Beginning at 1 PM EST today, DC will be launching a massive online streaming event called DC FANDOME. The free, 24 hour “experience” will feature panels for some of DC’s biggest upcoming projects. They’ve been gearing up for this for months, so we should definitely expect to hear some big announcements at the various panels. Some of the most notable segments, Wonder Woman 1984, Matt Reeves’ The Batman, James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, The Snyder Cut of Justice League and many more will all be making presentations to fans. WW 84, Batman, The Snyder Cut, and The Suicide Squad are arguably the most high profile, so those are the panels that have most excited to see.
DC FanDome is just about movies, DC‘s comic books and graphic novels, as well as some of their biggest and best TV shows. The Flash, Titans, and the upcoming new Arrowverse series, Superman & Lois, will all be part of the streaming event. This is a fascinating and ambitious move by DC. It’s a smart way to bring in new fans, while giving current fans something to get excited about.
DC has out right confirmed that we’ll definitely see new trailers, never before seen clips from their upcoming films and TV shows. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if we got our first real look at footage from The Batman or James Gunn‘s The Suicide Squad. DC even has one or two surprise panels scheduled, that they’ve somehow managed to keep secrets from rabid fans.
Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if they made some official announcement about Ben Affleck returning as Batman and in what capacity. Maybe Henry Cavill will show up to announce Man of Steel 2? Both are pretty reasonable possibilities, but who knows? I’ve only touched on a few scheduled showcases. This is definitely a must watch for any DC fan.
When you go to the DC FanDome website, you’ll see that the different panels and presentations are broken up into categories, so there really is something for everyone over the whole 24 hour. And they will be holding encore presentations of their biggest panels later in the evening. If you’re interested, but somehow unable to watch it tomorrow, there will be a on-demand style encore experience on September 12. Here’s the link to check it out yourself…
The full event schedule is available on the DC FANDOME website
Thanks for listening! Follow me on Twitter @PJWrightWBM or type Worlds Best Media into the search bar, you can also like and follow us on our Facebook page; World’s Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!
I’m really looking forward to the Zack Snyder cut of Justice League premiering on HBO Max next year. The more I hear about it the more I’m excited by it. Zack Snyder is a very polarizing figure among fans, personally, I find much more to like in Zack Snyder‘s work than there is to dislike. I love Man of Steel and though it’s a very flawed film, I love Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Based on some statements made by Snyder in recent interviews, it sounds like this project is more of a remake of Justice League than a director’s cut. Snyder has said he’s not using any of the material that Joss Whedon shot and the current runtime of The Snyder Cut is around 4 hours. I don’t know if HBO Max is going to release this as one big piece of content or divide it into a miniseries, but the bottom line is there is going to be a shit load of new stuff in this movie. New characters, new storylines, major scenes playing out completely differently.
A bad ass fan made poster for The Snyder Cut
A recent clip from The Snyder Cut that was released online is a perfect example of what I’m talking about. The scene involved Superman visiting Alfred after his resurrection, to get the information he needed to help the rest of The League win the day against Steppenwolf and his forces from Apokolips. The key difference in this new clip is Superman‘s wearing his iconic post-resurrection, black costume, which is a cool call back to The Death and Return of Superman storyline from the original comic books. In a recent interview, Zack Snyder said that Warner Bros. was vehemently against a black suited Superman, but to keep his options open, he shot the scene with a version of the Superman suit with the traditional red and blue, but the colors and the tone were slightly different from other red and blue suits that were used. This was done because those slightly different color tones are easier to change in post-production using VFX. Now Snyder could go back and change the color of the costume to a sort of “ash” grey cape and Superman emblem, on a black body suit. I posted the short clip below. It’s a small, but cool change. And when it comes to sneak peeks at the upcoming “Snyder Cut”, the changes for the better don’t stop there…
One of the worst things about the theatrical cut of Justice League was it’s villain, Steppenwolf. Not only was he an uninteresting and boring character, but the CGI design was terrible. When Batman V. Superman came out, a deleted scene called “Communion” was released online that showed Lex Luthor using the Kryptonian ship to communicate with a very different looking Steppenwolf. Much cooler and much scarier. You can watch that below if you haven’t seen it:
I loved this design, Steppenwolf is one of The New Gods, a servant of Darkseid. I loved this almost demonic, monstrous take on the character. Thanks to these images released online, we know that Steppenwolf has been completely redesigned for The Snyder Cut. This is clearly much more in line with the creature we see in “Communion”. Take a look…
Zack Snyder posted this image of a WAY cooler looking Steppenwolf from The Snyder CutSteppenwolf concept artMore Steppenwolf concept art. A much cooler design, in the vein o& the “Alien” films
I thought it would be very interesting to see that same aesthetic applied to Darkseid and the other New Gods. Now, with Zack Snyder’s Justice League, it looks like I’ll get my wish. Darkseid was originally going to be the main villain of the film and with the added emphasis put on The Lord of Apokolips in the first teaser for The Snyder Cut, we should expect to see Darkseid as a prominent figure in the film. Early in the theatrical cut of Justice League, we’re show an ancient battle sequence at the beginning of Justice League, which features Amazons, Atlanteans, human armies, the old gods, and even a Green Lantern, fighting together to push back the forces of Apokolips, lead by Steppenwolf, during their first invasion of Earth. In the teaser for The Snyder Cut that I just mentioned, the invasion is now lead by Darkseid. Here’s that teaser to refresh your memory:
A low res image of Darkseid during the first Apokolips invasion of Earth
Rough concept art of Darkseid during his invasion of Earth. In his younger days, Darkseid was known as Uxas.
Interestingly, in one of his recent interviews Zack Snyder mentioned that the film won’t even be called Justice League anymore. I’m not sure what the new title will be and if the change is for legal or creative reasons, but we’ll find out sooner or later. DC is currently gearing up for a big event on August 22nd called DC FANDOME. The 24 hour online event will be showcasing DC characters and properties across all mediums. There’ll be some big announcements about upcoming DC projects in film, comics, TV, and more. We should definitely expect to get an update on The Snyder Cut in some form or another. It could be another trailer or new information, but regardless we will be comprehensively covering the DC FANDOME event here at World’s Best Media. For more on DC FANDOME, go to http://www.DCFanDome.com !
A young Darkseid battles Ares.
So are you looking forward to The Snyder Cut? Let me know you thoughts in the comments below!
This concept art shows an alternate design for the Parademons. This look will not be in the new film, it’s just a cool “what if” that I wanted to share..
Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @PJWrightWBM or type Worlds Best Media into the search bar, you can also like and follow us on our Facebook page; World’s Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!
Normally, this is the time of year when we’d be right in the middle of the San Diego Comic-Con. Some of the year’s biggest announcements about our favorite movies, TV shows, and comic books are made at this event. Unfortunately, due to the continued threat of the COVID-19 outbreak, the mega-convention couldn’t be held this year and I can’t say I blame them. Imagine it, thousands of sweaty, nerdy fans, decked out in their cosplay, in 90+ degree heat with 80% humidity, as they all walk around hacking and coughing a deadly virus on each other. Half of the attendees would be in the hospital by the end of the week. Not a pretty picture.
However, we weren’t completely left empty-handed, the folks behind the long running annual fan event, came up with Comic-Con@Home, multiple panels were live streamed online for folks to enjoy a little bit of Comic-Con from the comfort and safety of their own home. Nothing beats the real Comic-Con experience, but they still put together some very interesting panels. One of the highlights, for me at least, was the Constantine 15th Anniversary Panel. Star Keanu Reeves, producer Akiva Goldman, and director Francis Lawrence discussed the 2005 film with one of writers from Collider.
Constantine takes a trip to Hell
I want to take a minute and to give the film some context. John Constantine is easily among my top 10 favorite comic book characters. He was created by legendary comic book writer Alan Moore during his Swamp Thing run for DC and the physical inspiration for Constantine was world famous musician, Sting. The character was enough of a standout to warrant his own series from DC under their mature readers imprint, Vertigo, called Hellblazer. Constantine was sort of a con-man mage based out of London. Writers like Neil Gaiman, Garth Ennis, Brian Azzerello, and Warren Ellis have all done memorable work with the character, in fact Hellblazer was the longest running books in Vertigo’s history.
A look at John Constantine from the comics
Constantine is a little more high profile these days, appearing in both live-action and animated TV shows and films. Most notably, actor Matt Ryan has portrayed John Constantine in pretty much every appearance the character has made over the last 6 years. We first saw Ryan’s interpretation of the role in the short-lived (but cancelled too soon) Constantine TV series (2014-2015). Unlike Keanu Reeves, the British and blonde haired Matt Ryan is much more in line with the traditional depiction of John Constantine. But you can’t keep a good warlock down, and Matt Ryan reprised the role of John Constantine on Arrow and eventually became a series regular on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (these appearances retroactively made the Constantine TV series part of The Arrowverse). Ryan has also voiced the character in multiple animated films, like Justice League Dark and Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, as well as an animated miniseries. Much like Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hamill as The Joker, Matt Ryan has become the unofficial, definitive version of John Constantine in the eyes of many fans.
Matt Ryan as John Constantine
Having said all that, I think 2005’s Constantine is an extremely underrated movie that deserves more credit than it gets. On paper this movie should not work. First of all, John Constantine is one of the best comic book characters ever created and holds a lot of reverence with fans. Does Keanu Reeves sound anything the character I described above? A British, street sorcerer that looks like Sting? At the time, casting Keanu Reeves in the title role seemed like a weird and misguided choice for the movie. That’s strike one. Producer, Alkiva Goldman, has had his name attached to some truly dog shit projects over the years, including Joel Schumacher’s infamous Batman & Robin. Strike two. Finally, this beloved character was in the hands of a first time film director, who predominantly directed music videos before this movie. Strike three! But goddammit if they don’t manage to pull it off. Not only did the movie work, it was pretty damn great.
Lucifer pays John a visit. The only Soul he’d come to personally collect himself.
Despite the changes to the source material, especially the casting of Keanu Reeves and the film taking place in LA instead of London, the movie did a phenomenal job at capturing the essence of John Constantine and his world. Keanu was so good in the role that the superficial changes didn’t matter as much as you’d think. The spirit of the character was there. Reeves did a better job of inhabiting John Constantine than a lot of other actors in comic book films that seem perfectly cast from the jump. There are so many great, little moments throughout the film that show how Keanu Reeves and the filmmakers really get exactly who this guy is and what makes him tick.
The look of the film, the supporting cast, Peter Stormare as Lucifer, are just a few examples of what makes this movie an underrated gem. I definitely recommend checking out the full panel, which you can watch right here:
It sounds like Keanu is up for a sequel, which would be pretty cool. So what do you guys think? Is Constantine an underrated classic? Or am I nuts and it’s a piece of shit? Let me know in the comments below.
Constantine, Papa Midnite (Djimon Hounsou), and Chas (Shia LaBeouf)
Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @PJWrightWBM or type Worlds Best Media into the search bar, you can also like and follow us on our Facebook page; World’s Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!
A few new trailers for upcoming Netflix projects dropped this week (one returning series and one film). They both look pretty cool. I had some brief thoughts that I wanted to share about them and you can take a look at some images and the trailers for yourself below…
Project Power
Until movie theaters open again, God knows when, because of the massive shit show that is the Coronavirus outbreak, we’re going to have to settle for getting of Summer Movie fix through streaming services. This is the time of the year when the biggest, most expensive, and insane Hollywood Blockbusters are supposed to come out! At least Netflix and a few of the other streaming services have put out a few solid summer action movies. I particularly enjoyed The Old Guard starring Charlize Theron (here’s my review to refresh you’re memory: https://best-media-world.com/2020/07/14/movie-review-the-old-guard/ ). Now we have Project Power starring Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon Levitt. The idea of a dangerous street drug that temporarily grants super powers is nothing new in superhero storytelling. So this movie isn’t exactly reinventing the wheel. But there were enough interesting and cool visuals to make want to check it out when it hits Netflix on 8/14/20. Check out the trailer:
EW.com had some cool images from the movie, which I have posted here…
Lucifer Season 5:
When Lucifer premiered on Fox a few years back, I absolutely hated the concept. You see, THISversion of Lucifer first appeared as a recurring in the classic comic book series, The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. The character was popular and interesting enough to get his own critically acclaimed, spin-off comic book series, Lucifer created by Mike Carey. Both books were very dark and adult, so they were published by DC Comics under the legendary Vertigo imprint. Vertigo was kind of like HBO for comic books, meaning the creators were able to do whatever they damn well pleased without censorship (for the most part anyway…). Classic comic books like Preacher, 100 Bullets, Fables, and Ex Machina were all published under Vertigo. To be clear, the Lucifer TV series is an adaptation of that version of the character, when I saw that FOX’s take was essentially a police procedural like Bones, Monk, Castle, or Elementary and the THOUSANDS of other shows just like them, I was disgusted. These shows all have the same formula: a straight laced detective is forced to partnered with a quirky and unique individual, whose unorthodox gimmick is shockingly effective at solving crimes (Oh, and of course they’ll eventually fall in love after years of “Will They/Wont They?”, romantic and sexual tension)! That might as well be describing 30 other stupid fucking shows on TV. After seeing the pilot, there was nothing to convince me that this was anything but Lucifer, in name only. Just another dumb procedural. Why the fuck would The Devil want to solve mysteries with the LAPD? However, it managed to gathered a cult following and I kept hearing that the show was pretty good and a lot of fun. When the show moved to Netflix for its fourth season, I decided to give it shot and binge watched entire series so far. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the hell out of it (and NO, that wasn’t a pun! I don’t do puns, goddammit!). As the show continues, the police element is still there, but the series has gotten more and more into the mythology of other Angels, Demons, Lucifer discovering more about himself, Hell, God, and more. The show is at its best when it focuses on those story elements. Their ace in the hole is Tom Ellis who plays Lucifer. The guy is so damned charismatic and fun to watch. We haven’t seen a version of The Devil quite like this one yet and Tom Ellis absolutely crushes it. Even a weak episode is still entertaining because of Tom Ellis’ performance. The series was originally planned to wrap up after it’s upcoming 5th season, but the show has proved to be so popular that Netflix ordered more episodes, extending Season 5 (which will now be split in 2-parts). Not only are fans getting more episodes for this new season, but Netflix has already ordered a 6th season. It’s a good time to be a fan of this series. Check out the trailer below:
Lucifer Season 5 premiere on Netflix on 8/21/2020
Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @PJWrightWBM or type Worlds Best Media into the search bar, you can also like and follow us on our Facebook page; World’s Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!
So far, it’s been a fantastic year for DC Animated Movies. First, we got the excellent adaptation of the classic Superman graphic novel, Superman: Red Son. Which is one of the best movies DC Animation has put out in years. Then just a few months ago with the release of Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, which was a bleak, bloody, action packed, funny, thrill ride, that utterly destroyed the interconnected DC Animated Universe that has been spread over 11 or 12 movies. DC Animation was doing their own version of the MCU with some (but not all) of their films. and Justice League Dark: Apokolips War was the final film in that series and it was pretty fucking great. Now, we have two more DC Animated Movies to look forward to this summer and they both seem Seri promising in completely different ways. First up, we have our first look at the next DC Animated Movie, Superman: Man of Tomorrow! Take a look at the trailer right here and then I’ll give you a few of my thoughts below…
I’m really digging the vibe of this one. First of all I really like how the animation seems unique from other styles we’ve seen from DC in the past. Also, even though they say this is an original story, this is clearly an adaptation of the excellent, recent Superman miniseries, Superman: American Alien. American Alien is a fantastic graphic novel, so if this is even a loose adaptation, I’m all for it! Plus, I love seeing Superman fight villains like Lobo and Parasite. Bottom line: I’ll be buying a digital copy of this movie it hits iTunes in July. If it’s anywhere near as good as Superman: Red Son and Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, I’m sure I’ll buy the Blu-Ray, too.
Superman: Man of Tomorrow will available for digital download on 8/23 and 4K/Blu-Ray on 9/8
The second DC Animated film we can look forward to in the near future, is Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons. This originally appeared as a series of animated shorts on The CW seed app. DC Animation expanded the content and decided to release it as a feature length film, focusing on the DC Universe’s most famous and deadly assassin. Similar successful and entertaining projects have been done with John Constantine and Vixen. It looks damn pretty cool and It certainly is a sharp contrast to Superman a man of tomorrow, it certainly is a sharp contrast to Superman: Man of Tomorrow, take a look at the trailer below:
Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons will be available digitally on 8/4/20 and on 4K/Blu-Ray on 8/18/20
On this week’s episode of The World’s Best Podcast, Big Paul Sr. returns to the show for a sobering reminder of how aging can lead to a steep cognitive decline! More importantly, we cover the big news of the week: Michael Keaton may be returning to play Batman alongside Ezra Miller’s Flash, in the upcoming Flashpoint movie? The man who many people think is still the best to ever wear the cape and the cowl, returning to the role of The Dark Knight is extremely exciting!
Getting a Flash movie to the big screen has been an enormous struggle for DC and Warner Brothers. The film has already gone through multiple writers/directors and was originally scheduled for release more than two years ago. Barring anymore disasters, The Flash is going to be helmed by Andy Muschietti, who directed the recent hit horror films, IT and IT: Chapter Two. Despite all the drama behind the scenes, one thing has remain constant: The Flash film will be an adaptation of the seminal Flash storyline, Flashpoint.
Left: The Flash will be directed by Andy Muschietti, the filmmaker behind “IT” & “IT: Chapter Two”; Right: Art from Flashpoint, the story said to the focus of the upcoming Flash film.
Written by Geoff Johns with art by Andy Kubert, Flashpoint told the story of Barry Allen (The Flash) going back in time to prevent his mothers murder. However, changing this one event has dire and far reaching consequences that Barry never could have foreseen. Barry finds himself in a much darker and dangerous version of the DCU that he knows. Kind of like Back To The Future II. However, one of the most significant and interesting changes is revealed when Barry heads to Wayne Manor to seek out the help of his friend and fellow JL member, Batman. When Barry enters The Batcave, a nearly psychotic Batman attacks him. At which point Barry makes a horrifying discovery, the man underneath the bat cowl is actually Thomas Wayne, Bruce Wayne’s father! As a result of Barry‘s manipulation of the timeline, one of the major changes effected the creation of The Dark Knight on that fateful night in Crime Alley, in Gotham City all those years ago when The Wayne’s were attacked by a mugger. Bruce was now the one shot and killed, instead of his parents. So Thomas Wayne became Batman. A much more violent and unhinged Batman. Working together, Barry and Thomas Wayne set out to fix the timeline. That’s the set up.
The Batman (Thomas Wayne) of The Flashpoint timeline
This is just speculation on my part, but like a lot of comic book adaptations of specific stories, I think a lot of liberties will be taken with the source material with this Flashpoint film. A good example is Captain America: Civil War, that story was based on the miniseries Civil War and is vastly different from the source material. So what I think will happen is, maybe instead of an alternate timeline, Barry will enter an alternate universe, like the universe of Tim Burton’s Batman and that’s where he’ll meet and team up with Michael Keaton‘s Dark Knight. Maybe he travels to another alternate universe with Barry, I don’t know how it will work. But you can definitely see how they could fit Michael Keaton’s Batman into a story like this.
I know DC also wants to use Keaton in a role similar to Nick fury in the MCU, one example that’s been rumored suggests Keaton’s Batman showing up in a Batgirl movie. However, I think if DC and Warner Bros. want to do a film about a young Bat-themed hero, they would be crazy not to adapt Batman Beyond. It works perfectly, an older Bruce Wayne played by Keaton, training Terry McGinnis as the next Batman in futuristic Gotham City. It was a phenomenal TV series and it could be a phenomenal film series, as well.
Bottom line is, there a lot of thrilling possibilities with Michael Keaton returning to play Batman and all of them are exciting! We get into in all on this episode so, enjoy!
The Flash or Flashpoint (whatever they end up calling it) is currently set to hit theaters on June 3, 2022
Listen here: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/33382238 Or subscribe on Stitcher, Spreaker, iHeartRadio, Deezer, Podchaser, Castbox, Podcast Addict, Google Podcasts, & Apple Podcasts/ITunes…
Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter@PJWrightWBM or type Worlds Best Media into the search bar, you can also like and follow us on our Facebook page; World’s Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!
There’ve been few things in recent popular culture that have been more divisive than Zack Snyder‘s foray into the DCEU. Personally, I’m a big Zack Snyder defender. I think, with the exception of Sucker Punch, he’s never truly made a bad movie.
Man of Steel is easily my favorite live-action Superman movie. Henry Cavill is much better in the role than people give him credit for and the movie is underrated in general. Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice is a very flawed film, but I love it. Particularly the R-Rated Ultimate Edition. It’s sad that the films reception and his personal issues forced Ben Affleck to walk away from the character because he was arguably our best live action Batman to date. The only thing in that movie that was truly terrible was the decision to cast Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and his god awful subsequent performance. I understand that, as fans we all have our own beliefs about how beloved character should be portrayed on screen, but I was pleasantly surprised by Batman V Superman, especially because the film was getting such mixed reviews at the time.
I don’t count Justice League because at the end of the day that wasn’t really Snyder’s film. Almost everything with Superman in that movie was shot after he left the film, for personal reasons. Henry Cavill was well into filming Mission: Impossible Fallout, where he sported a thick mustache. You can tell that all of Superman’s scenes were shot after Zack Snyder left the film, because Paramount, the film studio that was making Mission Impossible, wouldn’t let Warner Bros. shave Cavill’s mustache for JL reshoots. So, instead of choosing the much simpler, cheaper, and smarter option of shaving his mustache and having Cavill wear a fake for the remainder of shooting Mission Impossible, Warner Bros. had to remove the mustache digitally. The god awful result is that the whole bottom half of Superman’s face in JL looks like a creepy mannequin come to life. Of course none of that is Zack Snyder‘s fault because he already left the movie at that point, but it’s a funny story if you haven’t already heard it.
Now, Zack Snyder is finally getting a chance to give us his vision of his Justice League film, or at least something pretty close to it. Justice League: The Snyder Cut is premiering on HBOMax next year, sometime in 2021. It might not be much, but HBO released a brief teaser for the project that you can watch below. Of course, you can’t judge a movie after only seeing less than 60 seconds of footage, but I already dig the darker tone. We’re only shown two quick scenes, one involving Diana played by Gal Gadot that was not in the theatrical cut at all and a quick look at a alternate version of the ancient battle sequence that opens the film where Steppenwolf has been replaced by… Well, I won’t spoil it, but it’s someone much scarier and much more interesting. The thing that both of these scenes have in common is that they’re extremely ominous and they both serve to focus on the appearance of a certain iconic DC villain, not featured in the theatrical cut. Take a look below, I’d love to hear what you guys think:
Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @PJWrightWBM or type Worlds Best Media into the search bar, you can also like and follow us on our Facebook page; World’s Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!
The long awaited and much anticipated new miniseries from DC Comics, Dark Nights: Death Metal, is finally here and today I’m reviewing the first issue! About once a year, usually in the summer, both of “The Big Two” comic book publishers, DC and Marvel, will put out an epic miniseries “Event”. These are the no holds barred stories, where seemingly anything can happen! Typically, even though one character or one particular team will be the focus of the story, these Events affect and involve the entire DCU or Marvel Universe. These stories tend to have casts of thousands! With huge, status quo changing moments! Whenever the publishers at Marvel or DC are talking about their latest Event Miniseries, they like to say things like, “After this story nothing will ever be the same!”. When you’ve been reading comics as long as I have, there are certain things that you tend to expect to see when one of these big stories come out. There are usually some major character deaths, surprise resurrections, heroes turning into villains and vice versa, things like that. Classic DC and Marvel stories like Crisis On Infinite Earths, Infinity Gauntlet, and Civil War are some examples of Event Comics. Like many things, some of them suck and other become classics.
One of the best superhero Events of the last decade was Dark Nights: Metal written by Scott Snyder and art by Greg Capullo. That story saw the DCU being invaded by the evil, cosmic forces of the previously unknown Dark Mutiverse. The Dark Multiverse is a nightmare realm where the deep fears of everyone in The DCU are made manifest. These are the worlds where everything that could go wrong, does go wrong. The Dark Multiverse was ruled by an evil god-like entity called Barbatos. When he came to attack and claim the DCU, his generals were all dark, twisted versions of Batman.
The most terrifying and formidable of the evil Bruce Waynes from across The Dark Multiverse was, without a doubt, The Batman Who Laughs. In his home reality, after The Joker killed Jim Gordon and a shit load of other people, Bruce Wayne finally had enough of the atrocities committed by The Joker and killed him by snapping his neck. BUT The Clown Prince of Crime had one last surprise for his longtime nemesis, The Joker created a toxin that would be released from his body at the moment of his death and turn whoever killed him into the next Joker. The insidious toxin burned away Bruce’s humanity. Batman lost of all his morality, compassion, and empathy. Batman, under normal circumstances, is already as Superman once put it, “The most dangerous man alive.”. This version Batman, without the moral code that stops him from going too far, is a terrifying and unbeatable cosmic horror. Now he’s the apex predator of The Multiverse. Because a Batman Who Laughs is a Batman who always wins.
The Justice League managed to defeat Barbatos and his army of evil Batmen (The Batman Who Laughs managed to stick around The DCU), but it came with huge unforeseen consequences. In defeating one dark god, they unknowingly unleashed another: Perpetua, The Mother and Creator of The Multiverse. However, when Perpetua was freed, it took time for her to regain her full power. She needed help and a certain bald, alien hating, billionaire businessman/scientific genius was just the megalomaniac for the job…
Perpetua: Creator of The Multiverse
One of the major ongoing stories in DC Comics over the last few years has followed Lex Luthor (with the help of The Legion of Doom) as he attempted to pull off his most ambitious cosmic power grab to date. Luthor set out to unlock the hidden powers of the universe and restore Perpetua to her full strength. Luthor’s endgame was to help Perpetua regain control of The Multiverse and rule over all of creation alongside her as her right hand and most trusted disciple. Everything was going according to Luthor’s plan, that is until The Batman Who Laughs showed up. He managed to make the case to Perpetua that he, not Luthor, was the one worthy of becoming her most valuable acolyte. Luthor had done all the work and The Batman Who Laughs snatched everything right out from under him. Perpetua agreed, and Luthor was cast aside.
Dark Nights: Death Metal is not only a sequel to Dark Nights: Metal, it also builds upon many of the major stories Scott Snyder and others have been telling in the DCU since the end of the first Dark Nights: Metal. Elements from Snyder‘s Justice League run, Doomsday Clock, Snyder’s Batman Who Laughs miniseries, The Flash, and more are all at play. I think one of the things that the story does really well, is that despite all of the groundwork the story has been built upon, it doesn’t feel like you need to have read all of those other stories to understand this one. It’s a more accessible tale than you might think. The story starts very much in the middle of the action, so even if you have read every single DC Comic Book that’s connected to this story, you’re still going to be playing catch-up. Everything in the story is so insane that, part of the fun is figuring out how the hell our heroes have found themselves in this crazy situation.
Without going into major spoilers, Earth has been pulled into The Dark Multiverse. The planet has become a terrifying nightmare-scape, ruled over by the cruel and sadistic Batman Who Laughs. Countless twisted and evil versions of Batman from throughout The Dark Multiverse act as his lieutenants and help enforce his will. Our heroes have lost so badly that to keep what’s left of humanity alive, heroes like Swamp Thing, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and others are forced work for The Batman Who Laughs and do his bidding. He’s given his version of the Justice League different roles to play in his new kingdom. They know that they can’t beat him. He holds all the cards in such a way that, the only way our heroes can protect the people that are left is to play his sick game and grudgingly work for him. The Batman Who Laughs is essentially holding a gun to the head of what’s left of humanity, to keep the former Justice League in line. It’s sort of reminds me of something out of Game of Thrones where noble characters have to bow down before a despicable ruler in the name of serving a greater good. Of course Batman, the real Batman that is out there somewhere, fighting almost like a guerrilla insurgency, desperately trying to pull off whatever ever he can to save whatever’s left of this broken Multiverse.
Despite the fact that the whole story is wrapped in Batman iconography and there are evil Batmen everywhere, Wonder Woman is the central character in this story. Themyscira, Wonder Woman’s former home, has literally become Hell, a jail for people that The Batman Who Laughs wants to keep out of the way and imprisoned. With Swamp Thing (who’s seen better days to say the least) as her right hand man and confidant, Wonder Woman has become Hell’s Jailer, The Warden of her desecrated homeland. Despite her dark circumstances, Wonder Woman is pretty fucking cool in this story and I love the choice to make her one of the central characters. She’s really the main character, at least in this issue. but considering what goes down in the first issue alone, I think it’s fair to say she’ll probably be taking center stage for the whole story. If this issue is any indication, that’s a fantastic idea. As cool as Batman is, as smart as he is, and is tough as he is, no one will fight to their last breath like Wonder Woman. She is not content to play her fucked up role in The Batman Who Laugh’s wasteland. Bruce thinks the fight is already lost and all they can hope to do is save whatever good is left. Wonder woman is not having that shit, she knows there must be a way to make things right, to put the universe back together again. And when a very important prisoner is sent to her by The Batman Who Laughs, Diana thinks she may have found her last chance to save the world.
To say anymore would spoil the fun. I will say this, they are not fucking around with this story. Snyder and Capullo have pulled out all of the fucking stops. This is only the first issue and there were at least three or four jaw-dropping moments in this comic book. I was fucking blown away. It’s impressive that while so much of what is going on in the story is dark and bleak, the story never loses it’s thrilling sense of fun. The heroes of the DCU are in rough shape, but it looks like watching them try to set things right is going to be a blast!
I think it’s safe to say at this point that Snyder and Capullo have established themselves as one of the best writer/artist teams in the history of comics. These are two guys operating at the absolute top of their game and it shows in the story. When Greg Capullo’s name is on a comic book, it’s a given that the art inside will be fantastic, but he really knocked it out of the park on this one. It would be easy to take Capullo’s incredible art for granted, because his work has produced so many phenomenal stories over the years. In Dark Nights: Death Metal, literally everything on each page is something totally new, even all of the classic DC heroes in this story are sporting completely new looks. There are so few artists that could pull off a story like this, with the level of excellence that Capullo delivers. Then there’s the coloring by FCO Plascencia (another long time collaborator of Snyder and Capullo’s) which is gorgeous in this issue. The way the bright, vivid colors of Wonder Woman contrast with the dark, more muted tones of the desolate wasteland that surrounds her, is beautiful to behold.
I’ll definitely say this I loved Dark Nights: Metal and this is a much better first issue than that story. I’m sure Snyder and Capullo would be happy to hear, that the comic book is definitely “Metal”. It rocks the fucking doors off, blows out the windows, and leaves you desperately wanting more. I cannot wait for the next issue, because Dark Nights: Death Metal fucking rules! 🤘
Dark Nights: Death Metal #1 – 9/10
Note: DC has put out a prelude storythat takes place right before issue #1 begins. You can read it for free on instagram! It’s pretty cool, so I definitely recommend checking it out. Read for free right here: https://t.co/vIJ8HkiZ23
Check out this art from issue #2 hitting stands in July…
We’ve had a lot of great content on the site lately, so I wasn’t in a rush to post individual pages for the last couple of episodes of The World’s Best Podcast. Regardless, I still wanted to make sure I posted something about the latest episodes of the show. The first episode is my review of the DC Animated Movie, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War. The 2nd and latest podcast is my review for the great new DC live-action superhero series, Stargirl. We have the links for both podcasts posted below. I like to go out of my way to create a webpage for each of the episodes of The World’s Best Podcast, so I can add some cool new content, some additional insight into the episode, or bonus material. I have trailers for Justice League Dark: Apokolips War and DC’s Stargirl posted below, along with some interesting stills, photos, and concept images to give you a closer look at the projects I’m reviewing in these 2 episodes. You can check out that content right here.
First up, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War…
Justice League Dark: Apokolips War! Superman and the Justice League decide to take the fight to Darkseid and lose… badly. 2 years later, with many of the heroes dead and Earth decimated by Darkseid’s forces, a desperate and de-powered Clark Kent turns to John Constantine for help with a suicidal plan to end the threat of Darkseid once and for all.
Listen here: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/28915924 Or subscribe on Stitcher, Spreaker, iHeartRadio, Deezer, Podchaser, Castbox, Podcast Addict, Google Podcasts, & Apple Podcasts/ITunes…
Next, our latest episode reviewing the new series, DC’s Stargirl!
The new series based on the DC Comics hero, Stargirl created by Geoff Johns, will be airing on The CW and the DC UNIVERSE Streaming Service. The new show stars Brec Bassinger and Luke Wilson, the series also heavily features the heroes and villains from the classic DC comic book, JSA. Over the course of the first season, High School student Courtney Whitmore takes up the mantle of superhero, Stargirl with the help of her stepfather Pat (Luke Wilson), formally an unofficial member of the JSA who wears a giant robot super suit that he built, called S.T.R.I.P.E.
Together they’ll form a new generation of The JSA since the original JSA were killed by The Injustice Society. The society includes villains like Icicle, Solomon Grundy, Sportsmaster, Tigress, Brainwave, and The Dragon King.
Listen here: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/29775621 Or subscribe on Stitcher, Spreaker, iHeartRadio, Deezer, Podchaser, Castbox, Podcast Addict, Google Podcasts, & Apple Podcasts/ITunes…
Villain Icicle, Series Hero & Main Character Courtney Whitmore AKA Stargirl, New Hero Hourman
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*Note: This article was written before the announcement that Ruby Rose, the actress who plays Batwoman, has left the series and will be replaced in Season 2.
Batwoman Season 1 ended almost two weeks ago, and I had intended to write a review on here when that happened, but I hadn’t realized the season had ended because it was an abrupt, COVID interrupted season. I won’t hold that against Batwoman obviously, and please don’t hold my tardiness on this subject against me.
I’m going to be frank with you, and tell you that while I might be in the minority, I really enjoyed Batwoman. I think there was a ton of things that were done really well. I also recognize that it had several faults, and I’m not blind to those. I think, for the sake of redemption, I will start us off with the parts that I don’t like, and work towards the things that made this show work for me.
What Fails:
I think it was back before the mid-season break, I had a conversation with Paul about the show, and one of the things that he pointed out that made no sense what-so-ever was the idea of The Crows. As I watched the second half of the season with this in mind, I realized he was completely right. The Crows, are Gotham’s premium and private ‘police’ service. They don’t exist in place of The GCPD, but in addition to it. They’re essentially independent contractors acting like Police, but with less restriction, and seemingly less self-restraint. A local law enforcement version of Blackwater.
At best, their existence doesn’t make any sense. With the appearance of Batwoman, a vigilante acting outside of the law, of course The Crows declare her to be a dangerous criminal who must be brought to justice. Complicating matters, The Crows are lead by Commander Jacob Kane (Batwoman’s father, who has no idea that his daughter is the vigilante). In similar situations like Arrow, Batman, or even Spider-Man, if a hero or vigilante is seen as a criminal, they’re usually being accused as such by the police. While there is room for argument on the morality of vigilante justice on either side, the legality of the situation is clear because The Police Dept., The D.A., are all part of law enforcement that governments put in place to protect the public. It all makes some sense. This isn’t the case in Batwoman with The Crows because they’re a private company, not operating with any kind of government oversight. The potentially interesting morality/logic of that dynamic isn’t really touched upon until the last episode or two, and even then only in passing.
Along with The Crows and their non-sensical existence, is Commander Kane. I think he fails on pretty much every front. I think the performance, with him trying to sound grizzly and hardened comes off as two dimensional and uninteresting. As for the characterization, he’s written to have the same black and white moral code that someone like Quentin Lance on Arrow had, but again Lance existed within a real Police Dept which made much more sense. Also, while Lance may have been tough on his children and perhaps a bit too rigid, he never really wrote them off. Whereas Kane’s love is barely existent at best, and far from unconditional. Do I think we need to portray every parent as having unconditional love for their children? No, but in these types of characters and stories it leads to some interesting inner conflict. Trying to justify your unconditional love for your children, when your children test your own moral code, makes for fascinating character drama. Commander Kane doesn’t do that. There are very few, if any, moments when it appears that indicate if he finds out his daughter Kate is Batwoman, that he’ll hesitate to treat her like any other criminal.
My last complaint about the show will probably be more controversial and this is way more a matter of opinion, but Kate sporadically write’s letters to the missing Bruce Wayne. It’s not the idea that she’s writing them that doesn’t work for me, it’s more a matter of delivery. There is something about it that comes across as awkward and unnatural, it interrupts the flow of the show. I think it is possible that it’s Ruby Rose, who is Australian, trying to do an American accent in these long slow, uber-articulated monologues, that doesn’t work.
What Works:
Three characters work perfectly for me on this show, there will be some mild-spoilers.
I think The Big-Bad, Alice, head of the Wonderland Gang, works perfectly. I would make the argument that she may be the best villain in The Arrowverse this season. Alice, as we learn very early on, is Kate’s twin sister, Beth. Beth was believed to be killed in a car accident when they were both 12 or 13. As the season plays out, we get to see how Alice isn’t just a menacing thug, but a deeply troubled (and for good reason) woman, who is trying to get reconcile a sense of normalcy with her sister and revenge with her father, step-mother and sister. Every emotional twist and turn is believable within the circumstances, and the performance by Rachel Skarsten rides those emotions completely and makes you feel genuine empathy for her, while also understanding that she must be stopped. I would argue that her character’s complexity exacerbates how poorly Commander Kane’s character is developed.
Alice’s right-hand man, is Mouse, who we learn is the son of the man who took Beth from the accident, and through neglect and abuse, turned her into Alice. Mouse is himself a very damaged man from his father, in addition to some physical scarring. Mouse has the ability to mimic any voice, and with Beth’s help, to make skin masks. He can turn into nearly any one within the show. It’s not Mouse’s abilities that make him interesting though. It’s his relationship with Alice/Beth. He starts off as her best friend, trying to help her exact her revenge. But as soon as Alices plan shifts from revenge to reconciliation, he begins to fear she’ll abandon him for not being enough. As well as expressing his own desire to eventually get away from Gotham and the chaos and pain he sees as being a symptom of the place.
Lastly, is Mary, Kate’s step-sister. Mary starts the show off appearing to be a vapid socialite, but its quickly revealed that she’s actually running an underground clinic for those who cannot afford emergency medical attention. She helps Batwoman early on, making something of a connection with her. Even as she struggles throughout the season with her relationship with Kate, which is strained by Kate’s distance, and Kate’s inability to let go of Beth. Mary’s feelings of inadequacy and longing to bond with Kate are well developed and expressed, and it comes to a head when she finds out Kate is Batwoman and Kate still refuses to tell Mary her secret.
How to Move Forward
The other three main characters in the show are a bit of a mixed bag for me. I think Ruby Rose as Kate is very good at the aloof part of the character, but in the genuine moments of connection, I think she’s still seems to struggle. It’s likely that they are trying to draw a parallel between her and Bruce Wayne, (but as someone who knows very little of the comic version of Bruce Wayne, take that with a grain of salt). However when you have so many characters who do have an emotional connection with Kate, like her sisters, her father, Luke Fox , or Sophie (her ex-girlfriend who works for her father on The Crows) the performance doesn’t work as well for me.
I think Luke had a pretty good second half of the season, but he didn’t start off great. There was a flatness in the character or the performance and it just didn’t work. What eventually won me over, is two-fold, Luke is very clearly the voice for the absent Bruce. As his relationship to Kate developed, he even shares things that perhaps he never would, about his loneliness, his responsibility. We also see Luke’s own dedication and search for justice by finding his father Lucius’s killer, and how he will risk his own life in order to protect his father’s secrets. As a small side note, Luke is the guy back at HQ role, so I like that he is very different from similar characters in The Arrowverse like Cisco, Felicity, and even Winn.
Sophie probably would have made the first section, except that I’m not sure she’s made enough of an impact on the show yet to say she’s failing. Sophie is kind of a bland character, who’s at her most interesting as we see her and Kate struggle throughout the beginning of the series. With Sophie being closeted and Kate being out, how this tore them apart in military academy, and is married to a man. On top of all that she also works for Kate’s father, it’s impossibly complicated between the two of them. The writers seem to have trouble picking a lane with Sophie, she’s not bold and empowered, nor is she timid and weak. She kind of flip-flops back and forth.
Going forward, into season 2, I think that these three characters can all be improved and really work for the show. I think with Kate, they were starting to work on the aloofness problem in the last couple of episodes, (maybe if they’d been given the whole season run I wouldn’t have this complaint at all). The same can be said with Luke, I think he was a slow start, but they’re getting there, and I hope that they go even further with him. With Sophie, I think she kind of has to embrace herself more in season 2, even if she goes a bit overboard at first, it would make sense, and propel her forward.
I think they should find someway in season 2 (and I kind of think they may have been working toward this at the end of season 1) of getting rid of The Crows. They just don’t work. Getting rid of them wouldn’t be difficult from a writing stand-point, and I would argue that if you just put one character in (a Mayor or something) who realizes how ridiculous they are, dismantling them could take a couple of episodes tops.
As for Commander Kane, there are three options that I see, they could kill him off, try to turn him into a human with emotions (I don’t really think this works without ignoring some of what we already have seen of him), or lastly make him outright a villain. The series could dismantle The Crows and Kane could become a vigilante hell bent on avenging them, it’s the only way I think you can keep him on the show and have him work. I just really think the dude is broken beyond repair.
The letters to Bruce Wayne are maybe the toughest fix. I think the series has been fairly inconsistent in doing them to be completely honest, I think maybe they should just get rid of them altogether. At the end of the finale, Alice has transformed the villain Hush, into a doppelgänger of Bruce Wayne. I think having a few episodes of ‘Bruce Wayne’ around will make the letters redundant. Unless Kate knows right off the bat (I swear that wasn’t intended) that he’s not the real Bruce.
The Verdict:
The show has a lot of potential, and needs a lot of growth, but I think it’s a worthy inclusion to The Arrowverse. If they work out the kinks in Season 2, there could be some really cool opportunities for interesting character work. Don’t go in expecting a finely tuned machine, but a diamond in the rough.
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