Marvel's RUNAWAYS Gets TV Pilot Order from Hulu

Looks like Netflix has some competition for Marvel TV shows.

Marvel has announced that a television pilot and full-season scripts based on their Runaways comics have been ordered by the streaming service Hulu.  The series will be executive produced by series co-showrunners/writers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage (The O.C., Gossip Girl) along with Marvel’s Head of Television, Jeph Loeb (Marvel’s Jessica Jones, Marvel’s Luke Cage) and Jim Chory (Marvel’s Daredevil, Marvel’s Jessica Jones). Fake Empire's Lis Rowinski will produce as well. Marvel's Runaways is a co-production with ABC Signature Studios.

The premise for the series provided by Marvel read:  "Every teenager thinks their parents are evil.  What if you found out they actually were?  Marvel's Runaways is the story of six diverse teenagers who can barely stand each other but who must unite against a common foe--their parents."

"We've known the Runaways' story would make great television," said Loeb, "and being lucky enough to have Josh and Stephanie -- who have time and again created shows that speak so genuinely to this exact audience -- write and produce the series is nothing short of remarkable."

"I'm a long-time fan of Runaways and couldn't be more excited to bring Brian and Adrian’s characters to life," said Schwartz.

Added Savage, "Josh and I can't wait to get to work for Marvel and Hulu."

Created in 2003 by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona, Runaways is a comic book series about a group of teenagers who discovered that their parents were part of an evil crime organization known as "The Pride".  Originally, the series featured a group of six kids whose parents routinely met every year for a charity event.  One year, the kids spy on their parents and learn they are "the Pride," a criminal group of mob bosses, time-travelers, dark wizards, mad scientists, alien invaders and telepathic mutants.  

The kids stole weapons and resources from their parents, and learned they themselves inherited their parents' powers.  Alex Wilder, a prodigy, led the team while Nico Minoru learned she is a powerful witch, Karolina Dean discovered she is an alien, Gertrude Yorkes learned of her telepathic link to a dinosaur, Chase Stein stole his father's futuristic gloves, while young Molly Hayes learned she is a mutant with incredible strength.  

The kids banded together and defeated their parents, atoning for the sins of their parents by fighting the new threats trying to fill in the Pride's void.  After being betrayed by Alex who was killed by the Gibborim (The Pride's God), they were later joined by cyborg Victor Mancha, shape-shifting Skrull Xavin, and plant-manipulator Klara Prast.

New ROGUE ONE Olympics Trailer Teases Darth Vader

Say, that's a nice Dark Helmet.  Ahem.

A new trailer for the upcoming film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story dropped during last night's coverage of the 2016 Summer Olympics, giving Star Wars fans a better idea of what to expect in December, along with teasing the return of the franchise's most popular villain.

The two-minute trailer opens with Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) meeting with Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker), a Clone Wars veteran who is an insurgent that hates the Empire and is seen by the Rebels almost as a terrorist.  "The world is coming undone," Saw says to her.  "Imperial flags reign across the galaxy."

We then see an Imperial Star Destroyer dwarfing an entire city on the mesa below it.  This is apparently Jedha, a sacred world to those who believe in the Force that was conquered by a dictatorship.

"Can you be trusted without your shackles?" asks a Rebel officer to a handcuffed, Jyn as she enters the Rebel command center inside their base on Yavin IV.

"Let's just get this over with, shall we?" replies Jyn.

Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) informs Jyn, "We have a mission for you.  A major weapons test is imminent.  We need to know how to destroy it."  Once again, we see footage of the weapons dish being placed onto the original Death Star during construction.

"If you're really doing this," says Captain Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) as we see a new U-Wing fighter lifting off, "I want to help."

"I've been recruiting for the rebellion for a long time," says Cassian as we see another world of tall peaks and lightning storms.  Their U-Wing glides through the chasms of this unspecified world.

"They destroyed our home," remarks Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen) as he fires his weapon at Stormtroopers.  Behind him is Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen), a blind warrior-monk.  Both are natives of Jedha, and this appears to be a revenge assault.

"I fear nothing.  All is as the Force wills it," says Chirrut, now on the streets of the plateau city on Jedha.  He walks toward a squad of Stormtroopers and takes them out with his staff, freeing Jyn and Cassian in the process.

Next, we see the Rebel-owned and reprogrammed Imperial enforcer droid K-2SO (voiced by Alan Tudyk) who towers over Jyn and states, "The captain says you are a friend.  I will not kill you."  Jyn offers the droid her thanks.

"There isn't much time," Jyn says as we see the sun over Jedha blocked out in an eclipse, presumably by the Death Star.  "Every day, they grow stronger."

We then see Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn), head of the Empire's Advanced Weapons Research division, walking toward a view of the planet, surrounded by Imperial officers and Deathtroopers.

This is followed by various battle scenes, both on the beach world of Scarif and in the streets shown earlier.  K-2SO helpfully informs Cassian, "There is a 97.6% chance of failure."  Cassian tries to reassure a fellow Rebel spy, "He means well."

More battle scenes follow, with the Rebel forces firing some form of RPG weapon at an AT-ACT Imperial Walker.  

"This is our chance to make a real difference," Jyn tells Saw as we go back to their earlier meeting.  "Are you with me?"

We see Jyn walking toward the edge of an outside platform, armed only with a blaster, to confront an Imperial TIE Fighter.  A group shot of the assembled Rebel forces readying for attack follows, with Cassian saying "All the way."

Lastly, we see the teased image shown above of Darth Vader staring at some computer display.  For some reason.

If you'd like to check out the trailer, you can view it below thanks to the official Star Wars account on YouTube...




Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is scheduled to arrive in theaters on December 16, 2016.

LEGENDS OF TOMORROW Casts Lance Henriksen as Obsidian

Okay, I did not see this one coming.

Comic Book Resources has word that the CW series Legends of Tomorrow has cast veteran genre actor Lance Henriksen as Todd Rice, better known to DC Comics fans as the shadowy superhero Obsidian.  The announcement was made earlier today during the Television Critics Association's summer press tour.

Henriksen's Obsidian will be a member of the Justice Society of America, which also includes Patrick J. Adams as Hourman, Maisie Richardson-Sellers as Vixen, Matthew MacCaull as Commander Steel, and Sarah Grey as Stargirl.  Only Dr. Mid-Nite remains uncast.  Due to Henriksen's age and the show's penchant for time travel, it's possible that Obsidian will be from some point in the future, or was in his prime several decades earlier.

Henriksen, 76, is best known as the android Bishop in the films Aliens and Alien 3, and as Frank Black on the Fox series Millennium.  His numerous film appearances include The Terminator, The Right Stuff, Damien: Omen II, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Network, Dog Day Afternoon, Appaloosa, Alien vs. Predator, Scream 3, The Quick and the Dead, Pumpkinhead, and Tarzan.  Henriksen has also appeared on episodes of The X-Files, Criminal Minds, Into the Badlands, The Blacklist, The Strain, Hannibal, Tron: Uprising, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Static Shock, Harsh Realm, Tales from the Crypt, Beauty and the Beast (1989), Cagney & Lacey, and The A-Team.

Created in 1983 by Roy Thomas and Jerry Ordway, Obsidian first appeared in All-Star Squadron #25 as Todd Rice, the biological son of Alan Scott and Rose Canton, respectively the Golden Age superhero Green Lantern and villain Thorn.  Todd was raised in an abusive adoptive home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and found out in his late teens that he had a twin sister, Jennie-Lynn Hayden, also known as Jade.  They met and discovered they both had superpowers, operating under the assumption that Green Lantern was their father (which they did not know for certain at the time, but did eventually learn to be true). Todd found that could merge with his own shadow and possess the shadows of others.  In his shadow form, he was stronger than in human form, could pass through solid objects, and could fly. 

As Obsidian and Jade, they were founding members of the superhero team Infinity, Inc., a group composed mainly of the children, grandchildren, and protégés of members of the Justice Society of America.  Obsidian also served with the Justice League for a brief time.  He apparently inherited a potential for mental illness from his mother, Thorn.  Corrupted by by the supervillain Ian Karkull, Obsidian turned evil, using his shadow powers to first steal all shadows from an entire city, then to spread darkness over the entire world.  Later, he joined the mystical villains Mordru and Eclipso to seek vengeance (unsuccessfully) on Green Lantern and the JSA.  Following his defeat, Obsidian was cured of his mental imbalance.

After being cured, Obsidan retired from being a superhero.  It was during this time that Todd came out and came to terms with his self-identity as a gay man.  He met and fell in love with Damon Matthews, an assistant district attorney who worked with Kate Spencer, who was also the vigilante known as Manhunter.  Todd's powers went dormant during most of this time, but they returned following the death of his twin sister Jade during Infinite Crisis. He then returned to being a superhero and Jade was later resurrected during the events of Blackest Night.

Legends of Tomorrow returns to The CW for Season 2 on October 13th at 8:00 p.m. EST.

STAR TREK: DISCOVERY Will Have Female Lead, Set Before Kirk's Era

At last, we're starting to discover more about Discovery.

CBS and TVLine have provided a rundown of some interesting details concerning their upcoming CBS All Access series Star Trek: Discovery, which were revealed yesterday by Executive Producer Bryan Fuller during the Television Critics Association Summer Tour in Los Angeles.  Here are the highlights from the TCA...

• The show's main character will be a human but not the Discovery's captain. She is a "Lieutenant Commander — with caveats," said Fuller.  "We've seen six characters from the captain's point of view.  In order to understand something that is so completely alien from her, she must first understand herself.  That's part of our journey on this planet to get along, and that's part of our journey in this first season."
• The show will feature "about seven" lead characters.  Casting for all roles is still in progress.
• One of the characters will be gay.  "Star Trek started with a wonderful expression of diversity in its cast," Fuller explained.  "We're absolutely continuing that tradition. The thing that makes Star Trek such a lasting, vital part of pop culture is that it's us... and where we're going."  Fuller pointed out the franchise's on-screen diversity gives everybody hope, as fans see a future with a wide range of backgrounds and can see that, "we're going to make it through."  Fuller added, during his time on the Deep Space Nine writing staff, fans sent hate mail protesting a rumor that Jeri Ryan’s character Seven of Nine was going to be gay.  He added that he kept a file folder of the vitriolic mail in his garage, solely to remind him of the importance of including gay characters if he ever got his own Trek series.
• The new series will be set in the Prime Universe (as opposed to the Kelvin Timeline used in the J.J. Abrams-produced films) and will take place about 10 years before Captain Kirk's five-year mission.  This means Discovery will bridge the first two series in the timeline, about a century after Star Trek: Enterprise (which was a prequel) and a decade before The Original Series.  Fuller said they did this in part so they could utilize the iconography of the original ships and uniforms.
• The central storyline of the 13-episode first season will involve "There’s an incident, an event in Star Trek history in the history of Starfleet that had been talked about but never fully explored.  [We’re telling] that story through a character who is on a journey that is going to teach her how to get along with others in the galaxy."
• The series-opening event is not the Kobayashi Maru, nor the Romulan War, and it won’t involve Section 31 (Starfleet’s black-ops division).  Fuller later said the event was referenced during the original series and diehard fans "should be very happy.  It’s something I want to see."
• Fuller confirmed that there will be robots in the new series, and "more aliens than you normally do in a Star Trek show.  We're going to have new, exciting aliens and also re-imaginings of existing aliens."  One of the original aliens is named Saru.
• Fuller hinted that Amanda Grayson (Spock’s mother) might figure into the series. "I love that character. I loved Winona Ryder’s portrayal of her [in the 2009 movie] and it’s a great character.  It would be fun in some iteration of this show to incorporate her and her storyline.  She’s not a central part of the show, but we love that character."
• Fuller also said he'd be open to involving some of the bridge characters from The Original Series, but didn't have immediate plans for that since he's "digging” the characters they've come up with for the new series.
• Fuller joked about the series’ acronym — STD — and said sex and profanity likely will have a place on the show.  "There will probably be slightly more graphic content.  We discuss every day about language…Is it appropriate to have a bridge blow up and have somebody say, ‘Oh, shit?'"

Star Trek: Discovery is currently scheduled to premiere on CBS in January 2017, with the next 12 episodes airing on CBS All Access.

THE FLASH Casts Grey Damon as Mirror Master

Let's just reflect on this for a moment.

Comic Book Resources revealed yesterday that the CW series The Flash has cast Grey Damon in the role of Sam Scudder, better known to DC Comics fans as the supervillain Mirror Master.  Damon is set to appear in the fourth episode of Season 3, which should air in late October or early November.

According to the article, the Mirror Master is described as "One of the Flash's most infamous Rogues, Sam Scudder -- a.k.a. Mirror Master -- is a smooth criminal with a huge ego.  Upon discovering he now has the power to travel through any reflective surface, Scudder embarks on a massive crime spree to prove himself the greatest thief that Central City has ever seen."

Damon, 28, is probably best known as Brian Shafe on the NBC series Aquarius.  In addition to the films Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters and Oldboy, Damon has appeared on episodes of Friday Night Lights, American Horror Story: Coven, Star-Crossed, The Nine Lives of Chloe King, True Blood, 10 Things I Hate About You, and 90210.

Created in 1959 by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, the Mirror Master first appeared in The Flash (vol.1) #105 as Sam Scudder, a convict working at a mirror factory when he accidentally mixed in the wrong chemical in a mirror. Even though the foreman told him to throw it out, Scudder discovered the mirror seemed to have developed special properties.  He studied the mirror and learned how to create mirrors that could create a variety of effects.  Scudder devised a costume and named himself Mirror Master, using a mirror to create duplicates of other people to commit crimes for him.  The Flash investigated these crimes and defeated the Mirror Master.

The Mirror Master became one of the Flash's most persistent and formidable foes. He frequently teamed up with other members of the Flash's Rogues Gallery, especially Captain Cold.  Mirror Master was also a member of the first group to be called the Injustice Gang of the World.  The group battled the Justice League of America and were eventually defeated.  Mirror Master was also a founding member of the Secret Society of Super-Villains alongside fellow Flash rogues Captain Cold, Gorilla Grodd, and Captain Boomerang.  Later, Mirror Master led another grouping of the Secret Society in an effort to aid the Silver Ghost in a plot to destroy the Freedom Fighters.

Mirror Master eventually became involved in the Crisis on Infinite Earths, attending a mass meeting of heroes and villains held abroad the Monitor's satellite.  He later became a part of the massive army of villains organized by Lex Luthor and Brainiac, and helped in taking over Earth-S, the home of Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family.  When the heroes and villains declared a truce to deal with the threat of the Anti-Monitor, Mirror Master joined the mission led by Luthor to journey to Oa's distant past and prevent Krona from peering into the Dawn of Time.  Mirror Master, Icicle and Maaldor the Darklord reached Krona's lab but began to argue as to who should destroy Krona's time viewing equipment.  Before any agreement could be reached, a booby trap activated and all three villains were killed by a powerful explosion.  After Scudder's death, fellow rogue Captain Boomerang impersonated him in an attempt to commit crimes behind the backs of his teammates in the Suicide Squad.  Soon afterward, the Scottish mercenary Evan McCulloch took over the Mirror Master role.

In the current The New 52 timeline, Sam Scudder is the Mirror Master once again.  It was revealed that he, Captain Cold, Heat Wave, and Weather Wizard underwent a procedure at an unknown facility that would merge them with their weapons, giving them superpowers. The procedure went awry, causing an explosion at the facility.  Golden Glider, who was also at the facility, was caught in the explosion.  The five were given superpowers but each in a twisted manner.  Sam became trapped in the Mirror World, and Golden Glider, with whom Sam had a romantic relationship, became an astral projection of herself.  With the two both being unable to connect with the real world, they devised a plan to use the Gilder's astral form to pull him out of the Mirror World.  Against her brother's warnings, the Gilder continued with the strategy and released Scudder from his imprisonment in the Mirror World.  The result left the Gilder's astral form missing and Cold upset at the situation.

Damon will be the second actor to portray the Mirror Master in live-action, after David Cassidy in the original The Flash TV series from 1990-91.  The character has also appeared in various animated projects, including Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show (voiced by James Avery), Justice League Unlimited and Justice League: Doom (voiced by Alexis Denisof), The Batman (voiced by John Larroquette), Batman: The Brave and the Bold (voiced by Tom Kenny), and the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special (voiced by Breckin Meyer).

The Flash returns to The CW for Season 3 on October 4th at 8:00 p.m. EST.

THE FANDOM ZONE 071: "The Damage Done" is Up!

"What's a friendly game of cards when your day job is facing the Prince of Darkness?  It helps keep everything in perspective."

– Reverend Anderson, Outcast: "The Damage Done"

With out schedule pretty much back on track, Karen and I have returned with a new episode of The Fandom Zone Podcast!

This week's reviews of comics on television include:

Outcast 1x07 -- "The Damage Done"

Wynonna Earp 1x07 -- "Walking After Midnight"

This time, we talk about our new The Fandom Zone Season 3 theme (!), our upcoming fall TV schedule, Allison's awkwardness at realizing she physically abused her daughter Amber instead of her estranged husband Kyle, Amber drawing pictures of her mom vomiting up a demon, Allison and Kyle have estranged couple reunion sex, not being convinced that Allison would take a bullet for Kyle, the awkwardness of discovering that the guy you thought was possessed isn't possessed but his wife is, Reverend Anderson having a Se7en moment, my declaration of candidacy for President of the United States so I can score thousands of new Twitter followers, the awkwardness of having your boss confront you with a dashcam video of beating the hell out of your wife's rapist, wondering why Amber isn't getting mental counseling, the great Patsy Cline, the disappointing magic duel between the Blacksmith and the Stone Witch, why I like the original Star Wars better than Empire, the awkwardness of discovering that killing the Stone Witch will kill you, Wynonna commiserating with Officer Haught over not being invited to Waverly's party, Doc Holliday sticking up for Waverly against a couple of Mean Girls, some comics on TV news, my channeling of Barry White, and more!

You can now check out episodes of The Fandom Zone on Google Play Music right HERE, or for those of you who use iTunes, we're already available HERE, so please subscribe and rate us!  If direct download MP3s are more your thing, you can find those HERE as well.  In addition, you can Like us on The Fandom Zone Facebook show page, which you can check out HERE.  And yes, we're also on Twitter with our account @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 review Episode 8 of Outcast and Episode 8 of Wynonna Earp, right here on The Fandom Zone Podcast!

Netflix Debuts Main Trailer for LUKE CAGE

Sweet Christmas.

Netflix has released the main trailer for their upcoming series Luke Cage starring Mike Colter, based on the Marvel Comics superhero.  The 13-episode series explores Cage's world following a sabotaged experiment that gives him super strength and unbreakable skin. He becomes a fugitive attempting to rebuild his life in Harlem, and must soon confront his past and fight a battle for the heart of his city.

The two-minute, 45-second trailer opens with an SUV about to deliverately run over Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson, reprising her role from Daredevil and Jessica Jones) and someone else, when Luke steps in front of them and smashes the SUV's entire front end with just his body.

"I'm still not sure what I am," Luke remarks to Pop (Frankie Faison) from Pop's Barber Shop.  "I'm just livin' my life, day to day."

"You should be out there helping people," Pop tells him.

"You think I asked for any of this?" replies Luke.

We get a quick glimpse of the Seagate Prison experiment that gives Luke his superpowers. "I was put in some tank like an exotic fish," Luke continues as we see him emerge from the smoke wearing his traditional metal headband and bracelets from the comics.  "Came out with...abilities.  I just want to be left the hell alone."

Pop responds, "But that would be a waste."

As we hear the sounds of "Walk On" by Isaac Hayes, we see Alfre Woodard as Mariah Dillard, a local politician looking to bring change to Harlem being interviewed on television.

"Too much happens in the shadows," Claire remarks to Luke.  "People fear what they can't see."

We're then introduced to Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes (Mahershala Ali), the owner of the Harlem's Paradise nightclub who deals in illegal operations.  "This place is our reputation," begins Cottonmouth, "our mix, our blood."

We see Cottonmouth pummeling someone into a bloody pulp before he tells his men "Hit every business and squeeze 'em hard."  A hail of bullets comes through the window of Pop's Barber Shop as Luke tries to protect someone with his invulnerable body.

"Everybody wants to be the king," remarks Cottonmouth as the painting behind him in his office appears to place a crown on his head.

"Sometimes," Claire tells Luke, "if you want justice, you have to get it yourself."

As Cottonmouth's gang hits a local Chinese restaurant Genghis Connie's, Luke confronts them saying "I don't like your tone" and swiftly takes out the hoods.  Luke tells Connie reassuringly, "You have my word, ma'am.  I've got you."

We see glimpses of Luke fighting various bad guys before Misty Knight (Simone Missick) warns him, "You might be bulletproof...but Harlem ain't."

"This city is supposed to represent our hopes and dreams," Luke tells someone in a voiceover.  "You have to fight for what's right, every single day."

A local TV reporter asks Luke "Why don't you just tell us your name?" as Luke lowers his hoodie and turns to her slowly, as if he's about to speak.

Lastly, we see Pop and Luke inside the barber shop, talking about what's been happening. "The whole neighborhood is yappin' about how two goons got the beatdown last night," says Pop.

Luke looks up from reading a copy of Little Green: An Easy Rawlins Mystery by Walter Mosley and replies with a smile "I heard it was four guys."

If you'd like to check out the trailer, you can view it below thanks to the official Netflix US & Canada account on YouTube...




All 13 episodes of Luke Cage will be available September 30th on Netflix.

LEGENDS OF TOMORROW Casts Sarah Grey as Stargirl

The ranks of the Justice Society keep getting bigger.

IGN is reporting that the CW series Legends of Tomorrow has cast Sarah Grey as Courtney Whitmore, better known to DC Comics fans as Stargirl.  The role will be recurring in the show's second season, and Grey joins Patrick J. Adams as Hourman, Maisie Richardson-Sellers as the original Vixen, Matthew MacCaull as Commander Steel, and Nick Zano as Citizen Steel.

Two other members of the Justice Society of America, Dr. Mid-Nite and Obsidian, still remain uncast.

Grey, 20, is a Canadian actress who will be appearing as Amanda in the upcoming Power Rangers film, and has appeared on episodes of Wayward Pines, Lucifer, iZombie, Bates Motel, and Almost Human.

Created in 1999 by Geoff Johns (who based her personality on his dead sister Courtney), Stargirl first appeared in Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #0 as Courtney Whitmore, the stepdaughter of Pat Dugan, who once worked with the original Star-Spangled Kid, Sylvester Pemberton, as his crimefighting partner Stripesy.  Courtney found the original Star-Spangled Kid's gear in her stepfather's belongings and donned the costume to annoy Dugan, resenting his marrying her mother and moving the family from Los Angeles to Blue Valley, Nebraska.  Dugan, a skilled mechanic, designed and built S.T.R.I.P.E., a robotic suit that he used to accompany and protect her.

Courtney later joined the Justice Society of America, and after being given Starman Jack Knight's cosmic staff, she changed her identity to Stargirl.  She soon discovered her biological father (Sam Kurtis) working as a common thug for an incarnation of the Royal Flush Gang.  They later confronted one another during one of the Royal Flush Gang's robberies.  Courtney was later approached by the Shade, who informed her that her biological father was dead.  This tragedy, and her experience of the relationship between Liberty Belle and Jesse Quick, prompted her to re-evaluate her family life.  She realized that she couldn't hate her biological father for his failings as a father and as a man, and also learned to accept Pat Dugan as her only real father figure.

In the current New 52 continuity, Stargirl joined the new Justice League of America, chosen by Amanda Waller as the public face of the JLA's PR campaign.  After the disbandment of the JLA following the Forever Evil crossover event, Stargirl joined Justice League United.

Grey will be the second actress to portray Stargirl in live-action, after Britt Irvin in several episodes of the WB/CW series Smallville.  The character has also appeared on the animated series Justice League Unlimited (voiced by Giselle Loren) and Batman: The Brave and the Bold (voiced by Hope Levy).

Legends of Tomorrow returns to The CW for Season 2 on October 13th at 8 p.m. EST.

DAMN Good Movies -- SUICIDE SQUAD

You guessed it, I'm back once again with another movie take, this time on the movie Suicide Squad, based on the DC Comics antihero superteam.  As always, if you haven't seen the movie yet and you don't want it spoiled for you, then please step back from your computer or whatever electronic device you're reading this on and stop reading now.  If, however, you're wise enough to know that movie reviews with spoilers are always more interesting than the ones without them...well...welcome to Belle Reve.

Although Warner Bros. started developing Suicide Squad in 2009, the project never really took off until David Ayer signed on to write and direct the film in 2014.  The third installment of the DC Extended Universe had a lot riding on it, after Zack Snyder's poorly-received Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and as the first DCEU film starring characters other than DC's Big Two.  

The movie opens in the aftermath of Superman's (temporary) death at the end of Batman v Superman, with Amanda Waller assembling her team of "bad people to do something good." We get a lengthy series of introductions to the main supervillains comprising the team, with each member getting a Tarantinoesque rundown of their resume and their specific theme song -- The Animals' "House of the Rising Sun" for Belle Reve Penitentiary, Lesley Gore's "You Don't Own Me" for Harley Quinn, AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" for Captain Boomerang, and so on.  Unfortunately, as fun as these intros are, they run on a bit long and you find yourself yelling "Get on with it!" inside your brain.

The expendable villains are placed under the command of Colonel Rick Flag and implanted with a microbomb inside their necks on the likelihood of anyone turning on Flag during the mission or trying to escape.  As for the mission itself, the team is sent to retrieve someone important from Midway City because another of Waller's recruits -- Dr. June Moone, an archaeologist now inhabited by the spirit of a witch-goddess known as the Enchantress -- has taken over the city with help from a bunch of monster minions and the Enchantress' brother Incubus (actually Nightshade's brother from the comics).  Oh, and just to complicate things, Dr. Moone is Rick Flag's girlfriend.

Just before heading out, Katana joins the Squad as Flag's bodyguard, while The Joker finds out just what kind of a mess Harley is in and promises to make things even more FUBAR at some point later in the film.  As they arrive in Midway City, the Enchantress takes out their helicopter, forcing a crash landing and turning the movie into Escape from New York with supervillains.  The Squad proceeds on foot toward their target's located position, giving Ayer the opportunity to adapt the great sequence from Suicide Squad (vol.1) #9 where Captain Boomerang convinces disposable Squad member Slipknot that the microbombs are just for show and they can easily escape, just so Boomerang can find out if the microbomb in his neck is actually legit.  Sure enough, Slipknot makes his move, but instead of losing just an arm in the comics, here he loses his entire head.

After fending off some of the Enchantress' monster minions, the Squad locates their target, who turns out to be -- What a twist! -- Amanda Waller.  Everyone heads to the roof of the John F. Ostrander Federal Building, a nice nod to the former writer of the first Suicide Squad comic series, but of course things go FUBAR (as promised) when the Joker and his hired goons show up in the hijacked helicopter.  Harley is thrilled to be reunited with the Joker, only to lose him when Waller's men shoot down their helicopter, leaving her with the Squad once again.

As the film enters the Third Act, it ends up shifting from Escape from New York into the climactic confrontation with that nimble little minx Gozer from Ghostbusters.  The Squad battles the Enchantress, but even though they aren't asked if they're a god, they still get their collective asses kicked.  Harley pretends to flip over to Team Enchantress, just long enough to remove the Enchantress' heart and toss it over to RIck Flag so he can smoosh it on the floor.  

June is freed from the Enchantress, while the surviving Squad members are returned to Belle Reve with ten years reduced from their sentences.  Deadshot gets some special daddy privileges, Harley gets a cappuchino machine, Killer Croc gets a pimped out sewer crib, and Captain Boomerang naturally gets no respect and is thrown into solitary confinement.  Ah, but just when you think it's over, the Joker and his hired goons show up at Belle Reve looking for Harley, teasing a potential sequel with even more great classic rock that doesn't make it onto the movie's official soundtrack.

So yeah, some things worked here, some things didn't, but there was still some great characters to enjoy, especially if you're a DC Comics fan.  Here are some of the things that stood out:

AMANDA WALLER -- The role of The Wall is key to a successful Suicide Squad film, so I was so glad that Viola Davis was cast.  The scene where Waller coldly guns down her own Ostrander Building support staff to cover up her involvement was so true to the character, although I would've liked to see her getting up in more people's grills as only The Wall can.

DEADSHOT/FLOYD LAWTON -- Yet again, Will Smith is really great at playing Will Smith as someone else.  He's not Deadshot, though -- not even close -- lacking the character's emotional detachment and his complete lack of caring if he lies or dies.  The decision to play up Deadshot's relationship with his daughter here was a poor one, making a dangerous assassin for hire sympathetic when he really shouldn't be.  Not in the first film, anyway.

HARLEY QUINN/DR. HARLEEN QUINZEL -- Thankfully, unlike Smith, Margot Robbie completely embraced her character.  Even with the ugly and totally unnecessary tattoos, Robbie grinned and flirted her way though the movie, totally winning this longtime Harley Quinn fan over in the process.  We even got to see Harley's origin, albeit an abbreviated one, that blended the original version established in The Batman Adventures: Mad Love with the current New 52 one from Suicide Squad (vol.4) #6 and 7.  There was also a very welcome easter egg with Robbie in Harley's traditional harlequin jester costume, so here's hoping we get to see more of it in a Harley Quinn spinoff movie.

RICK FLAG -- Joel Kinnaman landed the role that was originally Tom Hardy's and almost Jake Gyllenhaal's.  I liked Kinnaman in the 2014 RoboCop reboot, so I felt confident he would do well as Flag and I wasn't disappointed.  Flag is essentially the team's straight man, reacting to the craziness around him, but ultimately falls into the no-nonsense leader role when he's not asked to be upset about his girlfriend.

ENCHANTRESS/JUNE MOONE -- And speaking of said girlfriend, Cara Delevingne doesn't quite work as a believable archaeologist at just 23 years old, 13 years younger than Kinnaman.  Oh, she does a nice job as Gozer The Enchantress, but is essentially a waifish supermodel with serious eyebrows that's caked with dirt for a good chunk of the film.  

CAPTAIN BOOMERANG -- Jai Courtney is one of those actors with an extremely punchable, smarmy face, which finally works to his advantage here after his horrific outing as John McClane, Jr. in A Good Day to Die Hard.  Just as he does in the Ostrander comics, Boomerang makes wonderful comic relief as an obnoxious lout, and Courtney plays that up well, but he isn't given nearly enough to do.  And he isn't nearly enough of a true coward.

KATANA /TATSU YAMASHIRO -- As a big Katana fan, I was excited that Karen Fukuhara was playing the character in this movie.  She does okay, but is also horribly underwritten, with a lot of the character's potential completely ignored.  It also doesn't help that the few times Katana is actually given lines, they're in Japanese, which only distances her from the other characters.

EL DIABLO/CHATO SANTANA -- Jay Hernandez plays the modern version of El Diablo from the comics, and is one of the few Squad members to get any actual character development.  Initially resistant to using his pyrokinetic powers, El Diablo comes into his own for the big climactic battle and pays the ultimate price for his past sins.

KILLER CROC/WAYLON JONES -- After being wasted as Kurse in Thor: The Dark World, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje gets a little more to do here as Killer Croc, although he's completely unrecognizable under tons of prosthetic makeup.  Killer Croc could've been a fun strongman similar to Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy, but apart from a couple of laughs, he's also terribly underwritten.

THE JOKER -- Jared Leto is the latest actor to take on the classic role of The Joker, and to his credit, he tries hard to make it his own.  Leto's Joker is basically a twisted crimelord, also covered in pointless tattoos along with a ridiculous mouth grill that already looks dated. There's an interesting twist on his relationship with Harley, however, with the Joker seemingly in actual love with Harley instead of cruelly abusing her and taking advantage of obsession with him.  I can't see Leto's Joker as the central villain in a Batfleck film, but here in small doses, he works much better.

SLIPKNOT/CHRISTOPHER WEISS -- As soon as Adam Beach's character was announced, I hoped we would seem Captain Boomerang manipulate him as described above and I wasn't disappointed.  Slipknot is arguably the most expendable Suicide Squad member ever, so if you were let down that they didn't do much with his character, you really shouldn't be.

BATMAN CAMEO -- Ben Affleck continues to be a major linchpin of the DC Extended Universe as Batman, and I enjoyed him a lot more here than I did as Grumpy Frank Miller Batman in Batman v Superman.  The flashback with Batman chasing the Joker and Harley through the streets of Gotham was a fun ride, and the mid-credits bonus scene where Bruce Wayne agrees to provide cover for Amanda Waller in exchange for A.R.G.U.S.' files on metahumans was welcome universe-building.

THE FLASH CAMEO -- The blink-and-you-miss-it cameo by Ezra Miller as The Flash continues to make me worried about Justice League and the solo Flash film.  As we see a flashback of The Flash confronting Captain Boomerang, Miller delivers one line and it's instantly forgettable because all you can do is roll your eyes at the Flash's clunky armored costume. 

All in all, Suicide Squad is a small step in the right direction for the DC Extended Universe, but not nearly as big as it needed to be after Batman v Superman.  No, the movie isn't as bad as critics made it out to be on Rotten Tomatoes (27%?  Really?), and yeah, it's not as good as some diehard comics fans want it to be.  It really should've been DC's version of Guardians of the Galaxy, with snappier dialogue and a non-stop rollercoaster feeling that leaves you exhausted, but in a good way.  With Suicide Squad having a huge opening weekend, chances are good for the sequel, but here's hoping someone besides Ayer gets to write the script.  Is Geoff Johns too busy at the moment? 

And for those who may be wondering, here's the updated list of my Top 20 Comic Book Films:

1. Superman (1978)
2. The Dark Knight (2008)
3. Captain America: Civil War (2016)

4. The Avengers (2012)
5. Batman Begins (2005)

6. Man of Steel (2013)
7. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

8. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
9. Spider-Man (2002)
10. Iron Man (2008)
11. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
12. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
13. Watchmen (2009)
14. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
15. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

16. X-Men: First Class (2011)
17. Suicide Squad (2016)

18. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

19. X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
20. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

THE FANDOM ZONE 070: "Call and Response" is Up!

"And what are you gonna do when you find him?"
"Well, if God wants our help, we'll help him.  If he doesn't, we're gonna kick his ass."

– Tulip O'Hare and Jesse Custer, Preacher: "Call and Response"

With Karen off the Disabled List, we're back with a special "Gone to Texas" episode of The Fandom Zone Podcast!  

This week's reviews of comics on television include:

Preacher 1x09 -- "Finish the Song"

Preacher 1x10 -- "Call and Response" (Season Finale)

This time, we talk about Karen leaving a big void when she's not here, waiting for the Saint of Killers to be called the Saint of Killers, shipping DeBlanc and Fiore, the Breaking Bad bus stop, making travel arrangements to go to Hell, my pet peeve about using the destruction of Annville to not have to deal with unresolved character threads, taking ten episodes to tell the first issue of the Preacher comic, the awkward consent issue of Jesse using The Word to making Tulip kiss him, the disappointment of getting a Meat Baby instead of seeing Odin Quincannon have sex with a giant Meat Woman from the comic, Preacher resetting Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Donnie reading Gorillas in the Mist, waiting for a musical number, asking "God" questions, finally getting to see Jesse in a mullet, Tulip wanting french fries, Seth Rogen getting the best people, and more!

You can now check out episodes of The Fandom Zone on Google Play Music right HERE, or for those of you who use iTunes, we're already available HERE, so please subscribe and rate us!  If direct download MP3s are more your thing, you can find those HERE as well.  In addition, you can Like us on The Fandom Zone Facebook show page, which you can check out HERE.  And yes, we're also on Twitter with our account @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 review Episode 7 of Outcast and Episode 7 of Wynonna Earp (for reals this time, honest!), right here on The Fandom Zone Podcast!

SUPERGIRL Casts Katie McGrath as Lena Luthor

Kryptonians and Luthors...You just can't have one without the other.

TVLine has revealed that the CW series Supergirl has cast Katie McGrath as Lena Luthor, the younger sister of Superman's arch-enemy Lex Luthor.  The role will be recurring throughout Season 2.

According to the article, Lena is described as "Beautiful, powerful, and enigmatic, Lena arrives in National City on the heels of brother Lex’s incarceration, hoping for a fresh start. Lena has taken over as CEO of her family’s billion-dollar-tech company, Luthor Corp, which has been tarnished by Lex’s evil infamy.  Her goal?  To re-brand the empire as a force for good.  Lena wants to be seen as her own person, separate from her brother.  Kara is drawn into Lena’s sphere and must determine if she is friend or foe."

McGrath, 33, is an Irish actress best known as Zara Young in the film Jurassic World and as the Lady Morgana Pendragon on the BBC One series Merlin.  In addition, McGrath has appeared on the TV series Slasher, Dracula, The Queen, and The Tudors.

Created in 1961 by Jerry Siegel and Kurt Schaffenberger, Lena Luthor first appeared in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #23 as Lex Luthor's younger sister.  After Lex began his villainous career, his family changed their last name in shame to the anagram "Thorul" and told Lena that Lex had been killed in a mountain-climbing accident.  Soon after, they were killed in an auto accident.  As a result, Lena never knew she had an older brother, as Lex Luthor himself (with occasional help from Supergirl and Superman) worked to keep her from learning the truth.  Lena had psychic/empathic abilities, gained from touching a Space Brain that Luthor was experimenting on before he became a villain.  In 1981, Lena lost her powers after brain surgery, and the decision was made to tell her the truth about Luthor.  After the initial shock, there were signs of reconciliation after Luthor discovered he had unwittingly aided another criminal's conspiracy against Lena, and he was deeply apologetic.

In DC Comics' current New 52 continuity, Lena grew ill when Lex was seventeen years old. Though he hoped he could save her, his attempt failed, consigning her to a wheelchair for life.  Rather than face his failure, he told others that she was dead, and that he had been too afraid to fail in an attempt to save her.  However, she was still alive, kept in his personal, secret lab at LexCorp, and was introduced to Bruce Wayne there after Lex became a member of the Justice League.  After joining the team, Lex claimed to Wayne that he planned to cure his sister, a change from his previous behavior of leaving her alone to ignore his failure.  When Neutron attacked LexCorp, an explosion rocked the interior of the headquarters, and Lena was caught in the blast.  She was knocked unconscious, but survived, and her brother told Wayne to get her to safety.  Lena later attempted to kill Lex prior to the “Darkseid War” event, as the result of a dark influence from Apokoliptian technology.  With Lena now in a coma, Lex has all the power and authority in the world, but remains unable to fix her.

McGrath will be the third actress to portray Lena Luthor in live-action, after Denise Gossett on Superboy and Cassidy Freeman on Smallville.  Freeman played a character called Tess Mercer, who was eventually revealed to be Lutessa Lena Luthor.

Supergirl will return for Season 2 on The CW October 10, 2016 at 8:00 p.m. EST.

POWERS Cancelled by Sony's PlayStation Network

Hey, at least the comic book is continuing...when it actually arrives in stores.

Powers co-creator Brian Michael Bendis has announced via his official Twitter account that the Powers television series has been cancelled by Sony's PlayStation Network and will not have a Season 3.  Here are the tweets Bendis posted earlier today...

this is hard to tweet, but word is that @POWERStheSERIES is sadly, no more. season 2 was the last. at least for now. 1/2

— BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (@BRIANMBENDIS) August 3, 2016

i'll type more about it later, but thank you ALL for your support. such a fantastic personal experience that you gifted all of us. 2/2

— BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (@BRIANMBENDIS) August 3, 2016

The series, which debuted on March 10, 2015, was based on the Powers comic book series by Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming, and starred Sharlto Copley as Christian Walker, Susan Heyward as Deena Pilgrim, Michelle Forbes as Janis Sandusky/Retro Girl I, Olesya Rulin as Calista Secor/Retro Girl II, Logan Browning as Zora, Noah Taylor as Johnny Royalle, Eddie Izzard as Wolfe, Michael Madsen as SuperShock, and Tricia Helfer as Angela Lange.

With a total of 20 episodes over two seasons, Powers had received considerable criticism from fans for the show's low production values and lack of respect for the source material, even with Bendis' involvement.  Rotten Tomatoes gave it a score of 52% based on 20 critic reviews, with an average score of 5.5/10.  The critical consensus from the site was "The interplay between the characters lacks spark, but the detailed world-building of Powers shows potential." On Metacritic, it received a score of 51 out of 100, and a user score of 6.5 out of 10, indicating "mixed or average reviews."