The Summers Family Tree

The Summers-Grey family is essentially the first mutant family of the Marvel Universe. However, with dozens of realities and timelines crisscrossing the X-Men mythos it is very hard to keep a track of all the relatives/descendants of Cyclops. In order to simplify this rather tedious job, I have compiled the following infographic regarding the relationships of the characters from the Marvel Universe.

NOTE: I have deliberately left out some characters, and only displayed those characters which have been the part of the mainstream Earth-616 Universe in some form or another.

Key to the infographic:

1. D'Ken Neramani (Earth-616)
2. Katherine Summers (Earth-616)
3. Christopher Summers (Earth-616)
4. Scott Summers (Earth-616)
5. Alexander Summers (Earth-616)
6. Gabriel Summers (Earth-616)
7. Jean Grey (Earth-616)
8. Madelyne Pryor
9. Adam Neramani (Earth-616)
10. Rachel Summers (Earth-811)
11. Nathan Summers (Earth-616)
12. Nathan Summers (Stryfe) (Earth-4935)
13. Nathaniel Grey (Earth-295)
14. Franklin Richards (Earth-616)
15. Aliya Dayspring (Earth-4935)
16. Jonathan Richards (Earth-967)
17. Tyler Dayspring (Earth-4935)
18. Hope Summers (Earth-616)
19. Nathaniel Essex (Earth-616)

In case I have missed something, your suggestions are more than welcome.

How to form a Superhero team of your own?

Be it Justice League, Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Teen Titans, Stormwatch or even the Defenders, superhero teams are far more interesting than the usual standalone solo adventures of a comicbook character. Obviously, everybody loves a good crossover with complicated plots bunching totally different characters together like a big dysfunctional family only to ultimately keep aside their differences and come together as a unit to save the day.

Alright, enough with the crappy introduction. I've been thinking about writing this post for a longtime now. What motivated me to write this post was the fact that I've been able to observe almost a pattern in the ways these popular superhero teams are formed. Broadly speaking the core group of the teams is almost the same: You need a Tactician, a Bruiser, a Cosmic Power, a Telepath etc. in your superhero team. So, what follows are the types of members you are bound to find in a superhero team.

THE TACTICIAN

Tactician Logic!

The League has Batman and the Martian Manhunter, Avengers have Cap (Even Tony Stark), X-Men have Cyclops and the Fantastic Four have Mr. Fantastic to fall back to every time they need to devise a strategy. Also, it is for the tactician to lead and organize the team. It is more than often the case that when all seems lost, the ever reliant tactician delivers the proverbial ace in the hole sucker-punching the the super-vile schemers, saving the day and earning respect from their peers all at the same time.

THE BRUISER

That's right folks, the bruiser plays the second-fiddle, ALWAYS!

With the Tactician accounting for the brains, the team needs brawn. Superhuman strength with nigh invulnerability is exactly what you need from your Bruiser. Superman-Wonder Woman for the League, Hulk and Thor for the Avengers, Thing for the FF and Colossus for the X-Men serve as the hard hitters for their respective teams.They get the job done when you need to smash monsters, smash buildings, smash comets, smash meteors and smashing other gazillion things.

THE DEMI-GOD

With the superhuman threats varying from an overgrown starfish (wishing to enslave the world) to jealous/mischievous gods (played on screen by a beloved English actor), you need to have a demi-god  and/or (if possible) a god on your side. Because time and again they will inform you of some mystic artifact, or call upon their kin from the legends to help you out, or even ask their almighty fathers to resurrect you! Thor is a god, a well known one. Wonder Woman is a demi-goddess although in the New 52 continuity, she is the new goddess of war among the Olympians.

THE SORCERER/MAGICIAN/WARLOCK

The Doctor's in! (Also the most cliched line concerning a medical practitioner)

What about magical threats then? Superman is as helpless against magic as a water-hose being peed upon by a territory conscious dog. What do you do? That's right you call upon an expert. Dr. Fate, Zattana and Zattara aid the League whereas Scarlet Witch, Dr. Strange and Brother Voodoo are the resident sorcerers at the Avengers Tower. As far as the X-Men are concerned Illyana Rasputin is on the rosters of the X-Men and her codename is Magick for obvious reasons.

THE TECHNICIAN

For your team to be super-cool you need to have super-cool comm devices, hypersonic jets, space ships advanced computers, teleporters and every other bit of far-fetched instrumentation a comicbook scribe can possibly imagine of. But, the question remains: "Who will build that shit for'ya?" Gee... that's why keep the guy running around in the creepy Batsuit (Also, that he pays their bills, we'll come to that later)! Batman is said to have designed the Watchtower satellite and the Javelin jets for the League and Tony Stark's prowess is all too well known. Beast works as the tinkerer at the X-Mansion.

THE SPY/NINJA 

One of those Hawkward moments. Don't worry Hawkeye is totally used to being helpless!

A super-hero team needs to run it's recon missions to get hold of the enemy motives and tactics. As such even the most useless (read powerless) former spy team members can be put to some work. Black Widow and Hawkeye for the Avengers for an instance. On the other hand Ninjas are cool! Batman is a Ninja and Batman is COOL, so Ninjas are definitely cool!

THE TELEPATH

What is worse than a dead Jean Grey? A live hipster one!

Ask a Star Wars fan, what do they like about the Jedi. The the first and foremost answer you are likely to receive is "the Jedi Mind Tricks", better known as telepathy. A telepath is a really handy member for the purpose of interrogations, and also long distance secure communication. Also, to fight a battle on an astral plane and possibly win it you need an expert telepath like the Manhunter, Jean Grey, Charles Xavier or Emma Frost by your side.

THE SPEEDSTER

If you know what she meant!

"Quick, it's a hostage situation".. "Oh no! Luthor has planted boombs across the city".. "Only if we could travel back to time to stop him!" .. "How are we going to disarm them? There are like 100 of them!" 

Who's going to be your go-to man? Definitely not the pokemon named Slowpoke! Flash? Maybe Quicksilver? The super-fast guys are going to run errands for you and stop the shit from hitting the fan!

THE COSMIC-POWER WIELDER 

What if a pan-galactic empire comes knocking at your door and they are not interested in trading Justin Beiber for flying skateboards? In that case you need several weapons of mass destruction at a cosmic scale (or even a negligent space-cop using a ring for a badge would suffice) to negotiate peace and to function as a mediator and trade Beiber and his Beliebers off the planet anyway. There are 5 Green lanterns in the DC Universe for that purpose. 6, if you count the GL from the 40s too. Quasar, Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel are some Avengers with a cosmic repute as well. Although the X-Men beat all the other superteams by light-years in terms of cosmic diplomacy, they've had their fair share of ahem..  cosmic adventures.

THE BILLIONAIRE

Alright. You've got your team. You can build your headquarters with the state-of-the-art machinery sophisticated security systems, uber cool jets, satellites and the stuff geeks drool about. But hey! Wait a sec, who do you think is going to write your checks? Aaaand... that is exacly why you need a "Billionaire, philanthropist, playboy genius.. yadda yadda". That's right. Batman and Iron Man are seemingly powerless but they possess the most significant power of them all: "Being disgustingly rich!!" Money is all that matters after all! (Tyrion Lannister fan here? Anybody?) 

Wrapping it up, this one was tooooo long an article. I had some other minor super-hero archetypes in my mind. Left them out for some other time. Please "like" and/or "share" this article if you find it good. And feel free to leave in your comments below.

Goddamn'zilla: A Review

Godzilla has been a major presence in the pop culture for how many years? 60 long years! Yes! 6 decades of the Royal Monstrosity called Godzilla.

What started off in 1954 as a tokusatsu film went on to become one of the most recognised film franchises of all time. There have been over 30 movies featuring His Monstrosity.  The latest addition being the Legendary Pictures' Godzilla featuring Bryan Cranston and Kick-Ass fame Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

And, Godzilla's a cool guy to hangout with:

THE PLOT

The movie starts off somewhere around 1999 in Philippines, at a digging site where a humongous fossil is found along with a suspicious egg(?) of sorts and it is hinted that something escaped from what was supposed to be another egg. Meanwhile, in Tokyo Joe Brody (Cranston) is a Nuclear Engineer (possibly) working along with his wife at the local nuclear plant. They go off to work and due to some apparently unprecedented seismic activity shit hits the fan and Kaboom! the nuclear plant malfunctions, because that is exactly what such plants do! Brody's wife dies in the accident.

Fast forward 14 years. Sorry, forgot to mention that the Brodys have a whelp of a son named Ford who grows into Aaron Taylor-Johnson! Who is an Explosive Ordinance Disposal Officer in the US Navy. Brody is just back from duty to his home to receive the news of his father's arrest in Japan, because Brody Sr. is a hopeless conspiracy theorist who wants to break into the abandoned plant he worked at. Ford, being a dutiful kid and stuff travels to Japan to get him out. What follows is the birth of a colossal flying cockroach who feeds on radiation instead of the kitchen leftovers, oh btw Brody Sr. dies and his son finds it hard to return back to San Fransisco. And subsequently the US Navy tries to devise plans to bring down the MUTO (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism). But to their surprise 2 other MUTOs decide to show up, one of them being the eponymous character, who is supposedly the good monster here. 

THE VERDICT

The movie is painfully slow, with BAD CGI Effects and effectively and expectedly no storyline. Godzilla is a major pop culture icon and deserved better. With the success of Pacific Rim, there was a lot to be expected out of this movie. Where Toro's last venture was more or less on the same lines it was a visual treat, a fast paced sci-fi action movie, Godzilla has failed the viewers on both accounts. 

BOTTOMLINE

Eat a nuclear plant, and burp out stunningly refreshing CGI enabled breath!

Don't waste your money on the tickets, unless you have a fetish for watching a mountain sized lizard burping nuclear radiation on an exceptionally overgrown cockroach. Wait for the television premiere instead.

Man of Steel: Super Slow

With Zack Snyder, Chris Nolan, Russell Crowe and Kevin Spacey on board this movie was supposed to be SUPER-awesome. But, the movie is painfully slow paced. The first thing about superhero movies is the fast paced action, which was completely absent from the much awaited reboot to the Superman's Cinematic Universe.

THE PLOT

The movie starts off with the first ever Kryptonian natural birth in many millennia, outside a birthing matrix. Superman's story essentially remains somewhat same. Krypton is a dying planet. They possess very advanced technology. Jor-El, father of the child and a prominent scientist has foreseen the destruction of the planet owing to it's unstable core refuses to join General Zod in staging a coup. El escapes captivity at the hands of Zod and steals the Kryptonian codex which contains the genetic information of all the genetically engineered Kryptonians, managing to upload the codex into his son and sends him off the planet in a spaceship to Earth. He then suits up to battle Zod, who finally manages to kill him only to be captured and then sentenced to the Phantom Zone along with his accomplices.

Fast forward 35 Earth Years. Clark Kent who has developed superpowers owing to his Kryptonian physiology's exposure to the yellow sun, shows up on a fishing ship and goes on to save people on an oil rig. There he is caught in an explosion and is knocked unconscious. He has recollections from his childhood, revealing the problems he had controlling/honing his skills. He finally ends up finding a Kryptonian Scout Ship, which when activated helps Jor-El's conscience to communicate with his son and explain his origins. He also meets Lois Lane for the first time there on the ship, and from there he returns to meet his adoptive mother. Zod, and his followers are freed from their imprisonment after Krypton explodes. They are led to earth after Clark activates the ship. They demand the surrender of Kal-El (Clark's birth name) or they'll destroy earth. Clark surrenders to the army and the rest of the film is pretty physical, with Superman trading blows with Zod and his followers, then he is shown tearing ships apart, breaking murder machines, hurling satellites and then the final showdown with Zod, and by the time they finish they have easily managed to level down half of what was the fictional city of Metropolis.

TIES TO THE COMIC

Cover Art: Superman:Braniac

The origin of Superman is same as in the comics. There are minor changes in the way Krypton is portrayed. Instead of the crystal based tech as depicted in the previous movies, they seem to possess bio-organic technology. The way Kryptonians sent scout ships to search for habitable colonies on other worlds suggests Imperialism and seeing a scientist 

like Jor-El's battle prowess it would be very safe to assume that the Kryptonians followed a martial culture too.

Moving to the regular cast of the Superman Universe: Perry White is Black, Jenny Olsen replaces Jimmy Olsen. Lois Lane isn't a brunette. 

Then, there is a sequence, where Zod is overwhelmed on his hypersenses' first exposure to earth's atmosphere and subsequently Clark is able to best him (for a brief period though). I remember a similar sequence in Geoff Johns' 5 issue story arc "Braniac" featured in the Action Comics #866-870.

There are references to Bruce Wayne and Lex Luthor both! The satellite which Zod and Clark tear apart had "Wayne Enterprises" on it and then there were tankers from "Lexcorp" too.

THE VERDICT

Frankly, I'm very disappointed. I had very high expectations, but the movie was waaaay too slow. The non-linear storytelling has been the undoing. What I mean is that the "non-believers" would find it extremely difficult to relate to the events.

There were some patches of brilliance, very few though, e.g. the conversations between Clark and his adoptive father and then the sequence about Clark's hypersenses confusing him. These sequences were sadly rendered ineffective again by the Non-linear screenplay.

The movie was dominated by physical action towards the end, and there wasn't much to offer. 

But, I would commend Snyder et al, for showcasing the problems faced by Clark. The way he feels: alone in an alien world where there isn't anyone like him, his inability to save his adoptive father, which forces him to undertake a nomadic life. 

Also, taking into account the fact that Snyder was tasked at reformulating the Superman Mythos anew, it was surely one helluva tough job! But, with Nolan involved I expected something refreshingly exceptional and not to mention that despite all the positives the movie fails to compensate for the snail pace it crawls at.

BOTTOMLINE: The movie would appeal to the people who have a taste for 3D movies, the kind of people who found Transformers 3 great. To me, the plus point was the slightly newer (read darker) approach to Superman who hasn't always had the proverbial bed of roses for life, and struggles to gradually transcend into becoming a Savior to his adopted home, Earth.

Iron Mania Returns!

And, I'm back to my blogging ways. Back after a gap of what? 10 months, maybe? Can't blame anybody but me. Anyway, let's get down to business. I came back after watching Iron Man 3. The movie had already been spoiled by Shaumik. (He's a total jerk! He even spoiled TDKR for me the last year!)

Shaumik expressed his opinion over the movie, invited my comments, forced me into reading his blogpost full of spoilers, yet I found the movie a good one! In fact, one of the better SUPERHERO movies you are likely to see. (Okay maybe not as awesome as the Nolan Trilogy)

THE PLOT

The movie begins with a flashback narrative by Tony Stark, some 13 years ago. It's New Year's eve '99. Our timeless playboy Anthony Stark is in his Let's-party-Let's-get-laid mood. Accompanying him is his trusted bodyguard Happy Hogan (Random Trivia: In the comics, Pepper Potts and Hogan were romantically involved even married until the latter's death, that is) and his biologist friend Maya Hansen. While, Stark, Hansen and Hogan get into an elevator, in comes our Creepy-mad-scientist-next-door Aldrich Killian. (Who is well hopelessly nerdy in his looks) There he offers Stark and Hansen a job to join his new venture: The Advanced Idea Mechanics aka A.I.M. Stark tells him to wait for him on the roof and never shows up, this kinda ticks the nerd off and in a way constructs the major plot of the movie. Then, Maya and Stark discuss about her work, "Extremis" which is a tech doohickey which can be used to reprogram a living being enhancing their physique and even developing super powers.

Cut to the present, the Malibu residence of our protagonist who's working on his armors bullying his robotic instruments and exchanging witty banter with his Butler like A.I., J.A.R.V.I.S. Next, we move to Stark Industries, where Pepper Potts is expected to meet her ex-boyfriend (no cookies for guessing) Killian, who has mysteriously lost his buck teeth, nerdy glasses, crutch and the old nerdy ways. They discuss EXTREMIS and Pepper refuses any business collaboration. Hogan is doubtful about Killian, recognizing him to be the same nerd who showed up 12 years ago, he decides to tail his associate, which does not end very well. He ends up at the Chinese theatre at the time of a Suicide Bombing and subsequently is hospitalised. Meanwhile, Stark has been having panic attacks owing to his exploits during the Chitauri invasion at New York, and this has actually resulted in a strained relationship with Pepper, who has agreed to move in with him after the events of The Avengers. 

Between, all this there have been Suicide Bombings across whole of the world, with a terrorist leader named the Mandarin taking the responsibility. With Happy in a coma owing to a similar blast, Stark issues a threat to the Mandarin on national television, and well... Mandarin issues a preemptive strike, and some Ka-Pow, Boom and Bang later, Stark finds himself in the middle of nowhere, with his suit offline and him presumed dead. And, from there on he goes on to connect the dots with the help of a new found sidekick, a kid with a rockety mouth. There a few twists and turns, which ultimately leads to a spectacular climax, with 3 and a half dozens of Iron Man armors all operating simultaneously! 'nuff said! 

TIES TO THE COMICS

The storyline is loosely based on the "EXTREMIS" story arc

The storyline is loosely based on the "EXTREMIS" story arc. Then, there is the Iron Patriot! Iron Patriot is the War Machine armor painted "All American" commissioned by the POTUS to counter Mandarin. In the MCU, (Marvel Comics Universe) however Iron Patriot was the armor used by Norman Osbourne (yes the Green Goblin!) while he was in charge of the Homeland Security after the events of the Skrull Invasion. So, basically he was a villain. 

Norman Osbourne as the Iron Patriot. I hate him!

The movie also served as the official introduction to the Super Crime Cartel the A.I.M. into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which might have an implication in the Avengers sequel maybe? 

THE VERDICT

I wanted to watch a badass Mandarin!
*sigh*

Kudos to Shane Black, the movie is simply the best out of the 3 Iron Man movies. Downey Jr., is again a class act. You cannot distinguish if he's playing Tony Stark or if he's being himself. Being a comic book enthusiast I know one thing for sure that he has actually redefined one of the most dull comic characters of all times (Tony Stark, NOT Iron Man!) and transformed him into something awe inspiring! Guy Pearce sure did look nasty! But, it was Downey Jr. all the way. I somewhat missed Agent Coulson here. I hear that Clark Gregg is all set to reprise his role as the S.H.I.E.L.D. top agent Coulson in the ABC TV series, featuring the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

However, I am thoroughly disappointed with the portrayal of the Mandarin, I expected a lot more! In fact, I even had sought a connection between the Terrorist group "The 10 Rings" (which is quite obvious, or was supposed to be) from the first part and the Mandarin, which only seemed logical, but sadly there wasn't one.

All in all, I went to watch Tony Stark, and he did not fail to deliver. 

S.C.Avengers: IIT's Dopiest

The Inedible Bulk

The Bulk!! Hold your breath!!

C-Tease was a normal Web-Designer. Somehow, he ended up on the test site for a "Shit Bomb". The explosion transformed him into a yellow skinned embodiment of SHIT!!! THE INEDIBLE BULK!!
The Dirtier he gets, the Stronger he becomes. Behold, the wrath of the Walking Shit-load!!

Abilities:

• Shit Rage
• Shit Talk
• Foul Smell
• Bad Breath
• Bulk Spam

Phony Stark/ Iron Pan

Phony, in his workshop

Some say Hack Saw was a child prodigy, some say he was just another average geek. Better known for his
pseudonym Phony Stark, modelled on his favorite super-hero. Carrying an aversion for Teflon Coated pans, Shah, is a highly proficient engineer having dismantled each of his childhood toys and occasionally his own lappy (only to end up contacting Dell to fix it back!!). He is the Iron Pan, pioneer of Gujju Food Technology!!

Weapons:

• Khakra Cannon
• Dhokla Blaster
• Smart (read fart) Grenades
• Uni Cream Softy

Bore: The God Of Blunder

Bore in his Deep Slumber

Bore, is one of the lesser known Asgardian deities. Also, known as Bore The Blunderer, he lives in his human form amongst us in the body of Satteek Mehta. The Blunder God is also known for his fondness of sweets. The Frost Giants once lured him into an ambush using a Double-scoop Ice cream, and then again tricked him by sending him off to the hostel mess following a hoax regarding free sweets, when the Asgardian forces needed him the most.

Weapons/Abilities:

• Blunder-Strike.
• Paneer, the war mallet made out of the Asgardian "Uru" (not the Uru metal of Thor's Hammer Mjonir) variety of Cottage cheese.
• Blunder-Storm

Constable Roorkee

Constable (left) with Dr. Singh (right) ,
 prior to the experimental procedure

"Pandy", attended the NCC camp after his 1st semester at IIT Roorkee. At the camp he underwent intensive training to volunteer for the SCP (Super Chomu Program). As per the program, he was treated with Dr. Ashmeet Singh's (not so secret) super strength "Lal Goli" Formula. Thus, came into being the very first Super Chomu of all!! Codenamed as Constable Roorkee!!

Weapons/Abilities:

• Branch Changing Maneuvers 
• Frisbee, Dishes, Lids etc.(he is obsessed with disc-like objects)
• Ghissand Smash
• Super-Stealthy Shoulder Poking
• Ugly Dance

Director Paani-Puri Of F.I.E.L.D.

Director Puri, constipated much?

Paani-Puri, is one badass dude for a leader. Director of the F.I.E.L.D. (Faltu IIT Enterprise Leading to Disasters) Agency, Puri is the one responsible for assembling the aforementioned members to be his S.C.Avengers (Super Chomu Avengers) 

And, Thus came the S.C.Avengers into being!!

5 Unpleasant Spider-Man facts

Guess who turned 50 this year (except for my dad!)?

Your own friendly neighborhood, the wall crawling wonder: Spider-Man!! And, I must confess that Spider-Man is my favorite superhero second only after the caped crusader himself! 

Spider-Man, created by Stan "The Man" Lee and Steve Ditko debuted in the Amazing Fantasy#15 back in August 1962, and 50 years hence Spider-Man is the face of Marvel Comics!

I have been re-reading all "The Amazing Spider-Man" titles till date right from the very 1st issue, and I decided to share 5 unpleasant, annoying and even disgusting facts from Peter Parker's life. Before, we move on to the list, let me point out that Peter Parker's life is a total screw-up! He has had problems with his girl-friends, his aunt, his foul-mouthed boss, his married life with Mary Jane and the fact that he blames himself for his uncle's untimely demise (and Gwen Stacy's murder at the hands of the Green Goblin)

“One of these days you’ll give me an ulcer!”

Back in the issue #113 of "The Amazing Spider-Man", Peter's Aunt has been missing now for quite sometime. Meanwhile, Parker obviously searching for his "frail" aunt has to simultaneously deal with both Doc Ock and his rival Hammerhead, who are fighting for control over the underworld. At a certain point Peter confronts Doc Ock, and squirts his webbing on his visor to loosen his grip over him. Just when he is about to fight back, the wall crawler is struck by painful cramps and is forced to flee. Afterwards, when Dr. Bromwell diagnoses him (using a stethoscope ONLY!!) and it is revealed that Peter is suffering from an ulcer!!

I mean c'mon!! One of the greatest superheroes of all time has to call a day off and run away from a super-powered showdown owing to the spicy Mexican food he had for lunch? Only, if he were Batman! He might have carried antacid pills in his utility belt!

Uncle Ock?

Remember that time when Aunt May went missing? She managed to land up a job at Doc Ock's hideout, as a maid at his estate. Aunt May apparently inherits a nuclear facility on some Canadian island, the mad doctor wanted to make the most out of this opportunity and proposes to marry May, to which she agrees.

Had it not been an untimely intervention from Hammerhead, it would have been an 

utterly disgusting occurrence! And, I sincerely appeal to the Marvel Comics, please

for God's sake never ever publish a "What if..." title where this unholy union actually happens!!

“Flat-top my cousin?”

If marrying Doc Ock, wasn't enough Aunt May got remarried to John Jonah Jameson Sr., father to our very own foul mouthed, spider hating, flat topped publisher J. Jonah Jameson Jr.!! A total set-back!! Yes!! Poor Peter even accidentally bumped into their room, while they were making out!! *pukes* Marrying Doc Ock is one thing, but J.J.J.? Seriously?

Happily “un”married

Peter and Mary Jane get married in “The Amazing Spider-Man” Annual #27, 1987. After 20 years of a(n) (ab)normal married life, the couple is forced to strike a deal with Mephistopheles in an attempt to save Aunt May's life. Their part of the deal being that their marriage be erased from the timeline itself, as if they were never ever married! In exchange of which, Mephisto restored May’s health and erased Spider-Man’s secret identity from everyone’s minds, which had been revealed after Peter had unmasked himself publicly in the Civil War story arc.

This development was, sad and annoying, yet not as disgusting as the final instance on this list!

The time when Gwen cheated on Peter

The story arc "SinsPast" by J. Michael Straczynski in “The Amazing Spider-Man” #509-514 (August 2004 - January 2005) reveals Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin's alter ego, fathered twins, a boy and a girl, with Gwen Stacy, to whom she gave birth while in France shortly before her death. She vowed she would raise them with Peter and refused to allow Norman access to them. Seeing her as a threat to his potential heirs, the Green Goblin killed Gwen. Norman Osborn then raised Gwen's two children, a boy and a girl named Gabriel and Sarah. Due to Norman's enhanced blood, the twins aged about 2 to 3 times faster than normal and became adults within the span of a few years. Osborn told them Peter was really their father and was responsible for their mother's death.

The first time I read this story arc I was disgusted to the point that I decided to skip it when I re-read all the titles. Osborn defiled Gwen, Peter's first love and then murdered her! Norman Osborn is unlike any other super-villain. He is the devil incarnate himself! 

The Dark Knight Rises: What to expect?

Who's the MAN? B-A-T-M-A-N!

Yes, he is my favorite, he is everyone's favorite: The "Goddamn Batman". The conclusion to Nolan's Batman Trilogy will be hitting the cinemas within 3 days. Sometime back, while I was reading some Batman titles I realized that Chris Nolan had actually borrowed or umm....  lets say loosely adapted the screenplay from some of those story arcs. For instance, there were many scenes in 2005's Batman Begins, which had been taken from Frank Miller's "Batman: Year One". Then, again in 2008's The Dark Knight, Harvey Dent's character portrayal was very similar to that in "Batman: A Long Halloween". Coming to the 3rd installment of the superhit series, many experts have actually speculated that the plot has been taken from the 1993's 
"Knightfall saga".

THE KNIGHTFALL SAGA

It was a major Batman story arc, which added Bane into Batman's Rogue gallery. Bane played by Tom Hardy, also happens to be the main antagonist of the upcoming movie. The "Knightfall" storyline revolves around Bane who is hellbent on beating Batman both physically and mentally. To achieve his goal, Bane actually helps the inmates of the infamous Arkham Asylum to escape, and thereby weakens Batman. Then, Bane correctly deduces Batman's secret identity and after Batman is exhausted to the point of defenselessness, Bane storms into the Wayne Manor and then after a short brawl he breaks Batman's back leaving him paralyzed below the waist.

Wayne decides to hand over his cape and cowl to Azrael, a superhero-in-training under Batman and Robin. Azrael designs an armor for himself and single-handedly beats Bane. Meanwhile, some 15 issues later, Wayne fully recovers from his back injury, all credits to his lady love, Shondra Kinsolving's Metahuman healing talents, whereas Azarel goes rogue. The later half of the Knightfall focuses on Wayne's training under Lady Shiva who helps him regain his combat skills and reflexes. Finally, he beats Azrael to reclaim the mantle of the Batman: END OF THE STORY!

SPECULATIONS

• We haven't heard anything even remotely related to Azrael or Lady Shiva being in the movie, but, Liam Neeson is going to reprise his role as Ra's Al Ghul, leader of the eco-terrorist organisation "The League of Shadows" which in the film continuity trained Bruce in the arts of Ninjutsu, tried to destroy Gotham in Batman Begins and is believed to be involved in the murders of the Waynes.
• The trailers featured Bane introducing himself as "Gotham's Reckoning", which very much matches Al Ghul's own agenda further establishing somewhat a link between Bane and the league. And... this reminds me of the "Legacy" storyline in which Ra's decides to name Bane his successor instead of Batman (Remember Ra's Al Ghul wants Batman to lead his organisation!) thus justifying his I-am-going-to-judge-Gotham attitude!   
• Then again, Batman is shown to have retired 8 years ago after Harvey Dent and Rachel Dawes' deaths (in The Dark Knight). He decides to put on his cowl again to face Bane, so I expect some scenes inspired from yet another of Frank Miller's graphic Novels: "The Dark knight Returns".
• As depicted in the "Knightfall" saga Bane is expected to "break" Batman, not his back though, maybe just injuring his leg, but he definitely breaks his spirit! Enter Selina Kyle aka the Catwoman who will help him recover both physically and mentally. Ms. Kyle is expected to fill in the roles of both Shondra Kinsolving and Lady Shiva from the "Knightfall" saga.
• Although, I am unable to figure out the role Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be playing in the movie, but while I was watching the 3rd trailer to the movie, during a certain sequence I felt that it was actually Levitt wearing the cowl, so MAYBE his role is analogous to that of Azrael? But, that is ENTIRELY my hypothesis and I myself am not very sure about it!

Gosh, I'm so excited! The Legend ends! 3 more days to go! I'll be back with TDKR movie reviews next time. Till then goodbye!

The Pathan, the Patel and the Paggla: An Ahmedabad Experience

This summer I was a part of the "Summer Research Internship Program" at IIT Gandhinagar. I stayed there for exactly 50 days, made new friends there and promised them a post on my blog! This post entirely concentrates on their personalities and my experiences with them.

The Pathan

Imagine a Marwari who is also a bong, and speaks in a Pathani hindi dialect. Now, further imagine the same guy with a slightly weak constitution and an average height. Do not judge him by his appearance! Appearances maybe deceptive and Pathan's INTIMIDATING persona may just prove this old axiom true. Let me narrate an incident when we walked into a certain restaurant, and following was his conversation with the owner cum manager:

Pathan: Suniye...

Owner: Ji?

Pathan: Yeh tum humko kaisa dal deti?

Owner: Kya hua?

Pathan: Humko nai pasand aati! Le jao! (Wallah hum abhi bomb giraati!!)

The owner was so shocked that he asked for a spoon and tasted the Dal himself, he was so frustrated that he ended up fighting with a business associate of his. 

Then, there were times when Pathan told us about his adventures at NIT Calicut, including that one time when someone stole away his undergarments, to which the Paggla remarked:

"Abe jab tum apni chaddhi nai bacha sakte, toh izzat kya bachaoge?!!"

Despite his Pathani trigger happy attitude, he is also a Maadu (Marwari). His Maadu powers include the exact and precise calculation of how much each and everyone has to pay while paying dutch after a dinner. Imagine a guy who informs you:

"Kal maine tumhare 50 Rs pay kare the, aaj tumhara contribution 58.17 Rs banta hai! Aur parso tumne sabke paise diye the aur mera contribution tab 69.33 Rs. banta tha. Toh aaj main tumhare bache 19.33 Rs de raha hoon aur tumhe ab 38.84 Rs dene hain!"

But, our Pathan is very shy around girls. In fact, I and the other two proposed the concept of the Pathan Radius!

Pathan Radius: If a girl is within a certain minimum radial distance (called the Pathan Radius) from the Pathan, his body vitals exhibit an exponential increase, and he runs away!!

Pathan was the luckiest of us 4, he was the first to leave. He left us a very sentimental goodbye note, to which the Patel commented:

"Saala gay hai!! Love letter chhod gaya hai hum logon ke liye!!"

The Patel

A Patel who is NOT a gujju, lives in Odisha and speaks hindi in a Bihari accent! Interestingly, he was my roommate for the entire time period of 50 days. He has a slightly loud personality, more appropriately put, a Bindass one. 

We acknowledged him as our BABA, the spiritual Guru! He has this special way of his own to explain and correlate 2 entirely independent and unrelated events (which obviously left us awe struck!)!! Like any other contemporary Baba, Patel has a taste for girls (as a matter of fact I will not elucidate on that!) 

I and the Paggla devised the Baba Theorem:

Baba Theorem: Everything is a part of your life.

Yes! Everything is a part of your life, any catastrophe, any misfortune, always A PART OF YOUR LIFE!
Simply put, suffix each of your sentences with

"... Yeh bhi life ka ek part hai!!"

• "Aaj bathroom mein paani nai aa raha. Yeh bhi life ka ek part hai!"

• "Yaar mera shampoo khatam ho gaya. Yeh bhi life ka ek part hai!"

• "Arre dhatt... baarish ho rahi hai!! Yeh bhi life ka ek part hai!"

• "Ricky Martin gay hai! Yeh bhi life ka ek part hai!"

So... Everything is a part of your life!

The Paggla

No, actually he was the luckiest of us all. He was the last to arrive and the second to leave. While, the other 2 were busy with their Maadu and Babagiri antics respectively, the 2 of us had made a habit to observe them and record their exploits, and eventually it was him who constantly pushed me to write this post. I hope I haven't disappointed them.

Anyway, I'd be back with a Superhero themed post next time.

Superhero Zodiac Signs: Which one are you?

I have this strange habit of entering random search strings on Google and then further, googling related search results. For instance, today I happened to end up reading an article or two on the traits and personalities of various Zodiac signs. And an idea struck to me. What if, we could actually classify the zodiac signs according to the Superheroes exhibiting similar traits? This blogpost might be an answer. Also, interestingly only one DC Comics character ends up on the list, rest 11 being from the Marvel Universe. Check out for your birthdate and your own Superhero Zodiac. 

Aries: (Mar 20-Apr 20) The Invincible Iron Man

He is rich, arrogant, and a genius! Also, he is one of the fewer characters here who have all the qualities as listed in my source of reference. Highly energetic which is equally matched with his quick wit. Adventurous by nature, pioneering, courageous and not to forget slightly over confident at times. 

Also selfish, quick-tempered, very impulsive and impatient, leading to his frequent foolhardy and near fatal endeavors. 

Taurus: (Apr 21-May 21) Wolverine

Definitely ox-headed, fairly stubborn! But, patient and reliable in his own way. Also, Logan is warm-hearted and loving which is not quite evidently portrayed, but holds true. He is jealous of Cyclops and possessive regarding Jean Grey. The feral X-Man and Avenger is as adamant as his Adamantium laced skeleton and at times very inflexible and difficult to deal with. Known for his ox like rage Wolverine is a true Taurus.

Gemini: (May 22-Jun 21) Nightwing

Dick Grayson aka Nightwing, who was the first Robin and has even donned the cape and cowl while his mentor was presumed dead at the end of the Final Crisis. Very adaptable and versatile. Excellent at communication skills and fairly intellectual. Well known for his wisecracks. Even, the caped crusader has admitted that were it not for Robin lightening things up for him, it would have pushed him off his edge. Despite his confidence, Nightwing is nervous on occasions largely due to the fact that his mentor's are pretty big shoes to fill in.

Cancer: (Jun 22-Jul 22) Ms. Marvel

Carol Denvers, was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. prior to a freak accident which merged her physique with the Kree physiology. She adopted the name of Ms. Marvel and became an Avenger. Emotional, loving and intuitive. Being an ex S.H.I.E.L.D. operative, she is a very shrewd and a cautious adversary. Unfortunately, owing to her Cancerian traits, she is very temperamental and moody. And, her adamancy is comparable to that of a Tauran.

Leo: (Jul 23-Aug 21) Thor

Thor the thunderer, Prince of Asgard and protector of the earth realm, Midgard. Lion-hearted and generous. Bravest of the brave, yet arrogant and pompous. He was banished to earth for his arrogance and lack of humility. But, he learnt his lesson and Thor still remains to be one of the greatest and most fearless warriors in the Marvel Universe.

Virgo: (Aug 22-Sep 23) Mr. Fantastic

Reed Richards, unarguably one of the smartest men in the Marvel Universe is the leader of the Fantastic Four. Very modest and reserved by nature. Reliable, meticulous, practical and highly analytical. Also, very fussy and a worrier. Richards is overcritically harsh at times owing to his perfectionist nature.

Libra: (Sep 24-Oct 23) Jean Grey

Jean Grey, is one of the original X-Men. She is also the host to a cosmic entity, the Phoenix Force. Diplomatic, charming, easy going, sociable and idealistic. Although she has a fairly balanced personality, but she is indecisive, gullible and easily influenced, which directly resulted in the emergence of the Dark Phoenix.

Scorpio: (Oct 24-Nov 22) Magneto

Once a Gobal threat, Magneto has switched sides too many a times. The Master of Magnetism is determined and forceful to the extents of genocide to achieve his goals. One of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe. Like a true Scorpion he is both obsessive and compulsive to achieve mutant supremacy over the humans.

Sagittarius: (Nov 23-Dec 22) Wasp

Janet Van Dyne aka Wasp, wife to the scientist superhero Henry Pym, was an avenger and she has even served as their chairman for a brief period of time. The Wasp is optimistic, fun-loving, jovial and honest. In fact she is blindly optimistic, to the extent of carelessness and irresponsibility. Like Sagittarians, Janet lacks tactfulness and she has a very restless persona.

Capricorn: (Dec 23-Jan 20) Cyclops

Practical, prudent, ambitious, disciplined and patient. Reserved by nature, Cyclops is one of the best strategists and tacticians in the Marvel Universe. Leader of the X-Men, Cyclops projects concussive blasts (and not heat rays or lasers!!) from his special Ruby-Quartz visor. Like any Capricorn, Cyclops is a bit insensitive at times and focuses only on his goals despite what his teammates think.

Aquarius: (Jan 21-Feb 19) Deadpool

Wade Wilson aka Deadpool, the merc with a mouth. Friendly in his own way, Wilson is very original and inventive when it comes to killing. Perverted to the utmost extents of imagination, Deadpool is very unpredictable owing to his unstable psyche. Further, he is a cold blooded assassin, unemotional and detached by nature! (But, Deadpool is simply AWESOME!!!) 

Pisces: (Feb 20-Mar 20) Spiderman

Imaginative, sensitive, compassionate and kind. Time and again Peter Parker aka Spiderman has proved his selflessness with his heroic deeds. But, owing to his so called Parker Luck, Peter has grown into an escapist and he is very secretive when it comes to his super-hero life. Spiderman is unarguably the greatest hero in the entire Marvel Universe. 

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