superman

Warner Brothers is facing the very real concept that after 2013, Superman, arguably the most globally recognizable character in their library, will not be theirs to exploit any longer. Courts awarded the estate of Jerry Siegel, the writer who quietly kicked off the entire superhero genre in 1938, the rights to key elements of Superman and his origin. The battle is still ongoing, as Warners recently replaced their lawyers as they move forward to determine if there's any retro-active money owed to the Siegel or Shuster (Joe Shuster, Superman's original artist) estates.

Which side of the argument do you fall on? Clearly, Superman would never have existed without Siegel and Shuster, and the character has produced massive revenue in comics, toys, television, books, apparel, and film, with that money going directly into corporate pockets -- not the pockets of the creators (or their heirs). The argument is that Siegel and Shuster were clearly work-for-hire and that they knew the deal going in -- anything they created for DC Comics belonged to DC Comics. They've been given some monetary compensation over the years, as a "thank you" from the company, but technically DC (and their parent company Warner Brothers) owes them nothing.

Or do they? Do you think DC has been fair to the estates of Siegel and Shuster or should the rights to a creation always belong to the creator? The fall-out from this case could very well change comics forever. At the very least, Warners will have to pay out licensing fees to continue to use Superman as usual, but it could also create a situation where every comic artist and writer starts banging on the doors of their employers, looking for their deserved piece of the pie.

Vote in our poll after the jump.

The cover reads 10-cents, but a copy of 1939's Detective Comics #27, containing the first-ever appearance of the caped crusader himself, Batman, just sold for a whopping $1 million dollars at an auction in Dallas, TX. It's an interesting record-breaking bookend to a week that began with the news of a private auction in which Action Comics #1, the 1938 debut of Superman (and the kick-off of the entire superhero genre), sold for $1 million as well.

It's the first time either comic (or any comic for that matter) has hit the million-dollar mark, obliterating current perceived market values. It has to be making hardcore collectors think twice about the estimated pricing of many key Golden Age issues. If this is a sign of things to come, it might be a sound investment to snag Marvel's earliest debut issues of their core heroes. Many of those books are more widely circulated (since they're about thirty years younger than the DC titles that went for auction), and can still be picked up with relative ease if you have a few thousand dollars to spend.

Not a bad way to plan for the future, as long as you can keep your mom from throwing out your "investments".

(source: Chron)

There's little in the way of story details just yet, but Latino Review does cite Brainiac and Lex Luthor as the villains. Hooray for Brainiac, but can we please skip Luthor for at least one installment of the series? No film has quite gotten the character right, and I'd rather see Supes face off with someone he can actually have physical action scenes with -- Parasite, Mongul, Bizarro, anyone but Lex Luthor.

A new Superman movie sounds like a really tough sell, and this is coming from a guy who actually liked Bryan Singer's homage to Richard Donner. I acknowledge that it wasn't the Superman movie than most fans wanted to see, but it still strikes me as odd that Superman would ever be in a position where he'd actually be hard to market. Once bitten, twice shy, I guess. I'm hopeful that Nolan and company can turn this image problem around. There's still a lot to love about the Man of Steel.

Looking for something good and geeky to watch? Check out this week's sci-fi DVD releases:

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (DVD and Blu-ray)
You can always count on DC's animated DVD flicks to deliver solid superhero action, but early word says Crisis packs brains and brawn. A superstar cast (James Woods, Mark Harmon, Gary Cole, Firefly's Gina Torres) voices the classic comic characters as they battle with their evil doppelgangers in a parallel dimension.

The Box (DVD and Blu-ray)
Director Richard Kelly's latest mindfrak isn't quite as ambitious or as messy as Southland Tales, nor is it as compelling or as charming as Donnie Darko. Instead, The Box offers a tense genre tale that spirals out of control as Kelly packs on his trademark mix of dark wit, absurd moments and outlandish surprises.

Flash Forward: Season One Pt.1 (DVD)
It looks like this ambitious ABC drama didn't turn out to be the next Lost after all. Still, the first half of Flash Forward's season one offers a compelling mystery, some genuinely thrilling moments, and even some dark humor in almost every episode. Catch up in time for its return to TV on March 18.

The Crazies (Blu-ray)
Catch George Romero's original '70s pandemic creepshow before the remake hits the big screen. The director does commentary on the Blu-ray.

Here's a look at tonight's sci-fi TV:

Smallville, "Warrior" – Ever wanted to see what Lois Lane might look like dressed up as Wonder Woman? Well tonight's your chance! In the latest episode of Smallville, Clark and crew head to the Metropolis Comic-Con, where Chloe's new boy toy steals a magic comic book (is there any other kind, really?). Clark and Zatanna (Serinda Swan) search for the thief to reclaim the book before he becomes corrupted by its power. Elsewhere, Lois gets jealous of Zatanna which, we're guessing, leads to her much-anticipated cosplay moment. (8 p.m. ET on The CW)

Head after the jump for clips and more TV picks.

An interesting bit of news from Deadline Hollywood this morning reveals that director Christopher Nolan is being asked to "godfather" a new Superman film. It's an odd choice of words, but it may reveal that Deadline Hollywood has no idea what Nolan is doing if he's taking meetings with Warners over the proposed film. To me, "godfather" sounds an awful lot like "producer", if they're naming Nolan as a man to come in and shepherd the project. I just don't think they know what he's doing (yet), but it makes sense that Warner Brothers would approach the man who brought us The Dark Knight and at least get his opinions on what he'd do with Superman.

And what would Nolan do with Superman? Nolan has admitted in the past that he's not a comic book reader, and I have to wonder how familiar he is with the character, first of all. Secondly, are we craving another deadly serious Superman film after Bryan Singer's Superman Returns? Nolan is a skilled director, but his creative interests (namely, complex mysteries) seem at odds with the material. I think fans have been waiting for a more fun approach to Superman on film -- something with more comic book science-fiction and large-scale action. We're waiting on Darkseid and Brianiac and Mongul and Doomsday, not another Lois Lane/Superman love story set against a Lex Luthor money-making real estate scheme. Maybe, just maybe, they're meeting with Nolan to get his thoughts on revitalizing Superman by having him appear in the third Batman film?

Warner Brothers is moving forward on the project while they still have the chance. The rights to Superman revert entirely to the estates of Superman creators Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuster in 2013, and a new deal would have to be negotiated at that point (which I'm sure will happen anyway -- I can't see Warners letting Superman go). If they're trying to put something together for Summer 2012, they're going to be moving quickly, so expect more news on this soon.

"If you were to create the Superman story today, for the first time, but keep intact all that works, what would it look like?" That's the question that writer J. Michael Straczynski hopes to answer in his new DC Comics book, Superman: Earth One.

Taking the lead from Marvel's line of "Ultimate" comics, the "Earth One" books are designed to effectively relaunch DC characters in a fresh, new universe, free of the confines of decades worth of monthly continuity. It's a bold experiment, one that DC has approached before with their "All-Star" line -- offering high-profile artists the chance to create stand-alone works featuring DC heroes.

Most interesting of all, and the thing that will really set them apart from Marvel's "Ultimate" monthly series, are the way in which the books are being released. Superman: Earth One (by Straczynski and Shane Davis) and Batman: Earth One (by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank) will be released on a twice-a-year schedule in a graphic novel format.

"Batman: Earth One is more in line with the European idea of releasing chapters of an ongoing series in graphic novel form," Johns told
AintItCoolNews. "We're planning on doing two novels a year and set in this new universe, we're getting unlimited creative freedom that we couldn't have in current continuity."

That sparse schedule should help them avoid problems that the "Ultimate" universe ran into. Created to allow new fans an entry point without having to rely on complicated backstories, through the years the "Ultimate" universe started creating its own convoluted continuity. Despite the shared "Earth One" universe, with only two books a year it will take "Earth One" quite a while to get to the point where they're mired in backstory.

The first books in the line are slated for release sometime in 2010.

Name: Kal-El aka Clark Kent aka Superman aka Supes aka The Man of Steel aka The Man of Tomorrow aka Big Blue aka The Last Son of Krypton.

Appears In: DC Comics' monthly titles Superman, Action Comics, Superman/Batman, and Trinity. Live-action television shows, animated cartoons from Max Fleischer, Filmation, Ruby-Spears, Hanna-Barbera, and Warner Bros, and multiple feature films.

Homeworld: Krypton. His father, Jor-El, predicted the planet's destruction and saved his son's life by rocketing his infant son to Earth.

Demeanor: Altruistic, brave, selfless, determined, moral.

Special Abilities: Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound...Kal-El has a variety of powers dependent on Earth's yellow sun including bullet-proof skin, x-ray vision, super-strength, flight, super-speed, and heat-vision. These powers can be negated with Kryptonite, a rare element from Kal-El's home planet. Kryptonite not only affects his abilities, but his overall health as well.

Turn-Ons: American patriotism. Girls with the initials "L.L." Primary colors. Journalistic integrity. Farm livin'.

Turn-Offs: Being mistaken for a bird or plane. LexCorp. Super-Villainy. Kneeling before Zod.

Career Highlights: Was the first superhero ever, thus kickstarting an entire genre. Inspired Crash Test Dummies' most beautiful song. Honored by the good people of Turkey in one of their copyright law-ignoring movies. Defeated the Ku Klux Klan. Survived death, a mullet, and being split into two electric-powered Supermen. Narrowly avoided this.

Career Lowlights: Shilled his own brand of peanut butter. Inspired a Superman musical. Routinely appeared in some of the worst video games of all time. Superboy, the TV show. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. Was the subject of an insipid hit song from Soulja Boy. Was outed as being a complete dick.

(Strange Invaders is SciFiSquad's weekly look at the fictional lifeforms that inhabit our galaxy. Check back every Friday for a new entry in this series.)

Smallville, aka "the show that won't die," might be headed for a tenth season, says producer Kelly Souders. I wrote about this news today at TV Squad, and I asked fans what they would want to see from a possible tenth season of the super hero series.

I'd love to see Michael Rosenbaum return to make Clark's life a living hell. Or maybe we could get a real story arc for Brian Austin Green's Metallo. I'd definitely welcome more episodes penned by comic book writer Geoff Johns, who wrote last season's memorable "Legion" episode and will return for this year's Justice Society ep.

Where do you want to see the show go? Should it continue? Has Smallville worn out its welcome after more than eight years? Are you excited about Julian Sands turn as Clark's father, Jor-El? Let us know.

[Via: EW]

Just last month, Warner Bros. decided to shelve the idea of a new Superman reboot, ending any recent chance to wipe Superman Returns from our heads. (Sorry fans, but aside from the shot to the eye, that flick was anything but cool.) Yet now I find myself wishing they'd reconsider, and it's all because of Smallville.

I'm not a fan of the series. I've watched a few eps, shrugged with an "eh," and couldn't even get tantalized by the inclusion of James Marsters, who singlehandedly gave Torchwood new life during its second season. But now... As you might have heard, Julian Sands recently signed on to play Jor-El, papa to Superman (or Kal-El as he was once called). And now there's a whole slew of stills from the Season 9 episode "Kandor" over at Daemon's TV.

It makes me want a new Superman. A LOT. I want Sands to be thrown on the big screen, and see a remake that intermingles great, but unexpected names with the usual mainstream box office flair. It would be such an easy way to add a lot of talent without breaking the bank with the biggest of big names. Sands as Jor-El... Definitely Jon Hamm as Supes. Fixing the ol' artist mistake and casting Philip Seymour Hoffman as a with-hair Lex Luthor. Or back to the lesser known, a bald Clancy Brown for Lex, riffing on the animated series. (Thanks to my geek king Michael Holmes for that one.) You could go obvious and beefy for Brainiac, or get all-out talent with, say, Hugh Laurie? And to wipe the abysmal Lois Lane casting, I say Vera Farmiga would be killer alongside Jon Hamm.

And with that, I'm dying for a remake. Would you buy it with some heavier and older talent, and who would you cast?