Your 2022 Predictions, Part Five: Battle of Beiden Pass.
Hi pals! Time to make the doughnuts again, lookin’ at your 2022 comic industry predictions. See what I’ve done already (1 2 3 4), and let’s get into what else you had to say!
William Burns lights a fire under my butt with
“1. The acquisition of Dark Horse leads to a major push for the Comics Greatest World setting and heroes.”
I went lookin’ and haven’t seen any movement in that batch of characters. A couple of articles I read on the Netflix/Dark Horse deal didn’t mention anything, which is where I think that info would most likely have come to light. But Comics’ Greatest World feels like a natural, at least for maybe a TV show in this superhero-crazy world. I mean, Ghost at the very least, right? But maybe that Barb Wire movie casts a long shadow over all the other CGW properties.
“2. There will be ballyhoo about the establishment of a new comics company designed to appeal to right-wing fans, with white male heroes and a generally conservative culture war slant. Nothing much will come of it.”
From what I can tell, the biggest right-wing comic news this past year was this proposed movie where someone got taken for a million bucks. It was based on a character that was being ballyhooed a few years back by some site or ‘nother as “the antidote to woke, SJW-loving Marvel” or words to that effect, and apparently they actually got out some issues, I guess? I haven’t seen any news about any current attempts at making a right-leaning publisher, but we can probably blame that darn liberal media bias for that.
“3. A Wonder Woman storyline will involve a non-binary Amazon.”
I know a transgendered Amazonian made it into a Wonder Woman story, but I can’t turn up any reports on a specifically non-binary one. I haven’t read any WW comics over the past year, so if a non-binary person turned up, much less had a full-on storyline, I would have missed it. If I’m incorrect, please correct me!
Jeff R. rites
“1. Movie projects announced by year’s end include Harley Quinn and the Secret Six, Dazzler, and Transdimensional Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.”
At the very least there was a rumor that James Gunn could possibly have been doing something with them, but since Gunn took over the movie/TV adaptations of DC Comics, even if the rumor were true I’d imagine things would be on hold while everything gets hammered out.
As for the Transdimensional TMNT, best I can find is this 2016 episode of one of the cartoons. It’s the “most cowabunga crossover ever” so surely that should be enough for all of us.
“2. Peter David and Greg Pak return to the Hulk books and cowrite World War Maestro and Planet Maestro.”
Pak did come back to write the new Planet Hulk: Worldbreaker series, so there’s that. David has continued writing Hulk comics, but has moved away from Maestro and is now on to Joe Fixit. …Hey, how ’bout a Joe Fixit vs. Maestro story? “Fixit Imperfect,” they could call it.
“3. Nightwing 100 (solicited at least next year) is a wedding.”
Mmmmmmm this issue is literally coming out as I write this, so I don’t feel comfortable spoiling anything “on main,” as the kids say. So follow this link to find the answer! (The link is completely work-and-computer-and-sanity-safe I promise you.)
DavidG drops the following
“1. No Miracleman. But there will be a teaser for it, which will lead to nothing.”
As discussed in a previous installment of this prediction coverage, new Miracleman comics got released in 2022 just under the wire! Now, whether or not we continue to get more new issues, that remains to be seen.
“2. ‘The Batman’ movie will repeat the failings of the early nineties movies – too many villains, none of whom get enough screen time to resonate so the whole thing will be unsatisfactory.”
Well, who did we get in The Batman? Riddler was our main dude, with appearances by Selina Kyle AKA Catwoman, and the Penguin. The Joker shows up, sorta (though there’s a deleted scene with the character getting screen time). It never felt like it was too many, like any of them were getting in each other’s way or anything. I can’t speak for you, but I think it all worked out nicely in support of a pretty good Batman movie.
“3. The last LSH reboot will be ignored, and there will be another attempt to breathe life into the sixties version, possibly in the Batman 66 style. It will not be good.”
There was that Justice League Vs. Legion of Super-Heroes mini, still in the same continuity as the Bedis relaunch. But I haven’t seen anything more in the planning stages.
“Boy, those are pretty depressing predictions. Hope they are all wrong!”
Good news!
I think we should be able to wrap things up next time, so thanks for reading everyone, and I’ll see you Friday!
Nice Legend of the 5 Rings reference! :D
Can someone explain the “still no Miracleman” trope? I have the last Marvel relaunch, but have not read it yet. Is it a case of “this should have been over with the original run, why can’t they leave it be?” or moore along the lines of “copyright laws mean one thing one day and something entirely different the next”? Or was it solicited eons ago like Spiderman/Black Cat?
It was solicited to follow immediately after Marvel finished reprinting the Neil Gaiman “Golden Age” story back in (I want to say) 2015. The first two issues were listed for pre-order, but nothing came of it until the end of 2022. So, that was about a seven year wait between Marvel announcing they planned to finally complete Miracleman and when the first issue of “The Silver Age” actually shipped.
“3. The last LSH reboot will be ignored, and there will be another attempt to breathe life into the sixties version, possibly in the Batman 66 style. It will not be good.”
Bendis’ LSH should be ignored–but doing a Batman 66 style sixties version of LSH is also a bad idea. Paul Levitz is working on an Avengers project for Marvel right now, but DC should get him back,restore the LSH to its seventies/eighties grandeur and cool mostly Dave Cockrum-designed costumes and go from there. Or, if Levitz doesn’t want to do it, ask Jim Shooter to write it! If DC has an Omniverse now, that classic “The Great Darkness Saga” iteration of LSH should still exist somewhere in some divergent timeline of the 31st century!
Oh for a really good long term Legion book… but those expectations were dashed decades ago- too many time jumps, reboots, clones (or whatever that was about) and the removal of Superboy and Supergirl. Sigh.
Re: The Thing not having fingernails–isn’t it more disturbing that he only has four fingers on each hand and four toes on each foot?
Also, was it ever hinted at by any FF writers that perhaps Alicia Masters was into The Thing because she was all about being a sculptor and the Thing was like a “living sculpture” to her in terms of his craggy texture?
Lastly, how about that Marvel Fanfare story by Barry Windsor-Smith when the Thing woke up, thinking he suddenly had stubble–but Johnny Storm had actually glued macaroni on the Thing’s face?
(I don’t do Twitter so I’m writing my comments here instead)
“But maybe that Barb Wire movie casts a long shadow over all the other CGW properties.”
I’d bet she does!
Sean Mageean: “Thing not having fingernails–isn’t it more disturbing that he only has four fingers”
I think it’s weirdest he doesn’t have TEETH.
Snark Shark:
That is weird!
Weirder still is that when Jack Kirby becomes the Thing in What If…? number 11, Kirby as the Thing has teeth and lips! (and Stan Lee as Mr. Fantastic has a full head of hair and a mustache –even though he had neither in the early ’60s when the FF was created…)
http://gone-and-forgotten.blogspot.com/2015/02/weird-what-if-original-marvel-bullpen.html
“Also, was it ever hinted at by any FF writers that perhaps Alicia Masters was into The Thing because she was all about being a sculptor and the Thing was like a “living sculpture” to her in terms of his craggy texture? ”
I don’t remember which issue, but I’m almost certain John Byrne had something along these lines. I think I remember a scene where she was sculpting, and Ben comes to pick her up for a date, and she makes a comment about the texture of his rocky skin reminding her of her work.
Thelonious_Nick:
Maybe that’s where I got it from. I read/collected the John Byrne FF run back in the early ’80s and recall liking it, for the most part (although I didn’t really care for the redesign on the costumes), but I haven’t reread the Byrne run in the last several decades. Having She-Hulk on the team for awhile was cool.
Re: The Thing’s teeth — may I refer you to the last entry in this End of Civilization post?
Wow! It appears that Neal Adams went gonzo on all the superhero comics (and not just Batman Odyssey) that he drew in the last decade or so! Seeing the Thing with teeth drawn by Adams–iconic artist and legend though he was–is actually more disturbing than Jack Kirby’s original version of the Thing not having any teeth…
I’m also reminded of a very toothy drawing Neal Adams did of Jenette Kahn in the late ’70s that appeared inside some DC Comics…
“may I refer you to the last entry in this End of Civilization post?”
I Literally hadn’t noticed before THAT, and I’ve been reading comics for like 40 years!
“Mr. Fantastic has a full head of hair and a mustache”
MR F WITH A MUSTACHE LOOKS WRONG!