Month: November 2017

Character Of The Month: December 2017: Steppenwolf

Ben DeSanti

Hello, and welcome once again to the Blog Of Hell’s Kitchen. This week, we have a Character Of The Month article about Steppenwolf, most famously known as a C-list villain and Darkseid’s uncle in the comics. Steppenwolf appeared in November’s Justice League as the main villain of the movie and was portrayed by Ciaran Hinds (Game Of Thrones) through CGI and motion capture technology, which is why I’ve selected him for this Character Of The Month article. Steppenwolf has never before appeared in live-action. However, as per usual, this article will only go over the featured character’s history from the comics, and not what they’ve done in other film and television projects. So, without further ado, let’s get to it.

As one of the New Gods, Steppenwolf is the uncle of Darkseid and is a member of Darkseid’s Elite. He leads the military of Apokolips and rides a hoverbike. Steppenwolf is one of the earliest survivors of Doomsday, the monster who once killed Superman. Steppenwolf took an Apokolips shuttle with Darkseid to the planet of Bylan 5. Darkseid forced the planet’s princess to marry him, but the proceedings were stopped when Doomsday attacked. Darkseid ignored Steppenwolf’s orders to use omega beams and, engaged Darkseid in hand-to-hand combat. Steppenwolf saw the destruction that has been brought upon the planet, and he teleported Darkseid out of harm’s way, agreeing with Darkseid not to mention it to anyone. Doomsday escaped Bylan 5 by stowing away on the Apokolips shuttle.

Steppenwolf appears later when Mister Miracle gains godlike powers over life and death. Steppenwolf tormented Scott Free over his role in killing his mother, and in return is physically tortured. Scott Free ends up healing Steppenwolf, instead of killing him as he had desired. Steppenwolf appears even later as a member of the board of the Dark Side Club. He is killed by Clock King, who was using the club for gladiator fights.

Alright, thank you so much for reading. If you want to see more of Steppenwolf, you can find him in Justice League, which is now in theatres in North America and most international markets. Please remember to tune in Friday for my review on Thor: Ragnarok. Thank you again for reading, and remember, have a nerdy day.

Justice League Theories

Ben DeSanti

Hello, and welcome once again to another edition of my Theories series. If you read the title, you should already know this article in on Justice League, which releases in the United States next Friday, November 17th. The reportedly 1-hour-and-59-minute movie is set to star Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/ Batman, Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/ Superman, Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/ Wonder Woman, Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/ The Flash, Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/ Aquaman, Ray Fisher as Victor Stone/ Cyborg, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Jim Gordon, and Ciaran Hinds as Steppenwolf, just to name a few. Their cast list is stuffed with talent. Anyways, let’s get into it.

My first theory involves Superman and his method of resurrection, which has been confirmed to happen during the film. My theory says that at the end of Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, when the dirt around Superman’s coffin levitates, that is not signaling that Superman is alive, it’s signaling that Steppenwolf has arrived at his grave in Smallville. I think Steppenwolf will throw Superman’s body into the fires of Apokolips to resurrect him. The fires of Apokolips would turn him evil before probably being turned back on the side of the Justice League. It would certainly make for an interesting arc, especially from Batman and Wonder Woman’s point of view. Superman’s death is the reason that Batman attempts to start the Justice League in the first place. If the reason you did something after you started that something came back from the dead, I’m thinking you would have some second thoughts about that thing you did because of the thing.

My second theory is actually very closely associated with my first theory, in terms of being related to Superman and his resurrection. I believe that after Superman is resurrected by Steppenwolf throwing him into the fires of Apokolips, Superman will come, at least initially, on Steppenwolf’s side. After Superman comes back to life, I believe Steppenwolf will give him the black suit from the comics, which we’ve seen short glimpses of during the production of Justice League. I believe he’ll wear this black suit for the time that he fights on the side of Steppenwolf, and then once he is converted back to the side of the Justice League, which is when he will be given a brand new version of his original blue costume, most likely by Batman.

My final theory involves where Steppenwolf will actually be headquartered while on Earth. Obviously, he has Apokolips, but I think he will only use the fires of Apokolips to revive Superman and will be forced to stay on Earth for the time of his campaign on Earth. Perhaps the boom tubes stop being able to take them to Apokolips after they return to Earth with the resurrected Superman to fight the Justice League and bring about the end of the world. As far as I’ve heard from my sources, Steppenwolf will take up base at Chernobyl. The site at Chernobyl is such an ominous -looking scene, I think it would be perfect for the base of operations for Steppenwolf. It’s so rarely used as a setting in films, and I think it will certainly make for some good cinema.

Alright, thank you so much for reading. If you want to see more of the Justice League, you can find them in Justice League, which debuts November 17th. Please remember to tune in on Friday for my Character of the Month article on Steppenwolf. Thank you again for reading, and remember, have a nerdy day.

The Punisher Theories

Ben DeSanti

Hello, and welcome once again to another edition of my Theories series. If you read the title, you should already know this article in on Marvel’s The Punisher, which releases in the United States next Friday, November 17th. The 13-episode season is set to star Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/ The Punisher, Ben Barnes as Billy Russo, Ebon Moss- Bachrach as David Lieberman/ Micro, Amber Rose Revah as Dinah Madani, Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page, Daniel Webber as Lewis Walcott, Jason R. Moore as Curtis Hoyle, Paul Schulze as Rawlins, Jamie Ray Newman as Sarah Lieberman, and Michael Nathanson as Sam Stein, just to name a few. Seriously, their cast list is absolutely stuffed with talent. Anyways, let’s get into it.

First off, I want to say that I think that Billy Russo will end up with his signature incredibly disfigured face at the end of the season. Like I said in my Character of The Month article on Jigsaw back in October, in the comics, Jigsaw’s face becomes disfigured when he is thrown out of a window by Frank Castle after he had found out that Russo was responsible for the death of his wife and children. I think that Russo will start the season out as an ally to Castle, and Castle will slowly start to not trust Russo because of his witnessing of some shady goings on at Anvil, Russo’s private military corporation. Castle will end up finding out that Russo was helping Ray Schoonover, their old captain who was revealed to be the Blacksmith in Marvel’s Daredevil Season 2, with the drug deal that ended up causing the deaths of the Castle family. Castle will track Russo down to Anvil’s main offices, kill all of the Anvil agents in his way, and then throw Russo through a window as penance for his family’s deaths. This would leave Russo’s character open to return in a later season as a more traditional interpretation of Jigsaw.

Secondly, I also think that all of the above could happen in a much shorter time frame. I think that it’s possible that, everything I’ve just described; Castle finding out that Russo was involved in the deaths of his wife and children, killing all of the Anvil agents standing between him and Russo in an epic battle, and throwing Russo through a window, could actually happen much earlier. Perhaps around the ninth or tenth episode, that is when everything could come to a head, and Russo is thrown out of the window at the end of the episode. Castle could amass his arsenal while Russo, with a newly disfigured face, could recruit more agents to his cause. If that were to happen, maybe there would be an even larger battle at the end of the season, where Castle finally kills Russo.

Finally, I think that Billy Russo and Anvil are connected to the Italian Mob, or the Maggia, as it’s called in the comics. It would explain my earlier theory of Russo and Schoonover working together on the deal that killed Castle’s family; Russo could have acted as a go-between between Schoonover and the Mob. If Russo were to be involved the deal that killed Castle’s family, it would certainly give Castle a reason to go after Russo. It could also set up Castle going after the Mob in Season 2.

Alright, thank you so much for reading. If you want to see more of Frank Castle and some of the inhabitants of Hell’s Kitchen, you can find them in Marvel’s The Punisher, which debuts November 17th, on Netflix. Please remember to tune in on Friday for my theories on Justice League. Thank you again for reading, and remember, have a nerdy day.

Featured News: October 2017

Ben DeSanti

Welcome once again to another edition of Featured News. First, we have some big news from FOX’s The New Mutants. Secondly, we finally have a release date for Marvel’s The Punisher. Finally, we have some big casting news concerning who will be playing Shazam in the DCEU’s Shazam. So without any further ado, let’s get into it.

Firstly, we have some big, big news coming from 20th Century FOX projects The New Mutants. This past month, FOX released a trailer for The New Mutants. The New Mutants are, essentially, the teenage version of the X-Men, and are traditionally made up by Wolfsbane, Magik, Cannonball, Sunspot, and Mirage, but can involve other famous past and present X-Men. This movie certainly seems like more of a supernatural horror than a traditional comic book movie, as director Josh Boone called it a “Stephen King meets John Hughes’-style horror movie.” The movie will star Maisie Williams (Game Of Thrones) and Charlie Heaton (Stranger Things) and will debut on April 13th, 2018.

Secondly, we finally have a release date for Marvel’s The Punisher. Back in October, Marvel canceled an event at New York Comic-Con for Marvel’s The Punisher because of the Las Vegas Shooting on October 1st. As someone currently living in Las Vegas, I felt it was a classy move on part of Marvel. However, I was still pretty ready to see what was in store for Frank Castle in a full 13-episode season. After Marvel believed it was acceptable to hold off on The Punisher, they released a trailer which announced the official release date for Marvel’s The Punisher, which is November 17th, 2017. November 17th is also the same day Justice League comes out in theatres, so I plan to roll out my Marvel’s The Punisher Theories on November 10th and then debuting Justice League Theories on November 17th.

Finally, we have some major casting news from the pre-production of Shazam! Zachary Levi, the star of the TV Show Chuck, has been cast as the adult version of Billy Batson, or his alter ego, Shazam. Grace Fulton (Annable: Creation) has also supposedly been cast as Mary Marvel, and Mark Strong (Kingsman, Kingsman 2: The Golden Circle) is reportedly in talks to play Doctor Sivana, the main villain of the film. The original villain, Black Adam, played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, was removed from the film after Johnson decided to focus on a Black Adam spinoff. Shazam! will debut in theatres April 5th, 2019.

Alright, guys, thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed. Please remember to come back Friday for my theories on Marvel’s The Punisher. Once again, thank you once again for reading, and remember, have a nerdy day.

Thor: Ragnarok Theories

Ben DeSanti

Hello, and welcome once again to another edition of my Theories series. If you read the title, you should already know this article in on Thor: Ragnarok, which releases in the United States this Friday, November 3rd. The film is set to star Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Cate Blanchett as Hela, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Jeff Goldblum as The Grandmaster, Karl Urban as Skurge, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/ The Hulk, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Idris Elba as Heimdall, and Anthony Hopkins as Odin, with a cameo from Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Stephen Strange, just to name a few. Seriously, their cast list is absolutely stuffed with talent. Anyways, let’s get into it.

My first theory involves the Warriors Three and their fate during and after the end of the film.  I believe all of the members of the Warriors Three, or at least Fandral, will die before the end of the movie. My main reasoning for this would be that Zachary Levi, the actor that plays Fandral, has just signed on to play DC Comics hero Shazam in 2019’s SHAZAM from DC Films. It is incredibly rare for someone to appear in a Marvel and DC film in their lifetime, with only about 20 actors doing so. If Chris Hemsworth, star of Thor: Ragnarok, is to be believed, he stated in a June interview that it is now written in Marvel contracts that an actor that is currently under contract with Marvel Studios is not legally allowed to work on a DC Films, under threat of legal action. The quickest way to clear that up would most likely be for Fandral, considered a minor character with clearly not a large enough audience to even really notice that the part was recast from Josh Dallas to Zachary Levi after the first Thor movie.

My second theory involves Thor, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and Avengers: Infinity War. The leaked Avengers: Infinity War from San Diego Comic-Con 2017 started out with Thor floating through space and hitting the windshield of the Milano, the Guardians’ ship. The Guardians end up pulling him inside, Mantis wakes him up, and it’s assumed Thor will end up bringing them to Earth. Personally, I believe that Asgard will end up being destroyed by Hela and Surtur, who I believe will team up during the course of the movie. This would be a good place to jump off from in Avengers: Infinity War, with Thor travelling through space aimlessly with out a kingdom.

My third and final theory involves Skurge, an Asgardian who will take the role of Hela’s Executioner in Thor: Ragnarok. I believe that, while throughout the film, he will be on the side of Hela, but by the end of the movie, he will end up sacrificing himself for Asgard. In the comics, he serves the same role to Hela’s reign as he does, and I believe that Taika Watiti will end up doing the same with his interpretation of Thor and Asgard. I think that he will probably end up shooting down Hela’s undead army after having a change of heart, and then ending up in Valhalla, as all Asgardians fighters that die in battle do.

Alright, thank you so much for reading. I’ve officially cancelled my Expectations for movies, which is why you didn’t see one for Thor: Ragnarok on Wednesday. If you want to see more of Thor and other Asgardians, you can find them Thor: Ragnarok, which debuts today, November 3rd. Please remember to tune in Monday for my Featured News for October 2017 and again on Friday for my theories on Marvel’s The Punisher. Thank you again for reading, and remember, have a nerdy day.