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  • REVIEW: ‘Phenomena: Book One’ by Brian Michael Bendis, André Lima Araújo

    REVIEW: ‘Phenomena: Book One’ by Brian Michael Bendis, André Lima Araújo

    Editor’s Note: Ahead of the release of Phenomena: Matilde’s Quest later this month, Abrams sent us a physical copy of the first book to review.

    Phenomena, Vol. 1: The Golden City of Eyes by Brian Michael Bendis

    Brian Michael Bendis is responsible for helping to create some of the best comic characters in recent years, including Jessica Jones and Miles Morales. I enjoy his work and was thrilled when I had the chance to read and review Phenomena: Vol. 1 ahead of the release of Vol. 2. I admittedly hadn’t really heard of this title, and I’m a bit upset that I somehow allowed it to fly under my radar. It’s not one of my favorites of Bendis’, and I’m not quite sure what star rating I would give it, but I did enjoy it overall.

    The story follows a young kid named Boldon as he goes on the hunt for the Golden City. Early on in his journey, he stumbles upon a Cyper named Spike, and a mysterious character that seems keen to cause the duo plenty of trouble. The story is at times ridiculous, and other times, utterly charming, and yet, it manages to be an enjoyable ride despite its bumps. Boldon and Spike are great together; Boldon is reckless and Cyper is very much all business, no play. The addition of the mysterious character – who I’m not naming as to avoid spoilers – proves to be a great addition, too. They play well off of the two main characters and help to add more depth to the story.

    Phenomena: Vol. 1 is under a hundred and fifty pages, and yet, despite its short length, the story doesn’t always feel as though it’s fast-moving. This is, naturally, due to having to set up this world and its history and workings. But there’s still plenty to be established in this world, and by the end of the first volume, readers are sure to have more questions than answers. Something that should, hopefully, be tackled in the next installment now that the world has been established.


    One of the main issues in the book is the artwork inside of it. The artwork is well done – André Lima Araújo has crafted some fantastic linework in this graphic novel. However, the lack of color does make it difficult to really appreciate the story being told as a whole. Normally, I don’t mind when a graphic novel is in black and white. In fact, sometimes it does serve the story better. In this instance, though, the lack of coloring seems to work against the story. The shading isn’t all that defined. And honestly, it makes it hard to get captivated by the story in the end. There are battles that are hard to follow. The locations seem to be lifeless and bland. If there was even a slight pop of color, or perhaps even more defined shading, this book could be perfect.

    Overall: I’d definitely recommend giving this one a read. It’s short. It’s fun. And Spike is a great character.

  • ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Set Photo Provides First Look at Jon Bernthal’s Beat Up Punisher

    ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Set Photo Provides First Look at Jon Bernthal’s Beat Up Punisher

    After providing a plethora of photos once production resumed a couple of months ago, things have been pretty quiet on the set of Daredevil: Born Again. It turns out the Easter Bunny was hiding a surprise for everyone.

    Thougj we’re just sharing it today, Jon Bernthal was spotted in New York on Friday, March 29th, during a break from filming.

    IG user littlepandapit was lucky enough to snap an ussie with Bernthal and while there’s not much to see, it’s clear Frank’s a bit scraped up. From the looks of it, hels either been in a big brawl where someone tried to choke him or he had a spicy little sesh with Karen Page.

    Daredevil: Born Again current has no official release date but was believed to be headed for a 2025 release before strikes and a creative overhaul paused production on the series.

  • New Rumor Explains the ’60s Setting of ‘The Fantastic Four’

    New Rumor Explains the ’60s Setting of ‘The Fantastic Four’

    On Valentine’s Day, Marvel Studios revealed the cast, release date and new title for 2025’s The Fantastic Four via social media. Though the talented group of actors that were cast as Marvel’s First Family wasn’t truly a surprise (rumors had all four of them in the roles for months ahead of Marvel Studios’ announcement), the concept art that accompanied the reveal did hint at something very interesting about the film’s setting. Both the magazine being read by Ben Grimm and the portrait of him pre-cosmic ray incident seemed to indicate that the events of the film were going to be set in the 1960s, something that could be a bit problematic in the MCU’s Sacred Timeline. If the Fantastic Four had ben around since then, why had nobody heard of them? Why didn’t Hank Pym or Peggy Carter ever mention them? Now a new rumor about the Matt Shakman-helmed film might clear up all those problems.

    According to insider Daniel RPK, Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four will be set in an alternate universe somewhere in the MCU’s Multiverse.

    Should this rumor turn out to be accurate, it’ll certainly be controversial; however, it’s a wise choice by the studio as it gives the project room to breathe and truly set itself apart from other MCU projects. By simply setting it outside of the MCU’s 616-universe, Shakman has the creative freedom to completely ignore any and everything fans know, love and hate about the “Marvel formula.” Assuming this universe it not one that we’ve seen in the MCU so far, the characters don’t have to play by any of the rules or be painted into a corner by any of the stories told so far. The family of explorers can be allowed to explore new corners of the universe, just as Stan Lee and Jack Kirby intended.

    Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four is currently set to hit theaters on July 25, 2025.

  • We May Now Know When ‘The Batman Part II’ Will Finally Begin Production

    We May Now Know When ‘The Batman Part II’ Will Finally Begin Production

    It’s been two years since Matt Reeves‘ brooding and brutal take on Batman hit big screens across the globe. However, even before The Batman opened in theaters, Reeves confirmed plans for a sequel were already coming together. Though it was made clear by producer Dylan Clark that the studio intended to take their time developing the sequel and that Reeves was going to be busy overseeing other projects set in the Gotham he brought to life, the eagerness of fans to see Robert Pattinson back in action as The World’s Greatest Detective has been tough to satiate.

    The wait for the Elseworlds’ sequel got a little longer recently when it was revealed that the writers’ strike had slowed development of the script. In order to give Reeves and co-writer Matt Tomlin time to put the finishing touches on the it, Warner Bros. moved the release date from October 3, 2025 to October 2, 2026. Now a new report from a trusted insider has revealed the a new timeline for the film’s production.

    According to Jeff “The In” Sneider, cameras are set to roll on The Batman Part II in April 2025.

    Sneider also reported that casting for the project isn’t expected to get underway until this Fall, casting additional doubt on the recent rumor that Boyd Holbrook had signed on to play Harvey Dent. At least fans can look forward to enjoying Colin Farrell‘s return as Oswald Cobblepot in the Max streaming series The Penguin which is set to debut this Fall.

    Source: The InSneider

  • Marvel Studios Makes a Title Change to Another 2025 Film

    Marvel Studios Makes a Title Change to Another 2025 Film

    As part of the cast reveal on Valentine’s Day 2024, Marvel Studios made a tiny change to the title of their Fantastic Four film. Introduced in 2019 as Fantastic Four, the Matt Shakman-led project- –which is set to begin principal photography this August–became The Fantastic Four. As changes go, adding an article to the beginning of the title is pretty minor; however, a change is a change and the news is the news. In that regard, it’s worth pointing out that Marvel Studios has  made another minor, but interesting change, to the title of another 2025 film.

    After quite a few delays as part of Disney’s 2023 slate shuffles, filming is finally underway on the Jake Schreier-helmed Thunderbolts project. In a surprise but welcomed move, star Florence Pugh took to social media to post a “sneaky” video from the set of the project. During her trip around the stage, Pugh bumped into Schreier whose director’s chair revealed a new logo and title for the film. Later, the video was reposted to social media by Marvel Studios apparently confirming that the film is now called Thunderbolts*.

    Again, as title changes go, placing an asterisk at the end of the pre-existing title is about as minor as it gets; however, it’s also fairly puzzling because it came with no explanation. Typically when placed at the end of a word, an asterisk indicates some sort of footnote is being cross-referenced. That does not seem to be the case here which leaves a little mystery around the minor change to the title. It’s possible the asterisk indicates some additional context is needed to understand the title of the film which is also the title of the team of antiheros who undertake a secret mission in the film. Given all the online hubbub about one purported explanation for how the team gets the name, it’s possible that the asterisk is indeed a reference to how the team chooses its moniker.

    As for the video itself, it’s fairly harmless and other than a quick peek at the vault in which Lewis Pullman‘s Robert Reynolds is being held at the beginning of the film, it doesn’t give away much. However, it’s part of a welcome change in the way Marvel Studios has gone about the business of revealing information about their projects for quite some time. It cleverly takes advantage of Marvel well-known and incredibly obnoxious secrecy on set and gives fans a little reason to be excited which ultimately builds hype for the project.

    Thunderbolts* is currently slated to be in theaters on May 2, 2025.

  • ‘X-Men ’97’: “Fire Made Flesh” Ending Explained

    ‘X-Men ’97’: “Fire Made Flesh” Ending Explained

    Like its predecessor, X-Men: The Animated Series, X-Men ’97 will likely never be criticized for moving too slowly. The original Fox series often moved quickly through popular arcs lifted from Chris Claremont‘s Uncanny X-Men and the third episode in ’97 followed suit in its adaptation of Inferno.

    Published in 1989, Inferno was a line-wide crossover event for Marvel Comics. Told throughout more than 30 issues of mutant (Uncanny X-Men, X-Factor, New Mutants, X-Terminators and Excalibur) and non-mutant (Avengers, Cloak and Dagger, Daredevil, Fantastic Four, Power Pack and 3 different Spider-Man books) titles, Inferno focused on Illyana Rasputin’s transformation into the Darkchylde and the origin story of the Goblin Queen, Madelyne Pryor.

    For “Fire Made Flesh”,  X-Men ’97 showrunner Beau DeMayo opted to do quite a bit of trimming and use the episode to resolve the clone Jean story while also setting Bishop and Nathan Summers on their path to a dark future. However, the final scene of the episode, which was set entirely apart from the main event, hints at another classic Claremont arc being adapted beginning with Episode 4.

    After losing her powers and setting out on her own at the end of “Mutant Liberation Begins”, Storm finds herself alone in Tequila Mockingbird, a dive bar somewhere in Texas. As the Weather Witch watches the weather report, a slim and sharply mustachioed stranger approaches her and introduces himself as Forge, “an old friend of Charles Xavier.” Indeed Forge appeared in 10 episodes of X-Men: The Animated Series, half of which involved the wonderful timey-wimey stuff that is part and parcel of the X-Men experience. However, the timing of his latest appearance suggests that he’ll have an all-new, all-different role in X-Men ’97 that will be based on Claremont’s run on Uncanny.

    It’s no secret that Storm was one of Claremont’s favorite characters. Claremont was the first writer to recognize her true potential and begin developing her as a character. Much like in “Mutant Liberation Begins”, Storm lost her mutant powers after having been shot with a Neutralizer. In Uncanny X-Men #186, Storm began working with Forge to recover and, in the process, fell in love with the alpha-level technopath. Titled Lifedeath, the issue and and its follow-ups are well-revered as one of the great love stories in the pages of the X-Men’s extensive history. For those peeking ahead, Episode 4 of X-Men ’97 is titled “Motendo/Lifedeath-Part 1.” Yeah, the next episode is going to include Mojo but did you know it’s also going to explore one of the more intimate stories ever told about Storm?

    While even those with passing knowledge of the comics know that Ororo was once married to T’Challa and was the Queen of Wakanda; however, few know about her romance with Forge. Fewer yet know that Forge, the mutant Maker, designed the Neutralizer that robbed the goddess of her powers. Given the raging popularity of X-Men ’97, it seems as though a whole new generation of people are about to find out and begin to understand why legions of ’90s kids adore Storm. Outside of Logan and Jean Grey, not many mutants have undergone the type of emotional development in the pages of Marvel Comics as Ororo has. Given Episode 4 is only Part 1 of Lifedeath, it seems as though DeMayo and crew intend to go against the X-Men: TAS grain to take their time and give the goddess her just desserts.

  • Mon Dieu! ‘Deadpool and Wolverine’ Rumored to Have Another Ace Up Its Sleeve

    Mon Dieu! ‘Deadpool and Wolverine’ Rumored to Have Another Ace Up Its Sleeve

    Deadpool and Wolverine may be Marvel Studios only theatrical release in 2024 but it’s definitely playing for keeps. The upcoming film, which is largely set in the Void introduced in Season 1 of Loki, will feature Variants of Deadpool and some familiar X-Men villains from Fox’s retired franchise. It’s also rumored to feature cameos from heroes and their Variants from across the Multiverse, including those who have appeared on film before and those who have not. Now, a new rumor suggests an X-Men Variant from an unproduced film will be making an appearance and hoping to make his momma proud.

    Following a social media interaction between Hugh Jackman and Channing Tatum, social media leaker GWGST claimed that Tatum, who was cast as Remy LeBeau in Fox’s unproduced Gambit film will make an appearance as dat thieving Swamp Rat in Deadpool and Wolverine.

    Written into X-Men canon in 1990, Gambit’s popularity skyrocketed following his inclusion in X-Men: The Animated Series which gave the character a large role and a larger-than-life personality. According to the rumor, Tatum’s Gambit will be sporting the familiar comic-accurate/TAS-accurate suit complete with the signature trench coat.

    Though it’ll be Tatum’s first time bringing the charming Cajun to life, it’s not the first appearance of the character in a CBM. Taylor Kitsch portrayed Remy in 2009’s atrocious X-Men Origins: Wolverine when Tatum was unavailable to fill the role. Ironically, Tatum’s Gambit–which had directors Gore Verbinski, Doug Lyman and Rupert Wyatt attached to direct at different times in development–was killed by Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox, which will almost certainly provide some fertile ground for jokiness around how the character ended up in the Void, non? C’est la vie, mon ami.

    Deadpool and Wolverine hits theaters July 26th.

  • REVIEW: ‘The Bad Batch’ Brings Back the Bad Bitch

    REVIEW: ‘The Bad Batch’ Brings Back the Bad Bitch

    Star Wars hasn’t always provided room to explore the grey areas of morality. Good is good. Bad is bad. Of course, that’s almost entirely driven by the binary nature of the Force. The Light is good; the Dark is bad. Jedi or Sith. While there’s room for redemption within George Lucas‘ original trilogy, “classic Star Wars” storytelling left no room for Force wielders who were neither Jedi nor Sith. Modern Star Wars storytelling, on the other hand, has found plenty of narrative space for characters who find no use for either Sith or Jedi. Following the collapse of the Republic, Ahsoka Tano and Baylan Skoll no longer consider themselves Jedi and Ahsoka’s good friend Ezra Bridger dabbled in the Dark Side without becoming permanently corrupted. Their journeys through the Force are a natural consequence of new stories being built on the foundation of Lucas’ stories. Modern Star Wars has expanded the scope of Force users beyond Jedi and Sith, including the exploration of other aspects of it and how it’s perceived and wielded by those outside of the binary constraints, such as the Nightsisters. Interestingly enough, there’s one character who has traveled all the paths described above, and in Episode 9 of Season 3 of The Bad Batch, her return antecedes the next round of chaos headed the way of Clone Force 99.

    As many fans presumed to be the case, Asajj Ventress is indeed the friend Fennec Shand turned to for information about M-count and, as the episode’s title, “Harbinger”, indicates, her arrival portends dark days for the Batchers. For fans who know Ventress only from Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the Dathomirian Nightsister who was once both a Jedi Padawan and a Sith apprentice seems like the last person anyone would turn to for help; however, after having been a pawn for others, Ventress walks a different path now: her own. And make no mistake, her meeting with Uhmeeguh falls under the category of one of Star Wars most thoroughly explored themes: destiny.

    Remember… you always have a choice to be better. You always have a choice to… to pick the right path. Even if that choice comes a little late.

    -Asajj Ventress, Dark Disciple
    Asajj Ventress in a scene from “STAR WARS: THE BAD BATCH”, season 3 exclusively on Disney+. © 2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.

    Explored in the canon novel Dark Disciple, Ventress began her ascent from darkness after teaming with Jedi Quinlan Vos to attempt to assassinate Count Dooku. Though it was believed she died while sacrificing herself to save Vos, the trailer for The Bad Batch made it clear that Lucasfilm saw further storytelling currency in Ventress and in “The Harbinger”, head writer Jennifer Corbett seemed to hint at just what that might be. After revealing the meaning of M-count to Clone Force 99 and realizing what danger lurks for Uhmeeguh and her presumably high Midi-chlorian count, Ventress agrees to test the clone’s abilities with the Force. While Uhmeeguh’s potential to wield the Force isn’t made clear to viewers, what is made clear is that Ventress can sense both her latent potential to use the Force and the danger in which it puts her. Though she skitters off at the end of the episode, it seems highly unlikely this is the last time Ventress and Omega meet. In fact, it might just be the start of one of the most unlikely relationships ever to unfold in the galaxy far, far away.

    Ventress has seen and done it all. She’s walked the path of light and descended into darkness but now, by her own omission, she walks her own path and it almost certainly is shaded grey. Given the totality of her own experiences, it’s almost impossible for it not to be. And what she sees in Omega is someone who, like her, whose life is being controlled by everyone but her…and it’s at least worth wondering if Ventress means to stop that and give Omega agency moving forward. Ventress mentions training Uhmeeguh during the episode and it would seem that might at least one possible option for what happens to the young clone (she’s somewhere between 12 and 14 years old during Season 3). While it’s known that Project Necromancer is ultimately at least sort of successful (Sleepy Sheev does inhabit a clone body in The Rise of Skywalker but it’s certainly no masterpiece) it doesn’t mean Omega has to die. The Bad Batch producer Brad Rau has teased the potential for more adventures with Ventress down the road and given Dave Filoni’s fascination for bringing animated characters into live-action, any number of possibilities exist including Ventress and Omega still being alive and well during the New Republic era. The producers once explored the possibility of using Ventress in Star Wars Resistance which is set long after The Mandalorian and, as the Nighsister said, she has a few lives left. Star Wars loves destiny; Star Wars loves to tell master and apprentice stories; and it’s starting to show some love to those who live in the grey which gives plenty of room for the continuing story of Asajj Ventress…and maybe Uhmeeguh.

  • Marvel and Sony Moving Fast(ly) and Furious(ly) in the Search for the Director of ‘Spider-Man 4’

    Marvel and Sony Moving Fast(ly) and Furious(ly) in the Search for the Director of ‘Spider-Man 4’

    Director Jon Watts delivered three highly successful Spider-Man films for Marvel Studios and Sony but as the studios look to take the character and franchise in a new direction, it seems they are also looking for new talent behind the camera. As news comes that the studios optimistically hope for production on Spider-Man 4 to begin this Fall, a surprising name has emerged as a potential director to take the helm.

    According to Jeff “The In” Sneider, Justin Lin is among the names being considered to take the lead on Spider-Man 4.

    Best known for directing six films in the Fast & Furious franchise, Lin certainly fits the bill as a change of pace from Watts. Lin has made his mark by elevating the Fast & Furious franchise from a fun, street-level wrenchfest into one of the world’s highest-grossing action franchises. Lin also directed 2016’s critically successful Star Trek Beyond and worked as an executive producer on Space Jam: A New Legacy, providing additional experience generating new ideas on beloved IPs.

    Sneider was quick to point out that Lin is only one name on a list of possible directors and that no decision has been made as to who will ultimately take control of the creative vision for Spider-Man 4. However, with a potential Fall start of production, Sony will need to move fast and furious to find their director.

  • Tom Holland’s ‘Spider-Man 4’ Gets Surprisingly Optimistic Production Update

    Tom Holland’s ‘Spider-Man 4’ Gets Surprisingly Optimistic Production Update

    A fourth film in the Tom Holland-led Spider-Man franchise has always been a certainty. The same day that Spider-Man: No Way Home released in theaters in 2021, Marvel Studios One Above All, Kevin Feige, attempted to put fans at ease by assuring them that he and producer Amy Pascal had already begun collaborating on the next installment in the the highly successful franchise.

    Amy and I and Disney and Sony are talking about — yes, we’re actively beginning to develop where the story heads next, which I only say outright because I don’t want fans to go through any separation trauma like what happened after Far From Home.

    -Kevin Feige

    2022 was chock full of rumors and speculation about whether or not Holland signed a new contract to reprise the dual roles of Peter Parker and Spider-Man but entirely devoid of any news about a new film. 2023, on the other hand, was full of news and rumors with Feige revealing that the film’s unidentified writers had begun “putting pen to paper” having cracked the story for Spidey 4 which scoopers have said could revolve around anything from a street-level Civil War pitting Spidey and his amazing friends against Kingpin to a blockbuster full of Multiversal madness. While the WGA slowed the development of that script, a new report claims that not only has the project picked up steam, but also that it’ll be ready to enter production much sooner than most people believed possible.

    According to Jeff “The In” Sneider, Marvel Studios and Sony are hoping to begin principal photography on Spider-Man 4 this Fall, targeting a September/October start.

    According to Sneider, the time frame fits with the increasingly stuffed schedule of franchise co-star Zendaya, whose commitment to Spidey will not coincide with a delay in production on HBO’s highly successful series, Euphoria. Should cameras indeed roll on Spidey 4 this Fall, it’s possible that the film could hit theaters in 2025, though with Avatar 3 slated for a December 19, 2025 release, 2026 does seem more likely. Interestingly enough, Sony has June 27, 2026 already set aside for an Untitled Marvel movie which would keep the film in theaters for the Fourth of July weekend which Sony seems to prefer.