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The SciFi.com Sci Fi Tech blog has posted a cool article that gives brief looks at technology that mimics the powers of popular superheroes.

Of course the article starts off with Spider-Man and mentions the Synthetic Gecko technology that was in the news a few months back. While it sounds cool, scientists are still struggling with a way to mass produce the stuff. The Spider-Man entry also mentions the Bio-Steel that mimics spider-silk and can be extracted from goat’s milk when Spider DNA is injected into the goat.

The article goes on spotlight tech ways to mimic a few of the powers of Superman, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch, Captain America, Iron Man, and Wolverine.

The funniest entry has to be the TAM Rocket Belt under the Superman entry. Visit the TAM site and you’ll see marketing brilliance at its best. I love the last paragraph:

TAM is the only company in the world that produces a complete turn-key package of a flying rocket belt, custom-made to the pilot’s weight and body size. (up to 300 lbs. / 136 Kg). We use the most advanced technology and aerospace materials , including:

1. A fully-tested, custom-made flying rocket belt,
2. This belt has been proved to be the most stable design and easier to fly
3. A special machine to make our own unlimited supply of rocket fuel
4. Hands-on training in the process and the equipment
5. Flight training of 10 flights in your own rocket belt
6. Maintenance and setup training
7. 24/7 expert support
8. Housing and food are included during training

The total price for all this is only $250,000 usd.

If you’re interested in recourping your investement, you can make a lot of money flying this machine in special events, promotions, advertising, elections campaigns, concerts, movies, TV commercials etc.

The entire site is full of shady sounding dialog, quotes and inconsistencies. In the quote above, there are 2 misspelled words. Dig around and you’ll see what I mean.

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Wizard magazine has had an odd web presence since it first appeared on the WWW years ago. I seem to remember the first incarnation of the site had a cool feature where you could input all your comics or toys (the items they featured in their price guide) and save it as a collection on the website. This feature disappeared in a redesign that was part of a magazine restructure and I never really frequented the site since. I’ll occasionally visit if I see a link to the site that interests me.

With their latest attempt at a redesign, I don’t see my usage changing much. While they still have columns by writers I like (Geoff Johns, JG Jones, Brian Bendis), the layout may even be worse now. I spotted a few errors on the home page (incorrect links, non-function news boxes) on my visit and I’m guessing this layout will go the way of the others in about six months time, gradually being updated less and less.

There were rumors floating around about Wizard not paying it’s web designer / content manager, which could have been part of the problem. For now, and the foreseeable future, I’ll continue getting by news from Newsarama.

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FreezeDriedMovies.com has an “exclusive” rumor on the villains for Spider-Man 4. Their source claims that Carnage (yuck), the Lizard, and Black Cat are on deck for the next Spider-Man film.

Our regular scooper tells FreezeDriedMovies that plans are underway for Spider-Man 4, which were (obviously) set up in the third film. In the third entry, Dr. Curt Connors (played by Dylan Baker) looks at a piece of symbiote with Peter Parker. The movie then travels along it’s path without another mention of that “piece” of symbiote. This is the set up for Spider-Man 4 where that small piece of alien symbiote becomes CARNAGE. Yes Cletus Kasady is coming to the big screen, one of Spider-Man most horrifying and evil villains. Not only with Parker have to deal with the red lean mean killing machine, but Connors is set to become the long awaited LIZARD! these two villains have all been CONFIRMED for Spider-Man 4. There is talk of the Black Cat making her first appearance, but that’s all but official.

Aside for my previous thoughts on the status of villain selection, this rumor sounds like nothing more than speculation based on dangling plot points from the previous films. I’ll stick to my guns and say that it’s still way to early to say who will be in Spider-Man 4. You know my thoughts and everyone has their own. If enough people say they know who the villain for Spider-Man 4 will be, a few will actually get it right.

I’ll go on record and say that we’ll see the Lizard and Mysterio in the next movie, thereby practically setting up the Sinister Six for Spider-Man 5

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CinemaBlend has a report from a few weeks ago stating they have a source that states it is highly likely that the villain in Spider-Man 4 (we all know it will happen) will be Morlun.

Morlun is a vampire of sorts and a newer villain created by current Amazing Spider-Man writer J. Michael Stracynski. To say the least, Stracynski’s run on Amazing Spider-Man has be underwhelming and controversial. Many think that his story-lines start out strong, but never have an ending that lives up to their promise. I can’t say for sure, as Ultimate Spider-Man is the only Spider-Man title I read on a regular basis.

Morlun was part of a larger storyline that attempted to re-define Peter’s origin and tie it to more mystical means. The idea that Spider-Man is the bearer of powers granted by a Spider totem was floated. Similar notions were hinted at for his many animal themed villains (Vulture, Rhino, Puma, Lizard, etc.). The story culminated with Spider-Man dying and being reborn. His powers were altered and he gained organic web shooter (similar to the movie Spider-Man) and his Spider-Sense allowed him to “listen” to spiders. He also developed Wolverine-like claws in the form of one long stinger than emerged from each arm.

Spider-Man with Stingers (Claws)

Seriously, I’m not making this stuff up.

Anyway, back to Morlun. I’m not saying they won’t use him as a villain, but I can bet at this point in time, they’ve haven’t given it much thought. The studios, writers, and director will all have different ideas as to who and what villain they want. Raimi stated over and over that he didn’t want to use Venom unless he had an idea that called for the character. Also, there are too many classic villains left for Spider-Man 4. Just click that link to see my thoughts on that topic. Truthfully, we won’t know anything concrete for at least a year. When an actor is cast, then that will be the first real proof we have.

Until then, let the speculation continue (and I’ll continue to speculate a Spider-Man 4 without Morlun).

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The Human Torch (Johnny Storm) from Rise of the Silver Surfer

The final trailer for the new Fantastic Four movie Rise of the Silver Surfer was released on Monday. I know a lot of people may disagree, but I think it looks great. The Silver Surfer looks great and the movie looks to take a fun tone, which is what a lot of people may not like.

As the father of a superhero / Star Wars obsessed 3.5 year old, I’m glad the new FF movie looks fun. He’s been talking about Spider-Man for months now, but Jill and I think Venom may be a bit too much for him to see, in the theater at least. Just last night I was showing him some preview and he said he didn’t want to watch the scene where Toby Maguire turns into Venom, so I covered his eyes.

Just a few minutes before, he laughed out loud at the part in the FF trailer Johnny and Ben switch powers and he said “the Thing’s got hair!” So, with Spider-Man 3 looking a little too intense (same for Transformers), I’m glad that Fantastic Four is a movie we can both see and geek out over together.

Speaking of geeking out, check out the image above. It looks that Johnny won’t just be switching powers, but he’ll be pulling a Super-Skrull and wield the powers of all 4 members of the FF. The image shows Johnny with a flaming Thing hand (which later stretches in the trailer).