Deathstroke vs. Batman is coming soon

RUMOR ALERT!!

Editor's Note: JK, it's only Deanpool and myself. So it's really just my note. But again this post will be a delayed post. News of this broke some time ago, we drafted up a blog post, and let it sit in the drafts until we had time to revisit. Enjoy!

Oh we love our rumor mills. So when Ben Affleck posts a conspicuous video of "test footage" of Deathstroke. We squeal and jump on our laptops in glee. Especially owners of New Teen Titans #2. Which Deanpool happens to be one of. But seriously if you haven't seen the test footage, go to Ben Affleck's Twitter.


Whether you watched the animated Teen Titans series or more recently, the second season of CW's Arrow, you may be familiar with the potential a villain like Slade Wilson a.k.a. Deathstroke may present. A character with a drastic rise in popularity in the last couple years after first appearing in comics in 1980, created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez. Gamers who played Batman: Arkham Origins got a chance to duel against the bounty hunter

Deathstroke and even play as the character as a DLC. Spoiler: he appears in Arkham Asylum in a much more annoying role. And by annoying, we mean he's in an annoying tank and is a pain in the butt to beat. Depending on when you're reading this, Netflix may still be streaming Son of Batman, an animated movie that introduces Damian Wayne to the Batman animated universe. The primary antagonist is Deathstroke as he becomes the leader of a secret organization after killing Damian's grandfather. We'll leave it at 

that. It's worth a watch. As stated earlier, Slade Wilson plays a key role in the first two seasons of Arrow, being portrayed by Manu Bennett. The Green Arrow/Deathstroke rivalry may be the most popular for either character's publication history. I mean, Slade lost his eye due to an arrow. Guess what color it was. With Season 2 of Arrow arguably being the show's strongest season, a major reason for it can be contributed to Deathstroke's character. Props to 

Geoff Johns and Guggenheim in telling Slade's background story and making him a formidable opponent to Oliver Queen on both a physical and psychological level. However, if you watched Teen Titans on Cartoon Network like we did, these kind of tactics weren't new to you. The enemy/arch-rival only known as Slade (guess Deathstroke is a bit intense for younger viewers) made the Titans, especially a young Dick Grayson as Robin, miserable.



Lots of Deathstroke in recent movie/TV medias. Even videogames. His comic book popularity started seeing a similar uptick. Surely, intentional by DC Comics. Slade had a couple of solo series, was featured in a couple Suicide Squad renditions, played bad guy as a cameo in other series, etc. The point being he started seeing a lot more spotlight. With the DC cinematic universe slowly growing, Deathstroke was poised to make a debut on the big screen. I mean c'mon, Deadshot and Harley Quinn already beat him to it.

So let's piece together what we got so far and discuss what Deathstroke being a in a DC movie, a Batman movie specifically, will mean for the DCU.

While no one will ever be the kind of villain the Joker is to Batman, what can we expect from Deathstroke as a villain? Well for one thing, it promises some kick-ass fight sequences. Not necessarily the heavyweight match we saw in BvS. More like two ultimate tacticians and skilled fighters pitted against each other. The "prepared for everything" Batman will have to match up against a foe as devoted to the details as he is. It's also a match-up that will definitely keep this Batfleck version of Batman on a darker path. Deathstroke will not hold back to find a chink in Batman's armor, whether it's personal or not. He's not afraid to cross the line, but will Batman be able to meet Deathstroke at that level? From a physical standpoint, Deathstroke has a slight advantage in the sense that he possesses enhanced strength, speed, agility, etc. courtesy of "an experimental serum". Yes readers, another super soldier. Meet the one-eyed Captain America on the DC Comics side who sports a sniper rifle instead of a shield and accepts money in exchange for assassination. But I mean, Bats went toe-to-toe with Superman, who literally had every advantage. So we think Batman will find a way to negate that and/or level the playing field.

Side note during editing: so far there's no hint to Green Arrow being apart of the DC movie-verse. But here's to hoping that Deathstroke will already be missing an eye and that Batfleck won't be the one to make him a one-eyed assassin. Because that would be kinda disappointing. To us. Don't do it DC Comics.

You're gonna want this comic!

Now, without knowing the exact context/timeline of the Batman solo movie, let's assume it's post BvS. We know we're dealing with an older Bruce Wayne. We know he's lost at least one Robin due to death. So when are we going to explore a) which apprentices has he had already, b) what happened to them? Assuming (we'll be doing a lot of this) the Robin suit we saw in BvS was Jason Todd's, a Dick Grayson likely exists and may very well be existing as the hero Nightwing. Dick Grayson/Nightwing had his beefs with Deathstroke during his time with the Titans. Seeing Batman take an assist from his old ward would be a bombshell! Everyone go buy Nightwing's first appearance, Tales of the Teen Titans #43! Jk. Just speculating here. Isn't it sad that after hearing confirmation of one surprise character joining the DC movieverse that all we want to talk about is speculation of who else might be in the movie or in future movies. But hey don't blame us. It's just how our minds work.

Batman & Robin vs. Slade & Terra
Not likely, but we could dream!

We can see how our thought process might be flawed too. We're basing Nightwing's appearance on the idea that he'd have a history with Slade from being with the Titans. But do the Titans fit into DC's movie plans? The original Titans that Dick Grayson was apart of also featured Cyborg. We know Cyborg will definitely be apart of the DC cinematic universe... but as a Justice League member. If his origin follows the New 52 path, which is what it's looking like, the first team Cyborg will be apart of is the Justice League, not the Teen Titans. Doesn't mean that every version of the Titans has to include Cyborg. A Teen Titans team comprised of Dick Grayson as Robin/Nightwing, Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy, and Wonder Girl is equally intriguing
. Which drifts us to another thought. Maybe Deathstroke ups the stakes and adds Terra to the mix in the Batman movie. Quick background: Terra secretly joined/infiltrated the Teen Titans as a plot by Deathstroke to destroy the Titans from within. Oh, and Terra is Slade's daughter. Now a 1v1 match-up becomes 2v2! It's possibilities like these that make rumors like these so exciting!!!

Anyways. Enough fan-girling over here. Slade is not a Ra's al Ghul. Not a Two-Faced Harvey. Not a Bane (but may be close or similar to TDKR's Bane). And definitely not a Joker. All of which were portrayed excellently in Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. But he's also a villain we haven't seen Batman take on yet in any live-action movie. Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, Riddler, Penguin, and so on, all have their appeal. But Deathstroke is a gritty villain that will challenge Batman on a physical level as well as a psychological one. He's also not a regular in Batman's rogues gallery so it'll be refreshing approach in seeing how Bruce Wayne/Batman takes on a new villain on the big screen. Deathstroke has his flaws too. Unless the rivalry between the two become personal, Deathstroke in his nature is simply a hired gun. A bounty hunter. A hit-man. He's driven by a paycheck. Which calls to question another thing to watch for. Who or what puts Bruce Wayne and/or Batman in Deathstroke's cross-hairs? Maybe Lex Luthor? He definitely has motive after Batman threatened him at the end of BvS. Maybe Amanda Waller? Not likely though for those who saw the mid-credit scene from Suicide Squad. She needs Wayne Enterprises to cover-up the mess that went down in that movie. In Arkham Origins, Black Mask put out the hit on Batman. However, Black Mask's identity was a "game-changer"... :) And what stops Bruce Wayne from buying his way out of a hit? Something else has to drive the story that pits Batman against DC's most lethal assassin.

Can you tell we're excited? A lot to look forward to from DC's movies. A Wonder Woman solo, the long-awaited Justice League movie, plus endless solo movies and sequels. And here's Deanpool overly excited with his Deathstroke mask and comics. Deanstroke???

Silk to join Spider-Man in the MCU?... RUMOR

RUMOR ALERT!!!

Coming soon...?!

These are always entertaining. It's fun to speculate.

Tom Holland made his debut as Marvel's beloved web-slinging superhero, the Amazing Spider-Man. Or just Spider-Man. However this version of the character will be titled, moviegoers and fans saw Spidey come home to Marvel studios and join the Avengers. Well, one half of the Avengers... #TeamIronMan! And in typical superhero movie fashion, one cameo/appearance can unfold into spin-offs, a television series, or if you're lucky and loved enough, your own movie.

Coming in 2017, we'll see the third adaptation of Peter Parker as Spider-Man. While the previous two renditions of the character have their high moments, they certainly have their downsides as well. Marvel and Disney's success with their Avengers franchise brings hopes and promises to die-hard fans of Spider-Man, eager to see their hero become apart of the success.

Recently, a reddit user supposedly found a leaked casting sheet for the upcoming Spider-Man film, Homecoming. As seen below. Take away what you want from a leak that came out of Reddit. Let's break down some of the highlights plus one possible MAJOR leak.

So without getting too much into it (and again it's all speculation):

-Peter Parker is played by T.H. (Tom Holland), if this is news to you... welcome back to 2016.

-Disney channel star Zendaya (Z) was announced as playing a character name Michelle though there's plenty of speculation that Michelle is really meant to discourage any Mary Jane rumors. Let's hope for an ethnicity change in Mary Jane! Plus, Zendaya matches the look for the age range they're aiming for with Tom Holland as high school Peter Parker. Another tidbit, for a studio ran by Disney, it's interesting this is the first we're hearing of them casting one of their own into a major role for this franchise. But then again perhaps now is just a moment of opportunity since this is the first movie in the Avengers franchise where the main character is the age of a high school student.

-Shocker is the villain we should be expecting for this movie? Deanpool has been excited to see Shocker get on the big screen since the original Spider-Man trilogy, but never as a standalone villain. Apart of the Sinister Six? Yes. An enforcer for an even larger villain? Yes. Doesn't exactly have the appeal of a Green Goblin, Doc Ock, or the Lizard, who all knew Peter Parker on a personal level making the match-up more intriguing. Here's hoping he's not as forgettable as Electro. Assuming this Spider-Man movie picks up where Civil War left off, Peter should already have an idea of his powers and abilities. But still, yay Shocker!

-Flash Thompson, Peter's high school bully. Likely a recurring character if the movie sees a couple sequels. Flash's comic book bio presents possibilities Marvel may explore in the movies if it chooses to. Would also mean another symbiote story though. Let's just leave him as high school bully for now.

-Liz Allan, high school classmate to Peter. Who knows how they'll portray her. Friend to Peter? Friend to Flash Thompson? Friend to Michelle (Mary Jane!)?

-Betty Brandt, another possible love interest of Peter. Gut feeling being her character plays a more pivotal role to the story. She's a secretary for the newspaper company Peter works for. Or will eventually work for, depending on the context.

-Ned Leeds- only reaction from Deanpool, "HOBGOBLIN STORY?!!"

The rest are characters that don't really standout EXCEPT

Tiffany Espensen as "Cindy".

Stop everything.

The picture on the left, Tiffany Espensen.
The picture on the right, a recent addition to the heroes in the Spidey universe with human-spider abilities, Silk a.k.a. Cindy Moon!!!

A fan favorite almost instantly, Silk earned her own spin-off comic series and may now possibly be seeing her way to the big screen. I mean, we get that she gained a lot of popularity quickly but Deanpool imagined an Ultimate Spider-Man/Miles Morales joining the MCU before Silk did. Even a Gwen Stacy as Spider-Woman, or more popularly titled Spider-Gwen. Spider-Gwen gained plenty of early praises and fan popularity in an alternate universe as another female wall-crawling hero that after joining the Spider-Man family. Just go to a comic convention and count the cosplayers dressed as Silk's and Spider-Gwen's. But hey we're not complaining.

Anyways, we're not expecting a full-on Silk cameo right away. It would be extremely difficult to keep those kind of set photos leaked. You know, with Silk having such a distinct costume and all. But let it be known that adding another Spider-hero character to the mix would automatically distinguish this cinematic version of Spider-Man from the others. However, it all comes down to how well Marvel can execute a move like this. We're all eager to see Wally West don the Kid Flash title in CW's The Flash, but they're making us wait until S3 (Note: this was drafted pre-S3 debut). And we've yet to even see a Robin in any of the recent depictions of Batman. That's right we meant Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, we're not counting Batman Forever or Batman and Robin. Sorry Chris O'Donnell. 

Don't be surprised if Cindy is some new transfer student that becomes a classmate of Peter's. She'll likely be shy, awkward, out of place and strangely yet naturally attracted to Peter without any sort of initial interaction with him. And as Silk fans are fully of giddiness and geeky hard-ons, that will likely be the end of Cindy/Peter ineractions for the rest of the movie. Maybe a few plugs to add more mystery to her backstory a la scenes of her stalking/creeping on Peter in a secret admirer fashion. Or also some kind of ambiguous mid- or post-credit scene that Marvel loves so much. And pull off oh so well to leave us nerds drooling for more and running home to blog about it... :) 

For readers who aren't familiar with Silk, look out for another post where we'll break down her relatively short comic bio. Pretty much she got bit by that exact same radioactive spider that gave Peter his powers and was locked away in a panic room for most of her life. What are the chances, right? The hormones from being bitten by the same spider forces them to be sexually attracted to each other when around one another. Her presence will likely be very subtle in the scope of the whole movie, but could lead to an awesome foreshadowing if they bring her character to life in future movies. Here's hoping that our speculation comes to fruition!

Marvel adding some diversity?

It's no secret that the MCU lacks diversity. And diversity is of course a hot topic in pop culture and media. The Avengers could use more heroines. We'll be seeing Brie Larson as Captain Marvel in a couple years. The galactic superstar Zoe Saldana as Lieutenant Uhura, oops meant Gamora will be back again in GotG Vol. 2. Adrianne Palicki's Mockingbird will be getting her own "Agents" spin-off TV series. Jessica Jones made her debut via Netflix. Can we get a Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman in MCU already?! Keep in mind, we purposely left out both Invisible Women, both Storms, both Jean Greys, and the rest of the X-women/women from Fox movies. Except Psylocke. We loved Psylocke. And Olivia Munn. But back to the diversity talk. We've seen comics explore dynamic changes in well-known characters in this movement towards creating more diverse characters. Changes in race, gender, and sexual orientation have been applied to a variety of existing characters and have also been explored in introducing new characters. Zendaya rumored to actually be Mary Jane would represent a similar type of (exciting) change to a well-established character in multiple medias. Silk was also likely born out of this movement. But sorry Cindy Moon, you won't be the first Asian female hero to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Shoutout to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Chloe Bennet as Daisy Johnson/Skye and Ming-Na Wen as Agent Melinda May. Speaking of that show, they'll be introducing a latino version of Ghost Rider next season (Note: Again, drafted before the season debut). Another example. They also had a gay Inhuman hero join Daisy's Secret Warriors team. Look at S.H.I.E.L.D. winning. Now they just have to produce a consistently good season. But that's another story for another time.

Closer

Well now that this blog has turned into diversity talk, let's u-turn and close. If this casting sheet bears any truth, the upcoming Spider-Man film shows a lot of promise. Hobgoblin and Shocker are two villains we haven't seen adapted in movies yet and will be formidable opponents to a young Spider-Man. RDJ is rumored to play a role in the film, but what are the chances of an Iron Man appearance? A 2v2 showdown makes it a must see. But please don't spoil it in previews or trailers (like how much cooler would it have been if Gal Gadot's appearance as Wonder Woman in costume in BvS was a surprise in theaters!). Lots of female characters that will likely be classmates of Peter's, but which ones are going to play major roles in the movie is the key question. After 5 movies of Peter Parker royally screwing up his love life, as an audience we can live with a movie of high school crushes and awkwardness. Jim and Pam from The Office weren't together by the end of the first season. Build the relationship, build the love. Make us want them to be together! Come to think of it, don't think the Avengers franchise have pulled off a successful love story for their characters yet. Those arguing for Hulk & Black Widow, we need to see Hulk back before we can judge that one. Civil War showed Pepper is gone. Reports of Thor: Ragnorok tell us Jane Foster won't be returning. Moving on. Giving another Spider-Man female character a chance is path worth exploring. Speaking of which, are we ever going to see a Black Cat? Where's Felicia Hardy at in that casting sheet?! Lastly, if Cindy Moon really does make her movie debut, Deanpool will lose his mind. Even if it's only speculation now, go and read up on Silk. The Spiderverse story is a good start. She also has her own solo series that relaunched at least once (Marvel's been doing some funky stuff with their relaunches of series). The character has only been around for a little over a year. Read, collect, and enjoy. Whenever we post our "Silk" post, we'll be sure to include what books may be hot to pick up now. We doubt we're the only ones to have this kind of speculation after a rumored leak like this so one can expect some price jumps from sellers capitalizing on the speculation and rumors, but trust us... If Silk does make a cinematic appearances, no matter how small, those books will skyrocket in price. Deanpool and I aren't fans of resellers, but we'd be lying if we said we weren't interested in seeing a couple of books that we own go up in value.

Thanks for reading. Enjoy this Skottie Young variant of Silk to close!

DC 3D covers return in 'Five Years Later'

Read my full article here

Remember those 3D lenticular covers that DC came out with during their Villain's Month event? 52 different villains taking over various titles and given special one-shot issues. Some were origin stories, some tied in with Forever Evil, some tied in with ongoing monthly series. If you were able to get your hands on some, you may recall the low print runs and allocation issues that had retailers groaning. During this time, the demand for these low prints shot some issues up in value. Now, in March, about a half a year later, many of the prices have reached a plateau now and much of the hype has very well died down.

One particularly memorable one... Joker's Daughter, had everyone, including M. Deanpool, scrambling for a copy. Retail prices in its heyday were up to $80 or more. Deanpool was upset enough having to spend more than $20 for a single comic, a terribly disappointing one at that.

Well if you missed out, or just can't get enough of 3D covers, this September DC will launch their "Five Years Later" event. It will tie in with their upcoming weekly series New 52: Future's End, set to come out in May. The covers meant to tease possible future storylines for DC's characters and will be featured in DC's monthly ongoing series. The GIF below is an example of a cover in the Superman comic.

One noticeable difference is what DC co-publisher Dan DiDio referred to as a "flicker effect." The effect that shows the transformation taking place. Meaning each DC title will have a teaser of what possible changes some characters may go through.

DC always plans to bring out something big every September since they launched the New 52 relaunch in September 2011. In 2012 it was the "Zero Issue" for DC titles, meant to explore the New 52 origins for the different characters and heroes. This past September was Villain's Month. Next September will be a glimpse into the future, five years into the future to be exact. Who knows what we'll see in the covers.

But should you be worried for another Joker's Daughter type of problem? Well DC is a bit more prepared this time around, requiring retailers to place their purchase orders at the end of May. Well in advance and ahead of schedule. So hopefully this will help the distribution issue this time around.

What covers are you anticipating to see?

Avengers: Age of Ultron THEORY

Okay so if you haven't heard yet, Paul Bettany has been casted to play as Vision in the next Avengers movie. For those who don't know, this is the same person who voices JARVIS, Tony Stark's computer A.I.

Well Theory #1, a popular one that has been much speculated since it was leaked that the next Avengers movie will be titled "Age of Ultron," is that Ultron will ultimately be some evil version of JARVIS that will become the villain for the next movie. Yeah, a lot different than his comic origins of being invented by the original Ant-Man, Henry Pym. But the Ant-Man movie isn't even expected to come out until AFTER the second Avengers movie and it won't even be Hank Pym as Ant-Man, but Scott Lang, the second person to become Ant-man. Who, by the way, has already been casted to be played by Paul Rudd. Don't worry Pym fans, Henry Pym may still make an appearance as Michael Douglas has been casted to play him.

But if you're as antsy and impatient as Deanpool, you've probably read a dozen articles on this theory already. So what's something new? Well first off, Deanpool can't take full credit on this theory, a lot of it came from this article. It's waaaaaay out there, but speculating is the most fun part. So read that article, or read this post which will touch upon most of the same stuff with a few bits of added commentary.

Theory #2: Someone has to die, and that someone is likely Tony Stark.

Now here us out, Robert Downey Jr. has already been in 4 (5 if you want to be picky and include a short cameo in The Incredible Hulk) of these Marvel movies that make up the Avengers franchise. And the dude is pretty old. It's also quite obvious that his character as Tony Stark/Iron Man is the most popular character from the franchise. He's got a trilogy that has brought in a lot of revenue for Marvel. He got to play the biggest hero amongst heroes in the Avengers movie being the one to nuke the alien invaders and almost giving up his life in the process. His job is one of the easier ones since he's not phsyically the one in the suit, he just has to look good for the camera when his face is actually required. Unlike Captain America and Thor. But that's beside the point. He's only contracted to appear in 2 more movies. Avengers 2 is a safe one to assume, and we'd hope the third installment in the big showdown against Thanos, most likely. 

But how would he die, but still appear in the third movie? Glad you asked. 

Let's look at possible plotlines rather than behind-the-scenes stuff now. With this current Avengers roster, Tony Stark is probably the closest hero to be compared to Batman. Rich, no real physical powers, playboy, rely on gadgets and technology or any other resources. But one of the things that's always overlooked for both characters is their intellect and strategic preparations. A guy doesn't have a dozen or more Batsuits or Iron Man armors without having each one be for a specific situation or purpose. Similar to the common Batman story of having contingency plans for all the members of the Justice League, Tony Stark is the perfect candidate to come up with a similar plan for each of the Avengers. Now Deanpool has literally no idea what they would be for any of them, but with the amount of resources at Tony's disposal, he'd surely have one for each. Remember when he tapped into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database when he was on the helicarrier in the movie? Subsequently learning that they were using the Tesseract to make weapons. Deanpool is sure there were much more secrets gleaned from that information than just that. S.H.I.E.L.D. itself might have protocols on how to deal with each Avenger and Tony might just have archived all those. Archived them all into JARVIS that is. Could you imagine some I, Robot or other artificial intelligence sci-fi flick where the A.I. takes it upon itself to deal with/fix situations by taking everyone out of the picture. That would be your Ultron, forged out of strategic pieces from each of Iron Man's armors (or the remaining ones at least). With all the knowledge and intelligence of how to take down each Avenger plus having the right pieces from Tony's armors, Ultron would take care of the Avengers with ease practically. 

But Tony has way too much ego to let the fall of the Avengers be his fault. He'll likely do whatever it takes to fix his own mistakes... Even if it leads to his death. Deanpool could see it now. The Avengers come up with a well-thought out plan to take down Ultron, which will seem too good to be true because it will only be like middle of the movie in terms of time, and one thing will go wrong... and it will ultimately lead to Tony's sacrificial death. His death of course will propel the Avengers with the proper motivation to eventually defeat Ultron. Boom. No more Tony Stark, Marvel's most marveled movie character for the Avengers franchise. Or is it?

Theory #3, the Vision plays a big role for the future. 

Tony is central to the Avengers. The combination of both his genius intellect and being a master strategist helps the Avengers gel. Sure Rogers/Captain America can lead the team, but Tony represents the future of the team. How do you keep that flavor when he's dead?  Well Tony would have his own failsafe for Iron Man himself too, in case the armor fell into the wrong hands. Ultron taking all of the Avengers and SHIELD's secrets and using it against them sounds like a pretty similar situation of "armor falling into the wrong hands". And that failsafe would be Vision, an android with JARVIS' programming. Sounds like a good solution for an Ultron A.I. spawned from an evil version of JARVIS. The twist? It would use the brainwaves of Tony Stark. Tony Stark's mind behind Paul Bettany's android appearance. Yes, the always prepared Tony Stark, prepped for his own death by sending his brain waves into the mind of the android, Vision. So we still get the Tony Stark presence, just in a much different appearance. It seems way out of left field, and probably sounds like a stretch. But it has a lot of levels to it. Tony was usually in the pilot's seat with JARVIS always there as the "co-pilot." Now, Jarvis will get to be in the pilot's seat, with Tony as the co-pilot. Pretty poetic.

So how does Robert Downey Jr. still show up in Avengers 3?

Imagine the ending scenes of Avengers 2 with a funeral for Tony Stark. A small, private one with Avengers present in their civilian forms. From afar you see Vision floating, then commenting on what a lovely ceremony it was. Then in the little blue screen under the helmet, we see Tony Stark as a talking head with some snide, sarcastic one-liner. Boom. Now everyone can't wait for the third movie.

This limits Robert Downey Jr.'s presence in the third installment of the Avengers trilogy, but still merits why he'd get a paycheck from the second of his two remaining contracts. But now they have Vision/Paul Bettany to fill the role left by Tony's death. And if Marvel plays its cards right, it won't even have to readdress this issue until the third Avengers movie. Everything in between the Avengers 2 and Avengers 3 will be sequels and introducing new characters (Ant-Man being a prime example). A couple cameos here and there, some repercussions of Tony's death affecting the Avengers. Maybe get Bruce Banner or Colonel Rhodes to be the one to keep this mega-secret. Shoot, you could even imagine Rhodey picking up the Iron Man mantle in Tony's absence. 

WHY IT MAKES SENSE:

The second movie of a trilogy has to be the one where the villains flex its muscles. It's the "Empire Strikes Back" chapter. There has to be chaos, death, and tragedy. Anything that is unexpected, but ultimately central to the whole story. Examples in the article were the Vader-Luke father and son reveal or how Spock died in the second movie. 

There's only a few characters that can die in this Avengers franchise that can leave such an impact. Deanpool believes it would either have to be Captain America, Iron Man, or Nick Fury. Steve Rogers only comes up since he's the leader of the team. The team would definitely fall out of order without Rogers' leadership and it would be up to Tony most likely to take the reigns. Similarly if Nick Fury were to die in action, it would throw a big complication into story. Especially since he's one of the lone believers in the potential good that the Avengers can bring. It may be downplayed in the moment, bringing the Avengers into a similar thirst of vengeance like when Agent Coulson died. But could come back at the end to be play a potentially influential twist for us to see who would take over as director of SHIELD. Maria Hill? Or Tony Stark? Or even Steve Rogers. All 3 make for an interesting movie, but with the facts laid out, and Tony Stark easily being the most beloved Avenger to this point, Tony is likely the one to die.

Let's dig into Vision's comic book origin. He's a synthezoid/artificial intelligence that takes on the brain patterns of a fallen hero, who was Wonder Man. Well in this case, there's a slight twist with Tony Stark's brain patterns instead. But for the most part it holds true to Vision's origins. Marvel movies are always clever in finding ways to distinguish the movie universe from the comic universe, and this one would keep fans of both universes intrigued. Remember the Mandarin twist in Iron Man 3? It may be a it or miss for more traditional fans, but it's definitely something that will change the status quo and likely gain more interested viewers than the amount of sticklers you may lose. Because you can't deny that this whole cockamamie theory doesn't grab your interest.

The whole Infinity stones tease that came in the post-credit scenes of Thor: Dark World probably will be explored more after the second Avengers movie. It might not be a Thanos central story, just like how the first one wasn't really either. But he'll likely get some sort of post-credit scene/end of the movie scene where we'll be teased of more Thanos involvement after this second Avengers film. Maybe he'll have some sort of evil agent that was behind the Ultron incident occurring. Deanpool expects more of the Thanos character being revealed in the Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Makes more sense for a cosmic threat be first addressed by cosmic guardians doesn't it?

What do you think of Deanpool's crazy theory? Would you like to see it happen? May 2015 can't come around any sooner.

Abandon All Hope Teaser

Click here for the link of the larger Last Judgement image.

FIRST IMPRESSION
Despite the jumble of characters in the center, all the attention with the slanted lines are drawn to the biggest (literally) characters on the image: Swamp Thing, Frankenstein, and Etrigan the Demon. The bright orange colored snake around Constantine also draws a lot of attention next. You then might shape the rest of the image with Zatanna's isolated pose, Aquaman's reaching hand, and the half of Phantom Stranger in the back. Then one would probably try identifying the rest of the characters drawn in the mix. Deanpool believes that each of the specific characters mentioned will likely play the larger roles in the story that the teaser hints to. The story for this teaser is probably going to take after Forever Evil, are the characters on the boat the members of the Justice League Dark in the fallout of Forever Evil? "Abandon All Hope... And Enter Into The Dark" Hopefully this means that this story will mainly involve the dark and mystical side of DC comics. It mainly features the dark characters, minus Aquaman's hand. Sounds like a pretty big evil will emerge in this story line and will affect all the DC dark titles. Exciting to see a crossover like this to spur the stagnant readership for many of the dark titles. Many of the characters featured have had their own series at one point until they were cancelled. From the ones pictured, the only characters with solo series are Constantine, Swamp Thing, Trinity of Sin (Pandora, Phantom Stranger, The Question), and that's about it. The others were either cancelled or have been in and out of the Justice League Dark rotation.

THE BIG IDEAS

The teaser image has that Renaissance fresco vibe to it. Deanpool actually found that it was based off Michelangelo's The Last Judgement from the Sistine Chapel. This painting was meant to depict the final and eternal judgement of humanity. In the lower righthand corner, the damned are ferried into Hell and greeted by demons and judge of the underworld. Yeah, Deanpool is a bit of an art history fan so this will be a pretty detailed analysis of the image rather than the character's backgrounds. It's important to note which characters are placed in the positions of the demons and the humans. Zatanna, Pandora, Swamp Thing, and Constantine (and the two behind Constantine) look to be in the demon positions, while the rest can be considered the humans. Back to the teaser image, it looks like it can be divided into 3 separate planes: the sky background, the boat, and the foreground. These may also be metaphorical planes: sky could be considered Heaven, boat could be the normal plane, foreground could be the underworld.

Couple this with the famous quote from Dante’s Divine Comedy, “Abandon all hope- Ye Who Enter Here.” Keep in mind this quote was from the “Gate of Hell” verse. All Hell might actually break loose in whatever story arc this alludes to. And with the characters involved, it’s a very combustible group. Some have even theorized that Lucifer may be the big villain for this story arc, after having last appeared in the final issue of I, Vampire. Regardless, the quote reinforces Deanpool's belief that the separate planes in the teaser image are symbolic of Heaven, Earth, and Hell. But what did Pandora, Swamp Thing, and Constantine do to end up in the underworld?

With the big story arc post-“Forever Evil” being “Seven Seas,” it’s clear that Justice League will be featuring another Aquaman-heavy story. A little more than a year ago was “Throne of Atlantis.” If the crossover event reaches DC’s Dark titles as well, it’s going to make a lot of the Dark fans unhappy. Fans and Deanpool alike are hoping that this teaser alludes to the dark character's own crossover event, separate from the Justice League titles. But that still leaves people wondering where Aquaman's involvement comes in. 

Let’s look at the characters in the image:

In the background (behind the boat):

-Phantom Stranger looks like he’s wiped out… there are consequences for defying Heaven. Another member of the Trinity of Sin. As interesting as this character is, it seems to be in his nature to be in and out of the comic universe sporadically. Another theory is the metaphor that the Stranger is commonly found torn between his life as the Phantom Stranger and his life with his family.

-Spectre is also lurking in the back, likely the one seeking judgment against Phantom Stranger. He is the physical embodiment of God's vengeance on Earth. What if Phantom Stranger's actions are the one that leads to the opening of the gates of Hell? Or it could tie-in to Spectre placing some blame on the Phantom Stranger for becoming the Spectre entity.

On the boat (L to R):

-Zatanna is distanced on one end of the boat. Her involvement in the Justice League Dark has been sparse as of late, it is likely that she’ll continue to keep her distance from the team and possibly act more as a liaison between Justice League and Justice League Dark. In a more symbolic sense, she is the one with the oar. Could mean she’ll have a bigger role in “steering” the JLD team, perhaps even hinting at more of a leadership role. Or if you tie it in to the original painting, perhaps her leadership leads to the team's damnation.

-Socks the cat. Yes that cat like thing is an actual character from the Animal Man series. Can't offer much more insight on this character, but he does look like one of the only characters who seems interested in what's going on with Aquaman's hand.

-Deadman is next, but doesn’t look too close to where all the action is and is looks quite stressed on the side. Deanpool wonders if he’ll ever find his way out of the Sea King’s body, as revealed in the Justice League Dark issue that Deanpool picked up in Weekly Pick-Ups. Don’t think the hand in the water is Sea King, since he usually wears the purple suit, not the orange one like Aquaman. Nonetheless, it’s hard to guess how Deadman ever gets back to his proper body.

-Capucine. A deadly warrior and worshipper of the Green who seeks the sanctuary of Swamp Thing. Interesting to see an ally of Swamp Thing on the boat, but not on the foreground with him. Also just being nitpicky, who would her counterpart be in The Last Judgement painting? To Deanpool, it seems like it should be the one holding Frankenstein's leg, helping him stay on the boat... taking another look at her pose, she looks like she may have either given Frankenstein a good shove off or she's in a running stance away from the action but keeping her focus on the all the activity. Just speculation to tie-in with her connection to Swamp Thing.

-Nightmare Nurse. Likely to carry over onto Justice League Dark from her multiple appearances in the Blight story arc. She's been a cool character since she's popped up in the New 52. As far as the teaser image, Deanpool thinks there may be some symbolism as she is half in the boat, half off. She's only been around for a couple months, first appearing in Phantom Stranger #8 back in May 2013. She was first called in by Zatanna to help save Phantom Stranger and it is even revealed later that she is compelled to help when she is asked for help. She has aligned herself with Constantine and Swamp Thing to take on Blight, but her attitude and personality (plus a history with Constantine), doesn't necessarily mean she's willing to be apart of the team. Maybe the post-Blight story takes on whether or not Nightmare Nurse decides to stay with the team or perhaps put her alliance elsewhere. Or will it be a case of a larger problem causing her to help the JLD once again against her will? Deanpool points out she's another one of the few characters whose attention appears to be on Aquaman's hand.

-Frankenstein falling off the boat or getting off the boat. Could be something out of his control that may force Frankenstein off the team. Or because of something, Frankenstein is “jumping ship.” We mentioned above, maybe he's getting forced off. His character has, for the most part, been loyal to the team since he joined. 

-Etrigan (the one with the wings) is back with a new color scheme. Nice to see this character back. Deanpool hopes he gets a big role in the upcoming story. He never gave Demon Knights a read, but has been intrigued by this character since seeing the Flashpoint Paradox animated movie. With all the connections stated above with the quote relating to the gates of Hell and the image being based off a Renaissance painting that features humans and demons alike, Etrigan's placement and involvement stirs a lot of interest. If all Hell breaks loose, where will Etrigan the Demon's alliance fall? Will Jason Blood (his human host)/Etrigan's love interest, Madame Xanadu, play a part in his involvement as well? Some even believe that he is holding Frankenstein's leg, perhaps helping him from falling out of the boat. Seems like Etrigan has a lot of potential to take a large part in this upcoming story arc if writers go in this direction.

-The Question, part of the Trinity of Sin. It'd be nice to see more from this character, who has been the most mysterious out of the three Trinity of Sin. Art savvy Deanpool points out that each member of the Trinity can be found in different planes of the image. For The Question, he's seen on the boat with rest of the JLD and the other Dark comic characters. Could be a hint to where his allegiance will be in this story. From his character on, it becomes more difficult to judge who their counterpart is in the original painting.

-Madame Xanadu directly behind Question. Her character is key to the DC's Dark comic community. She is the one responsible for forming the Justice League Dark. Her pose resembles the character in the light blue from the painting. She looks shocked and scared at what's happening in front of her rather than in a position to really take charge of the situation. The evil in this upcoming story may be too sinister than even this sorceress can comprehend.

-Amethyst. A character that had her own New 52 series for a short run (9 issues + a Zero issue). A powerful magic user, who looks like she won't be getting off the boat easily with her sword in hand and ready. 

-Black Orchid. A new Black Orchid who is an ex-Army private that was given plant based powers after having both arms amputated. Another loyal member of JLD. Her alliance with the team actually makes sense since she was an A.R.G.U.S. agent under Steve Trevor and A.R.G.U.S. approved of JLD to take on the supernatural encounters that other heroes aren't able to face. She's clearly on the boat that so far has been synonymous with being a stable part of the team. Her pose can viewed either be a defensive stance or an offensive one. Either way, she's ready to fight for the team.

Foreground:

-On the right, we see good ol’ Constantine wrapped up in his usual troubles. But why is it an orange snake? It looks like the work of an Orange Lantern, and where there’s an Orange Lantern there’s likely Larfleeze. The cross of a cosmic figure like Larfleeze making a statement in this picture that features mainly DC’s darker characters makes this picture more intriguing. Wouldn’t put it past Constantine to steal an Orange Lantern ring, after all the orange one does mean avarice (greed). Now, Constantine and an orange power ring sound like a perfect match. His counterpart can be seen in the larger image of The Last Judgement if you zoom in on the bottom right corner. You'll see a character with donkey ears wrapped by a snake. For some art history background, Michelangelo was criticized for putting nude characters in a sacred setting. Michelangelo portrayed his largest critic as Minos, the judge of the underworld with donkey ears for foolishness and a snake wrapping him to cover his nudity. Constantine as a judge of the underworld? Not as likely, but something to still keep in mind.

-Can’t really tell who the two behind Constantine are. Supposedly the one on the right is Tannarak, a powerful sorcerer who has been appearing in the recent issues of Constantine. That's about all Deanpool got. But it looks like Constantine's troubles may be catching up with him, though this will likely take place more on his own series. It seems like the action in his section of the image is a more isolated one compared to the main one between the boat and Swamp Thing.

-Well the girl on the left of him is Sargon the Sorceress. Another villain frequently appearing in Constantine. Poor Constantine. Wonder if he gets any help from the other members of the JLD. Or Larfleeze. The Cult of the Cold Flame may finally capture Constantine.

-Swamp Thing with Aquaman’s trident. Is he pushing the boat away? Or is he trying to help it dock? And how did he get a hold of the trident? If they were on the same side, wouldn’t Swamp Thing try to help Aquaman? However, his involvement in the recent Justice League Dark issues already seemed to hint that Swamp Thing may be more affiliated with JLD. He's good friends with Constantine and even wished Constantine had told him about the team. But based off what's seen in the image, he has the same pose as the demons in the original painting. Could be something that happens in the fallout of Forever Evil that places Swamp Thing (and maybe Pandora and Constantine too) at odds with the JLD. First impressions make it seem like he will play a very pivotal role in the story that this image teases.

-Pandora. Third character of the Trinity of Sin. Can’t tell if she’s trying to help Aquaman in some way. Regardless, she seems to be doing her own thing rather than worrying about what’s going on behind her. Her counterpart looks like he's crying in the painting, she looks like she's in a more active role. Her back facing Aquaman's reach for help may also be a hint to where her alliance may be.

-Aquaman’s arm reaches for help. Aquaman can live underwater; he’s the King of Atlantis. It’s not probable that he would be drowning. Now being forced to be underwater by Swamp Thing… that sounds more plausible than Aquaman struggling on his home turf. But why would the two be fighting? It's not exactly clear that the vines are coming directly from Swamp Thing. Especially with all the green plants that surround this reaching arm. The even bigger question is how did Aquaman get tied into a story full of DC's darker characters. Aquaman is knowledgeable about his fair share of magic, his kingdom being an underwater, legendary island. Deanpool is hoping it doesn't tie in with the upcoming "Seven Seas" story arc so that these characters can get their own spotlight rather than being crossed over with the Justice League title again. With the way that the boat is tipped, did Aquaman fall off? Was he originally helping the JLD team but then got mixed up in all their personal business? We've seen The Flash help the JLD before, so there have been times when Justice League members have helped the Dark team.

There's so many intertwining ideas of judgement and all Hell breaking loose. Whatever DC has lined up for these characters seems to be on a pretty large scale, but Deanpool hopes it is contained to the DC Dark titles. Hope you enjoyed this analysis and keep in mind all of it is speculation. Deanpool doesn't follow any of the Dark titles very closely, if anything he's only familiar with Justice League Dark. But he loves working through these teasers and theorizing what may happen next. Could be all of these, more likely to be none of these. But it's all for good fun. Deanpool doesn't think this teaser had as many easter eggs as the Batsgiving one, but there's still some intriguing theories that can be inferred from this teaser.

Did you notice anything that Deanpool might have missed?

Steampunk Constantine, Zatanna, and Deadman.

New 52 comic series ending in April

It looks like the "Forever Evil" story arc is affecting DC comics in more than ways than one. In the month it came out, DC had its Villain's Month with the release of 52 One-Shot comics where the villains took over their hero's comic series. Essentially a month where the bigger DC heroes did not get an issue out. Now, the crossover event has affected many other DC titles, most notably Justice League. But now it looks like it will also be the reason to clean out some New 52 comic series.

Nightwing, Teen Titans, Suicide Squad, and Justice League of America will end in April around the same time when the "Forever Evil" story should be coming to an end. JLA is a relatively newer series, which will end to make way for Justice League United. The Teen Titans and Suicide Squad are team based series that have had mixed reactions from DC readers. Perhaps there's a bigger plan for the characters involved in both stories. Tim Drake (Red Robin) of the Teen Titans, Wonder Girl and Superboy are characters that will likely be missed if they are put on the sidelines for a while. The biggest surprise is the end of the Nightwing series. With the Crime Syndicate revealing Nightwing's identity as Dick Grayson to the world, it will be really interesting to see what DC will plan to do with Dick. It may be the end of Nightwing, but that doesn't necessarily mean the end of Dick Grayson!

Nightwing

With the 30th issue, the Nightwing series will be coming to an end. And Kyle Higgins won't even be the one to finish off the series he started. Deanpool has repeatedly talked about what the future may hold for Dick Grayson (Batsgiving, Who's the next Robin?), but the fact of the matter is: Dick's life can never be the same as it was before "Forever Evil." Same goes for the rest of the Bat family. Can't say they've all recovered from Joker's return in the "Death of the Family" story arc or even from Damian's death... not sure how they'll stand together if something fatal happens to Dick Grayson too.

Teen Titans- Teen Titans #30 will take place post-Forever Evil as the team returns and sees that the Harvest has gotten stronger in the team's absence. It'll also feature the return of Bunker and Beast Boy. But overall it'll finally be an end to this long, dragged series that's struggling to put out good stories. But the biggest question, as with all these cancellations, is if the end of the series means the end of the team?
Okay so with recent intel from the last issue of The Green Team: Teen Trillionaires, it looks like this group of rich kids will be trying to buy the Teen Titans. Connecting the dots with this and seeing that Teen Titans will be ending with their 30th issue as well doesn't bode well for these Titans. Will it lead to a merger of the two series? Teen Titans become some heroes for hire? Deanpool likes this better than a government agency running the team. The Green Team basically throw money at a problem in hopes of a solution... and it typically works for them. Apparently, some of them recently developed some superpowers but still struggle in making an identity for themselves. So with all the money in the world, they buy one: the Teen Titans. Will Tim Drake really accept the offer? Or will some life-changing events from Forever Evil cause the Teen Titans to unwillingly accept? This question may not get answered until the final issue of Teen Titans, but it will be interesting to see how the reacts to the Green Team's offer. That is, if it gets addressed at all. It doesn't sound too bad to Deanpool. Pair a bunch of teen trillionaires with teen superheroes. New alliances, likely chemistry problems, but a new direction headed by the teen rich kids that look to solve problems. It may give Teen Titans more direction for their stories and give The Green Team an actual audience. Even though the Teen Titans series wasn't the most popular one, it would be sad to see all these teen superheroes on the sidelines due to cancellation.

Suicide Squad- Deanpool didn't follow the Suicide Squad much. He knew they were similar to Marvel's Thunderbolts, a team of reformed of supervillains and/or anti-heroes (depending on how you view them). The squad consisted of: Captain Boomerang, Cheetah, Deadshot, James Gordon Jr., Harley Quinn, King Shark, The Unknown Soldier, and a couple others but those are the main ones to note. The team is headed by government agent Amanda Waller and they take on covert government missions so that America and the DC heroes with a good public image don't get caught doing the dirty work. Sounds like an interesting group that likely showcased a lot of the popular Batman villain, Harley Quinn. Deanpool is a fan of Deadshot. Nevertheless, with villains taking over the world, it does sound hard for Waller to keep her Suicide Squad team since they failed to protect... anyone since the events of Forever Evil. Not even the A.R.G.U.S. headquarters. Regardless, Forever Evil claims another victim as it leads to the end of this series after its 30th issue in April. Harley Quinn is settling into her new monthly series, but what happens to the rest of these members?

Justice League of America- Now this series is actually one Deanpool has been following since the beginning... which hasn't been too long. Amanda Waller replaces Steve Trevor as the government liaison to the Justice League. Her first plan is to create a separate Justice League to combat the current Justice League if they ever did anything against the government. And also serve in the government's interest rather than their own agenda... which was the main issue with the original Justice League. When finally presented the opportunity to confront the Justice League during the "Trinity War," they essentially reached a stalemate... and Superman killed one of the members of the Justice League of America. On top of that, most of their members are currently trapped in the Firestorm matrix that the Crime Syndicate has imprisoned them in along with the other members of the Justice League. After the events of "Forever Evil" it's likely a case looked at as another failed experiment by Waller. Things aren't looking good for Waller in April, Deanpool can't help but wonder if perhaps something more serious may happen to her that will be even more of a reason to break up the Suicide Squad and Justice League of America. Regardless, there's already rumors of Justice League Canada or Justice League United, whatever it's called, to come out after Forever Evil. Will most of these members be carried over to United? Many of them have their own titles: Vibe, Green Arrow, Catwoman, Katana, Savage Hawkman (unless this one ended), Green Lantern (or wherever Simon Baz has ended up in the Lantern universe). It looks like Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, and Stargirl may be carried over by the looks of the Justice League United cover. Supposedly Hawkman will too, along with a reintroduced Adam Strange. From the cover we also see Animal Man and Supergirl. This was a good series in Deanpool's eyes, as it strategically grouped a lot of heroes together that Deanpool was interested in following, but didn't want to commit to buying 5 or 6 other comics each month. But it makes sense that this one will have to come to an end to make way for the new team's series.

Justice League United #0

The other two series that are coming to an end aren't tied in to the "Forever Evil" story arc and thus aren't ending as a direct result of "Forever Evil" consequences. Stormwatch is one that flew under the radar for Deanpool, but Superman Unchained was a bit of a surprise.

Superman Unchained is one that saddens Deanpool a bit. The all-star team of Scott Snyder and Jim Lee looked to be a real solid series that can stand out from the Superman and Action Comics stories. Deanpool has been reluctant in reading any of the Superman titles but was especially excited for this one. It's sad to see the series end before it even reaches double digits, or even an annual issue. Deanpool can't offer any insight about where the series was headed as far as its stories, but he did enjoy the artwork and thought this would be the great Superman series that Deanpool was looking for. It still very well could be that once he catches up, it's just a shame to see it have to end so soon.

Stormwatch- Another series that Deanpool isn't attached to. Originally part of Jim Lee's Wildstorm series from Image comics, it eventually migrated over to DC and became part of the first series that came out with the New 52 relaunch. And surprisingly it has lasted this long up to its 30th issue under the Stormwatch title. No current news to where these characters may end up after the series ends. Other Wildstorm members like Grifter, Voodoo, and Team 7 have all ended their respective series within the past 2 years as well. Curious to see where a lot of these characters end up after April, if they ever reappear at all.

A very different Wally West coming soon.

Okay this was originally just supposed to be Deanpool talking about the idea of having a Flash TV show, much less a CW television series. But nonetheless, here's a NewsFlash that actually centers around The Flash!

Now Deanpool's even learned that Wally West will be making his debut in the New 52 universe! It's kind of weird to think about Wally West being completely absent from the New 52 comics. Jay Garrick is getting a lot of spotlight in Earth 2 as the Earth-2 Flash. Bart Allen is sporting the Kid Flash costume in Teen Titans as the speedster from the future (and grandson of Barry Allen, the current Flash). And Barry Allen is the New 52 Flash. Wally West fans will remember his time as the original Kid Flash who eventually inherited the role as The Flash for a good amount of time. Even in the animated series, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, Wally West was the one behind the Flash mask, not Barry Allen. Heck, Wally was even featured in the animated series Young Justice as Kid Flash. So it's safe to say that Wally has a pretty good fan base for himself as the nephew of Iris West, Barry's love interest pre-New 52.

Cover to Flash Annual #3

Back to the point, Wally is making his New 52 debut! The picture above is said to be the cover of The Flash Annual #3. Now Bleeding Cool does a more in-depth analysis of why Wally may be featured in this issue but not necessarily this electric blue looking fellow in the center of the cover. Even more so, they believe that Wally West might be African-American in the New 52!

In the age of comics where publishers are trying to be more open minded and show more diversity (featuring more diverse heroes like Teen Titan's Bunker being a Mexican homosexual or even Alan Scott, Earth-2's Green Lantern, is homosexual as well), Wally is going to be a case of a radically changed character who had an established identity in the DC universe before the New 52. Wally is likely to be featured in the third annual issue of The Flash and there are rumors suggesting he may be black.

In the image on the right (which is a zoomed in section from the cover's lower right), we are led to believe this may not necessarily be Wally West but perhaps just some young kid. But the article Deanpool got this from makes a point that the hands are a bit too white, as if they are actually gloves.

All this ties back in with the Flash TV pilot that will be coming out soon. It was leaked that the character description for Detective West and his daughter Iris West were both African-American. This is likely to show that Iris' nephew Wally may be African-American as well. It's possible that the comic series could be trying to reflect the upcoming television series by recreating Wally West into the New 52 universe as an African-American as well.

Then Deanpool read this. And if you'll consider that page as enough verification like Deanpool does, then you should expect a young, black Wally West in the near future to both the comic world and the television. The page also brings up some other interesting possibilities such as making the role even more diverse by recreating Wally as a female character too, or more humorous theories like keeping Wally a ginger even as an African-American. All fun speculation with some pretty funny images to go along with them like the one below.

In other Flash television related news, Rick Cosnett and Danielle Panabaker have been casted for the roles of Detective Eddie Thawne and Caitlin Snow, respectively. Keen DC fans will notice those are the identities of Reverse Flash and Killer Frost. Based on the article, it seems that their origins will hold true to their canonical origins as well.

Thawne's "past is a mystery and harbors a dark secret." Well it's interesting that he'll be playing a detective, especially if it's alongside Barry Allen at the police department. But in the comics, Eobard Thawne (a.k.a. Professor Zoom a.k.a. Reverse Flash) is actually from the future 25th century and was a big fan of The Flash. He wanted so desperately to meet him that he recreates the accident that gave Barry his super powers and travelled back in time to meet him. It should be noted he even had surgery to make himself look like Barry. However the time travel disoriented his mind, and his trip to the past reveals that he will one day die at the hands of his idol. As far as the television adaption, well the name change to Eddie is appropriate to blend in with the times. The mysterious past: he's from the future, how ironic. Dark secret: he may know every event that will unravel in Barry's life but who knows how he'll choose to confront it.

Caitlin Snow will be "a highly intelligent bioengineering expert who loses her fiance in a S.T.A.R. labs explosion." Caitlin Snow is the New 52's Killer Frost and has only been around since June 2013 in her first appearance in Fury of Firestorm #19. There's nothing in the comics about her having a fiance, but the highly intelligent bioengineering expert matches as much as we know about her. In her origin story from the Villains Month issue, Caitlin Snow was a bright, young scientist asked work in a S.T.A.R. lab in the Arctic. Her main assignment was a thermodynamic engine that could surpass Newton's Second Law and achieve perpetual motion. But due to H.I.V.E. influencing her colleagues, they were forced to take action when she was able to get the device to work. This led to Snow tampering with the engine's coolant system which consequently fused with her body and biological system turning her into Killer Frost. With what's given from the article, it's not easy to say that it'll go that exact path too. Caitlin might be portrayed as an appealing character or possible love-interest of Barry at first until she is eventually transformed into Killer Frost. Though Killer Frost is typically a foe of Firestorm, it's interesting to see if she'll be a key character in this television series.

A speedster and a girl that could manipulate cold and ice as the enemies for Flash. Not terrible choices. Deanpool is especially excited for the Reverse Flash story, but is still a bit reluctant about the television series.
As for the Wally West appearance, Deanpool doesn't care much for the whole race thing. It's more exciting to anticipate what role he'll play in the issue and if we'll see more of him beyond just the Annual issue.

The gang's all here.

New Marvel animated film: Avengers Confidential

DC has Justice League: War and Son of Batman set to come out in the near future. But what does Marvel have going on? Following the Iron Man: Rise of the Technovore, Marvel animated films will release Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher. Watch the trailer here.

Synopsis:
"After interfering with a top secret mission, The Punisher is taken into custody by S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and Avenger Black Widow. At the orders of Director Nick Fury, Punisher and Black Widow are sent on a mission to stop Leviathan, a global terrorist organization that plans to sell stolen S.H.I.E.L.D. technology to the highest bidder. Now, the vigilante and spy must work together to prevent this technology from falling into the wrong hands. The fate of the world, and of the Avengers, hangs in the balance."

An unlikely combo, and not exactly headliners from the Marvel universe. But at least there is an appearance from the Avengers: Iron Man, War Machine, Captain Marvel, and Thor (and apparently Hulk based on the movie cover). Hooray, a Captain Marvel appearance!

A more intriguing cast would've been Punisher & Captain America. Fans of Civil War understand the dynamic issues between those two characters. Punisher, a vigilante who will use lethal force when necessary (which in his case is practically all the time), looked up to Captain America growing up. Seeing the two be forced to work together could've been an interesting story. Though Deanpool also sees the appeal of pairing together an ex-KGB assassin with a murderous vigilante like Punisher. But will the two really be able to keep the audience's attention for 83 minutes?

The anime-like art distinguishes the Marvel animated movies from the DC ones, but isn't always the most pleasing to look at. Save the anime art for anime shows. Deanpool hasn't been as up to date with the Marvel animated films, and is reluctant about this one as well. Maybe he'll give the Iron Man one a watch to get a better idea of the type of storylines these movies are looking to have. DC has mostly been adapting established, well-received comic stories into their animated movies but it seems to be working in their favor. Their animation is a bit better too. If Marvel animated movies want to make a change they're going to need to go away from the anime-animation and create some original storylines worth watching. Otherwise, like Deanpool, people will continue to choose the DC animated movies over Marvel. But it's okay Marvel, your non-animated films have been killing the box offices so keep that up.

The animated movie is set to come out in late March.

Sorry Deadpool, this isn't your movie.