Last night…
Me: I’m super cold. Hope I’m not coming down with something.
Akemi: I’m super hot. Hope I’m not coming down with something.
Starting something new! Today, I kick off 100 Supervillain Stories with “Triumph and Torment”!
Doctor Doom and Doctor Strange enter Mephisto’s realm in an all-out effort to free the soul of Doctor Doom’s mother! But what price must be paid before Mephisto will release it? And will Doctor Doom make the sacrifice?
Writer: Roger Stern
Penciler: Mike Mignola
Inker: Mark Badger
Colorist: Mark Badger
Letterer: Jim Novak
Released as part of the The Marvel Graphic Novel Series that included such landmark stories as “The Death of Captain Marvel” and “X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills”, “Triumph and Torment” delivers a tale that is no less seminal, humanizing the villainous Doom by casting a light on his tragic backstory while establishing Doctor Strange as Sorcerer Supreme.
It’s well-paced, with a slow-burn intro segueing to a dramatic sorcerer’s competition that, in turn, sets up the unlikely alliance between Doom and Strange. We don’t actually get to Hell – sorry, the Netherworld – until fully halfway through, but the build to that moment is terrific.
It’s fascinating to see a pre-Hellboy Mike Mignola’s depiction of the hellish landscape and demons. Mark Badger does a nice job on colors with one sequence standing out in particular where Strange escapes his bleak, muted hallucinatory palette to a primary blast of yellow, red and blue as he breaks free of his mental prison.
Some delightful narrative surprises that illuminate the complexity of Doom’s character really elevate this one to milestone status.
Tomorrow, our 100 Supervillain Stories series continues with another seminal work – “The Killing Joke” (1988)
5 famous films and their original titles (Round 3) – Answers revealed!
Eaters of the Dead = The 13th Warrior (Originally named after the Michael Crichton’s 1975 novel of the same name. After the movie was retooled, and original director John McTiernan replaced by Crichton himself, the title was changed to appeal to a broader audience.)
Everybody Come to Rick’s = Casablanca (The movie was based on “Everybody Comes to Rick’s”, an unproduced stage play. Warner Bros. purchased the film rights for the unheard of – at the time – price of $20,000)
King of the Jungle = The Lion King (Originally referred to as Bambi in Africa, it was given the placeholder title King of the Jungle in development before eventually landing on its final title)
Pacific Air Flight 121 = Snakes on a Plane (The original script was titled Flight 121 but later changed to Snakes on a Plane. Apparently, as the release date approached, the studio decided to change it to the more generic Pacific Flight 121 which resulted in Samuel L. Jackson vehemently protesting the switch – which resulted in the decision to switch back to Snakes on a Plane).
Scary Movie = Scream (The project was initially developed under the original name of the script, Scary Movie. But it was ultimately felt that Scary Movie sounded too generic and silly, and didn’t reflect the film’s sharper tone. The studio opted for a new title, presumably inspired by the Michael and Janet Jackson song “Scream”).
Ready for Round 4?? Guess these 5 famous films by their original titles…
The Coldest City
Head Cheese
Nothing Lasts Forever
Scared Sheetlets
Star Beast
Our Columbo rewatch continues tomorrow with “Short Fuse”
Pressured to give up his birthright, a chemical company heir enacts a clever plan to get rid of his blackmailing uncle and take over the family business. But Lt. Columbo suspects the man’s death was not just a tragic accident.
Our upcoming viewing schedule:
Friday, March 14th: Short Fuse
Monday, March 17th: Blueprint for Murder
Friday, March 21st: Etude in Black
Monday, March 24th: The Greenhouse Jungle
Friday, March 28th: The Most Crucial Game
Monday, March 31st: Dagger of the Mind
Friday, April 4th: Requiem for a Falling Star
Monday, April 7th: A Stitch in Crime
Friday, April 11th: The Most Dangerous Match
Monday, April 14th: Double Shock
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The Coldest City = Atomic Blonde
Head Cheese ???
Nothing Lasts Forever = Die Hard
Scared Sheetlets ???? …. What the heck are sheetlets!???
Star Beast ???
2/5!
I hope you’re both healthy! Our temps have gone up to 70F (21C), so I’ve been hot. Spring is around the corner.
I made my son watch a couple of Columbo’s with me. He doesn’t seem to mind them but in “Short Fuse”, he said there was a something wrong with Falk’s microphone. I didn’t hear anything amiss but my son said there was a high pitch sound coming from Falk’s microphone during that first scene with the murderer outdoors. Let me know if you hear anything odd.
Not even gonna try these five titles.
I think that Caillou photo is the most Canadian thing you’ve ever posted! 😛
I managed to guess a couple of movie titles in round 3 but round 4 I got nothin’.
I thought Head Cheese was maybe Shawn of the Dead (it just sounds like something the Brits would do), so I looked it up. I won’t spoil it for those who might want to give it a guess, but it’s not Shawn of the Dead.
Speaking of movie titles, any idea what the name (working or final) is of the movie Steven Spielberg is working on in my neck of the woods? I heard it’s about aliens or something, but who really knows. They’ve been filming in a couple lazy towns here like Woodbine and Tuckahoe, and there’s supposed to be a car chase and something with the train. No idea who is in it, either.
Speaking of the train, I have a friend who had a mental breakdown when he was a teenager, and he literally STOLE the train and drove it down the tracks, taking a notorious turn on the tracks at a high rate of speed. He said it was the greatest thing, ever!
Forty years later and he now works at that very train station. 🙂 I asked his family if he’s had a chance to meet Spielberg, but not yet.
I guess after the Bob Dylan biopic was partly filmed in Cape May, our area is becoming a movie-making mecca. Any plans on coming to Cape May or Wildwood to film a tv show? I mean, if it’s good enough for Timothée Chalamet and Spielberg…
jus’ sayin’….
das
Hmmm. No idea about the title of that movie.
You have some mighty unique friends.
I live in Neurodiversey. 😀
das