Warner Brothers announced a slew of films yesterday morning, essentially challenging Marvel with their upcoming movies. So what’s all on the table? Aside from the previously slated Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them (now to be a trilogy), here’s what we can expect through 2020 from WB.
2016
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
We’ve been privy to several released photos and plot lines from Zack Snyder’s gritty, filtered upcoming movie featuring a grizzly, buff, Batfleck and the chiseled jaw of Henry Cavill for some months now, yet I’m not alone in feeling blah toward the upcoming flick, even with the addition of Gal Gadot (whom I adore) as Diana of Themyscira. Inspired by Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight, we can probably expect something a bit darker than what we’re used to!
Comic Recommendation: Frank Miller’s Dark Knight books, or maybe Kingdom Come for a slighter older take on the Trinity
Suicide Squad
Again, gritty seems to to be the word of the year over at the studio, so who makes up the roster of this flick of bad guys directed by David Ayer? Deadshot seems to be the obvious choice, but my money is on Harley Quinn making her first ever movie appearance, as well as Black Manta, and the Wall herself, Amanda Waller. I’m all up for bad guys tearing shit up, but as long as there’s some FUN to it!
Comic Recommendation: Keith Giffen’s or Adam Glass’s Suicide Squad
2017
Wonder Woman
FINALLY. It’s been an unforgivable amount of years, but thank the old gods and the new, that our warrior is finally getting her own movie. Sure, it’s two years away, but it’s HAPPENING. Gal Gadot will again be donning the tiara as she battles her way through who knows what, but with the rumors swirling around that Diana’s origins will be in line with her New52 ones, we can except some amazing battles. Hopefully Brian Azzarello or Gail Simone will be on hand to assist with the script, so we can get the Wonder Woman we deserve. PLEASE DO NOT FUCK THIS UP, WARNER BROTHERS.
Comic Recommendation: Brian Azzarello’s Wonder Woman
C’mon, guys. A whole movie of this? Solid gold.
Justice League
There’s not much to be said about this ensemble film. Will it rival the Avengers? Who knows. Will Martian Manhunter make his appearance? I fucking hope so. Will it be along the lines of the Justice League: War animated film, so our team spends the film sputtering insults at each other? Pass.
Comic Recommendation: Brad Meltzer’s Justice League of America
2018
The Flash
It’s not news to some that this cinematic Flash would be different from CW’s Flash, but for some it was quite the nasty shock that Ezra Miller (of Perks of Being a Wallflower fame) will be donning those red tights. No word yet on what sort of story we might see, but MAYBE we can get a different Flash instead of Barry Allen, since he’s basically covered in the television show. Mayhaps a twist on The Flash: Rebirth!
Comic Recommendation: Geoff John’s The Flash: Rebirth
Aquaman
I had tons to say about Aquaman, but when I found the photo above my wits left me. We know Jason Momoa will be outfitted in the green and gold of DC’s “lamest” superhero, and I personally wish to see the New52’s storyline on the big screen. It handles all the misconceptions about Aquaman, while rendering him a certified badass. This is definitely in my top two “must see” flicks on this list so far, simply because it was getting lonely being the only Aquaman fan!
Comic Recommendation: Geoff John’s Aquaman
2019
Shazam
We got confirmation that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson would be wearing that shiny, white cape of Billy Batson’s alter-ego, but this is the movie I’m least excited to see. It has potential for laughs, as Shazam gets the job done with a child-like wonder, but my main concern is how strong the story will be. There’s so many questions too, such as will the rest of the Marvel family appear? Will he just be called Shazam, or will we know him by Captain Marvel (not to be confused by Marvel’s Captain Marvel), if the copyright is still in place? Will Black Adam be the big bad?
Comic Recommendation: Jeff Smith’s Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil
Justice League 2
Again, there’s not much to go one, except rumors, but if rumors are all I have, so be it. Speculation places Darkseid as the blue-faced villain of the first Justice League movie (joining other blue faced nemeses like Apocalypse, from Fox’s X-Men, and Thanos, from Marvel’s cinematic universe), so I will use my tiny bit of internet to plead for Starro or Amazo or Vandal Savage! There’s so much out there, just waiting to see a tiny slice of the general population. So much. It’d be amazing as a comic fan to see some of it played out in all its glory.
Comic Recommendation: Mark Waid’s JLA: Tower of Babel
2020
Cyborg
Of all the people in the DC Universe, I was most surprised by this announcement. Victor Stone isn’t a character that you normally see solo (normally he’s on the Teen Titans roster), but a teenager with a genius level intellect will be a nice addition to all the burly men (and one woman) we will so far be seeing! Ray Fisher doesn’t have much under his belt aside from a handful of Broadway shows, but he’s set to make his first appearance in the Batman v. Superman movie, giving us a peek at what we can expect in 2020.
Comic Recommendation: Geoff John’s Teen Titans or Judd Winnick’s Titans
Green Lantern
As much as I would love this Green Lantern movie to feature John Stewart (cause let’s all admit, 90% of the Ryan Reynolds GL was trash), I think that would be hopeful to the point of foolishness, given DC’s track record of being wholly ignorant of what we, the fans, want. TWO blockbuster filmed led by black men in the SAME YEAR, would be absolutely mind blowing, and tons of people are already fans of John Stewart, having grown up on the animated Justice League series. Let’s make this happen, DC. Representation matters!
Comic Recommendation: Geoff John’s Green Lantern: Rebirth or John Starlin’s Cosmic Odyssey
Overall, this is exciting, and I’m very much cautiously optimistic of what the future holds. There’s still stand alone Batman, and Superman films that haven’t been announced yet, so with these PLUS all that Marvel is bringing to the screen…well, let’s just say my wallet is going to be a lot lighter, assuming I like what I see from trailers, and so forth. My only thing is…I hope both studios think of the younger people, and involve some of the teenager teams, like Teen Titans, and the Runaways or Young Avengers.
What movie are you most excited for?
Editor’s Note: Leia will be glad to help you find the comics referenced above, just tweet at her (@ladyvader99)!
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Harry Potter. Avengers. Doctor Who. Sherlock. Long ago, the four fandoms lived together in harmony and then everything changed when I discovered Supernatural. Only Tumblr, master of all fandoms, could help me and as I fell further and further into gifs, I became obsessed. Months passed and I fell in love with the series and its stars, Jensen and Jared. Although I’ve finished all eight seasons, I have to wait with everyone else. I believe Supernatural can save the world.
If you had told me six months ago that I would be balls deep in a CW show, I would have punched your face. A bad Buffy rip-off with very attractive male leads? Hard pass. At the urging of several friends (none of whom knew each other, all of whose opinions I respected), I begrudgingly began the series, seven seasons of which were available on Netflix.
The words that launched millions of fans into this fandom struck me hard, and although I didn’t know it yet, behind my rolled eyes and scoffs at their cheesy lines, I was irrevocably smitten with the show. It wasn’t long until I was in tears over an episode, and black Impalas caused my breath to hitch. Perhaps you’re like me and have only heard mentions of the show. What’s it about, you wonder? Dean (Jensen Ackles) and his brother Sam (Jared Padalecki) are the sons of a respected hunter, John Winchester (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) who specializes in the supernatural. When John goes missing while tracking down an entity which killed their mother, the boys head out to follow his trail, slaying monsters and creatures along the way.
With this foolproof recipe for every episode, the show explores the at first strained relationship between the brothers, allowing us to become emotionally attached to them as the story arcs intertwine into one pleasantly satisfying backbone. Later seasons introduce new characters, such as fan favorite Castiel (Misha Collins), a rebellious angel, scruffy father figure Bobby Singer (Jim Beaver), and the King of Hell, played by a man you may have seen in many other shows (Mark Shephard),
Later seasons also disposed of the standard “themed bad guy/Winchesters save the day” in favor of more in depth stories, some spanning several episodes, particularly when the angels become key players. Episode titles also evolved from generic one worded phrases like “Wendigo,” “Scarecrow,” or “Bugs,” to hilarious pop culture sentences such as “Are you there, God? It’s me, Dean Winchester,” and “Live free or Twi-Hard.”
Now, gents, you might have hesitated on watching this show due to thoughts of it pandering to its female audience. Shirtless scenes are few, far between, and, sorrowfully, brief. As far as the cast being a sausage fest, well, I haven’t even mentioned the gorgeous ladies of Supernatural.
Fellow hunter Jo Harvelle
The demon, Ruby (version 1.0)
The demon, Ruby (version 2.0)
The demon, Meg (version 2.0)
Friend to the Winchesters, Charlie
In my attempt to embrace being part of the fandom, I lost track of myself and didn’t write for weeks at a time. I went hours glued to Netflix. Meals were scavenged in the few seconds the title card appeared on screen. I became active in Tumblr, reblogging gifs faster than I’m proud to admit. I joined the legions of fans screaming of feels upon hearing the first measures of Kansas’ “Carry On My Wayward Son” and I am currently looking at the Jensen Ackles sticker on my Tardis patterned notebook. Judge me not, fellow geeks, for I assure you, should you give Supernatural a fair chance (season 2 for me was where I really started watching with interest), you may find yourself longingly wishing to attend a Supernatural convention, and you may not. As with all shows, there are extreme portions of the fandom, and I plead with you to not be scared off by them; they’re mostly harmless.
I finished the most recent season about a month ago and to get my fix, to cure my lust for more, I scoured YouTube for interviews and convention footage of the stars, feeling like a puppy begging for scraps, hints, anything about what may lie ahead. LITERALLY, I HAVE SPENT HOURS ON YOUTUBE. I am not hyperbolizing. Thankfully the gods have blessed us with a 5-minute long sneak peek and a 1-minute promotional commercial and that has sated the beast that resides in my heart. For now.
I leave you now with this, a peek at the hilarious moments of Supernatural, for not only will the show pluck at those heartstrings, it will tickle that funny bone.
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So I’ve watched every episode of the CW’s hit show Supernatural, and although the episodes usually don’t have the emotional impact that the early seasons had, the show is still going strong. However, I had never read any of the books, so when the opportunity to review a book set during the middle of season 7 came about I was happy to oblige and curious as to the quality.
The back of the book told me that a string of mysterious deaths were leaving victims in an almost mummified state and Sam and Dean Winchester discover a patchwork dog (called “Frankenmutt” and “Stinkenstein” throughout the book) was the culprit. I was pretty discouraged that all the surprise was told to me on the back of the book! But fret not…. in typical Supernatural style there were plenty of twists and turns that quickly made it clear that the back of the book hardly scratched the surface.
If you are a fan of the show you are familiar with the formula that almost every episode starts with some innocent (or not so innocent) people being murdered by some bad thing and as it’s a cable show, the camera always cuts away to a wall being splattered with blood. Refreshingly, the book spares you no gruesome details and the entire first chapter is dedicated to giving you an elaborate back story to the poor schmuck’s who are going to be slaughtered and then relishes in the kill itself. It came as a shock, but one I realized the show has been missing. Where the show has a set run time and can’t slow down, the book can take the time to fully develop every character while still staying the tried and true path.
For example….
Joyce screamed as the monster-dog sank its teeth into Ted’s throat and began shaking him back and forth, as if he were nothing but a toy. Ted’s eyes widened with fear and pain,but although his mouth gaped wide, no sound emerged. An instant later Joyce understood why, as thick blood geysered upward. It ran down the sides of Ted’s mouth and turned his white hair crimson before soaking into the ground beneath.
See?
The story sees Sam and Dean taking a detour from their hunt of the leviathan, Dick Roman, and instead pursuing a strange lead in a small town that Sam hopes will lead to a powerful weapon to use against the leviathans. They learn of the mummified victims, find out it’s a monster mutt, Sam gets bitten by it, and then…. they kill it. And this is only about chapter 3. So guess what? The monster dog was just a patsy for a far more interesting story involving elements taken from Frankenstein and Re-Animator (something that the author is well aware of).
Along with this comes the fact that Sam is still haunted by hallucinations due to his time as a play thing for Satan and the archangel Michael (also something you’d have to watch the show to know) and Dean has little interest in even being in the town, making for an interesting dynamic as the story often switches whose perspective is telling the story. A great benefit over the show is characters don’t have to say anything for you to know their hidden thought dialogue (an obvious benefit that books can provide).
I was extremely happy with the story Tim Waggoner crafted, especially considering he was able to capture Sam and Dean’s dialogue to the T. I’m definitely excited to read more of the Supernatural book series as the books and the show compliment each other in a really unique way, interweaving the stories instead of trying to rewrite them. My favorite highlight throughout the book is an ongoing flashback involving Sam and Dean’s early days before they are “true” hunters and a girl named Trish.
If you are a fan of the Supernatural tv show then you definitely need to do yourself a favor and give this book a read. If you are a casual fan of horror/supernatural books this might be hit or miss for you as a lot of the story relies on you understand these characters, but I’d still recommend it because there are plenty of unique characters and gory situations, monsters, ancient gods, a little bit of history, funny dialogue, and some good action scattered throughout.
– Johnny Townsend
Staff Writer
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On May 13th of 2011 Smallville ended its 10 year run with the finale that fans have wanted to see since its conception. Clark donned the Superman outfit and saved the world, making his first public appearance as the man of tomorrow. Of course, it only lasted a few short minutes and we never really got to see him in the full outfit (technically), but still it was a pretty great send off for the hit series. The show had its ups and downs, with some seasons being remarkably slower than the previous, however; in the end it really managed to pick itself up and raise the bar quite a bit. One episode, however; just didn’t seem enough for Clark’s adventures as Superman! For some time there have been rumors Smallvilles return, some stating there would be a movie and others a spin-off series. Well, fans can finally rejoice as Dc Entertainment has officially announced that Smallville will be returning for a 11th season, via comics!
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By now, if you’re a Smallville fan, you’ve probably heard through the grapevine or www.bleedingcool.com that Bryan Q. Miller was tapped for writing season eleven of Smallville in novel format. I seriously feel like I was the last to know about this, but that aside, if it turns out to be true, it would be a very good thing for fans of the show.
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