DC COMICS: ABSOLUTE DC UNIVERSE!

Published on September 24, 2024October 2, 2024 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment

Hey everyone,

Paul here…

*DC ALL IN: A new initiative at DC Comics. A huge part of DC ALL IN is the launch of The Absolute DC Universe*

Beginning in October, DC Comics will be launching an ambitious new, two pronged, publishing initiative called DC ALL IN. There are two major components of the DC ALL IN Initiative. The first part is all about reinvigorating the main DCU, encouraging their artists to “take big creative swings”. However, this isn’t a universe wide reboot, like The New 52 Era. The main, classic, Earth-1 DC Universe will continue, with some of the industry’s best creators, and a new publishing mandate to take chances, try new ideas, and as said before, “take big creative swings”. The goal is to create jumping on points for fans, new and old, while also getting people excited about comic books again. Across both parts of DC ALL IN, there seems to be something tailored to every kind of fan.

For example, some of DC’s flagship books will be debuting exciting new creative teams, writer Tom Taylor and artist Mikel Janín jumping onboard Detective Comics. Fantastic comics like Wonder Woman written by Tom King with art by Daniel Sampere, will continue on with the same creative teams, while launching major new story arcs. We can also expect to see few brand new titles, like Justice League Unlimited by Mark Waid and Dan Mora, and The New Gods by Ram V and Evan Cagle.

DC ALL IN is spearheaded by writers Joshua Williamson and Scott Snyder. If I had to choose, I’d say Scott Snyder is probably my favorite working comic book writer, so his involvement here is a huge plus for me. This quote from Snyder puts it well…

“The creation of the Absolute Universe is how I always imagined coming back to DC, and DC All In will be a great jumping-on point for new readers as well as lapsed fans to discover new stories to love and the chance to explore the new directions in store for DC’s core series lineup,”

DC put out the video below, featuring Williamson and Snyder officially revealing the details of the DC ALL IN and Absolute DC. It’s extremely interesting and they explain everything I’m discussing in this article much better than I could, so I highly recommend giving this a watch;

However, it’s the second part of this initiative has been really excited: ABSOLUTE DC. Basically, this is the DC version of Marvel’s Ultimate Universe, but I don’t mean that like it’s a bad thing. In this new Absolute Universe, all of the typical, iconic, external elements associated with these characters are gone, but the fundamental essence of who they are remains. Complete, top to bottom reimaginings of DC’s most iconic characters, starting with Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. This is a Bruce Wayne without the fortune, the mansion, the butler, and high tech arsenal. Superman doesn’t have The Kents or Lois Lane. The only thing we know for sure is that Krypton exploded. Wonder Woman isn’t from Themyscira. These are some pretty drastic departures from your average stories about DC’s Holy Trinity of Heroes. The Absolute line is keeping the core of who these characters are, but anything else is fair game. These are some really wild changes that I’m sure some people hate and some people will love. Anyway, I’ll get into a little bit more of the details about each of these book, along with some of the cool art that’s been released.

ABSOLUTE DC

Absolute Batman

Writer: Scott Snyder

Artist: Nick Dragotta

Release Date: 10/9/24

The first Absolute DC book to debut, Absolute Batman, alongside artist Nick Dragotta, this series Scott Snyder’s return to The Dark Knight and his world. As I’ve already mentioned, I’m a huge Scott Snyder fan. Snyder came onto the mainstream comic book scene with his incredible series, American Vampire and crafted one the greatest Batman noir, mystery tales with Batman: The Black Mirror. In fact his New 52 Batman title that he wrote alongside artist Greg Capullo is my favorite Batman run in the character’s history. Not to mention his excellent work on Dark Nights: Metal and Dark Knights: Death Metal. Bottom line: this guys knows how to write the hell out of Batman. So his return to the character, with a fresh take, is definitely something to be excited about. Snyder talks more about what we can expect from Absolute Batman in the video below:

A few details we know about the new series, is that Bruce is a city engineer, Alfred is an old guard MI6 spy/assassin, and the first villain is Black Mask. Below are some character designs from Nick Dragotta as well as some preview art from Absolute Batman #1…

Concept Art:

Preview for Absolute Batman #1:

Variant Covers:

Absolute Wonder Woman

Writer: Kelly Thompson

Artist: Hayden Sherman

Release Date: 10/23/24

Thompson has described this Wonder Woman as “lava under rocks”, which is a pretty hardcore description. Absolute Wonder Woman is the last Amazon and literally raised in Hell. She’s also the first publicly recognized “superhero” of the Absolute Universe. Oh, and she’s a witch. Beyond what I’ve already covered, there isn’t much else that we know about Absolute Wonder Woman. I guess we’ll just have to wait for Issue #1 to find out more, but I’m really intrigued about this one! Below is some concept art from artist Hayden Sherman, some art from Issue #1 and the cover for issue #2…

CONCEPT ART:

ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #1 Interiors:

*Preview for Absolute Wonder Woman #1 from AIPTcomics.com*

VARIANT COVERS:

ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #2 Cover:

Absolute Superman

Writer: Jason Aaron

Artist: Rafa Sandoval

Release Date: 11/6/24

Jason Aaron was behind the definitive modern Thor run, as well as working on books like Avengers and Doctor Strange. His original creator owned work like Southern Bastards, is phenomenal as well. I think he’s perfect for this kind of book. He recently had this to say about the series…

He recently gave an interview, which you can check out below, where he reveals some intriguing new details about this upcoming series. He still managed to dance around anything too specific to preserve the surprise and avoid spoilers, but there were still definitely some cool details that he revealed here. I recommend giving it a watch if you really looking forward to Absolute Superman:

Concept Art:

Variant Covers & More Promo Art:

ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #2 Cover

Looking ahead, Absolute Green Lantern and Absolute Flash have also been announced, but all we really know about them are the creative teams, some promotional artwork, and few interesting little details.

COMING SOON

Absolute Green Lantern

Writer: Al Ewing

Artist: Unknown

Release Date: TBA

Ewing is another exciting writer, with his killer work on books like Immortal Hulk and various X-Men titles. I’m not 100% certain who the artist is on this book. DC hasn’t revealed a lot about Absolute Green Lantern beyond the creative team, some teaser art, and that it’s a “complete reimagining” of the property. However, DC has also described it as first-contact style in story, that will feature classic Green Lantern characters like Hal Jordan, John Stewart, and relatively new characters like Jo Mullein, who made her first appearance a few years back in the miniseries “Far Sector”.

Absolute Flash

Writer: Jeff Lemire

Artist: Nick Robles

Release Date: TBA

The fourth ongoing series in DC’s Absolute Universe, Absolute Flash by Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles. Like Absolute Green Lantern, very little is known about the new series except for the creative team and some teaser art. Right off the bat, just from the promo art, we can tell Absolute Flash’s powers work very differently from what we traditionally see. You can see what appear to be faces in the energy coming off of Wally, in agony, as if they’re trying to escape. However, it’s been confirmed that this is Wally West in the teaser image and he’ll be The Flash in this new iteration. On a sidenote, even though DC made the decision to bring back Barry Allen over a decade ago and focus on him in the comics and all other DC media, it doesn’t change the fact that the best, the fastest, the one true Flash IS Wally West. More specifically, in this series, it will be a teenage Wally West according to writer Jeff Lemire.

It’s been reported that 7 or 8 Absolute titles in total, have been planned by DC. Which means they have at least 2 more Absolute books coming that we don’t know anything about. As one of the main voices guiding the DC All In/Absolute DC initiative, Snyder has been clear that we shouldn’t expect any big crossovers anytime soon. Unlike DC’s Earth One, a series of graphic novels that tried to reinvent DC heroes, all of the Absolute DC titles exist in the same universe. Aside from some easter eggs and references, according to Snyder it will be at least 13 issues before we can expect to see any major overlap among the Absolute DC books. It may even be longer, Snyder only referenced 13 issues because that’s how many issues of Absolute Batman he has written and in the can, at the time of this article. So by Absolute Batman #13, the heroes still haven’t had any significant crossovers. Which makes a lot of sense because what they’re trying to establish is a very stripped down version of these characters. They don’t have the support systems around them that we typically associate with these heroes. They’re isolated and alone, in a more dangerous world. So Batman and Wonder Woman popping up in each other’s books in issue 3, would undercut the central themes and ideas in this Absolute line. However, that doesn’t mean we’re never going to see team-ups among the Absolute DC characters. As one the main creative architects, Snyder confirmed that these heroes and villains will definitely crossover, just anytime in the near future.

Absolute DC is all about showing us radical and very different takes on Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman (and more to come) with some of the best writers and artists in the business. Personally, I love this kind of stuff and was very excited when it was announced. The art immediately captured my imagination and I’m really looking forward finding more when the comics hit the shelves. So, as a huge comic book advocate, this was something that I really wanted to draw peoples attention on. Because if you like superhero movies or TV shows, and thought about picking up a comic book at some point, this will be the perfect time to do it. You’ll find these comics at your local comic book stores, you can read them online through apps like Kindle and Comixology. Even Target of all places will be carrying some of these books.

DC’s new era officially kicks off with DC All In Special #1 on October 2nd!

Thanks for reading! Follow us on Twitter @PJWrightWBM, Instagram @worldsbestmedia2017, and our Facebook Page, Worlds Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews for the podcast, 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!

FIRST LOOK: James Gunn’s Superman & More!

Published on May 15, 2024 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment

Hey Everyone,

Paul here…

One of the most highly anticipated upcoming films is undoubtedly James Gunn’s Superman (originally titled Superman: Legacy). Now we have our first official look, at our new Clark Kent/Superman, David Corenswet, in the new Superman suit! Check it out…

On this episode, we analyze the image of the new suit, and what it says about this new version of The Man of Steel (which is a lot more than you might think). We also take some time to sing the praises of the incredible new Disney+ animated series, X-Men ‘97.

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A lot of fans have been speculating as to the identity of the seemingly alien entity attacking Metropolis in the background of the photo. Some have suggested it could be Solaris The Tyrant Sun, an evil, sentient, artificial sun, seen in the image below.

The character has appeared in stories like Grant Morrison’s DC One Million and All-Star Superman.

In the podcast, I mentioned a video James Gunn put out last year, going into detail about what to expect from upcoming DC Studios projects. It’s really cool and informative, and must watch if your a DC fan:

The first look at the latest bug screen incarnation of The Last Son of Krypton is always a big deal. Below are the debut images of Brandon Routh as Superman in Bryan Singer’s 2006 film, Superman Returns and Henry Cavill in 2013’s Man of Steel directed by Zack Snyder.

Both images are an interesting contrast to this new “first look” at Superman. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and the debut pictures for Superman Returns and Man of Steel bring to mind words like: strength, power, classic, godlike, and heroic. It’s no accident that in comparison David Corenswet’s Superman comes across as far more human and down to earth. The 2 images above evoke heroes from Greek mythology. While James Gunn’s Superman looks more like a fireman, putting on his battered gear to answer another emergency call (a far more heroic image in my opinion). But I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Lastly, I think everything about this first look at David Corenswet as Supermen, and everything about it, was very carefully chosen. I think it tells us a lot about the kind of Superman film he’s making.

Recently, Gunn posted this comment on Twitter (yes, I know it’s X now, but dammit I’m not calling it that)

He went on post the below images of the Superman stories that were influencing the movie The examples he chose only made more confident in his ability to this a special film…

I certainly like what I see, but at the end of the day we’re painstakingly going over every detail of ONE photo. As fans, we tend to over analyze everything. Especially when it comes to our most beloved figures. Others have said, and I happen to agree, that you can’t get a sense of how well a superhero costume works, until we see it in motion on screen. I think that’s when we can actually judge the latest take on Superman’s iconic uniform. Again, let me know what you think!

Thanks for listening! Follow us on Twitter @PJWrightWBM, Instagram @worldsbestmedia2017, and our Facebook Page, Worlds Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews for the podcast, 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!

-Paul

DC STUDIOS: Chapter 1 – Gods and Monsters!

Published on February 5, 2023February 5, 2023 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment

Hey Everyone,

Paul here…

At long last, James Gunn has revealed a significant portion of DC STUDIO’s 8-10 year plan, for their interconnected film, television, animation, and gaming DC Cinematic Universe. They’re calling this first chapter, Gods and Monsters (sick title!). Gunn was quick to point out that while these are the Chapter One projects they’re ready to announce, these projects don’t include every planned Chapter One release. So expect more projects to be announced in the months and years to come.

This is some very exciting stuff. I love this slate of projects and I think they’re the perfect mixture of characters, films, and television series to give The MCU a run for their money. Check out James Gunn’s full announcement about DC Studios: Chapter 1 – Gods and Monsters, right here…

Very, very cool, right? Here’s the full slate of movies and TV shows announced for Chapter One:

This is an absolutely killer line up! There’s a lot here to be really excited about! Below, I’ve listed the top 4 projects that I’m most looking forward to…

As a die hard Green Lantern fan, it was impossible for me not to thrilled about Lanterns, starring Hal Jordan and John Stewart. Gunn described the series as an HBO prestige drama in the vein of True Detective, with Jordan and Stewart acting space cops on “Precinct Earth” (Along with a few other notable lanterns popping up here and there). The story centers on Jordan and Stewart as they uncover a horrifying mystery connecting to the larger DCU. This project has massive potential.

For a long time, one of the things I’ve most wanted to see in a Batman movie is the introduction of the “Bat-Family”. Characters like Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl, Red Hood, etc. Other orphans and vigilante’s Batman has taken under his wing and joined in his fights to protect Gotham City. So I love that our intro to this new DCEU Batman, will be through the film The Brave and The Bold, which will be heavily influenced by Grant Morrison’s classic Batman run. The story sees Batman training and contending with a whole new type of Robin, the biological son Bruce never knew he had, Damian Wayne. Son of Bruce and Talia Al Ghul, dauighter of R’as Al Ghul. Damian was raised and trained from infancy in his grandfather’s League of Assassins. So Batman has his work cut out for him as he attempts to mold his 10 year old assassin son, into a Robin that adheres to The Dark Knight’s ‘No Killing” code. This is territory that has never been covered in a Batman film before, so this will feel both fresh and fun. This is the beginning of “The Bat-Family” in The DCEU and it’s about time!

The Authority is one of the coolest, most groundbreaking comics I’ve ever read. When then The Authority first hit stands about 20 years ago, it rocked the comic book industry. I’m shocked and thrilled that this is hitting theatres. One of the craziest, most cinematic comics of the last few decades.This is the type of story that’s perfect for those audience members feeling superhero fatigue. THIS is something new, my friends!

A hardcore, Swamp Thing horror movie? Hell yeah. Swamp Thing is one of DC’s best and most unique characters. With classic stories from, creators like Alan Moore, Len Wein, Scott Snyder, Charles Soule, and Neil Gaiman, there are wealth of amazing stories for the film to draw from.

Well, those are the projects that got me the most excited, check out the full list of releases below.

What do you think of Chapter One: Gods and Monsters? What Projects are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments below!

-Paul

FIRST LOOK: Stargirl Season 2!

Published on June 16, 2021June 18, 2021 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment

Hey Everyone

Paul here…

Stargirl was a pleasant surprise when it premiered on DC Universe Streaming and The CW last year. Good villains, a likable cast, above average VFX, and a healthy dose of DC Comics mythology, made Stargirl one of my favorite shows of 2020. So I’m happy to say that everything I’ve heard about Season 2, premiering August 10th on The CW, sounds very cool. After defeating the Injustice Society last season, Courtney, Pat, and rest of their newly formed JSA members, will have not one, but two Big Bads on their hands in Season 2! Both of whichwere teased in the Season 1 finale. But first, take a look at the new trailer for Stargirl Season 2 and then we can get into some other cool surprises to expect in the show’s upcoming sophomore year

Looks awesome to me! It looks like Season 2 will add JSA members like Jade, the new Green Lantern ,and Jakeem Thunder, that weird, purple living energy-thing.

Jay Garrick, The Flash of The JSA, who first appeared on The CW series The Flash will also be making an appearance this season.

With that in mind, here are a few important things to know bet] thatWithin the mythology of DC Comics, decades before The Justice League, The JSA or Justice Society of America, were the original superhero team. Gettineag their start decades before the modern day Justice League. The JSA are the elder statesmen (and women) of The DCU. The classic team roster usually consists of the original Green Lantern Alan Scott, Jay “The Flash” Garrick, Wildcat, Hourman, BlackCanary, Dr. Mid-Nite, The Sandman (Not the Neil Gaiman version, Hawkman & Hawkgirl, and Starman. The team first formed around WWII in the comics and each member age at a much slower rate then normal. As a result, almost all of th e JSA appear to be in their 50’s for early 60’s and while they’re all well past their prime, they can still operate at peak condition or beyond while in the field.

On the show things play out a little differently. First of all, though there are certain recognizable heroes and villains from DC Comics, a Justice League seems to have never taken form on this Earth. The JSA appear to be the only major superhero team to have formed in this universe. Though the series is technically apart of The Arrrowverse, Stargirl takes place on a different Earth than Arrrow, The Flash, and Supergirl. On Stargirl, The JSA and other heroes and villains have been active for decades. About 15 years in the past, most of The JSA were killed by the Injustice Society, a group of dangerous villains. In the present day, with the help of her step father and former JSA memberPat (Luke Wilson), Courtney Whitmore becomes Stargirl and begins to reform The JSA with a new generation of heroes.

From what we see in the trailer, it looks like the next generation of The JSA will only be expanding their roster. They’ll need all the help they can get while dealing with multiple major threats on the horizon. Both were teased in the final moments of the Season 1 finale.

First, as shown in the trailer, is the classic DC villain The Shade. He’s immortal and he can control living shadow. What makes The Shade interesting is that while he’s a serious threat, who you fuck with at your own peril, he has honor. He lives by a code.

He’s definitely a villain, but he’s not a monster. On one or two rare occasions, he even made alliances with heroes. So it should be compelling to see how the show handles the only member of the Injustice Society, that was present the night the original JSA were slaughtered, who we haven’t met on screen yet.

A brief glimpse at *The Shade* from the Season 1 Finale.

The second villain the show will be introducing this year is Eclipso. This guy is no joke. He’s easily a Justice League level threat. Eclipso is an ancient alien entity who, as we saw in the Season 1 finale been trapped inside a small diamond stone (as is often the case with evil, eldritch monsters).

Eclipso feeds on the negative psychic energy of mankind. Grief, hate, anger, and sadness sustain him, so he tries to create as much suffering and chaos as possible.

Unfortunately for this young incarnation of The JSA, Eclipso is WAY out of their league, so it’ll be cool to see how they handle him on the show. So this new season of Stargirl looks like it’s shaping up to be pretty interesting, so I definitely recommend checking out Seaon 1, which you can find On Demand and Streaming.

Thanks for reading! Follow us on Twitter @PJWrightWBM, Instagram @worldsbestmedia2017, and our Facebook Page, Worlds 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!

-Paul

TRAILER: Zack Snyder’s Justice League

Published on February 16, 2021 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment

Hey Everyone,

Paul here…

In just a few weeks fans will finally get to see (for better or worse) Justice League as director Zack Snyder envisioned it. The film, clocking in at over a 4 hour running time, premieres on HBO Max on March 18th. Zack Snyder is a pretty divisive filmmaker, but I love Man of Steel and as far as I’m concerned, if you take Jessie Eisenberg’s god awful take on Lex Luthor out of the film, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Extended Edition is a great fucking movie. I know some of you will think I’m crazy, but I can’t wait to watch Zack Snyder’s Justice League! Take a look at the new trailer below:

Check out the gallery below for new images of Steppenwolf, Darkseid, Wonder Woman, The Joker, and more…

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. We’re on Instagram @worldsbestmedia2017. 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!

-Paul

FIRST LOOK: Superman and Lois!

Published on January 4, 2021 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment

Hey Everyone,

Paul here…

Superman and Lois is one of my most highly anticipated new shows of 2021. The latest series in The CW’s ever expanding Arrowverse. While Supergirl hasn’t always been one of my favorite Arrowverse shows, the series has had it’s moments of greatness. It’s done an excellent job at adapting some classic pieces of the Superman mythology, including this iteration of Superman and Lois Lane. Ever since he made his debut in the Season 2 premiere of Supergirl, I’ve been a big fan of Tyler Hoechlin’s Clark Kent. I’d have to say it’s a toss up between Hoechlin and Cavill, as my favorite live action versions of Superman.

Over the last several years, the main Superman comics have really focused on his life as a hero and family man. With Clark and Lois juggling superheroics, their careers as world renowned journalists at The Daily Planet, and raising their young son Jon Kent AKA Superboy, DC’s power couple always have their hands full. The biggest change this series seems to be making, is that Clark and Lois have 2 sons, instead of the one son they have in the comics.

Despite frequent trips to Metropolis, Clark and Lois wanted to raise their family in as much of a normal, healthy environment that they could reasonably find, under their unique circumstances. It seems as if Clark has decided to move his family back to The Kent Farm in Smallville. As the concept art below shows, the wholesome small town of Clark’s childhood is one of the major settings of the new series.

Their are an abundance of Superman villains and stories that haven’t even been touched yet in The Arrowverse, so there’s a great deal of potential for some exciting stuff in this new series. As the show moves closer to its release date, DC & The CW dropped some great images that I’ve posted throughout the article. as well as a brief trailer have been released, which you can watch below, but it’s really not much more than a teaser. You can take a look for yourself right here…

https://youtu.be/-OUSrZVxIrw

If there’s one thing we can count on, whenever a new TV show or movie comes out based on a classic superhero property, we’re going to get a new version of the suit. You can take a look a Superman’s new uniform yourself below, but I think they knocked it out of the park. It is absolutely beautiful. It was made by the same team behind the costumes for the hit Amazon Prime series The Boys, so it should come as no surprise that they did such an amazing job on this latest version of the classic Superman uniform. To be honest if I had one critique, it would be that I’d like to see the symbol a little bit larger on his chest. It’s a little too small for my liking but it looks fucking awesome nonetheless.

Like it’s predecessors, Superman and Lois will be just as interconnected to the other shows that make up The Arrowverse. In fact, it looks like we won’t have to wait long to see a crossover. While the series that started it all, Arrow, may have ended its 7 season run in Spring 2020, the rest of The Arrowverse is still very much alive and interconnected. Which leaves the door wide open for characters from the flagship series, to pop up in other Arrowverse shows. So I was very happy to hear the recent announcement that Arrowverse mainstay, David Ramsey, will be returning the DC TV Universe as John Diggle for a 5 -episodes arc focusing on his character beginning on Superman and Lois. Diggle will also be appearing in several other Arrowverse shows as part of the 5-episode arc. David Ramsey will even be directing a few episodes.

This is exciting news for couple of reasons. For 7 seasons on Arrow and dozens of appearances on other Arrowverse shows, Ramsey played John “Digg” Diggle, Oliver Queen’s closest friend and confidant. His special forces training, bravery, and contacts in the espionage community, made him one of Team Arrow’s most valuable assets. He joined Oliver’s mission to save their city, eventually suiting up as the vigilante, Spartan. With the exception of Oliver Queen and Sarah Lance, Diggle is one of the most skilled and dangerous hand-to-hand combatants in The Arrowverse. He even took up the mantle of The Green Arrow on several occasions. Out of all of the Arrow characters that could possibly continue on in other DC shows on The CW, I think his character has the most potential for some interesting stories.

(On the left is a piece of art done by the amazing BossLogic, showing Diggle as a Green Lantern. Top right is John Stewart from Justice League: The Animated Series, Below is Ernie Hudson as Diggle’s Father.)

The details of his return have deliberately been kept under wraps for now, which in my opinion can only mean one thing: We’re finally going to see Diggle become a Green Lantern! The idea of Diggle joining The Green Lantern Corps, has been teased for years and references to the existence The Green Lantern Corps go as far back as Season 1 of The Flash. The last time we saw Diggle in the Arrow Series Finale, something small and strange plummets out of space, landing directly in front of Diggle, blowing him off his feet into the side of his van. Almost as if it was sent directly to him, Digg picks the object up out of the small crater it created on impact, and opens it to find a glowing Green Lantern ring! It was pretty awesome. If I’m right, after years of teases and hints, I think this 5-episode story will be about Diggle making his debut as the first Green Lantern in The Arrowverse. Digg becoming a Green Lanter was a popular fan theory for long time, that the creators gave more legitimacy to as time went on. For example, we find out that Diggle’s father (played by Ernie Hudson) is a high-ranking military officer whose last name is in fact, Stewart, making Diggle’s real, legal name: John Stewart.

John Stewart is one of the classic, fan favorite, Green Lanterns from DC Comics. The character is an African-American former soldier (just like Diggle) and for an entire generation of fans who grew up watching John Stewart as Green Lantern in the classic Justice League Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited, John Stewart IS THEIR Green Lantern. One of the running jokes in The Arrowverse was that Digg was always the most uncomfortable with the crazy, bizarre shit involving super powers and meta-humans that the characters would frequently encounter. So it makes a lot of sense that he might go to someone like Clark Kent/Superman, if he’s freaked out about the situation he suddenly finds himself in. Green Lanterns, power rings, and alien species can all be pretty stressful things for a relatively grounded guy deal with. So Superman and Lois seems like the perfect place to debut Diggle as John Stewart, Green Lantern of Space Sector-2817. I’m extremely excited to see what they do with this! Becoming a Green Lantern isn’t exactly easy, which is why I imagine he’ll be making appearances over multiple Arrowverse shows. Perhaps he’ll be learning some thing about his new powers and abilities from each of the heroes he guest stars with? These are all just more great reasons for me to be excited about this new series.

Superman and Lois premieres this January on The CW.

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. We’re on Instagram @worldsbestmedia2017. 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!

-Paul

PODCAST: Paul’s ARROW Tribute!

Published on February 24, 2020December 1, 2020 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment

Hey Everyone,

Paul here…

After 8 seasons and launching multiple fantastic spin-offs, like The Flash and Supergirl, The CW’s hit series ARROW has come to an end. “The Arrowverse” introduced fans to an entire universe of classic DC characters, many of which saw their live action debut on one of the “Arrowverse” series. However, let’s not forget that ARROW was the show that start it all! Over its 8 Season run, ARROW remained a consistently excellent superhero action-drama. With it’s incredible action and fight sequences, badass and compelling villains, and beloved characters, ARROW will be looked back on fondly as the series that changed superhero TV forever. On this episode of “The World’s Best Podcast”, we pay tribute and says goodby to one of my favorite shows.

I really like these sizzle reel videos that pop up on YouTube. Basically people take some of the coolest scenes and moments from beloved movies and TV shows and turn them into bad ass music videos. The MCU and the arrow verse in particular have quite a few. The video below is by far the best video tribute to Arrow that I have seen so far. It’s extremely well edited and the content is well chosen. If you’re a fan of Arrow or The Arrowverse, DO NOT miss this excellent tribute video:

https://youtu.be/D_k3gpQQAGg

This video was created by The Rusty Lion. For more great videos like this, look up The Rusty Lion on YouTube.

Who knows? After the awesome teaser in the final episode, where we see Diggle find a certain glowing green object that has crash landed from space in front of him, perhaps will be seeing him pop up in The Flash, Supergirl, or the upcoming Superman TV series? This might be a longshot but maybe even the upcoming Green Lantern Corps series that’s coming toHBO? It would be pretty cool. After all, they did finally reveal his real name is Jon Stewart…

Listen here: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/22984514 Or subscribe on Stitcher, Spreaker, iHeartRadio, Deezer, Podchaser, Castbox, Podcast Addict, Google Podcasts, & Apple Podcasts/ITunes…

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-worlds-best-podcast/id1246038441?i=1000466159268

Stitcher: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-worlds-best-podcast/id1246038441?i=1000466159268

Thanks for reading and 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!

-Paul

PODCAST: DC’s Crisis Finale & Star Wars:The Clone Wars!

Published on January 31, 2020December 1, 2020 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment

Hey Everyone,

Paul here…

On this episode of The World’s Best Podcast, i talks about the upcoming final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, premiering on Disney+ next month. Since Disney bought Lucasfilm, the TV content like Star Wars: Rebels and The Mandalorian, as well as in continuity comic books have been a much better at telling amazing Star Wars tales than the films of late. Let’s be honest; when I say the movies have dropped the ball, I’m really talking about The Rise Of Skywalker. I love The Force Awakens and I really like The Last Jedi. Hell, despite all of my complaining before it was released, I ended up really digging Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Still, Lucasfilm and Disney have been putting out some spectacular Star Wars story content, like the aforementioned TV shows, the comics, books, and video games. Marvel Comics (also owned by Disney) doesn’t get enough credit for the consistently excellent Star Wars graphic novels they’ve been publishing over the last several years. Whether you loved or hated The Rise of Skywalker (I lean towards the latter, personally), in my opinion it’s still a pretty great time to be a Star Wars fan. As I mentioned a moment ago, Marvel has been consistently cranking out fantastic Star Wars comics, Jedi Fallen Order on PS4 (or Xbox, pick your poison) was a total blast, and The Mandalorian, which was one of 2019’s best series did, one hell of a job bringing us our first live-action Star Wars TV show. Which brings me to one of the subjects I’ll be covering on this episode of The World’s Best Podcast. The all new, final season of the beloved animated series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, will premiere on Disney+ next month. In this episode, I discuss the previous seasons of the show and what we should expect going into homestretch of this highly anticipated final season.

After covering The Clone Wars, we do a deep dive into the second part of The CW’s DC Crossover Event: Crisis On Infinite Earths! The first 3 installments of the 5-Part crossover aired in December and, after the holiday hiatus, returned for the EPIC 2-Part finale last week! The final 2 hours of Crisis did not disappoint and had massive ramifications for The Arrowverse and it’s characters moving forward! On this episode I give my take on the biggest moments from Crisis, how the Crossover Event fundamentally changed The Arrowverse forever, and I speculate about the possible future directions The Arrowverse could take. In many ways, the slate has been wiped clean for all of The CW‘s DC shows. So this is the perfect jumping on point for new viewers or lapsed fans looking to return to the franchise. With Arrow having just aired it’s Series Finale earlier this week (Don’t worry. I’ll get to that in another article very soon), I think Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow have become my favorite Arrowverse shows. Either series would be a good place to jump back into The Arrowverse.

Listen here: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/22115044 Or subscribe on Stitcher, Spreaker, iHeartRadio, Deezer, Podchaser, Castbox, Podcast Addict, Google Podcasts, & Apple Podcasts/ITunes…

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-worlds-best-podcast/id1246038441?i=1000463773072

Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?eid=64371445&autoplay=1

-Paul

Get Ready for Crisis On Infinite Earths With Our CRISIS PRIMER!

Published on December 8, 2019December 1, 2020 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment

Hey Everyone,

Paul here…

After almost a year of build up, The CW’s DC Mega-Crossover Crisis On Infinite Earths is about to begin. So I thought this would be the perfect time to post my Crisis Primer, something to give you a little bit of information you might not otherwise have known. Here you’ll find out where and when to watch everything Crisis, as well as some fun little side projects that you may want to take a look at! I hope you like it!

By far the most ambitious project taken up by The Arrowverse, the 5-part crossover starts Sunday, with Chapter 1 on Supergirl, Chapter 2 on Batwoman, and Chapter 3 on The Flash. Chapter 3 will presumably end on a cliffhanger of some kind when all of the shows go on their annual winter hiatus. The epic story will finish off it’s final 2 chapters, with both installments airing on the same night , January 14th with Arrow at 8pm and Legends of Tomorrow at 9pm.

The CW will also be airing a 2-part special, Crisis Aftermath, hosted by mega-fan and frequent Arrowverse director, Kevin Smith (Smith has directed multiple episodes of Supergirl and The Flash, including what is widely considered to be one of the best episodes of The Flash, “The Runaway Dinosaur”). Part 1 of the special will air Sunday night after Supergirl and Part 2 will air after what is sure to a huge cliffhanger installment of The Flash on Tuesday night. The special will include interviews, behind the scenes looks, and more! Including host Kevin Smith, breaking down the big moments and reveals of the crossover along with a panel of guests including various cast members from The Arrowverse shows like Jon Cryer, as well as the series writers and showrunners. Also appearing on the panel, will be the legendary Kevin Conroy, who after playing The Caped Crusader in Batman The Animated Series as well as countless other movies, video games, and TV shows, will be making his live action debut as Bruce Wayne during Crisis (Conroy’s appearance in Crisis is one of the things that has me most excited about the crossover).

In one of the most recent trailers for Crisis On Infinite Earths, The Monitor tells the gathered heroes that they must find seven champions throughout time and space, that can help stop The Anti-Monitor and Crisis. I’m sure there will be more to the story than this, but I think that’s a great idea because it’s a cool way to get interesting characters off on missions together who don’t always interact with one another. Watching them find other cool DC character that will certainly be fun to see. So with Crisis coming right up, I thought it might be fun to share my picks (or my guesses) for who exactly“The Seven Paragons” or heroes that The Monitor needs assembled to help save The Multiverse. A group I’m calling… THE MONITOR’S MAGNIFICENT SEVEN! So let’s get started!

Kingdom Come Superman –

This one seems like a no brainer. Despite the many flaws of Superman Returns, Brandon Routh was not one of them. If early buzz is to be believed Routh absolutely crushes it in his return to The Man of Steel.

2. Future and/or alternate reality Bruce Wayne (played by Kevin Conroy)

We already know that Brandon Routh Superman is from the classic Mark Waid and Alex Ross story Kingdom Come. From what little we’ve seen of Bruce Wayne in in the trailers he is wearing some sort of exoskeleton from the neck down that helps him move around. In Kingdom Come, Batman wore something very similar. After decades of crime fighting, his body was essentially broken so he wore a full body brace much like the one we see in the promos. Which leads me to believe that this version of Batman/Bruce Wayne is also from the Kingdom Come universe. Bruce Wayne is another sure bad for the seven heroes.

3. Tom Wellings’ Clark Kent (Smallville’s Universe)

This is another obvious one, but it won’t be any less fun to see. I can’t wait to see a scene that has all three superman together in one room.

4. Black Lightening

They kind of give this one away in the trailer. It’s pretty apparent that Black Lightening is very important to the heroes’ plan to stop The Anti-Monitor and the antimatter wave. Another good bet.

5. Lex Luthor

Considering that The Monitor resurrected him from a lethal gunshot wound delivered by his sister and has been keeping him in his own weird, little, pocket dimension where Lex continuously beats him at chess, I think Lex is a strong contender for one of The Seven. As The Monitor says to Lex, this is his chance to prove he’s the hero that he’s always said he is, but will Lex take it?

6. John Wesley Shipp’s Barry Allen

Even though his Earth was seemingly destroyed in Elseworlds last year, he was certainly able to stay one step ahead of The Monitor. He seems like a prime candidate for The Monitor’s Magnificent Seven.

7. Ryan Choi AKA The Atom (Osric Chau)

Sadly this will be Brandon Routh‘s last season on Legends Of Tomorrow. However, that doesn’t mean The Atom will be leaving the team. In the comics, Ray Palmer has a protégé who becomes the second Atom and he will be introduced during Crisis. After the crossover, he’ll be taking up residence with the rest of the crew of The Waverider. I still think they’re going to throw a few surprise characters at us, so this one is a longshot but I figured, what the hell?

DC and The CW also took the opportunity to drop our first look at the new season of Legends of Tomorrow. Legends typically has a shorter season than the rest of The Arrowverse shows, so the first episode of Legends this season will be in the crossover. However, it’s technically not the season premiere. It’s being billed as a “special episode“ with the official season premiere airing January 21st. Check out the trailer:

DC is also publishing a 2 issue tie-in comic to go along with the crossover. Usually tie-in comics like these follow characters or events that may have been mentioned in the main story, but weren’t heavily featured or touched upon. They can be a cool look at what some of the other characters may have been up to that we don’t see on screen during the main crossover. The stories are co-written by original Crisis on Infinite Earths writer Marv Wolfman and Arrow showrunner Marc Guggenheim.

The very cool cover was drawn by classic DC artist, Jerry Ordway, who worked on the original Crisis as well. Ordway’s cover features Green Arrow, The Flash, Kid Flash, Supergirl, The Ray, and Felicity Smoak. Kid Flash, The Ray, and Felicity aren’t appearing in Crisis, which shows my point that these tie-in comics typically feature side adventures focusing on characters that aren’t in the spotlight of the main story. I couldn’t find an exact release date for either issue, but they’re expected to hit stands in January and February 2020,

Finally, we have one last trailer for Crisis before it begins and I think it’s my favorite so far. One of the previous trailers had that fantastic line from Brandon Routh’s Superman, “Hope is the light that leads us through the darkness“, but it is a think this one has it beat with Kevin Conroy‘s Bruce Wayne delivering this killer line: “Battle not with monsters, lest you become a monster.” Hell yeah, Batman. Watch it here:

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, which 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!

-Paul

*Oh! I almost forgot! One last thing, I really think we are going to see Diggle wield a Green Lantern power ring in Crisis. They’ve been teasing it for years and if there’s any place to do it, it’s here. Fingers crossed!

FIRST LOOK: The Villain of Crisis On Infinite Earths:The Anti-Monitor! New Character Photos! & More!

Published on November 9, 2019December 1, 2020 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment

Hey Everyone,

Paul here…

This poster was done by my favorite artists, BossLogic. It’s a direct homage to one of the most famous images in Crisis On Infinite Earths, which I’ve posted below.

Left: The famous Death of Supergirl image from Crisis On Infinite Earth; Right: A promo poster for a Season 2 Supergirl episode, that directly referenced this iconic comic book image.

The CW’s Ultimate DC Superhero Crossover: Crisis On Infinite Earths is coming! This is like DC‘s version of endgame in many ways. The Arrowverse , like the MCU after Endgame, will be fundamentally altered. Heroes will live. Heroes will die. They’ve been building to this since the very first episode of The Flash. I’ve loved every annual crossover The Arrowverse has done, but this is one of the most iconic stories in the history of comics, I just really hope they knock it out of the park with this one. Despite the looming threat he’s been posing for more then a year and a half, we have yet to see the biggest bad, The Anti-Monitor himself, in the flesh. Well, we don’t have to wait any longer due to this exclusive, very cool unveiling of the character from EW.com. Take a look!

You may notice how similar he looks to The Monitor, that’s because not only are they played by the same actor (Lamonica Garret), but they’re also brothers. The Monitor, The Anti-Monitor, and a being called The Forger (though don’t expect to be seeing him popping up), were three of the first living beings in creation. Each brother was tasked with a sacred duty by their Mother, the creator of the entire Multiverse. However, these roles and duties sometimes brought the brothers in conflict with one another, like in Crisis. The Anti-Monitor needs to destroy The Multiverse and The Monitor will stop at nothing to ensure that he does not succeed.

Though not quite as exciting as the reveal of The Anti-Monitor, official photos have been unveiled to show a few characters we know, but in a way we’ve never seen them before. First, there’s Digg’s wife Lyla Michaels (The Head of A.R.G.US.) as the character, Harbinger. I knew actress Audrey Marie Anderson, who plays Lyla, would be playing a character called Harbinger in Crisis. Without saying too much, Harbinger had a role to play in the original Crisis On Infinite Earths. When I heard Anderson would be playing Harbinger. I assumed that this was one of Lyla’s doppelgängers from another Earth, but considering that her call sign on missions has always been Harbinger and the recent reveal that she is actually working with The Monitor, makes me think that this is probably the Lyla and we know from Earth-1. Then we have an image of what seems to be a new “Wells”, as the character Pariah. I don’t wanna say too much about Pariah and the role he plays in Crisis from the source material, for fear of accidentally spoiling certain key plot points. However, like Lyla, when Tom Cavanaugh was revealed to be playing Pariah, I initially thought Pariah would be just another version of Wells from The Multiverse, but with the recent introduction of Nash Wells (and he is very personal, intense desire to find and learn more about The Monitor, to some thus far unknown end). I don’t think it’s too far of a stretch to say that Nash Wells is Pariah.

It’s also been revealed that the iconic DC character The Spectre will appear in the crossover. The Spectre is one of the most powerful and terrifying beings in the DC Universe. Regarded as literally the right hand of God, he is the spirit of vengeance personified. While neither good nor evil, his immense power and tendency to deal out brutal punishment to those he sees as evil, make him one of the most feared beings in The Multiverse. The Spectre needs to bond with the spirit of a recently dead human, most famously crooked cop Jim Corrigan. Which is the iteration of the character we will be seeing in Crisis, played by Stephen Lobo.

The Spectre is a being that exist on a completely different power level than even the strongest DC characters and he doesn’t bother to get involved in “minor” mortal events. So, his presence in Crisis means that the shit has REALLY hit the fan. Regardless of how it all turns out, this is going to be a blast to watch! So don’t miss the full schedule for each show that’s part of the crossover, which I’ve posted below.

It’s always fun to see John Constantine interacting with other characters from the Arrowverse. He always mixes things up in a fun way. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to hook up with Oliver‘s daughter, Mia. Which would be pretty funny. Plus, Jonah Hex is always excellent!

It all begins with the first 3 Parts of the 5-Part crossover, with Supergirl on Sunday, Dec. 8, followed by Batwoman on Monday, Dec. 9, and The Flash on Tuesday, Dec. 10. When the show’s return from the annual winter break, the final 2 chapters of the crossover will continue on Tuesday, Jan. 14, with Arrow at 8 p.m., and conclude with Legends of Tomorrow at 9 p.m.

-Paul