For The Love of Comics

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A new viral game kicked off today resulting in a new poster being released. If you don’t really care about the path taken, feel free to skip to the end of this post. Otherwise, read on!

Those who received phones from the Joker in one of the previous games received a text message today:

Wake up, clown! You have *one hour* to reply to be a part of today’s fun. /operator

Through past experience, it was quickly surmised that “/operator” referred to http://whysoserious.com/operator. Those that replied received:

Good. Do not reply again. I’ll be in touch…

…and once the deadline passed:

Work together, clowns. Your code-word: XXXXXXXX. Your partner: XXX-XXX-XXXX. Do NOT call until told to. Do not publicize this number.

Wait for a call - you will receive one or more code words. Relay these words to your partner.

You’re the first in the chain. Call your partner and relay your code-word NOW.

Once the relays were completed, chains dropped on the /operator page and we were shown five words.

All of the words can be followed by the word “house”. Enter this into the box at the bottom and we’re given a new game, “Punkdrop”.

I’m not going to lie to you here, I never could get the hang of this one - I had to wait for someone else to do it to get to the end of this thing, but I’m told that if you hit one of these punk thing, a light appears next to another one. Hit that dummy, and the light moves to another, and so on. If you can pull that off three times in a row, you’re taken to the final page, Stupid Bats”, where you receive a new poster featuring a defaced photo of Batman with scrawled messages all around.

Could that be the end of the Dark Knight viral, or will we get a bit more?

Technorati Tags: Movies, The Dark Knight, Batman, Joker, Why So Serious, Phones, Operator, Punk Drop, Stupid Bats, Poster, Viral Campaign

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Popularity: 30% [?]

Why So Serious, the main page for pretty much the entire Dark Knight Viral campaign, has been updated with the Joker’s to-do list as a creative way to recap the campaign up until this point. Each crossed off item has a date of completion and links to the corresponding page. The only things left on the list are “Be good to my guests”, “Gather all my fans”, and “Leave a big mark”.

The page also features souvenirs from all of the games so far, including a slice of cake, bowling shoes, and a defaced portrait of President Lincoln.

Technorati Tags: Movies, Batman, The Dark Knight, Viral Campaign, Joker, Why So Serious, To-Do List, Checklist

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Popularity: 22% [?]

Updating from the Ha Ha Times portion of my last post - the geniuses on the Superhero Hype Boards have figured out “the clue”!

enaxor in IRC ran the grid of letters through a simple substitution cipher…

A B C B D E F G E H F I
D G J J G K E L M J N E
M J G E N O G E J G A B
P K E C G N N G D E B Q
E N O G E Q B M D N O E
R B D K E N B E N O G E
D H S O N E B Q E G T A
O E A H D A C G K E Q H
U G E C G N N G D E R B
D K E N B E Q H P K E B
M N E R O G D G E N B E
S B E Q D B F E O G D G

which became (ie, A=C, B=O, C=L, etc)

color-me-imp
ressed-just-
use-the-seco
nd-letter-of
-the-fourth-
word-to-the-
right-of-eac
h-circled-fi
ve-letter-wo
rd-to-find-o
ut-where-to-
go-from-here

“color me impressed just use the second letter of the fourth word to the right of each circled five letter word to find out where to go from here”

look for the red circled words… on the hahahatimes… then follow the instructions…

…to find http://whysoserious.com/redballoons.

Clicking on the clowns’ noses will inflate the balloons. Inflating the nose changes the color of the eyes. Getting all the clowns’ noses blue at the same time gets you a ticket to a new site,
http://whysoserious.com/redballoons/ineptlackeys.htm, with a new message from The Joker.

Looks like Mr. J has decided to flex some muscle.

Technorati Tags: Movies, Batman, The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan, Gotham City, Christian Bale, Aaron Eckhart, Heath Ledger, Two-Face, Harvey Dent, Joker, Ha Ha Times

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Popularity: 17% [?]

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I’ve been hardcore slacking on the blog front lately. I’m sorry about that. I’d like to give you a great excuse about how life has just been insane and busy and all that, and it is, but I also hit a slump that I couldn’t get out of and the longer I’ve slacked, the harder it’s become to stop slacking and get back to some serious posting. I’ll try to do better in the future.

Luckily, I’ve come across alot of news on my favorite subject - The Dark Knight - including a review, a new poster, and a viral update!

In the first bit of news, some lucky sumbitch has already seen the movie and submitted a review to Ain’t It Cool News! Tim Bisley, the author of the review, gives us a loose breakdown of the plot, thus there are obviously some spoilers, reaffirms that the movie is - at heart - the story of Harvey Dent, makes comparisons to films like Heat and Greek tragedies, and calls for a posthumous Oscar nod for Ledger.

You can, of course, head over to AICN to read the review, but I’ll quote it here for my fellow lazy bums:

Hi Harry and the rest of the crew,

Just after watching The Dark Knight. I see no reviews are online so I
thought Id send you my review.

Ive kept this review as spoiler free as possible as I dont want to
ruin anything like someone did recently with another Christian Bale
movie!!!

Ill start by saying that I was a fan of Batman Begins and am a huge
admirer of Christopher Nolan’s body of work. I had my faults with BB
mainly to do with how they shot and edited the fight sequences but
felt it was a great start to a much larger story and I jumped with joy
when Gordan pulled out the Joker card at the end.

The Dark Knight opens with a bank heist sequence that highlights how
the joker is always one step ahead of the criminals he is working with
and the police who are after him. Numerous men break into a bank
controlled by the mob wearing clown masks and comment on how The Joker
has put the whole thing together. This is the catalyst for which the
rest of the events in this movie takes place.

The heist does not go to plan well at least not for all the gang. Its
a great set up and payoff and a unique way of introducing the ace in
TDK’S whole or in this case its Joker.

Heath Ledgers performance of the joker is truly one for the books. A
man of no remorse or morals who simply wants to see things burn. There
is no back story or establishing the character. He is fully formed. He
does have some dialogue scenes that reveal a bit of his background.
Lets just say he has some issues with his father and that smile of his
is rooted in a gesture of love. He is far from a caricature and has
depth . He realises that without Batman he would not be. The Joker is
almost more of a terrorist than criminal. He is not motivated by
money. He wants to see people suffer. Its a damn shame that this was
Heath Ledger’s final major performance as it shows a whole different
side to him as a performer and I now know that he was endlessly
talented. To watch him walk away from an exploding hospital dressed as
a nurse is probably my favourite moment Ive seen on film so far this
year. Also look out for when he makes a pencil disappear such a cool
moment! Best supporting Oscar anyone?

Gotham is still engulfed by crime. Falcone’s reign as the head of the
mob is over and that seat has been filled by Salvatore Maroni played
by Eric Roberts. What becomes clear is that there are also numerous
other gangs within Gotham. Its no longer just one syndicate. They are
all in some way in cohoots but the arrival of Batman has made it
harder for them to operate.

Batman has inspired the city officials particularly Harvey Dent. The
DA for Gotham city. This is really his story. The rise and fall of the
white knight. He is Bruce Wayne’s hope for Gotham City. A hero who
doesn’t have to wear a mask. A man who can inspire hope in the masses.
If BB was about fear then TDK is about hope and is relevant in today’s
times. Harvey Dent is a good honest man who is willing to bear the
weight of bringing down all the criminals on his shoulders and what
that means for his own life and those he loves. In terms of his
transition to Two Face all I will say is that everything online that
Ive seen is fake. The moment we first see him in hospital when Harvey
Dent asks Gordan what his nickname used to be in Internal Affairs and
Gordan says Harvey Two Face and Harvey turns to him . Such a clever
way of establishing the character. Even down to his double sided coin.
Lets just say Aaron Eckhart puts Tommy Lee Jones to friggin shame!

The film feels more like a crime drama in a grand city scape than a
typical comic book movie. It feels like Heat except Batman is Al
Pacino and The Joker is Robert De Niro and just like in that film we
have a great scene between Heath Ledger and Christian Bale across a
table. There is also an element of a Greek Tragedy.. There is a vast
sense of morality at play within the film.

Dent is trying to bring down the criminals and wants to bring them in
under a RICO charge. To do this he needs Batman’s help as he has to
bring in the man who takes care of all their money. A glorified
accountant as Rachel Dawes puts it.Think Al Capones accountant in the
Untouchables. So Batman ventures to Hong Kong. It adds to the idea
that this is very much set in the real world and its not just Gotham
that Batman can access.

This all happens within the first third of the film. The run time is
two and a half hours. It doesn’t feel that long as there is so much
going on within the film. Ive always felt Christopher Nolan was able
to handle pacing unlike many movies that are over two hours these
days. This is also his first entirely linear film and he proves
himself to be a gifted storyteller and a master of utilising film as a
visual medium. He fills each frame with so much scope and detail. You
can tell he is enjoying himself with the amount of money he is being
allowed to play with and wants to better himself and the franchise.
Although this movie doesn’t feel like an instalment in a franchise.
The best thing I can think of for comparison is The Godfather Part 2.

There is no sign of the Batcave in this film. Although Alfred does
make mention of it saying how he looks forward to it being finished.
Bruce now lives in a pretty sweet penthouse apartment and his new
batcave is in an underground layer in the docks. Bruce and Lucious Fox
have been working on the suit and toys although to my surprise the
Batpod was in BB and nobody spotted it. It’ll put a smile on your face
when it makes its introduction.

Christian Bale owns this role. He is Bruce Wayne and he is Batman. He
is also a third character in some regards as there are almost two
sides to Bruce Wayne. The public figure, a playboy billionaire who
knows how to spend his money and the Bruce Wayne behind closed doors
who only Alfred and Rachel get to see. A man covered in bruises and
wounds who desperately wants be free of Batman but is compelled to
make a difference as no one else can. He can play the villain to be
the hero as he does.

The second third focuses on the capturing of The Joker. The city is
living in fear as he makes threats on national television that he
always follows through with. You simple have no idea what he will do
next. There appears to be no reason to his madness although that
proves to not be the case.

I don’t really want to give away anymore. I will say there is death
but not in the way some of the fan boys who have watched the trailer
are thinking. There is a prestige moment within the film that is a
true Chris Nolan moment. The scarecrow is in the film but has a very
minor role.

Just go see it on opening day in a room full of fans. Ill be doing the
same and have no doubt Ill enjoy it even more the second time round.

Enjoy.

Tim Bisley

Damn, this sounds like an awesome movie! I wish I had more geek friends around Orlando so that we could buy out a showing for this thing.

In our next bit of Dark Knight news, Comic Book Movie has released a new poster! Click the image below for a larger copy.

Finally, there’s a new edition of The HaHa Times!

Circled letters have been decoded to give us the following message:

page 1 - Herrings are red
page 2 - Corpses are blue
page 3 - You’re on the right track
page 4 - But you don’t have the clue

To my knowledge, “the clue” has yet to be found.

Technorati Tags: Movies, Batman, The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan, Gotham City, Christian Bale, Aaron Eckhart, Heath Ledger, Two-Face, Harvey Dent, Joker, Ha Ha Times

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Popularity: 16% [?]

Batman steps into the ring with a new, all-yellow, full-body suit, so ridiculous that only Batman could make it look cool. Green Lantern tries to trap Batman with a big green cage, apparently forgetting that his ring doesn’t work on anything yellow.

Denied the advantage that the most powerful weapon in the universe gives him, Jordan has no other choice but to engage Batman in hand-to-hand combat. Batman, clearly outclassing Green Lantern, toys with his opponent by dodging blows and giving light slaps, but not throwing a single serious punch.

Eventually, Batman tires of the game and nods towards a shadowy corner in the rafters. Dick Grayson swings down and punches Hal Jordan in the throat, fracturing his windpipe with a single blow.

Batman wins the battle and becomes the Awesome Arena Champion!

Now for our winner…

Apparently, everyone forgot to vote but Midknight, whose faith in Batman and pimping on his blog and comicvine account were enough to bring him out of second place and five points ahead of AJ for the victory!!

Mike will most likely be announcing his prizes later, but from me, Midknight has won:

In honor of the premier of the Incredible Hulk Movie, a Marvel Legends “1st Appearance Green HULK Variant” Galactus Series 9 Action Figure and the Incredible Hulk Vol.1: Return of the Monster Hardback. Yes, I know this link is to the paperback; I can’t find a link to the hardback.

Because I picked them up at Megacon and thought I’d spread the love, a CGC/Comics Price Guide.com variant of Atomik Mike #1, CGC Graded 9.9, a copy of theAtomik Mike Vol. 1 TPB, and a copy of the After the Cape, Vol. 1, TPB.

And finally, to honor our Champion, a copy of Batman Black and White Vol. 1 TPB.

Congratulations, Midknight! E-mail me your info so I can get this stuff shipped out to you.

Technorati Tags: Awesome Arena, Tournament of Champions, Final, Batman, Green Lantern, Champion, Prizes

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Popularity: 12% [?]

Image via Wikipedia

The website for Gotham Cable News is live with many articles, includingHow You Can Vote In Gotham Elections. Here’s the main point:

Not living in Gotham? Can’t make it to a poll on election day? You can still vote! Head to www.gothamelectionboard.com right now and make your voice heard! The polls close at 11:59 on June 12th.

If you register to vote on the Election Board site, you can log into the system and make your voice heard in the Gotham City elections - just not for D.A., but several other propositions and elected officials. Just make sure to get it done before June 12th.

Technorati Tags: Batman, The Dark Knight, Viral Campaign, Gotham Cable News, Gotham City Election Board, Elections, District Attorney, Harvey Dent

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Popularity: 17% [?]

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The Semifinals have ended and we now have our combatants for the final battle of the Tournament of Champions.

Midknight has provided us with the story of our first battle, between Batman and Thor, and picked up five bonus points in the process.

wo Weeks Ago at Stark Tower:

“Knocked out in the first round, pathetic….” Tony Stark thinks to himself as he drowns his sorrow deep in a bottle of Jack Daniels. “Fallen off of the wagon I see.” Stark quickly looks behind himself, startled, “What the hell are you doing here?!” A Cloaked figure steps out of the shadows and scowls down at Tony, takes the glass out of his hands and pours it out onto the floor. “You have something that I need.” the Dark Figure replies, “And why should I help you, Batman?!” Tony Stark snarls back at the Bat. Batman reaches into his utility belt and pulls out a cell phone and begins dialing a number but does not send the call. “Because with one call, Stark enterprises will suffer from a hostile takeover at the hands of Wayne Enterprises, just one call and your company is mine!” Tony sighs and looks down at his feet, “Damnit Bruce, what do you want?” He asks, giving in to Batman’s demands, “I need a sample of Thor’s DNA. I know you have some, you used it to create your Cyborg Thor, now give me what I came here for.”

One week ago in Las Vegas Backstage in the Amazing Zattanna’s dressing room:

“You want me to do WHAT?!” Zattana asks. “I need your help…” replies Batman, “I need your help to defeat a God.” Batman hands her the sample of Thor’s DNA, “I know you won’t do this for free, so take this as payment. The DNA of a God.” Zatanna accepts and looks up at Batman, “Bruce I don’t know if I can do this, I mean I’ve taken down some big hitters before but I have NEVER tried to beat a God, especially not the God of Thunder!” Zatanna says, “I don’t need you to beat him, Zatanna. I need you to make me a weapon so that I can beat him. I’ve done some research and I discovered that Thor is not entirely invulnerable. If I can take his hammer out of the picture he reverts to his mortal self, and that’s where you come in. His hammer is vulnerable to magic.”

Present Day at The Awesome Arena:

Thor enters the ring not knowing what to expect, he’d never faced The Batman before, but is not worried in the slightest. After all, Batman has no powers, a mere mortal can not defeat a God. Batman enters the ring and glares at Thor, sizing up his opponent, knowing that if it weren’t for the tiny scroll rolled up and neatly tucked away in his utility belt, it would already be over. “Ding! Ding!” the bell sounds and the fight is on! Thor flies out of his corner charging at Batman, Batman dives to his left, dodging Thor. Thor slams into a wall, he didn’t think a mortal could move so fast, he looks up just soon enough to see 3 batarangs slicing and tearing through the air towards him. He swats them away with his might Hammer. Then he throws Mjolnir at Batman, that’s the cue. Batman quickly pulls the scroll out of his utility belt and begins chanting the sacred text inscribed upon the brittle piece of parchment. Thor’s Mighty Hammer soars through the air, closer and closer, as Batman chants the last line on the parchment, “WHAT BELONGS IN THE HEAVENS SHALL RETURN TO THE HEAVENS! I BANISH THE MIGHTY HAMMER OF THOR, MJOLNIR BACK TO ASGARD!” Suddenly the hammer vanishes into thin air, Thor looks at Batman, stunned as he began reverting to his mortal self, Jake Olsen, as Batman leaps across the ring and lands a hard right to Jake Olsen’s chin, knocking the mortal self of The Mighty Thor, unconscious. Batman has Defeated a God.

… and my perfect record of Awesome Arena predictions has ended. I’m sorry for ever doubting the great Batman!! Even if he only won by a single vote…

Noone submitted a winning breakdown for our second battle between Superman and Green Lantern, so I’ll throw something together myself.

Superman tries to end the fight quickly by streaking towards Green Lantern to deliver a knockout blow, but Jordan throws up a shield at the last minute and deflects the big boyscout.

Superman keeps up the assault, shooting blast of heat vision and blowing supercooled air at the Lantern, but Hal Jordan deflects them all, seemingly with less and less effort as the fight goes on. Finally, Jordan pins Kent down with a big green hand and walks towards the immobile Kryptonian.

As Jordan approaches, it becomes apparent that he has two green rings - one is a loaner from Batman. Jordan punches Superman in the face repeatedly with his kryptonite ring-laden fist until Superman loses consciousness, ending the battle.

Jordan moves on to meet Batman in the final round, making all the contest participants .500 this week.

Which brings us to the standings…

AJ holds steady at first place with six first round points for correctly predicting victories for Martian Manhunter, Thor, Red Tornado, Captain America, Green Lantern, and Hulk; six second-round points for predicting Batman’s victory over Martian Manhunter, Thor’s victory over Red Tornado, and Green Lantern’s victory over Captain America; eight semi-final points for picking Green Lantern over Superman; twenty-three bonus points for posts on his myspace blog and view askew; three more bonus points for signing up for an account on The Forums of Awesome; and the ten bonus points for his two breakdowns for a total of FIFTY-SIX POINTS!

Midknight has gained quite a bit of ground this week with seven first round points for knowing that Batman, Thor, Red Tornado, Captain America, Green Lantern, Hulk, and Superman ain’t nothing to mess with, six second-round points for knowing that Batman and Thor REALLY ain’t nothin’ to mess with, eight semifinal points for believing in Batman, eleven bonus points for posts on ComicVine, three bonus points for pimping us on his blog, one bonus point for helping Mike search for Batboat pictures, three more bonus points for signing up with Forums of Awesome, and the fifteen bonus points awarded for his three breakdowns to give him a total of FIFTY-FOUR POINTS!

With only two points dividing these two, the final round becomes VERY important

RJP is also still statistically in the race in third with two first round points for supporting Batman and Red Tornado, four second round points for backing Batman and Superman, eight semifinal points for backing Batman, twenty bonus points for posts on Between The Staples and his Facebook account, and three bonus points for signing up for the Forums of Awesome for a total of THIRTY-SEVEN POINTS

Weston has shot into fourth by backing Martian Manhunter, Thor, Red Tornado, and Captain America in the first round and Green Lantern in the semifinals for a total of TWELVE POINTS

In fifth, Xers has four first round points with victories for Martian Manhunter, Thor, Red Tornado, and Captain America, two bonus points for posts on Cre8Buzz and BlackPlanet, and three more bonus points for signing up with Forums of Awesome for a total of NINE POINTS!

Patrick D. is in sixth place with two points for backing Batman and Martian Manhunter (I wonder who he’ll pick when they fight eachother?”), two bonus points for posts on Patrick Says and his Twitter, and three more bonus points for signing up at Forums of Awesome for a total of SEVEN POINTS!

In seventh place, DougFungus has three first round points for supporting Batman, Red Tornado, and Captain America and three bonus points for signing up at Forums of Awesome for a total of SIX POINTS!

Finally, in eighth place, Naimad89 backed Batman to give him ONE POINT!

Once again, the standings are:

1st: AJ - 56 points

2nd place: Midknight- 54 points

3rd place: RJP - 37 points

4th place: Weston - 12 points

5th place: Xers- 9 points

6th place: Patrick D. - 7 points

7th place: Dougfungus - 6 point

8th place: Naimad69 - 1 point

You can get in your votes on who you think will win the final round between Batman and Green Lantern starting right here and now, but make sure to stop by Panels of Awesome starting Monday to vote in the poll and help your pick win.

Also, make sure to get your bonus points in by pimpage and breakdowns - they just may be the deciding factor in who wins the prestige and prizes!

Technorati Tags: Awesome Arena, Tournament of Champions, Thor, Batman, Green Lantern, Superman, Hal Jordan, Tony Stark

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Popularity: 12% [?]

First of all, in the interest of speeding this thing up and moving on to his next tournament, Mike is hosting the polls for both semifinal battles this week so that the final can occur next week. Make sure to get over there and vote, because both of this week’s battles are worth eight points!

Last week, Superman overpowered Hulk, but there were no breakdowns submitted, so there are no bonus points for that.

Here are the current standings:

AJ holds steady at first place with six first round points for correctly predicting victories for Martian Manhunter, Thor, Red Tornado, Captain America, Green Lantern, and Hulk; six second-round points for predicting Batman’s victory over Martian Manhunter, Thor’s victory over Red Tornado, and Green Lantern’s victory over Captain America; twenty-two bonus points for posts on his myspace blog and view askew; three more bonus points for signing up for an account on The Forums of Awesome; and the ten bonus points for breakdowns this week and last for a total of FORTY-SEVEN POINTS!

Midknight has gained some ground this week with seven first round points for knowing that Batman, Thor, Red Tornado, Captain America, Green Lantern, Hulk, and Superman ain’t nothing to mess with, six second-round points for knowing that Batman and Thor REALLY ain’t nothin’ to mess with, ten bonus points for posts on ComicVine, two bonus points for pimping us on his blog, one bonus point for helping Mike search for Batboat pictures, three more bonus points for signing up with Forums of Awesome, and the ten bonus points awarded for his breakdowns the last two weeks to give him a total of THIRTY-NINE POINTS!

Midknight could easily overtake AJ this week

RJP is also still in the race in third with two first round points for supporting Batman and Red Tornado, four second round points for backing Batman and Superman, 18 bonus points for posts on Between The Staples and his Facebook account, and three bonus points for signing up for the Forums of Awesome for a total of TWENTY-SEVEN POINTS!

In fourth, Xers has four first round points with victories for Martian Manhunter, Thor, Red Tornado, and Captain America, two bonus points for posts on Cre8Buzz and BlackPlanet, and three more bonus points for signing up with Forums of Awesome for a total of NINE POINTS!

Patrick D. is in fifth place with two points for backing Batman and Martian Manhunter (I wonder who he’ll pick when they fight eachother?”), two bonus points for posts on Patrick Says and his Twitter, and three more bonus points for signing up at Forums of Awesome for a total of SEVEN POINTS!

In sixth place, DougFungus has three first round points for supporting Batman, Red Tornado, and Captain America and three bonus points for signing up at Forums of Awesome for a total of SIX POINTS!

In seventh, Weston backed Martian Manhunter, Thor, Red Tornado, and Captain America for a total of FOUR POINTS!

Finally, in eighth place, Naimad89 backed Batman to give him ONE POINT!

Once again, the standings are:

1st: AJ - 47 points

2nd place: Midknight- 39 points

3rd place: RJP - 25 points

4th place: Xers- 9 points

5th place: Patrick D. - 7 points

6th place: Dougfungus - 6 points

7th place Weston - 4 points

8th place: Naimad69 - 1 point

This week, Superman is throwing down with Green Lantern and Batman is taking on Thor to see who will meet in the final round of the Awesome Arena Tournament of Champions!

I’ll elaborate in the comments on Mike’s poll, but I’ll tell you my predictions now - Thor and Green Lantern in the final round.

Protest all you like, but remember this - I have yet to be wrong on an Awesome Arena pick.

Once again, don’t forget to vote in both of Mike’s polls and tell us who you think will win and why in the comments either there or here for a shot at a total of sixteen points! And don’t forget to tell me how your pick will win for a chance at five bonus points!

Also, Mike has asked me to let everyone know that the polls close this Friday instead of Sunday.

This game is still not over, folks.

Let’s get it on!

Technorati Tags: Awesome Arena, Tournament of Champions, Hulk, Superman, Green Lantern, Batman, Thor

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Popularity: 13% [?]

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Cracker’s Note: This is a repost from the new Awesome Arena Site! You now have a choice between discussing the results here or over there; you’ll be awarded your points either way. Of course, if you decide to conduct all of your Awesome Arena business on the official site, I hope you’ll stop by to visit me here once in awhile.

Batman has kicked the second round of the Tournament of Champions off in style, stomping a mudhole in Martian Manhunter’s hindquarters and continuing my streak of correct predictions. He’ll be moving on to battle the winner of this week’s battle between Thor and Red Tornado.

I had a dilemma this week. Midknight and AJ both had correct predictions and wrote up pretty good breakdowns, even if neither fit my vision of how I think it would have gone down. I don’t picture Batman taking the time to taunt or torture his opponent, especially when it’s a fellow JLA‘er, and I was severely tempted to choose against AJ’s because Batman does NOT kill, especially an ally, unless there is absolutely no other choice. Being the sole arbiter, I suppose I could have followed that temptation, but it felt wrong in a race as close as this. So I flipped a coin.

Luckily for AJ, the quarter loves him more than the eenie-meenie-miney-moe and he gets the five bonus points, resulting in yet another lead change.

Batman and Martain Manhunter step in to the Arena. They circle one another slowly and silently, both preparing to strike. The Manhunter remains intangible in preperation for an attack.
“We don’t have to do this you know.” says Bruce.
“It appears that we do.” Says a suspicious J’onnz.
“No, look, I’ve got it all figured out. You just have to trust me.”
Batman quickly and quietly explains a highly detailed and seemingly fool-proof plan to free themselves and all the other heroes from these sick and twisted geeks that have them trapped. Finally, and hesitantly, the Manhunter agrees and becomes tangible again.
BAM! Batman punches him in the face, knocking him to the ground, while at the same time pulling some kind of weapon from his utility belt and shooting MM.
Martain Manhunter reacts a few seconds to late, attempting to go intangible. He is not only still solid, but now in the worst pain of his life.
“Nanites” Batman explains, “I’m sorry J’onn, I really ment everything I said. I needed to, of course, to get you to believe me, but thats not the point.”
J’onn tries to go intangible again, and fails screaming.
“Please stop that.”
“Bruce -”
“J’onn please, this is hard enough without you pleading.”
Bruce takes a small bottle from his belt, and slowly begins pouring the contents in a cicle around Martain Manhunter, and then on top of MM himself.
“What are you doing?” he says, frightened.
“You know what I’m doing. I’m sorry J’onn. I hope you understand.”
He flicks open a lighter, and drops it to the ground. A bright flames spring to life immediatly, and J’onn screams. He tries to go intangible, only to be injured by the technology immobilizing him.
As his friend burns, Bruce Wayne walks in to the darkness, where he belongs.

Once again, I feel the need to state that my vision of a character doesn’t always agree with our guest break-down person’s vision.

Moving on…

AJhas regained first place with six first round points for correctly predicting victories for Martian Manhunter, Thor, Red Tornado, Captain America, Green Lantern, and Hulk, two second-round points for predicting Batman’s victory over Martian Manhunter, twentry bonus points for posts on his myspace blog and view askew, three more bonus points for signing up for an account on The Forums of Awesome, and the five bonus points for this week’s write-up for a total of THIRTY-SIX POINTS!

Midknight has dropped to second, but just barely with seven first round points for knowing that Batman, Thor, Red Tornado, Captain America, Green Lantern, Hulk, and Superman ain’t nothing to mess with, two second-round points for knowing that Batman REALLY ain’t nothin’ to mess with, ten bonus points for posts on ComicVine, two bonus points for pimping us on his blog, one bonus point for helping Mike search for Batboat pictures, three more bonus points for signing up with Forums of Awesome, and the ten bonus points awarded for his breakdowns the last two weeks to give him a total of THIRTY-FIVE POINTS!

RJP stays in third with two first round points for supporting Batman and Red Tornado, two second round points for backing Batman, 18 bonus points for posts on Between The Staples and his Facebook account, and three bonus points for signing up for the Forums of Awesome for a total of TWENTY-FIVE POINTS!

In fourth, Xers has four first round points with victories for Martian Manhunter, Thor, Red Tornado, and Captain America, two bonus points for posts on Cre8Buzz and BlackPlanet, and three more bonus points for signing up with Forums of Awesome for a total of NINE POINTS!

Patrick D. is in fifth place with two points for backing Batman and Martian Manhunter (I wonder who he’ll pick when they fight eachother?”), two bonus points for posts on Patrick Says and his Twitter, and three more bonus points for signing up at Forums of Awesome for a total of SEVEN POINTS!

In sixth place, DougFungus has three first round points for supporting Batman, Red Tornado, and Captain America and three bonus points for signing up at Forums of Awesome for a total of SIX POINTS!

In seventh, Weston backed Martian Manhunter, Thor, Red Tornado, and Captain America for a total of FOUR POINTS!

Finally, in eighth place, Naimad89 backed Batman to give him ONE POINT!

Once again, the standings are:

1st: AJ - 36 points

2nd place: Midknight- 35 points

3rd place: RJP - 25 points

4th place: Xers- 9 points

5th place: Patrick D. - 7 points

6th place: Dougfungus - 6 points

7th placeWeston - 4 points

8th place: Naimad69 - 1 point

Once again, don’t forget to vote in the poll and tell us who you think will win and why in the comments either there or here! And don’t forget to tell me how your pick will win for a chance at five bonus points!

Finally, remember that since this is the second round, correct predictions are now worth TWO points. The game is far from over, folks.

Let’s get it on!

Technorati Tags: Awesome Arena, Tournament of Champions, Batman, Martian Manhunter, Thor, Red Tornado

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I heard through the grapevine that the first (of hopefully many) Television spot for The Dark Knight debuted after the season finale of Survivor: wherever the heck they are this time.

I don’t watch Survivor, so I obviously didn’t catch the trailer when it came on, but Youtube came through me once again.

WB Lawyers may or may not yank this, so watch it fast just in case.

Technorati Tags: Batman, The Dark Knight, Trailer, TV Spot, Survivor Sucks

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