NERDS AROUND TOWN

Nerds Around Town: Aquaman, Superman and the X-Men

Nerds Around Town: Aquaman, Superman and the X-Men
ART BY JESUS RODRIGUEZ

Born with a comic book in one hand and a remote control in the other, Cory DLG is the talent of Conroe's very own Nerd Thug Radio and Sports. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio show at www.nerdthugradio.com!

GOOD DEED OF THE DAY

Nov. 2 is fast approaching and that means Extra Life is almost upon us. It's a great charity drive that benefits the Children's Miracle Network and Nerd Thug Radio has been a happy member of the process since we started our little show three years ago. Join in, donate, help kids, have fun... It's pretty simple.

KING OF THE SEA

Jason Mamoa continues to impress in how he handles his career. I've mentioned several times how he's incredibly famous for basically only being in about 4 or 5 roles his whole career, but he continues to impress apparently bringing in a whole pitch to his initial meetings with Warner Bros for an Aquaman 2. They currently say he is co-writing the sequel, which is an awesome credit to his resume, I'm not sure if he's got other writing credits, I know none of the DC stuff before this or the Game of Thrones he wrote for so this would be a heck of a debut movie to co-write. Anyway his passion for the characters and roles he takes on are I think what people cling to and he continues to impress with that passion.

CLARK WHO?

Rumors have been swirling for awhile about Brian Michael Bendis' big plans for Superman and it looks like one of those is him getting rid of the Clark Kent identity. They've been slowly rolling this story out overtime with Lois Lane and Superman kissing publicly recently resulting conversation about their relationship and how Clark Kent factors into it. From there the story is going to continue and eventually Superman will choose or be forced to reveal that he is Clark Kent and at that point, there will be all kinds of issues coming from this. Heroes will feel betrayed and allegedly it will inspire a villain of some merit to "repent" so to speak, it's interesting to see where this goes.

THE WOES OF THE X MEN

Cullen Bunn gives an awesome and honest interview on AIPT, which is a great comic book website to check out. He talks about how he had big ideas for lots of characters and stories but Hickman's coming House of X basically prevented him from being able to make too many major changes to the overall arc and characters of the X Universe. Although honestly, I think considering how Hickman's story would rewrite the very reality of the X-Men universe they could have done whatever they wanted. I personally would like to see a story where basically they say, go crazy, do whatever you want. This is ultimately the problem with working in someone else's sandbox though, they limit how you tell your stories but it is the X-Men.

NOT THAT YOU ASKED

Casting has been coming out about Matrix 4 and honestly I'm excited about the casting, Jessica Henwick was awesome in Iron Fist and fantastic in her limited role of Game of Thrones. Capable of great action and good acting, I think she's a great choice for any action movie, but the real question I have is, do we need a Matrix 4? What's it supposed to be about? I hear most of the cast is back but for real, what are we doing here? Another Matrix movie? Weren't 2 and 3 bad?

Feel free to check out my brand new comic book Another Day at the Office or buy a shirt from Side Hustle Ts where some proceeds help people struggling with cancer or listen to Nerd Thug Radio. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.

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The Rockets are in it to win it this year. Composite Getty Image.

While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.

The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.

Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.

As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.

The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.

VanVleet signs extension

Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.

For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!

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