Movies I Can't Wait to See: Green Lantern with Ryan Reynolds!

Image from source, Just Jared

I mean, c'mon, who doesn't like Ryan Reynolds? And while Green Lantern was always my brother's favorite superhero, and mine was a tie between The Flash and Shazam! (the original Captain Marvel), I'm still excited to see any of the big DC Comics heroes get a big feature. We've been waiting forever for Wonder Woman and Justice League of America. Batman has been done to death, and despite its success has never been a favorite of mine. I loved Superman Returns, but no one agrees with me.

Green Lantern is probably one of the toughest DC heroes to do justice to (the others being Plastic Man, Metel Men, Metamorpho, Elongated Man and Firestorm). His power is basically to generate anything from his green power ring. These days, that certainly seems doable, especially in light of Transformers. I guess they could do Firestorm if Green Lantern works, since the transformative powers are similar. Anyway, I'm excited. Let's hope this one actually happens.

[Excerpt]

Ryan Reynolds is Green Lantern

The Proposal star Ryan Reynolds will headline the live-action superhero flick, Green Lantern. He most recently played Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. . .

Read more at: JustJared.com

Movies I Can't Wait to See: Metal Men

Image from source, Newsarama.com

Yes, another superhero film, who'da thunk it? DC's Metal Men was always one of my favorites, as well as one of my brother's. I think at one point, we had every issue--even the inevitable run, where the writers ditched the concept, and tried to make them cool.

Like Firestorm: The Nuclear Man, the Metal Men probably never broke through to the mainstream, and DC didn't ever seem to know what to do with them. They were relegated to short-run series, and backup features, but they always had potential.

The Metal Men were a group of robots, each made of a different metal. Each robot had powers like Plastic Man, in that they could stretch, but they also had the strengths (and weakness) of their respective metals. And though they were robots, they were fitted with "responsometers" that imbued them each with distinct personalities, quirks and tempers--much to the consternation of their inventor.

The series was lighthearted and fun, but at times could get very serious too, and I always went along for the ride. Turning it into a movie should be easy, if the creators stick to the source material. The special effects department, however, is going to get a workout. But hey, they pulled off Transformers, right?

The movie is slated for a 2010 premiere, so they have some time to get it right.

Metal Men at Newsarama.com.

Movies I Can't Wait to See: Firestorm

Image from Wikipedia.com

Here's a much-needed politics break.

Another announced superhero movie that really intrigues me is Firestorm: The Nuclear Man.

Firestorm is one of the more obscure (at least to mainstream America) of DC's stable of superheroes, but (along with The Flash and Captain Marvel) one of my all-time favorites.

Firestorm--as originally conceived--was a hero that was formed by a nuclear accident, and was the fused body and consciousness of two different people. Ronnie Raymond was a teenager at a nuclear plant protest, and Professor Stein was an employee there. The explosion (nuclear fusion, it is presumed) caused the two men to be fused into Firestorm.

The comic came out when I was 12, and captured the hero wish-fulfillment fantasy of becoming a superhero as a teenager. Ronnie wasn't all that much of an intellectual, so Professor Stein's side of the hero provided the maturity that reigned him in. The comic was very well written, and didn't seem like the typical adult-writing-"hip"-dialog. I collected every issue of the comic's first two runs. Loved it.

Firestorm seems to me like one of the most difficult heroes to depict onscreen. For starters, his hair is always on fire! And his powers--the ability to molecularly alter almost anything into almost anything--would tax even the most sophisticated CG computer. They really have their work cut out for them.

I fear that the cost of this film will prove too high for such an obscure hero, and that they'll ultimately decide not to make it. Even IMDB.com provides almost nothing on the progress of the film. But here's hoping!