Star Trek Beyond News Round-Up

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Edited by Robert Beach

Each summer season brings its own crop of questions for the blockbuster season. This year, we had questions like “can WB finally get its act together to make good movie?” (so far: no); “can Marvel produce a movie that’s part solo outing and part Avengers flick and have it work?” (yes) “is there enough ‘90s nostalgia for a new Independence Day? (a definite no)”

One of the few questions still looming over the season is whether or not Paramount’s Star Trek franchise can finally escape the ghetto of directionless mediocrity it’s been stranded in since the 2009 reboot. After Star Trek Into Darkness’s underperformed and lackluster audience response, the “Paramount” forces brought in Justin Lin to try and revive the Trek magic and bring the series back to the dynamite franchise it was 20 years ago. That attempt is Star Trek Beyond, and it’s coming later this month. Let’s see what we know. 

Static Thoughts - Teen Titans Go!

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Edited by Robert Beach 

I am an unapologetically huge fan of Teen Titans Go.  Cartoon Network’s third shot at the Teen Titans franchise through this latest reboot is an unquestionable win, my favorite adaptation of these characters, and honestly one of the funniest superhero spoofs produced.  And yet, I feel bizarrely alone in my love for Teen Titans Go.  

Whenever the show comes up in conversation the universal response seems to be a wistful sigh of disappointment that I wasn’t talking about the 2003 TV show or Young Justice.  Why is this?  I’m not saying the previous incarnations were bad but the fact there were beloved previous versions of a thing didn’t stop us from loving Batman: The Brave and The Bold or even the upcoming Lego Batman movie.  Why is Teen Titans Go so overlooked by so many?

Film Land - The Future of DC Films

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Edited by Robert Beach

There’s no denying that the comic book superhero is the dominant culture myth of the 2010s.  Ever since the double-barreled blast of greatness that 2008’s Iron Man and Dark Knight the genre has risen to greater and greater heights, dominating the foreign and domestic box office, making a massive mark on the national psyche, and making name heroes out of obscurities like Ant-Man or the Guardians of the Galaxy.  All of this makes it even more bizarre that WB, the people who own DC Comics and thus half of the entire collection of viable superhero properties, have had such a difficult time turning their huge library of IP into quality films or solvent blockbusters. 

For whatever reason, WB has yet to turn out a good superhero film this decade, instead handing in a series of embarrassing failures like Green Lantern, Dark Knight Rises, Man of Steel, and most recently Batman v. Superman.  Things seem to be changing however as WB has recently released a whole sweep of information about their plans for the rest of the decade.  Could this single an end to years of failure and the beginning of a DC movieverse to rival Marvel?  Let’s see. 

Ghostbusters News Round-Up

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Edited by Robert Beach

At the time of writing, we are just a little over 2 weeks out from this summer’s new Ghostbusters film. As we’ve barreled full speed towards the all-women Ghostbusters remake, we’ve had a whole slew of trailers, posters, and behind-the-scenes images about the new film, all of which seems to indicate we’re in for a pretty fun movie. While maybe not the equal of the original, it will be a fun summer distraction and a new merchandising juggernaut for the much-in-need Sony Pictures. 

Of course, this build-up has also been accompanied by a cacophony of online whining about the reboot somehow ruining the source material or being an affront against nature; all of it is complete hogwash. Given that, this news round-up on what we know about the movie so far is going to be focused on just the facts, rather dive into the Internet outcry about how this latest reboot ruined everybody’s childhood.  

Panel Vision - Canadian Superheroes Guide

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For those who don’t know, this Friday is Canada Day, the day America’s lovable northern neighbors celebrate their nation’s founding.  I’ve elected to celebrate this most auspicious holiday early with a look at the various superheroes of Canada that have come out of Marvel Comics.  I’m focusing solely on Marvel for this guide because there really aren’t any Canadian superheroes in the DC roster.  

If they do exist, and I’m not sure they do, they haven’t been represented in any of the major international superhero groups like the Global Guardians or Batman Inc., which most likely means they’re a one-off character like Louisiana’s “King Billy” superhero.  Marvel, on the other hand, has an entire team of Canadian heroes with a vast and expanding roster.  So let’s take a look at proud protectors to the North with your guide to Canadian superheroes. 

Panel Vision - The Case for a Batman Movie Universe

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As I write this we are approximately one month out from the Suicide Squad movie upon which DC and WB have hung their collective hopes for a cinematic universe.  We’re all still reeling from the sucker punch that was Batman v. Superman ending up something closer to a fever dream farce than a solvent blockbuster and even though the slow drip of new information on WB’s prospective slate of future superhero blockbusters has been encouraging there’s a lot of uncertainty going forward. 

It’s starting to seem more and more like Batman films really are the only superhero movies that WB can actually do well, a concept which got me thinking.  If WB is so committed to its Batman franchise they’re willing to constantly run back to the Bat well when things get rough, why not just cut out the middleman and produce a Batman shared movie universe. 

Static Thoughts - Game of Thrones Season 6

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Edited by Robert Beach

And so another season of Game of Thrones comes to a close. In this year’s latest installment of everybody’s favorite fantasy soap opera, we learned secret origins, saw shocking resurrections, epic battles, and the demise of somewhere around half the remaining cast. While I came down very hard on season 5, I'm more inclined towards leniency on season 6. There are still problems, astronomical problems (if we’re being honest), but for the most part, I’ve more or less come to terms with the show Games of Thrones wants to be as we start the long slow march towards the final 15 episodes. 

Every work of art must be judged on some level by the intent of its creation, and it’s become fairly obvious that Game of Thrones just isn’t intended as a complex, character-driven thriller the way it was when the series started. Instead, the show has adopted a new identity that of shallow ‘girl power’ fantasy. I maintain that the show is broken in a lot of fundamental ways, but it does succeed on its own terms as being a power fantasy. 

Gotham S3 Adds 7 New Characters

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Edited by Robert Beach

As we continue to burn through the summer, casting news has begun to filter through about this falls’ collection of superhero shows and next year’s new crop of superhero films. We’re focusing on the former today. For a nice change of pace, we’re looking at one of the only superhero shows currently out that isn’t part of the Disney Empire or the CWniverse: Gotham. 

Gotham, for those who don’t know, is Fox’s Batman prequel show, set when Bruce Wayne was still a child and had just lost his parents and around Lieutenant Gordon’s slow rise to Commissioner. The show’s had its ups and downs, mostly downs, and the latest season was marked by a seriously bizarre downturn in quality control as the show dived head first into as many big, flashy superhero elements and Easter eggs as it could muster. Now, with the third season looming, Gotham has added 7 new characters (mostly villains) to its line up as it continues to try and find its feet.

Cover Story - Top 13 Justice League Europe Covers

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For those not following current events, I write this Cover Story in the wake of the UK’s landmark bad decision to leave the European Union.  This isn’t a series about politics (though lord knows that’s never stopped me before) so I’m not going to devote this page to the plethora of ways in which this is a monumentally bad thing for everyone involved.  Instead, I’ve decided to focus on a nostalgic look back at happier times for Europe and for myself with one of my all time favorite comic books: Justice League Europe.

Running from 1989 to 1993, Justice League Europe is my exhibit A in my argument that ‘90s comics didn’t suck.  It was essentially a spin-off of the very popular 1987 comic Justice League International, an effort by authors Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis to bring the DCU into a more multicultural age.  This was the era when genuine comedy and flawed humanity were introduced to the DCU and it remains one of the most creative, fun, and enjoyable eras in the company’s history.  

Justice League Europe followed in those same footsteps, adopting the ingenuous and hilarious central gimmick of being the superhero team equivalent of Euro Disneyland.  It’s funny, it’s dramatic, it’s action packed, it’s Justice League Europe; and with that said, let’s dive into the shallow end and get the cover story on the top 13 covers.

Panel Vision - Superman & The Legion of Superheroes

Edited by Robert Beach 

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As I currently write this, the political world is in something of a weird place. Honestly, “weird” feels like an understatement. American politics are blighted by vicious strains of white supremacy and xenophobia; the world is still gripped in the midst of a refugee crisis, and the UK is deciding whether or not it wants to drop out of the EU (Editor's Note: they did). It’s a tumultuous time, and the elements of racism, hatred, and general petty bigotry that inform the political climate are hard to ignore. 

While all of this is an issue to be dealt with through political action, it’s also a massively stressful and emotionally taxing ordeal to live with. The situation that fiction can exist to reflect and give us some semblance of ease through. And where some of the ugliest beliefs and ideologies of humanity can rear their head with pride and a legitimate chance at power, there’s no greater fictional reflection of our current state than Superman and the Legion of Superheroes.

Comics Rainbow - Invasion!

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So, this Friday marks the premiere of Independence Day: Resurgence and the return of the seminal alien invasion film to the big screen.  It’s a pretty major event, both as a major summer blockbuster and as an indicator of the growing force of nostalgia for the ‘90s.  We’ll see if the Independence Day lightning can really strike twice but for right now let’s talk about alien invasions in comics.  

The alien invasion is the perfect set-up for the world of the superhero and while both DC and Marvel have thrown together an impressive array of alien takeovers, today we focus on those from DC comics.  There’s no real reason I’m emphasizing DC, they’re just the company I’m most familiar with.  DC has a vast history of alien invasions, some of them amazing, some mediocre, and some absolutely terrible and today we’re going to get the full spectrum on all of them.

12 Series Telltale Should Adapt Next

Edited by Robert Beach 

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Another E3 has come to an end, and even though I’m not a video game blog (I leave that for my day job), I am a citizen of the Internet. Thus, I am aware of the goings on in the nerd domain.  There wasn’t much comic book-related stuff coming out of this E3, but we did see some interesting stuff about Telltale Games’s new Batman game.  

While many folks love their morality test set-up, I had trouble contextualizing it before I realized what kind of games I’d like to see it deployed in. I’m more on board with Telltale now compared to the past, even though I’m not a big fan of them doing a Batman game.  As such, I came up with 12 series that would really benefit from a Telltale game; let us list them. 

Nick Zano cast as Citizen Steel in Legends of Tomorrow

Edited by Robert Beach 

Awhile back, I posted a piece about what Hourman and the Justice Society of America could mean for Legends of Tomorrow season 2. Though there are a lot of possibilities, the most likely outcome I came to was to expect more Justice Society members to pop up in Legends of Tomorrow season 2. Now, we have our first confirmation that this will be happening with the casting of Nick Zano as Nathan Heywood AKA Citizen Steel.  

Much like Hourman, Citizen Steel is one of the members of the C-list JSA members that make up the team’s rank and file without being powerful enough to strain CW’s FX budget. The most complex thing about this guy is his star-spangled costume, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s dive into comics history to find out who is Citizen Steel.

Martin Starr & Logan Marshall Good join Spider-Man: Homecoming

Edited By Robert Beach 
Damn, it must be casting season as this is the 4^th recent article I’ve written about casting news. If you haven’t been following the slow drip of casting news coming out of Marvel/Sony’s latest Spider-Man blockbuster, here’s the deal. 

We were all introduced to the new Spider-Man, Tom Holland, earlier this year during his star-making turn in Captain America: Civil War. Since then, Sony has slowly been announcing casting for his solo film Spider-Man: Homecoming, most notably with Michael Keaton, the original Batman, signed up. More recently Donald Glover, of Community and The Martian, was rumored to be playing a role in the film much to the Internet’s engagement. 

Now, two new names have joined the cast list in the form of Logan Marshall Good, of Prometheus and The Invitation, and Martin Starr, of Party Down and Silicon Valley.

Josh Segarra Cast as Vigilante in Arrow S5

Edited by Robert Beach 

Yesterday, I talked about how CW is approaching the question of what to do with Arrow now that it’s been more or less eclipsed by its adjacent series. My suggestion was that CW is modeling Arrow after Daredevil, bringing in 2^nd rate villains of more popular heroes like Ras Al Ghul and now introducing violent vigilantes ala Punisher in the form of Wild Dog.  

Well, CW seems to be doubling down on this approach by adding a second violent, street-level vigilante to the mix in the form of Adrian Chase, played by Josh Segarra. Much like Wild Dog, Chase is a low-rent Punisher knock-off from the ‘80s with possibly the most uninspired superhero name and gimmick of all time. He’s a hero so lame and non-descript his name is just a synonym for crime buster for he is…the Vigilante. 

Comics Rainbow - Amazons

Today is the 75^th anniversary of Wonder Woman, THE premiere female character in the biggest genre on the planet right now.  That’s a pretty big milestone and an aptly timed one at that.  After decades trying to reclaim the place in the public eye she enjoyed during her hit ‘70s TV show’s run, Wonder Woman is finally returning to the public eye thanks to the premiere of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman in this year’s Batman v. Superman.  

Now Dawn of Justice was a travesty but Wonder Woman was actually a good part of it and Gadot’s upcoming Wonder Woman solo film is shaping up to be a major blast, so to celebrate this milestone I thought we’d get the full spectrum on the various Amazonian heroes and characters’ that’ve peppered DC’s history. 

Arrow Adds Rick Gonzalez as Wild Dog

Edited by Robert Beach 

How do you solve a problem like Arrow?  That might seem disingenuous given Arrow is the show that kicked off the CW-verse, a vast miasma of interconnected television shows that spans 4 series and a huge amount of characters; the likes we haven’t seen since the Star Trek triple threat of Next Generation, Deep Space 9, and Voyager in the late ‘90s, but hear me out.  As important as Arrow was to the origins of the CW-verse, there’s no denying at this point the show’s been outpaced by its own spin-offs. 

The Flash rushed ahead to become a massive favorite; Legends of Tomorrow brought superhero team action to life in a way never thought possible, and Supergirl is the best live-action adaptation of the Superman mythos since Superman 2. Arrow has little to do now, especially now that Ras Al Ghul has receded from the series’ emphasis. So how do you keep a show like Arrow relevant and interesting without just trying to rip-off Batman (like in seasons 1 and 2)? Well, obviously you do what worked in season 3, Arrow’s best season; you rip-off Daredevil.

Donald Glover to join Spider-Man: Homecoming

Edited by Robert Beach

Ever since the first casting announcements, there’s been a swirl of controversy around Marvel’s upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming. In many ways, the critiques levied against the joint Sony/Marvel film have been a long time coming. Superhero films, overall, have been greatly lacking diversity since Blade stopped being a worthwhile name, and the Spider-Man franchise, in particular, has always lacked for any representation. 
Even the Marvel films, which are dominated by straight white men, made some space for characters of color in the supporting cast, but there hasn’t been one major character of color in all 5 of the Spider-Man movies. The point was further compounded by the continuing popularity of Miles Morales, the black/latino Spider-Man of Marvel’s Ultimate Comics, who recently became part of the main universe. 

Add in the brewing anger over whitewashing in Doctor Strange or the Iron Fist casting, and it’s not surprising people were pretty upset with Tom Holland taking the spot as Peter Parker. However, all of that is poised to change as now Marvel has announced Donald Glover, a massive fan and animated voice of Miles Morales Spider-Man, is joining Spider-Man: Homecoming. 

Film Land - What's Next for The Conjuring?

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This weekend marked the return of Ed and Lorraine Warren to the box office scene with The Conjuring 2.  The follow up to 2013’s shock horror smash dominated the box office over the weekend, crushing Warcraft in totals, and cementing The Conjuring as the latest dynamite horror franchise of the 2010s alongside Insidious and The Purge. 

Given that monster success and the low cost of the films to produce, a spin-off film entitled The Nun is already in production and a 3^rd film is entering the discussion phase.  However, a third movie would raise a lot of questions this time around in terms of setting, antagonist, characters, plot, and creative team.  Thankfully, I’ve broken these issues down into 6 central questions about what’s next for the Conjuring films. 

Static Thoughts - Justice League: A Better World

Edited by Robert Beach 

So the popular DC comics fighting game Injustice is officially getting a sequel, and the first trailer and gameplay footage are now dropping. Your excitement over this fact may vary based on whether or not you thought Injustice was a super hardcore, awesome experience or a sludgy fighter with junky controls, flaccid character design, and a story that started at ‘outwardly moronic’ and just got worse as it went along. 

I’m in the latter category (Can you tell?), so I’m not terribly enthralled by the prospect of MORE Injustice. The new game looks to be aping the worst aspects of Destiny’s bizarre quasi-freemium set-up. Instead, let’s talk about the story that “inspired” Injustice. By inspired, I mean Injustice ripped it off wholesale while draining the characterization and nuance. Let’s talk about the best episode of the animated Justice League series, and the best version of the “superheroes take over” story; let’s talk about "A Better World."

Justice League Action Character Roster Revealed

Edited by Robert Beach 

By now, you might’ve heard there’s a new Justice League animated series in the works called Justice League Action. Even though there hasn’t been an official Justice League show since the end of Justice League Unlimited, the team has been represented in subsequent media like The Batman, Batman: Brave and the Bold, and Young Justice.  

This new show will, apparently, be taking the team in a new direction, looking to bridge the gap between Justice League Unlimited and Batman: Brave and the Bold’s emphasis on obscure characters and the more cartoony and wacky animation styles of current superhero hit Teen Titans Go. Not much is known about the show, but we seem to have a tentative character line-up in the form of a character sheet leaked from the folks working on the series.

Static Thoughts - 10 Possible Villains for Arrow Season 5

Edited by Robert Beach 

If there is one worthwhile name in DC comic adaptations in the 2010s, it’s the CW. By this point, they’ve created 2 incredibly great shows with The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow that perfectly adapt their respective source materials and are now taking on the responsibility of a 3^rd great show with Supergirl. Unfortunately, all that excellence raises the question of what happens to CW’s original superhero show Arrow.  

Love it or hate it, Arrow is just treading water, an adjunct to a universe that no longer needs it. So far, the only thing that really made Arrow stand out was the inclusion of Ras Al Ghul as a new bad guy, following the Daredevil school of villain appropriation. Given that, it makes sense Arrow season 5 will keep ripping off Daredevil; this time trying to crib Daredevil season 2’s Punisher plot with a killer vigilante story of its own. Well, I’m not one to shy away from speculation. So here are 10 vigilantes we might see as the big bad of Arrow season 5.