Amph Ask The Forum's DC Expert!

Did you watch Young Justice Seasons 1 & 2 and are you looking forward to Season 3?

 

When will we see DC release a She-Hulk film?

 

Hi Dave,

@JoinTheSchwarz can you confirm if Aquaman is the sexiest comic book character?

 

Dave Dave Dave,

What are your thoughts on the new Kazaam movie, starring Zachary Quinto, coming out soon?

 

Aguamán is bae

 

@JoinTheSchwarz
I’m thinking about watching the Snyder cut. Can you provide me with a short synopsis to sell me?

 

@JoinTheSchwarz
What's the perfect DC book for Jonathan Hickman to write? I'm tired of him wasting his talents on garbage like the Fantastic Four, Avengers, and (bleh) X-Men. Cannot think of dumber, less interesting characters than that. I'd like to see him make up for the hot trash fire that was HoX/PoX, which is the kind of crap only Marvel could produce (Age of Apocalypse is another good example of this), and the best way for him to do that is with DC's vastly superior stable of characters IP. Thoughts?

 

Dear Forum DC Expert,

Sometimes I feel like having approximately 60% of all DC comics being directly related to Batman is symptomatic of bad brand management and a lack of editorial and creative vision. Since the problem is obviously me and not DC, what can I do to change this opinion? Thanks in advance.

 

@JoinTheSchwarz How come there have never been any movies made about Batman?

 

Vin, that's a pretty common request, as no one has actually seen the Snyder Cut: most people claiming to have done so have actually seen the Red Letter Media review and couldn't tell the difference.

So here's a quick summary: the movie picks up some time after Batman v Superman; the world is mourning and unable to move on. Bruce Wayne discovers that many of the country’s most talented entrepreneurs are retiring and disappearing. Then, the Mexican government nationalizes WayneCorp’s San Sebastian Line. The line had been built to service Lex Luthor’s copper mills, but the mills turn out to be worthless. To solve the railroad’s financial problems, Harvey Dent uses political influence to pass legislation that destroys Ray Palmer’s only competition in Colorado. Wayne must fix the Rio Norte Line immediately and plans to use Stein Metal, a new alloy created by Martin Stein. When confronted about the San Sebastian mines, Lex tells Wayne he is deliberately destroying Luthor Copper. Later he appears at Stein’s anniversary party and, meeting him for the first time, urges Stein to reject the freeloaders who live off of him.

The State Science Institute issues a denunciation of Stein metal, and Ray Palmer’s stock crashes. Wayne decides to start his own company to rebuild the line, and it is a huge success. WayneCorp discovers a motor in an abandoned factory that runs on static electricity, and they seek the inventor. The government passes new legislation that cripples industry in Colorado. Michael Holt, the hero known as Mister Terrific, suddenly disappears after setting fire to his wells. Wayne is forced to cut trains, and the situation worsens. Soon, more industrialists disappear. Stein goes on trial for breaking one of the new laws, but refuses to participate in the proceedings, telling the judges they can coerce him by force but he won’t help them to convict him. Unwilling to be seen as thugs, they let him go. Economic dictator Anatoli Knyazev needs Stein’s cooperation for a new set of socialist laws. The new set of laws, Directive 10-289, is irrational and repressive. It includes a ruling that requires all patents to be signed over to the government. Stein is blackmailed into signing over his metal to protect Wayne’s reputation.

Wayne quits over the new directive and retreats to a mountain lodge, but his airplane crashes in the mountains. When he wakes up, he finds herself in a remote valley called Kandor, where all the retired industrialists are living. They are on strike, calling it a strike of the mind. There, he meets Superman, who turns out to be alive and to be both the destroyer and the man who built the motor using Kryptonian technology. When Wayne returns to work, he finds that the government has nationalized the railroad industry. Government leaders want him to make a speech reassuring the public about the new laws. On the air, he goes rogue and warns the country about its repressive government.

With the economy on the verge of collapse, Lex Luthor destroys the rest of his holdings and disappears. The politicians no longer even pretend to work for the public good. Their vast network of influence peddling creates worse chaos, as crops rot waiting for freight trains that are diverted for personal favors. In an attempt to gain control of Lex’s mills, the government stages a riot at Stein Steel. But the steelworkers organize and fight back, led by Lex, who has been working undercover at the mills. Lex saves Stein’s life, then convinces him to join the strike. Just as the head of state prepares to give a speech on the economic situation, Superman takes over the airwaves and delivers a lengthy address to the country, laying out the terms of the strike he has organized. In desperation, the government seeks Superman to make him their economic dictator. Bruce Wayne inadvertently leads them to him, and they take him prisoner. But Superman refuses to help them, even after he is tortured with socialist kryptonite. Finally, Bruce Wayne and the strikers (now calling themselves The Outsiders) rescue him in an armed confrontation with robotic guards. Soon, the country’s collapse is complete and the Batman and the Outsiders prepare to return to Gotham and rebuild.

Then there's an after-credits scene where Martian Manhunter shows up and gives a lengthy speech about the gold standard while Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah plays.

That's a very common question, Pym. Jonathan Hickman's talents would be perfectly suited to Superman and Action Comics. Said talents are "picking things up after Bendis has Bendis-ed them up."

That's a very common concern, Ramses, and it's mostly due to people not having read recent bangers like Bendis Does The Legion: Uncut or Metal DCeased: The Snowflame That Laughs. I say widen your range of DC comics and you'll find that Batman comics are actually not that important to the editorial. You also have Batgirl, Nightwing, Robin, Catwoman, Red Hood, The Joker, Harley Quinn, and a few alternate universe takes on Batman. The variety is astounding. It's not like they are releasing a Batman/Fortnite crossover, you know?

That's a very common question, Jazib. The reason is that no one would be interested in such an obvious rip-off of the vastly more interesting Moon Knight. A wise move.

 

Is there any DC character that even comes close to being as cool as Aquaman? It's OK if the answer is no. I'm sure the answer is no.

 

Dave--may I call you Dave?--do you think Batman could commit a crime so perfect even he could not solve it?

 

That's a common question, BMX. Only Brother Power The Geek achieves similar levels of coolness. When the octogenarians in charge of DC during the Bronze Age of Comics tried to follow Marvel's lead and appeal to the Flower Children and the Love Generation with their comics, the results were solid.

That's a common question, Kate. No, you may not.

The answer is: yes, with enough prep time.

 

Is Red Robin still a thing?

 

What will be the aspect ratio of the next DC film?

 

That's a very common question, Eldar San. Despite rumors that Red Robin might be closing, the company appears to be thriving and recently released these Q1 results:

• As of the end of our fiscal fifth period, all Company-owned restaurants have re-opened indoor dining rooms with varying levels of capacity;
• Restaurant revenue of $318.7 million and Restaurant Level Operating Profit (a non-GAAP metric) of 15.7%, an increase of 690 basis points over the same period in 2020;
• First quarter 2021 comparable restaurant revenue increased 10.0% over the same period in 2020, and decreased 12.8% compared to the same period in 2019;
• At the end of the first quarter 2021, 55% of Company-owned restaurants had positive comparable restaurant revenue compared to 2019;
• First quarter 2021 off-premises sales increased 75.5% compared to the period ended April 19, 2020, and comprised 41.7%, 26.3%, and 11.6% of total food and beverage sales for the first fiscal quarter of 2021, 2020, and 2019; and,
• For the last four weeks of the fiscal first quarter of 2021, 85 comparable Company-owned restaurants with no capacity or social distancing restrictions realized comparable restaurant revenue of 5.2% over the same period in 2019, while maintaining off-premises mix of 29.9%, more than double pre-pandemic levels. These restaurants also realized comparable restaurant margin of 21.1%, an increase of 1.5% over the same period in 2019. While these restaurants are able to operate with no restrictions, several are still operating below 100% capacity due to limited operating hours due to staffing challenges and COVID exclusions.

So don't believe the propaganda: Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. is here to stay!

That's a very common question, Evan. According to reports (my uncle John Reports who works for Nintendo), screenwriter David Goyer has been insisting on 9:11.

 

Figures that they'd take the best of all the Robins and turn him into a burger.

 

Hi David--may I call you David?--As I'm sure you know, DC has, in the past, done crossovers with Marvel, including a special crossover where they smashed one of each of their characters together to make a new hero.

Given the opportunity, which 2 DC characters would you smash together, and what would you call the result? What would their backstory be? What would their powers be?

 

Dave, what's the most common question asked by civvies about the DC verse?

 

That's a common question, Kate. No, you may not.

That's also a very common question, Kate, but it's always an intellectually engrossing one. Nothing fires my neurons like thinking about hypothetical situations involving the intellectual property of Time Warner!

I would smash together my two favorite DC characters, Deathstroke the Terminator and Ambush Bug. Then I'd picture the result as a mercena... ohhhh, I see what you're doing! You're trying to get me to say bad things about Deadpool! Good try, good try!

So let's take a different approach! I'd merge together two Legionnaires, Color Kid and Matter-Eating Lad, and call the end result The Rainbow Eater. Then I'd get a sharp letter from GLAAD and have to rethink the whole thing all over again!

So I'd smash together Batman and The Joker and call the result... The Batman Who Laughs! Money in the bank, baby!

That's a very common question, Sarge. It's "are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?"

I don't know why they care, but the answer is yes and yes, of course.

 

Surely you'd mash the Bat aspects of Batman with the man aspects of Superman to get Batman?

 

Hi Jon—may I call you Jon?—I recently read an elseworlds story about Superman landing in Russia, and then growing up and defeating the United States for Stalin. It was terrifying. Besides capitalism losing, what’s the scariest thing you can imagine happening to DC’s earth?

 

who owns The Shadow now?

 

Could Alfred build a bat so big that Batman couldn't lift it?