My Review of The Sandman: "A Tale Of Graceful Ends"

 

Written by Allan Heinberg 

Directed by Jamie Childs 

Mother (to Maid/Crone): "There. For good or bad, it's done."

And so would be this show - almost. This episode alone was a funeral for Lord Morpheus but also a welcoming for Daniel Hall aka Dream II. Its such a pity that we won't get a full season of this version of Dream. I love him already.

Daniel spent a portion of this episode unsure of his new position and aside from one moment of calling out an impatient Cain, he was getting off to a pretty benevolent start. I mean he brought back Abel once Cain described him and then he revived both Merv Pumpkinhead and Fiddler's Green. The latter was less enthusiast about being brought back.

Of course the best scenes that the new Dream got were with Lucienne, Destruction and Lyta herself. Daniel showed compassion to both Lucienne and Lyta while having a rather poignant family exchange with Destruction. The latter might not have attended Morpheus's funeral but he give some great advice to Daniel.

As for the other siblings, yes they showed up to their brother's funeral and each of them gave some rather beautiful speeches. In particular, both Desire and Despair's hit the most. The end scene with the siblings embracing Daniel was a lovely moment. Another shame that we won't get to see more of it.

Going back to Lord Morpheus, his death certainly brought out some players. Matthew came back despite feeling he had said everything about Morpheus. Then there was Hob Gadling grieving for his friend but also wanting to continue to live. I loved his scene with Death.

Last but not least, they really went there with Johanna Constantine and Corinthian II, huh? This episode really pushed the big love story and even a romantic kiss. The woman who described her exes as nightmares and the nicer version of a nightmare. What an odd couple. Maybe it'll work out for them.

- A credit scene had the Kindly Ones reading from a fortune cookie. It seemed to be setting up next week's actual last ever episode.

- Daniel gave Nuala back her old room in the Dreaming. Titania blanked her during Morpheus's funeral. Morpheus also visited an older William Shakespeare.

- I spotted Mad Hettie, Rose Walker and Calliope also in attendance of Lord Morpheus's funeral. Hettie felt guilty about her part in Morpheus's demise.

- Death wore red during Morpheus's funeral while Desire admitted that they'll miss antagonising Morpheus. Despair talked of her previous iteration.

- Next week's actual last episode is titled, Death: The High Cost Of Living.

- Chronology: From where the last episode left off.

A Tale Of Graceful Ends did make for a glorious series finale (of sorts). The funeral scenes were beautifully handled with every character getting some truly great moments. Let's see where the real last episode will go.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of The Sandman: "The Kindly Ones"

 

Written by Greg Goetz

Directed by Jamie Childs

Johanna: "People around me tend to get hurt."

Corinthian II: "I'm not people. You can't hurt me."

In terms of pairings I didn't expect, step up Johanna Constantine and Corinthian II. No, seriously, I didn't expect them. This episode actually managed to make a compelling case for them too.

First of all, let's talk of Corinthian II. He might look the same as his former iteration but he's not the same, even if he does retain some of his former's self's memories. Only this time, he's actually a force for good. It would take a bit for Johanna to realise that but she did.

With Morpheus having to stay in his own realm to avoid the wrath of the Kindly Ones, he paired Johanna and Corinthian II in order to rescue.  There's a bit of a good/bad news on that. Loki didn't destroy him but he did speed up Daniel's impending Godhood with that baptism of fire. 

Another thing Loki managed to do was burn his bridges with Puck. The latter surrender Loki's whereabouts quite easily to Johanna and Corinthian II. They were successful in getting Daniel back and Loki got dragged away by Odin and Thor. Oh and Johanna and Corinthian II flirted up a storm but Johanna also refused to totally give into the reformed nightmare creature.

As for the rest of the episode, the Kindly Ones know how to play dirty. With Mad Hettie, they had no problem with manipulating Lyta into helping their mission to take out Dream. He didn't die in this one but being removed from his realm allowed the Kindly Ones and Lyta to enter the Dreaming. Alas, poor Fiddler's Green. 

Then there's Dream himself. He hated being under virtual house arrest but he managed to have some nice scenes with both Lucienne and Delirium before getting pulled into the Faerie realm by a reckless Titania. Yeah, her attempts to get one over on Nuala really did backfire by the end of this episode. 

- Delirium was looking for Barnabus. Dream didn't want to help but offered her Goldie to go with her instead.

- Corinthian II used Mrs Shore's eyes to locate Loki. Puck obviously hooked up with the previous Corinthian. He also hooked up with Cluracan this episode.

- Mad Hettie currently has Barnabus in her possession. The Kindly Ones continue to enjoy their loop holes by telling Lyta about Orpheus.

- Loki mentioned his six children in the previous episode and also talked about sleeping with Thor's wife in this one.

- Nuala's gift was taken by Titania while Johanna surrendered her protection to Corinthian II.

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off.

The Kindly Ones kicked off the true beginning of the end for Lord Morpheus in style. Every plot strand flowed beautifully together but I really enjoyed the Johanna/Corinthian II scenes together the most.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of The Sandman: "Fuel For The Fire"

 

Written by Jay Franklin

Directed by Jamie Childs

Corinthian (to Dream): "Thank you Lord. I await your command."

Oh look who's back. You'd think after the chaos he caused in the first season, the last line of defence that Morpheus would go for would be the Corinthian (Boyd Holbrook). That's how dire the situation has become for Dream. 

Of course, going by the brief scene that Corinthian appeared in, it would appear that his master had made alterations in order to make Corinthian more agreeable. He appeared to be in that one scene. Submissive even. Oh, Corinthian, I've missed you.

This episode seemed to continue a tour of sorts for Lord Morpheus. He recruited the modern version of Johanna Constantine (Jenna Coleman) in order to rescue Daniel. Yet again, there's a spark between Morpheus and Johanna and the latter had no problem in giving Dream a much needed dressing down and some home truths to boot. I'm really glad she's back for a more expanded role this season.

Keeping with the reunions, I'm also really glad that Morpgeus got a scene with Despair. We needed a scene between those two and its a beautifully done scene. Despair had a lot of compassion for Dream losing his son. I thought the stories she told Dream about his son was rather. Also sweet was Dream's reunion with Hob Gadling (Ferdinand Kingsley). I hope they get at least another one before the finale.

Getting back to the Daniel Hall story though, Loki really had no qualms with burning up a baby. Puck to his credit tried to do the right thing but alas, he couldn't outwit his more evil lover. Lyta on the other hand spent most of the episode fully blaming Morpheus for her son's abduction. I mean she wasn't entirely wrong. 

As for Nuala, she wasn't happy about going home. It didn't help that Cluracan was unsympathetic to her plight and even glamoured Nuala against her consent. Nuala's scene with Titania had a certain tension with the latter being fixated on Nuala's gift from Dream. 

- Johanna and Corinthian wore white last season but this time around, both were decked out in black. Johanna has shorter hair this time around.

- Dream gave Johanna her ancestor's diary, which she read about in relation to Orpheus. Johanna was having a dream about killing a lover.

- Puck really does seem to be falling in love with Loki. Loki played on that twice in this episode.

- Lyta's connection to the Kindly Ones was made apparent. They were also rather unhelpful with her.

- Hob had lost his wife from earlier this season. He brought up the fact that he's lost a lot of family members as a result of his refusal to die.

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off. Daniel's eight months old.

Fuel For The Fire was a stronger episode with plenty of great character moments. The Loki/Puck dynamic over Daniel. Dream's scenes with Despair, Johanna and Hob were the best from this episode as well as the return of Corinthian.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of The Sandman: "Family Blood"

 

Written by Jim Campolongo

Directed by Jamie Childs 

Dream: "What is it that you want?"

Johanna: "Perhaps a bit more time with Orpheus."

As always if there's a Constantine in the mix, my interest will increase for this show. We might not have John, but we can have Lady Johanna Constantine (Jenna Coleman) and she's just as much as fun as her male counterpart/descendant.

It had been five years since Lady Johanna had encountered Dream and Hob Gadling and since then, she's made herself into quite the occult expert. That alone had Dream seek her out for a very special task. Johanna was going to recover the head of Dream's son, Orpheus. It didn't take much to persuade Johanna to embark on such a dangerous mission.

In fact, aside from Dream promising Johanna anything within his mind, the element of danger alone seemed to excite Johanna. It also didn't take her long to find Orpheus's head and attract the attention of Maximilien Robespierre (Jonathan Slinger). Robespierre was a bit too overeager to make an example out of Johanna. 

Instead both Johanna and Orpheus made quite a team together and managed to bring about the downfall of Robespierre. I really liked the Johanna/Orpheus rapport and she seemed to be something of a bridging between Orpheus and Dream.  There's a father/son reunion that came with deadly consequences. 

The previous episode made a thing about Dream not being allowed to spill family blood. Dream broke that rule when gave Orpheus exactly what the latter wanted. The Kindly Ones in particular were very interested in the consequences of Dream's mercy killing of his son. It was a great way to set up the second half of the season.

As for family reunions, we had some great scenes with Dream, Delirium and Destruction. Of course Destruction didn't want to return but at least Delirium got some closure of her own and a friend of sorts with Barnabus to measure. Delirium seemed pretty happy with that outcome.

- Johanna figured out for herself that Morpheus was the King of Dreams. 

- Out of the Kindly Ones, it was the Crone who seemed the least compassionate towards Dream killing Orpheus.

- Destruction prepared a meal that neither Dream or Delirium were interested in eating.

- Was that a laughing magician reference during Johanna's captivity in Robespierre's cell? She did laugh manically at one point.

- The next five episodes of the season will be released on Netflix from July 24th.

- Chronology: Wych Cross, England - June 28th 1794, then heading to Paris before going elsewhere to keep Orpheus's head safe.

Family Blood was another delightful episode. The resolution of the Orpheus storyline that now has led into a bigger one for the second half of the season. The reunion with Destruction. The welcomed return of Lady Johanna Constantine and her scenes with both father and son. Excellent stuff.

Rating: 9 out of 10

DCU Blog - June 2025 Edition: Superman World Tour, The Batman Sequel Script Completed and Clayface Cast

When I say this was the busiest month for DC this year, I mean it. So much information came out. There's a lot to go over.

The World Tour for Superman (July 11th) kicked off with cast and crew visiting various countries to promote the movie.

Additional cast members for this movie include Bradley Cooper and Angela Sarafyan as Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van. Alan Tudyk, Jennifer Holland, Michael Rooker, Pom Klementieff, Grace Chan and Michael Rosenblum will voice robots in the movie. Stephen Blackehart will also appear as Sydney Happersen.

Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow will now be titled Supergirl (June 26th 2026). The movie is currently in post production.

James Gunn has confirmed that a Wonder Woman film is in development being currently written. It'll be connected to prequel series, Paradise Lost.

After waiting for the longest time, Matt Reeves and Mattson Tomlin announced that the script for The Batman - Part II (October 1st 2027) is now complete.

Meanwhile, James Gunn has confirmed that he's also working closely with the writer for The Brave And The Bold. 

A draft for the Deathstroke and Bane movie has been written. So far, that's it really.

Peacemaker Season 2 (August 21st HBO Max) will be the focus at Hall H for SDCC next month.

Tom Rhys Harries has been cast as Clayface (September 11th 2026). Filming will start in the UK in October.

James Gunn has also started writing his next film after Superman. I'm sure that'll be announced after next month.

Filming for Lanterns will be completed next month. The show will air on HBO in 2026.

It's also been confirmed that Waller is still in development and that a Teen Titans script is being written by Ana Nogueira.

Season 2 of The Sandman arrives this month on Netflix. Eps 1-6 from July 3rd, eps 7-11 from July 24th and a final special from July 31st.

Creature Commandos will air on Sky for UK/Irish viewers from July 8th at 2am/11pm respectively.

An R-Rated animated series for Mister Miracle is in development. Tom King will be involved with the show.

James Gunn has confirmed that there are complexities involving Static Shock. I wouldn't expect it anytime soon.

Now that Pride Month is coming to an end today, I thought I'd list my favourite LGBT characters. A Top 10 list so to speak. You won't be shocked by it. Here goes.

1) John Constantine

2) Harley Quinn

3) Red Robin (Tim Drake)

4) Poison Ivy 

5) Midnighter

6) Dreamer (Nia Nal)

7) Wonder Woman 

8) Catman

9) Apollo

10) Extrano

Well, that's it for the month of June. Next month is going to be DC at it's most crazy with the release of Superman.

I Turned 40 So Here's An 1985 Post

Yeah, turned 40 as of today and I thought a fun way of passing that milestone would be a blog talking about media events that happened in 1985.

Thinking of it as my less serious take on Reeling In The Years. 

Seeing as I talk about DC Comics quite a lot on this blog, of course one of things that sprang to mind was that this month also marked the 40th anniversary of Vertigo/Black Label/DC bad boy bisexual occult detective John Constantine. The character debuted properly in Issue #37 of Saga Of The Swamp Thing and became so popular, he ended up having 300 issues of his own comics from 1988-2013. Since then, he's had other runs for both the Black Label and mainstream DC, been on the Justice League Dark team and popped up in other characters and groups books, including Birds Of Prey recently. In live action, we've had the likes of Keanu Reeves, Matt Ryan and Jenna Coleman provide different takes, Taron Egerton through audio and we've had animated movies and shows too. Not too shabby for the character, eh?

Debut a few months before my birthday and the only soap that I consistently watch nowadays would be EastEnders. I start watching this around the mid 90s and I have been since then. Like all soaps, it has definitely had it's highs and lows but it's the one soap that I always find myself the most drawn to. I enjoyed the 40th anniversary celebrations back in February and the aftermath to that has been mostly entertaining since then. On the other side of the world, Neighbours also debuted the same year and will be ending for good towards the end of this year.

Are you really a gay man if you haven't watched The Golden Girls at some point in your life? Again, caught some of it as a kid and have rewatched it over the years as an adult. As a show, it never fails to make me laugh with Dorothy (Bea Arthur), Sophia (Estelle Getty), Blanche (Rue McClanahan) and Rose (Betty White) being the most entertaining foursome on the planet. Later in the year, to line up with this show's 40th anniversary, I'll do a blog about the show and it's short-lived spinoff, The Golden Palace.

1985 was also a very interesting time for Doctor Who. It was the proper debut season of Colin Baker's Sixth Doctor, paired with Peri Brown (Nicola Bryant). In their debut year, they'd face Daleks and Davros (Terry Molloy), the Master (Anthony Ainley) and the Rani (Kate O'Mara), Cybermen, Sontarans and the odious Sil (Nabil Shabam). Oh and there would be a rather nice team up with the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines) but that wasn't all. The show's future would be in doubt, following a hiatus for the next season and the unforgettable (for all the wrong reasons) charity single, Doctor In Distress. Go and listen to it, I dare you. Also, 2025 Doctor Who looks like it could be heading down a similar path.

And then there were movies. 1985 gave Disney fans, The Black Cauldron (tomorrow's blog) and horror fans such sequels as A Nightmare On Elm Street: Freddy's Revenge and Friday The 13th: A New Beginning. It also gave audiences Back To The Future with Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd as Marty McFly and Doc Brown respectively. One of my favourite childhood movies includes Return To Oz while other movies from this year include The Breakfast Club, Desperately Seeking Susan, The Goonies, Cocoon, St. Elmo's Fire, Fright Night, Teen Wolf, Santa Clause: The Movie, Clue and Legend to name but a few. Most of these I've seen, some I've reviewed and others I need to catch up on.

As for music, 1985 was a good year for it. A list of some of the best songs from that year, so to speak.

• Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)
• Tears For Fears - Everybody Wants To Rule The World
• Eurythmics - There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)
• Madonna - Into The Groove 
• Wham! - I'm Your Man
• Dead or Alive - You Spin Me Around (Like A Record)
• David Bowie/Mick Jaggar - Dancing In The Street
• Whitney Houston - Saving All My Love For You
• Bronski Beat - I Feel Love 
• Lionel Ritchie - Say You, Say Me

Well, that's a brief-ish on some noteworthy media things in the year of my birth that pertain to my interests. Hope you enjoyed reading it.

DCU Blog - March 2025 Edition: CinenaCon Approaches, Lanterns Casting And More

March has certainly been a busy month for DC as more developments came to light with several upcoming projects.

Superman (2025) has allegedly had test screenings, a certain piece of casting may or may not be true and CinemaCon tomorrow will reveal a brand new trailer. July 11th 2025.

Both Nathan Fillion and Anthony Cardigan have talked about their respective roles in Superman (2025) and the overall tone of the movie.

Jason Momoa confirmed once again that his role as Lobo on Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow (June 26th 2026) is a small one with filming halfway done.

Production for Clayface (September 11th 2026) will start in the summer. Casting should be revealed very soon.

It seems that Colin Farrell may be playing Sgt. Rock after all for the upcoming movie, directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes.

The script for The Batman - Part II (October 1st 2027) still hasn't been handed in yet, though Robert Parkinson has stated filming should start by the end of the year.

Giancarlo Esposito has expressed interest in playing Mr Freeze in the DCU.

Action figures from Batman Returns will be released during the summer. They include Batman, Catwoman, the Penguin and Max Schreck.

Nicole Ari Parker and Sherman Augustus will play the current day versions of John Stewart's parents while Jasmine Cephas Jones and J. Alphonse Nicholson will play the younger versions in Lanterns. Jason Ritter will also play Billy Macon.

Superman Day will on April 18th this year. We might get something new for that particular day.

Darren Aronofsky has recently followed James Gunn on social media. There has been rumours of him doing a Plastic Man movie for the DCU.

Jason Bateman recently played Batman in a State Farm Ad that also featured the Joker, Riddler, Two Face and Poison Ivy.

The latest mobile game, DC Dark Legion was released this month. Available on Google Play.

The second season of Peacemaker has been confirmed for August 2025 on Max. Brey Noelle will be playing White Rabbit in the new season.

David Zaslav is looking to replace Mike Deluca and Pam Abdy for the film division at Warner Brothers.

The animated show that were announced last month, such as Starfire will all be Elseworlds shows.

A busy month for DC as the DCU continues to be filming upcoming projects while others are in pre-production.

DCU Blog - September 2024 Edition: Lantern/Supergirl Castings, Movie Rumours, etc

As we head into the final quarter of the year, this last month certainly had a lot going on in terms of DC news.

Kyle Chandler has been cast as Hal Jordan for the upcoming Lanterns show for HBO. Aaron Pierre and Stephan James are in the running for John Stewart.

Matthias Schnoenaerts has been cast as Krem of the Yellow Hills for Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow. Filming will begin in January.

Alan Tudyk has been cast in an undisclosed role for Superman. He will also play Doctor Phosphorus in Creature Commandos. Krypto will also appear in Superman.

The Batman has another spin off series in development, though more details have yet to be revealed.

Prior to the release of Joker: Folie A Deux on October 4th, Lady Gaga released companion soundtrack, titled Harlequin. Harry Lawtey has been confirmed as Harvey Dent. 

The script for The Batman - Part II has been completed. Expect casting news fairly soon with filming slated for 2025 to make it's October 2nd 2026 release.

A script for the Keanu Reeves Constantine sequel has also been written. It has yet to be officially greenlit.

A longer roll out for Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story is expected to contend for the Oscars.

A movie featuring Bane and Deathstroke is in development and will be written by Matthew Orton. It's potentially a Secret Six movie. 

The opening episode for The Penguin managed to pull in 5.3 million on various platforms in its first four days.

Beast Boy Lone Wolf shorts will premiere on Cartoon Network from October 28th.

Creature Commandos will have a panel at NYCC in October while David Corenswet will promote Superman at CCXP in December.

A movie focusing on Sgt. Rock with Luca Guadagnino directing and Justin Kuritzkes writing is also in development. 

Mattel are releasing Barbie versions of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy.

Jack Quaid has revealed that recording for Season 3 of My Adventures With Superman has begun.

Superman And Lois (airing from October 7th on the CW) will feature a character no other Superman show or movie has done in its final season.  

That's all for this month, folks. It's getting excited, isn't it?

My Review of Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths - Part Three (2024)

 

Written by James Krieg

Directed by Jeff Wamester

Earth-12 The Joker: "I must say, Batsy, I'm flattered. The end of the world, and you want to spend it with me? I didn't know you cared!"

Earth-12 Batman: "I care, Joker, about Gotham. About justice! And if it has to end, at least I go out like this... being Batman!"

I think years ago and had both Arrowverse and the DC Extended Universe not played out the Multiverse concept, something tells me that this trilogu ender might have gone down better with DC fans. Instead, it seemed to be less of an event and more of a whimper for some fans.

It's a shame because after a very sluggish second part, I actually thought this third part was something of an improvement. Following the Anti-Monitor getting even more powerful and universe shattering, there was a bleed in the universe. A version of limbo where two versions of Superman, Lois Lane, Hawkgirl and John Stewart were able to find and rescue Wonder Woman.

Meanwhile Lex Luthor and his assembled villain corner of Joker, Poison Ivy, Solomon Grundy and Two Face had Psycho Pirate captive and used him in order to broker a deal of sorts with the Anti-Monitor.  It wouldn't be Lex if he wasn't trying to manipulate a cataclysmic situation to his advantage. Oh and he trying to figure out a weakness for the Anti-Monitor. See, he's not all bad.

Then there was Supergirl working through her guilt of killing The Monitor, various characters (including the Losers) fighting off invading dinosaurs before there was a more concentrated effort to get some answers. That meant Batman, Wonder Woman, Doctor Fate and John Stewart taking a trip to Earth 18 in order to retrieve John Constantine.

For proof that you really needed to have caught between parts in this saga, once Constantine got sobered up, Batman learned very fast that Constantine manipulated The Flash into killing Darkseid as a baby. Yup, Constantine well and truly fucked up as it turns out that a Multiverse without Darkseid isn't a good one to have.

On the plus side, at least Supergirl (and Psycho Pirate) made a heroic sacrifice to take out the Anti-Monitor while Martian Manhunter and Nightshade got a hold of a machine with the ability to grant wishes. Constantine wasn't quite enough to get it working but Wonder Woman sure as hell was. Remember, it's a Crisis and multiple deaths were always going to be on the menu.

By the end of this movie, The Spectre showed up as the Multiverse ended and the Monoverse began, thus potentially ending all the animated continuity for now. Nearly everyone threw themselves into the Monoverse, except for The Question and Constantine. The latter was expecting punishment for royally fucking up the Multiverse but instead, he was offered hope. My feelings towards this trilogy to one side, I'm really happy the final shot was given to a young Wonder Woman on Themyscira. 

- The movie was dedicated to Kevin Conroy (1955-2022). My quote for this movie is the exchange between Batman (Conroy) and Joker (Mark Hamill) from Batman: The Animated Series.

- We saw the ending of both the Justice League animated worlds, including Super Friends.

- There was flashbacks to both Justice League Dark: Apokolips Wars and Constantine: The House Of Mystery. We saw the Justice Society one last time and some of the Titans.

- Despite being the end of this particular animated continuity, there will be more animated movies not set in the DC Universe to come, starting with Watchmen: Chapter One from August 13th.

- Aww, poor Darkseid being killed when he was only a year old. Next time, John, think your plans through. 

- Chronology: Eight months have passed between the second and third parts of this trilogy.

I know it's been a divisive trilogy and I would argue that the Arrowverse handled it better but I actually liked Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths - Part Three. It provided a solid ending to this particular continuity, gave certain characters their moments to step up and had fan pleasing cameos (minus their outcomes). Moving forward, I'd maybe avoid big universal plots for a long time and focus on smaller scale stories and adaptations. 

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths - Part Two (2024)

 

Written by James Krieg

Directed by Jeff Wamester

The Spectre: "I see. Then this is all your fault."

The Monitor: "Yes, it is. All living things, in all realities, are about to die. And I killed them."

I have to admit that unlike some people, I really enjoyed the first part of this trilogy/ender for the Tomorrowverse but I kind of struggled with this second part. Fan pleasing appearances to one side, there was almost too much exposition and too little with moving things forward.

At the start of this second part, you'd think the story would've pivoted towards Batman (Jensen Ackles) but nope, he's not as front and centre as you'd want him to be. Instead this segment largely resolved around The Monitor (Jonathan Adams), Supergirl/Harbinger (Meg Donnelly) and Psycho Pirate (Geoffrey Arend) as the volatile relationship between the three of them became undone, largely down to the Anti Monitor (Ato Essandoh).

In flashbacks we saw the Psycho Pirate coming from a violent family, going to a private school, being bullied, discovering his powers and then learning how to use them for his own personal gain. He even had Doctor Fate (Keith Ferguson) as a prisoner until the Monitor showed him a different path.

Likewise with Supergirl being plucked from her own time stream to take on the Harbinger role but the Monitor's refusal to directly intervene against various worlds being wiped out of existence really came back to haunt him. The Anti Monitor got into Psycho Pirate's head and he got into Supergirl's and lets just say that things ended badly for him here.

Disaster definitely seemed to be the order of the day as along with worlds being erased from existence, there was also shadow demons attacking heroes when said heroes werent attacking each other. I mean this did end with even Batman, Superman (Darren Criss) and Wonder Woman (Stana Katic) being taken out of the mix, leaving things very gloomy for the final part of this trilogy.

As for the rest of the story, I'm glad interacting with John Stewart (Aldis Hodge) was enough to get John Constantine (Matt Ryan) to remember who he was and drop the Pariah persona. It's too bad we didn't see more of Constantine throughout this second part but hopefully he'll have a bigger role in the last one. He may need to help save the day with the remaining heroes around.

- I did love the opening scene with Batman versus the Joker (Troy Baker), Killer Croc etc as well as Batman Beyond (Will Friedle), Batgirl (Gideon Adlon), Damian Wayne/Robin (Zach Callison), Huntress, Dick Grayson/Robin and Batwing.

- Nice team up with Kamamdi (Will Friedle) and Solovar (Darin De Paul) as well as Wonder Woman and a different Earth Hippolyta.

- Constantine mentioned being punished for over hundreds of years when getting his memories and making himself look younger.

- The Anti Monitor got a somewhat different look from the way he's depicted in the comics.

- A release date for Part Three has yet to be confirmed but a preview did show us Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill's versions of Batman and Joker for the last time. 

- Chronology: From where the first part left off.

I wanted to enjoy Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths - Part Two more than I did but it was largely very muddled in parts and felt like it was treading water at times. The highlights however were the Batman Family related scenes and Constantine getting his memories back, so not all bad then.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

DCU Blog - March 2024 Edition: Teen Titans Movie Go, The Penguin Trailer Released And More

Another busy month for DCU fans with a lot of information being spilled. 

In news that will shock absolutely no one, it was revealed that The Batman Part II will now be released from October 2nd 2026.

Joker: Folie A Deux will be a jukebox musical and contain at least fifteen cover songs. Lady Gaga has written music for the movie.

A potential costume reveal for David Corenswet in Superman will likely happen when the character starts outdoor filming next month.

James Gunn has confirmed yet again that no film will be officially greenlit until there's a script DC Studios are happy with.

A movie focusing on the Teen Titans will be written by Ana Nogueira, making this her second script following Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow.

Patty Jenkins has confirmed that her Wonder Woman journey is over. She's recently confirmed to be back for Rogue Squadron.

My Adventures With Superman will get a comic series released in June, serving as a bridge between the first and second seasons.

Action figures for Batman Forever will be released during summer 2025. The set will include Batman, Robin, Two-Face and Riddler with parts to build the Bat Creature from Bruce's nightmare.

The Penguin will premiere in the Fall on Max. The first trailer released this month, hinting at a rather violent and dark show.

The second season of Peacemaker will begin filming in June as confirmed by Jennifer Holland.

Waller won't begin filming until next year and will come out after both Superman and Peacemaker Season 2.

Sean Gunn has mentioned playing a more grounded version of Maxwell Lord for the DCU.

Douglas Smith has been cast as Jimmy Olsen for the final season of Superman And Lois. Yvonne Chapman will play Amanda McCoy.

Another trailer for Suicide Squad: Isekai was released but a release date for the series has yet to be confirmed. 

Dead Boy Detectives will be released on Netflix from April 25th.

Production Weekly have listed a Constantine movie being in development.

That's it for this month. Let's see what happens next lol.

DCU Blog - February 2024 Edition: Joker sequel pics, Batman Beyond Potential and Superman: Legacy Truly Begins

Wow, February really knocked it out of the park for DC news and I have a feeling by the time I post this, anothet big item will drop. Here goes.

Filming for Superman has officially begun with filming in both Norway and Ohio as well as Cleveland and Atlanta. Terence Rosemore has been cast as Otis, pictured along with the rest of the cast. Yes, quick edit to note the change of title for the movie.

Bassam Youssef had auditioned for a role, which was removed from the script prior to the strikes.

Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom final box office came to $433 million and is now available on Max to watch.

David Zaslav has confirmed that the script for Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow is complete and a director is being sought for. 

Joker: Folie A Deux released more pictures of Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga as Joker and Harley Quinn during Valentine's Day. Expect the trailer to debut in April.

Jeffrey Wright has expressed hope in seeing more of Jim Gordon for The Batman Part II. The script has yet to be completed though.

The Penguin has been confirmed for Quarter 3 release on Max. Filming was completed this month.

The character of Booster Gold has been supposedly cast, though no actor has been confirmed as of yet.

A Batman Beyond animated movie from the Spiderverse directors has been pitched but as of now isn't currently in development.

Will Friedle and Matt Ryan will reprise their roles as Batman Beyond and John Constantine for the second part of Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths. Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill will factor into the third part.

Danielle Brooks will reprise her role as Leota Adebayo in both Waller and the second season of Peacemaker. The latter is now written.

Creature Commandos will premiere in Quarter 4 on Max.

An animated movie based on The Jurassic League miniseries is in development with the script being written by Brian Lynch. 

Superman & Lois fourth season will premiere during the autumn on the CW.

Jenna Coleman will reprise her role as Johanna Constantine in the second season of The Sandman.

Dead Boy Detectives will premiere in April on Netflix.

That's it for this month but more exciting times ahead. 

My Review of Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths - Part One (2024)

 

Written by James Krieg

Directed by Jeff Wamester

The Flash: "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Central City any more. Except I am in Central City."

With the DC Extended Universe ending a slight whimper with Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom, it was up to the Tomorrowverse (a similarly divisive DC movie universe) to go that extra bit harder. Time for a Crisis. 

Yes, four years ago, the CW tackled Crisis On Infinite Earths over the span of five television shows and in my opinion, they did a damn good job with it as well. This first part of a three part event also has gotten off to a good start with one character well and truly driving the narrative here.

I'm talking about The Flash (Matt Bomer) himself. In a different continuity, both him and a certain someone else were responsible for this new universe and while that person's punishment finally got revealed here, the focus was largely on Barry Allen himself having his past catch up with him.

Jumping in and out at different points in time, we got one of the best depictions of Barry and Iris's (Ashleigh LaThrop) relationship. We got to see them meet for the first time, fall in love, getting married, grow old together all while the threat of total annihilation dominated proceedings. I think this movie might have given one of the best depictions of their relationship in media.

Of course there was also the formation of the Justice League. Previous movies hinted at them being a team but this one showed the origins of The Flash, Green Arrow (Jimmi Simpson), Superman (Darren Criss), Batman (Jensen Ackles), Vixen (Keesha Sharp), John Stewart (Aldis Hodge) and Martian Manhunter (Ike Amadi) banding together. A good portion also being focused on defeating Lex Luthor (Zachary Quinto) and freeing Amazo (Nolan North) from the latter's grip.

However, that was the least of The Flash's problems. He ended up on a world where the Crime Syndicate, comprising of Johnny Quick (Liam McIntyre), Superwoman (Stana Katic), Power Ring (Aldis Hodge), Owlman (Lou Diamond Phillips) and Ultraman (Matt Lanter) reigned supreme before also becoming casualties as the Crisis spread over towards different Earths. We didn't get to see enough of them as villains to make impact but I liked their screen time regardless.

With the Crisis getting worse and worse, we had both Harbinger/Supergirl (Meg Donnelly) and The Monitor (Jonathan Adams) bring virtually every hero they could onto the station in order to formulate a plan. It meant finally having Wonder Woman (Stana Katic) again with contemporaries but gave the chance to see Blue Beetle (Matt Lanter), Hawkman/Psycho Pirate (Geoffrey Arend), Doctor Light/Huntress of Earth 2 (Erika Ishii) and Earth 2 Robin (Zach Collison) to name the many appearances we got here.

Then there was the Homeless Man (Nolan North) who kept stalking both The Flash and Crime Syndicate throughout the movie. When he wasn't warning them that world were ending, it was also practically confirmed that it was none other than John Constantine taking on the Pariah role as punishment by the Spectre (Lou Diamond Phillips). I was delighted with this particular reveal and the link up to Constantine's DCAU appearances was much appreciated.

As for the rest of the movie. It took a lot of people but mostly Barry to stop the Crisis and it almost worked, excepr it didn't. History got changed yet again and that alone set up a big cliffhanger for the second part that I cannot wait. Poor Barry, he can't do right for wrong in these situations.

- There's a dedication to George Perez (1954-2022) at the end of this movie.

- Other characters who appeared included Aquaman, Hal Jordan, Alfred Pennyworth, Lois Lane, Hawkgirl, Dawnstar, Creeper, Nightshade, Captain Atom, Wally West, Brainiac 5, The Question, Batgirl, Zatanna, The Ray, Mister Terrific, Swamp Thing, most of them in silent cameos though on the ship.

- There's a nice reference to Death from The Sandman, courtesy of Spectre. 

- While it's made clear the Homeless Man is John Constantine, he doesn't seem to remember himself, just that he's being punished and walks all doomed Earths as a warning.

- The second part of this trilogy will be released on April 23rd.

- Chronology: Present Day Central City, Gotham, Metropolis and outer space as well as scenes from previous movies.

I've been a mixed on the Tomorrowverse as a whole but I personally thought this was a terrific start to their take on Crisis On Infinite Earths and having The Flash anchor the first part of this story was a smart move. Easily the best movie from this verse after it's debut one of course. Looking forward to the concluding parts of this saga.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Horror Hunks - Final Guys, Bad Guys And So On

It's Halloween 🎃 and the end of the month. I've indulged in plenty of horror movies this month. For my final blog, I thought I'd do something a little different. Here's a rundown of some of my favourite guys in the genre. Enjoy.

Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) - Psycho (1960-1990)

He might be an unstable mama's boy but who can resist the unhinged motel owner? Or at the very least the gorgeous Anthony Perkins.

Dewey Riley (David Arquette) - Scream series (1996-2022)

Every franchise needs it's sensible and collected player and for five movies in the franchise, we had everyday hero Dewey Riley. Still not happy about his death.

Tommy Jarvis (Corey Feldman/John Shepherd/Thom Mathews) - Friday The 13th series (1984-1986)

Tommy Jarvis was the closest to a proper foil that Jason Voorhees had in this franchise and any future revival should absolutely cast a fourth actor in the role. Best character in that franchise outside of Jason and his mommy.

Jesse Walsh (Mark Patton) - A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)

The guy can scream louder than anyone should, even in in distress but Jesse Walsh is one of the iconic Final Boys. In a movie that's pretty explicitly gay coded throughout.

Jonathan Harker (Keanu Reeves) - Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) 

Dodgy attempts of an English accent to one side, there's something very delectable about Keanu Reeves in arguably the most thankless role in the bestest live action adaptation of this classic tale. He's a dreamboat here.

Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell) - Halloween Ends (2022)

I don't care what other fans of the franchise say. Not only did I genuinely last year's conclusion to the Blumhouse trilogy but Corey Cunningham was one of the best new characters introduced to the franchise.

Andrew (Ben Aldridge) - Knock At The Cabin (2023)

The faithless human rights lawyer turned sort of action man and unwitting husband killer. The guy went through a fricking lot in one movie. Hot guy though.

Eddie (Dylan Fergus) - Hellbent (2004)

I know this might be a niche, given that's it's a movie only a small audience has heard but I had to include a character from it. The good boy desk cop who copped off with a hunky bad boy while surviving a hunky killer felt like the right choice.

Jerry Dandrige (Chris Sarandon) - Fright Night (1985)

It wouldn't be a Horror Hunks list without at least one vampire in the mix. My choice would be the bad boy next door neighbor who had too much fun in tormenting Charley Brewster and seducing his girlfriend. 

Caleb Danvers (Steven Strait) - The Covenant (2006)

Oftentimes I refer to this movie as the boy version of The Craft as it's largely the same plot/similar enough. Now I love Sebastian Stan's sexy bad boy in it but Steven Strait's equally sexy good boy is also a delight too. 

Billy Peltzer (Zach Galligan) - Gremlins series (1984-1990, 2023)

Yes, this might be more light-hearted family friendly horror compared to some of the others on here, but it still counts. I always liked Billy Peltzer as a character and found him rather sexy moreso in the underrated sequel to this franchise.

Philip Morgan (Farley Granger) - Rope (1948)

There's many a fascinating performance and character in this Alfred Hitchcock classic. None more than Farley Granger's eternally twitchy posh boy killer, Philip Morgan. Oh and he can tinkle the old ivories pretty well too.

John Constantine (Matt Ryan) - Constantine/Legends Of Tomorrow/DCAU (2014-2022)

Saving the best for last. There was no way I was going to do this type of blog and not include the best horror male. Of course I had to specifically reference Matt Ryan's sublime version of John Constantine. The man set the gold standard and is the ultimate horror hunk for me.

Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it. Agree/disagree, let me know, lol. Oh and Happy Halloween 🎃

DCU Blog - October 2023 Edition: Mostly Rumours This Month

Yeah, it's a somewhat slow-ish month but with the actors strike possibly being resolved this week, I have a feeling the last two months will definitely deliver with advancements for the DCU.

For now though, a round up of some stuff and a lot of rumours. Some coming from the dceuleaks Reddit page.

One rumour that has popped up this month is that none of the Justice League actors will be reprising their respective roles for the DCU. Not really a shocker tbh.

A thirty something actor is being sought for Lex Luthor for Superman: Legacy. The film will also be shot in many locations according to James Gunn.

Blue Beetle has made 133 million at the box office, marking it as the lowest DCEU movie. 

Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom has moved to December 22nd again.

Akiva Goldsman has recently stating the Keanu Reeves Constantine sequel is still happening but will be an Elseworlds project.

A potential film focusing on The Scarecrow is rumoured to be happening. It will be set in The Batman universe.

A series centred on The Question is also rumoured to be in development.

James Gunn has confirmed that Bat-Mite will not appear in the second season of Peacemaker.

To mark the anniversary of the first movie and a year from Joker: Folie A Deux, Todd Phillips released this lovely image from the movie.

Chris Mundy is rumoured to be the show runner of the upcoming Lanterns series. Hal Jordan will be older than John Stewart in the show.

A project adapting Tom King's Strange Adventures is supposedly in early development. Edi Gathegi will reprise his role as Mister Terrific in this project.

Waller is currently slated for a 2024 release on Max, but I'd be surprised if it does make that date. Maybe. 

Barry Sloane has been cast as Destruction for the second season of The Sandman for Netflix.

Batman: The Animated Series will stream on Netflix from November 21st for the UK and Ireland.

The fourth season of Superman And Lois will also have less writers due to budget cuts for the CW.

The final episode of Doom Patrol will stream on Max from November 9th.

That's it for this month, DC fans. Same time next month, yeah?