WWE Payback: Not Really The First PPV Of The New Era

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May 1, 2016

The Future Of WWE Is Just A Little Brighter…

May 1st has been dubbed the first day in a new era of WWE. After ‘Payback’ was finished, I have to dis-agree. While the latest PPV on the WWE Network showcased the next generation of Superstars shining bright, the booking was more of the same. The show had an influx of NXT wrestlers but the show felt like any other pay-per-view.

Big Cass/Enzo vs The Vaudevillains

-I wasn’t looking forward to this match. I’ve seen both teams fight before during my time living in Orlando & attending NXT shows. With that being said, having the match cut short like that wasn’t what I was hoping for. Simon Gotch threw Enzo Amore outside of the ring and it seems that Amore hurt his neck. Amore’s partner Big Cass seemed very distraught with this result. The match ended in a no-contest. This will only get the people behind Enzo more. The crowd was cheering his name as soon as he went down. Curious to see how this progresses.
Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens

-One of the most beautifully built feuds in WWE. Best friends turns bitter enemies. This has been building since late- 2014. Hell, this has been building for 14 years. No WWE feud gets this amount of time anymore. The match didn’t start with the heat it deserved; the crowd was still shook from the finish of the last match. They were hot for the “Ole!” chant and firmly behind Sami Zayn during the match. Also, every crowd respects the amazingly heel Kevin Owens. That man is honestly one of the best at what he does. Owens won the match but their blood feud is far from over.
The Miz (w/ Maryse) vs Cesaro

-Sadly this match was outshined by Kevin Owens being his usual awesome self on commentary. Cesaro & Miz were putting on a decent match but they were seemingly passing time until they got to the big angle at the end of the match. After a fairly quick bout, Zayn returns to ringside and attacks Owens. This allows a major distraction and Miz steals the win from Cesaro. All the men end up brawling after the match. Will this lead to a Fatal 4-Way?
Dean Ambrose vs Chris Jericho

-The build for this match was fairly simple. Chris Jericho was getting too cocky and Dean Ambrose embarrassed him. This led to both getting more violent with each other as the weeks went on; finally boiling over at this PPV. The match was nothing spectacular. Both men did well but it will be a fairly forgettable contest. I’m just happy this match ended clean. We didn’t need another sketchy finish this evening.
Charlotte (w/ Ric Flair) vs Natayla (w/ Bret Hart)

-I’m a fan of both women; I had to chance to see their first encounter at the first NXT Takeover. Ironically, both their relatives were in their respected corners in that match as well. Glad to see Bret Hart back after he beat prostate cancer. The match itself was filled with in-ring psychology and mat-based wrestling. Natalya is one of the best wrestlers in the entire company and she only made Charlotte look better. Not to take anything away from Charlotte who has grown into this vile heel character. The ending was horrid. The call back to the Montreal Screwjob was bad. Piss-poor booking but at least they will fight again.
Vince McMahon Announces Who Runs Monday Night Raw

– Vince in front of a Chicago crowd…it was inevitable. But this time-filling segment was a good way to weaken the crowd before they boo Roman out of the building. I haven’t heard heat like this in a very long time. Line of the evening is from Stephanie: “Don’t worry Dad, they respond to pandering”. The whole segment dragged on. Eventually, Shane & Stephanie are forced by their daddy to share.
Roman Reigns vs AJ Styles

-Well the boos were still there for Roman Reigns. The Chicago crowd was easily 60/40 during this match, obviously leaning more towards AJ Styles. All I can say is Styles tried his best; he really shined with his selling and transitions between moves. The gimmick ending with the force McMahon influence weakened any attempt to make this serious. The final moments of the match were insanely hot; Roman even got lucky enough to get a pop from his win. Then right back to boos.

Sadly I got more of the same from WWE tonight. The show wasn’t the worst I’ve seen but it was a bit lackluster. ‘Payback‘ seems like a stepping stone for something bigger later one. Let’s hope ‘Extreme Rules‘ is much better later this month.

What did you think of WWE’s PPV ‘Payback‘?

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Review: Paper Girls Volume 1 “The Secret Seven meets H.G. Wells”

By

Gary Moloney

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May 1, 2016

Coming of age stories can pose quite the challenger for writers. Often they are created by those who have forgotten what it was like to be young and their characters sound like adults attempting to sound like children, lacking the authentic voice of youth. The result is often a lackluster Without a Paddle despite aiming to be Stand by Me. The Eisner-nominated Paper Girls is the latest Image series from writer; Brian K. Vaughen (Saga, Y: The Last Man) and artist; Cliff Chiang (Wonder Woman) and thankfully, it falls in to the latter category.

Paper Girls is set during the late ’80s and stars four 12-year newspaper delivery girls as they are thrust into a bizarre apocalyptic setting. As the plot progresses, what begins as a simple tale of youth soon leads to time-travel escapades and a war between two equally shady factions. The result is an Edith Blyton novel with a sci-fi twist straight out of the collected works of H.G. Wells. It’s a lot to take in and often it isn’t clear what’s going on, but it allows us to experience the same fear and uncertainty the main characters do. The mystery is as perplexing to us as it is to them and this enables it unfold naturally over the course of this first volume. Each revelation leads to more questions as a rich universe is slowly developed. We aren’t given definitive answers, but it does end on a nice cliff-hanger that sets up. In between the are poignant character moments that are a reminder of one’s rebellious teenage years and the innocence of our salad days. In one short scene, the series tackle our growing reliance on technology in a simplistic, but visually powerful way. That’s one of the series’ strengths; the economic use of its space to devastating effect. Vaughan uses language in extremely creative ways, creating new dialects and languages to give each set of characters their own unique feeling. An interesting mix of Shakespearean and “leet-speak” helps to give our central antagonists an other-worldliness that retains an air of eerily familiarity.

Chiang’s cartoonish interiors are an excellent way of contrasting expectation with reality. This disarming style lulls the reader into a false sense of security which Vaughan and Chiang use to shock them with violent or bizarre visuals. This book has the sensibilities of an art-house film, with psychedelic imagery that leaves the reader questioning the reality presented to us. One character compares the visuals to an acid trip and it’s hard to disagree. Chiang has composed a book that feels like a waking dream, a plain both the characters and read struggle to navigate, but is nevertheless compelling. This feeling of reading the characters’ hallucination is exemplified by the colours provided by Matt Wilson which give the images an ethereal tint. This is what I imagine a Twin Peaks comic might look like and that can only ever be a good thing.

The only problem with that book is that it’s dream-like approach to story-telling leaves one slightly unfulfilled and there is a sense that five issues in we still don’t know a lot about what’s going on. This series isn’t for everyone, those impatient among you may not appreciate its pacing, but the mystery it sets up is intriguing. From visuals to mode of story-telling, Paper Girls is intellectually stimulating and a refreshingly artistic offering that is unlike anything else on the stand, but it is that very uniqueness that may not endear it some readers. Paper Girls pushing the limits of what is capable through sequential art and will likely do well at the Eisner Awards. If you haven’t checked out the series yet, this volume collects the first five issues and will allow you to get in on the ground with one of the most talked about comics this year. Yesterday’s paper tells yesterday’s news.

A review copy was kindly provided by the publisher.

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Why it’s Good if Negan killed Maggie on ‘The Walking Dead’

By

Jon Barr - TV Editor

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May 1, 2016

It’s hard to say exactly who was killed in ‘The Walking Dead’’s season six finale. The show runners purposefully made it an ambiguous ending, giving fans ample time to argue and debate about who’s head just had a violent encounter with villainous Negan and his trusty bat Lucille. And out of the 11 main characters that could have been taken out, what would it mean for the show moving forward?

Maggie Greene has had a rough time in the apocalypse. She may have found her lovely dumpster husband, but she’s lost every member of her immediate family. After being lined up with the other show leads, it seems possible she’s following the lead set by her father, sister, and other barbecued relatives. What could be good about that? Let’s look at the evidence.

As far as emotional impact, the best The Walking Dead kills are ones that shake the core of the group. The death of Beth, Maggie’s sister, shook the core of the group, and the death of Maggie would do the same. Her relationship with Glenn would shake him up, even more than watching Noah get devoured, or Nicholas get exactly what was coming to him. Maggie’s rise to becoming the Alexandrian leader, replacing Deanna, would hit the survivors hard, especially the D.C. crew that joined Glenn & Tara to find her. And Carol’s break in stone-cold killer attitude stems in part from dealing with Maggie’s pregnancy. And Morgan just flat-out dislikes all death, so he won’t be happy with any deaths at all.

The matter of pregnancy also would lend her death more severity. That’d be two different deaths for the price of one. Lori died mid-childbirth in the prison many seasons back, but she had Carl to help deliver it, and no baseball bat to contend with. It’s already been established that Maggie is having some pregnancy complications, hence why the gang were rushing to Alexandria in the finale. Even if Maggie does survive, and she lives through childbirth, do we really want two babies on The Walking Dead? It seems too repetitive (not to say that the hours of walking in the woods are still fresh). It’d be the same sort of storylines we’ve already seen with Judith, and also means we’d have to see more of Gabriel, the whiny baby-sitting preacher man.

The biggest problem with Maggie being the big death on The Walking Dead is the real lack of realized potential. Not to say that Maggie hasn’t been a great character, but we’re getting to see more with her character in this season. Her rise to becoming the post-apocalyptic mayor of Alexandria opens up more potential storylines – does she replace Rick at the leader? Will her power lead her down a path to becoming more like the Governor, or Gregory.

Maggie’s already outlived the rest of her family, and proven her worth as a fighter and mediator. It’d be a shame to lose such a prominent female character, but we’ve seen her accomplish a lot in her time, and a death at the hand of The Walking Dead’s biggest bad is as fitting as anything else.

This article is part of a ‘The Walking Dead’ series. Read also about the benefits of the deaths of Daryl and Carl.

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John Krasinski is Your New Jack Ryan

By

Larry Taylor - Managing Editor

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May 1, 2016

The Jack Ryan saga, made famous throughout the years with turns by Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford (and later sullied by Ben Affleck and Chris Pine), will have John Krasinski in the driver’s seat for the new TV version of the character.

According to the report over at Empire, Amazon Studios have picked up the tv rights and will distribute. There’s no timetable on the show’s release, but it isn’t expected to directly follow any Tom Clancy stories.

If anything, John Krasinski can return that bookish undercurrent in the Jack Ryan character missing in Pine and Affleck’s performances. Granted, the films weren’t that great to begin with.

What do you think about the Krasinski decision?

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The Turnbuckle Bandwagon: Will Payback Pay Off?

By

Mat Douglas

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April 30, 2016

Welcome to the Turnbuckle Bandwagon, Monkeys Fighting Robots semi-regular column on sports entertainment and professional wrestling. This weekend we are looking at the next big WWE event, Payback on Sunday, May 1st.

The shows before and after Wrestlemania have a tendency to be a bit less so because they reside in the shadow of the WWE’s biggest show of the year. However, over the past couple of years, Payback has had some solid outings with above average undercard matches to balance out a typically predictable main event. This show has particular promise because a number of NXT talents are making their WWE PPV debut after recently joining the main roster. The WWE is marketing this show as a “new era” since Shane McMahon has been in charge of RAW since after Wrestlemania and The Authority has been absent.

Kalisto vs. Ryback – WWE United States Championship – Pre-show

This match is on the pre-show and again Kalisto is going against “The Big Guy” Ryback. Not sure where the WWE is going with this feud, and it’s not all that interesting, hence why it is on the pre-show.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin

Dolp Ziggler vs Baron Corbin at Payback — Dolph Ziggler taking on Baron Corbin at Payback
photo: WWE

Ziggler has been floundering lately, but is still putting on good matches. That may change going up against one of the NXT stars making his PPV debut in Baron Corbin. Corbin had been manhandling most of NXT before making his Wrestlemania debut and winning the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Corbin is big, strong, and most of all, mean. His matches are like watching a freight train barrel through a woodpile, and working with a seasoned performer like Ziggler should produce a watchable and entertaining match.

Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady vs The Vaudevillains – #1 Contender Spot for the WWE Tag Team Championship

The Realest Guys In The Room made their main roster debut the night after Mania to a great response and throwing some nice insults at the Dudley Boyz. Simon Gotch and Aiden English would make their debut later in the week on Smackdown. Both teams have face each other multiple times on NXT, but the winner here gets a shot at the current champs, The New Day, who have held the titles since SummerSlam 2015. They work well together and have tons of personality. It may not be a technical masterpiece, but it will be fun to watch.

Charlotte vs. Natalya – WWE Women’s Championship

Charlotte vs Natalya at Payback — Charlotte vs Natalya
photo: WWE

Another NXT rivalry being carried up to the WWE, Natalya and Charlotte had one of the best wrestling matches in NXT in 2014. Since then, their paths have diverged dramatically. Charlotte would go on to win the NXT Women’s Championship and make her main roster debut last year. Natalya would get injured, and then have to take some time off for family issues, and has recently gotten back into the action in a newly dynamic and rebranded WWE Women’s division. There will also be some old school flavor as Ric Flair will be in his daughter’s corner, and to counter Natalya will have her uncle, the legendary Bret Hart to counter any shenanigans from the Dirtiest Coach in the Game.

Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho

Ambrose vs Jericho at Payback — Ambrose takes on Jericho at Payback
photo: WWE

This is a feud that got started because Dean Ambrose showed up with a potted plant and a letter from Shane McMahon stating that the Highlight Reel, Chris Jericho’s in ring talk show had been cancelled. Dean and his houseplant took over and renamed it ‘The Ambrose Asylum’ and it was a smart choice. As mentioned in this column previously, Dean Ambrose is going to be a huge star, the WWE just doesn’t know it yet. Jericho is always a solid performer and fresh off a match with A. J Styles, this is a match that will be athletic, but probably not very fast paced, and enjoyable as Jericho will be playing the villain here.

The Miz vs. Cesaro – WWE Intercontinental Championship

Cesaro - Payback — Cesaro returns after shoulder surgery
photo: WWE

Let’s be real here, The Miz stole the Intercontinental title. He goaded new champ Zack Ryder into a match the night after Wrestlemania, and with some interference from his equally dubious wife Maryse, beat Ryder for the belt. That’s what makes The Miz a vastly underrated character. He cheats, he’s annoying, and it’s made him one of the WWE’s most underrated bad guys. Whatever he is doing, you are supposed to hate him and it works. Cesaro is one of the best athletes in the company right now, back from shoulder surgery with a cool tearaway suit and the #CesaroSection firmly behind him. Watch out for obvious interference from Maryse and more European Uppercuts than you can shake a selfie stick at.

Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn

This match may, and probably will steal the show. Many fans out there consider this particular contest the real main event. Prior to joining WWE, both men have been friends for more than a decade, meeting in 2002. They have performed as a tag team, and most notably against each other in various other promotions, and their work together is nothing short of fantastic. This match has happened in a banquet hall in front of barely 200 people and will now happen at a WWE pay-per-view and a worldwide audience. It should be the first of many match-ups between two talented professional wrestlers.

A. J. Styles vs. Roman Reigns – WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Reigns vs Styles at Payback — A. J. Styles squares off against Roman Reigns
photo: WWE

Should A. J. Styles win the WWE Title? Yes. Should he win it at Payback? No. The WWE is still insisting that Roman Reigns is “the guy”, Reigns has even said as much in his boring promos. A. J. is champion material, has been in every promotion he has worked prior to arriving in the WWE, but he just debuted in January. Expect a weird finish here, possibly Styles getting a DQ win, but Roman will walk out with the title.

What do YOU think is going to happen?

Let us know in the comments or talk to me on Twitter @MatPDouglas

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Alleged Leaked ‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’ Details

By

Dewey Singleton - Film Critic

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April 30, 2016

Star Wars: Episode VIII is a little over a year away and there have been several leaks from filming. Some leaks have been debunked, and others sound somewhat realistic. Friday night a person claiming to be in a position that gives them access to plots details of Star Wars: Episode VIII posted these details on 4-Chan.

EXCLUSIVE 1st LOOK #EP8-Exotic Alien Creature to terrorize…oh no wait-that's just my daughter's dog #Whoops #MyBad pic.twitter.com/qeD56nyL2A

— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) February 24, 2016

Laura Dern’s character is named Asala Qurd. She is playing the leader of one of the Republic’s military cruisers who were not near the planet that Starkiller blew up. She was a part of the group of politicians and military leaders who believed that the First Order posed no threat, and there is a verbal confrontation between her and Leia in which Dern says ‘ The daughter of Darth Vader has no right to lecture me!’

Poe Dameron has more screen time and isn’t just in an X-wing like most of TFA.

Hayden Christensen shot a scene during the nighttime at Pinewood, in which he communicates with both Luke and Rey.

Kelly Tran is a really cool individual and is a really kind person who can’t act. I have no idea why they cast her in Star Wars. Her characters’ name is Shtala Zi, and is a Resistance contact on the planet that houses Benicio Del Toro, more on him later. She has a safe-house there and it is seen that Poe knows her from before. Shtala goes out with Finn and Poe on a reconnaissance mission, and just as Finn starts getting attached to her and flirting a bit, The First Order strikes and it is made to seem that she died as she disappears after a huge explosion.

Yoda also appears to Rey alone, but does speak to Luke without his actual ghost appearing.

Captain Phasma appears and a gunfight between her squadron and Finn and Poe occurs, with Poe being wounded as he is shot at his wrist. ( I’m not sure but I think they’re going to let his hand be blown off to continue the tradition of a hand being cut off in each episode. )

Luke explains to Rey the story of Kylo Ren, and how he destroyed everything Luke built after he was corrupted by Snoke. He also speaks of how Han and Ben Solo never really got along, as Ben saw Han as absent from his life. This absence allowed Snoke to really play with his mind.

Luke mentions Qui-Gon Jin when explaining the light side to Rey.

No Lando.

Del Toro is a former bounty hunter and was a leader in the Republic who was not present during the explosion which destroyed the capital. After seeing the devastation, he decides that maybe joining the First Order is his only option and has extremely classified information regarding the Resistance that he plans on giving them in return for immunity. Kylo Ren kills him after Del Toro snickers at Kylo. I have no idea what his name in the movie is.

Rey is extremely strong with the force but is erratic with it. She tends to tap into the dark side when sparring with Luke which makes him unwilling to train her. Luke has the company of a small animal furry thing on his island, which looks like a cross between a dog, an Ewok and a lizard.

Leia is wounded in an explosion which prompts Luke to action, Rey also feels a disturbance in the force. They leave on the Falcon to join the rest.

That’s all I really have. The second half of the third act of the movie is EXTREMELY under wraps. Literally maybe 8 people know what is going down. I asked someone who knows and she told me, “ You’ll wanna wait and see it in a crowded movie theatre.”

What do you think about these plot details? If Hayden Christensen is in the film it will be hard to keep that information under wraps, plus it will infuriate a certain group of Star Wars fans. Until we see the first trailer, it’s a guessing game.

‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’ is due to be released on December 15, 2017.

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Anthony Mackie Wants A ‘Blaxploitation’ Falcon Solo Film

By

Matthew Sardo

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April 30, 2016

The long ‘Captain America: Civil War’ press tour is almost over, and the tired actors are in rare form giving fans the answers you want to hear.

Anthony Mackie was asked since Marvel Studios likes to do genre films for its, what style of film would he like to do a Falcon solo film.

Mackie sitting next to Sebastian Stan explained that he would like to be the Richard Roundtree of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a ‘Blaxploitation’ Falcon solo film. The actor continued that he would like a great bass solo playing as Falcon entered a scene, the hero would drive a 1985 Lincoln.

“Don’t mess around with the Falcon, Sucka!” said Mackie.

The one minute video is an enjoy to watch, and one can only hope this film gets made.

Falcon vs. Cleopatra Jones

‘Captain America: Civil War’ is directed by Anthony & Joe Russo from a screenplay by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely, Captain America: Civil War picks up where Avengers: Age of Ultron left off, as Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) leads the new team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. After another international incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability and a governing body to determine when to enlist the services of the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers while they try to protect the world from a new and nefarious villain.

The film stars Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Chadwick Boseman, Emily VanCamp, Daniel Brühl, Frank Grillo, William Hurt, Tom Holland, and Martin Freeman.

‘Captain America: Civil War’ is set for release on May 6.

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See The Original ‘Ghostbusters’ On The Big Screen In June

By

Matthew Sardo

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April 30, 2016

The original ‘Ghostbusters’ comes back to the big screen on Wednesday, June 8 for two nights only thanks to Fathom Events.

Tickets go on sale Friday, May 6. At the screening, there will be an exclusive sneak peek of Paul Feig’s ‘Ghostbusters.’

Thirty-two years after the beloved original franchise took the world by storm, Fathom Events and Columbia Pictures invite you to celebrate the upcoming July release of Ghostbusters (2016) with the original misfit parapsychologists of Ghostbusters (1984) as the classic film returns to select cinemas nationwide for a special two-day event on Wednesday, June 8 and Sunday, June 12. Who you gonna call?

This 80’s comedy classic, written by Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd, produced and directed by Ivan Reitman tells the story of university parapsychologists Dr. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Dr. Raymond Stanz (Dan Aykroyd) and Dr. Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) who lose a research grant when their experiment methodology is proven to be bogus. The team decides to go into business for themselves and open ‘Ghostbusters,’ a ghost removal service. After their first successful “ghost bust,” the demand for their services increases, along with paranormal activity in New York City, and the team hires a fourth member Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson), rounding out the official Ghostbusters. The team is summoned to investigate the strange happenings in Dana Barrett’s (Sigourney Weaver) Central Park West apartment. What they discover is that all Manhattan is being besieged by ghosts and other worldly demons through a portal in her building. On their mission to save New York City, the Ghostbusters encounter Slimer, Zuel, Gozer, the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man and many more other-worldly spirits.

Source: Fathom Events

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Target Practice: 5 Punisher Stories That Netflix Can Adapt

By

Mat Douglas

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April 29, 2016

Today was a great day for Marvel and Netflix fans as it was announced that The Punisher will be starring in his very own Netflix series. Making his debut in the recent second season of Daredevil, Jon Bernthal has breathed life into a character that Marvel has struggled to adapt to live-action, having made three previous attempts with Dolph Lundgren in 1989, Thomas Jane in 2004, and Ray Stevenson in 2008.

Frank Castle may seem a one note character, a gun-toting vigilante who puts down anyone in his crosshairs, but since his debut in 1974, The Punisher has become one of the most popular characters in the Marvel Universe and Netflix has a number of storylines it can adapt for a full season of Punisher goodness, and by goodness, meaning bad guys getting shot in the face.

Punisher - The Slavers — The Punisher – The Slavers

The Slavers (2006)

Garth Ennis’ run on The Punisher is nothing sort of legendary, and with this arc, he found a way to tell a fantastic story while also making people very uncomfortable. Frank saves a young woman from assault, finds out she has been forced into prostitution, and proceeds to dismantle the trafficking organization from the bottom up. This may not be a whole season’s worth of material but you can definitely get a nice two or three episode arc out of it.

Circle Of Blood (1986)

This was the first solo Punisher mini- series after appearing as a guest star in various Marvel titles, most notably Daredevil. A rather dark story for the 80’s, it showcases how violent the world of Frank Castle can be. Mob shootouts, Punisher wannabes, and even singing criminals punctuate a solid story. This could be a great starting point for the Netflix series with some tweaks.

Up Is Down, Black Is White (2005)

Another Garth Ennis story, this one has a mobster that digs up The Punisher’s family, and then urinates on their corpses on national television. Nicky Cavella is a depraved and fantastic villain and the carnage Castle inflicts on the path to Cavella is equal parts ludicrous and visceral.

Child’s Play (1988)

Frank Miller’s style was tailor-made for the dark world that Frank Castle inhabits. It’s The Punisher vs. drug dealers selling to kids. It’s dark, it’s gritty, and the bad guys get what’s coming to them.

Welcome Back, Frank (2000)

After the awful decision that was making The Punisher a supernatural demon slayer, Garth Ennis would return Castle to his roots in what is considered one of the definitive Punisher stories. Announcing his return to NYC by dismantling the Gnucci crime family, this arc is everything fans of the character have come to love. Dark humor, cutting satire, a dash of social commentary, and overblown villains (The Russian), this can definitely be a great start to the Netflix series.

Honorable Mention: Barracuda

Barracuda is basically the Punisher with all the training and none of the moral compass. He’s big, mean, and as deadly as they come. It might be best to use him if the show makes it to a second season as he is quite the nemesis for Frank Castle.

Agree? Disagree? Did I miss one or two? Let us know or you can holler at me on Twitter @MatPDouglas

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C.J. Gregg Conducts A Press Briefing At Actual White House

By

Matthew Sardo

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April 29, 2016

Allison Janney appeared in all 154 episode of the ‘West Wing,’ and she was nominated four times for a Golden Globe for her portrayal of C.J. Gregg. But, Friday was the first time she was the press secretary for real.

Janney is in town for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and took over the press briefing in comedic style to talk about more serious issues. According to Dylan Matthews at VOX, the actress brought light to the opioid issues; she lost her brother to suicide following a long struggle with drug addiction, and has teamed up with her Mom costar Anna Faris and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy for a PSA on the subject.

“This is a disease that can touch anybody, and all of us can help reduce drug abuse through evidence-based treatment, prevention, and recovery,” said Janney.

If you are a fan of the ‘West Wing’ the next one minute and two seconds will be quite enjoyable.

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