THE FLASH Casts Hartley Sawyer as Elongated Man

Is your nose suddenly twitching?

Entertainment Weekly has revealed that The CW series The Flash has cast Hartley Sawyer in the role of Ralph Dibny, better known to DC Comics fans as the ductile detective superhero the Elongated Man.  The role will be recurring throughout Season 4.

According to the article, the Elongated Man is described as "a fast-talking private investigator with investigative skills that rival those of Batman.  Upon discovering he has the power to stretch his body to any shape or form, Dibny uses his new abilities to help Team Flash solve one of Central City’s greatest mysteries."

The character was first mentioned in the Season 1 episode "Power Outage", as one of the people who seemingly died as a result of the particle accelerator accident that gave the Flash his powers.

Sawyer, 32, has previously appeared in the CW Seed series Saving the Human Race, and episodes of The McCarthys, Suburgatory, The Young and the Restless, NCIS: Los Angeles, Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, GCB, and Glory Daze.

Created in 1960 by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, the Elongated Man first appeared in The Flash (vol.1) #112 as Ralph Dibny, who as a teenager, was fascinated by contortionists, or people who displayed feats of agility and suppleness.  He learned that all of the body-benders he spoke with drank a popular soda called "Gingold."  Ralph set to work learning chemistry and developed a super-concentrated extract of the rare "gingo" fruit of the Yucatan, which gave him his elasticity.  In his first appearance, the Flash suspected the Elongated Man was behind several crimes, but the Elongated Man helped capture the criminals, who revealed they used a helicopter to frame him.

The Elongated Man was one of the earliest Silver Age DC heroes to reveal his secret identity to the public, and also one of the first to marry his love interest, Sue Dearborn.  After teaming up with several other superheroes like Batman, Green Lantern, the Atom, and Zatanna, he became a member of the Justice League of America.  In the event series Identity Crisis, Sue was murdered in their apartment, apparently dying of burns.  The autopsy of Sue Dibny's body by Doctor Mid-Nite and Mister Terrific, members of the Justice Society, revealed Sue was killed by an infarction in her brain.  A microscopic scan of Sue's brain also revealed tiny footprints as a clue to the infarction's cause, ultimately leading to Sue's killer, Jean Loring, the insane ex-wife of Ralph's Justice League teammate The Atom.

Sue's death had a significant effect on Ralph, compounded by the fact that Sue was apparently pregnant at the time of her death.  In the weekly series 52, Ralph contemplated suicide after being informed that Sue's gravestone was vandalized with an inverted version of Superman's 'S' symbol — the Kryptonian symbol for resurrection.  He confronted the second Wonder Girl, Cassie Sandsmark, who told Dibny that she was in a cult that believed that Superboy could be resurrected.  She stole Ralph's wedding ring after the cult members attempted to drown Ralph.  Wonder Girl later tells Ralph that Sue's clothes and ring were stolen to make an effigy of Sue for a mystical ceremony.  Ralph went to the ceremony to disrupt it, but the effigy of Sue crawled to Dibny and called out to him as it burned.  As a result, Ralph suffered a nervous breakdown.  The evil sorcerer Felix Faust soon attempted to trade Ralph's soul to Neron in exchange for his own freedom.  Ralph revealed that he had been aware of Faust's identity for some time and created a binding spell to imprison Faust. Neron appeared and killed Dibny, only to realize too late that the binding spell responded only to Ralph's commands:  With his death, Ralph trapped Faust and Neron, seemingly for eternity, His spirit was later seen reunited with his wife Sue, and the two became ghost detectives.

In the current New 52 continuity, Ralph was reintroduced as a rogue member of the Secret Six, under the alias of Damon Wells a.k.a. Big Shot, who reported to the Riddler.  After having reunited with his wife Sue, Ralph made his return as the costumed Elongated Man.

Sawyer will be the first actor to portray the Elongated Man in live action, although the character has appeared in a few animated projects, including Justice League Unlimited (voiced by Jeremy Piven), Batman: The Brave and the Bold (voiced by Sean Donnellan), and Mad (voiced by Ralph Garman).

The Flash returns to The CW for Season 4 on Tuesday, October 10th at 8 p.m. EST.

THE FANDOM ZONE 111: "Whiskey Lullaby" is Up!

"I'm gonna need a bigger coat."

– Wynonna Earp, Wynonna Earp: "Whiskey Lullaby"

Wake the kids and phone the neighbors, Karen and I are back with a new episode of The Fandom Zone Podcast!  This week's reviews of comics on television include:

Wynonna Earp 2x06: "Whiskey Lullaby"

Preacher 2x05: "Dallas"

In this episode, Karen and I talk about things like some comics on TV news from San Diego Comic Con 2017, trying to make out Doc's handwriting, wondering if Wynonna's baby will age at an accelerated rate so the show won't have to deal with a baby, wondering what Doc did all those years stuck at the bottom of a well and how he got there in the first place, Waverly finding Doc in bed with Miss Chemistry Set, Doc being all in, where the O.K. Corral is located, Bane's weird movie accent, the "Trapped in the Closet" episode of South Park, Reggie as the original Cassidy, my big rant about Preacher making Jesse & Tulip horrible people instead of how they're depicted in the comics, the Saint of Killers carrying around his own personal hell wherever he goes, waiting for Hoover to hook Herr Starr up with a male prostitute, some new Wynonna Earp feedback from Justina, Karen wanting me to read a book featuring dolphin sex, Karen's book reviews, and more!

You can now check out episodes of The Fandom Zone using...

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And if that isn't enough for you, you can also check us out on YouTube, Libsyn, Soundcloud, Stitcher, 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 Karen and I review new episodes of Preacher and Wynonna Earp, right here on The Fandom Zone Podcast!

KRYPTON Teases Adam Strange & Conspiracy Against Superman's Legacy

Stranger things are about to happen on Superman's home planet.

One of the more intriguing items to come out of last weekend's San Diego Comic-Con 2017 was the panel for the upcoming Syfy series Krypton, based on the lore of DC Comics character Superman.  

According to The Hollywood Reporter and SyfyWire, DC Comics President and Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns moderated the panel in the Indigo Ballroom with star Cameron Cuffe and showrunners Cameron Welsh and Damian Kindler.  Johns revealed some curious details about the show's premise, including that it's going to exist in its own self-contained TV universe and have no crossovers with DC shows on The CW.

"It's a show that, although it takes place centuries ago on Krypton about the House of El," said Johns, "it's about a conspiracy from the present that has traveled back in time to Krypton to prevent Superman's legacy from ever happening."

Johns continued, "Adam Strange and Hawkwoman come to Krypton trying to stop the conspiracy and save Superman's legacy.  Doomsday will be in the show.  Brainiac is long overdue to be on screen like that."  In addition, the Kryptonian versions of Nightwing and Flamebird will appear because Johns feels "that's a huge part of the canon, so no way we can't do that."  He also mentioned that the mind-manipulating plant known as the Black Mercy will also be in play.

"We've been keeping that under wraps," said Kindler about Brainiac.  "He has a really deep, rich history.  He is the nexus point between man and machine, which is an incredibly real thing to talk about now."

The creators reportedly knew that setting the series in the past wouldn't be compelling enough, so they had to connect it to the present.  "It changes the stakes of the show completely," remarked Welsh.  "It's not a look backwards. It's quite unique. It allows us to deepen and expand upon the known mythology."

Johns also recited Adam Strange's introduction speech from memory.  "I'm from a planet called Earth, my name is Adam Strange. I come from a time long after this and I need you to help me save the legacy of your grandson.  There are others [from Earth] already on Krypton and as the series progresses, we'll bring in some more [classic DC characters]."

Welsh remarked that their version of Adam Strange is "a little more cynical.  He's got gallows humor.  He's been around for a while."

Krypton will debut on Syfy sometime in 2018.

SUPERGIRL Casts Adrian Pasdar as Morgan Edge

Supergirl is getting some Edge in Season 3.

One of the overlooked items from this past weekend's San Diego Comic Con 2017 was news that The CW series Supergirl has cast Adrian Pasdar as DC Comics villain Morgan Edge.

According to Deadline, Morgan Edge is described as "a ruthless real estate developer who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.  The DC villain’s big plans for National City instantly put him at odds with Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) and Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath)."

Pasdar, 52, is best known as Nathan Petrelli on Heroes, and has had a number of comic book related roles, including Glenn Talbot on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and the voices of Captain America in the 2010 Black Panther motion comic series, Hawkeye on The Super Hero Squad Show, Professor Hugo Strange on Young Justice, and Iron Man on Marvel Anime: Iron Man, Ultimate Spider-Man, Avengers Assemble, Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., and Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United.  He's also appeared on episodes of Colony, Castle, Judging Amy, Desperate Housewives, and the 2002 version of The Twilight Zone.

Created in 1970 by Jack Kirby, Morgan Edge first appeared in Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #133 as the president of the Galaxy Broadcasting System, the media corporation which eventually bought the Daily Planet.  Edge was a ruthless capitalist, disrupting the Planet and challenging the authority of the somewhat older Perry White, but he was a decent man who maintained reasonably friendly relationships with most of his employees, including Clark Kent.  Following the takeover of the Planet, Edge transferred Kent to the news division, making him a traveling correspondent and later anchorman on WGBS.  For a while it appeared that Edge was connected to the Apokolips-sponsored crime organization Intergang, but this was revealed to be a clone created by the Evil Factory, a genetics laboratory working for Darkseid.  This clone attempted to have Jimmy Olsen and the Guardian murdered as part of a cover-up.

In the The New 52 reboot of the DC Comics Universe, Morgan Edge appeared as a powerful and self-centered media mogul and the new owner of the Daily Planet.  He was seen as the sponsor of the Challengers of the Unknown program before they all left due to his ruthless business strategy.  Prior to DC Rebirth, in the last issue of the 2011-16 Justice League series, it was mentioned that Lex Luthor had bought the Daily Planet from Edge.

Pasdar will be the third actor to portray Morgan Edge in live action, after Rutger Hauer and Patrick Bergin on Smallville.  The character also appeared in the animated series Justice League, voiced by Brian George.

Supergirl returns to The CW for Season 3 on October 9th.

DOCTOR WHO Reveals Final Capaldi Episode Details & Trailer at SDCC 2017

The two Doctors.  Say, that's catchy...

During the Doctor Who panel inside Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con 2017, outgoing Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi was joined by Pearl Mackie (Bill Potts), Matt Lucas (Nardole), Missy (Michelle Gomez), Mark Gatiss, and outgoing showrunner Steven Moffat to engage Whovians and reveal the title and first trailer for the 2017 Christmas Special, Capaldi and Moffat's final episode.

Titled "Twice Upon a Time", the 2017 Christmas Special sees the Twelfth Doctor encounter his first incarnation (played by David Bradley), with co-star Mark Gatiss as a World War One soldier known only as The Captain.  In addition, the trailer revealed that Pearl Mackie will return as companion Bill Potts.

The one-minute trailer begins with William Hartnell's speech from his final story "The Tenth Planet" blended seamlessly into David Bradley reprising the scene.  "Love, pride, hate, fear..." remarks the First Doctor, "...Have you no emotions, sir?"

We see a fleeting glimpse of the First Doctor with his companion Polly Wright (played by a new actress in the role originated by Anneke Wills), whose right hand is glowing with regenerative energy.  We quickly cut to the Twelfth Doctor, whose hands are also glowing with regenerative energy.

"Something has gone very wrong with time," remarks the Twelfth Doctor as we see him and the First Doctor simultaneously step out of their respective TARDISes.  "We're trapped inside a single moment."

The Doctors encounter The Captain, who asks "So sorry...I don't suppose either of you is a doctor?"

The Doctors look at one another for a moment, then the Twelfth Doctor replies, "Are you trying to be funny?"

The Captain is taken inside the First Doctor's TARDIS, which impresses him.  "These police boxes...They're ever so good, aren't they?"

As the Doctors face some exploding things, Twelve remarks "We do have one little advantage."

"What advantage?" asks One.

"There's two of us."

Lastly, we hear the voice of Bill Potts, who steps from the shadows and asks, "Is he here? Is the Doctor here?"  This is followed by a glimpse of the Doctor and Bill hugging in a reunion.

Here's the trailer that was revealed during the SDCC panel, thanks to the official Doctor Who account on YouTube...



"Twice Upon a Time" will air December 25th on BBC America.

THE FLASH Casts Neil Sandilands as The Thinker

Cogito ergo sum.

Deadline has word from The CW TV panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2017 that The Flash has cast Neil Sandilands as Clifford DeVoe, better known to DC Comics fans as the supervillain known as The Thinker.

According to the article, The Thinker, who will be the Big Bad for Season 4, is described as "a metahuman with a mega mind who embarks on a seasonlong battle with The Flash that pits the 'fastest man alive' against the 'fastest mind alive.'  A true genius, he’s devised an intricate plan to fix all that he deems wrong with humanity."

Sandilands, 42, is a South African actor probably best known as Titus on The CW series The 100 and has appeared on episodes of The Americans, NCIS, Hap and Leonard, and House.

Created in 1943 by Gardner Fox and E.E. Hibbard, the Thinker first appeared in All-Flash Comics #12 as Clifford DeVoe, a failed lawyer who bitterly ended his career in 1933.  Realizing that many of the criminals he had encountered had the skills but not the brains to rule Gotham City's underworld, he started a new career as the brain behind small-time villains.  As the Thinker, he was defeated by Jay Garrick, the original Flash.  He always sought out new scientific devices to use and his most important was the "Thinking Cap", a metal hat that could project mental force.  The Thinker would use this device repeatedly over the years.

The Thinker was a member of the Injustice Society, who often faced off against the Justice Society of America.  At one point, The Thinker appeared as a judge in a trial of the Justice Society, but was revealed as the Green Lantern in disguise, having captured the real Thinker after escaping Brain Wave.  This led to the Injustice Society's defeat.  Together with the Fiddler and the Shade, the Thinker was the man behind the decades-long "abduction" of Keystone City and the original Flash, after which he was defeated by the Flashes of two eras.  His "suspended animation-time" in Keystone kept the Thinker young over the years, and he continued his criminal career in modern times.

In recent years, DeVoe accepted a mission with the Task Force X (A.K.A the Suicide Squad) in exchange for a full pardon.  Although he was seemingly killed by the Weasel during this mission, he turned up alive soon after only to be dying from cancer due to the cap. His former foe, the original Flash, attempted to save him with the Thinking Cap but DeVoe refused, preferring to rest in peace.

This will be the first time the character has appeared in live action, although he has appeared in episodes of the animated series Justice League Unlimited and Batman: Brave and the Bold.

The Flash returns to The CW for Season 4 on October 10, 2017.

Warner Bros. Reveals THE FLASH: FLASHPOINT & DC Films at SDCC 2017

It looks like Flashpoint is hitting the big screen.

During the Warner Bros. panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2017, a new title for the upcoming movie based on The Flash was announced -- The Flash: Flashpoint.  The title seems rather important, considering the DC Comics mini-series event was used to lead into DC's big The New 52 relaunch.

According to Comic Book Resources, the panel began with a sizzle reel of footage, accompanied by the words, "Where wonder awaits, where justice prevails, where good battles evil, from Gotham to Atlantis, Metropolis to Apokolips, Krypton to Themyscira and beyond, welcome to the worlds of DC."

This followed with the reveal of multiple logos for upcoming DC Comics films including Shazam, Suicide Squad 2, The Batman, Justice League Dark, Batgirl, Green Lantern Corps (showing comic book art of Hal Jordan and John Stewart), The Flash (followed by a Flashpoint logo), and Wonder Woman II.

The five-issue limited series Flashpoint was released in 2011, written by DC Films Co-Chairman Geoff Johns and drawn by Andy Kubert.  In the series, Barry Allen wakes up to discover everything and everyone around him has changed.  He's not the Flash, nor does he have powers, his mother Nora Allen (deceased in his own timeline) is alive, while his father, Henry Allen, died of a heart attack three years ago.  Captain Cold is Central City's greatest hero, the Justice League is never established, and even Superman is seemingly nonexistent.

Barry Allen drives to the Batcave, where Batman attacks him.  Batman is revealed to be Thomas Wayne, who in this timeline, lost his son, Bruce, along with his wife.  At Wayne Manor, Barry tries to explain to Thomas about his secret identity as the Flash and his relationship to Bruce Wayne.  Barry's memory begins to spontaneously realign itself to the altered timeline and Barry realizes that the world of Flashpoint is not a parallel dimension, but an alternate reality.  Barry's ring ejects Eobard Thawne's Reverse-Flash costume and causes Barry to believe that his enemy is responsible for changing history.  Barry decides to recreate the accident that gave him his powers in a bid to undo the damage caused by Thawne, but his initial attempt fails and leaves him badly burned.

A second attempt at recreating Allen's accident restores his powers and health.  He concludes that the Reverse-Flash changed history to prevent the formation of the Justice League.  He also learns that Kal-El was taken by Project: Superman.  Flash, Batman and Cyborg join the cause to stop Wonder Woman and Aquaman, who are on opposite sides of the Atlantean-Amazon war.  The Marvel Family transform into Captain Thunder, also transforming Tawky Tawny. Captain Thunder attacks Wonder Woman and appears to be winning until Enchantress reveals herself as the Amazon spy in the Resistance and uses her magic to restore the Marvel Family to their mortal forms. Penthesilea (who was secretly one of the conspirators of the Atlanteans-Amazons war, along with Orm) kills Billy Batson, causing a massive explosion that cripples the opposing forces.

In the wake of the devastation, Thawne appears in front of the Flash.  The Reverse-Flash reveals that Flash himself created the Flashpoint timeline by traveling back in time to stop him from killing Barry's mother.  Barry pulled the entire Speed Force into himself to stop Thawne, transforming the timeline by shattering the history of his allies.  Thawne resets Barry's internal vibrations, enabling him to remember this.  According to Thawne, these actions transformed him into a living paradox, no longer requiring Barry to exist and allowing him to kill the Flash without erasing his own existence.  Thawne continues to taunt Barry with this knowledge until Batman kills him with an Amazonian sword.  Thomas insists that Barry puts history back to normal to undo the millions of deaths.  Now knowing the point of divergence, the Flash restores the timeline.  As he enters the timestream, a dying Thomas thanks him for giving his son a second chance and gives Barry a letter addressed to Bruce. Barry then meets with his mother and bids a tearful farewell to her.

Traveling back in time, Barry merges with his earlier self during the attempt to stop Thawne. While traveling through time, Barry realizes he can see three different timelines — DC (New Earth), Vertigo (Earth-13), and WildStorm (Earth-50).  A mysterious hooded figure (later revealed to be a cursed immortal Pandora) tells him that the world was split into three to weaken them for an impending threat, and must now be reunited to combat it.  The DC, Vertigo, and Wildstorm universes are then merged, creating a brand new DC Universe. Barry then wakes up in a similar manner to the beginning of Flashpoint, also retaining all his memories from the alternate timeline.  Believing that everything is over, Barry remembers Thomas' letter and gives it to Bruce, who is still the Batman in this timeline.  Bruce, deeply touched by his father's sacrifice to ensure his son's life, cries and expresses his gratitude to Barry for informing him of the events that transpired before the timeline was reset.

This will be the third time Flashpoint has been adapted, after the 2013 animated film Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, and the Season 2 finale and Season 3 of The CW series The Flash.  

The Flash: Flashpoint is now expected to arrive in theaters sometime in 2020.

GHOSTWOOD 013: "The Return, Part 10" is Up!

"Hawk, electricity is humming.  You hear it in the mountains and rivers.  You see it dance among the seas and stars and glowing around the moon. But in these days, the glow is dying. What will be in the darkness that remains?  The Truman brothers are both ‘true men.’ They are your brothers, and the others, the good ones who have been with you, now the circle is almost complete.  Watch and listen to the dream of time and space.  It all comes out now, flowing like a river.  That which is and is not.  Hawk, Laura is the one."

-- Margaret "The Log Lady" Lanterman to Deputy Chief Tommy "Hawk" Hill, Twin Peaks: "The Return, Part 10"

It is happening again...My co-host with the most Xan Sprouse and I are back once again with a new episode of Ghostwood: The Twin Peaks Podcast!  This time, we review "The Return, Part 10" from the Showtime revival of Twin Peaks!

LET'S ROCK!

In our latest episode, Xan and I discuss things like Xan having Elvis Costello Concert Sexy Voice, Fire Walk with Me being released by Criterion in 4K Ultra HD, my contact lens bifocals, the Twin Peaks panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2017, the classic Twin Peaks sketch on Saturday Night Live hosted by Kyle MacLachlan, Miriam being way too trusting and naive, Richard Horne being a horrible person, Deputy Chad pretending to care about Lucy and Andy, the heavy implication that Doppelganger Cooper impregnated Audrey Horne while she was in a coma, Richard dropping the C-bomb and being more of a horrible person, Ben & Sylvia being divorced, Carl Rodd singing "Red River Valley", Steven Burnett going full Leo Johnson, Candie whacking Rodney Mitchum with a TV remote control, wondering if Candie is openly rebelling against the Mitchums, Janey-E getting all hot and bothered over Kyle MacLachlan's abs, wondering if Janey-E is "the one" for Cooper, Nadine fixating on Dr. Jacoby, Jerry still being high in Ghostwood Forest, Albert finally finding someone he actually likes, Gordon drawing a freaky lizard dog thing with a tree growing out of its head, Gordon's vision of Laura Palmer, more wondering about what's going on with Diane, another phone call from the Log Lady, wondering if Laura will be a spirit of vengeance for all the women being treated like crap by horrible men, Rebekah Del Rio's chevron patterned dress, Ben & Jerry mellowing out in their old age, some feedback from Ivan Ivanov and Vesuvi Timeaux, our thoughts if spirits like BOB actually exist, YouTube troll Tachyon Timelord targeting our show, and more!

If you'd like to check out our latest episode, you can find us on...

iTunes -- RIGHT HERE

Direct MP3 downloads/Libsyn --  RIGHT HERE

YouTube -- RIGHT HERE

Ghostwood's Facebook page

Ghostwood's Twitter account

Be sure to come back next week as Xan and I review "The Return, Part 11", the next episode of the Showtime revival of Twin Peaks!  Look for more of Ghostwood: The Twin Peaks Podcast on iTunes, YouTube, Libsyn, and the official Southgate Media Group website!

Noah Hawley Developing DOCTOR DOOM Movie for Fox

Show me the puny mortal who does not tremble at the name of Doctor Doom!

According to the Hollywood Reporter, at the end of yesterday's San Diego Comic-Con 2017 panel for the FX series Legion, showrunner Noah Hawley teased that he's developing a movie based on Marvel Comics supervillain Doctor Doom for Fox, which holds the rights to the character and his archenemies, the Fantastic Four.  

"Two words," said Hawley. "Doctor.  Doom."

The article claims "Hawley is developing a feature project centering around one of Marvel Comics' most recognizable villains with an eye to direct."

The project would presumably be part of another attempt to create a Fantastic Four film franchise for Fox, which had mediocre success with 2005's Fantastic Four and 2007's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, followed by the outright failure of Fox's 2015 Fantastic Four reboot, a box-office bomb that reportedly cost $120 million to make and only brought in $56 million in domestic ticket sales.

Doctor Doom was featured in all three films, played by Julian McMahon in the first two, and Toby Kebbell in the reboot.

Created in 1962 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Doctor Doom first appeared in Fantastic Four (vol.1) #5 as Victor Von Doom, who was part of a tribe of Latverian Romani people under the rule of an unnamed nobleman called the Baron. Victor's mother was a witch named Cynthia Von Doom who died by Mephisto's hand while Victor was young.  His father, Werner, was the leader of the tribe and a renowned medicine man who kept his wife's sorcery quiet in order to protect Victor from a similar fate.  Soon after Cynthia's death, the Baron's wife grew incurably ill from cancer and Werner was called to the capitol to heal her. When she succumbed to illness, the Baron labeled Werner a murderer and called for his death. Werner escaped with young Victor, having realized the night before the woman would die. He died of exposure on the mountainside, cradling the boy in a final embrace and giving him his garments to keep him warm. Victor survived and, on return to the Romani camp, discovered his mother's occult instruments and swore revenge on the Baron.  Victor grew into a headstrong and brilliant man, combining sorcery and technology to create fantastic devices which would keep the Baron's men at bay and protect the Roma people.  His exploits attracted the attention of the dean of Empire State University, who sent someone to the camp.  Offered the chance to study in the United States, Victor chose to leave his homeland and his love, Valeria, behind.

Once in the United States, Victor met fellow student and future nemesis Reed Richards, who was intended to be his roommate, but Victor immediately disliked him and asked for another roommate.  After a time, Victor constructed a machine intended to communicate with the dead. Though Richards tried to warn him about a flaw in the machine, seeing his calculations were a few decimals off, Victor continued on with disastrous results.  The machine violently failed and the resulting explosion seemingly severely damaged his face. Expelled after the accident, Victor traveled the world until he collapsed on a Tibetan mountainside.  Rescued by a clan of monks, Victor quickly mastered the monks' disciplines as well as the monks themselves.  Victor then forged himself a suit of armor, complete with a scowling mask, and took the name Doctor Doom.  As Doctor Doom, he would go on to menace those he felt responsible for his accident—primarily, Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four.  He succeeded in taking over Latveria, taking an interest in the welfare of the Roma.

In his first appearance, Doctor Doom captured the Invisible Girl, using her as a hostage so the Fantastic Four will travel back in time to steal the enchanted treasure of Blackbeard which would help him conquer the world, but he was fooled by Reed Richards, who swapped the treasure with worthless chains.  Over the years, Doctor Doom became the central foe of the Fantastic Four and eventually menaced Spider-Man, the Avengers, the X-Men, Doctor Strange, and other Marvel superheroes.  

In the recent Secret Wars storyline, Doom usurped the power of the Beyonders with the aid of Doctor Strange and the Molecule Man,  collecting what he could of the destroyed multiverse and forming a new Battleworld consisting of different alternate realities.  He also assumed the role of God and claimed complete dominion of this new world and its inhabitants, controlling them into thinking he was always the almighty force of creation. Richards and a ragtag collection of heroes and villains that survived the destruction of all universes challenged him and, with the help of Molecule Man, were able to take his power and restore the multiverse.  Opting to heal rather than harm, Richards finally uses the Beyonder's power to heal Doom's face and turn him into a good man.  Following the defeat of Tony Stark at the hands of Captain Marvel at the conclusion of Civil War II, Doom remembered his unsatisfaction as a God and decided that it was his role to help heal the world.  Inspired by Stark, Doom currently fights for his unique brand of justice as the Infamous Iron Man.

GHOSTWOOD 012: "The Return, Part 9" is Up!

"I can't believe this day has come."

-- Betty Briggs, Twin Peaks: "The Return, Part 9"

It is happening again...My co-host with the most Xan Sprouse and I are back once again with a new episode of Ghostwood: The Twin Peaks Podcast!  This time, we review "The Return, Part 9" from the Showtime revival of Twin Peaks!

LET'S ROCK!

In our latest episode, Xan and I discuss things like Xan's wisdom being shared throughout the Twitterverse, our love of silent movies, David Lynch's Mullholland Dr., Diane's interest being raised when a Blue Rose case is referenced, the introduction of Tim Roth as Gary "Hutch" Hutchens, wondering why Doppelganger Cooper likes Cheetos, finally getting an explanation of why no one bats an eye at Dougie's odd behavior, coffee moving the Cooper Installation progress bar forward, Lucy and Andy as a poor man's Burns and Allen, wondering if Laura Palmer's spirit will enter Johnny Horne, the Twin Peaks panel at San Diego Comic Con, Stranger Things, Major Briggs and Bobby Briggs being on two totally different wavelengths, Lucy and Deputy Chad being on their lunch break, the mysterious contents of the cylinder hidden in Major Briggs' chair, Jerry tackling his own foot, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, wondering what happened to Doppelganger Laura, Diane being a mole for Doppelganger Cooper, William Hastings' blog in the real world, the coordinates of Lookout Mountain in west South Dakota, the importance of what you wear when you die, Albert finally liking a small-town medical examiner, wanting to become a curmudgeon like Dr. McCoy from Star Trek, my ringtone on Xan's phone, our first movies with our significant others, Showgirls, some Facebook page feedback from Ivan Ivanov, and more!

If you'd like to check out our latest episode, you can find us on...

iTunes -- RIGHT HERE

Direct MP3 downloads/Libsyn --  RIGHT HERE

YouTube -- RIGHT HERE

Ghostwood's Facebook page

Ghostwood's Twitter account

Be sure to come back in two weeks as Xan and I review "The Return, Part 10", the next episode of the Showtime revival of Twin Peaks!  Look for more of Ghostwood: The Twin Peaks Podcast on iTunes, YouTube, Libsyn, and the official Southgate Media Group website!

THE FANDOM ZONE 110: "Children of Wrath" is Up!

"The world is dead."

"The world will not end until you die."

– Victor Strand and Cosmonaut Vaschenko, Fear the Walking Dead: "Children of Wrath"

That's right, Karen and I are back with a new episode of The Fandom Zone Podcast!  This week's reviews of comics on television include:

Fear the Walking Dead 3x07: "The Unveiling" 

Fear the Walking Dead 3x08: "Children of Wrath"  (Midseason Finale)

Preacher 2x04: "Viktor"

Wynonna Earp 2x05: "Let's Pretend We're Strangers"

In this episode, Karen and I talk about things like the Wonder Woman soundtrack, the announcement of Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor on Doctor Who, why those announcements are like the movie They Live, the Clark family realizing they're on the wrong side, that awkward moment when Alicia realizes she's with the guy who killed Travis, land agreements not mattering in the zombie apocalypse, Nick finally cutting his scraggly receding hair, that awkward moment when Ofelia poisons Nick with anthrax, wanting to see Daniel Salazar's hallucination torture Ofelia with oranges and lemonade while she's dying in the desert, Walker getting mad respect for Madison, that really awkward moment when Madison reveals to her children that she killed her dad when she was a kid, Strand talking to a Russian cosmonaut, Tulip's plan to get herself a gun, Cassidy being annoyed that Jesse's isn't worried about Tulip being missing, Cassidy and Jesse posing as Game of Thrones casting people, not being able to enhance a VHS videotape, Eugene succumbing to peer pressure in Hell, the new Fraternal Order of Firefighting Demon Hunters, Wynonna giving Dolls the finger, both of us thinking that Officer Haught was being killed off, some new Wynonna Earp feedback from Justina, and more!

You can now check out episodes of The Fandom Zone using...

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And if that isn't enough for you, you can also check us out on YouTube, Libsyn, Soundcloud, Stitcher, 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 Karen and I review new episodes of Preacher and Wynonna Earp, right here on The Fandom Zone Podcast!

NEXT STOP EVERYWHERE 090: "Planet of the Spiders" is Up!

"A tear, Sarah Jane?  No, don't cry.  While there's life, there's..."
-- The Third Doctor to Sarah Jane Smith, Doctor Who: "Planet of the Spiders"

It was another battle to record, but my partner in time Jesse Jackson and I are back with a new episode of Next Stop Everywhere: The Doctor Who Podcast!  In this episode, Jesse and I review "Planet of the Spiders", the fifth serial of Season 11 from the original series of Doctor Who in 1974, starring Jon Pertwee in his final story as the Third Doctor, Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, Richard Franklin as Mike Yates, and John Levene as Sergeant Benton!

This time, Jesse and I discuss things like the big announcement of Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, me revealing the news to Jesse, our thoughts and hopes for Jodie Whittaker as the first woman to portray the Doctor in the series, Doctor Who fandom already being split on the announcement, owning up to getting our Thirteenth Doctor picks wrong, why it's okay if we have to wait until fall of 2018 for Series Eleven, the Third Doctor's Venusian Aikido, Eastern philosophy being introduced to the series, shipping Sarah Jane and Mike Yates, Jo Grant returning her Metebelis 3 crystal, seeing the inside of the Third Doctor's TARDIS, wondering what specific fear the Third Doctor was trying to face, Cho-Je as the future incarnation of the K'anpo Rimpoche, Superman as the Last Son of Krypton, Sarah Jane befriending Tommy, the Brigadier finally getting to see a regeneration, the new K'anpo teasing the Fourth Doctor's persona, why the Metebelis 3 spiders need to return in the modern era, TV fighting in the '60s and '70s, the Doctor hanging out with the Brigadier socially, my plan to lead up to Peter Capaldi's regeneration into Jodie Whittaker, Jesse's Reverse the Reverse the Polarity, feedback from David K. Proctor and Paul from Australia, my Ghostwood: The Twin Peaks Podcast kicking butt, teasing the Master Trilogy, and more!

If you'd like to check out our latest episode, you can find us on...

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iTunes -- RIGHT HERE

Stitcher -- RIGHT HERE

Direct MP3 downloads/Libsyn --  RIGHT HERE

Next Stop Everywhere's Facebook page

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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 in two weeks as Jesse and I review the 1981 classic "The Keeper of Traken", starring Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, Matthew Waterhouse as Adric, Sarah Sutton as Nyssa, and Geoffrey Beevers as The Second Master!  Look for more of Next Stop Everywhere on iTunes, Google Play Music, YouTube, Libsyn, Soundcloud, Stitcher, and the official Southgate Media Group website!