted via the Gamma Squad Flickr Group.

Lady Thanos cosplayed by Contagious Costuming. Photo by Mike Dickens. Submitted via the Gamma Squad Flickr Group.

Clayface cosplayer at Edmonton Expo as photographed by David Ngo. Source: DTJAAAAM.com

Guardians of the Galaxy at Dragon*Con 2013. Photo by Greyloch. Source: Flickr

The Joker at SDCC 2013. Photo by V Threepio. Submitted via the Gamma Squad Flickr Group.

Hope Summers cosplayer at Katsucon 2013. Photography by Anna Fischer. Source: Flickr

Kingdom Come Superman as cosplayed by Bob Kieffer. Photo by Patrick Sun. Submitted via the Gamma Squad Flickr Group.

Squirrel Girl cosplay by Galacticat. Submitted via the Gamma Squad Flickr Group.