What’s the deal, true believers? It’s been a slow five and I’m ready to get on with my weekend after hearing rumblings of a government bailout for the auto industry and Obama and family getting oriented with the White House and his Presidential duties from an outgoing president Bush.

Condolences go out to South African singer/activist “Mama Africa” Miriam Makeba, who died Monday (Nov. 10) and Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell, who died Wednesday (Nov. 12). Shout out to all the veterans who served and sacrificed for our country as well as those currently serving in the military, and the sounding boards for making it a better place to be for you and me.

Well my friends let me introduce you to…the Last Word for the week ending Nov. 14, 2008: The Hero Takeover.

1. Beyoncé Plays Hero and Villain with Wonder Woman Desires and Stolen Leona Lewis Song

With the success of Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk and The Dark Knight, it’s a no-brainer that superhero films are box office gold as entertainers voice their desire to save the world on the big screen. Enter Beyoncé, who is making it known that she wants to bring one of DC Comics’ iconic heroes to life.

“I want to do a superhero movie and what would be better than Wonder Woman?” the singer told the Los Angeles Times, adding that she met with representatives of DC and Warner Bros. to express her interest in portraying the Amazonian princess. “It would be great. And it would be a very bold choice. A Black Wonder Woman would be a powerful thing. It's time for that, right?”

With all the talk about turning White superheroes Black, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch for B to take up the mantle. But she may want to calm down Simon Cowell, who’s not too happy she got her hands on a song that was originally written for his protégé Leona Lewis.

Media sources report, the track, which is called “Halo,” was written by One Republic frontman Ryan Tedder. According to insiders, Cowell and Tedder had agreed to let Lewis sing the song for her second album, but Beyoncé has since recorded the track for herself and plans on including it on her forthcoming album I AM…Sasha Fierce.

In light of plans that call for Lewis’ album to hit stores in 2009, Tedder decided to peddle the song elsewhere.

“Leona's diary is so rammed it didn't look like she could record it until next year,” said a source at SonyBMG. “Ryan didn't want to hang around, so he gave it to Beyoncé.”

Sounds like some diabolical trickery going on here. Maybe they should get Wonder Woman’s magic lasso to see what the real story is with all this. As far as Diana Prince goes, if Beyoncé isn’t your choice, who do you think should portray the heroine when DC and Warner finally get the Justice League member’s film off the ground?

I nominate Meagan Good, Scarlett Johanssen and Kerry Washington. What say you?

2. George Clinton Goes Country with Sheila E; Subscribes to Human Cloning

First, it was Bobby Brown and Sisqo. Then it was Jermaine Jackson. Now, we got George Clinton and Sheila E. making a musical switch as the newest cast members for the CMT reality show Gone Country.

The pair will join singer Taylor Dayne, American Idol first-season runner-up Justin Guarini, actor Richard Grieco, Monkees lead vocalist/drummer Micky Dolenz and former Miss USA Tara Conner for the third season of the series. Gone Country centers on a group of contestants who spend two weeks working with songwriters on a country song. At the end of the two weeks, the show’s host, John Rich, will decide which celebrity is most prepared to impress a country audience. Afterwards, the winner will record and release their single to country radio.

And while seeing Clinton bring the P-funk to country music lovers will make for interesting TV, the most interesting thing right now for music pioneer proved appears to be the idea of cloning human beings, which Clinton says has been practiced for years. 

“Cloning – we got generations of that s***,” the Parliament Funkadelic frontman told Details magazine. “The pyramids? They was for cloning. That's why embalming lasts so long. Get the DNA and pull ‘em back. So somebody been cloned already, but not me. Not yet.”

“I’ve got my DNA stashed in the bank. And I got 14 kids,” continued Clinton, who is open to being cloned one day. “So there’s plenty of volunteers to take my DNA. It’s funky but they take it.”

Not that I don’t believe that human cloning is taking place, but George Clinton, what the funk are you talking about? It seems like all the rappers have taken your DNA to make classic hits. Calling Dr. Dre.

3. Former and Current James Bonds Picture Obama among Black 007s

A few Words back, I mentioned that Marvel Comics founder Stan Lee was open to casting Will Smith as the first Black Captain America for the red, white and blue Avenger’s forthcoming film. That depended on whether or not Barack Obama would be elected president.

Now that the election is over and Obama is our President-Elect, the opportunity seems right to give iconic characters a new look. According to WENN, James Bond himself, Daniel Craig, believes the Chicago senator’s historic victory has opened the door for the possibility of a Black 007.

“I think the role could easily be played by a Black actor, because the character created by Ian Fleming in the ‘50s has undergone a great deal of evolution and continues to be updated,” said the actor and Obama fan, who will reprise his role as Bond for the upcoming film Quantum of Solace.

While Craig believes Obama has opened the path for a Black Bond on the big screen, former 007 Pierce Brosnan is confident that the President-Elect could easily carry on the legacy of the fictional adventurer.

“He's cool enough,” Brosnan told People magazine. “He's definitely got the walk and the talk, yes, but I think he's going to make a greater President.”

I'm not sure if Barack could take time out of running the country to get his license to kill, but Wesley Snipes could use always use the paycheck. 

4. Salma Hayek Confesses to Breastfeeding Addiction

Within her 42 years of existence, Salma Hayek has accomplished a lot as an Oscar-nominated actress, director, producer and activist. But the most important accomplishment for Hayek comes with raising her 13 ½-month old daughter Valentina Paloma, a feat that includes breastfeeding.

To hear her tell it, Hayek is in no hurry to wean Valentina off the natural food source as she admits that nursing is “a very powerful thing” that she does not intend to give up breastfeeding anytime soon.

“I’m like an alcoholic,” Salma told the Times Online. “It’s like, I don’t care if I cry, I don’t care if I’m fat, I’m just gonna do it for one more week, one more month, and then, when I see how much good it is doing her, I can’t stop.”

Despite her love of nursing, it was anything but for the actress, who revealed how difficult it was when she first started breastfeeding her newborn. “It's tough. You don’t know what pain I'm in after two hours.”

And if you’re wondering if talk about breastfeeding helping women lose weight is true, think again. Salma deads what she called “the myth” by saying that it’s “sooo not true” as she grabbed her stomach during her interview. “It's like, ‘Please, everyone, can you stop telling me I look really well?’”

In Other Words…

Some people may look good when playing a good game of whatever, but Rihanna is looking good while supporting a worthy cause. The singer has joined forces with Gucci to appear in a series of ads for the brand’s fourth annual campaign to benefit UNICEF. According to reports, Rihanna will model luxe goods from Gucci’s Tattoo Heart collection. Ads for the all-white Tattoo Heart line are slated to hit magazines in December.

* Fans of Jamie Foxx will have another collection of tunes to enjoy from the Oscar-winning actor. Media sources report that Foxx is set to release his third album Intuition. Contributors include Timbaland, Ne-Yo, Sean Garrett, Salaam Remi, Carlos McKinney and T.I. who is featured on the lead single “Just Like Me.”

Look for the album to hit stores Dec. 16. Those wondering about Foxx’s other job can catch the entertainer on the big screen when he teams up with Robert Downey Jr. for the upcoming movie The Soloist, which hits theaters March 13.

* Kevin Rudolf may strike some as strictly a rock n roller, but he maintains a strong desire to incorporate elements of other genres in his music. According to the Cash Money Records vocalist in an upcoming AllHipHop Alternatives interview, a trendy mash-up of previously recorded material can’t replace a natural collaboration between talented musicians.

“To tell you the truth, I really don't like rap and rock together so much.  To me when I do my album I do more like a fusion,” Rudolf told AllHipHop.com Alternatives. “I try to take what's authentic by Hip-Hop and what's authentic about rock and combine them.  Doing stuff like peanut butter and jelly, let's put rap with rock, let's sit this with that, they do that like it's a gimmick. Let's put a rock band with a rapper and it's fresh and new.”

“I got some crazy sh*t in my album,” Rudolf continued about his forthcoming project In the City. “We got Nas on the album, Rick Ross on the album, BirdMan, and they're not mashups. They are honest collaborations with great rappers and good music and it's a real thing, you know? It's not like, “Slap them together.” To me, this is my world, so it feels natural, you know what I mean?

As music fans await the follow-up to Nina Sky’s self-titled debut album, one half of the hitmaking duo is making waves in the world of fashion. Natalie Albino is gearing up to join forces with designer Erin Magee for an exclusive MadeMe Holiday ’08 tee. The **NA SKY tee, which was inspired by Albino’s musical background, will feature the company’s logo written in graffiti style musical notes.

Shoppers can purchase the tee, which will be released in black, white and purple, by visiting www.mademeclothing.com. For Albino, the clothing illustrates her love of graffiti since she’s been tagging Astoria, Queens with “**NA SKY” for years. Musically, the singer and her sister Nicole are putting the finishing touches on Nina Sky’s sophomore album The Musical, which will feature production from Salaam Remi, Ryan Leslie, and Cool & Dre.

* Everybody wants to get into the superhero business. Now, BET wants to put itself in the mix with its upcoming animated series The Black Panther. The show, which is adapted from a 2005 six issue Marvel Comics Black Panther limited series written by  former BET president Reginald Hudlin, will feature Amistad and Blood Diamond star Djimon Hounsou as the voice of the title character.  

With his latest role, Hounsou considers it “a blessing for African Americans and minorities to have a superhero they can identify with.”

* Samuel L. Jackson is gearing up to ride the buzz he created with his surprise cameo as S.H.I.E.L.D. head Nick Fury in Iron Man. MTV reports the entertainer has his sights set on playing Fury in Iron Man 2 with hopes of bringing the character back for the string of Marvel Studio films that set the stage for 2011’s The Avengers.

“They sorta gave me a master plan about how they want it to work...[But] I'll do every movie they wanna do. I'm down.”

Most heroes aren’t looking for any reward for their work, but Sam looks to get more than his slice of the million dollar pie for his role. Crime may pay, but it’s the good guys that will finish first in this, with plenty of chump change to spend.