DC’s virtual FanDome event debuted this weekend with a bunch of teasers from upcoming DC properties in comics, movies, television, and video games. The next FanDome day is Saturday, September 12, and it looks like it will be a little bit more panel heavy with a wider choice of things to check out.
Being in a global pandemic means a lot of things, but for the comic book and pop culture world, that means that we haven’t had any conventions this year, and we might not have them next year. So this was a pretty good way to give us fans the content we’ve been craving, especially when there isn’t much else to do. Was it kinda corny? Yes. But there weren’t any fans walking up to mics and asking stupid questions. So it was a good payoff.
I’m gonna break down some of the highlights from the day. From the movies, to the games, and the thing that spawned them all: the comics.
Milestone Returns
Surprisingly, we didn’t get a lot of straight-up comics content. But one of the things we did get, made up for that. At least for me.
There’s no doubt about it anymore: Milestone is officially back. I wrote about the initial teaser announcement last month, but I was still cautiously optimistic about whether anything would ever come of it. But pretty soon, we’re gonna get to read new stories from Static, Icon, Rocket, and many more. I couldn’t be happier.
The Milestone panel wasn’t formerly announced or advertised. It was in a “surprise” slot on the schedule. I think that ultimately led a lot more people to tune in. I was definitely surprised. But you know there was a dude who was hoping for some Man of Steel 2 news who got his feelings hurt.
The panel was hosted by professional nerd Marc Bernardin, and it featured Milestone co-founder Denys Cowan, as well as Jim Lee, Reginald Hudlin, and veteran voice actor and voice of Static Phil Lamaar.
In the panel they confirmed what a lot of us have wanted for a long time. And they gave us some details about the future, including a return date of February 2021.
Some of the more concrete things they announced was a digital first Static Shock ongoing series, an Icon & Rocket series, and digital releases of the back catalog on sites like Comixology. Hopefully they’ll release printed collections at some point as well.
Reginald Hudlin also went into some of the other things they’ll be looking into such as movie adaptations, animation, and even podcasts. The future’s looking bright.
On day two of DC’s FanDome on September 12th, fans will be treated with Milestone Returns Zero, a one-shot that reintroduces us to the Dakotaverse, and familiarizes it to new fans.
Video Games Without Batman
The games they teased at the FanDome made the gamer in me happy, but it made the Batman hater in me even happier.
We were gifted two fresh looks at games being developed by Rocksteady, and WB Games Montreal. And none of them featured Batman.
The first game they showed us was Gotham Knights, featuring Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl, and Red Hood who have to keep the city alive after the death of the aforementioned Batman. This is linked to the Arkham games so it’s pretty safe to say that this is the death of Batman from Arkham Knight. They also showed us about eight minutes of gameplay.
I don’t hate Batman. I hate how oversaturated he is. But this is a good compromise for me. It allows me to take control of more iconic characters from in and around Gotham. One of my favorite things about it was how you can switch between any of the four Knights during the game, and hone the skills of each.
I for one look forward to whooping lowly thugs with Nightwing’s ass. You can do this too when the game comes out in 2021.
The second game we got an extended look at is in the same vein as Gotham Knights, as it also takes place in the Arkham universe. Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is exactly what it sounds like.
But it also looks like a lot of fun. Centered around Harley Quinn, Deadshot, King Shark, and Captain Boomerang, we’ll get to take control of Task Force X as they navigate a Metropolis taken over by Brainiac and a Justice League under his control.
It promises to have the same aspects relating to switching between the characters as Gotham Knights, but with a ranged weapon component as well. It comes out in 2022, which sounds like 30 years from now if you ask me. I want it now.
Run Barry Run
The biggest panels of the day were without a doubt centered around the movies. We got some extensive looks from some of the movies that are either finished or actively shooting and some smaller teasers from some of the movies still in the early days of development.
For The Flash, we were introduced to director Andy Muschietti, who you probably know from directing the new It movies. He went on and gave us some teases about what his Flash might look like, showing some early concept art featuring the Scarlet Speedster in a new suit with Michael Keaton’s Batman standing behind him.
This movie is adapting the Flashpoint story, so time travel, the multiverse, and alternate versions of the characters we know are going to be a huge part.
Shazam & Black Adam
After that, we got a little tease from Shazam and Black Adam as well. The Rock introduced us to his character and how excited he is for the movie while giving us the first look of the character as well in a drawing by Bosslogic and Jim Lee.
The Shazam Panel was mostly a fun few minutes with the extremely likable cast catching up while Sinbad pops in out of nowhere to let us know once and for all that he did not star in a movie called Shazam or Kazam in the 90s. But maybe he’ll be in Shazam 2. I actually kind of need that now. At the end of their panel, they revealed the name to be Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
Suicide Squad ReSequel??
The Suicide Squad panel gave us a little peek into James Gunn’s ReSequel of the franchise. We didn’t get a trailer, but we got a roll call, finally finding out just who is in this movie.
There’s Bloodsport played by Idris Elba, Peacemaker played by John Cena, and Polka Dot Man played by David Dastmalchian to name a few. And if you’re wondering just who the hell these characters are, that’s the point. They’re some of the more obscure comic book characters from DC Comics with ridiculous skillsets and powers, and most of them are probably going to die.
The Snyder Cut
The movie that a very loud group wanted, and everyone else just wants to move on from is Justice League: The Snyder Cut. And for better or worse, we were given a trailer for that today. It’s going to fully realize Zack Snyder’s vision of the movie before he had to leave production and Joss Whedon came in to do massive reshoots for the theatrical release.
There’s more Cyborg, less mustache, and a janky looking Darkseid.
It will be broken up into 4 one-hour episodes and release in 2021. Love it or hate it, want it or not, it does at the very least look good visually. And at the end of the day, all of this noise will be over once it’s released and we can all move on with our lives.
Wonder Woman 1984
Wonder Woman 1984 gave us a trailer today as well. This movie probably should have come out this time last year, but Warner Bros has been holding onto it because of their thin list of finished or almost finished superhero movies. It was supposed to be released this summer, but now who knows when we’re gonna see it.
The trailer didn’t show us much we didn’t already know. We know it’s in the 80s, that Steve Trevor is somehow alive, and that Maxwell Lord & Cheetah are the antagonists. But it was still a solid trailer. And we got a little glimpse of Cheetah’s final form.
I’m here for it. The fanny packs, the gold plated suit, and the Cheetah. This movie looks like a lot of fun.
The Batman
The Fandome capped off the day with a teaser for Matt Reeves’ highly anticipated The Batman. The movie started filming earlier this year before it had to be shut down by The Rona. So it’s amazing we got a trailer at all. Reeves said that they filmed about 25-30% of the film before having to take a break.
And all I’m gonna say is that even though I think there’s too much Batman in the world, and even though Robert Pattinson’s interpretation won’t have white eyes, I’m still 100% here for this. It might be the ears for me. And Zoe Kravitz.
For what it was, I think you could say that DC’s FanDome was a success. It allowed us all to interact with something in real-time. We haven’t had that in a while. Even if we weren’t all in the same room, it still felt special. The only thing I would change about the whole thing would be to allow us to stream on YouTube instead of just the DC FanDome site. I hate watching things on my computer.
We’ll have even more new DC content in three weeks on September 12, when we can return to the FanDome for more exclusive panels and reveals.
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