Part 2 of Geektified's "What If?" series

By Jim Scroggs
JHScroggs on Twitter and Instagram





Have you ever wondered what a Batman rogue's gallery movie or a Superman movie starting Nic Cage would have looked like? These are the films that we've all wondered if they would have worked or very thankful that they didn't get out of developmental hell.

Joss Whedon's Wonder Woman


Between his time of working on Firefly and leading the charge for Marvel's The Avengers, Joss Whedon was making plans to bring Diana to the big screen. Warner Brothers tapped him to write the first movie adaptation of the princess in 2007 but it was a short lived process after the studio kicked him off the project. Some of the drawings that were leaked of the costume showed a fashionable but warrior ready Diana, almost similar to how Whedon's previous works looked like on Buffy, Firefly and Dollhouse. Nobody was cast in the title roll but I still think this could have been a solid attempt to get a strong character on the silver screen but I'm so glad we finally saw Gal Gadot steal BVS and I hope that momentum will carry on into her solo film in June.

James Cameron's Spider-Man

Long before Marvel and Sony decided to play nice with our favorite wall crawler, a certain director who was looking to "Terminate" the way we thought of comic-book movies with the "Titanic" notion of making the first big screen adaptation of Spider-Man. (Yes, I know the Cameron jokes were forced) That's right, coming off The Abyss and Terminator 2, James Cameron agreed to direct,  wrote a small version of the script for the movie and that would've hopefully put Marvel on the same standing as DC when it comes to films. This version would have put Leonardo DiCaprio in the suit and to be honest, I wonder how much of Peter Parker we would've seen or even if the character would have been correct. The villains would've been Sandman and Electro but with different human names instead of the regular Flint Marko and Max Dillon. Lance Hendrickson was tapped to play Electro and Micheal Biehn, an actor who I don't have that much familiarity with, would have been Sandman. Robyn Lively, who's known from her time on Twin Peaks,  was to play Mary Jane Watson. The rest of the script called for a love scene between Peter and MJ on top of the Brooklyn Bridge, Organic Web Shooters,  and it was fairly heavy on the profanity so this would've been a more grown up version of Spider-Man. So far, I don't have a huge issue with these casting choices but the next two characters certainly peaked my interest. The joke on the Internet is by the time Aunt May gets cast again, she'll look 25 but I think the one character that all the Spider-Man films have gotten right has been Aunt May. Rosemary Harris did an amazing job in the Raimi trilogy, I'll certainly give Sally Field her due as well, even though the "Amazing" films didn't live up to it's name and I'm excited to see what Marisa Tomei will bring to the table in the MCU version of May Parker. Now, with all that said, I think the Cameron version could have been better than all of those. His Aunt May was to be Dame Maggie Smith. I do wonder if she would have kept her accent but I'm certain that it would have been a good performance. Finally, the character that I think is the perfect translation from page to screen that I've ever seen.  J.K. Simmons portrayal of J. Jonah Jameson is up there with Christopher Reeve as Superman/Clark Kent and I'd even put Alfred Molina's Otto Octavius in that conversation but my point is, I didn't think I would've wanted to see anyone else run The Daily Bugle than Simmons. That might be up for debate now after I saw who James Cameron wanted to step in those shoes. R. Lee. Ermey was tapped to play Jameson and I think the tirades would have put Simmons to shame. I think this was a product of the late eighties/ early nineties action films. A little dark with some comedy as well so I get what they were going for but I'm glad we finally have an appropriate version of Peter/Spider-Man in the MCU almost 25 years later.

Justice League Mortal


For the Justice League fans out there, November can't get her soon enough and I think it's going to be a really solid outing for WB/DC when we finally see the historic team up on the big screen. George Miller was signed on to direct the film and the cast was a nice mix of young actors. Adrian Brody was Flash/Barry Allen, Armie Hammer was Batman/Bruce Wayne, Megan Gale was Wonder Woman/Diana, Hugh Keays-Byrne was Martian Manhunter), Santiago Cabrera was Aquaman/Arthur Curry with Zoe Kasan as Iris Allen. The villains side were Jay Baruchel as Maxwell Lord and Teresa Palmer as Talia al Ghul. The script called for plenty of story lines coming straight from the comics like Tower of Babel, where Batman's files on his friends get stolen to be used against them, Crisis on Infinite Earths and The OMAC project, kind of Age of Ultron-y. The writers strike of 2007-08 was one of the bigger causes of the failed project, as the studio tried to get a script done it time. The other was involving Australia and allowing the film to be shot there. A documentary is being worked on now so I hope that will shine some light on to this project that sounds like it would have been a win for DC/WB

Batman Unchained

Say what you will about the Joel Schumacher Batman films but I somewhat enjoyed them for what they were. They were an obvious 180 from the Burton films, which were to appease the mid 90's colorful period with marketing and to be family friendly. WB thought  (that is the key word here) they had a good thing so when they saw the dailies for Batman and Robin, they hired Shumacher to make his third film in the franchise. The film was to be called "Batman Unchained"and it would have brought back George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell, Alicia Silverstone and added Scarecrow, played by Nic Cage,  along with Harley Quinn, rumored to be played by Courtney Love. Personally, I would have gone with Brittany Murphy in that role. The little caveat in this was Harley would have been Joker's daughter instead of being in a relationship, which on paper sounds decent considering the really messed up relationship they have but it's not true to the origin so that might have put some fans off. The script called for Joker, Catwoman, Penguin, Riddler and Two-Face to be played by the original actors(Yes, even Jack Nicholson) in a hallucination brought on by Scarecrow's fear toxin. The concept alone of seeing Jack, Michelle Pfiffer, Danny Devito, Tommy Lee Jones, and Jim Carrey all interact in something this crazy would have been worth giving this movie a chance but I totally get why WB put the brakes on the franchise.

Super-Man Lives

This was the closest movie to getting made on this list. So much so that Jon Schnepp produced a documentary on it, which I recommend you watch. At the time, which was mid 1990's, Tim Burton signed on to reinvigorate the Superman franchise and a lot of people thought it would be a success considering what he did for Warner Brothers with the Batman franchise.  The film started out as 'Superman Reborn" with Brainiac and Doomsday as the villains.  The storyline was based off the recent "Death of Superman" comic and that seemed to be the one constant in the pre production process. Director Kevin Smith wrote the first draft of the film that included a cameo from Bruce Wayne/Batman and he was eyeing Ben Affleck for that role. Smith was later replaced by other screenwriters, Wesley Strick and Dan Gilroy, which had scripts that were a little darker than what Smith had penned. Nic Cage was cast as Clark Kent/Superman and I can be certain that it would have been an amazingly bizarre but believable performance. I believe they wanted to copy the look from Superman 75 and give him long hair so to see Nic Cage in a possible black suit and maybe some late 90's neon looking thing would have been amazing. Sandra Bullock was eyed to play Lois Lane, Chrisopher Walken was set to be Brainiac, Lex Luthor was to be played by Kevin Spacey and I think at one point, Chris Rock was cast as Jimmy Olsen. Producer Jon Peters wanted to put his stamp on this project so much so that he suggested there be polar bears at the Fortress of Solitude and having Superman fight a gigantic spider. Smith appeased Peters by calling it a Thangarian Snare Beast and I think in one of the following scripts, Brainiac turned into a giant spider so Peters must have had a thing for them. Peters did get his giant spider in Wild Wild West so not all was lost.  One of the main reasons why this didn't happen is at the time, Warner Brothers had a string of flops, failures and disappointments coming out of the studio and considering the amount of money that was probably going to be spent, they pulled the plug on it. I get why from a financial standpoint but some of the artwork and seeing Nic Cage in a Superman suit is the biggest "What If" on this list.



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WELCOME TO DC'S FIRST-EVER NEW TALENT SHOWCASE OF THE MODERN ERA!

A little over one year ago DC launched the Talent Development department. The goal: to find, instruct and nurture new and current DC talent. In just a short amount of time since the launch, DC has run two successful workshops taught by a few of the greatest creators and teachers in the business; one for writers led by Scott Snyder, and one for artists led by Klaus Janson and Jim Lee.

This year’s Showcase represents the work of writers from DC’s Writers Workshop Pilot Program, a 13-week program held January through March 2016, for professionals from an array of writing backgrounds who were brand-new to DC. The stories you’ll get to see in NEW TALENT SHOWCASE #1are just a glimpse of what they created during the workshop, and they represent the various strengths seen when these creators were asked to join DC.

Many of the artists represented here are also products of DC’s Artists Workshop Pilot Program from the fall of 2015. For that, DC invited current artists to the Burbank offices for a week of master classes, get-togethers with the editorial staff, tours of the offices and the amazing DC library, and discussions on craft with Jim Lee and Klaus Janson! These artists and their colorists, and letterer Josh Reed, were instrumental in bringing to life the vision and story put forth by the new writers showcased in this new publication.

We plan to make Showcase an annual event, and truly hope you enjoy what you see. Special thanks to our wonderful teachers/advisors: Klaus Janson, Andy Kubert, Jim Lee and Scott Snyder!

What follows is the first page of each story that will be featured in NEW TALENT SHOWCASE #1, available in comic book stores and online on November 30th. Please help welcome these new writers to DC! And big thanks to the artists that contributed to this year's Showcase!

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HELLBLAZER: THE ROAD TO HELL AND ALL THAT by Smith & Oum:“Being a dude from the south writing a famously British character was pretty intimidating, and with Steve Dillon passing away I’ve been thinking a lot about how much Hellblazer meant to me as that right book at that right time in my life.”–Adam Smith
WONDER WOMAN: BLOOD AND GLORY by Ayala, Randolph & Rauch:“Wonder Woman has always been monumentally important to me. She was strong yet gentle, a warrior and a peacemaker and, most important, her power was dependent on no man. She was everything I saw in my mother and my grandmother, and what I wanted for myself. I thought she was Puerto Rican for an embarrassingly long time, and while that was wrong, it was critical to the formation of my identity and my self-esteem. She protected my brown-ness, my queer-ness and the part of me that is woman.”–Vita Ayala 
WHITE LANTERN: DEAD BEACONS by Moreci, Bagenda & Fajardo Jr.“I’ve always been fascinated by space—the adventures, the exploration and taking the human story and pitting it against the unknown. Since I was a kid, Green Lantern has always resonated with me, but it was Kyle’s story that hit a major chord with me. I love how relatable he is, but he’s still driven by nobility and courage. He faces all those things I love about space with a set of eyes that feel like my own.”–Michael Moreci 
HAWKGIRL: WEAPONS OF WAR by Schultz & Liew“I’ve always been drawn to strong characters, but what really solidified my love for Shayera was the Justice League cartoon show. Maria Canals-Barrera and Susan Eisenberg voiced Hawkgirl and Wonder Woman, respectively, and their portrayals left an indelible mark on me. I was honored to be able to have Shayera fly once again.”–Erica Schultz    
DEADMAN: KILLING TIME by Sebela, Messina & Dinisio“When I was a kid buying comics for the first time, I found Mike Baron and Kelley Jones’ Deadman stories, which were so different from all the other Deadman stuff. Poetic and grotesque and emotional and creepy as heck. Those stories burned themselves into my mind and have stuck there ever since. When I got the chance to pick my first DC character I’d write for, well, Deadman had spent so much time occupying my mind, I thought it was only fair to put some thoughts in his.”–Christopher Sebela   
WONDER GIRL: DIGGING UP DEMONS by Khan, Lupacchino, McCarthy & Morey“Wonder Girl has been an exciting character for me to explore because she is young, flawed and relatable. As someone who also writes for children, it’s satisfying to work on a strong female role model who still faces challenges many can identify with, like falling for the wrong person and having her heart broken, or struggling in her relationship with her mother. She may not be perfect, and still has a lot to learn about herself and being a superhero, but that just makes Wonder Girl even more awesome!”–Hena Khan    
CATWOMAN/WONDER WOMAN: THE AMAZONIAN JOB by Beeby, Jung & Mulvihill“It was so tough to choose: I wanted to write the ‘bad girl’ Catwoman, with all her sardonic quips, but I also wanted to explore the strength and mythology of Wonder Woman. Then I had this crazy thought: maybe I don’t have to choose…? They’re not enemies, but they are opposites. It’s hard to even think of them together. But I’m nothing if not a sucker for a challenge!”–Emma Beeby   
SUPERMAN: THE MAN IN BLACK by McMillian & Ferreyra“One of the first titles that kicked off my obsession with comic books was SUPERMAN #21 by John Byrne, which I purchased off the rack at my local grocery store. Ever since Superman’s discovery of the post-Crisis Supergirl, I have been a major fan of the Last Son of Krypton. Not only is he the world’s greatest superhero, but he grew up in Kansas like me, which was a major plus. With ‘Man in Black’ I wanted to spark a story that juxtaposes Clark’s hometown roots with his sci-fi origins and add to his ever-expanding backstory. Hopefully I will one day get to continue Clark’s fateful run-in with Joker, the mysterious Mister Coal and the role Deputy Conrad “Bud” Hunt played in Clark’s childhood…and the secret he’s kept hidden for over thirty years.”–Michael McMillian 
HARLEY QUINN: GOOD MORNING, GOTHAM! by Jones, Lotfi & Pantazis“Because the story is so short I just wanted to have some fun with it, and there is no better character for zany good times than Harley!”–Joëlle Jones

Review: Batman #10

Review: Batman #10

Submitted by: Theresa Stier, Comic News Writer

5 November 2016

“I am Suicide: Part Two,” by Tom King and artist Mikel Janin, is a quick read and is narrated by Catwoman (even though she doesn't show up until the end of this comic). The reader learns a bit about Catwoman's life, when she was an orphan, and her relationship with Bruce Wayne. Bane is no longer....well Bane. He doesn't have the venom flowing through his veins, which makes him a little bit more on Bruce's level. However, Bane still ends up with the upper hand. It's going to be interesting to see how Batman is going to defeat Bane, considering Bane isn't truly the Bane that he has been up against in the past. Without the venom, he's weaker, but he's also going to be using different tactics now that he can't rely on the venom and “breaking Bruce's back.”

 

He's still plenty strong, but he now has more of a weakness. It's going to be interesting to see who has the upper hand in the next issue, especially if Catwoman is going to be helping Bruce out. Even though if you were asked who would win in a fight, Catwoman or Bane, you would probably pick Bane, Catwoman has plenty tricks up her sleeves and can be a valuable asset.

The Verdict: I enjoyed this comic, especially learning a bit of what Catwoman has felt in her past and her present. I'm also looking forward to the next comic, seeing another fight between Batman and Bane. 

Follow Theresa on Twitter @Smallville0628 and @Geektified for the latest comic reviews!