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One of Marvel’s many fantastic creations, Iron Man, was first introduced to the world in 1963. This is when he appeared in his first comic book, which was penned by the unquestionably awesome Stan Lee. The alter ego of wealthy businessman Tony Stark, Iron Man is one of the toughest on the superhero circuit. After Stark suffered a life threatening injuries, after a kidnap attempt, he created an indestructible suit of armor. This iron suit initially helps save his own life, but Iron Man has since proven his devotion to mankind. He has used his powers to protect the world, with the other members of the Avengers always ready to get his back.

Stan Lee’s vision of Iron Man became a reality in 2008, when Marvel brought his superhero to the big screen. Robert Downey Jr took on this hotly contended role, and has since returned, delighting fans with further adventures from the weaponized billionaire. But fans clearly just can’t get enough of the man in the iron suit. Marvel has announced that he will be back in 2018, in Avengers: Infinity War. But what is it that makes him so indestructible? The armor was handmade to Stark himself, who is an inventor along with his other skills. He developed lightweight materials that made moving in the shell a breeze. The suit has been further developed with weapons, but most importantly it has made him able to fly.

So, how has Iron Man become a reality?

The Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) conference is taking place in Vancouver this week. Among the speakers was Richard Browning, a British inventor with dreams as big as Stark. He has built his own flying suit, and has exhibited its unique skills at this Week’s conference. Browning’s drive to succeed was fueled by his father, who was also an inventor. But he sadly died when Browning was a teenager. Browning’s passion for life and love of a challenge spurred him on to release his inner hero. Unfortunately, young geeks, Browning added that this project remains ‘a bit of fun’. He has stressed that he doesn’t believe that the idea will be going mainstream. So, not one to put on the Christmas list. Well, not this year, but in the future who knows…

Proud geek since 1988. I'm never happier than when I am enjoying a good film. Of course, as a Brit, the film watching experience is always better with a nice cup of tea.

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Beautiful New Book Teaches About the Art of Horizon Forbidden West

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This year, Sony produced some truly outstanding work, releasing four high-profile games on the PS5 and PS4 (not to mention the numerous PC ports). The earliest of these, Horizon Forbidden West, arrived in February of 2022 and got the year off to a strong start. One of Aloy’s sophomore journey’s greatest strengths, among the many other things we like about it, is its excellent art direction. The Art of Horizon Forbidden West allows you to now delve deeply into the game’s visuals.

This coffee table book, which was published by Dark Horse Books, contains 200 pages of concept art and developer commentary. It provides an inside look at the process used to develop engaging characters and settings, and Forbidden West is certainly not lacking in either.

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There will be two editions of the book: standard and deluxe. Both are hardback books, with the deluxe edition having pages with metallic edges and a unique slipcase. These are now up for pre-order and will go on sale on April 25, 2023.

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Details and gameplay for The Witcher 3 PS5 Version will be released on December 14th

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Bloody hell, it took a while, but The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s long-awaited PS5 release date has been announced. The updated role-playing game will go on sale on December 14th, and CD Projekt Red reiterates that PS4 owners can get a free PS5 upgrade.

The “next-gen” game will have a physical edition at a later, as of yet unspecified time.

Though we still lack specific information about what the current-gen version will offer, don’t worry; it appears that all of our most pressing questions will be resolved soon. Next week, the developer says, will feature a livestream that will feature gameplay and more details. Hence, something to anticipate.

But in all honesty, we’re just relieved that this PS5 edition won’t be delayed any further. Will you play through The Witcher 3 again right before Christmas? Post your thoughts in the section below.

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NYCC Panelists Have Sound Advice on Writing Characters with Disabilities

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Like real life, some people in comic books have disabilities. Usually they’re not the main characters and tend to be secondary or tertiary characters at best and villains at worst. More importantly, many of these characters are unrealistic, and Saturday’s How (and Why) To Create Disabled Characters panel at New York Comic Con was all about discussing what defines a good or bad portrayal of a character with disabilities in popular media. And these weren’t just random panelists pulling random names out of a hat; all the panelists either had disabilities, worked with people with disabilities, were disability activists, or were a combination of the three, so they knew what they were talking about.

So, let’s start with what characters the panelists think are good positive representations of people with disabilities and why. Well, Professor Charles Xavier is an obvious choice, but not because he uses a wheelchair. Professor X is actually a good representation because, like many people with disabilities, he’s an activist, albeit for mutants and not people with disabilities. Regardless, Professor X reaches out to his fellow mutants and uses technology to create a safe, comfortable environment, which isn’t too different from what disability activists do. According to the panelists, another obvious strong representation of people with disabilities is DC’s Cyborg, and again it’s not because of the obvious, i.e., his prosthetics. Instead, the panelists believe Cyborg is a great representation because he doesn’t try to hide his disability and feels that any attempts to do so would be lying about whether he has one, especially if he hides it from his friends, the Teen Titans. Apparently, many people with disabilities share this feeling, which is what makes him true to life. While we’re on the subject of DC characters, the panelists believe Oracle is another good example of a character with a disability, and again not for obvious reasons (are you sensing a pattern yet). Oracle is a positive representation because she lives her life as she would without a disability: she goes out on the town, hangs out with friends, visits restaurants with them, and so on. In other words, Oracle does all the things people without disabilities do, because disabilities don’t prevent people in the real world from doing that kind of stuff.

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Given the panelists’ ideas about what makes their chosen characters good representations, you would think they also have similar advice for up-and-coming writers who want to create these kinds of characters, and you would be correct. According to the panelists, anyone who wants to depict these characters should probably get input from a person who has a disability, which is apparently what the writers for the Fantastic Four cartoon did when developing Ben Grimm’s blind girlfriend; they consulted a blind woman to make sure the character was true to life. Another important piece of advice is to be as accurate as possible with the lingo. If a character is a little person, writers shouldn’t use words such as midget but refer to him or her with the specific condition name, like hydrocephalic dwarf or achondroplasiac dwarf. That’s what the creators of The Venture Bros. did for every character with a disability, which makes up far more characters than you would think. Moreover, the characters in The Venture Bros. aren’t defined by their disabilities, which is another key to creating a character with a disability. People with disabilities are multifaceted human beings with their own set of virtues, vices, and traits, and fictional characters with disabilities should be as well.

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Now that we’ve gone over the good, it’s time we looked at the bad: bad examples of characters with disabilities and the wrong ways to present a character with a disability. While the panelists had fewer specific examples of unacceptable representations, they still had plenty to say about how poor representations tend to fall into negative tropes or are negative token characters. According to the panelists, the worst offenders are the characters who are villains because of their disability. Captain Hook is a prime example as a villain immediately distinguished by his wicked, prosthetic hook, which is where his characterization starts and ends. Sure, he’s a timeless villain, but a bad example of a character with a disability is a bad example, timeless or not. Another popular negative trope is the character who sacrificed a part of him or herself to gain evil power, which enforces the superstition that a disability is a sign of evil. And we can’t forget about the trope of the person who curses the world because of his or her disability and wants everyone to suffer just as he or she does, which reinforces the false belief that people with disabilities curse their disability.

 

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So, what advice do the panelists have for writers for avoiding inaccurate characterizations of people with disabilities? First and foremost, do research. While it’s impossible to portray a disability 100% accurately, without the proper research, writers and artists can easily completely botch a portrayal. A common example of this kind of botchage is when artists draw people in wheelchairs using hospital wheelchairs, something only designed for temporary use, instead of a wheelchair designed for daily use. The panelists also think writers need to avoid as many tropes/tokenisms as possible, but that goes without saying. Case in point, before the panel, one of the panelists researched romance stories that had a blind character and found he or she always fell into one of the following tropes:
A) The character was a victim
B) The character was a villain
C) The character served as inspiration for another character to improve him or herself
D) The character finally “overcame” his or her disability
E) The character was cured of blindness.
Of course, blind people in the real world rarely fall into any of these tropes, so blind characters who do tend to be poor representations.

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And that about covered it for the panel regarding dos and don’ts for depicting characters with disabilities. These honestly seem like straightforward pieces of advice. Still, writers should take this guidance to heart. However, one thing still nags at me: I really, really wanted to ask the panelists about their opinion of Toph Beifong from Avatar: The Last Airbender and if she is a good or bad example of a character with a disability. I know what I think, but I don’t have the same experience as the panelists. If anyone who has a disability is reading this article, please tell me what you think of Toph. I really want to know.

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