DISAPPEAR, ALREADY! Angel, Blaine
Goth magician Criss Angel defied death this morning, or so he claims, by escaping from a concrete box suspended 50-feet above a Times Square parking lot before it plummeted to the ground, shattering upon impact. If that sounds familiar, it's because it is. Last November, Angel's fellow magic man David Blaine spent 52 hours spinning in a gyroscope suspended 50-feet above Times Square before escaping.
And this isn't the first time the 21st century's most famous illusionists have trod on one another's territory. In 1999, Blaine buried himself alive, a stunt that Angel repeated with minor variations six years later. Each with a legion of fans, Blaine and Angel are headed for a magic off—probably buried in concrete, probably suspended over Manhattan somehow, probably with a pit of crocodiles (or at least tourists) below. After the jump, all you need to know about both tricksters beforehand ...
David Blaine: A street magician through and through, Blaine became famous in the late '90s with two documentary-style movies where he roamed the streets freaking people out with his voodoo.
Criss Angel: More of a performer than a magician, Angel freaks minds. He got his big break when he started making specials for ABC Family and the Sci-Fi channel.
DB: Jeans, T-shirt, and branded David Blaine hat. He keeps it simple in the clothing department and let's the magic do the talkin'.
CA: Angel's wardrobe is often as black as his art—or just straight-up nü rock L.A. twat. When's he's not decked out in his Hot Topic threads and cryptic talismans, he's usually not decked out in much, taking every opportunity to wave his wand.
DB: Cropped short with a patchy beard.
CA: Long and black, like his soul.
DB: A few kids nailed Blaine and his big-eyed camera staring in a YouTube video that's racked up nearly 4.5 million views.
CA: Sketch comedy group Human Giant skewer Angel's bombast with their Illusionators, complete with huge cross bling and ladyhair.
DB: Blaine has performed several bizarre stunts in which he claims to have cheated death, including immersing himself in a water-filled sphere for seven days and a 44-day fast in a box suspended over the River Thames in London, after which he lost 54 pounds.
CA: On his A&E show, Mindfreak, Angel's set himself on fire and been run over by a steamroller, among other stunts.
DB: In 1998, Blaine took the necessary step to becoming a D-list star and briefly dated Madonna. He's since worked his way through Fiona Apple and countless models unable to resist the trickery he's rumored to bring to the bedroom.
CA: He's been linked to everyone from dainty dame Minnie Driver to Paris Hilton. But right now, Timbersnake cast-off Cameron Diaz is widely believed to be the lucky lady witnessing Angel's levitations.
DB: "Of course, it's as much a trick as anything Siegfried and Roy do, but Blaine strips away all of the glitzy, Vegasy trappings of most magic acts, doing his sleight of hand right in people's faces. Their flabbergasted freak-outs, in turn, are as much fun as the tricks themselves, and make a pointed contrast with Blaine's cultivated serenity."—Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CA: "He is a rock-star version of a magician, tossing timeworn trappings—the tux, the sequined babe assistant, the same old tired tricks—in favor of pain, mortal danger, and a palpable underpinning of sex."—Forbes
DB: "David Blaine is the magician as stoic, the magician as the nonmagical bystander, drawing on the ancient Egyptian gods of extremely tedious normality..."—New Yorker
CA: "Welcome to what is essentially Magick Jackass: Tonight, Angel runs around Vegas levitating himself—and others—and scaring the hell out of people. It's cool. But Freakboy is getting dropped one full letter grade for all his unnecessary Goth-metal cheesiness/eyeliner and for recording his own theme song. Sorry. C+"—Entertainment Weekly
They're magicians. They both lose. Besides, everyone knows G.O.B. Bluth is the greatest illusionist of all-time.
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