You Can Finally Buy the Wheelchair Professor X Would Use6/12/14 9:40am The Whill started life as an innovative device designed to give manual wheelchairs an electric motor so they were self-propelled. But since its inception, the Whill has evolved into a full-fledged personal mobility device with a unique control mechanism and even smartphone connectivity. And as promised late last year, the Whill is finally available for pre-order—at least if you're confident in its creators' crowdfunding Kickstarter campaign. For such a complicated and innovative device, it's surprising that the Whill's creators are only trying to raise $30,000 in funding. In fact, only four people have to pre-order a Whill, with a required donation of $9,500, for them to reach their goal.But if the mobility solutions already on the market have left you disappointed, pre-ordering a Whill might be worth the leap of faith required. If anything, it looks significantly cooler than what's come before it, and those dealing with limited mobility can certainly use the boost of confidence.
This Professor X-Approved Futuristic Wheelchair Is Arriving Next Year10/23/13 11:40am The original WHILL was a clamp on device designed to power manual wheelchairs lacking an electric motor. Unfortunately, it turns out it will never see the light of day, but the design and technology behind that original concept have been repurposed for the futuristic Whill Type-A electric wheelchair that's actually now up for pre-order with an expected delivery of early next year. A pair of raised telescoping arms provide a set of controls to steer and drive the wheelchair that can be operated with just one hand, and to make it easy to get in and out of the Type-A the seat automatically slides forward and back for improved access. Four wheel drive ensures the chair can traverse most urban terrains, and a clever segmented design on the front wheels lets them roll forward and back and side-to-side without pivoting. Pricing details have yet to revealed, but the Type-A is available for pre-order now requiring a leap of faith that when the wheelchair is officially available sometime early next year, it won't be obscenely expensive when finally delivered.
Much of the buzz surrounding X-Men: Days of Future Past, the Bryan Singer’s film that doubles as a sequel to both X-Men: First Class and X-Men: The Last Stand, has centered around the all-star cast signing on to return to the series for this project. Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and others from First Class will partake in a story that also involves the original team of Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart and co. as we see mutants from past and present get caught up in a story involving time travel. Not only are the key players from the long-running franchise returning, but so too are their props (sans the black leather costumes). The below image was tweeted from Bryan Singer who’s deep into pre-production on X-Men: Days of Future Past which begins shooting mid-April in Montreal. It came came attached with the caption, “Hello old friends.” The left one is Patrick Stewart’s wheelchair from the X-Men trilogy as keen viewers can tell from the throttle control on the right arm-pad and the heavier, copper colored axle underneath.
The big question this image brings mind is whether or not McAvoy and Stewart will share the screen together or whether their (and their teams’) stories remain separated by decades of time. Much of the film follows the returning First Class stars in Nixon-era 1973 and the original X-Men cast will be caught up in what seems to be some sort of alternate future where giant Sentinel robots hunt mutants. Since Stewart is returning, and seemingly will be back in his wheelchair, we know Days of Future Past must take place in an alternate timeline where he didn’t get torn apart by Jean Grey/The Phoenix and then reincarnated in someone else’s body. By that logic, there’s no reason characters including Cyclops – who also seemingly met his end in Brett Ratner’s film – couldn’t return as well, though he’s not been mentioned among the return cast members yet. Should he be brought back? Are we ever going to see the tan-colored hover chair created by Forge from the animated X-Men cartoon and comics?
Bryan Singer will direct X-Men: Days of Future Past starring Peter Dinklage, and returning stars Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, Shawn Ashmore, and possibly, Alan Cumming. No word yet on Famke Janssen, James Marsden or Halle Berry. The Wolverine releases July 26, 2013 and X-Men: Days of Future Past shoots from April to October for a July 18, 2014 release date. Follow Rob on Twitter @rob_keyes.Designed by Forge, the hoverchair served many of Professor Charles Xavier's needs, transportation being only one factor in its number of amenities. After defeating the alien, Lucifer, Lucifer dropped a huge stone block on Xavier, crippling his legs, in retaliation. Charles was sentenced to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Ironically, Professor Xavier regained his ability to walk, after Dr. Moira MacTaggert and the X-Men's space-faring allies, the Starjammers, saved him, by transferring his mind into a newly cloned, somewhat younger, body.