Generations: A Return to Form for Captain America

Welcome back to another edition of Comic Relief! where I talk about all the goings on in the world of nerd!

This past week has had a lot of heavy hitting comics. Tim Drake is starting his escape from Dr. OZ in the most recent issue of Detective Comics, and on the Marvel side they released the first issue of Legacy. While this release has been the subject of a lot of chatter on forums and what have you, I was honestly not too impressed. Don't get me wrong, it has the promise of something great, and I am interested in a lot of things going on, but nothing really happened in the issue. There were a lot of cool reveals, but nothing of substance happens and in that I was fairly disappointed. However, what Marvel did release, and isn't getting talked about near as much, is Generations: The Americas.

The issue is written by Nick Spencer (Secret Empire) and the art is done by Paul Renaud. The first panels open with Sam Wilson, in full Captain America Attire being interrogated by what seem to be SHIELD or some other government agents. It is revealed that during the final battle for Washington in Secret Empire, that the Avengers disappeared and reappeared in the span of one minute (this one minute of time sent the avengers to this thing called the Vanishing point where many of them interacted with their predecessors in a solo adventure, this being the entire concept for the Generations titles). They are wondering what he experienced.

Sam Wilson Leading the Tuskegee Airmen

Sam Wilson's journey through the Vanishing point sent him back to the early 40s before the US got involved with World War II. He arrives in costume like he was in DC, but quickly adapts to the time, puts away the costume and works in a restaurant kitchen. When war breaks out, he joins the army and gets to experience first hand the segregation of the time. However, even discrimination can't get in the way of Sam Wilson being a hero. We experience a new first meeting between Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers. This time a young and inexperienced Steve Rogers is under heavy fire with his soldiers and Sam Wilson leads a squadron of Tuskegee airman in a retro version of his modern flight suit. After pushing the German forces back, Sam finds Steve behind the line letting go of his lunch because of nerves and all the carnage he has witnessed. Steve thanks Sam and expresses a worry about not being able to live up to the idea of a symbol that people are expecting him. Sam gives his friend a boost, telling his old friend that he's meeting for the first time a great piece of advice:

Listen to me "Captain America." Something tells me that when the picked you, they weren't looking for the soldier-- they were looking for the man. And Something tells me that you're more than up for the job.

Sam goes on to describe how they fought on many more battlefields together, and that Steve lead them to victory, and because of this, Sam made it home. The same, unfortunately couldn't be said for Steve.

While Steve was under the Ice, Sam came home and started a new life. He started a ministry, met a woman, got married, had children. Then in the 50s and 60s Sam answered the call of another kind of war. A war for Civil Rights. From Freedom Riding to Marches, Sam was at the front of them all, leading people and taking the brunt of brutality. When victory came for those causes, Sam continued to fight for the people. He did so as a minister and a civil servant helping at shelters and kitchens. Finally, after all that time "the man who taught him to be a hero" woke up from the Ice.

You think I'd ever forget my Wing-Man?

The Avengers find the frozen body of Steve Rogers, and he wakes up. There are parades, celebrations, photo ops, you name it. Sam decides to get dressed in his class-A's (military dress uniform) and head out to one of those events. A face among a crowd, Sam watches his old friend from afar, but with time leaving its scars all over his face, Sam doesn't expect to be recognized. Much to his surprise, as Sam is walking a way a familiar voice cries out: "Wait," Sam turns back to Steve Rogers reaching out for him. The two embrace as old friends in one of the warmest scenes in comics recently.  The two go off for lunch and Steve talks about how he's not sure there is a place for him in the world. That perhaps too much time has passed, and that maybe he can't live up to these people's expectations. Sam assures him that he will, and offers to keep his door open for Steve and that he will always lend an ear to his struggles.






We get to see Steve come and visit Sam a few times in this vanishing point timeline (although Sam told Steve his name was Paul in vanishing point to prevent suspicions from arising). Whenever Steve had a moment where he felt torn on an issue, he would appear at Sam's church. They'd pray and talk. Sam would even watch Cap fight along side the younger version of himself from this world. Eventually all things led to a certain moment. Steve had just lost the super soldier serum and had come to his minister to ask advice about passing the mantle of Captain America on to his friend, Sam. He is wondering if it is fair to ask this of his friend to assume this great responsibility-- is it a blessing or a burden? Sam (the old minister) tells Cap that his partner isn't under any delusions about this being easy, and that the real challenge for his partner is Steve himself. That Steve casts a long shadow and that some people just don't have to the natural ability to take on the world and inspire the way Steve did. However, Steve has some words of his own.

Paul, you helped me win the war. You were a hero who saved countless lives--and no one even knows you did it. Heck you had to hide the fact that you were doing it from the same military you were fighting for. You came back home and You marched for civil rights. You stood up against racism and prejudice and have the scars to show for it. You spent decades ministering to generations of people-- feeding the homeless caring for the sick. The entire time you did all this you never sought any recognition, never asked any reward. Best I can tell you didn't even want anyone to notice. you just did those things because you knew they were the right things to do. So who do you think inspired me? 

Cap leaves Sam with that, and it's the last time he sees Cap in this world. Suddenly, to Sam, all of his achievements were his own. That after a lifetime of feeling like he was in an another man's shadow, he felt like a hero in his own right. With that Sam felt the pull back to reality. Sam is back at the facility being questioned about the location of Kobik, the sentient cosmic cube that started this mess. He walks out, meets with the other Avengers. Thor asks what he saw and Sam replies:

How much ground can shift under a man's feet over the course of his days. How much progress can be made. How far he'll still want to go. 

Sam ends up tracking down Steve Rogers who, after his return in the finale of Secret Empire, has been on his own. From a distance, Sam throws the shield to his mentor an friend, and Steve catches it. Attached to it is a note. The note gives Steve a mission to overcome this, just like he has overcome everything else he has endured, that he will grow to inspire again.

This book serves as the final chapter and the first in the story of Captain America. The door closes on Sam Wilson as Cap, and opens the door for Steve Rogers once again. It is honestly a bittersweet feeling. A lot of people had mixed reception about Sam becoming Cap, myself included (mainly in costume design, though it grew on me). However, his time in the costume has provided a  great look at a lot of modern injustices that needed to be shown. While I am glad to see Steve return to the mantle, Sam Wilson did a more than admirable job. It's also, I believe, an exit to Nick Spencer writing Captain America. I realize that a lot of people were not enthusiastic about his run. He made some decisions for the character that were not well received and even had some negative influences on the public. However, I feel that's less on him and more on Marvel for how they advertised his arcs. The writing that Spencer did for the character was great, and while his arcs were controversial, this is a character that started by punching a world leader in the face back in the 40's (before our country was involved mind you). Controversy is what this title is about, and in that aspect Spencer remained true to Captain America's purpose. I hope people read this book and are able to put their personal feelings aside, because it truly is a phenomenal book.

This has been another edition of Comic Relief! I hope you have enjoyed and we will see you next time!

Batman Day: Comics to Read and Celebrate the Caped Crusader!

Welcome Back to another edition of Comic Relief! where I talk about all the goings on in the world of nerd!

Hello everyone! I apologize for the long absence, I honestly have kinda been overwhelmed by life, and there has been so much going on here between movie announcements, the finale of Secret Empire, the ongoing Metal series, that it's honestly hard to narrow a single thing down to write about, and for that I apologize. It's not an excuse, but at the end of the day, I am just one person, so it's a bit daunting. Honestly I got 3 quarters of the way through a September 11th post for you guys that I had to delete because it took me too long to put out (thanks work). Anyways, today we do have something to celebrate in that it is another year under the belt for one of comics most revered comic book heroes: Batman. It's the birthday of the night prowling, Gotham vigilante and so today we celebrate him and the massive universe that he belongs to. What better way to do that then by putting a list of great Batman stories for you guys to check out!

Dark Knight Returns

When it comes down to Batman Stories, it's impossible to not discuss Frank Miller's iconic Dark Knight Returns. This story shows a Bruce Wayne that had stepped  away from the cowl after the death of the second robin Jason Todd, and is looking for a proper exit from life, a good death. However, in his absence, Gotham has reverted, criminals no longer look over their shoulder and the city is the worst it's been in a long time. Sickened by the city's lack of will to fight back Bruce dons the cowl once more and restarts his war on crime. The story serves as an amazing commentary on the morality of Batman's crusade and shows us a much darker look at the Dark Knight, delving deep into the character's psychology.This story in particular has served as inspiration for Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises and even Snyder's Batman vs Superman. It has also been adapted into animated form and the animated feature as Peter Welling (Robocop) voicing the aged Batman. It's a fairly polarizing book that provokes a lot of thought. 

Court/City of Owls 

As a whole, the 2011 reboot of DC universe, New 52, can be described with one word: disappointing, there were some silver linings, and one of the major ones was the Batman run. Written by  the acclaimed Scott Snyder and art done by Greg Capullo, the New 52 Batman run was stellar from the start. Kicking the series off with Court of Owls and City of Owls, this dream team introduced quite possibly one of the most pivotal members of the Batman rogues since the Joker. The Court of Owls is an Illuminati style organization of the top 1% of Gotham that work the strings of the city behind the scenes, in the darkness. "Be good or the Court will send it's Talon out for you," is how the nursery rhyme goes for the children of Gotham. This arc is filled with everything that you need in an amazing Batman story: layered mystery, detective work, visceral fights, and most importantly an opponent that proves both a physical and mental match for the Batman.

Batman: Year One

Frank Miller might have the most polarizing writing record when it comes down to the Dark Knight. One day he'll do something amazing and game changing like the aforementioned: Dark Knight Returns and then the next he'll pop out something like All-Star Batman and Robin and make the entire community cringe. Batman: Year One is one of his better stories. Frank Miller re-imagines the origin of Batman in this classic story line. The story focuses on both Bruce Wayne, who has just returned from abroad and is becoming Batman, and Jim Gordon, who was transferred to Gotham as a pseudo punishment for exposing corrupt cops in his old beat. Jim is tasked with tracking down the Gotham Bat, and Bruce Wayne must take on Gotham's criminals as well as their corrupt police force. The comic has more than a few iconic moments, and one of them landed itself in Christopher Nolan's Batman begins where Batman uses a sonar device to summon a swarm of bats to provide the concealment he needed to escape from GCPD's Swat. It's a great story and a truly worthy reimagining of Batman's beginnings. 

Batman: Zero Year

Frank Miller wasn't the only person to re-imagine the story of the Bat. Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo published the arc Zero Year to show the first year of Bruce being Batman in the New 52 universe. The arc puts Bruce coming home to a Gotham war torn by crime syndicates and the rise of a nefarious criminal named Red Hood. The story also serves as a launching point for several different Batman rogues such as the Riddler. 

Batman: War on Crime

When you think Batman there are a few names that come to mind: Frank Miller, Jeph Leob, and Paul Dini. The latter of which is one of the many genius writers behind Batman The Animated series, co-creator of Harley Quinn, and even wrote the script for Arkham City and Asylum. So when you take the genius writing of someone like Paul Dini, an pair it with the hyper realism art style that is Alex Ross, it's going to make an impact. Batman: War on Crime shows Batman contemplating on if he would still be doing his crusade if he weren't born into a life with the means by which to do so. Throughout the story Batman witnesses similar events unfold to a young boy named Marcus that happened to Bruce when he was 8. The slope is slippery and Batman sees this young man faced with the same darkness that Bruce faced as a boy, but instead of conquering the fear and loneliness, begins to succumb to them and be worse off. The story in and of itself is brilliant, as one should expect from a part of the wonder team that produced BTAS (Batman the Animated Series), but the thing that really stands out about this book is the art. Alex Ross truly is a master of his craft and delivers beautiful painting style panels that bring Gotham a breath of life that not even live action films have been able to accomplish. His emphasis on dark and light really highlight the moral ambiguity of the character and his environment. 

Batman Beyond: Mark of the Phantasm

In the spirit of talking about the Animated Series, there is a comic that exists in the same universe that should be discussed. Batman Beyond 2.0 was a digital series that followed Terry Mcginnis in his adventures as Batman Beyond that extend past the events of the acclaimed animated feature Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. In this series, Terry has separated from Bruce and has instead been working under the supervision of Dick Grayson. That's not to say Bruce isn't around, but more along the lines of the fact that Terry and he aren't on speaking terms. Mark of the Phantasm is an event that explains just why that is, but more importantly, it is the returned in quite possibly the one of the most unknown rogues gallery members: Andrea Beaumont, better known as the Phantasm. Andrea made her first appearance in the cult hit, animated feature: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and to fans of the Animated Series, she is considered to be one of Batman's best villains. However, for whatever reason, DC criminally decided to NEVER  use her in anything else or bother to make her canon, so to say that fans were excited to see Andrea back in the spotlight and in the future going against Terry no less was an understatement. While the arc does a few risque things, it's overall a great read and completely makes you understand why nobody in the Beyond future likes Bruce at all. 

Batman Black & White: "Good Evening Midnight" 

Batman Black and White are a series of  black and white, short one shots about Batman made by various different writers and artist. All of them are excellent reads, so if you are looking at picking up the collection I would totally recommend it, but if you are looking for just one that stands out from all the rest "Good Evening Midnight." takes the cake. The comic takes place on Bruce's birthday, and it goes back and forth between Bruce saving kids on a hijacked bus, and Alfred reading a letter written to Bruce by his father Thomas Wayne. It's both equally heart wrenching and affirming to see how far Bruce has strayed from the hopes Thomas had for him while simultaneously growing up to be the very man that Thomas had expected of his son. They made a motion comic of it, and it's amazing. So watch, or read, either way is a more than ample way to spend Batman day. 

Batman: Hush

Every now and again there is a story that leaves a mark on you and becomes the iconic version of the character for you. For me, that book was Batman: Hush. Drawn by Jim Lee and written by Jeph Leob. Hush pits Batman against a good chunk of his A list rogues gallery in a mystery that constantly is unfolding a new layer. It has excellent moments for every character in it, and has an ending that I guarantee will surprise everyone who reads it. Hush is a villain who appears to be pulling the strings on various crimes around Gotham, getting members of his Rogues gallery to think outside the box. Hush has his face wrapped up in bandages to hide his identity and so Batman is trying to uncover who exactly this menace is. I don't want to give too much of the story away, but I will say that the puppet master pulling all the strings is a villain that until this point I had never taken too seriously and that this comic completely changed my opinion of him as a villain. 

Batman: Endgame

A lot of people consider Alan Moore's The Killing Joke as the most iconic encounter between Batman and the Joker, and while it is a great read, I don't hold the same opinion. There are a lot of factors that lead into that, one of which being a great disdain for Alan Moore (despite his clear talent as a writer, the lack of respect for the genre which made his career is honestly unforgivable to me), and on top of that at times the book feels like it is needlessly grotesque. However, if there is a story that perfects the dynamic of Batman and the Joker, it is Endgame by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. Some seventy plus years of story telling have lead to this story and boy do they deliver. The arc revolves around the possibility of Joker being an immortal. Joker uses this to toy with Batman's brain and it is their ultimate showdown. Honestly, this is probably the best final confrontation between the Batman and the Joker that I have ever read. A lot of my love for this book also comes from the fact that just a few arcs prior DC had done Death of the Family during which Joker had cut his own face off. While there were certainly a great deal of people who appreciated this look, I was not one of them. Seeing the Joker with full face in tact and back to his usual schemes with Joker toxin was a refreshing return to form. Endgame provides a story where we see Joker at the scariest part of his game and Batman has to push himself and every resource he has to new heights.

Batman: War of Jokes and Riddles

DC relaunched their universe for the 3rd time here in the past 5 years a few months back with the DC Rebirth. It was meant to be a return to form, but, in all honesty Batman was one of the only characters that had maintained true to form which led to a very tough job for Tom King, the new writer for Batman who was to replace Scott Snyder. While I personally enjoyed the opening arc of I am Gotham, I was honestly not impressed by a lot of what followed. I am Suicide (with exception to a few choice moments) felt largely anticlimactic and I cannot lie that Batman's choice in a Suicide Squad was disappointing to say the least. The I am Bane arc felt like a odd appendage to the I am Suicide arc, and really the only issue that had stood out to me since the first arc was the annual about Bruce adopting the dog. A lot of this just had to do with the fact that Tom was following a tough act, none of these arcs were bad, they just weren't as good as what Snyder and Capullo had been popping out their first few years working on the Bat. However, King finally struck gold with his current arc: The War of Jokes and Riddles. First off, a tip of the hat to quite possibly one of the best names of a Batman story ever. The title pretty much says it all, but to give a brief overview: the Joker doesn't find humor in jokes anymore, the Riddler is bored of riddles and its all Batman's fault. His constant foiling of their schemes have left both the Joker and Riddler out of wind. Riddler tries to talk Joker into working with him to be rid of the bat so they can go back to their normal selves. Joker responds by burying a .45 slug in Riddler's chest. Somehow Riddler walks away from that and the two start to recruit from the criminal class of Gotham, assembling two armies of Gotham's rogues for a criminal civil war that would rip through the collateral of the city. Batman must find a way to stop this war from taking more lives and it is quite the task. 

Batman: Under The Hood

Batman is a character that ultimately defines himself very much on the foundation of his own personal loss. If he were to make a list of personal failures, it is without a doubt that the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin, would be among the first of them. While most fans didn't really care too much for Jason, it is undeniable that this was a moment that shook the foundation of Bruce's mission and made him question if he was making the right calls. This would ultimately lead to one of the best character revivals of all time by transforming literally one of the most hated comic side kicks into a fan favorite center piece of the DC universe. Under The Red Hood  pits Batman against a new vigilante that has come to Gotham, one without the same penchant for not killing as the Dark Knight. Upon much investigation, Bruce discovers that this new vigilante, going by the Joker's old alias: Red Hood, is in fact the second Robin, back from the dead. Angry that Batman has not only failed to kill the Joker to avenge him, but that Batman had taken up a new robin in Tim Drake. Jason is out for blood. It's an incredible book that keeps you on the edge of your seat (they also made a fantastic animated feature of it starring the voice talent of Jensen Ackles as Jason).

Batman #51

Finally, to top off this list I have the final issue of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's run of New 52 Batman. This singular issue is so good, that it deserved to stand beside some of the greatest stories of the Dark Knight. What makes it so special? The answer is that it is a love letter to fans of the Dark Knight. At face value nothing happens in this issue. In fact, that's kind of the whole point. The issue starts with a power outage in Gotham. The security system in Arkham has went down and so Batman goes to investigate. While all this is going on a narrator is trying to answer the question of: "What is Gotham?" Batman continues to investigate this power outage, assuming the worst because, well, it's Gotham. No coincidences. He checks up on several leads from Penguin, to the Court of Owls, and no one seems to be behind it. He goes to the source of the outage and across the street he sees a flicker of light from an abandoned building. Batman crashes through the window to find a man who he had apprehended in the past, however, he has since turned from a life of crime and writes for the Gotham is column. He explains he was just trying to finish the column he was writing by deadline when the generator went off. Batman leaves him alone to finish his column and it is at this point it is revealed that the narrator has been this columnist. Batman goes around the city one more time seeing a city at peace, families safe in their homes, people being good to each other. The columnist addresses Batman in his column, hoping that while Batman usually sees the city at it's worst, that for just a moment the city can show him their best in return for all he has done. The issue closes with Batman staring out to a peaceful city, the outage a result of a natural tremor, the sun is rising, and the following quote: 

And so really, in the end, the answer to the question this column poses is simple. It's what we say to you, and you say to us. Gotham... is you, Always. 

I realize that there are plenty of other great Batman stories, and you are more than welcome to post them as comments. However, to me, these are the best at capturing Batman. That's not to say this list was easy to make, stories like Long Halloween, Darkest Victory, and Gotham by Gaslight are just a few examples of stories that I considered adding here as well. At the end of the day though, the stories I listed are the ones that have impacted me most as a fan, and I hope they have a chance to impact you as well!

This has been another edition of Comic Relief! I hope you enjoyed and we will see you next time!

Showrunners and Frontrunners: Latest in DC Casting Decisions

Welcome back to another edition of Comic Relief! Where I talk about all the goings on in the world of nerd!

It's been quite the past week or so as a nerd. Jack Kirby's birthday was a week or so ago, Inhumans IMAX release came out (and bombed hard), but most importantly, we had some very exciting casting announcements, and even some casting speculations for upcoming DC projects, two in particular: the long awaited Titans live action series, and SHAZAM! the movie.

Now when it comes down to Titans, there has been a LOT of build up. This show has gone through some serious production hell, first finding its home on TNT and subsequently being dropped shortly thereafter. Now the show is set to release on WB's new network that will be dedicated to its DC properties, and with that preproduction. Since their resurgence to popularity in the 2000's thanks to the very successful Teen Titans show that aired on Cartoon Network: Toonami, people have been getting really hyped about the prospects of a live action Titans, and in fact there have been several fan casting lists. However, we officially have the main members of this Titans iteration cast, so let's take a look.

Starting off we have Teagan Croft playing everyone's favorite super powered emo: Raven. Sporting a wardrobe that looks like something straight from a Hot Topic catalog, and having a dark mystic power that is the only thing holding back her evil, demonic father: Trigon from possessing her body, and opening a portal so that he may lay waste to existence, Raven won are hearts in the Teen Titans show for her snark, her back and forth with the fun loving Beast Boy, but most of all the fact that despite her cold exterior, she actually cared the most in the team and had to keep all her emotion in check at all times to prevent the aforementioned evil dad at bay. Teagan Croft is a relative no name with very little experience, but that has not really been something to hold back a super hero brand. In fact, if anything it allows for people to come to see her as the character better because she is a no name, and if there is anything to be said of this cast, it's that none of them, so far, have been big names.


Second we have Anna Diop cast as fan favorite Starfire. While in the comics Starfire is a bit promiscuous, I hope they drop that and instead lean toward the more perky and fun version of the character that we saw in Teen Titans back in the day. They took a female character that essentially was little more than eye candy in the original concept, and turned her into the heart and soul of the team. However, I realize that many purists will see this casting and there will be an IMMEDIATE complaint and gripe with the cast: "STARFIRE ISN'T BLACK!" Well folks, she's not exactly white either being that she is an orange humanoid from another planet that hurls energy disks, has super strength, and flies around. Something tells me that, like Marvel did for Gamora in Guardians, they will paint her orange. I also laud the choice because, very similar to not having an American play Wonder Woman, I feel that casting Anna Diop (who's from Senegal) will add an aspect of culture that can be directly applied to her portrayal. Diop has had some small screen experience, namely in the 24 reboot series, but otherwise she is a no name as well.



Last but not least of these announcements for Titans is Brenton Thwaites as Dick Grayson. Now firstly, it is still unclear whether Brenton will be playing a Robin on his way to become Nightwing, or just a Nightwing right off the bat. Personally I would be fine with either. Dick Grayson is easily my favorite Bat Family character, and I think that getting to see him as Robin for a little bit could make for some very interesting character growth into Nightwing, however, Nightwing is able to sell himself for a reason. The biggest thing that people have been worried about is kinda sad actually, and that is: Does Brenton Thwaites have a nice enough ass to play Dick Grayson. From what I have read on forums and the like, the consensus is generally positive. I realize that to those of you who are reading this and are not exactly immersed in comic book lore there are two very distinct features about Dick Grayson: 1. is that he is pretty boy, and 2. is that he has a pseudo legendary ass. He has been named the sexiest comic character multiple times and is a male sex icon in comics for those reasons. Brenton Thwaites is probably the biggest name in this list, having had his breakthrough performance in the most recent chapter of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. While he certainly is a pretty boy, I hope he is able to do the original Boy Wonder justice in the show.

The announcements made about SHAZAM! are both a mix of actual news and a little bit of hearsay. The first big news comes straight from the horse's mouth itself. David F Sandberg, director of the film, said in an interview that the film will be a fun movie filled with "superhero antics," but most importantly that there will be two actors for the titular character: a child (not a teen, a child) to play Billy Batson, and an adult to play Captain Marvel. This is GREAT news. While there has certainly been some rather impressive CG miracles that have happened over the past few years, this role needs to have two different actors. The second bit of news is that evidently John Cena is a frontrunner for the role.

Now I don't have an issue with John Cena at all, in fact I think he would do a really good job in that role. He has a strong booming voice, but also (having recently watched the trailer for the new animated feature of Ferdinand the Bull) he has the ability to act almost childlike, and as I said in my hopes and expectations article, that's the most important aspect of this character: Billy Batson is the kid. That being said he is not my first pick. Granted my first pick will never happened because he is attached to a stupid movie that's been in production hell for a few years that is a Marvel property and he has genuine loyalty to playing the character for some reason (DAMMIT CHANNING TATUM JUST LEAVE GAMBIT PLEASE). That being said, if John Cena is cast, I will be happy and on top of that I would really look forward to see Cena and the Rock work side by side on the big screen (flash backs to WWE promos of those two triggered). However, there is a person that has not been talked about that I would quickly like to throw my bid in for, and that is for Gaten Matarazzo to play Billy Batson.


Now last year Netflix debuted the show Stranger Things on Netflix, and if you haven't watched it, please do, it's great. It feels like if Stephen King wrote his own version of an ET script. Anyways, point is there were a lot of young stars that made a name of themselves in it, and one in particular has been talked about by fans for the role: Finn Wolfhard. Finn plays the main character of the series and it's really no surprise why people would pick him, he does an awesome job and his character shows adult-like bravery and determination. I understand exactly why people would want him, however, I think that there is a better choice to be found, and he plays another character in the show and that is Gaten Matarazzo, or rather Dustin from Stranger Things. Dustin I feel kinda gets overlooked a lot, but he is my favorite character in Stranger things. I kinda feel like he's what would happen if you took Chunk and Mouth from The Goonies and fused them together. He's got a smart mouth on him that gets him into trouble, but he's got a genuinely good heart and just wants to fit in really. I honestly feel like it makes him even more suited to play Billy in that regard. In the original concept, Billy was orphaned and abandoned by his uncle, he feels like an outcast, and Gaten did such a good job at portraying that in Stranger Things. My next point on this is about his body type. Gaten isn't fat, but he's not in great shape either. I feel that having a kid who is "weak" have this great strength passed onto him would be a far more humbling experience. Most importantly though is that Gaten is a GENUINE comic book nerd, he loves reading comics and would eat up any Shazam book you gave him in research. He would appreciate the character and its legacy better than most child actors would.


Well this has been another edition of Comic Relief! I hope you enjoyed and we will see you again soon!