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Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 6/2/18
Despite being a Fifth Wednesday, this was actually a pretty big week in comics! The first full issue of Brian Michael Bendis’ Superman came out, and I enjoyed it! Granted, I’ve liked Superman comics in the past and dropped them, so who knows if I’ll stick with it — but I’m going to try!
Comic Book of the Week goes to another landmark issue: Amazing Spider-Man #800! It’s the grand finale of Dan Slott’s decade on Amazing Spider-Man, and the issue lives up to the pomp and circumstance…though it’s not without its flaws.
Dialogue occasionally being one of them
In potentially disappointing news, I’ve decided to give up on Doomsday Clock. I just don’t like the comic, and the new issue this week reinforced everything I don’t like. And I don’t want to use this comic review segment to trash on comics just because I don’t like them. I find Doomsday Clock to be boring, with an undeserved pretentiousness. I might keep reading, just to see where it goes. But starting now, no more active reviews.
Comic Reviews: Amazing Spider-Man #800, Justice League: No Justice #4, Man of Steel #1 and Ms. Marvel #30.
An Angry Superman and a New Bout of Rumors
Production on Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice is amping up, and as such, pictures from the set are flying around the Internet. In the slow march towards acceptance, a lot of studios have started revealing characters and costumes well in advance of when those same images might get leaked on the web. For example, the CW put out the first official pictures of the Flash costume just days before pictures of him in costume on set hit the web.
So perhaps that’s why Warner Bros. released this startling image of a dour Superman today.
The ‘S’ stands for Eternal Sorrow
Somebody really sneezed in his Cheerios. Is that still a thing kids say?
Anyway! The reason I’m posting this grumpy picture of Superman is because there’s a new spat of rumors about characters and actors in Dawn of Justice. Normally I don’t like publishing rumors like that, because they can be wrong at the drop of the hat.
But as a rabid fanboy, I am going to follow every possible iota of information about Dick Grayson being in Dawn of Justice. I probably want Dick in Dawn of Justice more than I want Multiple Man in the next X-Men movie (though it pains me to say that).
As such, the rumors come from Latino Review, and they basically state that Scoot McNairy – who I had pegged as a Nightwing front-runner – might actually be playing Morgan Edge, a businessman-type villain, who they figure will be Lex Luthor’s slimy PR man.
Normally I would be saddened by the news, but the scooper, El Mayimbe, seems pretty confident that Dick Grayson is indeed going to be in the movie. He practically mentions it as an established fact, that Dick Grayson will be in his mid-20s, and can’t be played by the 30something-year-old McNairy, so that buffers my fears somewhat.
Beyond Edge, El Mayimbe claims we’ll see Victor Zasz, David Cain and Amanda Waller all in the movie. They’re all human characters, so it wouldn’t be hard to toss them into the movie somehow. Batman Begins used Victor Zasz in exactly that same, simple way.
So there you have it. From some much more experienced and knowledgable bloggers than me, McNairy will be playing Morgan Edge, and Dick Grayson is definitely in the movie.
Good times.
Batman Will Be Toning Down the Ears
Behold, the first official picture of the new Batsuit for the Batman vs. Superman sequel! Theoretically, that’s Ben Affleck under the cowl.
Batman hates color
I like it! I like the shorter ears. I like the toughness of the costume. I like that it looks more like his traditional costume than some highly detailed, interconnected armor like from the Dark Knight trilogy. I hope we get to see a clearer picture eventually, but as for this first image, Tweeted by director Zack Snyder, I like it!
For an even better look, check out this Reddit thread where a guy colorized the photo to get a much clearer image!
And what’s that in the background? It’s the Batmobile! Snyder posted this picture yesterday.
Dat ass
I like the look of the Batmobile too.
So yeah, even though I really didn’t like Man of Steel, I’m digging all this Batman stuff.
Now then…give us Robin!
Cyborg Cast in New Superman/Batman Movie
This casting news has come out of left field, but Broadway actor Ray Fisher has been cast as Cyborg in the upcoming Man of Steel sequel. Variety reported the news yesterday. I’ve never heard of the guy, but the people who cast Ben Affleck as Batman and Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor seem to think he’s their man.
Not quite the $6 million man
So what started out as just a sequel to last year’s successful Superman movie is suddenly turning into Justice League Lite. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. I think it’s a great idea. The Superman sequel now has Batman, Wonder Woman and Cyborg in it. I’m just upset that nobody has announced Robin yet for the movie!
For those who don’t know, Cyborg is Vic Stone, a member of the most recent Justice League. He’s basically just a cyborg, a guy who’s body was enhanced with robotic parts. The article says he won’t be a big part of the movie, but obviously, at this point, we can all see that Warner Bros. and DC Comics are gearing up for a full-on Justice League movie. More power to them. I didn’t like Man of Steel, so cramming a bunch of other awesome superheroes into the sequel might make up for it.
Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Jeremy Irons as Alfred; The World is What It Is
Breaking news in the world of superhero movie casting: Warner Bros. announced today that Jesse Eisenberg has been cast as Lex Luthor, and Jeremy Irons will be Alfred in the upcoming Superman vs. Batman movie. This is the kind of news that’s going to send fanboys foaming at the mouth. And after casting Ben Affleck as Batman, the fanboys are already up in arms about this flick.
Personally? I’m cool with it.
Eisenberg, of course, famously playing Mark Zuckerberg in that Facebook movie, whose name escapes me. But he was awesome in that film, and how much you want to bet that performance is what landed him the role of Lex Luthor? He’s going to be a young, smarmy, too-smart-for-his-own-good sort of Luthor. I’ll grant you, he doesn’t really give Luthor any gravitas, and Eisenberg probably isn’t very imposing, but so what? I think it’s easy to see what the studio is going for here, and I think they can make it work.
Though he’ll probably look like a twerp bald.
Speaking of bald.
Of course, Jeremy Irons is Jeremy Irons. No explanation necessary. He’ll probably do as good a job as anybody.
Here’s what Director Zack Snyder said today, officially:
“Lex Luthor is often considered the most notorious of Superman’s rivals, his unsavory reputation preceding him since 1940. What’s great about Lex is that he exists beyond the confines of the stereotypical nefarious villain. He’s a complicated and sophisticated character whose intellect, wealth and prominence position him as one of the few mortals able to challenge the incredible might of Superman. Having Jesse in the role allows us to explore that interesting dynamic, and also take the character in some new and unexpected directions.” The director added, “As everyone knows, Alfred is Bruce Wayne’s most trusted friend, ally and mentor, a noble guardian and father figure. He is an absolutely critical element in the intricate infrastructure that allows Bruce Wayne to transform himself into Batman. It is an honor to have such an amazingly seasoned and gifted actor as Jeremy taking on the important role of the man who mentors and guides the guarded and nearly impervious façade that encapsulates Bruce Wayne.”
I’m down with both of these casting decisions. Bring’em on.
Now hurry up and cast Dick Grayson already!
Henchman-4-Hire 