Happy Geek Pride Day! Live Long and Let the Force Prosper with You

Today is Geek Pride Day! A day where it is acceptable to show up to work dressed as Gandalf, curse out your coworkers in Klingon, and stock up on purple pants in preparation for an unexpected case of  "Hulking".

May the Force Live Long and Prosper with you All.

Celebrating Geek Pride, I pose a question to the world of nerdelicious fandom:

Jango Fett: Awesome, or Awful?

Jango Fett is the... father*... of Boba Fett, everyone's favorite bounty hunter.

*to be technically correct, Boba Fett is a perfect clone of Jango in the same manner that Hubert Farnsworth Jr is a clone of the Professor.

Clone, sometimes eaten by Brett Blob

Clone, sometimes eaten by the Sarlacc Pit

Like father, like son: we can only assume that they both share the same soft spot for disintegrating targets.

Jango Fett was introduced in the middle prequel, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. This unfortunate placement in the timeline warrants immediate skepticism on just how awesome he is. After all, Jango Fett IS the clone that generated that still ridiculous movie title.

That being said, Jango Fett is probably one of the more bad-ass characters in the entirety of Episode I-III. Boba Fett's role in the original trilogy was notoriously mysterious and subtle, so Jango's role as the genetic foundation of the clones (and hence, all future Stormtroopers) binds his existence more fundamentally to the space opera's story arc. But maybe it was all just a tacky way to include a successful  merchandising product.

So which is it? Was Jango Fett a badass narrative predecessor to Jango Fett, or the "Poor Man's Boba"? Let's see how they do head to helmeted head:

Jango Fett vs. Boba Fett: Showdown


1. Character Introduction

Jango: Assassinates his own assassin to protect his secret identity.... but uses a rare dart that can be traced back to him to do it.
Boba: Technically introduced in the Star Wars Holiday Special, the lost Holy Grail of Star Wars collectibles. Later introduced in The Empire Strikes Back while being briefed by Darth Vader to hunt down Han Solo and crew.

Jango, what's with the middleman? Using a subcontractor was just asking for trouble. And while the Star Wars Holiday Special was notoriously awful, it's also mysterious.

Winner: Boba Fett

2. Awesomeness of Death

Jango: head cut off by Samuel L. Jackson, wielder of the only purple lightsaber in the galaxy.
 
Boba: accidentally kicked by Harrison Ford (still blind from his recovery from carbonite freezing) into the Sarlacc Pit to die a horrible death.  
Unless you read the Extended Universe.... but that's silly.

Sorry Bobba, but that death is the pits.

Winner: Jango Fett

3. Armor & Fashion Sense


Jango: wears shiny new armor; he clearly takes care of it, but he also can't be using it to its full potential
Boba: wears basically the armor, but with the obvious signs of heavy use. Armor was made to be used and useful.


As much as it's great to leave collectable Star Wars armor in its original packaging, it becomes even better when it's taken out for a spin into battle


Winner: Boba Fett

4. Vehicle

Jango: cloaking ship named "Slave 1"
Boba: cloaking ship named "Slave-1"


While we see more of the ship in deadly action when Jango is flying it, it's always the same stealthy craft

Winner: Tie


5. Fight Scenes

Jango: has an intense fight with Obi-Wan Kenobi, and then later with Mace Windu.
Boba: more active as a stalking bounty hunter, he provides some extra security and menace at Jabba's Palace.

Winner: Jango
 
Showdown Winner.... A TIE!!!

With Boba Fett being a clone of Jango Fett, they easily conflate into a guy with a  sweet helment, a blaster, and a jetpack. 

This is the real reason cloning humans isn't ethical: it ruins competition. Plus we'd need a Clone Pride Day next, and that's just silly.


Happy Geek Pride Day!

Ryan Reynolds May Actually Star in a Good Comic Book Movie

For those who don't live in a Fictional Universe, let me tell you: Green Lantern is one of the most visually stunning comics currently being published.. It's absolutely beautiful!

The series features heroes who can literally create "light constructs" of anything that comes to their mind, so long as they have the Will to do it. Or whatever, listed below.

The newly introduced Emotional Spectrum adds more complexity to the Green-based comic mythology. The existing organizations:

Green Lantern Corp: Powered by Will. Grace not required.
Red Lantern Corp: Powered by Rage. Mostly Windows Vista users.
Sinestro Corp (Yellow Lanterns): Powered by their ability to inspire Fear. E.g. Glenn Beck.
Blue Lantern Corp: Powered by Hope (and powerless without a Green Lantern) Obama needs a Green Lantern
Indigo Tribe: Powered by Compassion. Oprah.

Star Sapphires: Powered by Love. Comprised of mostly crazy ex-girlfriends.

Agent Orange: Just one lantern, Larfleeze, who is powered by his insatiable Greed


I know what you're thinking: what the hell is The Third Strike talking about? This is way too nerdy & complicated.

Basically, it's a bunch of colors attacking each other, okay??? It's awesome. It's visually intoxicating. It's like... a constant War of Rainbows.

From Fox's "When Rainbows Attack"

And now, Green Lantern going to be a movie, starring the best lantern of them all, Hal Jordan.

Ryan Reynolds will be playing Hal, and this won't be his first Super-powered rodeo. However, it MIGHT be his first good one.

So far it's been:
Blade Trinity, as a Vampire
X Men: Origins... Wolverine, as Deadpool
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, as a Male Nurse.

Although those films have been disappointing, fans are hoping that Ryan Reynolds (and the rest of the film) will pull through... and give his fans their brightest day.

Wikipedia Case Study: Jon Stewart, Batman, and the Battle of Nerds

Last night on The Daily Show, Jon Stewart admit to Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales that he is, in fact, Batman.

True Comic Book fans know this is nonsense; the Ragman is the REAL Jewish superhero stalking the steets of Gotham City at night.

"What a nerd."

Of course, this was all meant to raise the ongoing question of Wikipedia's accuracy; Jon Stewart was really posing the question: "How quickly and for how long will my article be 'updated' on Wikipedia after the Daily Show airs me saying that I'm Batman?"

Seeing as I was at my computer, I decided to investigate for myself.

Back in the Civil War, people would occasionally picnic near a battlefield to watch the spectacle of war. Morbid, but that's what happens when there's no TV.

I decided to have a modern picnic and click "refresh" repeatedly on Jon's page, watching the Battle of the Nerds play out!

On one side: those fighting to keep Wikipedia's factual integrity.

On the other side: People saying that Jon Stewart is not Batman. errr... yes...

It was truly nerd vs. brother nerd.

Now, YOU can watch the Wiki-Battle in real time too! On 1/25/2011, it all went like this....

11:24 PM

Jon Stewart jokes that he is Batman. Third Strike navigates to his Wikipedia page within seconds.

11:26 PM

Jon Stewart is Batman in both his picture and the first paragraph of his article.

11:28 PM

Jon Stewart is no longer Gotham City's Dark Knight anywhere on the Wiki page.

11:29 PM

Jon Stewart is" not to be confused with Batman".

11:29 PM

Jon Stewart is not... not to be confused with Batman; he IS Batman again.

11:32 PM

Jon Stewart's Wikipedia page is locked due to vandalism.

SO, in conclusion: the War of the Nerds ended in a quick eight minutes.

In under ten minutes, truth prevails. Yes... unless the truth is that Jon Stewart IS Batman.

Secondary findings: I am not the only person who needs a life.

But as I say... better to be watching the war from a picnic than to be fighting in it.

Third Stike Goes To Comic Con.

Photo by Jehangir Irani.

Ladies and gentlemen, Third Strike is about to release a sleuth of "NERD" upon you all today. Perhaps this is because we are still coming down from the high from this weekend, as obtained from a big huge bong hit of NY COMIC CON.

I decided to shower Rob with the ultimate surprise: a trip (press pass included) to the annual nerd event of New York City. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways: One day of forgoing massive amounts of comic book subject-matter.

Yes, we saw it all - aliens, storm troopers, Spiderman, people engaging in light saber fights - you know, typical NERD stuff.

But most importantly, Rob and I have met the man, the myth, the legend - Mr. Chewbacca himself!!! No, that is not Bigfoot! But any true nerd would recognize that furry face:




<---Rob can hardly contain his excitement. His nerd is bursting at the seams!

--->I'm definitely grabbing Chewbacca's hairy ass with my other hand. He liked it.

ANYWAY, enough about molesting mythical creatures. Here are some more photos from this weekend's adventures to Comic Con in New York City:

Stan "The Man" Lee. What comic expo would be complete without him?!
Side note: moments after this I used my press credentials to stand on stage with Stan Lee to get some video, suddenly becoming the envy of all nerds, including Rob.

Rob and Harley Quinn. He is SO happy.

Showing Spidey some love.

Fist pumping the Right Hand of Doom!!!

Why so serious?

Me, getting attacked by a facehugger... or just giant alien balls. Kind of terrifying.
Photo by Jehangir Irani.