Is (SPOILER!!!) Going To Die In Star Wars: The Force Awakens???

This is a special weekend edition of The Comconocave because...well, this theory is really kind of out there, and it may be reading too much into things.  Let me explain.

My friend Ken, the same friend that I was brainstorming with when we came up with the theory a few weeks ago that Finn is actually Han Solo's son, after it was revealed that he was once married to Sana Solo, was out shopping for one of his sons for Christmas and came across some toys called Star Wars Fighter Pod Rampage.  They are really small figures of characters from the movies (picture above) and he discovered something that was kind of curious...one of the figures was a blue ghost-version of Leia. Now, this might not be anything at all, but while he was looking at the back of the box and seeing what other figures were being offered he noticed that the only other figures that were being offered as blue ghost figures were Anakin, Yoda, and Obi-Wan.  See what I'm getting at?  The only thing that Anakin, Yoda, and Obi-Wan have in common is that they are all dead.  So why is Leia being offered in this same manner?

Sometimes toys and soundtracks can give things away before a movie is released.  Back when The Phantom Menace was set to be released, the soundtrack for the movie came out prior to the movie's release, and one of the songs from the movie was titled, "The Funeral For Qui-Gon," pretty much giving away the fact that Qui-Gon was going to die.  Just recently a card game for the upcoming The Force Awakens shared the fact that Rey has Force powers, and not Finn.  So are these toys letting us know that Leia is about to die?  She's no longer "Princess Leia" but is now "General Leia."  Military personnel have a tendency to die in movies when it seems most dramatic, so is that what's going to happen to Leia?

This theory is just that...a theory.  Ken pointed it out to me after he got home and was talking with his wife about it, and sent me the photo of the figure, which is what is used up above.  I thought it was completely possible, and made sense, so I thought I'd share it with you all.  What are your thoughts?  Are we reading too much into this, or do you think that this theory holds water?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments section down below, and make sure you share this with your friends on Twitter!

George Lucas Interview Shows Why It's Good He's Not In Charge Anymore

 

One of the longest running arguments in all of Star Wars is whether or not Han Solo shot at Greedo first.  In the original version of the film A New Hope, Han opens up on Greedo in the cantina to avoid being captured and taken to Jabba the Hutt.  In the "Special Edition" version to the film, George Lucas changed the scene to show Greedo shooting first.  This changed the whole dynamic of the scene, as well as the character Han Solo.  So why did he do it?  Here's what Lucas said on the subject in a recent interview:

"Han Solo was going to marry Leia, and you look back and say, 'Should he be a cold-blooded killer?'  Because I was thinking mythologically - should he be a cowboy, should he be John Wayne?  And I said, 'Yeah, he should be John Wayne.'  And when you're John Wayne, you don't shoot people first - you let them have the first shot.  It's a mythological reality that we hope our society pays attention to."

 

I'm not 100% on this, but I'm pretty sure John Wayne didn't always wait to get killed before shooting someone himself.  Oh, and John Wayne was the cowboy!  Let's be honest for a moment...it doesn't matter if you label Han Solo as a space cowboy, or a space pirate.  Both cowboys and pirates killed people, so what difference does it make if they shot first or not?  Why is he so distraught over this one scene when he goes on to kill hundreds of Stormtroopers in later battles?  Plus, Greedo had a gun already trained on him in the scene, so why wouldn't he shoot first?  Not only did Lucas' "Special Edition" ruin the original scene with his own conscience, but he also turned Greedo into the worst shot in the universe!  I mean, really?  How could a bounty hunter miss a shot from across a table?!?  How had Greedo not been killed sooner???

 

Now you know where I stand on the whole "Who shot first?" debate, but I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the matter.  Leave me your comments in the section below, and tell me who you think shot first!

Batman v Superman...Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?

Okay, I am now seriously excited for the new Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice movie to be released!  Check out the latest trailer that was given to us last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live.  I couldn't get the actual video to upload onto this page, so here's the link to the video on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fis-9Zqu2Ro

It looks like all of the guessing and speculation as to whether or not Doomsday is going to be in the movie has been answered in this one trailer...and he looks to be a total badass!  Oh, and anyone who thought that Gal Gadot was a bad choice for Wonder Woman might want to change their opinion after watching this trailer!  Sorry, I'm straying off the topic at hand...Doomsday.

Doomsday was first introduced to the world in Superman #75 back in 1992, and was created by Dan Jurgens.  He's probably best known for "killing" Superman.  We didn't know too much about the beast when we first saw him.  He was just a rampaging monster that came from the ground and wanted nothing more than to kill.  After leaving a wake of destruction across the Eastern United States and taking out the Justice League, Doomsday and Superman battle to the death, each one died at it's climax...or so we thought.  Superman was buried, and Doomsday was shot out into space.

Like all good comic book characters, neither of them stayed dead for long.  When Doomsday was reintroduced, we learned that he was created by a Kryptonian named Bertron.  He was a genetic experiment that was the result of cloning, torture, death, and re-cloning.  Every time that Doomsday died, he would get resurrected and evolve so that he couldn't be killed the same way twice.  After tearing havoc across the universe, he was captured, imprisoned in a capsule and blasted into space where he landed on prehistoric Earth and buried miles underground.  Because of the way he was created and treated, when he escaped from his prison, he had a hatred of anything and everything Kryptonian, which is why he tried so hard to destroy Superman.

That's the short version of who Doomsday is, but as we can see from the trailer, his origins look to have changed tremendously.  Everything that we think we know about Doomsday is thrown right out the window, and a new origin story for the creature will be given to us when Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theaters next year, March 25, 2016. 

Spider-Man In The MCU

 

Tom Holland seems to have a pretty good outlook on the new cinematic version of Spider-Man that he is going to be playing, and he makes some interesting points as to what separates him from the other superheros in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

 

So far, Marvel has been giving Peter Parker the "Luke Skywalker treatment," because they've been keeping him out of their trailer releases, but that hasn't stopped Holland from talking about his role as Spider-Man in the upcoming Captain America film, and on his first stand-alone movie.  While talking to SuperHeroHype during his rounds promoting In The Heart Of The Sea, the topic of Spider-Man came up...go figure!  Here's what he had to say to them:

 

“I have always been a huge fan of Spider-Man, and growing up, I had countless Spider-Man costumes,” he told us. “Only two years ago did I go to a fancy dress party dressed as Spider-Man. I had this awesome morph suit where you can put your phone on your chest and spiders would crawl across the costume, it was awesome! He’s always been a big part of my life and a big part of boys’ lives because everybody can relate to him.”

 

I have to admit, I felt the same way about Spider-Man growing up.  He was one of my favorite comic book characters, but what sets him apart from the other Marvel superheros in the MCU?

 

“I think one of the most interesting things about Peter Parker for us is that he’s the only person in the MCU now that has a secret identity, so we all know who everyone else is. I think it’s quite interesting to go back to that hiding behind a mask.”

 

Again, I thought that this was a pretty astute thing for him to notice and point out.  To be honest, I hadn't even thought about that aspect of his character in the MCU.  So was there any news on the new Spider-Man movie that Marvel and Sony are getting ready to film?

 

“We’re shooting in Atlanta for most of it, because they have studios there and I think it’s cheaper to build a New York set than it is to shoot here, because it’s going to be very expensive. We probably will end up here (in New York) for one week or two.”

 

I like this kid's energy.  He seems to really respect the character and wants to live up to people's love of the guy, and not try to change him like some actors wanted to do (yes, I'm talking to you, Andrew Garfield!)  You'll be able to get your first look at Tom Holland as Spider-Man in next summer's release of Captain America: Civil War, out May 6, 2016.

Are Iron Man And Captain America Going To Be In The New Spider-Man Movie?

Well this is kind of interesting...

Last week, Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans made an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live to promote their upcoming film, Captain America: Civil War.  It was your basic promotional gig that all actors do while trying to drum up interest in their new movie, but there was one thing that Robert Downey Jr. said that has the whole interweb stirring.  During the interview, RDJ turned to Evans and said:

"By the way, we are going to shoot in Atlanta again, you and I."

Evans responded:

"I know, I'm ready, I'm ready."

Now, a lot of people just assumed that the two were talking about filming the next Avengers films, Avengers: Infinity War part 1 & 2, but here's the curious thing...Sony's new Spider-Man movie is also going to start filming Pinewood Atlanta Studios next summer...see where I'm going with this?

Marvel Studios and Sony came to an agreement that would allow Spider-Man (a property owned by Sony) to appear n the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and also would allow Marvel some say in Sony's stand-alone Spider-Man movies.  Spidey's first appearance is going to be in the upcoming Captain America: Civil War, and fanboys and fangirls are eagerly awaiting the Wall Crawler's entrance into the MCU.  His appearance in the film will allow fans to get to know the new Peter Parker, while also allowing Sony to jump right in with a new story for their stand-alone movie that isn't an "origins" story.  Since he's going to be appearing in the Captain America movie, wouldn't it make sense that Iron Man and Captain America might make an appearance in the new Spider-Man film?  You know, "you scratch my property's back, and I'll scratch yours" type of thing?  Plus, that would be a huge boost to the Spider-Man franchise, that has seen dwindling interest and revenue over the last three films.  To bring in Marvel's two biggest stars would would make it a guaranteed blockbuster!

So that's the take that a lot of people are seeing from the interview.  What do you think?  Is it possible that RDJ and Evans will appear in the stand-alone Spider-Man movie, or are people reading too much into what was said on Jimmy Kimmel Live?  Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

Aquaman Villian Rumored For Stand Alone Movie

Warner Bros. and DC have me scratching my head with this choice...if it's true.

The website JoBlo is reporting that the villain of the upcoming Aquaman movie will be none other than Orm, or Ocean Master, who is Aquaman's half-brother.  JoBlo is reporting this as a "surprise" move by DC and Warner Bros., but considering that he's been Aquaman's main antagonist in the New 52 storyline, as well as appearing in the animated film Aquaman: Throne of Atlantis, it really shouldn't surprise anyone.  If this is true, do they really think that this is the best course of action to set them apart from the Marvel movies?  Let me explain...

Stop me if you've hear this one.  The son of a king to a realm is being groomed to take it over, while his half-brother plots to take it from him due to his jealous nature and his desire for power.  Where have I heard this plot line before?  Hmmm...Oh, wait!  That's the same plot from the Thor movie!  Wow!  I knew that this sounded familiar!

Come on guys!  If you're trying to set yourself apart from the Marvel franchises, at least come up with an original idea!  There are so many other villains that you could have chosen, like, I don't know, Black Manta?  Black Manta is also a much cooler villain, as well.  Just a thought, guys.

The script is still being written by screenwriter Charles Roven, and if this is the case, maybe someone should shoot this post over to him and let him see if this is truly the best course of action for this movie.  Then again, maybe it's just me.  What do you think?  Am I over reacting, or does this new Aquaman movie just sound like Thor under water?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.

James Webb Space Telescope Is Now Under Construction

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), NASA's next generation telescope that will replace the Hubble Telescope, finally had it's first mirror segment installed, the first of 18 different segments.  The JWST will be able to see out into space further and more clearly than the Hubble Telescope can currently do right now.  It will also be able to determine what the atmospheres of exoplanets are, and determine their potential for harboring life.  It should be completed sometime next year.

The JWST's eighteen segments will be combined to create a mirrored surface that will be able to give the telescope a twenty-five square mile viewing area.  Compare that to the Hubble, which can only gather a five-mile viewing area.  Here's a picture giving you a better idea of the size difference between the two, as well as their designs:

^{Comparison between Hubble and JWST. NASA.}

See?  Completely different designs.  The eighteen segments are made up of a reflective surface that is made of beryllium, and then it's coated in gold.  The telescope will unfold these eighteen segments and align them precisely when it reaches it's orbiting altitude of one million miles above the Earth.  The telescope is a joint effort between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency.  The JWST will launch into space October 18, 2018 from French Guiana on an ESA Ariane V rocket.