The U.S. may be far behind pirate kings like India, Sweden and China (though they're cracking down) but that doesn't stop some of us from trying!

Gilberto Sanchez, charged by an L.A. grand jury with illegally uploading "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" to the Internet before its theatrical release, was arrested today on suspicion of violating federal copyright law, authorities said.

Read the entire story on L.A. Now

-- Jevon Phillips

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Photo: Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Victor (Liev Schreiber) face off in "X-Men Origins Wolverine." Credit: James Fisher / 20th Century Fox

FOUR FRANCHISES AT A CROSSROADS

Talk about heroic: Four film franchises, one decade, more than $10 billion worth of theater tickets sold.

And more than that, in their very best moments, each of these franchises shown above delivered sparkling adventure and escapism for moviegoers. Now, though, with the decade winding down and all four franchises sitting a nice tidy trilogy, the question must be asked: Isn't three the magic number? Do we really need a fourth movie from any of these aging popcorn enterprises? Clearly, all of them will be written up in the Hollywood history books but right now the indelicate must be asked: "How can we miss you if you won't leave?"

Last week we gave you an in-depth report on this quartet of mega-franchises and their quests for a fourth visit to theaters. We told you how "The Hobbit" must escape the the towering shadow of "The Lord of the Rings," while Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" series needs to get back to its roots to thrive. We also explained that the "X-Men" future looks especially uncertain while the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise might be facing a one-man mutiny with Johnny Depp's distress over recent changes at Disney.

We also put the question to you: Which of these franchises is making a mistake by adding a fourth film?

You made it clear that "The Hobbit," with director Guillermo del Toro taking over with a new vision, is in a class by itself -- the other franchises may tack on new editions to cash in, but fans are expecting nothing but magic from Del Toro's arrival in Middle-earth. The remaining three franchises got a frostier reception. For five days last week, more than half of our reader voters named "Pirates" as the cinematic series that should walk the plank. Over the weekend that changed and (with a lot of late-arriving Depp fans?) the surging "X-Men" became the top choice as a franchise hitting bottom.

It's not too late, though, we'll take votes for the next 48 hours before declaring our, uh, winning loser. In the meantime, thanks for reading, commenting and voting.

-- Geoff Boucher

VOTE: WHICH FRANCHISE IS MAKING A MISTAKE WITH A FOURTH FILM?

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Photos at top, from left, Ian McKellen in "Lord of the Rings," Tobey Maguire in "Spider-Man," Halle Berry in "X-Men: The Last Stand" and Johnny Depp in "Pirates of the Caribbean."  Credits from left: New Line Cinema, Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Studios. Bottom photo of Sam Raimi by Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times

Betsy Sharkey is one of the two film critics at the Los Angeles Times. After surveying the great glut of fanboy fare this year, she got to thinking about the nature of the modern film hero and the inner workings of their characters as well as their appeal. Here's an excerpt, or you can read the entire piece right here.  

This summer's heroes may go boldly, but in every case, someone has gone many times before: three earlier "X-Men" and "Terminators"; one earlier Michael Bay "Transformers," a 1984 animated film and the pervasive TV series; and countless iterations of "Star Trek" on every size screen known to modern man.

It hasn't been easy to be the fresh prince this year.

Yet on they came in their own distinctive ways. For "Terminator's" Christian Bale and Sam Worthington, martyrdom drips like sweat from their brows. Others swagger with a cocky smile and an endearing arrogance, as Chris Pine does in director J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek." There is the tortured struggle with a darker animal nature, as is Hugh Jackman's fate in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," or, like Shia LaBeouf's Sam [in "Transformers"] there is the boy David facing off whatever Goliath happens to be tearing up the town.

Most of us have long since gotten past the notion that superheroes and the comic books and graphic novels they're so often rooted in are merely kids' stuff, having intellectualized their political and social undercurrents to death in recent years. But it's always interesting to look at our current boys of summer to see who we're looking to save us these days, why certain actors carry the mantle so vividly and why others struggle.

Consider Bale. One of the most intensely interesting actors around, he must have seemed the perfect match for the gritty, deconstructed post-apocalyptic future director McG and screenwriters John D. Brancato and Michael Ferris envisioned for "Terminator Salvation." But he isn't. The interior force field that works so well for him underneath the "Dark Knight's" mask is exactly what is working against him in "Salvation," a rebel-with-a-cause story that has Bale's John Connor leading an underground resistance.

Unfortunately for John Connor, to say nothing of the resistance, a leader of men Bale is not, or at least that's not a role he's been able to get his head around. His very essence seems to be solitary, which is why he was far better as Batman with that no-friends-are-required existence than as Connor, the man destined to save the human race from the "Terminator's" relentless killing machines, embodied by Arnold Schwarzenegger before he went political on us.

Bale's appeal is the icy certainty of survival that you feel deep in your bones any time you see him. That steel is at the center of his pilot in Werner Herzog's "Rescue Dawn." You believed he could survive the impossibly harsh, torturous Laotian prison and an escape into an even more unforgiving jungle. Though others start the journey with him, he walks out of the jungle alone.

But cold never draws men close, and that is why it is Sam Worthington's man/machine hybrid Marcus who emerges as the one you want to follow in "Salvation." The accidental hero, charisma hanging easy on his broad shoulders like an old coat, Worthington claims every scene he is in. His is an empathy you can feel -- he did good not because it is right, which is Bale's motivation, but because he cares.

One of Worthington's strengths is that ability to make his vulnerability accessible, that sense of a shared humanity easy for the rest of us to embrace. Cut from the same action/fantasy cloth, his next films -- "Avatar" and "Clash of the Titans" -- feel filled with promise.

READ THE REST

-- Betsy Sharkey

Illustration by Jacob Thomas / For The Times; text by Geoff Boucher

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It turns out Wolverine (or maybe the bare-chested Hugh Jackman) is a hero that women are willing to sit in the dark with -- females accounted for 47% of tickets purchased in the U.S. for the mutant movie this weekend. Ben Fritz of the Company Town blog has more early numbers on the opening weekend of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine": 

He's no Iron Man and no team of mutants, but Wolverine kicked off the summer with a solid $87 million in domestic ticket sales.

Add in $73 million from the 101 foreign markets where it opened simultaneously and Fox's first "X-Men" spinoff grossed $160 million around the globe, according to preliminary estimates from the studio.

The opening is almost exactly on par with the second "X-Men" movie, "X2," which launched on the same weekend in 2003. Given six years of ticket price inflation, which has totaled over 20% domestically, that indicates a significant decline of audience interest.

It's also noticeably less than Marvel's self-financed "Iron Man," which grossed $98.6 million domestic and about $97 million overseas on the first weekend of May last year. 2006's "X-Men: The Last Stand," the last film in the series, opened to $102.8 million in the U.S. and Canada and about $76 million in foreign markets.

The lower domestic grosses indicate weaker buzz for this year's first big film of the summer popcorn movie season. Though "Wolverine" and "Iron Man" had nearly identical Friday night ticket sales, "Wolverine" grossed 16% less on Saturday -- $29.75 million compared to "Iron Man's" $35.2 million. ("Wolverine" was likely hurt a bit by Saturday night's Boston-Chicago NBA playoff game. Fox found grosses were significantly lower in those two cities.)

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--Geoff Boucher

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Images courtesy of FOX

Ben Fritz on the Company Town blog has the lowdown on the earliest numbers for the summer 2009 film season and a certain hirsute mutant who doesn't do well with airport metal detectors.

Fox’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” the first big-budget picture of the popcorn movie season, grossed approximately $35 million on Friday, almost exactly the same as last year’s summer-launching “Iron Man” did on its first day.                   

Matching the latter flick’s nearly $100-million opening weekend haul will be difficult, however, given “Wolverine’s” significantly weaker reviews. If audience interest fades as quickly as it did for 2006’s “X-Men: The Last Stand,” which saw a 29% drop in returns from Friday to Saturday, the three-day gross could be as low as $80 million for the spin-off starring Hugh Jackman. “Iron Man,” by contrast, actually increased returns on its second day, presaging a remarkable box office run.

But even a gross in the $80 million to $90 million range would mark a very respectable, if not quite jaw-dropping, start for “Wolverine,” which Fox says cost $130 million but production sources peg at $140 million-plus.

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The cover of the Calendar section in today's Los Angeles Times has my interview with Hugh Jackman, who stars in the new film "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." Below is a longer version of the article (it was trimmed for space issues) so, um, think of this as a director's cut version for fanboys. I had never met Jackman before and, just as I had heard, the guy is extremely charismatic and engaging. I asked him if it was difficult at all to mock himself during the Oscars ceremony, with all those gags about his stage past and hairy superhero work, and he grinned: "That's just part of being from Australia. People give you grief, take you down a bit, constantly. You do it to yourself. It's the way we are." Hope you enjoy this article. I'm hearing the movie is going to do huge business this week ...

The walls of Hugh Jackman’s office are covered with posters for grand old Hollywood musicals, but on a recent afternoon the devoted song-and-dance man was in less graceful mode. Fists raised and teeth bared, he was practicing a number from swinging in the ring, not “Singin’ in the Rain.”

“When I first started the role of Wolverine, back for the first ‘X-Men’ movie, I watched a lot of Mike Tyson videos in my trailer,” Jackman said as he shadow-boxed. “The way he just goes straight in. I kept saying to the writers, ‘Don’t give me long, choreographed fights for the sake of it. Don’t make the fights pretty.’ Like Tyson, if Wolverine wants to take your freaking head off, he’s going to do it. There's a lot of Mike Tyson in Wolverine.”

Just two months removed from the dapper, soft-shoe duty as the host of the Academy Awards, the Tony winner has returned to his cinematic dark side. The ferocity of Wolverine, his haunted background and those famous claws have made him the most popular comic-book character created in the last 40 years. And, with the release of the Fox’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” the Marvel Comics character is finally at the center of a fourth major film, which puts him ahead of elder creations such as Spider-Man, Hulk and the Fantastic Four. (Not to mention comics icons such as Captain America, Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman, who are still waiting for their first blockbuster opportunity).

The first three appearances of Jackman in the Wolverine role were in “X-Men” films, a trilogy that pulled in more than $1 billion at theaters worldwide with each installment making more than the last. Jackman's Wolverine was clearly the fan favorite in the franchise despite an ensemble stacked with major stars. In this new feature, Wolverine’s previously murky past is explored with revelations about his family, his secret military career and the origin of those unbreakable shiny blades that pop from his hands.

A week ago, at his Seed Productions office on the Fox lot, Jackman was giddy about news that, according to one online survey, the advance tickets sales for “Wolverine” were more robust than those for last year’s “Iron Man,” a film that pulled in $98 million in its opening weekend in the U.S.

"That is great news,” the 40-year-old Aussie said. “I can’t tell you how great. We’ve been through a lot ...”

The release of “Wolverine” on Friday likely marks the start of his first solo film franchise, but for the ragged Jackman it feels more like a finish line —  very few movies have endured as many last-minute crises as “Wolverine,” chief among them a major act of piracy that sent a stolen copy of the film pinging around the world.

“People were working like dogs to get the movie finished and then to have an unfinished version get out, well, it was just crushing at first,” Jackman said, shaking his head. “I’ve moved on about it. And I think people want to see it on a big screen, see it with 500 people and yell and scream and cheer and boo.” That’s how people do it in America. It wasn’t like that in Australia though. People are quiet; it’s like going to the opera.”

Los Angeles Times film critic Kenny Turan weighs in on "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," which he found to be a satisfying and efficient bit of moviemaking that will satisfy casual moviegoers and, most likely, thrill fanboys. Here he is on video...

And here is Turan's written review of the film....

Whatever you do, you don't want to make Wolverine mad.

First comes that god-awful earth-shattering scream, then those indestructible adamantium claws pop out of his hands, all leading to a display of what insiders call "berserker rage." Believe me, it's not a pretty picture. It is, however, a picture we see a lot of in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," the fourth movie to allow Hugh Jackman to play the darkly handsome, intense masculine poster boy for Marvel Comics' favorite band of mutants.

This is not the urbane, debonair Hugh Jackman who hosted the Oscars and did a soft-shoe routine with Beyoncé. This is a man who could say things like "you wanted the animal, you got the animal" like he means them. But does he? For as fans of the intensely popular X-Men comics and those three previous movies know, Wolverine is one conflicted dude. Yes, he gets mad -- hey, don't we all? -- but then he feels bad about it afterward and worries that trying to cut someone's head off is bad for his karma.

How did he get this way anyhow?

Funny you should ask. As its title indicates, "X-Men Origins" concerns itself with Wolverine's back story, with fleshing out the details of stuff that's only hinted at in the other movies. What's the source of that animal kingdom name, where did his disappearing memory go, and what's with those adamantium claws, anyway? Youth wants to know.

As directed by Gavin Hood from a script by David Benioff and Skip Woods, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" answers all those questions and brings everyone up to speed with a brisk thoroughness. It's a solid, efficient comic book movie that is content to provide comic book satisfactions of the action and violence variety. If it doesn't rise to the heights of Christopher Nolan's "Batman" films, it doesn't stray into "Daredevil" territory either.

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I interviewed Hugh Jackman last week (I'll be posting it here tomorrow) and it didn't even occur to me to ask him if he is secretly gay. I really couldn't care less. (I also didn't ask who he voted for in the last election in Australia or what religion he practices.) But, well, people seem interested So here's someone else asking him about it...again...

-- Geoff Boucher

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"The thing about Wolverine," Hugh Jackman said with a smile, "is that he was such a landmark character in comics. And he's certainly been a landmark role for me. I owe that character a lot." The Aussie actor was sitting in his office at Seed Productions on the Fox Studios lot, and on the wall was a framed piece of original artwork featuring Wolverine, the Marvel Comics lone-wolf mutant who stole the show in three "X-Men" films and now gets his own film with the May 1 release of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." 

181

The issue number of "The Incredible Hulk" that, in 1974, gave the world the first Marvel Comics story starring the mighty mutant Wolverine.

25

The cover price, in cents, of that 1974 issue.

1,600 

The price, in dollars, to buy a near-mint copy of "Hulk" No. 181 today.    

11.5

The height difference, in inches, between actor Jackman and the classic comic-book version of Wolverine, who was portrayed as a hirsute 5-foot-3-inch fireplug.

606,611,873 

The domestic box office gross, in dollars, of the three previous "X-Men" films.

0

Number of live-action box-office hits that Jackman has made when he wasn't playing a claw-popping mutant.

19th

The century that Wolverine was born in, according to "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." His mutant-healing power has slowed his aging.

1968 

The year actor Jackman was born in Sydney.

4 

Number of siblings for actor Jackman. His mother and father separated when he was 8,  and his dad raised the kids in Australia after  his mom moved to England.

2

Number of children adopted by Jackman and his wife, Deborra-Lee Furnes. Their son is Oscar, their daughter is Ava.

1 

Number of Grammy winners in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." The Black Eyed Peas star will.i.am plays John Wraith, a mutant with the power of teleportation.

0

Number of Oscar winners in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," although there is one former Academy Awards host in the cast.

 2

Number of directors who worked on "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," if rumors are true that Richard Donner ("Lethal Weapon," "Superman") stepped in for a late-in-the-game assist to Gavin Hood ("Rendition"), the credited director.

 8

Minimum number of other super-hero-projects that Jackman has flirted with. He was considered for key roles in "The Punisher,"  "Daredevil," "Superman Returns" (as Jonathan Kent), "The Dark Knight" (the Two-Face role), the Hulk and the "Fantastic Four" (as Mr. Fantastic). He also said he pursued the role of TV's Superman, George Reeve, in "Hollywoodland," and he has also expressed interest in making a bio-pic about the late Bill Bixby, who was the star of "The Incredible Hulk" on television.    

9

Number of characters from the cover of "Giant-Size X-Men" No. 1 that have made the leap to Hollywood screen. The landmark 1975 comic book ushered in the X-Men craze. And the only costumed hero on the cover who hasn't found love in Tinseltown? That would be Thunderbird, the brawny Apache hero who died on his second mission as a mutant and shares a name with a gas-guzzling Ford of yore.

2nd

The rank of the wolverine (that would be the animal version, not the mutant hero) when it comes to the largest members of the weasel family. A male South American giant otter can weigh over 100 pounds, while the notoriously bad-tempered and smelly wolverine rarely tips the scale past 70 pounds.

27

The number of years that passed before Marvel Comics published "Origin," the Wolverine comic book series that filled in key details of the hero's past, such as his real name, James Howlett.

1,000,000  

A conservative estimate of the number of Internet users who downloaded an illegal copy of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" the first week after it was leaked.

?

The number of those Internet users who will opt not to go see the film at theaters.

90,000,000  

The projected opening-weekend box-office total, in dollars, for "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," according to moviegoer tracking survey data.

-- Geoff Boucher

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For people who don't know about the backstory characters in Wolverine's life, and specifically those dealing with his stint in the Weapon X program, these individual video spotlights from "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" are great introductions.  In very quick vignettes, the tone of the story and the characters' attitudes are effectively laid out.

For those who do know Logan's history, the liberties the filmmakers have taken shouldn't bother you too much.  Yes, Gambit, Fred J. Dukes and Emma Frost were not part of the Weapon X program in the comics, but Marvel's Hollywood world has taken more than a few deviations from comics canon (Doctor Doom's origin in "Fantastic Four," Xavier biting the dust in "X-Men 3: The Last Stand," the West Coast setting for Tony Stark in "Iron Man" and so many others).  We should've learned to let go of it a little by now (just let it be a bit different, like the Ultimates Universe or Exiles lines), but I understand.  There's not much more to say about the videos, except to let you see them. Check out the nine videos below. What do you think? The Blob (Dukes) seems like a great addition...

-- Jevon Phillips

Fan favorite. Harley Quinn, or Dr. Harleen Quinzel, has never really been the main, go-to villain when fighting against The Dark Knight. But in Eidos' "Batman: Arkham Asylum," the squeaky-voiced Joker sidekick gets a new uniform and the spotlight.

Not that we do a lot of video game coverage on Hero Complex, but this tidbit looks interesting.

Harley, previous reports of back-breaker Bane and the Joker's orchestrations could make this an awesome game just for the storytelling experience alone!

* * * * * *

Chris Evans wants to be a Loser. "The Fantastic Four" and "Push" actor is apparently in talks to play Jensen, the tech guru on the special forces elite team that is the subject of the DC Comics/Vertigo comic "The Losers." Johnny Storm is on a comic-book role roll. Keep it up! [Mania.com]

* * * * * *

They're free comics, bub. In a couple of weeks, Free Comic Book Day arrives (May 2).  With a new video, Hugh Jackman is doing his part to make sure everyone knows. Of course it doesn't hurt that it is the day after his "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" movie hits the screens, but Hugh always seems so sincere!

And for those of you who want to know what you'll be picking up when you head to your local comic book store, there is a list online of all that'll be available, including the first-ever all-new title for a Free Comic Book Day: DC's Blackest Night #0, a prelude to their huge Blackest Night / Green Lantern event launching later this year.

-- Jevon Phillips

These are strange times with slippery rules. Just ask Roger Friedman,the veteran Fox News entertainment columnist and blogger who has always written with a swagger and jaundiced eye about Hollywood. Friedman reportedly got fired (or did he?) after he reviewed the purloined version of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" that has been pinging across the Internet in recent days.The review was an audacious thing to do (or maybe just stupid) considering that 20th Century Fox, a corporate relative, had gone to the FBI to fight back against the theft and mass piracy.

Here's an excerpt from a solid story on the unfolding controversy by Tatiana Sigel at Variety:

On Saturday News Corp. released a statement saying the Hollywood gadfly had been "terminated."

But on Sunday afternoon Friedman told Daily Variety that he had not been let go.

Fox News released its own missive when asked on Sunday afternoon if Friedman had been ousted. "This is an internal matter that we're not prepared to discuss at this time," a Fox News spokesperson said.

For its part, the studio weighed in Friday with its own statement, calling Friedman's actions "reprehensible."

Friedman came under fire for posting a review of a pirated version of 20th Century Fox's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." Both Fox News and 20th Century Fox are divisions of parent company News Corp.

You can read the rest of Siegel's story right here. I'mnot a huge fan of Friedman's work, although I have to say that his tenacity through the years in covering Michael Jackson has been impressive, especially considering the number of exclusives in the crowded sector of tabloid purgatory that surrounds the Gloved One. Like so many Fox voices, Friedman stirs things up with zeal but too often it's with oversimplified provocations or simply nutty theories (like the one about "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" being delayed because of Daniel Radcliffe's nudity in the stage play "Equus"). The guy has lot of sources, though, and I'm sure he'll be landing somewhere quite soon. I met him once at the Oscars and I have to say I liked him more in person than in print, so I wish him well. But no matter where he ends up, bet that the next time he writes about "Wolverine," his review won't be nearly as favorable as the ill-advised first one.

-- Geoff Boucher

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"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" images courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Wow, what is going to happen when "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" hits theaters on May 1?

More than 100,000 downloads of a nearly finished version of the film were snatched off of file-sharing websites this week after a copy of such a version of the 20th Century Fox film was leaked. The FBI is investigating and, believe me, the studio was badly rattled by the theft -- this film, on paper, looked like it could be one of the biggest releases of 2009 but it has been encountering considerable turbulence for a movie still sitting on the runway.

First, there were rumors of late re-shoots (suggesting that director Gavin Hood was scrambling to correct missteps or make up for missed moments) and the whispers were so nagging that star Hugh Jackman took the unusual move of approaching the fan press in a gesture of rumor-control (or, for you cynics, a measure of damage-control).

Jackman has been nothing but a gamer when it comes to this film. The famously likable star has been an enthusiastic ambassador for the project all the way back to Comic-Con International (and it's no surprise, since he is a producer on the film as well as leading man). This week he was the voice of the movie once again, this time announcing a pretty cool contest that has been stirring considerable fan interest already. Check out this video:

You can read more about the contest right here.

So I can think of a half-dozen reasons the movie could end up as a big May hit (fanboys love the character and Jackman in the role, the star is popular beyond the niche comics crowd, there's a pretty snappy trailer, there's a good cast and a gee-whiz factor of seeing Gambit on the screen...) but I can  think of just as many reasons that it might disappoint (not least among them the brand-deflation caused by Brett Ratner's groaning finale to the otherwise sublime "X-Men" franchise). There are a lot of fanboy movies that look like dead-bang hits this year ("Star Trek," "Terminator Salvation," the sixth "Harry Potter" film and "Avatar" spring to mind) but I get the feeling that "Wolverine" will have to claw its way to the top the hard way.

-- Geoff Boucher

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Marvel is on a mission in Hollywood

It's the 35th anniversary of Wolverine (oh why, oh why did I trade away my "Incredible Hulk" No. 181 nack in the 1980s?) and the folks at Marvel have some fun stuff coming up to celebrate; there will be variant covers in the months to come that riff on famous paintings and artists, among them Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso. Below is an early look at one of those covers, Paolo Rivera's fun ode to the dog poker paintings of Cassius Coolidge.   

You can read more about the covers at the Marvel website page about the news. Hey, is it just me, or is Wolverine getting taller in all of the comics? He used to be a ferocious fireplug, and now he looks like a lanky biker-dude. He also doesn't seem as hairy as he was in the mid-1980s. Blame Hollywood ...

Speaking of Hollywood ...

Out of the ashes of Marvel's "Secret Invasion" storyline rose the Dark Reign.  Norman Osborn, old crazy Green Goblin himself, set things in motion to dethrone Tony Stark as head of SHIELD (actually getting it decommissioned), and taking over as one of the most powerful men in the world.  Legally!  To make sure that he holds on to that power, he enlisted the help of Dr. Doom, Namor, Emma Frost, Loki and the Hood to consolidate his hold over the rest of the superhero community.

Marvel has sent over some exclusive covers as the company gets into high gear with their villain-themed "He lost. They won." ad campaign.  The 'accept change' part on the bottom of the images seems to tie it in to the Secret Invasion plot, but maybe it's just coincidental.

Iron Man is on the run, and will Emma really go back to her dark ways and stab the X-Men in the back? Many more images after the jump.

Here's the new poster for the May release "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."

I'm not sure what to think about this film with the nagging rumors about a patchwork production (although the ever-earnest Hugh Jackman stepped up to say re-shoots were a planned part of a complicated schedule, not some late-in-the-game salvage effort). If the film is good, this is going to be a pretty massive year for fanboys with "Watchmen," a new "Harry Potter" film, "Terminator Salvation," "Star Trek" and "Avatar" topping the deep list of genre fare. To see the trailer for "Wolverine," check below...

Welcome to a presidential edition of Everyday Hero, your roundup of handpicked headlines from across the fanboy universe...

HEROIC POLITICS: There's a fun historical piece about comic-book characters claiming the White House through the years and it includes an early 1980s Marvel cover (above left) that I had sorta forgotten about and that immediately brought a smile to my face when I saw it. The piece was written by Matt Brady (an appropriate name for someone dabbling in the area of presidential imagery) and here's what he wrote about that "Mr. Rogers Goes to Washington" plot: "Captain America as President was turned into a story for Marvel’s alternate reality series What If? with 1981’s issue #26. In the story, Cap runs as the candidate for the New Populist Party with Andrew Jackson Hawk (an African American Senator) as his running mate. Keeping things real, the 'America-Hawk' ticket ran against Carter and Reagan (both of which had things to say about Cap’s political experience and the trust the public has for a masked man) and won in a landslide. Keeping a campaign promise, Cap took off his mask on Inauguration Day, and got to work -– one of his first jobs –- a comprehensive new energy policy in order to '[free] America from the tyranny of foreign oil.' One South American plot hatched by the Red Skull later, and Captain America is killed by one of his administration’s own solar satellites, but the country is saved." [Newsarama]

WOLVERINE, CONSIDERED: What's up with "X-Men Origins: Wolverine"? There were plenty of rumors burning through cyberspace that the production was experiencing considerable turbulence after the crew and some cast gathered to do reshoots. There was fanboy-press speculation that Fox was "clearly trying to salvage one of the summer tent-poles of 2009" and much handwringing about the fate of the most popular mutant character. So what's the real deal? Sources close to the production tell me the reshoots were scheduled all along but they also concede that director Gavin Hood is reworking some sections of the film to get precisely the right tone for the long, dark tale of the ultimate Marvel Comics loner. So we'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, star Hugh Jackman, known as one of the real troupers of Hollywood, has sought to quiet any fan worries. Jackman sent this note to Harry Knowles: "Hey everyone -- It's Hugh Jackman, sending this note from freezing Vancouver. I have read a lot of your online comments regarding the footage that we are currently shooting and I share your passion for the Wolverine character and the movie -- I owe it all to you guys! I wanted to reach out and let you know that due to scheduling conflicts with certain cast members and location/weather considerations, we had to wait until now to shoot a couple of scenes. Please rest assured that WOLVERINE will be badass and hopefully meet all of your expectations. I am stoked by the positive response to the teaser, which clearly reflects the tone and scope of the film. If you like that, we've got much more in store!" [Ain't It Cool News] Also, here's some Hollywood Reporter-supplied video of Jackman in the reassurance mode...

AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO'S "LOST"? Television critic Robert Lloyd has written some great pieces lately, including a wonderful appreciation of the late Patrick McGoohan and fall-down funny appraisal of the Powerpuff Girls (which includes this line: "From a preschool perspective, the series might be called transgressive, since it is a cartoon in which the characters beat each other up and destroy a lot of property. Collateral damage, thy name is Powerpuff."). And today he has a great take on "Lost" a show that, for him, is certainly living up to its name: "'Lost,' which returns for its fifth season tonight on ABC, is like a troublesome but attractive friend who comes into your house and talks a lot of nonsense that you tolerate because it's entertaining and because you aren't completely sure it is nonsense. It might make sense in some form of the language that you do not personally understand. You can either let this annoy you, or you can try to work out the meaning, or you can just enjoy the flow in a noncommittal way that does not preclude your being stimulated, shocked or held in suspense -- like a fun-house ride. I am of the third disposition, and have also been of the first. (I wager that even people who love 'Lost' a lot more than I do have at times wanted to reach right through the TV screen and give it a good slap.) As to the second, attempting to resolve all its clues, bread crumbs and loose ends into a workable whole is more than my time is worth. More important, it's a drag on the show: The more that the writers find explanations for the myriad strange phenomena that plague the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 -- the surviving survivors -- the less interesting those phenomena become. The mysterious becomes the merely preposterous. The weirdness of a polar bear on a tropical island is more satisfying than any reason you can provide for it." [Los Angeles Times]

ON THIS DATE: It was on this day in 1926 that actor Steve Reeves, who would bring considerable muscle to Hollywood, was born in Glasgow, Montana. After his father died in a  farming accident, 10-year-old Reeves moved west to California with his mother and, in high school in Oakland, developed an interest in weightlifting. After a stint in the Pacific in World War II, he became a pioneer of the nascent bodybuilding scene and then a star of the screen, most memorably as Hercules. He died in 2000. To celebrate his birthday, let's all flex a new muscle today. To see some video of Reeves in action, continue to the bottom of this post...

Welcome to your post-Thanksgiving edition of Everyday Hero, the roundup of handpicked headlines from the fanboy universe...

Superman, back to the beginning: A few months ago, Richard Donner told me he that he wishes Hollywood would allow writer Geoff Johns to script the next Superman film. Well, if some studio executive is curious about how Johns would handle a reboot of the franchise all they will have to do is pick up a copy of "Superman: Secret Origin," a back-to-Smallville series that will premiere in the early months of 2009. Johns gave Matt Brady the lowdown on his vision for the Clark Kent series, which sounds extremely promising to me: "We haven't seen a modern-day retelling of Clark's first adventure as Superboy with the Legion of Super-Heroes, or the day Superman met Jimmy Olsen or the origins of Superman's longtime enemies like the Parasite and Metallo. More importantly, Clark Kent himself will be explored in his earlier years in a way I don't think he's ever been explored before. And freaking Gary Frank, one of the greatest Superman artists in history already, is illustrating it. Every cover, every panel, every line. For longtime readers -- with the inclusion of the Legion of Super-Heroes back in Superman's history, General Zod introduced and all the other changes made post-'Infinite Crisis' nearly three years ago -- they've been requesting a definitive secret origin. 'Man of Steel' was brilliant and 'Birthright' was a beautiful book, but 'Superman: Secret Origin' will be what lines right up for the modern-day monthly books. It will feature new looks at the origin of not only Superman, but some of his greatest allies, enemies and supporting cast and it will tie into everything Gary and I have done so far on 'Action Comics' as well as setting the stage for the future." The entire article is well worth reading and, again, it's right here. [Newsarama]

Logan's run: The always interesting Empire Magazine from across the Atlantic has a first-look image of Hugh Jackman from next year's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" film and he looks ... well, pretty much the same way he looked in the three "X-Men" films. That's not a bad thing and, according to my wife, it is in fact a very good thing. Here's the promotional blurb from Empire: "It's that time again, and the new issue of Empire is about to hit the shelves. And this month we have a very exciting, news-packed feature from the set of 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine,' which is why the glowering mutant himself adorns our front cover. We got the lowdown from star Hugh Jackman, director Gavin Hood, Liev Schreiber (who plays Victor Creed) and many more for the full picture from the film's set, and here's a taster of what they're going for. 'There's a scene in the first "X-Men movie," ' said Jackman, 'where Wolverine's introduced in a bar, fighting in a cage, and you felt that he did this every night of his life. If this movie is successful, you should feel that this guy can walk straight off the end of this film and into that bar.' We also heard a little bit from Danny Huston on his take on the sinister William Stryker. 'The thing about Stryker is that he feels like he's got this God-given right, that he's on a crusade. He both loves and hates mutants, because his son was a mutant and murdered his wife. So he understands what they're going through but despises their force, their potential danger. It's wonderfully complicated.' 'In Logan and Creed,' continues Huston, 'Stryker finds his children and hones their powers like racehorses. But as in the world of horse racing, when your horse breaks his leg and is suddenly useless, he has a very cold way of looking at them. And he's also a mad scientist excited by the possibilities of what he can do to mutants.'" [Empire]

Samuel L. Jackson gets spooky: The world's greatest f-bomber, Samuel L. Jackson, will be honored tonight with the 23rd Annual American Cinematheque Award at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Jackson, who turns 60 this month, is intensifying his focus on his career as a producer, and in a recent interview with Jerry Endling, he told the reporter to watch for a pair of television projects, including one with fantasy themes: "I have two ideas that are about to come to fruition. One's a cop show, and the other one is sort of a supernatural show about these immortal women -- it's four women that were placed here at the beginning of time to guard us against the forces of evil. And they have personal lives that we'll get involved in, which will be strange from women who are thousands of years old and who've had relationships with people throughout history. And the cop show, we're actually trying to figure out if we can set in a city like Atlanta, because that's a place we haven't seen, and there's two very different guys who have just become detectives. One has been a detective who's been in an undercover situation for about five years, and the other one has been a beat cop." [Hollywood Reporter]...ALSO: If you haven't seen it, check out this photo gallery of Jackson's ever-changing hair styles on screen, which was put together in very witty fashion by Hero Complex contributor Chris Lee.

Mediocrity most excellent: The latest issue of Chris Ware's always fascinating series "The Acme Novelty Library" (from publisher Drawn & Quarterly) has reviewer Richard Gehr marveling at its loopy worlds of heartbreak: "Bleak, yet brilliant. The party line on Chris Ware's ongoing Rusty Brown graphic novel is in no danger of wavering with its latest installment ... the Chicago cartoonist's operating trope this time around is low-brow -- even no-brow -- science fiction. Following some typically self-abnegating boilerplate ('The contents of this volume ... should not be interpreted as an artistic response to recent criticisms and/or reviews of this periodical'), the book opens with 'The Seeing Eye Dogs of Mars.' Attributed to one W. K. Brown (one F. C. Ware holds the copyright on the 'Library' itself), the 33-page faux-SF story demonstrates yet again Ware's genius for mimicking the mediocre, exquisitely. A study in blues, oranges, and browns, Brown's 'Seeing Eye Dogs' recounts a romance gone savagely wrong during a mission to colonize Mars." [Village Voice]

-- Geoff Boucher

Photos: "Superman: Secret Origin" art by Matt Brady, Samuel L. Jackson and "The Acme Novelty Library" cover. Credits: DC Comics; Alejandra Villa /For The Times

Today's edition of Everyday Hero, a roundup of handpicked headlines from the fanboy universe ...

The magic of Christmas: Muggles, mark your calendars. It's sad that you can't spend this holiday season with a new "Harry Potter" film, but that doesn't mean you can't have a bit of the boy wizard's magic. Here's a press release that came over yesterday: "ABC Family continues the holiday cheer with its “Harry Potter” weekend on December 5-7, airing the first four installments of the popular film series as part of the network’s “25 Days of Christmas” programming event. In the world television premiere of the special extended edition of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” viewers will also see deleted scenes not included in the original film version. To add to the magic, ABC Family will also be airing exclusive first looks at the new film “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (opening in theatres July 17) throughout the weekend’s 3-day event. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and Michael Gambon discuss the upcoming film’s exciting story lines as well as revealing insider information. ABC Family’s first looks at the latest Harry Potter feature film also offers viewers a sneak peek of never-before-seen footage of love running rampant through Hogwarts, a look into Tom Riddle’s past and an introduction of Hogwarts new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Horace Slughorn. [ABC Family press release]...If you want to see a day-by-day program listing, click through to the second page of this post.

Where there's a Wil...: Writer Matthew Fleischer went out for beers with child-star-turned-blogger Wil Wheaton, who is apparently just as geeky as you thought he was. "It’s three o’ clock on a weekday afternoon and I’m in an Old Town Pasadena bar having drinks with a former child star. Were this person a faded pop tartlet, or perhaps named Corey, we might be planning a trip to a nudie bar or recollecting days spent riding the silver bullet. But this star is Wil Wheaton, and instead of strippers and blow, we’re talking science fiction with the bartender — a squirrelly looking but pleasant British fellow who looks as if he’s been playing this moment on loop in his head for a decade, waiting for it to finally come true. 'I’d have to say the past two seasons of 'DSN' ['Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'] are as good as anything I’ve seen on television,' he tells Wheaton provocatively. 'The storyline with the Cardassian war is unparalleled.' For many former Star Trek actors — Wheaton played Wesley Crusher on 'Star Trek: The Next Generation', or 'TNG' in today’s parlance — I imagine this is the kind of conversation they dread getting sucked into. Out for a quiet afternoon drink when suddenly a nerdy fan-boy wants to talk phasers and Cardassians, the stuff of 'Galaxy Quest' parody. But for Wheaton, such a statement can’t go unchallenged. 'No way!' he responds with genuine incredulity, jumping to his Chuck Taylor–clad feet to lean over the bar. 'Better than 'Battlestar Galactica'?'  Wheaton, you see, is an unabashed geek. “It’s like high school,” he tells me later, “you’re either one of the cool kids or you’re not — and I am definitely not.” [LA Weekly] And Wheaton's blog is here.

Batman crank calls Wolverine: Actor Hugh Jackman is in the new Baz Luhrmann film "Australia" but Hero Complex readers are likely far more interested in his reprising his clawed mutant role in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," due in theaters in May. Jackman has been doing press for the Luhrmann epic and dealing with the fallout of being named the "sexiest man alive" by People magazine: 'George Clooney rang me at two in the morning,' Jackman told 'People' Monday at the 'Australia' premiere in New York City. 'I was half asleep and I said to him, 'Ah, George sweetie, good to hear from you.'' But this was not a courtesy call. 'He goes, 'Shut up, Jackman!'' the Aussie actor jokingly recounted. '[He said,] 'I know what you did! You started this big campaign that's been going on and [you] took the title away from me.' I thought that was unnecessary,' Jackman deadpanned. The Wolverine star has also been getting a ribbing from his friends and family. 'My old man traveled over with me and we landed in America ... and all of sudden we were stopped at the airport and saw the 'Sexiest Man Alive' magazine and everyone is talking about it,' the actor said. 'My father found it really uncomfortable. [My dad] said to me, 'I can't really talk to you about being sexy. It's a little weird,'' Jackman recalled. 'Mind you, I'm still waiting for the birds and the bees pitch from him. That hasn't happened either!'" [People ]... More from Jackman: Here's video from an MTV News interview with the Aussie actor that suggests that a second "Wolverine" film would likely take the hero into the character's history with samurai and ninja. “The most intriguing thing to me was the Japan story. I love the Japan story,” Jackman says. “I wanted to do the Japan story from around ‘X-Men 2.’ Can you just picture Wolverine in Japan with the triads and the samurai? It’s just genius.”

Seeking "Asylum": The new video game "Batman: Arkham Asylum" isn't due until sometime next year but, of course, when it comes to the fanboy audience there's no such thing as "too early" when it comes to a promotional campaign. Here's a preview below showing the atmosphere of Gotham (rainy) and the vibe of Arkham (unhygienic). The most famous looney bin in comics comes off like an HMO version of "Hostel" or perhaps a Transylvania revamp of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Anyway, the game will feature a considerable connection to the great "Batman: The Animated Series," as Mark Hamill again handles the lunatic laughs of the Joker, Kevin Conroy gives voices to Gotham's stolid manhunter and Paul Dini contributes his considerable expertise to the game story. Killer Croc and the Riddler are among the villains expected to be in the game, and here's a guess that there will be many, many more.

-- Geoff Boucher

Harry Potter and "Batman & Robin" photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

Hugh Jackman:  'It's badass."  And it was!

In a Comic-Con surprise, and straight from Australia, Hugh Jackman hopped off a plane and jumped on stage with a trailer for "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," and it was a huge hit!  From what I could see, popular characters Sabretooth and Silver Fox were there ... and Gambit!!

Jackman enthusiastically bounded off stage to shake the hand of Wolverine creator Len Wein, who was in the audience.  It was a wonderful moment and pretty genuine when he told Wein that he "gave him a career."

-- Jevon Phillips

Photo: A Comic-Con moment, actor Hugh Jackman, right, freshly arrived from the set of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," leaves the stage in Hall H at the Comic-Con convention to shake hands with Len Wein, the comic book writer and editor who helped create the character Wolverine.

More than 125,000 people are expected to attend the four-day event which features the latest  and greatest in comic-related books, toys, games and memorabilia. Credit: Spencer Weiner  / Los Angeles Times