The Flash's Season 2 Costume is Comic Book Friendly
I was a big fan of The Flash's first season. Since CW worked out all of the DC superhero kinks with Arrow, The Flash got off to a great start and never let up. A show not afraid to shy from how wacky its comic book origins (as the show featured two speedsters, a psychic gorilla, and time travel shenanigans), season two is already shaping up to be wonderful. We've got a bit more info on the series since San Diego Comic Con, and now we've got a look at Barry Allen's fresh new costume featuring a comic book accurate insignia (with white like the future Flash revealed in the finale instead of just red and gold like he had last season).
Also, according to an interview with Collider, season two will also taking the show more into its comic book roots. The Flash is going to be more known to the public (like his comic book counterpart, Flash won't hide in the shadows like Batman), Barry's getting a new love interest, the show's going to introduce a multiverse aspect (which means dead characters have a chance of coming back) and Flash will develop a new lightning based power. It's all very exciting and I can't wait to hear more. If the show can maintain its quality even when all of this goofier stuff hits, we're in for a good time.
The Flash season 2 premieres on The CW October 6th.
Furious 7 Director Tackling Both Aquaman and Robotech
Despite the troubles that faced Furious 7's pre-production, the film is currently 2015's highest-grossing film with a $1.5b worldwide gross and is poised to become Hollywood's third highest-grossing film of all time. A part of the film's success is due in part to director James Wan, who previously found success in the horror genre with the Saw, Insidious, and The Conjuring franchises. Buoyed by the success of Furious 7, Wan was being courted for some high-profile projects, and finally word has come out that they've become official.
Yesterday, it was announced that Wan will be a huge part of re-shaping DC's film future by helming the Jason Momoa-led Aquaman, which is scheduled for a 2018 release. Before Wan tackles Aquaman, however, he'll be returning to the world of The Conjuring with production on The Conjuring 2 set to begin this fall for a 2016 release.
In addition, Wan is also on board with Sony's live-action adaptation of the '80s anime, Robotech. There's no further information on this project, but production won't start until after Aquaman is completed.
With so many scheduled projects, Wan is setting himself for back-to-back blockbusters over the next five years.
[via Collider]
Damsel in Distress: The Lack of Female Superheroes in Hollywood
In the '90s, my parents encouraged my tomboy ways and let me play with the boys toys, as if back then letting girls play with boys toys was taboo. They’re just toys, right? Almost 20 years later, I went to Target to grab some superhero merchandise for the opening night of The Avengers: Age of Ultron. To my dismay, all of the merch was located in the boy's toy section; including the female superhero items, which wasn't more than a pen-sized action figure or two. As I picked up the last Captain America mask, I passed the bright pink aisles where all of the "female-friendly" toys were. There wasn’t a superhero Barbie, plush toy or action figure in sight. What gives, Hollywood?
After seeing the film, I walked out disappointed. Scarlett Johansson played Black Widow in The Avengers: Age of Ultron, a former USSR assassin trained from a young age who uses her skills for her own gain and later on for the good of mankind. As a big Marvel fan, I was excited to see the return of the strong, female superhero in a Hollywood blockbuster (besides the X-Men). Unfortunately, her backstory was watered down as her relationship with Bruce Banner (e.g. Hulk) in the film grew into a sappy "woe is me" superhero complex as she revealed she was unable to bear children. As if in the year 2015 this was the number one, sure-fire way to humanize a former Soviet-bred killing machine to American women. Why does her mystery have to be washed over by pointless sentiments of humanity? They’re superhuman. Then, in the end, it’s Banner who ends up leaving her behind, despite their plans to run away together. Whether or not this was an accuracy issue from the comics to the big screen, why couldn’t Black Widow be the one to leave? Left at the altar, even in fantasy, the woman is still portrayed to be more vulnerable than her male counterpart.
I’ll admit, there’s the occasional female powerhouse (e.g. Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy, the ladies of the X-Men and Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises), but the damsel in distress routine is getting blase to say the least. These are the women who know they’re needed for a team to function and most importantly, vital in saving the planet if not the universe. In X-Men: Days of Future Past, without the women of the X-Men, the people of Earth would live forever in chains and the mutants of Earth left to be brutally murdered by robots. Without Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy, Star-Lord wouldn’t have been able to save the planet. In the comic book world, there are plenty of women superheroes, but until those books come to life in a way that empowers us mere mortals on Earth, it’s a man’s universe; real or fantasy.
When comics started in the '20s, it was a man’s world. While the comic book universe is booming with female leaders, it's Hollywood who pass over these women like they're minor characters. But, in 2015, something has to change. The question is: what is Hollywood going to do about it?