College Football Rankings 2016: Reviewing NCAA Polls Before Final Week 9 Games

2016 College Football Top 25 Preseason Rankings-Post Spring

Just one weekend of games is all that"s left before the College Football Playoff committee releases its initial rankings, allowing the top programs in the nation to figure out where they truly stand in the chase for a national championship.

This certainly intensifies the matchups on tap for Week 9, as elite teams jockey for positionwith several of them in high-profile contests against other ranked teamsand look to impress the CFP power brokers before they make the big reveal.

The Associated Press and Amway Coaches polls have served as guiding standards until the CFP list comes out. One needs only to glance at the top of these lists to figure out which teams are in best position to make a run at a national title, though there"s plenty of opportunity for shakeups at the top in Week 9.

Here"s a look at the AP and Amway polls heading into Saturday, with matchup info for each team in the AP Top 25. All text references to rankings will be according to the AP list.

Associated Press Top 25 1 Alabama (60) 8-0 1,524 N/A 2 Michigan (1) 7-0 1,446 at Michigan State 3 Clemson 7-0 1,382 at No. 12 Florida State 4 Washington 7-0 1,373 at No. 17 Utah 5 Louisville 6-1 1,276 at Virginia 6 Ohio State 6-1 1,143 vs. Northwestern 7 Nebraska 7-0 1,083 at No. 11 Wisconsin 8 Baylor 6-0 1,063 at Texas 9 Texas A&M 6-1 1,007 vs. New Mexico State 10 West Virginia 6-0 997 at Oklahoma State 11 Wisconsin 5-2 980 vs. No. 7 Nebraska 12 Florida State 5-2 725 vs. No. 3 Clemson 13 Boise State 7-0 716 at Wyoming 14 Florida 5-1 654 vs. Georgia (neutral site) 15 Auburn 5-2 641 at Ole Miss 16 Oklahoma 5-2 626 vs. Kansas 17 Utah 7-1 584 vs. No. 4 Washington 18 Tennessee 5-2 572 at South Carolina 19 LSU 5-2 352 N/A 20 Western Michigan 8-0 349 N/A 21 North Carolina 6-2 328 N/A 22 Navy 5-1 251 L, 45-52 South Florida 23 Colorado 6-2 207 N/A 24 Penn State 5-2 193 at Purdue 25 Virginia Tech 5-2 110 W, 39-36 Pittsburgh

AP.org

No. 1 Alabama is off this week and is going to be a lock for a spot in the top four when the CFP committee releases its first ranking. The Crimson Tide have only two potential spoiler matches in their final four games, against No. 19 LSU and No. 15 Auburn, but considering the way they"ve handled business in recent weeks, it seems they are all but certain to make the playoff.

No. 2 Michigan and No. 5 Louisville are both in good position to bolster their credentials in Week 9. The Wolverines are 24.5-point favorites on the road against Michigan State, while the Cardinals are 33-point favorites over Virginia, per Odds Shark.

While the Wolverines would be hurt by a loss to the Spartans, it wouldn"t be the end of things considering it"s a game against a tough in-state program on the road. The real test that will likely determine a playoff spot comes on November 26, when Michigan goes up against its chief rival in No. 6 Ohio State.

The Cardinals already have a loss to No. 3 Clemson, which means they essentially can"t afford another, especially since the Tigers are in the same ACC Atlantic division.

Per ESPN.com, "with a loss to Clemson, ESPN"s Football Power Index projects Louisville to have only a 10 percent chance at winning the ACC Atlantic Division. No team that failed to win its division has made it to the playoff."

The article also noted that Clemson has a 78.2 percent chance of winning out, a number that will shoot up if the Tigers can maneuver past No. 12 Florida State on Saturday.

While a loss to Virginia is pretty much inconceivable, if Lamar Jackson and company even so much as struggle to blow the Cavaliers away, it would likely hurt their initial CFP chances.

No. 4 Washington is on the road against No. 17 Utah, and this Pac-12 battle might be the weekend"s biggest game. The quarterbacks are the ones to watch in this game. The Huskies are led by Jake Browning, who has carved up defenses this year to the tune of 1,709 passing yards and 26 touchdowns against just two interceptions.

SportsCenterconsiders him a leading Heisman candidate, and this game could go a long way toward getting him some much-needed national recognition:

As for Utah, their signal-caller is Troy Williams, who doesn"t boast great numbers (12 total touchdowns, five interceptions) but is a former Husky and will be looking to put one over on his old program.

"This week [against Washington] is what he has worked so hard for. That"s what he"s at Utah for," said Tim Kaub, a former coach of Williams, per ESPN.com"s Kyle Bonagura. "He"s a guy who has a chip on his shoulder. He played with a surliness for me last year because he literally wanted every touchdown to be heard in Seattle."

If the Utes can pull off the major upset, Washington"s CFP hopes will all but disappear, and the Utah could force its way into the national-title conversation if it wins out and triumphs in the Pac-12 championship on December 2.

No. 7 Nebraska will put its undefeated record on the line this week against No. 11 Wisconsin. The Badgers already have two losses on the year and would appear to have only the slimmest of chances of making the College Football Playoff with so many good teams ahead of them.

The Cornhuskers, on the other hand, are definitely in the running for the Playoff, but it"s going to be mighty tough to get there. Nebraska"s offense is predicated on the run, with tailback Terrell Newby (511 yards, four touchdowns) and quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. (380 yards, six rushing touchdowns) leading the charge.

Wisconsin"s defense ranks ninth in the country against the run (102.9 yards per game) and has allowed just four rushing touchdowns all season, despite playing two top-10 rushing offenses in Michigan and Ohio State. The Badgers have had a tougher schedule than the Huskers and could be better off for it in this one.

Which game between ranked teams are you most looking forward to in Week 9?

With the Badgers having their own struggles in the passing game and a very tough defense as well, this could be a low-scoring, grind-it-out game that will be made all the more tougher for Nebraska playing in a hostile Camp Randall Stadium.

No. 8 Baylor, No. 9 Texas A&M and the aforementioned Buckeyes all have winnable games against unranked opposition this week, with the latter looking to bounce back from a surprise loss to No. 24 Penn State, a new addition to the Top 25 after pulling off the biggest upset of the season to date.

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2672633-college-football-rankings-2016-reviewing-ncaa-polls-before-final-week-9-games

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Politics|Singing Hillary Clinton"s Praises, in Morgan Freeman"s Voice

Hillary Clinton Talks SNL, Being Cubs Fan, Her Love of Dance Parties and Presidential Debates

Hillary Clinton, looking to close her general election campaign against Donald J. Trump by establishing a strong contrast with her opponent, is out with a new ad titled Example, which highlights her experience and criticizes his temperament.

THE AD The voice is the actor Morgan Freemans, but the theme, Our Children, is unmistakably that of Mrs. Clintons campaign. Scenes of children babies cooing, schoolchildren laughing on a bus, a woman helping a young boy with homework fill the frame. Now theyre looking to see what kind of leaders we chose, Mr. Freeman says.

Mrs. Clinton is shown at the United Nations and described by Mr. Freeman as respected around the world. Mr. Trump is seen alone onstage, and called one who frightens our allies. Mrs. Clinton tours a factory, Mr. Trump huddles with microphones around him. Mrs. Clinton stands stoically with military officers as secretary of state, the steady hand, as Mr. Trump sneers at reporters, a loose cannon. The ad dips into the past, showing Mrs. Clinton as first lady, smiling with children, and Mr. Trump mugging for the camera, slouched on slot machines.

A woman who spent her life helping children and families, or a man who spent his life helping himself, Mr. Freeman says as the ad winds down. It ends by returning to images of children and a final narration: Our children are looking to us. What example will we set? What kind of country will we be?

THE MESSAGE: The ad makes the case that Mrs. Clinton has spent her career preparing for this moment while Mr. Trump has spent his enriching himself and is unfit to be president, because of both to his past record and his recent statements.

THE TAKEAWAY: The tone of the ad is more negative than in those candidates generally produce in the campaigns closing days, but it is softened somewhat by having Mr. Freeman, and not Mrs. Clinton, deliver the attacks. It also seeks to reinforce what the Clinton campaign has been trying to convey as it courts both Democrats and Republicans that Mr. Trumps campaign is all about himself and for his own ego, while Mrs. Clintons is about children and the future.

Changing channels ...

Microtargeting Trump

The Trump campaign has yet to run a Spanish-language advertisement, but in sensing a new pocket of support among Indian-Americans, the candidate himself speaks Hindi, or at least tries to, in a new ad targeting them. Ab ki Baar Trump Sarkar, Mr. Trump says, although the Sarkar seems to be taken from another take. The ad is tracked by what sounds like traditional Indian music, but features so many clichs and shoddy graphics that many Indian-Americans initially took to social media wondering if it was a spoof.

Greatest Hits

Priorities USA calls it Trumps Symphony, but what follows is probably music to the ears only of Democratic political operatives and supporters. Over the course of 30 seconds, the primary super PAC supporting Mrs. Clinton seeks to cram in every caustic comment and controversial policy from Mr. Trumps 17 months as a presidential candidate into one ad. From calling Mexicans rapists to his sexually aggressive comments, the ad closes with big white text on a black background: We can end this.

Daisy Style

A new super PAC, formed by former Democratic Senator Bill Bradley and called the 52nd Street Fund, exploded onto the airwaves in Ohio, with an ad that opens with a split-second view of a mountainscape, before a flash and mushroom cloud eviscerate the vista as a narrator notes that a nuclear explosion could kill a million people. A news clip follows, of Mr. Trump being questioned about the use of nuclear weapons. The ad has the feel of the famed Daisy ad from 1964, which warned of the consequences of a Barry Goldwater presidency. That was intentional: The group announced during the week that its name was derived from a poem about World War II that President Lyndon Johnson read during the famed Daisy ad from 1964.

Numbers

$1.8 million: amount the Clinton campaign has reserved during the election.

$107 million: amount reserved by Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Trump and Priorities USA during the election.

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Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/us/politics/campaign-ads.html

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See Bill Murray"s Passionate "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" at Cubs Game

Son Surprises Dad With Cubs World Series Tickets

Diehard Cubs fan Bill Murray has led the crowd through "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" countless times at Chicago"s Wrigley Field throughout the years, but never has the actor sung the tune at a Cubs World Series game.

With the Cubs playing in their first World Series home game since 1945, Murray was obviously pumped up, and that enthusiasm was captured in his passionate, somewhat loony rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" Friday night.

"It"s the bottom of the 7th inning, the last chance to order beer. But we didn"t come here to drink beer; we came here to win this ballgame," Murray yelled to the Wrigley faithful. "In order to sing the right lyric "Take me out to the crowd" you need to sing it like our greatest American entertainer, Mr. Daffy Duck. So I want you to spray it and don"t say it."

Murray then proceeded to lead the crowd in the singing of the 7th inning anthem in the style of the Looney Tunes character and Space Jam co-star, accentuating his S"s so they spritzed saliva on delivery.

"Let"s get some runs, suckers," Murray declared after the rendition ended. Unfortunately, the Cubs went on to lose the game 1-0, putting the team in a 2-1 hole heading into Saturday"s Game 4 at Wrigley.

Source: http://www.rollingstone.com/sports/news/see-bill-murrays-take-me-out-to-the-ball-game-in-chicago-w447418

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Bill Murray"s Daffy singing strikes right toon with fans

The Philosophy of Bill Murray – Wisecrack Edition

Bill Murray did the unthpeakable and totally pulled it off. First World Series at Wrigley Field since 1945 and the Cubs superfan/comedian channel Daffy Duck during the seventh inning stretch.

But the world"s reaction to his loony rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" was mostly positive, or some were at least confused about what they felt.

Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson tweeeted, "Bill Murray gives zero.. well you fill in the blank. World Series and his go to is Daffy Duck. Jesus."

If somehow you haven"t seen video of his performance yet, here"s how it went down. Right from the start, Murray hinted that he had some special (or bizarre) cued up when he was called on to lead conduct the crowd: "It"s the bottom of the seventh inning, the last chance to buy beer. But we didn"t come here to drink beer, we came here to win this ball game! I said to the Uber boy, I said take me out with the crowd!"

And then Murray took the sharp left turn.

"And in order to sing the right lyric "take me out with the crowd," you need to sing it like our greatest American entertainer, Mr. Daffy Duck."

"So I want you to spray it and don"t say it. Ah 1, Ah 2, Ah 3! Take me out to the ball game, take me out with ppttthaa crowd ..."

Murray went full Daffy throughout the song and for the most part the Internet loved it.

The Atlantic senior editor Alex Wagner tweeted, "Bill Murray channeling Daffy Duck is the most courageous thing we"ve see on the American stage this year."

NASCAR driver Chase Elliott wrote, "Bill Murray, you"re the man."

The Cubs simply tweeted, "The one and only, Bill Murray. #LetsGetSomeRuns"

Apparently, this isn"t the first time Murray sang Daffy-style. When the Cubs clinched the National League pennant a week ago, author and historian Niall Ferguson tweeted a photo of Murray with this little tidbit. "Very happy for my pal Bill Murray, who once treated us to "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" in the style of Daffy Duck."

Yes, it seems he did it once and decided he"d do it again with the whole world watching.

With that, we leave you with another time Murray regaled the Wrigley crowd with another unique seventh inning performance. It was opening day 2014 and Murray started off the stretch crooning in the style of Frank Sinatra (think his "Stars Wars" song on "Satrday Night Live": "This could only happen to a guy like me / And only happen in a town like this / And so I say to each of you most gratefully / As I blow each one of you ... a kiss / Ah 1, Ah 2, Ah 3 ..."

plthompson@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @_phil_thompson

Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-bill-murray-daffy-duck-singing-20161029-story.html

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Blac Chyna Slams Pilot Jones, Claims He"s Gay & �Trying to Extort� Her

Frank Ocean - Pilot Jones (live Denmark)
Credit: Tommy Garcia/E! Entertainment; Instagram

UPDATE (10/28/2016 8:30 a.m. ET):

Well, this just got interesting.

Blac Chyna has finally broken her silence on the recently-resurfaced photos of her kissing Pilot Jones and shes going in on the singer on Instagram, claiming hes gay and extorting her!

PHOTOS:Are Kourtney & Chyna BFFs Now?

In the first post, the 28-year-old shared a series of text messages between herself, fianc Rob Kardashian, and Pilot, where the latter denies having any involvement in releasing the aforementioned pics.

Let me start off by saying this young man Is GAY!!! she writes in the caption. This was over two years ago people!!! I never had s*x with him! NEVER EVER! Nothing ever happened past these pics.

She then states the old photos were taken to make Pilots boyfriend jealous, and the lack of the Future tattoo on her right hand proves the images are dated. Oh, and that shed never sleep with him anyway.

And she wasnt done yet!

Chyna also calls out the suspicious timing for the pics to be released, as hes currently promoting a new song.

PHOTOS:Rob & Chyna Ain"t Afraid of No Robbers

And then, to top it all off, she then posted an email exchange between herself and Pilot, where she says he was trying to extort her for allegedly introducing her to the Blac Chyna Emoji app idea.

You really think I"m suppose to cough up 150k to you??? she captions. I work hard my coins! Right plan wrong woman.

This story is sure to continue developing click through to read additional details!

UPDATE (10/27/2016 2:30 p.m. ET):

Rob Kardashian may have just confirmed the cheating rumors surroundingBlac Chyna.

According to TMZ, the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star is being investigated for allegedlythreatening physical harm against Chyna"s ex hookup, Pilot Jones.

PHOTOS:Blac Chyna"s 8 Best Baby Bump Pics

This comes just days after the photos of Chyna and the singer making out surfaced online, spurring Rob to supposedly send a string of angry text messages to Pilot.

One of the messages is said to read, Leave my wife alone. I"m not playing with you.

This story is still developing.

Original story (10/24/2016 12:42 p.m. ET):

Blac Chyna is only a few weeks out from her November 16 due date, but newly-leaked photos might cause major issues for her growing happy family.

Credit: Instagram

The images in question which you can see over on RadarOnline.com only support the many claims insiders have made to the site about the relationship between the video vixen and hunky star.

Theres no disputing Pilot and the Rob & Chyna star are making out in the series of selfies but its still unclear when they were taken.

The pair have admitted in the past to knowing one another, though his rep said in the spring they were only great friends.

NEWS: The Truth About Why Rob Kardashians Not Losing Weight

Then again, the two were spotted together partying multiple times in the spring, first in Atlanta in March during a rough patch between Rob and Chyna then later in L.A. He even shared a video of her twerking in the club back in May.

The questionable timeline doesnt help guard against those maintaining the mama-to-bes unborn child might not be her fiancs. Especially considering sources are telling Radar she and Pilot were hanging out every day and kissed and made out every time they saw each other.

NEWS: Blac Chyna"s Mom Wants Her to Dump Rob!

They even started to develop feelings, too! the insider says. Pilot had no idea she was talking to Rob too until it all became public.

Credit: Instagram

Meanwhile, he has two sons of his own, which further complicates this situation.

#donutswithdad

A photo posted by Pilot Jones (@whoispilotjones) on Oct 7, 2016 at 6:25am PDT

As these pics were being released, Rob and Chyna were the picture of a perfect family.

Over the weekend, they took her and Tygas son King Cairo to the theme park, as she captioned a shot of the boys with, I love these 2.

I love these 2

A photo posted by Blac Chyna (@blacchyna) on Oct 23, 2016 at 8:32pm PDT

=

As of this moment, they havent responded to the photos, but time will tell!

Source: http://www.wetpaint.com/blac-chyna-pilot-jones-kissing-photos-1533028/

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The Awesome Doctor Strange Villain The Director Wants To Use In Doctor Strange 2

Doctor Strange Official Trailer 2

Doctor Strange only just hit theaters internationally a couple days ago, and it"s still a week away from being released in the United States. Nevertheless, at a time when studios ponder sequels long before the public sees the first movie, it"s not surprising that ideas for _Doctor Strange 2 _are already being thrown around. In fact, director Scott Derrickson already knows who he would want to use as a villain in a sequel if one was green-lit: Nightmare.

When IGN asked Derrickson which elements from the Sorcerer Supreme"s mythos he would want to include in Doctor Strange 2, he named Nightmare as a good candidate to be the next main antagonist. In his words:

I really like the character of Nightmare and the concept that the Nightmare Realm is a dimension. [...] That"s early -- that"s like the first Strange tale. I think that"s in the introductory episode of Doctor Strange, and I always loved that. We decided not to do that because that"s a bit of a complex idea to try to introduce everything we do introduce and introduce the idea of nightmares themselves as being a dimension. I hope somewhere down the line we do get to explore that because I think that"s super cool concept

Introduced in 1963"s Strange Tales #110 (the same issue where Doctor Strange debuted), Nightmare originally served the entity Shuma-Gorath, but he later escaped and became ruler of the Nightmare Realm, a.k.a. the Dream Dimension. As his name makes clear, Nightmare targets his victims though their dreams, to the point that he is dependent on their fear in order to remain powerful. In fact, if all of humanity were to suddenly stop dreaming, he would cease to exist.

Along with fully introducing magic into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Strange 2 is also delving into alternate dimensions, where the same laws of reality don"t apply. Upon learning the ways of mysticism from The Ancient One, Stephen Strange will use these new skills to travel to other worlds. He"ll have enough on his plate in this first movie dealing with Kaecilius, but it stands to reason that eventually, the Master of the Mystic Arts might find himself in Nightmare"s world and have to do battle with the malevolent entity.

There"s no word yet on a Doctor Strange 2, but considering the positive reception for Doctor Strange so far, not to mention Marvel Studios having ordered sequels for all their MCU movies besides The Incredible Hulk (and even he returned for the Avengers movies and Thor: Ragnarok), it"s likelier than not that Stephen Strange will receive another solo adventure. As for the first movie, U.S. fans can see it on November 4.

Source: http://www.cinemablend.com/news/1579330/the-awesome-doctor-strange-villain-the-director-wants-to-use-in-doctor-strange-2

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Movies|10 Things You Need to Know Before Seeing "Doctor Strange"

Doctor Strange Movie CLIP - Sanctum Battle (2016) - Benedict Cumberbatch Movie
Photo Tilda Swinton and Benedict Cumberbatch in Doctor Strange. Credit Jay Maidment/Marvel and Disney, via Associated Press

Even though hes about to get the full Hollywood C.G.I. treatment, Doctor Strange has never been a superstar of the Marvel Universe more like an endearing benchwarmer with a knuckleball personality and a wacky Cloak of Levitation.

He arrived unheralded in 1963 in Strange Tales No. 110 as a back-of-the-book feature to the Human Torch. He was a slight, five-page afterthought dreamed up by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, who are better known for creating the Amazing Spider-Man.

Conceived at first in the cornball tradition of comics necromancers like Mandrake the Magician and Mr. Mystic, Doctor Strange gradually staked out a singular position as a master of the mystic arts and, eventually, Sorcerer Supreme. And unlike most Marvel heroes, who rely on their fists, he uses magic to defend Earth from malign, otherworldly threats like the match-headed Dread Dormammu and the nefarious Nightmare. He finally got his own comic book in 1968, but it was canceled the next year. Not even Doctor Stranges mighty enchantments could overcome poor sales, a sad hallmark of his up-and-down comic-book career.

But now potential vindication is near. Doctor Strange opens Friday, Nov. 4, with Benedict Cumberbatch starring. Based on my many decades of comic-book study, here are 10 things you should know before you see the movie. Magic, after all, can be exhilarating but befuddling.

Photo The recent graphic novel Doctor Strange Vol. 1: The Way of the Weird. Credit Sonny Figueroa/The New York Times

1. HES A REAL DOCTOR

Before draping his cape and waggling his fingers, Stephen Strange was a talented yet arrogant surgeon, driven by ego and ambition. So hes your man, whether youve got a bad ticker or, as Jason Aaron wrote in the recent graphic novel The Way of the Weird, your daughter started cursing in Latin and walking like a spider.

2. HES AN ALLITERATION ADDICT

This is really the writer Stan Lees fault, but Strange cant speak without racking up frequent-alliteration points. His many munificent mutterings include: the Shadowy Shades of the Seraphim, the Seven Rings of Raggadorr and who can forget? the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth.

3. HES GROOVY, MAN!

In the 1960s and early 70s, he did have a certain counterculture cachet. In T. Rexs Mambo Sun, Marc Bolan sang, On a mountain range, Im Doctor Strange for you. A 1965 psychedelic concert in San Francisco was called A Tribute to Dr. Strange, and he showed up on the cover of the Pink Floyd album A Saucerful of Secrets (1968).

4. HES A MERRY PRANKSTER, TOO

Speaking of the counterculture, the doc also appeared in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Tom Wolfes nonfiction chronicle of the cross-country trip taken by the novelist Ken Kesey and his LSD-lit Merry Pranksters. Mr. Wolfe wrote of Kesey reading comic books, absorbed in the plunging purple Steve Ditko shadows of Dr. Strange. The writer Roy Thomas later returned the favor, giving Mr. Wolfe a walk-on in Doctor Strange No. 180 in 1969.

5. HE LIVES IN THE VILLAGE (OF COURSE)

Stephen Stranges awe-inspiring Sanctum Sanctorum sits in Greenwich Village at 177A Bleecker. Presumably its not too far from his preferred watering hole, the wizards-only Bar With No Doors.

Photo Doctor Strange Omnibus, which reprints the artist Steve Ditkos full, epic run on the character. Credit Sonny Figueroa/The New York Times

6. HES A MAGICAL LADIES MAN

Sure, he routinely saves the world if not the universe but Strange is also something of a cad and a hound. Hes been known to make out with any entity thats vaguely female in form, including insectlike soul-eaters. Really, hes more likely to be killed by a spurned girlfriend than by one of his archenemies.

7. HES NO ALI

He prefers to hurl spells, incantations and mystic bolts, but Doctor Strange will engage in physical combat if he has to. He knows martial arts, but his weapon of choice (in this fleshly plane of existence) is a baseball bat wrapped in enchanted barbed wire.

8. HE KNOWS SUPERNATURAL BONDAGE

One disturbing element during Stranges Ditko years (1963-66) was how often Clea, the doctors love interest, was drawn bound and in poses of submission. But the Ditko biographer Blake Bell explained in Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko, that in the years he worked on the character, Mr. Ditko shared a studio at the corner of Eighth Avenue and 43rd Street in Manhattan with Eric Stanton, a fetish artist. Stanton was best known for his bondage work on comic strips like Sweeter Gwendolyn and Confidential TV. Maybe something stuck with Mr. Ditko.

9. HIS MENTOR WAS NOT TILDA SWINTON

In the coming movie, Doctor Stranges mentor, the Ancient One, is played by a beguiling if tough Tilda Swinton. In the comics, Ancient is male, an archaic Asian relic who owns an Ive-seen-it-all face that looks like a fossilized prune. Ms. Swintons version is Celtic, and the change was one of a number of developments that led to renewed controversy over Hollywoods whitewashing of Asian characters.

10. HIS DEFINING ARTIST WAS STEVE DITKO

Though he stopped drawing the character in 1966, Steve Ditko is still the definitive Doctor Strange artist. For four years Mr. Ditko imagined Stranges netherworlds, Dal-esque dimensions and neuron-like phantasmagorias. (Its hard to believe upon reading Doctor Strange that Mr. Ditko also once drew the spinach-green bulk of the Incredible Hulk.) As the comics historian Dean Mullaney has written of Ditko, He took the ethereal and made it tangible. And two books have just been published that provide full access to Mr. Ditkos dreamscapes. Ditko Unleashed (IDW) is the generously illustrated catalog for a Ditko retrospective on display through Jan. 8 at the Casal Solleric museum in Mallorca, Spain, while the Doctor Strange Omnibus (Marvel) reprints his full, epic run on the character. As the Marvel artist John Romita Sr., who succeeded Mr. Ditko on Spider-Man, told Mr. Bell, No one could do Doctor Strange like him.

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Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/movies/doctor-strange-10-things-you-need-to-know.html

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