Latest news with #DCComics'
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Marvel vs. DC: Superman nominated as 'Ohio's official superhero,' snubs Incredible Hulk's Dayton connections
May 28—A proposal at the Ohio Statehouse would proclaim Superman as the state's official superhero, but DC Comics' "Man of Steel" isn't the only superhero with Ohio connections, including a certain angry green scientist who's from Dayton. Reps. Adam Mathews, R-Lebanon, and Terrence Upchurch, D-Cleveland, are cosponsors of the bill, which would designate Superman as the "official superhero of the state," beginning on April 18, 2033, a year before Superman enters the public domain. "Superman is the first and greatest of superheroes, even though personally I do prefer Batman," said Mathews. "But Superman was created in Cleveland and this summer is a great time to highlight this fact, because the newest movie was filmed primarily in Cleveland and Columbus, highlighting the art deco architecture that's become just as much a character of the DC Universe as Green Arrow, Green Lantern or the others." Ohio isn't the only state to memorialize Superman in some fashion. Kansas — the home of the fictional Smallville, where Clark Kent was raised — inducted Superman into its state Hall of Fame in 2013. Additionally, Metropolis, Illinois, styled as "Super City," hosts the annual Superman Celebration each June. Superman first appeared on the page of Action Comics #1, on April 18, 1938. The character was originally created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, both of whom were born in Cleveland to immigrant Jewish parents. Siegel and Shuster's origins were a major influence on the earliest portrayals of Superman, as were the political and economic conditions of the time, said Jared Whittaker, manager of Super-Fly Comics and Games in Yellow Springs. Superman's earliest adversaries included greedy mine owners, crooked politicians, and labor racketeers. Lex Luthor's first appearance in the comics in 1940 casts him as a war profiteer who wishes to take over the world once Earth's nations have been weakened in conflict. " At the time, you had a very depressed economic state," Whittaker said. "In the very first (issues), Superman is a hero for low-income people. Some of that includes people who are holding common people down." As the world entered World War II, Spiegel and Shuster shifted to portraying Superman as a character that stood up for the defenseless, and even on occasion to Hitler himself, according to the Ohio History Connection. "World War II had a big part in creating fictionalized battles, where the superheroes could go and fight," said Peter Bell, owner of Bell Book and Comic in Dayton. "Captain America was Marvel's symbol of freedom from the Nazis, and so Superman, even though he was not 'American,' but grew up in the US, and he was raised as a US person ... it made sense that Superman was their flagship at the time." Hulk origin story in Dayton Superman, however, isn't the only superhero with connections to Ohio. Bruce Banner, the alter ego of Marvel's The Incredible Hulk, was born in Dayton. Given the choice, Bell said, he would have voted for the Hulk as Ohio's superhero, but "I'm a little biased towards my city," he said. "When Marvel got started, Stan Lee and everybody wrote into our real world," said Bell. "Spider Man's from Queens, Captain America is from New York City too, and they actually used real cities in our country to ground those heroes in our reality. That's one reason why Marvel took off so well, because, 'Oh my gosh, Spider-Man, this is a kid who's just like me.'" The Incredible Hulk was created by the legendary Marvel writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and made his first appearance in his namesake comic in 1962. The series ran for only six issues, but the Hulk went on to appear in other comics, and the Incredible Hulk was relaunched in 1968. Later, in the 80s and 90s, other Marvel writers including Bill Mantlo and Peter David fleshed out Bruce Banner's origins, including establishing his roots as the child of an alcoholic father in Dayton, Ohio. The Hulk returns to Dayton in later issues of the comics, including one where he attempts to infiltrate a facility at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. As comics matured as a medium, Superman's "truth, justice, and the American way," gave way to darker stories with more complex themes in the broader comic landscape. However, Superman's simplicity makes him the better pick for a symbolic role, said Whittaker. "Superman, for what this is supposed to represent, I guess it's probably better ... being the first superhero, and kind of being this kind of very revered character versus the Hulk. The Hulk isn't bad, but the whole 'gets mad and breaks stuff' thing doesn't really have a lot of the iconic, relatable feel to it," Whittaker said. Other superheroes and comic book characters from Ohio include Black Alice, a teenage superhero from Dayton who appears in Gail Simone's Birds of Prey. Additionally, the cast of Scooby Doo is said to be from the fictional town of Coolsville, Ohio, and secondary character Tommy Glass — appearing in Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque's American Vampire — is from Dayton. "We are excited that Ohio is being shown off. As Superman enters the public domain in 2034, Ohio needs to be prepared to highlight to the whole world that, while the Cleveland native sons of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster have said he was born in Smallville, Kansas, Superman is from Ohio and he's ours," Mathews said.
Economic Times
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Economic Times
Superman trailer release: David Corenswet's outing as DC superhero draws mixed reactions
AP James Gunn is gearing for another superhero-themed summer blockbuster with his upcoming movie, Superman. The new trailer for the David Corenswet-starrer was released on Wednesday, May 14, giving fans a glimpse into Gunn's new DC Universe. The Superman trailer promises to take DC Comics' iconic Superman and create a gripping storyline around the character. The movie also marks the first entry into a cinematic franchise that is separate from the previous DC Extended Universe, where Henry Cavill played Superman. The trailer begins with Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) interviewing Clark Kent/Superman (David Corenswet) about his actions. The twist comes when it is revealed that people are angry with Superman for stopping a war. The trailer proceeds to show an argument between Lane and Superman, with him defending his actions to illegally enter a country, without permission from the US government, to stop a Lois Lane tells him to consider what the consequences of his actions could lead to, Superman shouts at her, visibly frustrated. The trailer also shows a civilian helping Superman get up when he falls down. The Superman trailer proceeds to show glimpses of the superhero's pet dog, Krypto fighting off enemies in the Fortress of Solitude. There's also a poignant moment between Clark Kent and his father as well. 'Your choices, your actions, that's what makes you who you are,' Pa Kent says. Nicholas Hoult exudes menace as the antagonist Lex Luthor. The movie promises an epic showdown between him and Superman. The trailer drew mixed reactions. Some were impressed by Corenswet's acting. 'How he changed his voice from Clark Kent to Superman during the interview.... that's awesome…' a comment read.'The more I see of this movie, the more I get excited for it. I was sad to see Gunn leave Marvel, but I'm happy to see the amazing things he's doing with DC,' another remarked.''I wasn't representing anyone but Me and doing good' is the most Superman thing to say,' a comment read.'I love that 90's comic book nostalgic feel of Superman himself laying down in a bed in a room that's like that of a teenage superhero fans room. James Gunn & his team have the entire aesthetics to this movie on point,' a user everyone was wowed by the film. One fan noted, ' 'There's something about this new superman that just doesn't sit right with me. It's way too colorful. It almost looks like a cartoon tbh… There's no seriousness to it. Bring dc's classic darker shade movies.''I don't know how they're going to fit this many characters into one movie and I'm a bit worried about it. But the way this Superman is portrayed... his heart is in the right place, and it gives me so much hope,' another movie is set to release on July 11. A sneak peek of Superman was shown at the CinemaCon 2025 in April. The clip shows an injured Superman being dragged away by Krypto to the Fortress of Solitude. Superman also stars Nathan Fillion, Anthony Carrigan, Edi Gathegi, Skyler Gisondo, Isabela Merced, Sara Sampaio, Wendell Pierce, María Gabriela de Faría, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Neva Howell and Alan Tudyk. Disclaimer Statement: This content is authored by a 3rd party. The views expressed here are that of the respective authors/ entities and do not represent the views of Economic Times (ET). ET does not guarantee, vouch for or endorse any of its contents nor is responsible for them in any manner whatsoever. Please take all steps necessary to ascertain that any information and content provided is correct, updated, and verified. ET hereby disclaims any and all warranties, express or implied, relating to the report and any content therein.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Colin Farrell in Talks to Star in Luca Guadagnino's ‘Sgt. Rock' Movie at DC Studios
Colin Farrell is in talks to star in in Luca Guadagnino's 'Sgt. Rock' movie at DC Studios, according to an insider with knowledge of the project. The script is written by Justin Kuritzkes, who previously wrote 'Challengers' and 'Queer' for Guadagnino. The film is expected to be a period piece set during World War II. Sgt. Rock is one of DC Comics' most famous military characters and is the leader of Easy Company. Created by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert, he first appeared in 1959's 'Our Army at War' before getting his own series in 1977 that ran for 11 years. Daniel Craig was previously circling the role, but never got an offer according to DC Studio chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran. DC Studios is planning to shoot the movie this summer in the United Kingdom. Farrell previously played Gotham crime boss Oswald Cobb aka the Penguin for Matt Reeves in 'The Batman' and most recently on the HBO spin-off series 'The Penguin,' for which he won numerous awards. The Reeves 'Batman' world is part of DC Studios' 'Elseworlds' banner, while 'Sgt. Rock' would be part of the main DCU under Gunn and Safran. Farrell is expected to return in 'The Batman: Part 2' as the Penguin which is eyeing to shoot at the end of the year in the U.K. Colin Farrell is repped by CAA. Deadline first reported the news. The post Colin Farrell in Talks to Star in Luca Guadagnino's 'Sgt. Rock' Movie at DC Studios appeared first on TheWrap.
The Guardian
12-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Rule of Jenny Pen review – John Lithgow pulls the strings in care home horror
Film-maker James Ashcroft has created a scary and intimately upsetting psychological horror based on a story by New Zealand author Owen Marshall set in a care home, a film whose coolly maintained claustrophobic mood and bravura performances make up for the slight narrative blurring towards the end. It's a movie about bullying and elder abuse – more specifically, elder-on-elder abuse – and it is always most chilling when it sticks to the realist constraints of what could actually happen. The locale is an un-luxurious residential care facility where a retired judge is now astonished to find himself; this is Stefan Mortensen, played by Geoffrey Rush, who succumbed to a catastrophic stroke while passing judgment from the bench. He is a cantankerous and high-handed man, furious to be in this demeaning place and who, like many there, assures himself it isn't for long. Mortensen has to share a room with Tony Garfield (George Henare), a retired rugby star whose career fizzled out. These men are terrorised by long-term patient Dave Crealy, played with true hideousness by John Lithgow, a racist bully who convinces the care staff he is a gentle, harmless soul by exaggerating his mental and physical decay, but tyrannises patients behind officialdom's back with his therapy hand puppet named Jenny Pen, making the bewildered and terrified patients submit to her 'rule'. This is a film to remind you of the ventriloquist in DC Comics' Scarface Puppet or the Ealing classic Dead of Night, although Jenny's dysfunctionally independent existence is an open question. And it reminded me of Patrick Hamilton's depictions of mean-minded bullying, petty but toxic, among the miserable inmates of boarding houses. The long, insupportable afternoons of boredom stretch ahead in the home's bland association room, a place whose sheer featureless blankness is shown to encourage mental decay and catatonia; it's a woozy, timeless non-place in which Crealy appears like a capering, malicious demon with his own secret history in the institution. You'll spend the film longing for Stefan and Tony to hit back at the unspeakable Dave, and the question of when and how this happens is a flaw in the film; there's a kind of finale duplication here. But pure choking horror fills the screen like poison gas. One footnote: therapy hand puppets do indeed exist in the real world and they are not the preserve of psychopaths. Roger Ross Williams's 2016 documentary Life, Animated tells the uplifting story of a boy with autism who was helped by his Disney-character puppets; maybe it could act as a palate cleanser after this film. The Rule of Jenny Pen is in UK and Irish cinemas from 14 March, and on Shudder and AMC+ from 28 March.
The Independent
23-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
‘Was this a big mistake?': How Vera Drew defied Warner Bros and turned the Batman universe trans
Not to put myself down, but I think I'm just kind of dumb,' says Vera Drew, the droll, intelligent director-star of The People's Joker. I let her explain. Back when she was making her film – a frantically funny, deeply personal parody of DC Comics' Batman universe, which re-imagines the Clown Prince of Crime as a burgeoning alternative comedian who realises she's transgender – it never occurred to her what the reaction would be. 'When I was making this thing, I was never prepared for the level of visibility it would get,' says Drew. 'I thought I would maybe screen it like once, in a warehouse or party or something, and all my friends would go, 'Thanks for reminding us how traumatised you are and how many fetishes you have. Thanks, Vera.'' But The People's Joker – as the internet would say – broke containment. After premiering at the Toronto Film Festival in 2022, the film became mired in legal issues, as Warner Bros (who owned the rights to Batman, and were in the process of releasing their own $200m Joker sequel) threatened to intervene. The dispute brought lengthy delays in The People's Joker 's release – and a long run of underground 'secret screenings' – but also news headlines, and free publicity. For a film as queer as this, the term ' Streisand effect ' has never felt more apt. This week, finally, The People's Joker is out in UK cinemas. 'It honestly feels like a major weight off my shoulders, just for how much on a daily basis I get yelled at by people from the UK,' says Drew, speaking to me over video chat from her home in Los Angeles. The 35-year-old is wearing oversized glasses and sitting in a dimly lit room. 'You know, no offence to the UK, but I have described it as 'Terf Island' to some of my friends recently.' The phrase, playing on the acronym 'Terf' (trans-exclusionary radical feminist), alludes to the overall pervasiveness of transphobia in the UK, amplified by rhetoric from high-profile voices such as JK Rowling, campaigners say. 'It feels like trans art is really needed there right now,' Drew adds. She's not wrong. The People's Joker comes at an exciting time for trans cinema, less than a year after Jane Schoenbrun's haunting, dysphoric I Saw the TV Glow hit screens. What exactly trans cinema looks like is a question still being defined. Both films share a kind of internet-savviness; both are thoroughly, unapologetically queer. In The People's Joker, Drew's Joker dates a problematic trans man styled a la Jared Leto in Suicide Squad. Batman is depicted as an abusive, alt-right gay man; Ra's al Ghul an ageing, problematic stand-up; Penguin an edgy, well-meaning stoner. DC aficionados will recognise much of Gotham's rogues' gallery – most of them queered in one way or another, and several of whom are rendered in comically lo-fi CGI. 'It became very unwieldy,' says Drew, 'every single shot in it being a visual-effect shot'. Before making her debut as a filmmaker, Drew was an editor, working on projects such as Sacha Baron Cohen's Who is America?, the Netflix sketch series I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson – a more or less epochal text for modern comedy nerds – and the oddball talk show parody Comedy Bang! Bang! The Chicago-born filmmaker is well acquainted with the American alt-comedy scene – as you might gather from some of the names to feature in The People's Joker: Tim Heidecker, Bob Odenkirk, Maria Bamford and Scott Aukerman. The film was conceived in the wake of 2019's Joker, the self-serious artiste blockbuster that reframed the famous comic book villain as a mentally ill incel, played by Joaquin Phoenix. Todd Phillips, Joker 's director, made a comment suggesting that he turned towards the dour project because 'woke culture' had made comedies untenable. Among those to take umbrage at his remark was Arrested Development writer Bri LeRose, who tweeted: 'I will only watch this coward's Joker movie if Vera Drew re-edits it.' From this throwaway joke ballooned The People's Joker. (LeRose co-wrote the film with Drew.) On the subject of the recent, widely maligned sequel to Joker, last year's bleak musical Joker: Folie à Deux, Drew is positively effusive. 'I had to see it opening night, just because I needed to get over it, to see the movie and stop thinking about these f***ing characters,' she says. 'And it reinvigorated me. I don't think anything that cost $200m and, you know, stars Lady Gaga, is really punk per se, but it didn't give you anything you wanted. 'It's a middle finger to incels and Joker (2019) fans,' she continues. 'There's a sequence in Joker 2 where Joaquin Phoenix loses his virginity to Lady Gaga, and he c***s in less than four seconds. How could I not love that film? It had a sexy grossness to it that I was just not anticipating. Todd Phillips, please call me.' When it came to her own take on the Joker, lawyers were consulted from the early stages of development; it was (and remains) Drew's argument that the film complies with 'fair use and parody' laws. The night before the film's premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, Drew received 'an angry letter from Warner Bros' (though not, as was sometimes misreported, a formal cease and desist, she says). 'It was just like this strongly worded letter,' she says. 'Saying that we don't approve, and don't think you should be allowed to screen or profit off this film. And we want you to show this letter to anybody who is interested in exhibiting it. Which was devastating. They literally waited until the last minute.' At the time, there had been larger distributors sniffing around the project; the copyright uncertainty put an end to it. 'My bank account would be a lot better if that had worked out,' she says, 'but I don't know if that would have been the best journey for the movie. It would have probably been dumped on a streaming platform immediately. I think [the whole story] provides an interesting window into the actual problems with copyright laws – which are not really there to protect artists. They're there to protect corporate interests.' A key part of the movie's defence was that it was autobiographical. The Batman imagery became a vehicle to tell Drew's own story: her fraught relationship with her mother, her coming out as transgender, her relationship with an emotionally abusive partner. And, of course, comedy – perhaps the most unexpected part of the film is how much time it devotes to satirising the American comedy scene, specifically Saturday Night Live and its creator Lorne Michaels, who is depicted in the film as a crude CGI bad guy. 'One of the first ideas I had for the movie was that Lorne Michaels would be the primary villain,' she laughs. 'If we're making this version of the Joker a sketch comedian, like obviously, the villain should be Lorne Michaels.' 'In a lot of ways,' she continues, ' SNL is really kind of an arm of the US military-industrial complex. It's this thing that gets people elected, or unelected. They are constantly platforming [controversial stand-up comedian] Dave Chappelle, for some reason – one of the most transphobic artists working right now… aside from the Harry Potter witch.' There's a tendency for The People's Joker to be swallowed up by the story of its making, and its arduous, subversive journey to release. But the film succeeds terrifically on its own merits. 'I've had periods of really resenting the movie,' says Drew, 'and being like, was this a big mistake? But where I'm at now, I'm so thankful. It's been this thing that's really connected me to other queer people, and reconnected me to myself.' A few nights before we speak, Drew screened the film at a college in Florida, where she was able to watch young trans film students respond to it. 'I have goosebumps talking about it,' she says. She smiles – not a rictal, Jokerfied grin, but sweetly, sincerely. 'It fills my heart with so much joy.'
