This past week the word on the nerd community's tongue has been Comic-Con. San Diego Comic Con, the biggest nerd convention worldwide, has been the headline for the past week and as yesterday was the last day of big panels it's time for the round up.
Comic-Con is a time for all sorts of people to come out of the woodwork and make some big announcements. However, the big panels that everyone have been salivating over are DC and Marvel. Let me just say this right out the door, DC has made it VERY clear that despite their detractors, if this is their exit it will not be a quite one because they brought their A- game to Comic Con this year. That being said, they weren't the only people to bring game to the convention this year, so let's start it off with representing the little guys.
Image Comics
Image has been an up and coming name in independent comics. Their penchant for independent story telling and darker heroes are what brought them fame and glory since the 90s. While they lack the block buster success that Marvel and DC have had over the past few yeras, Image still brings quite a bit to the table. Shows like The Walking Dead, or Outcast are just some examples of TV shows that are adapted from Image Comics. The Walking Dead had quite the presence at Comic Con as they released the season 8 trailer, however the big thing I am excited about that Image announced came from Todd Mcfarlane yesterday: Spawn, the iconic hero that is practically the poster child for the Image Brand, is getting a second swing at the silver screen with McFarlane (creator of the character) directing and writing the script.
Spawn coming back to film was something that had been talked about and over the past few months Todd has had his script out on the market for a Spawn movie. However, his terms and conditions were to be strictly followed: McFarlane would write and direct, however, he would only ask for a minimum of 10 million to make it. Todd is looking to focus on the more supernatural and horror elements of the character and universe, so it will feel less like a Hollywood Superhero film and more like a suspense thriller, which is why the studio he went with feels like a no brainer. Blumhouse Studios has made some of the best thrillers in recent memory, Get Out the smash hit directorial debut of Jordan Peele was produced by them, and Split the somewhat sequel to M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable brought a breath of fresh air to his drowning career as a director with nothing of note being released by the director since Signs. Together McFarlane and Blumhouse studios should be able to put together quite the spectacle in a Spawn film, so that's very exciting.
Marvel (TV)
This might have been where Marvel really shined this weekend. While their cinematic universe had a cool presentation, I was far more excited to see what Marvel's TV has in store for us. Inhumans released a new trailer, and while the internet has been more than cruel to it for it's sub par visual effects (which I don't know what anyone was expecting with a budget for cable television), however with Anson Mount (Hell on Wheels) and Iwan Rheon (Game of Thrones) set against each other as leads I have some pretty high expectations. It also helps that Lockjaw looks adorable.
However, most people are probably far more excited for the Defenders trailer that was released that teams up the 4 Netflix heroes and pits them against Sigourney Weaver and Elektra, promising one hell of a ride. The footage shows a team that not only kicks ass, but has personality to it, which is exciting.
The OTHER Netflix project is probably the one I am most excited about. They released footage of the Punisher. John Bernthal's portrayal was a highlight of the Man without fear's second season, and fans have been clamoring for more details for a long while. Well unfortunately us plebs that didn't get to go to the convention will have to do with a footage description and so here it is:
However, most people are probably far more excited for the Defenders trailer that was released that teams up the 4 Netflix heroes and pits them against Sigourney Weaver and Elektra, promising one hell of a ride. The footage shows a team that not only kicks ass, but has personality to it, which is exciting.
The OTHER Netflix project is probably the one I am most excited about. They released footage of the Punisher. John Bernthal's portrayal was a highlight of the Man without fear's second season, and fans have been clamoring for more details for a long while. Well unfortunately us plebs that didn't get to go to the convention will have to do with a footage description and so here it is:
The footage is broken down into three sequences. In the first, Frank is featured in a flashback teaching his daughter how to play guitar, which cuts to the character in modern day strumming on a guitar by himself. Then there’s a series of scenes showcasing Frank running down bikers in Alabama, using his sniper rifle on a drug cartel in Juárez, Mexico – making the shot from El Paso, Texas – then choking a businessman in a New York City airport bathroom. The man in NYC pleads with Frank for his life, saying, “Please, you’ve killed everyone. The bikers, the cartels, the Cajuns, the Irish, they’re all gone. What’s it going to change if I’m dead?” Frank simply says, “Nothing.” In the final shot of the footage, Frank leaves the NYC bathroom in a typical outfit for the comic book character: black hooded sweatshirt, leather duster, and his vest with the Punisher logo.
Punisher is looking to be a fine edition to the Marvel Netflix family, and hopefully the best adaptation of the character we have had. I can only hope this show is for Punisher, what Logan was for Wolverine.
Marvel honestly went small this SDCC. I mean the stuff they released was good, but after the bomb that DC dropped at SDCC this year (which I am saving for last) it's honestly just a shame that they chose to unveil Infinity War footage at D23 as a private showing rather than bring that footage to Hall H and releasing it to the public. However, what they released was still worth talking about, so let's!
First off Marvel released concept art for both Antman and The Wasp and Captain Marvel. Antman and the Wasp is the sequel to the 2014 movie Antman and will star Paul Rudd and Evangelin Lilly as Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne. However, this was honestly the small bit we got for the movie as we pretty much knew what the designs for these characters were going to be, that being said they did announce that Laurence Fisburne has joined the MCU as Bill Foster (alias of other super hero Goliath) and that Janet Van Dyne (the original Wasp) would be joining the fray played by Michelle Pfeiffer. Those are some pretty big hitters to bring to the film and so that is a fairly exciting announcement.
Captain Marvel on the other hand, made some huge waves. Not only did we see BEAUTIFUL concept art for Brie Larsen as the iconic female hero of Marvel, but we got to see that she is fighting SKRULLS! Why is this a big deal some may ask? Well Skrulls are villainous alien creatures that can shape shift into anything seamlessly even copying memories of those whom they have shifted to, but that's not the exciting part. What's exciting are that the Skrulls were introduced in The Fantastic Four! While I doubt that we will see the beloved Marvel team strutting into the Cinematic Universe anytime soon, what this does mean is that as involved as the Skrull are to the Fantastic Four's storyline, that means other cosmic characters like Silver Surfer or Galactus could be reaquired for the cinematic universe as well! Other things we learned about Captain Marvel, going back to that though, are that it is set in the 90s and will also star Nick Fury with an asset we have not seen him have before: His other eye.
Thor: Ragnarok was Marvel's heavy hitter for this SDCC. Marvel released all sorts of new material, from concept art, to a new trailer. The trailer is fantastic. I had doubts after the first trailer that Thor might not be trying to be Thor and they might be trying very hard to make it Gaurdians. The first trailer's jumpy narrative also made it seem like there was far too much going on. Well the comic con sneak peak gave us, along with some excellent footage, more than enough to show the films direction (from a narrative standpoint) and that this would be Thor still, not a Guardians rip off.
Black Panther also had a heavy presence at the convention. Footage and a new trailer were released detailing Ulysses Klaue's involvement in the film, however this footage has yet to be released to the public. Chadwick Boseman did go into some more detail about T'challa and where his character is mentally in the film. The movie seems to focus a lot on T'challa feeling the growing pains that come with shifting from Prince to Regent as Wakanda's new king. People are testing his judgments and there is a lot of self doubt in T'challa. While they have not graced us with a trailer, they did give us a new cinematic poster that more than makes up for it.
As the footage was released for Infinity War at the D23 conference a little over a week ago, the most recent addition to the Avengers films did not grace us with an appearance this weekend at the convention. However, it seems like Marvel knew people would need a bone to chew on to hold them over so they released 3 posters that when put together make up one really cool poster for the film.
Ben Affleck is The Batman and he is here to stay as long as we'll have him. This is a relief as his performance in 2016's Batman vs Superman is considered to be one of the film's silver linings. In fact, despite the film's mixed reviews, a good deal of fans consider Ben Affleck to have given the best live action performance as the Dark Knight (myself included).
This was not all DC had to offer of course, as the panel started off with Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones) rushing out with his Aquaman trident to release footage for his upcoming solo film: Aquaman. Here is the footage description:
Along with Aquaman DC also announced their film slate for the movies they will be pursuing after Aquaman's release in 2018. The list is as follows:
The first show of the films villain, tonal changes, some new action sequences, AND Alfred! Easter eggs also pepper their way through the trailer, references to Penguin establish an existing Rogue's gallery for the Bat of Gotham, Steppenwolf mentions the Lanterns (or lack thereof ) as an advantage he can exploit, all sorts of goodies. The trailer really does just a great job of getting you hyped for the movie while not revealing too much of the film's plot.
San Diego Comic Con is over at this point. While I covered the big stuff, I am sure there was stuffed I missed. In fact there are at least a few smaller announcements that I thought would be better to talk about in their own posts so they wouldn't be over shadowed by the action I put up here, so be on the lookout as those are en route as well!
This has been another edition of Comic Relief! and we will see you again soon!
DC (TV)
DC's TV shows have dominated the superhero TV show market. At Comic Con DC released teasers for all of their big headliners new upcoming seasons: Super-Girl, The Flash, The Arrow, Gotham, and Legends of Tomorrow. However, I don't really feel all of these are worth talking about *cough* Gotham *cough* Legends of Tomorrow *cough*.
The Arrow was the DC flagship series, allowing for the several spinoffs they have had since then. However, after the show's second season, Arrow has struggled at maintaining its footing, but this past season gained some traction back, and this new season looks like it's keeping the footing it gained. Prometheus was an excellent villain that really did a number on the team last season, and with how this new season is looking the effects are still VERY present. The action looks very solid, and additionally Manu Bennet appears to be back as a regular and that's always a good thing since his interpretation of Slade Wilson is lauded by both fans and critics of the show alike. They did not show much of any footage of team Arrow, other than Dinah Drakes AMAZING new look as the Black Canary, so what their fate was at the end of the last season is still undetermined, but being as half the main cast was there we can be almost certain of their return. Oliver has also been placed into the new role of fatherhood after he is forced to take in his son after the demise of his mother in the most recent season (sorry for spoiling that if you weren't there yet), so seeing him trying to deal with his son who is stricken with PTSD and clearly has some deep seated issues of blaming Oliver for what happened on Lian Yu last season, we are clearly in for one helluva roller coaster ride.
The Flash unlike The Arrow, has gone far past the legacy of it's beginning. Each season has genuinely been a good and new experience, and even at it's lower points it generally doesn't fail to impress. This season trailer is no different. After the finale of season 3 (spoilers here again guys) the crisis that results in the disappearance of Barry Allen has happened. The weight that is felt throughout the trailer is MASSIVE as the entirety of Team Flash mourns the loss of their friend and ally. What's worse is that without him, even with Wally and Cisco suited up, the villains of Central city are taking advantage of his absence and the need for Barry Allen has never been more needed as a new threat comes to the city that is proving too much for Wally and Cisco to handle. The trailer ends with a scarlet speedster zooming through a metro with a light at the end of the tunnel as Cisco is trying to pull Barry from inside the speed force, freeing him of that prison. However, being as set photos have revealed Wally West in Barry's costume, that might not be what we think it is, we'll have to watch to find out more!
Supergirl has been quite the surprise in the DC TV universe. It survived cancellation, moved to another network where it has not only succeeded, but FLOURISHED under new management. Bringing in a CW version of Superman last season was the best way to kick off the series under new management. Her third season is certainly something to look forward to, as the trailer showcases some real development for Kara. It seems this season will be it's "Dark Knight" as the main theme around the season is an identity struggle that Supergirl has. In fact she has a great line that gives me chills: "I tried to be human, but I am not. Kara was a mistake." For a show where the main character has literally been one of my least favorite parts, it's exciting for me because this is the first time Supergirl has shown any real depth to me. She has been surrounded by a glowing cast of characters in Martian Manhunter, Jimmy Olsen, Martian Girl, Superman, Lena Luthor, that she really feels like a lesser character of the series. This kind of struggle is the sort of thing that can really make a character thrive though, so I am excited to see where season 3 takes us!
DC (Young Justice)
Now this honestly could be a part of the last category, but Young Justice is just something that I personally am just super excited about. For those that don't know, Young Justice was an animated series that focused on the sidekicks of heroes in the DC universe (very similarly to Teen Titans). However, due to more mature themes, the show didn't market well to little kids and so the toys didn't sell causing it's cancellation after it's second season. Fortunately, that wasn't all she wrote, as the show culminated quite the fan-base throughout its run and after two years of petitioning, Young Justice got the season 3 it deserved. Young Justice: Outsiders is the official name for the new season and during SDCC we got a look at some new character art for both new characters and original characters from the first 2 seasons who had a bit of an upgrade in design. We were also given an episode count of 26 for the season that will focus heavily on intergalactic meta-human trafficking, and the knowledge that again the show does a 5 year time jump from the second season allowing for new team members to come in and old members to fill in new rolls as mentors. There is a lot to look forward to in this series and if you haven't already, check out the first two seasons, they are pretty damn solid.
Marvel (Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Antman and The Wasp, and Captain Marvel)
First off Marvel released concept art for both Antman and The Wasp and Captain Marvel. Antman and the Wasp is the sequel to the 2014 movie Antman and will star Paul Rudd and Evangelin Lilly as Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne. However, this was honestly the small bit we got for the movie as we pretty much knew what the designs for these characters were going to be, that being said they did announce that Laurence Fisburne has joined the MCU as Bill Foster (alias of other super hero Goliath) and that Janet Van Dyne (the original Wasp) would be joining the fray played by Michelle Pfeiffer. Those are some pretty big hitters to bring to the film and so that is a fairly exciting announcement.
Captain Marvel on the other hand, made some huge waves. Not only did we see BEAUTIFUL concept art for Brie Larsen as the iconic female hero of Marvel, but we got to see that she is fighting SKRULLS! Why is this a big deal some may ask? Well Skrulls are villainous alien creatures that can shape shift into anything seamlessly even copying memories of those whom they have shifted to, but that's not the exciting part. What's exciting are that the Skrulls were introduced in The Fantastic Four! While I doubt that we will see the beloved Marvel team strutting into the Cinematic Universe anytime soon, what this does mean is that as involved as the Skrull are to the Fantastic Four's storyline, that means other cosmic characters like Silver Surfer or Galactus could be reaquired for the cinematic universe as well! Other things we learned about Captain Marvel, going back to that though, are that it is set in the 90s and will also star Nick Fury with an asset we have not seen him have before: His other eye.
Thor: Ragnarok was Marvel's heavy hitter for this SDCC. Marvel released all sorts of new material, from concept art, to a new trailer. The trailer is fantastic. I had doubts after the first trailer that Thor might not be trying to be Thor and they might be trying very hard to make it Gaurdians. The first trailer's jumpy narrative also made it seem like there was far too much going on. Well the comic con sneak peak gave us, along with some excellent footage, more than enough to show the films direction (from a narrative standpoint) and that this would be Thor still, not a Guardians rip off.
Black Panther also had a heavy presence at the convention. Footage and a new trailer were released detailing Ulysses Klaue's involvement in the film, however this footage has yet to be released to the public. Chadwick Boseman did go into some more detail about T'challa and where his character is mentally in the film. The movie seems to focus a lot on T'challa feeling the growing pains that come with shifting from Prince to Regent as Wakanda's new king. People are testing his judgments and there is a lot of self doubt in T'challa. While they have not graced us with a trailer, they did give us a new cinematic poster that more than makes up for it.
As the footage was released for Infinity War at the D23 conference a little over a week ago, the most recent addition to the Avengers films did not grace us with an appearance this weekend at the convention. However, it seems like Marvel knew people would need a bone to chew on to hold them over so they released 3 posters that when put together make up one really cool poster for the film.
DC (Aquaman, Disparaging Rumors, Justice League, and The Future Line Up)
So Marvel brought a lot to the convention this year, but without the Infinity War footage it honestly (in my opinion) lacked the weight of the DCEU panel.
It is no secret that DC has had a rough start the past few years in the construction of their film universe. What is worse is that in a post Avengers world, this has made it an item of controversy and as such the rumor mill has run wild about it for the past few years. Ever since Ben Affleck's casting as the Batman was made, fans have loved to hate on the franchise and with the opening films of the franchise leaving much to be desired, people have listened to hearsay far more than they had before. However, the DC Hall H panel put down a very nasty rumor right off the bat (no pun intended.... or maybe it was). Ben Affleck came forward about rumors that he was looking to leave the role of Batman. Affleck had this to say of the rumor:
This was not all DC had to offer of course, as the panel started off with Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones) rushing out with his Aquaman trident to release footage for his upcoming solo film: Aquaman. Here is the footage description:
We open on a boat – a French fisherman thinks he’s caught a big fish. Of course, he didn’t. The boat is thrust forward, as whatever he’s caught forces the boat to follow. We then see what the fisherman hooked: a ship, part of an underwater militia. Heck, we even see people riding sharks. Clip ends on Aquaman looking forward at an unseen enemy: “I suppose you want to talk about this?” He then unsheathes his sword: “Neither do I.”Jason Momoa also added that the army seen in the trailer belongs to Arthur Curry's brother: Orm better known as the Villain Ocean Master.
That's Ocean Master's Army. Black Manta's got nothing like that. That's my brother. I am going to be fighting my brother.Well looks like my prediction about Manta being the main threat of Aquaman: Ahab was wrong, but hey, Ocean Master's a badass and I can't wait to see him kick ass in the Aquaman standalone film.
Along with Aquaman DC also announced their film slate for the movies they will be pursuing after Aquaman's release in 2018. The list is as follows:
- Shazam (Which will not star Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam as its villain)
- Suicide Squad 2
- Justice League Dark
- Batgirl
- Green Lantern Corps
- The Flash (titled Flashpoint after the famous comic arc)
- The Batman
- Wonder Woman 2
The first show of the films villain, tonal changes, some new action sequences, AND Alfred! Easter eggs also pepper their way through the trailer, references to Penguin establish an existing Rogue's gallery for the Bat of Gotham, Steppenwolf mentions the Lanterns (or lack thereof ) as an advantage he can exploit, all sorts of goodies. The trailer really does just a great job of getting you hyped for the movie while not revealing too much of the film's plot.
San Diego Comic Con is over at this point. While I covered the big stuff, I am sure there was stuffed I missed. In fact there are at least a few smaller announcements that I thought would be better to talk about in their own posts so they wouldn't be over shadowed by the action I put up here, so be on the lookout as those are en route as well!
This has been another edition of Comic Relief! and we will see you again soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment