LET’S BRING FREDDY KRUEGER BACK FROM THE DEAD by Chris Vegvary

LET’S BRING FREDDY KRUEGER BACK FROM THE DEAD

Remember When Freddy Was Scary?

I honestly don’t remember my first time watching any of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, but I’m pretty sure my cousin introduced me to it when we were little kids, probably between 6 and 8 years old. My mom, though, did not like the idea at first, probably thinking it was dumb when she watched a “Freddy movie” for the first time. She went to sleep that night after she watched the film, and dreamed of sugar plums and fairies, and oh look, along comes nightmare man, Freddy Krueger. So she tells herself, Freddy’s not real, this is just a dream. But when she remembered that not only is that how he gets you, but that’s also what everyone in the movies thought in similar situations, that’s when he got her. And she woke up terrified, and from that day forward, she loved Freddy Krueger.

Does anyone else remember when Freddy was that scary? In my opinion, the first two films in the series are actually the scariest. Observe the scenario of the first one: You have this terrifying little burned man with razor-sharp fingers chasing you through a dreamland that he controls. He can kill you at any time, but he’s basically torturing you because he’s a twisted psychopath. No one believes you though, do they? No they don’t, because you sound like a crazy person. So you alone have to destroy him, watching your friends and family die around you because they won’t accept the truth and help you. And let’s say that, just for good measure, your significant other gets sucked into their bed and more blood than can possibly exist in one human body erupts from the hole from whence they disappeared. Good times.

The second one was pretty unintentionally blatantly homoerotic (look it up), but it’s still one of my favorites. The idea of Freddy taking over someone else’s life to the point where he can control what that person does without that person having any clear memory of it…well, it’s not such a pretty thought. How is it that he got that ability? Is it because he killed almost all the children of the people he was looking to get revenge on, and that somehow increased his ability in a way like never before and never again? I have so many questions.

What Happened With the Remake?

I don’t know if some of you have noticed or not, but there seems to be this trend of some Hollywood films releasing early trailers that feature footage that is later not seen in the final version of the films, or what I like to call “cheap and dirty trickery.” Unfortunately, Platinum Dunes’ remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street in 2010 turned out to be one of these films, and it pains me to no end. It’s not just that, but when you read a script and it has so many amazing things in it that just get changed or taken out completely, I feel it’s pretty frustrating. Just as a “for instance,” there was a moment in the script for 2010’s A Nightmare on Elm Street where Nancy mentions to Quentin that she was supposed to go to Crystal Lake with a bunch of friends the previous summer, but she ended up not going and they went missing. How awesome a reference would that have been to the 2009 Platinum Dunes remake of Friday the 13^th? Tomfoolery, I say!

Here’s the bottom line with the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street: The movie simply isn’t that good. The characters look and act like cookie-cutter cutouts of characters ripped from the CW, the dialogue is just foolish, and they pretty much spoil what could have been a nice and maybe interesting twist on the Freddy Krueger legend. I will say that I had no problem with Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy. He pulled it off, despite the crappy lines he was given from a crappy script. That couldn’t have been easy. It wasn’t all bad though; there were a couple of parts and references to past Freddy films that I enjoyed, and there was quite a bit of blood in it.

1, 2, Freddy’s Coming For You

Freddy will come back one day, I’m sure of it. However, I don’t think Platinum Dunes will be the ones to resurrect him, seeing as how they have a poor track record with those horror movie remakes. Still, there has to be someone out there who knows how to make Freddy scary again, unlike the parody of himself he became after the third entry. But you know, even at his worst, Freddy was still the best (in my opinion), because he never gave up hope, and neither should you. Speak up loud and support the return of the king of evil, Freddy Krueger.

If you want to see some true evil, however, you need to look at the horrifying things I have in store for you. Your nightmares are going to have nightmares when you lay eyes on our selection of Freddy Krueger costumes, Jason Voorhees costumes, and…trust me, you’ll want to take a look for yourself. Take advantage while you can, because this stuff is sure to be a hit for any costumed affair.

Freddy Krueger Costumes

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Michael Myers Costumes

Creature Reacher Costumes

Freddy Creature Reacher Costume

WHERE WAS JASON THIS PAST FRIDAY THE 13TH?

WHERE WAS JASON THIS PAST FRIDAY THE 13^TH?

by Chris Vegvary

Remember the 1980’s, when slashers and serial killers in film were most relevant? I love most of those movies and consider them classics, since that’s the stuff I grew up watching. Why can’t we get back to that point? No one even has to say “It’s all remakes” anymore, because we all know that by now.  So when they remake a film like Friday the 13^th, like they did in 2009, you expect to see a sequel soon after that. Well, it’s 2013, many Friday the 13^th’s have passed, most recently last week, and we’re still left without Jason Voorhees. Why is that?

When’s the Last Time We Saw Jason?

When Platinum Dunes, a company owned by Michael Bay, decided to remake Friday the 13^th in 2009, I was more than excited. I saw the movie, and guess what? It met my expectations. That’s right, I really enjoyed it. The movie is like a mash-up of the first four films in the original movie series, before Jason became an unstoppable zombie-thing. A sequel was planned at one point shortly after the remake was released, but apparently, no one else in the movie-going public liked the film. I don’t understand what people found wrong with it. It seemed like classic Friday the 13^th-ery to me. So here we are, four years later, another Friday the 13^th just passed us by, and still no word on the fate of Jason Voorhees

.

How Can We Make Jason Relevant Again?

There are a number of ways, but I’ve only thought of a couple. Feel this: If we wanted to stop the remakes and just make sequels to the classic Friday the 13^th movie series, we could take a bunch of different characters from a bunch of different horror movies and toss them in a ring (the world) together and see what happens. Some of that was done briefly in 2003’s Freddy vs. Jason, but I’m talking more. I want to see Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, Candyman, the Tall Man from Phantasm, Pumpkinhead, Pinhead, the Creeper from Jeepers Creepers, and Chucky all doing battle against one another. Go all out or go home. Of course, if we want to continue on doing the movies remake-style, then how about this: A Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween were also remade recently. So why not have Remake Jason go up against Remake Freddy in a remake of Freddy vs. Jason? Only this time, throw Remake Michael Myers in there against them. I would bet Jason wouldn't have an easy time beating Rob Zombie’s version of Michael Myers.

  

That Sounds Terrible

Yeah, but at least I’m trying to figure things out. But there you have it. That’s just a couple of ways the franchise could be reinvigorated. Will we ever see a sequel to 2009’s Friday the 13^th? Hard to say. At this point, I wouldn’t bet on it until the rights go to someone else. It seems like Platinum Dunes has this issue where they remake a classic horror movie and then decide not to move forward with any sequels. Do we need to step in and stop Platinum Dunes? My answer is: yes. They’ve already ruined the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, and now they refuse to make a sequel to Friday the 13^th. We need to take our movies back.

By the way, if you’re looking for that special horror movie costume for Halloween or just for whatever, I’m going to recommend you take a look at our merchandise. We have all kinds of horror movie-based costumes for you, including the big dogs like Freddy and Jason. Take a look at some of the links below.

Creature Reacher costumes

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WILL WE EVER SEE A MOVIE OF THE VIDEO GAME “DIABLO

WILL WE EVER SEE A MOVIE OF THE VIDEO GAME “DIABLO”? (by Chris Vegvary)

NOTE: This article may contain spoilers regarding the Diablo video game series. Read at your own risk. Yeah, I said it.

What is Diablo?

I asked myself the very same question recently. What is Diablo, and why should I care? As some of you may know, Diablo III was released on consoles (Xbox 360 & PS3) this September. I had no interest in purchasing this game, but for some reason, I saw a trailer for it that got me curious. I looked up some gameplay videos on the internet and suddenly I had to have it. Maybe that’s just my thing. Once I played it, I knew I had found something special, and I wanted to know more of the backstory from the previous games.

Diablo is a “hack & slash” role-playing game that seems slightly heavy on religion, but it’s not overwhelming. There’s a lot about angels and demons, Heaven and Hell, demonic possession, and so on. Not for the faint-of-heart for sure. Now that you know what it is, what’s it all about?

What’s the Story Here?

This is going to be a long one, so brace yourself. From what I’ve gathered, the story of the first Diablo game, which was released on PC in 1996, takes place in the fictional world of Sanctuary where there is a constant battle between the forces of Heaven and Hell. Diablo, one of the Lords of Hell, was trapped in a soulstone by heroic humans and buried under a monastery. After hundreds of years, a town called Tristram is built near the ruins of the monastery, and King Leoric rebuilds the ruins into a cathedral.  From then on, Diablo’s influence is allowed to spread, and he possesses the king. When the king resisted, Diablo instead possessed the king’s youngest son, Albrecht, and the king went mad and was killed by his own men. Once he was dead, Diablo revived him as the Skeleton King.

When the game starts, the player is supposed to choose between one of three classes for their character: warrior, mage, or rogue. It appears that, for story purposes, all three characters actually banded together to face Diablo in the cathedral under Tristram. The rogue is called Blood Raven, the mage is called “The Sorcerer”, and the warrior, also known as “the Dark Wanderer”, is King Leoric’s eldest son, Aidan. So the three of them descend into the depths of the cathedral, which include parts of Hell, and defeat Diablo, who is put back into his soulstone. But how to contain the evil, right? Easy: Prince Aidan takes the jagged end of the soulstone and shoves it into his head, probably freaking out his companions. Once that’s finished, Aidan goes on a journey to keep the evil contained.

Aidan before fighting  Diablo

Diablo II takes place two years after the first one. Our three heroes have apparently been corrupted after their battle with Diablo and must be stopped. Blood Raven has become some kind of necromancer and “The Sorcerer”, now “The Summoner”, has gone crazy and summons demons. Aidan’s possession of Diablo’s soulstone in his head is causing demons to appear, and a group of adventurers hears about it, wanting to stop it. Aidan, now almost completely under Diablo’s influence, locates his “brothers” (the other Lords of Hell), and Diablo emerges from Aidan’s body, which is completely destroyed. Diablo returns to Hell and is eventually killed there by the group of adventurers. Go team.

Diablo III takes place twenty years after the second game, and we are introduced immediately to Leah Cain, who is the adopted niece of Deckard Cain, a man who has appeared in all three Diablo games. While studying up on some prophecy in a cathedral in Old Tristram, a falling meteor or something similar strikes the building and makes a crater that goes deep into the underground, taking Deckard Cain with it. Leah survives and believes her uncle is still alive somewhere under the cathedral. The player character enters the village of New Tristram to investigate and finds that the town is being attacked by the undead, which have appeared since the “star” fell on the cathedral. You may have guessed by now that this is the same cathedral that was built on the ruins of the monastery that held Diablo’s soulstone.

After finding Deckard alive, the hero goes back to search for the source of the “star” that fell and finds what appears to be a man who has no memory, except that he had a warning of some kind. After retrieving two of the three broken pieces of the stranger’s sword, a witch named Maghda intercepts the third piece and tries to force Deckard Cain to fix the sword, but Leah releases some kind of magical energy and the witch kills Deckard and flees. The hero eventually recovers the last piece of the sword and presents the item in whole to the stranger, and he recovers his memory and reveals that he is the Archangel of Justice, Tyrael. The hero decides to pursue Maghda and avenges Deckard Cain’s murder.

Leah Cain

Leah finds out her mother, Adria, is still alive after abandoning her as a child, and Leah and the hero go looking for her. Once they find her, they learn that Adria has spent most of her life trying to trap the seven Lords of Hell in one Black Soulstone and then destroy them for good, which is why she had to leave Leah behind. So far, five of the Lords of Hell have been trapped in the Black Soulstone. After trapping another Lord of Hell, Belial, in a soulstone with her magic powers, Leah has a vision of another Lord of Hell, Azmodan, and his army coming from the crater of Mount Arreat, home of the barbarians. Once Azmodan is defeated and Leah seals him into the Black Soulstone, all seven Lords are captured, and Tyrael urges the hero to destroy it to prevent evil from returning. However…

Adria betrays the group, saying that Leah’s father, whom Leah had never known, was Prince Aidan, who was possessed by Diablo at the time of Leah’s conception. Adria allows Leah to be corrupted and possessed by Diablo, who becomes what is known as the Prime Evil, having all the power of the seven Lords of Hell contained within himself. Diablo, in Leah’s rapidly-degenerating form, attacks the High Heavens, and Leah’s body is destroyed in the process. The hero, along with Tyrael and a couple of other angels, reach the High Heavens and the hero enters the final battle with Diablo, striking him down back to Hell. Tyrael decides to stay among his angel brethren as a mortal, and the hero vows not to rest until Leah’s soul is at peace.

Tyrael

I’m aware I skipped a few minor (or slightly major) details, but it’s a long-winded enough plot description as it is, so take it.

Powerful Stuff

So here are the parts that I found would make interesting material for a movie. In the first Diablo game, you have these three heroes who go on this journey to stop the ultimate evil. They band together, have some good times, some bad times, but we go through this whole experience with them, and then in the end, our hero, the main character, sacrifices himself to contain the evil. How powerful is that? And that would just be the first movie. Think about the awesomeness of a trilogy for a moment. In the second movie, we’d pick up shortly after the first one, with our former heroes having become twisted and evil, and having to be stopped by our new protagonists. Doesn’t that sound interesting to you? And then, once they’ve dispatched the two lesser former heroes, the final one becomes Diablo himself, and we see that even though the three heroes of the first one were strong enough to face this evil, they couldn’t deal with the aftermath of what they saw in that battle. To me, that just makes good film. And then, following that, 20 years later you have Diablo re-emerging for the last time, and we’re introduced to this sweet, innocent girl who you think will be the main character, but alas…it’s not meant to be. Her mother is a treacherous witch, her father is Diablo, and not only is she possessed by Diablo and then her body destroyed, but apparently her soul is gone as well. What happened to it? No idea. That might be better explained on film than it was in the game.

But do you see what I’m saying? Does that not make for excellent drama/sci-fi/fantasy/horror? The reason most of this article is basically an explanation of the games’ plot is because I want everyone to have a better understanding of the Diablo series so they can realize that it would, in fact, make quite an interesting film trilogy, if done correctly.

Man, speaking of horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and so on, you may just find yourself looking to dress up like a monster or something this Halloween. Got a costume party to go to? Well, aren’t you the popular one. My invitation must still be in the mail…but anyway, if YOU are looking for the right costume, why don’t you check out some of the links below? There’s something horrifying for everyone.

Diablo Costume
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Angel Costumes

Creature Reacher Costumes

Devil Costumes

Ghosts/Skeletons Costumes

Horror Robes

Religious Costumes

Witch Costumes

Zombies and Ghouls Costumes

CAN THE X-MEN FILMS BE GOOD AGAIN?

....another post from Chris Vegvary

  CAN THE X-MEN FILMS BE GOOD AGAIN?

NOTE: If you haven't seen any of the X-Men films, know that this article contains spoilers. Read at your own risk.

Why is Wolverine the Face of the X-Men Movies?

Back in the year 2000, after 11 years in development, X-Men was finally made into a movie. I was super-excited, and even though it was not as accurate a portrayal of my beloved comic book team as I had hoped, I was still pretty pumped to see it. It turned out to be what I would call a decent movie, leaving me wanting quite a bit more X-Men, maybe a little less Wolverine. In 2002, a sequel called "X2: X-Men United" was released, and again I was excited to see it. This film was much better than the previous one: with the addition of new characters, the intrigue of Wolverine's past, and the seeing the set-up for the possibility of Jean Grey become the legendary Phoenix for the next film, this was definitely a step in the right direction. One small problem I had with it was that I was hoping to see a little less Wolverine, but it ended up being mostly about him...a trend that seems to be growing. In 2006, another sequel was released, "X-Men: The Last Stand", which I was also excited for, because now they could take the focus off of Wolverine and put the spotlight on Jean Grey as the Phoenix, and how Cyclops (my favorite character, by the way) handles it. But alas, that sure wasn't meant to be. Within the first 10 minutes of the movie, Cyclops is obliterated into nothingness by Jean Grey/Phoenix. To the filmmakers, I would say, "Um, you know Cyclops is the leader of the X-Men behind Professor X, don't you? No, of course you don't, none of you have ever read a comic book in your lives." Not only that, but about halfway through the movie, Jean Grey/Phoenix also kills Professor X. That's right, they did it and it hurt. I'm not sure what the thinking behind the film was, but I'm almost positive someone in charge said "Alright, we need to make this as much about Wolverine as possible, because Wolverine Wolverine Wolverine." It's called X-MEN, people, not Wolverine and the X-Men (although there is an animated show and comic book series by that name). This movie made me very sad. They introduce all these fresh new characters, and then what do they do? Take away their powers with a "mutant cure". Not Wolverine, though. NEVER Wolverine. I'm not even going to describe the rest of the movie, because it just hurts too much.

Can I Get Some More Wolverine, Please?

In case you didn't get enough Wolverine in the first three X-Men films, in 2009 another film would be released, which was called "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and once again starred Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. That was supposed to be the start of a series of "X-Men Origins" movies with the next one being "X-Men Origins: Magneto". However, when the studio saw how badly the first film flopped because of how unfaithful it was to the source material, the Magneto movie was scrapped and actually ended up becoming the movie "X-Men: First Class". But we'll get to that. Right now, I want to talk about the stellar disappointment that was the film "X-Men Origins: Wolverine". Here's the good stuff that came out of this movie. First, even though he doesn't look anything like the character from the comic book, I still really enjoyed Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth. It was a step up from Tyler Mane's portrayal of the character (who actually looked more comic book-accurate) from the first X-Men film, and I just really liked the performance. Second, there was a video game that spawned off this film that was rated M for Mature, because you got to play Wolverine from the films, but in the way he SHOULD be portrayed: a rage-filled, unstoppable killing machine. Lastly, after the movie came out, rumors of a solo Deadpool movie appeared all over the internet, with Ryan Reynolds set to play Deadpool, but correctly this time (for those of you who don't know who Deadpool is, I suggest you look it up on Wikipedia--he's one of the best comic book characters ever created). If you saw the character in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine", please forget that immediately. That portrayal of the character was 100% inaccurate. That leads into the next part of this discussion: the bad stuff about "X-Men Origins: Wolverine", which is actually too long a list to make right now, so let me just mention the finer points. Firstly, expanding on that last part: Deadpool. In the comics, Deadpool is known as the "Merc with a Mouth". His suit is red and black and he wears a battle harness that holds his two ninja swords. He has a teleportation device that allows him to teleport short distances. He wears a hooded mask to hide his disfigured form and he has a healing factor like Wolverine, because they were part of the same Weapon X project. So what do they do with him in the movie? He wears no costume, he has adamantium swords that extend out of his hands, and they sealed his mouth shut. In NO WAY is that the Deadpool anyone has come to expect to see after they have read the character. Everyone involved in the film should have known better, and honestly, I hope they're ashamed of themselves. Second, Gambit's in this movie. Anyone who knows Gambit from the comics will know that he and Rogue are an on-again, off-again couple and that they can't really have much physical contact because of Rogue's power-leeching abilities. Well, he's about 20-something in this movie, which takes place about 20 years before the first X-Men movie, so he's in his 40's by that time, while Rogue is a teenager. Like I said, these people have never read a comic book in their lives. I could go on and on, but that'll about do it for this section.

The Game Changer

When the dust settled, it was 2011 and a film called "X-Men: First Class" came out. Honestly, by this point in my relationship with the X-Men films, I just didn't care about any of the news I was hearing about the movie, and I wasn't too impressed with the trailers either. I wanted to let it just slip quietly by me, but because of my love for the comics, I at least had to check it out. Boy was I glad I did. Again, even though it wasn't totally accurate to the comics, I ended up really enjoying the film. They took the elements that would have been used in the scrapped "X-Men Origins: Magneto" film and combined them into this one. It was almost like a breath of fresh air for me, but there was still something that was bugging everyone. You see, the film takes place in the 1960's, and Hugh Jackman had a very small cameo in it as Wolverine. So here's the problem: Is the movie a prequel, or is it the start of a whole new series of X-Men films? This film clearly contradicts events portrayed in the first three X-Men films as well as negates pretty much anything that happened in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine". So if they're two separate movie series, how is Hugh Jackman still appearing as Wolverine? That answer would be vague, and still has yet to be answered. I will discuss that momentarily. But first...

You LIKE Wolverine...You LIKE Wolverine...

 Halloween Costumes 4U  Wolverine Toddler Costume

It just seems the movie-going public can't get enough Wolverine. Or at least, that's what the Fox studio executives think, because they want you to experience yet ANOTHER Wolverine movie that was released in 2013, called "The Wolverine". While many thought this was going to be a sequel to "X-Men Origins: Wolverine", it's actually a sequel to "X-Men: The Last Stand". This film takes place ten years after Wolverine killed Jean Grey to keep her from becoming the Phoenix and destroying the world. In it, Logan has left the X-Men and is haunted by the memory of Jean, whom he has nightmares about every night. He travels to Japan when an old acquantance's dying wish is to talk to him, and things kind of spiral out of control for him after that. Was this a great film. No way. Was it good? Eh, kind of. It wasn't bad, but I really can't take that much Wolverine in one sitting. That's why I read X-Men comics and not just Wolverine comics. One thing I thought was really interesting that happened in the film (Remember what I said about SPOILERS? The time is now) was that his adamantium claws were removed, and his bone claws grew back in their place. I always wondered how that worked. Anyway, so now you have another movie in the X-Men series that is a sequel to the first three films, but seemingly has no connection to the film "X-Men: First Class". However, if you were to stay and watch the end of the credits of "The Wolverine", you would see that Logan is approached by Professor Charles Xavier, who he is quite surprised to see, considering he was disintegrated the last time the two were together, and Erik Lensherr, who you may know as Magneto, and who has gained back full control of his powers after being "cured" in "X-Men: The Last Stand". They are there to warn him about a danger that poses itself to all mutants.

Days of Future Past

So the question earlier was, are there two separate X-Men film franchises now, or what? Here's the answer. An idea was pitched to make a film of the popular story arc "Days of Future Past", in which Kitty Pride travels back in time to present day from a time when all mutants are persecuted, hunted, and killed by giant mutant-hunting robot called Sentinels. This film is both a sequel to the first three X-Men films and is also a sequel to "X-Men: First Class". "X-Men: Days of Future Past" will feature Wolverine (of course, right?) going back in time in Kitty's place, and will have most of the cast members from the previous X-Men films, including Partick Stewart and James McAvoy (old and young Professor X), and Ian McKellan and Michael Fassbender (old and young Magneto) all meeting each other. Weird, right? This film is looking to combine the two franchises to make it one big slightly less incoherent franchise. There will still be contradictions, of course, but hopefully nothing too major. I'm pretty sure all those involved are keeping some kind of silent agreement that "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" is so out of continuity that they're just pretending it didn't happen. They're aiming to fix all the past mistakes from previous X-Men movies. I don't know about you, but as far as I'm concerned, the biggest mistake the franchise made, and I hope like hell they fix it in this movie, was killing off Cyclops. You know, the LEADER of the X-Men. It doesn't always have to be all about Wolverine. But it is. Anyway, this is one I'm actually looking forward to, and not just because of the possibility of resurrecting my favorite character, but because I'm genuinely excited to see the cast of the first three films together with the "First Class" cast, how the characters will react to seeing their younger and older selves, and for the Sentinels, which we got the slightest glimpse of in the third film.

So CAN the X-Men films be good again? I say yes, because after the horror that was "Origins", "First Class" proved that they don't need Wolverine to make a good X-Men movie. Not that Wolverine makes the X-Men films bad, but clearly "The Wolverine" didn't do as well as any of the others in the series. I'm fully ready to experience whatever the X-Men are doing in "Days of Future Past", and I hope that everyone out there would be willing to give the franchise at least one last chance with it.

It may not seem like it from this article, but I do actually like Wolverine. He IS one of the best characters in Marvel Comics, and speaking of Marvel, have I got something for you. Why don't you follow some of the links below and check out our Marvel-based costumes? You might be...no, in fact, I KNOW you'll be glad you did. Check them out.

Wolverine Costumes

Avengers Costumes

Iron Man Costumes

Spider-Man Costumes

More on Ben Affleck Playing Batman

The last post was something I wrote to let you all know that Ben Affleck would be playing Batman. You can refer to that post if you'd like, but much more interesting reading is forthcoming and the rest of this blog will prove that. We have a new writer for Halloween Costumes 4 U and I'm sure you are going to like his style, humor, insight and knowledge. I'm not sure what he wants to call himself yet, but I'm sure you will agree, he's a hell of a writer! Here is his first offering:

I Say Give "Batfleck" A Chance

Who Else Has Ben Been?

Poor Ben Affleck. Seems people out there in the world really, really don't want to see him play Batman. The amount of hate being spewed towards him is over the line of ridiculousness. But whether you love him or hate him, chances are that you know who he is (otherwise why would you feel one way or the other?). You've seen him as Shannon Hamilton in Mallrats. That one guy in Good Will Hunting. The astronaut that shouted "HARRY! I LOVE YOU!" to Bruce Willis' character while crying in the movie Armageddon. The fallen angel Bartleby in Dogma. Matt Damon's best friend. He directed and starred in both The Town and Argo, both of which were nominated for (and which Argo won) multiple awards. He was the bomb in Phantoms, I'm told. The list goes on. Chances are that you've seen him in at least one of these roles. Granted they're not ALL that diverse, but I tell you, it takes skill for him to do what he does. It's why actors act and we non-actors don't...or at least don't get paid for it.

The Rumored Choices, and the Horrified Reactions To the Truth

Not too long before Ben Affleck was announced to be playing Batman in the sequel to the 2013 blockbuster Man of Steel, there were several rumors flying around as to who they were looking at to play the caped crusader. Word had it that they were looking for someone older, possibly in their 40's, to portray Bruce Wayne. This Batman would be battle-hardened and wise from years of doing what he does best, and would see this meta-powered alien, Superman, as some dangerous kid who had no idea what he was really doing or trying to do. Some of the rumored choices for the part were Josh Brolin, Wes Bentley, and even Jon Hamm from Madmen. Ben Affleck was not even on that list as far as I know, and I wasn't liking the choices that I was hearing about. Then, out of nowhere, a man I hadn't even considered for the role was announced and that was that. Interestingly enough, although I never felt too strongly one way or the other about Affleck's career, I felt excited for him, like they had found the right person. But as soon as I mentioned his casting to some people who hadn't heard the news yet, I got a very different reaction indeed...

Instead of at least being happy that they found someone who was young enough but still had the acting chops to pull off being old enough to play the Batman the studio was looking for, the internet exploded with furious fanboy hate, and hate for Ben Affleck just in general. The level of fear of Ben Affleck playing Batman seemed to have caused some to go completely off the deep end, as there were reports of death threats. I'm just going to say that again more plainly and see if it sinks in with everyone: People were so upset about this, they actually sent death threats. Tragic what some people will do, isn't it? There are even other actors twittering about this and using other forms of social media to express their displeasure at Ben Affleck playing Batman, as though their opinion will sway us into thinking anything they want. There is also currently a petition going around to have Affleck removed from the role, and to those people who started this petition and to those who have signed it, I say this: Stop being jealous. It's very unbecoming. Where does all this hate come from? Let's take a look at what seems to be the most talked about reason

The Man Without Fear

When I asked people what reason they could possibly have for hating Ben Affleck, the most overwhelming response I got was this: "Daredevil." What was so terrible about this movie? Being a huge Marvel Comics fan, I'm fully aware that it wasn't 100% accurate to the source material, but what comic book movie is? For the role he was given and the script he had to follow, I dare say he did quite a good job as Daredevil. But I am in the minority there. Why is it that no one can forgive Ben Affleck's performance as Daredevil (and I honestly don't see what there is to forgive in the first place) in a movie that wasn't so well-received? Does anyone remember that Chris Evans played the Human Torch in two not-so-well-received Fantastic Four movies, and yet still went on to be loved as Captain America? I'm not seeing a massive difference in the two situations, except that personally, I didn't care for Chris Evans as the Human Torch, yet I think he's perfect for Captain America, whereas I thought Affleck did a decent job as Daredevil, and I think he'll do a much better job at playing Batman. If anything, perhaps it's the horrible spin-off film Elektra being associated with Daredevil that makes people hate it even more. Just some food for thought.

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"Batfleck" Begins

So whether you like it or not, Ben Affleck will be playing the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman in Man of Steel 2. What you can take away from this article is that most actors play at least one role in their lives that's not so great, but they can be forgiven and go on to great success. How many of you thought Heath Ledger would utterly fail as the Joker? I will admit that I thought there was no way he was right for that role, and that all the hype for The Dark Knight after his death was just sensationalist media hype, but when I actually saw the movie, I was blown away by how awesome he was. What I'm saying is that even though you may not think Ben Affleck is right for the part, the people involved in making the film obviously saw something special in him that they knew would make him right for the part. If they can look past his previous (so-called) mistakes, then can't you? Let's take a vote. I vote right now that we give Batfleck a chance, in an "Innocent until proven guilty" sort of way. How about you? Will YOU at least give "Batfleck" a chance?

All this talk of Batman is making me want to go out and fight crime. If you're looking to dress up like Batman, Superman, or any costumed hero or villain for Halloween (or any occasion), we have plenty of Batman costumes, we have plenty of Superman costumes, and we even have Supergirl costumes, Batgirl costumes, Catwoman costumes, and Krypto costumes (if your dog is into that sort of thing). Follow the links below to feel the awesome power of just some of our selections.

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