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Thursday, September 29, 2016

Dominators Revealed as Big Bad for DC Heroes CW Crossover


The CW is about to have an Invasion.

CBR has word that DC Comics aliens The Dominators will be the central villains of the upcoming DC superhero crossover event on The CW.  The crossover will take place across all four CW shows set in the Arrowverse -- Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow.  Arrow's 100th episode is expected to be part of the crossover.

"This year, for our mega ‘Arrowverse’ crossover," said Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow executive producer Marc Guggenheim, "we’re taking inspiration from a DC crossover from the late 1980s known as Invasion!, which featured an alien race called the Dominators, who’d previously vexed the Legion of Super-Heroes.  We’re using cutting-edge prosthetics and computer effects to achieve a feature film-quality look which is faithful to Invasion! artist Todd McFarlane’s interpretation of the characters."

Created in 1967 by Jim Shooter and Jim Mooney, the Dominators first appeared in Adventure Comics (vol.1) #361 as a 30th century confederation of worlds that sued for peace after two decades of war with the United Planets.  With anti-Dominion feelings strong on Earth, the President called upon the Legion of Super-Heroes to ensure their ambassadors' safe arrival. The heroes were sent to the neutral planet, Politor, where they met the Dominators, a race characterized by blue skin, baldness, and round white discs on their foreheads which signify rank.  Under orders from the President, the Legion oversaw the transport of the Dominators' ambassadors through the 10th dimension, a sub-universe in which a billion-mile trip is reduced to only five hundred miles.  

A costumed group of villains called the Unkillables entered the 10th dimension, intending to strike and weaken the caravan at periodic intervals before finally destroying it.  Their leader was revealed as the Dominators' deposed ruler, who sought to use the Unkillables for revenge.  The Unkillables, found to be descendants of infamous assassins in Earth history, were turned into killers by one of his machines.  As the Legion returned to Earth, the Dominators revealed that they are actually three-dimensional images, and that the real aliens have already reached Earth.

The Dominators were active in the 20th century as well, during the events of Invasion!, where they formed an Alliance of several alien races to invade Earth and eliminate the threat posed by their unpredictable metahumans.  In secret, however, the Dominators wished to harness and breed their own army of metahumans, but this goal was kept secret from the rest of the Alliance, and from their own junior cadres.  After purging the galaxy of numerous potential threats to their plan, such as securing Darkseid's non-interference by assuring him that they would not destroy the planet and thwart his quest for the Anti-Life Equation, assassinating many former members of the disbanded Green Lantern Corps, and attacking the Omega Men, the Alliance launched a massive attack on Earth, overrunning Australia and establishing there a base from which to conquer the rest of the planet.  The Alliance made an offer to spare the human race provided that the world's governments surrender their metahumans, but the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly rejected this offer.

Superman led a counterattack against the main Alliance base, which was temporarily disrupted by the Daxamites, who temporarily defeated him, but fell prey to Earth's atmospheric differences from their own world.  After Superman helped save them, the Daxamites decided to withdraw from the Alliance and help defend Earth.  To that end, a small fleet of primarily troop transports arrived and demanded that invasion alliance to withdraw from Earth.  The Dominators decided to ignore them, unaware of the effect of a yellow sun environment on Daxamites, until the fleet deployed several thousand soldiers into space as a near invincible attack force.  This, combined with key defeats in various theaters, and a full-scale and uncontrollable riot aboard the Alliance Gulag, led to a quick collapse for the Alliance and individual surrenders by each former member.

Afterwards, a young Dominator, aspiring to prominence among his people, managed to isolate the human gene that made a person able to survive otherwise lethal episodes and develop superhuman powers.  On his own initiative, he developed and deployed the Gene Bomb, a device that bathed the Earth in a weird energy and affected every metahuman exposed in malignant ways, causing them to lose control of their powers and eventually fall into a coma and die.  Since the point of the invasion was to harness these beings, not eradicate them, the Dominator was imprisoned by his own government.  Prior to his execution, a group of heroes unaffected by the gene bomb, led by the Martian Manhunter, managed to steal data from his mind crucial to reversing the effects of the gene bomb and restore most metahumans back to health.  Ironically, the detonation of the Gene Bomb was actually responsible for the creation of several metahumans.


This will be the Dominators' first appearance in live-action, but they've appeared in a couple of animated projects, the Legion of Super-Heroes animated series and the direct-to-home video Green Lantern: Emerald Knights.

The four-way crossover is expected to air on The CW sometime in December.

DOCTOR WHO: No Christmas Companion, Just Nardole and a "Superhero"


Well, at least there's a telephone box with plenty of room to change in.

The RadioTimes has some new details on the upcoming Doctor Who Christmas Special, revealing that the Doctor won't have a temporary companion before Pearl Mackie arrives in Series Ten as his new companion Bill.

The article confirms that Nardole, played once again by Matt Lucas, will have "a major role" that occupies the "companion space".  Lucas' return as Nardole in the 2016 Christmas Special was announced last June.

"The Doctor won’t have a temporary companion this Christmas, and essentially, that space will be taken by Nardole," said their source.  "He’s not a companion as such, but it’s not as if he doesn’t play a similar role."

Nardole first appeared in the 2015 Christmas Special "The Husbands of River Song" as a member of the human colony of Mendorax Dellora, and an employee of River Song. Nardole was told to find the surgeon River Song needed to extract the Halassi Androvar from the head of King Hydroflax.  Unfortunately, Nardole found the Twelfth Doctor and brought him to River Song instead.

When River and the Doctor escaped Hydroflax’s ship with his head in a bag, Hydroflax’s mechanical body turned to Nardole for strategic information.  Although Nardole claimed to know little of River’s plans, there was only one way for Hydroflax’s body to be sure, so it removed Nardole’s head and attached it to its own.

After the crash of the Harmony and Redemption on Darillium, Hydroflax's body was recovered from the wreckage.  As the hostile onboard computer was destroyed by the Doctor, Nardole and another head, Ramone, shared control of the body, working in a restaurant situated before the Singing Towers.  When River arrived several years after the crash, Ramone was in control as Nardole was getting some "me time" inside the body, something he admitted was hard when he greeted River from inside Hydroflax's body.


In addition, the article reports that Canadian actor Justin Chatwin will play a "superhero character" who is "a brash figure with an American accent – and in all likelihood a few dark interstellar secrets of one sort or another."

Chatwin, 33, is probably best known as Jason Kellerman on the BBC America series Orphan Black and as Tom Cruise's son in the 2005 film adaptation of War of the Worlds. He's also appeared in the movies Dragonball Evolution and Josie and the Pussycats, and on episodes of American Gothic, Shameless, Lost, Weeds, and Smallville.

The 2016 Christmas Special will be written by showrunner Steven Moffat and directed by Ed Bazalgette.  Series Ten follows sometime in April 2017.

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

THE FANDOM ZONE 076: "Better to Reign in Hell" is Up!


"Details can be distracting, sometimes a simple solution is best.  So, no matter what she's planning, remember -- Penguins eat fish."
– Edward Nygma to Oswald Cobblepot, Gotham: "Better to Reign in Hell..."

Karen and I are back with the Season 3 premiere of The Fandom Zone Podcast!

This week's reviews of comics on television include:

Fear the Walking Dead 2x12 -- "Pillar of Salt"
Gotham 3x01 -- "Better to Reign in Hell..." (Season Premiere)
Lucifer 2x01 -- "Everything's Coming Up Lucifer" (Season Premiere)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 4x01 -- "The Ghost" (Season Premiere)

This time, we talk about things like my meeting Karen (Katana) Fukuhara at the Cincinnati Comic Expo, how to pronounce Gerardo Naranjo, Karen having to cut a bitch if Strand dies, Madison's stupid plan of turning on the hotel lights, being Team Alicia, how to pronounce La Colonia, Luciana being the puppet master, David Mazouz needing to hit the KFC, the Roger Corman Fantastic Four movie, Lucius Fox needing to work in the Batoffice, the Riddler and the Penguin as villain bros, speculating on the future of Bruce's doppelgänger, Boba Jim the bounty hunter, Ella Lopez as the Barry Allen of Lucifer, Amenadiel losing his angelic powers, the debut of the Robbie Reyes version of Ghost Rider, Radcliffe's "container" for his female artifical intelligence AIDA, the awkwardness of Jemma ordering Agent May around, Chris from Fear the Walking Dead as Ghost Rider's brother Gabe, the return of Justina, our live show for the Southgate Media Group podcast marathon, and more!

You can now check out episodes of The Fandom Zone using...

Google Play Music
 -- HERE 
iTunes -- HERE
Direct Download MP3s/Libsyn -- HERE
The Fandom Zone on Facebook -- HERE
The Fandom Zone on Twitter -- @FandomZoneCast

And if that isn't enough for you, you can also check us out on YouTube, Libsyn, Soundcloud, Stitcher, and the official Southgate Media Group website!  Oh, and if you're interested in an officially official Fandom Zone Podcast t-shirt that all the cool kids are wearing, you can get those on TeePublic HERE as well!  Feel free to post a picture on our Facebook page of you or some other cool person you know wearing the shirt!

Be sure to come back next week, as we review the series premiere of Luke Cage, along with new episodes of Fear the Walking Dead, Gotham, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.right here on The Fandom Zone Podcast!

Friday, September 23, 2016

Peter Capaldi Confirmed for DOCTOR WHO Spinoff CLASS


The Caretaker is returning to Coal Hill School.

The RadioTimes has confirmed that Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi will be reprising his role of the Twelfth Doctor for the first episode of the upcoming Doctor Who spinoff Class.  "The Doctor Who family is growing," said Capaldi, "and it’s fantastic to be able to welcome the young new cast of Class into the Whoniverse."

According to the article, the Twelfth Doctor will appear in the first episode of the new series, "For Tonight We Might Die," which will introduce Coal Hill Academy classmates Charlie (Greg Austin), April (Sophie Hopkins), Ram (Fady Elsayed) and Tanya (Vivian Oparah), along with physics teacher Miss Quill (Katherine Kelly).

Nigel Betts, who played Mr. Armitage in "Into the Dalek" and "The Caretaker," is also listed as part of the regular cast.

A new BBC description states that the group will be "charged with a great responsibility by the mysterious alien known as the Doctor (Peter Capaldi): guard against the creatures of nightmare that want nothing more than to find a way through to Earth and take it for their own."

Capaldi's appearance on Class was first rumored back in March.  The official Class Twitter account also verified the news with the following post...

Two episodes will drop on the first day, with the second episode of the series titled "The Coach with the Dragon Tattoo."


BBC3 controller Damian Kavanagh said, "We know lots of BBC3 fans are Doctor Who fans so Class on BBC3 is a perfect fit. It’s nice to be back as part of the Doctor Who family."

Class will debut on BBC3 on October 22nd, with BBC America airing the series in the United States sometime in Spring 2017.

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

THE FANDOM ZONE 075: "I Walk the Line" is Up!


"Purgatory’s overrun by demon Revenants, a.k.a. Wyatt Earp’s resurrected outlaws, Bobo del Rey’s their leader, I am Doc Holliday — yes, that Doc Holliday — and Dolls here is just a dick."
"Finally!  Thank you!  It actually makes perfect sense...except for the…last…part."
– John Henry "Doc" Holliday and Officer Nicole Haught, Wynonna Earp: "I Walk the Line"

After an understandable hiatus due to Karen's husband's hospital stay, Karen and I are finally back with the Season 2 finale of The Fandom Zone Podcast!

This week's reviews of comics on television include:

Fear the Walking Dead 2x11 -- "Pablo & Jessica"
Wynonna Earp 1x13 -- "I Walk the Line" (Season One finale)

This time, we talk about things like Karen's hubs not being in the hospital anymore, our planned live episode getting kicked to the curb by Fringe's John Noble, Madison stealing her son Nick's trick of smearing blood all over herself, Alicia finally living up to her reputation of being smart, Madison being the Pied Piper of the undead, Nick being the junkie version of Donald Trump, Nick and Luciana getting busy in the trailer, my theory that Chris is going to kill Travis, Chris Hardwick reading one of my tweets live on Talking Dead (!!!), some Gamer terminology instruction from Karen, Doc hinting that Waverly might not be an Earp, Jesse and I sending positive vibes Karen's way, a preview of the upcoming fall TV season of comic book TV shows, Michael Imperioli on the ABC version of Life on Mars, getting tons of Facebook likes for Karen's pictures, flaming cars not being as cool as flaming motorcycles, DAMN Good Coffee...and HOT celebrating its 6th anniversaryand more!

You can now check out episodes of The Fandom Zone using...

Google Play Music
 -- HERE 
iTunes -- HERE
Direct Download MP3s/Libsyn -- HERE
The Fandom Zone on Facebook -- HERE
The Fandom Zone on Twitter -- @FandomZoneCast

And if that isn't enough for you, you can also check us out on YouTube, Libsyn, Soundcloud, Sticher, and the official Southgate Media Group website!  Oh, and if you're interested in an officially official Fandom Zone Podcast t-shirt that all the cool kids are wearing, you can get those on TeePublic HERE as well!  Feel free to post a picture on our Facebook page of you or some other cool person you know wearing the shirt!

Be sure to come back next week, as we begin Season 3 of The Fandom Zone and review the season premieres of Gotham, Lucifer, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., along with a new episode of Fear the Walking Dead Season 2right here on The Fandom Zone Podcast!

Friday, September 16, 2016

NEXT STOP EVERYWHERE 065: "The Deadly Assassin" is Up!


"I can feel my hair curling.  And that can mean either it's going to rain...or that I'm on to something."
-- The Fourth Doctor to EnginDoctor Who: "The Deadly Assassin"

My partner in crime and partner in time Jesse Jackson and I are back with a new episode of Next Stop Everywhere: The Doctor Who Podcast!  In this episode, we review "The Deadly Assassin,the classic story from 1976 starring Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor and Peter Pratt as the Master!

This time, Jesse and I discuss things like being at the mercy of the Dallas Cowboys football schedule, writer Robert Holmes introducing important concepts to the Doctor Who mythos, the Doctor being a frat boy on Gallifrey, the Second Master's emaciated state, why the Master has gone through more lives than the Doctor, revisiting my personal theory of why the Doctor originally left Gallifrey, James Bond movie connections, the book and movie The Manchurian Candidate, the Doctor's homecoming on Gallifrey, the Doctor gently stroking the TARDIS, the Wachowskis swiping The Matrix from The Matrix, the introduction of Rassilon and the Eye of Harmony, wondering why the Time Lords limit themselves to only twelve regenerations if they can give the Doctor more, Emperor Palpatine looking suspiciously like the Second Master, my Reverse the Reverse the Polarity segment, sending good thoughts to Karen and her husband, and more!

If you'd like to check out this episode, you can find us on...

Google Play Music -- RIGHT HERE
iTunes -- RIGHT HERE
Stitcher -- RIGHT HERE
Direct MP3 downloads/Libsyn --  RIGHT HERE
Next Stop Everywhere's Facebook page
Next Stop Everywhere's Twitter account

And hey, if you'd like to pick up the officially official Next Stop Everywhere t-shirt, you can find it on TeePublic right HERE!  Help support the show and feel free to post pictures on our Facebook page of you or some other cool person you know wearing the shirt!

Be sure to come back soon as Jesse and I review "The Time Warrior," the classic story from 1973 starring Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor and Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith! Look for more of Next Stop Everywhere on iTunes, Google Play Music, YouTube, Libsyn, Soundcloud, Sticher, and the official Southgate Media Group website!

Thursday, September 15, 2016

SUPERGIRL Casts Dichen Lachman as Roulette


Supergirl, remember the first rule about Fight Club.

ComicBook.com has confirmed that the CW series Supergirl has cast Dichen Lachman as Veronica Sinclair, better known to DC Comics as the supervillain Roulette.  Lachman had been spotted in some recent set photos, and fans had started to speculate about what role she might be playing, with Roulette being a popular theory.

According to the article, Roulette is officially described as "Based on the classic DC Comics character, Roulette runs an underground alien fight club in National City and she is eager to get Supergirl in the ring."

Lachman, 34, is best known as Sierra on the Fox series Dollhouse and as Quake's mother Jiaying on ABC's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  In addition, Lachman has appeared on episodes of The Last Ship, The 100, Shameless, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The League, Husbands, Being Human, The Guild, Torchwood: Miracle Day, Hawaii Five-O, and Neighbours.


Created in 2001 by Geoff Johns and Derec Aucoin, Roulette first appeared in JSA Secret Files #2 as Veronica Sinclair, a woman whose grandfather was a Golden Age villain who was also called Roulette, ran a conventional casino and fought Terry Sloane, the original Mister Terrific.  The current Roulette believed Terry Sloane to be her grandfather, but it was indicated that her grandfather was actually Terry’s brother Ned.  Having encountered Michael Holt, the second Mister Terrific, during one of her schemes, she came to view him as an unworthy successor to Sloane.

Her casino ("The House") is a superhuman gladiatorial arena, capturing heroes with teleporter technology similar to Holt's T-Spheres, and pitting them against each other, while various supervillains bet on the outcome.  In her debut, she captured most of the current Justice Society of America and forced them to fight each other; Mr. Terrific and Dr. Mid-Nite were forced to play a chess game where the loser would be electrocuted, Sand and Hawkman had to reach Hawkgirl while infected with a fast-acting lethal virus (for which Kendra had a single dose of the cure), and Black Adam clashed with Atom Smasher.  All managed to escape their traps, but Roulette teleported them away before they could capture her.

Dr. Mid-Nite later infiltrated her current fight club location in search of information regarding purported organ-napping.  She agreed to give him information only if he beat her bodyguard in a game of arm wrestling.  He did so, using his knowledge of nerves and their debilitation, and though she felt he had "cheated" she gave him the name of a model who had surgically implanted wings.  After Dr. Mid-Nite left, she called the owner of the surgical clinic, who later proved to be Delores Winters, and told her of the hero's investigation into the implants and operations.

Lachman will be the second actress to portray the character in live-action, after Steph Song on the CW series Smallville.  The character has also appeared in the animated series Justice League Unlimited, voiced by Virginia Madsen.

Supergirl returns for Season 2 on The CW, October 10th at 8:00 p.m. EST.

Margot Robbie Signs Deal to Co-Produce HARLEY QUINN Spinoff Movie


Warner Bros. is going all in on Harley Quinn.

The Hollywood Reporter revealed yesterday that Australian actress Margot Robbie has signed a first-look deal with Warner Bros. that includes a Suicide Squad spinoff for her character Harley Quinn (and other DC Comics heroines).

The project was originally reported in May, with claims that Robbie was the driving force for the project.  Apparently, when she landed the part for Suicide Squad, she heavily researched the comics to learn as much as possible about the character.  In the process, she reportedly became a fan of DC’s female characters.  Robbie brought on the female writer to help develop the project and brought it to Warner Bros.

Robbie will develop and produce feature films through her LuckyChap Entertainment banner.  Producing and developing with Robbie will be her LuckyChap partners Tom Ackerley, Josey McNamara and Sophia Kerr.

According to the article, Robbie and LuckyChap are in postproduction on their first movie as producers, a neo noir thriller called Terminal.  In addition, LuckyChap is developing and producing a Tonya Harding biopic, I, Tonya, where Robbie will play the disgraced figure skater, and is developing an adaptation of Bad Monkeys, a novel by Matt Ruff, along with Bluegrass Films’ Scott Stuber and Dylan Clark for Universal Pictures.

Robbie, 26, best known as Naomi Lapaglia in the 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street and as Laura Cameron on the short-lived ABC television series Pan Am.  Her other films include The Big Short, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, and The Legend of Tarzan.

Created in 1992 by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, Harley Quinn first appeared in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Joker's Favor," voiced by Arleen Sorkin.  Initially intended as a female sidekick for The Joker, Harley quickly became popular with fans and the character was developed further.  In the 1994 DC Comics graphic novel The Batman Adventures: Mad Love, Quinn received her origin story, revealing her as Dr. Harleen Quinzel, a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum who fell in love with the Joker and turned to a life of crime in order to be with him.

The character's first comic book appearance was in 1993's The Batman Adventures #12, but Harley's growing popularity encouraged DC Comics to bring her into official Batman canon starting with Batman (vol.1) #570 in 1999.  She soon received her first ongoing series in 2001 that ran for 38 issues and was made a member of the Suicide Squad starting with 2011's Suicide Squad (vol.4) #1.  Harley received her second ongoing series in 2013 and her third in 2016 as part of DC Comics' relaunch known as Rebirth.

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Fox Buys Rights to Stan Lee's Life for 1970s Action Movie


The big question, of course -- Will Stan Lee make a cameo in his own movie?

The Hollywood Reporter revealed today that Twentieth Century Fox has acquired the movie rights to the life of Stan Lee, co-creator of some of Marvel Comics' greatest superheroes. Oh, and it's not a standard biopic, as you might expect, but a period action adventure movie.

That's right, Stan "The Man" Lee as a '70s action hero.

According to the article, Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey, the producers for the movies Twilight, The Maze Runner and the upcoming Power Rangers, are attached to produce "what is being described as being in the tone of Kingsman: The Secret Service, or as one insider put it, 'Roger Moore’s 007,' with Lee as the hero with an alter ego."  No writer has been hired yet, but executive producer Matt Reilly will oversee the project for Fox.

Born on December 28, 1922 in New York City, Stanley Martin Lieber started his comics career in 1939 as an assistant at the new Timely Comics division of pulp magazine and comic book publisher Martin Goodman's company.  Timely eventually evolved into Marvel Comics in the 1960s.

In the late 1950s, DC Comics editor Julius Schwartz revived the concept of superheroes and achieved considerable success with an updated version of the The Flash, and later with the superhero team the Justice League of America.  In response, Goodman assigned Lee to create a new superhero team, which he did, giving his characters a flawed humanity not seen in DC's superheroes.  The first superhero group Lee and artist Jack Kirby created was the Fantastic Four.  

The team's immediate popularity encouraged Lee and Marvel artists to create a series of new titles.  With Kirby primarily, Lee created the HulkThorIron Man, and the X-Men; with Bill Everett, Lee created Daredevil; and with Steve Ditko, Lee created Doctor Strange and Marvel's most successful character, Spider-Man, placing all of them in a shared universe. Lee and Kirby put several of their new characters together into the team title The Avengers and revived previous Timely superheroes from the 1940s, including the Sub-Mariner and Captain America.

Lee used comic books to provide some measure of social commentary about the real world, often dealing with racism and bigotry.  His "Stan's Soapbox" column, in addition to promoting an upcoming comic book project, also addressed issues of discrimination, intolerance, or prejudice.  In 1972, Lee stopped writing monthly comic books to assume the role of publisher. His final issue of The Amazing Spider-Man (vol.1) was #110 in and his last Fantastic Four (vol.1) was #125.  In later years, Lee became a figurehead and public face for Marvel Comics.

Currently, as Marvel broadens its scope into television and film adaptations, Lee has made a number of cameo appearances in the various projects.  A few of these appearances are self-aware and sometimes reference Lee's involvement in the creation of certain characters. His next cameo is set for this year's adaptation of Doctor Strange.

Saturday, September 10, 2016

THE FLASH Movie Casts Billy Crudup as Henry Allen


The Flash's dad is about to feel fear...for the last time.

Variety revealed yesterday that Billy Crudup is in talks to play Henry Allen, father of Barry Allen, for Rick Famuyiwa's upcoming film adaptation of DC Comics' The Flash.  Crudup would join Ezra Miller as The Flash/Barry Allen and Kiersey Clemons as Iris West. Production is expected to start this year in London, England.

Crudup, 48, is best known as Dr. Manhattan in Zack Snyder's Watchmen and as Musgrave in Mission: Impossible III.  In addition, he'll be featured in the upcoming movie Alien: Covenant and has appeared in the films Spotlight, Eat Pray Love, Public Enemies, The Good Shepherd, Big Fish, Almost Famous, Waking the Dead, and Inventing the Abbotts.

Created in 1962 by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, Henry Allen first appeared in The Flash (vol.1) #126 as Barry Allen's father and husband of Nora Allen, who was a doctor in Fallville, Iowa for thirty years.  After years of his son acting as the superhero known as The Flash, Henry's heart stopped when he and Nora were involved in a serious car accident.  Although the motorist who was at fault, Jack Morgan, was able to revive him, Henry's astral form had left his physical body, and it was possessed by the Top.  The villain posed as Henry for several weeks, with the ultimate goal of transferring his spirit to the body of Henry's superhero son.  However, Barry feigned death, causing the Top to leave his father's body with no new host to go to, so that Henry's spirit could return to its rightful body.

In 2009, Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver revamped the character in The Flash: Rebirth (vol.1) #1.  When Barry Allen was a child, Nora was murdered and Henry was convicted of the crime.  This incident drove his son to become a policeman, in hope of finding the real killer.  Henry died in prison a year or two before his son became the Flash.

The current New 52 incarnation of the character debuted in 2012's The Flash (vol.4) Annual #1.  This time, when Barry was a child, Nora was brutally murdered, and Henry was wrongfully accused of the act.  Being sentenced to jail time in Iron Heights, Barry grew up without his father to raise him and pursued the truth to his innocence.  After Barry became the Flash, it was discovered that Nora Allen's true murderer was Eobard Thawne, the supervillain known as Professor Zoom.  Thawne was arrested for the murder and Henry Allen was released from Iron Heights.

Crudup, if he accepts the role, will be the third actor to portray Henry Allen in live-action, after M. Emmet Walsh in the original 1990-91 The Flash television series, and John Wesley Shipp in the current The Flash TV series that debuted in 2014.

The Flash is currently scheduled to be released in theaters on March 16, 2018.

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Ben Affleck's BATMAN Film Casts Joe Manganiello as Deathstroke


Well, here's hoping Pee-wee Herman won't be Deathstroke's pal Wintergreen...

The Wall Street Journal has confirmed that Joe Manganiello was the actor inside the Deathstroke armor in the video that Ben Affleck shared last month revealing the character as the villain for his upcoming Batman solo film.  DC Entertainment President & Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns also confirmed Manganiello’s casting in a recent interview.

The film will be written by  Geoff Johns, with Affleck also co-writing the film, directing, and reprising his role of Batman/Bruce Wayne.


Manganiello, 39, is best known as the werewolf Alcide Hervaux on the HBO series True Blood, and as Richie in the two Magic Mike films.  He also played Flash Thompson in the films Spider-Man and Spider-Man 3, and has appeared in Pee-wee's Big Holiday, and on episodes of Mom, Talking Dead, White Collar, CSI: NY, CSI: Miami, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Medium, One Tree Hill, E.R., Scrubs, How I Met Your Mother, and White Collar.

Created in 1980 by Marv Wolfman and George PĂ©rez, Deathstroke first appeared in The New Teen Titans (vol.1) #2 as Slade Wilson, a former United States Army officer who was chosen for a secret Army experiment, which gave him with enhanced physical powers in an attempt to create metahuman super soldiers for the U.S. military. Deathstroke became a mercenary soon after the experiment, when he defied orders and rescued his friend Wintergreen, who was sent on a suicide mission by a commanding officer with a grudge. However, Slade kept this career secret from his family, even though his wife was an expert military combat instructor.

A criminal named the Jackal took his younger son Joseph Wilson hostage to force Slade to divulge the name of a client who had hired him as an assassin.  Slade refused, claiming it was against his personal honor code.  He attacked and killed the kidnappers at the rendezvous.  Unfortunately, Joseph's throat was slashed by one of the criminals before Slade could prevent it, destroying Joseph's vocal cords and rendering him mute.  After taking Joseph to the hospital, his wife Adeline Wilson was enraged at his endangerment of her son and tried to kill Slade by shooting him, but only managed to destroy his right eye. Afterward, his confidence in his physical abilities was such that he made no secret of his impaired vision, marked by his mask which has a black, featureless half covering his lost eye. Without his mask, Slade wears an eye-patch.


Deathstroke has a long history as an enemy of the Teen Titans, beginning when his other son Grant received superhuman enhancements from the H.I.V.E., dubbed himself Ravager, and accepted a contract from them to kill or capture the Teen Titans.  However, Grant's enhancements proved fatal, and Slade agreed to complete the contract.  His first mission involved stealing the element Promethium from S.T.A.R. Labs and selling it as the ultimate weapon.  He then kidnapped the Titans and placed them in the path of a Promethium bomb to test his device for the buyers.  The Titans escaped and pursued Deathstroke, but he severely wounded Beast Boy in his escape.  This would be the start to a lasting animosity between the two.

Deathstroke next appeared in New York, holding officials hostage in order to lure the Titans into confronting him. Terra, a new ally of the Titans, and Beast Boy were the only ones available to answer the call.  Terra knocked Beast Boy out and fought Deathstroke single-handedly in an effort to prove herself worthy of being a Titan.  Deathstroke escaped as the other Titans arrived, but by then, Terra had proven herself and the team offered her membership.  Later that night, it was revealed that Terra and Deathstroke had conspired to fake the fight in a plot to infiltrate the team.  Since then, Deathstroke has had a number of encounters with other heroes and villains in the DC Universe.


Wednesday, September 7, 2016

CONSTANTINE Season 1 Coming to Blu-Ray, Season 2 Possible?


Is John Constantine about to perform his biggest feat of magic?

The back cover of this week's titles from DC Comics contained a welcome surprise for Hellblazers, revealing that the short-lived but fondly remembered NBC series Constantine is finally coming to Blu-Ray and DVD from Warner Archive.  Here's the ad teasing the release...



The ad states Constantine is "now on Blu-Ray & DVD," but it's currently nowhere to be found on the site, so hopefully it will be listed shortly.  Warner Archive recently released Manufacture On Demand (MOD) Blu-Ray season sets for Lucifer Season 1 and iZombie Seasons 1 & 2, neither of which are available for purchase in stores.

According to ComicBook.com, former Constantine showrunner Daniel Cerone gave credit to the fans for making the release happen.  "I give them all the credit because they've made their voices known and never gave up," said Cerone.  "I'm continually overwhelmed by the passion out there for this character."

Despite running only 13 episodes on NBC from 2014-15, the show simply refuses to be forgotten.  Star Matt Ryan reprised his role of John Constantine for the CW series Arrow, in the Season 4 episode "Haunted," and will voice the character again for the upcoming home video DC Comics animated film Justice League Dark.  The show also aired on the El Rey Network for a brief time before returning to digital stores and the free-streaming service CW Seed.

In addition, with Doug Liman being announced last month as the director of the Justice League Dark movie Dark Universe, which is reported to feature John Constantine, it seems Warner Bros. sees potential in the character.  Will Matt Ryan reprise Constantine for the big screen?  Or for another appearance on a CW DC Comics series?  Or perhaps, Constantine Season 2 on Netflix or Hulu?

As Constantine himself would say while flicking open his cigarette lighter...On with the show.

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

BBC Officially Confirms DOCTOR WHO: "The Power of the Daleks" Animation


Oh, my giddy aunt!  The Daleks are coming!

Doctor Who News has word that BBC Worldwide has officially announced that Patrick Troughton's first televised adventure as the Second Doctor, "The Power of the Daleks," is going to be released as a new animated recreation for the 50th anniversary of its original broadcast.  Here's the official press release they posted...

It's one of the Doctor’s most celebrated adventures and yet no complete film recordings of The Power of the Daleks are known to have survived. The master negatives were destroyed in an archive purge in 1974. 

BBC Worldwide has announced that a brand new black and white animation based on audio recordings of the programme using the original cast, surviving photographs and film clips will be released 50 years to the minute after its only UK broadcast on BBC One.

The six half-hour episodes feature the regeneration, or as it was then called ‘renewal’, of First Doctor William Hartnell into Second Doctor Patrick Troughton, as the Time Lord and his companions Polly (Anneke Wills) and Ben (Michael Craze) do battle with the Daleks on the planet Vulcan.

Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks is being produced by the team behind the highly successful animation of lost Dad’s Army episode A Stripe For Frazer, first released on BBC Store in February this year. The producer and director is Charles Norton, with character designs from acclaimed comic book artists Martin Geraghty and Adrian Salmon.

Charles Norton says:  "The Power of the Daleks animation is the most ambitious Doctor Who archive restoration ever attempted and we’re all very honoured to be a part of such a an exciting project. Intelligent, suspenseful and magnificently staged, Power of the Daleks is one of the great lost classics of 1960s television and a superb example of the black and white era at its finest."

Paul Hembury, Executive Producer, BBC Worldwide says:  "Charles and his team are remarkably talented and passionate about Doctor Who and we are thrilled that fans will soon be able to enjoy this rather sinister but wonderful, classic story."


According to the article, Doctor Who: The Power Of The Daleks will initially be exclusively released on BBC Store, with episode one available on November 5th at 5:50 p.m. GMT, and the others released on consecutive days thereafter.  The story will become available online more widely on November 14th (No mention of where online), and will also be released on DVD in the United Kingdom on November 21st (No other regions have been announced yet).

For those of us in the States, BBC America has confirmed that Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks will be broadcast on the channel shortly after its U.K. release.  The animated story premieres Saturday, November 12th, and will be available the following day to stream on BBCAmerica.com and on the BBC America app.


Oh, and look...Here's the official teaser video from the equally official Doctor Who YouTube account...



"The Evil of the Daleks" next, anyone?