Be careful, this post mostly discusses Tony and Pepper's relationship in Iron Man 3, however it IS a review of the movie. While it is not intended to contain spoilers, if you have not seen the movie yet you may not want to read this review before seeing it.

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD! Read with caution!

No one ever said being a superhero’s girlfriend was easy.

Even Lois Lane, laboring under the mystifying delusion that her alien crush and her identical-except-for-corrective-lenses, never-seen-in-the-same-room colleague were actually separate people, must have realized that dating Superman would be a tougher gig than dating regular ol’ Clark Kent. The constant cries for help always interrupting dinner, the supervillains with their axes (and, indeed, death rays) to grind, the secrecy, the power disparity, the thinking he’s dead on a regular basis, the always coming in second to the Greater Good. Ugh.

But in Iron Man 3, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) has even more to deal with. Not only is her man traumatized following the harrowing events in New York (see: The Avengers), but he’s also, well, Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), former playboy of the Western World and unapologetically arrogant erratic genius. That would be difficult to deal with even without the fact that he just played a significant role in saving the planet from space aliens eager to destroy us all.

[Being with Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropists Ain't Easy...]

Earlier this week we shared The Wolverine trailer, which takes Hugh Jackman's Wolverine to Japan in an attempt to rid him of the powers that have cursed him for most of his life (among other things). A face that didn't get much play in the trailer was Will Yun Lee who is going to be the villain, The Silver Samurai, in the movie.

We certainly don't mind some additional eye candy! What do you think of him?

We here at Heroes and Heartbreakers HQ were just saying that we need more Hugh Jackman in our lives, and what do you know, the trailer for The Wolverine appears!  The Wolverine is the sequel to the not-so-well received X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but we got to say, so far it's looking exceptionally better.

It looks like Old Man Logan is going to Japan to reconnect with his past and it may be more than he bargained for. Comic fans know that it is in Japan that Logan meets his Japanese wife, Itsu, and they have their child Daken. However, it is also in Japan that Logan meets one of his biggest enemies, the Japanese Mutant, Kenuichio Harada, the Silver Samurai. What do you think, are you in? Will you go for the Jackman and stay for the action?

I blame Shakespeare.

Oh, the idea certainly predated him—Ancient Mythology, for example, is thoroughly populated with gods who disguise themselves as everything from some woman’s husband to a shower of golden rain in order to win their heart’s desire, or at least get some. And in absolute terms, Shakespeare’s women in disguise far outnumber his men—Portia in The Merchant of Venice; Rosalind and Celia in As You Like It; Viola in Twelfth Night; Hero in Much Ado About Nothing; the list goes on—but it is heroes in disguise with which we treat herein, and, as is the case with pretty much every romantic plot and subplot we see used today, this one has its roots in Elizabethan drama.

Because sometimes—pretty often, in fact—when it comes to Romance, it’s the liar who gets the girl.

In my list of Top 10 New York-Based Romantic Comedies, published in these pages lo, these many years ago, I made mention of how, at the end of You’ve Got Mail, the fact that Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) is able to so easily forgive frenemy Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) for knowingly being her secret pen pal crush is kind of hard to take, but “… you just let it go, let them have their moment, and try not to allow thoughts of their next fifty years of arguments culminating in ‘You closed down my mother’s store!’ enter your head.” It’s like that with so many of these tales; the fact that the hero has been lying to his heroine all this time can only be considered appalling, but on the other hand he really loves her now, and so allowances must be made.

[Love conquers all (objections)...]

Alisa Kwitney
New Avengers: Breakout
Marvel / January 1, 2013 / $24.99 print

Fantasy/romantic fiction/comics author Alisa Kwitney (A Flight of Angels, Moonburn) reveals the secret backstory of Avengers couple Hawkeye and the Black Widow. Under secret orders to assassinate the Widow, the rough-edged marksman finds himself caught up in a violent prison break that releases some of the world's most vicious and powerful criminals. Defying his superiors, Hawkeye joins forces with the sultry Russian spy—and with a mismatched group of personalities that include Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Luke Cage, Captain America and Iron Man. Unexpected betrayals and shocking revelations will lead the team from Manhattan's top security Raft prison to the untamed jungle of the Savage Land in dramatically different take on Brian Michael Bendis' blockbuster Avengers comics debut. Learn the sizzling backstory of your favorite big-screen heroes in this adaptation, inspired by the best of page and screen!

Fans of the Black Widow/Hawkeye pairing from this summer's The Avengers can get their next fix with Alisa Kwitney's New Avengers: Breakout prose novel, which combines an Avengers comics story line (namely Brian Michael Bendis's New Avengers: Breakout) and elements from the movie, like the chemistry that actors Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner brought to their portrayals of the master assassins on the big screen. If you couldn't get enough of them in the movie but aren't sure how to jump into the vast comics universe where their story originated, New Avengers: Breakout may help bridge the gap. Plus...well, it's a fun take on Black Widow and Hawkeye's backstory!

[And who could resist that?...]

Last week's episode of Arrow led Arrow recapper Chelsea Mueller to abandon (at least for now) Team Oliver/Laurel in favor of Team Oliver/Helena—as in Helena Bertinelli, mob daughter and masked vigilante Huntress. And while I'm holding out hope that Laurel will don the Black Canary persona and get in on more of the show's action at some point, I gotta say that going into tonight's episode, I was right there with Chelsea: Oliver/Helena FTW! Did that remain true after “Vendetta”? Only the recap will tell.

(Need to catch up? Don't miss H&H recaps of the pilot episode, episode 1.02, episode 1.03, episode 1.04, episode 1.05, episode 1.06, and episode 1.07. Plus, read Jennifer Proffitt's report on the Arrow cast panel at NYCC!)

**********SPOILERS**********

The episode opens with Helena awakening to the realization that she's spooning Oliver after what one would assume was a very enjoyable night. Now, while I would have taken at least a moment to enjoy, Helena apparently has no such appreciation for her situation and slides out of bed right away, failing to notice, I guess, that her leaving did not go unnoticed.

[C'mon, Huntress, you can be sneakier than that...]

This post contains SPOILERS for all aired episodes of The Walking Dead television series, as well as for the graphic and prose novels.

In the world of The Walking Dead, be it comic series, TV series, or hardcover novels, the course of true love never does run smooth, providing dedicated shippers with a veritable buffet.

Rick/Lori/Shane: Here we have a classic triangle. Rick starts off the story married to his beloved Lori, who thinks he’s dead, so she turns to his best friend, Shane, only to have Rick show up very much alive. Rick and Lori reunite in every way and Lori soon discovers she is pregnant, but who’s the daddy?

[And is that even their biggest hurdle?...]

Any person who was in New York this past weekend may have noticed a few people dressed up in costumes—maybe you saw them in your hotel, your grocery store, on the subway car. That's because Comic-Con invaded New York in all its glory and we were there for a special panel with Arrow stars Stephen Amell, Katie Cassidy, Willa Holland, and executive producer Marc Guggenheim.

At the beginning of the panel, a new reel was shown that highlights some upcoming elements of the season. If the rest of the season is anything like the pilot or even half like the reel they showed, we have pretty high hopes.

During the panel, Stephen Amell let slip some of his workout techniques for Arrow. Amell said at one point he had gotten pretty far in the auditioning process for Spartacus so he knew the rigors required for an action role in a TV show. But what inspired that scrumptious training scene (you know the one I'm talking about) in all the trailers? Another TV show, says Amell.

[We owe you one, American Ninja Warrior...]

The second episode of the CW’s Arrow, while not as compelling as last week's pilot episode, nevertheless made for an entertaining hour of television—and not just ‘cause there was more shirtlessness!

The Arrow, Undressed
Heather: I'm just gonna go ahead and admit that the eye candy is a large part of my investment in this show, as I suspect it my be for a lot of people. So in VERY IMPORTANT NEWS: This week Oliver once again strips down in a couple memorable scenes—the first for some training about 7 minutes in (methinks being the Green Arrow will require lots and lots of training—the gift that keeps giving) and the second about 27 minutes in (Ollie’s changing, his sister walks in, he asks why she didn’t knock, I wonder why he thinks it’s a good idea to change with the door open) for some talk about where those intriguing scars came from...or not talk about it, as the case may be.

[The strong and silent type, eh? I dig it...]

Last night was the premiere of the CWs newest superhero show, Arrow. First off, let me just say, OMG HAWTNESS alert!!!!! Twitter went insane as fans gushed over the gorgeous, dark, and broody Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell). I admit, I had quite a few naughty thoughts, especially as Oliver kept traipsing around in a towel that just begged for someone to rip it off with their teeth. *raises hand* I'll be honest, the sheer hotness of Oliver pretty much fried my brain and I found myself not paying to the story as much as I should have, but lets see what I can remember of the plot.

The story begins with a mysterious man running across an island, using a bow and arrow to set off an explosion which catches the attention of a passing boat. Once rescued, we find out our mysterious man is none other than billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, who has been missing for five years. His mother comes to the hospital to take him home and we watch as his doctor warns her that Oliver is not the same man he was five years ago and is very dangerous. A stunning study of muscular perfection and covered in scars...Oliver’s time spent on the island was brutal and life-altering.

[Bullseye!...]

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis are sexy in their own right. Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Bruce Willis? Not so much. This Friday, JGL will take on the role of a young Bruce Willis in the time-travel thriller, Looper, so we thought we'd give you a reminder of what Joe looks like without the prosthetics.

Ever since Inception came out in 2010, JGL's image has been revamped from indie heartthrob to blockbuster beefcake. This year we've seen him in other action roles from Dark Knight Rises to Premium Rush. But don't worry, ladies, for those who fell in love with this hipster heartthrob, he's still the Renaissance man he was before he started taking on more action roles. He's a writer, director, producer, and musician on top of his acting gig. Oh, yeah, did we mention he's fluent in French?

So what's your favorite version of Joseph Gordon-Levitt? The action star or the hipster? Enjoy!

Back in May, we posed the question “Which Superhero Would Make the Best Boyfriend.” And author Amanda Hocking—whose Wake, first in the all-new Watersong series, comes out in August—tweeted at us that of course it had to be Batman. So we asked her to explain in detail. Thanks, Amanda!

(And if you haven’t seen it, be sure to check out our reveal of the gorgeous bonus poster to be found in the hardcover edition of Wake. Plus, enter for a chance to win a copy of Wake on H&H’s Facebook page!)

***

In the current era of superheroes—Superman, Spiderman, Iron Man, and about any other “Man” out there—it would be hard to say which one would make the best romantic partner, especially when most of them are so swoon-worthy.                                                                              

But, I think I’ve narrowed it down to the best possible choice—Batman. Okay, full disclosure; he was always at the top of my list. Ever since I saw Batman Returns in theaters, I knew that was the guy for me.

It’s not just that he’s incredibly strong, and brave, and will protect the people he cares about from anything. Or that he’s a fallible man constantly working to be an infallible hero to save innocent people and the city he loves. Or that his alter-ego is handsome, debonair, rich playboy Bruce Wayne. Or how he looks in tight black costumes.

[Though it certainly doesn’t hurt...]

I wasn’t looking for a new couple to ’ship. I really wasn’t. But by the time the credits started rolling on Joss Whedon’s Avengers, I knew I was a goner. The relationship between master-assassins-turned-SHIELD-agents Clint “Hawkeye” Barton and Natasha “Black Widow” Romanoff intrigued me from the start (from the interviews and pictures alone, I gleaned theirs might be a story not so very different from my beloved Kara/Lee from Battlestar Galactica), but the reality was so much better. Long story short, I ’ship it like FedEx, and you should too.

***Warning: From this point forward I’ll assume all reading this have seen the movie. So, you know, MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD***

I know what you might be thinking: But Avengers is an action movie! There “ain’t at lot of time for kissin’”—Joss said so! Plus...Black Widow and Hawkeye are friends! Partners, even!

Well, yes, all of this is true. And yet. It’s *also* true that, if you look closely, there are several signs (at least 5) that if they’re not already head over heels for each other, Clint and Natasha are very likely hurtling toward resolving all that delicious UST in some as-yet-unannounced future film.

[“Your world in the balance and you bargain for one man?”...]

For many people, the blockbuster 2002 movie Spider-Man was their first exposure to its wisecracking, web-slinging superhero outside of childhood Saturday morning cartoons and half-remembered Halloween costumes. For these people, Tobey Maguire is Spider-Man, in the same way that Daniel Radcliffe is Harry Potter, or Colin Firth is Mr. Darcy; and his hapless alter-ego Peter Parker’s romance with ambitious girl-next-door Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) has, with one legendary upside-down kiss, become the standard for all such secret identity-fuelled sexiness. The two, less successful, sequels that followed–less successful artistically, if not in terms of box office revenue–only served to solidify Peter and his MJ as comic land’s It Couple, up there with Superman and Lois, or Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers. (For more on comic land’s It Couples, see Forced to Marry, Fated for Each Other and More: Superheroes and Romantic Heroes.)

But in this, the fiftieth anniversary year of the Webhead–he debuted in the Marvel comic  Amazing Fantasy #15 in August of 1962, a copy of which sold for a cool $1.1 million last year–he’s getting himself a cinematic reboot in The Amazing Spider-Man, and with it an altogether different origin story… which is actually much closer to his original origin story. The words “reboot” and “reimagining” get flung about a lot nowadays, like they’re something ingenious and previously unheard of, but such things have been the norm in comic book titles for decades; the word “retcon” was coined in comics, is short for “retroactive continuity” and essentially means that the past has been rewritten to suit to current facts and circumstances. The retcon is a movie franchise reboot’s best-friend.

We have always been at war with Eastasia.

Spider-Man has always had a first love called Gwen Stacy.

[But HEAs are never a sure thing in the world of comics.]

The CW has released extended trailers for its new Fall 2012 TV shows, including Beauty and the Beast (a reimagining of the 1980s show starring Ron Perlman and Linda Hamilton) and Arrow (as in, the DC Comics character Green Arrow), both of which may prove relevant to our interests here at H&H.

Beauty and the Beast stars Kristin Kreuk as Detective Catherine Chandler (Beauty) and Jay Ryan as Vincent Koslow (Beast), while Arrow stars Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen (Green Arrow) and Katie Cassidy as Dinah “Laurel” Lance (Black Canary?!). Given the popularity of fairy tales and comic-book heroes (like Avengers archer Hawkeye) right now, these two show may really catch on. Take a look at these and let me know—could you see yourself ’shipping Vincent/Catherine and/or Oliver/Laurel come the new season?

[+ a Beauty and the Beast trailer...]