SLAYERS, SLAYERS EVERYWHERE:
One of the more intriguing bits of video game news to come out last week was the announcement that an MMO set in the Buffyverse is in the works. The downside? This means a Firefly MMO coming from the same people is being shelved.

Wait, there was a Firefly MMO in the works? Yeah, that's the LA Weekly's reason for expressing cynicism about our chances of actually getting to play slayer.

The Buffy cast, as we last saw them.

While I see more MMO potential in Buffy than Firefly ("Another mission where we have to take the long route to avoid the authorities and barely make any profit?") I'm really having a hard time imagining it ... or rather, I'm having a hard time imagining how one would translate the Buffyverse into a variety of balanced character classes. This one will be interesting to watch ... that is, if we actually get news of how the game is developing, something we didn't get with that Firefly MMO.

APPARENTLY IT TAKES DECADES FOR A CAMP CLASSIC TO MAKE IT OVERSEAS:
Here's some exciting and surprising news for gaymers who appreciate the obscure and campy. This week, Cho Aniki (long pegged as the gayest videogame of all time) became officially available to American customers for the first time thanks to the Wii's Virtual Console. In light of the recent discussion on how the iPhone could revolutionize gay gaming, I wonder if there's a similar potential in outlets like WiiWare (where another gay-inclusive game, Eternity's Child, debuted) and the Virtual Console, which lessens the financial risks that might make a publisher wary. It'll be interesting to see if it sells well enough for more Cho Aniki games to hit the Virtual Console.

Cho Aniki

Deep down, tho, I'm hoping that this makes that final Eternal Champions game a possibility. (The original EC is a WiiWare title.) Sure, it wasn't a great fighting game, but Shadow Yamato is one of my favorite fighting game characters: gotta love a corporate spy who managed to remain covert despite dressing as The Huntress instead of working a cute business-casual number.

Eternal Champions' Shadow Yamato

ROCKIN' MOVE ON HIS PART:
The original rock & roll rhythm game, Guitar Hero is getting a new edition, Guitar Hero: World Tour soon and the new version boasts plenty of real life stars as playable characters, including:

One of Guitar Hero: World Tour's playable characters

Hey, cool, it's Neil Patrick Harris in video game form! No, wait, I've just been handed a note telling me that's not Neil Patrick Harris, that's actually Sting you can play as in the game. I guess I'll go back to hoping that I'll be able to play as Keith Strickland in some rhythm game:

The B-52s' Keith Strickland: Still dreamy

Excuse to post a picture of Strickland aside, wouldn't The B-52s be awesome in a Guitar Hero game? I know you can download a few B-52's tracks into Rock Band, but wouldn't it be neat to have them as playable characters?

After the break: What other gay sites are saying about Ultimate X-Men...

ULTIMATE X-MEN DISCUSSION ALERT:
This week, Ultimate X-Men #97 hit the comic shop shelves, the final chapter in the story that controversial included a(nother) death of Northstar as well as similarly dire consequences for Colossus. I figure it'll be good to have a space to discuss the story. However, since I don't want to put spoilers at the top of the post, this item is only here to let you know that there's a summary of the conclusion and a few reactions at the end of the post. Please add your reactions in the comments!

SAVE US MOVIE SIGN:
This has certainly been a week full of news for DC superhero movies and there was a gay aspect to most of those stories. Most exciting is a positive script review for the Greg Berlanti-directed Green Lantern movie that certainly builds the hype:

"Let me start off with saying that within just reading the first few pages, I knew Berlanti, Guggenheim and Green had gotten the character right."

Green Lantern Hal Jordan and director Greg Berlanti

On the other hand, this part is a tiny bit worrysome

"The script, if greenlit, is a sure-fire hit for fan boys, but in scale it's big, VERY big, and we are hearing rumors that it may be too big for the director currently attached, Greg Berlanti."

I'll be disappointed if Berlanti is deemed as not having the experience for Green Lantern. After all, Bryan Singer and Christopher Nolan weren't blockbuster movie directors when they brought X-Men and Batman Begins to the multiplexes.

And then comes the more surprising rumor of gay icon Cher as a possible Catwoman for the next Batman film. What makes the rumor rather interesting for me is the comment that Cher's Catwoman would be "like a vamp in her twilight years." Which strikes me as an interesting take on the iconic villain. I'd love to see a Selina Kyle who has benefited from years of villainy.

Cher and Catwoman

On the less-gay front there's talk of the Superman film franchise getting a reboot, Batman Begins-style. In the various reports I've read, I've seen Superman Returns director Bryan Singer compared to Ang Lee (who directed the first unsuccessful Hulk film), which makes it sound unlikely he'll be participating in the next Superman movie.

Sigh, that's a lot of gays-getting-booted-from-superhero-movie rumors for one week, isn't it?

TAKEI ALERT!
Is the number of gay actors performing in video games on the increase or have I only just started to notice? Not only will we soon hear Stephen Fry's voice in Fable 2 but now comes word that George Takei will be appearing in the between-mission cinemas for Red Alert 3.

George Takei in Red Alert 3

Actually, the Red Alert 3 cast has more than a bit of a gay sensibility. In addition to Takei, the cast includes gay faves like Tim Curry (whose history as a video game voice goes back as far as cult classic Gabriel Knight), Oz bad guy JK Simmons as well as Gemma Atkinson of Hollyoaks and the very gay Hollyoaks spin-off In the City. I'd be rather excited if most RTS strategy games — including the original Command & Conquor — didn't quickly end in frustration for me.

After the break: When Fallout 3 is planning on destroying your social life, Hex' Thelma meets Elizabeth Bennett and the latest fates for Ultimate Colossus and Northstar.

Aron E. Coleite, the new writer on Ultimate X-Men, has put the title's two gay characters front and center in his first story arc, though the spotlight certainly has come at a cost. Since the story has gotten gay comic fans talking, I was happy to get to talk to Aron about the story so far, his perspective on Ultimate Colossus and Northstar as well as Perry Moore's list of dead LGBT superheros, "Who cares about the death of a gay superhero, anyway?"

AfterElton.com: Since this is your introductory arc on UXM, I’m curious about what you’re trying to accomplish with this story – what tone are you trying to establish for your run?
Aron E. Coleite: I just wanted to go as far as I could with the characters. I didn’t want to do anything safe, I wanted to try to stir up conversation, try to stir up debate about the characters I love so dearly. I wanted to make tough choices and I wanted to doing things that people could see the characters doing but maybe they didn’t see this coming.

It was really important for me to do a story that I felt was important to me. I didn’t want to do anything that was middle-of-the-road or safe. Jeph Loeb has this really good advice about writing… anything, let alone comic books. When you write it, you want to feel like ‘Okay, am I gonna cry when I see this?’, ‘Am I going to really feel a connection with that?’ These are characters I felt a real connection to and as long as I was feeling emotional about it and as long as I felt like that it was an emotionally based story, I felt like it was fine.

Warning, things get SPOILER-riffic after the break.

As you might recall, one of the major difference between Marvel's Ultimate X-Men and the regular X-Men titles is that Colossus is gay and currently dating the Ultimate version of the iconic Northstar. Colossus and Northstar play a large role in the current storyline on the title, the first by Heroes writer Aron E. Coleite ... though the latest cliffhanger is certainly raising a few eyebrows. Do gay comics fans have reason to be up in arms over the next development?

A spoiler-filled look at the story so far, after the break...