Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Show News: Elseworlds And Lex!


How amazing are the CW crossover events?
First we had a take on Invasion.
Then we had Crisis on Earth X .
Now we have Elseworlds.

I have always been impressed with these arcs just for the scope. It must be crazy to get the casts of multiple shows together at the same place to film at the same time.

But I have very much been impressed with how deep these lean into comic history, stuffing the episodes with Easter Eggs for the astute comic reader.

The Network has been cranking up the publicity for this year's by releasing some pictures to whip up people's interest.

It starts with this poster where we see that in this Elseworld, Barry has become Green Arrow and Ollie has become the Flash. Now that is an Elseworld. I do wonder if this is how we will see Batwoman; she is the Batman on this world. It isn't as if we haven't seen such gender flops in Elseworld's before in comics.

Seriously, this poster alone made me giddy. But the best was yet to come.



We got this shot of Kara, Clark, and Lois all relaxing on the Kent Farm. And, to double down on geekiness, the farmhouse is the same one that Smallville was shot on.

It is great to see Tyler Hoechlin again as Superman. (We have seen another shot of him in a black and silver 'Return of Superman' outfit.) But how awesome is it to see Bitsie Tulloch as Lois finally! And rocking a purple sweater! I love it.

Perhaps best of all was the leak or rumor that the Elseworlds story here is Superman dropping Kara off with the Kents to be raised in Kansas as opposed to bringing her to the Danvers!

I mean, haven't Supergirl comic fans wondered why Superman in the Silver Age would bring his relative and sole other survivor of Krypton to an orphanage? Why not see what would happen when she is in the presence of Kent-wisdom?

I love this picture!


And we get John Wesley Shipp in his 90's Flash uniform too!!!


But the news about the show, outside of the crossover, wasn't done. It was announced that Lex Luthor will appear on the Supergirl show this season. Here is one of many links:
https://www.dccomics.com/blog/2018/10/18/breaking-news-lex-luthor-will-appear-on-supergirl

 Given all the Lillian/Lena/Bruno Mannheim talk in the premiere, I'm not surprised that Lex makes an appearance. I hope they get someone who can bring a cold, dangerous, but calm aura to the proceedings.

So much goodness expected for this season.

13 comments:

  1. Barry and Ollie "power"-swapped is hilarious.

    I love that Superman family shot... and both Kara and Lois are being treated as his family. Enough with sidelining/erasing Kara Zor-El!

    "And, to double down on geekiness, the farmhouse is the same one that Smallville was shot on."

    I wish the showmakers had Laura Vandervoort reprise her role. Imagine Smallville's Kara getting stranded in Earth-38 and meeting Arroweverse Kara.

    "I mean, haven't Supergirl comic fans wondered why Superman in the Silver Age would bring his relative and sole other survivor of Krypton to an orphanage? Why not see what would happen when she is in the presence of Kent-wisdom?"

    To be honest, I prefer Kara was adopted by another family and grew up in another town. So she has her own setting and supporting cast.

    "But the news about the show, outside of the crossover, wasn't done. It was announced that Lex Luthor will appear on the Supergirl show this season."

    On the one hand, I'm happy because Lex is a good addition. On the another hand, I'm unhappy because I want the show to use Supergirl's own villains.

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  2. The fact that the Berlantiverse got its hands on "Lex Luthor" is a dead tip off that the Superman Film Franchise is officially moribund...

    And Lex is a officially a "shared villain" between Superman and Supergirl, others in that category include the Phantom Zone Convicts and Brainiac.

    But to your point, yes the show needs to keep promoting Supergirl's personal rogues....anyone else wanna start an online campaign in favor of "Vortex", "The Enchantress" or dare I say it, "The Gyronaut"?? (silly and obscure examples but sometimes those have the best potential for reinvention)...

    JF

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  3. So this will be another Kara Kent?

    Apparently the Laura Vandervoot version of Supergirl used that identity for a while.

    But there are others, like from Earth-3839. (See, I know how to use dc.wikia.com.) Seems like there would have been more.

    Maybe she will be named Linda Kent... or Mae (that other Supergirl, raised from goop by the Kents). Well, Linda would be confusing since there should be a Linda Lang in Smallville.

    Or maybe Lara Kent (who, in a dream sequence in Injustice Gods Among Us Year Three, was the daughter of Lois and Clark).

    I really liked The Flash on CBS in 1990 - and actually thought the special effects were great. (I have some episodes on VHS and may try to rewatch someday, see if it holds up.) Scenes where Flash danced around opponents, punching them from every side at super-speed, looked to me to be exactly the way Infantino drew it.

    Another cross-over I'd love to see is with an earth that has a Stephanie Brown Batgirl. If they can't get the rights to Batgirl, maybe she could be in her Spoiler identity.

    T.N.

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  4. You could upgrade to the DVD series, at Amazon for about $16.

    Frequently, on "black Friday" there are excellent sales on DVD / BluRay TV box sets at Walmart, Target, Meijer, and Best Buy.

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  5. Thanks for that Anj! I'm with you that I CAN'T WAIT for this year's crossover. Just from the "family shot" of
    Kal, Lois and Kara, I'm even more in for this! I kinda wish they'd added Black Lightning to the crossover as well
    this year, but oh well.

    As to Lex Luthor, we'll see how things go with it. I guess it would go towards Lena staying on the side of angels
    and on Team Supergirl, as I'm sure Lex would have his own reasons for hating / wanting to destroy another "S".

    > I wish the showmakers had Laura Vandervoort reprise her role. Imagine Smallville's Kara getting stranded in
    > Earth-38 and meeting Arroweverse Kara.

    Nice idea, or maybe slot in another Supergirl actress there... I'd stated that wish back when Supergirl TV started
    airing that getting other previous Supergirl actresses in a guest role of some sort would be a GREAT thing to see
    onscreen.

    > Another cross-over I'd love to see is with an earth that has a Stephanie Brown Batgirl.

    +9000. I'm STILL holding out hope for a Supergirl / Batgirl episode and teamup in some way, shape or form in
    the future. To TPTB, PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE MAKE THIS HAPPEN SOONER RATHER THAN LATER!!


    Regards

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  6. Good idea, garyb. I'll look for The Flash in digital.

    T.N.

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  7. Professor FeetlebaumOctober 23, 2018 at 4:15 PM

    I'm really looking forward to this crossover. I like that it's become an annual event, like the JLA/JSA team ups in the '60s and '70s comics. It's always nice to see Supergirl, Flash and Green Arrow come together, and it's good to see Tyler Hoechlin back. He makes a great Superman. While I have some problems with the Supergirl show (nothing is perfect), they certainly got Kara and Clark right, something the comics don't always do.

    Silver Age Superman couldn't have brought cousin Kara to the Kents because they were....well....kinda sorta like...dead at the time.
    That ever-changing continuity is so difficult to keep up with!

    Wonder who will play Lex Luthor? I always liked Michael Rosenbaum's portrayal on Smallville, but I doubt the producers would go that way.

    I thought that Bitsie Tulloch might have been named for Bitsy Beekman, a character in Milton Caniff's Steve Canyon strip (she was a pilot and a friend of Steve's cousin Poteet), but it wasn't so. Tulloch's nickname had to do with her grandfather who was in (as Herbert T. Gillis used to say) "the big one, WW 2."

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  8. In the way of overlooked talent, Stacy Haiduk is out there (Lana on the Superboy TV show) and AFAIK has never made any other super-appearances.

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  9. Sorry I’ve been absent today. Nutty day all around. Thanks for comments!

    Would love to see Vandervoort .. or Haiduk ... or even Burt Ward!!

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  10. Myself I was always hoping that Lyle Waggoner was "President Marston's VP"....:)

    JLG

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  11. "The fact that the Berlanti-verse got its hands on "Lex Luthor" is a dead tip off that the Superman Film Franchise is officially moribund..."

    Well, there's nothing that speaks more towards continued success than a lucrative contract deal that keeps Berlanti churning out more hit shows for WB-TV...and at least five more series in development, last I counted...

    "I kinda wish they'd added Black Lightning to the crossover as well
    this year, but oh well."

    Frankly, I don't see Black Lightning ever becoming connected to the other CW superhero shows, due to logistics. BL is filmed in Atlanta, while the other shows film in Vancouver.

    "I'm unhappy because I want the show to use Supergirl's own villains."

    Frankly, she doesn't have a strong enough rogues gallery that has stood the test of time (or generated much excitement outside of comics fandom). The show did give it a shot with Reign last season. Before that, we had Reactron, which turned out to be a dud. However, Hellgrammite is back this season.

    "And Lex is a officially a "shared villain" between Superman and Supergirl, others in that category include the Phantom Zone Convicts and Brainiac."

    Also, Silver Banshee and Livewire, the latter which turned into a real keeper thanks to Brit Morgan's sarcastic portrayal.

    KET


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  12. > the latter which turned into a real keeper thanks to Brit Morgan's sarcastic portrayal.

    +9000 KET. I was saddened by the decision to kill her off last season. Brit just killed this role!

    Much as I hate to admit it, you're right about Reactron being a bit of a dud when he showed up. Silver Banshee... dunno
    if TPTB would be willing to give her a 2nd shot at more screentime.


    Regards

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  13. "Frankly, she doesn't have a strong enough rogues gallery that has stood the test of time (or generated much excitement outside of comics fandom)."

    Frankly, I still remember you making the opposite argument in the Supergirltv.site back when the second Season ended. You told the show didn't need Reign why Supergirl has a strong Rogues Gallery that can be used instead.

    Also, have you considered that maybe she would have a better Gallery if they were given more stories and exposure? And using Superman's villains over and over fuels the "female Superman" arguments used by Supergirl's haters?

    You keep dismissing any and every criticism aimed at the show like if was perfect and flawless.

    "The show did give it a shot with Reign last season."

    The show never gave it a shot.

    They barely used Psi, Bizarrogirl or Alphonse Luzano. Where are Satan Girl, Lesla-Lar, Nightflame or Starfire?

    "Before that, we had Reactron, which turned out to be a dud."

    Because the show didn't use him well. What they should have done is to rehabilitate him instead of writting him off.

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