So is Civil War done now and is it becoming Skrullocaust or something like that?
Actually, Hulk has been missing in action for a year off fighting bloody gladitorial contests on an alien world and partaking in a revolution. However, The Illuminatti (a super-secret team of heroes that have been pulling the strings and are headed by Iron Man and Reed Richards, amongst others) were the ones that shipped Hulk off planet. This was mainly done because during the Registration Act of Civil War they didn't want to have to deal with Hulk because he'd have torn them a fresh bunghole. Now, he's headed back to Earth and is really going to light some $hit up. I can't wait.
As for my favorite superhero movies?
1. Superman: The Movie
-This film is the blueprint for all superhero origin movies and is a benchmark for not only the medium, but for fantasy cinema as a whole.
2. Batman Begins
-Finally they hired a semi-competent screenwriting/directing team to pull off a Batflick. Bale owns the role and everything is so much better executed than the previous franchise that you forget you have to watch Katie Holmes try to act.
3. The Incredibles
-Great ensemble piece that works on many levels for many different audiences and is a treat for all comic book fans because of the stereotypes it pokes fun at. Plus, the layout of the story works like a charm and the team's usage of powers is very well-done.
4. The Hulk
-Although it suffers from a front-end heavy editing job and a disorganized finale placement, it still has some of the biggest money-moments in superhero films for me, to date. James Shamus wrote a character piece. If it would've been re-organized a little better, and would've had some editing that was less plodding, it would probably be tied with my favorite.
5. X-Men 2
-Perfect example of how to execute a sequel. Definitely in the short company of better-than-the-first-time franchise attempts with movies like Aliens and Empire Strikes Back.
6. Superman II
-Good example of a solidly idealized sequel that was mismanaged by a change in directors. The Donner Cut fixed some of those problems and created some new ones. Overall, though, for it's time it was a hell of a ride to finally watch metahumans tear a city up kicking ass on each other.
7. Spider-Man 2
-Aside from allowing a fusion test in a New York flat, this film was awesome, to me. Better character development than the first one. Also, the dialogue was much, much improved and lacked the corniness that SM1 was frequent with.
8. Sin City
-Frank Miller's genius if finally realized by someone in Hollywood. Wonderfuly crafted comic-stylized noir piece that lets you really grab a hold of the genuine flavor of what his books were about. And to think, at one time they butchered this guys scripts for the Robocop sequels. No wonder Orion pictures is out of business.
9. 300
-Yet again, Zack Snyder delivers a pleaser that is visually and emotionally what was intended by the books. I can't wait until he gets his hands on The Watchmen.
10. Superman Returns
-I'm a pretty ardent supporter of Bryan Singer. I mean, the guy's performed miracles (X-men 1 was delivered for under $75 million and six months ahead of schedule!). This film would've placed higher up on my list, but like Ang Lee's effort on The Hulk, I feel the ball was dropped not during scripting or behind the camera...but rather in the editing room. Unneeded sections were kept in (the Smallville flashback sequence is pointless fluff) and other more important sections were cut (a $10 million sequence involving Superman's return to Krypton as well as scenes involving Lex and his cohort Stanford actually being the ones into duping NASA into thinking Krypton was still in existence...pure brilliance). Some of the cuts that were there could've been sped along to further the pacing of the film and basically run a tighter ship. If I wasn't such a diehard Superman nazi, then I'd probably be a little nicer to this film, but I hold high standards for the greatest superhero ever.
