NYCC 187 – Advanced Villainous Theoretical Physics
How to fit in while living a life of super crime.
NEW YORK COMIC CON 2010, Oct 8 – 10
Introduction to Villainous Theoretical Physics (Vill-Ph 187)
Prerequisite: NYCC 101
Location – Doom Hall, Secret Room #3
Time: Tu & Th 1:10 pm – 8:25 pm
Required Text:
Superman’s Secret Origin – A Memoir – by Superman (2010). Metropolis Publishing Co
WTF is Batman – by Anonymous/ edited by The Joker. (2009) Dick Sprang Publishing
Class Description: In a world of indestructible men, warrior goddesses, and vigilantes dressed as bats, the average villain has been forced to up their ante. The only way to compete with these sorts of heroes is with a keen villainous mind. In VillPhy 187 you will learn the basics of theoretical physics and its practical application to a life of crime. People say physics is the language of the universe; well consider this your Rosetta Stone, of EVIL. The course will be an overview of some of the more commonly used techniques of theoretical physics as applied to bank robbery, revenge driven time travel, teleportation, freezing time, immortality, and phasing out of synch with the universe. Emphasis will be on application of the techniques not the why of how this works. After all, we all just want to get rich and kill super heroes, right?
Grade breakdown:
Homework – 10%
Class Participation – 15%
Field work – 20% (You must pull off one heist each week. Plagiarism is encouraged)
In Class final essay – 55%
Past subjects include:
“How I would kill Superman”
“Quick thinking and running from the Flash”
“Killing Sidekicks, Bad idea or lots of fun?”
Learning objectives:
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
Be adaptable while committing a crime. Execute rational behavior when faced with a god-level super being. Use appropriate numerical tools when attempting to warp space/time. Correctly formulate battle plans. Create diabolical and elaborate traps. Attract henchmen to work for you. Rule your very own island nation, which you will purchase with the spoils of your crime spree.
Please note that I shall not accept late homework except in the case of incarceration or similar circumstances.
But (sort of ) seriously, here is a list of films that you MUST see before New York Comic Con 2010. These films came out since the last NYCC and should definitely be a part of your nerd vocabulary if you want to fit in and mingle at a show of this freaking awesome magnitude.
Iron Man 2 – Tony Stark is still drinking and super heroing. We got a few obvious hints as to what Joss Whedon’s Avengers film will be like. Scarlett Johansson was pretty amazing. Her walk through Justin Hammer’s building taking out every guard was the most brutal hallway scene since the hammer walk in Oldboy. Robert Downey Jr. was awesome and Mickey Rourke didn’t suck that bad.
Star Trek – Continuity is a shifty bastard in comic books, and this film showed us that it could be the same for movies. This film made me hopeful for an Indiana Jones reboot starring the self-declared “Ruggedly Handsome” Nathan Fillion in the part of the adventuring scoundrel archeologist.
Up – Because it will make a grown man cry before the opening credits are over. * Sniff *
Inception – This film was totally written for a comic book audience. We already juggle multiple possibilities, dimensions, identities, realities, etc. in our head in an average issue of Grant Morrison’s Batman. The greatest thing about Inception, and the majority of Christopher Nolan’s films, it that they never treat us like we’re an audience of morons. Inception trusts that you have a few brain cells and challenges you to think while you escape into a world of dreams. Comic Con nerds will be talking about this one for years.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World – You should see it so you can seem younger and not like the thirty-five year old that still reads comics. Oh. That’s me… It was a fun movie. I liked it, but see how it might not be the average person’s cup’a tea.
Shudder Shutter Island – Hopefully you’ve seen this and will find me at the show and we can both talk about how much we disliked this film. You should see it just so we can talk about it. I’ll buy you a beer and we can both whine about it for a few minutes. It was the anti-Inception because Martin Scorsese explained it three times!!! Thank God he’s already made his penance by giving us Boardwalk Empire, which is pretty amazing. Scorsese, you are a wascally wabbit.
Kick-Ass – If you haven’t seen this, then you have no place at Comic Con. Go home. Now. I’m not kidding. Go home. Get out of here.
The Losers – Because it was good widescreen action fun, and based on a really good comic.
District 9 – Sci-fi needed this alien refugee movie, and you need to see it. It felt like a classic 80’s Spielberg film. It stated the world in which the story occurred in mere moments, then got right into the meat of a gritty and moving human story about aliens, acceptance, and the need to be free.
The Last Airbender –I haven’t seen it. I might try to sit through it just so I can be an informed heckler at the M. Night Shyamalan 10th anniversary screening of Unbreakable. For some reason I’d love to piss M. Night off.
Watchmen – (Please see Kick-Ass above. Same reason)
The Hangover – Because we are the three best friends that anyone has can have, and we’ll never ever ever ever ever leave each other.
Cinema Fantastica! 
What other “Shudder” Island-type movies would you show as terrible examples of how not to treat an audience? And, do you think that comic book audiences, in general, are a smarter audience?
Oh, why did you ask me that?
Hot Tub time machine was a little too dumbed down. It could have been hilarious and brilliant, but it ended up being neither for me.
2012 was just another poorly thought out Roland Emmerich film.
Predators had some horrific exposition.
Angels and Demons would have been more interesting if Tom Hanks just read the book to me.
Avatar— I need to point out that I’m all about green and eco-friendly things, but this film was really tooooooo long. It was so long that I could have taken an hour long nap in the middle, woken up, and not skip a beat. There was a lot of meat to be trimmed.
But that isn’t really my point. I just expect more from the man that gave us Goodfellas.
For some of these particular films, I think that comic book readers are a more receptive audience. They are more accustomed to the reality bending nature of Inception or Star Trek, than your average viewer. Does that make them smarter? Not necessarily, but it does make them better prepared.