Anime Expo

Since then, Ms. Han has worked on other popular series such as Digimon and Yu-Gi-Oh. Recently, she received the main role of Akko Kagari in Little Witch Academia and Sumire Hanano in Chihayafuru 2. She is not only limited to anime, but also has lent her talents for computer games as well as voiceover for foreign dramas.

Ms. Han will also be participating in a Little Witch Academia panel hosted by TRIGGER, producers of the new hit anime!

​Anime Expo is thrilled to welcome Megumi Han as a Guest of Honor to AX 2013, where attendees can connect with their favorite artists, voice actors, and musicians from Japan, display their amazing cosplay and other artistic creations, and enjoy the best in Japanese anime and pop culture. Connect. Create. Culture. All at Anime Expo 2013!

Written by: Kim Newman
Genere(s): Vampire, Dracula, Italy, Alternate History, Horror, Thriller
Publisher: Titan Books
Availability: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, and Audio Book
Description: Rome. 1959. Count Dracula is about to marry the Moldavian Princess Asa Vajda – his sixth wife. Journalist Kate Reed flies into the city to visit the ailing Charles Beauregard and his vampire companion Geneviève. Finding herself caught up in the mystery of the Crimson Executioner who is bloodily dispatching vampire elders in the city, Kate discovers that she is not the only one on his trail…

Kim Newman is the Terry Pratchett of vampire novels. Before you think I’ve gone completely off of my rocker let me explain. If you read Pratchett and think about my rather crazy statement you can start to see what I mean. If you are not familiar with his work, he has created a setting in which he takes real world events and transposes them into Discworld. His subtle social commentary combined with clever writing allows the reader to experience things like the introduction of rock and roll or the feminist movement in ways no one thought possible. In his own way Newman has done the same. He has created an alternate history in which Vampires have stepped into the light and are a part of everyday society (for the most part). Newman does an amazing job of combining characters from all sorts of historic time periods, real and imagined and places them in a critical point in history.

I know that several authors have done this, but there is something about the way that Mr. Newman goes about it that keeps the pages turning. I have mentioned how well-versed in history Mr. Newman is and how subtle his web is weaved and this book is no exception. With Vampires (and Elves0 – their timelines are different, extended). Mr. Newman knows his characters well enough to maintain the correct timelines and makes their reactions to changing times feel real. How would Count Dracula deal with the internet or Wi-Fi? Sadly that question isn’t answered in Dracula Cha Cha Cha, but several like issues are tackled.

This is not a book that focuses on Dracula, but more revolves around him. Of the books in this series this was not my favorite, but it still got it’s fangs into me and would not let go until the very end. The action scenes seemed a bit more disjointed than in previous books and there were a few small details that didn’t exactly get explained. I’m all for figuring things out, but there were a few times while reading this book where I wanted to know why something happened and I never did find out. Newman is very subtle and it might have just been me….

Mr. Newman showed great control in not over using some really famous historical figures who were involved in this story to Include Hemingway, Wells and even the good Dr. West (of Lovecraft fame). I have mixed feelings about the characterization of Hamish Bond (yup, he is just who you think he is) as he seemed almost 2D and I like my Bond (girls) more full-figured. In this story he is a vampire and when viewed as such it really makes sense so, that part I liked. But at times he was portrayed as inept and being outsmarted by several females felt almost anti-Bond (as he was originally written).

What this book lacked at times in story, it made up for in biting social commentary. Kim Newman’s insights into our current vampire less society while traveling on a vampire freight train. We have all known vampire like people and this book really makes you think twice about just how close to the monsters we can be depending on the circumstances. If you are a fan of Newmans then you will love this book, if you enjoy clever alternative fiction, you should love it as well. If you are a fan of non-sparkly vampires you’ll want to taste this book and the rest of the books in the series. I find that the closer Mr. Newman gets to the significant events in my life time, the more I catch without having to read the annotations in the back. Yes, there is actually a Dracula Cha Cha and Mr. Newman knows how to dance it like a boss.

BOOM! Studios

The fun will never end in this special expanded Adventure Time Annual! Featuring some of the hottest talent in comics today putting their creative spin on the land of Ooo! A great tool for bringing readers into the series and an awesome book for die-hard Adventure Time fans! Featuring stories from Roger Langridge, Derek Fridolfs, Dustin Nguyen, Alex Cox, Josh Williamson, Jason Ho, Bryce Carlson and others!

Adventure Time Annual #1 ships with a main cover by Ale Garza (Fathom, Teen Titans) and variant covers by Natasha Allegri (Adventure Time: Fiona & Cake) and Derek Fridolfs (Batman: Arkham City) is available for order under Diamond order code MAR130950.

First of all males, you are jealous. If you have watched the movie Clerks, you are even more jealous. I know that you try to look away when I do it; I know that you look away but from the corner of your poorly placed eyes that are no good for hunting you look at me with envy. Typically you think to yourselves “I wish I could do that,” or “If I could do that I wouldn’t need a wife or a woman or even a boyfriend.” (Yes some human males have boyfriends, or even husbands; deal with it.) But what you don’t understand is that this “whole swabbing the deck” thing isn’t sexual for us, I sure we get some pleasure of having our step children clean, but where is the first place you Hu-men minds go…. Pitiful!

I can lick my own balls, you cannot lick yours!

Oh, females, you think you get a fee pass on this — sooo silly! Many of you do yoga. I know some Hu-men do this yoga thing, but in my house the most bending and stretching the fat bald one does is to clean my litter box (as he should). I see you Fe-lions shoving yourselves into these pants that are loose on the bottom but tight on your bottom. Sometimes you wear these pants and don’t even do this yoga thing. Then you will pay good money to go someplace and have someone show you how to strike “poses” like Cow Face Posture or my personal favorite Lion Posture. Lion Posture, like you could ever even get close to looking like a member of my species…. I would like yoga much more if the Fish Posture looked more like a yummy delicious fish and less like you are trying lay on your back to make your chest look bigger…. You spend hours trying to learn how to be a flexible as I have been from day one!

So, humans, listen: don’t hate me because I’m flexible enough to lick my own balls, celebrate me! This is one of many examples of why I am superior to you. Most of the time I actually wait until you are watching to perform this time honored ritual reserved for only the most flexible of species. I wait until my entire human support staff (you call yourselves families) are on hand to witness with great envy this act that to be honest is really easy for me. The forlorn looks of jealousy only make me lick harder, and the best part is Hu-man or Fe-lion, I know what you are thinking and the only thing going through my mind is… These don’t taste very good, but I lick them because I can!

21 lbs down, many more to go!

Hey all! Welcome to my new column, which will focus on my efforts to lose weight and slim down so that I can fit into all of those cute clothes from ModCloth.com. Also, a special shout-out to my friend Shane who came up with the absolutely amazing title of this vlog!

I had some trouble with my video editing software, so this went up much later than I would have liked… and, I am apparently really bad at math. Anyway, here’s this week’s entry. Please feel free to leave questions and comments in the comments section here or on YouTube, and I’ll try to address them next week.

I look forward to sharing this chapter of my life with you all!

I’ve never been a huge follower of the Avengers. I’ve enjoyed the Marvel movies of the individual members so far, and I quite liked the previous animated offering in Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. So I’ll be tackling this not so much as an Avengers fan, but a lover of enjoyable animation.

Right off the bat there’s mixed feelings of wonder and revulsion. On one hand, the animation is probably some of the best Marvel has offered up on the small screen in years. The appearance of the Red Skull is especially a work of art. But at the same time, you’re smacked in the face with sub-par writing as Tony Stark blandly and soullessly drools out exposition about how the team has been disbanded for a while as he watches the members via live video feeds that helpfully show each character’s name for the audience.

During this segment, Stark sees that Captain America is in trouble and rushes to his aid only to watch as Red Skull completely dematerializes the good Captain. This leads to Tony sending out the call to reform the Avengers. This incarnation being Iron Man, Hulk, Hawkeye, Thor, and, later on, Black Widow and Falcon. No sooner assembled does the core team jet off to avenge Cap and beat the Skull’s face in.

This is not a stellar start to a new series. It’s mediocre at best. You start with a Tony Stark who’s devoid of all the charm and wit and distracted genius that makes the character great. You move into a forced attempt at pathos with the “death of Captain America” when logic dictates they wouldn’t dare to kill him or even allow the rest of the episode to play out without him popping back up. Then you’re served up a team dynamic that’s lifeless as uncooked oatmeal and only wants to focus on Hulk throwing Hawkeye around and Iron Man not being a very good leader.

That’s really all the characterization we even get with these characters. Black Widow might as well be a blank slate in a jumpsuit. The Falcon is obviously set to be some kind of new guy/audience proxy and is really only capable of fanboying over being a new Avenger and wanting to meet Captain America. In fact, he almost seems a bit Mary Sue-ish in how he comes from nowhere — despite having no idea where the Avengers currently are — turns the tide of battle, and is the one to solve the main conflict of the episode despite being the rookie.

The only bit of dialogue/personality from any of the characters that actually made me smile was a brief few seconds of Thor talking about a rocking party he was going to miss out on in Asgard. But that was fleeting and they quickly muzzled him down after that.

This honestly feels like it was a work-in-progress script. Everything feels like placeholder dialogue that someone was supposed to punch up and actually spin it all from angles based on the characters personalities, but they just forgot to put that extra effort in.

The actual narrative is solid enough in that the Red Skull has actually teleported Captain America off to a HYDRA hidey-hole so the nasty red faced bugger can swap bodies with Cap and extend his own life. Solid enough at least up until the point that the Skull with the help of MODOK has Stark’s armor stripped off, puts it on himself, and Tony is seemingly left for dead as the villains teleport away.

Seriously? You’re starting the episode off with an obviously fake Cap kill to use as a plot device for “getting the band back together” and now you’re ending the episode and trying to go for a vibe of “Tony’s about to die”? Come on! COME ON! Why even try that? First of all, the death or idea of bringing a character down to their lowest point only pulls the audience in deeper if they actually care about the characters. Avengers Assemble doesn’t even try to get you to care about this cast.

Secondly, again, this isn’t believable. You just showed us that the Captain America death was a fake out. You just cried wolf. Now you’re doing it again. Why should it even matter? You made Tony Stark into a limp dish rag of a personality, you had to have him tell us, not show us, that he’s egotistical and a genius without ever showing evidence of these things, and then you cap things off with taking his armor, ARC Reactor, and possibly his life away from him.

That does nothing to grab my interest. There’s no investment in this story. There’s nothing at stake here. Red Skull is now Iron Skull and Tony’s dying. You can solve that in five minutes if you jet Stark back to the mansion, pop in a spare battery, and have him hit a remote deactivation code to neutralize the stolen suit. You know a proper Tony Stark would be prepped for just such a contingency.

Now, I will say this, the animation is spectacular. The character designs are gorgeous. The backgrounds are solid and well crafted. The 2-D and CGI animations are blended well with each other. The storyboarding and action direction are some of the best I’ve seen in a while. I absolutely love the look of this series and that just makes it that much more disappointing that such a gorgeous work is being saddled with lackluster writing.

Now, it’s entirely possible that this first episode is not a proper sample to judge what’s to come from this series. One needs to understand that there’s often Executive Meddling and such that can harm a series right out the gate with silly changes to scripts and a general opinion that all viewers are knuckle-dragging sub-humans who must have everything clearly laid out before them. So this might be tantamount to Avengers Assemble‘s first few awkward, wobbling steps into a bright new world. Maybe it just needs to get it’s proper footing, get in a good stretch, and have a chance to actually impress.

That said, I see enough potential in Avengers Assemble that I’m willing to give this series the benefit of the doubt up to the first few episodes after the initial pilot story arc. If, by then, there isn’t some clear improvement in the writing where dialogue and character personalities are concerned, I’m going to write it off and go back to my long term project of slowly watching every single Simpsons episode in existence and marveling at just how influential the series has been and continues to be on pop culture.

UFO Interactive Games

A raw and gritty, futuristic squad-based third-person shooter (TPS) built using the Unreal Engine 3, Scourge: Outbreak pits the veteran mercenaries of Echo Squad, against their sworn enemies, the Nogari Corporation, in a desperate mission to rescue a double agent hidden behind enemy lines and to recover a mysterious meteorite fragment from Nogari’s possession. Convinced that Nogari’s “Ambrosia Fuel Technology” is connected with deadly plagues that threaten to ravage the world, this may be Echo Squad’s last and only shot at bringing the Nogari threat to its knees once and for all.

Scourge: Outbreak marks the Xbox LIVE debut of a massively overhauled and vastly improved version of The Scourge Project: Episodes 1 & 2, originally released for Windows PC in April 2010. With a host of new features and enhancements based on community feedback, including new and re-vamped gameplay, a stronger and more prominent story narrative, smarter AI, more gratifying gunplay, powerful new XP Perks, a much more detailed and vibrant world, and a long list of other exciting changes, the differences between TSP and Scourge: Outbreak are phenomenal!

“Scourge: Outbreak looks better, plays better, and is far more fun than The Scourge Project ever was,” said Ake Mora Temnerud, Studio Director of Tragnarion Studios. “It’s a game that our small, humble team is immensely proud of, and we think that once players get into the game, they are really going to enjoy all of the newly-added content and features we’ve added.“

Scourge: Outbreak key features include:

* Up to 4-Player Co-op Campaign with 6+ hours of gameplay
* 4 Playable Characters, each with different weapon handling stats and a distinct combination of Special Abilities
* Unique character-specific flashbacks that reveal critical past events, and shed a new light on the game’s story
* XP system to track your experience and unlock powerful gameplay rewards in Campaign AND Multiplayer
* Squad AI for groups with less than 4 Players
* Quick-Order-System (QOS) for rapid deployment of squad-members
* 9 Weapons, plus multiple variants of each to suit your style of play
* Up to 8 Players in Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Capture-The-Flag multiplayer versus modes in 5 action-packed maps
* Leaderboards for competing with friends and other Players around the world!
* Challenging Achievements to unlock

This summer, team up with some squad mates and prepare to blast holes through Nogari forces. Help reveal Echo Squad’s shrouded past and uncover the truth before the truth catches up to them. Featuring full 4-player co-op support throughout the entire 6+ hour campaign, as well as intense close-quarters PvP modes for up to 8 players, Scourge: Outbreak promises to be a must-have title for Xbox LIVE Arcade fans worldwide.

Scourge: Outbreak will be available on Xbox LIVE July 3, 2013 worldwide for 800 Microsoft Points. For more information on Scourge: Outbreak please visit the official site.

Narrated by Cédric Le Dressay, CEO of Eugen Systems, this video explains in two minutes all there is to know about the fascinating, dynamic campaign of Wargame: AirLand Battle. The video lets us discover all the original game mechanics of this innovative game mode, which would-be generals will get to experience for the first time next week, be it solo or in multiplayer against another player!

You will first handle in this campaign your army and your battle groups, on a huge strategic map representing Europe: ordering movements, asking for reinforcements, but also launching support strikes such as intelligence missions, special forces strikes, satellite spying, bombardment, tactical nuclear attacks, etc…

When a zone is under attack and you need to defend it, or when you send your own battle groups to assault, you are thrown at the heart of the spectacular battles happening in real-time. Your army is persistent all along the campaign: your units and battle groups will earn experience, making them perform better with every battle they survive… but keep in mind losses are definitive as well!

Only a few more days before a new worldwide conflict begins! Wargame: AirLand Battle will be available for PC on May 30th.

About Wargame: AirLand Battle:

Released in early 2012, Wargame: European Escalation by Eugen Systems managed to become the new benchmark in real-time strategy games, praised by critics and players alike. Wargame: AirLand Battle is about to bring the series to the next level as a full-fledged sequel!

Between 1975 and 1985, war between NATO and the Warsaw Pact is still raging, reaching Northern Europe, notably Scandinavia, whose architecture magnificent landscapes are faithfully recreated in the game. While the first Wargame made quite an impression with its powerful engine, Wargame: AirLand Battle is making a huge leap forward with its visuals, bringing a level of detail never before seen in a real-time strategy game. Flat relief and lack of variety is now a thing of the past, as the new version of the IRISZOOM Engine displays spectacular graphics, with a huge variety of units, scenery and impressive topography reproduced from satellite maps.

Command all the military resources of the Cold War era, from tanks to planes which make an outstanding entrance in the series! A total of 150 planes strengthen the playable arsenal of the game, from fighters to bombers to electronic warfare planes. Four new nations and their vehicles join the original eight from the first game, making a total of over 750 vehicles and combat units rendered in realistic detail with new textures! In Wargame: AirLand Battle, realism is also strengthened thanks to a new weapons system, better handling of fire and its effects, and a new Urban Combat Interface (UCI) allowing for battle inside cities block by block to take them over.

The solo part of the game is composed of several new dynamic campaigns, during which you will manage all aspects of the battle. Lead each squad of the Theatre of Operation, and make good use of your reinforcements and strategic support. Each decision you make has an impact on the tactical outcome of battles, and also impacts the evolution of the global conflict! Wargame: AirLand Battle still allows you to customize your own army in solo and multiplayer modes, thanks to the ‘Deck’ system, which is now being enhanced with an integrated ‘viewer’.

IDW Publishing

But first a recap: Megatron recently laid his claim to Earth after the defeat of Optimus Prime and the use of Combiner technology to create Devastator and steals the Matrix of Leadership. The Autobots are banished to a toxic waste of a planet of Cybertron. Prime gets better, defeats Megatron and then tries to make peace with the human, which does not go over well. On Cybertron, Ironhide, who had been killed in battle, is resurrected by Alpha Trion and needs his and the recently revived Sunstreaker’s help to stop the mutant Insecticons Megatron left on the planet. Trion takes off in Metroplex, the last of the Titan Transformers. As he does, Hotrod, who recently reacquired the Matrix which Megatron stole, learns Galvatron is on his way to Cybertron with the Heart of Darkness.

Hotrod, now calling himself Rodimus, returns to Earth and tell Prime and the Autobots what’s happening. Prime leaves with Megatron as his prisoner and a big fight breaks out. Galvatron, not realizing he is the cause of all the recent dilemmas. (Note: in the IDW Transformers universe Galvatron and Megatron are two different characters.) Optimus uses the power of the Matrix to stop Galvatron’s Heart of Darkness, which has brought an evil god to Cybertron to destroy it. He puts the Matrix into Vector Sigma, the super computer that gave all transformers life and is tied to the god of light, Primus, and reformats Cybertron. Cleansing Cybertron of its war scars, it is now a new planet but barren. The Transformers return from all parts of the galaxy and Optimus Prime gives the Matrix remains to Bumblebee and Rodimus. Prime then leaves for space as Orion Pax and hooks up with Wheelie and Hardhead as well as with an alien Rodimus befriended called Gronx and they go after Bludgeon and the first Combiner, Monstructor. Megatron and Galvatron are presumed dead.

Robots in Disguise

The War is over. With Bumblebee in charge of this title, him, Metalhawk (a Japanese Transformers Masterforce character made into a NAIL – Non-Affiliated Individual Lifeform) and Starscream lead Cybertron. However, something is reprograming the Transformers making them go crazy. It’s revealed to be Megatron after Ironhide, the Aerial Bots and the Dinobots go missing. Omega Supreme is taken offline and a long lost Metro Titan tells Starscream he is the savior of Cybertron. Megatron reappears looking for peace but Bumblebee wants him dead. However, Metalhawk stops the Autobots from killing him. Megatron, in a ravaged body is taken into custody but soon escapes. He gathers the Decepticons and gets a new body from Shockwave. He attempts to start the war all over again. But Wheeljack, before being killed by a possessed Prowl, puts a force field around Megatron’s spark – and with a simple command, Bee is able to stop the war from starting again. Starscream betrays Metalhawk, kills him, and blames it on Megatron. Starscream denounces his Decepticon badge and the NAILs declare Starscream the new leader of Cybertron. He then banishes the Autobots and Decepticons to opposing sides of the planet.

More than Meets the Eye

Rodimus gather s crew (Ultra Magnus, Rewind, Ratchet, Sunstreaker, Hoist, Whirl, Highbrow, First Aid, Drift and more) aboard a ship he calls the Lost Light. With help from Decepticon turned Autobot prophet, Drift, they go looking for Dai Atlas and the lost lights, a group Drift encountered while he was still a Decepticon. Tensions run high as Magnus is too much of a military stick in the mud and one of Galvatron’s former lieutenants, an ancient Cybertronian called Cyclonus, joined the crew. Rodimus, feeling as though everyone deserves a second chance allowed Cyclonus to join. They go from planet to planet and learn the origins of the Metro Titans and encounter the Decepticon Justice Division. They find a medical facility containing the off line remains of Fortress Maximus. The dark secret of the lost light is Overlord, who is in a cargo hold in a coma after the events of the Last Stand of the Wreckers storyline. He break outs and nearly kills Ultra Magnus but is killed by Highbrow – unfortunately Rewind dies alongside him in an escape pod he detonates. Rodimus learns Drift put him on the ship to find out about phase six Decepticons, which are omega level class badass bots – with Megatron, Scorponok, Thunderwing, Shockwave, and Sixshot also among them. Drift is banished from the Lost Light and stripped of his Autobot symbol.

Regeneration One

Continuing 20 years after the Marvel Comics published Transformers #80, R1 deals with Optimus Prime learning Megatron was still alive on Earth and destroyed the planet. He lobotomized the crew of the Ark that had been believed to be dead and killed Fortress Maximus. Scorponok is alive on Nebulas and strikes a deal with Grimlock for a new body since he is still stuck in his Action Master body which has no transformation mode. On Earth, Optimus and the Wreckers confront Megatron and Starscream tells Kup they need to kill Ratchet, whom Megatron has been psychically linked to since Marvel issue #71. After Megatron is killed, Spike and G.W. Blackrock tell the Autobots to leave Earth forever. Optimus stays behind and learns the Ark and Teletran One (the arks computer) are being controlled by the Dark Universe Galvatron and that Shockwave is hardwired into its computers.

This is how Megatron was able to destroy the human civilization. Scorponok puts his plan to take control of Cybertron into motion and is defeated by Grimlock who knocks them both over a cliff into a dark chasm on Cybertron. Hotrod goes in search of Primus and learns he is the living embodiment of what Primus use to look like. Bludgeon and Soundwave plan to use Thunderwing’s remains to take control of Cybertron. Thunderwing had corrupted the Matrix of Leadership when he took possession of it and tried to use it to defeat Unicron. Unicron is looming ever closer to being reborn as well.

A quick side note: Regeneration One is a LONG soap opera of Transformers stories all carried over from the time that Marvel Comics had the license for the property. If you want to know more about that series, IDW is republishing all of them in Transformers Classics.

The Transformers Prime comic focuses on the Dinobots mostly and bridges the gap between Transformers: The Fall of Cybertron video game and Transformers: Prime the current animated series. It’s told in mini-series format.

Transformers web-comics, Autocracy and Monstrosity deal with the early days of Cybertron and how Optimus got the Matrix as well as his and Megatron’s early relationship. It also explains who Metroplex and Monstructor are and how they fit into IDW long continuity.

There are great Omnibuses that collect all the Transformer stories in chronological order for easy reading.

3. Tony Stark’s world gets rocked in this installment in ways that are new and exciting. 

Going into this movie I wasn’t quite sure how much of the events of Marvel’s The Avengers would play into the state of Tony’s mind—I purposely stayed away from most trailers and interviews that might have spoiled these facts.  Pleasantly, the film picks up plot threads from Avengers and runs with them.  In doing this, there’s a sort of natural progression of character that the previous two films lacked.  In short, after the battle in New York, Tony suffers from anxiety attacks regularly, causing him to flee at the mere mention of New York.  He also suffers from night terrors, and he is gradually distancing himself from other people, the most important being Pepper Potts.   The theme of Tony’s aversion to intimacy is also addressed and increased.   No longer the head of Stark Industries, Tony spends most of his time tinkering in his workshop.  Sleep deprived, and anxious, Tony isolates himself more than ever into a world that he controls, full of problems he can actually solve.  The post-battle in New York world is far too scary for him, i.e. alien armies, worm holes.  As the film progresses, Tony pushes past each of these obstacles and grows as a character.  At the end of the film, Tony goes as far as to destroy all of his armors, essentially eliminating his crutch, and moving past the need to control everything.  Without his buffers, crutches, and worries, Tony finally is in the proper emotional state to have a proper relationship with Pepper.   Finally, some actual character progression!  It’s such a drastic change for Tony that it actually interferes with his status as Iron Man.  Is he still Iron Man?  That very question essentially creates a nice little book end to the whole Iron Man trilogy.

2. Iron Man 3 sets the tone for the future movies coming out of Marvel Studios. 

Much like the first Iron Man set the stage for all the Marvel movies leading into Avengers, Iron Man 3 successfully sets the tone for what Marvel Studios refers to as their Phase Two movies.  Overall, IR3 takes on a more serious tone which is unlike the previous two Rock ‘n’ Roll driven tresses of old.  The threats are bigger and our hero is just a giant target flying around.  Tony deals with this first hand.  The cost of fame is the loss of any semblance of a private life and as a result, his enemies know exactly where to hit him where it hurts.  Loved ones like Pepper Potts are no longer safe and Tony has to tackle his demons head on to get to the point where he understands that he can’t control everything.  The rest of Phase Two will surely deal with the same sort of themes present in this film.  “How will our heroes deal with the ramifications of the battle in New York?  What is the cost of celebrity?”  These questions allow filmmakers to step away from the origin stories and status quos and really shake things up.  I mean, anything can happen now, and I’m super stoked for what’s to come.

1.  The villain is not a terrorist.

The biggest complaint I’ve heard about the movie is the lack of similarities between the Mandarin and his comic book counterpart.  In the comics, the Mandarin is this big magic guy with magic rings, and any time he faces off with Iron Man the whole theme of their brawl is science versus magic.  Admittedly, that would have been a great movie to see, but it doesn’t really say much about the reality we live in.  What the filmmakers decided to do was turn the Mandarin into a straight up terrorist who hates the good old U.S. of A., which is something that I was ready to roll my eyes at—I’m quite literally sick of big action flicks about terrorist:  every Nolan-Batman, the new Star Trek flick, and other movies I don’t care about.  The filmmakers took the Mandarin a step further, making him a red herring who acts out being a terrorist so the world has someone to hate.  The plan is hatched by A.I.M., a group of super scientist who hope to be the arms dealer of choice when the inevitable war breaks out again.  How diabolical is that?  Not only are the filmmakers making the point that terrorist aren’t the real enemy, but they are usually mere pawns in giant money making schemes across the world.  It all comes down to greed and that’s the real enemy.  I’ll stop there at the risk of being too political. Bottom line: The villain is not a terrorist.  The villain is human greed.

And that’s why Iron Man 3 kicked butt in my book.  I give it an A-.  What did you guys think of the movie?  Was the Mandarin thing really that big of a deal?  Leave your comments below.