Category Archives: DC
I’m Not Sure How I Feel About the Suicide Squad Movie
Am I the only person who’s a little confused that DC Comics seems to be rushing into a movie about the Suicide Squad for no good reason? Don’t get me wrong, the concept has legs. The Suicide Squad has so far made for a great episode of Justice League Unlimited and an OK episode of Arrow. And the basic concept is pretty solid too: super-villains forced to go on dangerous missions for the government. But Suicide Squad is hardly a big name, and they don’t yet even know if Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice is going to succeed.
Why is Suicide Squad, of all possible franchises, the next one to hit theaters?
Whatever the plan is, Variety is reporting that DC has nailed down the cast. One part of the plan is clearly to use big name actors to bring in the audience.
Jared Leto as the Joker
Will Smith as Deadshot
Tom Hardy as Rick Flagg
Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn
Jai Courtney as Boomerang
Cara Delevingne as Enchantress
The film will be directed by David Ayer, and will begin shooting in April for a planned Aug. 5, 2016 release date.
That’s definitely a pretty solid list of actors. I think they’ll all do fine in those roles. Having both the Joker and Harley Quinn in this movie is a strong move. Everybody is pretty familiar with both characters, and there’s probably no other way they could make a solo film starring the Joker. So let the Clown Prince of Crime take center stage in Suicide Squad. I bet audiences will eat that up. And it’ll be neat to see the character interact with people who aren’t Batman. I’m sure Jared Leto will bring the same unexpected, manic energy as Heath Ledger did.
Will Smith as Deadshot should be pretty awesome. I can see him being a fan favorite, as Deadshot usually is, and Smith is pretty popular too, from what I understand. Leto and Smith should carry this film easily, with the Joker’s zany madness offset by Deadshot’s brutal pragmatism.
I’m assuming Boomerang is just short for Captain Boomerang (who’s also appearing on both Arrow and The Flash this week), and Enchantress is a really weird choice. Of all the lady bad guys they could have chosen, why Enchantress, someone nobody has heard of? She’s a magical character, and that brings a lot to the table, but they could have had so much more fun if they’d picked, say, Poison Ivy. Everybody knows Poison Ivy, and it would give you a pretty amazing love triangle with Harley and Joker.
But I’m sure Warner Bros. knows what they’re doing. I’m sure they think they have a solid script in place, and this will make one heck of a fun Ocean’s 11-style masterpiece. We shall see. I’m going to be cautiously optimistic, but I’m still just not sure why they’re going with the Suicide Squad. Maybe they know something we don’t.
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Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 11/29/14
Happy Turkey Week, Comic Book fans! Did everybody have a good Thanksgiving? And for those of you who don’t celebrate, did you have a good Thursday? I had a blast. I always get together with my family, and they’re a good group of people. I made banana bread, because it’s nice to contribute something, especially if it’s my favorite dish. I’m a grown up now, I should contribute.
Speaking of contributing, how about adding some more comic book reviews to the Internet? I know I can’t get enough! We’ve got new issues of Aquaman, Arkham Manor, Superior Iron Man and more, but the real standout this week is the (regrettably) final issue of Superior Foes of Spider-Man! Why couldn’t this series have done better or lasted longer? It was so much fun!
Shocker Rulz!
But all good things must come to an end. Or maybe it’s that we can’t have nice things? Surely one of the two.
Comic Reviews: Aquaman #36, Arkham Manor #2, Batman Eternal #34, Scarlet Spiders #1, Superior Foes of Spider-Man #17 and Superior Iron Man #2.
My Brain Just Melted
Is anybody watching Teen Titans Go? I check it out from time to time, and I’ll definitely be checking out the new episode! Behold the preview clip that melted my brain!
Man, I love Robin as much as the next guy, so I absolutely loved that clip! Bring on Team Robin!
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 11/22/14
This was a weird week for comics, and I mean that in the best way possible. It was another big week, stretching my wallet to its limit, but I actually found myself passing on a few of my usual reviews. Both Avengers and New Avengers came out this week, continuing Jonathan Hickman’s massive Multiverse story, but I found that both issues, while good, were far too dense to properly discuss. I would have confused myself. On the opposite side of the spectrum, the new issue of Harley Quinn was just too simple and weird to devote too much time. So I skipped it too!
But I do have some quality reviews for you henchies! Spider-Verse continues, and I’m still enjoying it – though check out my review this week of Spider-Woman #1 at Word of the Nerd for the storyline’s first major misstep.
Comic Book of the Week goes to Lumberjanes for a fantastic finale! But the big disappointment is Wonder Woman #1, which pretty much does everything I feared it would now that Azzarello and Chiang are gone. Adding to the weirdness this week is the new issue of Uncanny X-Men, which robs me of my hero, Cyclops.
You’re not the man whose action figure I bought!
Comic Reviews: Amazing Spider-Man #10, Batman Eternal #33, Batman and Robin #36, Lumberjanes #8, Uncanny X-Men #28 and Wonder Woman #36.
Review: Teen Titans #4
In a previous decade, the content of Teen Titans #4 would have made me ecstatic. It’s an issue about Tim Drake using his brains and his skills to defeat an infinitely more powerful foe. It should be a testament to just how damn cool Robin can be. But this is Teen Titans in the New 52, so don’t anybody get their hopes up.
What Teen Titans #4 is instead is a showcase for writer Will Pfeifer’s S.T.A.R. Labs plot and his apparent love of Manchester Black. So simmer down, Tim Drake fans; despite his starring role in the issue, he has zero personal impact on the story.
Comic Rating: 5/10 – Alright.
Is it really so hard to write a comic that’s actually about the Teen Titans? I’m not sure if the previous writer, Scott Lobdell, ever managed to do it in 30+ issues. Lobdell only ever wrote about his plots or the bad guys; rarely did his stories ever actually grow from the Titans themselves. Even when he wrote about the characters’ origins, it was never about them. Wonder Girl’s origin story was all about her ex-boyfriend the super-villain, and Kid Flash’s origin story was all about this big space civil war and his role in that.
Pfeifer is a little better, but he’s relegated all of the stories about the Titans themselves to merely sub-plots. The main plot, the one about the villainous Algorithm and her attacks on S.T.A.R., is all about Algorithm and her villainous boss, Manchester Black. Teen Titans #4, especially, is all about Black and his drama. Tim Drake just happens to be caught up in that drama. But for all Tim actually does to drive or impact Black’s story, he could be swapped for any other Titan or any other superhero, for that matter.
And Teen Titans #4 also features one of the most baffling endings I have ever read in this comic. The only reasonable explanation for this ending is that Pfeifer is just toying with us and it’s totally fake. Otherwise, Teen Titans is just never going to get any better.
Join me after the jump for the full synopsis and more review!
