The 10 Greatest BATMAN Villains of ALL TIME!

DEATHSTROKE could be Batman's next cinematic adversary - but if so, who does he cut in line to get that shot?

via The Nerd Machine

http://www.newsarama.com/15456-the-10-greatest-batman-villains-of-all-time.html

The Flash: We All Know Who Savitar Is

The Flash: We All Know Who Savitar Is

Before I even get started, I want you to know that we’re going THERE with tonight’s column. So if you haven’t watched this week’s Flash yet, get out of here until you do. Trust me, MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD.

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Ashley V. Robinson
via DC Comics

http://www.dccomics.com/blog/2017/05/02/the-flash-we-all-know-who-savitar-is

Supergirl: “Alex” Recap

By: David Carner (@davidcarner)

Spoilers to follow!

This week’s episode of Supergirl, titled “Alex,” begins with a hostage negotiation being led by Maggie Sawyer. Supergirl shows up and takes care of the hostages much to the irritation of Maggie. We cut to a Danvers and significant other dinner. After Alex burns dinner, pizza is ordered – ham and pineapple. Why anyone eats ham and pineapple pizza I’ll never understand. Mon-El opens his mouth and says, essentially, “With [my] girlfriend, why do we even need cops?” At that, my daughter pointed to the TV and said that there is a cop sitting right across from him. Awkward. In a nice nod to comics, and actual law, Maggie points out how some criminals use the “vigilante justice” argument, which turns into a couple’s argument. Maggie argues that Kara is needed for “big purple monsters.” Kara leaves; shortly after, Alex leaves to talk to her, and there is a shady-looking dude in the elevator.

At Lexcorp, Rhea appears to have approached Lena Luthor as a human and has proposed a matter transporting. You know the teleporter from Star Trek? That thing.

At Catco, Maggie asks Kara where Alex is, and Kara has no idea. Of course Kara’s phone rings then and its Alex…or is it? It sounds like a man’s voice on the other end, and he accuses Kara of being “a mild-mannered reporter” (well done) and tells her he has her sister. Kara has 36 hours to free a prisoner or Alex dies, and he knows she will because she’s Supergirl. Dun Dun Dunnn!

Alex wakes, and tries to get out, and tells the security camera she knows who he is. She threatens him, and tries to break out. At the DEO, they paint a wonderful scene of terror. Maggie looks sick, the music is haunting, and we get the typical lines of why the trade can’t happen. Maggie gets her chance to shine by taking over the investigation and being a cop. Kara looks absolutely helpless, and I’ve got a sinking feeling in my stomach.

At dinner, Rhea plays up how she wishes she had a daughter like Lena. She also tells her how her son turned on her, and Lena buys it hook, line, and sinker. She tells her a certain version of the truth, and Lena just eats it up. Rhea gives her the key components of the transporter machine, and I’m getting more worried the Luthor is on the way of coming out in Lena.

At the prison, we meet Peter, the prisoner that is supposed to be freed. Kara cracks and starts yelling at him and dents the table. During this scene, there was a low music track that screamed suspense and drove the scene. Winn does his computer magic and finds someone at an address: Rick, who went to high school with Alex and whose father is in prison. He lets Kara talk to Alex, and the whole time, you just get this feeling it’s not going to end well. I don’t know if it’s the music, the acting, or all that plus something else, but this is the most suspenseful episode to date. By the way, Rick has nothing to lose, and all but laughs in Kara’s face as she debates whether to fry him with her heat vision. This guy has balls of steel.

Rick is mind-blocking Manhunter, which is interesting (and never explained). He seems to have been infatuated with Alex in high school. We do get a cool flashback of little Alex and Kara, and Kara saves a kid. Rick also has a little slur at Maggie about Alex “playing for the other team,” which to Maggie’s credit, she doesn’t even flinch at. Rick is arrogant, scarily arrogant. He seems jealous of their family, and we find out that his mother physically and verbally assaulted him. His father was his lifeline out of that situation and now Rick will do anything to get him back.

It is so interesting to watch two women who love someone act so differently. Kara’s emotions constantly threaten to boil over, and Maggie is cool, calm, and slowly gathering what she needs. Again, I don’t know if I just noticed it because of tonight’s episode, but the music just drives this scene, building and building, and I fear for Alex’s life. Rick taunts Kara and she snaps, with Maggie making the save (part of me wishes she didn’t). Rick has one final taunt: who loves Alex more. Kara wants to go back in, but Maggie tells her they have what they wanted. Maggie is really showing her chops as a character tonight.

At LexCorp, Lena asks Rhea for her thumbprint so they can issue her an elevator key, Rhea complies, and I smell setup! Lena then tells her that there is a problem and long story short, she knows Rhea is an alien. Lena throws her out after telling her that she knows all about betrayal.

At the DEO, Rick’s dad walks in and I know it’s Manhunter. Maggie demands Alex, but Rick refuses, and tells them he knows his father is actually Manhunter. Rick has been preparing for a year, and it shows. At the prison, Alex pulls down the camera and goes to save herself. She cuts the tracker out of herself like a gangster. She hooks it up to the camera and Winn gets a ping on her. Kara rushes in to Maggie to tell her they’ve found Alex. Maggie is with Rick, and he tells her not to go. Maggie warns Kara not to, and tries to explain to Kara how Rick is in control and not even flinching in this situation, but Kara being Kara, she refuses to hear. Kara finds where Alex is held, or so she thinks, and water begins to fill Alex’s cell on the monitor. I really am worried for Alex’s life.

Kara barges back into the interrogation room, and Rick doesn’t even blink at her demands. Alex and Kara are allowed to talk to each other, and it’s a little heartbreaking. Alex calls Rick a terrorist and tells Kara not to do what he asks. Maggie comes in and Alex wants to talk to her alone. Alex tries to tell her things, but Maggie refuses (I’m not crying, you’re crying). Maggie pours her heart out, and they at least decide to name their dog Gertrude. Maggie wants her to promise to hold on until she gets to her, and then the screen shorts out. At that point, someone poured water on my screen on my TV, or maybe they’re tears…OK three Kleenex later, Maggie and Kara get into it. Maggie tells her that she has just as much to lose as Kara. More Kleenex.

At LexCorp, Rhea flies in and tells Lena she lied to her because of Lena’s mother. Rhea continues to try to snowball her, and Lena agrees to think about it. Don’t do it, Lena. I mean, I know you will, but don’t. Lena calls Kara and asks for advice, but Kara tells her it’s not a good time. J’onn asks her what she is doing and she tells him she’s listening. She says she can’t punch her way out of this, and she can’t fly fast enough to turn back time. (Superman did in Superman II…oh never mind.) Kara admits that Maggie was right, but J’onn tells her that she did what she thought was best. Kara admits she is scared. Maggie enters the interrogation room, and I now worry for Rick. Rick says that Kara is a girl scout, but Maggie could free his dad. Maggie appears to think about it.

In the prison, Alex tries to free herself, and it doesn’t look good. Time is running out, and the music is, again, driving this episode. Maggie is at the prison to get Rick’s dad out since Alex is running out of time. Kara stops her in the prison, and tells Rick’s dad all the things his son is doing. She appeals to the father in him to stop him. Alex is out of time, and Kara begs for a location. Alex goes under as Maggie and Kara open the door and find her, floating, and possibly dead. Kara punches the wall, and it empties with Alex gasping for breath. Holy crap. I’m on the verge of an anxiety attack. This entire episode has been so well done with the build-up, the suspense, and the two women who each love Alex trying to find a way to save her.

Alex wakes up in the DEO and Maggie is waiting. They have some small talk, but then Alex get to finish what she was saying before the connection cut out. She tells Maggie that she wants to have all the firsts with her. She then tells Maggie she loves her, and Maggie tells Alex that she loves her, and I might have cried some more. They bring Rick by, and Alex wants to know what they’re going to do to him. J’onn says to protect Supergirl, they’re going to mindwipe him. Alex then punches Rick in the face and tells J’onn to make sure Rick remembers that. She should have done it again. Maggie pulls Kara aside and thanks her for not letting her go through with her plan, and Kara tells her all she did was remind her of everything Maggie had been telling Kara. Maggie said they make a good team, and Kara responds they both love Alex. The feels. Maggie goes to shake her hand, and Kara hugs her. They’re interrupted by Lena’s phone call, and we find out she’s going ahead with Rhea’s plan. Cue suspenseful music. Next week is Rhea vs. Supergirl; get ready.

Quotes
“Kara and I get along great, it’s Supergirl I sometimes have a problem with.” – Maggie

“You’re not the only one who cares about her.” – Kara

“I love you, Maggie Sawyer.” – Alex
“I love you, Alex Danvers.” – Maggie

Little Things
Melissa Benoist does “worried about my sister” better than a lot of people.

I am so happy we finally got to see Maggie be an actual detective and detect. So many of these secondary characters are not well-developed on so many shows, and this episode was more a Maggie episode than an Alex episode.

Alex is Kara’s kryptonite (see what I did there?)

With only three episodes left in the season, we’re ramping up to the return of Cat Grant!

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via The Nerd Machine

http://www.nerdhq.com/supergirl-alex-recap/

BANE 'Outgrows GOTHAM' As DIXON, NOLAN Return for CONQUEST

And goes back to his original mask.

via The Nerd Machine

http://www.newsarama.com/34331-bane-outgrows-gotham-as-dixon-nolan-return-for-conquest.html

Nostalgia Time: Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

By: Chris Chan (@GKCfan)

Few figures have made as deep an impact on the edutainment industry as Carmen Sandiego. Starting as a computer game series, a franchise quickly blossomed as a way to teach geography, history, math, vocabulary, and even music through a series of books, board and card games, CDs, television shows, and public presentations.

In nearly all of the iterations, the player took on the role of a detective for the ACME Detective Agency, trying to track down priceless public treasures and antiquities that had been stolen by Carmen Sandiego and a motley crew of thieves. Players would track the culprit around the world (or possibly just the United States or Europe), or through time and even space, finding clues pointing to their next destination, as well as the identity of the villain. With a little luck, the young person would have so much fun playing that they would have no idea just how much they were learning.

This was a brilliant way to teach geography and history. Little historical tidbits and factoids were easily memorized, interest and respect for other cultures were cultivated, and logical skills were developed as well.

Though most of the games and books were useful means of educating and amusing, in my estimation, the crown jewel of the franchise was the game show, which ran for five seasons from 1991 to 1996 on PBS. Each episode consisted of three young players who were tasked with tracking down a villain who had stolen a treasure of great cultural value. In the first round, the players would be asked a series of questions through various entertaining clues. The two players with the highest point totals would move on to the second round, which was a memory game which required players to find the stolen loot, a warrant, and the crook (in that order) behind a series of rotating panels. The winner of the second round would move to the final round, which was set on a gigantic map of one of five continents, and the player would have to identify several countries (usually seven in the first season, eight in later seasons), within a set period of time (usually forty-five seconds, though occasionally in the first season, a full minute was allowed). Racing around the map and identifying all of the locations within the time limit meant that Carmen Sandiego had been captured and that the player won a trip to the location he or she chose (anywhere in the lower forty-eight states in the first season, anywhere in North America in the later seasons). Failure to complete the task meant that Carmen escaped (considering that even a captured Carmen was always free by the next episode, it seems that the jails on the program were not very secure).

In lesser hands, the show would have been dry and didactic, but the cast and writing team were impeccable. Greg Lee made for a gloriously genial and goofy host, and he was perfectly paired with the magnificent Lynne Thigpen as the stern but kindly Chief. As every nineties kid who watched the show would tell you, the series was truly elevated by the music. The singing group Rockapella presaged the acapella trend, and the combination of song parodies packed with informative clues and the magnificent theme song made the series a true classic.



The show was never afraid to mix silliness with an education, and the clues were delivered by rapping grandmothers, stool pigeons, dying informants, celebrity guests, secret spies, and nosy neighbors, just to name a few. One would need to have both a heart of stone and a brain of pudding not to be charmed and informed by the series. An old adage says, “That which is learned with pleasure is never forgotten,” and from personal experience, I know that I aced my geography classes thanks to all things Carmen Sandiego.

With no official announcement explaining why, the game show ended after its fifth season in 1995, and vanished from most PBS schedules permanently by the spring of 1996. In the fall of 1996, the spinoff game show Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego? started and ran for two seasons. There were many points of similarity with the previous game show, and though it was a good program, for me, it lacked the spark and magic of World. Part of this was due to the fact that Greg Lee and Rockapella were absent, though Thigpen’s continuation of her role as The Chief was Time’s greatest asset. Kevin Shinick was a decent host, though The Engine Crew’s music paled in comparison to Rockapella’s. The questions based on historical facts were also less elegant than the ones based on geography.

Much like Square One TV, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? has been left unavailable to future generations. Unlike Square One, though, the content of Carmen Sandiego has gotten a little out of date. Though mathematical principles remain the same a quarter-century later, several of the geographic facts are no longer accurate. The first season was particularly outmoded due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the European map changed a lot over the years with the breakups of Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. Still, the vast majority of the clues on the show would still be correct if the series were to ever get a streaming or DVD release, which is something the current generation of young people deserves, though perhaps some episodes may need some brief pop-up comments explaining what is no longer true. There’s a reason why Thigpen made an announcement at the end of later episodes explaining that “All information was correct on the date this episode was recorded.”

By the turn of the century, most of the computer games had ceased to be updated for contemporary operating systems, and the board games and books went out of print. Here and there, a new game popped up, though some of them severely deviated from the traditional, highly informative format. Aside from a re-release of the animated series on DVD, it seemed like the franchise might be dying.

Happily, it seems that you can’t keep a good thief down. Recently, Netflix announced a new Carmen Sandiego animated series set for release in 2019, with a special focus on Carmen’s character and backstory. If the rebooted show meets with success, who knows what other new additions to the once-dormant franchise might flourish in the future.

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via The Nerd Machine

http://www.nerdhq.com/nostalgia-time-where-in-the-world-is-carmen-sandiego/

The Vatican is Under Attack in BALTIMORE: THE RED KINGDOM #3

Check out a preview of BALTIMORE: THE RED KINGDOM #3 from Dark Horse.

via The Nerd Machine

http://www.newsarama.com/34330-the-vatican-is-under-attack-in-baltimore-the-red-kingdom-3.html

Best Shots Advance Review: YOUNGBLOOD #1

Chad Bowers and Jim Towe, with some support from Rob Liefeld.

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http://www.newsarama.com/34329-best-shots-advance-review-youngblood-1.html