DOOM PATROL Casts Diane Guerrero as Crazy Jane

Get ready to board Driver 8's train into the Underground.

Deadline has word that the upcoming DC Universe series Doom Patrol has cast Diane Guerrero as Kay Challis, better known to DC Comics fans as the superhero with dissociative identity disorder, Crazy Jane.

Crazy Jane is described in the article as "an unlikely hero suffering from the world’s most severe case of multiple personality disorder.  Each of her 64 distinct personas manifest a different super power, making Jane the Doom Patrol’s most powerful member…and also its most unstable."

Doom Patrol is a reimagining of one of DC’s strangest group of outcasts: Robotman, Negative Man, Elasti-Woman and Crazy Jane.  Led by the mysterious Dr. Niles Caulder they’re called into action by the ultimate hero for the digital age, Cyborg.  Banding together these rejects find themselves on a mission that will take them to the weirdest and most unexpected corners of the DC universe.

Guerrero, 32, is best known as Maritza Ramos on the Netflix series Orange is the New Black and as Lina on The CW series Jane the Virgin.  Her other television appearances include episodes of Superior Donuts, Person of Interest, Blue Bloods, Are We There Yet?, and Body of Proof.

Created in 1989 by Grant Morrison and Richard Case, Crazy Jane first appeared in Doom Patrol (vol.2) #19 as Kay Challis, who was molested by her father, beginning when she was five years old.  The first time her father molested her, she was putting a jigsaw puzzle together, which became an important symbol in her future.  Kay eventually withdrew completely and was replaced by an alternate personality answering by the name "Miranda." One Easter Sunday, Miranda was the victim of rape in a church, triggering flashbacks to her former abuse, the destruction of the "Miranda" personality and the completion of the massive personality fragmentation.  Kay was committed to a mental institution soon after.

Crazy Jane's personalities were organized in a mental subway grid called the Underground. Each personality had its own "station", which appeared to serve as home when they were not in control.  In the lower section of the Underground was a well where the personalities could go to destroy themselves, which was where Miranda was killed.  The Well housed the Daddy persona of Jane's mind.

As a result of exposure to the alien Dominators' "gene bomb" during the event known as Invasion!, Kay's dominant alternate personality Jane Morris and all her other personalities were affected, with each personality gaining a different power (e.g. Black Annis has retractable claws, Flit can teleport, etc.).  Cliff Steele, the Doom Patrol member known as Robotman, was staying in the same institution as Jane when Dr. Will Magnus asked Cliff to look after her, which led to Jane becoming a member of Doom Patrol.

Near the end of Morrison's run on Doom Patrol, Jane made a pilgrimage back to her childhood home, facing her own traumas and overcoming them.  This brought peace to her inner turmoil, and her personalities integrated into facets of a more normal, if complex, single personality.  Unfortunately, upon returning to the Doom Patrol, Jane was attacked by The Candlemaker and thrown into another dimension, similar to the real world, where she was interned as a schizophrenic and treated using shock therapy.  Cliff eventually rescued Jane from the other dimension.

Doom Patrol is expected to premiere on DC Universe sometime in 2019.

THE FANDOM ZONE 148: "The Basement" is Up!

"Where’s my money, honey?"

-- Luke Cage to Raymond "Piranha" Jones, Luke Cage: "The Basement" 

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

Preacher 3x05: "The Coffin"

Cloak & Dagger 1x09: "Back Breaker"

Luke Cage 2x06: The Basement"

Wynonna Earp 3x02: "When You Call My Name"

In this episode, Karen and I talk about things like Wynonna Earp getting renewed for Season 4, getting a bunch of Preacher comic references on the TV series, the long-awaited debuts of John Wayne allegory The Duke and the Allfather D'Aronique, the Riddler's riddle about a cigarette lighter, Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London", Gran'ma's Pulp Fiction moment and Gollum Hair, Cassidy's vampire dating app Bite Me, Humperdoo's tapdancing, more of Karen confusing Evita with Elvira, that awkward moment when Brigid O'Reilly gets the crap kicked out of her by Connors in a cop bar and her fellow cops just stand around and watch, that awkward moment when Tyrone discovers that Father Delgado hit and killed a kid while driving drunk, Tandy using her hope-stealing powers as another drug, that awkward moment when Evita realizes Tandy is the second half of the Diving Pairing, that awkward moment when Liam steals Tandy's secret money stash, Luke and Piranha hiding out in an old theater, Piranha getting a backstory, Luke being slightly naive in trusting Bushmaster to fight fair, Luke's invulnerability not preventing him from drowning, Misty turning in her police badge and gun, Misty not just looking like RoboCop, Shades and Comanche revealing their close prison relationship, that awkward moment when Wynonna wakes up on the side of cliff face and hallucinates her mom, Waverly explaining to Wynonna where booby traps are...using her boobs, wondering if we've actually seen the last of Dolls, some Twitter feedback from Patrick Lugo and Ken from Chicago, the animated version of the Aquaman movie trailer, why you should bring your Kleenex boxes to Star Wars: Episode IX, and more!

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

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The Fandom Zone on Twitter -- @FandomZoneCast

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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 the Season One finale of Freeform's Cloak and Dagger, along with new episodes of Syfy's Wynonna Earp, AMC's Preacher, and Netflix's Luke Cage, right here on The Fandom Zone Podcast!

STAR WARS: EPISODE IX Cast Announced, Carrie Fisher to Appear

The Skywalker Saga is coming to an end.

StarWars.com has officially announced the cast for Star Wars: Episode IX, which begins filming at London’s Pinewood Studios on August 1, 2018.  J.J. Abrams will return to direct the final installment, co-writing the screenplay with Chris Terrio.

According to the announcement, the returning cast members include Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, and Billie Lourd.  New Episode IX cast members include Naomi Ackie, Richard E. Grant, and Keri Russell.  

In addition, veteran Star Wars actors Mark Hamill and Anthony Daniels will reprise their characters of Luke Skywalker (presumably as a Force ghost) and C-3PO, along with Billy Dee Williams, who will reprise his role as Lando Calrissian.

And thankfully, the role of General Leia Organa will once again be played by Carrie Fisher, using previously unreleased footage shot for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  "We desperately loved Carrie Fisher," said Abrams.  "Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us.  We were never going to recast, or use a CG character.  With the support and blessing from her daughter, Billie, we have found a way to honor Carrie’s legacy and role as Leia in Episode IX by using unseen footage we shot together in Episode VII."

Even better, composer John Williams, who has scored every chapter in the Skywalker Saga since the original Star Wars film in 1977, will return to score Episode IX, presumably his final Star Wars film.

Star Wars: Episode IX will be produced by Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Michelle Rejwan, and executive produced by Callum Greene and Jason McGatlin.  The crew includes Dan Mindel (Director of Photography), Rick Carter and Kevin Jenkins (Co-Production Designers), Michael Kaplan (Costume Designer), Neal Scanlan (Creature and Droid FX), Maryann Brandon and Stefan Grube (Editors), Roger Guyett (VFX Supervisor), Tommy Gormley (1st AD), and Victoria Mahoney (2nd Unit Director).

Star Wars Episode IX is currently expected to arrive in theaters on December 20, 2019.

THE FANDOM ZONE 147: "Blood Red and Going Down" is Up!

"Also, we're keeping your stripper bus." 

-- Wynonna Earp, Wynonna Earp: "Blood Red and Going Down" 

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

Preacher 3x04: "The Tombs"

Cloak & Dagger 1x08: "Ghost Stories"

Luke Cage 2x05: All Souled Out"

Wynonna Earp 3x01: Blood Red and Going Down"  (Season Premiere)

In this episode, Karen and I talk about things like our new show intro, Cassidy needing better quotes, Wynonna Earp using country songs as episode titles, Jesse pushing away the people he loves to keep them away from Gran'ma, Jesse and Cassidy having a type, Tulip wanting girlfriends, the Saint of Killers meeting the Devil, Satan wanting to keep his perfect record, Cassidy pulling a Hannibal Lecter move, finally getting to see Cloak wearing his cloak, women writers literally fridging a male character, the awkward dinner SNL sketch, Tandy making Tyrone's parents confront the anniversary of their other son's death, Tyrone pretending to be the ghost of his dead brother to get Connors to confess, Mariah obsessing over her new family center's opening, more love for MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This", Luke pointing out to Piranha that he bought a prison jumpsuit that wasn't his, Luke brushing off a selfie ninja, the Jonathan Harris Dr. Smith, Misty's new bionic arm, Wynonna acting like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the mystery of Wynonna's mom, Doc taking the loss of Alice even harder than Wynonna, Jeremy's Groucho Marx mustache, the mystery of the Contessa, Debra Winger in An Officer and a Gentleman, some new feedback from Justina, running down the news from San Diego Comic-Con 2018, and more!

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

Google Play Music -- HERE 

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Direct Download MP3s/Libsyn -- HERE

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The Fandom Zone on Twitter -- @FandomZoneCast

The Fandom Zone on Instagram (NEW!) -- HERE

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 Syfy's Wynonna Earp, AMC's Preacher, Netflix's Luke Cage, and Freeform's Cloak & Dagger, right here on The Fandom Zone Podcast!

THE FLASH Casts Chris Klein as Cicada

There's a new Big Bad coming to Central City.

During yesterday's Warner Bros. Television/DC TV at San Diego Comic-Con 2018, the creators and cast of The CW series The Flash announced that Chris Klein has been cast as David Hersch, better known to DC Comics fans as the supervillain Cicada.

According to Deadline, Cicada is described as "a grizzled, blue-collar everyman whose family has been torn apart by metahumans, Cicada now seeks to exterminate the epidemic — one metahuman at a time."

Klein, 39, is best known as Chris "Oz" Ostreicher in the American Pie films.  His other movies include Election, Rollerball (2002), We Were Soldiers, Just Friends, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, and Authors Anonymous.  In addition, he's appeared in episodes of the television series The Grinder, Raising Hope, Franklin & Bash, Wilfred, The Good Guys, and American Dad!

Created in 2001 by Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins, Cicada first appeared in The Flash (vol.2) #170 as David Hersch, a man who murdered his wife and sought to end his own life, when he was struck by a bolt of lightning.  He discovered that he had gained the ability to absorb the lifeforce of others, extending his lifespan almost a century.  He believed the accident was the same as Wally West's, the third Flash, and that they should be linked.  The lightning bolt gave him a vision of his own immortality and foretold the resurrection of his wife.  Over the following years, he operated as the cult leader Cicada, accumulating many followers planning for the day he would resurrect his wife.

The Cicada cult and its followers were dedicated to the murder of everyone that the Flash had ever saved using lightning bolt shaped daggers.  He teamed up with the Flash's ex-girlfriend Magenta and managed to kidnap him.  Cicada revealed to Wally that his wife was murdered and he was struck by lightning, giving him a powerful vision.  By taking the energy left over from all the people the Flash has saved and from the Flash himself, Cicada succeeded in bringing his wife back from the dead.

However, his wife revealed that Cicada had murdered her.  Cicada denied this and killed his wife once again by absorbing her energy through a kiss.  He was eventually stopped by the Flash, along with Keystone City Police Detective Jared Morillo and Officer Fred Chyre, but not before he managed to slash Morillo with his knife.  This gave Morillo the ability to heal rapidly from any injury, similar to Cicada's.

Cicada was put on death row in Iron Heights prison, pending confirmation by S.T.A.R. Labs that he could even be killed in the first place, but escaped during Gorilla Grodd's jailbreak.  Cicada later appeared at Captain Boomerang's funeral and accepted an invitation to join Alexander Luthor, Jr.'s Secret Society of Super-Villains during the event known as Infinite Crisis.

The Flash returns to The CW for Season 5 on October 9, 2018.

First AQUAMAN Trailer Teases Black Manta, Ocean Master & The Trench

Welcome home, Aquaman.

In addition to the first Shazam! trailer, the DC Films panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2018 also debuted the first trailer for Aquaman, the solo movie starring Jason Momoa as the classic DC Comics character.

The two-minute, 25-second trailer begins with a flashback to Aquaman's father Tom Curry during a stormy night at the Amnesty Bay lighthouse he operated.  "My father was a lighthouse keeper," says Aquaman in a voiceover as we see Aquaman's mother Atlanna (Nicole Kidman) wash ashore.  "My mother was a queen.  But life has a way of bringing people together."

We see Tom Curry and Atlanna growing close and having a child, Arthur Curry, who becomes Aquaman.  "You could unite our worlds one day," Atlanna says to baby Arthur.

We then see young Arthur at an aquarium, presumably during a school trip.  Some bullies come by to harrass him, with one bully saying, "Check it out, Arthur is talking to the fish."

The smaller Arthur tells the bullies to let him go, then suddenly, a large shark rams the aquarium tank, cracking it.  The bullies back away and Arthur raises his hand up toward the shark, feeling his telepathic powers.  "They made me what I am," the adult Arthur continues in a voiceover.

Next, we see Aquaman forcing his way into a submarine and attacking the armed men inside.  "Permission to come aboard?" he quips.

We cut to Mera (Amber Heard) arriving in Amnesty Bay and confronting Arthur.  "I've been looking for you," she says as we see Ocean Master (Patrick Wilson) removing his helmet.  "Your half-brother, King Orm, is about to declare war upon the surface world."

We then see Arthur driving a truck and watching as a large ship is brought towards him by a large tsunami, which envelops the entire coastline.  Mera continues in a voiceover, "The only way to stop this war is for you to take your rightful place as king."

"Trust me, I am no king," replies Arthur.

In a separate scene, Mera tells Arthur, "You do your best thinking when you're not thinking at all."

In a different scene, Aquaman replies, "That was the worst pep talk ever."

"You might want to strap in," says Mera as she brings Arthur in a small craft to Atlantis, an incredible undersea kingdom.  "Welcome home."

"My brother has come from the surface," Ocean Master tells a large crowd inside a form of gladiatorial arena, "to challenge me for the throne!"

"I call it an ass-whuppin'," Aquaman tells his half-brother.

As we see Aquaman raising a ship, we hear him say in a different scene, "I'm no leader.  I came because I have no choice.  I came to save my home and the people that I love."

"You think you're unworthy to lead because you come of two different worlds," Mera says in a voiceover as we glimpse the deadly creatures known as the Trench attacking a ship, "but that is exactly why you are worthy."

We see Aquaman's arch-enemy Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) removing his helmet, followed by the Fisherman King (Djimon Hounsou) and his royal family.  This is followed by shots of the Atlantean army and Black Manta blasting a stone tower with his eye beams in an attempt to kill Aquaman.

"A war is coming to the surface," says Ocean Master in a voiceover as we glimpse an amazing underwater battle, "and I am bringing the wrath of the Seven Seas with me."

In a final scene, we see Arthur and Mera inside a cargo plane flying over a desert.  Mera opens the side door and says "We're here" before jumping out of the plane.

"What are you doing?!" exclaims Arthur as he watches her jump.  The plane's pilot remarks, "She didn't have a parachute!"

"Redheads.  You gotta love 'em," replies Arthur to the pilot before jumping out of the plane to follow Mera, whooping with excitement.

If you'd like to view the trailer, you can check it out below thanks to the official Warner Bros. Pictures account on YouTube...



Aquaman is scheduled to arrive in theaters on December 21, 2018.

First SHAZAM! Trailer Introduces the World's Mightiest Mortal

Just say the magic word.

The DC Films panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2018 debuted the first trailer for Shazam!, based on the classic DC Comics superhero.  

The two-minute, 50-second trailer opens with a woman talking to young Billy Batson (Asher Angel).  "You've run from foster homes in six counties," she says.

"I can take care of myself," replies Billy as we see him stealing a car.

"When you're eighteen," she says gesturing to Victor Vázquez (Cooper Andrews) and his wife Rosa (Marta Milans), who are looking to foster the orphaned Billy.  "Give these people a chance, 'cause that's what they're giving you."

The Vázquezs bring Billy home and introduce him to their other foster children.  "This is Billy Batson," says Rosa.  "Make sure you make him feel at home."

Billy meets Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer), who is disabled.  "They seem nice," he tells Billy about the Vázquezs, "but don't buy it.  It gets real Game of Thrones around here."

Billy suddenly looks concerned and Freddy laughs.  "Dude, just messing around," he explains and smiles.  "You look at me and you're all like, 'Why so dark?  You're a disabled kid, you've got it all.'"

We see that Freddy has one of Batman's Batarangs as a souvenir, then follow the boys to school at Fawcett Central, where Freddy asks, "If you could have one superpower, what would you pick?  Everybody chooses flight, you know why?"

"So everyone can fly away from this conversation?" answers Billy.

"No, 'cause heroes fly."

We then see some bullies tormenting Freddy, forcing Billy to take them out with Freddy's crutch.  "Man, sorry about that," he quips.

The bullies chase Billy into the subway station, where he escapes on one of the subway cars.  Suddenly, we see the electronic destination sign glitching up with strange symbols and hear the voice of the wizard Shazam (Djimon Hounsou), who says, "Billy Batson.  I choose you...as champion!"

Billy, alone, steps through the opened doors into a strange cavern and encounters the wizard.  "Say my name so my powers may flow through you," commands the wizard.

"But I don't know your name, sir," replies Billy.

"Shazam," says the wizard.

Billy smiles and laughs.  "What, for real?"

"Say my name!" shouts the wizard.

"Okay!  Shazam?"  Suddenly, Billy transforms into an adult superhero (Zachary Levi) wearing a red and yellow costume with a white cape and hood.  He stares in awe at his adult form.

Billy returns home as Shazam, scaring Freddy in the process, and tells him he's Billy.  "You're the only person I know that knows anything about this caped crusader stuff," says Shazam.

Freddy asks Shazam if he can touch his glowing lightning bolt chest emblem and Shazam nods.  Electrical energy flows from the emblem into Freddy's fingers.  "That's crazy, right?" says Shazam.

"What are your superpowers?" asks Freddy.

"Superpowers?  Dude, I don't even know how to pee in this thing!"

Freddy and Shazam test out his strength and flight powers, although Shazam is only able to fly a small way before crashing back to Earth.  

Feeling a bit cockier, Shazam walks by several people and charges their cell phones with his electricity until he overdoes it on one phone and it starts sparking.

We then see Shazam confronting his arch-enemy, Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong).  "You're like a bad guy, right?" he says to Dr. Sivana, only to have Sivana grab his fist in mid-throw.

As Shazam, Billy and Freddy confront some robbers in a convenience store.  Shazam calls out to the robbers, who attempt to shoot him, only to find that the bullets are unable to penetrate Shazam's skin.

"You have bullet immunity!" shouts Freddy in excitement.

"I'm bulletproof," Shazam says in stunned amazement.

Freddy takes a cell phone picture and Shazam turns back to the robbers.  "You're dead," he says and throws them both through the store window into the parking lot outside.  "Sorry about your window!" Shazam yells to the clerk as he walks out with a six pack of bottled beer.  "You're welcome for not getting robbed!"

We then see him carrying a bunch of junk food outside the convenience store as a woman walks by and stares at him.  "Oh, hey, what's up?" says Shazam.  "I'm a superhero."

If you'd like to view the trailer, you can check it out below thanks to the official Warner Bros. Pictures account on YouTube...




Shazam! arrives in theaters on April 5, 2019.

STAR TREK: DISCOVERY Season 2 Trailer Teases Christopher Pike & Spock

The USS Discovery is about to have a little more fun.

During yesterday's CBS panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2018, CBS All Access revealed the first trailer for the second season of Star Trek: Discovery, featuring the first look at Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike and teasing the arrival of Spock.

The two-minute, 30-second trailer begins with a voiceover by Commander Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), who says, "We have always looked to the stars...to discover who we are.  And hidden there was a message, the secret made of space and time, visible only to those open enough to receive it."

We see Burnham wearing a spacesuit, sitting on the ground surrounded by wreckage of a facility or spacecraft.  She sees the blurry outline of a mysterious figure, and the screen abruptly cuts to black.

Next, we see the exterior shot of the Discovery encountering the USS Enterprise from the end of Season 1.  Inside the Discovery, Communications Officer Lt. Milton Richter (Christopher Russell) remarks, "Captain Christopher Pike request permission to come aboard."

Pike, wearing what appears to be a transitional Starfleet uniform similar to the original Star Trek series uniforms, beams aboard the Discovery, greeted by Burnham and Commander Saru (Doug Jones).  "Well, Commander, this is awkward," Pike begins, "but the best way to get into a cold stream is to jump right in.  "I'm here to take command of the Discovery under Regulation 19, Section C."  Saru and Burnham look at one another, wondering what the hell just happened.

As Saru and Burnham walk down a corridor with Pike and a couple of Pike's officers, Saru tells Pike, "Your directive is only instituted when an imminent threat is detected."

Pike replies, "Federation sensors picked up seven red bursts, spread out across more than 30,000 light years."  In a separate scene on the bridge, Pike tells the crew, "These mysterious signals are beyond anything we understand.  Is it a greeting?  A declaration of malice?  Let's find out."

"Aye, sir," replies Helmsman Lt. Kayla Detmer (Emily Coutts).

As the Discovery jumps to warp, we hear the song "Fly Away" by Lenny Kravitz and see Pike, Burnham and a third officer wearing spacesuits and drawing their phasers at three lights beamed at each officer.

In another scene, we see Operations Officer Lt. Joann Ososekun (Oyin Oladejo) say "Six seconds to impact!", followed by a shot of Pike in a small spacecraft trying to race through an asteroid field along with two other crafts.  "I am in total freefall," says Pike.

"Trust them," replies Burnham from a second craft.  "Discovery has you.  Right, ladies?"

Detmer and Ososekun nervously look over at one another.  "Uh...Yeah!" answers Detmer, while Ososekun replies, "Absolutely!"  "Oh, dear," remarks Saru.

We then see Ensign Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) excitedly shout, "It is the power of math, people!" before high-fiving Lt. Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp).  

In a different scene, Pike talks with Burnham.  "We have someone in common," he tells her.

"My foster brother," replies Burnham as we see a blue Science uniform similar to Pike's.  "Mr. Spock."

"He took leave.  It's as if he'd run into a question he couldn't answer."

Later, Burnham tells Saru, "Spock is linked to these signals...and he needs help."

In another scene, Burnham tells new character Jet Reno (Tig Notaro), "We're on a collision course with a pulsar."

"Oh, what a relief," sighs Reno.  "I thought we were all gonna die."

We then hear Pike say in a voiceover, "Wherever our mission takes us, we try to have a little fun along the way.  Ruffle a few feathers."

"I look forward to it," replies Burnham.

In a final scene, Linus, a new Saurian crewmember of the Discovery, is waiting in a turbolift as Burnham, Saru, Pike, and Pike's two officers enter.  Burnham looks at Linus with concern and says "Linus, you okay?  You look a little --"

Linus gestures to his throat, indicating that it's sore.

"Yes," Burnham replies sympathetically.  "I hear it's going around."

Linus abruptly turns and sneezes on Pike's science officer.

"Bless you," says Pike politely.

If you'd like to check out the new trailer, you can view it below thanks to the official Star Trek account on YouTube...




Star Trek: Discovery returns to CBS All Access for Season 2 in Early 2019.

IRON FIST Casts Alice Eve as Typhoid Mary

Iron Fist is about to catch a case of Typhoid fever.

During yesterday's Iron Fist panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2018, Marvel Television head Jeph Loeb announced that Alice Eve will play the supervillain Typhoid Mary in the Netflix show's upcoming second season.

When asked about appearing in Season 2, Eve responded, "What I loved about it was that it was very, very violent.  But the reason that I took the role was because I got to play someone with multiple personalities."

Eve, 36, is best known as Carol Marcus in the movie Star Trek Into Darkness, and has appeared in the movies Men in Black 3, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, Sex and the City 2, She's Out of My League, The Raven, Criminal, and The Decoy Bride.  Her other television appearances include episodes of Black Mirror, Entourage, Robot Chicken, and Agatha Christie's Poirot.

Created in 1988 by Ann Nocenti and John Romita, Jr., Typhoid Mary first appeared in Daredevil (vol.1) #254 as Mary Walker, a woman whose condition was accidentally caused when Matt Murdock had tracked a villain down to the brothel where Mary worked.  Matt attacked the man, but surprisingly, the girls working there came after him.  Panicking, Matt lashed out, knocking Mary out of a nearby window.  It was at this moment she somehow became "Typhoid Mary" and vowed no man would ever hurt her again.  In later appearances, however, she would imply that she was a victim of child abuse.

Suffering from dissociative identity disorder, Mary Walker has three other abnormal personalities in addition to her seemingly healthy one.  Her "Mary" personality is a timid, quiet pacifist, while her "Typhoid" personality is adventurous, lustful, and violent.  Her "Bloody Mary" persona is brutal, sadistic and a misandrist.  Mary once claimed that there was a fourth personality who is "lost" but has not since been mentioned.  Aside from highly developed martial arts skills, she also possesses telekinetic powers and pyrokinesis.

In her first appearance, she met Murdock, and was hired as an assassin by the Kingpin.  She then battled Daredevil, while beginning a romance with Murdock.  She temporarily reverted to her "Mary" personality, but then reverted to her "Typhoid" personality, and began a romance with the Kingpin.  She hired Bullet, Bushwacker, Ammo, and the Wild Boys to attack Daredevil, and then personally led these criminals against the blind vigilante.

At some point after the superhuman Civil War's events, she was found by Henry Peter Gyrich and recruited into the Initiative program as "Mutant Zero", although her identity as Typhoid Mary was kept secret from her teammates.  Gyrich revealed that Mutant Zero was a mutant that not only remained empowered following M-Day, but one that was not included in the official record of the remaining mutants.  Technically not existing in any official capacity, her true identity was made classified.  According to Dr. Leonard Samson, Mutant Zero was still mentally unstable and referencing any of her other identities could lead to a period of instability.  Mutant Zero was brought into the Shadow Initiative (the Initiative's black ops team), but she could only be activated once per mission due to her mental instability.

During the event known as Shadowland, Typhoid Mary answered Daredevil's call for superpowered people to join The Hand in providing martial law for an ever-increasing area of New York City.  She claimed that her time in the Initiative was successful in integrating her fractured mind, but Daredevil did not believe her.  Following the war, the Kingpin used secret code words to activate her fourth personality, revealing that she was an inside agent who was ignorant of her "true" goal all along.

Eve will be the second actress to portray Typhoid Mary in live-action, after Natassia Malthe in the 2005 film Elektra.  The character has also appeared in the animated series Avengers: Secret Wars, voiced by Tara Strong.

Iron Fist returns to Netflix for Season 2 on September 7, 2018.

DC Universe TV Series STARGIRL Announced at SDCC 2018

DC Universe is reaching for the stars.

Deadline is reporting that the upcoming streaming service DC Universe is developing a Stargirl TV series, based on the young DC Comics superhero.  The series, debuting in 2019, will be thirteen episodes and will be written and executive produced by Geoff Johns, who co-created the character and based her on his deceased sister Courtney.

According to the article, the new series, will feature "high school student (Courtney) Whitmore, (who) bands together with the Justice Society of America to fight villains, past and present."

"Obviously, Stargirl was the first character I created for DC," said Johns.  "Most important, Courtney Whitmore was inspired by my sister who passed away.  To have an opportunity to tell a story celebrating this superhero was literally the first thing I wanted to do because it is so personal to me.  Also, a character that speaks to being young, to a legacy and to pushing forward seems so important to me nowadays."

The series is the sixth DC Comics adaptation in development for DC Universe, after the animated series Harley Quinn and Young Justice: Outsiders, and the live-action series Titans, Doom Patrol and Swamp Thing.

Announced during a spotlight panel on Johns during San Diego Comic-Con 2018, the series will be produced by WBTV, Johns’ Mad Ghost Productions and Berlanti Productions.

Created in 1999 by Geoff Johns and Lee Moder, Stargirl first appeared in DCU Heroes Secret Files #1 as Courtney Whitmore, the stepdaughter of Pat Dugan, who once worked with the original Star-Spangled Kid, Sylvester Pemberton, as his crimefighting partner Stripesy.  Courtney found the original Star-Spangled Kid's gear in her stepfather's belongings and donned the costume to annoy Dugan, resenting his marrying her mother and moving the family from Los Angeles to Blue Valley, Nebraska.  Dugan, a skilled mechanic, designed and built S.T.R.I.P.E., a robotic suit that he used to accompany and protect her.

Courtney later joined the Justice Society of America, and after being given Starman Jack Knight's cosmic staff, she changed her identity to Stargirl.  She soon discovered her biological father (Sam Kurtis) working as a common thug for an incarnation of the Royal Flush Gang.  They later confronted one another during one of the Royal Flush Gang's robberies.  Courtney was later approached by the Shade, who informed her that her biological father was dead.  This tragedy, and her experience of the relationship between Liberty Belle and Jesse Quick, prompted her to re-evaluate her family life.  She realized that she couldn't hate her biological father for his failings as a father and as a man, and also learned to accept Pat Dugan as her only real father figure.

In the current New 52 continuity, Stargirl joined the new Justice League of America, chosen by Amanda Waller as the public face of the JLA's PR campaign.  After the disbandment of the JLA following the Forever Evil crossover event, Stargirl joined Justice League United.

The character has previously appeared in live-action, played by Britt Irvin in several episodes of the WB/CW series Smallville, and Sarah Grey in the CW series Legends of Tomorrow.  The character has also appeared on the animated series Justice League Unlimited (voiced by Giselle Loren), Batman: The Brave and the Bold (voiced by Hope Levy), and Justice League Action (voiced by Natalie Lander).

DOCTOR WHO Debuts New Series 11 Trailer at SDCC 2018

If the Thirteenth Doctor asks really, really nicely, would you be her new best friend?

During the Doctor Who panel inside Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con 2018, incoming Thirteenth Doctor Jodie Whittaker was joined by Tosin Cole (Ryan Sinclair), Mandip Gill (Yasmin Khan), incoming showrunner Chris Chibnall, and executive producer Matt Strevens to engage Whovians and debut a new trailer for Doctor Who Series Eleven.

The 50-second trailer opens with the Thirteenth Doctor abruptly waking up with heavy breathing as her voiceover says "All of this is new to me...new faces...new worlds...new times..."

We see fleeting images of new companions Ryan, Yaz and Graham (Bradley Walsh), followed by what appears to be wreckage of a spacecraft on an alien world.  The Doctor and her companions are shown climbing a sand-covered hill and running through a set of empty army barracks in the 1950s.

"...so if I asked really, really nicely," continues the Doctor, "would you be my new best friends?"  We see the Doctor clutching her head in agony, followed by the four time-travelers standing in what appears to be a 1950s motel parking lot.

We then glimpse the Doctor, shortly after her regeneration, wearing goggles and using some form of two-pronged blowtorch.  This is followed by Ryan and another person using flashlights/torches, the Doctor looking through a mail slot, people riding on horseback, the Doctor and her companions admiring a seascape on a world with three suns, Ryan being blinded by car headlights, the Doctor using her new Sonic Screwdriver, the Doctor running from some sparking hatch doors, and the Doctor with some other people looking shocked at something they saw at night.

Lastly, we get a brief scene of the Doctor, shortly after her regeneration, wearing some form of industrial apron and drawing some plastic sheeting closed.  "Right?" she says with a grin.  "This is gonna be fun!"

If you'd like to view the new trailer, you can check it out below thanks to the official Doctor Who account on YouTube...




Doctor Who is expected to return to BBC America for Series 11 sometime this fall.