Green Lantern:First Flight is on its way from Warner Home Video and they’ve launched a site for you to get updates.

The success of Iron Man in 2008 proved you don’t have to be an A-list superhero to get top notch movie treatment. GL has never reached the popularity of a Superman or Spider-Man, but with this promotional push in the works that may all be about to change.

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 Variety reports the project is moving forward with director Martin Campbell  (pictured here) at the helm.  Campbell directed Casino Royale and two Zorro films. Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Michael Green penned the script for the GL adaptation. Green Lantern is one of DC’s “legacy” heroes. While with brief exceptions, Superman has always been Clark Kent and Batman has always been Bruce Wayne, many men have held the title and powers of Green Lantern.

Image: Bauer Griffin

This movie will tell the story of test pilot Hal Jordan, who is summoned to become the Green Lantern because he is a “man without fear.” Green Lantern has had the most checkered crimefighting career of any superhero in the business. In a controversial 1990s storyline, Jordan’s home Coast City was destroyed. That never happens to heroes. Picture watching an episode of Smallville that begins with Metropolis getting blown off the map.

Jordan subsequently went insane and during his attempts to go back in time and save Coast City, would actually end up becoming the arch nemesis of his successor. Jordan and new GL Kyle Rayner would battle until Jordan’s death, while fans of the two characters are battling on message boards to this day.

Geoff Johns, who wrote the Legion of Superheroes’ recent Smallville appearance, drew the difficult task of resurrecting and exonerating Hal Jordan. I won’t get into the complex details here, but suffice it to say that Jordan was determined to have been possessed when he did everything the 90s story said he did.

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Goyer said the company is taking time to figure out a better plan for the development of these movies. They are, after all, cash cows with huge potential. The year 2008 will be remembered as a landmark year for comic book projects. Marvel Comics became the first comic company to have its own studio and came charging out of the gate with summer blockbuster Iron Man. A Samuel L. Jackson cameo at the end of that movie set up the storyline for an Avengers film. Marvel carried it on as Tony Stark showed up in The Incredible Hulk to talk about the team they’re getting together.

TM & © DC Comics.
Photo by Stephen Vaughan

But in terms of overall quality and mainstream media acceptance, 2008 was the year of The Dark Knight. Thanks to Heath Ledger’s captivating, Oscar-buzz gaining performance as The Joker, Knight was a genre-busting success. In print, DC was poised to take full advantage with the controversial Batman R.I.P storyline. Spoiler alert: Batman is not really dead.

Goyer said DC Comics was responsible for 15 percent of Warner’s profits last year, so Time Warner execs: Batman is your new boss. Maybe not quite, but he’s still really important. I can’t wait to see what comes of Warner Bros. efforts. A decent Superman movie would be a great start. Even better would be some movement on the Justice League movie that has been in development hell for years. Here’s hoping.

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But Roven admits the writers’ strike and the looming actors’ strike haven’t helped the process out. While The Flash can move at light speed, travel through time on a treadmill and perform other such feats, lengthy contract negotiation is not among his skills.

Until then, I guess we’ll have to be satisfied with Flash adventures in comic form. Or we could check out the cult classic TV show from the 1990’s.

Image by Paxton Holley licensed under Creative Commons.

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DC isn’t completely hands off, however. DC vice president of creative affairs Gregory Noveck will be an executive producer on the film. Red tells the story of a retired black ops CIA agent who has to reassemble his old team after someone tries to take them out. The older agent has to deal with younger assassins and newer technology as well as the endangerment of his love interest. I’m not familiar with this one, but I like just about everything I’ve read by Ellis so I’ll check it out. Hopefully the adaptation is faithful to his work.

Image by PatLoika licensed under Creative Commons.

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The act saw Allen come to be referred to as “DC’s first official saint.” In a genre of writing where death is about as permanent as the common cold, Allen’s 23-year demise seemed destined to stick. DC had teased his return in storylines throughout that period but they were usually either temporary or a trick.

In one storyline, Flash foe Professor Zoom posed as Barry to trick current Flash Wally West into thinking he was no longer necessary. But there is the possibility that this one could be temporary as well. Barry told Wally he would return from the dead three times, during the times the younger hero needed him most. He’s already used two of those “lives,” so there is much speculation this could be a temporary return as well.

Image by Paxton Holley licensed under Creative Commons.

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Buy This Book!

No, I’m not kidding. Run, do not walk to your LCS and get your hands on the Sinestro Corps War Vol. 1. While comic lovers were supposed to be enthralled by Countdown, (snicker snicker) it was this tale of full-on decimation in the Green Lantern universe that stole the show.

That’s not unlike the year before when Marvel’s big deal was Civil War, but Annhilation’s high cosmic stakes were the better story. Don’t be surprised if writers start fighting each other to helm the company’s second-tier summer crossover. There’s something to being largely out of the way (like in deep space) while 15 other writers are trying to hash out a believable plot that involves every character in the company’s universe.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m decidedly unstoked about Final Crisis. That’s partially because of how little Countdown made me care about anything happening in the DC Universe. And let’s face it, DC’s been milking Crisis so hard that I believe this one is “final” about as much as I believed Friday The 13th when they said it was the “final chapter.”

DC has developed a tendency to be the guy that comes out of the movie and tells you that Bruce Willis’ character is dead the whole time. Sometimes it’s Dan Didio spoiling the secret of 52 in a column, sometimes it’s the company admitting it’s killing the New Gods because no one since Jack Kirby has written them effectively.

Can anyone explain why that’s the characters’ fault? I’m hoping that’s all just a red herring of some kind. Let’s face it, no comic book character stays dead. They’ve brought back Bucky Barnes and Jason Todd. Can Ben Parker be very far behind? And the least powerful person in the DC Universe Jimmy Olsen becoming ridiculously powerful was cute the first twelve times it happened. It has no humor, surprise value or anything else anymore.

This is one of those times I hope I’m wrong, though. But if I’m not, there will be some underrated lesser event going on at the same time that will probably be great.

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Smallville

The show’s writers have developed the comic’s beginning and end while contest participants decide what happens in the middle. Both the comic and this week’s episode of Smallville revolve around the return of Pete Ross, who has gained elastic powers after eating some kryptonite-infused Stride Gum.(We couldn’t make this stuff up, folks.) Fans can go to The CW site and read the opening pages of this comic, after which they’ll be presented with two options (four pages each) about what should happen next. Every following Tuesday and Thursday through April 7 they can check out two new sets of pages and vote.

Each scene will become part of a digital comic produced by DC Comics. Prizes include the chance to win a VIP weekend at a national comic book convention and a year supply of Stride Gum. Fifty lucky fans will win Season Six of Smallville on DVD and 12 packs of Stride Gum.

The WB/James White  Photo 2004  The WB Network

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I want to start by thanking those of you who checked out the first part of our countdown. Some people even pulled me aside in the local comic and card shops and lobbied for their favorites. I suspect I’ll be hearing from some of them again. And no, for the numerous folks that suggested it, Barack Obama is not a superhero – yet. So without further ado here come Nos. 5-1 on SFUniverse’s countdown of the Top 10 Black Superheroes.

5. Blade- Created in 1973 by Marv Wolfman and Gene Nolan, Blade began as a supporting character in the Tomb of Dracula series. While the infant was being born, Blade’s mother got bitten by vampire Deacon Frost. Frost’s attack passed certain vampire characteristics on to the infant.  After growing up and getting combat training, Blade became a tireless vampire hunter that would eventually kill Frost. Blade’s road to fame and fortune was a long and slow one, his true rise in popularity beginning in the 90s. A partnership with Ghost Rider called the Midnight Sons played on the common supernatural themes of the two characters and is fondly remembered. But Blade’s limited fan base hasn’t even allowed him to sustain his own solo title.

So more than a few eyebrows raised when Marvel turned Blade into a feature film. Against all odds, Blade was such a big hit it spawned two movie sequels and a short-lived TV show.  Wesley Snipes portrayed Blade in the films while rapper turned actor Kirk “Sticky” Jones played the vampire hunter in the TV series. In an era when movies about heroes like Superman languish in development hell for years, Blade was the little vampire that could. His unexpected box office success paved the way for future franchises like the X-Men and Spider-Man movies.

4. Black Lightning- DC’s first solo Black hero was a unique case study in how comic offices worked in the 70s. Eager to cash in on the “black hero” trend, DC threw some interesting ideas against the wall. According to one comic historian, DC’s first attempt would have had a White racist masquerading as a Black hero. Thankfully the “Black Bomber” never saw print. Tony Isabella, a former writer on Marvel’s groundbreaking Luke Cage book, suggested the new hero Black Lightning. The character debuted as the lead of his own title in 1977, a landmark development for DC.

Jefferson Pierce was a talented athlete who fought crime in Metropolis’ Suicide Slum using gadgets that gave him electrical powers. Pierce later found he didn’t need the gimmicks and that they had only served to activate his underlying electric powers. Isabella drew some heat for the character’s behavior in the book. Pierce was an intelligent, capable black man but in his guise as Black Lightning acted like a stereotypical blaxploitation character. He spoke in “jive” talk and even wore a fake Afro to conceal his secret identity.

In recent years, however, Pierce has been allowed to show his true personality and be a positive role model. Pierce served as Secretary of Education under fictional President Lex Luthor. Although forced to resign because of his not-so-secret superhero activities and later framed for murder (he has since been exonerated) Pierce got the better of his enemies. He now serves as something of a double-agent, able to get secret info from supervillains who think he still works for Luthor.

Black Lightning was originally supposed to be one of the “Superfriends” in those famous cartoons. Network brass opted to use the thinly veiled ripoff “Black Vulcan,” rather than pay royalties on a relatively obscure hero. Sometimes even heroes that make history don’t get any respect.

3. Luke Cage, Hero for Hire-  Starting his own solo book in 1970, Luke Cage was one of the first black heroes to have his own title and the first for one of the Big Two publishers. This creation of writer Archie Goodwin and artist John Romita, Sr.  was born Carl Lucas, a man imprisoned for a crime that, of course, he didn’t commit. While in prison he underwent experiments that gave him steel-like skin and superhuman strength. After escaping he christened himself Luke Cage, also often going by the moniker Power Man.

Cage planned to hire himself out but often ended up taking no pay for his misadventures. His thuggish, ghetto-inspired expletives like “Sweet Christmas!” drew understandable ire from critics. Like many characters conceived in the 70s, he started as a stereotype but as comics evolved, so did Cage.

Despite his rough upbringing, he has served as a valued member of teams like the Fantastic Four and currently is one of the Avengers, Marvel’s flagship superteam. Cage still fights against the establishment every bit as hard as he did in the 70s. During the recent Civil War storyline, Cage refused to register his name and powers with the federal government and ran afoul of espionage organization SHIELD.

Here’s an interesting bit of trivia: Young actor Nicolas Coppola, not wanting to succeed because of his uncle (famous director Francis Ford Coppola) took his favorite character Power Man’s adopted last name and became Nicolas Cage.

2. Black Panther- It figures that one of the most unique heroes in comics would come from the legendary tandem of writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. Appearing as a guest star in a 1966 issue of Fantastic Four, the Black Panther became the first modern Black superhero. Unlike many Black heroes that would follow him, the Panther was neither an African-American nor a stereotype. On the contrary, this character’s secret identity was that of Prince T’Challa from the fictional African nation of Wakanda.

In his initial meeting with Marvel’s First Family, he battled each individual team member to a standstill before they collectively cornered him. This encounter served to test T’Challa’s worth to be the Black Panther and to see if the FF could help him against arch enemy Sebastian Klaw. Klaw killed T’Challa’s father, the previous Black Panther. The title of Panther is ceremonial, transferring from each chief of T’Challa’s tribe to the next through a ritual including fierce combat. While Wakanda conceals most of its secrets from the outside world, it is one of the wealthiest and most technologically advanced nations in the Marvel Universe. An issue of the Panther’s latest monthly series revealed Wakandans have cured diseases like cancer.

Black Panther is notable not just as the first modern Black hero, but as the star of a book that introduced many conventions still used in comics. His book was one of the first to use the multi-issue story arc that is now an industry standard. T’Challa, now King of Wakanda, has gotten a lot of publicity for his marriage to the no. 1 hero on this list. A Black Panther feature film is rumored to be on Marvel’s slate of upcoming properties but no significant progress on the movie has been reported.

Trivia: Marvel’s Black Panther actually predates the American militant political party. The character briefly called himself the Black Leopard to avoid any confusion.

1. Storm- This powerful mutant crimefighter has had a ride that’s exceptional even among characters in the wild world of comics. This creation of writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum made her debut in 1975’s landmark Giant-Size X-Men, becoming the first African superheroine.  Giant Size revitalized Marvel by introducing a new, multicultural X-Men squad. It gave us characters like the Russian strongman Colossus, rabidly popular Wolverine and Ororo Munroe, a mutant with the power to control the weather.

Orphaned at an early age, Storm took to stealing for survival. Later she wandered into the Serengeti and after her powers developed, natives worshipped Storm as a rain goddess. That’s when Professor Charles Xavier found her and persuaded her to join his X-Men. She went on to become a fan favorite and writers seized on that, making her one of the team’s strongest characters. She challenged Cyclops for leadership of the X-Men and won without her mutant powers. Also while powerless, she saved her teammates’ lives by defeating the leader of a group of mutants called the Morlocks. That victory made her leader of the Morlocks as well.

Storm has gone on to lead multiple teams over the years and appeared in merchandise like video games, action figures and in the X-Men movies. Storm is one of a select group of comic superheroes played by an Academy Award-winner (Halle Berry). The former “rain goddess” has become one of the most recognizable icons in comic culture, black or white. Storm is so popular that when Marvel and DC agreed to let readers vote on who would win select comic fights, fans decreed that Storm should beat Wonder Woman. Being a Marvel character with a victory over one of DC’s “Holy Trinity” is a pretty good trick.

Marvel Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada called Storm’s marriage to the Black Panther the comic world’s equivalent of the Prince Charles and Lady Diana union. Mainstream writer Eric Jerome Dickey came in to pen the couple’s love story and a wedding that anyone who was anyone in the Marvel Universe attended. After their marriage, T’Challa and Ororo made a diplomatic tour and served as interim members of the Fantastic Four while Reed and Susan Richards took time off. From thief to goddess to queen, Storm’s legion of fans have followed her every move and made her one of the most beloved heroes of any culture.

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The award-winning writer said B5 (the TV show, not the awesome blog network) paved the way for current shows like Battlestar Galactica, Lost and The 4400. He believes his work allows today’s TV writers to craft long, complex story arcs with lasting consequences.

Wondercon attendees also got the announcement that JMS, no longer exclusive to Marvel Comics, will do some work for DC. He can’t yet announce what specific titles he’ll helm. His list of other projects is long and extensive, including a Silver Surfer film for Fox. This one will reveal the movie version of Galactus, which the busy writer said Fox held off doing in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer specifically to unveil in the Surfer’s own movie.

JMS had to address the controversial One More Day storyline that rocked Spider-Man’s world. He said he and Marvel Editor in Chief Joe Quesada are still friends but had different ideas on what to do with the character.

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