Twelve years ago, DC Comics made the boldest publishing move in its history with the New 52 relaunch. That relaunch/reboot, while initially successful, ended up as a missed opportunity. Now, DC Comics is looking to start a new publishing initiative again with DC All In, only this time, they’ve seemingly learned from the mistakes of the past. The classic DC universe will remain, with a new, edgier universe existing alongside it. This was all announced by DC writers Joshua Williamson (Superman) and Scott Snyder (Batman, Dark Nights Metal) in a special announcement video, which you view below:

Snyder is part of what they are calling “Absolute DC.” This will be an adjacent universe featuring reimagined takes on DC’s biggest characters, starting with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. This resembles Marvel’s Ultimate Comics line from the early 2000s. Snyder himself will write Absolute Batman, which looks to feature the most jacked-up Dark Knight we’ve ever seen. Unlike the New 52, this new universe will coexist alongside the current DC Universe, which will continue with new creative teams or new storylines for their existing titles. The classic universe will not get a reboot again.

Another difference from Marvel’s Ultimate line is that while the DC Absolute titles will be their own universe, they will tie-in to a greater storyline connected back to the classic DCU involving Darkseid. As Snyder explained, the main DC Universe is a world predicated on “Superman energy.” This was something made explicit in the mini-series Doomsday Clock. Meanwhile, the Absolute Universe is a “wild world” composed of “Darkseid energy.” Certainly, the looks of the Absolute versions of the DC trinity look much darker and edgier. The heroes of this new universe will be underdogs. They’ll have to be “tougher and more resourceful” than their counterparts, according to Snyder.

Absolute Batman

This series is written by Batman legend Scott Snyder, featuring art by Nick Dragotta. In this iteration, fans will be introduced to a version of the Dark Knight that doesn’t have the money, mansion, or butler of his core-line counterpart. Readers will quickly find out what makes this the “Absolute” version of Batman when the debut issue arrives at participating comic book shops and digital retailers on Wednesday, October 9.

Absolute Wonder Woman

For Diana, there is no island paradise, no sisterhood to shape her, nor a mission of peace. So what is the purpose of an Amazon warrior in this new universe? Eisner Award-winning writer Kelly Thompson and breakout artist Hayden Sherman reinvent her from the ground up in Absolute Wonder Woman #1, on sale October 23.

Absolute Superman

Writer Jason Aaron (Thor) and artist Rafa Sandoval join forces to present a new Man of Steel with the launch of Absolute Superman #1. This Superman has no family, no Fortress of Solitude, and no home. Will he still stand for truth, justice, and a better tomorrow in this new universe? Readers can find out when Absolute Superman #1 hits participating comic book shops on November 6.

DC Universe Ongoing Series

All of this begins in October, with the DC All-In Special. The special will be an 80-page flip book. It contains one side drawn by Wonder Woman artist Daniel Sampere, and the other by artist Wes Craig. The other side of the book will be from the point of view of Darkseid. The seeds for all of this will begin in DC’s current summer crossover event, Absolute Power. The special will reintroduce Darkseid “As he should be, the greatest villain of the DC Universe,” according to Snyder. This will culminate in the much-anticipated return of a new Justice League, formed by Superman. The regular ongoing DC titles will get new creative teams, or new jumping on points for fans. Arriving first in October are the following:

Superman

Superstar artist Dan Mora joins Joshua Williamson in a new story arc spinning out of Absolute Power. One of Superman’s most lethal enemies returns. The Man of Steel and Superwoman (Lois Lane) must now deal with the return of the rampaging Doomsday. But how long will Lois’s newfound powers last? And as if Doomsday isn’t trouble enough, another one of Superman’s greatest enemies lurks in the shadows: the Time Trapper.

Action Comics

Another one of DC’s foundational titles goes weekly beginning in October! “Death of the Phantom Zone” spins directly out of Absolute Power and Batman/Superman: World’s Finest. Writer Mark Waid and artist Clayton Henry plunge Superman into the Phantom Zone to prevent an otherworldly horror from laying waste to Metropolis. In the second story, “Supergirl: Universe End,” Eisner Award winner and Zatanna: Bring Down the House writer Mariko Tamaki and artist Skylar Patridge take Supergirl to the farthest reaches of space. All in pursuit of a mysterious threat only she can handle.

Batman

Chip Zdarsky, Jorge Jiménez, and Carmine Di Giandomenico are back with a vengeance with a new story arc, “The Dying City. It features an unexpected turn from the Riddler, a mysterious new superhero named Commander Star, and the shocking murder of one of Gotham City’s greatest citizens. Batman ships twice monthly in October.

Detective Comics

Following “Gotham Nocturne,” another of DC’s most historic titles gets a new creative team in the form of superstars Tom Taylor (Nightwing) and Mikel Janín, and a new story arc, “Mercy of the Father.” Years after the tragic murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne, a ghost from Gotham City’s past has been lying in wait to strike at Batman ever since that fateful night in Crime Alley. This story will result in major changes for the Dark Knight, and things may never be the same again.

Expect more announcements for new creative teams for the classic ongoing DC titles at Comic-Con, as well as for the new series in the Absolute line.

Originally published July 17, 2024.

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As most DC fans know, director Zack Snyder once had grand plans for his big-screen Superman saga starring Henry Cavill. Snyder designed Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Justice League as just the start of something. For well-documented reasons, all of those plans got derailed. Now, the DC universe on screen is rebooting. But while promoting his newest Rebel Moon film, Zack Snyder opened up about his plans for Kal-El had he continued. Here’s what he had to say while speaking with GQ, via Collider:

He was going to have to succumb to the Anti-life, be destroyed, turn the clock back, and then get his chance for this battle against Darkseid. If you will… that would have finished his trilogy of becoming this guardian, and sort of, return him to his humanity.

The “Anti-Life” of which Snyder speaks is the Anti-Life Equation, a formula dreamed up by the late, great Jack Kirby for DC Comics in the ’70s. This formula sapped all living things of their will, and finding it was the villain Darkseid’s singular obsession. Superman would have succumbed to Anti-Life in the films, becoming a puppet of the Lord of Apokolips. So it makes sense that it would factor into Snyder’s ultimate plans, if Darkseid was going to be the final “Big Bad” of the saga. It also means Snyder would have probably shown a giant Darkseid vs. Superman brawl before it was all said and done.

Will Superman vs. Darkseid ever be a thing in live-action films now? Who knows. James Gunn is a huge classic DC fan, and he might have his own ideas for the Jack Kirby New Gods characters. We’ll have to wait and see as his plans for the new DCU continue to unfold. We certainly wouldn’t mind a New Gods series in the style of Game of Thrones. The possibilities with those characters, and their relationship to Superman, would provide fodder for endless stories.

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The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans special set both titular teams against a cosmic menace so huge, that it took both groups to take them down — the union of DC Comics’ Darkseid and Marvel’s Dark Phoenix. This comic was a true event, and came out a few years before either Marvel or DC produced Secret Wars or Crisis on Infinite Earths. This team-up only happened once, making it seem even more special today. It’s been over forty years now since it came out. Yet the ripples of this single issue are still felt in modern comics.

Many have called the MCU’s Infinity Saga “the greatest crossover event in history.” That statement takes me back to a time when the true “greatest crossover event” wasn’t a big-budget movie. It was this special one-shot comic book that blew my eight-year-old mind. In 1982, Marvel and DC, comics’ two biggest rivals, teamed up to bring together the two biggest hit titles at the time, The Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans. The publishers united their respective teams for a single issue, written by X-Men scribe Chris Claremont and illustrated by Thor’s Walter Simonson. Here are five ways that Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans special is still important, and still an awesome read, even today.

The Return of Dark Phoenix

Even after 40 years, fans still view Marvel’s Dark Phoenix Saga as THE seminal X-Men tale. The story depicts the slow mental degradation of mutant telepath Jean Grey, now the cosmic entity known as the Phoenix, into the malevolent Dark Phoenix. Completely going against comic book norms of the time, Jean died at the end of the story. She sacrificed herself for the good of the universe. This storyline is so beloved it has been adapted for film not once, but twice.

Although Jean would eventually come back, the Dark Phoenix aspect of her would never truly return. Well, except for brief hints, teases, and misdirects here and there. However, the only time Dark Phoenix returned as a true threat to the universe was in this crossover, when Darkseid resurrected her himself. True, this story is technically out of continuity with the main Marvel titles. Yet it’s still Dark Phoenix unleashing holy hell on her teammates and family. Not to mention, she’s written by the man who created her, Chris Claremont. So I say it counts. This alone made this comic worth the cover price.

The Best Rosters of Both X-Men and Teen Titans Teams

Both the X-Men and the Titans have had several roster changes over the years, but this comic came out at the peak of the popularity of both series. It showcased what many fans consider to be both team’s best line-ups. Aside from Rogue (who had yet to join the team) and a handful of other X-Men, the roster here continues to be the X-Men’s most beloved by fans. As for the Titans, they have never had a better team lineup than the one depicted here. Eventually, it was the basis for the classic animated show, and later, their live-action series. If you want an epic tale with the best versions of both supergroups, this is still the story to read.

Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans Solidified Darkseid as the DC Universe’s Biggest Villain

At the time of this comic book’s publication, Darkseid had only existed for about twelve years at DC Comics. Most of his appearances were limited to Jack Kirby’s New Gods titles, as well as a handful of appearances in series like Justice League of America. But when Claremont and Simonson made him the “Big Bad” of the crossover special? This truly solidified Darkseid as the #1 threat in the DC Universe. Not long after, Darkseid began making his presence known in DC titles like Legion of Super-Heroes and others. Darkseid’s creator Jack Kirby drew quite a formidable version of him of course. But I’d argue Walter Simonson made him even more terrifying here. He set the template for how DC portrayed Darkseid for decades to come.

Welcome to the Source Wall

When Jack Kirby created the New Gods mythology for DC, one of its founding principles was the idea of “The Source. ” This was the energy and living consciousness of the universe. In his original stories, he referred to a barrier at the end of the universe where the Source ends. Kirby never visualized this, but Claremont and Simonson did for this crossover special. This was the first comic to ever show readers what the legendary Source Wall looked like. Today, the Source Wall is a staple of DC mythos. A few years ago, it played a huge part in the Justice League: No Justice mini-series.

Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans Elevated Deathstroke to Superstar Levels

At the time that this issue hit, the character of Deathstroke had only made a handful of appearances in the pages of The New Teen Titans. However, writer Chris Claremont knew a good character when he saw one, and utilized mercenary Slade Wilson in several tremendous action scenes throughout the issue, showcasing what a badass character he was. (He takes out Colossus like he was a rag doll!) That Deathstroke’s popularity took off big time after this comic hit the stands is certainly not a coincidence. Rob Liefeld created Deadpool as an homage to Deathstroke. Even Deadpool’s real name, Wade Wilson, is a riff on Deathstroke’s name Slade Wilson. Maybe watching Slade take on mutants inspired Liefeld to create Deadpool? All of which makes this issue even more impactful in comics history.

We can only hope one day, DC and Marvel give the fans what they want and reprint not just this comic book, but all their other crossovers. It’s a great story that deserves to be discovered by a new generation.

Originally published on May 24, 2018.

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With the upcoming Flash movie, DC Films are rumored to be soft rebooting their entire universe. What this means for the Justice League as a franchise remains to be seen. But maybe the title “Justice League,” with all the drama and toxicity surrounding it these past four years, needs to rest for a while. Meanwhile, there’s a great period from DC’s past that has the perfect feel for what the DCEU should look like… and it’s just waiting to be exploited. We’re talking about the Super Powers toy, merchandise, and cartoon branding from the mid ’80s.

DC Comics

From 1984 to roughly 1987, the Super Powers Collection was a DC Comics line of action figures from Kenner Toys, home of Star Wars. It featured the DC heroes in their most iconic incarnations, with classic villains getting cool new modern upgrades. Aside from the figures, there was also a metric ton of merchandise. And the long-running Super Friends cartoon also got a Super Powers makeover. While the stories for Super Powers were simplistic by modern standards, their colorful aesthetic and emphasis on fun adventure and pure heroism feel exactly like what the DCEU needs today. But before we get into how Super Powers can inspire the future, let’s take a deep dive into its history.

The Genesis of the Super Powers Collection

DC Comics

As completely mind-boggling as it might seem today, in the 1970s, DC and Marvel shared an action figure line together. From 1972 to 1981, the Mego company released The Word’s Greatest Superheroes 8” figure line. The line featured characters like Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and the Avengers sharing space together on toy store shelves, not to mention ads on TV. The line was extremely successful, but eventually, Mego hit a rough financial patch. In 1982, the company went bankrupt.

At the same time, the action figure market exploded thanks to the success of Kenner’s Star Wars. In the fallout of Mego’s dissolution, DC and Marvel became separate licenses. Marvel eventually went to Mattel, where the heroes populate the Secret Wars line of figures. But Mattel was focused on their mega-successful Masters of the Universe toys, and so Secret Wars suffered as a result. The first Secret Wars wave sold poorly. It received a smaller second wave, then vanished from toy shelves.

DC Comics

Meanwhile, Kenner Toys picked up the DC license in 1983. This is right as their Star Wars line of figures was winding down after the release of Return of the Jedi. This allowed them to properly focus on their new line of DC heroes. Instead of calling the line Justice League (or Super Friends, like the popular cartoon), Kenner went with the name The Super Powers Collection. This name was meant to trigger the power fantasies of young boys, and it worked. The fact that each figure had a “power action” feature—like punching (Superman) or running (Flash)—was fantastic for playability too. Marvel might have been far more successful in comics sales than DC at the time, but Super Powers totally trounced Secret Wars. 

DC’s Heroes at Their Most Iconic

DC Comics

Super Powers’ first wave of figures featured the world-famous line-up of JLA characters. It included Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, and Hawkman. Opposing them were arch-villains Lex Luthor, the Joker, Brainiac, and Penguin. The artwork for the packaging was mainly from celebrated comic book artist José Luis García-López. In fact, most Super Powers artwork is straight from García-López’s official DC Comics Style Guide.

Warner Bros. Animation

The first wave was a big success. Year two saw a wave that added even more iconic DC heroes, as well as Darkseid. All the New Gods characters became the primary villains for the DC heroes. Their creator, the legendary Jack Kirby, was hired to redesign them for the toy and product line. The second wave also saw the release of the Hall of Justice playset, which was based on the JLA’s headquarters from the Super Friends cartoon series. That very same cartoon series got a rebranding tying into the toys. So many key elements from DC’s history in comics and TV came together perfectly for a product line that celebrated everything appealing about these enduring characters.

DC Comics

Super Powers was bright and vibrant, with clear-cut heroes and villains. Since the look of the characters was straight from the DC Style Guide, all the heroes appeared just like their most well-known incarnations from decades of comics. Super Powers was the overall DC product branding for three years, and was all over everything from lunch boxes to pajamas to school supplies. Book and record sets, coloring books, stickers, “Choose Your Own Adventure”-style novels, and literally dozens of other products came later. If you were a kid in the ‘80s, chances are Super Powers was your introduction to DC’s characters.

Super Powers Decline 

DC Comics

Most action figure lines back in the ’80s lasted a couple of years max. Long-running lines like G.I. Joe and Transformers were outliers. Even Masters of the Universe, a billion-dollar brand, only lasted five years. Super Powers lasted three, which isn’t bad at all. They could have lasted longer, but they made some key mistakes. For starters, they had only one female figure in the entire line: Wonder Woman. And they basically hid her, as she didn’t appear in any ads for the toys.

By the time they got to wave three, Kenner began making up characters whole cloth, like Golden Pharaoh and Cyclotron. This was instead of including famous female heroes from the comics, like Black Canary, Supergirl, Batgirl, or Catwoman. Interestingly, those female characters appeared in Super Powers merch regardless. But sexist attitudes of the era only allowed for one girl in the boy’s club at a time. With several lame choices for characters in the last wave, and no new cartoon episodes to support the line, the Super Powers Collection disappeared off toy shelves in 1987.

The Legacy of Super Powers

DC Comics

Despite only a brief few years on the market, Super Powers has had a long-lasting effect on the DC brand. DC Comics updated their popular heroes after the 1985 event Crisis on Infinite Earths, yet the classic looks of the characters from the Super Powers era continued to show up on random merchandise for decades. Heck, if you walk into a big box chain store right now, chances are you can find a T-shirt with the Super Powers iterations of the Justice League, and the old starburst logo.

DC published three Super Powers tie-in comic series as well, with Jack Kirby himself supplying artwork. It was the only time Kirby ever drew the Justice League characters in his whole career. The comics showcased Darkseid as the JLA’s primary antagonist. Although the Lord of Apokolips has fought the JLA a couple of times before, it was Super Powers that solidified the character as the “big bad” of DC’s primary heroes. This would seep into the mainstream comics line, and eventually, future animated series and live-action films. DC might have attempted to get edgier as the years rolled on, but the impact of Super Powers’ straightforward all-ages aesthetic was hard to escape.

The Blueprint for a Justice League Reboot

DC Comics

So how could this relic of a bygone era inform the modern DC films? It’s not any one story from a cartoon or comic (which were, to be fair, aimed at little kids). It’s the overall positive and colorful vibe that Super Powers creates. The heroes and villains are well defined. The good guys are brightly hued and aspirational; and the villains just look cool. And most importantly for something based on DC heroes, kids can enjoy it. This is crucial.

Instead of calling a future film Justice League II, why not simply call it Super Powers? Use as much of the iconography of the line as possible without falling into camp. If Marvel Studios can juggle the number of characters that Infinity War and Endgame did, why can’t there be a Super Powers film showcasing the JLA versus the Legion of Doom and Darkseid? The vibrant branding and aesthetic of Super Powers once sold millions of toys. Don’t tell us something inspired by it can’t sell a movie.

DC Comics

Whatever Warner Bros. and DC decide to do next, looking to Super Powers for inspiration might be the best way to give the live-action Justice League a shiny new lease on life. The classic line of toys and merch continues to be beloved for very good reasons. And as an antidote to all the darkness in the world, maybe what we need is a little pure dose of Super Powers truth and justice right about now.

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The DC Universe is changing. Future State is flinging our heroes out of their time and into… well, the future. As one of DC’s most iconic heroes, Diana Prince is of course playing a vital part. Her story is being told in Immortal Wonder Woman—alongside a brand new Nubia story—from Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad, Jen Bartel, and Pat Brosseau. We chatted with the team, and have some exclusive art from the issue to boot! So prepare to get mythical with the minds behind Immortal Wonder Woman.

The Vision for Future State: Immortal Wonder Woman

DC Comics

Fan fave artist Bartel crafted Diana’s vibrant technicolor world of Immortal Wonder Woman. Her vision of the Amazon hero is instantly recognizable, but also feels completely authentic to Bartel’s style. “I knew right off the bat that I wanted to preserve Diana’s iconic look as much as possible, especially since there’s so much legacy tied to it,” Bartel told Nerdist. She added, “I knew I wanted to give a nod to Cliff Chiang’s design. I love his work and his WW run so much. So I made sure to incorporate the stars and similar linework into her bodice.”

Bartel continued, “Becky and Michael both had a lot of awesome ideas on how we could quickly communicate to the reader that this was an older Diana. Despite the fact that she’s immortal, the years have taken a bit of a toll on her, even if it is just through a cool white hair streak and a couple extra wrinkles on her face. The design element I knew I had to add in just for me was definitely her ponytail hairstyle though. I love a good ponytail, haha.”

Bartel has accrued an impressive back catalog in both Big Two and indie comics. Still, Immortal Wonder Woman #1 represents a stepping stone for the artist. Although she’s done interior issues of Black Panther before, IWW was a new experience. “This is the first one I’ve done 100% on my own from layouts all the way to colors. I really wanted to challenge myself to try new techniques wherever I had an opportunity to. So there are definitely a lot of little glimpses at my growing pains on these pages.”

A Dream Come True

DC Comics

For all three creators, one thing is clear: this is a dream gig. “Writing Wonder Woman is a bit of a dream really. When we were presented the opportunity to tell a story about her in the deepest future we could imagine, all these bells started going off in my head,” Conrad said. “It felt easy, because this is the kind of thing fans like me have been imagining for years. Being able to actually tell it in Future State with very little interference on the vision has been great.”

DC Comics

Cloonan agreed. “Yeah, Future State really gave us the perfect opportunity to tell the Wonder Woman story of my dreams. We really dig into her character as an immortal, a demigod, and what wielding that kind of power means for someone at the end of time. We requested Jen Bartel really early on too, so we went into this issue being able to imagine exactly what she’d bring to the script. It was a perfect storm, really.”

Bartel shared her team’s enthusiasm. “It’s been really surreal. I never imagined I’d be considered to draw Diana, and I feel incredibly honored to have the opportunity. Working with Becky and Michael on this has been a dream too; it feels like we’ve been on the same wavelength from start to finish!”

Death, Loss, and Immortality

DC Comics

Cloonan and Conrad’s story deals with death, loss, and immortality. So what drew them to such a dark yarn? “When you only have a short amount of pages—in our case, two issues—to tell a full, engaging, emotionally impactful story, it takes a lot of work,” Cloonan shared. “I usually start by thinking of the end of the story, of what I want the reader to feel when they set the book down, and kind of work my way back from there. We were really lucky that we got to be a little poetic and indulge some heavy emotional beats, but also bring in some very big ideas as well! Our goal was to write a story that was not only true to Wonder Woman as a character, but also bring in our own vision of who she is and what makes her so great.”

Her co-writer Conrad expanded on the pair’s process. “Becky once told me that when writing a book, you have to shoot for the definitive story, otherwise it may not be worth taking the job,” Conrad said. “I know what she meant by that was less about competition with other stories, and more about telling the version of your story that is the most true for you as the writer. We pushed each other to refine something that could have been very long into a little diamond. I was worried we wouldn’t have room to tell such a big story, but then I remembered some of the short arcs in comics that have come to define entire characters. I think we did it.”

The Music of Immortal Wonder Woman

DC Comics

In case you enjoy a tailored soundtrack while reading comics, the team shared what they listened to while creating. “I like instrumental stuff while writing, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Mogwai, movie soundtracks,” Conrad said. “Right when we wrapped the scripts for Immortal Wonder Woman, this song ‘Lasso’ by Phoenix came on. I’d heard the song before, but I was struck by how perfect the lyrics were for this particular story.”

Cloonan said, “I mostly work in instrumental music too, but for this story it was a lot of Drab Majesty, Messa, Domo…I’ve been on an eternal Type O Negative kick for decades so it’s safe to say I probably listened to October Rust a bunch too.”

As for Bartel: “I listened to a lot of the Oblivion soundtrack while working on this story. It’s fantastic if you haven’t heard it!”

The Team’s Favorite Moments

DC Comics

Fans will no doubt lose themselves in the immersive and engaging story. But the team members all have their own favorite things about the book. “If I had to pick one, it would absolutely be the scene in the Batcave,” Cloonan said, adding, “Gotham Academy fans might want to pay attention to the Robin Suit that Jen drew!”

For Bartel the answer was clear. “I think for me, my favorite page is the one where she’s just whipping Darkseid around like a rag doll with her lasso. I had never hand-lettered anything before this and doing the SFX on that page was really fun.”

And Conrad’s favorite? “The credits page. My name in a Wonder Woman book next to two of the most talented women in comics will never get old,” he laughed. “I’m only kind of kidding—I can’t pick a favorite, I’ll be interested to see what readers respond to.”

Future State: Immortal Wonder Woman #1 hits shelves on Jan. 19.

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With Wonder Woman 1984 finally releasing, the conversation now turns to the future of the world’s premiere superheroine. Director Patty Jenkins has confirmed she has an outline for a third Wonder Woman film with writer Geoff Johns. And she seems pretty committed to making it. Only thing is, she’s got that little Star Wars movie, Rogue Squadron, on tap as her next film.

With that film releasing in 2023, that means it will be at least five years before we see another solo Wonder Woman film starring Gal Gadot. And that feels way too long a wait to see the Amazing Amazon in action again. But we have a solution, and it’s one that kills three birds with one stone: a Wonder Woman and Superman team-up movie.

Warner Bros.

First things first. We believe that Patty Jenkins should 100% get the chance to finish her Wonder Woman trilogy. But we propose this solution while we wait, featuring both Wonder Woman and Superman, once again played by Henry Cavill. Not only that, we think this team up should serve as the DCEU introduction to Supergirl. And there is a perfect story in the DC comic book and animation canon that could be adapted: Superman/Batman: Apocalypse. But hear us out—we think Batman should actually sit this one out.

DC Comics

The origins of Superman/Batman: Apocalypse started in 2004,  in the pages of DC Comics. Writer Jeph Loeb and artist Michael Turner decided to reintroduce the Kara Zor-El incarnation of Supergirl back into DC continuity. At this point, the iconic character had been removed from DC continuity for nearly two decades. The saga ran through the pages of the Batman/Superman title, in the story called “The Supergirl from Krypton.” Then in 2010, the story was adapted into a direct-to-video animated film that kept the broad strokes of the story intact.

Warner Bros. Animation

The story features a mysterious meteor crashing to earth, and from its wreckage emerges a teenage girl with extraordinary powers. Powers exactly like Superman’s. Not knowing a word of English (or any Earth language), she accidentally wreaks havoc with her uncontrolled abilities. Soon, Superman arrives and takes her in. Realizing she is Kara Zor-El, his first cousin and only living relative, he plans on raising her as a regular Earth girl. He thinks she should be brought up just as he was in Smallville. But Batman is far more skeptical of this latest strange visitor from another planet and suspects danger.

Warner Bros. Animation

So what does this story have to do with Wonder Woman? Despite the Superman/Batman of the title, she plays a very important role in this story. She knows that Kara’s raw power needs training for her to be able to control it. And where better on Earth for a young lady to train in combat than Themyscria? This creates a conflict between her and her friend Kal-El, who simply wants to recreate his own upbringing with his cousin. But Diana knows better, and realizes Kara needs some Amazon guidance.

Eventually, the evil god Darkseid seeks young Kara as a weapon to mold, and launches an attack on Themyscira to retrieve her. He brainwashes her in the Fire Pits of his home planet Apokolips. Soon, the trio of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman have to go rescue her. Ultimately, she is deprogrammed and sent back to Earth. And after further training from the Amazons, she makes her debut as Supergirl.

Warner Bros. Animation

This storyline could be the perfect interim film while we wait for the inevitable (but far off) Wonder Woman 3. It solves a ton of problems for the DCEU in general. First, it gives us Wonder Woman’s presence on the big screen during the wait for a third film. Second, it is a perfect vehicle for the return of the Henry Cavill Superman, which is something fans have been clamoring for. And third, it introduces a new Supergirl to the DCEU. As a bonus, it could legitimately follow up all those Darkseid teases seen in Justice League.

As for why I’d leave Batman out, there are a lot of reasons. First off, the minute you have all three members of the Trinity present, it becomes a de facto Justice League movie. Second, Wonder Woman could easily serve Bruce Wayne’s role in the original story as well as her own. And lastly, Batman is overexposed enough these days. We don’t need one more Batman-related movie or show on the docket. Better to make this story chiefly about how the world’s two most powerful (and idealistic) beings decide they’re going to train a new hero.

Warner Bros.

As a story, it could highlight the differences and similarities between Superman and Wonder Woman, two characters that have barely had any real screen time together (despite starring in two film togethers). Superman is the world’s ultimate firefighter, and Wonder Woman its ultimate teacher. How would they deal with molding the next generation of hero? It would make for a great premise, and one we hope the folks at Warner Bros. and DC consider.

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Well after years of debate, not only does the mythical Snyder Cut of Justice League exist, but it now has an official release set for next year on HBO Max! Dan breaks down all the details on today’s Nerdist News!

Are you excited to finally see the Snyder Cut? Let us know in the comments!

The post The SNYDER CUT of Justice League Is Getting Released! (Nerdist News w/ Dan Casey) appeared first on Nerdist.

He’s possibly the greatest villain in the DC Comics universe, and at long last, it looks like he will finally make his first appearance on the big screen. Director Ava DuVernay has confirmed via Twitter that Darkseid, the Lord of Apokolips, will be making his live-action debut in her big-screen adaptation of Jack Kirby’s New Gods. This is a long time coming; DC’s God of Evil was supposed to be the “big bad” in Justice League before the filmmakers chose Steppenwolf instead. This is Warner Brothers’ chance to fix that mistake.

Darkseid is. #AskAva https://t.co/ypbVCXZ1je

— Ava DuVernay (@ava) July 30, 2019

As excited as fans are to see Darkseid finally show his rocky face onscreen, many have raised a very legit concern. How on Earth do you differentiate Darkseid from Marvel’s Thanos?? Both characters share a lot of similarities. In fact, Thanos was created by Marvel back in the ’70s as a direct response to Kirby’s Darkseid. But the key to making a big screen Darkseid work in the wake of Thanos becoming a household name is to highlight all the ways that he’s not like Marvel’s cosmic despot. Below are five big differences Darkseid has from Thanos that Ava DuVernay and writer Tom King can highlight to differentiate the two intergalactic tyrants from one another.

Darkseid is an Unkillable Dark Deity

While Thanos is physically powerful and very long lived, without the Infinity Gauntlet he really can’t qualify as an actual god. And when he’s dead, he’s dead. (or at least he’s supposed to be). But Darkseid transcends traditional concepts of mortality as the DC Universe’s God of Evil. Killing him by chopping off his head won’t stop him. In the comics, his essence has possessed mortals upon death, like in Grant Morrison’s Final Crisis. And more recently, he’s been reborn as an infant. Darkseid is eternal in a way that Thanos simply isn’t.

He Has No Human Feeling

Thanos is a straight-up villain, but both in the comics and on the screen he is guided by real human emotions and needs. In the Infinity Gauntlet comics, he collected the Infinity Stones as a way of impressing Death, whom he was madly in love with. In the MCU, he wanted to bring “balance” to the universe. He did it in the most horrible way possible, but an argument can be made that his ultimate goal was noble.

Darkseid has no hidden agenda based on concepts like love or universal peace. The Lord of Apokolips simply wants to bend the universe to his will and to feed on the suffering of everyone in it. That might be harder to write for from a character standpoint, but it’s best to treat Darkseid like a force of nature. But a truly malevolent one. Think the shark from Jaws or Michael Myers, only a lot smarter and more eloquent.

A Biblical Backstory

Thanos’ backstory is given little time and attention in the MCU. We get enough, in that we know he was from the planet Titan, and that he saw his home world destroy itself due to overpopulation. But that’s about it. Darkseid however has en epic, almost Biblical backstory. Certainly Shakespearean. It has tons of family betrayal, royal intrigue, and centuries long battles between the forces of good and evil. By giving proper focus to the backstory of Darkseid’s rise to power and transformation from a man named Uxas into stone-hearted malevolent God, you’d give us something the MCU didn’t in regards to Thanos.

The Powers of the Omega Effect

Without the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos is physically stronger than the Hulk and arguably Thor. And he wields the might of an enormous army. But take that army away, and Darkseid simply has more working in his favor power wise. Unlike Thanos, he has mental powers that are pretty vast. He once mentally took control of the entire population of a planet, in the Legion of Super-Heroes’ epic “The Great Darkness Saga.”

He can also change his size at will, becoming a towering giant, as he often did when fighting the Justice League. But most importantly, Darkseid has the powers of the Omega Effect. This allows him to shoot beams from his eyes which can both kill and resurrect those he’s slain (usually so he can kill them all over again). And unlike Thanos, the powers are innate to Darkseid. He don’t need no stinkin’ gauntlet to use them. The Omega Effect is part of Darkseid’s very being.

Darkseid’s Family Is Equally Evil (And Memorable)

With the exceptions of Gamora and Nebula, most of Thanos’ underlings in the Black Order are pretty generic. They look cool, don’t get me wrong. But in this department, Darkseid has an advantage of Thanos. His son Kalibak, his master torturer Desaad, and Granny Goodness and her Female Furies are all interesting disciples that have distinct personalities and powers. And Darkseid has different levels of respect for each one, leading to a very different dynamic to that of Thanos and his “children.” Only after Justice League, maybe Darkseid’s uncle Steppenwolf should sit this one out.

Images: DC Comics

The post How NEW GODS Can Set Darkseid Apart From Thanos appeared first on Nerdist.

Thanks to a careful build-up and an iconic turn in Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos has joined the ranks of Darth Vader and Khan as one of the all-time great bad guys of sci-fi cinema. But what if we told you he wouldn’t even exist without a certain character from Marvel’s main competition, DC Comics? Does Thanos owe it all to Darkseid?

Comic books influence each other all the time. There would be no Aquaman without Namor, no Shazam without Superman, and so on. But this logic doesn’t just apply to the good guys. Two of comics greatest villains from rival companies have had parallel rises in fame and popularity, riffing on each other almost since their inception. And in this case, the creators freely admit that Thanos would not exist without the influence of DC Comics’ Darkseid.

The 1970s: Two Dark Gods Are Born

This all goes back to the early 1970s, when one of comics’ most legendary artists left Marvel after an incredibly prolific decade. Between 1960 and 1969, Jack Kirby and Stan Lee co-created the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Black Panther, the X-Men, the Silver Surfer, and many, many more. But wanting to branch out on his own, Kirby left Marvel in 1970 for DC Comics. There,  he was given carte blanche to create a whole new series of comics with their own mythology: the Fourth World.

Among Kirby’s New Gods of the Fourth World was the Lord of the planet Apokolips, a giant, purple-hued and craggly faced despot called Darkseid. His goal was to discover something called “the Anti-Life Equation,” which would give him complete control of the universe. He made his debut in 1970, and was the puppet master villain in books like The Forever People, New Gods, and Mister Miracle.

Meanwhile, with Kirby gone, writer Jim Starlin was now responsible for expanding Marvel’s cosmic mythology, specifically in books like Captain Marvel. He created a brand new cosmic villain for the Marvel Universe in the pages of 1973’s Iron Man #55, and was specifically influenced by what Kirby was doing for DC, and has said as much. But while Starlin did originally base Thanos on one of Kirby’s characters from New Gods, it wasn’t Darkseid. It was Metron.

Metron was the universe’s ultimate “knowledge seeker,” who was neither good nor evil. He floated across the multiverse in his Mobius Chair, gathering information. And he was a skinny dude. Thanos was originally designed like that as well, until Starlin’s editor, Roy Thomas, told him, “Beef him up! If you’re going to steal one of the New Gods, at least rip off Darkseid, the really good one!” And thus, Thanos became a tall, bulky purple guy with a craggly face (though he did keep the chair). Darkseid sought “Anti-Life,” while Thanos was obsessed with death. They could have been brothers.

Rise in Prominence: The ’80s and ’90s

From then on, both Thanos and Darkseid had very similar publishing histories. In the ’70s, both were villains in relatively obscure titles, only occasionally fighting against the likes of the Avengers or the Justice League. But the ’80s and ’90s, editors at both companies realized that these guys should be their respective universe’s biggest bads.

Darkseid took on the Justice League of America and the Justice Society of America, along with the Legion of Super-Heroes, and even the Teen Titans and Marvel’s X-Men together. Thanos, meanwhile, took on the entire Marvel Universe in the Infinity Gauntlet event, and has been among Marvel’s greatest antagonists ever since. Inevitably, when the DC vs. Marvel crossover event happened in 1996, fans finally got to see Darkseid fight Thanos. The Lord of Apokolips even managed to throw in a little shade, and called Thanos “a pale imitation” before opening a can of whup-ass on him.

The Modern Era: Movie Stardom Isn’t for Everyone

Regardless of who came first in reality, in the court of the mainstream public, Thanos was the ultimate winner. This for simply making it to the big screen first in such a memorable incarnation embodied by Josh Brolin. Darkseid was meant to cameo in Justice League and then make his first full appearance in a Justice League sequel, but instead we were saddled with his lame-o uncle Steppenwolf for the Justice League movie and no Darkseid. While he will no doubt turn up one day, he will always seem like a knock-off of Thanos to most mainstream audiences….even if those in the know realize Thanos wouldn’t even exist without him.

Images: Marvel Comics / DC Comics 

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Cecil Castellucci has been making her mark on comics for over a decade. From her first DC title on the now defunct but still groundbreaking Minx line to the psychedelic brilliance of her run on Young Animal’s Shade the Changing Girl, the novelist and comics creator is a force to be reckoned with. Now she’s turned her hand to one of the most iconic corners of the DC Universe, Jack Kirby’s Fourth World, and the omnipotent beings who live there. More specifically Granny Goodness and her Female Furies, as Castellucci, Adriana Melo, Hi-Fi, and Carlos M. Mangual take on the patriarchy on Apokolips and reimagine the Fourth World.

We chatted to Castellucci about the new take, the influence of Kirby, and how after reading Kirby’s Fourth World Omnibus the writer came up with the powerful idea of the feminist awakening of the Female Furies.

Nerdist: You’ve talked about how much of an impact Kirby’s Fourth World omnibus had on you when you read it as homework for the project, so what did you take from it and bring to your story?

Castellucci: If you read through Jack Kirby’s Fourth World omnibus, it’s all there. I’m telling it from the Female Furies’ point of view, but if you read both, a lot of what happens in my book happens in Kirby’s Fourth World. So it was kind of more like turning up the volume or enhancing the color on part of it rather than dramatically changing anything, I think some people will be like, ‘Oh, this is a crazy take on it.’ But if you actually read Kirby’s Fourth World stuff, it’s all there!

Nerdist: The refocusing on these brilliant, strong, and misunderstood women seems like a really relevant take in 2019. Was that something that was immediately clear that it needed to be a part of your story?

Castellucci: Yeah, I feel like we’re sort of talking about things that are in current events, look at Harvey Weinstein and these kinds of power things. If you look at Granny Goodness, she’s the leader of the Female Furies and she’s in Darkseid’s inner circle, but she’s kind of off to the side. And they put her in charge of the children! You know what I mean? So it’s just playing with those ideas that no matter how great and powerful the Furies are, they can’t break the glass ceiling on Apokolips.

It’s nothing like this now, but I was sort of thinking of The Handmaid’s Tale. I’d just finished watching season two, and that’s obviously nothing like Apokolips, but I was thinking about this story which is a hell for women. Like, that was not exactly an inspiration but it was a spark for that, and then I started thinking about how the Female Furies are badass, but they’re also villains! So I started thinking of stories like Maleficent and Wicked where you have emotional empathy for people who are really not very nice.

Nerdist: Adriana Melo is such a wonderful artist. What’s the process of creating the visual landscape of Female Furies been like?

Castellucci: I think one of the great things is that because we’re telling this story that’s very feminine but fierce, Adriana knows how to handle it with grace. Even when there are these tough emotional moments, I never have to explain that to her, it’s just like a basic understanding. The first thing I did was make a Pinterest for Adriana where I just pulled all of these pictures of big fierce women and did all the pictures for all the different ladies to just create a mood board. I really wanted Auralie to be a dancer so I had all these pictures of ballerinas, and I think that was really helpful.

Nerdist: Is there anything you’re really excited about readers discovering when they get their hands on Female Furies #1?

Castellucci: The great thing about the Female Furies is that they’re a team, and so there’s always one that you can relate to. I think that people are aware of all the Furies, but I think that there’s a Fury for everyone. I just want the audience to be able to discover these characters, and if they haven’t met them yet to be introduced to them.”

Female Furies is out on Wednesday, February 6.

Images: DC Comics, Header by Mitch Gerards

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Since the critical and commercial mediocrity of Justice League, it’s been rumored that Warner Bros. would likely be trying to figure out a way to reboot their film universe. With the exciting announcement that Ava DuVernay will be helming a New Gods movie for the studio, it looks like those rumors were true because New Gods will be unlike anything the DCEU has attempted before. The New Gods are a part of what’s widely known as the Fourth World, first introduced in Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen by Jack Kirby (you can learn all about them here). If you’re a fan of Kirby’s work then you’ll know that his vibrant vision for the future is often intricate, otherworldly, and years ahead of his time. MCU fans got a glimpse of Kirby’s intergalactic magic in Taika Waititi’s Thor:Ragnarok, which was a love letter to the iconic creator’s unique vision.

Not only is it radical that Ava will be the first African American director to helm a DC movie–after Rick Famuyiwa left The Flash–but it’s also an intriguing story choice as it hints at a big move away from what’s come to be known as the DCEU “Snyderverse.” The main critiques of the current DC movies have focused on their grim aesthetics, real-world settings, and often depressing tone of the shared universe. The announcement of Ava DuVernay helming New Gods is a statement of intent from DC and WB, letting viewers know that going forward things will never be the same. But what does that actually mean for the DCEU?

Though it seems like DC has a huge amount of films on their upcoming slate, they actually only have five live-action films with set release dates between this year and July 24th 2020: Aquaman, Shazam, Wonder Woman 2, Cyborg, and Green Lantern Corps. Aquaman is in post-production, Shazam is filming, and Wonder Woman 2 is in the early stages of casting, so it would be pretty easy for DC to use New Gods to reset the timeline. For a while it seemed like Flashpoint would be the place where DC would turn the page on the DCEU, but for now that film is still in development hell. With June 14, 2019, and Feb 14, 2020 cemented as release dates for unconfirmed DC movies, it’s possible we’ll see New Gods fill that latter slot before we see Flashpoint come to life.

Tonally, the epic technicolor space adventure of New Gods couldn’t be any more different than the bleak over saturated landscape of the current DC movies. Last year DuVernay teased her new project by tweeting that if she could make any superhero movie she’d make a Big Barda movie. One of the titular New Gods, Barda was born on Apokolips, one of the two planets at the center of the New Gods mythology. Apokolips might seem familiar to you even if you haven’t read the comics, and that’s because it’s already been teased in the dream sequence from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and was also the homeworld of Justice League‘s big bad, Steppenwolf. The seeds of the New Gods have already been sewn, so it’s the perfect time for someone new to take the reigns and give the DCEU some much needed direction.

The end of Justice League teased the second of the New Gods worlds, New Genesis, a lush utopian planet which was created alongside its dark counterpart Apokolips after the destruction of the world of the Old Gods. If Flashpoint does go ahead, it will likely introduce the idea of multiple timelines, which would be the perfect chance to introduce the New Gods. The story of Apokolips and New Genesis would be a great way to reinvigorate the DCEU’s lineup with a fantastic array of characters like Big Barda’s husband Scott Free a.k.a. Mister Miracle, Metron, Orion, and of course DC’s ultimate big bad, Darkseid!

DuVernay is huge get for DC/WB as we know that she already turned down the chance to direct Black Panther at Disney, and has reportedly been approached about Star Wars. Plus, she’s just helmed the spectacular A Wrinkle in Time, which boasted seriously surreal visuals and proved that Ava has an incredible vision for sci-fi. Teaming up a visionary director like Ava with the unique work of an iconic creator like Kirby is a match made in heaven, and one that makes a lot of sense for DC/WB. Though they’ve already used some of the concepts from the Fourth World in the DCEU, they’ve always struggled to find the cohesion of the MCU. But one of the threads that runs through the MCU and Fox’s X-Men franchises is that they’re based on a lot of characters and concepts by Kirby. Maybe New Gods is the chance for DC/WB to do the same?

There are a few routes the New Gods movie could take. We could see DC take a truly wild turn into full-on fantasy mode, introducing the New Gods, Apokolips, and New Genesis wholesale, changing tact completely and giving the main DCEU time to breathe by introducing an entirely different mythology. Or they could focus on the New Gods’ most famous hero, Mister Miracle, dropping him on Earth after escaping Apokolips and using him as an introduction to the Fourth World. The most likely outcome, though, is we’ll see a compromise, with DC slowly introducing the idea of the New Gods to build towards the Cosmic Odyssey arc by Jim Starlin–creator of Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet storyline–in which Darkseid teams up with other New Gods and heroes from Earth to destroy the only thing more powerful than himself… a living entity embodying the Anti-Life Equation! Whichever route they go, this is an exhilarating step forward for the DCEU.

Do you have a favorite New Gods iteration? Just can’t wait to see Ava do superheroes? Need more Kirby on the big screen? Let us know in the comments!

Images: Warner Bros., DC Comics

A few more tales from the Darkseid:

• A DC Comics primer on the New Gods.
• Wonder Woman vs. Darkseid!
• All you need to know about Steppenwolf in the comics.

[brightcove video_id=”5678494283001″ brightcove_account_id=”3653334524001″ brightcove_player_id=”rJs2ZD8x”]

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It’s just been announced that The New Gods are on their way to the big screen, via A Wrinkle In Time director Ava DuVernay. If you are wondering “who the heck are the New Gods??” we are here to help. Created by comics legend Jack Kirby, The New Gods was a vast, cosmic space opera mixing sci-fi with mythology, and was sometimes also referred to as “The Fourth World.” It was Kirby’s first work for DC Comics after leaving Marvel Comics after a massively successful decade collaborating with Stan Lee, and basically creating the Marvel Universe as we know it. Over time, the New Gods mythology became a cornerstone of the entire DCU.

The New Gods and its related titles dealt with the battle between good and evil as represented by the alien worlds of New Genesis and Apokolips. Darkseid was the evil lord of Apokolips, whose goal in life was to seek out the Anti-Life Equation which would allow him to exert his will over every sentient being. Opposing him is Orion, his son raised by Highfather, leader of the planet New Genesis. Other titles in the extended New Gods mythology included The Forever People and Mister Miracle, about the son of Highfather who was born on New Genesis but raised on Apokolips, and who overcame a hellish childhood to become the Earth’s greatest escape artist.

The original run of Jack Kirby comics was not only relatively short lived– lasting from only 1970 to 1972–it was also mostly self contained, involving only Superman from the main DC Universe. Then, starting in the early ’80s, DC realized what a treasure trove of characters and concepts Jack Kirby had really left them, and began incorporating them into the DCU. The first example of this was a 1980 Justice League of America storyline, which found the JLA teaming up with the Justice Society to stop Darkseid from replacing Earth-Two (home of the JSA) with his homeworld of Apokolips.

A couple of years later, 1982, DC’s long-running Legion of Super-Heroes title, then one of the publisher’s most best selling titles, did what remains to this day their most popular storyline, “The Great Darkness Saga,” which saw the teens from the 30th Century facing off against a resurrected Darkseid and his minions. The same year, DC decided to cross over their biggest selling title, The New Teen Titans, with Marvel’s X-Men. And the villains for this epic crossover were Dark Phoenix, and Darkseid, once again showing how DC was now positioning him as their biggest bad.

In 1984, DC partnered with Kenner Toys to create a toyline based around their characters called Super Powers. The toys featured the Justice League as the heroes, naturally, and the villains were mainly composed of Darkseid and his minions — chiefly,  DeSaad, his son Kalibak, and his army of Parademons. On the good guy side, Orion and Mister Miracle were included as part of the line-up, despite their limited exposure in the mainstream. The long-running Super Friends animated series introduced Darkseid and his lackeys from Apokolips as the primary antagonists, exposing the Kirby mythology to millions of kids.

After Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC’s second big company-wide crossover was published in 1986. Called Legends, which had Darkseid as the primary antagonist, sending his minion Glorious Godfrey to Earth to pose as a TV talk show host, where he would use his powers to turn the will of the common people against the heroes of Earth. All of these things continued to cement the New Gods mythology into the DC Universe in a big way.

The next major New Gods appearance in the DCU was the 1988 mini-series Cosmic Odyssey, which was illustrated by a young, pre-Hellboy Mike Mignola, and prominently featured the Jack Kirby Fourth World mythology, and Highfather, Orion, Lightray and Darkseid were main characters alongside the Justice League. By the late ’80s and early 90s, The New Gods would receive their own title again, as would Mister Miracle.

Darkseid would set himself up as one of Wonder Woman’s main antagonists in the mid ’90s, when he invaded her homeland of Themyscira, attempting to beat the Amazons into submission, and force them to tell him how to gain access to Mount Olympus and the Greek Gods. He killed almost half the Amazon nation, forever marking him as one of Wonder Woman’s primary villains. By the late ’90s, a Jack Kirby’s Fourth World series was launched. Grant Morrison’s seminal run on JLA featured Darkseid and many allusions to the Kirby mythos, and he even added Orion and Mr. Miracle’s wife Big Barda to the League during their most popular run.

The New Gods mythos would once again be introduced to a much wider audience, when they would appear as fixtures of the DC Animated Universe, starting in the late ’90s with Superman: The Animated Series, and continuing on to Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. Darkseid’s voice on those shows was character actor Michael Ironside, and he is who a generation of fans hear in their heads whenever Darkseid appears in a comic book, thanks to his iconic portrayal.

In the late 2000s, DC decided to kill off the New Gods, in the appropriately titled Death of the New Gods mini-series. They were quickly resurrected in human form on Earth, and Darkseid was the main villain if DC’s epic Final Crisis. They would all be reborn again in DC’s New 52 initiative, when the entire DC Universe would be rebooted, and Darkseid and his Parademon army were the first villains to square off against the newly formed Justice League.

So, as you can see, the New Gods are central to the DCU, and the last forty five years of publishing from DC Comics simply wouldn’t have been the same without them. How they will fit into DC’s movie universe remains to be seen, but you can’t ever say that Jack “the King” Kirby didn’t leave Hollywood with a wonderful sandbox full of toys.

What do you want to see out of a New Gods big screen adaptation? Let us know down below in the comments.

Images: DC Comics

The post THE NEW GODS: A Primer On DC Comics’ Cosmic Mythology appeared first on Nerdist.

It’s been a rough year for Diana Prince in the world of the Wonder Woman comics. Our esteemed Amazonian princess found out that much of her past was a lie, faced off against friend-turned-enemy the Cheetah, and discovered that she has a twin brother named Jason, who wasn’t exactly what you’d call a winner. How much more can even a goddess take? Well, how about having to face off against Darkseid himself?

Despite Wonder Woman’s best efforts, in the wake of the Darkseid War, the God of Apokolips has grown back to adulthood, and he’s looking for a new army to spread his reign of terror across the universe… and the Amazons of Themyscira seem to fit the bill! But how will Darkseid’s Female Furies take to being replaced with the Amazons? See for yourself in this preview from writer James Robinson‘s continued exploits through the story of Wonder Woman.

You can check out our exclusive preview of  the first six pages from Wonder Woman #41, along with the regular and variant covers, down below in our gallery.

Publisher: DC Comics

Writer: James Robinson
Artists:  Jason Paz, Carlo Pagulayan
Cover Artists: Bryan Hitch, Jenny Frison (variant)

Here’s the official synopsis for issue #41:

The post Diana Takes on Darkseid in WONDER WOMAN #41 (Exclusive Preview) appeared first on Nerdist.

The villain of Justice League, Steppenwolf, may share his name with a rock band, but he is far more hardcore. Dan tells you everything you need to know about this DC villain on this week’s Dan Cave!

Which episode is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!

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Image: Warner Bros

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It’s been teased for some time now, but it’s finally official — DC Comics’ greatest escape artist, Mister Miracle, is making a comeback. After appearing in Geoff John’s “Darkseid War” storyline in the pages of the New 52’s Justice League, the Jack Kirby-created hero will receive a new series this summer, as announced on Pitchfork. Beginning this August and running for 12 issues, the new Mister Miracle series comes from The Vision and Batman writer Tom King, together with his Sheriff of Babylon artist Mitch Gerads, who will take readers “on an episodic roller coaster of death, resurrection, mystery and intrigue.”

In a statemen, King shared, “Mister Miracle is the most ambitious project I’ve ever worked on. Mitch and I asked ourselves if we could do something as good as Sandman, Preacher or New Frontier, which are transcendent, contained stories that comment upon the times in which they were made. We knew we’d be stupid to think we could, but we’d be more stupid not to try.”

King added, “In going back and reading all of Kirby, you’re dipping your head in genius. No one can out-Kirby Kirby. You can’t make an epic as great as he did. It’s like trying to make Star Wars again, or like trying to rewrite the Iliad. You can take those grand cosmic space opera themes and internalize them and use them to tell a very personal story. That’s what appealed to me about it. We were going to take the bigness of Kirby and turn that into the intimacy of Mister Miracle’s life. Kirby used a metaphor for his time, written in the late ‘60s early ‘70s when the world was going utterly insane. We’re going to use it as a metaphor for our time, the late 2010s, when once again the world is going insane. It’s almost like we’re holding up a mirror to that work, or internalizing it. We’re going step-in-step with him.”

For those of you out there unfamiliar with the character, Mister Miracle was created by comic book legend Jack Kirby back in 1971. Miracle, along with the Forever People and the New Gods, were all part of a cosmic line of comics called The Fourth World. After spending ten years at Marvel Comics, in which Kirby and Stan Lee created the foundations of almost the entire Marvel universe, he and Lee had a falling out, and he went to his rival, DC Comics. He was given free reign to create three books all his own, which resulted in the Fourth World titles and overall mythology.

The Fourth World encompassed a whole new cosmic mythology for the DC Universe, which included the creation of Darkseid, the God of Evil, who lived on the planet Apokolips. His counterpart, Highfather, lived on the bright world of New Genesis. The two worlds were at war for eons, but finally a treaty was struck, and to seal that bargain, Highfather and Darkseid exchanged their first born sons. Darkseid’s son Orion was sent to live on New Genesis, and Highfather’s son Scott was sent to live out his life in the Fire Pits of Apokolips. There, he grew up under harsh conditions and learned to become the galaxy’s best escape artist. He also fell in love with a giant warrior woman named Big Barda, and the two escaped to Earth.

Despite all the hype, the Kirby Fourth World books weren’t the sales success DC hoped for. Kirby without Lee was a little too much like Simon without Garfunkel for fans, and the entire Fourth World line was cancelled after about a year. But the reputation of those concepts and characters grew in stature throughout the ’70s, and eventually Kirby’s cosmic creations embedded their way into the DC Universe. By the early ’80s, DC started to realize just what a gift Kirby had given them, although it took them a decade to do so.

Thanks to comics like Legion of Super-Heroes and their epic “Great Darkness Saga,” and the Justice League and Justice Society taking on on Darkseid together in the pages of Justice League of America, Kirby’s cosmic characters quickly became a staple of DC lore. When DC and Marvel teamed up in 1982 and produced The New Teen Titans/Uncanny X-Men crossover, the two villains used were Dark Phoenix and Darkseid, raising his profile as DC’s biggest threat for all time. Not long after, Mister Miracle himself became a longtime member of the JLA in the late ’80s. When Darkseid became the chief villain in the Super Friends cartoons and the Super Powers toy line, that cemented him as DC’s #1 baddie for all time.

Cut to today — The whole Fourth World mythology is going to be at the core of the upcoming Justice League film, which we already know will contain Mother Boxes, which are Kirby created technology that allows for instant transport between worlds, and that the Kirby created Steppenwolf will be the movie’s main villain (with Darkseid waiting in the wings of course). If/when a Justice League sequel happens, it will no doubt take us to the Fourth World itself, which may mean our first big screen version of Mister Miracle.

Meanwhile, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been mining Kirby’s cosmic creations for years already. Almost all of the Asgardian characters in the Thor films are Kirby created, as are most of the races in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. Ego the Living Planet was one of Kirby’s wildest concepts, and it was front and center of the Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2. Fans may argue about MCU vs DCEU for years, but one thing is true of both — neither would exist without the genius of Jack Kirby.

Mister Miracle #1, by Tom King and Mitch Gerads will hit shelves August 9. Cover artwork is by Nick Derington with variant cover by Gerads. You can see both covers, along with a 3 page preview, down below in our gallery.

Are you looking forward to a return to Kirby’s Fourth World characters? Let us know down below in the comments.

Images: DC Comics

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It’s been teased for some time now, but it’s finally official — DC Comics’ greatest escape artist, Mister Miracle, is making a comeback. After appearing in Geoff John’s “Darkseid War” storyline in the pages of the New 52’s Justice League, the Jack Kirby-created hero will receive a new series this summer, as announced on Pitchfork. Beginning this August and running for 12 issues, the new Mister Miracle series comes from The Vision and Batman writer Tom King, together with his Sheriff of Babylon artist Mitch Gerads, who will take readers “on an episodic roller coaster of death, resurrection, mystery and intrigue.”

In a statemen, King shared, “Mister Miracle is the most ambitious project I’ve ever worked on. Mitch and I asked ourselves if we could do something as good as Sandman, Preacher or New Frontier, which are transcendent, contained stories that comment upon the times in which they were made. We knew we’d be stupid to think we could, but we’d be more stupid not to try.”

King added, “In going back and reading all of Kirby, you’re dipping your head in genius. No one can out-Kirby Kirby. You can’t make an epic as great as he did. It’s like trying to make Star Wars again, or like trying to rewrite the Iliad. You can take those grand cosmic space opera themes and internalize them and use them to tell a very personal story. That’s what appealed to me about it. We were going to take the bigness of Kirby and turn that into the intimacy of Mister Miracle’s life. Kirby used a metaphor for his time, written in the late ‘60s early ‘70s when the world was going utterly insane. We’re going to use it as a metaphor for our time, the late 2010s, when once again the world is going insane. It’s almost like we’re holding up a mirror to that work, or internalizing it. We’re going step-in-step with him.”

For those of you out there unfamiliar with the character, Mister Miracle was created by comic book legend Jack Kirby back in 1971. Miracle, along with the Forever People and the New Gods, were all part of a cosmic line of comics called The Fourth World. After spending ten years at Marvel Comics, in which Kirby and Stan Lee created the foundations of almost the entire Marvel universe, he and Lee had a falling out, and he went to his rival, DC Comics. He was given free reign to create three books all his own, which resulted in the Fourth World titles and overall mythology.

The Fourth World encompassed a whole new cosmic mythology for the DC Universe, which included the creation of Darkseid, the God of Evil, who lived on the planet Apokolips. His counterpart, Highfather, lived on the bright world of New Genesis. The two worlds were at war for eons, but finally a treaty was struck, and to seal that bargain, Highfather and Darkseid exchanged their first born sons. Darkseid’s son Orion was sent to live on New Genesis, and Highfather’s son Scott was sent to live out his life in the Fire Pits of Apokolips. There, he grew up under harsh conditions and learned to become the galaxy’s best escape artist. He also fell in love with a giant warrior woman named Big Barda, and the two escaped to Earth.

Despite all the hype, the Kirby Fourth World books weren’t the sales success DC hoped for. Kirby without Lee was a little too much like Simon without Garfunkel for fans, and the entire Fourth World line was cancelled after about a year. But the reputation of those concepts and characters grew in stature throughout the ’70s, and eventually Kirby’s cosmic creations embedded their way into the DC Universe. By the early ’80s, DC started to realize just what a gift Kirby had given them, although it took them a decade to do so.

Thanks to comics like Legion of Super-Heroes and their epic “Great Darkness Saga,” and the Justice League and Justice Society taking on on Darkseid together in the pages of Justice League of America, Kirby’s cosmic characters quickly became a staple of DC lore. When DC and Marvel teamed up in 1982 and produced The New Teen Titans/Uncanny X-Men crossover, the two villains used were Dark Phoenix and Darkseid, raising his profile as DC’s biggest threat for all time. Not long after, Mister Miracle himself became a longtime member of the JLA in the late ’80s. When Darkseid became the chief villain in the Super Friends cartoons and the Super Powers toy line, that cemented him as DC’s #1 baddie for all time.

Cut to today — The whole Fourth World mythology is going to be at the core of the upcoming Justice League film, which we already know will contain Mother Boxes, which are Kirby created technology that allows for instant transport between worlds, and that the Kirby created Steppenwolf will be the movie’s main villain (with Darkseid waiting in the wings of course). If/when a Justice League sequel happens, it will no doubt take us to the Fourth World itself, which may mean our first big screen version of Mister Miracle.

Meanwhile, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been mining Kirby’s cosmic creations for years already. Almost all of the Asgardian characters in the Thor films are Kirby created, as are most of the races in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. Ego the Living Planet was one of Kirby’s wildest concepts, and it was front and center of the Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2. Fans may argue about MCU vs DCEU for years, but one thing is true of both — neither would exist without the genius of Jack Kirby.

Mister Miracle #1, by Tom King and Mitch Gerads will hit shelves August 9. Cover artwork is by Nick Derington with variant cover by Gerads. You can see both covers, along with a 3 page preview, down below in our gallery.

Are you looking forward to a return to Kirby’s Fourth World characters? Let us know down below in the comments.

Images: DC Comics

The post New MISTER MIRACLE Series Will Tap into the Genius of Jack Kirby appeared first on Nerdist.