Watch DC Nations Debut Plastic Man and Clay Batman Shorts

 

Sorry for the shoddy quality, but here are today's first two official animated shorts from DC Nation including the second clay short from the stop motion series called DC's World's Funnest.

See DC Nation's Black Lightning and More

USA Today has a look at DC Nation including a look at Black Lightning who will star in a series of family centered shorts titled Thunder and Lightning.

Ultimate Spider-Man Clip

Entertainment Weekly has an exclusive clip from the upcoming Ultimate Spider-Man animated series.I hate always being down on Marvel, especially on Spider-Man, but after the top notch Spectacular Spider-Man series this clip sort of breaks my heart. You know the feeling, "they cancelled Spectacular for THIS!?" But hey, at least that paved the way for Young Justice.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Hawkman Recap

Sadly Hawkman stumbled a bit out of the gate back in '67 and hasn't had a chance since then to really redeem himself. At least he didn't completely strike out as the third episode had some sort of frenetic energy that at least made it interesting. Strangely, the Hawkman character had one of the richest back stories at this point its a shame that all Filmation gave us was a bird dude with a utility glove. One last complaint, I am really getting tired of all these episodes from Superboy to Superman to this ending with a character winking at the screen. I bring it up now because ending the first episode with a Skreal wink just put the whole gimmick over the top. Here is to hoping the JLA ends up being greater than the sum of its parts...

Essential Episode:
The Twenty Third Dimension

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - The Twenty Third Dimension

Another adventure, another batch of meanies from our very own solar system. My very excellent mother just served us nine pizzas indeed, although I guess Pluto isn't even a planet anymore. The aliens from Pluto looked like they could have escaped from Geppetto's workshop, so I don't blame them for being cranky. But instead of a Blue Fairy, they instead found themselves facing a winged and bare chested Hawkman. And then things got weird. 

Avengers Trailer 2 Has Landed - Now With More Hulk

It definitely looks action packed and worth my $10. But is it just me, or is anyone else worried they are going to gloss over Thor's return to Earth - not that there will be any time for that with all the 'sposions.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - A Visit to Venus

Hawkman was off to another planet, this time Venus as the title so spoilerifically informed us. Once again Hawkman and head perched Skreal made for the Hawkship, but in this episode the ship was already in space! So, apparently Hawkman and his bird don't need oxygen to survive. Hawkman once again put his gauntlet to use, this time revealing an electro welding option. With the help of his bird, he was able to rescue some captured astronauts and steal a power gem. I just wonder if he was able to make time for a Baby Ruth? Based on these two boring adventures, Hawkman is fast becoming my least favorite superhero.

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Episode Count: 0157
Series Count: (2 of 3)

Onscreen History of the Martian Manhunter and Other DC Martians

The Martian Manhunter, J'onn J'onzz AKA John Jones first busted onto the scene working his detective angle in a back-up story within the pages of Detective Comics #225 in 1955. John is perhaps the least recognized charter member of the Justice League who has often served as a supporting member in team books, but did at one point land his own ongoing series.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Peril from Pluto

With his pet hawk Skreal perched upon his head, Hawkman flew into his Hawkship to block a destructive beam which was coming from Pluto. Once on Pluto (which looked a lot warmer than I would have expected) Hawkman used his Swiss Army claw to put the beam out of commission. About his claw, it could shoot beams, in chemo-mode it shot acid, and of course it could also be used in razor sharp "destructo" mode. Hawkman's wings could also deflect lasers. This was pretty lame overall. I am not overly familiar with Hawkman, but compared to the other DC Filmation heroes, his powers seemed pretty weak. Aside from his claw gadget and pet bird, he didn't really have a gimmick. Two more chances at bat Hawkman...

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Episode Count: 0156
Series Count: (1 of 3)
First Appearance: Hawkman

Sneak Peek at Superman Vs The Elite

 

Included in the special features of Justice League Doom is a first look at this summer's upcoming Superman Vs. The Elite. This full costume look at Superman looks a lot better than the Jay Leno style chin shot released last week. For lack of a better word, this also has a more "cartoony" style than previous animated films, but I actually think it looks pretty good.

"The Elite, a team of super-powered antiheroes, is renowned for killing their enemies. Despite the acclaim and approval the Elite enjoy, Superman knows they are in the wrong, creating more harm than good by their methods. Tensions between them finally culminate in a mass showdown on Jupiter’s moons, when Superman is forced to prove that violence is never a positive."

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Hawkman

Carter Hall, scientific genius from a far off world flies into action as HAWKMAN, Winged Wonder - who with Skreal his faithful fighting mascot pits his arsenal of phenomenal powers against both earthly and interplanetary foes of peace. HAWKMAN, the Winged Avenger.

The character of Hawkman is one that I really am not 100% clear on. Carter Hall was the first Hawkman whose origin involved him being a resurrected Egyptian who put on a wing harness to fly. The Silver Age Hawkman, Katar Hol, came from a Hawkworld and used the name Carter Hall as a secret identity. I am not sure how these two origins have been reconciled in the modern comics, but for the Filmation cartoons, the Silver Age version was used. Similarly for the Atom and Flash, these three shorts served as the pinnacle of Hawkman's onscreen career, being the only time the hero had a series with his name in the title.