DC in Crisis?

Hello again nerds and nerdettes! Sorry I've been away for so long. Life can happen in the blink of an eye if you're not careful. I've missed you all and am happy to say that your favorite bearded nerd is back with all kinds of opinions, reviews and stories to share. Speaking of sharing, I recently joined the Instagram word! So give me a follow at Thee.bearded.Nerd for silly pictures and cool happenings in my life!

In the time of my absence, there has been a lot of talk about DC Comics and how they seem to be failing in making their mark with their movies. Too much hype but lacking, too dark, no real plot....etc. etc. Also, they recently "rebooted" their entire comic book line with what they're now calling their "Rebirth" stories. It would seem that DC is in turmoil and just can't gain any traction on getting their good company name back in the mainstream. That's if you listen to those so called "true believers" or "Marvelites". Those that never followed a DC comic’s story will say that DC is hurting.

Truth of the matter is this; DC is doing just fine. Their characters have never been more popular and their movies are setting records. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice came in at $872.7 million. But yet, the movie was just awful and still makes more than I'll ever see in 5 lifetimes. And Suicide Squad has made $384 million....and still counting. Will it make as much as BvS? Probably not. But, once again, a terrible movie. That is, if you want to listen to those hacks over at rotten tomatoes or metacritic. Both websites reviewed the two films the exact same. 27% by rotten tomatoes and 44% by metacritic. Granted, comic book movies don't really rank high on a movie reviewers list anyway but that's just a bit of coincidence if you ask me.

In my opinion, DC movies have been nothing but great. I fell in love with Superman all over again, Ben Affleck jumped way up the list of favorite actors to play Batman and Gal Gadot can only go up from here as far as Wonder Woman goes. Suicide Squad was just as enjoyable to watch as well! So, I don't understand how one can say that these movies were as bad as the entire internet is screaming. And now, with the trailers for Justice League and Wonder Woman released, it has made me even more excited to see my brand, the DC brand, come to power. DC in crisis? More like DC is just getting started.

What do you think, is DC in Crisis? Do you like the DC films they have recently put out?

Let us know in the comments below.

Posted by: Dustin

SUICIDE SQUAD Comic-Con Trailer

First Official Look At The SUICIDE SQUAD Assembled And Ready For Action

From ComicBookMovie.com

Here it is, our first official look at the Suicide Squad.

Pictured from left to right are: Adam Beach (Cowboys & Aliens) as Slipknot, Jai Courtney (Terminator: Genisys) as Captain Boomerang, Cara Delevingne (Paper Towns) as Enchantress, Karen Fukuhara as Katana, Joel Kinnaman (RoboCop) as Rick Flagg, Margot Robbie (The Wolf Of Wall Street) as Harley Quinn, Will Smith (Men In Black) as Deadshot, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Thor: The Dark World) as Killer Croc, and Jay Hernandez (Hostel) as El Diablo.

First Look at Jared Leto as the Joker

Thought? 

Jared Leto Begins Joker Transformation

From ComicBook.com

Jared Leto has posted another selfie to Instagram, this time reporting for duty on the set of Suicide Squad.

He posted to photo below with the caption “Transformation begins” after getting a clean shave.

With Suicide Squad, DC is Offering Up Everything Fans Want

By: Jesse Merkel

Last October, Warner Bros. finally released the tentative schedule for their shared movie universe. The schedule laid out 10 movies between now and 2020. This schedule included a number of popular characters in the DC universe, including The Flash, Green Lantern, Cyborg, Shazam, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman.

There were also three team up movies announced, two of which, Justice League Part One and Justice League Part Two, were not much of a surprise. What did surprise people, however, was the announcement of a Suicide Squad movie.

After the popular portrayals given by Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckart in The Dark Knight, haven’t we all deep down been waiting for a movie focused solely on villains?

If you’re a true DC die hard, this probably caught your attention almost immediately. If you’re new to the fold, strap yourself in. There are several reasons as to why this movie might just be the ultimate fan experience.

Setting Up the Rest of the Universe

As I wrote in my previous article, DC is approaching their cinematic universe differently than Marvel. Whereas Marvel has taken a more episodic approach, DC is laying out a more serial form of storytelling.

Suicide Squad will be the key. This movie will introduce a number of villains that will probably end up appearing in future movies. The benefit to this is that the foundation for these characters will be well established, saving time in future installments, while avoiding Marvel’s precedent of hollow, non-threatening villains that pop up mid way through the movie. (Malekith, anyone?)

We’re going to be dropped into a universe where the majority of the big villains have been active for years. Most will already be in jail. Instead of watching the birth of a baddie in the movie, this will be more akin to seeing Hannibal Lecter or Darth Vader when they first appeared on screen. You’ll have no trouble understanding why everyone is afraid of these people.

Fantastic Villains, Fantastic Casting

There are two things that Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Boomerang, Enchantress, Rick Flagg and Amanda Waller all have in common. Each of them has a rich history, and none of them have been featured in a live-action movie. Characters like the Joker and Lex Luthor have been seen before, but have plenty more to draw from.

What’s truly amazing is that this one movie has been able to round up such an impressive roster. Oscar nominees and winners are scattered left and right. Jared Leto gets into character like few of his contemporaries. Viola Davis and Jesse Eisenberg both have shown an incredible amount of dramatic range. Will Smith has shown an impressive ability to be intense and physically imposing, while Margot Robbie raked in impressive reviews for her performances in The Wolf of Wall Street and Focus.

Perhaps more important is the fact that you can visualize each of these actors taking on the role. Anyone else think that Robbie looks exactly like Harley Quinn, or that Leto’s smile is a dead ringer for the Jokers?

Imagine a Joker, based off of the one seen in The Dark Knight Returns, screwing with an angry Amanda Waller during an interrogation, or bantering playfully with Harley Quinn. Feel that? Those are chills.

The Right Director and Story

If this movie had been given another director, it probably wouldn’t work. Thankfully, we’ve got David Ayers at the helm. The Training Day and Fury director is known for his gritty and violent style. He knows how to balance character development, intense action and story without letting any one part drag down the entire work.

Now, you can’t put this many villains together without some laughs. That being said, it’s doubtful that we will see a scene where it sounds like everyone has a stand up comedian feeding them lines. That works fine for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but has no place with this cast of characters. DC is clearly going for subtly over silliness.

Right now, rumors are swirling that Amanda Waller will assemble the Suicide Squad to retrieve the Joker. Others believe it may have something to do with Waller’s intense need to reign in the Batman. Both stories are on a smaller scale than the majority of super hero movies, which will allow for even more character development. Sometimes it’s easier to focus on people when the entire world isn’t at stake.

Suicide Squad will come screaming into theaters only a few months after Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016. Between now and then, we’ll only have rumor and conjecture to go on. Still, if half of what we’ve heard turns out to be true, we’re all in for one hell of a ride.

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Pick up your copy of Suicide Squad

Suicide Squad TPB Vol. 02 Basilisk Rising - $15.29
from: Things From Another World

Suicide Squad TPB Vol. 04 Discipline And Punish - $13.49
from: Things From Another World

Suicide Squad Movie: Jared Leto's Hairdo?

Taking blurps from the recent post up at IGN.com, David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) and Jared Leto (@JaredLeto) shared an entertaining back and forth on Twitter. Of course this isn't big Suicide Squad movie news but still entertaining none the less. Suicide Squad starts filming next month in Toronto.

Here is their Twitter exchange: 

           Something will happen tomorrow. #skwad

          - David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) 

          TICK TOCK . . .

          - Jared Leto (@JaredLeto)

          Should we? #SuicideSquad

​          - David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies)

           - David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies)

Posted by: Joe @thee.social.nerd

New Suicide Squad: Issue 6

What happens when you throw in an army of genetically engineered beings, China and a group of convicts in a lab? Not sure? The answer is you have issue number six of the "New Suicide Squad." The last issue left off with Harley Quinn setting off the alarm and unwittingly letting out the genetically engineered beings. 

The promotion for the heavily featured Harley Quinn issue is actually pretty deceptive, so for those of you who are hardcore Harley Quinn fans, prepare for potential disappointment. The members of the Suicide Squad are given equal footing in the issue, with the exception of Man-Bats, who provides some late issue distraction for the team when they need it most.

The issue revolves around the team fighting off the army of genetically engineeredd beings. Reverse Flash took up the bulk of the panels trying to grab as many bombs as he could, at least until his knee seemed to go out on him with the rest of the team being overwhelmed. The interaction between the team was limited, and the issue featured, and revolved around, the actions of the Suicide Squad. 

For me, where the issue dragged was places in which the Suicide Squad handlers were featured. The dialogue was dry, and with the exception of Victor Sage being approached in the bar, it didn't really lead anywhere or give an indication of a potential future storyline. In order to effectively advancce the storyline, you need dialogue and that dialogue should have meaning. In this particular issue, I really felt like the dialogue was just there to provide a break from the action.

The issue ends in a spectacular blast, an angry man, and a promise of revenge. Will we see another member fall? What will Sage do? 

You won't find anything Earth shattering in this issue of Suicide Squad, though I guess that's expected with Suicide Squad. If by chance you're reading anything by this team, you're probably expecting violence and very little else. You have some deccent action in this issue, but I wouldn't say that it's an absolute must-grab either. In all honesty, I put this issue down feeling a little disappointed in it's overall execution. Unfortunately, it seems that DC is still stuck on giving us a mediocre issues for the Suicide Squad. You would think that with a movie coming out next year, DC would want to create as much buzz and excitement as possible. Everything could be leading up to some great issues, but sadly it's just not happening yet.  

Posted by: Jeff