Comic-Con 2016

Wow, what a year! Love it or hate it, this year’s given us quite a few different things to enjoy and look forward to and Comic-Con was no different. So Let’s get right into it.

DC Television

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxG7JR4-nCM

Wait! I changed my mind! Don’t make me talk about Arrow!

You know what? I can’t, primarily because this was the interaction that me and my sister just had.

*Arrow Season Five Trailer ends*

Raven : Was that Scarecrow? I thought he was a Batman villain.

Me : I hate everything, especially discount Batman with a bow.

Seriously though. I stopped watching Arrow back in December. I hated everything about Season 4 and I don’t plan on watching season 5. If you like it, that’s fine and you’re more than welcome to disagree with me but I’m not a fan.

(Also, Yes I know that character most likely isn’t Scarecrow)

(Minor Update, That character has been confirmed as Ragman…thus proving that Arrow is already backpedaling on the whole “No more powers on this show” crap that Amell and Berlanti were trying to sell the fans on.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LGQRbPERaU

As for Flash, I actually need to get caught up because I hardly watched any of the second half but I know most of what happened. I enjoy Flash most of the time except for when Iris is on the screen but this new season actually looks pretty cool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUrbrdZj-I4

Not gonna lie, after the Pilot I didn’t watch anything else. I heard mixed things and it just didn’t really hold my interest. That being said, Justice Society was always a favorite of mine, maybe I’ll watch a few episodes.

No! You monsters leave my Court of Owls alone! I stopped watching halfway through Season 1 and I refuse to watch this.

Marvel Netflix

Alright now we’re talking! This looks fantastic! I already loved Luke in Jessica Jones and I can’t wait to see him in his own series. Also, It’s never a bad time to hear some “Shimmy, Shimmy Ya!”

Finally, I’ve been looking forward to this for a while and I think that Finn Jones is gonna be great as Iron Fist.

This is happening a lot sooner than I anticipated but I’m really excited for it. To see these four together is going to be fantastic and they’re going to facing the hand, hmm…Could Elektra play a role in this?

If you didn’t see this coming then I don’t know what rock you’re living under. Season 2 was phenomenal and I’m glad they’re continuing on. It has been confirmed that this will premiere after Defenders.

Marvel is just killing it with these Netflix shows. They have movie quality episodes every time. If you’re not watching them then you still have plenty of time to catch up before Luke Cage starts in September.

Marvel Television

I already love Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. and I will defend it as long as I have to. I’m really excited to see where we go from the phenomenal Season 3 and I can’t wait to see Ghost Rider. They’ve already announced that it’s Gabriel Luna playing Robbie Reyes and not Johnny Blaze. One major difference is that instead of a motorcycle, Reyes drives this:

Something else that many people are wondering about is if Ghost Rider is the connection to Dr. Strange(More on him later) during the November episodes, they’re both mystical so he could very well be.

This looks surprisingly good. When I heard they were doing a Legion show I was hesitant to get behind but it looks like they’re handling the Schizophrenia and crazy powers really well. I’m all for it. Another thing is this is the first mild collaboration between Marvel and Fox, could this be the first step towards a merger? I certainly hope so.

DC Animated

This one’s interesting because one sounds great, the other sounds kinda awful and the last one’s going to be amazing. Let’s get the bad out of the way.

Although I was initially excited to see Bruce Timm, Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy return to the characters they helped to revitalize in the 90’s. That being said, I knew that The Killing Joke wasn’t the greatest story that everyone made it out to be. Was it important from a historical standpoint? Yes. Did it form Barbara Gordon’s story for the next 23 years? Yes. Was it Sexist? Sure was. Did it jumpstart the “Women in Refrigerators” movement?(The group that fights against Wives/Girlfriends being introduced in comics just to be brutalized or killed to progress the male characters narrative.) Absolutely it did. Overall, I’m not a huge fan but I was going to watch it to enjoy seeing more of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill but now I’m not even sure if I’ll do that after hearing about the fact that they added in a sex scene between Batman and Batgirl, yeah, I’m not a fan of that. When they hinted towards it in Batman Beyond it wasn’t as bad because they were so much older but Barbara is 19 at the oldest in this and it just sounds forced.

Once again, for every dark, there is a light. This show looks great and I love everything about it. The new art style, the focus on multiple different characters from every corner of the DCU and the fact that Wonder Woman called Superman and Batman her sidekicks everything about it looks like so much fun.

I didn’t really know that I wanted this movie until I saw The Lego Movie. It looks absolutely hilarious and I can’t wait.

Injustice 2

While they didn’t show a lot they did show some cool stuff. Wonder Woman was grossly underpowered in the previous game and it looks like they fixed that quite a bit. Jaime Reyes as Blue Beetle is another great addition and I can’t wait for both of them.

Miscellaneous Films

So, I didn’t think this was going to be that good because I’m always a little hesitant on remakes but this actually looks surprisingly cool. Even if the story isn’t that good, it still has major star power from Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson and John Goodman and they’re always worth watching.

This really intrigues me. The fact that they are choosing to make a sequel and forget about the terrible 2001 sequel is pretty funny. Another reason I like it is because they kept it entirely under wraps which was one of my favorite parts about 10 Cloverfield Lane, another film I absolutely loved. Blair Witch in itself wasn’t that great but it was considered revolutionary for it’s time and more importantly the same team that did the film You’re Next, another classic horror film, is writing and directing this.

This looks great. I actually only recently got into Harry Potter but I’m incredibly excited for this film and seeing more of this magical world that Rowling has created. She and Yates are a great team that I’m ready to see more of and I’m really interested in seeing what references we’ll get to the original series.

King Arthur is one of my favorite stories and I love this team so much! Charlie Hunam, Djimon Hounsou, Eric Bana, Jude Law and Ralph Fiennes all directed by Guy Ritchie. I really think this is going to be fantastic and I’m just happy to see Charlie Hunam in more things.

DC Comics

Now, it might seem odd but San Diego has evolved into not being as much about Comic news but more about every medium surrounding it. Sure, there are still some panels but typically there aren’t many big reveals or announcements until the New York Comic-Con in October. That being said, there were a few things here and there at San Diego.

The biggest one from DC was that Tom King will be continuing the Joker Story from Rebirth in Batman #9 which is due out in October.

Like I said, DC didn’t bring much via comics besides a few different panels but we’ll get more news from them soon enough.

Marvel Comics

Marvel gave us a few great things to hear about. The announcement that there would be more X-Men books was very exciting. I was worried that Marvel would discontinue them after Civil War II but having announced Enemy of the State II

My guess is that it’s going to be Old Man Logan VS. Laura, which would be awesome but time will tell.

Death Of X

Which will recount what started the war between the Mutants and the Inhumans which lead directly to…

Bottom Line, I’m just happy the X-Men aren’t leaving us yet.

They also announced Civil War II : The Oath. In this Tie-In, Carol Danvers and Tony Stark both turn to Steve Rogers for advice. But wait! Isn’t Steve still under Hydra Control? Gasp! What will happen? Seriously, I’m really excited for this.

Marvel Studios

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 is going to be just as crazy and as much fun as the previous film. Unfortunately they didn’t release the footage publicly but apparently there’s a scene where we see Yondu, Rocket and Baby Groot break out of a Ravager Jail and there was a sizzle reel of Star-Lord, Gamora, Mantis, Sylvester Stallone’s character, the new Villain Ayesha and Kurt Russell who is playing Star-Lord’s father: Ego The Living Planet.

Wait, what?

You mean this guy?

Huh…well I’ve trusted Marvel and the Guardians this long. Let’s keep it going!

Bottom Line, this sounds just as much fun as the first one and I can’t wait.

Yes, that is Hulk’s Planet Hulk Armor…which is totally going to be in Thor : Ragnarok! I’m super pumped to see what they do with this.

They added two more primary villains to the listing of this film in Surtur and Fenris with no announcement on casting yet but these characters join new comers : Cate Blanchett as Hela, Karl Urban as Skurge, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie and Jeff Goldblum as The Grandmaster, who in the comics is the brother of Benicio Del Toro’s Guardians character: The Collector. No word on if that plays into the film.

I can’t wait for this movie, I think it’s gonna be one of the best they’ve done.

While we didn’t get to see the footage, we did get this awesome concept art for Spider-Man Homecoming. It’s being described as a John Hughes Spider-Man movie which I absolutely love. The cast has grown quite a bit in the months since Civil War featuring Donald Glover and Hannibal Buress and Martin Starr in unnamed roles, Zendaya as Michelle(or Mary Jane perhaps? Hmm…), Laura Harrier as Liz(Presumably Liz Allan), Jacob Batolan as Ned(presumably Ned Leeds AKA The future Hobgoblin!), Tony Revolori as Flash Thompson, Logan Marshall-Green as The Tinkerer and Michael Keaton as The Vulture.

Huge Cast and it sounds like a lot of Fun. Hope to see the trailer here in the next few months.

That trailer speaks for itself really so I’m just gonna say that I’m really excited and ready for my brain to explode from crazy world changing powers.

Ryan Coogler came out and Announced that joining Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa would be Michael B. Jordan and Lupita Nyong’o as the villains, Eric Killmonger and Malice.

But luckily T’Challa will have some help in the form of Danai Gurira as Okoye, The head of the Dora Milaje(Those awesome female bodyguards that follow T’Challa around in Civil War)

Overall, I think this might the Marvel film I’m most excited for.

We now have the logo for Captain Marvel which I’m really excited to see. Also I seriously thought Brie Larson was casted weeks ago. Apparently I was wrong. Something else I didn’t know, she looks lovely with red hair

Who knew?

The final bit of news for Marvel is something that I heard a while back but the fact that he brought it up again is interesting. Joss Whedon enjoyed his time at Marvel but he wants to do other things, which is understandable but when he was asked if he would ever return he said he would for one movie: Black Widow.

There you go Marvel. The Mic has been dropped. You have your star and your director/screenwriter ready to go. I will personally buy tickets even before it’s done filming, trust me, you won’t lose any money.

Seriously, #BlackWidowMovie

DC Films

and now we’ve come to the finale. The only group that can win best of Comic Con and Worst of Comic Con, DC Films. Seriously though overall I think Marvel had the better panel but DC had one of the best trailers I’ve ever seen…This first one is not that trailer

The visuals look cool except I don’t know why Flash’s lightning isn’t red or yellow like the comics but that’s a minor complaint. Cyborg looks awesome and Wonder Woman is still perfect in every way. The jokes feel forced because they are forced. I also don’t like that Barry Allen is apparently going to be written as the outcast. I know he’s kinda nerdy but he doesn’t have a shortage of friends. Either way, it has some decent moments but it looks like nothing in comparison to what Marvel showed…or what the next trailer showed…

I’ve never had a trailer give me hope for an entire company. There’s multiple color pallets, the jokes don’t seem forced, the writing sounds solid and most importantly it looks like they did everything with a love and reverence to Wonder Woman as a character which is what I wanted to see. “What I do is not up to you” is one of those perfect lines up there with “I can do this all day” or “We are not soldiers” I can’t wait for this movie.

Sorry it took so long but thanks for reading! We’ll have more comic-con news in October with the New York comic-con and don’t forget to keep checking this site and the facebook page for all the best opinion articles and news.

About Jacob Hardesty

Jacob Vance Hardesty is the Editor-In-Chief of The Fandom Correspondents and is currently working on a book of Short Stories as well as a full length novel. He loves Comics, Movies, Music and Video Games. Really, he just loves good storytelling in any fashion it can be received.

View all posts by Jacob Hardesty →

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