On Mutants And Tax Laws

The NPR show Radiolab is one of (if not the) best radio program on the air today. If you haven't listened to it before, you definitely should. No other program out there, be it on radio, TV or the Internet, manages to mix science and whimsy as well as Radiolab does.

In their most recent podcast episode, the fine folks who run the show decided to take a detailed look at a recent court case involving Marvel comics. The lawsuit centered on whether Marvel's famous mutants known as the X-Men qualified as humans or not. No, this isn't some form of viral marketing for an upcoming X-Men story. This was a real court case with major implications for Marvel's mutant toy lines.

It all comes down to taxes, and how imported toys are taxed by the US Government. Just why would Marvel be arguing over the possible inhumanity of the X-Men? What does such a legal argument say about the story of the X-Men as a whole? What does it say about us as the readers? All of these questions are addressed in this episode of Radiolab.

If you're a fan of the X-Men, or even just comics in general, you should definitely give the show a listen. You can stream the episode here.

The Single Best Re-telling Of The Death & Rebirth Of Superman That You Will Ever See

I can't help but love Max Landis' (son of John Landis, writer of the upcoming movie Chronicle) slightly inebriated re-telling of the death and rebirth of Superman storyline from the mid 90's. It has all of the hallmarks of a great nerd rage rant.

Liquor + nerd rage + years of pent up frustration at a single storyline = Nerd Rant

You can tell this is something that has bothered Mr. Landis for years. Only nerds dwell so long on a single comic book story to the point where they feel the need to rant about it at length well over a decade later. What makes this rant truly great though is the super low budget retelling that is taking place to illustrate his story.

Add to that the fact that this super low budget retelling includes such star power as Elijah Wood, Simon Pegg and more, and this becomes a piece of nerd gold!

We Have A Hulk

Above is the extended version of the trailer for The Avengers that aired during yesterday's Superbowl. Words cannot express how happy just about every shot in this trailer makes me happy. Especially that team shot where they're all standing in the street getting ready for round 2 of battle. And Tony Stark's quip to Loki at the end of the trailer is just perfect. Loki's bragging about the awesomeness of his army and Tony just says, "We Have A Hulk" because as we all know, a hulk is worth way more than an army.

The First On-Set Pic From Star Trek 2 Makes Me Super Happy

This is the first official picture released from the set of Star Trek 2, which is currently in production. It was tweeted by Trek 2's writer Roberto Orci.

Just seeing this pic has made me super giddy with nerdy excitement. I can't help it. I'm looking forward to this film so much.

Comic Book Nerds Say The Coolest Things

Ok, yeah, I know there have been about a million different "Shit (enter group name here) Says" videos coming out over the internets lately. And while many of them have been genuinely entertaining, none of them have actually made me laugh out loud yet.

That is, until I saw this one.

Shit Comic Book Nerds says is not only hilarious, it is dead on accurate. I'm pretty sure that I have, at one point or another, said every single thing on this list. I'm not kidding. I've said them all. And lets be honest here, if you're reading this blog then chances are so have you.

For me, it was the lines about Bucky that broke me. I've have said those lines word for word, with the exact same feeling and delivery as they are made here. I couldn't help it, I did actually laugh out loud, or LOL if you prefer (although I hate using that term).

No Wonder I Love This Guy So Much

I've been a fan of Neil DeGrasse Tyson for some time now. He's both super smart and cool as hell. Listening to him talk science is a joy. Now, thanks to this handy chart, I finally understand just how this man can possibly be as damned awesome as he is.

(Via Blastr)

Could The Next G.I. Joe Movie Actually Be Good?

Be still my heart. Is it possible? After the absolutely awful, unspeakably bad, horrible film that was the first G.I Joe movie, is it actually possible that its sequel might actually end up being the film I originally wanted all along? If this new trailer is at all indicative of what the rest of the film will be like, yes.

I'll be honest here, this trailer actually has me excited about the idea of a GI Joe movie again. After walking out of the last film, I wouldn't have imagined that was possible, but this trailer packs in a lot of great moments.

• Snake Eyes without creepy lips on his mask.
• Cobra Commander actually wearing his mask.
• The Rock looking bad ass in pretty much every frame he is in.
• Is that Jinx with the red blindfold fighting Snake Eyes?
• Cobra Rattlers blowing stuff up.
• No Marlon Wayans anywhere in sight.
• Stormshadow is back.
• No stupid mechanical body suits.
• Ninjas fighting on the side of a cliff.
• Cool exotic locales.
• Bruce Willis being as awesome as he always is.

And let's not forget my favorite moment.

• Cobra banners being dropped over the white house as a Cobra flag flies above it.

Hell yeah! This looks like it could be genuinely fun. It actually feels like a G.I. Joe story. Yeah, the heroes on the run thing was already done for the G.I. Joe renegades cartoon (and a bunch of other stories), but I liked that cartoon, so I'm ok with this. After the last film, anything is an improvement, right?

Oh, and to top this off, rumor has it that Sgt. Slaughter himself will also have a cameo in the film. Woohoo!!! Go Sarge!!!

I am a little sad to see no Baroness in the trailer too, but only because I love her character so much. Hopefully she'll be in the film somewhere. Regardless though, as a life-long G.I. Joe fan, I suddenly have my hopes up again for a Joe film that is worth a damn. Let's hope I'm not getting set up for more disappointment.