THE BATMAN: 5 Characters I DON’T Want To See!


The Batman (title confirmed by Ben Affleck… though he did say he may change it)  is coming (in 18 months if you believe Random WB Exec #52)!  Written by an Academy Award winning writer (Affleck) and directed by & starring the director and star (Affleck!) of the Academy Award winning film Argo, The Batman is DC’s best chance at finally knocking a DC Extended Universe movie out of the park! In addition to cinema’s greatest Batman actor (AFFLECK!), we know The Batman features Deathstroke (Joe Manganiello),  my favorite version of Alfred Pennyworth (Jeremy Irons), and Commissioner Jim Gordon (J.K. Simmons).

I’ve already made a list of “5 Batman Villains New to Cinema I DO want to See in The Batman”  – Part 1 and Part 2 – but now I’ve deemed it necessary to list 5 Batman Characters I DON’T want to see in the film.

5. CATWOMAN4-big-screen-catwomanIn both the films and the comics, Catwoman is played out. She is not be the only prominent character who’s had more than one cinematic go-around (Harvey Dent/Two-Face has had 3 cinematic incarnations, if you count Billy Dee Williams’ 5 minutes as Dent in Batman), but we have seen her four (4!) times: Adam West’s Batman, Batman Returns, Catwoman, The Dark Knight Rises. Making matters worse, the latest version (Anne Hathaway) was forgettable, incorrectly characterized, and poorly used overall. “Don’t you want to see her done right?” you may ask. “No, not this character.”

In addition to being the most used big screen Batman villain,  Catwoman/Selina Kyle has a relationship with Batman/Bruce Wayne far too complex and impossible to shoehorn in unless she gets about half the screen-time. Michelle Pfeiffer had more screen-time than perhaps even Michael Keaton, crushing both identities and her relationship with Batman in Batman Returns. There are much better female characters to use, like Poison Ivy. I hope she shows up eventually!

4. HARLEY QUINNharley-quinn-margot-robbie-the-batmanNo, this isn’t a sexist list. In fact, it’s the opposite, as the two female characters are not among the three I want to see the least! The three I really don’t want to see are all total bros.

We’ve seen what was basically a Harley Quinn movie in Suicide Squad. And according to WB, we’re getting a Harley Quinn solo movie down the line, with Margot Robbie returning to star as Quinn, and the possibility of a focus on female characters like Poison Ivy, Catwoman, Batgirl, etc. There is already plenty of Harley Quinn to come in the DCEU, so why waste The Batman‘s running-time with her? Like with Catwoman, do something new!

Most importantly, I don’t want The Batman turned into a bloody Hot Topic commercial. The costume designer behind Suicide Sqaud should be fired.Or given a bigger budget?

3. NIGHTWING / ANY Other “Bat Family” MembernightwingBatman will have spent plenty of time with allies by the time we get to The Batman. He worked with Superman and Wonder Woman in the climax of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and he’s just one in a crowd of several more powerful heroes in 2017’s Justice League. He already has the required Gordon and Alfred on his side. While I wouldn’t mind adding Harvey Dent (the DA, not the criminal boss) as a supporting character, I want to see Batman physically fight crime on his own for the first time in the DCEU. Leave the team-ups to the multiple Justice League movies they will make.

I don’t want to see ANYONE from the Bat Family which includes Batgirl, Batwoman, multiple Robins, etc. Among the two most likely to show up, is Dick Grayson aka Nightwing. Grayson was Batman’s 1st Robin, who upon growing up adopted his own title, Nightwing, both striking out on his own and assisting Batman when he needs it. Zack Snyder already confirmed the Robin Costume we see in BvS is Jason Todd’s (more on him next), but in the comics, before Tood came Grayson. The DCEU will hopefully be simplified, eliminating Grayson all together, making Jason Todd the only Robin referenced in these movies.

2. RED HOOD / ANY version of Jason Toddjason-todd-robin-red-hood-the-batmanI just don’t want these movie to get crowded with too much history and complicated relationships!

In the comics, Jason Todd was the 2nd Robin, only to be murdered by the Joker.Through the magic of comic books, Todd came back with a vendetta against Batman, pissed Batman continues to not kill Joker & other villains even though Joker murdered him. He fights crime and wants the Joker’s head, but Red Hood and Batman do not see eye-to-eye; Red Hood using guns to kill villains and Batman usually doesn’t like guns.

In Batman V Superman, we saw Jason Todd’s Robin costume, with “Ha-Ha Joke’s On You Batman!” spray painted on it, memorialized in the Batcave. Suicide Squad delivered a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Easter Egg confirming Harley Quinn herself may have done the act in the DCEU. Leave it at that! No flash-backs to Todd and Batman fighting crime, and no appearance of Red Hood, who needs a movie dedicated to him alone IF we do ever see him (I hope we won’t). And, for God’s Sake, no weird mash-up character revealing Deathstroke is Jason Todd. Yuck!

1. Jared Letos’ JOKERjared-leto-joker-tattoosI don’t like this version of the Joker, I just don’t. I don’t like the Gangster angle and Jared Leto made the strangest choices. They were brave, like Heath Ledger’s, but it backfired for Leto. Normally I would say the Joker should be in at least one of each Batman Actor’s films, but honestly, I never want to see Jared Leto’s Joker in the DCEU ever again.

Is it too late to recast the role? If we could get Walton Goggins involved, I say we give his Joker ALL the screen time! Just look at the dude laugh! (For examples of him playing a laughing psychopath, watch American Ultra or Vice Principals.)walton-goggins-for-new-jokerBest part is, about half the pictures on Google Images are of Goggins laughing.

Consider it, DC?

The 5 Most Accurate Comic Book Character Castings In Film and TV


Everyone’s a Super Hero these days… or at least a character based on a comic iteration, be they a powerless vigilante or a supporting character. Playing just “3 Degrees of Marvel” is easier than “6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon.”

There are many memorable superhero performances that have redefined comic book characters. Who can imagine anyone but Hugh Jackman playing Logan / Wolverine? Is it possible to think of the Joker without conquering images of Heath Ledger? Even now that we’ve seen Chris Cooper as Norman Osborne in the failure that was The Amazing Spider-Man 2, who could forget Willam Dafoe from 2002’s original Spider-Man film?Hugh Jackman as The Wolverine in X-Men: Days of Future Past

Sure, great performances all, but not exactly accurate depictions of the character. Wolverine is about four feet tall in the comic; Tom Cruise would actually be a more accurate portrayal of the character (not that he would be ideal either).

What I’ve collected, is a list of the most accurate casting choices of comic book characters, not the “best” or most “memorable.” Not the biggest characters or Super Heros, necessarily, but the best characters minor otherwise. These are the castings that can’t keep a Geek from smiling because he couldn’t imagine a better interpretation himself when first reading a comic. And after seeing it, this actor will always become the character’s voice when reading decades of comics to come.

5) Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron ManRobert Downey Jr as Tony Stark in Iron Man

Most people use RDJ as Tony Stark as the industry standard of comic book casting… and they ain’t wrong! I just managed to find 4 other castings that are even more accurate.

It turns out that Robert Downey Jr. is Tony Stark… both on screen and doing interviews. He has all the charm and brilliance that defines Tony Stark, bringing the darker edge of the character into play in Avengers: Age of Ultron, in which writer/director Joss Whedon labels Stark as the villain in the film’s commentary.

RDJ pulls off both sides of Stark, the hero who regrets his own and companies’ past as “War Mongers” and the man so tortured by his experience bringing a Nuke through a wormhole to outer-space that he creates the greatest villain the Avengers have ever faced, and will further be driven to oppose teammate Captain America (Chris Evans) in Captain America: Civil War.

Donwey Jr. is both the perfect physical rendition of Stark as well as a man who share’s Stark’s darker, “less sober” past.

4) Mark Hamill as The Jokermark hamill as joker and batman from batman the animated series

No silver screen actor can touch Mark Hamill’s interpretation of Batman’s nemesis, The Joker, started in Batman: The Animated Series and lifted to nirvana in the Video Game, Batman: Arkham Knight (as well as the franchises earlier chapters, Arkham Asylum & Arkham City).

Hamill’s joker just has more… fun. Hamill has worked an almost endless versions of the laugh, also bringing the Joker’s voice in and out; letting the madness seep from his performance.

Though Animated, Hamill’s Joker is also the most accurate; a man with a giant grin, but none of those scars the film version of the Joker mysteriously decided to use. With the exception of 1989’s Batman and 2008’s The Dark Knight, The Joker has never had scars (Thankfully it looks as though Jared Leto’s Joker will repair this remedy… though  his appearance calls to question how accurate his performance will be).

Hamill offers the most fun interpretation of the unstable Joker, with an animated face that can’t be topped by any of the feature presentations of Batman’s greatest nemesis.

3) JK Simmons as J. Jonah JamesonJK Simmons as J Jonah Jameson in Spider-Man

There comes a casting every now and then, that is so legendary that not even a reboot of  a franchise can top the original. In the case of The Amazing Spider-Man films, the creative talent realized that J. Jonah Jameson was so well cast by J.J. Simmons, that they didn’t even attempt to offer a new take on the character.

J.K. Simmons timing is so perfect, his look so accurate, that it is impossible to read a Spider-Man comic today without hearing the actor’s voice. He’s Spider-Man’s perfect hater, an actor I would still recommend Marvel Studios use for their 2nd “reboot” of Marvel’s Webslinger.

2) Donal Logue as Harvey BullockHarvey Bullock On Gotham

Fox’s Gotham is really the 1st time I’ve seen Jim Gordon’s partner and eventual right-hand-man portrayed by a live-action actor. Even Christopher Nolan, who used the Dark Knight Trilogy to reintroduce us to lost Detective Comics characters like Lucious Fox, failed to produce Harvey Bolluck, an essential character in the comic realm.

Benjamin McKenzie was a hard sell as Jim Gordon, as his most famous role was from female teen show The O.C., but he’s worked out fine. On the other hand, Donal Logue, best known from an equally “shitty” comedy Grounded For Life, lives and breaths Harvey Bolluck into existence in a way that makes the comic impossible to read without hearing Logue’s voice.

A drunk with a conscience and extreme loyalty to his partner, Logue is incredible as Batman essential Harvey Bolluck.

1) Matt Ryan as John ConstantineMatt Ryan as John Constantine

Finally, we arrive at the best of the best; Matt Ryan as DC Comic’s (formally Vertigo’s) John Constantine! Forget Keanu Reeves who was terribly cast in the big-screen version of DC’s best “master of the dark arts!” Matt Ryan plays the character with the coy cockiness and James Bond-esque womanizer that perfectly reflect the comic counterpart, right down to his appearance.

This is the prime example of an actor breathing life into a formally written & drawn character with no real voice. I know can’t read Justice League Dark or John Constantine: Hellbazler without hearing… and even picturing Matt Ryan. I’d never enjoyed the aforementioned film… or comic until I saw Matt Ryan play Constantine. And since them, he has become one of my most favorite comic characters of all!

There you have it, the 5 most ACCURATE Comic Book Castings… of all time! It may not be the main characters you expected, but these supporting and less known-“Heroes” could not be better represented on the screen!

Podcast #17: Turtlenecks & Porn Star Lips


Nick and Andrew play the 2nd and final round of the Oscars Game: 2015!

Arguments over the Street Sharks “Jawsome!” legitimacy lead to Nick and Andrew’s ‘Elektra’ lament. They watched the ‘Daredevil’ spin-off as part of their “POS Film Series” and you get to hear about it… without having to watch the not-so-Jawsome movie yourself! Talk ends with ‘The Avengers: Age of Ultron,’ as it always does, where our heroes disagree about the appeal of the poster for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ 2nd big-screen adventure.

Now with “The Stan Lee Theory!”

Chris Pine cries for no man! Except a single tear for Leonard Nimoy! (Okay, he's crying at the Oscars...)
Chris Pine cries for no man! Except a single tear for Leonard Nimoy! (Okay, he’s crying at the Oscars…)

Tune in every Friday for a new ‘Breaking Geek’ podcast!

Podcast #11: Nick And Andrew: Corporate Shills


Nick and Andrew begin their discussion, dissecting the latest, 2nd ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ trailer (what a surprise!) before moving onto the “Oscars Game.” Basically, Nick tries to guess the Academy Award nominees with little help from Andrew. The best episode yet! For real. Would I lie to you?