Well, I just saw Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and I was so adamant about checking it out tonight. But, once the movie started, I realized this could have waited until next week or the week after. I am not going to spoil it until Sunday during my podcast review. But, I will say this.... On a scale out from 1 to 10 this movie gets a 4.5... I did appreciate Gadot's efforts as Wonder Woman. But, there wasn't enough of her to make you even care if she was in the movie or not. The obligatory Wayne Murders' scene was corny. Lex Luthor was laughable, but not in a good way. I did enjoy Affleck’s portrayal of Batman. But, that’s about it. And Superman, although Cavil is perfectly cast, he just isn’t that interesting. I believe Lois (Amy Archer) carried the entire story. And the rest of the supporting cast were forgettable, even Lawrence Fishburne. The other future team member cameos were dumb and uninspired. And the choice for The Flash seeing his “debut” made him look more like a character from the Vampire Diaries. Which could and should have been Grant Gustin. Did I say the first 1 hour and 45 mins was a snooze fest and I think I actually fell asleep? This was dumb and far fetched even for a comic book movie. They really need to take a page out of Marvel’s play book because it doesn’t look like they know what the hell they are doing with their own properties. Anyway, look for my complete spoilery review on this Sunday’s podcast.
As you probably already know I have been searching for a copy of Lois Lane 106 but my search is coming to an end, hopefully. Also, I am can be a little late on the fanboy news but I just realized that Dave Bautista is the same Batista that will be in Guardians of the Galaxy movie this summer as Drax the Destroyer.
Also, Monday saw the release of the long awaited WWE Network. Fans of World Wrestling Entertainment found some difficulty logging on and in. It took me about 30 mins to complete the process. But, I have found it to be interesting. I am a luke warm fan and enjoy some of the entertainers. What I have watched already is Legends of WWE and it was the Bret Hart/ Sean Michaels story. Which was very interesting. Check out what else I found out about the new WWE Network below.
I bet you all didn't know at one point Lois Lane turned black for a hot second. Well, Yes ma'am she did. She went from Audrey Hepburn to Foxy Brown by way of Superman's transformation machine. This was a 70's comic from the Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane series (issue 106). This particular issued tackled race relations in the late 60's and early 70's. And Lois transforms into a black woman to see how it feels t be a black person. (I Am Curious..Black). I went on a search for this comic today and came up empty handed. The reason I wanted this book was because It's very unique and it was on Comic Book Men recently. I will find it!
I also recap this week's Walking Dead, Ellen Page (see previous post) coming out and share my comic book Fanboy Weekend!! Thanks for tuning in!!
load.. It's been a busy
Well there is a new Amazon Princess in town and she looks nothing like anyone expected. Israeli actress and model Gal Gadot. I had the same response. I had not heard of her until the announcement earlier this week. But, the powers have made their decision. And fanboys everywhere are wondering if it's set in stone. Check out the show and tell me what you think of the casting of Ms. Gadot as our new Wonder Woman
We covered a lot on this week's episode. Listen while we chat about the Cyborg's (Lee Thompson Young) death. I share with a guest in the chat room one of my favorite Comic Book Heroes. Also, I talk a bit about some television shows making a return this fall and more. Enjoy the show and thanks for your support. Please go to our Spreaker Pageand follow the show for weekly updates.
Welcome back! We haven't had a Fanboy Friday (now weekly) post in awhile. But, this show is a good and informative one. Listen in as we chat about the new Marvel Infinity comic book that just came out. If you remember during Free Comic Book Day the Infinity prequel book was one of the giveaways. But, now it's here in all it's glory. The cover is awesome and the artwork is great. You will also find an offer for a digital copy and a bonus copy. I'll tell you how during the show!
Also, I give a small review about the animated movie Superman Unbound. It's a pretty good story and I felt like it was sequel to Batman/Superman Apocalypse. I thought so it featured Supergirl and the elements from the first movie kind of led into this one. But, that is just my opinion. I also loved the fact the Matt Bomer was voice lead for Superman/Clark. I recently found out that he was married to his boyfriend. If you remember Matt, he stars in the show White Collar and was one of the strippers in Magic Mike.
Finally, the main focus of this blog and he show. The Amazon Princess, daughter of Paradise Island:
WONDER WOMAN!!
We chat about why we cannot get a good live action feature for our favorite heroine. I think they should use the very well written animated movie for material. We have WW in so many animated movies and television cartoons, it's hard for me to believe that she can't get her own show. I also asked the question: Who was the first actress to play Wonder Woman on TV? The answer Cathy Lee Crosby. Yes, she did! It was horrible and probably the worst version of our gal in red, white and blue. She had no powers, blonde hair and no lasso. It was the predecessor to the late 70's television series starring Linda Carter.
We all remember the failed NBC pilot for Wondy, where Adriana Palicki was suited up in the satin tights. Fanboys and girls were not having the new look. After the pilot, NBC shut it down and once again WW was a dream. Recently, TheCW played with the idea of a prequel called Amazon. It was also shelved. So what is it going to take? I think if we can wait long enough. She should be introduced in the Superman/ Batman movie. And if the reception is good branch out on her own.
This week's Throwback goes to Mr. Speed himself: Flash.
The Flash Television series was before it's time. Check out John Wesley Ship's Flash and listen to the show for some information about our speedster.
It was a stellar Free Comic Book Day. I even picked up some books on the day after. Check out all the pics and the live show below. Email me your pics or free comic book day stories..
We are also running a giveaway contest on our blog talk radio show page click here for details.
I finally get to let my inner geek out for a bit on this week's entertainment blog. Summer is fast approaching and so are the summer movies. It seems like each summer movie season we get more and more comic books morphing into live action movies. The highly desired and much anticipated reboot of Superman is one that I am definitely looking forward to seeing.
Henry Cavill
Man of Steel will be DC's entry into the comic book movie showdown this summer, with Henry Cavill (Immortals) donning those very well fitted blue tights (what happened to the red undies). I was very surprised not to see Tom Welling who played Clark/Superman on The CW's Smallville not given the chance to take his very popular and long running role to the big screen. I wonder if he's mad about the snub. Although, this new movie is more of a re-telling of the Superman story. I guess Welling's version would have been more of a continuation. Oh well..
George Reeves
With all that being said, how can one talk about a Superman movie without reminiscing about all the actors who have portrayed Mr. Faster Than A Speeding Bullet. I was more of a Superman animation and live action fan than I was his portrayal in the comic books. But, I will say I own the complete series of The Death of Superman comic books. My earliest memory of any kind of Superman television show was on Sunday mornings after church. My dad and I would watch the George Reeves version in Adventures of Superman. Little did I know I was watching black and white reruns from the 1950's. I actually think at some point they were in technicolor. But, regardless, I enjoyed watching him each week fight the bad guys and duck out on Lois Lane to do so. For some reason I remember the "Clark Kent" scenes with him typing very fast. I also remember the first man, Kirk Alyn, to portray Superman in a movie from 1948. My mom took my sister and I to a Super Hero movie revival at The Victory Theater in Evansville, IN. I remember it being very odd and corny and not like what I had seen on television. I bored quickly and fell asleep on my mom's lap much to her disappointment. She should have warned me that it was going to be so horrible. LOL!
Saturday morning cartoons is where I solidified my love for comics and the super powered. The Super Friends were my Saturday morning soaps. Batman & Robin, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and, of course, Superman were the super powered cast! I couldn't wait to see who The Super Friends were battling each Saturday. My favorite Superman themed episode was the one called Revenge of Bizarro. The cartoon actually went through several incarnations in the 70's before it was canceled. Whew, finally in the 70's this is where it gets good.
1978 brought us the Superman Movie and probably one of the most memorable, hunkiest and beloved Supermen in all Superman movie-dom. Christopher Reeve was the quintessential hero. He embodied the role and fans adored him. And who can forget the most perfectly curled piece of hair on his forehead.. ..swoon.. I remember being forced to play "Can You Read My Mind?" in band class.
One of the most memorable scenes from the Superman: The Movie. And who didn't love Margot Kidder's cigarette smoking, raspy voiced Lois Lane. This Superman franchise produced 4 movies in all. In Superman: The Movie we see his battle with Lex Luthor and Mortality. Superman II, General Zod and friends tear up the city. By the way, to this day, Terrance Stamp's General Zod has been my favorite. In Superman III Richard Pryor is the anti-villain whose computer smarts produces a version of Kryptonite that makes one bad and one good Superman. It also brought us the first appearance of Lana Lang, Annette O'Toole. For those of you who didn't know Annette O'Toole, played Clark's mother (Martha Kent) on Smallville. When I first saw her on Smallville I giggled like an Asian school girl at a Sailor Moon convention. Superman IV: The Quest For Peace was the fourth and last movie in this series. I really didn't like it and the franchise was getting old and stale. The solar powered villain and green message alienated audiences and the series was done.
After a nearly fatal 1995 riding accident, Christopher Reeve, took on another hero role as an advocate for paralysis research. The Horseback riding accident left him paralyzed from the neck down. Christopher Reeve passed away in October 2004. You can make donations by visiting The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation page.
Switching from the big screen back to the small screen Superboy debuted in 1988 and ran for four seasons. It was an introduction of Superboy's adventures (renamed The Adventures of Superboy in the 3rd season) in college. After John Newton donned the cape in it's premiere season, he was replaced in season 2 by Gerard Christopher. The reason being was John's diva behavior and publicised DUI arrest. Since, both actors have lent their voices to some Superman animations and documentaries.
John Newton
Gerard Christopher
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman debuted in 1993. It was a primetime hit that introduced the world to Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher (Clark Kent and Lois Lane). It was more of an action soap opera, where I felt they concentrated on dialog and drama just as much as the action hero stuff. Did you know that Gerard was originally cast as Clark for this series? But, after the director found out he had already played the part he was replaced by Dean Cain.
Superman fans would have to wait until 2001 before we would see another actor take on the mantel of Kal'el, the son of Krypton, role. Another Superboy-ish retelling of Clark's adventures, before he became Superman, is where Smallville came to life. Tom Welling, in my opinion, has definitely left his mark on the Superman mythology. He, like Christopher Reeve, embodied the hero and made it his own. The show included updated and upbeat versions of Lana, Lois, Jimmy, Perry, Lex, TJ and Laura Vandervoort as Supergirl (remember when Helen Slater played Supergirl?). I loved it when they would make references to The Super Friends or The Justice League. We also got an hour long show featuring The Justice Society of America.
Helen Slater as Supergirl
Smallville was the longest running live action Super Hero themed television show in history. The only problem I had with the show was the last episode. I wanted to see him transcend into Superman. But, something to do with copyrights never allowed us to see him in full cape.
Well that brings us back to the movie theater. Superman Returns!! Thought of as the 5th installment of the original Superman films, in 2006 the cape belonged to Brandon Routh. Not much to say about this one. I remember going to the theater to see it and almost walked out. It was the basic formula that didn't quite translate. Lex + Superman + Kryptonite + Lois = Bad Movie. All I can say is Brandon made a good-looking Superman. And obviously Superman had a son. Booo! I guess it was bound to happen.
So there you have it. I hope I didn't leave any of the actors or incarnations out. Fanboys can still see Superman in the numerous and completely enjoyable animated movies. See you at the show on June 14.
