Tom Bacon
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A lifelong fan of superhero comics and films, with a love of in-depth analysis! You can check out my writing at Screen Rant.
Articles by Tom Bacon
8 Strongest Humans In The Lord Of The Rings, Ranked
The Lord of the Rings may be famous for its Elves and Orcs, but the human characters are legends in their own right. After the First Age, the Edain—the Men who fought against the Elves against Morgoth—were rewarded for their loyalty and sacrifice. The Valar raised the island of Númenór, and blessed the Númenóreans with longer lifespans, greater physical strength and endurance, and many other attributes.
Exclusive Halo Excerpt Brings The Master Chief's First Meeting With Cortana To Life
Halo has always been far more than just a massive game franchise. While I was hooked with the games from the start—Halo literally led to my picking up the Xbox back in 2001—I was slow to realize there were tie-in novels. But Eric Nylund's excellent book The Fall of Reach was published in October that year, exploring the Master Chief's history and helping to flesh out his world. It became the foundation of a transmedia franchise that continues to this day.
7 Harry Potter Plot Holes You'll Never Be Able To Unsee
We all know the story of Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. I'll never forget the buzz of excitement when the books were first released; I remember queuing outside bookshops waiting for the next novel, desperate to know what happened next. My first ever article published online was an attempt to figure out what the Order of the Phoenix was (and, to my pride, I wasn't far off). 23 years after I wrote that article, the Harry Potter franchise is about to reborn in an HBO Max TV show.
6 Most Disturbing Harry Potter Villains (& Voldemort Isn't Even Top 3)
Voldemort may be the most dangerous Dark Wizard in Harry Potter, but he's far from the most disturbing villain. The Harry Potter stories mature with their audience; The Philosopher's Stone (or The Sorcerer's Stone in the United States) is very much a children's book, while The Deathly Hallows features the franchise's darkest moments. That means the villains progressively get worse, as the story unveils more of Voldemort's Death Eaters.
Star Wars Just Fixed One Of The Last Jedi's Most Controversial Moments
As beautiful a movie as Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi may have been, it was also incredibly controversial. Looking back, I remain convinced the issue was mainly to do with marketing; trailers for The Last Jedi were stunning, but they suggested the movie would play the various Star Wars tropes straight. Instead, Johnson deliberately subverted them, which meant some of the audience found it jarring.
Harry Potter: Every Defense Against The Dark Arts Teacher, Ranked By Power
It takes a look to be a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in Harry Potter. Voldemort himself wanted the job, partly because he wanted to plant a Horcrux in Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore turned him down, refusing to allow Tom Riddle to turn Hogwarts into his power base, and the dark wizard seems to have been furious. After that, Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers never lasted more than a year, and Dumbledore came to assume it was because of a curse.
KPop Demon Hunters Officially Returns With New Release, And It's Available Now
Published by Penguin Random House, the KPop Demon Hunters Deluxe Screen Comic is on sale now. A beautiful double-book edition, it transforms the Academy Award-winning movie into over 700 pages of full-color comics. It features song lyrics from the full soundtrack, a gorgeous holographic foil slipcase, and two foldout posters of HUNTR/X and the Saja Boys. The spines of the graphic novels are absolutely beautiful, showing Rumi's two natures.
KPop Demon Hunters: Everything We Know About The Hunters Before HUNTR/X
KPop Demon Hunters introduced the world to HUNTR/X, a girl band who are secretly Hunters—the latest in a long line of singers whose magic protects the world from demons. The characters of KPop Demon Hunters were wonderfully well done, with Rumi serving as the main focus; a Hunter who bears the patterns of a demon, she's HUNTR/X's leader and a true force to be reckoned with. Over the course of the movie, Rumi was forced to confront the truth of who she really is.
Doctor Who Officially Returns To Theaters This Month
Doctor Who may be on something of a break right now, but the world's longest-running sci-fi TV series still intends to celebrate its upcoming 63rd anniversary in style. The BBC has officially put Doctor Who out for competitive tender, in accordance with the broadcaster's Royal Charter. It means we have no idea what to expect going forward; the BBC will review proposals by next March, and then it will be a case of getting on with the show.
Patrick Stewart's First Professor X Appearance Was Actually In A Star Trek Story
All this means the sad news of Patrick Stewart's death felt strangely personal to me. Tales of Patrick Stewart's warmth and humor are commonplace in my neck of the woods; accounts of the love he had for Huddersfield, for the work he put in as chancellor of Huddersfield University, for the charities he supported. I've naturally found myself revisiting his career, remembering my delight when I heard he'd been perfectly cast as Professor X.
All The Wolverine Setup We've Already Had In The MCU, Ahead Of The Mutant Saga
Marvel is in no rush to introduce Wolverine. Personally, I think that's a good idea; Wolverine has often tended to dominate, and that was particularly true on the big screen. As iconic as Hugh Jackman's Wolverine may be, he took the limelight away from the other mutants, and it made the Fox X-Men universe rather lopsided. Still, for all that's the case, Wolverine is still inevitable. What's more, Marvel has already set him up in the best possible way.
A Court Of Splintered Harmony / ACOTAR 6 Ending Explained
The latest book in Sarah J. Maas' ACOTAR series, A Court of Splintered Harmony, is unlike any other book in her series. The ending is surprisingly abrupt, in large part because Maas has penned a story that's too big for a single book. "There are realities to publishing a physical book," she writes in the foreword.
Every Dwarf In The Lord Of The Rings, Ranked By Strength
By the time of The Lord of the Rings, Dwarves were quite an uncommon sight on Middle-earth. It wasn't that they were on the verge of extinction; but a combination of tragedies and basic demographics meant their population had dwindled. Only about a third of Dwarves were female, meaning they didn't tend to reproduce at a quick rate. Making matters worse, the great Dwarven kingdoms had long since been destroyed.
Why Google Is Convinced A 20-Year-Old Prank Planet Is Officially Part Of Star Wars
The best science-fiction mirrors real life, and Star Wars is no exception. To be sure, Star Wars is more space opera than pure science-fiction; but it still incorporates so many iconic sci-fi concepts. When George Lucas created Star Wars, he adapted some of his favorite ideas from science-fiction; Star Wars riffed on Dune, Flash Gordon, and so much more. And though we're no closer to inventing hyperspace travel, we have at least made real progress on one key aspect of Star Wars' imported lore.
Everything We Know About ACOTAR 7/A Court Of Forgotten Melody
"There are realities to publishing a physical book. Printers impose limits to a book's length due to the need for the pages to, you know, not fall out... This book—Movement I—is only the opening part of that larger story, told the way I want it, the way the characters demanded it to be told. It is not a novel, nor a 'Book One.' It is merely part of a much larger book. Movements II and III will soon follow (bound together in one volume), with Movement IV as the eventual, concluding piece.
Doctor Who: Recasting All 7 Classic-Era Doctors For 2026
Doctor Who has consistently taken a very different approach to most franchises when it comes to bringing back past Doctors. Multi-Doctor stories are par for the course in the world's longest-running sci-fi TV show. Time travel naturally means the Doctor has often tended to run into past or future incarnations, albeit often due to the intervention of the Time Lords; multi-Doctor arcs became a little more unusual (and a lot more whimsical) after 2005's relaunch and the destruction of Gallifrey.
The Best Live-Action Batman Of All Time, Ranked By Screen Rant Readers
We're getting one step closer to the DCU's Batman, with Clayface officially taking us to Gotham City at last. That will undoubtedly be a big deal for DC's latest big screen universe, because Batman is easily DC's biggest name. Technically, Batman's been appearing in film since the 1940s; Columbia Pictures created the first film adaptations in 1943 and 1949, but these weren't really what we'd consider to be movies in the modern sense.
We're Just Two Weeks Away From KPop Demon Hunters' Major Re-Release
Last year, KPop Demon Hunters took the world by storm — and that was despite a minimal theatrical release. Technically made by Sony, KPop Demon Hunters was released on Netflix as part of a deal struck between the studio and streamer during the pandemic. That said, Sony execs have insisted they don't believe the film would have been anywhere near as big had it had a more conventional release.
5 Weakest Characters In The Lord Of The Rings, Ranked
The heroes of The Lord of the Rings are some of the most powerful characters in fantasy, whether you're talking about J.R.R. Tolkien's epic fantasy novels or Peter Jackson's incredible movies. Who can forget Gandalf's battle against the Balrog, or the radiant light as he drives back Sauron's forces? The wizards of Lord of the Rings can single-handedly turn the tides of battle, while the Fellowship's members include skilled fighters like Aragorn and Legolas.
The 5 Best Sci-Fi & Space Opera Epics By Star Wars Creators
Star Wars has always been so much more than a mere film franchise. The old Star Wars Expanded Universe actually predates the first movie, while George Lucas' novelization (ghost-written by Alan Dean Foster) served as the film's perfect setup. The EU was reborn in the 1990s courtesy of Timothy Zahn, whose "Thrawn trilogy" continues to influence the franchise today; Lucas himself brought elements of Zahn's books to the big screen, including the planet Coruscant.
ScreenRant Presents An Exclusive First Look At Melinda Leigh's The Courier
Bestselling author Melinda Leigh is back with a new thriller, The Courier. An award-winning author of romantic suspense and thriller novels, Melinda Leigh shot to fame after the success of her debut novel, She Can Run. A life-long lover of books, this "fully recovered banker" started writing to retain her sanity while bringing up her kids, and she's turned it into a phenomenal career. Her next book, The Courier, is due to release on March 2, 2027.
Every Elf In The Lord Of The Rings Movies, Ranked By Power
The elves are one of the most powerful races in The Lord of the Rings. It's true that their light had dwindled by the Third Age, meaning they were far less of a threat to Sauron and his orcs than they had been before; but they're still a true force to be reckoned with. Some elves are fierce combatants, warriors like Legolas who engage in some fantastic action scenes.
ScreenRant Presents An Exclusive Excerpt From Greta Kelly's The Throwaways
Fantasy author Greta Kelly steps into a whole new genre in The Throwaways, a thrilling action-packed spy adventure available now. A popular and critically acclaimed epic fantasy writer, Greta Kelly is best known for her Warrior Witch duology and The Queen of Days (a phenomenal read that's widely compared to Six of Crows). Now, though, she's stepped into a whole new genre in her thrilling new release, The Throwaways.
Fourth Wing’s New Release Changes Everything We Knew About Dragons
Rebecca Yarros' new Fourth Wing book, Threshing Day, reveals we knew a lot less about dragons than we thought. One of the richest fantasy worlds of recent years, Navarre is a land protected by dragon riders — men and women who train to prove themselves worthy of a dragon bond. The main story is told from the perspective of the main heroes Xaden and Violet, but Threshing Day is a collection of short stories showing how other riders gained their dragons.
Halo's 25th Anniversary Re-Release Does Something Entirely New With The Master Chief
Halo is returning in style for the franchise's 25th anniversary, with a re-release of Eric Nylund's epic novel The Fall of Reach — now reinvented as a stunning audio-drama. Published in October 2001, The Fall of Reach was one of the most important Halo books ever written. The game was a first-person shooter, which meant John-117 didn't really get all that much character-work; players were invited to "be" the Master Chief, rather than get to know him as a three-dimensional character.
17 Years Later, Star Trek Is Officially Abandoning The J.J. Abrams Movie Timeline To Save The Franchise
We're finally getting a sense of the future of Star Trek. After the success of Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan suggested Hollywood was finally moving into a "post-franchise" era where audiences long for something new. He seems to have been right; since then, we've seen unexpected successes like Sinners and Weapons, the launch of whole new franchises like KPop Demon Hunters, and established franchises struggling. Star Wars, the MCU, and even Doctor Who seem to be in trouble right now.
Every Confirmed Narnia Book Change In The Magician's Nephew, & What It Means For The Plot
Greta Gerwig's The Magician's Nephew promises to be a bold adaptation of C.S. Lewis' classic book. A lifelong fan of The Chronicles of Narnia, Gerwig dreams of adapting every single one of the seven books into a movie. But it's already clear her take will be very different to previous adaptations; Meryl Streep has been cast as Aslan, although there have been reports her voice has been digitally altered to such an extent it's impossible to identify.
George Lucas' Star Wars Will Return In 2027
Next year, Star Wars officially turns 50. Nobody saw the success of Star Wars coming, not even George Lucas; he famously went on vacation in Hawaii just before the movie's premiere, largely because he didn't want to hear bad news. Lucas' friends doubted it as well, and only Steven Spielberg believed Star Wars would be a success. He predicted Star Wars would make an impressive $50-60 million in the global box office.
The DCU's Batman Setup Officially Continues In Next Week's R-Rated Supervillain Movie
The DCU is continuing its Batman setup next week. James Gunn is taking his time introducing Batman into the DCU, wary of overlapping with Matt Reeves' Batman movies. "We're well into Batman 2," he pointed out when discussing The Brave and the Bold in January, "and I wouldn't want to cloud the Batsphere until after that." Still, it's hard to deny the sheer amount of setup we've had for Batman already.
Project Hail Mary's Best Deleted Scene Would've Fixed The 1 Thing The Movie Was Missing
Project Hail Mary is easily one of the best science-based movies of recent years, and that's pretty much proven over on Rotten Tomatoes. Unusually, the critic and audience scores are both tied at a staggering 95%; that's with 430 critic reviews and over 25,000 verified ratings. The second film based on a novel by Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary follows on from The Martian as a sci-fi blockbuster hit. Despite that, though, the movie does have some flaws.
There's A Reason The Magician's Nephew Doesn't Feel Like Narnia (& It's A Problem)
We finally have actual footage from Greta Gerwig's The Magician's Nephew, beginning a dramatic reinvention of The Chronicles of Narnia. Gerwig has made major changes to Narnia, committing to a full-scale fantasy vibe that looks visually stunning. The first trailer for The Magician's Nephew culminates in a fantastic shot of Aslan creating the world, because this is literally the beginning of Narnia, the world's "Genesis" if you like. First reactions have been divided.
This Underrated 2007 Fantasy Film Still Has One Of The Best Opening Lines In Hollywood History
Matthew Vaughn's Stardust is a fantasy classic, and the opening line alone proves it's a masterpiece in the genre. It's easy to underestimate how important the first few minutes are to any movie. George Lucas' first Star Wars, for example, launches with a retro opening crawl and grand John Williams music that tells everyone this is going to be a thrill. In the modern age, where every film is watched (or rewatched) on streaming, even Hollywood blockbusters only have minutes to impress.
The 5 Greatest High Fantasy Books That You Haven't Read
It doesn't matter how well-read you are, there are always so many more great high fantasy books to read. Masters of the high fantasy genre are among some of the greatest writers in history; when you think of high fantasy, you inevitably come up with names like J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert Jordan, or Brandon Sanderson. But there's so much more to this genre than the masters everyone knows. Here, then, are five high fantasy novels you almost certainly haven't read.
Marvel Secretly Set Up Its Next MCU TV Show 13 Years Ago
The MCU's next TV show, Zodiac, was set up 13 years ago — and most viewers have forgotten it. For a while now, there's been a lot of concern about the future of the MCU's TV shows; what's next after Daredevil: Born Again wraps up? We finally know the answer to that question; Marvel is now working on a mystery spy series called "Zodiac," set to release in 2028. Marvel's officially released a logo, but that's about all that is currently known.
Project Hail Mary's 5 Deleted Scenes, Ranked By How Much The Movie Needed Them
Based on a best-selling novel by Andy Weir, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's Project Hail Mary is a science-fiction classic. I've always loved Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's work; Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is easily one of the best superhero movies ever made, and it was disappointing to see their Star Wars project fall through.
Ranking The 7 Best Fantasy Movies Released Since 2020
The 2020s have been a great decade for fantasy movies. At its heart, fantasy explores what it truly means to be human; the most entertaining fantasy worlds are mirrors of our own, ranging from dystopias to utopias. The most intriguing fantasy creatures are expressions of human nature, often exaggerated on a racial level to shine a light on our best and worst instincts.
How Sydney Sweeney Turned Madame Web Into A Success Story
Madame Web was hardly a success by any metric. Sony's Spider-Man spinoff disappointed in the box office; it grossed just $17.6 million in its opening weekend, and barely scraped past $100 million worldwide by the end of its run. Madame Web's performance, followed by the failure of Kraven the Hunter, led Sony to pretty much abandon the previous Spider-Man spinoff strategy. Even the stars themselves have been open about how little they cared about Madame Web.
10 Books Recommended By Matt Dinniman
Matt Dinniman is one of the best fantasy authors of the present day, best known for his epic Dungeon Crawler Carl. He's best known for his fast-paced, almost addictive storytelling and the creative use of video-game mechanics such as leveling-up, quests, and stats. Dinniman originally self-published the series, and has rightly become a modern literary phenomenon. Naturally, all the best writers are also readers.
7 Inspirational Terry Pratchett Quotes So Good You Could Live By Them
I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I was in my early 20s at university when I discovered Terry Pratchett and his Discworld. A friend at university lent me one of his books — I think it was one of the Witches novels — and I immediately fell in love with his writings. By the end of that year, I'd picked up every single book Pratchett had written to date; from that moment on, I'd pick up the latest Pratchett novel every year until his death in 2015.
All 7 Actors Who've Played Batman On The Big Screen, From 1966 to Now
Created in 1939, Batman has been adapted for the big screen more than any other superhero. Columbia Pictures brought the Dark Knight to theaters in 1943 and 1949, but these were very different to the modern movies; they were serials, foreshadowing the rise of TV. They were also very different to the Batman we know and love, serving more as propaganda than anything else. This Batman worked for the U.S. government as a contract agent.
Russell T Davies Had Impossible Plans For Daleks In Cancelled Doctor Who S3
Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies is finally revealing more about his plans for the show's canceled third season. Doctor Who is on a break right now. Russell T. Davies' return was supposed to give the show a fresh start, but this particular regeneration was a failure. Davies has revealed why his Doctor Who failed in a tell-all autobiography, The Queerest of Folk, available now from retailers like Amazon.
Marvel Openly Teases MCU-Set Agents Of SHIELD Sequel Series 6 Years After The Finale
Six years after Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. came to a triumphant finale, Marvel Studios is finally teasing the show's return. Starring Clark Gregg and Chloe Bennet, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was the first true Marvel TV show. Despite that, it's sadly under-represented in the modern MCU; behind-the-scenes drama between Marvel Studios and Marvel Television became an impenetrable obstacle to crossing Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. into the movies themselves.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day's Secret Phoenix Saga Setup Explained By Stunt Coordinator
Sadie Sink officially made her MCU debut as Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but this was a very different version of the X-Men’s Omega level telepath. This version of Jean started out with the power to possess others, but her abilities evolved dramatically by the end of Brand New Day. Tortured by Damage Control boss Bill Metzger, Jean’s powers expanded to trap a good part of Manhattan in her telepathic (and telekinetic) grip.
Legendary Star Wars Writer Returning For Upcoming Leia, Luke, & Han Sequel
Legendary Star Wars author Claudia Gray is returning in a new novel starring Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, and Han Solo. Next year is a massive moment for Star Wars; it's the 50th anniversary of A New Hope, and Lucasfilm is celebrating in style. The original cut of the film is returning to theaters for the first time, while Shawn Levy's Starfighter will show what the post-Skywalker galaxy looks like at last.
Marvel’s Blade Failure Accidentally Gave Mahershala Ali His Most Exciting Movie In Years
It's been more than a decade since we first heard reports their Marvel Studios was "doing something with Blade." Kate Beckinsale famously revealed there were discussions about a Blade / Underworld crossover, but these fell through because Marvel had other ambitions. Then, in 2019, Marvel boss Kevin Feige unveiled Mahershala Ali as the MCU's new Blade. It should have been the beginning of a bright new future for the Daywalker, but instead it all fell through.
Doctor Who's Russell T. Davies Details Every Reason The Disney Era Failed
Former Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies knows his return wasn't quite the triumph he'd hoped for. One of the UK's most respected creators, Davies was the mastermind behind the show's 2005 revival. In 2021, as Chris Chibnall's tenure as showrunner was coming to an end, the BBC officially announced that Davies — affectionately known as "RTD" — was back for a trio of 60th anniversary specials followed by future seasons.
4 Underrated Thriller Authors As Good As Grisham
One of the most prolific authors alive today, John Grisham is one of only three Anglophone authors to have sold two million copies on the first printing (the others are Tom Clancy and J.K. Rowling, to give a sense of just how unusual that is). A graduate of Mississippi State University, Grisham started practice as a lawyer before serving in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1983 to 1990.
25 Best Fantasy Books That Are Basically Horror Stories
There's naturally a massive overlap between fantasy and horror. In truth, most of the classic horror stories are fantasies; they feature supernatural races, demonic entities, vampires, zombies, and the like. The most horrific tend to be what Farah Mendelshon calls "intrusion fantasies," where a supernatural world invades everyday life; many add a supernatural element to real world objects, bringing them to life in the most sinister ways.
Every Chronicles Of Narnia Book, Ranked From Worst To Best
C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia is one of the greatest fantasy series of all time. In the 1950s, C.S. Lewis and his friend J.R.R. Tolkien essentially reinvented the entire fantasy genre. As close as they were, though, the two authors took a radically different approach; Tolkien disliked Narnia because of its inconsistent world-building, the effortless way it blended nymphs and dwarves with Father Christmas, and an allegorical style much more overt than anything Tolkien was comfortable with.
7 Epic Fantasy Books To Read If You Love The Wheel Of Time
Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time is undeniably one of the best, biggest epic fantasy series of all time. That's all the more amusing given he initially planned it to be a trilogy, maybe a little longer if necessary; but his publisher knew he tended to run long, and instead gave him a contract for six books. In the end, The Wheel of Time spanned 14 books (including a prequel). The series was actually finished by Brandon Sanderson after Robert Jordan's passing, using the original author's notes.
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