THE FLASH Casts Tom Felton as Julian Dorn

Let's just hope that magical curses aren't a part of the new timeline.

TVLine has revealed that the CW series The Flash has cast Tom Felton in the role of Julian Dorn, a brand-new character that will be a series regular for Season 3.  Dorn is expected to appear early in the season.

According to the article, Julian Dorn is "a fellow CSI at the Central City Police Department who suspects there’s more to Barry Allen than just his good guy reputation."

Felton, 28, is best known as Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series.  In addition, he's also appeared in the movies Risen, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Get Him to the Greek, Anna and the King, and The Borrowers.

Season 3 will explore the DC Comics event storyline Flashpoint, which was confirmed by star Grant Gustin posting on Twitter "We're definitely doing this FP [Flashpoint] thing our own way.  I've read Flashpoint, I've seen the amazing animated film. This will be its own thing."

In the five-issues limited series by Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert, Flashpoint explores an altered DC Universe in which only Barry Allen seems to be aware of significant differences between the regular timeline and the altered one, including Captain Cold as Central City's greatest hero, the Justice League not existing, and a Thomas Wayne version of Batman who spends his days "running Wayne Casinos."

The Flash returns to The CW for Season 3 on October 4, 2016 at 8:00 p.m. EST.

THE FANDOM ZONE 065: "All Alone Now" is Up!

"Smoke bother you?"
"No, it's great.  Adds to all the wonderful smells in this car."

– Reverend Anderson and Kyle Barnes, Outcast: "All Alone Now"

You guessed it, Karen Lindsay and I are back with another new episode of The Fandom Zone Podcast!  

This week's reviews of comics on television include:

Preacher 1x04 -- "Monster Swamp"

Outcast 1x03: "All Alone Now

Wynonna Earp 1x02 -- "Keep the Home Fires Burning"

This time, we talk about things like throwing down (No, not really) over our out of sync episode ratings, the proper pronunciation of Odin Quincannon, waiting for some actual payoffs on Preacher, Mr. Freeze as Jesse Custer's father, major liberties with the source material, the difference between fraking and fracking, Tulip's bloody first meeting with Cassidy, Jesse's big screen TV obsession, Cassidy's explanation fail, Odin Quincannon playing Q*Bert in his '80s Throwback Office, Mark going full CSI in the woods, Mark as Rick Moranis in Ghostbusters, Megan not doing her one job, Mark being forced to cuddle, Karen wanting Outcast to be more accessible to people who don't read the comic, over-the-top Shadow Assassins, Waverly's gratuitous wet t-shirt, Waverly's awkwardness at being hit on by Officer Haught, Douchebag Dolls' dick move with wind chimes, needing to be in my bunk, Grant Gustin confirming Flashpoint for The Flash Season 3, and more!

You can now check out episodes of The Fandom Zone on Google Play Music right HERE, or for those of you who use iTunes, we're already available HERE, so please subscribe and rate us!  If direct download MP3s are more your thing, you can find those HERE as well.  In addition, you can Like us on The Fandom Zone Facebook show page, which you can check out HERE.  And yes, we're also on Twitter with our account @FandomZoneCast.

And if that isn't enough for you, you can also check us out on YouTube, Libsyn, Soundcloud, Sticher, and the official Southgate Media Group website!  Oh, and if you're interested in an officially official Fandom Zone Podcast t-shirt that all the cool kids are wearing, you can get those on TeePublic HERE as well!  Feel free to post a picture on our Facebook page of you or some other cool person you know wearing the shirt!

Be sure to come back next week, as we review Episode 4 of Outcast, Episode 3 of Wynonna Earp, and Episode 5 of Preacher, right here on The Fandom Zone Podcast!

NEXT STOP EVERYWHERE 061: "Planet of Fire" is Up!

"I am The Master!"
"S-so what?!  I'm Perpugilliam Brown, and I can shout just as loud as you can!"

-- The Third Master and Perpugilliam "Peri" Brown, Doctor Who: "Planet of Fire"

With my partner in time Jesse Jackson back from vacation at last, we're finally back with a new episode of Next Stop Everywhere: The Doctor Who Podcast!  In this episode, we review the 1984 Fifth Doctor classic, "Planet of Fire" starring Peter Davison, Mark Strickson, Nicola Bryant, and Anthony Ainley!

This time, Jesse and I discuss the Cleveland Cavaliers finally giving me and the City of Cleveland a long, long, long awaited championship, Jesse and his son Chris sharing the Dallas Mavericks championship win, Klytus from the Flash Gordon movie, Jesse's second Fifth Doctor adventure, Turlough being the reason the Doctor wants to be ginger, Fiona Cumming's director's cut on the DVD release, the Fifth Doctor vs. the Third Master, helping Jesse with Dalek Overload, Turlough's Secret Civil War Origin Identity Crisis, remembering obscure modern era companion Adam Mitchell, Kamelion's wasted potential, bedrooms in the TARDIS, how Kamelion could've worked as a companion, what Peri did on her summer vacation, wanting the Fifth Doctor's question mark suspenders, the Master almost being revealed as the Doctor's brother, my Reversing the Reverse the Polarity segment, some listener feedback, The Fandom Zone being nominated for a Parsec Award, and more!

If you'd like to check out this episode, we're now available on Google Play Music RIGHT HERE, or you can find us on iTunes RIGHT HERE, or Stitcher RIGHT HERE, so please subscribe and rate us!  If you're looking for direct MP3 downloads, you can find them RIGHT HERE as well. Oh, and don't forget we have an officially official Next Stop Everywhere Facebook page and Twitter account, so be sure to Like and/or Follow us, okay?

And hey, if you'd like to pick up the officially official Next Stop Everywhere t-shirt, you can find it on TeePublic right HERE!  Help support the show and feel free to post pictures on our Facebook page of you or some other cool person you know wearing the shirt!

Be sure to come back soon as Jesse and I review "Technophobia," the first Tenth Doctor audio adventure from Big Finish Productions, starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate as Donna Noble!  Look for more of Next Stop Everywhere on iTunes, Google Play Music, YouTube, Libsyn, Soundcloud, Sticher, and the official Southgate Media Group website!

FULL FRONTAL Has David Tennant Read Scotland's Tweets to Donald Trump

I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed Tennant didn't say "We didn't want to go."

On last night's episode of TBS' Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Bee opened with a segment on Brexit, the popular term for the United Kingdom's controversial withdrawal from the European Union.  Part of Bee's epic satire was focused on none other than equally controversial Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump, who congratulated Scotland for Brexit while visiting his new golf course there the morning after the Brexit vote...even though they voted overwhelmingly to stay.

Naturally, there were a number of Scots offended by Trump's comments that took to Twitter, so who better to read their responses to Trump than Scottish actor (and former Tenth Doctor on Doctor Who) David Tennant.  Tennant rattled off a few harsh replies to Trump, including "Scotland voted overwhelmingly to stay in Europe, you toupéd f—trumpet" and "They voted Remain and they hate your guts, you ludicrous tangerine ballbag."

Bee thanked Tennant for reading the tweets, then asked him for one last favor of going back in time and save people from voting for Brexit.  This was immediately followed with a clip from the Doctor Who episode "The Fires of Pompeii," in which Tennant's Tenth Doctor tells Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) "Can't you understand, if I could go back and save them, then I would, but I can't.  I can never go back!  I can't!  I just can't!"

And in another nod to Doctor Who, Bee advised her audience to take this year's Presidential election seriously "and for God's sake, between now and November, don't blink."  This was accompanied by the following picture of Donald Trump as a Weeping Angel, which is truly the stuff of nightmares...

If you'd like to check out the full, uncensored segment (which also includes current Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi), you can view it below thanks to the official Full Frontal with Samantha Bee account on YouTube...

THE FANDOM ZONE 064: "Purgatory" is Up!

"Wanna know how batshit I am?  Nobody shoots my family, but me."

– Wynonna Earp, Wynonna Earp: "Purgatory"

Now that our editor Rob is back from vacation, Karen Lindsay and I are finally back with a new episode of The Fandom Zone Podcast!  

This week's reviews of comics on television include:

Preacher 1x03 -- "The Possibilities"

Wynonna Earp 1x01 -- "Purgatory"

This time, we talk about things like our new show opening for the summer, watching Wynonna Earp by special fan requests, teasing Herr Starr, Jackie Earle Haley as Odin Quincannon, Jesse trying to make Cassidy fly, Cassidy wondering if Jesse is a Jedi, wondering why everyone these days wants to have everything explained in the first episode of a new series, women's restrooms being just as gross as men's bathrooms, wanting Cassidy to be revealed as an Orphan Black Clone Club fan, some Fandom Zone fan mail, getting a Buffy vibe from Wynonna Earp, a new Justina review, Wynonna Earp passing the Bechdel Test, some comics on TV news, and more!

You can now check out episodes of The Fandom Zone on Google Play Music right HERE, or for those of you who use iTunes, we're already available HERE, so please subscribe and rate us!  If direct download MP3s are more your thing, you can find those HERE as well.  In addition, you can Like us on The Fandom Zone Facebook show page, which you can check out HERE.  And yes, we're also on Twitter with our account @FandomZoneCast.

And if that isn't enough for you, you can also check us out on YouTube, Libsyn, Soundcloud, Sticher, and the official Southgate Media Group website!  Oh, and if you're interested in an officially official Fandom Zone Podcast t-shirt that all the cool kids are wearing, you can get those on TeePublic HERE as well!

Be sure to come back next week, as we review Episode 3 of Outcast, Episode 2 of Wynonna Earp, and Episode 4 of Preacher, right here on The Fandom Zone Podcast!

GOTHAM Recasts Maggie Geha as Poison Ivy

You can look but you better not touch.

The Hollywood Reporter has word that the Fox series Gotham has recast Maggie Geha in the role of Ivy Pepper, who becomes the DC Comics supervillain Poison Ivy.  Geha takes over from Clare Foley, who portrayed the character in Seasons 1 and 2.

According to the article, "Season three of Gotham will see Ivy Pepper finding herself reborn following an encounter with a monster from Indian Hill and one step closer to the DC villain she is destined to become: Poison Ivy.  Now a 19-year-old woman who has harnessed the full power of her charms, she sets her sights on Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz)."

Geha has appeared in the movies Ted 2 and Winter's Tale, and on episodes of the television series Gossip Girl, 30 Rock, and All My Children.

Created in 1966 by by Robert Kanigher and Sheldon Moldoff, Poison Ivy first appeared in Batman (vol.1) #181 as Dr. Lillian Rose, Ph.D., a promising botanist from Seattle, who was seduced by Marc LeGrande into assisting him with the theft of an Egyptian artifact containing ancient herbs. Fearing she would implicate him in the theft, he attempted to poison her with the herbs, which were deadly and untraceable.  She survived this murder attempt and discovered she has acquired an immunity to all natural toxins and diseases.

The character's origin was revised by Neil Gaiman in 1988's Secret Origins (vol.3) #36 as Pamela Lillian Isley, who grew up wealthy with emotionally distant parents.  She later studied advanced botanical biochemistry at a university with Alec Holland under Dr. Jason Woodrue.  Isley, a timid shy girl, was easily seduced by her professor.  Woodrue injected Isley with poisons and toxins as an experiment, causing her transformation.  She nearly died twice as a result of these poisonings, driving her insane.  Later, Woodrue fledfrom the authorities, leaving Isley in the hospital for six months.  Enraged at the betrayal, she suffered from violent mood swings, being sweet one moment and evil the next.  

She began her criminal career by threatening to release her suffocating spores into the air unless the city meets her demands.  Batman, who appeared in Gotham that very same year, thwarted her scheme, and she was incarcerated in Arkham Asylum.  From this point on, she developed something of an obsession with Batman, with him being the only person she could not control.  Over the years, she developed plant-like superpowers, the most noticeable being a lethal toxin in her lips; she is able to literally kill with a kiss.

Geha will be the third actress to portray the character in live action, after Foley and Uma Thurman in the 1997 movie Batman & Robin.  The character has also appeared in a number of animated projects, including Batman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, Static Shock, Gotham Girls and Justice League (all voiced by Diane Pershing), The Batman (voiced by Piera Coppola), Batman: The Brave and the Bold (voiced by Jennifer Hale), and Young Justice (voiced by Alyssa Milano).

Gotham returns to Fox on Monday, September 19th at 8 p.m. EST.

KRYPTON Character Casting Breakdown Revealed

Superman's ancestry is about to get interesting.

TVLine has revealed a casting breakdown for the Syfy pilot Krypton, which explores the homeworld of Superman generations before the planet's destruction.  After two years of development, the pilot was officially ordered by Syfy last month and production is expected to begin in Montreal later this summer.

According to the article, here are the characters we'll be seeing if the pilot is picked up as a full series...

SEG-EL -- Envisioned here as athletic, quietly confident and in his 20s, comic fans are familiar with an older (and a bit grumpier) Seg from his appearance in the classic Starman No. 51, written by James Robinson with story by Robinson and David S. Goyer, who is executive producer/writer of Krypton. But Seg’s a good guy at any age; in the comics, he and son Jor-El (Kal-El/Superman’s father) helped Starman get away while other Kryptonians wanted to detain – and dissect – the Earthling.

LYTA ZOD -- This twentysomething beauty will likely have some familial tie to Superman’s future foe, General Zod, while she herself is a (reluctant) warrior.

VAL-EL -- Seg’s genius grandpa defied death by going into the Phantom Zone, and is a staunch believer in space exploration. (We know that’s a lesson he’ll pass along to his great-grandson.)

Other characters include:

ALURA ZOD -- Lyta’s mom happens to bear the same name as Kara Zor-El’s mother on Supergirl, while “Zod” always raises an eyebrow because of that whole “kneel before” thing.

DEV-EM -- If anyone is going to survive Krypton’s inevitable fate, it’ll be this chiseled, twentysomething bad boy. In the comics, Dev escapes the doomed planet, abuses Superboy on Earth and eventually becomes an ally of the Legion of Super-Heroes… in the 30th century.

TER-EL -- AKA Seg’s father. We didn’t get him to play Supergirl’s Man of Steel, but maybe Tom Welling (Smallville) could play Clark’s great-grandfather on Krypton?

Created in 1988 by John Byrne and Mike Mignola, Seyg-El (note the spelling) first appeared in World of Krypton (vol.2) #3 as the father of Jor-El and grandfather to Kal-El, who becomes Superman.

Seyg-El was a noble Lord of the House of El, one of the most respected families on all of the planet, Krypton.  The Master of the Gestation Chambers selected Seyg-El from the Register of Citizens to mate with a woman of compatible genetic lineage.  Together they sired a son whom Seyg-El named, Jor-El.

Seyg-El's relationship with Jor-El lacked any true familial passion, and he regarded his son as an embarrassing maverick who was ignorant of proper Kryptonian traditions.

Jor-El brought his father additional embarrassment when he requested to actually meet the woman with whom he would procreate.  Seyg-El considered such an appeal extremely unorthodox by the sterile traditions of Kryptonian culture, and subsequently flew into a rage. However, the Master of the Gestation Chambers granted the request, and Jor-El soon married the young librarian, Lara.

Created in 1961 by Jerry Siegel and George Papp, Dev-Em first appeared in Adventure Comics (vol.1) #287 as Kryptonian juvenile delinquent who took Jor-El's warnings of Krypton's impending doom seriously enough to place himself in suspended animation in an orbiting space capsule.  

When the planet Krypton exploded, Dev-Em's ship was blasted into space, where it eventually landed on Earth. Dev-Em imprisoned Superboy in the Phantom Zone and assumed his identity in an effort to destroy the Boy of Steel's reputation. Eventually he freed Superboy and departed from the twentieth century, traveling through time to finally settle on the more advanced Earth of the 30th century.

Dev-Em soon joined the Interstellar Counter-Intelligence Corps of the 30th century.  He was reluctantly offered membership in the Legion of Super-Heroes but turned it down.  Despite his occasionally abrasive nature, Dev-Em aided the Legion on several occasions, most notably in the "Great Darkness Saga" against Darkseid.

LUCIFER Casts Tricia Helfer as Charlotte, Mother of Angels

Lucifer officially has a mom.  Heaven help us...

TVLine has revealed that the Fox series Lucifer has cast Tricia Helfer as Charlotte, Mother of Angels, and the mother of Lucifer Morningstar and Amenadiel.  The character was teased at the end of Season 1 in April, with showrunner Joe Henderson saying that while Season 1 "was the story of a wayward son dealing with his father issues, Season 2 is Mom."

The official character description reported in the article describes Charlotte as "Trapped in Hell for thousands of years by God (her ex-husband), the Mother of Angels is now free on Earth.  Once reunited with Lucifer, it will become clear that she’s the one he takes after. Mom is fearless and has a strong conviction for who she is and what she deserves. However, mother and son do not share the same opinion when it comes to humanity. Everything that fascinates Lucifer about people repels Mom — a disdain that’s highlighted by that fact that Mom’s trapped in a human body for her stay on Earth.  Lucifer’s desperate to find out what Mom’s up to, but she claims that all she wants is to spend time with her sons again. But can the devil’s mom really be that innocent?"

Helfer, 42, is best known as the sexy Cylon Number Six on Battlestar Galactica (2003) and has appeared in a number genre television projects, including Jeremiah, Supernatural, Green Lantern: First Flight, Chuck, Warehouse 13, Human Target (2010), No Ordinary Family, Community, TRON: Uprising, The Librarians, Ascension, Falling Skies, Powers, and Rick and Morty.  She also voiced the Black Cat on the animated series The Spectacular Spider-Man and reprised the character for the videogames Spider-Man: Web of Shadows and Marvel Heroes.

Henderson previously teased that there are a number of directions Lucifer and Charlotte's relationship could go, saying "In the comics and common mythology, it’s really not something that’s been established, so this is us doing a little world building.  This is us taking a step and exploring the answer to a question a lot of people never asked and staking our own claim.  There are a lot of directions we can go and we’ve chosen one that we’re really excited about."

Lucifer returns to Fox for Season 2 on September 19, 2016.

JUSTICE LEAGUE Movie Plot Synopsis, Villain Confirmed & More

Okay, this is a pretty big news day for DC Comics fans.

Comic Book Resources has a bunch of news posted in several articles regarding the upcoming Justice League film, directed by Zack Snyder.  In addition to the first film's official logo (shown above), here's the rundown...

First, the plot synopsis for the film has been released, giving us a brief (and rather obvious) idea of what's in store for the World's Greatest Superheroes...

Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.

In addition, the rumors regarding the film's central villain were confirmed, with DC Comics New God supervillain Steppenwolf named as the Big Bad instead of Darkseid, who is most likely being saved for the sequel.  The role has yet to be cast.

Steppenwolf's role was foreshadowed in a deleted post-credit scene from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, in which a hologram of Steppenwolf appears before Lex Luthor on a Kryptonian ship.  The scene will be available on the film's Ultimate Edition Blu-ray.

Created in 1972 by Jack Kirby, Steppenwolf first appeared in New Gods (vol.1) #7 as the uncle of Darkseid and leader of Darkseid's military forces, who helped Darkseid murder the wife of Darkseid's hated rival, Highfather.  Highfather later tracked down and killed Steppenwolf in retaliation, as the murder reignites the war between New Genesis and Apokolips.  Steppenwolf appeared later when Mister Miracle (Scott Free) gained godlike powers over life and death.  He tormented Scott over his role in killing his mother and in return was physically tortured.  Scott ended up healing him, instead of killing him as he desired.

Also, actor Willem Dafoe's Justice League character was confirmed, revealed to be none other than Nuidis Vulko, Aquaman's chief scientific and political advisor in Atlantis.

It's not yet known if Dafoe will be playing the character in the Aquaman solo movie starring Jason Momoa and to be directed by James Wan.

Created in 1967 by Bob Haney and Howard Purcell, Vulko first appeared in The Brave and the Bold (vol.1) #73 as an assistant to Aquaman and the Atom in repelling microscopic invaders from a 'single drop of water' who were led by Galg The Destroyer. In the current The New 52 continuity, Vulko is the former adviser of Atlantis who failed to prove that Ocean Master murdered Aquaman's mother, and Ocean Master's loyalists attempted to arrest him.  He managed to escape and began a life on the surface world.  While living in Norway, Vulko was confronted by Aquaman, who wass searching for Atlantis.  Vulko explained to Arthur about his brother and told Aquaman that he was the rightful heir of Atlantis's throne, and therefore, must overthrow Ocean Master.

And perhaps most importantly, CBR has word that Justice League will be "more inclusive" and less dark than Batman v Superman.  Their set visit reportedly included an early cut of a clip where Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) and Barry Allen/The Flash (Ezra Miller) meet for the first time.  According to the article, "The scene is witty, warm and contains genuine laughs, all things in deliberately short supply in previous DC Films productions."

"I think the main thing we learned is that people don't like to see their heroes deconstructed," Batman v Superman and Justice League producer Deborah Snyder told CBR.  "I think that’s hard, because it’s people we've grown up with and we care about.  They like seeing them in all their glory."

"Justice League is much more inclusive [than Batman v Superman,]" Snyder added. "It's all about the characters, too.  We have these two very young characters, Flash and Cyborg. And you know, they're definitely lighter.  I think they're going to appeal to a younger audience."

Justice League is scheduled to arrive in theaters on November 17, 2017.

ARROW Casts Josh Segarra as The Vigilante

Vigilantes.  Vigilantes EVERYWHERE...

Deadline reported yesterday that the CW series Arrow has cast Josh Segarra in the role of Adrian Chase, better known to DC Comics fans as The Vigilante.  According to the article, Segarra will be new series regular for Season 5 and the character is described as "Star City’s new district attorney and an ally of Mayor Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), who aims to clean up the streets through the legal system."

Chase is the second new vigilante character to be added to the show for Season 5, after Rick Gonzalez as Wild Dog.

Segarra, 30, is probably best known as Billy Cepeda on the USA comedy Sirens.  He's appeared in the films Trainwreck and Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet, and on the TV series Chicago P.D., Blue Bloods, The Following, Homeland, and The Electric Company.

Created in 1983 by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, Adrian Chase first appeared in New Teen Titans (vol.1) Annual #2 as a Manhattan District Attorney who worked tirelessly within the system to dismantle the city's Mafia infrastructure.  He frequently worked with the city's resident superhero team, the New Teen Titans, but when Chase's wife Doris, son Adam, and daughter Drew were killed by a bomb planted by the Scarapelli mob family, Chase sought his own justice as the Vigilante.  

He underwent an extremely vigorous training program taught by a number of mystical spirits seeking revenge, and came back to the city perfectly synchronized between mind and body. As the Vigilante, he dispensed justice harshly, and although he inspired many heroes to attempt to make tougher choices, his career was also riddled with many defeats.  Eventually Chase abandoned his identity as Vigilante, believing that he could be both more effective and also happier as a judge.  However, during his absence the identity of Vigilante was assumed, in succession, by two of his friends without his knowledge.

The first of these was fellow judge Alan Welles, who operated in a much more violent manner, even executing petty thieves.  Chase eventually tracked down and killed this incarnation of Vigilante, without realizing it was his friend.  The incident led to increased guilt on Chase's part and also increased scrutiny from a law enforcement task force headed by Harry Stein, as he attempted to cover up Alan Welles' role as Vigilante.

Dave Winston, Adrian Chase's bailiff, soon assumed the Vigilante identity.  Refusing to kill, Winston traded on the fierce reputation of Vigilante to intimidate information out of thugs. He was murdered by Peacemaker while attempting to stop the hijacking of a plane which Chase was on.  In the wake of Winston's death, Chase once again assumed the role of Vigilante, feeling that it was the only way to protect those he loved.  Seeking revenge on Peacemaker, the out of shape Chase was beaten in a fight and unmasked on live TV, thereby ending his secret identity and forcing him even further into the role of the Vigilante.

As the series progressed Chase became ever more conflicted over his role as Vigilante, the violence he engaged in, and the harm he caused to those around him.  He also became increasingly mentally unstable—alternating between bouts of enraged violence, paranoia, and terrible remorse for his actions.  Near the end, he even resorted to murdering innocent police officers who got in his way.  His mounting guilt culminated in the final issue of his series (#50) where, after contemplating the course of his life, Chase committed suicide.

Arrow will return to The CW for Season 5 on October 5, 2016.

SUPERGIRL Casts Tyler Hoechlin as Superman

At last, we can say goodbye to texting and instant messaging Clark Kent.

The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that the CBS CW series Supergirl has cast Tyler Hoechlin as Kara's cousin Superman/Clark Kent!  According to the article, Superman "will first be seen visiting his cousin Kara (Melissa Benoist) in National City at the beginning of the series' second season when it moves to its new home on The CW."

"Greg [Berlanti] and I have wanted to work with Tyler for ages," said executive producer Andrew Kreisberg, "so this worked out perfectly because Tyler is Superman.  We are so thrilled and humbled to add another amazing actor to the legacy of this iconic character."

Hoechlin, 28, is best known as Derek Hale on the MTV series Teen Wolf and also appeared in the films Fifty Shades Darker, Everybody Wants Some!!, Solstice, and Road to Perdition. In addition, he's appeared on episodes of the TV series Castle, Lincoln Heights, CSI: Miami, and 7th Heaven.

Created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Superman first met his cousin Kara Zor-El in 1959's Action Comics (vol.1) #252.  Kara was born and raised in Argo City (unnamed until later issues), a fragment of Krypton that survived destruction.  When the city was doomed by a meteor shower, Kara was sent to Earth by her parents, Zor-El and Alura (unnamed until later issues), to be raised by her cousin Kal-El, known as Superman.  Supergirl adopted the secret identity of an orphan "Linda Lee", and made Midvale Orphanage her home.  Supergirl promised Superman that she would keep her existence on Earth a secret, so that he may use her as a "secret weapon", but that didn't stop Supergirl from exploring her new powers covertly.

Hoechlin will be the sixth actor to portray Superman/Clark Kent on live-action television after George Reeves, John Haymes Newton, Gerard Christopher, Dean Cain, and Tom Welling.

Supergirl will return for Season 2 on The CW in the fall.

ARROW Casts Rick Gonzalez as Wild Dog

Gee, do you think the Arrow showrunners were watching Daredevil Season 2?

Entertainment Weekly has revealed that the CW series Arrow has cast Rick Gonzalez as Jack Wheeler, better known to DC Comics fans as the vigilante Wild Dog.  The character will appear in multiple episodes starting with the Season 5 premiere.

The article describes the character as "a new vigilante in Star City, whose reckless and cocksure nature prompts Green Arrow (Stephen Amell) to take him under his wing."

Gonzalez, 36, is probably best known as Isaac Vera on the USA series Mr. Robot, and as Ben Gonzalez on the CW series Reaper.  He's appeared in the films War of the Worlds (2005), Old School, The Guilt Trip, and Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles.  In addition, he's appeared in a number of TV series, including Rush, NCIS, Bones, Castle, Lie to Me, Cold Case, Medium, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Shield, ER, and Boston Public.

Created in 1987 by Max Allan Collins and Terry Beatty, Wild Dog first appeared in Wild Dog #1 as Jack Wheeler, a college student on a football scholarship who dropped out due to an injury and spent some time in the Marines.  He quit after most of his squad was killed by a terrorist bomb, then returned to the Quad Cities and began taking night classes.  His new girlfriend was targeted and slain by hitmen, as she was secretly the daughter of a Chicago crime boss.

Wheeler armed himself with a Jatimatic GG-95 PDW, a pair of electrified "shock gloves," a costume consisting of camouflage pants, combat boots, a local college football jersey emblazoned with a snarling red dog (hiding his protective body armor), and a hockey mask to conceal his identity.

In his first outing, Wheeler barged in on a hostage situation and killed all the criminals.  He successfully rescued an endangered reporter and was named "Wild Dog" after the SWAT captain ordered his men to shoot the vigilante "like a wild dog in the street."  His actions in the were mainly directed against domestic American terrorists led by the "Committee for Social Change."  He faced other threats, including a social group, the National Legion for Morality, who were willing to use arson to destroy pornographic material.

Arrow will return to The CW for Season 5 sometime this fall.

LEGENDS OF TOMORROW Casts Nick Zano as Citizen Steel

Ohio State's own superhero is hitting the small screen.

Deadline reports that the CW series Legends of Tomorrow has cast Nick Zano as Dr. Nate Heywood, better known to DC Comics fans as Citizen Steel.  According to the article, Heywood is "a historian whose grandfather was Commander Steel, a member of the Justice Society of America."

The article also mentions that "the producers of the CW series are being ambiguous whether Nate will walk in his grandfather’s super heroic footsteps but, given the superhero nature of the show, that appears almost certain."  Citizen Steel will be the second Justice Society member to appear in Season 2, after Hourman (Patrick J. Adams).

Zano, 38, is probably best known as Vince on the WB sitcom What I Like About You and as Arthur on the Fox series Minority Report.  In addition to appearing in the films Catch Me If You Can, Fat Albert, and The Final Destination, Zano has appeared on other TV series, including One Big Happy, Mom, 2 Broke Girls, Drop Dead Diva, Melrose Place, Cougar Town, and One Tree Hill.

Created in 2007 by Geoff Johns and Alex Ross, Citizen Steel first appeared in Justice Society of America (vol.3) #1 as Nathan Heywood, the grandson of Henry (Commander Steel) Heywood and Cousin of Hank (Steel) Heywood III.  Formerly a football star at The Ohio State University, Nathan retired after shattering his kneecap and having his leg amputated due to an undiagnosed infection. The incident left Nathan addicted to painkillers.


While attending a Heywood family reunion, he was attacked by the Fourth Reich, a team of metahuman Neo-Nazis ordered by Vandal Savage to wipe out the bloodlines of Golden Age heroes. The Fourth Reich failed to completely destroy the Heywood bloodline, as both Nathan and a few children managed to survive. Both Nathan's brother and mother are turned to metal statues by the villain Reichsmark.  Nathan jammed his crutch into Reichsmark's mouth, causing him to spit liquid metal blood onto Nathan.  Hawkman took him to Dr. Mid-Nite, who noted that the metal was absorbed by Nathan's skin.

The metal grew out from where Nathan's amputated leg once was, forming metallic bone, muscles, and flesh.  Waking in his hospital room, Nathan discovered he had superhuman strength as a being of living steel, due to an unknown reaction to Reichsmark's blood. However, the steel tissues didn't give Nathan tactile response, meaning he cannot feel textures or temperatures, nor gauge exerted pressures, and his weight greatly increased, causing his footsteps to crack the ground.  He was given a costume, a "second skin" of a stainless steel alloy developed by Dr. Mid-Nite and Mr. Terrific specifically to restrict his movements and reduce his strength to a more manageable level.  He then joined the Justice Society to defeat the Fourth Reich.  Afterwards, the press asked if he was the new Commander Steel.  Nathan denied it, saying he was just an ordinary citizen, so he was christened "Citizen Steel" by Power Girl.

Legends of Tomorrow returns to The CW sometime in the fall.

MGM Options J. Michael Straczynski's RISING STARS for Movie

Well, isn't that Special.

Deadline reported yesterday that MGM has optioned Rising Stars, the Top Cow/Image Comics superhero drama series that was created by J. Michael Straczynski. Straczynski will provide the script, and Alex Gartner and Richard Suckle will produce the film for Atlas Entertainment.

Straczynski is best known as the creator and showrunner of the science fiction TV series Babylon 5, the spinoff series Crusade, and Jeremiah.  Recently, he wrote and executive produced the Netflix series Sense8 with Lily and Lana Wachowski.  His film scripts include Thor, World War Z and Underworld Awakening.  In addition to Rising Stars, his comic book work includes The Amazing Spider-Man, Thor, Midnight Nation, Dream Police, Supreme Power, Strange, Superman, Wonder Woman, Before Watchmen, Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer: Requiem, Sidekick, and The Twelve.

Running from 1999 to 2005, Rising Stars was 25-issue limited series about 113 people (called "Specials"), who were born with special abilities following the appearance of a mysterious comet in the sky above Pederson, Illinois.  The series explored how society may react to the advent of superpowers, and how those who are Specials may react towards society and each other.

The story is narrated from the future by the last living Special, John Simon, nicknamed "Poet," and starts when the Specials are all grown up, but it constantly flashes back to when they were children.  Through these flashbacks, the development of these 113 Specials is shown, starting with the government's monitoring and handling of the events, to the manifestation of their powers, to the impact of these abilities on the afflicted children and the world around them.  Some of the Specials use their powers for the good of the world, others for personal benefit and fame, while others simply wish to forget about them and live a normal life.

The comic came to an unexpected halt after issue 21 due to internal arguments between Straczynski and Top Cow.  Straczynski claimed he was cut out of the loop on the potential Rising Stars movie.  After communication broke down between them, he held back the scripts for the last three issues, and the entire comic was put on hold.  In addition to an apology for the way Straczynski was treated in regard to the possible film, Top Cow relented by giving him the full rights to an anthology comic he had written for them, Dream Police (later published by Marvel Comics), as well as the rights to the name and logo for the Joe's Comics imprint.

Matt Lucas to Reprise Nardole for DOCTOR WHO Series 10

Yeah, like you saw this one coming.

The BBC has revealed that actor Matt Lucas will reprise his role of the bumbling Nardole for Doctor Who Series 10 in 2017, which begins filming next week in Cardiff, Wales.  Lucas will join stars Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor and Pearl Mackie as new companion Bill.  

Nardole first appeared in the 2015 Christmas Special "The Husbands of River Song" as a member of the human colony of Mendorax Dellora, and an employee of River Song. Nardole was told to find the surgeon River Song needed to extract the Halassi Androvar from the head of King Hydroflax.  Unfortunately, Nardole found the Twelfth Doctor and brought him to River Song instead.

When River and the Doctor escaped Hydroflax’s ship with his head in a bag, Hydroflax’s mechanical body turned to Nardole for strategic information.  Although Nardole claimed to know little of River’s plans, there was only one way for Hydroflax’s body to be sure, so it removed Nardole’s head and attached it to its own.

After the crash of the Harmony and Redemption on Darillium, Hydroflax's body was recovered from the wreckage.  As the hostile onboard computer was destroyed by the Doctor, Nardole and another head, Ramone, shared control of the body, working in a restaurant situated before the Singing Towers.  When River arrived several years after the crash, Ramone was in control as Nardole was getting some "me time" inside the body, something he admitted was hard when he greeted River from inside Hydroflax's body.

"I’m chuffed to bits that Nardole is returning to the TARDIS for some more adventures," said Lucas.  "I loved acting with Peter and I’m excited to work with Pearl."

"Delighted and slightly amazed to be welcoming Matt Lucas back on to the TARDIS," added Doctor Who showrunner and Executive Producer Steven Moffat, "and this time, it’s not just for Christmas, he’s sticking around.  One of the greatest comedy talents on planet Earth is being unleashed on all of time and space."

The opening episode of Series 10 is written by Moffat, executive produced by Brian Minchin, produced by Peter Bennett, and directed by Lawrence Gough.  The second episode in the new series is written by Frank Cottrell-Boyce, who previously wrote the Series 8 episode "In the Forest of the Night."  Block 2 writers are Sarah Dollard (writer of "Face the Raven") and Mike Bartlett (Doctor Foster).  

In addition, Stephanie Hyam will play a guest cast role in the new series.  She previously played Lily Clarke in Jekyll & Hyde, and appeared in Peaky Blinders, Murdered by My Boyfriend, and Sherlock.

Doctor Who returns at Christmas, followed by Series 10 in 2017.