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When Tony Stark is Iron Man, he's usually on his own while battling villains and cosmic menaces. But is he really flying solo? Anyone who saw the films “Iron Man” or “Iron Man 2” saw that Tony’s suit was patched into an artificially intelligent computer program named J.A.R.V.I.S. that ran his lab and home.

This J.A.R.V.I.S. program was based on the character Edwin Jarvis, who was Tony’s family butler in the comic book universe and later became the caretaker of Avengers Mansion (which also happened to be the original Stark family home). The program even acted as a babysitter for the Fantastic Four for a while.

[TRIVIA NOTE: In the novelization of “Iron Man,” writer Peter David said that the J.A.R.V.I.S. acronym stood for “Just A Really Very Intelligent System.”]

Perhaps fearing that having a sarcastic butler around would make Tony seem too much like Batman, the "Iron Man" filmmakers decided to make Jarvis into an A.I. program since, over the years, Tony has had more than a few helping him out. The models for these programs have ranged from the aforementioned butler to a teenage "girl Friday" over the years, and we've compiled a list of some of our favorite A.I. assistants from Iron Man history. Read more...

Tags iron man 2

It appears that Christopher Chance has been given a new assignment.

"The Human Target" has been renewed for a 13 episode second season on Fox, according to Entertainment Weekly. "Chuck" co-executive producer Matthew Miller is also joining "The Human Target" as the new showrunner, sharing the position with Jonathan Steinberg.

First announced in January 2009, "The Human Target" stars Mark Valley ("Fringe") as Christopher Chance, a former assassin turned bodyguard/private contractor who specializes in protecting clients from deadly and unusual threats. The series also stars Chi McBride ("Pushing Daisies") and Jackie Earle Haley ("Watchmen") as Chance's partners, Detective Laverne Winston and Guerrero, respectively. Read more...

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M. Night Shyamalan's "The Last Airbender" hits theaters in just a few months, but fans of the hit animated series and the upcoming live-action adaptation won't have nearly as long to wait for "Zuko's Story," an upcoming prequel comic that explores the origins of the Fire Nation's exiled prince.

Written by Dave Roman and Alison Wilgus and illustrated by Nina Matsumoto, "The Last Airbender: Prequel: Zuko's Story" tells the story of Zuko's banishment by his father, Fire Lord Ozai, and his quest to redeem himself by locating the legendary Avatar, who wields all four of the elements. Played by "Slumdog Millionaire" star Dev Patel in the live-action film, Zuko begins his mission to find the Avatar and restore his honor in this prequel story leading into the movie.

Random House and Del Ray Publishing have given Splash Page readers an exclusive first look at at the comic with a five-page preview featuring one of Zuko's early attempts at winning support for his quest. "Zuko's Story" hits shelves Tuesday, May 18. Read more...

Tags photo, The Last Airbender, the last airbender: prequel: zuko's story

While there's still no official word on when (if ever) we'll see "Sin City 2," that hasn't stopped us from wondering about the potential sequel to Robert Rodriguez's 2005 adaptation of Frank Miller's celebrated comic book noir. Back in March, Rodriguez told us a script was on the way, so when we caught up with Mickey Rourke during the "Iron Man 2" press junket, we made sure to ask if he'd heard anything about the project yet.

"If it happens, you know... they've got to all get their sh-- together," said Rourke, shrugging off the question of whether he'd distanced himself from the project at this point. Read more...

Tags mickey rourke, sin city 2, Video

Last month, Jon Favreau tweeted that he'd seen Olivia Wilde's first wardrobe shots for "Cowboys and Aliens," and now he's finally getting her together with her fellow cast members Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig. He also may or may not have given her a tiny Iron Man, but if even if didn't, he has to be flattered that she's showing it off via TwitPics.

Stan Lee, meanwhile, was recently flattered by the city of Las Vegas, where he was honored with an official Stan Lee Day and ceremony. He did note one complaint, though. Check out what his gripe was below along with a Frank Frazetta homage sketch by Mike Norton, Rob Liefeld's complaint about "Lost" and some Brits' reactions to their newly-formed government.

It's all in the Twitter Report for May 12, 2010. Read more...

Tags bryan hitch, erik larsen, jon favreau, mark millar, mike choi, mike norton, olivia wilde, rob liefeld, simon pegg, stan lee, Twitter Report

By Kara Warner

Continuing with our coverage of summer movie kick-starter and last week's box office champ, "Iron Man 2," we got to thinking that, with all the talk about Tony Stark's cool new suits and gadgets — all of which perform wonderfully in the film — there are many superheroes who aren't quite as lucky in the costume and supersuit departments.

For all the killer ensembles out there (we're looking at you, Iron Man, Batman and Flash), there are a few that miss the mark with the whole "functionality" thing.

Here's a look at several costumes that could use an upgrade (and in a lot of cases, sturdier fabric — and more of it). Read more...

Tags black canary, dazzler, hulk, red sonja, wonder woman

Comic book readers know Brad Meltzer from his work on series like "Identity Crisis," "Justice League" or his current run on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight," but the celebrated author turned his focus to a distinctly different sort of hero for his latest project: a book collecting the stories of 52 real-life people and the little-known decisions that made them heroes.

Meltzer began writing "Heroes for My Son" eight years ago, when his first son, Jonas, was born. Wanting to collect the stories of people whose choices in life he could share with his son, Meltzer began a labor of love that finally culminated with the book's arrival on shelves this week.

"Heroes For My Son" offers a brief glimpse into the lives of everyone from Superman creators Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel to Muppets creator Jim Henson, and while it isn't a comic book, it is a story of what makes people heroes. And it will very likely surprise you.

I managed to get a few questions with Meltzer this week about the book, its origins and the experience of reading it to his son for the very first time. Read more...

Tags brad meltzer, heroes for my son

Back in March, word emerged that director Matthew Gratzner and special effects artist Jules Urbach are spearheading a feature film adaption of "Gaiking," based on a '70s Japanese anime series that is better known in America as part of the "Shogun Warriors" toy line.

Gratzner and Urbach also released an impressive teaser trailer when the initial announcement was made. And while the film is still looking for a home, the filmmakers will soon be searching for potential screenwriters, according to Urbach.

"I guess you can say we're in preproduction," said Urbach during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "The reason we released the teaser when we did is we're done designing the robot." And even a lot of the costumes and the characters." Read more...

Tags gaiking, jules urbach, shogun warriors

Last September, Colm Feore was cast in director Kenneth Branagh's highly anticipated adaptation of "Thor." And while principal photography appears to be winding down, Feore's role within the film is still shrouded in secrecy.

"Marvel hasn't allowed me to say anything," related Feore during an interview with The Montreal Gazette. "I can tell you makeup took me five hours every day, and that made for a very long day. But [Kenneth] Branagh is a genius at scheduling, so it worked out fine for me."

"It was a lot of fun to do," added Feore. "And I imagine it's going to be huge." Read more...

Tags Colm Feore, thor

Last August, Brett Ratner told us that his live-action adaptation of "Youngblood" was still in the script phase. Nine months later, that's where the project still stands.

"I'm working on the script," the director told MTV News. "'Youngblood will be something I do in the future, whether it's next year or whatever."

At the moment, Ratner is pushing forward with his next directorial gig, "Tower Heist," for which he's hoping to lock down Ben Stiller, and developing 'Youngblood' with an eye toward turning it into an enduring big screen franchise.

"I'm never going to do another 'X-Men' obviously, and I'm not doing any more with 'Rush Hour,'" he explained. "But to do a new franchise, I don't care what the budget is — even if it was small — but it would be exciting because then I could start my own franchise. I could do what Bryan [Singer] did with 'X-Men.'" Read more...

Tags brett ratner, youngblood