It's been a fun and exciting year here at ComicBookMovie, with all th news of re-boots, character castings, trailers and such. And as the year comes to a close and we head into 2011, I thought it would be interesting to take a look back over the year and see what made the year so great, so why not include the members of the best online community out there?! There is no doubt in my mind that we are in the golden age of comic book movies and things are only going to get better from here. Over the past decade, and beyond, we have seen some of our most favorite characters come to life on the big screen and in the coming years, even more will be presented and re-imagined like never before.

So, with out further ado, it's time for you to choose The 2010 Best of CBM! Below, you will see several polls to vote on, which cover top news stories, the best (or the worst) comic book movie of the year, the best in editorials as well as the best in fan-fiction and the most anticipated news of 2011.

Top News Story of 2010

To start things off, I thought we'd take a look at some of the top news stories of there year. We had some shockers this year, with directors jumping ship, franchises getting re-booted and key cast members being left out of controversial movies. Here is a look back at the Top News Stories of 2010:

The Spider-Man Franchise Gets the Re-Boot
Most fans would agree that Spider-Man 3 was a a tragedy and a shell of a film that could have been spectacular. But when Sony pressured director Sam Raimi to include the Venom character in the story, things went south and they did so with a vengeance. So with fans angry at their last experience with Spidey, Sony opted to re-boot the franchise and start things from the ground up, including new actors and a new director.

Andrew Garfield cast as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
Some folks liked Toby Maguire, others did not, but what is even more polarizing was the selection of The Social Network star Andrew Garfield to star in the Spider-Man reboot. Many fans had their own choices for the role, including Logan Lerman, Josh Hutcherson and even Zac Efron, but some fans had Garfield as their choice. For some, the choice is growing on them, but for other, the idea of this casting and the reboot in general is no good.

Marc Webb Selected as Spider-Man Director
Even more odd and polarizing than the Andrew Garfield selection was the news that (500) Days of Summer director Marc Webb had been selected by Sony to head up the Spider-Man reboot film. Most people would say that (500) Days of Summer was a great show, but they question whether or not Webb had the vision and, frankly, the skill to pull off a franchise like the web slinger. Time will tell whether or not he can pull it off or not.

Zack Snyder takes on Superman
A Superman reboot is not really that big of a surprise to most fans, but what the big news story here is the choice of Zack Snyder to direct the film. Snyder, for the most part, is a fan favorite for comic book movies. His work on 300 was awe-inspiring and his adaptation of Watchmen is arguably one of the most faithful to date (that argument is for another article however). Many are excited by this idea, and some...not so much.

Chris Evans to Wield the Shield
For months, we as fans guessed and speculated as to who would be donning the red, white and blue uniform and play Steve Rogers, aka Captain America. Would it be Jensen Ackles? Armmie Hammer? John Krasinski? Finally, this spring we learned that none other that The Human Torch himself, Chris Evans would play Cap. Many complained (and still are) and others were pleased. We have slowly seen images and videos being released of the production and many are warming up to the idea of Evans as Cappie. Now if we could just get that trailer....

Joss Whedon to Assemble the Avengers
Jon Favreau showed quite a bit of interest in the job, as did Louis Leterrier. But Joss Whedon ended up landing the job of directing what could be one of the most anticipated comic book movies in history: The Avengers. Many are still questioning his qualifications for the job and whether or not he can handle such an important film, but as with most of the news stories here, only time can tell whether Marvel made the right choice or not.

X-Men: First Class ditches Cyclops and Jean Grey
When a First Class movie was announced a while back, most fans thought this would be the chance for Fox Studios to get their timeline in order and fix the issues that have had fans angry from the get go. Instead, they are creating a story that only muddles the time line further and ditches two of the most iconic characters in X-Men mythos. Granted, the film is still months from being released and details of the story are still sketchy, so we should really hold off judgement until we seen the completed film. But, it's just really hard to do that.

Darren Aronofsky Tackles The Wolverine
Let's just get this out of the way: X-Men Origins: Wolverine was a sub-par film. When news of a sequel hit, a collective sigh of frustration was heard throughout the comic book movie world. But with the announcement of Darren Aronofsky signing on to direct, things started looking a bit brighter. Aronofsky's latest films, The Wrestler and Black Swan have cemented him a spot as one of the top directors in years, and many are anxious to see what he's able to do with the Wolverine character and the Japan storyline.

Edward Norton ousted as Bruce Banner
The Incredible Hulk was surprisingly a decent film and that was mostly because of the involvement of actor Edward Norton. For many fans, he epitomized the Bruce Banner character and we were excited to see him carry the character on into future Hulk films as well as The Avengers, but that is not to be. For whatever reason (money, creative control, etc.), Norton will not be returning to play Banner. Which brings me to my next story...

Mark Ruffalo Signs on as Bruce Banner
I, among others, feel that Ruffalo is a decent actor and show bring a new feel to the Banner character, but it's hard to deny that it's a step down from Norton. (No offense Mark....Love your work!) There is still no word on Banner/Hulk's role in The Avengers or whether or not he will be taking the character in to Hulk sequels or not, but we can all and speculate on that one!

Jon Favreau Bails out on Iron Man 3
In our most recent news shocker, Favreau opted out of doing the third movie in the Iron Man franchise. Favreau help create and establish the timeline and movie universe that Marvel is using for its current line-up of films, so to hear of this news was rather saddening. Most speculate that he grew frustrated at Marvel's interjections which forced him to include more Avengers tie-ins than he wanted. Other say it was a money issue. Or more likely, a combination of both. Favreau will still serve as a producer for The Avengers.

Best Comic Book Movie of 2010

We had some great movies hit theaters this year, not to mention a few duds, and most of them are not really main-streamed characters. Surprisingly, they were received by the general audiences quite well, even causing a bit of controversy along the way. Here, you can choose the Best Comic Book Movie of 2010. In doing so, you will also choose the worst, as that one will have the fewest votes. I have not included any animated films here, just films that hit theaters.

Kick-Ass
Directed By Matthew Vaughn
Starring: Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz, Nicolas Cage, Mark Strong and Christopher Mintz-Plasse

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Directed by Edgar Wright
Starring: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans, Brandon Routh, and Jason Schwarzman

Iron Man 2
Directed by Jon Favreau
Starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell, Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johanssen

The Losers
Directed by Sylvain White
Starring: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Chris Evans, Idris Elba, Oscar Jaenada and Jason Patric

Jonah Hex
Directed by Jimmy Hayward
Starring: Josh Brolin, Megan Fox, John Malkovich and Michael Fassbender

RED
Directed by Robert Schwentke
Starring: Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Mary-Louise Parker, Helen Mirren, Karl Urban and Morgan Freeman

Best Editorial of 2010

There is no doubt that we have a great community here at CBM.com and it is due to the large number of talented users that frequent the site. I wanted to recognize the folks who have submitted editorials that have provoked in-depth discussions and the occasional heated argument. Along with that, they are unique, well written and well thought out pieces that are just a good, all-around read. I have included links to the articles so that you can re-read them and choose the Best Editorial of 2010.

"Why Do Fanboys Turn to  Bigots When it Comes to CBM's?" by canadianturd

"Why Can't Hollywood Understand Frank Castle?" by Nero

"Is DC Ready to tackle Their Red Speed Demon, The Flash?" by Shaman

"It was the Best of Times..." by TheDarqueOne

"The Case for the R Rated Superhero" by TheDarqueOne

"Joss? Are You Paying Attention?" by MikesPants

"5 Things I Realized While Reading CBM.com This Week" by LuckyKid90

"Why I Feel 'Avatar' has Surpassed 'Star Wars'" by TheDurkinKnight

"Age of the Remake (Reflections of a Heirophant)" by ReflectingHeirophant

Best Fan-Fic

If comic book companies and studios are looking for new ideas and talent, they need  only to look through the many stories featured in our "Fan-Fic" section as we have some incredibly talented users here at CBM.com. Several of them have spent literally months creating and writing some incredible fiction stories for our enjoyment. As with the Editorials above, I have included links to the stories. Keep in mind that several of this are written in installments and/or chapters, so be sure to check out the user's fansites for the remainder of their stories. Here are the links to The Best Fan-Fic:

The Human Spider Trilogy by UserFlak

Mortal Kombat: Destiny by Robert Garlen

The Batman by BatmanKnight

Deadpool- Merc With a Mouth by Anil Rickly (aka earzmundo)

Punisher Max: In the Dark Woods by Nero

Metawar: Beginnings by TheDarqueOne

The Incredible Hulk Returns 2.0 by Anil Rickly (aka earzmundo)

X-Men: The Sinister Truth by THEHAWK

Deadpool and Domino's Gratuitous Story by THEHAWK

X-Men 5: The Day of Futures Past by THEHAWK

Most Anticipated News of 2011

Here, we will be looking to the future, viewing the stories and headlines of the year ahead of us. Obviously, we can't see the future. If I could, I wouldn't be here writing this article. What we can do is speculate and hope that we hear more information about our favorite characters and movie franchises. This category was a tough one to examine and I think I've covered the most likely possibilities of potential headlines for 2011. Here are the Most Anticipated News Stories of 2011.

The Dark Knight Rises Villain Castingb
You may be asking "What about Tom Hardy and Sr. Strange?" Well, as far as I know, nothing has ever been confirmed on that speculation (if it has, I'll eat my words with a bit of mustard). And it is more than likely that we will see a second villain announced as well, as it was reported that they are looking for a female lead to portray a villain. Will Tom Hardy play Strange? How about Deadshot? What About Catwoman?

Director for Deadpool film Announced
Frankly, I'd like to hear any good news about this project, as it seems to be stuck in development hell. But let's start it off easy with hoping to hear an announcement of a director. Rodriguez is can't seem to make up his mind and he is the fan-favorite to helm the film. But they could always draw someone from left field for the project.

Captain America: The First Avenger Trailer
We have already seen two of the most highly anticipated trailers in some time with THOR and Green Lantern, but we have also been patiently, or not-so-patiently, for a trailer for Captain America. We've been told it will be shortly after the new year, which is not far off, but for most of us, that's too damn long!

Avengers Story Details
As with most comic book movies, there are literally hundreds of options for story ideas and Avengers is no exception. We've all wondered which story they will start out with: Will is be Loki controlling the Hulk? Or maybe a Secret Invasion? How about Ultron? Hopefully, in 2011, we'll learn the direction Whedon and Marvel will be taking the film. If we are lucky, we may even see a trailer or footage before the end of 2011!

Iron Man 3 Director Announcement
We were all pretty surprised by the recent announcement  that Jon Favreau would be leaving the Iron Man 3 project, but it didn't take long for the guessing game to begin. Many have suggested that Marvel (and therefore Disney) would go with a director that they have already worked with or are going to work with (Whedon, Branaugh, Letterier), but there is also the option of directors that have a working relationship with Disney (Bird, Verbinsky). In the press release regarding Favreau's departure, they did mention that they are already searching for a replacement and would like to get that person on board sooner rather than later.

Superman Reboot Casting
One of many anticipated films is the Superman reboot that Zack Snyder will be helming. Along with that, comes anticipation of who will be donning the red and blue tights. There have been many rumors tossed around about the direction of the film , as well as the type of actor they are searching for, but as of yet, we have heard nothing definite. Routh-boot anyone?

Ant Man Casting News
Edgar Wright's production of Ant Man is slowly but surely gaining ground. We know that he will be taking a bit of a different approach with the character, looking at a more "Agent" style film. It's also believed that his film would not be tying into Marvel's production of The Avengers (that's a discussion for another day). We've heard several rumors of casting, but all have proven to be false, including Adrien Brodey as hank Pym. Let's hope we here some news on who will be playing Hank and Jan.



Well folks, there you have it. Be sure to check out each of the editorials and the stories, as the writers have put a lot of time and effort into them and they deserve a second look. Also be sure to check out many of the other editorials, features and stories that didn't quite make it to the top this year. We have some incredibly talented people in our ranks, so lets give them the attention they deserve.

I believe that I can speak for all the editors, volunteers and CBM staff in saying THANK YOU for making ComicBookMovie.com the best site on the net. The community we have here is top notch and unlike any other you will find. We had an incredible year of news and growth this year and you can be sure that new and exciting things will be headed your way, both here on the site, as well as in the world of comic books and comic book movies.

The polls will remain open until January 15th, so be sure to get your votes in!