When EA Chicago was closed last year, one of the issues unaddressed at the time was the fate of the studio's projects, a Marvel fighting game and a second fighter based on a new intellectual property. That mystery has been cleared up a little, as Electronic Arts and Marvel have terminated both the project and their licensing agreement, according to a GameTap report.
The deal between Marvel and EA dates back to 2004, when the companies announced a multiyear agreement for fighting games featuring famous Marvel characters alongside new EA-created heroes. The first offspring of the deal was Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects, a poorly received effort that saw its price slashed by 40 percent less than two months after its release.
Another mystery in the wake of the EA Chicago closing--the future of the studio's general manager, Kudo Tsunoda--was recently solved when Microsoft confirmed the developer's hiring. Tsunoda will now work at Microsoft Game Studios under corporate vice president Shane Kim. However, a growing tide of unconfirmed reports has Microsoft's own Marvel project--an Xbox 360 and PC massively multiplayer online role-playing game--being put on indefinite hold.
This is a shame really. Why not give Capcom back the license? Then we might enjoy online multiplayer on Live or PSN or even... Marvel vs Capcom 3!! I think there's enough demand out there for it, and it would be a million seller very quickly in my opinion.
The Marvel vs Capcom series has lots of diehard fans out there, so why not? It was once thought that since Marvel increased the licensing fees due to the then recent success of its films, Capcom lost the license due to inability to pay the fees. Not true at all. MvC2 was already ported to the Dreamcast, PS2 & Xbox more than 2 years after the arcade version of MvC2, but they weren't selling enough units. By 2003, Capcom & Marvel's partnership ended.
While I was going through some emails, I came across an email about a site where you vote for superheroes & supervillains and based on the votes, reveals who would win in a fight. Check it out!
Thanks Steve!
SuperHero Fight
Hancock is an upcoming comedy superhero film directed by Peter Berg and starring Will Smith, Jason Bateman and Charlize Theron.
There are heroes, there are superheroes, and then there’s Hancock (Will Smith). With great power comes great responsibility - everyone knows that - everyone, that is, but Hancock. Edgy, conflicted, sarcastic, and misunderstood, Hancock’s well-intentioned heroics might get the job done and save countless lives, but always seem to leave jaw-dropping damage in their wake. The public has finally had enough - as grateful as they are to have their local hero, the good citizens of Los Angeles are wondering what they ever did to deserve this guy. Hancock isn’t the kind of man who cares what other people think - until the day that he saves the life of PR executive Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), and the sardonic superhero begins to realize that he may have a vulnerable side after all.
Facing that will be Hancock’s greatest challenge yet - and a task that may prove impossible as Ray’s wife, Mary (Charlize Theron), insists that he’s a lost cause.
Hancock is slated for release on July 2, 2008.
Sad news to report, as I was watching CNN earlier, reports that Heath Ledger, who will co-star as The Joker in Batman: The Dark Knight was found dead in his Manhattan apartment on today. My heart goes out to his family and loved ones. Early reports say sleeping pills were found near his body. You can read the whole press release here.
UPDATE FEB.01.08 - Michelle Williams breaks silence on Ledger's death
Written by Kurt Busiek
Art and variant cover by Renato Guedes & Wilson Magalhaés
Cover by Alex Ross
It's an oversized spectacular blowout action anniversary issue, as Kurt Busiek, gearing up for his insanely huge next project, brings his Superman run to a close! A three-way battle between Superman, Paragon and the forces of Daxam! The Earth-shattering threat of the all-new Galactic Golem! This one's got it all, including a painted cover by new series cover artist Alex Ross and a variant by Renato Guedes.
Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers. For every 10 copies of the Standard Edition (with a cover by Alex Ross), retailers may order one copy of the Variant Edition (with a cover by Renato Guedes & Wilson Magalhaés). Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.
On sale April 16 • 48 pg, FC, $3.99 US
World War II is over. The Cold War has begun. The Age of the Superhero is in decline. But where are the heroes of tomorrow? From the perspective of those brave individuals who made it happen: encounter Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman, who survived the anti-hero sentiment of the Cold War, as well as eager newcomers like test pilot Hal Jordan and scientist Barry Allen, poised to become the next generation of crime fighters. All leading to the mounting threat of an alien presence on Earth, where dozens of characters from the '40s, '50s and '60s eras of DC Comics team up to defeat it.
Justice League: The New Frontier, rated PG-13 for violent content/images, is scheduled for release on February 26, 2008. The next release in the series will be Batman: Gotham Knight.
Welcome to the redesigned Comics Impulse! I'm still in the process of recovering posts that never published for some reason, but nearly everything else is functional. Please tell me what you think!
Marvel is pleased to announce that AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #546, beginning the landmark Brand New Day storyline, has sold out at Diamond (though copies may be available at the retail level). Written by the friendly neighborhood dream team of acclaimed writer Dan Slott (Avengers: The Initiative) and superstar penciller Steve McNiven (Civil War), and kicking off the thrice-monthly shipping of Amazing Spider-Man, this issues launches a bold new era for Peter Parker as he must confront the new criminal elements, new threats…and search for a new job!
To meet the overwhelming demand for this issue, Marvel is going back to press with AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #546 Second Printing Variant, with a new cover featuring the spectacular interior art of Steve McNiven!
"As the controversial first issue of a new era for Spidey, Slott, McNiven and everyone else involved hit this one out of the park," said editor Steve Wacker. "Love it or hate it, everyone's takling about Spider-Man."
ComicBookResources.com's Augie De Blieck Jr gushed that Slott is, "the perfect writer for a Spider-Man book," a sentiment echoed by SilverBulletComicBooks.Com's Dave Wallace, declaring Brand New Day, "a reinvigoration of the Spider-Man mythos and a return to the classic roots of the character."
Marvel urges retailers to check their orders on all issues of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, as the series continues to receive high profile coverage from Newsweek, Yahoo.Com, People Magazine, USA Today, The New York Daily News and more!
Now that AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ships thrice monthly, it's three times the amazing, three times the action and three times your favorite super hero!
Keep checking the new Spider-Office blog at http://www.marvel.com/blogs/Spider-Office for images and information you won't find anywhere else!
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #546 SECOND PRINTING VARIANT (NOV078192)
Written by Dan Slott
Art & Cover by Steve McNiven
Rated A …$3.99
FOC—1/17/08, On-Sale—1/30/08
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #547 (OCT072078)
Written by Dan Slott
Art & Cover by Steve McNiven
Rated A …$2.99
On-Sale—1/16/08
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #548 (OCT072079)
Written by Dan Slott
Art & Cover by Steve McNiven
Rated A …$2.99
On-Sale—1/23/08
SPIDER-MAN: SWING SHIFT DIRECTOR'S CUT ONE-SHOT (OCT072080)
Written by DAN SLOTT
Pencils & Cover by PHIL JIMENEZ
Rated A …$3.99
On-Sale—1/30/08
To find a comic shop near you, call 1-888-comicbook
Hello out there to the visitors of Comics Impulse... I'd like to take the time to apologize about the lack of updates for the past few months. I am working on some stuff right now that makes it hard to keep up with everything here, though soon I hope to add more features. More will be posted soon, but CI will be back very soon with new material.
I'll be adding some shots from the Syracuse Heroes Expo as well (turn out this year was great, lots of fans, tournaments and just an overall fun experience. I'd like to thank all the dealers who came, as well as the celebrity guests. We all hope you visit again soon! And again, thanks goes out to everyone who's stuck by me & Comics Universe/Impulse over the past 3 years!
Spider-Man & Mary Jane - no more?
The internet's been abuzz about this possibility since Civil War ended... but was it worth it? In "One More Day" it seems that Mephisto offered to restore May to perfect health - at the cost of Peter & MJ's marriage. He agrees to make the world "forget" that Peter is Spidey, and the couple spend one more day together, ultimately agreeing this was the best course and their love would reunited them someday. The next morning Peter wakes up to find he was never married to MJ, still lived with his aunt... seems the status quo now matches with that of the 70s/80s' Spidey, as his modern history is gone. You can check for the revised history after the break.
Joe Quasada has been pretty adamant about their marriage being nullified for a while now, based on the fact that Peter & MJ were married in the comics only to have it appear in continuity first before being published in the strip:
Sometime around 1986-87 the Spider-Man daily newspaper strip was losing some steam. Stan, who was writing the script was asked to do something to spike it and get people interested. Stan thought that the best thing to do was to marry Peter and MJ in the strip. He supposedly called Jim Shooter leaving Jim a message saying that Spidey was going to get married in the papers within the next few months. Shooter not wanting to see this happen in the strip before it happened in the comics tore up Heaven and Earth in order to get Peter and MJ together and married as soon as possible. Remember, at this point in time in Spidey continuity Peter and MJ weren't even dating, as a matter of fact she wasn't even living in New York. So, within a matter of issues, she was back in his life, engaged instantly, and married just as quickly.
Personally, I think it may be a good idea. I wasn't too happy when I heard his ID was publicly known anyway, and now the Clone Saga didn't happen? Even better! But does this mean Carnage doesn't exist, or that Eddie Brock is still Venom, now cancerless? Either way, we can get back to reading classic Spidey stories!
