The folks at Paramount have provided a bunch of great motion posters to reveal some of the characters in more detail and to get things hyped up for the upcoming Snake Eyes movie! Check them out below, both in motion and high res static images, too!
See four of them below and the rest on YouTube. Static images are posted below.
Chris “Diagnostik80” from the Full Force Podcast had a unique opportunity to chat with the writer, Christos Gage and artist, Reilly Brown of DC Comics series Batman/Fortnite Zero Point. The third issue should be a real attention grabber to Joe fans, and when DC Comics gave Chris the opportunity to participate in a group interview, he jumped at the chance.
DC Comics Batman/Fortnite Zero Point issue #3
Interview with writer, Christos Gage and artist, Reilly Brown
Article by: Christopher McLeod AKA Diagnostik80, The Full Force Podcast
Last week, we were approached by DC Comics to take part in a group interview with writer, Christos Gage and artist, Reilly Brown, who are the creators behind the Batman/Fortnite comic series Zero Point and more specifically, issue #3, which introduces the battle of the century between Batman and our very own Snake Eyes!! I took part in the online video call and got to ask a number of questions, which we have transcribed for you today. If you haven’t read the Zero Point series yet and you want to, then just know there are a number of spoilers in this interview, so come back here after you’ve read issue #3. Still here? Okay then, let’s begin…
D80: First off guys, thank you so much for doing this with me today, I’ve really enjoyed the first three issues so far and I’m already looking forward to issue #4!! Starting with the overall story and this one is for Christos, now the premise of the comic is that Batman has found himself inside this constant loop where he can’t talk or remember who he is and that keeps refreshing after 22 minutes, which puts him in a difficult situation to say the least. How hard was it to craft a story within those strict parameters or did you find that it helped to guide you?
Christos: Actually, that was sort of the hook that Donald [Mustard] brought to us that made me so excited about this story because Batman is the world’s greatest detective and this is the ultimate challenge for the world’s greatest detective because if he can’t remember things in less than 22 minutes, how can he deduce anything? So it challenged me as a writer to think about ways for him to do that and I think it challenges the character in a lot of cool ways. Then of course there was the question of how exactly does he do it? When Catwoman was there it made a lot of sense to have Batman’s internal monologue because he figures things out like well I sort of feel like I know this person and I trust this person to a degree. But then with the third issue I thought it would be a fun switch to almost see Batman as a little bit more of an enigmatic figure and almost scary. Like if you’re going up against Batman, if you’re trying to foil Batman, what’s it like?
Reilly: One of my favourite parts of issue #3 actually is the beginning before Snake Eyes shows up because, just going on what Christos said, there’s this intensity to Batman where he’s, they say it in the captions, that he’s like a man on a mission. There’s this one shot that I love where it’s him staring at the camera as the storm washes over him and disintegrates him or whatever. That’s pretty bada$$!!
D80: For Reilly, the artwork is sublime in the series so far, how much fun was it drawing all of these crazy characters from the Fortnite universe mixed in with some really iconic heroes and villains?
Reilly: Oh, it’s a lot of fun. The Fortnite characters, they all have such awesome and cool designs. They just create such unique characters and one of the things I’m thinking as I’m drawing them is that we don’t have much backstory for any of them. Some of them we have a little bit, there are certain characters we know are like smugglers or whatever but it just makes me think like what’s this person like on their own world? What’s the world that they’re actually from, like? Drawing them interacting with Snake Eyes and Batman and Catwoman and Harley Quinn, that was a lot of fun also.
D80: Christos, Did you experiment at all with multiple outcomes in regards to Batman vs Snake Eyes? Like having Snake Eyes win or Batman win, etc.?
Christos: I thought about it to a degree but at the same time I sort of had an idea from a story standpoint of where we needed to go next and, obviously without spoiling the ending, the way it ended was in my head fairly early. I wanted to give fans of each character moments of their favourite character being totally bada$$, which hopefully we got and part of the fun of having a loop where things reboot every 22 minutes is that can happen without ending the fight. There was some degree of do we want to have a thing where there’s one loop where Batman totally defeats Snake Eyes and there’s another one where Snake Eyes totally defeats Batman and I felt like that was a bit of a copout. At the end of the day I was guided by what I felt would be the best story and hopefully people like that. I’m sure there are going to be some people who are huge fans of one or the other and say oh, this is ridiculous, that character would’ve destroyed the other character. You know what? That’s part of the fun!!
D80: Reilly, Had you ever drawn Batman vs Snake Eyes prior to this issue? Was this something that you had ever given thought to in the past?
Reilly: I hadn’t and honestly I’m kinda surprised I haven’t. I guess it just isn’t something that’s come into my mind before. I’ve seen other toy properties team up with DC Superheroes like He-man has teamed up with the Justice League a few times and Thundercats have and Power Rangers have. It just never crossed my mind to put G.I. Joe and them together, which when you think about it, it’s just such a natural thing because they both have such long comic book histories and toy histories and everything. And so, when they told me okay we’re gonna have Snake Eyes in issue #3, it just struck me like, wow!! That’s really cool!! It’s been a whole lot of fun and I’m glad that’s what they decided on.
D80: This is for both of you. How important is it for the comic industry as a whole to have a huge franchise like Fortnite on board and excited to do comics based on their IP?
Reilly: There’s a lot of franchises that make comic book versions and a lot of it goes under the radar, so I really think that the big opportunity here is just how much Epic Games is diving into the crossover and this particular crossover because there’s been a lot of crossovers that Fortnite has had as well. To really do this cross-platform team-up is, I think personally, a big deal and it feels more like a big deal than other cross-company things I’ve been a part of. I don’t know how important it is to the comic industry, like I said before, I just think it’s a big opportunity and how important it turns out to be, that’s yet to be seen but I really think that in ten years I think there’s gonna be a lot of kids that say the first comic book I read was Batman/Fortnite and that’s where I learned where my comic book store is and I came back every couple weeks, eventually I got into whatever the next comic is, you know, came back for Free Comic Book Day and just got on the comic book train at that point. So, cross our fingers, it’ll be huge!!
Christos: I mean I think it’s great. There have been a lot of outside franchises that have had comics based on their IP’s but this is the first time I can remember where literally the important lore of how the world works is being revealed in the comic book medium. When I was a kid I loved the Godzilla comic, the Shogun Warriors comic and any property I liked, the adaptations I enjoyed but you would never find out something like Darth Vader is Luke’s father in the comic, it was always going to be in the movie. And in this, we are literally revealing it all in the comic, so I think that is really incredible and it shows that Epic [Games] and Donald [Mustard] are prepared to turn on its end how things have always been done in the past. You know, break the rules that everyone’s used to playing by, I think it’s amazing. It’s our hope that the collected edition of this mini series will continue to sell to people who are into Fortnite so they can find out what this backstory is and what the lore is and hopefully they read the story and are excited about that as well.
Reilly: Yeah, that’s one of the things working on it, it doesn’t feel like it’s being treated like just another piece of Fortnite merchandise, it feels like it’s part of the larger Fortnite thing.
Batman versus Snake Eyes. That’s it. That’s the solicit. You heard us, BATMAN VERSUS SNAKE EYES! Yes, THAT Snake Eyes! Worlds collide on the Island as G.I. Joe’s unstoppable ninja clashes with the Dark Knight! Can either of them win, when neither can escape? Will Batman remember he’s got to find a way back to Catwoman, all while trying to get back to Gotham City? And what the heck is Harley Quinn doing here?! Oh, and in case we forgot to mention it: Batman. Fighting. Snake Eyes. Do not miss it! Please note: This digital comic purchase DOES NOT include any redeemable code for Fortnite in-game bonus rewards.
Well, I gotta say writing up this post really takes me back. Regardless of how the previous movies ended up, I have very fond memories of dissecting every single trailer and teaser that came out, breaking them down into screen captures and analyzing every single second of footage.
With the eleven o’clock debut of the Snake Eyes trailer and featurette last night I didn’t have an opportunity to go through this all as soon as they released, but I couldn’t wait too long today to get right into it!
I’ve gone through both the teaser trailer itself as well as the featurette and generated nearly 150 screen captures which you can check out below. See any Easter eggs?
TRAILER SCREEN CAPTURES
FEATURETTE SCREEN CAPTURES
Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins hits theaters everywhere July 23rd!
I can’t tell you how long I’ve been waiting to write those words. For going on two or three years now, we’ve been eagerly anticipating the third Hollywood G.I. Joe motion picture and while Snake Eyes isn’t a sequel to Rise of COBRA or Retaliation, it is still a major feature film that promises to thrust the brand we love back into the limelight.
I’ve been exuberant and excited about the prospects of a new G.I. Joe film and when Paramount reached out to me to have a conversation with Henry Golding, the star of Snake Eyes, it took me about half a second to agree.
The conversation was informal, over Zoom and lasted about 15 minutes where we discussed several different elements of the Snake Eyes film as well as the brand of G.I. Joe in general. I found Mr. Golding to be extremely likeable, friendly and enthusiastic (he really seemed to love my G.I. Joe: Retaliation poster in my office) and it feels like Snake Eyes is in good hands.
Of course, the first question I had to ask how concerned he was about taking on the role of a character who’s most defining characteristic is that he doesn’t speak. Golding said that “many people reached out to me” about those same concerns but at the end of the day Snake Eyes is an origin story. It gives the opportunity to explore the man before he became Snake Eyes. A time before he lost his voice.”
While it might be tough for us long time G.I. Joe fans to rationalize that there was a time before Snake Eyes lost his voice, the truth is, that remains a somewhat unexplored era of the G.I. Joe Commando’s history. Golding acknowledged this, but also acknowledged the big role that long time G.I. Joe scribe Larry Hama played during the film’s production process.
“Larry was instrumental in creating Snake [Eyes] and Storm [Shadow] and it was important to have his voice be a part of the process”.
By all accounts, Larry has thoroughly enjoyed his time visiting the Snake Eyes set and participated in a great featurette talking about the production of the film and his role in the history of Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow and the Arashikage Clan.
Leading up to the film’s release, one of the main discussion points has been around the lack of marketing and more specifically the lack of a film trailer not even ten weeks before the release of the film. In speaking with Mr. Golding on that he’s definitely heard the criticisms, but “we’ve been in such uncertain times. We didn’t want to release a trailer a year ago and make people wait.” The truth is, the film industry has been somewhat upside-down as a result of the global pandemic and certainly Snake Eyes has been impacted by that. Considering the announcement of the release date move was only made a few weeks ago, I suspect there have been a lot of moving parts and while I would have loved to have seen a trailer earlier, the fact is it’s here now, and its magnificent.
One thing that really jumped out at me about the trailer was how heavily the film leans into Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow’s ninja roots. Mr. Golding acknowledged that expressing how critical it was for the film to be made on location in Japan. “We were able to explore ancient settings in a way that green screen simply can’t bring to life.” Elaborating about the green screen question, he talked with admiration about the level of practical effects in the film and how it was a call back to a more old school sort of martial arts filmmaking that really helped bring things to life.
And of course, I couldn’t talk to Henry Golding without at least prodding a little bit about what the future might hold. While he couldn’t say much, he did say “Snake Eyes gets f*cked up– because this story happens before he becomes the operator we know. Truth is, there are so many different G.I. Joe stories that could be told. How he finds Timber, his life in the cabin, there are so many possibilities.”
It certainly seemed to me like perhaps the Snake Eyes story isn’t done. As for G.I. Joe at large, Golding expressed a love for the property, saying “…they’re not super heroes. They’re normal people just like you and me, and as a kid buying the toys, they can see themselves in the uniform– in the armor and do great things without super powers.”
I finished my conversation by asking him about how it felt having his own action figure, and he was quick to pull the G.I. Joe: Classified movie Snake Eyes from his desk, where it had it at hand. Smiling widely, he praised the figure’s design as well as the face scanning. “They even got my trademark beard stubble.”
While things have been somewhat radio silent on the movie front for a while, it feels as though the marketing bomb bay doors are opening, and I for one am on board. I want to thank Paramount and Henry Golding for the opportunity to sit down with him– after spending a few minutes shooting the breeze about my favorite brand, I feel comfortable saying that Snake Eyes is in good hands.
Huge thanks to both Henry Golding and the folks from Paramount for setting up this unique opportunity.
The film releases on July 23rd in theaters everywhere.
Okay, something tells me all of our wishes about a marketing blitz for the Snake Eyes movie are about to come true. On the heels of EW.com’s reveal of initial movie images yesterday, Paramount PR reached out to me today and provided those same images, along with an exclusive first look at the Snake Eyes movie poster!
Joe fans, things are starting to feel a little bit more real! Add this to the fact that the trailer is officially being revealed Sunday at 9pm and I think things are about to heat up even more!
I, for one, can’t wait!
SNAKE EYES IS ONLY IN THEATRES, DOLBY CINEMA AND IMAX JULY 23, 2021
Paramount Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and Skydance Present
In Association with Hasbro
A di Bonaventura Pictures Production
A Robert Schwentke Film
“SNAKE EYES: G.I. JOE ORIGINS”
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS
Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins stars Henry Golding as Snake Eyes, a tenacious loner who is welcomed into an ancient Japanese clan called the Arashikage after saving the life of their heir apparent. Upon arrival in Japan, the Arashikage teach Snake Eyes the ways of the ninja warrior while also providing something he’s been longing for: a home. But, when secrets from his past are revealed, Snake Eyes’ honor and allegiance will be tested – even if that means losing the trust of those closest to him. Based on the iconic G.I. Joe character, Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins also stars Andrew Koji as Storm Shadow, Úrsula Corberó as The Baroness, Samara Weaving as Scarlett, Haruka Abe as Akiko, Tahehiro Hira as Kenta and Iko Uwais as Hard Master.
DIRECTED BY
Robert Schwentke
EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY
David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, Jeff G. Waxman, Greg Mooradian
PRODUCED BY
Brian Goldner, Erik Howsam, p.g.a., Lorenzo di Bonaventura, p.g.a.
BASED ON
Hasbro’s G.I. JOE® Characters
STORY BY
Evan Spiliotopoulos
SCREENPLAY BY
Evan Spiliotopoulos and Anna Waterhouse & Joe Shrapnel
STARRING
Henry Golding, Andrew Koji, Úrsula Corberó, Samara Weaving, Haruka Abe, Takehiro Hira with Iko Uwais
*CREDITS ARE NOT FINAL AND ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE*
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I AM HERE FOR THIS.
Stay tuned, too– lots more fun Snake Eyes stuff on the way!
First and foremost, it’s always a great day when you get a free package from Hasbro in the mail. Huge thanks to the folks at Hasbro for sending along this great gift box of free product!
As awesome as this stuff is, though, to me, the best gift of all is going to be seeing what Hasbro has to share April 9th. They’ve promised that Snake Eyes himself, Henry Golding will be in the house to share some exciting news about the Snake Eyes film, and we’re more or less guaranteed to get our first look at Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins movie figures!
Recently it’s also been revealed that Major Bludd, one of the most anticipated figures in the Classified line, may be revealed this week as well, but will likely be revealed as a Target: COBRA Island exclusive.
I will, of course, be celebrating Fan Fest with my good friends at The Full Force Podcast, so make sure you’re following them over on Facebook and subscribing to their YouTube channel to get our opinion on the sure-to-be-exciting reveals to come.
Meanwhile, check out some of the really fun contents of this awesome Gift Box.
Thanks, Hasbro, now I’ve fallen in love with Power Rangers Lightning and Star Wars Black Mandalorian figures. You get me. You really get me.
Star Wars Black Bo Katan
Yes this figure is just as amazing as Katie Sackhoff herself. Two pistols, removable helmet (with flip-down scope!) and a removable jetpack… SOLD.
Marvel Legends House of M Cyclops
Love the vintage feel of this Cyclops and the energy beam? Chef’s kiss.
Power Rangers Lightning Dino Thunder Blue Ranger
I have never ever in my life cared about Power Rangers until this very moment. I was absolutely shocked at just how damn fun this figure is. The accessories are great, articulation is spectacular. I don’t have a clue what Dino Thunder is, but I’m for it!
Transformers: Kingdom Paleotrex
I’ll admit– while I’ve dug deep into Kingdom figures mostly out of a love for Beast Wars, I hadn’t sampled this one yet. It’s really neat! The transformation gimmick involves taking the dang thing apart and putting it back together– differently. I really dig how the dinosaur ends up strangely larger than the robot. What kind of sorcery is this?
G.I. Joe: Classified Zartan
What else do I need to say that I didn’t already say in my review. BEST CLASSIFIED FIGURE EVER.
At least until Major Bludd comes out.
One just has to look no further than me for proof of how licensing can help build awareness and devotion to a particular brand. In the late 90’s, the combination of a Nintendo 64 game and some really fun action figures by Toy Biz essentially made me a wrestling fan. I never would have tuned in to WCW Nitro if not for the N64 game WCW vs NWO World Tour, which captured me with its intuitive controls and faithful adherence to the move set of the live action charicatures.
From there I was quickly drawn in to the soap opera stories, the awesome week-by-week build up and the explosive Pay Per View shows, so much so that I actually attended several in person house shows and even a WWE: Backlash Pay-Per-View live. For several years, I was completely enthralled, and none of that would have happened if not for a video game and some really fun Toy Biz WCW action figures.
For that reason alone, I was exceptionally excited to see my friends at Boss Fight Studios dipping their toes into the wrestling world with their Legends of Lucha Libre figures and accessories. Not only that, but it was going to be their first foray into 6″ figures, which was exciting into itself. Don’t get me wrong, I will always have a love for the 1:18 scale, and the building blocks of my action figure fandom are built in 3.75 and 4″, but recently, with G.I. Joe: Classified, Marvel Legends and Masters of the Universe (among others) I’ve been drawn into some of the larger scale figures and fascinated by what those larger sizes enable the designers to do.
Legends of Lucha Libre is no different. One just has to look at the intricate tattoo deco on both of these figures to know exactly what is possible at a larger scale. Though, to be honest, I’ve spent a very long time staring at the tattoo deco on this figure and it STILL doesn’t seem possible, even at a 6″ size. The paint deco on these figures is truly spectacular. The tattoos are so nicely painted and applied, working seamlessly throughout the joints and even included on the spare hands that come with Ray Fenix.
But really, the paint applications are only a part of the story. While I’m not necessarily a devoted follower or fan of Masked Republic or Lucha Libre in general, I have found a ton to love about these two figures. Along with the aforementioned color deco, the articulation is almost flawless. The range of motion on these figures is like a scaled up version of the Vitruvian HACKS figures, which is really all I could have wanted and more. There is so much great work in the sculpt and the way that sculpt blends with the joints, Boss Fight manages to combine fantastic range of motion with a smooth sculpting aesthetic that feels like the best of both worlds.
Like the HACKS figures, there are also some great customization options. The hands and heads are full swappable (just make sure to use some hot water or a hair dryer) so you can mix and match hands, wrist guards, elbow pads, etc… and it offers some fantastic flexibility.
But this initial assortment isn’t just about the figures and characters. There are two accessory sets included with this assortment as well, which are just insanely fun. A folding chair, the customary breakaway table, baseball bat with removable barbed wire, wooden kendo sticks, flexible strands of barbed wire, a microphone, a breakable cinder block– and a couple of Masked Republic masked heads. So many options and so much fun.
It’s been years since I collected wrestling figures, and I’m already super antsy to get my hands on an official Boss Fight Studio wrestling ring. I think I’m hooked on these things already!
For folks who have been following along on my social media pages, you know that I’ve been working my way through the Classified review backlog a bit. I’m happy to say I’m (more or less) caught up. No I haven’t reviewed Profit Director Destro, Arctic Storm Shadow or Snake Supreme COBRA Commander yet, but I’m not sure I’ll get those done or not. I love ’em, just– gotta prioritize, you know?
At this point, I’ve added Zartan, COBRA Infantry, Firefly and COBRA Viper to the G.I. Joe: Classified Review Page. If you haven’t checked them yet, now’s your chance!
These products are available for sale at BossFightShop.com!
The last year or so has simultaneously felt eternal and like one long blur of machine gun events that, in retrospect, seem to be the stuff of pulp novels. I should know, I write them for a living (among other things).
It seems only fitting, in times like this, pulled from the pages of some of those timeless serials, that two characters should come to life thanks to the toy design wizards at Boss Fight Studio. The small toy studio, which catapulted itself into existence thanks to one of the most successful action figure Kickstarters of all time stunned the pop culture world when they announced that they acquired the license to produce toys for several brands from King Features, including Zorro, Flash Gordon, Tarzan and The Phantom. Releasing them under a new “Hero HACKS” banner, the figures would be 1:18 scale and be fully compatible with their existing Vitruvian H.A.C.K.S. action figure line, which was already wow’ing collectors with their Greek Mythology and Fantasy based figures.
Built with articulation and customizability in mind (hence the “A” and the “C” of the H.A.C.K.S. moniker) these figures have been a hit throughout the collecting community and now, some famous licensed characters would be joining them.
There was much anticipation for these new additions, and in the past couple of months, we have seen the first three figures released – Zorro, Zorro w/ Tornado, and Flash Gordon (movie) with Lunchbox.
In short, these figures are just what we wanted and more.
I haven’t necessarily been a massive fan of these characters throughout my comic and toy collecting fandom, but I can certainly appreciate the timeless nature of these infamous brands. One of the best things about the Vitruvian H.A.C.K.S. universe is that it’s built around the concept of an unreliable time stream which crosses through era’s and universes, giving collectors the opportunity to let their imaginations run wild.
That just happens to fit in perfectly with the acquisition of these brands– in my little H.A.C.K.S.verse, the corrupt timestream has dragged many of these warriors into its muddy waters and now Zorro and Flash Gordon have joined Leonidas, Stonefist, the Knights of the Accord and Q’al Varis in a desperate attempt to save the timestream from Medusa and her sinister sisters. It’s a battle for the ages– quite literally.
It certainly helps that these figures are fantastic. The standard release Zorro and the Zorro that comes with Tornado are both built of the same cloth, but each with some unique twists. Single pack Zorro comes with a terrific secondary head, while the one with Tornado has a cloth cape — the easier to mount a horse with.
(Check out the differences and simlarities at VitruvianFACTS.com)
Articulation and poseability remain top notch, and the sculpting is simply perfect, bringing these characters to three dimensional life. The H.A.C.K.S. figure system is fully intact and functional, and I can just imagine how much potential there will be for future figures, not just from these two universes, but beyond.
Tornado should look familiar to anyone who backed the Mighty Steeds Kickstarter and is just another example of how smartly Boss Fight Studio is approaching their selection of tooling and licenses. The cross-purposes for so many parts and pieces helps them get some much needed mileage out of their expensive tooling, yet manages to bring exciting new things to the table with each iteration.
Flash Gordon is a relatively straight forward release, a football player in a t-shirt and pants, but he manages to greatly resemble the movie version of the character. So much so that the Queen theme song seems to play somewhere in the distance every time I play and pose this figure.
This movie version of the character comes with an awesome metallic lunchbox, something that is becoming a Boss Fight Studio staple (Bucky O’Hare’s Deadeye Duck and Leonidas both graced lunchboxes in the past). The head sculpts are where this figure really shines, however, with three different iterations of the actor’s likeness. Once again, I can see Flash Gordon leaping from the timestream, egg-shaped artifact in hand, ready to throw down with some Gorgons, awesomely hokey orchestra music playing in the background.
Add that to the fact that he’s got alternate hands, including closed fists, and Flash Gordon is ready to throw haymakers.
And again– the customization options are fantastic, especially with Series Z right around the corner.
Each of these figures is now available at BossFightShop.com and honestly, they are among the best 1:18 scale figures for your money. Hero H.A.C.K.S. just blew the doors wide open, not just in this world, but in the collecting world in general. This is just the beginning, and as the saying goes — there are no limits!
