Profoundly Geeky

A few hours ago, I finished watching X-Men: The Last Stand for the second time, and it's only opening weekend. Yes, I am profoundly geeky. But as my Uncle Ben said, "With great power comes great responsibility." I must use my powers for the good of the world, or at least the good of those who read my blog. Here is my geek background commentary on the film.

• "We Want a Pitcher...". While in the Danger Room, Wolverine has Colossus throw him at a Sentinal, a maneuver known in the comics as the "Fastball Special." This is why the second time that this happens in the film, Wolverine says, "Make it a strike."
• Throwback Jerseys. Traditional X-Men costume elements can be glimpsed in various ways, such as the blue and yellow stripes in Wolvie's leather jacket, or the maroon color of Magneto's jacket in the Jean Grey background sequence.
• Triangulation. Love is in the air when teen angst ensues between Iceman/Bobby Drake, Rogue/Marie, and Shadowcat/Kitty Pryde and early thirtysomething angst continues between Cyclops/Scott Summers, Jean Grey/Phoenix, and Wolverine/Logan. Both of these are deeply rooted in Marvel continuity.
• Hammerin' Hank. Kelsey Grammar and the writers positively nailed the character of Hank McCoy, the Beast. From trademark lines ("Oh my stars and garters") to his feral fighting, the Beast was truly unleashed, and was one of my favorit parts of the film.
• Storm Warning. Many gripes were heard by the author that actress Halle Berry had star powered her way into a bigger part in the film. Contrary to the complaints, Storm is a historic leader of the X-Men, and beyond that, the on-screen character finally was as explosive as a lightning strike.
• Race for the Cure. The concept of a mutant cure can be credited as recently to the multi-talented Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Serenity, and author of the series, Astonishing X-Men. Issues 1-6 introduce the mutant cure and the chaos that ensues. Whedon's run on the book has established him as one of the greatest X-writers, taking his place alongside Chris Claremont and the omni-present Stan "the Man" Lee.
  
• Here, Kitty Kitty? According to Wizard, Summer Glau, who played River Tam in Joss Whedon's Serenity, auditioned for the role of Kitty Pryde. Despite getting tips from Whedon prior to her casting call, she lost the part to Ellen Page. As a big fan of the Serenity, and the T.V. series that launched it, Firefly, I was stoked at the concept of Summer as Shadowcat, but nevertheless, Ellen Page was one of my favorite parts of the movie, playing the character with a perfect mix of innocence and overpowering cuteness.

I could go on, but I'll save some eloquence to wax upon the debut of Spider-Man 3. 'Til then, in the words of Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada, "See you in the Funny Books."