the buzz log

Just when you thought it was all about Batman, Spider-Man comes swooping back into the Buzz. The web-slinger is slated to star in a new videogame, appear in a comic book with Stephen Colbert, and make his Broadway musical debut. Seriously.

First up, the videogame. Kotaku reports that "Spider-Man: Web of Shadows" will feature Tricia Helfer as the voice of the smart and sensual Black Cat. For all you non-geeks, Helfer is best known as playing "Number Six," the sexiest robot this side of C-3PO, on "Battlestar Galactica." The game has yet to hit store shelves, but searches are already moving for "web of shadows reviews" and "spider-man web of shadows characters."

Less obvious than a videogame is a comic book team up with America's number one freedom fighter, Stephen Colbert. Still, that's exactly what will happen in Amazing Spider-Man #573. In the eight page tongue-in-cheek story, Colbert becomes disillusioned with New York politics, only to have his faith restored (unintentionally) by Spidey. For more on the unlikely pair, check out this blog from Newsarama.

Finally, showing that even sanity must step aside in the face of Spidey-mania, a Broadway musical based on the superhero will hit stages in 2009. According to multiple articles within the Buzz, including this one from io9, Jim Sturgess will star as the man in the red and blue leotard and Evan Rachel Wood will tackle the role of Mary Jane Watson. If this seems like a completely insane idea, remember that the theater has a long history of bizarre musicals based on movies. And some of them have even been huge successes. "Legally Blonde," anyone?

Filed under: Broadway, Spider-Man, Stephen Colbert, Comic Books

Are you tired of namby-pamby celebrities who feed off the adulation of millions, yet refuse to step in when they're really needed? "The Colbert Report" mock show host Stephen Colbert has gone where naysayers Oprah, George Clooney, and Christopher Walken fear to tread: He has thrown his hat into the presidential ring and pumped his Buzz profile up 277% in the past week.

Cumulative searches for slogans "colbert 2008" and "colbert for president" have rallied into the top 25,000 searches. That may not seem like much (especially when you consider a quarter of his fans are below legal voting age), but that cry proved more popular than—and perhaps just as realistic as—"al gore 2008."

Indeed, Colbert has surpassed searches for Ron Paul, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and even the Dalai Lama... and so far China hasn't taken issue with the Comedy Central host's declaration. Then again, even the Middle Kingdom couldn't object to someone who has emerged as a modern-day Renaissance man, rocking the Buzz regularly with his turns as linguist, dinner speaker, and dairy pusher.

The timing of his announcement, following the publication of "I Am America, and So Can You," may seem calculated (and yes, his book got some look-sees), but this isn't the first time citizens have sought his presidential aspirations: One year ago, "The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart and Colbert declined a 2008 bid, despite clamorings for a "stewart colbert 08" ticket and "stewart/colbert '08 t-shirts." Rather than a flip-flopper, Colbert can now be a frugal frontrunner with a bottle of White Out.

Filed under: Politics, Celebrities, Stephen Colbert, Elections