DCU Blog - February 2025 Edition: Massive Updates/New Projects Announced, Puppy Bowl and The Sandman Cancelled

I mean this was an eventful month but the last few days, it really was a hell of a time to be a DC fan.

This month had some Superman (2025) promo at the Puppy Bowl with a brief look at the upcoming movie. Another trailer will be coming soon. July 11th 2025. Rick Strauss will help with the marketing for the movie.

Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow is currently halfway through filming. It will be released in theatres from June 26th 2026.

Sgt. Rock has officially been confirmed by James Gunn with Luca Guadagnino directing from a script written by Justin Kuritzkes. However, Daniel Craig isn't attached to play the title character.

James Gunn has also confirmed that Ana Nogueira has written a script for Teen Titans while a writer has been confirmed for The Brave And The Bold. Gunn will be working close to that writer but Andy Muschietti might not direct the film after all.

Bad news for Wonder Woman fans as it was confirmed this week that the upcoming game has been cancelled. However, there's been talks NetherRealms and RockSteady for future DCU games.

DC will be teaming with Mattel again for action figures in 2026. 

James Watkins has been tapped to direct Clayface (September 11th 2026), which will start filming during the summer. Casting coming soon.

Yet again, the script for The Batman - Part II hasn't been handed in. The film is still due to be released in theatres from October 1st 2027.

Development for Dynamic Duo (June 30th 2028) is underway but it's unclear if it'll be a DCU movie or an Elseworlds one.

James Gunn and Zack Snyder recently took a photo together but the latter isn't returning to the world of DC.

Natasha Lyonne and Ana Lily Amirpour have teamed up to bring Vertigo series, Basketful Of Heads as a live horror comedy series.

In less good news, the following DCU projects have hit speed bumps - Waller, Booster Gold, Swamp Thing and The Authority.

Filming for Lanterns has begun and a first look image of Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler's John Stewart and Hal Jordan has been released. It will air on HBO in early 2026. The show could run for multiple seasons.

The goal for DC projects per year will be two live action movies, one animated movie, two live action shows and two animated shows. Some will be DCU and others will be Elseworlds.

A pilot episode for Wonder Woman prequel series, Paradise Lost is currently being written.

The animated Blue Beetle series with Xolo Mariduena reprising the role will be greenlit soon. 

Matthew Orton has been confirmed to be writing a DC movie but it's not been confirmed if it's one involving the characters, Deathstroke and Bane.

There's been talks about DC themed park rides at Six Flags as well as some new character skins for Fortnite.

In news that's not too shocking, Netflix announced that the second season of The Sandman will be it's final season. A release  date has yet to be confirmed.

The second season of Peacemaker will be released on Max from August 2025. Expect a new theme song as well. 

The Penguin keeps winning the awards and it's possible that a second season could happen, though Colin Farrell has expressed some doubt about it.

The following animated shows have been announced - DC Super Powers, Starfire, Krypto (series of seasonal shorts) and My Adventures With Green Lantern. The latter will focus on Jessica Cruz and be set in the same universe as My Adventures With Superman.

In tragic news, Gene Hackman passed away yesterday along with his wife and dog. Condolences to their loved ones.

Both Keanu Reeves and Francis Lawrence are pushing to get that Constantine sequel made. It hasn't been greenlit as of yet.

What a month and what a lot of news to mull over. DC fans really do have a lot to look forward to for the next while.

My Review of Harley Quinn: "Frankette"

 

Written by Leslie Schapira

Directed by Diana Huh

Harley (to Ivy): "Lena was the one who saved Metropolis."

Can I just say that I'm actually happy with this turn of events. I know we all love Katie McGrath's more sympathetic portrayal of the character in the CW Supergirl show but having a more villainous version of Lena Luthor works better for the show.

Having her actually be the one to kill Frank in order to get both Harley and Ivy to kill Brainiac was a good plan and it nearly worked. Instead, Brainiac got shrunk and bottled and Ivy learned about Lena being Frank's killer through footage on Brainiac's ship.

Also the heel turn Lena did was delightfully campy as well. She's owning the fact that she's the Big Bad of the season after all. She delighted in Brainiac being trapped, delighted in taking poor Frankette and definitely delighted in turning both Harley and Ivy against each other.

Speaking of Frankette, she was a parting gift from parts of both Frank and Ivy and the latter wouldn't let herself get attached to Frankette until those robots nearly killed the baby plant. Now Lena has Frankette so Harley and Ivy will have to work together to get back and stop Lena from ruling Metropolis altogether.

As for the rest of the episode, Bane got relegated to babysitting duties when he wasn't getting angry at Goldie's Dutch teacher and this show really wants to make Shawn the Shark into a bigger deal than needed. He's useful in this episode when he wasn't trying to eat Frankette.

- Brainiac was watching Clayface's performance on a loop with one particular performance getting his attention the most.

- Ivy talked to Frank in the Green and Frankette attacked a robot with her vines.

- Frank really did have a 500+ list of things just to lead into the arrival of Frankette.

- Chronology: Not long from where the previous episode left off.

Frankette served as a nice introduction for the title character while also proving just how delightfully evil this version of Lena can be as a character. Overall, pretty good.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Companion (2025)

 

Written And Directed by Drew Hancock 

Iris: "There were two times I felt truly happy. First, the day I met Josh; second, the day I killed him."

Another film that came out close to Valentine's Day that I missed out on but have now caught up with. Can I just say that I really wished the trailers hadn't spoiled the big twist? I mean I get why they did but I wish they hadn't.

Anyways, we've got our protagonist Iris (Sophie Thatcher) talking about two happiest times in her life. Both moments involved her boyfriend Josh (Jack Quaid). The first was meeting him and the second was killing. This movie showed a flaw in the first while it build towards the second.

Going away to an isolated lakehouse, Iris and Josh spent time with two other couples - Kat (Megan Suri) and Sergey (Rupert Friend) as well as Eli (Harvey Guillén) and Patrick (Lukas Gage). What should've been a nice weekend between three couples turned into a murder fest with Iris being the common denominator.

Iris killed a violent Sergey and then it got revealed that she was actually a robot that Josh, Kat and Eli were using in order to kill Sergey to begin with. On top of that, Patrick was also revealed to be a robot and when Iris was facing the threat of being permanently shut down, there was a fight for survival between humans and robots.

Let's be honest, the humans all are terrible in this movie. Eli's the least terrible of the bunch but even he had little problem with trying to shut Iris down. Saying that, his feelings for Patrick did seem genuine enough. Kat also showed a bit of conscience but not much as Josh had taken over Patrick in order to get control of Iris again.

Jack Quaid certainly knows how to play an unlikeable scimbag and he excelled himself with Josh as a character. Sophie Thatcher certainly brought her all as Iris managed to gain her own agency through a sympathetic outsider before ultimately gaining her freedom and getting rid of Josh for good.

- The company responsible for the robots in this film were called Empathix. The robots had more of it than the humans.

- Iris showing off her metallic hand at the end did feel like a nice nod to Terminator.

- Standout music: Bee Gees Emotion. The song played out during the closing credits.

- Chronology: 2025 America, though it's not specified where.

Companion was a delight. Excellent lead performances from both Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid as well as strong support from everyone else. Definitely worth the watch.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Heart Eyes (2025)

 

Written by Phillip Murphy And Christopher Landon And Michael Kennedy

Directed by Josh Ruben 

Ally (to a Valentine's statue): "Your fucking day sucks."

I missed this during the week of Valentine's Day, which would've been the perfect week for this. Good thing I had those My Bloody Valentine movies during that week. Anyways, I've caught up with this one and there was fun to be had.

In horror, we have serial killers killing for all kinds of reasons and here, the Heart Eyes Killer, aka HEK just enjoyed killing couples, especially the more obnoxious ones and after killing in two different states, they've taken their spree to Seattle for 2025 on a particular day. Can you guess which one?

Meanwhile, newly pitch designed Ally McCabe (Olivia Holt) thought that a doomed love campaign was the way to go and that stirred the ire of her boss, Crystal Cane (Michaela Watkins). It also meant the arrival of Corporate Cupid hunk Jay Simmons (Mason Gooding) to save the day for the assignment.

Yup, this movie wants to be the horror version of a Hallmark romcom so badly and it's a meeting of world that to it's credit did somewhat work here. Both Jay and Ally go through the predictable tropes in the romcom genre while also having to deal with the horror side of things.

This meant becoming a target for Heart Eyes, in spite of their insistence of not being a couple. It also meant having an unhelpful detective duo with Zek Hobbs (Devon Sawa) and Jeanette Shaw (Jordana Brewster) but like in most horror films, they were of no help, albeit for seperate reasons. Oh and one of them got a rather grisly ending.

Anyways the killer third act had well, three killers as Heart Eyes. There was Jeanette and her husband/IT guy David (Yoson An) and their patsy, Eli with Jay being the distressed dude and Ally having to kick ass and save the day. I mean, it's a good third act that nearly wrapped everything up with Jay and Ally actually becoming a couple by the end of the movie.

- A post credit scene had Ally's co-worker, Monica (Gigi Zumbado) pretend to be Heart Eyes. There's a sequel set up here too.

- With characters called Hobbs and Shaw, of course there was a reference to that particular franchise.

- Standout music: Lonestar's Amazed and Ginuwine's Pony.

- Chronology: Valentine's Day 2025 in Seattle. Heart Eyes has been killing couples since 2023.

Heart Eyes did work a fun merging of Hallmark romcom meets horror film and there's an undeniably good chemistry between Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding. The actual killer mask with heart eyes was a good visual with some decent kills. It's an entertaining romp.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Complete Strangers (2020)

 

Written And Directed by Pau Masó

Robert (re Hugo): "He is everything I ever wanted."

Oh boy. On paper, this seemed like a movie that was going to be right up my alley but once I watched it, let's just say, it was a lot of ropier than expected it to be.

I should comment writer/director Pau Masó for the general idea behind the movie but I got to be honest, his acting wasn't the best here. Playing the role of recovering alcoholic Robert, Pau Masó gave himself a challenge that he didn't quite rise to himself.

Robert's an alcoholic who also suffered a trauma that's given some memory loss. He also was in a relationship with a man named Christian (Sindre Bergfall) that ended due to the latter cheating on Robert and there's hostility between the pair during the few scenes they have in the film.

On top of that, an online hook up with new guy Hugo (Matthew Crawley) should've been a bit of fun for Robert. Instead, it's a relationship that had Robert's friends Frank (Fraser Fraser) and Kate (Sian Abrahams) concerned for his wellbeing as well as his therapist (Mirjam Novak). Robert should've listened to them.

The film didn't waste too much time in revealing that while Hugo might be a handsome hunk, he's also an unhinged nutcase to boot. Hugo became too possessive of Robert too fast to the point of physically and sexually assaulting him during a weekend trip to an isolated cabin in the woods. Robert however had a more concerning problem to deal with as his memories came flooding back.

Again with a stronger lead actor, I think this story would've hit better. Robert being revealed as a former pornstar named Colby that Hugo was hyper fixated on and intended to kill was a great twist. Robert turning the tables and killing Hugo was also a great twist along with the final sting as he escaped the cabin but the leads let proceedings down here.

- For some reason, this movie doesn't have a rating. Surely, it's meant to be R Rated, right?

- "You're My Dream Boy" is a good tagline for the movie, especially with the sinister connotations behind it. 

- I'm guessing had a sequel happened, it would've Robert going after Hugo's partner who wanted him dead as well.

- Chronology: Present day, Budapest. Robert mentioned his parents living in America.

Complete Strangers had the ingredients to be a great movie but the acting was very weak with both leads and the lack of chemistry didn't exactly help either. It's one of those films where I think a remake would end up being better. Is that harsh?

Rating: 5 out of 10 

My Review of Big Boys - Series 3 (2025)

 

Written by Jack Rooke

Directed by Jim Archer

Danny (to Jack): "Everything's coming to an end."

It does seem to be a thing with a lot of UK comedies, that there's a sense of knowing where to end a show. Three series does seem to be that magic number and it's a perfect place to end this particular show.

In the first two series we had the friendship between gay guy Jack (Dylan Llewellyn) and his straight best mate, Danny (Jon Pointing) as the two of them navigated university life, coming out, mental health issues, family and relationships. Their friendship undoubtedly has been the very glue to this show.

For the last series, both Jack and Danny have slightly drifted apart with their lives pulling them in different directions. For Jack, that's included a brief pretentious poetry phase, hooks up ahoy, including with Yemi (Olisa Odele) and his Big D dissertation that made up some of the series. There's also meeting a certain idol of his and getting an answer to a question that's bothered him since the first series.

For Danny, he's had a relationship with Corinne (Izuka Hoyle) that devolved, a dissertation on the death of the lads magazine as well as the deaths of two family members and near downward spiral until Jules (Katy Wix) stepped in at the very minute. All series long, I did think the show was going to kill Danny off and the finale certainly led into that as well. When the show didn't, I was genuinely relieved. 

Now what about everyone else? Well, thanks to Shannon (Harriet Webb), the first episode took everyone to Greece and then back there for the last episode. Shannon also had two kids, got engaged to the rather nice Tariq (Shane Zaza) as well as a terrible reunion with her horrible mother but came out of the show in a much better place than before.

With Peggy (Camille Coduri) and Nanny Bingo (Annette Badland), they've had slightly less to do but their screen time certainly didn't feel wasted. Nanny in particular had some genuinely brilliant moments, including a nice reveal about a past love that sadly we didn't get to see. I do wish we had also seen more of Yemi as he was written out halfway in this final series.

- Episode titles were My Big Fat Gay Greek Holiday, Happy Anniversary You Silly Billy!, Thin Lips, Fat Lines & a Poem on Princess Di, Eurovision, Brexit & Shloer, Goodbye U-N-I and The Sea.

- Jack Rooke gave himself a proper acting role in the first scene of the last episode and it's a lovely moment between him and Jon Pointing.

- Jack's idol, the much mentioned Alison Hammond popped up in the final episode and I howled when Jack, Danny and Corinne were watching that moment from Celebrity Big Brother.

- I knew Tim (Robert Gilbert) was gay and the penultimate episode confirmed he was on Grindr. Jules can also speak Mandarin.

- Corinne had a story about her Scottish Independence dissertation and we met her family in the last episode. Her younger brother's named Brilliant.

- Chronology: September 2015 to September 2016 for this final series. Danny had taken over from Jules at the university.

This final series of Big Boys came and went too quickly for my liking (it was burned off in double bills like the first series) but what an incredible bunch of episodes. This show just snuck up on all of us and ended up being one of the best sitcoms of 2020s. Whatever Jack Rooke does next, I'll certainly watch it.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of The Last Showgirl (2024)

 

Written by Kate Gersten

Directed by Gia Coppola

Shelly: "I mean, Las Vegas used to treat us like movie stars. The costumes, the sets. We were ambassadors for style and grace."

It wasnt just Demi Moore having something of a career renaissance last year, was it? While this movie didn't quite break into the Oscar race, it did manage to prove that Pamela Anderson had it in her to be a potential award contender.

Taking on the role of showgirl Shelly Gardner, you've got the former Baywatch actor giving one of the most underrated performances during award season. The role was written for her in mind and it's a challenge that she delivered on quite well.

Shelly's a woman nearing 60 years old and she's got little to show for herself. The Le Razzle Dazzle troupe she's performed in since the 1980s are about to be shut down and she doesn't appear to have much savings or life skills to do anything else. Not to mention her resentment towards her younger dancers who see her as a mother figure reared it's head on many an occasion here.

The younger dancers being Mary Anne (Brenda Song) and Jodie (Kiernan Shipka), both of whom are less bothered by the closing down of Le Razzle Dazzle. In fact, both of them are auditioning for more modern shows and when Shelly tried to do the same, she was given a brutal reality check by a director (Jason Schwartzmann) that further isolated her.

As for her other relationships, Shelly prioritising her career put her at odds with her estranged daughter, Hannah (Billie Lourd). The latter in particular was very scathing about Shelly's line of work while manager Eddie (Dave Bautista) didn't seem too sympathetic towards Shelly's breakdown but was rather hypocritical about how she raised Hannah, given that he didn't help on that front. 

The only support they Shelly had in the movie was from best friend and irresponsible cocktail waitress, Annette (Jamie Lee Curtis). Annette's the only one who's sympathetic towards Shelly but she's also a chaotic messy who ended up needing Shelly's help more than Shelly needed her. The film did end on a rather ambiguous but interesting note with Shelly's delusions blurring reality.

- The movie's based on writer Kate Gersten's Body Of Work, which took inspiration from the Jubilee! shows before their closure in 2016.

- We should be thanking Pamela's son, Brandon for her taking on the movie as her agent foolishly turned it down at first.

- Standout music: Miley Cyrus's Beautiful That Way.

- Chronology: I'm assuming 2024 Las Vegas for Shelly. Hannah lives in Arizona where Shelly was planning to move to. Shelly's 57, the same age as Pamela Anderson. 

The Last Showgirl might have missed out on the big one to be nomated for but it's an undeniably great showcase for Pamela Anderson. She's given a great script and gave a great performance, playing the sympathetic if not frustrating Shelly. I hope this will lead to other casting directors giving her more serious roles going forward.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Captain America: Brave New World (2025)

 

Written by Rob Edwards And Malcolm Spellman And Dalan Musson And Julius Onah And Peter Glanz

Directed by Julius Noah

President Ross: "You may be Captain America, but you're not Steve Rogers."

Sam: "You're right. I'm not."

I waited a week to watch this movie as I wanted to get the initial reactions out of the way and judge it for myself. First and foremost, I like Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) as a character and I'm a firm believer that Sam going from Falcon to Captain America actually made sense. Sadly though, this was a disastrous first solo outing for him.

Where The Falcon And The Winter Soldier in my opinion did an excellent job of making the transition smooth for both the character and the audience to accept Sam as Captain America, this movie almost undid all the good work from four years ago.

First of all, it's less of a Captain America movie and more of an unauthorized sequel to 2008's The Incredible Hulk and also sadly, not a very good one at that either. Our main villain was actually Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson), who looked terrible, was actively manipulating everything behind the scenes and just so he could get revenge on the now President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford).

The marketing might have pushed Ross's Red Hulk big time but he barely got enough screen time. Granted the fight scenes between Captain America and Red Hulk were decent but we've honestly seen better and it felt like it took very little to turn both Sam and Thaddeus against one another. On the other hand, at least Ross took accountability, which means he has some character progression throughout the movie.

Speaking of characters, there's a nice support system for Sam's Captain America here but a lot of them are not utilised to their best. Personally, I enjoyed the return of Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), who's now assumed the Falcon mantle and was just lovable from start to finish. Sam and Joaquin get the best scenes in the whole movie.

Then there's the former Black Widow/Not Sabra here, Ruth Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas). Look, I know this character has her haters online but aside from the character overhaul she's given, I didn't have too much of an issue with her. Saying that, the movie clearly didn't need her at all. Ruth added little to proceedings here.

As for poor Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly). He was by far the most wasted character in the entire movie. A pawn in Sterns's hate campaign against President Ross and in prison for most of his scenes. I mean there's a few decent moments between Isaiah and Sam but not enough to salvage this movie.

- Fans of Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) should be happy that she made a brief appearance to reunite with her incarcerated father.

- Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) also popped up to comfort Sam when Joaquin got injured. We'll see him in Thunderbolts* next.

- Other characters to pop up included Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito), Copperhead (Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson) and Leila Taylor (Xosha Roquemore).

- This film did lay the groundwork for Sam to set up a new Avengers group. He's got another 15 months. 

- The post credits had Sterns giving Sam a cryptic warning about a coming attack from other worlds.

- Chronology: Current day Washington DC, as well as some scenes in Tokyo.

I wanted to give Captain America: Brave New World the benefit of the doubt because the campaign against this movie had gotten out of hand. Sadly, despite it's best efforts, the movie's an absolute mess and a very disappointing first outing for Sam Wilson's Captain America. Anthony Mackie did his best but it just didn't come together at all.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

Doctor Who - Series 15 Writers/Guest Actor Confirmed, Rumours And Big Finish News

It's been a while since I've done a Doctor Who related blog and this last week had too many things come up that I couldn't ignore. The biggest one involving the future of the show itself.

Earlier in the week, The Sun newspaper wrote a rather mean spirited article about the future of Doctor Who being in doubt with the imminent arrival of Series 15 (or Season 2), starring Ncuti Gatwa as the 15th Doctor and Varada Sethu as Belinda Chandra. The article had the usual anti-woke talking points while making it clear that series star Ncuti Gatwa will be departing this series as the 15th Doctor.

The BBC didn't exactly alleviate these rumours by pointing out that they had a contract with Disney+ for 26 episodes. As others have pointed out those 26 episodes could possibly be referring to the 60th anniversary specials, Christmas 2023 and 2024, both of the 15th Doctor's two series and all five episodes of upcoming spin off, The War Between The Land And The Sea, starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Russell Tovey.

My own thoughts are this - I think as horribly written and mean spirited as that article was, this will all end up being mostly true. As you'll note, there's no confirmed Christmas 2025 special as of yet, Ncuti Gatwa has taken on projects since he finished filming the upcoming series of Doctor Who and Russell T. Davies has signed on to write a five part series for Channel 4 titled Tiptoe (that'll be a blog in itself when casting's announced for it). Quite frankly, we're heading into uncharted territory with the show where it'll likely be rested again or a new cast will usher in a third season, either with RTD at the helm or someone else altogether. 

As for the upcoming series itself, another guest actor confirmed yesterday was Slow Horses actor, Christopher Chung. He'll be playing a character called Cassio in an upcoming episode but whether he's a friend or foe to the Doctor and Belinda, it's not made clear. In fact we're not sure what episode he's actually in, other than the fact that it's meant to be the scariest episode of the new series.

Going by the character's attire, it's either a planet setting of a base under siege type of story. This is the second time in the last few months a guest actor has gotten a press release with Rose Ayling-Ellis also being given one back in December. Yet, there's two actors who have yet to be publicly confirmed to be appearing in the new series and their roles are much larger. 

Meanwhile, given the criticism of the writers room for Series 14 being a bit too small, it seems that will not be a problem for Series 15. The confirmed writers will include Juno Dawson, Inua Ellams, Pete McTighe, and Sharma Angel-Walfall while the directors are now confirmed as Alex Sanjiv Pillai, Peter Hoar, Amanda Brotchie, Ben A. Williams, and Makalla McPherson. It's a good pool of new and familiar talent for this upcoming series.

As for book fans, you get two of them and they will be released from May 29th. Spectral Scream by Hannah Fergesen will feature the 15th Doctor and Belinda while Fear Death By Water by Emily Cook has the 15th Doctor with a character named Grace Darling.

Last but by no means least, Big Finish have come up with the goods once again. For anyone who wanted a 9th Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) reunion, you've just got one and it's coming in August 2025 for good measure. From the Big Finish site itself ....

"Across 12 episodes, slotting neatly into that 2005 series, we have more Jackie Tyler, more Powell Estate, plus friends and enemies old and new through time and space. Our writers have done an amazing job recapturing the spirit of that very special season, and Chris and Billie have embraced these scripts with delight and gusto. They're having a blast, back on that trip of a lifetime – and they sound fantastic!” 

I was hoping the moment Christopher Eccleston agreed to do Big Finish that this would happen and I'm so delighted that it is. Absolutely fantastic news. 

Series 15 of Doctor Who is rumoured to premiere on BBC1, iPlayer and Disney+ from April 12th.

My Review of EastEnders 40th Anniversary Week (February 17th-20th 2025)

In 1985, BBC1 launched a soap called EastEnders, created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland. Forty years later, it gave us one hell of an explosive week.

Written by Bryan Kirkwood And Simon Ashdown And Kevin Rundle And Lauren Klee

Directed by Lance Kneeshaw

Sonia: "Welcome to the world, Julia. It's all about to begin."

In the space of four episodes, which included an hour long Wednesday episode on the actual anniversary itself and a live episode on Thursday, there was a lot of plots to cover. Stories that have building up for months but within these episodes, we got plenty of resolutions. Let's break them down.

Phil's Mental Health: Steve McFadden who plays Phil Mitchell has been given plenty of heavy stories in the thirty plus years he's been on the show but the character's battle with depression might be the best one yet. Over the last few months, Phil's isolated himself from everyone, had hallucinations of his mother, Peggy (Jamie Winstone) and during this week, he came close to ending it all. Had it not been for the interventions of Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) and Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley), Phil could've taken his own life. This story also involved Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) and Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp), though the latter struggled to effectively help his younger brother. Easily the best story of the week.

Who Whacked Cindy?: It was Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth). She was sick of her treacherous daughter in law (Michelle Collins) constantly making a fool out of Ian (Adam Woodyatt) and had Cindy not gotten a little gun happy, Kathy might have kept that secret to herself. Cindy not only shot Ian but she also pushed him in front of a certain car and her antics ended up causing said car to crash into the Queen Victoria pub. In a funny twist of events, Kathy ended up saving Cindy's life, though she wasn't particularly grateful about the save. I had convinced myself the last few days that Peter Beale (Thomas Law) who committed the act and I'm really mixed on it being Kathy. Saying that, I'm actually relieved that Elaine Peacock (Harriett Thorpe), George Knight (Colin Salmon) or any of the Knights did the deed. Now where will Cindy go as a character, considering she's burned every bridge, except for Junior (Micah Balfour) of course?

The Death Of Martin Fowler: A lot of people on social media actually called this one. I certainly didn't. I genuinely thought the show wouldn't have the balls to kill off a legacy character and even when it became apparent that Martin Fowler (James Bye) was a goner, I still thought there was going to be a last minute save for the character. Just when the live triangle between Martin and two of his big love interests Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) and Ruby Allen (Louisa Lytton) was about to be resolved, he had to go and die. His death certainly packed an emotional punch with James Bye proving to be one of the most successful soap recasts in the eleven years he played the fruit and veg family man. While the show can survive without Martin, there's something rather sad about the last of the original Fowlers no longer being on the show. I mean there's still Hope and Roman to carry on Martin's legacy though.

Julia or Toni?: It wasn't just deciding on a certain outcome for a love triangle that viewers had to do their due diligence but also the naming of Sonia Fowler's (Natalie Cassidy) baby girl. In the end Julia won out as Sonia had to give birth to her daughter in a crumbling pub with both Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) and Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) as her midwives. Oh and the troublesome baby daddy/wife killer/sister kidnapper Reiss Colwell (Jonny Freeman) getting his just desserts, courtesy of a bathtub crashing down on him. I think we were all happy to see Reiss get a rather brutal but campy death but Sonia will also be departing soon after this anniversary week. Who will end up in her house once she leaves with Bianca and Julia?

The Viewers Decided: Oh, they certainly did. For weeks, UK viewers has a choice in which Denise Fox (Diane Parish) could reunite with estranged husband Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) or continue her relationship with bad boy Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara). Personally, there should've been a throuple option but at the start of the live episode, it was made clear that Denise had in fact chosen Jack over Ravi. The viewers might have decided Jack but a lot of social media were Team Ravi. Can Denise and Jack work for a third time or will they fall into the same patterns that have broken them up over the last few years?

There Was A Wedding: It wasn't all misery on the Square. There was the wedding of Billy (Perry Fenwick) and Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton) and while it wasn't the first time those two went down the aisle, it was a bright spot in a very explosive week. In terms of plots, it might not be the most compelling but Billy and Honey have always been a likeable pairing and giving them the anniversary wedding was a nice touch. The second wedding of the year, following the similarly disastrous one between Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) and Eve Unwin (Heather Pearce) on New Year's Day. Weddings in Walford are not off to a good start in 2025.

- It only took thirty seven years but wasn't it brilliant that Anita Dobson briefly appeared as Angie Watts to give Sharon the strength to fight to survive?

- The title sequence was made to nearly mirror the original one but the river was red. Rubies are associated with 40th anniversaries.

- I got the impression that Linda herself will get a new love interest towards the second half of the year given her conversation with Denise.

- BBC3 hosted a lock in with the cast on Tuesday, presented by Joe Swash (who played Mickey Miller) while the theme's creator appeared on Wednesday's episode of The One Show on BBC1. Ross Kemp also hosted 40 Years On The Square documentary and Lacey Turner had Anita Dobson on her podcast.

- Lacey Turner was pregnant while filming the first three episodes of the week but came back from maternity leave to film the live episode.

- Chronology: February 19th 2025.

The 40th Anniversary Week of EastEnders was certainly a triumph with all the episodes certainly packing a punch and keeping audiences entertained. Overall, while I think I might have preferred the 20th and 30th Anniversaries, this 40th had plenty in its favour. Here's to the next decade of the show. Chris Clenshaw helped to deliver a brilliant week along with the cast and crew.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of Harley Quinn: "Bottle My Heart"

 

Written by Dean Lorey

Directed by Joonki Park 

Brainiac (re Ivy): "She knows what it's like now."

The play's the thing. Except when it's attempts to warn Metropolis about an imminent alien invasion through Brainiac, The Tragedy Of: The Musical. It was an idea devised between Harley, Clayface and Bane. It didn't go well.

It could've been the hit and miss musical numbers, the lack of cooperation between the three leads, including Frank. It could also be that Brainiac's moment of harsh clarity about Koko saw him not react well to a pile of space monkey bones.

Killing Frank off was certainly a choice and one that devastated Ivy by the end of the episode. She couldn't even revive Frank, which Brainiac seemed indifferent towards. He wanted someone to experience his pain. He got that with Ivy. He'll likely regret that.

To think Lena's attempts to get back at Brainiac went horribly wrong throughout the episode. Even when she lied about the nature of her real involvement with Brainiac, her attempts of getting revenge on Brainiac went the opposite of what she intended. Lena doesn't quite have the villainy of her brother.

As for the rest of the episode, Harley confessed to murder but Lois was the one who ended up quitting The Daily Planet when she refused to write a retraction. Oh and Harley figured out that Perry was Clayface and used that to her advantage throughout the episode.

- Ivy can't act and Harley can't sing but the latter won an award for a non singing role in a production of The Sound Of Music. 

- Bruce getting Lena to get him hemorrhoid cream. Oh dear.

- Both Lois and Harley were having sex dreams about the skulls. Harley insulted Lois's neck and Lois said that Harley was 48.

- Chronology: Not long from the last episode. 

Bottle My Heart had some fun with the musical idea as Lena switched loyalties, Brainiac got a reality check, Frank died, Harley was a theatre nightmare and poor Ivy lost her creation. Overall, a good one.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of The Return Of Swamp Thing (1989)

 

Written by Neil Cuthbert And Grant Morris

Directed by Jim Wynorski

Swamp Thing: "Me? Your Boyfriend?"

Abby: "Why not?"

Swamp Thing: "You said it yourself: I'm a plant."

Abby: "That's okay, I'm a vegetarian."

Having enjoyed Wes Craven's written and directed debut movie for the titular character (Dick Durock), it was time to see what the sequel involving another team could come up. It's something of a mixed bag to be fair.

First of all, our Swamp Thing isn't exactly skulking around in the shadows. If you're stupid enough to be doing bad things near his swamp, he'll make sure you regret it big time. However his infamy also meant that others were desperate for his attention.

On the harmless end of the scale, you've got two kids named Darryl (Daniel Taylor Emery) and Omar (RonReaco Lee) who are determined to get a photo of Swamp Thing in the hope of winning $10,000. This naturally put them in danger but also had them meeting Swamp Thing. Getting a photo of him on the other hand was more of a challenge than they'd hoped.

As for the other end of the scale, Anton Arcane (Louis Jourdan) was back to be the main villain for a second movie in a row and he had assistance with fellow scientists Lana Zurrell (Sarah Douglas) and Dr Rochelle (Ace Mask) as well as security thug, Gunn (Joey Sagal). His aim was immortality and the arrival of estranged stepdaughter, Abby (Heather Locklear) was a key to that particular goal.

In the first movie, the writing for Alice Cable had been very hit and miss. It's not much better for Abby Arcane either. I mean she talks to plants, hates Anton and her romance with Swamp Thing was a tad rushed too. On the other hand, she's kind of humourous in certain scenes when she's not relegated to being a damsel in distress.

I'll admit having Anton as the villain for second time didn't work quite as well as it did for the first movie. There's more monstrous experiments with the Un-Men, some backstabbing between scientists while the final scene indicated that Abby might have more in common with Swamp Thing than previously believed.

- A post credit scene with Omar and Darryl just showed their efforts to get a photo were for nothing.

- Sarah Douglas previously played Ursa in the Christopher Reeve Superman movies.

- The novelisation for this movie did a lot of rewrites. 

- Chronology: Not long since the events of the first movie, though many years have passed since Abby and Anton were in a room together.

The Return Of Swamp Thing upped the comedy element (as well as a psychic sex scene) with hit and miss results. I didn't hate it but it's certainly lacking compared to the first one. 

Rating: 5 out of 10 

My Review of Swamp Thing (1982)

 

Written And Directed by Wes Craven

Swamp Thing: "Much beauty in the swamp, if you only look."

Back in the 1980s, Wes Craven was on the cusp of creating an iconic horror franchise but before Freddy Krueger, he actually ventured into the world of DC comics. Yup, one of the best horror directors of all time directed a DC movie. Let me geek out a little about that. 

Of all the DC characters that Wes Craven could've adapted, there's something very fitting about Swamp Thing being that character. He's such a perfect character for someone like Craven and with this effort, he got things off to a great start.

Focusing on a government worker named Alice Cable (Adrienne Barbeau), you've got a woodland area near a swamp where secret research had Alice coming into contact with scientist sibling duo Linda (Nanette Brown) and Alec Holland (Ray Wise) as the latter was on the verge of a scientific breakthrough. It's the type of breakthrough you wouldn't want getting into the wrong hands.

Those hands being Anton Arcane (Louie Jourdan) who wanted that formula for himself. He had no problem in killing poor Linda and Alec's attempts to escape ended up in him becoming the titular Swamp Thing (Dick Durock). Can I just say that the look for Swamp Thing was great by the way?

Anyways when Alice wasn't getting repeatedly terrorised by Arcane's men (one of them taking an overzealous delight in trying to kill her), she formed an alliance with Swamp Thing. It took her a bit to realise he was Alec but once she did, the pair teamed up to stop Arcane from creating havoc with that formula.

Unfortunately for poor Bruno (Nicholas Worth), he took became a monster because of Arcane's need to further test things. Arcane even tested it on himself, giving a decent final act swamp fight between his hideous visage and Swamp Thing himself. With Arcane eventually defeated, the movie ended with Swamp Thing leaving Alice but promising to return.

- There's a nice supporting role for Reggie Batts as Jude. He popped up in the second half of the film.

- In the comics, Linda's the wife of Alec instead of his sister while Anton's role was similar to Nathan Ellery from the story this movie was based on.

- A sequel titled, The Return Of Swamp Thing was released in 1989.

- Chronology: I'm guessing the same year it was released.

For a first live action adaptation of Swamp Thing, I really liked a lot of Wes Craven set out to do here. The title character looked brilliant, we got to know enough of Alec Holland before his transformation and Anton Arcane made for a good baddie. I do think Alice Cable could've been better handled as a character but she's a sympathetic and likable enough lead.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Masters Of The Universe (1987)

 

Written by David Odell

Directed by Gary Goddard 

Skeletor: "I ache to smash you out of existence! To drive your cursed face from my memories forever!"

He-Man: "Enough talk!"

Skeletor: "YES! Let this be our final battle!"

Sometimes you need a camp classic from the 1980s for an afternoon treat and with this movie currently filming a reboot for next year, I thought it was time to catch up with this one again. I'm actually glad I did because while this ain't a cinematic classic, it's certainly a lot of fun.

On the planet of Eternia, the sinister warlord Skeletor (Frank Langella) had control of Castle Greyskull. It's the centre of power in the universe and with the Sorceress (Christina Pickles) as his prisoner, Skeletor had quite the advantage for his reign of terror. Of course there was an obstacle.

The obstacle being the rather hunky He-Man (Dolph Lundgren) and his companions, Teela (Chelsea Fields) and her father Man-At-Arms (Jon Cypher). Along with diminutive locksmith Gwildor (Billy Barty) and a portal opening key, Skeletor had to assemble a team of his own in order to get that vital device.

That team included Evil-Lyn (Meg Foster), Saurod (Pons Maar), Blade (Anthony De Longis), Beast Man (Tony Caroll) and Karg (Robert Towers), all of whom ended up having to go to Earth, where the majority of the movie actually took place. It's where He-Man, Teela and Man-At-Arms ended up, trying to retrieve the device with Gwildor.

With this movie, you needed a few human protagonists in the mix and teenage couple Julie Winston (Courtney Cox) and Kevin Corrigan (Robert Duncan McNeill) along with grouchy detective Hugh Lubic (James Tolkan) and music store owner, Charlie (Barry Livingston) made up that part of the cast. It's mostly Julie and Kevin that are a help to He-Man and his companions with Lubic being more of an obstacle.

Of course the quest to get the key back had Skeletor cone to Earth and capturing He-Man was just an added bonus for him. Taking things back to Eternia for the third act did make me realise how much I missed seeing the place for most of the movie. Needless to say, Skeletor's victory was mostly on the short-lived side of things with He-Man regaining the upper hand and a spot of time travelling fixed something personal for Julie as well.

- A post credit scene indicated that Skeletor actually survived being thrown into the pit. A sequel had also been planned. 

- Mattel certainly caused problems behind the scenes for the movie with not paying half the production cast in time.

- Standout music: Bill Conte's score for the movie in particular was enjoyable.

- Chronology: Some of the movie was in Castle Greyskull on Eternia but most was set in California.

I know the film was both a commercial and critical failure, a role that the lead actor cited his least favourite and that there's too much time on Earth but I kind of enjoyed Masters Of The Universe. It's campy enough to be enjoyable for a good afternoon. 

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of The Boogeyman (2023)

 

Written by Scott Beck And Bryan Woods And Mark Heyman

Directed by Rob Savage

Sadie (to Sawyer): "There's no such things as monsters. You need to grow up."

As it turned out, I ended up watching two adaptations of Stephen King stories this week. Following Mr Harrigan's Phone, there was also this take on The Boogeyman. I did not have a great time with this one.

Focusing on a grieving family in a nice house, you've got therapist Will Harper (Chris Messina) and his daughters, Sadie (Sophie Thatcher) and Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair). They're trying to overcome their loss but also seem to struggle to connect with said loss as well.

Sadie in particular was not only frustrated with her father not opening up but her best friend Bethany (Madison Hu) had become friends with the mean girls. Those girls in particular seemed to take a bit too much delight on mocking Sadie and a sleepover with the girls ended with Sadie rightfully lashing out at the ringleader of that group.

Of course mean girls to one side, there was also Will's patient, Lester Billings (David Dastmachian) confessing to an entity killing his kids before an attack at night resulted in Lester's death. That death also being a trigger for the titular character itself.

The use of the Boogeyman should've livened up this movie as both Sadie and Sawyer have their moments with the barely seen creature but the scenes feel constantly repetitive with the adult typically not believing until the story needed them to do so. 

Then there was Lester's unstable wife, Rita (Marin Ireland) trying to use Sadie as bait before the latter had to step up and save her own family from the Boogeyman. Sadie just about managed to do that but then that last scene implied that it had returned.

- How many people have used that method to remove a loose tooth? 

- The movie used a lot of red, blue and green lighting at different points and usually involving the Boogeyman itself.

- The movie was originally meant to be a Hulu release before it got a theatrical one.

- Chronology: Present day, though the original story was from 1973 and added to the 1978 Night Shift collection.

I wanted to like The Boogeyman but as an adaptation, I found it very lifeless and dull with the lead cast trying their best but ultimately feeling wasted. It's a very poor movie.

Rating: 5 out of 10 

My Review of Mr Harrigan's Phone (2022)

 

Written And Directed by John Lee Hancock

Craig: "When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers. Oscar Wilde wrote that. We didn't read that book. Maybe we should have."

It's been a minute since I've watched an adaptation of a Stephen King novel and I went for something a bit more recent with this Netflix movie from 2022. It's been on my list for a while to be fair.

Focusing on a friendship between a socially awkward teenager named Craig Poole (Jaeden Martell) and retired businessman John Harrigan (Donald Sutherland). It's an odd but rather sweet friendship.

In the movie, we got see Craig introduce Harrigan to the concept of a smartphone, something which the latter had mixed feelings on. Saying that, he also loved the use of a certain song as his ringtone and then died. 

The death of Mr Harrigan was where things would end up getting a bit strange for Craig. When he wasn't dealing with a bully named Kenny Yankovich (Cyrus Arnold) or having a crush on his teacher, Ms. Hart (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), then both of these people died, putting Craig in an awkward position.

Was the late Mr Harrigan really calling Craig from the great beyond and helping him? Craig seemed to believe he was but his father (Joe Tippett) was more doubtful of it. However there was something to Craig's belief the more he uncovered Harrigan's connection to his late mother.

The final scene in the graveyard did however bring things to a cathartic conclusion for Craig. He resolved his mommy issues and the hold that he had over Harrigan while making a keen observation about being buried with empty pockets.

- Craig won $3000 from a lottery ticket by Harrigan and the latter left him $800,000 after he died.

- This movie was based on the novella of the same name from the If It Bleeds book.

- Standout music: Tammy Wynette's Stand By Your Man.

- Chronology: The movie started off in 2003 with Craig going into high school in 2008.

Mr Harrigan's Phone might not be the strongest adaptation of a Stephen King story but it's a charming take on the source material regardless. Good performances from both leads certainly help.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of My Bloody Valentine 3D (2009)

 

Written by Todd Farmer And Zane Smith

Directed by Patrick Lussier

Axel: "Are you there, Harry? You living inside Tom? Huh? Are you in there?"

Tom: "Oh... I'm right here."

Axel: "I fucking knew it!"

Yesterday I reviewed the original movie from 1981 and last night, I watched the remake from 2009. Horror remakes from the 2000s were certainly a thing, weren't they? They either completely missed the point or were just straight up bad.

Oddly enough, this one managed to fall into neither category. Now I'm not saying it's an amazing movie by any stretch of the imagination but it's certainly an entertaining one and more than I expected it to be.

The opening of the movie had The Miner aka Harry Warden (Richard John Walters) attacking his fellow miners following an explosion that the mine owner's son, Tom Hanniger (Jensen Ackles) from the previous year. Other survivors from Harry's attack included Tom's childhood sweetheart Sarah Mercer (Jamie King), rival Axel Palmer (Kerr Smith) and the unfortunate Irene (Betsy Rue).

Cut to a decade later and you've got Sarah and Axel (now the town Sheriff) in an unhappy marriage with the latter having an affair with Sarah's co-worker, Megan (Megan Boone). Then there's Tom returning to the town in order to sell off his father's mine, which both Ben Foley (Kevin Tighe) and Sheriff Jim Burke (Tom Atkins) were opposed to.

Anyways, the Miner came back to life and throughout the movie we saw various characters getting gruesomely killed as suspicion grew heavily on Tom. I mentioned in my review for the original that I didn't care for the Tom/Sarah/Axel triangle and I kind of don't here too but it's actually better written compared to the original itself.

Another good thing about this movie was the change of killer. The original had Axel being the killer but here, it was Tom who was suffering from split personalities. It actually worked as a reveal and again, the last scene left it open for a sequel. 

- Fans of a certain horror franchise would've spotted both Tom Atkins and Betsy Rue, the latter being a sequel to a remake released months after this one.

- Despite being a massive hit, a sequel didn't happen because of the poor critical reception this one got.

- Todd Farmer who co-wrote the movie also had a role of a sleazy truck driver named Frank.

- Chronology: We go from Valentine's Day in 1997, 1998 and 2008 in the mining town.

I know it's not a beloved remake by any stretch but I had a pleasantly good time with My Bloody Valentine 3D. There's some good performances from the lead cast and the kills are impressive enough with some nice nods to the original.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of My Bloody Valentine (1981)

 

Written by John Beaird And Stephen Miller

Directed by George Mihalka

Axel: "Hanniger, I'll be in Hell waiting for you! Harry? Harry, I'm coming! This whole FUCKING TOWN is going to die! We're coming back, you bastards! Sarah, be my bloody Valentine! Daddy's gone away, Harry Warden made you pay..."

With Valentine's Day approaching, I thought I'd delve into some old horror movies focused on the day in particular. This meant finally watching this cult favourite from 1981 where the premise of a mining incident didn't really feel like the grounds for a Valentine's themed horror fest.

The film started with a miner losing his cool when his girlfriend showed a heart tattoo on her breast. He snapped and killed her. Then there was a backstory about a local dance being reinstated twenty years after an incident where five miners died with Harry Warden (Peter Cowper) resorting to cannibalism for survival.

In the current day of this movie's release, you had a lovely triangle between the seemingly nice Axel Palmer (Neil Affleck), his girlfriend Sarah Mercer (Lori Happier) and her ex boyfriend, Tom Jesse "T.J." Hanniger (Paul Kelman). The latter having recently returned to the town of Valentine Bluffs and already making his presence felt by everyone, but especially Axel and Sarah.

Of course with this triangle brewing, there was the Miner as well going around and killing as many of the locals as possible. Locals that included Mabel (Patricia Hamilton), Dave (Carl Marotte) and Sylvia (Helene Udy) to name but a few. The deaths are gory with the likes of laundromats, impaling and boiling water factoring into the kills along with some heart eating and gruesome calling cards left in their wake.

With the younger cast responding to their Valentine's dance being banned again by taking their party to the mines, it seemed like a fitting location for the Miner to finish the job. Not to mention it was also the perfect place for the Miner to reveal their identity.

Having the nice but seemingly boring Axel being revealed as the Miner did kind of work, especially with flashbacks providing suitable context for why he snapped and started killing. Axel almost got a rather suitable demise as well as a maniacal laugh to end the movie on an unsettling note.

- A remake, titled My Bloody Valentine 3D came out in 2009 and I'll be reviewing that as well. Blumhouse are also doing their own reboot.

- Harry Warden's laugh can be heard at the start of the movie.

- Standout music: There's a rather creepy ballad for Harry Warden (the original killer that triggered Axel) that's used a lot in the movie. 

- Chronology: Set in the fictional Canadian town of Valentine Bluffs.

My Bloody Valentine did make for a decent enough horror with some suitably gory. It's weakened by the main live triangle not being very compelling though but not enough to overall derail the movie.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Harley Quinn: "Big Pasta Dinner"

 

Written by Jamiesen Borak

Directed by Christina Manrique 

Harley (to everyone): "Maybe the butler did it."

By golly, I think she's got it. Actually, she would've but the thing that Harley hadn't factored was the lack of an actual dead body. It turned out that Alfred's party piece was faking his death.

It's an unusual one but for this episode we had Harley, Ivy, Frank, Shawn the Shark, Lois Lane, Joker, Sophia, Bruce and Damian all together in one apartment for dinner with plenty of tension brewing. Of course Alfred's little party piece had everyone chasing Harley for a bit. Then other stuff happened.

Remember last season when Dick Grayson was killed by a sleepwalking Harley and got resurrected by the Lazarus Pit? Yeah, it turned out that he wanted revenge and crashed the party as Red X. He got very close to killing Harley until Bruce giving a much needed apology to both Dick and Damian managed to quell Dick's homicidal tendencies.

That of course then left Alfred to reveal himself as the one responsible for Dick's resurrection and he also wanted to kill Harley, Ivy and Joker for the chaos they've created. He also had his issues with Bruce that a heartfelt apology wouldn't suffice.

Anyways, Alfred went nuts on the same venom that Bane used, tried to kill everyone until the mischievous Shawn saved the day. Then we had Lois offering Harley a job at the Daily Planet because like Harley, Lois too has been having nightmares of a giant skull. 

- Damian broke up with Raven off screen and then got together with Sophia by the end of the episode.

- I know this version of Bruce is meant to be widely inconsiderate but even I was surprised he didn't know Alfred's surname. Lena also refused to come to dinner.

- Frank worked out that he was 90 in human years while King Shark was dealing with an underwater rebellion. Oh and Harley really wanted that illegal showerhead.

- Chronology: Not long from the events of the previous episode.

Big Pasta Dinner had fun with it's murder mystery premise and the returns of both Dick Grayson/Red X and Alfred/the Macaroni certainly livened up the episode. Even with Brainiac's absence, at least some of his story moved along a bit.

Rating: 7 out of 10