Batman to be Hoodwinked

Its official, DC comics next direct to video project is Batman: Under the Red Hood. The LA Times has the scoop:

Plenty of of fanboys are anticipating the new Justice League DVD "Crisis on Two Earths," which premieres on Feb. 23, but that disc will also give birth to a new DC must-see home movie when the Dark Knight saga "Batman: Under the Red Hood" launches one of its first promos.

Written by Judd Winick and based on his 2005 Batman comics story line, it's Batman versus another vigilante, Red Hood, who doesn't mind cleaning up Gotham by leaving dead bodies in his wake. Animated guru Bruce Timm exec produces this pretty violent look into crime on the streets, and it's directed by "Superman Doomsday" co-director Brandon Vietti, with a cavalcade of stars as voice talent. It all starts with Bruce Greenwood ("Star Trek") as Batman, then continues with "Supernatural" star Jensen Ackles as Red Hood, Neil Patrick Harris ("How I Met Your Mother") as Nightwing, John DiMaggio ("Futurama") as the Joker and Jason Isaacs (the Harry Potter films) as Ra's Al Ghul.

Since it sounds like this will be based on the 2005 Under the Hood comics, the identity of the Red Hood may not take fans too by surprise unless they change it up, which maybe they will. I'm sure more details will be coming soon.

Rank Some Marvel DTVs

With the advent of Planet Hulk there are seven lucky Marvel DtVs. While I have enjoyed them all to some extent, some have been much more effective in drawing me back for repeat viewings than others. My preferences may adjust a bit from time to time, but as of now, this is how I would rank them.

#7 Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme may or may not be a faithful telling of a character that I just don't find that interesting or likable. I would also say that these DtVs just aren't long enough for origin stories to feel like they aren't completely rushed.

#6 The Invincible Iron Man was another decent origin story that begins to feel pointless without any further stories to build upon it. The phenomenal live-action Iron Man movie released after this makes The Invincible Iron Man even more irrelevant and the flaws more evident.

#5 Ultimate Avengers 2: The Rise of the Panther was a step down from the first Ultimate Avengers. I did like the Black Panther, but his role on the team didn't seem to justify an entire movie. My memory may also just be failing me, but this movie didn't really seem to have much point other than "stop alien invaders."

#4 Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow is a movie that sounded like a disaster, but wasn't. The story was pretty enjoyable and the Hulk's role was perhaps the movies highlight. My main problems with the movie are that the limited running time prevents the viewer from really caring about this new roster of characters. Also, the movie was annoying in that the whole point of these DtVs was to make animation more geared for teens and adults. Why then produce an (albeit good) adventure aimed at kids?

#3 Ultimate Avengers deserves credit for launching not only this line of Marvel DtVs but DCs line as well as movies for other characters like Hellboy. I really like the WWII sequence as well as the Hulk fight at the end. The middle is a bit uneven, but for the size of the cast, everyone was given a couple of memorable scenes.

#2 Planet Hulk surprised me. No I have not read the original story, but the whole idea sounded a bit hokey to me. I am still not sure I like the idea of perma-Hulk versus transforming Hulk and the movie did seem quite reminiscent of the movie Gladiator. Nevertheless, when all was said and done the talking/thinking Hulk stuff didn't bother me at all.. Besides, if they were going to do another Hulk movie, I suppose this approach was better than another monster than must be stopped story. The arena fights, especially the one with Beta Ray Bill (if they could use Wolverine in Hulk Vs, why couldn't they use Silver Surfer here?) were enjoyable, and all of the flashbacks were entertaining. I also liked the resolution of the movie with the exception of one [SPOILER] how one of the villains finally decided to switch sides. [/SPOILER] Time will tell, but I wont mind revisiting this one.

#1 Hulk Vs. not only delivered two stories for the price of one, but both were interesting, different enough from one another, and briskly paced. I probably preferred the Wolverine story to Thor, but both were enjoyable. This simple idea begs for a follow-up with a Hulk Vs 2 or even a line of Marvel Vs movies.

There you have it. To recap:

#1 Hulk Vs. (Wolverine and Thor)
#2 Planet Hulk
#3 Ultimate Avengers
#4 Next Avengers
#5 Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther
#6 The Invincible Iron Man
#7 Dr. Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme

Red Skull to be Defeated by Captain America and More

The villain of 2011's Captain America movie has been revealed to be Red Skull. Not only that but the movie may feature team ups with Union Jack and a non-Fantastic Four Human Torch. The plot thickens...

Green Lantern's Brightest Days #25

While we all sit and wait for news and images from the live action Green Lantern movie (which will hopefully be his greatest moment to date) to appear on the interwebs, I thought it would be fun to take a look at GLs past onscreen moments. For Lantern initiates, this would be a good time to get up to speed on the mythos before next year. So lets get things rolling, shall we?

#25 Justice League Unlimited: Initiation

After a betrayal at the hands of Hawkgirl in the series finale of Justice League, John Stewart was ready for a new look. Ominously, his shaved head (and beard) brought his appearance more in line with that of his Justice Lord counterpart from the previous series' A Better World. That Lantern had crossed the line from hero to well intentioned dictator. GL's new look gave John a much needed edge and represented a new direction for the Justice League Unlimited series.

Links to episode part 1
Links to episode part 2
Links to episode part 3

Spotlight on Dr. Fate

Dr. Fate is pretty much DC comics ultimate magic wielder. Created in the 1940's he has long been a member of the Justice Society of America, but it wasn't until 1997 that he made his onscreen debut as a guest star in Superman: The Animated Series' The Hand of Fate.

Doc F. would return for appearances in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. In the episode The Terror Beyond, Fate teamed with Aquaman and Solomon Grundy paying homage to the Marvel team the Defenders consisting of Dr. Strange, Namor, and Hulk.

In the episode, Wake the Dead, the homage continued with Amazo joining the group (filling in for the role of the Silver Surfer).

Dr. Fate was given a couple of frames in the Justice League: The New Frontier movie's opening credits depicting the rejection of the JSA.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold welcomed Fate back into the mix (though his helmet no longer covered the side of his face).

Most recently, Society member Dr. Fate came out of retirement on Smallville.


Only fate will tell, but this may not be the last we have seen of old bell head.

Teeny Teen Thor Makes His Debut

Attached to Planet Hulk was a sneak peak at Thor: Tales of Asgrad, the next in the line of Marvel DtVs. This was supposed to be release last August but is sitting on a shelf somewhere waiting to coincide with the theatrical release of the live action Thor. It looks OK and is a bit different than expected. It basically looks like a coming of age story beginning with a wussy and skinny Thor. Hopefully Marvel will start increasing the rate of their animated movies. One a year just isn't cutting the mustard.

Airbender Super Bowl Trailer

I really wish the music was a bit more in line with the series. The visuals look good, but that music is out of place.