Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Showdown

The series gets points for creativity by introducing  Jonah Hex through this weird western tale via Ra's al Ghul flashback. That being said, this portrayal of Hex didn't do much to win me over as a fan of the bounty hunter or his ugly mug.

Retrospective 2010 - Part 2

Iron Man 2

Fortunately for Iron Man 2010 was surprisingly light for the superhero genre. The next few summers will be jam packed. But with very little in the way of competition Iron Man 2 wrangled $312 million, falling just shy of the original's take. While the movie was okay, it seemed that the movie was more of a place holder for Marvel buying time to introduce the rest of the team leading up to the ensemble Avengers movie. Perhaps, this should have been titled Avengers Part 0 rather than Iron Man 2.

Jonah Hex

DC countered Marvel's Iron Man with Jonah Hex. This lesser known wild west DC bounty hunter had the honor of following in the footsteps of Steel and Supergirl by ensuring the title character would not soon be returning to cinemas. The movie barely earned $10 million and pretty may have been the final straw for Megan Fox's short lived career. Seriously, Hex's appearance on the kid targeted Batman: The Brave and the Bold and his 10 minute animated short that were released this year were both way better than this pile of garbage.

Phantom

In June, SyFy finally aired its Phantom miniseries attempted to reinvigorate one of the classic superheroes. The presentation was okay, but it doesn't look like the miniseries did enough to earn the character a hoped or ongoing series.

The Last Airbender

M. Night Shyamalan's name being attached to The Last Airbender didn't do the film any favors. Honestly, this movie never had a chance of capturing the heart or epic scale of the animated series, but it wasn't nearly as bad as people said. Earning just $131 million, the chances of completing the trilogy are unlikely, but hey at least we will always have the series.

Batman: Under the Red Hood

In my opinion, the best offering of the summer, and possibly the year was the animated Batman: Under the Red Hood direct to video movie. The film adapted the comic arc that reintroduced presumed dead Jason Todd (the second Robin) to comic continuity. This movie was really well done and is currently at the top of my list of DC's animated films.

Jonah Hex

Attached to the Batman DtV was an animated Jonah Hex short. This little gem gave the sense that the character just might be able to carry a movie of his own, just not the version that actually got made.

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World

Pulling heavily from video games, the super powered Scott Pilgrim had to defeat seven evil X's to win the day and the girl. I knew going in that this movie was going to be different, but it truly was an original and very worth seeing. Unfortunately, its the kind of movie that is going to make pretentious teens feel like they are cool just because they saw it. It really is a shame it didn't do better in theaters. I haven't read the original graphic novels but the music, animations, and effects of the films were all spectacular and its hard for me to imagine this story in silent, still, black and white. The only thing I would have done is not cast George Michael. He was a real wuss.

The Hex That Should Have Been, and Is

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

The short Jonah Hex movie is wrapping up its horrendous theatrical run barely eking out $10 million, but the Jonah Hex short is looking to impress when it debuts in two weeks with the Batman: Under the Red Hood DVD. Check out the clip.

Hex has Worst DC Opening Since Steel

Click on the chart and get ready to laugh. Although Jonah Hex beat out Marvel's 2008 third attempt at the Punisher (barely), you have to go way back to 1997 and Shaq Fu's sub-million dollar opening weekend to find a worse opening for DC. Even Supergirl (1984) and Superman IV (1987) opened stronger in uninflated dollars. Even 2008's The Spirit opened bigger with an embarrassing $6.5 million! Luckily Hex will get a second chance on the Batman: Under the Red Hood animated DVD. That Jonah Hex short may give the character back some dignity, but its unlikely Jonah will be back on the silver screen anytime soon... or ever.

That Flushing Sound Means Jonah Hex has Arrived

As of tonight, the eve of Jonah Hex's debut, the movie has a solid 00% rating on rottentomatoes.com and if the 70+ minute running time is any indication, this is a real stinker. Hey, Dumbo was just over an hour long, but I just don't think Jonah can stack up against a flying elephant. At this point it is not even a forgone conclusion that Hex will beat out such superhero bombs as Howard the Duck's $16 million or even Punisher: War Zone's $8 million. Who would have thought that with $24 million, The Losers would be DC's big summer winner. Hopefully next year's Green Lantern sets things right.

Summer of Hex Lovers

If there is one hero that deserves his own summer, it probably wouldn't be Jonah Hex. Nevertheless 2010 is the year of Hex who joins Steel and Elektra as a lesser known superhero to headline a major motion picture. Following the June live-action film, Hex will appear in an animated short on the Batman: Under the Red Hood DVD. Check out the first look of Hex from the animated movie (above) and a new trailer (below). Ye-haw.

More Jonah Hex Videos

Summer is Here Iron Man vs Hex

Not too much of a contest this year... Marvel once again will take the crown.

Jonah Hex Trailer is Here

Oh my. Megan Fox's acting is bringing back memories of those first Transformers trailers. At least back then she wasn't trying out an accent. Maybe I will just wait to catch this on Spike TV in a couple of months.

Hex Doesn't Mark the Spot With This New Poster

If you weren't interested in the upcoming Jonah Hex movie, I am not sure this poster is going to win you over. Maybe if it had a Gatling gun mounted horse... I am also not so sure about the tagline, "Revenge Gets Ugly." Will that really sell the film? "Hey this movie is about an ugly dude with a deformed face. Wanna see it?" I smell a big box office bomb. I also predict the 12 minute short attached to the Batman animated movie will be better than the feature film. You heard it here first.

Jonah Hex First Footage

If you like horses with machine guns, you may love this (otherwise you may remain skeptical):

Jonah Hex Hexed?

Last July, this teaser poster was released for Jonah Hex- which is set to debut in just over two months on June 18th. Since then, no more posters, no trailers, nothing. That can't be a good sign for the movie featuring the DC comics bounty hunter. Yesterday this bit of tid was released over at iesb.net regarding an unsurprisingly kiboshed Lobo movie . It offered some insight into the promotional blackout for Hex:

The real issue at hand is several of the top WB executives (the ones who matter) have lost faith in Akiva Goldman's producorial skills. This is a direct result of their not-so-hot reaction to The Losers and especially Jonah Hex. The latter required massive reshoots (in excess of 50 pages worth of new material) and another director in studio go-to guy Francis Lawrence was brought to call the shots. So basically Lobo won't be happening anytime soon.

It doesn't seem that surprising that this movie is having trouble. Serves them right for making Jonah Hex instead of something like Flash or Green Arrow. At this point I wonder if Jonah Hex will still come out in June. I can't imagine it would do too well head to head with Toy Story 3 or even unchallenged. The question now is will Hex outperform Elektra's disastrous $24 mil?

On a side note, The Losers comment is a bit surprising. From my perspective the promotion has been decent. Maybe its a mess as well. We shall know in just a couple weeks.

What to Expect in 2010 - Part 1

2010 is upon us and this is your guide for what to expect from:

02 Feb 2010 - Planet Hulk

One of 2010's first treats will be the animated Planet Hulk DtV described as, "When the Hulk becomes too dangerous for the Earth, the Illuminati trick Hulk into a shuttle and launch him into space to a planet where the Hulk can live in peace. Unfortunately, the Hulk's struggle to escape and a malfunction in the shuttle causes Hulk to land on the planet Sakaar where he is sold into slavery and trained as a gladiator. With the aid of fellow gladiators Hiroim, Korg, Miek, and Elloe Kaifi, the Hulk forms the Warbound in a plot to overthrow the Red King." The last Marvel DtV, Hulk Vs was well received and this one will probably be as well. Unfortunately, this will be the solo release from Marvel this year.

05 Feb 2010 - Absolute Justice

Anticipation for the Smallville two-parter featuring the Justice Society was so high, the network decided to build a movie event. Absolute Justice will feature Dr. Fate, Stargirl, Hawkman, and cameos by other Society members including the Green Lantern and Sandman.

23 Feb 2010 - Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths

Also in the jam-packed yet tiny month of February will be the release of the Justice League alternate Earth movie. Not sure if this alternate Earth Joker is supposed to be good or bad, but either way, he should be entertaining.

23 Feb 2010 - The Spectre

Packaged with the Crisis movie will be DC's first in a new line of hero shorts featuring lesser knowns like Señor Spectre. Not sure he is going to be the next big thing, but these shorts are pretty nice way to sell a few extra DVDs.

16 Apr 2010 - Kick-Ass

Yet another take on "real" superheroes. I guess this one is supposed to be extra violent. Sounds fun.


07 May 2010 - Iron Man 2

The most anticipated superhero show of 2010 has to be Iron Man 2. I hope this doesn't pull a Spider-Man 3 because its stuffed full of characters. You get not only Iron Man, but War Machine, Black Widow, Whiplash, Justin Hammer, and of course Nick Fury. Either way, its going to make a ton, possibly becoming the biggest movie of 2010.

18 Jun 2010 - Jonah Hex

Rather than releasing a new Superman or Batman movie or even going with the Flash, Wonder Woman, Blue Beetle, Plastic Man, Captain Marvel, Green Arrow, or even Aquaman WB opted for Jonah Hex- basically an old west bounty hunter that looks like Two-Face. This one might get lost in the summer crowd.


Classic Show DVD releases


On January 5, Wendy and Marvin will finally make their DVD debut on the Super Friends Season 1, Volume 1 release. Not really sure how the folks at Warner decided the release order for this show but I guess its finally season 1's moment.

On March 3, its rumored that the final volume of the X-Men animated series will be released including the Captain America / Wolverine team-up. And that's a look at whats coming in the first half of this year, stay tuned for part 2 coming soon.

Hex Poster Fails to Dazzle

Sure Marvel has Hulk, Iron Man, X-Men, Spider-Man, Thor, Captain America, and Avengers movies in the works, but take a look at what DC is working on...

I hope this poster is not the beginning of a horrible marketing campaign for Jonah Hex because it looks like an ad for a soon to be canceled show and the now defunct WB network. You guys can do better. By the way, where is Superman?

Spotlight on Jonah Hex

Jonah Hex is in line to join an elite group of DC superheroes that have been given big-screen live-action movies. This list is so choice, even powerhouses like Wonder Woman and the Flash haven't made the cut. This list contains only the cream of the crop like Batman, Superman, and er um Steel (yes, starring Shaq). Well, so maybe the list isn't so much elite as it is short.

Anyways, the 19th century scar-faced civil war veteran / bounty hunter / anti-hero first appeared in issue #10 of All-Star Western in 1972. His onscreen debut in 1995 was depicted as a flashback of Ra's Al Ghul on Batman: The Animated Series.

Hex and Batman met face to face in the Justice League Unlimited episode The Once and Future Thing: Weird Western Tales in which Hex teamed up with the Leaguers as well as Bat-lash and El Diablo to fight another time traveling n'er do well.

Batman and Hex crossed paths again in 2009's Batman: The Brave and the Bold. First, the two teamed up against an Old West iteration of the Royal Flush Gang.



Later, Hex was recruited through time as a interdimensional bounty hunter who captured warriors for Mongol's War World in the present day.

But it is next Summer's Jonah Hex film that will give the ugly mug a chance to break out into the mainstream.

Teaming with Megan Fox, John Malkovich, and G.O.B. can't hurt either, though hopefully that creepy dude in the rear view mirror doesn't make the cut.

Hex Marks the Spot

Here is your first look at Jonah Hex from the upcoming August 2010 movie. Yep, his face is messed up, though not quite to the extent of interpretations such as the one from Batman: The Animated Series (compare below). If the Dark Knight featured Two-Face, then on that scale, Jonah earns a nick name One-Point-Five-Face.

What to Expect in 2010

Since these projects are a little farther off, the knowledge about them is a bit more limited. Here's the news I have managed to scrape up.

Feb 2010 - Planet Hulk (Animated DVD)

Now this is a project I can get behind. I assume this will be based on the comic book story of the same name which involves a secret group of superhero leaders called the Illuminati who consider the Hulk an unacceptable potential risk to Earth. They rocket him into space to live a peaceful existence on an uninhabited planet, but due to a trajectory fail, the Hulk crashes on the violent planet Sakaar where he becomes an intergalactic gladiator. So, basically Hulk meets Gladiator in space. Whats not to love? Seems like Hulk Smash and DVD are a match made in heaven.

07 May 2010 - Iron Man 2

This has a shot at being the biggest earner of 2010. The story may deal with Stark's alcoholism as Tony develops a drinking problem when he is unable to cope with his age and Pepper getting a boyfriend. It does not, however, look like the Demon in a Bottle arc, the quintessential Iron Man story, will be adapted just yet. It may be held for Iron Man 3. Fine, if they don't want to give that story its due yet that's their prerogative, BUT hero turning dark in part 3 didn't work out so well in Superman 3 or Spider-Man 3. On the other hand, this may be a smart move to build anticipation for part 3 because this is such a well known tale. Bottom line for me, if they want to hold off, I hope they are still delivering the goods in part 2.



In part 2, I expect S.H.I.E.L.D. will continue to have a major role and Black Widow (thanks to ScreenRant.com for the look at ScarJo as BW) and War Machine are also expected to play major roles. Sam Jackson as Nick Fury is also expected to have a pre-closing credits role this time around.

As for villains, It looks like we will be getting Whiplash as opposed to the previously rumored Crimson Dynamo. Whiplash will get his technological toys from Anti-Stark industrialist Justin Hammer. No word if we will see Iron Man nemesis Mandarin, or if he is being held for another day.

I have high hopes for Iron Man 2. Its got a lot to live up to, but if it keeps the balanced tone and humor of the first one, lighting could strike twice.

25 Jun 2010 - The Green Hornet

I have a couple of problems with this project. First, I don't really care about the Green Hornet and I am not sure that anyone else does either. The TV show was big in the 60s from what I hear, but Kato played by Bruce Lee, Hornet's sidekick eclipsed the hero in popularity. At best, I can see this garnering up the level of interest of Dick Tracy, and that got a fairly lackluster response. The other concern I have I that there have been any number of "creative differences" during the film's early production which has lasted for years on end. The movie may or may not see the light of day, but we will at least know soon if a 2010 release is going to happen.

06 Aug 2010 - Jonah Hex

Ah, so Warner Brothers is aware that DC has more characters than just Batman and Superman. Right now I only have mild interest in this western anti-hero and I admit I don't know much about him other than he lives in the old west and kind of looks like Two-Face. Wikipedia adds that he was an officer for the Confederacy during the American Civil War and he is surly and cynical. I need to learn more, but I am not lining up for this yet.

05 Nov 2010 - Master Mind

No, this is not an adaptation of the classic board game - that would be a disaster. Instead, it is Dreamworks Animations answer to The Incredibles. The movie is described as "a villain gets depressed after accidentally killing his superhero nemesis Uberman." I am guessing that there will be plenty of pop culture references to keep it "hip," and though it may be fun, it will not rise to the level of Pixar greatness.

17 Dec 2010 - Green Lantern

Definitely my most anticipated release of next year will be Green Lantern, that is if it gets made. At this point, the idea sounds too good to be true, so until filming actually gets under way I will remain cautiously optimistic. The movie is rumored to focus on the Hal Jordan origin story, borrowing heavily from the Emerald Dawn storyline. Just like in the upcoming Green Lantern: First Flight animated tale, Hal will be under the tutelage of one Green Lantern Sinestro. Together they will fight Legion and Hector Hammond. There are also rumored appearances by the fashion challenged bowl cut and double breast touting Lantern Guy Gardner as well as Clark Kent.


If done well, this could be the beginning of a cohesive DC universe leading to a Justice League movie modeled after Marvel's Avengers initiative begun in Iron Man. There is also talk of plans for a Green Lantern trilogy that will include John Stewart and possibly other' Lanterns in the sequels. No matter how it turns out, it will have to be better than the Jack Black Green Lantern spoof that was gearing up back in 2006.

T.B.A 2010 - The Phantom

Created in 1936, The Phantom was the first crime fighter to wear the skintight costume and the first to wear a mask with no visible pupils, both superhero standards. I am pretty sure he remains one of the few heroes give purple such prominence in his costume.


The Sci-Fi channel (SyFy now) is reimagining The Phantom for modern times. He has a high tech nano-suit resistant to heat, bladed weapons, falls, impacts and small-arms fire. It also increases the wearers strength, and incorprates wireless communication devices.


I'm sure some will be outraged at the changes to this hero, but honestly I think its pretty much the only way to make the dude relevant anymore, especially after the 1996 Phantom film's horrible reception. Then again, he pretty much looks like the "Purple Arrow" from Smallville. Still, this looks better than Mansquito or the other made for SyFy movies we usually get. No official date has yet been given for this made for TV project.