Cover Story - Top 10 Green Arrow Covers

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Another year and another season of Arrow dear readers, almost like clockwork.  This year, to celebrate the CW superhero show that started it all I’ve elected to bite the bullet and finally dig into the best covers Green Arrow ever appeared in the DCU.  For the sake of context I’m mostly going to be drawing from what’s known as “the Long Bow” era from the 1980s as I really like the visual design of it and don’t care for the New 52 or Silver Age Green Arrow stuff quite as much, though I reserve the right to return to this particular subject matter should those other eras produce something worth digging into in greater detail.  With that said, let’s take a look at everyone’s favorite emerald-clad Batman knock-off (that’s literally his origin) with the top 10 Green Arrow comic covers.

Cover Story - Top 10 Son of Satan Covers

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Another season of Lucifer is upon us, which means I’ve another excuse to dive deep into the well of comic book devils.  Last year I took a look at the original comic Lucifer is allegedly based on so this year let’s travel across the isle to Marvel in the 1970s for that was the last time Satan was really big in pop culture, or rather bigger than being a near globally recognized shorthand for evil would imply.  Son of Satan was one of many cheeky little comics published by Marvel in the mid-'70s as part of a break with the comics code, a self-imposed industry standard of what was considered suitable to be featured in publishing.  

At the time Marvel was still very much the scrappy new kid on the comics block so loudly declaring the comics code unnecessary were part of how they were cementing their cool image of “not your dad’s superhero company,” even if their books weren’t meant to appeal to slightly older children.  So, with all that said let’s dive into the shallow end and the get cover story on the son of Satan. 

Panel Vision - Guide to All CW Superheroes

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Edited by Robert Beach

In 2012, the world of TV superheroes changed forever. That was the year CW partnered with DC to produce a new superhero show after the success of their 10-year Smallville series. The show was called Arrow, and it wasn’t good. And yet, it persisted, and, in 2014, it spawned a spin-off show with The Flash. Then, in late 2014, everything changed with the first annual Flash/Arrow crossover. Suddenly, both shows were changed out stripped-down realism, empty cynicism, and minimal ambition. Grandiose vision, weird sci-fi exuberance, and an attempt to emulate the sprawling expanse of the Marvel Universe in the realm of TV took hold. 

This led to a third TV show of Legends of Tomorrow and a crossover with NBC’s Constantine. Finally, the little experiment CW started gave birth to its crown jewel: Supergirl, a hit family adventure series that has become THE version of the Superman mythos for a generation. Given that all 5 shows of the CW universe (CWniverse, CW-verse) are on a break (or canceled in Constantine’s case), I’ve taken it upon myself to make this semi-chronological guide to all 37 superheroes of the CWniverse. Yes, pull up a chair. 

Panel Vision - Fury: My War Gone By

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Today marks the return of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, the first major Marvel show on a network.    This year’s premiere of Marvel’s super-spy series comes with a big dollop of serendipity as it’s hot on the heels of the first new Nick Fury comic book to hit stands since the ‘90s.  Given the situation and the fact I’ve meant to write about this for a while now, I’ve elected to look at the best Nick Fury comic book yet written- My War Gone By.  

I briefly discussed it back in my look at Nick’s many iterations and again while going over his best comic covers, now the time has come at least to tackle it head on and believe me, this is a long overdue review.  Aside from fitting into the double SHIELD theme of this week My War Gone By fits the much broader tone of this moment in American history.  

It’s a vast, complex, sobering cold war story of one soldier’s march through history and towards oblivion, the way we make war, and what drives the American identity- just the thing to read as we begin our own inevitable march towards oblivion. 

Panel Vision - History of the Justice League HQ

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So, over the weekend we got yet another pic leaked from the upcoming Justice League movie.  I briefly considered doing a full write-up on the picture but honestly I don’t have enough material in the anti-DCEU tank anymore to pull it off.  Anything I might say now I’ve already said- the design palette is ugly, the actors look lost,  and the scale of the film seems small and drab.  However, the picture did get me thinking about the Justice League’s headquarters.  

While I’m not keen of the shipping container the DCEU seem to be operating out of it’s not that far from the team’s first HQ in canon, certainly no more so than CW’s unused hall/hangar of justice from their ‘Invasion’ crossover event.  Given that the League’s always had a cooler history of headquarters than the Avengers, who’ve always just lived in Tony Stark’s house, I figure now’s as good a time as any to dive into the history of Justice League headquarters.

 

Static Thoughts - 4 Questions About Supergirl S2B

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Supergirl season 1 was a fun but mixed bag of episodes that did a lot to set the tone of the series.  Its biggest job was planting the show’s flag on exactly what kind of adaptation of Supergirl it wanted to be.  I’ve been over this before, but Supergirl has had a ton of different iterations that the show could’ve chosen and it really didn’t go with any of them.  Instead, they opted for primarily a gender-swapped version of the Superman animated series, making the cornerstone adventures of the Superman mythos about Kara instead of her cousin.  

Now, season 2 has taken that starting point and turned in a knock-out series about the journey of the immigrant in America that could not be more prescient to our current political climate.  All of that is where the series comes from, but I want to talk about where it’s going, which leads me to my 4 questions about Supergirl Season 2B: Spoilers to Follow. 

Will Luthor Join the Justice League?

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Recently, it’s been announced that in addition to the 7 Leaguers and the villain Steppenwolf, 2017’s Justice League film will feature Lex Luthor.  That actually makes a lot of sense, even if the idea never really occurred to anyone before the announcement.  Technically speaking Justice League will form the third leg of Zack Snyder’s DC trilogy so it makes sense he’d bring back Luthor from Dawn of Justice to really close things off.  What’s more, Luthor’s vague connection to the New Gods in that film, as suggested by his closing monolog, means he’s the only human currently on Earth with any knowledge of the infinitely powerful celestial beings.  

I’m not sure if he’ll end up in his classic green and purple power armor or if he’ll just be on hand for information but outwardly there’s enough there to justify this choice.  However, things are a little strange with Lex Luthor, especially lately and especially in the comics.  There’s been a trend with him recently towards heroism that has me wondering: will Lex Luthor join the Justice League? 

7 Cameos to Expect in Wonder Woman

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So far, the DCEU has been pretty terrible.  Even if you liked Man of Steel or Suicide Squad for some ungodly reason, there’s no denying that WB has had a serious problem tapping into the same level of mass popularity Marvel has mustered.  By the same token, the DCEU has come off a lot more scattershot than the competition, with the slow march towards Justice League hampered by the producers regularly hitting the restart button on what the big story should be.  

That means that Wonder Woman will have yet another thankless task in addition to being the first woman-led superhero film of the modern era and needing to turn around the DCEU trend of making terrible movies.  Now, Wonder Woman will also have to be setting pieces in motion for future films like Shazam, Justice League, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman 2.  Given that, I’ve come up with a list of 7 character cameos that I think we can expect from Wonder Woman. 

Cover Story - Top 15 Werewolf By Night Covers

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Earlier in the week I mused on the way vampires didn’t truly survive their popular peak during the transition years from the 2000s to the 2010s.  I considered making a similar opening but about werewolves but when you get down to it, I can’t say werewolves were ever as popular as vampires.  The biggest standard bearer for the werewolf genre in the modern era is probably Teen Wolf and good though that show is I had to check to make sure it was still ongoing.  My point is that it didn’t come with the same impactful popularity as Twilight/True Blood/Vampire Diaries. 

No, the true last hurrah for the werewolf was the ‘70s, when films like American Werewolf in London were redefining the subgenre.  In that spirit and because I want to double cash-in on Underworld: Blood Wars, I’m taking a look at Marvel’s big hit werewolf book of the era- Werewolf By Night.  This was seriously one of Marvel’s most successful horror comics alongside Tomb of Dracula, running about half the decade and spawning characters that persist to this day like Moon Knight.  It’s a fun dive into the weird blend of comic book spookiness, early horror-xploitation aesthetics, and superhero storytelling that we’re going to honor here today. 

Panel Vision - 8 Speedsters to Expect on The Flash

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One thing that’s become apparent after 3 ½ seasons of CW’s The Flash is that the show probably isn’t going to stop introducing speedsters anytime soon.  That’s a little disappointing but also fairly understandable.  Super speed special FX are actually relatively easy to realize nowadays, and the fact they have to make them anyway means making additional ones for the bad guys that much easier.  

At the same time, The Flash has also managed to avoid the trap of just making evil versions of its hero, with villains like Reverse Flash and Savitar working as unique entities while fellow heroes like Jay Garrick and Kid Flash working as real standouts.  Given that speedster obsession along with the new frontiers the show’s opened up with time travel to the future and accessing the Multiverse, I’ve compiled a list of 8 speedsters we could expect to see next on The Flash. 

What the Spear of Destiny means for Legends of Tomorrow

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If you’re watching Legends of Tomorrow, the mid-season finale this year revealed a pretty significant plot point for both the show and the CWniverse as a whole.  It was shown that this season’s villains, the Legion of Doom, are in search of the Spear of Destiny, an incredibly powerful mystic artifact.  They explain in the episode that the Spear, more commonly known as the Spear of Longinus, is the same Spear that the Roman soldier used to pierce the side of Christ during the crucifixion. 

That fact has afforded it tremendous power, though Legends of Tomorrow was a little unclear what that power was.  Though the Spear of Longinus is a real world artifact of note, it also has a long and storied history in DC comics that hints at some major shake-ups and new additions to the Legends’ roster. 

Static Thoughts - Remain Indoors

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As I write this, the world is a scary place.  Fascism is globally on the rise, the ice caps are melting, the incoming President of the US seems shockingly okay with throwing nuclear weapons around like candy- it’s easy to see us marching headfirst into some kind of apocalypse.  Luckily for us, we can at least have a bit of a chuckle at our impending doomsday as the end of times has actually provided quite a bit of fodder for comedy.  

More recently you’ve had hits like The World’s End, or This is the End and even the show Last Man on Earth all trying to find the humor in mankind’s great disaster.  Personally, though, my favorite comedy take on what to expect after humanity experiences its final night comes from the British sketch comedy duo Mitchell and Webb in a reoccurring segment from their 3^rd and 4^th seasons entitled ‘Remain Indoors,’ about a game show being broadcast in the wake of the apocalypse. 

Film Land - Blockbusters According to Comics 2016

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It’s no secret that I love superhero comic books, but part of what I like about them is that there’s so much variety to the material.  That’s part of why I’m not surprised superheroes have grown into the state religion of big budget blockbusters at this point in time.  It’s a genre that includes everything from space opera to spy thriller to irreverent comedy so it only makes sense that it would be perfectly situated to cater to the changing trends and tastes of a modern audience.  

That idea is what’s fueled my now yearly custom of looking at the year’s biggest success stories and trying to find the comic book answer to those properties.  Last year this was more aimed at films but as 2016 was a little light on big, impactful movies I’ve broadened that subject to include some major TV success as well.  With that said, let’s dive into the subject and find out what 2016’s blockbusters look like according to comics. 

Comics Rainbow - Vampires

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Vampires; there’s a trend that really didn’t manage to survive the decade.  I’m not saying we don’t have vampire stories anymore, in fact, the upcoming release of the 5^th Underworld film is the entire reason I elected to dedicate this article to the subject.  But in a much more pointed way vampires just aren’t the cultural draw they were in that window of transition from 2007-2010.  

You can probably blame Twilight for that, as it both catalyzed vampires as a popular craze while also poisoning the well for all future vampire stories- hence why most of the Twilight imitators gravitated towards young adult fiction than vampires.  Still, the undead probably won’t be going away entirely given that they’ve been a staple of pop culture since Nosferatu, to the point they’ve thoroughly colonized comics as well as movies, TV, and books.  So let’s get the full spectrum on comic book vampires.

Film Land - The Future of the DCEU

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Let’s talk about the DC Entertainment Universe or DCEU as it’s known for short.  The last time I ventured into these uncharted waters I emerged with a general sense of optimism that the people being entrusted with DC projects were all good choices who could lead to a good future.  However, in the time since then, 2016 has thoroughly drained away any and all optimism I might’ve had so if you’re expecting a kind summation of how the DCEU might correct itself in days to come you’ve arrived at the wrong article. 

No, we’re going to be looking at the DCEU as it is and was it’s been promised, and that means accepting that forward is not where we’re going, and the future most certainly isn’t bright.  In fact, I’d dare hazard the guess that barring some kind of surprise mega-hit, like Avengers/Dark Knight level hit, I don’t think the DCEU will be following us all into the 2020s- here’s why. 

10 Characters Who Should Be In Gotham Sirens

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In their latest effort to stave off obsolescence and ride the meager coat tails of their decidedly meager successes, DC has chosen to produce a Gotham Sirens film, starring and produced by Margot Robbie and directed by David Ayer.  This decision most likely comes in response to the high DVD sales for Suicide Squad, which itself strikes me as an odd occurrence given the film was pretty universally disliked and also isn’t very good.  

However, I will concede that there was enough right in Suicide Squad to justify some kind of a fan base, most, in particular, being Margot Robbie and Will Smith giving their all in a film that didn’t really deserve it, hence why Deadshot is also being considered for a spin-off movie.  

While bringing Ayer in to direct a movie with women leads is exactly the kind of stupid you’d expect from studio execs that long ago stopped caring, the premise at least opens up the question of what other women villains should appear in the final film.   In that spirit, I’ve got 10 women that either should be or probably will be in the Gotham Sirens movie. 

Alien: Covenant Trailer Breakdown

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I'm kind of at a loss for words about Alien: Covenant.  There are plenty of things I could mention about the Alien series but, at this point, I’m pretty sure it’s all been said.  We’ve all heard the analysis of how the first film is about rape and sexual terror, we’ve all praised Aliens as one of the truly greater horror sequels, we’ve all searched for quality in Alien 3, and shamefully hidden our enjoyment of Alien Resurrection. 

We all struggled with Prometheus, a film whose failures and success seem to have most determined the path of Alien: Covenant, and we even enjoyed Alien v. Predator while also suffering through its sequel.  We’ve bought the comics and the action figures and the video games, we’ve gorged ourselves fully at the buffet of Alien.  So I guess my biggest question going into Alien: Covenant, the one thing I actually can say about it is…why do we need more, exactly?