NEWS-NET: Comics... Targeting Arrow

Issue 002

Headline:: NEWS-NET: Comics

BY TIM O’DONNELL

What is NEWS-NET?

  NEWS-NET is in part a way for CGC to highlight a sampling of all the news that interested a particular author recently as they trawl through the Internet.

 My specific focus is on comics and superheroes especially as they cross over from sequential art into movies, TV shows, and video games.

  NEWS-NET is filled with rumors and some spoilers for those who want to be surprised by everything. All spoilers deemed by the author as especially spoiler-y will be clearly marked.

TARGETING ARROW

  Arrow got started with a bang, or is that a THUNK, last week with the surprised death a major character. I was completely taken by surprise. I had heard rumors that someone was going to die, but this character was not on my short list. And now that this has happened, I think it gives ample motivation for another character to make a change that I just couldn’t see this character having. The point is, I think this was a great move.

  Arrow has always done well on raising the stakes and having real consequences that make their characters’ lives complicated. Arrow, for me, has been superhero TV done right. They don’t try to do the Smallville-esque “Before He Was The Hero You Know” thing eventually doing all of the comic BEFORE the actual beginning of the hero. In Arrow, we get to see how the Hero becomes the Hero and then him ACTUALLY being that Hero.

  In Season 3 of Arrow we welcome the return of team Arrow, Oliver, Felicity, Diggle, and Roy. Roy Harper is now spotting the best costume of the series.

  Also returning to the show as a regular cast member is the presumed dead Malcom Merlyn aka the Dark Archer. I don’t think he will be the overarching villain for this season but I do think that we will see his path mirror Oliver’s as they are both wealthy people with interesting night lives who have lost their company and family. And it looks like they will be fighting over Thea Queen/Merlyn’s soul.

  A better bet for the overall BadGuy of season 3 is Matt Nable as Ras Al Ghul 

  Also expect to see Tatsu Yamashiro aka Katanna and her husband, Maseo Yamashiro, played by The Wolverine's Rila Fukushima and Karl Yune of Real Steel respectively. Rila Fukushima replaces previously cast Devon Aoki. These two characters will be primarily involved in the flashbacks but we could see one or both come forward into the present timeline just like Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke did last season.

  Speaking of Deathstroke, we may get to see Manu Bennett return to the role either as a result of breaking out of Lian Yu’s Purgatory Prison or as a new member of the Suicide Squad.

  The producers of Arrow have mentioned that they are bringing Arrow back to a more grounded state after season 2’s foray into superpowers with the Mirakuru Formula. One caveat the that is the episode 8 crossover between both shows that will not simply stop the ongoing plot of the season for both shows to have a gratuitous fan pleasing crossover, but it will actually be an important part of the development of each show and their cast. It will add some humor to the dark and gritty Arrow and some more drama and grittiness to The Flash.

  We have Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) play Ray Palmer aka The Atom, Peter Stormare as Werner Zytle aka Vertigo, and J.R. Ramirez as Ted Grant aka Wildcat.

  Also look out for a certain Captain of Throwing-things-that-come-back-to-you in the Arrow episode of the the Flash/Arrow Crossover. Look for Spartacus star Nick Tarabay to play the role of Digger Harkness aka Captain Boomerang. Interesting that one of the biggest Flash Rogues would appear on the Arrow side of The Flash/Arrow Crossover??!!

BREAKING NEWS

  !!Breaking!! Warner Bros has releasedits 10 movie DC Cinematic Universe Movie Slate. The highlights show a confirmed Suicide Squad movie the same year as Batman v Superman. Also, FINALLY, a Wonder Woman Solo Movie, a Flash Solo Movie with Ezra Miller of “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” playing The Flash. 

  Also, Warner Bros said that there will be Superman and Batman standalone movies in addition to the 10 listed in the press release.  

FLASH BREAK

  New News from Central City. Just after we went to the press on the last issue of NEWS-NET: Comics, it was announced that Victor Garber (Alias) will be playing Dr. Martin Stein aka the internal portion of the Firestorm Matrix.

  Also Andy Mientus will be playing one of the Rogues, Hartley Rathaway aka the Pied Piper. He will debut in the episode alongside theReverse Flash.

:::NEWS NET WIRE:::

  If you have a tip on something but don't want to follow up on it or write it up yourself, send in tips toChristianGeekCentral [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject "News Net Tips" and we'll give you a shout out on the blog for your help. 

GET INVOLVED!!

  If you find yourself reading endless blogs and sharing news posts on social media about a topic that would be of particular interest to Christian Geeks, then we at CGC invite you to contribute and become one of the CGC Authors, who share content they are passionate about with the rest of the community. It's impossible to keep up with everything in the Geek world but together we can all help each other in finding the best geek experiences out there. A typical NEWS-NET column would have loads of links to other blogs and reference to find out more about your chosen topic, some pictures and a little commentary about your passion for your topic.

  If you find that you'd like to be more involved and like to pitch an appropriate News Net column of your own or any regular or semi regular column, you can pitch us your idea by sending an email to ChristianGeekCentral [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject "CGC Authors".

NEWS-NET News:

  I am currently working on designing a Graphic for NEWS-NET that can be modified slightly for each different column topic, but if you have any ideas or want to make one yourself, send me an email or a sample.

Thanks for reading

-Tim