So sit back, and enjoy!

DCN Podcast #174

What are we covering this week?

• The Flash Trailer & Posters
• The Flash CinemaCon Screening Reactions
• Karen Gillan Wants To Play Poison Ivy
• Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom Footage Shown At CinemaCon
• Justice League: Warworld Cast Revealed
• Amazon Acquires Two New Animated Batman Projects
• Batman: Caped Crusader Gets Two Season Order From Amazon
• Superman & Lois’ Jordan Kent Gets Comic-Inspired Costume
• Power Girl and Fire & Ice Getting Their Own Comic Series
• Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle To Get On-going Series
• Green Arrow Gets New High-Tech Outfit
• DC Rejected A Tim Drake As Nightwing Story From Tom King
• Gotham Knights Game Updated With New Raid

Steve J Ray: www.twitter.com/el_steevo

Brad Filicky: www.twitter.com/filickyb1

Seth Singleton: www.twitter.com/1MoreSingleton

Damian Fasciani: www.twitter.com/Damian_Fasciani

Kelly Gaines: www.twitter.com/KelGainesWrite

Kendra Hale: www.twitter.com/DevourAllWords

Editor-in-Chief – Josh Raynor: www.twitter.com/MovieBlogMerc

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The post DCN Podcast #174: New THE FLASH Trailer & First Reactions From CinemaCon, Amazon Gets Batman Shows appeared first on DC Comics News.

[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]

Developer: WB Games Montreal

Publisher: Warner Bros. Games

Platforms: Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PlayStation 5, Microsoft Windows

Voice Cast: Christopher Sean, America Young, Stephan Oyoung, Sloane Morgan Siegel, Gildart Jackson, Michael Antonakos

Reviewer: Derek McNeil

Thanks go to Warner Bros. Games for providing a free copy of Gotham Knights Deluxe Edition.

Summary

Gotham Knights is a brand-new open-world, third-person action RPG featuring the Batman Family, as players step into the roles of Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin, a new guard of trained DC Superheroes who must rise up as the new protectors of Gotham City in the wake of Batman’s death.

Positives

During the week leading up to its release, Gotham Knights has become a rather divisive game. Details about the game’s specs came to light that did not meet the expectations of many players. Thus, gamers have been divided into those for whom these drawbacks are a minor consideration and those who feel they are unforgivable. And gamers seem split over whether the game is terrific or merely mediocre.

I fall into the former group. I found the game to be addictive, and fun, and I’ve loved nearly every moment of gameplay. There is much to love about this game, and after a week of playing, I am still discovering more things to love about it.

First, I would like to state that I find the basic concept of the game to be a rather daring risk. I would think that just making a Batman game would be almost assured to be a financial success. But WB Montreal made the risky move of making a Batman game without Batman himself, and instead focusing on his former sidekicks. In doing so, they have at least attempted to do something new by shifting the focus onto Batman’s supporting cast.

Positives Cont.

You are able to freely switch between all four characters, each of whom has their own particular playstyle. Nightwing has a very acrobatic style. Robin focuses on stealth and tech. Red Hood is a brick who uses non-lethal guns and some mystical abilities derived from his exposure to a Lazarus Pit. And Barbara is the most Batman-like in fighting style.

As a mediocre gamer, I love it when a game doesn’t punish you for choosing an easier mode. Choosing a lower difficulty setting does not lock you off from earning any achievements or trophies, or from any sections of the game. For even the most lackluster players, choosing the “Very Easy” difficulty option will let you feel like an invincible superhero. But for hardcore gamers who want a challenge, there are more punishing difficulty settings as well.

This isn’t quite the same DCU that we’re familiar with from the comics. The most notable difference is the absence of Damian Wayne from this world’s history. However, there are tons of references that make it clear that much of the DCU exists beyond Gotham. You receive e-mails from Superman, Wonder Woman, Black Canary, Conner Kent, and others. And there are many references in the game world itself. For example, the Monarch Theatre features Brother Power the Geek on the marquee. And watchful players can spot posters for performances by Zatara and Mucous Membrane inside.

Positives Cont.

One reference that I absolutely loved was in the naming of one of Gotham’s boroughs. Luthor’s henchman Otis from Superman: The Movie has finally gotten his wish to have a town named Otisburg in his honor.

And as a nice added touch, there are tributes to Batman creators in landmarks and street names. There are also memorial plaques dedicated to creators that have recently passed. I’ve found one for Neal Adam and another for George Perez. And I’m keeping my eyes out to see if they included ones for Denny O’Neil, John Paul Leon, or others that we’ve recently lost.

I also like that the game is fully playable alone. Gotham Knights doesn’t force you to partner up to complete certain objectives. However, if you enjoy multiplayer, you can drop in and out of other players’ games to help them out or send out an SOS when you need help. Or you can play together with a friend. Personally, I prefer the single-player experience, so I appreciate that I am not limited in any way by the multiplayer features.

Negatives

The major issue that some have taken exception to is that the game only contains one graphics mode, 4K in 30 frames per second. Many new games available on the current console generation also offer a “performance mode” that lowers the resolution but increases the framerate to 60 FPS. They feel that a 60 FPS mode is now a standard for this generation’s games. To compound this, WB only revealed this in the week before release. This left some upset about preordering the game under the assumption that it would have a performance mode.

Personally, I had little difficulty playing the game at 30 FPS. On the other hand, I’ve only had my Xbox Series X for about a month, so I haven’t had much time to become accustomed to 60 FPS yet. But on the whole, the lack of performance mode is not a major drawback for me.

There is also the complaint that WB initially planned to support the previous generation of consoles (Xbox One and PlayStation 4) but then decided to focus on the new generation consoles instead. I can’t say that I blame WB for making this decision. At some point, new games are going to stop supporting the older generation – especially now that consumers are actually able to get the newer consoles.

However, I can also empathize with those still stuck with the previous generation of consoles. If I hadn’t been able to finally get my hands on a Series X, I would definitely be bitter that I was missing out on this game.

Negatives Cont.

On the whole, I didn’t encounter much in the line of graphical glitches or bugs myself, with a couple of exceptions. I did notice that the framerate sometimes drops when riding the Batcycle around town. I found this a bit distracting, but not problematic. It didn’t cause any lasting harm or add any difficulty to the gameplay.

The other was a bit more problematic, as it causes a mission to be failed. There is one type of side mission called “Criminal Stronghold”, where you have to defeat all the criminals in the hideout and rescue a few hostages. However, when this mission takes place in the city’s Planetarium, I found that one of the criminals is non-responsive, and unfortunately completely invincible. But you cannot complete the mission without defeating him, so your own option is to abandon and therefore fail the mission.

Fortunately, that failure has no lasting repercussions outside of the mission itself. And it’s well worth attempting, as you get XP (experience points) for defeating the other enemies, as well as giving access to three chests full of crafting resources. You just don’t get the final reward of XP and resources for completing the mission.

Negatives Cont.

I also have heard a few complaints about the design of Gotham itself. Some players dislike that Gotham City is not the dark gothic city that appears in recent comics, movies, and video games. Instead, it’s a Gotham that looks like most modern cities with a mix of older buildings and several newer towers of glass and steel.

While gothic Gotham has been more common in recent years, I feel that a more modern Gotham is still a valid artistic choice. This game very much evokes the Gotham City in the comics of the 70s that I grew up reading. There were the shinier, newer buildings in the richer parts of the city, but also the older, crumbling buildings in the rougher parts of town – as well as buffer areas with a mix of both. Sure, it’s not quite the Gotham City in most current media, but it’s not an unprecedented interpretation either.

Verdict

Gotham Knights is an absolutely fantastic experience with addicting gameplay. I have enjoyed nearly every moment of gameplay so far. I have enjoyed it so much that it will be one of the few games that have inspired me to launch an immediate second playthrough. While Gotham Knights does have a few rough edges, I suspect that they will be addressed in game patches before too long.

The post Video Game Review: Gotham Knights appeared first on DC Comics News.

This one’s not for the video game, but for the upcoming CW series. So far the reception of the the trailer has been extremely mixed, to say the least.

The characters aren’t familiar to most people, and we even have a brand new one in the form of Oscar Morgan as Turner Hayes, Bruce Wayne’s adopted son. This is a character that has never appeared in the comics.

Navia Robinson has been cast as Carrie Kelley, a Robin who was introduced by Frank Miller in The Dark Knight Returns. We also have Olivia Rose Keegan as Duela Dent;  a character who has appeared many times over the last few decades. She also goes by the alias of “The Joker’s Daughter”.

https://youtu.be/FnUkN3h9yQw

Anna Lore has been cast as Stephanie Brown, AKA Spoiler. This is a chaacter who has been the on-off girlfriend to Tim Drake the third Robin. She was also Robin herself, for a short time.

Fallon Smythe will appear as Harper Row, and Tyler DiChiara as her brother, Cullen. These are characters who were introduced by Scott Snyder during his critically acclaimed New 52 run on Batman.

As you can See, none of these characters have any familiarity with most potential viewers. The show will debut in 2023, so we have a while to wait to see just how good or bad it is. The negative reaction to the trailer hasn’t gone unnoticed., though, as the Twitter account for the Gotham Knights video game Tweeted to fans to  make it clear that the show and the video game are separate projects with no connection to one another.

The post Gotham Knights CW Series Trailer Released appeared first on DC Comics News.

The show is written by Chad Fiveash, James Stoteraux, and Natalie Abrams.  With all 3 having worked on Batwoman, it would be easy to assume this would tie in.  However, it appears that will not be the case and this series will be somewhat of a stand-alone series.  The cast will also feature Olivia Rose Keegan (Days of our Lives), Navia Robinson ( Raven’s Home), Fallon Smythe (Grown-ish), and Tyler DiChiara (Relish).

Collins confirmed his casting on Twitter while also making reference to his Supernatural days:

I’ve asked if my version of the character could be wearing a beige trench coat over the grey suit. (I’m just not sure I’ll be comfortable in front of a camera without one).

It sounds as though we will be seeing Harvey Dent pre-Two face in the show.  Now how long that will last is another question.  The Gotham Knight’s and Collins’ take on Dent is said to be:

Dashing, with a swagger, and a hard-charging district attorney. His idealism and single-minded quest for justice will tragically and ironically transform him into Two-Face.

CW Other DC Shows Renewed

With this information and the news of CW renewing other DC shows such as The Flash and Superman & Lois despite the rumors that they may be sold off, should give DC fans relief as its means there are no sudden intentions of removing DC Shows from the CW.

Source Article

The post Misha Collins to Play Harvey Dent in Gotham Knights appeared first on DC Comics News.

A truly global experience, DC FanDome was available to fans in 12 languages and in over 220 countries. Fans shared their excitement on social media, with DC FanDome trending #1 on Twitter for eight hours in the US. It also trended in the Top 50 in 53 countries around the world.

“With triple the fan traffic of last year, DC FanDome 2021 exceeded all of our expectations,” said Ann Sarnoff, Chair and CEO, WarnerMedia Studios and Networks. “We continue to innovate across the company in service of our fans, and I cannot overstate the creativity and hard work that went into this highly curated, global digital event. We gave fans what they wanted – the very best of all things DC – and their engagement and response have been fantastic. We’re as excited as they are to deliver on all the great content DC FanDome highlighted.”

The event covered so many fantastic properties, including films like Black Adam, The Flash, Shazam: Fury of the Gods, Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom, Batgirl, Blue Beetle, and The Batman, as well as series like Titans, Doom Patrol, Harley Quinn, Young Justice, The Flash, Naomi, DMZ, and Batwoman, and video games like Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, and that wasn’t even everything.

You can check out all of our DC FANDOME coverage right here on DC Comics News!

The post DC FanDome 2021 Crushes Last Year’s Livestream Numbers appeared first on DC Comics News.

In Gotham Knights,  you will get the chance to play as Batgirl, Robin, Nightwing, and Red Hood, in the wake of Batman’s death. The Bat-family faces its biggest challenge yet, as they face off against the Court of Owls, as well as several of Gotham’s heaviest hitting villains. The new trailer really dives deeper into the story we will be getting from this game, however, unlike last year, we did not get any new gameplay footage.

The game is set to come out some time in 2022. Check out the trailer below:

The game is set in Gotham City after the aforementioned death of Bruce Wayne/Batman (voiced by Michael Antonakos), as well as the death of Police Commissioner James Gordon, which has resulted in a rise of crime and lawlessness. Players assume the role of Batman’s former proteges – Dick Grayson/Nightwing (Christopher Sean), Barbara Gordon/Batgirl (America Young), Tim Drake/Robin (Sloane Morgan Siegel), and Jason Todd/Red Hood (Stephen Oyoung) – as they attempt to continue his legacy by protecting Gotham upon receiving a pre-recorded message from Batman. During the game, the heroes encounter several supervillains, including the Court of Owls, Mr. Freeze, and Penguin. Supporting characters include Bruce’s former butler Alfred Pennyworth (Gildart Jackson) and Police Captain Renee Montoya, one of the few honest cops left in the city

Mega Owl

Penguin

In addition, we heard from Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Jim Lee and WB Games Montréal’s Ann Lemay and Patrick Redding about the unique challenge and thrill that comes with adapting the secretive Gotham organization—and their soldiers, the Talons—to the world of console gaming.

The post Court Of Owls Arrives In New Trailer For Gotham Knights appeared first on DC Comics News.

Ann Sarnoff, Chair and Chief Executive Officer, WarnerMedia Studios and Networks Group, said: “DC FanDome 2020 was a first-of-its kind global virtual fan experience and showcased every aspect of the DC Universe with unprecedented scale and access. This year, we’re taking everything that people loved about DC FanDome and supercharging it to super-serve fans with even more exclusive first-looks, breaking news, in-depth interviews and insight from the stars and creative teams of their favorite DC content.”

World’s Greatest Super Heroes — and Super-Villains

DC FanDome will feature an unrivaled gathering of casts and creators behind fan-favorite DC games, comics, movies, and TV shows. Expect breaking news, exclusive trailers and announcements, never-before-seen footage, revealing conversations, and more surprises in the DC FanDome:

• Warner Bros. Pictures will showcase six highly anticipated titles with an exclusive new trailer for The Batman, new content from DC League of Super-Pets, a first look at Black Adam, a sneak peek at The Flash, and behind the scenes looks at Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
• Warner Bros. Television will offer a look at new seasons of Batwoman, The Flash, Superman & Lois, and Sweet Tooth; a farewell tribute to Supergirl as it approaches its epic conclusion after six seasons; a celebration of 100 episodes of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow; a first look at forthcoming new drama Naomi; and a sneak peek at an upcoming episode of DC’s Stargirl.
• Warner Bros. Games will feature new reveals from the highly anticipated Gotham Knights, developed by Warner Bros. Games Montréal, and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, developed by Rocksteady Studios.
• DC publishing will honor the legacy of one of the world’s greatest Super Heroes and icon of truth and equality, Wonder Woman, with a showcase of three upcoming books. DC explores her history with the DC Black Label miniseries Wonder Woman Historia, expands the Amazon mythos with Nubia and the Amazons, and honors the inspiration she has provided to women around the world with the original graphic novel Wonderful Women of the World. Additionally, DC will share details about the next installment of the epic, universe-spanning Batman/Fortnite comic crossover, and fans can also expect to hear more about the upcoming Batman: Fear State, the new six-issue Black Manta series, the return of the Milestone Universe, and much more.
• HBO Max will unveil an exclusive look at the upcoming series Peacemaker and limited event series DMZ. The streamer is also debuting more surprises and sneak peeks from new series as well as returning favorites such as Titans and Doom Patrol. All four series hail from Warner Bros. Television.
• Warner Bros. Animation will feature a look at the upcoming limited series Aquaman: King of Atlantis; provide a sneak peek at season three of the adult animated comedy series Harley Quinn and share what’s in store for #HarlIvy; deliver a very early look at the next animated chapter of the Dark Knight in the all-new upcoming series Batman: Caped Crusader; and give fans a preview of Young Justice: Phantoms (warning: there will be spoilers!).
• Warner Bros Home Entertainment will preview two upcoming original DC Animated Films: a sneak peek at Superman and the rest of the Justice League in Injustice, an all-new animated movie inspired by the popular games and comic, as well as the premiere of the trailer for the all-new animated heist movie Catwoman: Hunted. Both movies are produced in association with Warner Bros. Animation.

DC FanDome Around The Globe

All DC FanDome programming will be captioned in multiple languages, including Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian, and Spanish. And DC FanDome will again be completely free to all fans worldwide. Adding to the worldwide DC FanDome experience, fans in China will be able to enjoy the global content plus a variety of exclusive and engaging local DC content.

DC Kids

Once again, DC FanDome is going to be a family affair, serving the youngest DC fans with their own special experience in the DC Kids FanDome. Kids and their parents around the world can explore the DC Multiverse alongside their favorite DC Super Heroes, catch sneak peeks of upcoming DC animated adventures like Batwheels, DC Super Hero Girls and Teen Titans Go!, and immerse themselves in at-home digital activities all in a safe, kid-friendly environment at DCKidsFanDome.com.

All Access DC FanDome

In addition to joining the DC FanDome at the main DCFanDome.com destination, fans will be able to watch the event via Twitch, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. DC FanDome will be fully accessible on phones, tablets, laptops, or desktops, allowing fans to take DC FanDome with them wherever they are. For all the latest scoop on DC FanDome, please be sure to visit DCFanDome.com regularly for news and updates. By registering at DCFanDome.com (it’s free!), you’ll get DC FanDome news directly in your inbox and gain access to members-only exclusives. And please follow the #DCFanDome hashtag on social media and the DC social channels on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

DC FanDome Shop

Beginning today and running through the end of October, Warner Bros. Consumer Products will launch the DC FanDome Shop in the U.S. with additional territories around the world to follow, allowing fans from across the globe to stock up on DC FanDome apparel, accessories, collectibles and more. Featuring exclusive, only-available-here DC Comics merchandise, the DC FanDome Shop will drop new items every week leading up to the main event on October 16.

Legion of Brand Super Heroes

WarnerMedia Ad Sales has recruited a Legion of Brand Super Heroes to join the action at DC FanDome 2021. Ally and Unilever have come on-board as official sponsors and brand collaborators. With Ally’s commitment to The Milestone Initiative and Unilever’s support of Believe in Wonder, these franchise-first partnerships will allow each brand to align with DC’s IP to drive impactful change across the advertising and entertainment industries, as well as fans worldwide.

DC UNIVERSE INFINITE

Leading up to the event, DC UNIVERSE INFINITE will be releasing more than 300 comics and graphic novels available to read for FREE with registration. New titles will be available each week, starting with the complete storyline of “Flashpoint”, fan-favorite series “Injustice: Gods Among Us Vol. 1” and, available for the first time on DC UNIVERSE INFINITE, “The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes”!

Legacy

DC FanDome 2020 was the first-of-its kind global virtual fan experience and brought together the largest gathering of talent, announcements and content reveals in DC history. DC FanDome: Hall of Heroes and DC FanDome: Explore the Multiverse supercharged the worldwide fanbase, generating over 22 million global views across 220 countries and territories with more than 150 million views of trailer content.

The post DC FanDome Returns This October With A Great Lineup appeared first on DC Comics News.

At the time of this writing, many key details remain sketchy. Though a 2021 release date has been penciled in, on which consoles this bad boy will debut remain unknown. Rumor places it as being cross-generational. If true, then Playstation 4, Playstation 5, XBox One and XBox Series X owners should be satisfied.

Anyway, here’s the first trailer, which confirms the involvement of the Court of Owls.

Next up is a gameplay walkthrough letting us know this game will feature environments as visually stunning as those in the Devil May Cry series. So sit back and enjoy some co-op action involving Robin and Batgirl as they foil Mr. Freeze’s plans.

As you can see, vehicles do factor into the gameplay, but it looks like they’ll be kept to a minimum. If you were to ask me, Gotham Knights looks to be the game I’d hoped Arkham Knight would have been. Stay tuned in the coming months as more develops.

The post DC FanDome Reveals Gotham Knights With First Trailer And Gameplay Walkthrough appeared first on DC Comics News.