Good friends are important, and best buds even more so. Someone who has your back, and who will be there when the chips are down. And of course, a heavily super powered friend that shares your own values, motivations, and love for extremely tight uniforms has to be pretty much the best thing ever.
There have been a lot of great pairings over the years in the comic book world, from best friends to friendly rivals. With more than a few friends taking each other on in the theaters next year with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Captain America: Civil War, it’s important to take stock of these friendships that have developed on-screen and in the comics for years. Sure, they’re fighting now, but chances are after the battle they’ll all go and grab a few beers and bro out over the battle.
There are quite a few more great friendships among the superhero community, buddies that have been through the thick and the thin, fought each other more times than they could count, and have even survived the ‘finality’ of death (at least until the inevitable rebirth). Let’s take a look at some Superhero Best Buds that have survived the test of time.
With the release of the latest Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer, we couldn’t have been more excited to see DC’s Trinity stand united on the big screen for the first time. And while this film will obviously focus more on Batman and Superman, we couldn’t help but wonder if we might see the comic relationship between Supes and WW explored in any future films.
During the Arrow Comic-Con panel, we found out some of the guest stars coming to the show, like Bronze Tiger and Brother Blood, but today the big name was announced. It is none other than Barry Allen himself, The Flash!
At their Television Critics Association presentation, The CW president Mark Pedowitz made public the plans to bring Flash to the small screen starting with an appearance on the already hugely popular Arrow. There were quite a few mentions of Coast City during the first season so there were many, including myself, who thought that perhaps the next “big” name to come to Starling City would be Green Lantern.
Well, we were wrong. Just like we were wrong when we assumed there would be no Flash until the Flash feature film came about in 2016.
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Barry Allen will roll into Starling City for three episodes before embarking on his own series. He will be introduced in episode 8, then appear in episodes 9 and 20, and then will go off and do his own thing. Writing the Flash episodes will be the crack team of executive producers Andrew Kreisberg and Greg Berlanti, along with DC author and now frequent Arrow writer Geoff Johns. Episode 20 will be directed by David Nutter, who directed the series pilot last year.
The odd part about all of this is Warner Bros. and DC are not planning on having the already somewhat established TV universe have anything to do with the proposed and hopefully successful cinematic universe. I understood that decision when it was just Stephen Amell’s Green Arrow because the show does have the “no superpowers and/or metahumans” stance, but now that Flash is coming along? Granted they are saying that when Barry Allen and Oliver Queen meet up Allen won’t be Flash but still, the show about the Fastest Man Alive is getting a soft launch from one without any superpowers. Unless they cast Usain Bolt as Barry Allen, I’m calling bull. Actually, they are beginning the casting process this week so maybe it is Usain Bolt.
Another thing we (okay, maybe this was just me) were wrong about? Holding out any hope for the Wonder Woman series to ever make it to air. CW President, Mark Pedowitz, announced yesterday during the same presentation that the Wonder Woman project, Amazon, was on pause.
Excuse me as I roll my eyes in epic fashion. It’s on pause? Did anyone ever press play? Even when we last spoke about the Wonder Woman television series, it was all still speculation and rumor. This whole “pause” business is just irritating. Rip off the Band-Aid Mark, just do it already.
I get that Wonder Woman is a difficult character to try and build a franchise around. Almost every Wonder Woman fan will agree to that. The invisible jet, the different planet, the Lasso of Truth… it’s all a bit fantastic and might be too fantastic to make a TV series out of, outside of the campy 70s. However, either do it or don’t, but stop stringing us along.
Speaking of stringing along… What happened to Booster Gold? When Arrow premiered, Andrew Kriesberg was still talking up the Booster Gold series. I got my hopes up. Thought that for sure one of the men behind this great new show would want to do every thing in his power to bring one of his favorite characters to life in a live action setting. Instead we’ve heard nothing about Booster Gold and when Greg Berlanti was asked why Flash was getting a series, he said it was because Flash was one of his favorite characters growing up! Ugh, I just can’t win.
The last bit of Arrow news coming out of TCA, we now know who Caity Lotz is playing. We saw her in the Arrow season two sizzle reel, but there was no indication who her character was beyond “the origin story for Black Canary”. Well get this, Sarah Lance is still alive and she’s returning to Starling City thanks to Caity Lotz. If the Tommy/Laurel/Oliver love triangle was messy, I can’t even imagine how dysfunctional Ollie stuck between two sisters is going to be.
Despite my irritation, this is exciting news. As a DC fan it’s easy to look at the Marvel cinematic success and be jealous, but Arrow andthe new Flash show (and Booster Gold and Wonder Women if they ever get made) are all part of a long and storied history of DC characters on the small screen. They are doing well, so here’s hoping they continue to do well…
Let’s start right off with the Arrow season two sizzle reel. Now, if you have not seen all of Arrow season one, you might want to skip this as it has a lot of spoilers in it. A lot, a lot.
So much action packed into so little time! Taken from footage of the season premiere, we get a good look at Summer Glau as Isabel Rochev.
As exciting as that is, I think we all echo Roy Harper’s question to the mysterious blonde in a mask (Caity Lotz as not Black Canary), “Where the hell did you come from?” Of course this Arrow season two sizzle reel didn’t answer any big questions, like who exactly Caity Lotz’s character is, but we do see Oliver Queen make the beginnings of his move from “the Vigilante” to actually being called Arrow. As Marc Guggenheim said in this interview, they are moving from Hood Guy, to Arrow, to ultimately Green Arrow.
Same with Black Canary apparently. Laurel will eventually be Black Canary but she needs to start on that journey and Caity Lotz is there to help her begin.
Apparently everyone is moving along in their storylines, including Roy Harper and Deathstroke. During the Comic-Con panel, Colton Haynes referred to season two as Roy’s “island” and Andrew Kreisberg made a point of telling fans that those who are interested in if/how Manu Bennett’s Slade Wilson becomes the Deathstroke, then they should make sure to watch season two.
The other big news from the panel is that although it seems as if Malcolm Merlyn met his end in the season finale of Arrow season one, perhaps he’s not as dead as we assumed. John Barrowman appeared on stage saying “I would be more than happy to come back into this family fold. And if I’m being invited back, it’s more than the 50th anniversary of ‘Doctor Who’s’ ever done.”
As great as all that news is, two big guest spots were also announced.
That’s right, Suicide Squad’s own Bronze Tiger is coming to Starling City! Or the island, his story hasn’t been revealed. Michael Jai White will play the martial artist sometime in season two. Given that they are announcing it this early, you’d have to imagine it’d be early in the season.
Same goes for Kevin Alejandro, guest starring as a character named Sebastian Blood, aka Brother Blood. Longtime foe of the Teen Titans. It’s a little easier to see the martial arts fighting of Bronze Tiger making the leap to the Arrow-verse, but there will be some definite changes in the Brother Blood character to comply with the “no superpowers/metahumans” thing that they’ve committed to. But we’ve seen how Count Vertigo was able to be adapted so I’m not too worried about it.
So I think that about covers it. Laurel Lance is still going to be Black Canary. Caity Lotz is going to help her. Roy Harper and Slade Wilson both have changes in store for them. Oh yeah, Thea is taking over Oliver’s club, and Summer Glau’s Isabel Rochev is coming to town.
Can’t wait for October 9th when Arrow season two premieres!
If you read my Arrow reviews throughout season one, you would know that I have been anxiously awaiting for Laurel Lance to become Black Canary. There were just so many little nods to the character throughout the entire season that it seemed inevitable.
Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, X-Men, Iron Man, Wonder Woman. Like the old Sesame Street song, one of these things is not like the other. In a world dominated by male characters, Wonder Woman stands apart. Not only in genitalia but in history. Introduced in a time where women were required to leave the home to take over jobs left vacant by fighting soldiers, Wonder Woman represented the strength that a woman possessed, no matter if she had a man to stand by or not. When the GI Joes came back? Wonder Woman comics became a love story. Can you even imagine if there was a series of Batman comic books centered on Batman asking a girl to a dance? Probably not.
Even without the somewhat ridiculous story lines, Wonder Woman stands alone as the most recognizable female comic book superhero there is. While diehard fans know of Black Canary and Ms. Marvel, almost everyone knows about Wonder Woman. Of course, made even more popular by the 1970’s TV show starring Lynda Carter, Wonder Woman remains to this day a fan favorite. But what effect does she and other female superheroines have when it comes to influencing the young women of the world today?
Director Kristy Guevara-Flanagan set out to answer that question.
Wonder Women: The Untold Story of American Superheroines is a look at feminism through the comic book lens. Interviews with noted feminist Gloria Steinem, Wonder Woman herself, Lynda Carter, and young girls come together to paint a picture of what female comic book characters mean to the world, both in ages past and today. Maybe this documentary will be the push Hollywood needs to finally put Wonder Woman on the big screen. I think we can all agree, the dude superheroes have had their day and it’s time to move over a bit and let a girl have the spotlight for a moment. Here’s hoping!
Airing on April 15th on PBS, Wonder Women will hopefully incite conversation amongst men and women alike, comic book fans or not. I know I’ll be watching, Lasso of Truth at the ready.
Gloria Steinem in Wonder WomenLynda Carter in Wonder WomenWonder Women director, Kristy Guevara-FlanaganKatie Pineda in Wonder Women
Check out a clip from the documentary Wonder Women:
We took a look at the upcoming Smallville replacement Arrow, which focuses on Oliver Queen AKA Green Arrow. You can check out all the details and our first look at Stephen Amell as Ollie here. It wasn’t long after that Arrow moved from the pilot stage with a season order of episodes. And it wasn’t too long after that we got the first clip and the trailer. And by not long after I mean not long ago. As in it just happened. So…
Are you part of the crowd that just doesn’t know what to do with themselves now that Smallville is over? I’m talking to you Darth Saeris! Anyway, don’t fret, because CW has green-lit a pilot for a series based on Green Arrow cleverly titled Arrow! Only, it’s not the Green Arrow you are used to. Justin Hartley played Oliver Queen for pretty much the last half of Smallville, and I think he did a pretty good job. But that doesn’t matter, because this series has nothing to do with that Oliver Queen.
Now before I get into the show I just want to say; I love Green Arrow. Such a great character that is wholly unique in his perspective on the world. Not afraid to speak his mind and fight for what’s right, this hard nosed left-winger with a desire to fight for the underprivileged of society stood out in comics and has continued to do so for decades.
After a very, very, very long hiatus the first new Versus arrives at Grizzly Bomb! Now if anyone was following our little rag-tag bunch back in the days at Bam!Kapow! then you will remember this series fondly (jedi-mind-trick), as a place to pit some of our favorites heroes and villains against each other in match-ups that we will more than likely never get to see.
I re-did them during my time at Action News, which Doc reposted here as well, so you can check out all 6 here. And now, here we are, at the Grizzly Bomb Stadium. Its only fitting that Versus makes its triumphant reappearance in a very special edition. It’s A Double Date! Couple vs. Couple! A battle of the spouses! It’s like The Newlywed Game, but with more blood and less 70’s flair. Joining me will be Dr. Kronner, and Versus Alum Toni Smith. This kind of brings it all back to the beginning, as the very first Versus was brought to you by Myself, Doc, and Toni.
But that’s enough rambling from me. That’s not what we are here for, is it? So as usual we will discuss who we think are the better characters, and then who would win in a fight. Well, typically. It has been known to be unpredictable. Let’s look at the contenders:
Hawkeye & Mockingbird vs. Green Arrow & Black Canary
Clint Barton and Bobbi Morse; secret agents, Avengers, husband and wife. Both trained to the pinnacle of human perfection. Clint by Captain America and his time in the circus (seriously) and Bobbi as a deep cover agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Hawkeye is proficient with the use of his bow, and mastery of his specially designed trick arrows, as well as katana’s and many martial arts. Mockingbird wields dual batons/billy clubs, as well as various spy gadgets and fighting techniques.
Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance; adventurers, Justice League-er’s, husband and wife. Both trained to the pinnacle of human perfection. Ollie trained in the harsh world of survival, abandoned on an island, and Dinah raised a superhero’s child, trained by war time heroes. Green Arrow is proficient with the use of his bow and mastery of his specially designed trick arrows, with a brawler’s fighting mentality. Black Canary has her Canary Cry, a high pitched scream that she rarely uses, choosing instead to fight with her various skills and tactical knowledge.
Grizzly Bomb 