The Wheel and Axle

Super Friends?

… to the DC CW Universe.

This coming week, the annual Arrowverse crossover will now span four shows: Supergirl, Flash, Arrow, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.

Well, 3.10 shows if the level of the Supergirl show’s involvement is really just at the end of that episode.

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Wondie and Spidey!

Last Saturday, I dropped by Komikon 2016.

My plan was to just pick up a pre-ordered, limited edition signed hardbound copy of The Origin of Zuma. The origin of this iconic Filipino monster has never been told, and when the social media page of legendary creator Jim Fernandez announced the story would now be released, I had to have it. I grew up watching those Zuma movies, and I loved them (and they always scared the shit out of me).

In any case, my basic plan to just get my copy went down the drain because I ended up – as usual – hoarding more than I expected. That, and I also met other creators that I didn’t get a chance to meet last time, including another legend – Hal Santiago, Jim’s collaborator and Zuma artist.

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Newt Scamander’s suitcase is the largest Poké Ball in the world, and it’s best that you go and see him use it grandly as he goes around 1920s New York trying to catch some rather Fantastic Beasts, indeed.

All this, plus a rather powerful metaphor and discourse around the very real horrors of child abuse and what its impact can be.

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It’s been a good week for a DC fan, what with the latest Wonder Woman trailer being released on the same day that the new DC Legends was launched. I’m still getting used to the gameplay, with some areas I’m still trying to fully understand, but over-all it looks promising.

For one thing, this game has Cheetah, Bizarro, Star Sapphire, Mirror Master, Dr. Fate, Black Canary, Huntress, and friggin’ Chemo on the roster. Yaaaasss!

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We’ve all been so busy admiring Johnny Depp and Meryl Streep for being such acting chameleons that another chameleon rarely gets the praise she so deserves beyond cineastes.

Of course, those in the know do know how wonderful Tilda Swinton is, who at the age of 56 not only looks much younger but has also accomplished much in her career that spans artsy indie films and huge cinematic blockbusters.

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So they just dropped the latest Wonder Woman trailer, and it is awesome!

Not only do we get more Wondie goodness, we also get to see more of Elena Anaya…

… and I’m pretty positive that, yes, she is classic WW baddie Dr. Poison. The gender-bending villain might seem odd to the casual viewer, but long-time Wonder Woman fans would know that Dr. Poison is actually a very appropriate choice; if I recall correctly, she was the first costumed Man’s World villain at WW faced in the Golden Age, initially appearing in Sensation Comics #2. With the film set in World War I instead of World War II, Dr. Poison also fits right in because modern chemical warfare became widely utilized during the first war.

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I’ve always been more of a Star Wars fan than a Trekkie. This doesn’t mean I dislike Star Trek; I love the latter, too.

It just so happens that Star Wars was more of a fixture in my formative years: not only was I born on the same year that A New Hope was released, but Return of the Jedi was the first ever movie that I saw in a theater (to my recollection).

My oldest brother also had a collection of Star Wars action figures housed in a Darth Vader case, which I loved and was envious of – particularly since he rarely let me touch them. Moreover, I was extremely fascinated with the fantastic worlds that the “galaxy far, far away” presented: heroic Luke, sexy Leia, and dashing Han fighting their way out of Jabba the Hutt’s control as Boba Fett got consumed by the Sarlacc will always be etched in my mind as one of the most epic things, ever.

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Doctor Strange is the best Marvel movie since Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

I know it seems anathema to think Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, Captain America: Civil War (i.e. Avengers 2.5, let’s not pretened), and the much-revered Guardians of the Galaxy aren’t as good as the general populace would opine. However, while I did like all these latest films and think they’re good enough, I also feel they’re over-rated – especially Guardians. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has become fairly one-note, and in my opinion they’re dragging the entire arc much longer than they should be doing. The formula has become repetitive.

Not so with Doctor Strange, and I feel the film is the one that has finally breathed fresh air into the MCU and not Guardians of the Galaxy.

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Here is the latest publicity shot of Wonder Woman in next year’s Justice League.

Stunning, isn’t she? To think she’s 75 years old.

Today is Wonder Woman Day.

And it’s not just any Wonder Woman Day.

It’s a United Nations-declared Wonder Woman Day!

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