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The New DC TV and Movie Universe is Here and It Looks Great!
Today was the big day for DC Comics, Warner Bros and the new co-CEOs, James Gunn and Peter Safran. There has been so much swirling around since the pair were announced for a new, slate-clearing take on the DC Universe, all leading up to today: the announcement of the first 10 projects in the new cinematic universe.
Well those projects are here and they look great! I am fully on board with everything announced and look forward to watching all of it in the years ahead! You can check out the official DC on their website, and read my rundown of the projects below. Apparently, all of these movies and shows will have the chance to intermingle actors and characters, which is neat, obviously. They’re also going to be separate from existing projects, like Joker 2, The Batman 2, the Harley Quinn cartoon and those various Teen Titans cartoons.
More power to James Gunn, Peter Safran, DC, Warner Bros. and all of them!
Superman: Legacy – Movie
This is the big ticket item that everything is going to depend on, I bet. The next big Superman movie, focused squarely on Superman. That’s the right way to go, in my opinion. Gunn has indicated that he’s using All-Star Superman as inspiration, and that’s a great idea. That’s the greatest Superman story of all time, in my opinion, and it gets Superman exactly right. So that is the right way to go.
Superman: Legacy will focus on “Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. Superman represents truth, justice and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old fashioned.”
Gunn is writing the script, will hopefully direct, and it’s already scheduled to come out on July 11, 2025.
Creature Commandos – Show
I’m in. This one looks weird and special, and I am totally in. A cartoon series on HBO Max about a bunch of funky creatures going on military operations? Like Frankenstein and Bridge of Frankenstein and Weasel from Gunn’s Suicide Squad? Count me in without a moment’s hesitation!
Creature Commandos is already fully written by Gunn — awesome — and is already in production for seven episodes.
Waller – Show
Viola Davis is going to return as Amanda Waller to do her own series in between seasons of Peacemaker. So obviously Peacemaker, and perhaps even Gunn’s Suicide Squad, will be part of the new DCU. That’s fine by me. I loved both of those projects and would hate to lose them in this shakeup. And if Gunn needs time to come back for Peacemaker season 2, having the characters spin-off into an HBO Max show about Amanda Waller sounds fine by me.
Lanterns – Show
A big, live action Green Lantern show has been in the works for years with very little to show for it. So Gunn and co. probably took the reins on that and have turned it into Lanterns, a True Detective-style mystery procedural starring Hal Jordan and John Stewart as space cops.
I love the world of the Green Lanterns, and I would love a gritty, live action TV show about them doing cop stuff. So bring it on!
The Authority – Movie
This one should be really interesting. I’ve never read any of the original Authority comics, so I have no real connection to the characters or the team. But they’re a pretty bold choice for another big DC movie in this era. Will audiences be able to just get on board? Will it be too much too soon? Obviously I’m confident they’ll pull this off, but i think this one is their biggest swing in this slate.
Paradise Lost – Show
This is the one I’m least sure about. They’re promising a Game of Thrones-esque show about the birth of Themyscira and the world before Wonder Woman. What were their politics like? How was the society of Amazons formed? These are interesting ideas, but I’m not entirely sure they’ll be able to pull it off. It’s just such a nebulous concept without any real established story behind it.
Remember when DC did the show Krypton? About the politics of Krypton during the time of Superman’s grandfather? Yeah, I don’t either. No word on whether or not Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman is still part of this new slate of projects.
The Brave and the Bold – Movie
I love Robin, you all know that. But I dislike Damian Wayne as Robin, even if he’s apparently James Gunn’s favorite Robin. So this is a mixed bag for me. Obviously, I’ll take any live acton Robin I can get, especially if this is the start of a really Bat-family heavy movie Batman continuity. We’re still going to get The Batman – Part II starring Robert Pattinson; that’s going to be in its own continuity. But The Brave and the Bold will be Batman’s big debut in the new DCU, with a focus on Damian Wayne. Does this mean we’ll get a Dick Grayson as Nightwing cameo? Maybe, who knows.
But yeah, I’m on board. I will gladly watch a movie focused on Damian if it also means we’re getting a movie focused on Robin.
Booster Gold – Show
Yeah, baby! This is one to get really excited about! Booster Gold is going to get a live action TV show on HBO Max and that’s brilliant. It’s going to focus on a “superhero’s imposter syndrome” and that’s a great focus for a show. Booster Gold is such a fun and easy concept to understand. He’s a hapless schmuck from the 30th century who steals a bunch of future tech and travels back in time to the 20th century, where he can use that tech to seem like he has super-powers. Booster Gold should have gotten his own project a long time ago, but in the hands of James Gunn, it should be better than ever possibly anticipated.
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow – Movie
Jumping right into a live action Supergirl movie is an interesting choice, though I suppose it’s not that big of a deal, considering we’re jumping right into a Superman movie. They should work well together, especially in establishing shared continuity. Give the new Superman actor an immediate place to show up again before his sequel.
This is going to be based on the recent comic by writer Tom King. I read and enjoyed the first few issues, and then picked up the whole thing in graphic novel form. It’s next on my list for bedtime reading, so I best get to that right away.
Swamp Thing – Movie
Last, but not least, is a new Swamp Thing movie. I don’t have any real connection to the character, so I’m not particularly interested or concerned. There has been a ton of great Swamp Thing content over the years — so I’ve heard — so I’m sure they can come up with a really great story.
Whew! And that is the whole list of shows and movies. They all look pretty great, they all look very diverse is style and superheroes. I’m definitely excited. It’s going to be called “Gods and Monsters,” which is a pretty simplistic title, if you ask me. And it’s also subject to change, if need be.
Whatever happens, I’m on board for all of it!
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Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 2/2/19
Last week was a wasteland of new comics I like to read, and this week drops a bunch! How do you like them apples, eh? Suffice to say, I had a lot to read and enjoy this week.
Action Comics and Wonder Woman are both enjoyable out of DC, and my opinion starts to change for the better on Heroes in Crisis. Then we’ve got Marvel dropping a solid Ms. Marvel and West Coast Avengers. But the real standout, a true gem of a comic, is the new issue of Unstoppable Wasp. This is a rare game-changer of an issue and easily wins Comic Book of the Week.
This is fine. Everything is fine.
Could be a standout for Comic Book of the Year.
Meanwhile, I read the Alpha issue for Age of X-Man and it looks fine. Pretty bare bones, with more than a few obvious glitches in the manufactured reality. I still haven’t decided how I’ll cover the event. I’m not about to buy and read every single issue…but maybe I won’t buy or review any of them. All I know for sure is that I’m excited to see what Leah Williams does with the Blob.
Comic Reviews: Action Comics #1007, Captain America #7, Heroes in Crisis #5, Ms. Marvel #37, Unstoppable Wasp #4, West Coast Avengers #7 and Wonder Woman #63.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 9/29/18
Bad news, everybody! The final issue of Extermination has been delayed until December, so I’m going to be kept in limbo for the rest of the freakin’ year as to whether or not Mimic survives. Oh, and I guess we’re technically stuck with the Young X-Men still being around too.
Light week for new comics, I’m afraid. The ongoing Superman and Spider-Man comics aren’t anything special, and the new Power Rangers direction is an immediate bust. I gave Comic Book of the Week to the first issue of Tom King’s Heroes in Crisis, though considering the crimes he commits, I need to stop gushing over the guy.
World’s Greatest Melodramatist
Meanwhile, did you hear that Eddie Brock is wearing a new symbiote these days? That the Venom symbiote gave birth to some new symbiote? Do we really not have enough of those?
Comic Reviews: Action Comics #1003, Amazing Spider-Man #6, Heroes in Crisis #1 and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #31.
6 Silly Armored Superhero Costumes
The one constant in the world of superheroes is the colorful costume. Tights, spandex, latex, long johns, leather, pajamas; all superheroes play dress up when it comes to fighting crime. It’s just more fun that way. But in the real world, everybody knows that a big, muscular guy in spandex just looks silly. If a real world Batman was just wearing a pair of gray tights, he’d be no more threatening than a ballerina. Why do you think the movies put Batman in a specialized suit of black armor, or the X-Men wear black leather?
Tights and spandex costumes just aren’t cool, no matter how good they might look when drawn.
Paper, though, always looks good
Which is why, throughout the history of comics, creators have often tried to upgrade a superhero’s costume to make it look more badass. For some reason, this meant changing from spandex to armor, with heavy layers of complicated plating and protection. Yet no matter how good the creators’ intentions, somehow these upgrades looked even worse! These armor costumes were running rampant in the 90s, and in hindsight, everybody agrees that they looked ridiculous. Superheroes have gone back to tight spandex ever since.
I thought I’d share with everybody some of the more ridiculous armored costume changes in comic book history.
Booster Gold Might be Coming to TV!
DC superhero extraordinaire, Booster Gold, might just be getting his own TV show on the Syfy Network! At least according to The Hollywood Reporter, which I’m pretty sure is a credible news source. Much more credible than I am, at least. They actually pay their writers. Anyway, development is only at the stage where Syfy has ordered a pilot script. And we all know how well that worked out for the Wonder Woman TV show at NBC. I’ve yet to see that pilot, though I still really want to.
Still, legitimate superheroes getting to the pilot stage is good news as far as I’m concerned.
Booster is pretty thrilled too
According to the article, NBCUniversal, which I guess owns Syfy, ordered the one-hour pilot script from Greg Berlanti, of No Ordinary Family and Green Lantern, and Andrew Kreisberg, of Fringe. So…good? I don’t know, I’m not sure how all this TV business works. Again, the Wonder Woman pilot didn’t get picked up, so who’s to say this one will be any better?
I’m at least hopeful. I’ll try to follow any of the news that comes out about this pilot.
Booster Gold is a failed athlete and deadbeat from the 30th century who travels back in time because he thinks he can be a pretty cool guy in the 21st century. He brings a bunch of futuristic technology with him, which is so far advanced that it seems like super powers to the people of the past. But Booster Gold isn’t interested in saving the day, he wants fame and lucrative endorsement deals. So he becomes a superhero just for the glory.
Frankly, I think that’s a brilliant premise for a TV show superhero.
Henchman-4-Hire 