At the San Diego Comic-Con, crowds of Voltron fans finally got to hear what they have to look forward to in the upcoming season of Voltron: Legendary Defender on Netflix. The panel started with the announcement the team will be facing off with a new threat in Prince Lotor who will be played by AJ Locasio (Dawn of The Croods). The crowd also got a free signed poster and the new book from Simon & Schuster, “The Rise of Voltron.”
Details about the third season make it sound as if peace isn’t going to come easy for the Paladins of Voltron. With Shiro’s mysterious disappearance, the team is without a pilot for the Black Lion, which means they have lost the ability to form Voltron. With Prince Lotor hot on their heals and seeking revenge for his father Zarkon, Pidge, Hunk, Lance, and Keith will have to pull out all the stop and use everything at their disposal if they have any chance of surviving. Who will be able to pilot the Black Lion? If you are a fan of the original series than you have a pretty good idea of who is perfect for the role.
The third season is set to debut on August 4th. Unfortunately, it will only have seven episodes in it. Luckily, season 4 will not be far behind. It will arrive in October with six additional episodes. It was expressed at the panel this is intended so fans won’t have to wait as long for new episodes to come out. The teaser trailer for season 3 can be found below:
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Are you excited for the third season of Voltron: Legendary Defender? Leave a comment below and let us know. Also, stay glued to Monkeys Fighting Robots for all the San Diego Comic-Con coverage you can handle.
“The twenty-first century is a very dangerous century.”
Fans who attended Nickelodeon’s Rocko’s Modern Life panel at San Diego Comic Con today received a special treat when the network unveiled the first footage from the show’s highly anticipated revival: Rocko’s Modern Life: Static Cling.
Monkeys Fighting Robots got the chance to talk with all-star comic book scribe and Batman veteran Scott Snyder, among discussions about what the future holds for the character in Rebirth, Metal, and beyond, Snyder was asked about what kind of legacy he would like to be known for leaving on the character. Snyder, always gracious and generous with responses had a lot to say.
On his proudest moment
“I guess the thing that I’m proudest of…and it really sort of evolved during the second or third year we were on the book…the thing that I really think made him my version of him at least is that he’s so much more about sort of inspiring good people to come out of the shadows than he is about scaring bad guys back into them. He’s not really a figure of intimidation so much as he is this broad almost international figure of bravery. And he says I’m going to fight these incredibly abstract huge monstrous things in the form of my villains so that you will go out and face the things that seem insurmountable to you,” said Snyder.
Like a lot of us, Snyder finds inspiration in comic book characters. And taking a usually “grim” one like Batman and turning into a symbol of hope is definitely something to have pride on.
Final Thoughts
“We’re trying to lead into stories that have to do with things that seem overwhelmingly scary, you know. When it comes to plague or cyber warfare or cataclysm solipsism or all these different things that are much bigger than any of us could handle, Batman says ‘I’m going to show you.’ To fight this monster is the extension of those things so that you can take the real world baby steps towards approaching those problems without fear. So I hope that came through. Especially in Zero Year and afterward. Above all, honestly, you know, I hope people walk away seeing that we gave it our all. I gave it my all and every issue and you know that I tried to make it personal and fun at the same time. So I don’t know. It’s hard because I’m still in it. You know in my own way I still have some stories left, even if I’m not on the main books. So it’s hard to kind of reflect when I’m still pushing through it,” said Snyder.
Without a doubt, no matter what his future with the character holds, Snyder has joined the pantheon of great Caped Crusader scribes. He can easily sit alongside Frank Miller, Dennis O’Neil, Grant Morrison, Chuck Dixon, Paul Dini and all the other great writers who have put pen to paper (finger to keyboard) to create some of the best superhero comics the world has known.
1984 might seem like a great year for movies. There’s a lot of classics. Terminator, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Freakin’ Ghostbusters! But other than some big heavy hitters, it was actually a boring year with a handful of gems scattered throughout. Even though an Entertainment Weekly writer called 1984 the best year in movie history, he had something crucial to enjoying the sea of boring from that year: nostalgia. Considering I was only alive in 1984 for a total of one week (yes, if you’re doing the math, I was born on Christmas), I don’t have any emotional attachments to that year. And besides, 2008 is the best year in cinematic history.
But that doesn’t mean I hate the movies of 1984. As I said, there were some gems. So, here are my five favorite films from the year I was born. And before we begin—no, Ghostbusters and Indiana Jones are not among them. I eagerly await internet crucifixion.
5. The Terminator
Most of Terminator’s famous lines might come from T2, but the first Terminator is better. Arnold is a great villain in this, and even though there are 4 (5?) films now with him playing Hero-nator, I could never buy it because he’s so damn menacing in The Terminator. And where T2 is this polished film, Terminator is rough. There’s grit here, maybe literally. It’s a tense, packed 108 minutes of a killer robot. Making Terminator protect a brown-haired Daenerys was a mistake. Bring back the 1984 Terminator. Bring back the hurt.
4. Gremlins
I didn’t see Gremlins until I was 30. To this day, I don’t exactly get the appeal for the movie, or what the movie is. Like, why is there a college age kid living at home and acting like he’s twelve? Why is no one working at the movie theater during one of the busiest seasons of the year? Why does Gizmo remind me of an ex-girlfriend? Sure, that has nothing to do with this bizarre and brilliant movie, but it’s still a question. That’s what I love about Gremlins. There is no “getting it”—it just exists. It’s weird and strange, with hardly any logic, but it’s also a hell of a fun movie.
3. This Is Spinal Tap
What happens when you mark inches instead of feet.
A smart movie about dumb people. Rock stars, in particular. Spinal Tap is Rob Reiner’s most interesting film. It’s a mockumentary that was so well done, people claimed they were Spinal Tap fans before the movie came out. Yep—hipsters existed in 1984 too. The jokes range from subtle to ridiculous to this brilliant bit:
2. Repo Man
One of the best cult classics ever made. The production looks like they had a budget of $10—and this just makes the movie better. Repo Man is an 80’s Punk Sci-Fi dystopia satire. The food is labeled as “food,” the beer is “beer.” There are films about American excess now, but Repo Man was talking about it 32 years ago. And it has the embodiment of all 80’s actors, Emilio Estevez. If you haven’t felt your mind properly eroding yet, you need to watch this movie.
1. Ghostbusters
Just kidding.
1. Blood Simple
The film that started the Coen Brothers’ careers, and still one of their best. It’s a 90-minute neo-noir masterpiece. The movie also launched Frances McDormand, and she’s brilliant in it. The pacing is perfect; the cinematography is beautiful. And there’s an unnerving intensity throughout the movie. It’s not just one of the best films of 1984, it’s one of the best movies of all time.
And there are movies from 1984 I still need to see, such as Dreamscape, The Never-Ending Story, and Amadeus. And yes, I do like Indiana Jones and Ghostbusters. I’m not a monster. But since 1984, well, movies became one of the most important aspects of my life. I see 2-3 a week in theaters now. So maybe there was something magical going in cinema that year because I was born addicted to movies.
Batman is (arguably) DC Comics’ world’s greatest detective and there’s proof of that aplenty in the comics and animated series. The movies, not-so-much. With a 70+ year sequential art history, how do you boil down the Dark Knight’s slickest moments as a sleuth? It’s simple. Read a lot of Batman, pick six, and write about them. It’ll never be the greatest six picks because Bats is a badass when it comes to investigating and has a lot of spectacular sleuthing moments. No doubt that Bats deserves his title as the world’s greatest detective.
Six Times Batman Showed Off His Deductive Badassery
Detective Comics Annual #2
In “Blood Secrets,” writers Mark Waid and Bryan Augustyn crafted a low-key, grim, noir-ish story of a young Bruce Wayne assisting seasoned detective Harvey Harris on a case. Bruce is learning the ropes of how to be an investigator, but his sharp mind is put on display several times. No spoilers, but in one key moment, Bruce deduces information before it’s revealed to Harris, surprising the veteran detective.
Superman Batman Annual #1
Writer Joe Kelly took Batman and Superman’s first encounter (from Superman #76) and “spiced” things up. The book beautifully parallels the differences between the characters but also why they work so well together. It’s all framed with a running gag of sorts about each hero trying to figure out the identity of the other. Batman lines his cowl with lead, making Superman’s X-Ray vision useless. However, Supers, aka Clark Kent, can’t hide old yearbook photos or his chin. Batman deduces that Kent and Superman are the same person by the precise similarity of their jaws.
Batman: Black & White “Perpetual Morning”
A short, simple story (and free on Comixology!)is rich with Batman being a detective. The Dark Knight spends the entire story examining a body, figuring out clues, discovering who the victim is and what happened to her. It’s Batman doing detective work in its simplest form, like a short episode of a forensic science show.
Batman Eternal #46
Batman Eternal, a series from several writers who pit the Dark Knight against Ras al Gul. In part, it’s all literally a test by Gul to best the world’s greatest detective. However, even while under the influence of hallucinogenic gas and frequencies disrupting even his bat computers, Batman is able to figure out he’s dealing with illusions. The Caped Crusader navigates his way through the hallucinations to find the who’s behind it all.
JLA #61
The Earth is under assault from mythic forces. As the JLA assembles, the quest to figure out what’s going on, the threat grows even greater. Writer Joe Kelly reaches our list again by making Batman the one to figure out a pattern in the sea and sky. Batman’s brain saves the day once again when the real villain is revealed.
Detective Comics #790
A terrible drug is reaching across the city like tendrils of death. Batman is on the case and not being gentle about it. Writer Andersen Gabrych makes this a sort of buddy-cop movie with Bats and Batgirl working together. At one point, Batman knows Batgirl is following him and uses it to his advantage.
Lead singer for Linkin Park, Chester Bennington has died at 41. The popular band was known for their alternative hits ‘Numb”, ‘Crawling’, and ‘In The End.’ Sources for law enforcement told TMZ Bennington hanged himself at a private residence in Palos Verdes Estates in L.A. County. Two hours before the news broke, Linkin Park released their video for their new single “Talking To Myself”
Bennington was close friends with musician Chris Cornell who also died earlier this year by hanging. Chester was found Thursday morning (July 20) which would have been Cornell’s 53rd birthday. In 2009 he opened up to Kerang about his past with drugs, alcohol, and depression stemming from his divorce in 2005 from Samantha Marie Olit.
“The difficult part was losing all my money, starting my life over and having to pay the person I didn’t want to be around in the first place. “I felt like my life’s work had been given away. I drank myself to the point where I couldn’t leave the house and I couldn’t function. I wanted to kill myself.”
Picture Credit: Q945Rocks
Along with Linkin Park, Bennington was also a vocalist for Stone Temple Pilots. He leaves behind his wife Talinda Ann Bentley and six children.
Gotham City is no more, and per usual it’s because of a supervillain. Except this time around Gotham is a fascist state under the guise of utopia.
Cover of ‘Gotham City Garage #1’ by Rafael Albuquerque
That’s the idea behind the upcoming DC Comic’s upcoming series Gotham City Garage. Based on the popular DC Collectibles line, Gotham City Garage is penned by Jackson Lanzing (Batman & Robin Eternal) and Collin Kelly (Grayson). Drawing from the aesthetic style of the collectibles line, the pair has crafted a world focused on a post-devastation Gotham, now called The Garden.
The city has prospered under the rule of Governor Lex Luthor, though not without cost. He keeps order through LEXES tech, which keeps the citizens of The Garden under sort of hive mind. If a citizen acts against the approved mindset, The Governor’s enforcers, led by the Batman, restore the status quo.
Enter Kara Gordon, daughter of Jim Gordon, secret Kryptonian, and LEXES employee. She is forced to leave The Garden for the wasteland after being suspected of subversion. There, there she meets the gearhead rebels of Gotham City Garage, including Big Barda, Harley Quinn, Hawkgirl, and Wonder Woman. Together, they team up to reclaim Gotham City.
The series will have rotating artists, starting with Brian Ching (Supergirl) and followed by Lynne Yoshii, a recent grad of the DC Talent Development Workshop.
“Gotham City Garage is an anti-fascist anthem for the open road, starring reimagined takes on DC’s great female characters through an outlaw lens. We’re bringing Big Barda, Steel, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Silver Banshee, Hawkgirl and the first Kryptonian this world has ever seen—the mysterious girl named Kara Gordon—into a world of bikes, outlaws and elaborate tattoos.” -Collin Kelly
Gotham City Garage is a digital-first series, debuting August 16, with a new chapter released biweekly through October 2017. Thereafter the series will transition to weekly, with print issues available starting in October.
Check out the Garage on the DC Comics App, readdcentertainment.com, iBooks, comiXology, Google Play, Kindle Store and Nook Store.
“This is an exciting chance to explore the meaning of heroism in a world devoid of hope, to rebel-yell alongside our favorite DC superheroines at a time when we need it the most.” – Jackson Lanzing
Check out the collectibles gallery below, and let us now what you think of the new series on Facebook, Twitter, or in the comments!
Last week, we talked about the Charlie Sheen, Whoopi Goldberg movie about the attacks of September 11, 2001. The film, simply titled 9/11 – you know, to be classy and stuff – tells the story of five people trapped in an elevator in one of the World Trade Center towers during the attacks.
We got the poster as visual evidence that this movie is really a thing, and now we have a trailer. And yes, before you ask, it IS as terrible as you can imagine.
Check. This. Out:
A group of 5 people find themselves trapped in an elevator in the World Trade Center’s North Tower on 9/11. They work together, never giving up hope, to try to escape before the unthinkable happens.
Not only does 9/11 star Charlie Sheen, Goldberg, and Gina Gershon, it’s directed by noted auteur Matin Guigui, who brought us such venerable classics as National Lampoon’s Cattle Call.
I can’t figure out why the trailer is all in Japanese, or what Charlie Sheen is doing in that one scene where he’s taking to the girl trapped in the elevator. Or, who thought this was a good idea from the very beginning… that might be the most confusing.
And, hey, Luis Guzman, what the hell are YOU doing? You were in Traffic, Carlito’s Way, fucking Boogie Nights! Did you not turn to someone at any point during the shoot and whisper “is this real? Are they actually going to go through with this?”
Oh yeah, and there’s this little nugget from Charlie Sheen about the attacks: “It seems to me like 19 amateurs with box cutters taking over four commercial airlines and hitting 75 percent of their targets — that feels like a conspiracy theory.” Yeah, happy memorial from your friendly neighborhood truther.
Anyway, 9/11 will be here September 8, it’s only 90 minutes, and you can go to the movie theater to… celebrate… 9/11? With a shitty Charlie Sheen movie about 9/11? What is even happening anymore?
Form Blazing Sword! With the announcement of a third season of Voltron: Legendary Defender coming to Netflix on August 4th 2017, fans are overjoyed about the continuation of this fantastic stories. In celebration, it’s time to look back at the best moments of the second season and see how they stack up.
WARNING: Spoilers for Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 1 and 2
1The Entire Episode of Space Mall
Space Mall really has everything fans wanted out of an episode. A large amount of comedy, great moments of action, and even helps to develop the plot. Keith, Pidge, Hunk, and Lance head to the Space Mall with Coran for supplies and get into hijinks in the process. At the same time Shiro has an intense mental battle with Zarkon for the control of the Black Lion. It’s this uncanny mix of these two plots which easily allowed this episode to steal the top spot on this list. Where else can you find an episode where a group rides on a flying cow while getting chased by a evil mall security guard?
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What were your favorite moments of Voltron: Legendary Defender Season Two? Leave a comment below and let us know.
Quick! Tell me how many Saw movies there have been. If you knew the answer without hesitation, then this Jigsaw trailer is for you.
I can’t remember at what number we left off, but here we are, back in the antiquated world of torture porn. Jigsaw looks to freshen things up a bit, and judging from this trailer they definitely want to start an entirely new series of these movies. Hooray…
Fans of this franchise should be fired up. This looks well made more than anything, and the scares are clearly going to take a backseat to geek show gross out moments and teen slasher camp.
The last Saw movie I watched was the second one. After the hypodermic needle scene, I checked out.
Jigsaw is directed by Daybreakers directors The Spierig Brothers, who really could be a great fit for this new franchise offshoot. It will be here to TAKE BACK HALLOWEEEN!!! on October 27.
