‘Wonder Woman’ buzz builds as star shares film’s first poster

SAN DIEGO—“Wonder Woman” star Gal Gadot shared the first poster of the movie on Friday, ahead of its highly anticipated introduction before fans at the San Diego Comic-Con convention.

The image features a profile of the Amazonian superhero in her famous red, blue and gold outfit, clasping a sword against a pink and blue sky, above the words: “Power. Grace. Wisdom. Wonder.”

“A dream come true! Happy to finally share this with you all,” the Israeli actress and model wrote alongside a post of the image on Twitter.

Many convention-goers see Saturday’s “Wonder Woman” panel as the big event of Comic-Con. It is expected to premiere the first full trailer for the DC movie ahead of its release next summer.

Reaction to such new material is being watched carefully by industry analysts. “Wonder Woman” is the first modern superhero movie to focus exclusively on a female protagonist.

A misogynist social media backlash against the all-female “Ghostbusters” reboot shocked Hollywood, although much of the criticism arose from the fact that the leads in the original film were men.

The reaction to Gadot’s tweet was mainly positive, with Chris Cabin of the Collider film blog calling the image “eye-catching in its use of color and shadow.”

He added, however, that “part of me isn’t entirely comfortable with the fact that the image blacks out her face and focuses entirely on her figure.”

But fan account @dceufacts, which is devoted to news from the DC Comics Extended Universe, posted: “This is gorgeous! Best poster for a superhero movie in ages.”

The DC Extended Universe films are distributed by Warner Brothers, which released a new poster on Friday for keenly awaited Harry Potter spin-off “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”

“We’re adding a little magic to (Comic-Con) with this new #FantasticBeasts art,” the film’s official Twitter account said of the poster.

It features Eddie Redmayne as “magizoologist” Newt Scamander, which is also the pseudonym under which J.K. Rowling wrote the book. A magizoologist, it seems, is one who studies magical creatures.

The poster’s artwork highlights the Prohibition-era New York setting of the spin-off, which takes place some 70 years before the events of the Harry Potter films.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

The Joker returns with a new look for Batman #37

You can never keep a good villain down… Especially a certain Clown Prince of Crime who’s back with a new look and a vengeance to terrorize Gotham City and its Dark Knight.

After a brief hiatus since his last appearance in the pages of the “Death of the Family” storyline that ran from 2012 to 2013, Batman’s eternal arch-enemy in The Joker will be making his triumphant comeback to the pages of his adversary’s flagship title, which will happen in this coming December’s “Batman #37”.
The dreadful prankster’s return also comes with significant changes - with the most prominent being he sports a brand new look and redesign that’s fresh and cleaner than his recent look which saw him wearing his own rotting face as a “mask”.

Revealed by DC Comics via Hitflix (http://www.hitfix.com/news/exclusive-joker-returns-from-the-shadows-in-batman-endgame-37) and sporting a slick short haircut and a newly reconstructed face, the newest redesign of The Joker by the creative team of writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo is a testament to The Clown Prince of Crime’s wacky charm and unpredictable nature. Usually portrayed wearing a purple suit and seen wearing a mechanic’s uniform during the “Death of the Family” storyline, the new “Mistah J” sports a black suit to compliment his new makeover, which will most likely be explained during the events of the latest Batman storyline “Endgame”, which takes place after the events of the currently ongoing weekly series “Batman: Eternal”. In that story, Batman finds himself going toe-to-toe with his teammates from the Justice League, who have all been “Jokerized” and brainwashed to take down The Dark Knight for good.

Created by the trio of Jerry Robinson, Bill Finger, and Bob Kane, The Joker is widely considered to be the “anti-thesis” and perfect foil to Batman – in that he compliments the Dark Knight’s heroism and dedication to fight crime with his murderous antics and psychotic nature that leaves his victims dead with a smile on their face. Batman’s steadfast refusal to never take a life and take down criminals by the book has always given the Clown Prince of Crime his life purpose of pushing the Caped Crusader to his limits, and is largely responsible for several tragedies that have befallen Batman and his closest allies. 

The Joker is responsible for killing Jason Todd, the second Robin, Paralyzing Barbara Gordon/ Batgirl and leaving her as the wheelchair-bound information expert known as Oracle, and killing Commissioner Gordon’s second wife Sarah Essen Gordon in cold blood during the events of No Man’s Land.  Throughout the character’s near 75 year history in comics, The Joker has proven to be equally memorable as Batman himself, and is literally the part of the “Yin Yang” equation that makes Batman’s life come full circle.

Catch the new look of The Joker in the pages of Batman #37 when it is released on December 10 in comic book shops and participating retail stores worldwide. — TJD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Batman v Superman movie takes Comic-Con by storm

Look it’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s Warner Bros. finally giving DC Comics fans what they wanted to see, and through a surprise reveal to boot!

Throughout the entire weekend of the multi-genre pop culture event that was the San Diego Comic-Con, lucky attendees (and the rest of the world via the Internet) were treated to several teasers and promotional items from studios and brands that have upcoming new comics, movies, toys, and hobby stuff for the coming year and beyond.

Among those participating, of course, were Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment, who showcased some pretty amazing things at Comic-Con, especially as this year marks the 75th Anniversary of their Caped Crusading superhero, Batman.

However, despite setting up an awesome Batman 75 display that even featured a look at the new Cape and Cowl that Ben Affleck will wear as the latest Dark Knight, people were more curious about the progress the studio and director Zack Snyder have made so far with their very ambitious yet highly anticipated superhero film – Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Throughout the first few days of the convention, the only official update for the movie was a new picture of Affleck as Batman, which made its way online and showed the Argo director and actor wearing the Batsuit and brooding in a close-up promotional image for the movie.

Also, Batman v Superman was not included in the list of movies Warner Bros. had for their panel presentation, which left plenty of fans concerned as to whether there would be updates on the film during SDCC at all.

But when it came time for the WB panel on Saturday, fans around the world finally got their prayers answered at the beginning of presentation.





In an unexpected turn of events, the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice logo was shown, and Zack Snyder went on stage to introduce a teaser video for the movie! The short video showcased not only a tease of the epic battle to come between The Dark Knight and The Man of Steel, but it was a near perfect recreation, if not homage, of the fight depicted in Frank Miller’s seminal story "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns", in which The Caped Crusader is fully clad in an armored batsuit to take on his fellow Justice League teammate.

The teaser showed Affleck’s Batman suited up very much the same way, but standing beside a shining Batsignal that lights above a very angry looking Superman, once again played by Henry Cavill. The video then ends as Supes flies straight down to combat Bats, with the crowd raving in thunderous applause and approval.

Aside from a showcase of the World’s Finest, the world also got to see the very first look at Fast & Furious franchise star Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. Dressed in full battle gear worthy of the character’s name, Gadot looked very much like an Amazon Warrior who’s ready to face anything, and she’ll certainly have her hands full when she fights side-by-side with Affleck’s Batman and Cavill’s Superman, or do something to quell their battle against one another to bring DC’s Trinity together to stand united for the first time in the big screen.

While it was certainly a tease of big things to come, the panel was arguably the best thing about this year’s installment of SDCC more than anything else. Even panel moderator and comedian Chris Hardwick was excited enough to take a selfie with the stars themselves Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, and Gal Gadot, who were present to just woo the crowd.

However, the team had to leave SDCC soon after to get back to filming the much anticipated sequel to 2013’s Man of Steel right away, but they certainly won over many hearts with what they have shown so far.

 

On a final note and while it hasn’t been released officially by WB on the web, a fan later recreated his version the teaser and posted it online:

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will fly into theaters in May 6, 2016! — JST, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

DC Comics maps out #Batman75 celebration

It’s going to be a big year for fans of Batman, and DC Comics has big plans for their most popular superhero. Celebrating the character’s 75th Anniversary this year, the publisher has officially unveiled a new commemorative logo to honor the milestone, as well as opening up an official “Batman 75” website to indulge visitors with every kind of material related to The Dark Knight.

Announcing via an official press release in their official website, DC has laid out their plans for Batman’s 75th Anniversary celebration. Chief among these is announcing various comics highlighting the occasion, including the recently released “Detective Comics #27” anniversary issue and the upcoming new “Batman: Eternal” weekly series. Also being promoted is this fall’s final entry to the Batman Arkham video game series by Rocksteady Studios – Batman: Arkham Knight, as well as the upcoming DC Universe Animated Original Movie entries “Son of Batman” and “Assault on Arkham”, which both spotlight The Dark Knight and his stories adapted from the comics.

The character recently underwent a renaissance in cinema as well, thanks to Christopher Nolan’s vision with the highly acclaimed “Dark Knight Trilogy” of films starring Christian Bale in the titular role. 2014 also commemorates two gems in the Caped Crusader’s media legacy - namely the 25th Anniversary of Tim Burton’s seminal 1989 “Batman” movie, and the long-awaited release of the Adam West Batman ’66 TV Series in DVD format for the very first time. Warner Bros. Animation is also producing two new Batman animated shorts with producer Bruce Timm and Darwyn Cooke, as is Warner Bros. Television developing a new “Gotham” TV Series for FOX exploring the adventures of a rookie cop James Gordon and a young Bruce Wayne. Finally, the company is also gearing for The Dark Knight’s inevitable clash with the Man of Steel in cinema with the as-of-yet untitled “Batman Vs Superman” movie for 2016.

First appearing in the pages of Detective Comics #27 released on March 30, 1939, the character then known as “The Bat-Man” was mysterious vigilante who fought criminals by wearing a cape and cowl and using gadgetry to dispatch his foes. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger following the popularity of Superman, this caped crusading hero was secretly billionaire Bruce Wayne, who lost his parents at a young age to a petty criminal with a gun. Dedicating his life to perfecting his body and mind, Bruce traveled the world and honed his body to its utmost limits. Returning to his hometown of Gotham City, he adopted the symbol of a Bat, and hunted the cowardly and superstitious who preyed on the innocent.

Batman proved very popular among readers, and soon spotlighted Detective Comics and got his own ongoing series with his name on it. For many years the Dark Knight has fought a one-man war against crime, using his mastery of martial arts, detective skills, and an arsenal of non-lethal weapons to combat an army of supercriminals such as The Joker, Scarecrow, and Mr. Freeze. He soon found allies to his cause however, and forged strong partnerships with the likes of Robin The Boy Wonder, Commissioner Gordon, Batgirl, and Nightwing. Batman’s crusade also paired him with other superheroes, and he soon became a founding member of the Justice League, fighting alongside the likes of Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, and Green Lantern.

When DC Comics relaunched their comic book line in 2011 with The New 52, Batman was among the few heroes to retain most portions of his character history. However, he soon had many adventures that saw new concepts to his background and origin established, particularly in the current “Zero Year” storyline by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo.  Adding to the 75th Anniversary milestone, DC Comics has also announced that July 23 will be “Batman Day”, with retail and comic book stores globally celebrating the Caped Crusader’s day by offering a special Batman comic absolutely free.

With new comics and media on the horizon, it truly is the “Year of the Bat”, and with an everlasting symbol and legacy that’s mostly recognizable worldwide, The Dark Knight has many more adventures to come even after all is said and done. — TJD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com