Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Charles Murphy

  • DC Studios Latest Streaming Project Brings the Legion of Doom One Step Closer to the DCU

    DC Studios Latest Streaming Project Brings the Legion of Doom One Step Closer to the DCU

    As the all-new, all-different DCU continues to add projects to its upcoming lineup, fans continue to search for clues as to the nature of whatever large-scale crossover project its first chapter, Gods and Monsters, is building toward. Originally intended to be comprised of at least 10 projects, all of which DC Studios’ co-chairs James Gunn and Peter Safran had hoped to release by the end of 2027. While nothing is impossible, with many of those projects facing developmental delays, it’s likely the goal posts have moved. And so has the composition of the slate.

    With projects such as The Brave and the Bold, Paradise Lost and Waller coming together slowly, other projects have jumped them in the queue. Though the DCU’s Batman has yet to be cast, director James Watkins‘ Clayface looks to be tasked with introducing the DCU’s Gotham and, perhaps, its villains. And the latest project to be announced, the Superman spinoff DC Crime, will also serve as a way to introduce additional DC supervillains into the DCU.

    According to prior reports, DC Crime–which will feature Skyler Gisando‘s Jimmy Olsen–will be an anthology that would feature the character as he investigates supervillains for the Daily Planet. The first season of the fictional true crime series, written by Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault, will reportedly feature Gorilla Grodd, a classic Flash baddie but also a key member of a group of villains that might just show up down the road.

    First introduced in ABC’s Challenge of the Superfriends in 1978, the Legion of Doom has since appeared across multiple mediums and become a staple of supervillainy for DC. Originally assembled by Lex Luthor, the Legion consisted of 13 baddies from the rogues galleries of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash and Green Lantern. Gorilla Grodd is indeed counted as one of the original 13 and is the third member of the Legion set to pop up in the DCU, joining Luthor and Green Lantern villain Sinestro, who will be played by Ulrich Thomsen in Lanterns.

    With Gunn’s next film in the Superman Saga, Man of Tomorrow, seemingly set to introduce Brainiac and theories that Superman‘s secondary villain, Ultraman, might return to the DCU as a Bizzaro-ized Supes dupe, the number of LoD members could climb quickly. Thinking out loud, additional members such as Toyman, Scarecrow, Riddler and Captain Cold could easily be introduced in future seasons of DC Crime, leaving just a few characters such as Black Manta, Giganta, Cheetah and Solomon Grundy for other projects (looking at you, Waller).

    Given what we know about Gunn‘s sensibilities, it seems reasonable to wonder if he was a fan of Challenge of the Superfriends; if so, it’s possible he’s planning to continue to find ways to work the characters into the DCU ahead of what could be an incredible big screen crossover featuring the Justice League and the Legion of Doom, complete with a Hall of Doom hidden in Slaughter Swamp. It wouldn’t be the weirdest choice…

  • ‘American Vandal’ Creators Set to Deliver DC Studios’ First Streaming ‘Superman’ Spinoff

    ‘American Vandal’ Creators Set to Deliver DC Studios’ First Streaming ‘Superman’ Spinoff

    Ahead of the July launch of the all-new, all-different DCU, the Wall Street Journal reported that a pair of streaming series intended to spin out of Superman were in development. According to the Wall Street Journal, a pair of series featuring Superman’s pal, Jimmy Olsen, and Mister Terrific were being considered by DC Studios’ co-chairs James Gunn and Peter Safran.

    Less than two weeks later, with Superman  having been a hit with audiences and critics alike, DCU Leaks revealed that the Olsen-centric spinoff was moving forward. According to the report, Skyler Gisando was set to repeirise therole of Jimmy Olsen in an anthology that would feature the character as he investigated supervillains for the Daily Planet. Now trade reports have come through with more information on the series which will indeed move ahead.

    According to THR, Gisondo will star in DC Crime, “a fictional true crime series set in the DC Universe.” The project will be created by Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault, the creators of “the critically-acclaimed Netflix show American Vandal, which spoofed the true crime genre.”

    Variety’s report also revealed that the first season of the show will feature Gorilla Grodd, a member of Flash’s Rogues Gallery. Grodd is a hyper-intelligent, telepathic gorilla from the hidden African community of Gorilla City. The original lore, from back in The Flash #106 (1959), says an alien meteor gifted him and his people super-intelligence and psychic powers.

    Grodd isn’t just strong (and he is ridiculously strong—he can trade blows with people like Wonder Woman and Superman). His telepathy is his real ace in the hole. He can straight-up take over the minds of others. The Flash has a fast brain, but Grodd has a powerful one. He’s also a brilliant schemer, which is why he’s consistently a founding member or a major player in groups like the Secret Society of Super-Villains and the Legion of Doom. He brings the brains and the brute force.

    Grodd, whose presence in the series was originally revealed by Jeff “The In” Sneider, was already seen Creature Commandos. Appearing in a vision of the future where he aligned with the Pokolistan army to take out metahumans, Grodd looked to be set up as one of the DCU’s biggest bads.

    Source: THR

  • ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ May Feature the Return of the MCU’s Greatest Villain

    ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ May Feature the Return of the MCU’s Greatest Villain

    Given the return of Anthony and Joe Russo to Marvel Studios to direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, fans have imagined that the films will have quite a bit in common with Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. In some instances, fans believe Chris Evans‘ role in the film will be directly tied to the actions of Steve Rogers in the epilogue of Endgame. In other instances, fans believe the structure of the films will imitate the structure of the directing duo’s last Marvel films.

    Speculation around the latter has led to the idea that Avengers: Doomsday will open will open with an impressive display of the powers of Doctor Doom, played by Robert Downey Jr.. If that is indeed the case, nothing would hit harder than taking out the big bad of the Infinity Saga and in a brand new video, the actor behind the big bad has teased that may be the play.

    In an interview with ET, Thanos actor Josh Brolin teased his potential return as Thanos, perhaps setting up the inclusion of an epic moment from Jonathan Hickman‘s Secret Wars #8.

    If Joe Russo comes to me, which he may have, I don’t know, and has an idea, then I might acquiesce.

    -Josh Brolin

    Plenty of rumors have surfaced over the last year that Brolin’s Thanos may replace Jonathan Majors‘ Kang as Marvel Studios looked to replace the character after the actor’s legal issues.

    After being introduced in a relatively minor role in James Gunn‘s Guardians of the Galaxy, Thanos became the central villain of what came to be known as the Infinity Saga. With Brolin on board to bring Thanos to life, Marvel Studios did the unthinkable by making a villain the protagonist of Avengers: Infinity War. As the Avengers learned in that film, there’s no more dangerous foe than Thanos, the Mad Titan. And though they had some measure of revenge against him and were able to defeat another Variant of the villain in Avengers: Endgame, Earth-616 was forever changed because of his machinations and was left without several of its mightiest heroes. Simply put, although the Avengers avenged, Thanos won.

    Bringing Brolin back as Thanos would be more than a flippant cameo. Sepending on how it’s done, Thanos’ appearance in Doomsday wound instantly establish the new pecking order in the MCU, elevatimg the threat of Doom.

  • Marvel’s Angel of Death Reportedly Set to Appear in Upcoming Streaming Series

    Marvel’s Angel of Death Reportedly Set to Appear in Upcoming Streaming Series

    While most folks might not even know that a team of heroes known the Great Lakes Avengers exist in the Marvel Universe, some of those that do might think of the group of oddballs count among their number some of the most powerful heroes found on Earth-616.

    In 2017, Freeform began development on a New Warriors series that would have seen a couple members of the GLA make their way into what would certainly have been considered a non-canon project similar to Runaways and Cloak and Dagger. While the series never got off the ground, one character from it, Mister Immortal, made a cameo appearance in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. And now, a new rumor suggests he’ll soon be joined in the MCU by another incredibly powerful member of the Great Lakes Avengers, the most wonderfully dysfunctional government-recognized super-team based out of Wisconsin.

    According to social media’s busiest bee, My Time To Shine Hello, OG GLA member Doorman will appear in Marvel Television’s Wonder Man.

    Doorman, Doorman, does whatever a door can.

    When you’re talking about Marvel Comics’ Doorman, you’re talking about one of the great punchlines—and then one of the great cosmic surprises—of the entire Marvel Universe.

    The Great Lakes Avenger

    Doorman, real name DeMarr Davis, made his debut back in West Coast Avengers #46 (1989), a John Byrne creation who, on the surface, seemed like a joke waiting to happen. DeMarr is a mutant, but not one who could level a city block or fly at Mach 5. His initial power? He could turn his body into a portal that connects two parts of the same room, essentially letting people pass through him to get to the other side of a solid object.

    Yes, that’s right. He’s a human door. Highly situational, right?

    Despite his seemingly limited powerset, DeMarr remains one of the team’s most cynical and long-suffering members, constantly comparing their low-stakes adventures and general incompetence to the “real” Avengers.

    An Angel of Death

    Here’s where the story gets a whole lot more interesting—and a lot less funny.

    His mutant ability isn’t just “turning into a door”; it operates by tapping into the Darkforce Dimension, the same spooky, interdimensional energy source used by characters like Cloak and the Darkforce user known as Deathurge.

    In a surprisingly dark twist for a GLA member, Doorman was killed by the cosmic villain Maelstrom. However, his connection to the Darkforce got the attention of the cosmic entity Oblivion–the personification of all that will not be. Oblivion resurrected DeMarr, not as a hero, but as his new Angel of Death.

    His new gig as a psychopomp—a guide for souls—came with a massive power upgrade:

    • Supernatural Durability and Intangibility.
    • Light-Speed Flight (often on ethereal skis—still a punchline, but a fast one).
    • Darkforce Constructs. So like Green Lanterns but with Darkforce.
    • The ability to sense and interact with the spirits of the dead.
    • A major increase in his intelligence and cosmic awareness.

    Despite being a servant of Oblivion, Doorman managed to keep one foot in the world of the living, occasionally returning to his friends in the GLA. He’s a character who combines low-brow comedy with genuinely high-stakes, cosmic responsibility, making him a unique figure in the Marvel lineup.

    MTTSH gave no further details on Doorman’s role in Wonder Man but it does seem unlikely he’ll be  major character in the series. Interestingly, actor J.E. Burton is listed in IMDB as having an unknown role in Wonder Man and bears at least a passing resemblance to Doorman. We’ll all find out together when Wonder Man streams on January 27, 2026.

  • New Details Emerge on Chris Evans Role in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

    New Details Emerge on Chris Evans Role in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

    With Collider having apparently confirmed that a trailer for Avengers: Doomsday will indeed be attached to Avatar: Fire and Ash, some sense can start to be made of the recent rash of leaks, scoops and spoilers about the 2026 film. If a trailer is to be ready for mid-December, footage has been seen by people outside of the Russo brothers, explaining why info has begun to trickle out.

    Word of how the final incursion will go down and lead into the creation of Battleworld, Doctor Doom’s monstrous appearance and a potential scrap between Captain Marvel and Monica Rambeau all made the rounds recently as the trailer date draw near. Now, word from a trusted source has provided details on what to expect from Steve Rogers.

    According to insider Daniel Richtman, Chris Evans, whose role in the film has yet to be officially confirmed by Disney, Evans will be appearing in Avengers: Doomsday as Nomad.

    Though Evans‘ Rogers has never officially gone by the moniker of Nomad, the Russos began his journey as the character in Avengers: Infinity War. The studio began developing a Nomad solo project starring Evans in 2020, though for a number of reasons, it never made it into production. According to former Marvel Studios screenwriter Beau DeMayo, the project examined how the actions of Steve Rogers in Avengers: Endgame created a branch of reality in which Howard Stark became an evil, Hydra Iron Man and that the studio planned to take inspiration from the novel and Netflix streaming series The Man in High Castle. That would likely have been set during an alternate, dystopian post-World War II era in which Hydra achieved its goals of world domination.

    It’s unclear just how large of a role Evans will have in Doomsday, but it sounds as though he will be toting Mjolnir and sporting a new outfit and it certainly makes sense that his actions from Endgame will have repercussions in the new Avengers film.

  • WB Greenlights ‘Gremlins 3’ for 2027 Release with Original Writer Set to Direct

    During a November 6th investor call, CEO and president of Warner Bros. Discovery David Zaslav announced that the movie production arm of the company is moving for forward with a new installment in its Gremlins franchise.

    According to Zaslav, Gremlins 3 will be directed by Harry Potter franchise and Home Alone director Chris Columbus, who wrote 1984’s Gremlins, and Steven Spielberg set to produce.

    The original film spawned a 1990 sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch but despite rumors over the years, a new film had yet to come together. According to THR, Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein (Final Destination: Bloodlines) have been tasked with writing the screenplay for the film.

    Source: THR

  • Leaked Promo Art Reveals Upgraded ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Costumes Hit the Mark in Season 2

    Leaked Promo Art Reveals Upgraded ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Costumes Hit the Mark in Season 2

    In early May, photos from the New York City set of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 revealed an unexpected team-up as Matt Murdock and Bullseye were spotted together, presumably working together to take down Wilson Fisk.

    Upon closer look, the photos also showed off updates costumes for both characters, with Daredevil’s black suit garnering the most attention. However, Wilson Bethel‘s Dex was also sporting new threads, though the details were tough to see well given it was a night shoot. Thanks to some new promo shots, that’s no longer an issue.

    X user @variablelace, who recently released some unused promo shots from Season 1, has shared shots of Dex and Daredevil, providing detailed looks at their new gear.

    https://twitter.com/variablelace/status/1986158574691914129?t=t5u6BFa5YBLLYJRPcC57qA&s=19

    In the case of Dex, the lines on the neck are a subtle nod to the far more outlandish Bullseye costume from the comics. Would Marvel dare go so far as to put the mask on Bethel, going full comic book?

    https://twitter.com/variablelace/status/1985551748887457997?t=eYMgjzVPFOBWtZ40XmmjLg&s=19

    Cox‘s black suit will certainly draw a lot of praise, though it’s just another repaint of the old Netflix suit. However, it’s black which somehow stokes the fire of “dark and gritty” segment of the fanbase.

    Season 4 of Netflix’s Daredevil Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again is set to hit D+ on March 4th, 2026.

  • Marvel Reportedly Set to Place Controversial Character Front and Center in the Mutant Saga

    Marvel Reportedly Set to Place Controversial Character Front and Center in the Mutant Saga

    For over two decades, Hugh Jackman has been the face of live-action X-Men films. After leading Fox’s original X-Men trilogy and a Wolverine trilogy and appearing in cameos across other Fox films, Jackman brought Wolverine into the MCU in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine. The ending of Deadpool & Wolverine seemed to make it fairly clear that the heroic duo’s story had another chapter and in late 2024, a report indicated that Marvel hoped to keep Jackman on in the role beyond its rumored plans for him in Avengers: Secret Wars.

    The potential return of Jackman has already raised concerns that Marvel Studios will continue shining the spotlight on Wolverine, relegating other traditional X-Men big timers to the shadows as Fox often did. Among that group, none were done as dirty as Scott Summers. Portrayed in Fox’s films by both James Marsden and Tye Sheridan, Cyclops never rose to the same heights as his comic book counterpart, who was one of Stan Lee’s favorite characters and has undergone a wonderful and transformative journey in the comics. And a new report claims that Marvel Studios has decided that Scott Summers’ story will be at the center of its Mutant Saga.

    According to longtime industry insider Kristian Harloff, Cyclops and the Summers family “will be the focus of the new mutant saga.“

    While the move might initially stir controversy, if planned and executed correctly, a Summers-centric saga would allow for Marvel Studios to introduce numerous characters either underutilized or unused by Fox AND tell some of Marvel Comics greatest X-Men stories.

    Mister Sinister is rumored to be one of two main villains Marvel hopes to unleash in the Mutant Saga, set to kick off in 2028 with director Jake Schreier‘s youth-focused X-Men film, and his fascination with the Summers bloodline would indeed make him the perfect antagonist for a Cyclops-centric arc. Keeping Cyclops at the center also allows for the Starjammers, the Shi’ar and the Imperial Guard and the Mutant Messiah, Hope Summers, to organically enter the MCU. And given the quality of the comic book stories featuring those characters, that could only be a net positive as Marvel moves away from the roller coaster ride that has been the Multiverse Saga.

  • Review: ‘Predator: Badlands’

    Review: ‘Predator: Badlands’

    Since acquiring Lucasfilm in 2012, fans have largely lamented Disney’s efforts to create feature films in George Lucas Star Wars universe. With 2015’s The Force Awakens, Star Wars super fan J.J. Abrams was supposed to provide a new hope for the franchise, launching a sequel trilogy intended to reestablish the Skywalker Saga as a global brand. And while Episode VII had plenty of nostalgia, heart and energy, the lack of a planned, cohesive narrative for the new trilogy led to unprecedented polarization among the fanbase, earning Abrams another star on his franchise-ruining sash.

    Since acquiring 20th Century Studios from Fox in 2019, fans have largely lauded Disney’s efforts to create new projects in the Predator universe. Under Dan Trachtenberg, whose feature film directorial debut came ironically on the Abrams-produced 10 Cloverfield Lane, the Predator franchise has evolved along a very divergent path than the Star Wars franchise, making it, perhaps, Disney’s premiere sci-fi action property.

    Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) in 20th Century Studios’ PREDATOR: BADLANDS film. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

    After Shane Black‘s soulless The Predator put the series on life support in 2018, Trachtenberg resuscitated the property, beginning with 2022’s Prey and continuing with this year’s animated anthology, Killer of Killers. The latter effort made clear that the seeds of a wide-ranging Yautja mythology sown in 1990’s Predator 2 took root in the young mind of Trachtenberg, growing into a lush and savage garden of possibilities.

    From that garden, emerged Predator: Badlands, the very conceit of which is among the most bold moves any sci-fi franchise has ever made. Expertly crafted, both visually and narratively, Trachtenberg‘s third installment in the franchise balances beauty and brutality through the lens of the ugliest mother fuckers in the galaxy. Trachtenberg‘s decision to set Dex, an outcast Yautja runt, as the protagonist of the film borders on mad science but, against tall odds, it worked. You son of a bitch!

    (L-R) Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) and Thia (Elle Fanning) in 20th Century Studios’ PREDATOR: BADLANDS film. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

    Unlike Alien–another former Fox franchise that’s been given new life since being acquired by Disney–the Predator franchise under Trachtenberg‘s watch is not afraid to take chances. Fede Alvarez‘s solid Alien: Romulus played as an homage to prior installments in the franchise, carefully curated to not stray too far from what fans expected while also hoping to be a steady onboarding point for new viewers. From its opening scene, set on the predators homeworld of Yautja Prime, Predator: Badlands, eschews nostalgia, and comfortable tropes, foregoing the underlying structure of a “Predator movie.” And then, when you least expect it, it becomes a “Predator movie” again in all the best ways.

    Outlandishly, the result of Trachtenberg‘s choices in crafting Predator: Badlands is a film that could (perhaps) rightly be described as John Rambo carrying C-3P0 on his back and hanging out with Paddington while fighting the Kaiju from Pacific Rim. And it works! It works so well that Badlands will undoubtedly find itself in the discussion with Predator and Prey as the best in the franchise.

    Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi as Dek in 20th Century Studios’ PREDATOR: BADLANDS film. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

    The film allows Trachtenberg to continue the exploration of Yautja culture that he began in Killer of Killers and that’s ultimately the engine that makes the film run so smoothly. Coming into the film, fans should have a rudimentary understanding of what these monstrous hunters are all about; and if you didn’t, little time is wasted making clear how Yautja clans deal with weakness and failure. As Dek’s journey unfolds, the audience rides a parallel rail to the protagonist. Just as Dek must betray his nature in order to survive,  so must the audience’s conditioning be subverted in order to see the layers woven into the film’s narrative tapestry.

    Ultimately, Predator: Badlands offers audiences the opportunity to have an incredibly good time at the movies, meshing action with emotion without a single human character being seen on screen. It’s an incredible accomplishment for the genre, as is having the film’s protagonist speak only in his native Yautja, never uttering a word of English. Like Dek,  Predator: Badlands shouldn’t be able to stand toe-to-toe with the heavy hitters of its own franchise, much less the genre. But like Dek, it stands defiant of expectations, daring you to challenge it.

  • New Rumor May Reveal  Details on the Final Incursion and a Key Location Introduced in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

    New Rumor May Reveal  Details on the Final Incursion and a Key Location Introduced in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

    With principal photography in Avengers: Doomsday having wrapped and additional photography not expected to get underway until early 2026, directors Anthony and Joe Russo have had time to get the post-production process started, pulling the movie together out of the hours and hours of footage. On top of that, rumors persist that the directing duo is helping to prepare a trailer for the film, with the expectation of it running ahead of Avatar: Fire and Ash. While that hasn’t been confirmed by Marvel Studios (and likely won’t be anytime too soon), it is sensible and the emergent rumors about what it might include have seemed reasonable as well.

    Without another Marvel flick in theaters until Spider-Man: Brand New Day next July, the studio will want to make sure a first look at Avengers: Doomsday makes a splash. New details about the rumored trailer make it sound as though it will do just that.

    Following up on word that Robert Downey Jr‘s Victor Von Doom will be a full-blown Universal monster in the film, longtime insider Kristian Harloff has shared a new batch of details on the trailer and the film.

    According to Harloff, the final incursion that leads to the destruction of the Multiverse will include three worlds. And after Doomsday arrives, a key new location will be created: Battleworld.

    In the 2015 Marvel Comics event Secret Wars, the patchwork reality knownas Battleworld was created by Victor Von Doom. Doom assembled fragments of other realities destroyed by incursions into a kingdom ruled over by him as its God Emperor.

    Battleworld has been rumored to be included in the two-part Multiverse Saga finale but this is the first time details about its creation have been shared.

    Though Harloff–who claims to be withholding additional information–did not go on to name the realities involved in the final incursion, it seems likely that Earth-616 (Sacred Timeline), Earth-828 (Fantastic Four) and Earth-10005 (Fox X-Verse) would be the most likely trio given what we know about the film. There is, however, plenty of room for error in that assumption.

    Source: Kristian Harloff