After a sabotaged experiment leaves him with super strength and unbreakable skin, Luke Cage becomes a fugitive trying to rebuild his life in modern day Harlem, New York City. But he is soon pulled out of the shadows and must fight a battle for the heart of his city–forcing him to confront a past he had tried to bury.

Michael Colter leads the cast, returning from his debut on the immensely popular Marvel’s Jessica Jones. Also starring;  Simone Missick as Misty Knight, Frank Whaley as Rafael Scarfe, Mahershala Ali as Cottonmouth, Theo Rossi as Shades and Alfre Woodard as Mariah Dillard.  Returning to the MCU will also be Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple.

Cheo Hodari Coker (Notorious, NCIS: Los Angeles) will be serving as show-runner and executive producer the anticipated series, as well as writer of the first two episodes.

Following the Luke Cage footage came the official (if expected) announcement that Marvel’s Daredevil will be getting a third season by Netflix, though no official premiere date was announced. Charlie Cox,  Elden Henson, Deborah Ann Woll and Scott Glenn will all reprise their roles as Matt Murdock/Daredevil, Foggy Nelson, Karen Page and Stick respectively, with Elodie Yung returning as Elektra Natchios and Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple.

Also revealed at the panel, our first look at Marvel’s Iron Fist. which will be hitting the streaming service some time in 2017. Marvel’s Iron Fist follows Danny Rand (Finn Jones), who returns to New York City after being missing for years. He fights against the criminal element corrupting New York City with his incredible kung-fu mastery and ability to summon the awesome power of the fiery Iron Fist. The cast also includes Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing, David Wenham as Harold Meachum, Jessica Stroup as Joy Meachum, and Tom Pelphrey as Ward Meachum.

And last, but certainly not least, came the teaser for the apex of the Marvel and Netflix collaboration: The Defenders!  The Defenders will see Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist come together. Marco Ramirez (Marvel’s Daredevil, Orange Is the New Black) and Douglas Petrie (Marvel’s Daredevil, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) will serve as showrunners for Marvel’s The Defenders, which will also debut in 2017.

As always, stay plugged in to SE for more Comic Nook News as it develops.

The post SEV’s Comic Nook News: Marvel’s Luke Cage, The Defenders and Iron Fist Kick off SDCC! appeared first on .

Jessica Jones is based on Marvel Comics’ Max line of adult themed comics. The Netflix version of her is the  typical example of the creative world today: take the stereotypical male model of a character and change the sex. Viola! Instant “new and fresh” character, unrecognizable to those who don’t read a book. Seriously, her private investigator persona is your typical male stock character: the private investigator of film noir from the 1940s. The hard edged, financially broke, investigator with secrets and skeletons in the closet, who gets into fights, lives in a dump, drinks like a lush, and falls for the obligatory attractive love interest. With her jet black hair and porcelain white skin, she looks like she stepped out of a black and white film. The only difference is that she has a superpower, she has super strength. Physical super strength that is because emotionally she is a wreck who would rather drink and run than fight.

The show is full of strong female characters both gay and straight: the super powered Jones, her friend with a popular radio program who can also beat up men, a heart broken doctor, a high powered attorney; and meanwhile all the men are crap. Roll call: Rueben is mentally ill, Malcolm’s a drug addict, and Simpson is a weak demented version of Steve Rogers (“Captain America”) who needs red, white, and blue pills (how corny) to continue his clandestine special ops civic duties. Then there’s Detective Clemons, the black cop who is more concerned about coasting his job instead of getting involved with Jones’ manhunt for the villain Kilgrave because Detective Clemons is just two years from retirement–wait a sec, that sounds a lot like Danny Glover’s Lethal Weapon character doesn’t it? Ah well, and there’s Kilgrave who Jones accuses of using his powers of persuasion to rape her physically, emotionally, etc. The man-hating behavior & dialogue is blatant. In regards to Kilgrave, Jones wants to “cut his balls off”, she teases him that he “can’t get it up”, and that he has a “Slim Jim” in his pants.  They’ll probably get nominated for an Emmy Award for best writing in a series.

The role revision continued with the obligatory love interest, Luke Cage, POWER MAN. Yes, the guy who went toe to toe with The Fantastic Four’s Thing and other powerhouses in Marvel Comics comic books is the eye-candy client in distress needing help to track down a kid; and what were the odds that Jessica Jones would fall in love with Luke Cage the husband of the woman she killed? Pretty much in her favor in a poorly written plot.  Cage himself didn’t play that much of a part in this series. This was not the way to introduce Cage to the world; he should have premiered on the upcoming Iron Fist Netflix series as a rival on some mission and had a big fight with Fist. It really bugged me because Cage is one of my three favorite Marvel Comics characters (the other two being Captain America and  Prince Namor–who Marvel Comics killed off after 76 years. Thanks a lot Marvel!) I would have much preferred a Luke Cage/Iron Fist film set in the 1970s. It would have been perfect. A killer 1970s soundtrack, and a film paying homage to the martial art films and other genres of 70s movies with wit and humor. The dirty and run down look of 1970s Time Square in New York.  With the eclectic Quentin Tarantino at the helm of the movie, or Robert Rodriguez with his grind house style of storytelling , either director would have done a fine job directing that type of film. Nope, I got Luke Cage as eye-candy for a chick-flick type of a streaming series on Netflix.

The fight scenes were pretty cheesy in comparison to the ones choreographed in the Daredevil series,  which is the superior Marvel series on Netflix so far. Jones and Cage were mostly tossing bodies around like Lou Ferrigno’s Hulk did back in the 1970s.  One hopes that the same stuntmen and choreographer on Daredevil will be utilized on Netflix’s Iron Fist, or at least professionals of the same caliber. This is a live action show; it’s not a play. There was dialogue, too much of it. Flashbacks were used but not for the most important part: there should have been a flashback or at least dialogue over the flashback as narration when Luke Cage was opening up to Jessica Jones about where he’s from and how he became “near indestructible”. It’s live-action: SHOW it, don’t TALK it. If I wanted talk I’d go watch a play at my local theatre; if you’re going to fight, FIGHT. If they didn’t want to show his origin on this show then they should have not used him. It’s an injustice to the fans of Cage and to those who are just learning who he is from watching this show.

The saving grace of this first season of Jessica Jones is Scottish actor David Tennant.  The popular and critically acclaimed performer well known for his fantastic turn as the 10th Doctor of the BBC’s classic science fiction series Doctor Who. The thespian Tenant (hey, he performs regularly for the Royal Shakespeare Company for sooth’s sake) took on the role of the demented villain Kilgrave, a sinister, selfish master of mind control who can possess anyone, anytime, anywhere..even groups of people. A former love interest of Jones, whom she eventually kills (“Spoilers!” to quote Doctor Who). Yep, they went and killed off the most interesting character of the first season who is played by a great actor.

Jessica Jones is getting a second season. Hopefully she will exhibit less angst and less self hatred, and cut guys some slack. She probably won’t wear the superhero costume she wears in the comic books; her confidant showed it to her and Jones rejected it so it looks like her costume will remain blue jeans and black leather jacket– a Fonzie approved fashion if there ever was one.

Although rumors are rampant, the villain for season 2 has not been confirmed as of yet. It’ll be interesting to see where the character goes from here.

The post Review of Jessica Jones: Season One appeared first on .

Celebrities have named their children after the stars of famous franchises too. For instance the beloved talented comedian and actor Robin Williams was a big fan of the video game The Legend of Zelda; so big  that he named his own daughter after Princess Zelda. They even shot a commercial together for The Legend of Zelda:Ocarina of Time 3D, the Nintendo 3DS game in 2011.

Another actor who named his daughter after a fan favorite character is actor/writer/director Kevin Smith. The American filmmaker named his daughter Harley Quinn, after the DC character who is in love with the insane Joker, Batman’s nemesis. The character is featured in the upcoming Warner Brothers film Suicide Squad.  Recently, Mr. Smith presented his daughter Harley Quinn Smith with the bat used in the film by the fictional character Harley Quinn.

Girls are not the only ones to suffer from having a father who is not only a celebrity but a geek and/or nerd. Actor Nicolas Cage named his son Kal-el, after Superman’s Kryptonian identity.  Cage is the nephew of Academy Award nominee Talia Shire , a nephew of multi Academy Award winning Francis Ford Coppola, and the first cousin of Academy Award winning Sofia Coppola.  An Academy Award winning actor himself, Cage was born Nicolas Kim Coppola. He took the professional name of Cage from Marvel Comics’ Luke Cage, Power Man.

Kal-el, Superman himself recently came to the rescue of Nicholas Cage. IRS troubles and other debt caused the actor to sell his copy of Action Comics #1 in November 2011 via an online auction. The comic sold for 2.16 million USD (United States Dollars), breaking the previous world record of 1.5 million USD. He had purchased the Holy Grail of comic book in 1997 for a paltry 110,000 USD.

Who knows, someday YOU might create a character that some celebrity will name their own child after; but make sure you pay your taxes because not all comics are worth what Action Comics #1 is.

The post Celebrities Who Named Their Child After a Character appeared first on .

The folks over at Marvel Entertainment have given word that the three-time Golden Globe nominee will be joining the Netflix series impressive cast when it premieres in 2016. Braga will play the role of Soledad Temple, the mother of Claire Temple, who is played by Rosario Dawson.

“A character as strong as Claire needs an equally powerful mother,” said Jeph Loeb, Executive Producer and Head of Marvel Television, “and with Sonia we found the perfect actress to deliver the stellar performance we needed. In ‘Marvel’s Luke Cage,’ fans will now get a chance to see where Claire got the fire we love her for.”

Executive Producer and Showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker had this to say on Braga joining the Hero for Hire’s ranks. “Sonia Braga? Rosario Dawson? ‘Nuff said. I’m tuning in. When it came to finding someone who was both formidable yet possessed a light touch, Sonia was the perfect choice and has been a Godsend.”

    Created by Archie Goodwin and John Romita, Sr., Luke Cage made his Marvel Comics debut in 1972, in the inaugural issue of “Luke Cage, Hero for Hire.” An ex-con turned superhero (for a price), Cage (aka Power Man) has gone on to become one of Marvel’s most recognizable and popular superheroes, his catchphrase”Sweet Christmas!” becoming one of the more notable ones in the Marvel brand.

Cage made his inaugural appearance within the MCU in the recently released Marvel’s Jessica Jones. Fans both new and old will get to see much more of him when his own series drops on Netflix in 2016.

When a sabotaged experiment leaves him with super strength and unbreakable skin, Luke Cage becomes a fugitive trying to rebuild his life in modern day Harlem, New York, and must soon confront his past and fight a battle for the heart of his city.

Cheo Hodari Coker (Notorious, NCIS: Los Angeles) will be serving as show-runner and executive producer the anticipated series, as well as writer of the first two episodes.

As always, stay plugged in to SE for more Comic Nook News as it develops.

The post SE’s Comic Nook News; Sonia Braga Joins Marvel’s Luke Cage appeared first on .