We love third-string Marvel characters, the ones who aren’t big enough for movies or networks, and so end up dwelling in the Netflix basement. We love them because Saving the World has gotten pretty boring at this point in cinematic history — Superman reversed time forty years ago, after all, and after you’ve shown that you can rewind Earth’s spin without throwing everybody into space, you’ve pretty much established that the planet won’t blow up next time.

Besides, Beneath the Planet of the Apes blew up the planet forty-five years ago, so no point going there either.

The Marvel bench lives in the world the first-string saved, satisfying the Gods of Continuity, but their problems don’t amount to a hill of beans in it. That actually makes them more interesting in practice, since their writers have to stretch to make them even worth watching. We have no inherent reason to care about street crime in Hell’s Kitchen. Unless you provide one.

Case in poi—

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“I would point out that if you’re a believer in in the Bible, one would have to say the Great Flood is an example of climate change, and that certainly wasn’t because mankind had overdeveloped hydrocarbon energy.” —Texas Congresscritter Joe Barton, defending the Keystone pipeline. [BuzzFeed, via Political Wire]

15 Best Star Wars/Disney Merger Memes [Buzzfeed]

Al Gore hides his brain in a lockbox, hilarity ensues.

[via Political Wire]

Not since Ralph Nader romanced a parrot have we seen such an awesomely awkward third-party ad.

[via TPM]

Romney’s VP pick is Paul Ryan, sources say [LAT]

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The tongue-in-check teaser trailer, which is playing in theaters before 21 Jump Street, shows the four actors driving through their neighborhood in a large SUV. At one point, Hill’s character, using his hand, pretends to shoot at a group of teenagers.

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