GHOSTWOOD 033: "Dual Spires" is Up!

"Dude, do you know they make silent window shades?  Some woman in Washington invented them back in the early '90s." 
"Since when is the sound of opening and closing shades so disruptive that it needs to be alleviated?"
-- Shawn Spencer and Burton "Gus" Guster, Psych: "Dual Spires" 

It is happening again...My co-host with the most Xan Sprouse and I are back with a new episode of Ghostwood: The Twin Peaks Podcast!  This time, we're joined by special guest Karen Lindsay from The Fandom Zone Podcast to review "Dual Spires", the 2010 Twin Peaks tribute episode of the USA series Psych, featuring Twin Peaks actors Sheryl Lee, Sherilyn Fenn, Ray Wise, Dana Ashbrook, Lenny Von Dohlen, Robin Lively, and Catherine Coulson.

LET'S ROCK!

In our latest episode, Xan, Karen and I discuss things like me being totally outnumbered by my podcast co-hosts, Karen and Xan's background with Psych, my big scheduling fails, the rumor that Gus on Psych was Kenny from The Cosby Show, Psych making really obscure Twin Peaks references, remembering the late Pamela Gidley, Ray Wise recurring on Psych, Julee Cruise's version of the Psych theme, Paula Merral vs. Laura Palmer, the freaky "Is it future or is it past?" moment with "I Love How You Love Me" by the Paris Sisters, Dana Ashbrook homaging Ray Wise as Leland Palmer, Xan and Karen's mutual fondness for Lenny Von Dohlen, Catherine Coulson as the Woman with Wood, Betty Boop Night at the Roadhouse, 2 x 4s not actually being 2 x 4, Father Westley's hair turning white, Psych being the gold standard for pop culture references, Karen's thoughts on Kyle MacLachlan hosting Saturday Night Live, Xan and I hating Chads before Incels, Karen and I scaling back our Fandom Zone show reviews, Mark Harmon in Summer School, wanting everyone to keep my mom in your thoughts, 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

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Be sure to come back in two weeks as Xan and I discuss the 1990 Saturday Night Live sketch parody of Twin Peaks featuring host Kyle MacLachlan, along with other Twin Peaks shoutouts in pop culture!  Look for more of Ghostwood: The Twin Peaks Podcast on iTunes, YouTube, Libsyn, and the official Southgate Media Group website!

DAREDEVIL Casts Wilson Bethel as Bullseye

Here's hoping this casting is on target.

That Hashtag Show has revealed that the Netflix series Daredevil, based on the Marvel Comics superhero, has cast Wilson Bethel as Daredevil's most dangerous enemy, the assassin known as Bullseye.

Bethel was cast for the series in November, although it was originally reported he would "portray an FBI agent who will play a critical role in the conflict between Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk, better known as Daredevil and Kingpin respectively."

He joins new Season 3 actors Jay Ali as an fellow FBI agent named Ray Nadeem, and Joanne Whaley as Matt’s mother, Sister Maggie.  The season is expected to adapt the storyline "Born Again", by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli.

Bethel, 34, is probably best known as Wade Kinsella on The CW series Hart of Dixie.  In addition, he's appeared in episodes of How to Get Away with Murder, Criminal Minds, The Astronaut Wives Club, Bates Motel, The Young and the Restless, NCIS, JAG, and The O.C.

Created in 1976 by Marv Wolfman and John Romita, Sr., Bullseye first appeared in Daredevil (vol.1) #131 as Lester, who grew up in The Bronx, where he lived with his brother and his abusive father.  His brother's main form of recreation was playing with rifles, leading Bullseye to become an expert shot.  When he was 10 years old, his brother started a fire in their home in an unsuccessful attempt to kill their father.  Shortly thereafter, Bullseye was placed in a foster home, and became a baseball player in high school.  Bullseye was an extremely talented pitcher, and was offered a scholarship, but instead opted to enter the minor leagues.  After three games, he was called up to play a sold-out Major League game. He had surrendered no hits the entire game, and in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, he became bored and requested the coach pull him from the game.  The coach refused, and insisted that he finish the game. The opposing team's batter mocked him, accusing him of cowardice.  Bullseye threw the ball at his head, killing him.  As the ball struck, he said only one word: "Bullseye".  He was barred from professional baseball and convicted of manslaughter.

His cold demeanor and unique skills, however, meant subsequent recruitment by the National Security Agency as an assassin was inevitable.  He was soon assigned to train Contras in Nicaragua, but by the time he arrived, he claimed to have already been planning to leave the NSA.  He had planned on robbing the Contras blind and fleeing, but soon discovered they were desperately poor.  After leading the Contras in seizing a landing strip that the Colombian cocaine smugglers were using as a staging area before moving on to the United States, Bullseye planned to invite several organized crime heads to the airfield to broker a new deal with him.  He took their money, but before the deal could be finalized, the Punisher (Frank Castle) arrived.  Castle killed all the organized crime leaders in a fiery explosion from which Bullseye barely escaped.  The two engaged in a fierce battle, where Bullseye used some blood-reddened mud to paint a bull's-eye on his forehead, mocking Castle's inability to hit him.  The fight concluded when Drug Enforcement Administration agents arrived, and the Punisher fled.  Bullseye turned himself in to the D.E.A. agents and soon was assigned to infiltrate the Kingpin's criminal empire.  He obtained a costume, fled once again, and became one of the most dangerous hitmen in the world.

Bullseye soon battled (and defeated) Daredevil at a circus in order to establish his reputation as an extortionist.  Shortly after, Daredevil by chance overheard him in the midst of an extortion attempt and captured him.  Bullseye was later hired by Maxwell Glenn to kill Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson, until Daredevil interfered.  Although Bullseye defeated him again, Daredevil escaped with his life, and Bullseye's professional reputation was damaged as a result.  Seeking to regain his credibility, he challenged Daredevil on live television, but was soundly defeated.

While in prison, he learned that the Kingpin had employed a new chief assassin named Elektra, Daredevil's former lover.  After escaping prison, Bullseye attacked Elektra and impaled her on her own sai. This failed to convinced the Kingpin, who said he would only rehire him if he killed Daredevil.  Bullseye attempted to ambush Daredevil, but their battle ended with Daredevil dropping him from atop a telephone wire.  The multi-story fall broke Bullseye's back, paralyzing him.  During Bullseye's extended hospital stay following the fall, Daredevil broke into his hospital room and forced him to participate in a two-man variation on Russian roulette.  The revolver used in the game was secretly unloaded, but Daredevil had Bullseye take the even-numbered turns so that he would feel sure that the last shot was going to kill him.  Bullseye has repeatedly cited this incident as his greatest grudge against Daredevil.

Japanese scientist Lord Dark Wind liberated Bullseye and brought him to Japan, where he laced his bones with adamantium, thus restoring his mobility.  Lord Dark Wind did this so that Bullseye would work for him as an assassin in return, but in spite the favor done for him, Bullseye refused to work for free.  He instead made another play to regain the position of chief assassin for the Kingpin, who again said he would give him the position if he killed Daredevil, knowing he would fail.  He was lated hired by the villain Mysterio to attack and confuse Daredevil.  In the course of their battle, Bullseye killed Daredevil's longtime love interest, Karen Page, with one of Daredevil's own billy clubs.

Bullseye eventually made his way back to Hell's Kitchen and arrived at Shadowland, Daredevil's fortress, where he was confronted by Daredevil and a legion of Hand ninjas.  Bullseye was unprepared for his enemy's newfound ruthlessness, as Daredevil dislocated both his shoulders and then stabbed him through the heart with his own sai, in much the same way Bullseye had killed Elektra years before.  Daredevil later exhumed Bullseye's corpse, intending to resurrect him as a soldier loyal to the Hand, but the ceremony was interrupted by various superheroes, preventing Bullseye's resurrection.  It was later revealed that Bullseye was still barely alive as his body disappeared after the battle, but due to his injuries he became an invalid who had to rely on a metal lung in order to survive.  To get revenge, he was revealed to be the mastermind behind Klaw, Coyote, and Ikari's actions against Daredevil.  He was later found by the hero, who defeated Ikari and Lady Bullseye.  The warehouse where they were was subsequently destroyed, and Bullseye was nearly drowned in radioactive waste, leaving him scarred and blind.

This will be the second time the character will appear in live action, after Colin Farrell in the 2003 movie Daredevil.

Daredevil Season 3 is expected to be released on Netflix sometime in 2018.

TITANS Spinoff DOOM PATROL Gets Series Order from DC Universe

DC's strangest heroes are finally getting their own series.

Deadline has word that the upcoming digital service DC Universe has given a straight-to-series order for Doom Patrol, based on the DC Comics superteam.  The live-action drama series has received an order for 13 episodes and will spin out of the events of the Titans TV series.

The Doom Patrol is expected to debut in the fifth Titans episode, "The Doom Patrol", written by Geoff Johns.  The spinoff series should star Bruno Bichir as The Chief, April Bowlby as Elasti-Girl, Dwain Murphy as Negative Man, and Jake Michaels as Robotman.

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, Swamp Thing and Metropolis. 

According to the article, Doom Patrol is described as "a re-imagining of the beloved group of outcast superheroes: Robotman, Negative Man, Elasti-Girl and Crazy Jane, led by modern-day mad scientist Dr. Niles Caulder (The Chief).  The Doom Patrol’s members each suffered horrible accidents that gave them superhuman abilities — but also left them scarred and disfigured. Traumatized and downtrodden, the team found purpose through The Chief, who brought them together to investigate the weirdest phenomena in existence — and to protect Earth from what they find. Part support group, part Super Hero team, the Doom Patrol is a band of super-powered freaks who fight for a world that wants nothing to do with them."

In addition, the series will pick up "after the events of Titans, Doom Patrol will find these reluctant heroes in a place they never expected to be, called to action by none other than Cyborg, who comes to them with a mission hard to refuse, but with a warning that is hard to ignore: their lives will never, ever be the same."

Supernatural's Jeremy Carver will write and executive produce the series with Geoff Johns (Titans), Greg Berlanti and Berlanti Productions’ Sarah Schechter.  Berlanti Productions will produce in association with Warner Bros. Television.

Created in 1963 by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani, The Doom Patrol first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80 as a team of super-powered misfits brought together by Dr. Niles Caulder, a.k.a. The Chief, to protect the innocent and fight crime, and to teach humanity to accept others who live as ostracized "freaks," who have been radically transformed from terrible accidents.  Eventually, tragedy struck when the Doom Patrol's enemies, the Brotherhood of Evil, threatened a small New England fishing village.  The Patrol members opted to sacrifice themselves to save the innocents, and were killed in an explosion.

Although initially believed to have been killed by Madame Rouge, Cliff's brain had survived. Will Magnus, the robotics expert who created the Metal Men, recovered Cliff's brain and built him a new body.  Cliff then joined a new Doom Patrol headed by a woman claiming to be Caulder's wife, Arani.  Refusing to believe that Niles was dead, she formed this new team to search for him and took his place as leader, calling herself Celsius, due to her heat-and-cold-based powers.  This new Doom Patrol was eventually almost all killed in action, with the exceptions of Cliff, Tempest, Negative Woman, and Rhea Jones (who remained comatose).  Caulder had turned up alive by this time, and denied having been married to Arani, although he admitted having known her.

Cliff voluntarily committed himself to an asylum, having fallen into a state of depression due to his condition and the loss of his teammates.  In particular, he was angry about being in a metal body and unable to enjoy the feeling and senses that humans take for granted. Caulder sent Magnus to try to help Cliff, and he introduced Cliff to a person with "worse problems than [his]", a woman called Crazy Jane.  It was soon revealed that the Chief secretly caused the "accidents" which turned Cliff, Larry Trainor, and Rita Farr into super beings.  The Chief stated he caused them to gain their powers (or in the case of Robotman, destroyed his original body in order to obtain his brain to put into his robot body) because of his hatred for them.  He felt they were spoiled and narcissistic and shallow individuals, and that by turning them into "freaks," he could "improve" them as human beings.  He further revealed that he lied about not being married to Celsius, whom Caulder claimed was insane/lying about being married to him) out of anger.  He was upset over how the experiments performed on her (like with Elasti-Girl) only gave her super-powers and did not turn her into a freak.  When Tempest and Robotman found out his role in "creating" Robotman, Elasti-Girl, and Negative Man, Tempest was killed and Robotman paralyzed. Having been exposed as a villain, Caulder planned to unleash nanobots into the world, hoping to create a catastrophe that would "improve" humanity, regardless of the carnage it would cause.  However, Caulder's plan was hijacked by the Candlemaker, a violent cosmic horror who was freed by Dorothy Spinner in exchange for him resurrecting Tempest (whom Candlemaker killed once again).  Candlemaker then decapitated Caulder and sought to use the nanobots to enslave humanity.  Dorothy, Crazy Jane and Robotman (freed by the former two) defeated the Candlemaker.

In the current DC Comics continuity known as "The New 52", the Doom Patrol went on a mission to capture the Ring of Volthoom, which had attached itself onto a woman named Jessica Cruz.  Their mission put them in opposition of the Justice League.  However, it was revealed by Lex Luthor that Caulder caused the team's respective accidents, forcing them to lose morale and give up.  It is also revealed that Caulder poisoned an entire fishing village as part of an experiment, and cured the residents only after Luthor discovered the truth and threatened to expose him.

This will be the first time the Doom Patrol will have their own television series, although they've appeared in various animated projects, including the Teen Titans animated series, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, the DC Nation animated shorts, and a cameo in the animated film Justice League: The New Frontier.

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

BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC is Most Official, Alex Winter & Keanu Reeves to Return

Strange things are afoot once again at the Circle K.

In a most triumphant article, The Hollywood Reporter has word that the long-discussed third Bill & Ted movie, Bill & Ted Face the Music, is officially in pre-production and will feature the return of Alex Winter as Bill S. Preston, Esq. and Keanu Reeves as Ted "Theodore" Logan.

According to the article, original creators Chris Matheson (Imagine That) and Ed Solomon (Men in Black, Mosaic, Now You See Me) have written the script, with Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest, Red 2, Fun With Dick and Jane) confirmed as director.  Scott Kroopf (Limitless) will produce the movie together with Alex Lebovici and Steve Ponce of Hammerstone Studios, with Steven Soderbergh serving as an executive producer alongside Scott Fischer, John Ryan Jr. and John Santilli.

Bill & Ted Face the Music will reportedly "see the duo long past their days as time-traveling teenagers and now weighed down by middle age and the responsibilities of family.  They’ve written thousands of tunes, but they have yet to write a good one, much less the greatest song ever written.  With the fabric of time and space tearing around them, a visitor from the future warns our heroes that only their song can save life as we know it.  Out of luck and fresh out of inspiration, Bill and Ted set out on a time travel adventure to seek the song that will set their world right and bring harmony in the universe as we know it.  Together with the aid of their daughters, a new crop of historical figures, and some sympathetic music legends, they find much, much more than just a song."

MGM owns the rights to the film and will release it in the U.S. under its Orion Pictures banner, while Bloom is handling international sales, which commenced in Cannes.

Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves said in a joint statement, "We couldn’t be more excited to get the whole band back together again.  Chris and Ed wrote an amazing script, and with Dean at the helm, we’ve got a dream team!"

Bloom's Alex Walton remarked, "Fans of Bill and Ted have been waiting for Reeves and Winter to reunite since their last Bogus Journey in 1991. This is excellent!"

Created in 1989 by Matheson and Solomon, Bill and Ted made their debut in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, where they attended high school in 1988 San Dimas, California as slackers and are told they will fail their high school history class if they don't achieve a good grade on their reports.  Ted's father threatens him with military school in Alaska if he failed, which would end Bill and Ted's dreams of success with their band, Wyld Stallyns.  In 2688, humanity has built a utopia thanks to the music and wisdom of Bill and Ted.  A man named Rufus traveled back in time to 1988 using a time machine disguised as a telephone booth to ensure that Bill and Ted pass their class.  Gathering various historical figures, they returned to the present to deliver their presentation that received a standing ovation and allowed them to pass the class.

In the 1991 sequel, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, the music of Bill and Ted's band, Wyld Stallyns, was detested by Chuck De Nomolos, who stole one of the time-traveling phone booths and sent two robots modeled after Bill and Ted back to the late 20th century to prevent Bill and Ted from winning the San Dimas Battle of the Bands.  Evil Bill and Evil Ted arrived eventually replaced Bill and Ted, killing them by throwing the two over the side of a cliff at Vasquez Rocks.  While posting as the real Bill and Ted, the robots behaved rudely to their fiancées and worked to ruin the duo's fame.  Bill and Ted's souls were met by Death, who challenged them in a game for their souls and eventually returned them to Earth.  After defeating De Nomolos and reuniting with their fiancées, they realized they were still terrible musicians and used the time booth for "an intense 16 months of guitar training plus a two week honeymoon".  Before returning to their original point of departure, they married the princesses and are raising young infants named "Little Ted" and "Little Bill".  They began to perform a stunning rock ballad, joined by Death, and Wyld Stallyns' music was played across the globe, creating harmony.

DAMN Good Movies -- AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

You guessed it, I'm back once again with another movie take, this time on the movie Avengers: Infinity War, the nineteenth film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  As always, if you haven't seen the movie yet and you don't want it spoiled for you, then please step back from your computer or whatever electronic device you're reading this on and stop reading now. If, however, you're wise enough to know that movie reviews with spoilers are always more interesting than the ones without them...well...time to assemble!

It's all been leading to this.  Eighteen Marvel Cinematic Universe films introducing and connecting various Marvel characters, all with the ultimate goal of having the Marvel superheroes and assorted supporting characters finally face the looming threat of Big Bad supervillain Thanos.  Directors Anthony and Joe Russo and screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who earned their geek cred with the stellar Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War films, loosely based the film on Jim Starlin's The Infinity Gauntlet comic series and elements from Jonathan Hickman's Infinity event series.  Oh, and there was only the ridiculous expectations of millions of MCU fans to consider as well.

Believe it or not, though...they pulled it off.

The film opens with Thanos and his Black Order lieutenants — Corvus Glaive, Ebony Maw, Cull Obsidian, and Proxima Midnight — intercepting the spaceship carrying the survivors of Asgard's destruction after the events of Thor: Ragnarok.  Having already acquired the Power Stone from the planet Xandar, Thanos extracts the Space Stone from the Tesseract that Loki nicked when everyone wasn't looking.  Eyepatch Thor is taken out, and Thanos beats the unholy hell out of the Hulk (!!!) and kills Loki, traumatizing thousands of weeping Hiddlestoners in the process.  Before being taken off the board as well, Heimdall sends the Hulk to Earth using the Bifröst.  Thanos and the Black Order depart, and the ship is obliterated.

So right off the bat, we see that Thanos isn't playing around and neither are the Russos.  Two longtime characters dead, and the two strongest Avengers thrown around like they were nothing.  All before you've made a dent in your bag of popcorn.

The Hulk crash-lands into Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum in New York, reverting to Bruce Banner.  He warns Strange and his assistant Wong about Thanos' plan to kill half of all life in the universe, so Doctor Strange decides maybe bringing in Tony Stark would be a good idea.  Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian arrive to get the Time Stone from Strange's Eye of Agamotto, with their big, wheel-shaped spaceship tingling the Spider-Sense of Peter Parker.  During a brutal friendly neighborhood battle, Ebony Maw captures Doctor Strange, but fails to take the Time Stone due to an enchantment.  Iron Man and Spider-Man pursue Ebony Maw's spaceship as it leaves orbit, while Banner splits to contact Steve Rogers, and Wong decides he's staying behind to guard the Sanctum.  Smart move, Wong.

Meanwhile in Scotland, Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive ambush the Vision and the Scarlet Witch in order to retrieve the Mind Stone from Vision's forehead.  Steve Rogers (Don't call him Captain America), Black Widow and The Falcon rescue them and hide out with War Machine and Bruce Banner at the Avengers Compound.  Vision offers to sacrifice himself by having the Scarlet Witch destroy the Mind Stone to keep Thanos from getting his oversized mitts on it.  Steve suggests they go to Wakanda, where he believes has the resources to remove the Mind Stone without destroying the Vision and is a very popular place these days.

At this point, with most of the film's major players revealed, anyone who hasn't seen at least 3/4 of the MCU movies is probably going to feel a bit lost.  It becomes all too apparent that Avengers: Infinity War is the advanced class for Marvel fans, and the Russos make no apology for it.  They give only the barest explanations for who all these characters are, and plow straight ahead, expecting everyone watching to know their MCU lore back to front.

We go into the Second Act with the Guardians of the Galaxy responding to a distress call from the Asgardian ship and giving the movie a much-needed humor boost.  They find and rescue Thor, who guesses that Thanos wants the Reality Stone, which is in the possession of the Collector on Knowhere.  The group splits up, with Rocket and Groot accompanying Thor to Nidavellir, where they and a giant Dwarf named Eitri create an enchanted axe hammer called Stormbreaker that's capable of killing Thanos.  On Knowhere, Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, and Mantis find Thanos with the Reality Stone already in his possession.  Ruh-roh!  Thanos kidnaps Gamora, his adoptive daughter, who reveals the location of the Soul Stone to save her captive adoptive sister Nebula from torture.  Thanos and Gamora head to a planet called Vormir, where we're stunned to find the Red Skull, of all people, is now the keeper of the Soul Stone.  The Red Skull informs Thanos that the stone can only be retrieved by sacrificing someone he loves, so Thanos reluctantly sends Gamora over a cliff, granting him the Soul Stone and delivering another big death.

Nebula escapes her captivity and asks the remaining Guardians to meet her on Thanos' homeworld, Titan.  Iron Man and Spider-Man kill Ebony Maw (as "heroes" do these days) by ejecting him from his ship, and rescue Doctor Strange.  Landing on Titan, they meet Star-Lord, Drax, and Mantis, and there's some quippy banter as Tony Stark and Peter Quill butt heads to become the alpha.  The group forms a plan to remove Thanos' Infinity Gauntlet,  after Doctor Strange uses the Time Stone to view millions of possible futures, seeing only one in which Thanos loses, so...no pressure.  Thanos arrives, justifying his plans as necessary for the survival of a universe threatened by overpopulation.  The big plan actually put Thanos on the ropes...until Nebula realizes that Thanos killed Gamora.  As you might expect, Star-Lord flips out and goes after Thanos, breaking their hold on him, who then overpowers everyone.  D'oh!  Doctor Strange surrenders the Time Stone in exchange for Thanos sparing Iron Man, because remember, he saw all those possible futures, and Thanos heads for Earth to finish off his jewelry set.

It's time for the Third Act and boy, is this one a doozy.  In Wakanda, Steve Rogers reunites with his ol' pal the Winter Soldier before Thanos' army of Outriders invades.  This group of Avengers, alongside the Black Panther and bunch of ready-to-throw-down Wakandans, mount a defense while the Panther's sister Shuri scrambles to extract the Mind Stone from Vision. Banner, unable to transform into the Hulk because the Hulk's a'scared, is forced to fights using Iron Man's Hulkbuster armor.  Just when the battle starts to go south, Thor, Rocket, and Groot arrive as reinforcements.  Proxima Midnight, Cull Obsidian, and Corvus Glaive are killed and their Outrider army is defeated.  The victory is short-lived, however, as Thanos arrives.  Despite the Scarlet Witch's attempt to destroy the Mind Stone, Thanos retrieves the stone from the Vision, destroying him in the latest gut-punch.  Thor severely wounds Thanos, but Thanos uses his now-complete Infinity Gauntlet and teleports away.

And then, everyone (especially the audience) sees the ramifications of what just happened.  With Thanos' plan all kinds of winning, half of all life across the universe starts disintegrating in a series of horrific moments.  One by one, fan favorites like the Winter Soldier, the Black Panther, Groot, the Scarlet Witch, the Falcon, Mantis, Drax, Star-Lord, Doctor Strange, and even Spider-Man are taken off the board.  Iron Man and Nebula remain on Titan while Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Black Widow, Okoye, War Machine, M'Baku, and Thor are left on the Wakandan battlefield wondering what the hell just happened.  Meanwhile, on some other planet, Thanos finally kicks back and rests in satisfaction as the credits start rolling, and millions of voices in movie theaters all over the world suddenly cry out in terror and are suddenly silenced.

As expected, the film's ginormous cast give some great performances, with some entertaining and emotionally powerful character moments.  Here are some of the things that stood out:

IRON MAN/TONY STARK -- We may be seeing the final two-part ride for Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man.  In this film, Tony still has some residual PTSD issues from the first Avengers film and some wedding issues with Pepper Potts to work out, but his best moments come when he views Peter Parker as he son he'll never have.  This, of course, makes Peter's disintegration at the end so powerful.

STEVE ROGERS -- Chris Evans isn't going by his Captain America handle this time, as anyone who saw Captain America: Civil War can understand.  Regardless, Steve is still very much the hero and leader we need him to be, and gets a great moment when he's defiantly struggling and pushing back against Thanos, for all the good both know it will do.

THOR ODINSON -- Fresh off the events of Thor: Ragnarok, Chris Hemsworth's Thor is still being played more for laughs as he was there.  He gets some fun moments meeting the Guardians of the Galaxy, but it's his acquisition of Stormbreaker that I find more intriguing.  Does this mean we could finally see Beta Ray Bill?

HULK/BRUCE BANNER -- Mark Ruffalo finally gets to be more active in a Marvel movie than his big, green alter ego.  After having the gamma rays kicked out of him by Thanos, the Hulk is now refusing to come out and play, even with Puny Banner becoming angry.  This movie is probably a big letdown for Hulk fans, so hopefully The Strongest One There Is gets off the bench early in Avengers 4.

BLACK WIDOW/NATASHA ROMANOFF -- For some reason, Scarlett Johansson is sporting her natural blond hair this time as Black Widow.  Sure, it can be easily explained away as a dye job while she's being a fugitive from justice, but why wouldn't Natasha just wear a wig instead?  And more importantly, why wouldn't Johansson at least wear a red wig if she didn't want to dye her hair this time?  Thanos, would you mind fixing this with your Infinity Gauntlet, because this is obviously really important.

THANOS -- Josh Brolin has been playing Thanos in post-credit cameos since 2014 and finally gets to step up as the Big Bad.  Interestingly, Thanos ditches the armor he's typically known for, presumably in an attempt to make the character more relatable and less like a throwaway CGI villain like Steppenwolf in DC's Justice League movie.  A good villain sees themself as a the hero of the story, and Thanos certainly does that, even when erasing half the population of the universe from existence.

BLACK PANTHER/T'CHALLA -- It seems a little weird to see Chadwick Boseman here as Black Panther while his insanely popular solo film is still making money in movie theaters.  Regardless, it's still great to see T'Challa leading Okoye, M'Baku and the other Wakandans into battle in a sequence that feels like the Marvel Comics version of Lord of the Rings.

DOCTOR STRANGE/DR. STEPHEN STRANGE -- Benedict Cumberbatch is still waiting for Doctor Strange 2 to be greenlit, so it was nice to see him be a major player in this movie.  Strange has a great moment with Spider-Man that makes me want to see them do a Marvel team-up at some point.

SPIDER-MAN/PETER PARKER -- And speaking of our friendly neighboorhood wall-crawler, Tom Holland seems more comfortable in the role with each movie he does.  Peter finally gets his Iron Spider suit from Tony this time and gets some good Spidey quips in, but it's his disintegration moment that proves most powerful.  We see Peter as just a scared kid that doesn't want to die and the moment is truly heartbreaking, even though common sense tells us Marvel isn't about to let Spider-Man go after fighting to get him back all these years.

THE FALCON/SAM WILSON -- Anthony Mackie's Falcon is one of the more underused Avengers.  He gets some good action scenes, but nothing truly notable, even his disintegration.

SCARLET WITCH/WANDA MAXIMOFF -- As the Scarlet Witch, Elizabeth Olsen gets to explore a little romance with the Vision this time.  Her biggest moment comes when Wanda has to set aside her love and try to destroy the Mind Stone, but of course, far too late.

THE VISION -- Paul Bettany gets a little character development this time, with the Vision taking on hair and a more human appearance (presumably so Bettany wouldn't always be in hours of makeup).  He also proves his selflessness by being willing to risk losing himself with the destruction of the Mind Stone.

WAR MACHINE/JAMES "RHODEY" RHODES -- As Rhodey, Don Cheadle is another underused Avenger, but he does get a fun moment where he tricks Bruce Banner into needlessly bowing before Black Panther.

THE WINTER SOLDIER/JAMES "BUCKY" BARNES -- Sebastian Stan's Bucky is finally reunited with his longtime friend Steve Rogers, which I'm sure made the Stucky shippers squee with delight.  Even better, Bucky gets a new bionic arm and some solid action scenes during the Outriders battle.

STAR-LORD/PETER QUILL -- Chris Pratt's Star-Lord never changes, nor should he.  As the MCU's Han Solo, Star-Lord gets into an alpha male contest with Tony Stark, but you just want to smack Quill upside the head when he flips out on Thanos and lets him break free.

GAMORA -- As Thanos' adoptive daughter, Zoe Saldana finally gets to explore the connection between the two characters.  We even get to see how Thanos met Gamora as a small child after wiping out her mother and her entire race.  She even gets a big death scene moment, arguably the biggest of the movie if you don't count Thanos wiping out half the universe.

DRAX THE DESTROYER -- Dave Bautista's Drax finally gets to attempt some vengeance on Thanos for the murder of his wife and child, but of course, it doesn't lead anywhere.  

ROCKET RACCOON -- Bradley Cooper has some fun moments with mopey teenaged Groot this time and gets to hang out with Thor for a bit, but for those paying attention, Rocket is now the sole surviving Guardian of the Galaxy.  I'm sure he's not going to take that well in the next Avengers movie and I can't wait to see what happens.

GROOT -- Groot fans wanting to see everyone's favorite living tree back to normal get some progress, but we're still not there yet.  Vin Diesel is now voicing the character as a sulky teen obsessed with his retro hand-held video game, which is cute for a couple of scenes, but I'm ready to see adult Groot again.

MANTIS -- Pom Klementieff only really gets to shine as Mantis when she and the other Guardians recover Thor in space, but she does help with the big attempt to subdue Thanos and take his Infinity Gauntlet, for all the good it does.  Way to go, "Star-Lord"...

NEBULA -- As Thanos' other adoptive daughter, Karen Gillan's Nebula spends most of the movie being tortured and stretched apart by Thanos.  She does make her escape though, and if you've read The Infinity Gauntlet, you know how important she might be in Avengers 4.  Definitely a character to watch very closely next time.

EITRI -- I have to think Peter Dinklage took some joy in playing a character who's a giant, even though he's considered a Dwarf.  As Eitri, he gets to craft a new hammer for Thor to use and any fan of Walt Simonson's Thor comics run had to be smiling when he was on the screen.

THE COLLECTOR/TANELEER TIVAN -- Benicio del Toro's reprises the Collector once again, but this time as an illusion created by Thanos using the Reality Stone.  We're not really sure if he's actually dead or not, but it's implied that Thanos killed him before the Guardians of the Galaxy arrived at Knowhere.

OKOYE -- As one of the big highlights of the solo Black Panther movie, Danai Gurira's Okoye gets to help T'Challa lead the Wakandan forces into battle against the Outriders, and her eyeroll is strong when Bruce Banner faceplants while running in the Hulkbuster armor.

SHURI -- Another highlight from the Black Panther movie was Letitia Wright as Shuri, who practically stole every scene she was in.  Here, she has a fun moment being a science geek with Bruce Banner before she is forced to scramble attempting to remove the Vision's Mind Stone before Thanos arrived.

WONG -- Also waiting for the Doctor Strange 2 greenlight, Benedict Wong's Wong (Yes, I know what I just typed) gets to use his typical deadpan humor to great effect.  You also have to respect Wong for having the sense to deliberately sit this one out and stick to his responsibilities.

LOKI LAUFEYSON CAMEO -- As Loki once again, Tom Hiddleston tries to pull a fast one on Thanos in the opening sequence, only to end up dead in the film's first shocking moment.

HEIMDALL CAMEO -- Idris Elba only gets one scene in the movie as Heimdall, but it's a big one as Heimdall is killed after sending the Hulk to Earth.  

RED SKULL CAMEO -- The Walking Dead's Ross Marquand takes over for Hugo Weaving as Captain America's arch-enemy, who turns up unexpectedly on Vormir as the keeper of the Soul Stone.  Now that he doesn't have the Soul Stone, maybe he should return to Earth and be Captain America's main bad guy again?  Just sayin'.

OBLIGATORY STAN LEE CAMEO -- Stan "The Man" turns up as a school bus driver taking Peter to school, only for Peter to duck out to investigate the arrival of Ebony Maw's spaceship.

NICK FURY AND MARIA HILL CAMEOS -- Samuel L. Jackson and Cobie Smulders appear in the post-credits scene, where Nick Fury transmits a distress signal just in the nick of time (See what I did there?) as he, Maria Hill and others also disintegrate.  The transmitter displays a yellow star insignia of Captain Marvel on a red-and-blue background, so be sure to go see her movie.

All in all, Avengers: Infinity War actually lives up to its insane amount of hype.  The film is essentially The Empire Strikes Back of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, bringing everything fans love only to end on a brutal downbeat cliffhanger.  While we wait for the big Cosmic Reset Button to be pushed in Avengers 4 (Quick, go read The Infinity Gauntlet to find out how), the big question is, will that film stick the landing better than Return of the Jedi did?  Well, at least there shouldn't be any Ewoks...although that could be kind of amazing and Disney does own both franchises...Hmmm...

And for those who may be wondering, here's the updated list of my Top 20 Comic Book Films:

1. Superman (1978)
2. The Dark Knight (2008)

3. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

4. The Avengers (2012)

5. Batman Begins (2005)

6. Logan (2017)

7. Captain America: Civil War (2016)

8. Black Panther (2018)

9. Man of Steel (2013)

10. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

11. Doctor Strange (2016)

12. Wonder Woman (2017)

13. Spider-Man 2 (2004)

14. Spider-Man (2002)

15. Iron Man (2008)

16. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
17. Watchmen (2009)
18. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

19. Thor (2011)

20. Justice League (2017)

TITANTALK 005: "Spotlight on Starfire" is Up!

Starfire: "Hi, Robin.  You know you're really cute?"
Kid Flash: "Huh?  She talks?  But -- how --?"
Starfire: "Physical contact, Kid Flash.  I simply absorbed your language!"
Robin: "Y-You had to kiss me to do that?"
Starfire: "Not really.  But it was certainly more enjoyable this way."

-- The New Teen Titans (vol.1) #2: "Today...The Terminator!"

That's right, my fellow TitanTalker Jesse Jackson and I are back with another new episode of TitanTalk: The Titans Podcast!  

TITANS TOGETHER!

In this fifth episode, Jesse and I discuss human and alien romances, Starfire's rivalry with her sister Blackfire, the dichotomy of Koriand'r being an alien beauty and a fierce warrior, Starfire's willingness to kill her enemies, Starfire learning English by kissing Robin, Kory being forced to marry Karras to stop a civil war on Tamaran, Starfire and Blackfire being experiment upon by the Psions, Nightwing and Starfire's wedding fail, Starfire and Cyborg becoming mentors to the Geoff Johns era Teen Titans, Starfire teaming up with Red Hood and Arsenal in the Outlaws, Kory getting her own series and setting up in Key West, Starfire leading the DC Rebirth era Teen Titans, Starfire being featured in the upcoming Justice League Odyssey series by Scott Snyder, the controversial Titans location filming photos showing Anna Diop as Starfire and Ryan Potter as Beast Boy, Anna Diop's classy response on Instagram to the social media hate speech she's received, the recent casting of Conor Leslie as Wonder Girl/Donna Troy, the passing of our friend and old school TitanTalker Lindy Whitmore, and more!

If you'd like to check out episodes of TitanTalk, you can find us on...

iTunes -- RIGHT HERE

Direct MP3 downloads/Libsyn --  RIGHT HERE

TitanTalk's Facebook page

TitanTalk's Twitter account

Be sure to come back next month for Episode 006 as Jesse and I discuss more news from the upcoming DC Universe series Titans!  Look for more of TitanTalk: The Titans Podcast on iTunes, Google Play Music, YouTube, Libsyn, and the official Southgate Media Group website!

DC Universe Service Developing SWAMP THING Drama Series

Do not bring your evil here, I warn you.  Beware the wrath of...Swamp Thing!

Deadline has word that the upcoming DC Universe digital service has given a script-to-series order for the drama series Swamp Thing, based on the DC Comics swamp monster and plant elemental.

The series is the fifth DC Comics adaptation in development for DC Universe, after the animated series Harley Quinn and Young Justice: Outsiders, and the live-action series Titans and Metropolis. 

According to the article, Swamp Thing "centers on CDC researcher Abby Arcane.  When she returns to her childhood home of Houma, Louisiana, in order to investigate a deadly swamp-borne virus, she develops a surprising bond with scientist Alec Holland — only to have him tragically taken from her.  But as powerful forces descend on Houma, intent on exploiting the swamp’s mysterious properties for their own purposes, Abby will discover that the swamp holds mystical secrets, both horrifying and wondrous — and the potential love of her life may not be dead after all."

Swamp Thing will be written by Mark Verheiden (Ash vs. Evil Dead) and It co-writer Gary Dauberman.  They will serve as executive producers with Atomic Monster’s James Wan and Michael Clear, while Rob Hackett serves as co-producer.

Created in 1971 by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson, Swamp Thing first appeared in House of Secrets #92 as Alex Olsen, a scientist in the early 20th century who was caught in a lab explosion caused by his co-worker, Damian Ridge, who intended to kill him to gain the hand of Olsen's wife, Linda.  Olsen was physically altered by chemicals and the forces within the swamp.  He was transformed into a monstrous creature who killed Ridge before he could murder Linda, who started to suspect Ridge of murdering Alex.  Unable to speak and with his monstrous appearance, he was unable to make Linda realize his true identity, and he returned to the swamp.

In 1972's Swamp Thing (vol.1) #1, Wein and Wrightson updated the time frame to the 1970s and featured a new version of the character -- Alec Holland, a scientist working in the Louisiana swamps on a secret bio-restorative formula "that can make forests out of deserts."  Holland was killed by a bomb planted by agents of the mysterious Mr. E (Nathan Ellery), who wanted the formula.  Splashed with burning chemicals in the massive fire, Holland ran from the lab and fell into the muck-filled swamp, after which a creature resembling a humanoid plant appeared.

In 1984, writer Alan Moore reworked Swamp Thing's origin to make him a true monster as opposed to a human transformed into a monster.  The Sunderland Corporation hunted Swamp Thing and "killed" him in a hail of bullets.  The subsequent investigation revealed that Swamp Thing was not Alec Holland transformed into a plant, but actually a form of plant life that had absorbed Holland's body and created a "copy" of his form and consciousness after exposure to his serum, with Swamp Thing's appearance being the plants' attempt to duplicate Holland's human form.  This resulted in Swamp Thing suffering a temporary mental breakdown and identity crisis, but he eventually reasserted himself in time to stop the latest scheme of the Floronic Man.  Later, Moore revealed that there had been dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Swamp Things since the dawn of humanity, and that all versions of the creature were designated defenders of the Parliament of Trees, an elemental community also known as "the Green" that connects all plant life on Earth.

This will be the second live-action Swamp Thing television series, after the first series that aired from 1990 to 1993 on USA Network starring Dick Durock as Swamp Thing.

Swamp Thing is expected to debut on DC Universe sometime in 2019.