Robert Pattinson's Batmobile Is Just Wacky

 With all the hubbub this weekend from DC's Fandome I just want to remind everyone that Robert Pattinson's Batman drive this new Batmobile. 

Bat Slap!

 Batman just doling out a general purpose Bat-slap to the Boy Wonder.

We all know Robin will deserve one sooner or later.

Batman and Robin are Copyright and Trademark 2021 by DC Comics Inc. No infringement of those rights is intended with this parody. 

Batwheels - An Alternate Take on the Batmobile

Back in the Dark Ages, we're talking early 2000s, the Batman film franchise was going nowhere after the cringe inducing box office failure of Batman and Robin, released 1997. Here is one project which almost saw the light of day.

Darren Aronofsky, director of Pi and Requiem For A Dream, and comic book artist/writer Frank Miller collaborated on a new script for a fresh look at Batman, which used Miller's acclaimed tale Batman: Year One as a jumping off point.

The pair wanted to do an ultra-gritty, realistic take on Bruce Wayne's origins and Batman's beginnings, more in line with a bleak 1970s crime drama like Taxi Driver or The French Connection than the colorful Adam West TV series. They really pulled out all the stops: after Bruce's parents are murdered he becomes a street orphan, taken in at one point by Big Al, a mechanic. The Batcave is an old abandoned Gotham City subway station.

What really got my interest, as if these wholesale changes weren't mind-blowing enough, is that the Aronofsky/Miller Batmobile was to be a black 1960s Lincoln Continental with two bus engines to power it. That image stuck with me so I had to do something about it. I am no mechanic like Big Al but here is my version.

The powers that be at Warner Brothers studio thought Aronofsky and Miller went too far off the mark and chose to work with Christopher Nolan and his team to bring Batman to modern audiences with the crowd-pleasing Batman Begins. We got Nolan's killer Tumbler update on the Batmobile, among other things, but I sure do wish we could have seen some production or concept art on this crazy "realistic" take of the Batmobile.

We can dream can't we? (We can also Photoshop.)

Who Wore It Better: Zardoz vs Vartox

The cover of Superman #281 (Nov 1974) popped up on a Twitter account recently, featuring the introduction to a hirsute, mustachioed villain named Vartox.



 If you thought he looked just like Sean Connery's character of Zed in the trippy sci fi flick Zardoz (released in Feb 1974) you win the Golden Thigh High Boot.

Now the question is, Who wore it better? And why was this deemed appropriate for young boys of the 1970s?

Will It Float? The NEW Aquaman Trailer

Ladies and gents, boys and girls, dolphins and porpoises, here is the first LONG ASS trailer for the new James Wan movie FLIPPERBOY!

Just kidding, it's AQUAMAN, starring bro-man/bro-dude/bro-ham/brocephus/bromide/Vincent Van Brogh/Obi-Wan Kenobro...Jason Momoa.

I like the visuals of Atlantis and the variety of aquatic mounts. The turtle sub was cool, too. I NEVER thought I would live to see Black Manta appear in a blockbuster movie.

But I sincerely hope they tone down the surfer-bro aspect of this iteration of Aquaman that was all over Momoa's performance in the execrable Justice League movie.

Bring your mask and scuba gear. We get wet in December.

Adam West Is And Always Will Be Batman

Adam West will always be remembered by kids who grew up in the late 1960s and 70s for his winning portrayal of DC Comics' favorite character BATMAN in the series of the same name.

Mr. West passed from this world into immortality on June 9 after a battle with leukemia. He was 88.

The Batman series was famous for many things: it's big name guest stars, bright color scheme, the amazing Batmobile, "POW!" "ZAP!" and other superimposed sound effect/titles, but also for the understated performance of Adam West as Batman and his alter ego Bruce Wayne.

The series may have been campy, but Mr. West took his role seriously and was seen as a hero by millions of viewers. With respect to the many actors who have played the Caped Crusader over the years, Adam West IS Batman.

Batman character Copyright 2017 by DC Comics. Batman series Copyright 2017 by its respect rights holder. No infringement of those rights is intended.

Batman Day

So yesterday, September 17, was the third annual celebration called Batman Day.

I don't know if you get a free ice cream cone (Gotham Chocolate Chunks With Extra NUTZ) or free pancakes, or what have you.

Anyway, here is my all time favorite Bat-artist, the late Marshall Rogers. A belated Happy Batman Day, everybody (except cowardly criminals: you will get a Bat-fist to the face on Batman Day).



Batman: Copyright 2016 by DC Comics, Inc. Original Artwork Copyright its respective rights holder.

Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad - Trailers For Both Movies Show Promise

Another San Diego Comic Con has entered the history books.

DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. got my attention with trailers for their two big movies for 2016.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (out March 25, 2016). Not a Man of Steel sequel, but more a preamble to the announced Justice League movies. Henry Cavill proved he has the chops for Superman in Man of Steel and Ben Affleck appears to be diving deep in his role as Batman. I just hope the filmmakers due justice (no pun intended) to this historic first-time onscreen pairing of the most well-known superheroes of all time.

Suicide Squad (out August 5, 2016) with Jared Leto stepping into the killer's smile and cackling laugh of the Joker. Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn looks like she might be the breakout star of this tale. And what a great cover of the Bee Gees' "I Started A Joke" to use in the trailer.

It's A Genre World, We Just Live In It

Lotta things happening in the genre worlds right now:

Christopher Nolan' s Instellar is set to move and thrill us in early November.

The super-cult TV favorite Twin Peaks is coming back, with original creators David Lynch and Mark Frost returning to run things.

Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man is rumored to be the "villain" in the upcoming Captain America 3.

And Warner Brothers is banking A LOT on their stable of DC Comics characters translating into movie blockbuster franchises.