SHAZAM! (9 out of 10) Directed by David F. Sandberg; Written by Henry Gayden; Starring Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Mark Strong and Zachary Levi; Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action, language, and suggestive material; Running time 132 minutes; In wide release April 5.

Of the two major comic book companies DC Comics and Marvel, which one do you think has the most characters?  Mind you I am talking about everyone, superheroes, villains, sidekicks as well as all of the supporting characters.  According to a November 2015 post on the site Quora.com James Wilding states that DC has more than 10,000 characters listed in its database!  Marvel, well it has a respectable 7,000 characters as of the Disney purchase in 2010. A later post on the same topic by Andy Grilz estimates that only one in eight of these characters are heroes.  Now of all these characters, who would you like to see get their own movie? Would you watch a Louis Lane standalone, what about a movie that tells Alfred the Butlers origin story? The big studios would never provide a budget for a movie like that, and this is where my favorite genre of film steps in to fill the void, the fan film.

Instead of a normal review, I thought I would share with you a few examples of fan films that tell the stories of some obscure but still loved DC and Marvel Characters.  Let’s start with DC. With the release of the movie Suicide Squad in 2016, everyone is in love with The Joker and Harley Quinn. Warner Brothers who own the rights to DC movies and characters are said to be planning on making both Joker and Harley Quinn stand alone films, BUT they would never green light a movie where these two iconic villains o to something as mundane as couple therapy.  Well writer Colin Costello, actress Brandi Price and director Terry Ziegelman did just that with their fan film ‘Committed’ released in October 2017. This award winning film is both funny and unusual and is worth watching several times.

Lets go a little more obscure then the Joker and Ms Quinn, what about a character from the very early days of DC comics, do you know who Dan ‘Terrible’ Turpin is?  No, well don’t worry not many people do. Turpin is the Lieutenant Inspector of the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit. Metropolis is of course the home of Superman, and Turpin is basically like Commissioner Gordon, but without a cool spotlight.  Turpin never really had any big comic book arcs and is such a small character that DC and Warner Brothers would never bother making him the star of his own movie, but filmmaker Robert Dodrill did! In May 2016 Dodrill released the fan film ‘Turpin: Terrible Toys’.  This film follows Turpin as he tries to put a stop to a serial killer called the ToyMaker. Winner of the Best Director Category of the 2017 Fanfilm Awards, this film does not have a Superman cameo, and he is not needed because it is very well written and acted and tells an original story.  This film was also made with a budget of only $1000.

What about we switch gears and talk about some obscure Marvel character fan films.  There are many awesome fan films on the well known characters like the Avengers, Wolverine or Spider-Man, however, unless you are a hard core Marvel fan you have probably never heard of Dr. Michael Morbius.  Dr Morbius or Morbius the Living Vampire as he is otherwise known first appeared in the Amazing Spider-Man #101 in October 1971 and was created by writer Roy Thomas. Morbius acquired his Vampire abilities while attempting to cure himself of a rare blood-disease.  Morbius will never be a part of the MCU (and let’s face it Vampires are so 2008) but filmmaker Chaz Dray decided that he needed his own film and the fan film ‘Morbius: The Living Vampire’ was released in October 2014. With a runtime of a little over twelve minutes this fan film has a great narrative and a lot of great fight scenes and teases the possibility of more Morbius films to come.

Last of all I want to talk about a breakthrough comic book character, Ms Marvel.  Ms Marvel or real name Kamala Khan is Marvel’s first ever Muslim superhero and was created by Sana Amanat and Stephen Wacker, writer G. Willow Wilson and artist Adrian Alphona.  Kamala first appeared in Captain Marvel #14 of August 2013, but later got her own solo series in early 2014. Kamala is from Jersey City, NJ (New Jersey represent!) and has Inhuman genes that give her Shapeshifting abilities.  The original Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers who was originally known as Ms Marvel) is getting her own MCU standalone movie which is due to be released in March of 2019, so I don’t think that Kamala will be getting her own movies anywhere in the MCU lineup.  But you guessed in, this is where a fan film steps in. Writer and director Anita Kalathara and Landis Aponte released ‘Kamala-Ms Marvel Fan Film’ in February 2017. At just over five minutes long this fan film is basically a long movie trailer, but it does tell a very powerful story, especially based on Kamala and her heritage.

So there you have it, four fan films based on some obscure comic book characters or obscure comic book character stories.  Each of these is special in different ways, they are original, well written and in almost all cases self financed by the filmmaker, so check them out.  For more in depth information and discussion on ‘Committed’ and ‘Turpin Terrible Toys’ give Shows 4 and 7 of the Fan Film Boyz Podcast a listen. Please feel free to comment on what you think of these films, or if you have some other obscure character fan films you want to share you can email me at fanfilmboyz@gmail.com.

Robert is one of the hosts of the Fan Film Boyz Podcast, a podcast that discusses, reviews and helps promote fan films.  For more in-depth discussion and interviews with directors, writers, actors and actresses, give the podcast a listen.

Planetary Vol.1 includes issues 1-6 of Planetary which was published by Wildstorm (an imprint of DC Comics) from April 1999 to October 2009 with a preview issue that was released in September of 1998 for a total of 27 issues.

A friend of mine, we’ll call Tony because that’s his name, had originally turned me on to Planetary back in 2011-12 was mad about it. I had never heard of it myself, but he claimed…no insisted it was one of the best comics ever written. Multiple Eagle Award winner Warren Ellis, who is known for his sociocultural commentary and his transhumanist themes, wrote the series.  He is often touted as one of the best comic writers of this generation. Ellis teamed up with multiple Eisner Award winning artist, John Cassaday. After some negotiating I agreed to buy the complete run of the series off of Tony. I read them and honestly wasn’t that impressed (don’t tell him, but I in turn sold the series to my local shop for store credit). I was actually a little curious as to why he thought it was so great. The stories were hard to follow and so out there, that I had no idea what was happening or what I was reading.

Shortly before our transaction, we had attended the Boston Comic Con where Tony sparked up a conversation with a fellow comic fan (yea actual comic book fans still went to those things back then), and naturally Tony mentioned our discussion about Planetary with this guy, and just like clockwork, he agreed pretty enthusiastically with Tony about how great Planetary was.

It’s one of those instances where a fan of science fiction should like a science fiction comic. Yea but you see…I’m not necessarily a fan of science fiction. I’m a fan of good writing. As a creative writing major, I’m always on the prowl for good writers and their work. A couple months ago I googled “best comic book writers” Guess who came up? Warren Ellis. Guess what comic they recommended? You got it…Planetary. K…fine. I’ll give it another go. Back to the comic shop I go. I buy Planetary vol.1: All Over The World And Other Stories.

My synopsis is as follows. I liked it. I didn’t love it. It’s definitely imaginative, creative, the art is fantastic. I should mention the colorist; Laura DePuy. She did an amazing job. As far as the art—it goes from having clean lines especially on the female character, Jakita Wagner (it’s almost like she’s little too perfect looking), to giving other characters a rough Man with No Name appearance. The versatility in Cassaday’s work is exceptional.

The story of Planetary surrounds a group of three super human archeologists, but this isn’t your dad’s Indiana Jones. They call themselves “Archeologists of the Impossible”. Jakita Wagner, who reminds me of The Baroness from G.I. Joe sans glasses, is Planetary’s leader and version of the Flash, which is to say she is lightning fast and virtually invulnerable. The Drummer, yes that’s his name, “First name: The. Last Name: Drummer”, has a knack for anything electronic. He has the ability to detect information streams from computers and other electronics. He comes off as the group’s goof-off—somewhat immature but comes through when necessary. Lastly, there is Elijah Snow, (appropriately dressed in all white) who can extract heat and withstand extreme cold. He appears to be as cold and calculating as his namesake

Planetary is an organization whose purpose it is to discover the world’s secret history. The organization is quietly funded by a fourth member, conveniently called The Fourth Member. One of the main features of Planetary is that it incorporates well known pup culture icons like Godzilla, Doc Savage, Sherlock Holmes and Tarzan. In one particular story, the trio is sent to Island Zero, which is a contested piece of land between Japan and Russia, to investigate the monsters that live there. Once they arrive the trio run into a group of six Japanese scientists whose leader is one sick bastard (he literally eats a piece of flesh of a dead monster then kills another member of his group when they refused to do the same). The goal was to find the scientists before they discover more of the monsters, who were all presumed dead—until Elijah sees one flying overhead. For unknown reasons the monsters never leave the island. Before the lead scientists can commit any more atrocities, Jakita makes quick work of him and his group.

I appreciate the writing in as much as it takes pop culture icons and uses them as a plot device in an original perspective. Picture a trio of super-human’s meeting up with Doc Savage (who goes by the name of Axel Brass…Axel Brass…aka Doc Savage…aka Man in Bronze…get it?)) and learning that he’s been awake for the past 54 years—waiting for someone to come along to save the world. I got a huge Watchmen vibe in one issue where the character Jim Wilder looks almost identical to the character Ozymandias from The Watchmen despite the fact that his character was based on Captain Marvel.

Those who are more invested in social issues, political discourse, and are interested in where we,  as humans, are heading to evolution-wise, especially intellectually will get more out of Ellis’s work. It makes you think sort of like Tool makes you question.

Will I continue reading this series? Probably, but it’s not something I’m running out to the store to find. I recommend buying the trades, which is something I started doing recently with almost all of the comics I read. Reading the stories back-to-back in trade form makes it much easier to follow and stay interested. It’s not so much that the stories are related to one another, but Ellis’ writing style and his way of crafting a story took me a few issues to really get settled in. Reading one story after another helps you to follow the writing path that Ellis paves for you. Once you get into the groove it is smooth sailing from there. All in all it’s a very intellectual thought provoking series.

Eric G. Onkenhout

@EricOnkenhout

June 12th, 2016. It was the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history and one of the darkest moments the LGBTQ community has ever faced.

The Love Is Love comic anthology, co-published by IDW publishing and DC Comics, is an eloquent, moving tribute to the people who lost their lives that night and for all those touched by that loss. It’s an ambitious collection of one or two page stories from a diverse coalition of artists with noble intentions, the simplest of which is raising money for the people directly affected. Now on it’s fourth printing, with 100% of the proceeds going to Equality Orlando, I’d say it’s accomplished that goal.

But how can anyone hope to properly articulate the pain people were left with after such a horrifying act of violence? To say that this book has lofty goals is an understatement. You need to pay appropriate tribute to those that were killed. Encapsulate how people from all walks of life reacted when they heard the news. Encourage to be proud of themselves and stand strong in the face of an attack on their core values.

Perhaps it’s most towering goal is to make some sort of sense of something that any decent person would find unthinkable. It’s just too deranged and too big and too heartbreaking to wrap one’s head around. That’s unfair, of course, for the literally hundreds of creators who contributed. The people involved with this book would be forgiven for looking at the odds of doing it right and finding a different way to help instead. Below is just a handful of the A-list talent who gave it their best shot anyway. Just look at this list of contributors; any single one of these names would make any regular book a must-read:

Gail Simone
Paul Dini
Jonathan Hickman
Brian Michael Bendis
Jason Aaron
Jason Latour
Mark Millar
Paul Jenkins
G. Willow Wilson
Marguerite Bennett
Jim Lee
Phil Jimenez
Brad Meltzer
Patton Oswalt
Gerry Duggan
Damon Lindelof
Leinil Francis Yu
Kieron Gillen
George Perez
David Mack
J.K. Rowling
Dan Didio
Taran Killam
Judd Winick
Scott Snyder
Grant Morrison
Rafael Albuquerque

The fact that Love Is Love (in my opinion) succeeds as well as it does is completely besides the point, because this generous group of writers, artists, colorists, editors, comedians and filmmakers did something. Something to help, something to comfort, and that’s all anyone can do, really.

There are stories in Love is Love that are biographical, stories that are fictional, stories that are realistic, and stories that are fantastical. They come in many forms, including personal memoir, poetry, fairy tales, and abstract imagery. Many creators chose to illustrate their immediate reaction to the event as it unfolded on television. Some tell how they attempted to explain what happened to their children. Some share a snapshot of their queer life experiences, whether through support they received, prejudice they suffered through, or a mix of both. Some use comic book or literary icons as a mechanism to help their fans understand what they have in common.

The first story that broke me was early in the book, it featured a boy asking his father why two men are kissing. “Is it a different love?” the boy asks. The father responds, “Yes… No… Yes…” concluding, “because their love scares people.” The boy decides that their love must be different if it can stand up to that much hate and evil, dubbing it “Super-Love,” as he imagines a group of Orlando mourners in capes.

In a similar but chilling piece, two young friends retreat to their separate homes and witness their parents having very different reactions to the Pulse shooting. One kid’s parents comfort him and explain to him that gay love is just like their love. The other overhears his parents using a homophobic slur and repeats it to himself, giving birth to a new generation of intolerance.

A particularly heartbreaking story involves a puppy being adopted from a shelter, only to, years later, end up right back where it started when it’s owner never comes home from a night out.

Another, narrated by Wonder Woman, asks the eternal question, what do the Amazons do for companionship on an island with only women? Followed by another: what would you even do with that information if you were told? Judge her?

Mark Millar was the only one to take an angle specifically about gun control, making the case that everything from rope to cyanide to human hands have many practical uses, yet guns have only one.

Many simply chose to compose a single image, be it true-to-life or abstract, mirroring their grief.

This book was hard to get through and, honestly, I had to put it down at one point because it brought me to tears. But, at times, it also made me beam with joy, and even made me laugh out loud (Once. I’m looking at you, Taran Killam). It’s a book filled with hope, anguish, respect, rage, and sympathy. For every story of embittered helplessness their is a story of perseverance. It’s both a somber eulogy and a call to action. If you’re looking for a way to help, even just a little bit, pick up a copy of Love Is Love. If you like it, buy another copy for someone you love. Buy it for someone who needs your support or buy it for someone who is naive to the LGBTQ experience. At least you’re doing something and that’s all anyone can do, right?

This episode features:
Tyson, Tom, Lucas, Nick, and Jon

It’s post-Christmas, and of course the guys got a bunch of geeky shit! Tyson got some rad Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Figures, Tom got spoiled with a Kotobukiya Sakura Statue, Jon got some Amazon gift cards and hooked himself up with the Kotobukiya Damian Wayne statue, as well as Batman himself! Lucas’ girlfriend enabled his Hot Toy addiction and got him Boba Fett, as well as a special Christmas message from Jon: “Blame it on the Romans”.

And while not received for Christmas, Lucas made everyone jealous by showing off his new giant-ass Donatello figure:

The fellas also talk comics including Jon’s lack of caring about Marvel’s Civil War 2 run. Venom has bonded with some other dude. The Punisher and Doctor Strange team-up may be the best odd couple since The Odd Couple – but with a magic axe. The Justice League fight with the Power Rangers because reasons and maybe Mormonism. The X-Men are picking fights again, this time with The Inhumans – and it is awesome!

Listen now on iTunes, Google Play, or Stitcher

As always, thank you very much for tuning in! If you like what you hear, please leave us a rating on your preferred casting service. You can contact any of the podcasters via their Twitter handles, or get at Big Shiny Robot directly.

The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture. Glen Weldon, Simon & Schuster 326 pages hardcover. 2016. (10 out of 10)

I know a lot about Batman. I say that with nearly equal parts pride and shame. I read way too much, I collect way too much, I…pretend I’m Batman in my head way too much. These things create a perfect storm of obsession, and one that results in me having a brain full of Bat-trivia that I don’t necessarily want, let alone need. That may be part of the reason it took me the better part of a year to get around to reading Glen Weldon’s latest book “The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture.” I kind of assumed I knew it all. So although I enjoyed his “Superman: The Unauthorized Biography,” I held off on the Bat-book. I shouldn’t have.

Weldon does what I expected him to: give us a telling of the history of Batman, from 1939 through today. He carries us chronologically through the very first stories, often credited to Bob Kane but with the lion’s share of work done by Bill Finger. He traces the evolution of Batman and Robin through decades of comic book publishing, and connects the small and great shifts in character to historical and pop culture events happening at the same time. He provides an entertaining look at how the 1966 “Batman” television series came to be, and the explosion of Batmania that accompanied it. We see the darkening of the Dark Knight through the 1970s, the grittier even more darkening in the 1980s, and the renaissance of public interest that came with the movies from Keaton through Bale and beyond. I expected all of that. And I got it. If you don’t know as much about the history of Batman, but just know you love the character and his heroics, this book is a great primer for how Batman became the Batman you know and love. Whether the one you love is the one currently on screens and comics or some version of the past, you’ll meet him in this pages. The vast majority of the things in these pages “I knew already.” But reading again with Weldon’s voice and analysis made me love and geek out over the history of Batman all over again. 

There’s a darker side of fandom as well

What I found even more interesting, what I didn’t understand before reading, was the second part of that subtitle — “the Rise of Nerd Culture.” Weldon connects Batman with extreme fandom: nerd culture. People like me, essentially. People who latch onto a character, a book, a movie, a game, and want to know everything about it. They feel like those characters are friends or family. They write fan fiction, they create art, they go to comic con, they collect, they cosplay. There’s a darker side of fandom as well, where those fans can turn ugly when they think those characters are being mishandled. They threaten boycotts, they rail online about how Ben Affleck will be “the Worst Batman Ever” (he wasn’t), they send death threats to creators. Weldon finds the seeds of that even in the early days of comic books, but finds the real spark in the 1966 television series. When it premiered, it was met by the general public with delight, but by many nerds with rage:

“They began to shape, for the very first time, the sentiment that all nerds who followed after them would employ whenever they found their niche interests embraced by the mass culture: ‘You do not appreciate this thing you profess to love in precisely the same way, to precisely the same extent, and for precisely the same reasons that I do.’ Or, more simply, ‘You’re doing it wrong.'” 

We see these voices grow more strident and with more places for expression over the years — now of course everyone with a Twitter account can voice their rage, despair, and condemnation — and gain followers and create narrower and narrower niches of fandom. Weldon seems to see that expression as valuable, but also needlessly splintering. It’s okay to like things differently from someone else. 

With all of the vicissitudes and controversies in the book, it would be easy to come away with a bad taste in your mouth about fandom, or even about Batman. But Weldon’s voice is positive, the anecdotes are funny, and he sees the most recent evolution of Batman into a “grand unified theory” — that is, all versions of Batman can coexist. If you hate Ben Affleck’s Batman, there’s always the best Batman (“Batman: The Animated Series“)(my opinion)(and Weldon’s)(and yours) to retreat to. If you’re a fan of Batman, there will be something Batmannish about a New Batman that you can find to appreciate. And if not, there’s always the internet. Let your hate flow. 

A new “Wonder Woman” trailer just dropped. And so did my jaw.

Coming June 2017

It’s a big day for LEGO news. Earlier they revealed three of the six DC Superhero Girls sets, and now they’re showing a few of the sets that will be released with “The LEGO Batman Movie” (coming February 2017). Here’s what they dropped:

Batcave

Arkham Asylum

Mr. Freeze Attack

…this is in addition to the sets they previewed a few months ago:

Batmobile

Joker’s Notorious Lowrider

…LEGO didn’t provide any pricing information, or the date they’ll be available, but it’s a safe bet they’ll be on store shelves in January. I like the overview we get of the heroes and villains that will be in the movie — Batman, Batgirl, Robin, Alfred; Joker, Harley Quinn, Mister Freeze, Man-Bat, Catwoman, Two-Face, Riddler, Penguin…pretty much all the classic characters you’d expect. The writers and directors have said they want this to be the “ultimate Batman movie,” and they may just deliver.  On the design side of things…I’m sure I’ll like the aesthetic more after seeing it in the movie, but for now I don’t quite like it. I’m more a Batman: the Animated Series, simple lines kind of guy…but if these guys can make it work, I’m in.  

As for the LEGO sets themselves as LEGO sets — they look pretty fantastic. The Mr. Freeze set is kind of a throwaway–it’ll run twenty bucks and is cool if you want an Ice Mech of some kind. Arkham Asylum — wow. That’s a prison yard. This is the third Arkham Asylum set, and with a dozen minifigures and a building that size, it will be a pretty penny. The Batcave, which has seen four or five releases by now, is also impressive. I’m loving the Batboat, which looks like an upgraded Adam West-era vehicle, love the Penguin’s Rubber Duckie (although the villain himself looks more Batman Returns-y than anything we’ve seen yet in LEGO form) and those adorable little killer penguins. Batman’s conveyor closet of Bat-uniforms shows us three incredible ones in addition to the classic black he’s already wearing — Alfred and Bruce Wayne in a James Bond-worthy tux just sweeten the deal. We’ll have to wait until February to see how faithful the build is to the actual Batcave, but I like the pieces we see here. 

I’m in. 

Yesterday on their Facebook page LEGO revealed three of the six upcoming playsets for DC Super Hero Girls. Designed in the (sometimes controversial, but incredibly popular) LEGO Friends style, the sets include several iconic heroes and villains from DC Comics.  Here’s what LEGO showed us:

Batgirl’s Batjet

Harley Quinn’s Cafe Rescue

Super Hero High School 

I’m guessing the Batgirl set would run about $19.99, the Harley set $29.99, and the High School $59.99. But that may be off by ten bucks or so. 

Some commentary from a 43 year-old man who is clearly not the target audience, but who is an incredible fan of LEGO, and a lifelong fan of DC Comics…

These instantly had a backlash from Adult Fans of LEGO on Facebook and LEGO fan sites. So…a lot of other 43 year-old men. Their criticisms are twofold: first, that these are in the LEGO Friends style at all–with the Friends-style “minidolls” instead of traditional LEGO minifigures. The second criticism is that, unlike many of the other LEGO Friends sets, these sets seem to be more “juniorized” — more dumbed-down in terms of building techniques. I mostly disagree with both of those points. 

The LEGO Friends line has consistently been one of LEGO’s top three sellers since the line was launched in 2012, which seems to shuffle between City, Star Wars, and Ninjago. While it’s been criticized in its own right for having the minidolls instead of minifigures, for its pink and pastels color schemes, overall it’s a hit. Some of the sets are “juniorized,” but others are complex, and a lot of them are just downright fun. Last month I bought a hot dog truck (shaped like a giant hot dog) because it’s awesome, and because it’s something that’s not in the City LEGO lineup. So including Super Hero Girls in the Friends lineup alongside Disney Princesses and Elves and Pop Stars…it’s not a slap in the face. It’s getting some of my favorite characters in comic-dom to a wider audience. If this introduces more kids to Supergirl, Batgirl, Harley Quinn, and Poison Ivy–I’m for it. by all accounts the DC Super Hero Girls brand has been a success for DC and Mattel (it’s in Happy Meals right now by the way, and the “girl toys” are soooo much better than the “boy toys” from Justice League Action), selling well. Anecdotally, I see daughters of friends reading the books and playing with the toys, and while I don’t necessarily dig the aesthetic…it’s working for someone. 

And let’s say you really, really hate the design of the minidolls and are furious that they’re not minifigures — each of the major characters we see in this first wave has been in regular DC Superheroes LEGO sets within the last two years. Batgirl, Supergirl, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn have all made appearances, along with Wonder Woman, Katana, Starfire, Catwoman, and Talia Al Ghul. You can’t say that LEGO is somehow doing a disservice to female characters in the DC Universe. 

As far as the “juniorization” of the LEGO builds goes…they’re not as complex as some other builds that are out there, but I’d say they’re on a par with most of the City sets and, indeed, most of the DC and Marvel Superheroes sets. The sets for Captain America: Civil War and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice were awfully similar in terms of building techniques. In different, brighter colors, yes. But the actual builds…pretty darn close. And in line with the aesthetic in the other Super Hero Girls toys, books, and other media. 

In short…I don’t know that I’ll be getting any of these sets. Because they aren’t my thing. There are a lot of LEGO sets I don’t buy, believe it or not (my wife probably doesn’t believe that).  That said, we still have three DC Super Hero Girls sets we haven’t seen. I’m hoping Wonder Woman’s Invisible Jet is one of those sets. If it is…I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to resist that one. Wonder Woman is a major character in the books and other toys of course; I’m pretty sure we’ll see the Amazing Amazon in the lineup sooner rather than later. I’d also expect to see Bumblebee and Katana in this first wave, just to underscore the diversity in the Super Hero Girls lineup. I’ll be sure to update you as soon as we see more. 

Deadline just announced that DC Comics has a “Black Lightning” television series far enough along in development that they’re shopping it around to networks. Under the hand of Greg Berlanti (see: “Arrow,” “The Flash,” “Legends of Tomorrow,” “Supergirl”) it’s almost a sure thing. Berlanti is working with Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil (The Game, Being Mary Jane) to develop the series. 

Black Lightning was one of DC Comics’ first major African-American superheroes, around since 1977. He’s been a member of the Outsiders (young heroes being mentored by Batman), and more recently the Justice League of America. Despite being a relatively minor hero as these things go, he’s got a rich backstory and personal life, with two daughters and a career in education outside of superheroing. Several other heroes seem to have been inspired by him in DC’s animated canon, including Black Vulcan from “Challenge of the Superfriends” and the popular Static Shock in the series by the same name. Traditionally, Black Lightning has been one who reflect and confront more realistic, more urban issues than other superheroes, fighting to take back the streets from druglords and corrupt city officials as much as costumed villains. 

Will “Black Lightning” be another DC Comics series on CW? Will it join the Arrowverse? Will it remain apart from the other series? Greg Berlanti’s series have done well at increasing the diversity of the very white, very male traditional DC Comics roster, including more people of color, women, and LGBT characters. Adding a series with an African American hero as the lead seems like a natural extension of what they’ve already been doing. A big part of me wants to see Black Lightning alongside Arrow, Flash, Supergirl, and the Atom — he deserves to be in that pantheon of heroes. Let’s see what happens.