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Posted by Bob Muir on May 7, 2014 in Comic Books, Television 
Good news for Batman fans who weren’t satiated by the Dark Knight Trilogy, the critically-acclaimed Arkham series of videogames, and the upcoming Batman vs. Superman: Fox has picked up Gotham, a police drama centered on Jim Gordon and set before Bruce Wayne became Batman. Ben McKenzie is portraying a younger Gordon, while David Mazouz is young Bruce Wayne and Sean Pertwee is Alfred Pennyworth; Jada Pinkett Smith, and Donal Logue are also supporting cast. And naturally, there are some villains involved. Read more…
Tags: Batman, DC Comics, Fox, Gotham
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 29, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
We all knew that Warner Brothers and DC wanted a piece of that sweet crossover pie that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been enjoying. But instead of doing several related movies as origin stories (like Man of Steel) and leading into a big team-up, they’re starting with the second movie in their new franchise: Batman vs. Superman (which should really have an official name by now). After many, many rumors since 2013 about a big team-up movie, Warner Brothers’s president of worldwide production Greg Silverman has confirmed that the third film in this series will be Justice League. And it will be directed by Zack Synder. Here’s where I begin to sigh. Read more…
Tags: Batman, DC Comics, Justice League, Man of Steel, Superman, Warner Brothers, Zack Snyder
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 16, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Renowned composer Hans Zimmer composed the soundtracks to Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy of films and also Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel. Naturally, fans have wondered whether or not he’d return to score Batman vs. Superman (or whatever WB ends up calling it). Zimmer had previously mentioned he likely wouldn’t do it, since he’d fear producing the same kind of output instead of anything new. However, it seems like he’s had a change of heart. Apparently after he finishes scoring Nolan’s Interstellar, “head over to where Zack is shooting his movie and just hang out a bit and see if we can come up with any ideas.” It’s good news for fans of the composer, and if Ben Affleck’s Batman is presented in any similar manner to Christian Bale’s Batman, it might be interesting for him to reference his previous score. Read more…
Tags: Batman, DC Comics, Man of Steel, Superman, Warner Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 5, 2014 in Comic Books, Videogames 
Reviews of Batman: Arkham Origins were mixed. Some liked the familiar gameplay, while others saw it as a buggy rehash of Batman: Arkham City by Warner Brothers’ b-team. Regardless of your opinion, I think we can all agree that the series belongs in the hands of developer Rocksteady, which is just what is happening. Batman: Arkham Knight will be the final game in Rocksteady’s trilogy and feature the Scarecrow as the main villain (as hinted in Arkham City). Two-Face, the Penguin, and Harley Quinn will be in the mix, with the latter playable if you preorder, though it’s unclear if they’ll be story sections or challenge maps. Batman can also freely ride in the Batmobile, newly redesigned for this game, though reminiscent of the Tumbler from Nolan’s Batman films. Read more…
Tags: Batman, Batman: Arkham Knight, DC Comics
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 1, 2014 in Comic Books, Television 
He looks like the Flash, alright.
Were we expecting anything different? It’s really hard to get those full-head masks to look right, though. This one looks okay. I can appreciate the attempt to keep the lightning bolts on the side. Colleen Atwood, who designed the Arrow’s costume, designed this one as well. The pilot for the Flash TV series will begin filming very soon, aiming at release in the 2014-2015 season on the CW. It also aims to be part of a larger DC universe the resides on TV — whether these TV characters will ever cross into the feature film realm is unknown yet. It could be an easy way to test the waters, though! Read more…
Tags: DC Comics, Flash
Posted by Bob Muir on Feb 12, 2014 in Comic Books 
In hindsight, it was kind of creepy to buy those big packs of branded Valentine’s Day cards and pass them out to your friends in elementary school. But let’s ignore that and look at these Batman Valentines from 1966, found by Mark Anderson. Batman and friends make horrible lovey-dovey puns, the Penguin is “hissable,” Mr. Freeze has apparently cured his wife but left her in ice, and there are naturally hearts everywhere. So print one out and give it to your sweetie this Friday — but tuck it into a better card, because you don’t want to annoy your other half too much. Read more…
Tags: Batman, DC Comics
Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 25, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Last we had heard, Gal Gadot has been picked to play Wonder Woman in the upcoming sequel to Man of Steel, but now it’s confirmed that she’ll be sticking around in the DC movie universe a bit longer. She has signed on for a standalone Wonder Woman film and an eventual Justice League movie. I’m interested to see how this second Superman film turns out, now that Wonder Woman and Batman are creeping in on his turf. I also think Gadot is a great choice for the part, and people who complain that she’s “too skinny” and “not buff enough” need to take a chill pill. You’ve seen the change Christian Bale went through for the Batman trilogy, right? I bet she’s started an impressive regiment already. Read more…
Tags: DC Comics, Man of Steel, Wonder Woman
Posted by Bob Muir on Jan 21, 2014 in Animation 
TV Guide premiered the first trailer for DC’s next animated movie, Son of Batman. This is an adaptation of the 2006 storyline Batman & Son, in which Bruce Wayne learns that he has a son from the boy’s mother, Talia al Ghul, leader of the League of Assassins. Bruce raises him, and soon young Damian is going out with Batman as Robin, though he certainly acts like someone who was raised by the League of Assassins. The animation looks good enough, though Damian seems a bit whinier and less aggressive than he is in the comics. Take a look and see what you think! Read more…
Tags: Batman, DC Comics, Warner Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 5, 2013 in Uncategorized 
I feel a little bit for Man of Steel‘s Superman. Henry Cavill did an good job working under Zack Snyder’s weak filmmaking, and we all assumed he’d get to be at the heart of whatever WB was doing to eventually lead into a Justice League movie. But it seems they’re not taking the Marvel path of several origin films, as his next film is Batman vs. Superman (or one of many other poor names for a movie). Now he’ll have even less of the spotlight, as it’s now confirmed that Wonder Woman will be in the movie. WB just announced that Gal Gadot will play the famous female superhero in her first time on the big screen. Read more…
Tags: Batman, DC Comics, Man of Steel, Superman, Warner Brothers, Wonder Woman
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 29, 2013 in Animation, Comic Books 
It looks like Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox really was a way for DC to reboot their animated universe, which has lately been a way for them to just animate movies of whatever storylines they want without much care for overall continuity or consistency. But just like Flashpoint led into The New 52 in the comics, it’s leading into a new origin story for the Justice League in Justice League: War, their next animated movie due out sometime in 2014. Read more…
Tags: DC Comics, Justice League, Warner Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 16, 2013 in Animation, Comic Books 
Zack Snyder (Man of Steel) and Bruce Timm (Superman: The Animated Series) teamed up to create this fantastic short highlighting how Superman has changed and also stayed the same throughout the past 75 years. Watch as Superman jumps off the pages of his debut comic and journeys through various eras: the Fleischer Studios cartoons, The Adventures of Superman (George Reeves), the Super Family, the Super Friends, his motion picture debut (Christopher Reeve), the Death of Superman, Superman: The Animated Series, Smallville, the New 52, and eventually Man of Steel, with even more events and references thrown in along the way. The best part is the way the art style shifts to reflect how Superman was portrayed at that time, not just in terms of costume or face design, but art styles too; the Fleischer cartoon style looks totally different from Bruce Timm’s animated series. Check it out, read this list of annotations, and then watch it again! Read more…
Tags: DC Comics, Superman, Warner Brothers, Zack Snyder
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 15, 2013 in Comic Books, Videogames 
Despite being a prequel and switching developers away from Rocksteady, Batman: Arkham Origins is actually shaping up to be an awesome entry in the Arkham series of videogames. One major cause for concern was Mark Hamill retiring from the role of the Joker, but Troy Baker sounded pretty good in recent trailers. If you want to completely erase your concerns, watch this clip from New York Comic-Con of Baker reading aloud a monologue from Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke, one of the best Joker-focused comics. Baker sounds right on the money, sounding natural and evoking Hamill’s performance. I’d say we have a worthy successor of voice actors here. Read more…
Tags: Batman, Batman: Arkham Origins, DC Comics, PS3, Warner Brothers, Xbox 360
Posted by Bob Muir on Sep 26, 2013 in Comic Books, Television 
With the success of Arrow, the upcoming Flash series, and the continuing popularity of the Batman franchise, it was only a matter of time before some sort of Batman TV series was made. The only wrinkle is that like 2002’s Birds of Prey, this series will have no Batman. Yes, Warner Bros. is making Gotham, a police procedural centered on a younger Commissioner Jim Gordon before he meets Batman. And despite WB making it, Fox has won a bidding war for the series, committing to the series without even asking for a pilot. Gotham is being created by Bruno Heller, who has also created The Mentalist for CBS. Read more…
Tags: Batman, DC Comics, Fox, Warner Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 21, 2013 in Comic Books, Videogames 
I’ll admit to being quite nervous about how Batman: Arkham Origins would turn out. It’s not being made by Rocksteady, who made the last two critically-acclaimed games. It’s missing Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill (Batman and the Joker). It’s a prequel, not following up on the tantalizing threads left by Arkham City. And it’s adding a multiplayer mode. But the latest trailer is the trailer that made me put down money for a preorder. It looks like a Gotham I want to explore and a story I want to experience. They even took Firefly, one of Batman’s b-list villains, and made him look kind of awesome and menacing! Plus, it helps that not only does Roger Craig Smith sound like a competent young Batman, but Troy Baker is doing an excellent job at emulating Hamill’s Joker, which is no easy task. Read more…
Tags: Batman, Batman: Arkham Origins, DC Comics, Warner Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 15, 2013 in Comic Books, Videogames 
Telltale Games knocked it out of the park with The Walking Dead: Season One. It garnered tons of “Game of the Year” awards, which is incredible for a modestly-budgeted game with no bleeding-edge graphics from a smaller developer. Season Two is coming in Q4 2013, but before those episodes start releasing, Telltale has another comic book collaboration to start: The Wolf Among Us, a prequel to Bill Willingham’s Fables series. The episodic game will release its first episode in Q3 2013, with the overall series centering on Bigby Wolf, the reformed Big Bad Wolf who can take human form. Bigby works to keep other fairy tale creatures in line in a part of NYC known as Fabletown. Read more…
Tags: DC Comics, Fables, PS3, The Wolf Among Us, Vertigo, Xbox 360
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 1, 2013 in Comic Books, Videogames 
It seems like you can’t get to the third game of a series without multiplayer being thrown in along the way. As rumored, Batman: Arkham Origins will have a multiplayer mode called “Invisible Predator.” It’s an eight-player mode that pits two three-person gangs against Batman and Robin. Basically, Bane’s gang and Joker’s gangs play a game of territories against each other. Along the way, they need to fend off Batman and Robin, who are using stealth tactics to take out the gangs. If certain gang members meet up at the right place, one of them can become Bane or Joker themselves, which grants bonuses and paints a bigger target on their backs. Read more…
Tags: Batman, Batman: Arkham Origins, DC Comics, Warner Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on Jul 18, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
When looking at the comics that made the medium more respected in the 80s and 90s, one of the most notable titles was Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, a complete reinterpretation of an ancient DC comic book. I’ve only read the first volume, but I loved the dark, dreamy atmosphere. So I think it’s a little strange that Diane Nelson, the current president of DC, says her first choice for a new movie was a Sandman adaptation, saying “it could be as rich as the Harry Potter universe.” Read more…
Tags: DC Comics, sandman, Warner Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on Jul 17, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
[Note: This article vaguely references spoilers if you still haven’t seen Man of Steel.] I’ll admit to enjoying Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, though I still prefer the first two Superman films by Richard Donner. But the climax of the film felt like the still-in-the-works “DC Cinematic Universe” had blown its load before its actual creation; by comparison, the Marvel Cinematic Universe didn’t trash New York City until the sixth film, keeping its origin-story threats small yet reasonably formidable. The long-running How It Should Have Ended (HISHE) YouTube series took special note of Man of Steel‘s ending, and they’ve crafted a more sensible ending for the film. Sure, it would be anticlimatic, and it doesn’t adequately establish Superman’s desire for peace before violence, but considering how much destruction there was in the finale, this may have been preferable for the inhabitants of Metropolis. Read more…
Tags: DC Comics, Man of Steel, Superman, Warner Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on Jul 16, 2013 in Comic Books, Videogames 
If you were watching EVO 2013 over the weekend — which had a ton of intense, fun-t0-watch matches! — then you’ll have already heard about several fighting game announcements. But if you didn’t (and shame on you), then here’s some news: Super Street Fighter IV will be getting another update, supplanting the current version (Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition – Version 2012). This new version replaces the long name and simply goes by Ultra Street Fighter IV. Along with the usual game rebalancing and other tweaks, five new characters will be added: Hugo, Poison, Elena, Rolento, and a fifth character who is supposedly all-new, having never appeared in a Street Fighter game before. Read more…
Tags: Capcom, DC Comics, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Warner Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on Jul 9, 2013 in Animation, Comic Books 
DC’s latest reboot, “The New 52,” didn’t pop up overnight. Even if they were discarding all that pesky old continuity (sort of), DC had to build up to it and give an in-universe reason why the reboot occurred. Hence, Flashpoint, a storyline where the Flash wakes up in an alternate universe and must fix things, leading to The New 52 universe which made changes and merged the Vertigo and Wildstorm lines into the main DC continuity. There’s an animated adaptation by Warner Brothers coming out July 30 on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital. It’s called Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, and WB has put out this preview! Read more…
Tags: DC Comics, Flash, Warner Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on May 21, 2013 in Comic Books, Videogames 
If you remember the first trailer for Batman: Arkham City, the 2011 sequel that took gaming by storm, you’ll remember that it was just a long, highly-rendered cutscene. Though not as ridiculously detailed as that one, the first trailer for this fall’s prequel Batman: Arkham Origins is in the same vein, showing a younger Batman fighting Deathstroke and other assassins on Christmas Eve before coming face-to-face with primary antagonist Black Mask. Read more…
Tags: Batman, Batman: Arkham Origins, DC Comics, Warner Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on May 16, 2013 in Comic Books, Videogames 
So who would win in a fight: Superman or Batman? How about a different Superman or Batman? How about all the Supermen and Batmen? Get ready to pair off characters, because reportedly every DC character is going to be in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure, a new game for 3DS, Wii U, and PC this fall. The new game is making an attempt to get all the various versions of characters in, with reports that there will be 33 different Batmen and 133 Green Lanterns. Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Batman, DC Comics, Scribblenauts, Wii U
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 17, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
As much as I wanted to remain cautiously optimistic, bordering on disbelieving, of Man of Steel, this new trailer has won me over. Sure, I’m still not confident in Zack Snyder’s ability to direct, and I’m not the biggest Superman fan, but now I’m immensely interested in what this movie may do with Superman. And though it was in the first trailer, that shot of Superman taking off still gives me chills. Watch it now! Read more…
Tags: DC Comics, Man of Steel, Superman, Warner Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 16, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Though this ad for Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel is a “viral” video, it requires some suspension of disbelief. The idea is that General Zod is trying to contact our world to turn over Superman, or get Superman to turn over himself. Normally, I’d think this would be done on TV, and this ad was shown during the MTV Movie Awards. But it premiered online first, and this video is on YouTube. So I suppose I’m expected to believe that General Zod recorded this with the intent to put it online, where people might see it. Read more…
Tags: DC Comics, Man of Steel, Superman, Warner Brothers
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