Remembering Michael Clarke Duncan

Actor Michael Clarke Duncan passed away at the age of 54 this weekend. For a lot of people, he will always be remembered for his role in The Green Mile. But as a comic book fan, I would say that my favorite part of his career was his work as Wilson Fisk in Dardevil.

When it was announced that he would be playing the role of the Kingpin, there was a lot of fanboy concern about why they would change the race of the character. That wasn’t an issue for me. What I was more concerned about was how anyone could bring this immensely massive–in both size and emotional presence–to life.

 

And Michael did just that. His take on the Marvel Universe’s biggest crime lord was extremely menacing and sophisticated at the same time. His portrayal became what Kingpin was in my mind, more so than the original. It’s a lot like Mark Hammill’s Joker or Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine…they’ve become the voice of the character when I read it. With all the talk of a Daredevil relaunch, I would have loved for them to keep Duncan on board and taken it into that retro/grimy direction.

Outside of his work as the Kingpin, Michael was in a bunch of other comic book related projects. He was in the Sin City movie and voiced everyone’s favorite poozer Kilowog in Green Lantern. You can look at his full career here.

 

SDCC 2012 Exclusives: DC Collectibles Green Lantern Action Figure 2-Pack

DC Collectibles (the former DC Direct) has this set of 3.75″ action figures as a San Diego Comic Con exclusive. But what’s more interesting than that is that this is part of a new line of convention-exclusive action figures.

This new line of figures can only be bought at conventions, which I don’t know how I feel about. I think they look really cool, mostly because they are the same scale as the Marvel Universe line. This finally gives me the opportunity to integrate DC’s finest alongside their Marvel counterparts, GI Joe and even Star Wars.

But, since this will be a super limited line, it will be pretty hard to collect. That I’m not too fond of. I’m sure people will be scalping these on eBay and at finer comic book stores everywhere.

That said, I do think that Kilowog and Kyle Rayner look awesome. I like that the line is starting with two lesser known characters, appearing to wear their standard, non-New 52 costumes.

They’re retailing this set at $25, which to me is a price point that just puts it out of consideration. However, if they release a Booster Gold and Blue Beetle set all bets are off. You can find out more about the line here.

Green Lantern Toys At McDonalds!

I would have so loved this when I was a kid. McDonalds’ next set of Happy Meal toys feature Hal Jordan and some of the other characters from Green Lantern: The Animated Series. There’s a bunch of Hals, a Kilowog and even a Red Lantern who I can’t identify.

Green Lantern airs on the Cartoon Network. There is a new episode this Saturday at 10 am. Combine that with a bowl of Lucky Charms and you have a pretty accurate idea of how I’m spending Saturday morning.