Adventures in Romance: Our 10 Favorite Superhero Couples

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.

Boy Wonder: The 10 Greatest Traits of Dick Grayson

As a die-hard fan of comics, I am constantly asked who my favorite character is, which I usually have to think about for a while. Any given day my answer may change, depending on my mood or what I’ve been reading, but most days the answer ends up the same; my favorite hero is Dick Grayson AKA Nightwing AKA Agent 37.

I may have started my obsession for comics with Spider-Man, and then tentatively graduated over to Superman, but once I discovered Batman, and by extension Dick Grayson, I was hooked. I became a staunch supporter of all things Robin, and as Grayson’s role changed over the years from sidekick to solo hero, I continued to follow and enjoy the ongoing adventure.

The Man Who Laughs: The 20 Greatest Joker Moments, Part II

Welcome back to Grizzlybomb’s look at the Greatest Joker Moments! Brian Kronner and myself (Scott Fraser) combined our ridiculous pool of Bat knowledge to bring together some of the best Joker moments in the history of the Bat universe. 

<<<Previous, READ PART I

JGL Might Play Batman in ‘Justice League’? Sources Say No…

Yeah, I know. That is clearly a picture of JGL as Nightwing and not Batman. Sorry, but I’ve been waiting a while to use that fan-made picture, so deal with it. I also know that I got your hopes up with the title only to immediately shatter them afterwards. You are not alone in this feeling. Earlier in the week some rumors started to fly that Joseph Gordon-Levitt would don the cape and cowl to portray Batman in Warner Bros. upcoming Justice League. Now I use the term upcoming very loosely, because we have all been through this before with a Justice League movie so I’m not putting too much stock into it getting made anytime soon.

Yet Another ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ Robin Rumor

Speculation about whether or not Robin will appear in The Dark Knight Rises has been going on for a long time now. Nolan has made it clear that there is no place for Robin in his Bat-world, which you think would end it all right there. But not us fanboys, no sir. We have to keep looking, keep hoping, keep pining for that little bit extra out of a film. Let’s take a look at some of the other Robin/Nightwing rumors that have shown up over the course of the film’s production.

Geeking Out: ‘Young Justice Invasion’

Welcome to Geeking Out. This is me, geeking out. It’s pretty self explanatory.

The second season of Young Justice (subtitled Invasion) premiered this morning, and it pretty much blew my mind to useless bits of nerdy gray stuff. I thought nothing could get better than the already stellar first season, where we were introduced to the Team, a group of former sidekicks running special ops missions for the Justice League. Now that already sounds pretty bad ass right? The original team consisted of Robin (Dick Grayson), Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Superboy, with new members Artemis and Miss Martian joining shortly after.

Batman: Arkham Asylum, Arkham City and Beyond… What We Want Next

I didn’t think a sequel to Arkham Asylum would ever be able to outdo its predecessor. But in an age where video games are all about topping the previous installment in terms of scope and depth, Arkham City did just that. Arkham City was huge compared to Arkham Asylum with familiar locales such as Crime Alley and the Ice Berg Lounge to geek out the countless Batman faithful out there. And if you thought that Asylum sported a good amount of the Batman Rogues Gallery, it was nothing compared to Arkham City. From Two Face to Mad Hatter, Arkham city showcased over a dozen of Batman’s greatest villains in roles small and large. So the next question is; where does the story go from here given what happened at the end of Arkham City? As those of you who have beaten the game know, there was a death at the end which is a pretty large void to fill. What villains should be featured in the next installment? I can think of a few that didn’t show up and a couple from Arkham Asylum that were noticeably absent from Arkham City.

Below we will discuss which villains need to make the cut next and what the possible story could be for the next Arkham sequel. So please don’t read any further if you haven’t beaten Arkham City because I’ll dropping spoiler almost immediately.

So we all know that the Joker is dead. D-E-A-D. And I doubt he’ll be coming back since Mark Hamil has stated that he won’t be back to voice the Clown Prince of Crime in any future Batman material. I’m fine with Joker being dead by the way, and it’s for the best because I wouldn’t want to see anyone voicing the Joker again. Hamil owned that role and for as big of a Star Wars fan that I am, I think that Hamil’s career is defined by the excellent work he has done voicing the Joker these past twenty years. Luke Skywalker comes in a close second. I can’t see anyone else voicing the Joker as well as Mark Hamil and would like to tip my hat to him.

Now, if you did some exploring to past locales after beating the game and you happened to go back to the Joker’s hideout at Sionis Industries you’ll find an interesting tid-bit on the floor next to Harley’s Arkham Asylum outfit. Yes, it’s a pregnancy test that is POSITIVE!

Also at the end of the credits you’ll hear Harley singing Hush little baby to someone in her own twisted way. That means we may have a baby Joker on the way? Oh, boy…. If done right this could be very interesting indeed. This would also mean that the next game would have to take place years down the road. And if we’re introducing the son of the Joker as Batman’s next big nemesis then I’d be all for them bringing Damien Wayne into play as well. Son of Batman v.s. Son of Joker? Sounds like a dream come true if you ask me! Talia did die after all, before Bruce could have any knowledge of little Damien if they decided to have him be a part of this Bat-continuity.

Also, if the games just want to continue going bigger and bigger in terms of environment then I suggest Rocksteady break free of the Arkham aspect and simply call the game Gotham City or Gotham Knights. This way the entire city can be opened up to play in and we can see plenty of other Gotham locations such as Wayne Tower. Actually, Wayne Tower would be the perfect place for the game’s climax if there is a final fight between Bruce and Joker Jr. or Damien and Joker Jr. I’d like to see Wayne Manor (Bat Cave included), Blackgate Prison, the Wayne Botanical Garden and even a revisiting of good old Arkham Asylum.

Now to the villains and my favorite part. There were not a whole lot left out of Arkham City that’s for sure, but there are a couple that I think would make good additions to the third installment. One of the most deranged villains and a personal favorite of mine is Professor Pyg. Pyg has his own strange meaning to the word “perfection” which he forces upon his victims by bonding doll faces onto their own face in gruesome fashion. Then by some form of surgery or simple lobotomizing, Pyg turns his victims into his own personal soldier, known as a Dollotron. I think it would be far the creepiest aspect of the games yet when Batman is being swarmed by groups of hideously transformed Dollotrons who want nothing more than to present the Dark Knight to their master for “surgery”.

Garfield Lynns would also be a welcome addition to the game and provide Batman with an interesting boss fight. It’s one thing fighting Mr. Freeze on the ground with his freeze ray assailing you at every turn, but imagine a foe flying above and trying to incinerate you! Lynns would of course not have much story depth to him, but after being featured on the front page of a Gotham newspaper in Arkham Aslyum I think it’s time for the resident pyromaniac to be set loose upon our gaming systems.

In terms of crime boss villains such as Two Face and Penguin, I think that the Great White Shark Warren White would be a great addition. The once meek Warren White underwent a terrible transformation during his time in Arkham Asylum that turned him into the hideous, hardened crime boss that he is in the comics. White was once on top in the Gotham underworld in the comic book continuity and he would work great in the next game.

I envision all of the established crime syndicates to show up in the next game actually including the Maroni and Falcone crime families and the return of Two Face, Penguin and Black Mask. Roman Sionis, the Black Mask, in particular had a very brief role in Arkham City which disappointed me greatly. If you’ll remember he was at the very beginning getting the living shit beat out of him by TYGER guards. Unacceptable! Black Mask is one of the most ruthless crime bosses in Gotham and he needs a little more to do than get beat down in the next installment!

Aside from Black Mask, Penguin and Two Face being brought back I have a few other choices of villains that need to make a repeat, two of which were noticeably absent from Arkham City; The first being that of Jonathan Crane, the Scarecrow. After being taken down by Killer Croc in the first game, Crane was not heard from in Arkham City except in a couple of instances. First, there is his mask and some hay laying atop a bridge just outside of Sionis industries.

Then close by on the little barge/boat in the water there is a secret door you can use your cryptographic sequencer to open which reveals a little laboratory of sorts. There’s even a tortured “patient”, containers of cockroaches and a shipping manifest made out to Dr. Crane from Falcone Shipping. The place is just straight up creepy. I suppose this means that our friend the Scarecrow is alive and well and Batman will have to stop him again sooner or later. I say later in the next video game.

Killer Croc was another who was missing from the game. You can have a little confrontation with him in the sewer after facing off with Ra’s Al’ Ghul but nothing beyond that. In the third game I want to see Killer Croc as a boss or someone’s enforcer. I enjoyed running from him in the sewers of Arkham Asylum but a head on fight would be most excellent.

Bane would be another foe worth running into again, this time as a head on enemy again and not a pseudo ally. This will more than likely happen depending mostly on the success of his character in the Dark Knight Rises which is already bound to be a box office smash hit. It would be nice if they use him a little better than just the Solomon Grundy type brute in the next game, maybe as a more calculating foe as he was in the Knightfall arc of the Batman comics.

It wouldn’t hurt to see Ivy return either, just because I’ve always had a thing for women with green skin who dress in skimpy prison clothes. I liked her small role in Arkham City but I think they could use her a little more somehow in the third game. Another huge favortite of mine would also be Clayface, who was my favorite rogue to show up in Arkham City. You know they’ll be doing something with him after he fell into the Lazarus Pit; perhaps he’ll return with some new mutation that will make him more dangerous than before.

On the bat family side of things I wouldn’t mind seeing more of Batman’s allies as playable characters in the third game. It was excellent being able to switch between Batman and Catwoman in Arkham City, and it was awesome to kick ass in the challenge modes with Robin and Nightwing. Hopefully in the third game it will allow you to switch between all of the characters to perform different missions throughout Gotham City. And I may go completely ballistic if the map is bigger than ever before and you are not allowed to use the batmobile. Vehicles seems like the next logical step in the franchise. It would be like Grand Theft Auto: Gotham City.

Well, that’s about all I have for now. Have I forgotten anything that needs to be in the next Arkham game? Locations, characters or otherwise? It’s probably a long way off from now but who knows, Rocksteady might be moving their asses off on this red hot franchise to follow up the release of the Dark Knight Rises.

Batman: Arkham City – More Villains, Gadgets, Trailers, And Nightwing!

In less than two weeks Batman: Arkham City hits store shelves and I couldn’t be more excited. We’ve already seen a huge showing from Batman’s rogue gallery, not to mention handy assists from Catwoman and Robin. But wait…. THERE’S MORE!!!

Sorry, I used to watch SCARY MOVIE every other day… Let’s move on…

10 Comic Books Best Suited For The Small Screen

With all the news lately regarding different comic book adaptations heading to TV, I couldn’t help but notice a lack of ‘superhero’ content in the shows. Which is fine, some of the stories like 100 Bullets and of course the smash hit The Walking Dead are great without featuring powers, costumes, any of that.

But that’s not what I’m listing today. I understand the problems with bringing brightly colored costumes and powers every week to the general public, which is made clearer by the numerous attempted hero pilots and TV shows, some of the worst ones we listed here. But there are some heroes out there that I think are perfect for TV.

Here’s the Top Ten Superheroes Suited For The Small Screen:

Batman: Arkham City – Robin Playable With Best Buy Pre-Order?

Not too long ago we showed you a trailer that revealed Catwoman as a playable character in the campaign mode of the highly anticipated (By me at least) Batman: Arkham City. Now it seems that won’t be the only addition to the cast.

While it is an unconfirmed report, it seems that if you pre-order the game from Best Buy you will be given the chance to play as Robin in 2 of the challenge maps. For fans of the first game you will remember that the challenge maps included both Stealth and Combat levels were you had to test your skills as Batman against waves of villains.