Lex Luthor is good? Batman is evil? and an owl!? It can only mean one thing, a crisis is coming. DC's next animated film (after this months Superman Batman: Public Enemies) titles Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths is being described as:
...a “good” Lex Luthor arrives from an alternate universe to recruit the Justice League to help save his Earth from the Crime Syndicate, a gang of villainous characters with virtually identical super powers to the Justice League. What ensues is the ultimate battle of good versus evil in a war that threatens both planets and, through a diabolical plan launched by Owlman, puts the balance of all existence in peril.
At first blush, this sounds a lot like the first season finale of Batman: The Brave and the Bold which involved Batman teaming up with a good Joker, and then taking on Owlman. But Owlman is just one member of the syndicate which also includes Ultraman, Superwoman, Johnny Quick, and Power Ring. From the cast list, it looks like at least Superwoman will have a decent role (voiced by Gina Torres of Firefly fame).
In 1949 The Dynamic Duo returned to theaters with a serial sequel in which they battled the hooded Wizard. This second 15-part story was also guilty of cost-cutting and logical errors. This serial wasn't quite as well receive as the initial one, though it too helped lay the groundwork for the zany Batman of the 1960's. Not only that, this serial introduced the Bat-Signal (which also happened to work in broad daylight...).
Ant-Man, (also know as Giant Man since gaining the ability to grow as well as shrink - he has also gone as Goliath, Yellowjacket and even used his wife's alias Wasp), has been around since 1962 when he debuted in the pages of Tales to Astonish #27. Ant-Man was a founding member of 1963's Avengers. There have been other Ant-Men, but none aside from Hank Pym have made it onto film.
In 1966, an The Marvel Superheroes animated series featured the lineup of The Avengers in several Captain America segments. Allegedly, Ant-Man was part of that lineup, but it seems that no image or video I could find online can verify that. All I could muster was this poor quality intro footage which looks more Civil War era than 1960s.
Unfortunately, it would be another 30+ years before Ant-Man actually got spotted on TV screen, and lets just say it wasn't worth the wait. Looking at the image below, which one do you think is Ant-Man? Both seem reasonable candidates...
Turns out, the one on the ground with a seashell face is Ant-Man, and the other is Wasp as they appeared on the 1999 series Avengers United They Stand. This terrible show lasted just 13 episodes.
Finally Ant-Man (this time Giant Man) who get a respectful portrayal in the 2006 animated movies Ultimate Avengers and Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther.
Even though he got beat up by a relatively tiny Hulk, Giant Man eventually proved his heroism.
2006 was a good year for the hero who next appeared as a guest star on the animated Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes in the episode, "World's Tiniest Superheroes."
In 2008's Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow Ant-Man appeared only briefly in a flashback montage.
His winged son Pym, with his shrinking ability, played a main role in the movie.
Ant-Man is next slated to appear in Marvel's Super Hero Squad Show, which debuts next week.
The guy is also included in the cast for 2011's Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes series set to coincide with a live-action Avengers film which may or may not include old Ant-Man.
An Ant-Man movie is also currently in development, though that doesn't really mean too much, especially with the recent Marvel/Disney shake up. In any case, assuming Thor, Captain America, and the Avengers all do well, its a safe bet Ant-Man will be near the top of the list for next heroes to finally get a feature film. In fact, it is now looking like Ant-Man could be in Pixar's cross hairs giving him an even greater chance of expanding on the silver screen in animated form.
And so it begins, a 30+ part feature following the Batman from his earliest days as a wee baby bat until he matured into The Dark Knight, and beyond... Batman's sidekicks Robin and Batgirl will also get their fair share of attention during this series. Hope you enjoy.
In May 1939, Batman appeared in the the pages of Detective Comics #27.
Robin, The Boy Wonder, debuted a year later in issue #38.
In 1943, The Dynamic Duo made their big screen debut in a 15 chapter movie serial, beginning with The Electrical Brain. The story focused on a US government agent Batman taking on Japanese agent Dr. Daka and his zombie making device.
The serials, made during World War II, have not aged so well as they are filled with racial slurs and poor production values. Also, Batman was not a vigilante, because of course, that would be wrong. On the plus side, the serials were responsible for introducing the bat cave along with its grandfather clock entrance to Batman lore.
The serial was popular enough to justify a sequel serial a few years later. And continued popularity paved the way for the BIF, BANG, POW 1960's television series and for nearly 70 years more of Caped Crusader adventures and counting.
Diabolical Schemes: Back in the day, Pike was a crooked cop and partner to Barry Allen's (Flash) brother Jay. Jay took down Pike, now Pike wants revenge. He is bent on bringing "chaos" to the city with his biker gang.
Coolest Moment(s): I enjoyed the thought they put into side effects of super speed: torn clothes, melted shoes, enhanced hunger, and a weakness of vulnerability after "running out of gas."
Worst Moment: Barry's pre-Flash running suit with a super-wide V-neck was outrageous.
Review in 50 Words or Less: A decent pilot. Sure, the big-bad was not that scary, but he did leave his mark. And the origin was grounded in a fairly realistic world. The Batman 89 influence is felt, but not unappreciated. Makes a good case for the potential of a big budget Flash film.
As posted last week, Smallville is getting a lot of guest heroes this season (such as the previously mentioned Wonder Twins). Also on the list was the Justice Society. Well, now we know which Society members will be appearing: Hawkman, The Spectre, Doctor Fate, and The Atom (Green Lantern Alan Scott and Flash Jay Garrick will NOT be appearing), though others may also join the line-up. EDIT: (ALAN SCOTT MAY APPEAR AFTER ALL)
I am interested to see how Hawkman translates to live -action TV. Last time wasn't so hot.
