The Silver State Chronicles

Oldschool Galactus is in FF2 after all?

While I enjoyed Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer for its escapist fun, I was a bit down that the traditional depiction of Galactus from the original comics didn’t make an appearance. I kind of expected he wouldn’t, but I missed it nonetheless.

Well, like most kids on my block I picked up my own copy of the DVD of FF:RotSS on Tuesday and watched the film again. It’s about 90 minutes long so it’s no big chore!

I had heard that a homage to the oldschool Galactus did indeed appear in the film, but didn’t really catch it in the theaters. Well, I think there is something to this argument. Some screen captures follow.

One very compelling image happens around 1:05:48 of the film – Galactus’s shadow is seen on Saturn as he crosses our Solar System. That’s one big guy to cast a shadow like that!

That sure looks like his helmet to me! WOW!

At around 1:21:25 or so, there is another scene. This time a close-up of the outline of his head and helmet.

That’s Galactus’s head and helmet alright – it’s the right shape. DOUBLE WOW!

Only a few moments later, at around 1:21:49, we catch another peek at Galactus’s head & helmet:

There is the oldschool Galactus’s head once again – you can see the outline of his helmet and especially the distinctive protrusions from the sides.

Yes, this is just circumstantial evidence, I know, but looking back, it’s clearly deliberate and a nice touch. So looks like the Galactus we know and love was in FF2 after all!

Excelsior!

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Excelsior!

Looks like our friends at the USPS have decided to follow up on last year’s DC Comics stamp series with a Marvel Comics stamp series!

Looks like a nice set! Some great comic images – in fact, they remind me of the early 70s ‘clip & save’ coupons in Marvel Comics – many comics of that era were mutilated because of that stunt! Haha!

The standouts here include Spider-Man, Captain America & The Silver Surfer. I question the inclusion of Spider-Woman and Electra, but I suppose they wanted to include a couple of Marvel Women, and lets face it True Believer, the field is fairly thin! An Invisible Woman stamp could have been inspired – just a stamp with no image on it!

Also, Wolverine is a fan-favorite but they chose the cover of X-Men #1, which came out about a decade before Wolverine first appeared! Strange…

Still, I’ll be picking up a sheet of these great stamps!

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Sentinel of the Spaceways!

The LA Times reports that SF fan-favorite J. Michael Straczynski, the creative force behind Babylon 5, will be writing the Silver Surfer spinoff film.

Sad to report that the creative types have turned their brains off at the door and suggest that a Silver Surfer film take a ‘darker route.’

That’s not to say a SS film can’t be ‘mature.’ I just get the sense that the film industry (and the comic industry) instinctively believes that ‘mature’ means ‘darker,’ and ‘darker’ means ‘mature.’ Neither is the case, of course. But given the junk both industries crank out, I expect no more from them.

Wait and see.

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…And Four will be Fantastic

Our friends at Apple have posted the new full-length trailer for Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which is supposed to run with Spider-Man 3 this weekend! Some storyline elements are revealed in the trailer, some expected and some not. Read on, True Believer!

US Military satellites have captured images of a strange, silver skinned man riding a surfboard and causing all sorts of havoc around the Earth. The military honchos do exactly what we expect when confronted with something they know nothing about: seek out the expertise of Dr. Reed Richards and The Fantastic Four!

At some point, the mysterious Silver Surfer appears to have an appointment to meet with another Doctor we’re familiar with – Victor Von Doom, Lord of Latveria!

It also seems that Johnny Storm’s initial encounter with The Silver Surfer has had an unexpected effect – he can now temporarily ‘swap’ superhuman powers with whoever he comes into physical contact with. Leave it to the ever lovin’ blue eyed Thing to test this out!

With the fate of the world in the balance, the only thing that stands in the way of planetary destruction at the hands of Galactus is The Fantastic Four!!!

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Well, FF2 looks pretty good, though you can’t tell all that much from movie trailers these days! A little speculation:

1. Looks like this film borrows a bit from some classic FF storylines – the original Galactus Trilogy in FF 48-50, and I’d bet a slice of pizza that before the movie is over, Dr. Doom will wind up stealing The Silver Surfer’s Power Cosmic for a brief while, just as he has done in the comics. I hope we see ‘The Ultimate Nullifier,’ too!
2. The principals have assumed their familiar roles – Reed & Sue as paternal figures, and Ben & Johnny as combative siblings, all bound by loyalty and familial love. Good to see – the FF aren’t just a superhero team, exactly. I have always seen them as a group of adventurers and a family, who take on more science fiction themed adventures than simply traditional superhero antics. Of course, the FF have strong elements of the traditional superhero archetype, but their best and most memorable stories often have a broader scope and significance!
3. Looks like they are having some fun with the ‘power-swapping’ phenomenon. Works for me – very Kirby & Lee! Thing is, this pretty much is The Super Skrull’s gimmick, so since we will pretty much see it done in FF2, odds are that a Super Skrull FF movie won’t happen. I know, it was a long shot anyway!

Overall I get the sense that FF2 will be some cool, escapist fun with a sense of humor and a comic book & science fiction flavor – in other words, exactly what the FF should be!

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Some Music to Accompany Marvel Mayhem

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Herald of The Destroyer of Worlds

USA Today continues its tradition of moving away from reporting the news and instead running press releases and helping with the publicity of the next flavor of the month. Today, they ran a brief article and photo of one of the featured characters of the next Fantastic Four film, The Silver Surfer.

Fans of the comic know that The Silver Surfer first appeared in comic books way back in FF # 48, at the beginning of the fabled Lee-Kirby classic, “The Galactus Trilogy.” I gotta say, though this pic is clearly intended to give oldschool comic book fans goosebumps, it leaves me a bit cold. I always figured the Surfer to be devoid of facial detail and this made his character (with all the requisite angst and shameless introspection) more poignant.

Wait and see!

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Dr. Reed Richards Builds A Mechanical Marvel!

One of the films I am looking forward to this coming summer is the sequel to the fun & funny ‘Fantastic Four’ film, ‘FF: Rise of the Silver Surfer.’ It promises to bring to life the legendary Lee-Kirby ‘Galactus Trilogy’ from FF # 48-50! Debuting in this film will be the FF’s versatile ‘Fantasticar.’

Works for me! The FF I always loved was about exciting, escapist fun, and The Fantasticar sure looks like exciting, escapist fun! You can read more about it in today’s USA Today – just click on this link!

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