TVSquad

I'm sure most of you Smallville fans have already seen this preview pic of Michael Shanks as Hawkman, taken from the upcoming Justice Society episode. So why am I posting it here?

Because that photo looks weird, man!

First off, I must say that I'm really looking forward to this Smallville two-parter, and I think Stargate's Shanks is a fine pick to play Carter Hall. Smallville has been a lot of fun to watch this season, and I hope the upswing continues through next year.

Now, back to that photo ... Why does it look like a still image from a video game? Is it a mostly CGI shot? Concept art? Did somebody switch the real photo of Shanks with a fan photo manip? I'm hoping that some of you graphic designer-types can tell me what's really going on here, because ... yeah ... that photo looks weird.

So that silly pair of purple-clad superheroes, The Wonder Twins, are coming to Smallville this Friday. I can think of worse things that could happen to the show: Kristin Kreuk could return (shudder), for example, or Clark's bare chest could start to sparkle in the sunlight, ala Edward Cullen. Now that would be truly terrible.

But Zan and Jayna nerding up the joint? Sounds like fun to me.

Being a fan of the veteran superhero series, I'm not embarrassed to say that I'm looking forward to seeing the live-action Twins bump fists this Friday. (I wouldn't even mind a cameo from everybody's favorite blue monkey, Gleek, but sadly I don't think that's in the cards.)

It's always odd when pop culture personalities show up in comic books. It's the print equivalent of the Harlem Globetrotters showing up on Gilligan's Island.

This comic book is from 1984 and features The Avengers meeting...David Letterman! He was on NBC back then doing Late Night and in the comic The Avengers go on the show. For some reason.

[via Pop Candy]

What's old is new again. Marvel Comics is dusting off a group of characters created in the 1960's called Models, Inc. and will be revamping them for a modern audience. The twist is that Project Runway star Tim Gunn will be featured in one of the comic book storylines called "Loaded Gunn."

It's a very clever way to reintroduce a group of characters that could be considered somewhat dated and make them relevant again. Since the storyline involves the theft of some superhero costumes, there may even be some crossover appeal between the genders. Hopefully, the comic will not be confused for that other Models, Inc. from way back when.

Apparently the group will be pursuing supervillains who commit "crimes of fashion." In which case, they're going to have to go against half the superpeople in the Marvel Universe. So who should they go after? Which superheroes or villains have committed the greatest fashion crimes at Marvel?

Being a big fan of Cartoon Network's goofy Batman: The Brave and the Bold, I'm really looking forward to the debut of Marvel's Super Hero Squad. The show premieres Sept. 19 on Cartoon Network, and Marvel has already launched a teaser site featuring a fun video preview that could turn out to be the show's opening montage.

Super Hero Squad is based on the toy line and video game of the same name. It features cute and cuddly versions of Marvel heroes, like Wolverine, Iron Man, and the Hulk, protecting Super Hero City from a pint-sized Dr. Doom and other baby baddies. Judging by the preview video, the show will even make room for kid-sized versions of more obscure characters like Fing Fang Foom and MODOK.

Michael Rosenbaum's departure from Smallville in season seven should have been a heavy blow to a series already suffering from flagging ratings and a bad batch of still-born stories. But the following season turned out to be one of Smallville's best, introducing a fine female successor to Rosenbaum's Lex Luthor and edging us closer into Superman territory.

With season nine on the horizon, and the show getting its best reviews and ratings in years, the big question is coming up again: Will Rosenbaum return to Smallville?

Last season we watched a disfigured Lex, played by a different actor whose face was hidden, apparently die in an explosion. Of course, fans knew instantly that Superman's nemesis was still kicking somewhere (as confirmed by exec producer Brian Peterson at Comic-Con).

Casting Captain Hammer as Hal Jordan? This might be the only way Hollywood could make up for giving us a Whedon-less Buffy movie.



This nerdtastic fan-created Green Lantern movie trailer made my morning. The idea of Nathan Fillion filling out the green tights is inspired, but the fun doesn't stop there. DC Comics fans will notice this thing features cameos from some of their favorite Green Lantern Corps members. (I think I saw Kilowog in there). Plus it's fun trying to name the movies/TV shows the videomaker pulled from to create his vision. It features a good chunk from the Star Trek trailer, as well as some scenes from Firefly and probably every Nathan Fillion movie ever made.

A few new clips from this week's episode of Smallville have surfaced. Judging from the clips and The CW's promo for the episode, it looks like Clark Kent is about to do something he's never done before. No, he's not gonna fly, but this episode looks like it might be a pretty big deal.

Click through for some minor spoilage.

The folks at our sister site Cinematical are working hard to give you news and reviews of the best -- and worst -- the silver screen has to offer. Here are some of their latest musings on the latest blockbusters, indies, and everything in between:

• Maybe it makes me a dork, but I saw a trailer for The Unborn, and thought it was really creepy. It kind of made me want to die. Read Cinematical's review and see if it's any good.
• When I had my baby recently, do not think for a second that I wasn't lying in that hospital bed thinking about the dead baby on the ceiling from Trainspotting. The point? Kids in movies can be creepy as hell. The Cinematical Seven lists the most terrifying.
• You know who the most awesome girl in the world is right now? The 12-year-old who made her own feature-length zombie movie. Watch the trailer for Zombie Girl: The Movie.
• Oh, man. There has been quite the heated debate about female superheroes all around the internet this week. Do women really not care about superheroes? Cinematical weighs in.
• Sometimes movies really are better than the books on which they're based. A Time to Kill being my favorite example. What are yours? Discuss over on Cinematical.

(S01E20) This episode is listed as "String Theory" on my PVR and some places online, but on NBC's site and the screen itself it says "Five Years Gone" so that's what I went with.

"What if?" stories are fun. They allow the creators to play around with characters and show them in unexpected new lights. This isn't a purely "what if?" story, however. What happens here determines "our" Hiro's (younger Hiro's) ability to return to the present and change history in the coming episodes -- or fail to.

Warning! There be some mild spoilers ahead. Proceed at your own risk, because Hiro ain't here to turn back time. Plus you can click the images for larger versions.

TV Squad was invited to visit the set of Heroes last month, and it's just about time for the episode we saw them filming to hit the airwaves. Tonight's episode is the much talked-about Episode 20 'String Theory', where Hiro and Ando have journeyed five years into the future, and encounter "Super Hiro" -- who is basically normal Hiro with a ponytail, soul patch, Matrix-esque clothes, a flawless English accent, and much more control over his powers. However, something has gone wrong ... right? Because if he had total mastery of those time-bending and teleporting abilities, he could've stopped New York from going boom.

As we saw in the last episode, Hiro and Ando find some sort of mish-mash network of strings, photos, and more in Isaac's old loft, where Future Hiro has clearly set up shop and appears to be working out some problems with the timestream in a sort of A Beautiful Mind fashion. It looks like he's been charting connections between people and events, and I'm sure we'll see more of that. During our visit, we caught up with Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka), Ando (James Kyson Lee), and Kaito Nakamura (Hiro's father, and Trek legend George Takei) while they were filming Episode 21 'The Hard Part', and we got to watch them at work and talk with them about their characters, the show, and what lies ahead.

No, not the wacky talk show version on The Cartoon Network. I'm talking about the original cartoon that aired in the mid-60s.

Space Ghost and Dino Boy will be released on July 17. And since this is one of those "it's not official yet but it's definitely happening" deals, no details about extras or features have been announced yet, but expect something in the next week or so.

I remember watching Space Ghost when I was a kid, the repeats not the original (I'm not that old), but I remember the show as being teamed up with another superhero named Frankenstein, Jr. Anyone else remember that? I distinctly remember the deep-voiced announcer saying, "Space Ghost!...And Frankenstein, Jr...Jr...Jr," the word echoing for a few seconds. Was this maybe two Hanna-Barbera shows being repackaged for the 70s?

[via TVShowsOnDVD]

(S01E15) A rough week for some of the heroes makes for another pretty good episode, especially the Parkman and Jessica stuff.

For once, things appear to be going Matt Parkman's way. He's beaming as he heads off for his first day on a new job as private security. His client turns out to be an a-hole. Matt has not gotten used to overhearing the negative thoughts everyone he meets seems to have of him.

Just in from Vegas, recently-liberated Jessica has a new job herself; it's the first of what may be many contracts from Mr. Linderman. The cat-and-mouse chase up and down the stairwells was intense. So was Matt's near fatal fall. Jessica chucks him out a high window before finishing what she came to Los Angeles to do. Say what you will about Jessica, but she certainly enjoys herself more than Niki ever has. It was cool that Matt read both Niki's and Jessica's thoughts as they argued in the stairwell. [Note: that's how I interpreted Jessica & Niki's exchange in the stairwell anyway. See comments by Michelle @ 13 and Bill @16, etc. below.] Wherever they go, the mirror-twins seem to encounter an ample supply of reflective surfaces.

Heroes and 24 have more in common than a 9 p.m. time slot on Monday nights.

One actress -- Rena Sofer -- appears as a minor character on both programs.

On 24, she's Jack Bauer's sister-in-law Marilyn Bauer, who was once (or still is?) in love with the American hero, and, if you go by the internet rumor mill, may have had a love child with the CTU agent.

(S01E12) The month off was enough for me to start missing the show. Chapter Twelve opens two weeks after we last saw our heroes. Jessica has spent the intervening time pummeling prison guards from the looks of the fearful battered bunch that enter Niki/Jessica's cell in the opening scene. Not to worry, Jessica is concocting an insanity defense. Maybe "concocting" is too strong a word. Niki does have a really strong insanity defense. She and her husband D.L. have essentially exchanged places. Now she's the perceived dangerous criminal and D.L. is the sole protector of their son Micha.

Hardly anything has gone the heroes' way during the hiatus. Sure, the Artist came out of his time in Odessa cured of heroin addiction, and is now able to paint without it, but most of the others are still suffering in the wake of previous events.