Thor
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Airstream's concept electric camping trailer propels itself
Airstream has unveiled an electric camper concept that propels itself, lightening the load on your towing vehicle.
'Fortnite' teases a Marvel theme for the next season
Rumors suggest there'll be Thor cosmetics, including his hammer.
Playing Marvel's Avengers, a living RPG with microtransactions
When Engadget's UK Bureau Chief Mat Smith attended the first-ever gameplay demonstration of Marvel's Avengers at E3, he walked away worried. The level he saw was essentially a tutorial, introducing the basic mechanics of each Avenger. It was unclear how all of the characters -- Black Widow, Iron Man, The Hulk, Thor and Captain America -- would play together, and they each seemed to be overpowered in comparison to the minions that flooded their way on the Golden Gate Bridge. He said the game looked hollow, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly why.
Marvel legend Stan Lee dies at 95
Pop culture is in a state of mourning today. Stan Lee, the famous Marvel publisher, editor and writer, has died at the age of 95 after a spate of illnesses over the past year. To say that he had a significant impact on the media world would be an understatement -- the franchises he created (and helped create) are virtually ubiquitous in modern society, including in the digital realm.
UPS will build 'medium-duty' delivery truck for its electric fleet
UPS' quest to electrify its trucks includes both giant semis and smaller last-mile trucks, but not so many of the vehicles in between. It might rectify that solution soon -- the courier company has teamed up with Thor Trucks to build and test a "medium-duty" electric delivery truck. While it's still in the early stages, the machine would use a "lightweight, durable" Thor battery that would enable a range of about 100 miles.
Airbus drone is made almost entirely from 3D-printed parts
Airbus isn't content with 3D printing motorcycles -- it's crafting aircraft, too. The aviation giant used the recent Berlin Air Show to introduce Thor, a drone built almost exclusively from 3D-printed parts. Everything that isn't electrical is built from polyamide, whether it's the propellers or the landing gear. The result is a robotic aircraft that's both quick to make (there are no tools involved) and extremely light -- the entire 13-foot-long vehicle weighs a modest 46 pounds.
ICYMI: Becoming Thor, the future of beekeeping and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-215343{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-215343, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-215343{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-215343").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: The FlowHive is a new bee colony rig that allows beekeepers to tap the honey easily by cranking open the honeycomb design, creating a channel down to the spout. Japanese inventors created a throwable robot that flies through the air as a sphere, then unfurls four legs to scuttle its way onward. And maker Alan Phan re-created the God Hammer aka Mjolnir aka Thor's cool hammer-- with an Arduino-controlled fingerprint scanner and a super-charged electromagnet.
YouTuber creates a magnetic Mjolnir not even Thor can pick up
If the Mjolnir were real, most of us would probably never be able to lift it. We'll bet Allen Pan wouldn't care one bit, though: not when he can easily make his own. The electrical engineer who likes making "pretend things into real things," according to his YouTube channel Sufficiently Advanced, has recreated Thor's hammer. It can't exactly summon lightning and spin like a boomerang, but you can say that it "works," because only he can pick it up... so long as it's lying on a metallic surface. See, since Pan isn't Odin's son, he had to rely on existing technology to make his own version. In order to make it stick to, say, manhole lids, he had to equip it with a powerful microwave oven transformer electromagnet that uses electric current to generate a magnetic field.
Only thunder gods are worthy of handling this PC
Thermaltake's PC modding community often likes to do things to excess: Taiwan's biggest tech show is a huge opportunity for such excesses. The PC you see above, unashamedly modeled on a certain Nordic deity's blunt implement of choice, is a good example. Did we want to try to grab it and see if we were worthy? Sure. Were we allowed to? No.
Marvel Heroes publishes Thor's level 52 review
Gazillion has published one of its Marvel Heroes level 52 reviews, which is basically a dev blog focused on endgame goals and designs for a particular hero. In this case, that hero is Thor. Thor's Odinforce is a big part of his current review. It functions as his secondary resource and allows players to unlock upgraded versions of his powers by building Odinforce and managing its decay over time. And don't forget about God Blast, his new ultimate that unleashes "the full might of the mighty Mjolnir in a terrifying, concentrated blast of white-hot divine intervention."
Marvel Puzzle Quest is first game to include female Thor
Remember the new version of Thor that Marvel announced back in July? You know, the lady Thor. Only, according to Marvel writer Jason Aaron, she's not "Lady Thor," she's Thor, and she just happens to be a lady. Well, she's about to make her first video game debut, and it's Marvel Puzzle Quest that will play the role of host. Thor: Goddess of Thunder will be a 4-star character reward for Season 7. All players of Marvel Puzzle Quest will be able to summon her in battle starting October 17. The female Thor's inclusion in Marvel Puzzle Quest is part of a 1-year anniversary celebration of the game, with other additions rounding out the game's offerings. Players who have stuck with the game for 365 days will also unlock Devil Dinosaur as a playable character starting on October 8, for example. [Image: Marvel]
Loki, Green Goblin are Disney Infinity 2.0 Marvel super villains
Oh sure, playing with superhero action figures is plenty fun and we fully endorse it, but what good is a plastic hero without a plastic villain to whack against them every once in awhile? While it's true that this often results in damaged toys, Disney Infinity 2.0: Marvel Super Heroes is removing that particular risk by making Loki, Green Goblin and Ronan the Accuser playable, thus allowing them to trade virtual blows with Marvel heroes in-game. The baddies are bit underrepresented for now, especially with all five of the Guardians of the Galaxy set to lend a hand (or branch, or paw) in the fight against evil, but when has being outnumbered ever stopped a comic book supervillain? Disney Infinity 2.0: Marvel Super Villains Heroes will be available for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U and PC on September 23. [Image: Disney]
Barely Related: Marvel mixes it up, Comcast service facepalm
One great thing about live streams of The International and LCS championships – you can read awesome articles between the matches. Welcome to Barely Related, a conversational Friday column that presents the non-gaming news stories that we, the Joystiq staff, have been talking about over the past week. And no, we're not stopping our focus on industry and gaming news. Think of this as your casual weekly recap of interesting (and mostly geeky) news, presented just in time to fill your brain with things to discuss at all of those weekend shindigs. Grab a fresh drink, lean back in your armchair, and get ready to talk nerdy with us.
Thor's Asgardian allies join the fight in Lego Marvel Super Heroes DLC
Ostensibly a tie-in promotion for Thor 2: The Dark World, the latest Lego Marvel Super Heroes DLC adds eight new characters to the game: Four of Asgard's most notable warriors, two dark elves, a human love interest for the god of thunder, and a partridge in a ... well, you know the rest.
Warlords of Draenor and the absence of Aggra
Let me tell you a little about my sister. My sister is married, in her thirties, and has four children -- all boys -- ranging from four to sixteen. Her house is a wild cacophony of boys being boys and the calls of various animals that she's acquired. It's a mini-farm, if you will, full of chickens, goats, pigs, dogs, cats, a couple of snakes, and possibly a species or two that I've missed. In addition to raising four boys with her husband, she also owns her own business. She runs her own grooming company here in town, and is both the sole employee and owner, successful enough that she's usually booked for at least a month out, if not more. In addition to that, she runs two Renaissance festivals a year, hauls her family to regular camp-outs with the faire crew, regularly plays D&D with the gang, and knows how to shoot a longbow and a black powder rifle (and is a pretty good shot with both of them), along with cannons and trebuchets. She's a dab hand at cooking at home and over a campfire out in the wild, knows how to kill, gut and butcher just about anything, and how to tan and stretch a hide. On top of all that, I've heard she's a marvel at breaking up fights, reading bedtime stories, wiping tears from faces, kissing boo-boo's away, and snuggling in the mornings when little ones are sleepy and grumpy about getting up for school. And god help anyone that comes between her and her family. I'm telling you this story not to brag about my sister, although I love her very dearly, but to make a point that seems to have been sorely missed somewhere in the story of Warcraft. My sister isn't just a wife and mother. She's a warrior. She's a fighter. She's a spark of ferocity that will not be quenched. Where is her counterpart in Warcraft? That's a really good question.
Marvel Heroes 2.0 update adds Loki and Asgard
Thor: The Dark World is out in theaters today, and in a stunning coincidence, Marvel Heroes is delivering an Asgard-themed update at the very same time. Game Update 2.0, Gazillion's "biggest content update ever," has two big features. First up is the Asgard hub, where players will meet to go on a series of new missions through the otherworldly zones. And since Thor is already in the game, 2.0 introduces the next best thing, Loki, the god of mischief. Loki is a sorcerer who has two outfits available, the film edition and the not-tacky-at-all comic book version. Even if Asgard doesn't delight you, there's a reason for the entire playerbase to rejoice: Gazillion is expanding the starting roster of free heroes from five choices to nine. You can read up on these additions as well as the new legendary and ring item slots in the official patch notes.
Batman Zing! Whammo! Pows! his way to YouTube's top superhero spot (video)
Bruce Wayne may be on permanent vacation with Selina Kyle, but that hasn't stopped Batman from topping YouTube's list of most popular superheroes. Based on views and amount of content, the Dark Knight is number one, racking up 3 billion pairs of eyes on 71,000 hours of video. That's 213 trillion hours you spent watching the antics of a flying rodent with daddy issues -- or roughly 42,000 views per hour of footage. More surprising than that though, is who came in second place. It wasn't Spider-Man (seventh with 340 million views of 7,400 hours of video) or Tony Stark (fourth with 1.7 billion views of 20,000 hours of video). If you heard thunder, you heard right. Thor has 2.1 billion views and 66,000 hours of video, but only around 32,000 views per hour of tape. What does it all mean? Mjolnir's owner is around 33 percent less popular (views per hour) than Gotham's First Son -- and he's a god. Ouch. That Bats has a pair of killer video games benefiting from repeat walkthrough viewings probably helps, but we imagine clips like what're after the break do the actual heavy lifting. If you want to see if your favorite made the cut, hit YouTube's blog from the source link below. [Image credit: Tony Sak]
Marvel Heroes offers one final open beta weekend and Thor trailer
If you missed last weekend's open beta for Marvel Heroes, you've got one more chance to get in and get your super hero on before the June 4th launch. Gazillion Entertainment has announced the last open beta weekend will take place from Friday, May 10th at 8:00 p.m. EDT to Monday May 13th at 1:00 p.m. EDT. For this round, players will get to choose from their favorite Avengers: Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, and Black Widow. To get in on the action, just register on the official site. To celebrate the Avenger-themed final weekend, the studio also released a new trailer highlighting Thor. Check out the Asgardian action after the break. [Source: Gazillion Entertainment press release] [Update: The team has just posted an FAQ for the beta weekend.]
The After Math: The (homemade) hammer of Thor, Virgin space flights and an atomic movie
Welcome to The After Math, where we attempt to summarize this week's tech news through numbers, decimal places and percentages. This week's After Math appears to have taken on a comic book theme. Want to make your own Thor hammer? How about your very own Atomic Watch -- rather than those radio-wave-based excuses of a timepiece? We've also got the very real prospect of civilian flights to outer space and, er, Kobe Bryant advertising Lenovo smartphones. Stranger things have happened, right? Join us after the break.
Build your own 80,000 volt Thor hammer, what could possibly go wrong?
When someone says "The idea is extremely simple, a tiny tesla coil inside a fake hammer" we look up "simple in the dictionary just to check. This is Hack a day though, where simple can mean almost anything -- in this case a genuine electrified Mjölnir replica. All you need to make your own is the aforementioned tesla coil (you have one right?), some foam, a battery pack and, well... the ability to follow instructions. Fittingly, the first attempt at Thor's hammer went on a saga of its own, suffering damage at the hands of the delivery service en route to a studio. No bother for our resident hacksters though, who patched it back up in no time to the fully functioning -- if a little over-sized -- model you'll see in the video past the break.
