Superman battles Brianiac in this new Superman Unbound clip

Official press release and clip below:

Click to pre-order

Based on the Geoff Johns/Gary Frank 2008 release “Superman: Brainiac,” SUPERMAN: UNBOUND finds the horrific force responsible for the destruction of Krypton – Brainiac – descending upon Earth. Brainiac has crossed the universe, collecting cities from interesting planets – Kandor, included – and now the all-knowing, ever-evolving android has his sights fixed on Metropolis. Superman must summon all of his physical and intellectual resources to protect his city, the love of his life, and his newly-arrived cousin, Supergirl.

The film’s stellar voicecast is led by Matt Bomer (White Collar) as Superman, John Noble (Fringe, The Lord of the Rings films) as Brainiac, Stana Katic (Castle) as Lois Lane and Molly Quinn (Castle) as Supergirl.

Supervising Producer James Tucker (Justice League, Batman: The Brave and the Bold) also directs the film from a script by Bob Goodman (Warehouse 13, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns).

SUPERMAN: UNBOUND is coming to Blu-ray, DVD, On Demand and For Download via Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on May 7, 2013.

Superman: Man of Steel – new trailer

Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel has, to date, been marketed as a moving drama showing an angst-ridden and tortured hero in a world where he is a complete foreigner. Finally a trailer has arrived that pits the hero against some tangible threat. General Zod hovers over the planet with a vast army demanding the return of their lost citizen, Kal-El. In the throes of an identity crisis, young Clark Kent pleads with his father to ‘just be his son,’ and his dad embraces him. Forever the outsider, Superman rises to the challenge of an entire invasion force, knowing full well that he will never truly belong among his own people or his adopted family. It’s a superb decision to blend drama and action with marvelous results.

Plus…

Superman has something to do!
No real estate scam!
No deadbeat dad!
All new!

Man of Steel has a June 14, 2013 release date.

Quick review: Action Comics #19

‘Hybrid part one’
By Andy Diggle and Tony Daniel

Superman is yet another DC Comics property who is in perpetual flux. Action Comics was a major hit with the New 52 relaunch and the star power that Grant Morrison brought, but the concurrent Superman series has floundered in its attempts to follow wherever the Hell Morrison was going in his run. With the departure of Morrison, a bright future of possibility loomed for DC Editorial. The creative team of Andy Diggle (Daredevil, Green Arrow) and Tony S. Daniel (Batman) raised interest almost across the board and the marketing of the next run as drastically different was pushed in the back of every DC comic book. Almost as soon as the ink dried on the preview images, Diggle was off the book. A few days later, Daniel confirmed that he would be finishing up the three-part run using Diggle’s breakdowns.

So… we are back where we started with an uncertain future for the man of steel (though a Scott Lobdell filler arch has been announced). This strikes as decidedly bizarre since a major motion picture is due out this summer and the 75th anniversary of Superman is almost upon us (April 18th, mark your calendars). Why can’t DC editorial make this character the top seller he should be? I have no idea, but in the meantime, let’s take a look at Action Comics #19 and why it is the best thing to happen to Superman in years.

The story is set a year ago (no idea why) in the fictional Middle Eastern country of Qurac where Lois Lane is overcoming a total media blackout with her usual sassiness and know how… and a smart phone. It’s a very quick moment but one that got recognized by the fan community online almost immediately. The character of Lois Lane has been all but forgotten in recent years and the newspaper reporter angle of the Superman comic has gotten lost in favor of hypertectual storytelling by Morrison. But it’s back and in full force. Kent departs to deal with some reported arms smuggling.

The ‘illegal arms’ are mecha warsuits that Superman attempts to take down gently, but in the end his hand is forced into action. The battle is costly and reveals that one of the mech pilots is none other than Jimmy Olsen (as shown on the WTF cover), but it’s not Jimmy at all and the robot simulacrum explodes. This has to be the lamest moment in the book and could be a sign of why Diggle left. The Jimmy Olsen bot was obviously forced upon him by Editorial and feels very weird.

Superman is left with what appears to be a mystery and the scene shifts to Lex Luthor being psychoanalyzed. It seems that Lex is is imprisoned, but we soon see that he has actually trapped the psyhoanalyst (who hasn’t had this fantasy) and is holding her captive until she presents him with a statement on his character that he is happy with. Given that she diagnoses him as a brilliant yet twisted sociopath, things are not looking good for her. Along with the depiction of Lois, this is the strongest version of Luthor I have seen since the John Byrne days.

Luthor reveals that the mech suit attack was orchestrated by him to infiltrate Superman’s genetic sequence and rewrite it, crafting a monstrosity. It’s a thrilling plot that leaves the readers with just a glimpse of Superman mid-transformation into some kind of horrific creature.

Let me be clear in saying that I appreciate the Morrison run on Action Comics and now that it is complete, can appreciate what it was accomplishing, a kind of modern silver age fantasy. Even so, it read poorly in monthly installments and alienated anyone who lacked the fortitude to re-read every issue and look deeply into the meaning (ignoring the filler issues and artist swaps). What Diggle and Daniel have accomplished in just one issue is stunning and uses the supporting cast to great aplomb. It also presents a modern dramatic action story without sacrificing the iconic nature of the series or enforcing any new creative direction on those concepts. It’s simply a great ripping Superman comic.

I am just sad to know that it will be over in just two issues and as far as I can tell, it is thanks to the inability of DC Editorial to work with Diggle. Sad, really. But enjoy this ride while you can.

Black and white images from Tony Daniel’s art page

New creative team for Action Comics is a blast from the past!

Once more, Superman heads in a bold new direction

The recent announcement of the new creative team on Action Comics following Grant Morrison and Rags Morales as being Andy Diggle and Tony S. Daniel was met with well worthy excitement. That excitement quickly turned  to confusion when Diggle dropped the book and while Daniel will be staying on for a few issues, DC has been reticent to announce exactly who the new creative team will be… until now.

An early sketch of one of many fractal Supermen

The first version of Superman will return along with many others

In a surprise move, John Byrne will be returning to the Man of Steel with issue 23. The new direction will tie directly into the New Gods story line in Wonder Woman and into the forthcoming Multiversity event directed by Grant Morrison. This is a massive shock to many and what’s even more surprising is that it has been in the works for some time.

Superman will kill Wonder Woman in an upcoming issue

Following a Wonder Woman crossover ‘The Rise and Fall of New Geneseis,’ (co-written and drawn by Jerry Ordway who will be taking over from Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang) the time line will be fractured. The resulting series will see the Man of Steel travelling through various iterations of his fictional life, touching upon some plot points that are familiar to readers as well as brand new twists on old ideas.

Darkseid stands triumphant over the Gods of New Genesis

The time line will be broken, resulting in an array of what Byrne is calling ‘fractal Supermen’ who all embody different takes on the character as he heads toward a new era of greatness. Aloong the way, a New 52 version of the Doom Patrol will be introduced along with a few other surprises.

All of this will culminate in a big reveal this summer when DC will unveil its new Man of Steel series to tie into the motion picture directed by Zack Snyder.

More as it comes… and April Fools.

Lex Luthor cast in Superman: Man of Steel

The criminal mastermind who has plagues the Man of Steel for decades is apparently going to be making an appearance in this summer’s blockbuster film directed by Zack Snyder. Luthor began his comic book existence as little more than a common hood then graduated to mad scientist up until 1985 when he was remade as a corrupt and power hungry businessman with aims to destroy Superman in order to show just how impotent the being he viewed as an alien invader was.

It’s unclear just how much of a role Lex will play in this movie, but I imagine that it will be less of a pivotal part but more of a link to a subsequent film. Given that almost every Superman movie to date has involved Lex Luthor as the villain, I hope that Snyder has something new for this villain.

Via ComicBookResources:

According to Ain’t It Cool News, persistent rumors that Superman’s arch-nemesis Lex Luthor will play a role in Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel” appear to be true. According to the website, the “ambitious, ego-driven and cold version” of the classic villain will be played by Mackenzie Grey, who portrayed a Luthor clone on The CW’s “Smallville” (a highly unusual choice for such a high-profile role). The film, which stars Henry Cavill, Amy Adams and Michael Shannon, opens June 14.

Is Chris Nolan in charge of Justice League? Will Christain Bale return as Batman?

The Justice League motion picture, a project that would potentially depict the heavy hitters of the DC Universe, made most familiar to members of my generation by the Super Friends cartoon. A Justice League movie would feature Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern and possibly Martian Manhunter and Aquaman (they’d be fools to not include the King of Atlantis no matter what anyone says) all on screen at the same time fighting some monumental foe(s).

However, there have been numerous setbacks including budgetary concerns and the unimpressive results of the Green Lantern movie which was intended to pave the way for the JLA as Iron Man took the first steps toward an Avengers project. Warner Bros. is now hoping that Zack Snyder and Chris Nolan’s Man of Steel will fill that role and the movie can finally get underway. Rumor is that the script is a mess and the casting still in wraps. Will the team consist of all new faces or will there be any returning actors?

Take a massive cube of salt with these rumors… but here they are.

Image from Injustice: Gods Among Us

Via Forbes.com

The impossible may be happening, fans — we could be returning to Gotham City at the same bat-time, same bat-channel. Latino Review is reporting that director Christopher Nolan is in talks to come back for more. More Batman, that is. But in what manner? Not what you’d expect — read on for details!

Keep in mind, the reports are that negotiations and talks are still ongoing and nothing is set in stone yet. So, this news is all tentative at the moment, but the reports from Latino Review jibe with what I’ve heard from some of my own sources. Batman-On-Film (BOF) has some additional insights in Bill Ramey’s report as well.*

The director would reportedly bring Batman back to the screen in the same overall “world” that existed in the previous three films… and Christian Bale is reportedly expected to return as Bruce Wayne!

But if that’s not enough of a shocking revelation for you, try this on for size: the new film would actually be a team-up film, putting Nolan’s Batman alongside Henry Cavill reprising his role as the new cinematic Superman (introduced in this summer’s upcoming Man of Steel from Nolan, Zack Snyder, and David Goyer) and possibly/probably additional superheroes as well.

Image from Injustice: Gods Among Us

That’s right, dear readers, the Nolan Batman may be teaming up with the rebooted Superman, in a Justice League movie (or, possibly, a Superman-Batman team-up movie, but Justice League seems more likely at the moment).

At this time, Nolan is reportedly in talks to be involved as producer, with Snyder as a producer and possible director, and it might involve a story by Goyer.

This is among the biggest film news of the year, along with the announcement of Disney buying LucasFilms to develop new Star Wars movies. And it would involve one of the most powerful filmmaking teams, coming aboard what could potentially become the biggest superhero franchises in cinema.

The story is getting lots of momentum, including IGN:

Christian Bale is in talks to reprise his role as Batman in DC’s upcoming Justice League movie, Christopher Nolan will oversee the project, and Man of Steel-helmer Zack Snyder will produce – and possibly direct – if a new report from Latino Review is to be believed.

The website claims that Nolan is now in charge of the entire DCU at Warner Bros., and is in discussions to act as a sort of Godfather to the project, as well as produce alongside Zack Snyder. The studio allegedly wants the film to be set in the same universe as Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, which naturally means a return of Bale’s Batman. Not only that, but Justice League would also tie in with Snyder’s gritty Man of Steel, which means – you guessed it – Bale’s Batman and Henry Cavill’s Superman would appear in the same universe, in the same movie, at the same time.

As the website correctly notes, Bale wouldn’t be against reprising the role, as long as the story was right. “I would love the challenge of making a fourth one work,” he told Empire Magazine last summer.

So what is your opinion?

Do you think Bale will star in a Justice League movie? If so, it would grant some credibility to the project and generate lots of excitement rather than recasting the part once more.

The JLA by Alex Ross

Justice League has a tentative June 2015 release date.

Brainiac versus the Man of Steel in ‘Superman Unbound’

Official press release and trailer below:

SUPERMAN: UNBOUND is coming to Blu-ray, DVD, On Demand and For Download via Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on May 7, 2013.

WonderCon/Anaheim will host the World Premiere of SUPERMAN: UNBOUND in late March.

Based on the Geoff Johns/Gary Frank 2008 release “Superman: Brainiac,” SUPERMAN: UNBOUND finds the horrific force responsible for the destruction of Krypton – Brainiac – descending upon Earth. Brainiac has crossed the universe, collecting cities from interesting planets – Kandor, included – and now the all-knowing, ever-evolving android has his sights fixed on Metropolis. Superman must summon all of his physical and intellectual resources to protect his city, the love of his life, and his newly-arrived cousin, Supergirl.

The film’s stellar voicecast is led by Matt Bomer (White Collar) as Superman, John Noble (Fringe, The Lord of the Rings films) as Brainiac, Stana Katic (Castle) as Lois Lane and Molly Quinn (Castle) as Supergirl.

Supervising Producer James Tucker (Justice League, Batman: The Brave and the Bold) also directs the film from a script by Bob Goodman (Warehouse 13, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns).

Superman: The Man of Steel full trailer

The last son of a doomed planet, sent to Earth by his parents hoping that he could escape their fate, Superman possesses powers far beyond mortal humans and has vowed to use them to protect the innocent, right that which is wrong and uphold a high moral code. Superman is the dream of the depression era, a hero who can stand up for the little guy in the face of adversity. Over the decades since his creation, his abilities and background have become more influenced by fantasy and science fiction. He can emit heat rays from his eyes, freeze the very air with his breath, see through any barrier (except for lead), bend time as easily as steel and fly faster than any man made craft into unknown dimensions.

After being adapted as a highly successful radio show, animated feature and TV program, Warner Bros. has attempted to adapt Superman for the big screen several times. Next year Superman will be making his biggest leap of all into a realm that he should dominate, the modern motion picture. Movie goers adore Batman, are excited over Spider-Man, wait with baited breath for the next Iron Man, Thor and Captain America flick… but Superman is the biggest and the best of them all.

But will Chris Nolan and Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel movie place Superman atop the pile of superheroic icons that crowd the screen?

Of course most fans of superheroes in film are familiar with the Richard Donner Superman film. His movie in many ways introduced the character to audiences who thought of him as a childhood novelty. Over the course of the three sequels that followed Donner’s movie, the reputation of Superman faded into unintentional comedy. Not long ago, Bryan Singer directed his homage to Donner’s film (and a special Superman II director’s cut that was closer to Donner’s vision was released on DVD). Singer’s film had plenty of skill and heart, but brought nothing new to the table aside from the idea that Superman was a a deadbeat father (awkward). Even so, it’s a good film, but it could have been a GREAT one. Work on a sequel which would introduce Brainiac fell through as a legal battle with the heirs of Superman creator Jerry Seigel got heated.

Comic book creators Mark Waid, Grant Morrison and Mark Millar (and thankfully not Kevin Smith) were brought in to pitch ideas about how to properly revamp Superman, but the studio was handed an ultimatum from the courts in 2009 to go into production by 2011 or pay the Seigel estate.

Desperate to make up for lost time, Warner Bros. contacted Chris Nolan and David Goyer to spearhead a new approach to Superman. The notion was that Nolan would prep the film for the as-yet undecided director. Zack Snyder was drafted for the director’s chair in 2010. Snyder has two visually compelling comic book movies to his service, Frank Miller’s 300 and Watchmen. Composer Hans Zimmer, who was responsible for scoring the Chris Nolan Dark Knight Trilogy will be lending his services to Man of Steel.

The film stars Henry Cavill as Superman and Michael Shannon as the evil General Zod (from the highly popular Superman II) who no doubt leads an armada of spacecraft in an attack on the Earth (seen in the trailer). The theme of the film seems to be to find the humanity in the hero, as emphasized by the emotional scenes where a young Clark Kent wrestles over helping others or remaining a recluse.

To date, the publicity material has given a dark and moody feel to the Superman franchise that fans are unfamiliar with. In fact, this is precisely what many (myself included) were worried about when Nolan, Goyer and Snyder were announced as the architects of this 21st Century version of Superman. The character has been around since 1938 and is viewed by most (if not all) as the epitome of the superhero. However, that concept has gone through many revisions in the past 20 odd years and continues to change with the times. Compare the Richard Donner Superman of 1978 to the X-Men of 2000 and you can witness the studio’s dedication to sell the legitimacy and realism of the superhero to a sophisticated audience. Then you have projects like Blade and the Punisher which hammer the character into an accepted genre. Most recently, Marvel’s Avengers has shown that the superhero film is actually its own genre (at last), so the trepidation to create such a movie should be a thing of the past.

So… why are we seeing a version of Superman who looks more like Batman? Perhaps these are just early glimpses and the finished product will embrace the fantastic origins of Superman. We can but hope.

Superman: The Man of Steel has a 14th of June 2013 premiere date.

Quick review: Action Comics #13

Action Comics #13

Written by: Grant Morrison
Backup Written by: Sholly Fisch
Art by: Travel Foreman
Backup Art by: Bradley Walker

The Phantom Zone was envisioned as an alternative form of punishment for criminals on the planet Krypton with regular appeals from the convicts after their sentence. But when Krypton was destroyed, those trapped with the Zone went mad with hatred and dreams of revenge on the living, their lives reduced to insubstantial ghosts. One portal to the Zone remains and is held in the Fortress of Solitude. On Halloween night, the ghosts of Krypton will walk again and seek bloody vengeance.

An unusual issue unites the Man of Steel with the Phantom Stranger in this Halloween-inspired adventure. In his fortress of solitude, Superman has uncovered the gateway to the Phantom Zone and something has found a way out. Memories come flooding back to Kal-El of a white dog that watched over him, better known to fans as Krypto the super dog. Tricked into the Phantom Zone, Superman meets another who has become ensnared, the Phantom Stranger. Together the pair attempt to escape an inescapable prison and stop the Kryptonian criminal Doctor Xa Du before he unleashes chaos in their home reality.

I have given this series a lot of grief for being convoluted but underlying that sentiment is the fact that I really want to like it. I decided to re-read the series and pick up any missing issues and finally can say with certainty that it is a magnificent comic. There were some major stumbling blocks that involved ropy continuity and a couple of fill-in issues that took place in the past and future while Action itself is set five years ago (ugggggh), but these problems are behind us now and Superman gains his proper status in the DCU.

It was a very confused path that brought the New 52 Superman to the point where he has a Silver Age feel blended with a post-modern presentation. This has to be the Superman that Morrison wanted to write all along and the one that his fans have been waiting for. The previous issues with the alternate fireman secret identity, the Legion of Superheroes and John Henry Irons fighting Metallo can be forgiven for this wonderfully fanciful tale.

As a Marvel Zombie, growing up I had relatively little exposure to the Superman comic book. I picked it up avidly when Ordway, Perez and Byrne took over and saw through their homage to the heyday of the comic what could be done with the hero. Since then I have delved back into the recesses of Superman’s past and sought out Silver (reprints) and Bronze Age issues that are both absurd and dripping with imagination.

This issue is a love letter to the past and a welcome one at that in the face of the revisions and reboots that have plagued DC Comics of late. I don’t mean to hammer home a point as I do enjoy collecting many DC titles, but it seems that most of the heroes are just jerks now with the Justice League being the biggest collection of jerks ever assembled. However, Morrison has taken this new reactionary Superman and placed him in a classic setting, surrounded by alien artifacts, a dimensional gateway and weird alien ghosts.

I should also mention the art by Travel Foreman, who steps in the shoes of Rags Morales admirably. There is a fantastic element of the unreal and weird in his artwork that really clicked with this issue and I am looking forward to watching it develop further.

Additionally, this issue deals with Superman’s dog. I know that Morrison is more of a cat person, but he does have a deep love for animals and also a lot of respect for the emotional connection between a person and his/her pet. I’m a big mush when it comes to dogs so I got all teary when it was revealed that Krypto was trapped in the Phantom Zone and was by his master’s side as a specter throughout his life. When the Phantom Stranger tries to gently but firmly break it to Superman that it is iffy that they can escape but there is no way he could get his dog out of the Phantom Zone, I shared Superman’s conviction that nothing to get in his way.

The reunion at the close of the issue was a yank on the heart strings.

I will say that I am not exactly sold on the Trinity of Sin that includes Pandora, the Phantom Stranger and the Question, but I’ll try to hold off on my judgement until I have read the story.

While I was disappointed with the conclusion to the first storyline (made all the harder to track due to the Legion of Superheroes fill-in), I can say that upon second reading and with this issue as well that Action Comics is shaping up to be an outstanding Superman comic. If you are a fan of the old stuff, this is right up your alley and if you are unfamiliar with Superman and why he is cool, this is where you’ll find a good answer for that.

Modern comics seem to focus mainly on flawed heroes, making Superman something of an anomaly at best and a forgotten relic at worst. I felt that the initial few issues tried too hard to put an edge on the man of steel and make him more appealing to young readers by making him an angry youth. That would be a major mistake as the power of Superman for me has always been in the fantasy and adventure. Morrison seems to be bringing that back and if so it’s a great direction to take the series in.

Superman is back with Warner Bros.

As some readers may recall, the rights of the comic book character Superman have long been in contention between Warner Bros. and the heirs of creators Siegel and Shuster. The war appears to be over…

Superman circa 2012 by George Pérez

Warner wins key victory in Superman battle
By Ben Fritz
October 17, 2012, 6:26 p.m.
Superman won’t be going up, up, and away from Warner Bros.
In a crucial legal victory for the Burbank studio, a federal judge in Los Angeles on Wednesday denied an effort by the heirs of Superman co-creator Joseph Shuster to reclaim their 50% interest in the world’s most famous superhero.

Superman is one of Warner’s most valuable characters, having generated more than $500 million at the domestic box office with five films and billions of dollars more from television series such as “Smallville,” toys and games, and 74 years’ worth of comic books.

Had Warner and its DC Comics subsidiary lost the case, they would have soon been unable to continue using certain key elements of the Superman mythos — including his super strength and speed, secret identity as Clark Kent and girlfriend Lois Lane –without reaching a costly new agreement with the estates of Shuster and co-creator Jerry Siegel.

In 2008, a judge ruled in favor of Siegel’s heirs in a similar case, allowing them to terminate half of Warner’s Superman copyright as he appeared in 1938’s Action Comics No. 1. However, under copyright law, the studio is allowed to use the character however it pleases with its 50% interest so long as it continues paying Siegel’s estate half of the relevant profits.

Warner plans to release a new big-budget Superman movie, “Man of Steel,” in June. Wednesday’s ruling will allow it to produce sequels should that picture prove successful. In addition, the studio has been eager to produce a movie featuring the DC superhero team Justice League as soon as 2015, which would have been impossible without lead character Superman.

U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright granted summary judgment in favor of Warner, ruling that a 1992 agreement between DC Comics and Shuster’s sister Jean and brother Frank was binding and prevented Shuster’s estate from attempting to terminate copyrights.

Under that deal, DC paid all of the then-recently deceased Shuster’s outstanding debts and agreed to pay Jean $25,000 a year for the rest of her life (it issued additional bonuses to her over the years).

“The court finds that the 1992 agreement, which represented the Shuster heirs’ opportunity to renegotiate the prior grants of Joe Shuster’s copyrights, superseded and replaced all prior grants of the Superman copyrights,” Wright wrote. “The 1992 agreement thus represents the parties’ operative agreement and… is not subject to termination.”

The Shusters’ attorney, Marc Toberoff, who also represents the Siegel estate, expressed surprise after just last week having said September’s summary judgment hearing went “very badly” for DC.

“We respectfully disagree with [the order’s] factual and legal conclusions,” he said in an e-mailed statement. “It is surprising given that the judge appeared to emphatically agree with our position at the summary judgment hearing.”

The eight-year legal battle between the Superman creators’ heirs and Warner probably won’t end soon. The Shuster estate is expected to appeal Wednesday’s ruling.

At a Nov. 5 appeals court hearing, the studio will attempt to overturn the Siegels’ copyright termination and Toberoff will seek more control over the character for his clients and to deny accusations of impropriety that Warner has made against him.

The case is the latest and highest-stakes dispute between the creators of famous comic book characters and the entertainment giants making more money than ever from them as superheroes have exploded in popularity in the last decade. The heirs of Marvel Comics artist Jack Kirby, also represented by Toberoff, in 2011 lost in an attempt to reclaim rights to such famous characters as the Fantastic Four, X-Men and the Hulk.

In Wright’s ruling, he noted that DC has paid the Siegel and Shuster families more than $4 million since 1975, not counting medical benefits and bonuses.

Thanks, John Hurschel Runion