Tag: dc comics

Geekly News: June 15, 2025, Spaceballs 2

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

Happy Sunday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here, serving up another week of geek news. We’ve got a couple of television and movie updates, but the biggest one may be that Spaceballs 2 will hit theaters in 2027. Let’s talk about it.

First Spaceballs 2 Teaser Released

Spaceballs 2 rumors are flying everywhere at the moment. We don’t know what the movie’s full title is going to be for sure. The original Spaceballs dubbed its future sequel Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money, but judging from this week’s teaser, the movie’s full title may be Spaceballs 2: The Schwartz Awakens.

Sure, Spaceballs 2 is tapping into Gen X’s nostalgia, but I don’t mind this sequel. If nothing else, it was great to see a nearly 99-year-old Mel Brooks in great health. I can’t believe he’s turning 99 on June 28th. Yikes! We know for sure that Mel Brooks will return as director, and he’ll probably reprise one or both of his roles, President Skroob and Yogurt. Several other casting rumors have swirled since the teaser. In the past, Rick Moranis has mentioned that he’d act in another Mel Brooks movie. It’s unclear if Moranis believed Brooks had another movie left to direct. Bill Pullman and his son, Lewis Pullman (who portrayed Sentry in Thunderbolts*), have also expressed interest in joining Spaceballs 2’s cast.

The original Spaceballs was a fan favorite. I could see numerous actors attached to play different roles. Only time will tell who makes the finals cast list, but despite the obvious nostalgia button being pressed, I’m excited.

Final Superman Trailer Released

Not going to lie, the teeth flying out of the enemy’s mouth and clanging off the camera are a little much. Yowza! Moving on. Despite the final Superman trailer’s brevity, it packs a punch. Pun intended. We get an idea that Lex Luthor intends to destroy Superman, but his monologue suggests that he doesn’t mean to kill Superman, at least not yet. Lex plans to kill everyone important to Superman: Lois (the reporter who does all his interviews) and the people who raised him. Dang! Lex is a certified hater. He goes as far as to say, they (the world) chose Superman, let them die. Nicholas Hoult’s Luthor doesn’t play.

Lex has discovered the Fortress of Solitude (which we saw in the previous trailers), but this trailer may sow the seeds of Lex’s machinations. Superman could pull from the Superman: Birthright comic storyline and have Lex frame Superman as an advanced scout for the Kryptonian race attempting to overtake Earth. One of Lex’s henchmen, Ultraman, could be a Kryptonian clone. He certainly has strength comparable to Superman as he pushes Supes’ face into concrete. The kaiju-style monster Superman fights could even be an animal from Superman’s zoo.

In the comics, Superman kept Kryptonian animals in a zoo enclosed in his Fortress of Solitude. If Lex wants to frame Superman and the Kryptonians for acts of violence, it makes sense if he releases one of the Kryptonian animals from the Fortress of Solitude’s zoo. It could be just as likely that this kaiju-style monster is an illusion. The Superman: Birthright storyline includes something similar with Lex’s smear campaign against Superman. But Lex may not be the only villain working behind the scenes.

Maxwell Lord appears to be the one behind the Justice Gang, this universe’s current iteration of the Justice League, that includes Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl, and Mr. Terrific. It looks as though Lord will only be mentioned, but it’ll be interesting to see how he’s pulling strings. The Justice Gang looks to be wearing Lord apparel. Guy Gardner may also be the perfect Green Lantern to fight Superman. He’s a grade A douchebag, and the perfect foil for Supes. Overall, I liked this final trailer. It doesn’t spoil too much. I could be wrong about a lot of these details. And I can’t wait for Superman to hit theaters next month.

Clash of Clans Show Will Be a Workplace Comedy

We covered the Clash of Clans show announcement a couple of weeks ago. I’ll be honest; I never did get into Clash of Clans. But the news that Clash of Clans will be a workplace comedy has me intrigued. We don’t know if the characters will know they’re part of a video game or if they’re committed to the Clash of Clans’ universe. The zanier the better. Bring it on.

Plakks Basketball Launches on KickStarter

Plakks has a great track record of taking popular sports and translating them to a dexterity-based tabletop game. They’re doing the same with basketball. The pitch is simple. Players bounce the basketball on their half of the court and try to make a basket in their opponent’s goal. If they make a shot, they get to place a player on their opponent’s side of the court. Player figurines affect the ball’s bounce and shrink the playing field. Whoever places five players on their opponent’s side first wins.

Plakks Basketball looks quick and fun to play. If you’re interested, Plakks’ KickStarter page has a video of the gameplay. Pledges range between $28-55 (plus shipping). I missed out on Plakks’ Hockey and Soccer. These games look like they’d be great at a convention.

ANTgravity Preparing for GameFound

Players control ants in this interstellar version of capture the flag. But watch out! A meteor approaches, changing the rules of the game and making players’ weapons more powerful. ANTgravity takes video game concepts and applies them to a quick board game of outer space dominance.

Asteroids (the purple tiles seen above) can block your path. You can shoot them, gaining any bonuses underneath, to clear a path to your opponent’s headquarters (and their flag), but if an ant travels off the board, it floats into outer space and respawns at the hospital. Capture your opponents’ flags and bring them back to your headquarters before time runs out. ANTgravity launches early next week on GameFound. The Core Set costs approximately $34, while the Gameplay All-In runs about $57.

That’s all we have for Geek News this week. We may be a little light on news, now that we’re less than a month away from Superman and Fantastic Four: First Steps. Board game news should pick up again closer to GenCon in early August. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Geekly News: May 18, 2025, New Superman Trailer

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. We’ve had quite a few trailers over the past week. We’ll start with Superman, because the DCU hasn’t received nearly enough shine from JK Geekly, and that’s on me. Let’s fix that with this week’s Geekly News post.

New Superman Trailer

JK Geekly didn’t cover the first Superman trailer, mostly because that trailer received unnecessary–and frankly, baffling–criticism. The most vocal critics didn’t care for the first trailer’s comedic elements. One tweet that ripped apart a small scene with robot medics, where one (voiced by Alan Tudyk) said there was no reason for Superman to thank the robots because they don’t possess feelings, and the next robot medic shows emotion, received 37 million likes. That was a joke. Most of the responses didn’t seem to understand comedy. I would get the criticism if the joke wasn’t well told. That wasn’t what most people suggested. Regarding the comedy, I thought it worked well enough for a quick joke. But this doesn’t even get into fans’ costume vitriol.

I probably should’ve covered the first trailer anyway, but I waited for the second trailer, so let’s get to it. John Murphy’s interpretation of John Williams’s classic Superman theme was fantastic. I like the premise this second Superman trailer presents. Lois knows Clark is Superman. Thank goodness. Superman presumably stopped a war, which is something he might do, and that causes an international incident (which would definitely happen if other nations believed Superman represented the United States), and that leads Lex Luthor to sow doubt in the Earth needing a Superman. So far, this is all on brand.

I love this premise. Pa Kent and Lois nail their portrayals. Ma Kent cleaning Superman’s boots so he could help people was adorable. Lex might be a little campy. Nicholas Hoult is an accomplished actor; I’ve liked him since his major acting debut in the BBC series Skins. I have hope this is Hoult channeling a bit of Gene Hackman’s Lex (not Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex), and the moment where he ventures into camp is fleeting. I can’t stress this enough. These trailers offer glimpses of an over two-hour movie.

Similarly, I’m a little concerned about David Corenswet’s Superman losing his cool with Lois. From what we see (in a trailer for a two-hour movie), Lois doesn’t press him too much. Perhaps, there’s more to this scene that we’re not seeing. But Corenswet’s Superman slightly loses his cool. This isn’t a Michael Gambon as Dumbledore screaming at Harry Potter when the text in The Goblet of Fire clearly states that he calmly asks Harry a question. Outside of losing his cool while saying, “People were going to die,” Corenswet looked and sounded like he could be a younger, slightly arrogant, and naive Superman.

The two Superman trailers have me excited for the movie. I can’t wait to see the movie in a couple of months.

Ironheart Trailer Drops

The MCU’s Ironheart trailer dropped this week, too. This marks the closest a Marvel project was to releasing before it received its first trailer. Even Werewolf By Night, a surprise Marvel project in 2022, had a trailer months before it released. I don’t know what this means for Ironheart. This could mean that the studio has little faith in the project or that they have the utmost confidence. It could also be a nothingburger. I find it odd that Ironheart didn’t receive a trailer sooner when Sinners (a film by Ironheart’s producer Ryan Coogler) was atop the box office.

My favorite comment for the Ironheart trailer was “I’m genuinely impressed they haven’t disabled the comments.” lol. Same. Most viewers didn’t care for the premise, and to be fair, Ironheart didn’t do a good enough job of setting up its premise. I’ve read the show’s description, and Ironheart sounds like it could be great. Riri Williams (Ironheart) picks up where Iron Man left off. The Hood (the main antagonist) is a magic user who runs a criminal underground. SciFi versus Magic. What’s not to love? Ironheart and The Hood’s relationship gives me strong vibes of what Iron Man and The Mandarin should’ve been. And Ironheart could be setting up the ultimate magic meets technology with Doctor Doom. I’ll amend what I said. Ironheart could be epic.

But this trailer falls flat. It’s paint-by-numbers. Reintroduce Riri (in case people forgot who she was from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), clumsily introduce the antagonist, and give the viewer a vague idea of the show. Still, I like Ironheart’s inclusion of practical effects; Riri’s armor-up scene was tight. And Ryan Coogler wouldn’t attach his name to a stinker. Ironheart still interests me. The trailer could’ve done more.

Coexist Will Launch on Gamefound on May 19, 2025

Take control of a wildlife conservation team with Coexist. Publisher Matagot Games has an amazing track record. They’ve teamed up with Stonemeier Games for Wingspan, Scythe, and several others. One of Matagot Games’ originals, Takenoko, still hits my table. We don’t know much about Coexist’s gameplay. Matagot has shared that the core game flow is recruiting caretakers, welcoming animals to your conservation headquarters, and releasing animals back into the wild after their needs are met, or you may lower your reputation by placing the animals in a reserve.

Matagot Games has teamed up with Human Initiative to Save Animals (HISA). I love it when board game companies do this; whenever this happens, a portion of the game’s profits will go to HISA, a real-world conservation organization that’s based in Bordeaux. Coexist’s art looks fantastic.

Bordeaux street artist A-Mo provides Coexist’s art. Matagot Games stays true to its Bordeaux roots. HISA is headquartered there, and A-Mo is from there. I love the theme, Matagot Games seldom releases a poorly received game, and the varied animal types needing specific things (so one conservation team cannot save every animal) could supply a lot of strategic value.

Since Coexist hasn’t yet been released, Geekly doesn’t have specifics for the campaign’s pricing. If you’d like to follow the campaign, feel free to visit Coexist’s Gamefound page.

Battle Monsters Launches on Kickstarter

Strategic kaiju battles await with Restoration Games’ Battle Monsters. This title reimplements 1992’s Battle Masters, which used the Warhammer intellectual property. That makes sense. Restoration Games is known for taking old games (like Thunder Road: Vendetta and Fireball Island), occasionally retheming the game if they cannot use the license, and re-engineering old games for modern gamers. Battle Monsters looks to be another great title.

Wow! Those detailed miniatures look amazing. A lot comes in the box, no matter which box you choose. The game features quick dice-based combat. Players control a kaiju and a team of soldiers. Coordinating your forces is the key to victory. You can mix and match any titan (kaiju) and faction on any map. I also like that there’s a solo play option; that’s a great trend for the board game hobby.

The smallest pledge amount is $125, and you must choose between the Godzilla and Kong boxes. The Big Bundle runs $299, and gamers receive Godzilla, Kong, and the Mothra expansion. The Mega Bundle costs $379, but backers at this level receive all Battle Monsters’ content, including upgrades like specialty stands for each kaiju miniature. If you’re interested in getting your kaiju on, check out Battle Monsters’ Kickstarter page.

SquareEnix Leaks Kingdom Hearts IV Screenshots

While we knew SquareEnix was working on Kingdom Hearts IV, the game released its first images. Most of the images are of low quality. We chose one of the better shots to show gamers what they could expect from SquareEnix’s upcoming title. Kingdom Hearts IV’s environment looks like a virtual Shibuya. These photos reveal little of the game’s story or other locations. We’re certain Shibuya will be one of several locations players will visit.

The above image is grainy as heck, but one thing is for certain. The player is controlling Mickey. This may be a first for the Kingdom Hearts series. Mickey is seldom a playable character. I can’t wait to see if players will get to play as the famous mouse.

That’s all the geek news we have for this week. Next week, I’ll be out of town, so Geekly News may be rather short. We’ll see when the day comes. Thank you for reading. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Top 5 Suicide Squad Members

Top 5 Members of the Suicide Squad

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

We covered Marvel’s Illuminati members last month, and this month we’re doing the same for DC Comics rag-tag team of oddballs the Suicide Squad. Also referred to as Task Force X, the Suicide Squad takes on missions so dangerous that trying to complete them would mean that someone has a death wish. Brought back in the 1980s with this concept, the Suicide Squad was run by Amanda Waller, who installed explosive devices inside the heads of hardened criminals. Cue over-the-top antics.

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We’re back with the first Top 5 list. Today we’re tackling DC’s lovable gang of miscreants, the Suicide Squad. Who made our list of the Top 5 Suicide Squad Members? Let’s find out.

5: Rick Flag

Rick Flag is the OG Suicide Squad member. Someone by the name of Rick Flag has been around since 1959. There have been three generations of Rick Flags; each one has served as one of the Suicide Squad’s leaders. Rick Flag stands out from most other Suicide Squad members because he isn’t a former criminal. Most iterations of Rick Flag portray him as a skilled military special ops member. This makes sense. The Suicide Squad began as a military/government outfit. It wasn’t until Amanda Waller revived the project that the Suicide Squad included criminals.

Typically, Rick Flag serves as Amanda Waller’s right-hand man within the group, helping keep the rest of the Suicide Squad in line. Amanda Waller is on to something. It would take more than a bomb in one’s head to stop certain members of the Suicide Squad. You need a man on the inside. Rick Flag is that inside man.

4: Captain Boomerang

We go from the most wholesome member of the Suicide Squad in Rick Flag to the least wholesome in Captain Boomerang. Let that sink in. Within a group of psychopaths and hardened criminals, Captain Boomerang is the least wholesome.

Boomerang joined the Suicide Squad in exchange for a pardon. So far, so good. But his grating personality and blatant racism cause more than a little strife within the group. Nobody likes this guy. He causes friction within the team and most team members consider him to be the most dangerous and least dependable member. This also causes Captain Boomerang to have some tasty storylines. He’s one of those villains you love to hate.

3: Harley Quinn

Harley Quinn was going to make this list, but I struggled with where to place her. She’s the highest profile character on this Top 5 list, but she’s also the newest Suicide Squad member. The third spot sounds right.

This isn’t the classic Harley Quinn. The original Harley Quinn, found in Batman: The Animated Series, needed a makeover before joining the team. The Harley who joined the Suicide Squad is the one with the revamped origin story where Joker pushes Harley into a vat of chemicals, granting her superpowers. This new Harley Quinn breaks the fourth wall like a popular merc with a mouth from a different comic book universe. I don’t know which version of Harley I like better, but there’s no denying that after her makeover, Harley Quinn molded the Suicide Squad in her image.

2: Deadshot

Besides the character in our number one spot, Floyd Lawton as Deadshot is who I think of first when I think of the Suicide Squad. Waller recruits Lawton because of his skills as a marksman and the fact that his mandated therapy sessions revealed that he has a “death wish,” hoping a skilled enemy will end his life in a dramatic battle. This death wish leads Deadshot to wear a costume featuring a target on his chest.

Deadshot often clashes with Captain Boomerang—who doesn’t—and field leader Rick Flag. But Deadshot and the latter share a begrudging respect for each other. Deadshot is a classic Suicide Squad member. His backstory lends himself to inclusion on the team and on this list. Lawton may be the only member of the Suicide Squad with a death wish.

1: Amanda Waller

I mentioned Amanda Waller in several write-ups leading to our top spot. Her spot at number one was inevitable. Waller is the woman in charge. She’s the one who resurrected the Suicide Squad. She’s the one who thought installing bombs in criminal’s skulls and forcing them to do government work was a good idea. In short, there would be no Suicide Squad without Amanda Waller.

The woman nicknamed The Wall makes up for her lack of superpowers with her ruthlessness, guile, intimidation, and political connections. Waller is the proverbial person who knows where the bodies are buried, and she’s not afraid to use that knowledge to her advantage. The Wall can even make members of the Justice League, like Superman and Batman, blush. She’s not to be taken lightly. She had to take the number one spot.

Did we get the list right? Let us know who you would add or remove in the comments. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Harley Quinn 03

Harley Quinn: “The Mess Is the Point” Review

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Season’s Thoughts

I’ll be the first to admit I teared up during the latter half of “The Mess Is the Point.” Harley Quinn managed to, once again, subvert my expectations while being comical.

“The Mess Is the Point” was another heavy episode, but it felt a bit lighter than “Bottle Episode (But Not a ‘Bottle Episode’).” I think that’s because I expected Harley and crew to be rescued in one way or another, so there was going to be a silver lining.

I never thought I’d say it, but I think I’d prefer Kyra’s prediction last week to how Frankette would get Harley and crew out of the bottle as opposed to what actually happened. By a small margin. I’m not overly attached to Frankette because she’s a new character, but seeing a baby get hurt is upsetting regardless of species. Frankette eating the Luthor siblings was par for the course.

Superman coming back to save the day was something I expected. I was really hoping he’d say some cheesy line about his and Lois’ Morse code exchanges to lean into Harley Quinn’s type of comedy. All he said was, “It sure is nice to be needed again.” Okay. I’ll admit it. That’s a line I expect out of superhero cartoons from decades ago, and I appreciate this inclusion.

Brainiac really tugged on my heartstrings this time around, too. I was tearing up when he sat with his family for the last time. He had so much buildup, but he didn’t seem like a villain. I was sad to see him go, but I don’t think Harley Quinn can do anything else with his character after season five. It seems like Harley and Ivy are staying in Metropolis. If there is a season six, I’m curious to see which of Metropolis’ rogues Harley Quinn will explore next.

Kyra’s Take

I agree with Season. Brainiac’s ending was heartfelt and fitting. Even though we didn’t spend too much time with Brainiac this season, he had a fleshed-out character arc. Harley Quinn did a good job juggling Brainiac and Lena’s storylines and tying them together at the end. I also don’t see Harley Quinn doing much with Brainiac beyond this season. Point of clarification: Harley and Ivy moved back to Gotham City by the end of “The Mess Is the Point.” Ivy claims that she stole the place from Cyborg. It may appear that Harley and Ivy stayed in Metropolis because Superman had placed Metropolis next to Gotham after he rescued the city from the bottle.

Speaking of cities in bottles, Harley Quinn can dip into countless DC Universe stories with the other cities Brainiac captured. This could lead Harley Quinn into Green Lantern, Blue Beetle, Hawkman/Hawkgirl, Legion of Superheroes, and Martian Manhunter storylines, just to name a few. Harley and Ivy even mention they will restore these cities in the future. And the Harley Quinn creative team has carte blanche to do whatever they want in the Harleyverse. It doesn’t affect the Canonverse. Max hasn’t officially announced a sixth season for Harley Quinn yet but with the show’s popularity and a desire by everyone involved in the project (per multiple entertainment news sources like Coming Soon who interviewed showrunner Dean Lorey), this may be a matter of time.

And speaking of time, allow me to time warp to season 5’s finale. It felt like a finale. Harley Quinn’s last two seasons failed to tie up loose ends. Season 3 focused on Harley becoming a superhero and her failing. Plot lines were dropped in season 4 after Nightwing gets killed and the ladies form the Gotham City Sirens. And that plot line got dropped in season 5’s opening minutes. Harley Quinn season 5 tied up all its Metropolis shenanigans while setting up potential future storylines. This ending tied up things so well that it made me wonder if Harley Quinn would be renewed for a sixth season. If Harley Quinn were to end with season 5, fans would at least have closure.

That said, I’m not ready to say goodbye to these characters yet. I’m rooting for a season 6. The show can go in plenty of directions. Let’s assume Harley Quinn gets renewed. The audience got a hint of space during the season finale. Let’s see more intergalactic mayhem. Add a dash of some familiar madness, too. Harley’s mom has moved in with Harley and Ives. That should spice up their living conditions. Harley/Ivy, King Shark, Bruce, Joker, and Bane all have children. The show could mine these relationships further. And was Bane’s wife pregnant? Oh my! That’ll be interesting.

Harley Quinn season 5 was one of the series’ best and most cohesive seasons. Fingers crossed that we’ll see a sixth season. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.