Batman V Superman New Logo and Official Title!

Warner Brothers has revealed a brand new logo for their upcoming Man of Steel "sequel" and, well, there can be no doubt now as to what this movie is going to be.

I do dig that logo. Mixed feelings on the subtitle though. It's very very on the nose. It's like a flick on the nose to be honest.

What do you think?

RAWR(for more)

Is Batman Vs Superman In Danger?

DC and WB don't want to tread ground already walked by Marvel so they're shoehorning an entire universe into a sequel to a movie that was barely a success (financially and creatively).  Rather than allowing the Superman universe to grow into something strong enough to support an Avengers-like franchise, they're turning Man of Steel 2 into a Justice League movie without calling it a Justice League movie even though they're also pushing a Justice League movie through as well.

Now it's delayed a year.  That's the first signal.

The second?  Ben Affleck's "injury."

Now, the folks over at cinematallica.com have posted a rather interesting article regarding Ben Affleck threatening to walk off the project due to "scheduling" and script problems.  I think it sounds like Ben Affleck thinking he knows more than David Goyer problems.

This movie is a bad idea from the ground up.  Why would you want to create a Justice League that features an old worn out Batman?  We had a worn out Batman in The Dark Knight Rises and guess what?  It didn't work.  

DC is trying to get a franchise going without actually building the world.  They want to fast track it and get it done because Marvel is killing them in this regard.  The thing is that Marvel did the work.  They laid the ground work and built a cohesive film world for their characters.  WB doesn't want to do that and because of that it's probably going to blow up in their faces.

I'm going to agree 100% with the gang at cinematallica that this MoS sequel will change to a straight up Superman sequel and the whole Batman vs. Superman angle will be dropped.  We can only hope at least.

We still have Arrow though so that's good.

RAWR(for more)

And Wonder Woman Is...

Gal Gadot!

Warner Brothers has tapped the Fast and Furious star to play DC Comics most iconic female superhero, Wonder Woman, in the upcoming Man of Steel sequel that is less and less a Superman movie every day.

I should be excited for this movie but for some reason I'm just not.  I'm a little worried that WB is trying to force a Justice League film into a Superman film rather than trying to develop it into a strong viable franchise.  I guess time will tell.

RAWR(for more)

PCB Game Night: DC Deck Building Game (PLUS YOU CAN WIN IT!)

Fans of deck building games like Dominion (reviewed here) and fans of DC Comics range of excellent heroes might just have their days made with this game from Cryptozoic Entertainment.

DC Comics Deck-Building Game is a super fun, rather easy to learn game where you construct a deck from available cards and fight to defeat the super-villains (and earn the victory points) to win against your opponents.

Let's let Cryptozoic (a keep your eye on them game company for sure!) tell you all about it:

In the DC Comics Deck-building Game, you take on the role of Batman™,Superman™, or one of their brave and heroic allies in the struggle against the forces of Super-Villainy! While you begin armed only with basic combat maneuvers, you will add new, more powerful cards to your deck as you go, with the goal of defeating as many of the DC Comics Super-Villains as you can. In the end, the player who has accumulated the most Victory Points from the cards in his or her deck wins the game!  

 Collect heroes, defeat villains, beat your friends, and win the game.

This is the perfect entry into deck building games.  It's a fast game (generally around 30 - 45 minutes) plus it has all the characters you love (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and more).

2-5 players means you might have some friends sitting out if you have more than that over.  Hopefully, much like Dominion, this can be resolved with a future expansion.   Geek parents can totally use this game to introduce their kids to this style of gaming.  They will be excited by the characters and it is a great launching pad into the more expansive deck building game world.

There are plenty of combos to learn, fun abilities, and flat out gorgeous artwork on every card.  The game is also compatible with other games based on the Cerberus (Heroes) card engine, which I can't say much about as I haven't tried mixing or playing the other games in this engine just yet.  I'll mention that in any other reviews we do with games of that engine.

One complaint for me is that the cards can get a little repetitive.  This can be expected for the first version of the game and is certain to be a non issue once expansions start rolling out.

I'm gonna keep the review part of this short because, honestly, I love the game.

DC Deck-Building Game

9 out of 10 Teen Titans!

So here we go.  Do you want to win a copy of the DC Deck Building Game courtesy of our awesome friends and Cryptozoic?  How about if I throw in a rare exclusive promo MARTIAN MANHUNTER character card?

Send us an email to contest@popculturebeast.com with your name. Put DC DECK BUILDING CONTEST in the subject line.  We'll pick two winners at random.  The first wins a copy of the entire game + the promo card.  The second winner gets a promo card!

Winners will be contacted on May 15!

RAWR(for more)

Is Christian Bale Rising As Batman?

Latino Review is breaking, again, exclusive news that WB is so happy with the upcoming Man of Steel that they are placing the upcoming Justice League movie in the hands of Zack Snyder with Christopher Nolan producing and pretty much overseeing the entire DCU film slate.

But that isn't even the big news. The big news is that it appears that Christian Bale is donning the cowl again and joining Henry Cavill's Superman in Justice League.

What.

Check out the full story (video) here.

SOURCE

RAWR(for more)

The New 52 Justice League Dark Vol. 1: In The Dark Review

Justice League Dark is a really cool concept for a New 52 title, but it definitely falls short of the idea.

I really do not care for the logo because it seems like the "Dark" is just slapped on there and out of place. I think the whole title should be something else entirely, because it's not a Dark version of the Justice League, it's the magical equivalent. The title makes it seem like a Starbucks order.

Also, many of the characters seem interchangeable and generic besides Zatanna, Deadman, and John Constantine. These three are hands down the best characters in the series, but they aren't used to their full potential.

Most of the story is buried beneath some convoluted plot riddled with nonsensical and confusing magic mumbo-jumbo. The rules of the world constantly change and overall it just doesn't mesh very well.

The artwork is really cool and all of the characters designs represent them well. I really hope that this title evolves and becomes better because I really like the idea behind it.

Justice League Dark Vol 1: In The Dark is a plain 5 out of 10 Magicians.

RAWR(for more)

Deathstroke Vol 1: Legacy Review

In the New 52, Deathstroke is working as a mercenary for hire. Sporting a more armored version of his iconic costume, Deathstroke is as violent, bloody, and deadly as ever.

We find our anti-hero working for some very seedy people and (briefly) teaming up with an annoying group of young mercs, the "Harm Armory." Deathstroke also encounters a few unsolved mysteries from his past, as well as a new villain, Legacy. Are all of these events somehow connected or is our old friend Slade just having a busy week?

Volume 1 collects issues #1-8 written by Kyle Higgins (Nightwing) and artwork by Joe Bennett (52). The sad part is that the controversial Rob Liefeld is now writing and drawing Deathstroke starting with issue #9. This is only fair to kick off a successful writer and artist and replace them with Liefeld who had his New 52 Hawk and Dove cancelled after issue #8... Anyway, these first 8 issues are great and really fun to read! It's a shame this fun didn't continue afterwards.

I was a bit upset that there was not a storyline about Deathstroke squaring off against some of our favorite DC heroes, especially with all of the crossovers within The New 52. Hopefully in the coming issues there will be some sort of crossover.

Deathstroke Vol 1: Legacy is a head rolling 9 out of 10 decapitations!

RAWR(for more)

DC Comics Movie updates

Warner Bros. and DC Comics are finally going to be kicking their comic property movies into gear with an expected four films released over the next 3 years, including the next Batman movie. They've also announced a new Superman movie that will reboot the franchise much like the recent Incredible Hulk. I wonder how Bryan Singer feels about that.

Most notably is the apparent Axing of the Batman Vs. Superman and Justice League films. Warners has decided to go the Marvel route and release films with several characters and then release a Justice League film down the road. Projects are already in development for The Flash, Green Lantern (If they were smart they'd let Geoff Johns write this), Wonder Woman, and Green Arrow! Ask me, a Green Arrow/Black Canary movie would be awesome.

I'm curious as to what they do with Superman and who they put behind the camera.

More information is expected in the next month or so.

RAWR(for more)

Review: The Batman Season Five!

Allow me to start of by saying I was NOT a fan of this show when it first started. I thought it was poorly written and executed. I was against the changes to the rogues gallery, most especially The Joker. I just felt it was a poor example and yet another let down for Batman fans. That said, I did not give up on the show. I would check in every now and then just to see how it was coming along. Much to my surprise, it got better with age. Each season seemed to be better than the previous. Granted, it never reached the brilliance of the 90's Batman: The Animated Series (I doubt any show ever will but Justice League Unlimited came pretty close.).


Season five of The Batman brings us the Justice League, in fact the show might as well be called Batman and (insert Justice Leaguer here). A league member appears in practically every other episode of the 13 presented here in the final season. Now this isn't necessarily a bad thing it just makes this season feel like an extended pilot for a new Justice League show that we aren't going to be getting. It feels a little familiar. It's reminiscent of the recent Justice League cartoons but isn't as strong in story or action. It was pretty cool to see these characters again in a new (kinda) way.


I kind of feel like introducing the Justice League sort of took over the season and The Bat Family (Robin and Batgirl) kinda just took a back seat. It became less about Batman and more about these new heroes he is joining with.

That's about my only complaint. The season has some great stuff. Robin playing a character named Nightwing in an MMO type game is just one of them. It's a fun season and it made me reconsider my dislike of the earlier seasons. I may break down and pick up the first four and give this show another chance.

This is the final season of The Batman and unfortunately, it does not have that great of an ending. It just sort of ends. Maybe this is just a pitfall of cartoons and a satisfying ending isn't really necessary? I dunno, I just wanted something more. This ending just felt like it was leading into a new Justice League show. Which it unfortunately is not.

Besides that though it really is worth the relatively low price to pick it up. (Amazon has it for $13.99 right now!)

How about if you could get it for FREE? Warner Bros. was kind enough to send me five (yes FIVE) copies of The Batman Season 5 to giveaway!

So this is pretty much the first major giveaway for Pop Culture Beast! (Thanks WB!!)

I'll make it easy. The first five people to contact me with their name and mailing address will win a copy! Easy as that.

Just fire an email to garon@popculturebeast.com. Don't forget your name and address!

RAWR(for more)

Has the Justice League found their Superman?

Brandon Ruth and Tom Welling are both out of the running to play superman in the upcoming Justice League movie. Talk is now that a Superman has been chosen. Take this as a grain of salt for now but if its true than Superman will be played by:

Rupert Evans

RAWR(for more)