Over the weekend, The Avengers shattered box-office weekend records with its $207 million opening. Also today according Box Office Mojo. the film has accumulated a whopping $500 million overseas.  The Avengers brought in another $17.7 million just yesterday in the states alone, bringing the grand total to about $744 million. The Avengers is currently estimated to reach $1 billion by this Sunday.

Naturally, a rivalry has started between fans over the success of The Avengers and how it will stack up against The Dark Knight Rises. Today, The Avengers will take The Dark Knight‘s title for being the fastest film to reach $250 million. Sorry Batman.

All of the original cast of The Avengers are slated to return for the sequel and even director Joss Whedon has an option to return to direct the film if he wishes. On a side note, Iron Man 3 is scheduled to hit summer of 2013 and Thor 2 will follow in the fall, and Captain America 2 is scheduled to hit theaters April 4th of 2014.

Source: Deadline

In The Avenger, Black Widow makes a comment that Loki’s “killed 80 people in two days,” to which Thor replies, “He’s adopted.” Naturally, the adoption community is outraged and is demanding Disney apologize.

They have even started a petition: Marvel Comics – Apologize to Adoption Community!

“Sooo..according to your scriptwriter, the fact [Loki] was adopted is the reason he is a bad guy!

Being adopted is NOT something to use for the butt of jokes! Marvel, immediately cease using adoption as the butt of jokes AND issue a public apology to the adoption community!”

This is nothing new to Portal fans. Back around the same time last year, parents of adopted children were outraged by how the game’s main protagonists verbally attacked the main character and said she was adopted.

Marvel or Disney, has yet to release a official statement but will keep you posted.

Source: Bleeding Cool

Recently,the former webslinger sat down with his successor to talk about how he is fitting into his old tights and how the young star is dealing with his sudden rush of super stardom.

Tobey Maguire: ….What kind of effect has this had on you?

Andrew Garfield: The main thing I’m thinking about and worrying about is what happens after this movie comes out. What was your experience when you became Spider-Man in people’s eyes? I’m interested to hear what you have to say about the whole life change that it brings. Because right now I have a host of fears that I’m contending with on a minute-to-minute basis. I’m not in the reality of it yet, so I’m sure I’m imagining it will be much worse than it is. I admire you so much because you’re an actor and that’s all you’ve ever been and all you ever will be. It must be very hard to hold on to the simple fact of wanting to be an actor, to tell stories and not have your image become bigger than your art. Do you have a recollection of a definite change, or was it a seamless thing?

TM: I think our thing was a little bit different because movies hadn’t been doing the sort of opening-weekend business that’s fairly common—even expected—today. The first Harry Potter came out about six months before us and it was this phenom- enon from Day one. it was so wild because it was a new thing at that moment—and i’m not saying that hasn’t happened in movie history, but at the time that was a big jump. and then that happened with us. People didn’t anticipate [2002's Spider- Man] to be like that. Leading up to it you start to get reactions and people tell you, you know, what the tracking is and what range your opening weekend box office is likely to be. but for me it was kind of unexpected. So much shifted in my life the weekend the movie came out. it was shocking.

The two Spider-men also bonded over telling tales of their auditions for the part and how bizarre their screen tests were.

TM: What was the process? How did you end up being the guy?

AG: It was pretty basic, apart from it being more dragged out and pressure-filled and dra- matic than any other audition process I’ve ever been through. They like to put you through the ringer, in the respect that it creates drama and tension among a generation of actors.

TM: [Laughs]

AG: And they succeed every time, it seems. But, no, it was great. I’m friends with a few of the guys who were up for it, and I actually had dinner with Jamie [Bell] the night of my screen test and his screen test. We compared notes and war stories, and we kind of got past the ridiculousness of it all and thought it would be a nice idea to get everyone together and kind of interview each other about how messed up the process is, being against each other, and remember that we’re all in it together, knowing that when you take off that bodysuit someone else is going to be stepping into your sweat immediately after. It’s a weird kind of cattle call. But Marc [Webb] was great. He was very open and encouraging. You have the monitoring area with literally about 30 people judging you, looking at your face and whispering to each other—it’s one of the most disconcerting and kind of humiliating things to go through, if you’re aware of it, you know what I mean?

TM: Yeah, I completely understand.

Tobey also reveals in the interview that he was watching the development of the new film and was especially happy when both, Marc Webb and Andrew Garfield, were attached to the project.

TM: When it was coming together, I was particularly excited at two moments: one was when [director] Marc Webb got involved. I think he’s an interesting and cool choice. and then I was certainly curious as to who was going to play Peter Parker. When I heard it was you, I was literally like, Fucking perfect!

AG: Oh, man!

TM: I just want it to be great, and I thought, What a great actor andrew is, i’m glad that’s what’s happening here.

AG: That’s so nice of you.

It’s very cool to see Tobey give props to Andrew Garfield and in some ways it’s almost like a passing of the torch. We can only hope as fans, that The Amazing Spider-man doesn’t fumble it. As a fellow Spider-man fan, I can only dream that maybe someday we might get to see both Garfield and Maguire on the same screen, at the same time, as Spider-man! Maybe Tobey could return to the franchise as Ben Reilly.

Hey, I can dream can’t I?

Source: Vman

Marion Cotillard denies that she’s playing Talia Al Ghul, Ra’s Al Ghul’s daughter in the upcoming Dark Knight Rises movie. Ra’s Al Ghul, who was played by Liam Neeson, was the main villain in Batman Begins and is the leader of the League of Shadows.

In a recent interview she said that her character, Miranda Tate, isn’t Talia Al Ghul and that she has “a very, very small role.” Cotillard said, “They [Wayne Enterprise] go through difficulties, and she wants to help provide the world clean energies. She’s a good guy.” She goes on to say that her character remains good.

Yeah, whatever you say, Marion.

Possible spoilers ahead: When the film was being shot in public, photos popped up of Marion Cotillard dressed in garb that looks similar to what Liam Neeson’s Ra’s Al Ghul wore in Batman Begins. Okay, so her outfit is more colorful, but both their outfits are very Asian-looking. It may be a stretch to connect the two together, but come on, we have two white actors dressed in Asian clothing.

She mentions that Tate is a business woman and has a very small role. Well of course Tate has a small role, that’s because her real identity, Talia Al Ghul, has a bigger role. Why would a character with a small role have a scene that looks like she’s a mastermind? Look at the photo below and tell me she still has a small role. It looks like she’s being escorted by Bane’s men. Remember that the League of Shadows is able to infiltrate and blend in.

If that doesn’t do it, what about this photo of her getting on top of the Tumbler? What the hell is she doing on top of the Tumbler?

From all the pictures gathered, we can assume that Miranda Tate is a cover name for Talia Al Ghul. She is spying for the League of Shadows and finds a way to infiltrate Wayne Enterprises. It’s through Wayne Enterprises that she’s able to get information about the Tumblers. I know for sure that Lucius Fox isn’t just handing those out to villains like free candy. Okay, so she may NOT be Talia Al Ghul, but we can safely assume that she’s not who she appears to be.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

While Record Of Agarest War Zero was a bit of a let down in the Limited Edition department, Record Of Agarest War 2 just took it to a whole new level. First up is the ”Heroic Trials from the Lands of Agarest” artbook. You also get an 8″ x 12″ hand towel that’s shaped in the form of a heart, and lastly an inflatable doll in the shape of Felenne from the game.

Oh Aksys games, your creepy and unique Limited Editions get our wallets open. I know what I want to buy this summer when Record Of Agarest War 2 is released for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Oh, did I mention the PlayStation 3 version has a massage mini-game using the PS Move? Is it me, or are things getting hotter?

Are you looking forward to the release of Persona 4 Arena (Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena in Japan) in the summer? Well, if you were planning on customizing your stick (Hori, Madcatz or any other brand), you can save your time with Hori’s new Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena Arcade Stick.

Right now it’s only available via Amazon.jp for ¥ 9,720 (around $130) as a pre-order. It has a release date of August 2nd, the same date as the game. No word from Hori or Atlus USA on if the stick will make it’s way to the US or Europe, but it would be a different stick, especially with the color scheme.

Good news if you’re a fan of either Kevin Smith’s Comic Book Men or Chris Hardwick’s The Talking Dead. AMC has picked up the second season for both shows, giving us 16 half-hour long episodes. Comic Book Men follows a bunch of comic book nerds/workers at Kevin Smith’s New Jersey comic shop, Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash. The Talking Dead is hosted by Chris Hardwick and is a place where fans can talk about The Walking Dead.

As a fan of Comic Book Men, I’m pretty excited to see the cast return including Walt, Bry, Mike, and Ming. For the next season, I’m hoping to see more events outside of the store and maybe seeing some competition from other comic book stores. It’d also be fun to see the crew set up shop at a convention too. Let’s face it, the store always looks empty.

Here’s what Kevin Smith has to say about this news:

“Pinch my fat ass, ’cause I must be dreaming! A thousand thank you’s wouldn’t cover the gratitude I’m feeling right now. And as you might imagine, everyone at SModcast Pictures is in love with everyone at AMC today! Rest assured, Walt, Bry, Mike, Ming and I are suited up and ready to hit the ice for our second season with Team AMC.”

And Chris Hardwick:

“‘Talking Dead’ has been an amazing experience and I cannot pile enough hugs and thanks onto AMC for renewing it. I CAN’T WAIT for Season 3 of Walking Dead, so that we can finally talk about Rick meeting [SPOILER] and [SPOILER]-ing him with a heavy-duty [SPOILER] at the [SPOILER]. And let’s not forget all the rest of the [SPOILER]s getting in on the action! [EXPLETIVE] me! It’s going to be great…”

My one dream with Chris Hardwick? To be able to have Team Nerd Reactor bowl against Chris Hardwick’s Nerdist team. Let’s make it happen, people!

I believe that Irrational Games had to make a rational choice on this one. Originally, the game was slated for a Holiday release but it has just been announced that the game will not be released until February 26, 2013. Irrational’s Creative Director Ken Levine has stated that they need extra time to deliver a better game. He has also stated that Bioshock Infinite will not be present at both E3 and Gamescom. I think that’s a bold statement that they’re making in regards to not being at E3 and Gamescom. On the stance of the delay to ensure the game is “ready,” I call BS!

The same thing happened last year when Mass Effect 3 was to be released in the fall against Gears of War 3, Battlefield 3, Modern Warfare 3 and Skyrim. I honestly believe it was a smart marketing strategy to delay the game to a later date so that it did not have to compete against other big name titles. In doing that, the developer has a greater chance of increasing sales as opposed to many people having to make a choice of which game to get. I think that Irrational Games are following suit with that concept so that they don’t have to worry about losing sales. Whatever the case may be, it looks like we’ll be waiting a while.

Here’s the official statement from Levine:

“I won’t kid you: BioShock Infinite is a very big game, and we’re doing things that no one has ever done in a first-person shooter. We had a similar experience with the original BioShock, which was delayed several months as our original ship date drew near. Why? Because the Big Daddies weren’t the Big Daddies you’ve since come to know and love. Because Andrew Ryan’s golf club didn’t have exactly the right swing. Because Rapture needed one more coat of grimy Art Deco … The same principle now applies to BioShock Infinite.”

“We are also going to hold off on showing BioShock Infinite at the big events of the summer, like E3 and Gamescom. That way, the next time you see our game, it will be essentially the product we intend to put in the box. Preparing for these events takes time away from development, time we’re going to use instead to get the best version of Infinite into your hands in February”

"sigh" No E3 for me this year

Here’s an artwork Kevin Bolk did of the Avengers ass-embling! It’s a parody of the promotional artwork of The Avengers getting ready for battle in New York City as the invading army comes. In the original promo, all the guys looked ready for battle. The only one that didn’t fit was Black Widow, who looks like she was too busy showing off her ass than getting ready to fight.  What Kevin did was flipped it all around so that all the guys were posing with their asses sticking out. Now Black Widow is the one that looks confused.

Check out the original promo art image below to compare.

When Cartoon Network aired Toonami as an April Fools joke, many fans were left with excitement and disappointment. Fans were excited because for one day they were able to watch their favorite anime shows, just like the old days. Fans were disappointed because it was a big tease. Ever since then there has been a big movement from fans to try to bring Toonami back.

Now with a movement like this, don’t you think we need an official anthem? Nercore rapper Richard Branson has taken it upon himself to create a rap song about his love for Toonami. This is a very “dope” track and is great as the official #bringtoonamiback anthem.