10 Best Female Characters In The X-Men Universe

Marvel Divas – Women of the X-Men ft. Phoenix, Emma, Pyslocke, Kitty, Storm, and Rogue by Greg Horn.

The most memorable mutant women who kicked behind on-page

By Matthew Fisher. Source: WhatCulture.Com.

In a franchise as long-running as the X-Men, it stands to reason that it would produce memorable characters. It has a tremendously rich history, stretching far back to their initial creation in 1963 by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. The First Class roster sparked a comic book revolution that eventually lead to an enormous cast of rotating characters and iconic villains. In the world of comics, the X-Men is a giving tree of mythology. But when it comes to the female side of the fence, the X-Men are not too shabby. Whether it’s the deep, complex back stories of the heroes or the darker shades of the super villains, the women of the X-Men are not to be messed with. You would find it difficult to cruise the X-Men comics and not find a female character you enjoyed, as they all have such a unique identity.

From Storm’s strong, confident sense of duty to the sexy and smouldering allure of Emma Frost, the women of the X-Men are some of the most exciting bunch of female characters in all of comics. They’ve all had their share of triumphs and tragedies, some of them even shaping the entire fabric of the X-Men universe. Here are 10 of the greatest female characters you’ll ever hope to find in an X-Men comic.

10. Domino

Created by Rob Liefeld, and a relatively early member of the team X-Force, Domino has one of the more unique abilities in the X-Men universe. As her name implies, Domino has an amazing ability to make seemingly impossible odds a reality. By essentially altering the course of good luck vs bad luck, Domino’s reputation is well earned, giving her an almost prophetic presence.

Visually, Domino is a striking figure. She comes off as a one-woman army, packing numerous weapons that can put a hurt on whomever is unlucky enough to be considered a target. The contrast between the different elements of her face also create a very unique look, and with comics being just as much a visual medium as anything else, it helps make Domino stand out even more.

The combination of unique powers, a killer look and a haunting back story have allowed Domino to begin breaking out into the mainstream. She’s appeared in numerous cartoon and video game adaptations based on the X-Men, and is even rumoured to be involved in the proposed X-Force movie to take place after Days of Future Past. It’s unknown if Domino will ever get the big-screen treatment, but you never know when your luck might change.

9. Dazzler

Dazzler is an interesting character, in that she was created by a group of Marvel comics editors and writers tasked with producing a character with mainstream appeal. Then editor-in-chief Jim Shooter also commissioned a film project to be tied in with the comic, as well as an actual singer to represent Dazzler for Casablanca Records and even a cross-country tour. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite take off the way Marvel hoped.

But the thing about Dazzler is that you can’t keep a good mutant down. Her comic sold relatively well, and was a unique concept in that it focused on the real-life aspects of Dazzler – her love live, ongoing musical career and a loose set of occasional supervillains to tangle with. By using her mutant power to convert sound into light, it gave her shows an even bigger scale.

The way Dazzler is constantly re-invented is what is perhaps most exciting about her. She changes with the times, and with the evolution of music itself. Dazzler’s look evolves with each and every decade, as does her genre of music. For instance, in the Ultimate X-Men comic, Dazzler was a punk rock singer as opposed to her swinging disco days. There’s potentially a second chance for Dazzler to make a mainstream splash these days, but until then, we’ll always have the 25-issue Frank Springer comic to enjoy.

8. Pixie

As stated before, comics have their roots in visual appeal and a small part of what draws you to a comic book character is their look. Maybe a certain colour scheme, or the way their symbol flows with the rest of the costume. If it all connects the right way, you’re going to be interested in this character. Pixie stood out with her colourful wings, leading many to ask where they could find out more about her.

Which leads to you discovering that there’s a lot more to her than the wings. As a younger character, she speaks to a certain portion of the audience that we all remember being. We can all probably remember as a child being fond of Robin, as he was a gateway to hanging out with Batman. Pixie is another one of those characters, opening up a portal to this fantasy world and giving young people someone they can relate with. Maybe they can’t be Storm or Jean Grey, but they could be Pixie.

Her powers are quite interesting, as well. Aside from her pixie dust that will cause enemies to hallucinate, she is also an accomplished magician. Even Doctor Strange has seen a lot of potential in her, promising to give her guidance and teach her how to fully embrace her powers in the future. She also has control of the Souldagger, a weapon that was forged from a piece of her very own soul. Pixie has a lot at her disposal, and is a fascinating character in her own right.

7. Mystique

Before she was a member of the box-office hit franchise of X-Men films, Mystique was a well known character to fans of the comic. As the estranged adoptive mother of Rogue, as well as founding her own variations of the Brotherhood of Mutants, Mystique has earned an iconic spot in the world of X-Men. She’s managed to make a fairly standard superpower, shape-shifting, into something much more dangerous than perhaps ever before.

The distinct blue skin gives her an aura of mystery, as well as the shaded elements of her past that remain a matter for speculation. There’s still a lot we don’t even know about this enigma, which keeps her interesting over all these years. In addition to her shape-shifting, Mystique is also an incredibly cunning and tactical character. She’s well-versed in numerous disciplines and maintains a very dangerous feel about her.

Aside from her time as a movie star, Mystique has become one of the more mainstream X-Men characters. She was a breakout character in the film series, initially played to perfection by Rebecca Romijn, before being played by Hollywood’s it-girl Jennifer Lawrence. Mystique can fill a unique void as a utility character, and is useable in almost any scenario as a way to spark some kind of story or character moment, and though she may be largely considered a villain, it’s the grey area she straddles that makes her most interesting.

6. Jubilee

If you look back at Jubilee’s initial appearances with the X-Men, you could see her as a product of her own time. She had a rebellious and spunky spirit about her, which many people reading the comic at the time could latch onto. In an era that seemed to be about radical social change in comics, Jubilee was an obvious fit for the cultural shift comics were going through.

But not every character can stay in one configuration forever, and much like so many other characters, Jubilee has had to change with the times. From the witty kid who was saved in a shopping mall by some of her fellow mutants, Jubilee has continued to see her character go through many changes. She lost her powers during the House of M crossover and eventually became a vampire, yet still loved her extended mutant family enough to stick by them.

Jubilee speaks to that childlike quality in all of us. Even with an adopted child of her own now, Jubilee has gone past even that – she’s an adult, having matured past her own insecurities to get the greatest gift of them all.

5. Scarlet Witch

From her plainly disturbing relationship with twin brother Quicksilver in the pages of Ultimate X-Men to the universe shattering event known as House of M, the Scarlet Witch is truly one of the most well-known characters in the entire world of Marvel, let alone the X-Men. Real name Wanda Maximoff, Scarlet Witch is also the daughter of X-Men nemesis Magneto as well as the half-sister of Polaris, and this dysfunctional family tree has been prime material for X-Men writers for years.

Scarlet Witch has gone through many phases of ups and downs. From her dramatic relationship with The Vision to the horrors she faced in House of M, the Scarlet Witch’s path from creation to present day has been an interesting one. She controls a very raw sense of power, as well, which she’s using well in the current ongoing Uncanny Avengers book. She’s faced trauma, yet still persists.

The good thing is that Scarlet Witch is about to be a movie star, played by Elizabeth Olsen in the Joss Whedon directed Avengers: Age of Ultron. Olsen also played Scarlet Witch in a brief cameo at the end of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, putting her and Quicksilver on the fast track to becoming Marvel’s next breakout film characters. The future looks bright for Wanda, even if her comic book past is rather tragic.

4. Rogue

The most beloved southern belle in all comics, Rogue began on the opposite side of the fence against the X-Men as a member of Mystique’s Brotherhood of Mutants. But after absorbing the powers of Ms. Marvel and nearly murdering her, Rogue reformed and joined the X-Men. This ongoing tale of redemption gave some more personality to her, and has allowed Rogue to expand beyond the villain she started as.

Rogue’s energy-absorbing powers also give her a nice sense of character growth, as she is unable to have physical contact with those that she loves. This extra layer of character is crucial, letting Rogue’s character grow organically as opposed to just something written for her. It comes off as real and not a gimmick, allowing Rogue to create a very distinct character.

But don’t let that trauma fool you, as she’s just as tough as any other woman on the team. She’s been a long-standing member of the X-Men film franchise, being played by Anna Paquin in all of her appearances. Rogue has also been involved in nearly every piece of adapted media for the X-Men, including cartoons, video games and films. People have always responded to her character, no matter what side she’s on.

3. Emma Frost

First appearing in Uncanny X-Men #129 in 1980, Emma Frost has since become one of the more recognizable villains in the X-Men world. Her affiliation with the nefarious Hellfire Club sparked a number of classic stories during Chris Claremont’s epic 16-year run on the series, including the Dark Phoenix Saga. Her striking penchant for white, and the scantily-clad way she dresses has certainly granted her some second looks over the years.

But that’s only a very tiny fraction of what has made the character so memorable. Emma Frost is labeled as an omega-level mutant, making her one of the most powerful psychics in the entire pantheon of mutants. She also possesses a remarkable ability to transform her skin into a resilient diamond form, granting her an extra bit of power to throw around during battles.

She has appeared on-screen in X-Men: First Class, played by January Jones, and has also featured in video games and cartoons, showing some potential to break out from the confines of the comics and become a mainstream player. Her road from vicious leader of the Hellfire Club to member of the X-Men was one paved with death and tragedy, but she has ultimately come out on the better end, rounding herself out into a fully formed character worthy of any X-Fan’s admiration.

2. Jean Grey

The woman who would one day be Phoenix began as Marvel Girl, the only woman in the First Class of X-Men that featured Cyclops and Angel, among others. She had an ongoing relationship with Cyclops, perhaps one of the great comic book romances of all time. Her time during the classic Dark Phoenix Saga cemented her place in the history of the Marvel universe, and the shocking conclusion that killed the character off left a void in the heart of X-Men fans that was difficult to fill.

Though she eventually returned, it never quite felt the same. Not only that, but Jean also discovered Emma Frost was having some sort of kinky psychic affair with Cyclops, ending their marriage. Her character never seemed to recover from the Phoenix, as the writers at Marvel don’t quite have a clear direction they want her to go in. It’s difficult to reconcile where she might go after Phoenix even from a reader’s point of view, and she was effectively written out during Phoenix: Endsong.

Jean has appeared in the X-Men film series, played by Famke Janssen, where the character was integral to the loosely adapted the Dark Phoenix saga, even if it removed numerous elements. She’s one of the most well known and beloved women in all of X-Men, and for good reason. Jean is immensely powerful, and someone who you can perhaps understand on a more primal level than someone like Rogue or Storm. It may only be a matter of time before Jean as we once knew her is back in the X-Men universe, but the impact she had on the X-Men is perhaps a better reward than another revival.

1. Storm

As the woman poised to lead the X-Men into battle should Cyclops be unavailable, Storm is truly a woman of power and grace. Her demeanour is something to admire and behold, selfless and heroic, and represents a hopeful vision for our own future, with not only human and mutants but men and women of all colors coming together to create something better.

Storm is massively significant in the history of the X-Men, and her status as a powerful female presence also shifts a lot of the balance of feminism. She has been able to lay the groundwork for a more diverse cast of superheroes, as well as being just plain cool. Her powers are a fantastic chance to play with some killer visuals, with the image of Storm’s cape flapping in front of a massive weather change she just started is incredible poetry in motion.

She’s one of the most popular and adapted members of the entire X-Men, having been brilliantly played by Academy Award-winner Halle Berry in all of her live-action film appearances. Storm is also playable in a number of X-Men video games, and was a recurring character on the 1990’s cartoon series. She is culturally and historically significant, and an overall amazing character, allowing her to stand tall as the greatest X-Woman of all time.

12 Most Powerful Jedi in the Star Wars Universe

By Margaret Maurer. Source: ScreenRant.Com.

With the swiftness of Order 66, Disney erased the Star Wars extended universe to create a new mythos to support its upcoming films. Popular and powerful Jedi, including Revan, Galen Malek, and Nomi Sunrider were designated as Star Wars “Legends”, rather than part of the official Star Wars canon. This means that fans of the series have to rethink the Star Wars characters they know and love.

This list was developed with a specific lens; it is a collection of members of the Jedi Order who remain a part of the official Star Wars canon. Force-sensitive users who were never members of the Jedi Order, whether they remained neutral, were Dark Force wielders, or Sith. Former members of the Jedi order, however, who became Sith or used the Dark side of the Force, were still considered in the making of this list.

Here is Screen Rant’s list of the 12 Most Powerful Jedi in the Star Wars Universe, so you can know where the universe stands ahead of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Anakin Skywalker

Born into slavery on Tatooine, Anakin Skywalker was conceived by the Force, without any father (cue the Biblical references). He used his naturally acute Force sensitivity to become an ace pilot, ultimately winning his freedom in a podrace (as seen in Episode 1: The Phantom Menace). Despite many Jedi believing Anakin was too old to be trained at the age of nine, Qui-Gon Jinn, and later, Obi-Wan Kenobi took on the mantle of training him. Anakin possessed the highest recorded midi-chlorian count in the Star Wars universe, and was believed to be the Chosen One who would bring balance to the Force through the destruction of the Sith – something he would only achieve after becoming his Sith persona Darth Vader. By killing Darth Sidious in order to save his son, Luke Skywalker, Anakin truly does bring balance to the Force.

After beginning his training as a Jedi knight, Anakin fought in countless battles in the Clone Wars. For his ability, sacrifice, and bravery in the Clone Wars, he was promoted to the status of Jedi Knight without taking the official Jedi Trial. After numerous duels with Count Dooku, Anakin faced him for the last time on the Confederacy’s flagship. After Obi-Wan Kenobi was knocked out in combat, Anakin single-handedly defeated Dooku, slicing off both of his hands, and ultimately, his head.

Count Dooku

Dooku, the son of aristocracy on the planet Serenno, was Yoda’s last official Padawan during the Galactic Republic. After attaining the rank of Jedi Master, Dooku took on Qui-Gon Jinn as his apprentice, and later would train Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress, Admiral Grievous, and Quinlan Vos. Disenchanted with the Jedi Order, Dooku left and returned to his home world of Serenno. Later, he joined Darth Sidious as Sith apprentice Darth Tyranus and became the leader of the Separatist faction in the Clone Wars.

Known as a skilled duelist and a master of Makashi combat, Dooku successfully fought multiple difficult adversaries, defeating both Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker at the First Battle of Geonosis. In Son of Dathomir 3, Dooku joins Darth Maul to face off with Jedi Mace Windu, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Aalya Secura, and Tiplee – during the fight, Dooku force pulls Tiplee into his lightsaber, killing her.

Ki-Adi Mundi

Ki-Adi Mundi is a Cerean Jedi Master who served on the Jedi Council before and during the Clone Wars. At the First Battle of Geonosis, he fought alongside his fellow Jedi, assisting Padmé Amidala and Kit Fisto in combat. Master Mundi fought in many Clone War battles. He was the only Jedi of six left standing after facing off with General Grievous at the Battle of Hypori, and on the siege of the Geonosis Droid factor, he killed more droids than Anakin Skywalker, earning the Jedi’s hard-earned respect.

When his entire family was killed at the Battle of Cerea, he did not succumb to grief, but instead increased his devotion to the Jedi Order and the fight against the Separatists. When Obi-Wan Kenobi was believed to be dead, Mundi acted as Anakin’s Jedi Master. Eventually, Mundi was murdered at the end of the Clone Wars by his own Clone Troopers, acting on Order 66, which decimated the Jedi Order.

Kit Fisto

Kit Fisto is a Jedi Knight who trained under Grand Master Yoda and later became a Jedi Master who served on the Jedi Council in the final years of the Clone Wars. A Nautolan from the planet Glee Anselm, Fisto possessed some abilities that other Jedi did not, including the ability to breathe underwater.

During the Clone Wars, Fisto acted as a Jedi General and as one of the Jedi advisors to Chancellor Palpatine. At the First Battle of Geonosis, he led Clone troopers into battle. In subsequent battles, he cut off one of the hands of General Grievous in a duel, and also led armies at the underwater Battle of Mon Cala. Fisto was killed in combat when he, along with Jedi Masters Mace Windu, Agen Kolar, and Saesee Tiin attempted to arrest Darth Sidious. Sidious killed Kolar and Tiin in a matter of seconds, and Fisto fell soon after, stabbed by the Dark Lord’s lightsaber.

Luke Skywalker

George Lucas has said that Luke Skywalker is the most powerful Jedi of all time, but he also named Obi-Wan Kenobi’s home world of Stewjon after Jon Stewart, so everything he says should be taken with a grain of salt.

However, Luke has repeatedly illustrated his powers in the face of adversity. Unlike most Jedi before him, Luke was a teenager and around twice the age of Anakin when he began training with Obi-Wan. With almost no training, he used his Force-sensitive abilities as a pilot to single-handedly destroy the first Death Star. While most Jedi train for decades before becoming a Knight, Luke was largely self-trained, with limited mentorship from Obi-Wan and Yoda. After losing his hand and Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber in a duel with Darth Vader, Luke constructs his own lightsaber from scratch using the tools he could find in Obi-Wan’s hut on Tatooine. Despite his limited training, Luke survives his first confrontation with Vader and later bests him in a lightsaber duel.

Luke is the center of the original trilogy – he is the New Hope and the Return of the Jedi. As the last known Jedi in the Star Wars Universe, Luke is in a crucial position. Slated to appear in J.J. Abrams upcoming film, he will inevitably go on to define what it means to be a Jedi Knight in the coming trilogy.

Mace Windu

Before and during the Clone Wars, Master Mace Windu was the most senior member of the Jedi Council other than Grand Master Yoda. A talented and dexterous fighter, Windu killed bounty hunter Jango Fett at the Battle of Geonosis and beat Mother Talzin, the leader of the Nightsisters, in combat.

Windu was part of a group of Jedi Masters, along with Kit Fisto, who went to arrest Chancellor Palpatine when he is confirmed to be Darth Sidious. While the other three Jedi Masters fell in the fight, Windu, the only Jedi to master all seven forms of lightsaber fighting, managed to defeat Sidious, knocking his lightsaber from his hand. Anakin Skywalker, believing that Sidious was the only way to save Padmé intervened in the fight, and as a result, Windu was killed by Darth Sidious’s Force lightning. Without Anakin’s intervention, Sidious would have likely been defeated by Windu in combat, as Windu had successfully disarmed the Sith Lord.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Obi-Wan Kenobi was a Jedi Master who defeated the Sith Darth Maul on Naboo, dueled with Count Dooku on numerous occasions during the Clone Wars, vanquished General Grievous, and removed three of Anakin Skywalker’s limbs in a duel. In addition to being a skilled warrior, Obi-Wan was a strategist and one of the lead Jedi Generals in the Clone Wars. While Obi-Wan begins as the impulsive Padawan of Qui-Gon, he grows to become a temperate and wise Jedi mentor to both Anakin and Luke Skywalker.

After avoiding the Great Jedi Purge, Obi-Wan went to Tatooine to look after Luke Skywalker. He died in a duel against Darth Vader, his former Padawan; Obi-Wan’s sacrifice allowed Luke, Princess Leia, and Han Solo to escape the Death Star. At the moment of his death, Obi-Wan warned Vader that he would become more powerful than Vader could imagine. He returned as a Force Spirit to aid Luke, helping him to destroy the first Death Star, guiding him Master Yoda, and revealing Leia as Luke’s long-lost sister.

Plo Koon

During the final years of the Galactic Republic, Plo Koon was a Jedi Master who served on the Jedi Council. Koon was known for his calm and collected personality, even in the most perilous of situations. During the Clone Wars, Plo Koon played an active role in the military, serving as Jedi General of the 104th Battalion. Before its destruction by the Separatist Malevolence, he also commanded the Star Destroyer Triumphant. He led key military operations, including the successful rescue mission for Jedi Master Adi Gallia.

A talented pilot, Koon flew heroically in the Battle of Felucia and later alongside Anakin Skywalker against Zygerrian slavers. After a successful aerial victory at the Battle of Cato Neimoidia, he was killed by his own troops, who shot down his fighter in response to Darth Sidious’s Order 66.

Qui-Gon Jinn

Qui-Gon Jinn was the apprentice of Count Dooku and later went on to become the Jedi Master of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Obi-Wan claimed that Qui-Gon would have been on the Jedi Council if it was not for his rebellious nature.

Qui-Gon Jinn may not have been the most powerful living Jedi, but after his death, he proved to be one of the most powerful Jedi in the Star Wars canon. Qui-Gon had spent years studying the possibility of life after death, and after being killed in a duel with Darth Maul, he returned as a voice to Grand Master Yoda. Qui-Gon went on to guide and teach both Yoda and Obi-Wan about the possibility of immortality. Qui-Gon is the first known Jedi to return from the grave to assist another Jedi, and without his teachings, Obi-Wan and Yoda would not be able to return as Force Spirits in order to aid Luke Skywalker.

Quinlan Vos

Quinlan Vos is a Jedi Knight with the unique ability of being able to see the memories of individuals by touching objects that these individuals have touched. During the Clone Wars, Vos was given the rank of Jedi Master and went on an undercover mission to assassinate Count Dooku. For this mission, he found and trained with Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress on her home world of Dathomir. During their failed assassination attempt, Vos and Ventress fought both General Grievous and Count Dooku. Vos was captured and fell to the influence of the Dark side, becoming Count Dooku’s apprentice. However, when Dooku turns on Vos and attempts to kill him, Ventress sacrifices herself, throwing her body in the way of Dooku’s force lightning. Vos defeats Dooku in combat, but chooses not to kill him, in contrast with Anakin’s later decision. Instead, Vos declares himself a Jedi and rejoins the Order.

While Vos previously survived Order 66 and lived on the Wookiee planet of Kashyyyk, his canonical whereabouts, and whether he survives Order 66, is unknown.

Shaak Ti

Shaak Ti was a Jedi Master, Councilwoman, and General in the Clone War. As a Jedi General, she was one of the main strategists for the Republic and she helped to train the Clone Troopers on Kamino. She survived two brutal duals with General Grievous, and was regarded as an expert swordsmen by her Jedi peers.

Shaak Ti is known to have many non-canonical deaths. She died twice in different ways in the deleted scenes of Revenge of the Sith – once stabbed through the heart by Grievous on board the Invisible Hand and another time stabbed through the heart by Anakin Skywalker as she meditated in the Jedi Temple. In LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game, her head is chopped off by Anakin Skywalker. Shaak Ti even appeared in the video game The Force Unleashed as a boss on the planet Felucia, where she died at the hand of Starkiller. However, all of these deaths were confirmed to be non-canonical, and Shaak Ti’s death and later life remain a mystery. In an unlikely turn of events, Shaak Ti evaded death four times. As such, she is one of the few Jedi to survive the Great Jedi Purge, and her whereabouts are unknown.

Yoda

Grand Master Yoda was the leader of the Jedi Order before and during the Clone Wars. He is also one of the only Jedi to escape the Great Jedi Purge. Despite Yoda’s humble appearance, he is a skilled warrior, who fought valiantly against both Count Dooku and Darth Sidious. After feeling that Sidious had bested him, Yoda went into a self-imposed exile on the planet Dagobah.

Yoda was also a powerful teacher, who instructed other great Jedi for 800 years, including Kit Fisto, Mace Windu, Ki-Adi Mundi, Count Dooku, Obi-Wan Kenobi and finally, on Dagobah, Luke Skywalker. In a limited amount of time, Yoda imparted the most central tenants of the Force to Luke, and helped him master the physical, mental, and spiritual components of the Jedi Order.

Yoda learned how to return as a Force Spirit from Qui-Gon Jinn, and he is one of only four known Jedi – along with Anakin, Obi-Won, Qui-Gon – who mastered this technique.

R.I.P.: Director Wes Craven passes away at 76

Wes Craven, the legendary director of the influential horror classic A Nightmare on Elm Street has passed away, as initially reported by THR, and thereafter confirmed by the director’s official Twitter page. Craven reportedly succumbed to brain cancer. He was 76 years old.

http://t.co/eyXPs6ONPe—
Wes Craven (@wescraven) August 31, 2015

Craven’s long filmography included entries in many different genres, but his name will forever be synonymous with the scarred, knife-gloved ghoul Freddy Krueger from the original 1984 Elm Street along with numerous other horror titles which changed the genre for good. His influence on American horror and pop culture in general cannot be underestimated.

Wesley Earl Craven was born in Cleveland, Ohio on August 2, 1939 into a strict Baptist family. His mother was reportedly severely religious and he evidently never developed a close relationship with his father, who has been described as distant and violent in nature. Craven attended Wheaton College in Illinois, earning an undergraduate degree in English and Psychology before gaining a master’s in Writing and Philosophy from Johns Hopkins University.

Craven taught briefly at Westminster College and at what is now Clarkson University before moving into filmmaking, with his first job in the industry as a sound editor at a New York post-production house. Craven then moved into directing X-rated films, as stated during an interview for the porn documentary Inside Deep Throat.

Craven’s breakthrough was the 1972 low budget exploitation-horror shocker Last House on the Left, which Craven wrote, directed and edited. Produced by Sean S. Cunningham – who would go on to make the original 1980 Friday the 13th – and based on Swedish master Ingmar Bergman’s Virgin Spring, Craven’s debut chronicled the rape and murder of a young girl, whose attackers wind up at her parents’ home and become the victims of a brutal revenge.

The attackers in Wes Craven’s Last House on the Left.

Making over $3 million on a roughly $87,000 budget, Last House on the Left put Craven on the map. In 1977 Craven’s cult classic The Hills Have Eyes was released, which followed a suburban family who becomes stranded in the Nevada desert and assaulted by a family of deranged savages and was remade in 2006. Craven directed the 1982 comic book adaptation Swamp Thing (a cult favorite for… different reasons) and The Hills Have Eyes II before giving the world what would become his most enduring and immortal creation: Freddy Krueger in 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Craven on set, The Hills Have Eyes, 1977.

Elm Street explored the terrifyingly thin line between dreams and reality and featured Robert Englund as the cackling homicidal Freddy, who haunts the dreams of suburban teenagers and dispatching them in increasingly grotesque and creative ways once they fall asleep. The film spawned a series of sequels (of increasingly diminished quality), a spinoff pitting two of the most iconic 1980’s slasher characters against each other (Freddy Vs. Jason), a horror anthology series for television and a 2010 remake. Freddy Krueger gained a permanent place in the American pop culture subconscious.

Freddy Krueger in Wes Craven’s 1984 A Nightmare on Elm Street.

In 1986, Craven directs his first movie for a big studio (Warner Bros.), Deadly Friend, a romantic teenage horror movie that failed in the box office. Originally, the film was a sci-fi thriller without any graphic scenes, with a bigger focus on plot and character development, and a dark love story centering around the two main characters, which were not typical aspects of Craven’s previous films. After Craven’s original director’s cut was shown to a test audience, the audience criticized the lack of graphic, bloody violence and gore that Craven’s films included. Due to studio imposed re-shoots and re-editing, the film was drastically altered in post-production, losing much of the original plot and more scenes between characters, while other scenes, including bloodier deaths and a new ending, were added.

Deadly Friend, director Wes Craven, and Kristy Swanson, 1986.

Craven was involved in the lucrative Elm Street sequels up until A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors, but moved on to direct episodes of the mid-80’s reboot of The Twilight Zone as well as The Serpent and the Rainbow, based on the nonfiction book about an ethnobotanist (Bill Pullman) who investigates an alleged true life case of a zombie created through Haitian Voodoo.

Bill Pulman in The Serpent and the Rainbow, 1988.

The Serpent and the Rainbow represented an attempt to move away from the slasher genre Craven helped create, and while he would follow it up with schlocky fare like the horror-comedy Shocker and the more straight-forward horror film The People Under the Stairs, Craven would revisit his signature creation with 1994’s New Nightmare. A meta-horror examination of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, New Nightmare featured the original film’s stars Heather Langenkamp and Robert Englund (and Craven himself) as themselves, pitted against Freddy Krueger as attempts to enter the real world.

Ghostface in Wes Craven’s 1996 Scream.

Scream, Wes Craven, with Drew Barrymore, 1996.

In 1996, Wes Craven once again reinvented the horror genre for a new generation with Scream, a horror movie about horror movies featuring a clever, self-aware script by Kevin Williamson and – keeping with the Craven tradition of casting promising talent (like Johnny Depp in Elm Street or Sharon Stone in 1981’s Deadly Blessing) – starred the likes of Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, Jamie Kennedy and Matthew Lillard. Scream spawned three sequels and was recently adapted for television on MTV. The TV version of Scream has proved a hit, and has been renewed for a second season.

Craven directs Music of the Heart, 1999.

Red Eye, director Wes Craven, Rachel McAdams on set, 2005.

Paris, Je T’Aime, segment: Pere-Lachaise, directed by Wes Craven, on location, 2006.

Between directing Scream 2 and Scream 3, Craven stepped out of his main genre completely with the drama Music of the Heart, which starred Meryl Streep in an Oscar-nominated performance as an inner-city music teacher. His straight-forward thriller Red Eye was one of the highlights of his 2000’s output, as was his segment in the acclaimed French anthology film Paris je t’aime. His final two films, 2010’s My Soul to Take and 2011’s Scream 4 were less well-received, but he had several promising projects in development, such as a television adaptation of The People Under the Stairs with SyFy.

Wes Craven directing My Soul to Take (2010).

Scream 4, director Wes Craven, with Courteney Cox, on set, 2011.

Craven was a life-long nature lover and served as a member of the Audubon California Board of Directors, a conservationist society committed to restoring and protecting natural ecosystems. He is survived by his third wife Iya Labunka, his sister, children, grandchildren and stepdaughter.

Wes Craven was of the greatest American horror directors of all time, tapping into the existential terror lurking under the surface of 1980’s suburbia and time and again explored the blurry line between fantasy and reality. On the subject of the horror genre, Craven once said:

“It’s like boot camp for the psyche. In real life, human beings are packaged in the flimsiest of packages, threatened by real and sometimes horrifying dangers, events like Columbine. But the narrative form puts these fears into a manageable series of events. It gives us a way of thinking rationally about our fears.”

R.I.P. Master. You gave generations of horror fans the best kind of nightmares.

Wes Craven Filmography (only as director)

1972 – The Last House on the Left     
1977 – The Hills Have Eyes     
1978 – Stranger in Our House     (TV movie)
1981 – Deadly Blessing     
1982 – Swamp Thing     
1984 – Invitation to Hell     (TV movie)
1984 – A Nightmare on Elm Street     
1985 – Chiller     (TV movie)
1985 – The Hills Have Eyes Part II     
1985 – The Twilight Zone     (TV series, 5 episodes)
1986 – Deadly Friend     
1986 – Casebusters (Episode of anthology TV series Disneyland)
1988 – The Serpent and the Rainbow     
1989 – The People Next Door         
1989 – Shocker     
1990 – Night Visions     (TV movie)
1991 – The People Under the Stairs     
1992 – Nightmare Cafe     (TV movie)
1994 – Wes Craven’s New Nightmare     
1995 – Vampire in Brooklyn     
1995 – The Hills Have Eyes III         
1996 – Scream     
1997 – Scream 2     
1999 – Music of the Heart     
2005 – Cursed     
2005 – Red Eye     
2006 – Paris, je t’aime  (Segment: Père-Lachaise)    
2010 – My Soul to Take     
2011 – Scream 4

Source: Wikipedia and Screen Rant.

R.I.P.: Robin Williams

Thank you.

Source: Robin Williams Filmography on Wikipedia.

SW Weekend: Return of the Jedi 31 years, 31 facts

To celebrate the 31th anniversary of Episode VI and to finish my Star Wars weekend on All That I Love (because I’m going to my annual review of the original trilogy right now), here are 31 facts about Return of the Jedi that you don’t needed to know. Have a nice week. May the Force be with you!

1. Most Star Wars fans know that the movie was filmed under the title Blue Harvest: Horror Beyond Imagination to avoid publicity, but it’s less-known that the bogus title was a play on Dashiell Hammet’s 1929 novel Red Harvest, which was said to be an influence for Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo, which was cited as an influence for Star Wars. See how it all comes together?

2. Jabba’s sail barge was filmed in Yuma, Arizona. The film crew had problems avoiding the 35,000 dune buggy enthusiasts in the area. To preserve secrecy, the producers claimed to be making a horror film called “Blue Harvest” with the tagline “Horror beyond imagination”, and even had caps and t-shirts made up for the crew. A chain-link fence and a 24-hour security service could not prevent die-hard fans from entering the set and sneaking some photographs.

The Jabba’s Sail Barge set on location in Yuma, AZ.

3. Despite the credits, Richard Marquand may not have directed all of the movie; George Lucas directed some footage, and Empire Strikes Back director Irvin Kershner once hinted that Marquand’s assistant directed footage credited to Marquand, due to Marquand’s poor relationship with the actors.

4. Speaking of connections to classic movies, Emperor Palpatine, making his first appearance in the flesh — he was just bits and bytes in that hologram in Empire, and was portrayed by a different actor — was at first named after a character in Taxi Driver, but his name was changed to avoid potential legal issues.

The directors of the original Star Wars trilogy: Irvin Kershner (The Empire Strikes Back), George Lucas (Star Wars ) and Richard Marquand (Return of the Jedi).

5. And speaking of Marquand, he wasn’t the first choice for Jedi. Or the second, or even third. Stephen Spielberg, David Cronenberg and David Lynch were ahead of him in line. Just imagine, for a second, Cronenberg or, better, Lynch making a movie with Ewoks.

6. The Ewoks occasionally speak Tagalog, although most of their dialogue is loosely inspired by Kalmuck, a language spoken in Mongolia. One of the Ewok songs once was believed to be in Swedish — with the lyrics translating, wonderfully, as “It smells of cereal in here” — but that, sadly, was based upon people mishearing the gibberish the oversized rodents were singing.

Ewoks seize the clapperboard on May 17, 1982, during second unit work near Crescent City.

7. The word “Ewok” is never actually said in Return of The Jedi, and neither were the names of individual Ewoks, although both appear in the end credits.

8. “Ewok” is derived from the Native American tribe the Miwok, indigenous to the Northern California redwood forests in which the Endor scenes were shot.

Carrie Fisher with a very young Warwick Davis who played Ewok Wicket Wystri Warrick in Return of the Jedi. Davis was 11-years-old.

9. “Endor” comes from the Bible and is a village visited by King Saul before his final battle with the Philistines. Oddly enough, it also makes an appearance in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of The Rings, as the Elvish name for Middle-Earth.

10. Ewoks were a late addition to the Star Wars mythology. Their part in the story was to be played by the Wookiees, but by the time Lucas and partners sat down to write Return of The Jedi, they realized that, because Chewbacca could fly the Millennium Falcon, repair the ship and operate pretty much any weapon or machine in the known universe, they’d made the Wookiees too technologically advanced for the plot.

11. In what is either amazing planning or, more likely, complete coincidence, the one word C-3PO says to the Ewoks is “Naboo,” which was later revealed in The Phantom Menace to be the home world of Luke and Leia’s mother — and Anakin Skywalker’s wife — Queen Amidala.

12. The lyrics to the song the Ewoks perform at the end of the movie — the words everyone heard as “yub nub” — were written by none other than Joseph Williams, son of Star Wars composer John and lead singer with Toto. Someone, somewhere: Please make a mash-up of this song and Toto’s “Africa” as soon as possible.

Ian McDiarmid in his complete Emperor’s makeup, which covered only the front two-thirds of his head. The cowl always covered the back of his head.

13. Both lightsabers used in the movie were re-purposed props from earlier movies. Darth Vader’s lightsaber was a Luke Skywalker saber from The Empire Strikes Back because all of Vader’s had mysteriously disappeared between movies. Luke’s new saber was originally one of Obi-Wan Kenobi’s from the original Star Wars movie.

14. Yoda was to sit this one out, but he was added after consultation with child psychologists made George Lucas decide he needed an independent character to confirm Darth Vader’s claim that he is Luke Skywalker’s father. Now you know why Yoda doesn’t do much for the rest of the movie.

15. In the radio adaptation of the movie, broadcast on NPR in 1996, Yoda was played by John Lithgow. Just think about that for a minute.

Phil Tippett and Stewart Freeborn pose before their joint collaboration: a menagerie of wonderful monsters.

16. The reasoning behind the switch from the title Revenge of The Jedi to Return of The Jedi is murky, with various motivations given by various people at various times. One story has it that the switch returned the movie to its original title after Lucas temporarily changed it when Kasdan complained “Return” was “too weak.” Another has it that the change was made to differentiate the movie from the second Star Trek movie, which filmed under the title The Vengeance of Khan (Vengeance later became Wrath because of Revenge of The Jedi, according to those involved with the Star Trek production). The third story, which is my favorite, says Revenge was never the movie’s title at all, but Lucas announced that it was purely to mess with those making counterfeit merchandise.

17. The only cast member to shoot new material for the 1997 re-release was Femi Taylor. Whattya mean you don’t recognize the name? And you call yourself a fan? She played Oola, the slave girl fed to the Rancor in Jabba’s palace. According to rumors, she was recommended to Lucasfilm and ILM for reshoots because she was in better shape than she had been 15 years earlier; her scenes in the Special Edition are a mix of new and original footage.

Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill on location in California’s Buttercup Valley aboard Jabba’s barge, April 1982.

18. Carrie Fisher complained about her costumes in the previous two movies. She said they were so long, you could not tell “she was a woman”. Those complaints led to the skimpy outfit she wore as Jabba’s prisoner. The costume became something of a running joke among the crew, because the metal framework that held the top together meant that the costume didn’t move well with her. Since Fisher didn’t like the industry standard solution of using double-sided tape, it became necessary before each take to have a wardrobe person check to ensure that her breasts were still snug inside the costume top (and several scenes had to be re-shot when “wardrobe malfunctions” occurred).

19. Adding to the Star Wars movies’ accidental misogyny, the few women flying spacecraft for the Rebellion were edited out of Return for unknown reasons. Surely women are no less capable of bulls-eying womp rats in a T-16…

20. However, Return of The Jedi does hold the dubious honor of being the first Star Wars movie to feature more than one woman who was more than a background extra. Take a bow, Mon Motha. You broke new ground in a way that is genuinely embarrassing to admit. (Seriously, Princess Leia is the only named female character in the first two Star Wars movies.)

Mark Hamill is filmed during Luke’s moment of choice: Will he commit patricide or become a true Jedi and show compassion for his father?

21. The voice of Boushh, Princess Leia’s bounty hunter disguise in Jabba’s Palace, is provided by Pat Welsh. Welsh’s only other voiceover work is a biggie: She was the voice of E.T. in 1982′s E.T. The Extra Terrestrial.

22. The shots of Darth Vader’s funeral pyre were shot last minute, long after the end of initial filming, and close to Lucas’ home Skywalker Ranch.

23. David Prowse, the unusually tall actor who played Darth Vader throughout the series, didn’t film any of the lightsaber battle sequences for Return of The Jedi. Instead, he was replaced by stuntman Bob Anderson. Anderson, considerably shorter than Prowse, wore platform boots. Somewhere, Gene Simmons just smiled.

Harrison Ford relaxes on a plank, with Richard Marquand and Mark Hamill close by.

24. “It’s a trap,” which is arguably the most famous line in the movie, was, incredibly, not in the screenplay. The line was scripted as “Its a trick!” and was later changed post-filming after a test screening because, let’s face it, “it’s a trick” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

25. During the writing of the film, Mark Hamill speculated that the film would include Luke Skywalker’s turn to the Dark Side and eventual redemption, but it’s unclear whether this was wishful thinking on his part or a plot point that was genuinely considered.

26. An early version of the movie was to end with Luke walking off alone, leaving his friends behind in true gunfighter/Samurai fashion. That idea was dropped in favor of a happier ending, reportedly because Lucas feared a downbeat ending would throw a wrench in the printing press from which truckloads of merchandising money flowed.

27. Harrison Ford wanted Han Solo to die in the movie, sacrificing himself to save his friends. George Lucas vetoed that idea even though co-writer Lawrence Kasdan supported it. Kasdan suggested that Solo not survive being thawed, in part to make the audience believe no one was safe in the final film.

Harrison Ford chats with George Lucas between setups.

28. Another idea abandoned early on was having Obi-Wan Kenobi return from the dead. It did, however, make it into an early draft of the script.

29. One more abandoned idea: There were rumors that the final scenes were to mirror the ceremony of Star Wars‘ finale, but instead of Luke, Han and Chewie getting medals, we’d witness the marriage of Han and Leia. Although this never happened, their marriage became part of Star Wars canon and serves as a basis for developments in the comic book and novel spin-offs.

Phil Tippett manipulates the miniature Luke Skywalker on a speeder bike puppet in front of a blue screen.

30. When scenes of post-victory celebrations around the galaxy were added to the 1997 Special Edition re-release, it was less a case of George Lucas tampering and more a case of fixing something that was missing from the original version of the movie. Lucas and co-writer Lawrence Kasdan had wanted to show Coruscant celebrating the end of the Empire originally but, unable to come up with a name for the city, dropped the idea entirely. It was only after Timothy Zahn came up with the name in his Heir to The Empire novel that the Imperial Capital had a name.

31. Before the Millennium Falcon leaves for the final battle with the Death Star, Han says, “I just got a funny feeling, like I’m not gonna see her again.” This would seem to foreshadow the Falcon’s demise in battle. But it doesn’t. Researchers have looked into the matter from the first scripts of this movie, and have found that in all drafts of the script, Lando and the Falcon survive. All claims that the Falcon would not survive are urban legends, forgeries, or mistaken assumptions.

More trivias about Return of the Jedi on IMDb.