And here we are, at the close of yet another year of the 21st Century. So while we run around making last minute New Year’s Day plans, or still lay in bed recovering from the Christmas partying, or mope while making a mental list of all the failed resolutions from 2013’s new year’s eve, here’s our Geek News Round-Up of 2014!
[divider]Singapore Goes Geek(ier)[/divider]
To say Singapore has finally gotten in on the geek action would be an understatement. Between the appearance of The Amazing Spider-Man 2’s cast at The Float @ Marina Bay to celebrate Earth Hour, and the cast of the Guardians of the Galaxy here in Singapore, you’d think that we’ve finally outdone ourselves.
But c’mon, this is Singapore we’re talkin’ about—we’re gonna have to do more than just gettin’ in on the action.
The 7th Singapore Toy, Game and Comic Convention held at Marina Bay Sands proved to be a great outlet for geeking out with not only some of the coolest stuff up for sale but also presenting an opportunity for fans to meet some of the biggest names in comic books today.
And to top it all off, Singapore got her own all-game convention with the first GameStart happening at Suntec City. With what can only be described as a resounding success, we’re already looking forward to the second one next year.
[divider]Marvel Scores Big on the Big Screen[/divider]
Between Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel Studios is having a stellar year in cinemas. Toss in X-Men: Days of Future Past and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the year by superheroes certainly belongs to Marvel.
However, the big news remains to be their unveiling of the Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer, one-upping the leak during which it was initially released. And if that wasn’t enough, Marvel release news on NINE new movies and some of the casting of new characters.
And not to be upstaged by their live-action counterparts, Disney’s animated take on the even-more-obscure-than-GotG team, Big Hero 6, dazzled audience and has now planted the idea of a Pixar take on superheroes… not that the idea needed any planting…
Related: Marvel Studios Announces NINE Movies
[divider]And DC Goes Big on the Small Screen[/divider]
And standing testimony to size not mattering, DC delivered beautifully with its third season of Arrow and the first season of its spin-off, The Flash on The CW, culminating in a crossover of epic proportions and mid-season finales that left us going “What now?!” (Seriously, if you haven’t caught up, now’s a good time.)
And for a more supernatural edge, NBC’s Constantine, despite displeasure of our favourite chainsmoker not being allowed to smoke on screen, has delivered a truer version of the hero… (though I do actually like the movie.) Unfortunately, neither a full season order nor a second season confirmation has been given and audience are still a little apprehensive about the fate of the show.
But hey, at least it’s still helluva lot better than Fox’s Gotham. Though of course, I’m gonna hold my tongue from calling it the weakest DC show until we know more about the incoming Supergirl by CBS.
Related: Arrow is the Batman We Deserve
[divider]Secret Identities Revealed![/divider]
Between Marvel’s and DC’s reveal of about a million movies over the next millennia or so, just about every actor/actress seems to now have a role as a superhero/villain out of a comic book.
From Will Smith as DC’s Deadshot in the upcoming Suicide Squad movie, to Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Stephen Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it sure seems like geek movies just aren’t pulling punches anymore. At some point, we’re gonna have to stop and ask “So which award-winning actor isn’t a superhero? And what’s wrong with them?!”
Will Smith, Tom Hardy, @MargotRobbie, @JaredLeto, Jai Courtney & @Caradelevingne join the cast of #SuicideSquad: http://t.co/44yp1KvQca
— Warner Bros Pictures (@wbpictures) December 2, 2014
More interestingly however, is the possibility that we may be seeing an old face for Spider-Man in Sony’s continuing franchise. With the lack luster performance of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Sony’s been considering a reboot (yes, again) of their superhero franchise and rumours (I’d still take all of these leaked e-mails thing with a shaker of salt) have it that ex-web head Tobey Maguire may be returning to the tights… Personally, I’d rather they just sold Spidey back to Marvel where he can be done right. Also, New Avengers anybody?
Related: Sony Hack Reveals Sticky Spidey Situation
Think anything else deserves a mention in this round-up? Sound-off in the comments below!