Superheroes!

[Samson]

I kind of binged Batman: Caped Crusader. It was better than I expected.

 

[EgonSpengler]

New Superman theme (sounds glorious) and motion poster -

https://twitter.com/x/status/1868654814432784592

Look up...

If Superman, Fantastic Four, and Thunderbolts* are all good, next Summer could be a good one for superhero movies. Plus Captain America in February and Daredevil in March. Personally, I need Daredevil to be good. If Daredevil isn't good, you guys might not see me again. And if one or two of the others are good too, I'll consider that a win.

 

[Sommerswerd]

New Superman theme (sounds glorious) and motion poster -

https://twitter.com/x/status/1868654814432784592

Look up...

The music in the motion-poster sounds like a tribute to the Man of Steel theme with a small nod to the 1970s Superman March/Galaxies version. As iconic and fitting as the latter was for that particular idealized version of Superman, I like the newer version better, because to me Superman at his core always felt like a tragic, deeply sad and lonely character... almost literally carrying the weight of the world and the legacy of his ancestors on his mighty shoulders.

That's why the name of the Man of Steel theme "An Ideal of Hope" is so fitting, because it captures the impossible burden that Superman has to bear... to be this perfect, ideal, omnipotent, omnibenevolent, god/saint- like character, eternally protecting humanity. This is another reason why the heel-turn versions of Superman are so compelling and believable... because who could possibly live up to what Superman has to do, without eventually snapping.

If Superman, Fantastic Four, and Thunderbolts* are all good, next Summer could be a good one for superhero movies. Plus Captain America in February and Daredevil in March. Personally, I need Daredevil to be good. If Daredevil isn't good, you guys might not see me again. And if one or two of the others are good too, I'll consider that a win.

No way all of those are bad. At least one has to be good.

And if not... then you and I will just gaslight everyone and insist that they're good anyway

 

[EgonSpengler]

No way all of those are bad. At least one has to be good.

Yeah, you'd think.

 

[Synobun]

Daredevil seems like the cast had some control over it, what with the supporting characters being brought back, so it probably has the greatest chance of being good.

 

[EgonSpengler]

Daredevil seems like the cast had some control over it, what with the supporting characters being brought back, so it probably has the greatest chance of being good.

Yeah, the original decision to exclude Elden Hensen and Deborah Ann Woll was mystifying. Just the fact that they tore up that script - I think they'd even started filming - and took a Mulligan is promising. Despite the title Born Again, I don't think they're adapting Miller & Mazzuchelli's "Born Again" storyline (which they kind of already did in the 3rd season of the Netflix series). It looks like they're doing a version of Charles Soules' "Mayor Fisk" storyline. It's been confirmed that Muse will appear in the series, although I've seen no mention of Blindspot. I guess it's possible they're keeping the latter under wraps, but he's not a big enough character to warrant keeping as a surprise, imo. I think it's been announced that The Punisher and Bullseye will be in it, although I'm not sure how much or in what capacity.

I've seen that Krysten Ritter is harassing the Powers That Be to get back on board the Marvel train. If her postings on social media are actually a clever misdirect designed to keep her appearance in Born Again a secret, I will be impressed as well as thrilled. There's a scene in the comic where Matt Murdock gets attacked by Typhoid Mary while he's in his civvies. Mary is sent to kill Matt Murdock, but neither she nor the person who hired her know that he's Daredevil; he has to defend himself without revealing himself, but then Jessica arrives to rescue him. The Netflix series already used Typhoid Mary, but I could imagine a scene paying homage to that one that uses one of this series' villains. Fans have also asked for Tatiana Maslany to at least make a cameo, but I've seen nothing to that, so far. Keeping a She-Hulk cameo a closely-guarded secret would also be fun, at least for those of us who enjoyed that series, and it wouldn't detract anything for people who didn't like it or didn't see it.

 

[Sommerswerd]

Yeah, the original decision to exclude Elden Hensen and Deborah Ann Woll was mystifying. Just the fact that they tore up that script - I think they'd even started filming - and took a Mulligan is promising. Despite the title Born Again, I don't think they're adapting Miller & Mazzuchelli's "Born Again" storyline (which they kind of already did in the 3rd season of the Netflix series). It looks like they're doing a version of Charles Soules' "Mayor Fisk" storyline. It's been confirmed that Muse will appear in the series, although I've seen no mention of Blindspot. I guess it's possible they're keeping the latter under wraps, but he's not a big enough character to warrant keeping as a surprise, imo. I think it's been announced that The Punisher and Bullseye will be in it, although I'm not sure how much or in what capacity.

I've seen that Krysten Ritter is harassing the Powers That Be to get back on board the Marvel train. If her postings on social media are actually a clever misdirect designed to keep her appearance in Born Again a secret, I will be impressed as well as thrilled. There's a scene in the comic where Matt Murdock gets attacked by Typhoid Mary while he's in his civvies. Mary is sent to kill Matt Murdock, but neither she nor the person who hired her know that he's Daredevil; he has to defend himself without revealing himself, but then Jessica arrives to rescue him. The Netflix series already used Typhoid Mary, but I could imagine a scene paying homage to that one that uses one of this series' villains. Fans have also asked for Tatiana Maslany to at least make a cameo, but I've seen nothing to that, so far. Keeping a She-Hulk cameo a closely-guarded secret would also be fun, at least for those of us who enjoyed that series, and it wouldn't detract anything for people who didn't like it or didn't see it.

If they try to cram a bunch of characters into one movie... that's usually a recipe for disaster, unless the audience is already really familiar with most of the characters, optimally, from prior in-universe movies, but at a minimum, from prior popular comics, cartoons, shows, etc.

The convenient thing about Marvel/DC leaning so hard into the "multiverse" concept, is that they've created a hack/vehicle to make everything prior as in-universe canon, but still, a movie can only bear the weight of so many "new" characters. I've never even heard of some of the characters you referenced.

Also... TIL that when you quote a post with inline spoilers, the spoilers are revealed whether you wanted them to be or not. That's gotta be a glitch @Birdjaguar? Any insight on this?

 

[Birdjaguar]

Yeah, the original decision to exclude Elden Hensen and Deborah Ann Woll was mystifying. Just the fact that they tore up that script - I think they'd even started filming - and took a Mulligan is promising. Despite the title Born Again, I don't think they're adapting Miller & Mazzuchelli's "Born Again" storyline (which they kind of already did in the 3rd season of the Netflix series). It looks like they're doing a version of Charles Soules' "Mayor Fisk" storyline. It's been confirmed that Muse will appear in the series, although I've seen no mention of Blindspot. I guess it's possible they're keeping the latter under wraps, but he's not a big enough character to warrant keeping as a surprise, imo. I think it's been announced that The Punisher and Bullseye will be in it, although I'm not sure how much or in what capacity.

I've seen that Krysten Ritter is harassing the Powers That Be to get back on board the Marvel train. If her postings on social media are actually a clever misdirect designed to keep her appearance in Born Again a secret, I will be impressed as well as thrilled. There's a scene in the comic where Matt Murdock gets attacked by Typhoid Mary while he's in his civvies. Mary is sent to kill Matt Murdock, but neither she nor the person who hired her know that he's Daredevil; he has to defend himself without revealing himself, but then Jessica arrives to rescue him. The Netflix series already used Typhoid Mary, but I could imagine a scene paying homage to that one that uses one of this series' villains. Fans have also asked for Tatiana Maslany to at least make a cameo, but I've seen nothing to that, so far. Keeping a She-Hulk cameo a closely-guarded secret would also be fun, at least for those of us who enjoyed that series, and it wouldn't detract anything for people who didn't like it or didn't see it.

The spoilers disappear for me when I hit add quote, but appear when I hit post.

Yeah, the original decision to exclude Elden Hensen and Deborah Ann Woll was mystifying. Just the fact that they tore up that script - I think they'd even started filming - and took a Mulligan is promising. Despite the title Born Again, I don't think they're adapting Miller & Mazzuchelli's "Born Again" storyline (which they kind of already did in the 3rd season of the Netflix series). It looks like they're doing a version of Charles Soules' "Mayor Fisk" storyline. It's been confirmed that Muse will appear in the series, although I've seen no mention of Blindspot. I guess it's possible they're keeping the latter under wraps, but he's not a big enough character to warrant keeping as a surprise, imo. I think it's been announced that The Punisher and Bullseye will be in it, although I'm not sure how much or in what capacity.

I've seen that Krysten Ritter is harassing the Powers That Be to get back on board the Marvel train. If her postings on social media are actually a clever misdirect designed to keep her appearance in Born Again a secret, I will be impressed as well as thrilled. There's a scene in the comic where Matt Murdock gets attacked by Typhoid Mary while he's in his civvies. Mary is sent to kill Matt Murdock, but neither she nor the person who hired her know that he's Daredevil; he has to defend himself without revealing himself, but then Jessica arrives to rescue him. The Netflix series already used Typhoid Mary, but I could imagine a scene paying homage to that one that uses one of this series' villains. Fans have also asked for Tatiana Maslany to at least make a cameo, but I've seen nothing to that, so far. Keeping a She-Hulk cameo a closely-guarded secret would also be fun, at least for those of us who enjoyed that series, and it wouldn't detract anything for people who didn't like it or didn't see it.

The same when I hit reply

Yeah, the original decision to exclude Elden Hensen and Deborah Ann Woll was mystifying. Just the fact that they tore up that script - I think they'd even started filming - and took a Mulligan is promising. Despite the title Born Again, I don't think they're adapting Miller & Mazzuchelli's "Born Again" storyline (which they kind of already did in the 3rd season of the Netflix series). It looks like they're doing a version of Charles Soules' "Mayor Fisk" storyline. It's been confirmed that Muse will appear in the series, although I've seen no mention of Blindspot. I guess it's possible they're keeping the latter under wraps, but he's not a big enough character to warrant keeping as a surprise, imo. I think it's been announced that The Punisher and Bullseye will be in it, although I'm not sure how much or in what capacity.

I've seen that Krysten Ritter is harassing the Powers That Be to get back on board the Marvel train. If her postings on social media are actually a clever misdirect designed to keep her appearance in Born Again a secret, I will be impressed as well as thrilled. There's a scene in the comic where Matt Murdock gets attacked by Typhoid Mary while he's in his civvies. Mary is sent to kill Matt Murdock, but neither she nor the person who hired her know that he's Daredevil; he has to defend himself without revealing himself, but then Jessica arrives to rescue him. The Netflix series already used Typhoid Mary, but I could imagine a scene paying homage to that one that uses one of this series' villains. Fans have also asked for Tatiana Maslany to at least make a cameo, but I've seen nothing to that, so far. Keeping a She-Hulk cameo a closely-guarded secret would also be fun, at least for those of us who enjoyed that series, and it wouldn't detract anything for people who didn't like it or didn't see it.

When I open the spoilers in the post and hit reply the spoilers eremain.

 

[Sommerswerd]

The spoilers disappear for me when I hit add quote, but appear when I hit post.

Yes as soon as I post, the spoilers come back, but when I am editing the post, I can see the code for the spoilers and everything in the spoilers. It didn't matter for that last post, because I wanted to read all @EgonSpengler 's spoilers anyway, but its worth noting for anyone who is actually actively trying to avoid spoilers, that if you reply to a post, you're gonna get spoilered.

 

[Birdjaguar]

I brought the issue to staff.

 

[Birdjaguar]

@Sommerswerd You will have to learn to live with it.

 

[EgonSpengler]

If they try to cram a bunch of characters into one movie... that's usually a recipe for disaster, unless the audience is already really familiar with most of the characters, optimally, from prior in-universe movies, but at a minimum, from prior popular comics, cartoons, shows, etc.

The convenient thing about Marvel/DC leaning so hard into the "multiverse" concept, is that they've created a hack/vehicle to make everything prior as in-universe canon, but still, a movie can only bear the weight of so many "new" characters. I've never even heard of some of the characters you referenced.

I agree with you. Too many characters can be too much, very quickly. I'm less worried about that with Daredevil, because it's a 9-episode series. But I'm very worried about that with Superman. Here's a list of DC Comics characters supposedly appearing in Superman:

Spoiler :

Superman
Lois Lane
Jimmy Olsen
Perry White
Jonathan Kent
Martha Kent
Lex Luthor
Maxwell Lord
Cat Grant
The Engineer
Mister Terrific
Hawkgirl
Supergirl
Green Lantern (Guy Gardner)
Metamorpho
Rick Flag Sr.

 

[Sommerswerd]

I brought the issue to staff.

Thanks for checking.

@Sommerswerd You will have to learn to live with it.

That was quick. Thanks again.

 

[Caesar of Bread]

Oh yeah I forgot to say this a while back but I'm currently storyboarding a comic book series so yeah.

 

[EgonSpengler]

How Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio got 'Daredevil: Born Again' back on track

'Daredevil: Born Again' star Charlie Cox and showrunner Dario Scardapane break down that moment of laughter from the preview footage and tease the long-awaited revival.

ew.com

showrunner Dario Scardapane wasn’t even brought in until after last year’s Hollywood strikes, in order to retool the revamp after it had gotten off track.

“It had been conceived as more of a legal procedural, and we really brought it back towards an action-based New York crime story,” Scardapane tells EW.

Thank God they came to their senses. A legal procedural? Are they kidding? Don't get me wrong, I like a good legal procedural - I've watched The Lincoln Lawyer and Matlock this year - but that isn't Daredevil.

Scardapane wrote 4 episodes of The Punisher, a show I remember liking, but I didn't look to see which ones. He was the showrunner of a series about paramedics I liked about 15 years ago, Trauma, but that show had such a different vibe from Daredevil I can't really say there's anything applicable there. It looks like that's his only showrunner credit.

 

[Patine]

How Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio got 'Daredevil: Born Again' back on track

'Daredevil: Born Again' star Charlie Cox and showrunner Dario Scardapane break down that moment of laughter from the preview footage and tease the long-awaited revival.

ew.com

Thank God they came to their senses. A legal procedural? Are they kidding? Don't get me wrong, I like a good legal procedural - I've watched The Lincoln Lawyer and Matlock this year - but that isn't Daredevil.

Scardapane wrote 4 episodes of The Punisher, a show I remember liking, but I didn't look to see which ones. He was the showrunner of a series about paramedics I liked about 15 years ago, Trauma, but that show had such a different vibe from Daredevil I can't really say there's anything applicable there. It looks like that's his only showrunner credit.

Maybe he was hoping hoping to channel, "Better Call Saul," which wasn't REALLY legal procedural, at all, despite the central character being a criminal defense lawyer.

 

[Laurana Kanan]

 

[Gori the Grey]

He's got a face that works well as both Clark Kent and Superman.

 

[Clubber Lang]

^^ Amped!!!

‘Superman’ Trailer: A Bloodied Man of Steel With Green Lantern, Hawkgirl and Krypto the Superdog: ‘We’re Embracing All of the Mythology,’ Says James Gunn​

“Home. Take me home.”
There is a remarkable amount of symbolism packed into these words, the only ones spoken by the titular Man of Steel in the first teaser trailer for “Superman.” The footage premiered Thursday following a press preview on Dec. 17, introduced by writer and director James Gunn. The filmmaker has said for two years now that this movie will formally launch the new DC Universe that he and fellow DC Studios co-chief Peter Safran have been tasked with leading. But as the teaser makes abundantly clear, this Superman — as played by relative newcomer David Corenswet (“Hollywood,” “Twisters”) — will debut for the first time into a cinematic universe inhabited by the full spectrum of DC Comics characters. Superman is, in effect, coming home to DC.

Of course, the teaser offers a first look of Corenswet as Superman’s bespectacled alter ego, Clark Kent, reporter for the Metropolis newspaper The Daily Planet. There are also several quick shots of Kent’s colleague and Superman’s beloved, Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), both at the Daily Planet and with Superman; and of Superman’s arch nemesis, Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), glowering as he hatches some kind of nefarious plot. Additionally, there are a few quick glimpses of Skyler Gisondo as Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen, as well as Pruitt Taylor Vince as Jonathan Kent, Clark’s adopted father.

​

All of these characters have been staples of just about every live-action and animated adaptation of Superman thus far. But, for the first time in the modern era of live-action superhero movies, we also meet the Last Son of Krypton’s rambunctious canine, Krypto the Superdog, who rescues a bloodied and exhausted Superman after he crashes into the arctic ice. There are also quick glimpses of several other DC superheroes making their cinematic debut. They include Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, who is seen hovering inside an impervious sphere; Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, the pugnacious member of the Green Lantern corps who marches towards Superman with a purpose that does not appear friendly; Isabela Merced (“Alien: Romulus”) as the winged Hawkgirl; and Anthony Carrigan as the pale, bald Metamorpho.

As Gunn explained in a Q&A following the press preview on the Warner Bros. lot, the teaser is meant to demonstrate that this Superman “lives in a world with superheroes.”
“Superhero movies have taken these characters and said, ‘Okay, it’s Batman [or] it’s Superman, but it’s not any of the other stuff,’” Gunn said. “We’re embracing all of the Superman mythology. He has friends who are other superheroes. He has people he doesn’t get along as well with who are other superheroes. He has a lot of the things that we love from the Superman comics that we haven’t been able to see as much of in filmed media, and definitely haven’t been able to see in a grounded way, which is what I hope we’ve created.”
Gunn said his DC Universe “shares as many elements with ‘Game of Thrones’ as it does with the Marvel Universe,” in that he wants it to feel like a fully lived-in world that just happens to include fantastical elements.
Here are some more revelations from the extended Q&A with Gunn, Corenswet, Brosnahan and Hoult.

Yes, That’s an Electric Guitar Playing John Williams’ Classic ‘Superman’ Theme, but the Movie Will Have Original Music Too​

Gunn said he wrestled about whether he should include the rousing main theme composed by John Williams for the 1978 “Superman” movie, which he ultimately realized is so indelibly connected to the character that his film should incorporate it in some way — like the electric guitar riff used in the teaser.
“That was one of my favorite soundtracks of all time,” he said.
The director turned to John Murphy, who composed the scores for Gunn’s 2021 DC film “The Suicide Squad” and his 2023 Marvel film “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.” “I said, ‘I want to use a version of the Williams theme, but I want to do our own version of it,’” Gunn said. “That leads into a lot of other pieces, some of which harken back to the Williams theme, but some of which are purely John Murphy.”
The director brought Murphy in at the very start of the process — a rare early appointment for film composers — sending him preliminary drafts of the screenplay nearly two years ago. Gunn then played some of Murphy’s initial passes at a score on the set while they were shooting the film. “It’s finding that balance between the novel and the traditional.”

The Movie Will Embrace the Innate Goodness of Superman​

Multiple times during the Q&A, Gunn kept returning to the point that he wanted the movie, at its core, to be about goodness, and how much he feels the world could use a story that embraces it.
“We do have a battered Superman in the beginning,” he said, referring to the opening of the teaser (and, he implied, the opening of the film itself) with Superman careening into the ice. “That is our country. I believe in the goodness of human beings, and I believe that most people in this country, despite their ideological beliefs, their politics, are doing their best to get by and be good people — despite what it may seem like to the other side, no matter what that other side might be. This movie is about that. It’s about the basic kindness of human beings, and that it can be seen as uncool and under siege [by] some of the darker voices are some of the louder voices.”
After the Q&A, Gunn elaborated on that theme while talking with Variety.
“I’m excited for people to get to see the essence of what we’re doing, because it really has been like this private secret that we’ve all been hoarding,” he said. “We felt really good about it, like from a moral place, even from the beginning. We all felt like we were doing something good, both in terms of quality and in terms of actually something that’s not a fascistic power fantasy.”
“I’m not saying that about other hero movies in general,” he added, as if anticipating the displeasure that sentiment might spark in the hardcore fans of Zack Snyder’s DC films — which have been criticized for indulging in, well, fascistic power fantasies. “But it felt good to be doing something that was about a person’s kindness.”

The Actors Developed Their Own Approaches to Their Iconic Characters ​

At one point in the Q&A, while talking about Superman “standing eye-to-eye” with Lex Luthor, Corenswet stopped himself short, as if he was about to disclose something he shouldn’t. “This is my first project where I have to be very careful about spoilers,” he said with a chuckle. But each of the actors did wind up sharing some telling insights into their interpretations of their respective characters.

Corenswet seemed to feel the most personal connection with his character, specifically what some see as Superman’s naïveté about humanity’s innate goodness. “I was always cut out of the drama when I was in school,” he said. “I never felt like I knew the exciting, juicy gossip that was going on. And for that reason, I always saw people as the best versions of themselves — I don’t think in a terribly naive way. A lot of people consider Superman to be a naive character, and it really is just a blindness to the little imperfections and the silly little things that we get caught up with as people. I tend to miss those, and I think Superman misses those, and that’s what keeps him steadfastly and determinedly looking at the good and the hopeful.”
For Superman’s physical inspiration, Corenswet said he drew most from his brother-in-law, “who’s six [foot] eight [inches] and 270 pounds, has the deepest voice, and is always in the way and always trying not to be.” But it wasn’t until he started working with his fellow actors, especially Brosnahan and Hoult, “that I got clear who Clark and who Superman was,” he said.
For Brosnahan, Lois Lane has been a character who “evolves to fit what it would mean to be an intrepid journalist of each generation or each decade that she’s presented in.” So she looked at what it would mean for Lois to live in a world in which print journalism “is perhaps an endangered art form, and she’s somebody who has dedicated her entire life to it.”
“Because of her profession, but also because of who she is, she questions everything,” Brosnahan continued. “She’s trying to see around every corner. And that’s the way that she faces the world.”
Many of Lex Luthor’s classic qualities are quite present in Hoult’s version of Metropolis’ titan of industry. “Obviously, he’s smart and ruthless, and he has to outmaneuver Superman on certain levels, because he can’t match him in others,” Hoult said. “But there’s also something about this character, hopefully, from my standpoint, where even though you perhaps don’t agree with his process, you can understand where he’s coming from and why what he’s pushing as his ideology is perhaps better for humanity.”

Superman’s Suit Was Designed to Look Very Different from Past Superhero Costumes — But It Still Brought a Smile to Everyone’s Faces​

While Gunn said it took “a long process of development” to finalize his version of Superman’s suit, he was clear from the start what he did not want it to look like.

“I didn’t want to have it look like a wet t-shirt,” he said. “I didn’t want to have it have a bunch of fake muscles in it, and I didn’t want airbrushed abs on it.”
For his part, Corenswet said that because there were so many iterations of every aspect of the costume, he never quite had a moment where he wore it for “the first time.” Instead, he got to experience how others saw him in the final version of the suit for the first time.
“I didn’t feel like Superman, but it was so amazing watching my castmates and the crew members,” he said. “You’re getting to witness them witness it.”
Hoult then relayed his side of that experience. “When I saw David in the costume, I was in awe,” the actor said. “I hate to admit it made me feel warm and fuzzy. There was one scene where he flies into the set, and I would have a little private grin on my face. And I turned around and I saw everyone else in the room with the same look on their face watching him.”
“And then the best thing is seeing kids see it,” Corenswet added. “There’s just nothing like it.”

On that note, Gunn related the story, which he’s told versions of before, that he was complaining during one of Corenswet’s fittings about how silly and colorful the suit was looking. “And David goes, ‘Yeah, he’s an alien from outer space who’s super-powerful, who doesn’t want children to be afraid of him.’ It touched me in the moment, and it touches me now. That is who he is.”
“Superman” will open in theaters on July 11.

Clarke K -

https://twitter.com/x/status/1869780370398564693

‘Superman’ Trailer Breakdown: 17 DC Characters and Easter Eggs in James Gunn’s New Universe

See every 'Superman' Easter egg in the trailer, from Krypto the Super Dog to Guy Gardner and more.

variety.com

LL 1955-2021 -

 

[Caesar of Bread]

I'm excited for this movie!