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Jamie Foxx Eyes Electro Role in Amazing Spider-Man 2
♦ by Unknown Thursday, 1 November 2012 Wednesday, 31 October 2012 Tuesday, 23 October 2012 0 comments
Oscar winner Jamie Foxx is reportedly in early talks to play the villain in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. And which villain is that?
According to Variety, Foxx would play Electro.As the trade reminds us, "In The Amazing Spider-Man's post-credit sequence, set inside Dr. Curt Connors' cell at an asylum, the Lizard is approached by a mysterious, shadowy figure (Michael Massee) who asks if Peter Parker knows the truth about his father. Lightning features prominently in the scene prompting auds to believe that Electro would be featured in the sequel."
Foxx hinted at the role with his tweet today: "Dressed up as Electro for Halloween last night. Costume fits well."
Electro, aka Max Dillon, was a criminal who gained the power to control electricity. He's one of Spidey's oldest foes, debuting back in 1964 in The Amazing Spider-Man #9. We ranked him 87th on our list of The Top 100 Comic Book Villains.The Ultimate version of Electro was retooled to be the result of bioengineering, which is in keeping with the Spidey movie reboot's emphasis on science.
Here's our bio of him:
Max Dillon's father left when he was eight years old. His mother became overprotective, which led to an inferiority complex. But we'll get to that later. He took a job as a lineman for an electric company to someday become an electrical engineer. One day, while he was repairing a power line and holding a wire, lightning struck and mutated his nervous system making him a living electrical capacitor. Thus Electro was born.
Electro's powers include shooting up to one million volts of electricity from his fingertips. When his body is charged, he is superhumanly strong and fast, can glide over power lines and can even ride lightning bolts. Doctor Octopus once got him to ionize metals for a science experiment. He can also absorb electrical equipment and manipulate those devices with his mind. But do not get him close to water. Well, unless you want to stop him.
He almost killed Spider-Man in their first meeting, just by being touched. He has been in basically every incarnation of the Doctor Octopus clubs-the Sinister Six, Sinister Seven and Green Goblin's Sinister Twelve. He's been part of the Chameleon's Exterminators and the Hood. As part of the Frightful Four, he used Spider-Man as bait to trap the Fantastic Four. He attacked Sue Storm and Reed Richards at their wedding of all places. He blew up cars with children in them, tried to take over New York's power supply and was even hired by J. Jonah Jameson to beat up Spider-Man on TV.
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Ghosts #1 Review
♦ by Unknown Thursday, 1 November 2012 Wednesday, 31 October 2012 Tuesday, 23 October 2012 0 comments
Ghosts is Vertigo's latest seasonally appropriate anthology issue. As the simple title suggests, the various stories in this book explore the concept of ghosts from a variety of angles, some much more literal than others. While every Vertigo anthology has at least some worthwhile material, they also ask a lot of readers with the $8 cover price. Luckily, in terms of both the creative talent involved and the quality of the stories, Ghosts is one of Vertigo's better efforts.
The obvious headliner of this issue is Ghost for Hire, a joint effort between Geoff Johns and Jeff Lemire and one that makes a strong case for why Johns should venture outside of the DC Universe more often. It's a fun, charming tale that could just as easily be placed in an all-ages anthology. The other highly significant entry in the issue is Joe Kubert's The Boy and the Old Man. While visually rough since Kubert wasn't able to do more than layout the story before his death, the story is a very heartfelt and engaging look at an elderly, terminally ill man fighting to protect his grandson. It's difficult not to read a deeper significance to the story given Kubert's unfortunate passing.
Plenty of other strong material rounds out the issue. Paul Pope and David Lapham team for a sci-fi pirate epic called Treasue Lost. Here the ghost theme is at its most tenuous, but who cares when it allows Pope to do more of the surreal, creative storytelling he excels at. Gilbert Hernandez's The Dark Lady is an initially somber read that takes a fun turn towards the end. Al Ewing and Rufus Dayglo's The Night After I Took the Data Entry Job I was Visited By My Own Ghost may be obnoxiously titled, but it offers a fun twist on the "Ghost of Christmas Future" formula.
There are a few missteps here, to be sure. The Dead Boy Detectives in 'Run Ragged is enjoyable and visually diverse, but it ends abruptly and encourages readers to wait for the next Vertigo anthology for a continuation of the story. Amy Reeder's art is a highlight in Wallflower, but the idea of two lovers becoming metaphorical ghosts to each other sort of fizzles out by the end. The only story I actively disliked, though, was Bride. Though it too boasts some strong visuals, the storytelling was pointlessly obtuse and the main characters thoroughly unlikable.
Yes, $8 is lot to ask for any comic, but Ghosts offers a wealth of content, and quality content at that.
Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.
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Apple Announces More Powerful 4th Gen iPad
♦ by Unknown Thursday, 1 November 2012 Wednesday, 31 October 2012 Tuesday, 23 October 2012 0 comments
Today at Apple's iPad Mini event the company announced a variety of new hardware, including a refreshed mainline iPad. Still known as just "iPad" (Apple dropped specific iPad naming with the 3rd generation iPad released in March), the new device features Apple's new A6X chip. This new hardware replaces the A5X chip found in the third generation iPad with Apple promising performance that is "twice as fast."
The new iPad also features dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) 802.11n Wi-Fi which should increase Wi-Fi speeds in real-world settings. iPad owners that spring for cellular access will now be able to connect to LTE networks. It also drops Apple's old 30-pin connector in favor of the company's smaller new Lightning connector.
Beyond these internal upgrades, the iPad remains the same. It's features the same Retina Display screen resolution as well as the same size and weight. The refresh generally seems designed to keep pace with the ever-growing graphics requirements of high-end games and apps and to keep the iPad up-to-date with Apple's previous iPhone 5 improvements.
The new 4th generation iPad starts at $499.
Justin is Editor of IGN Wireless. You can follow him on Twitter at @ErrorJustin and on IGN.
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