Match.com Shows Supes & Wonder Woman's 1st Kiss

DC Comics acknowledged the power and popularity of online dating sites by releasing the Jim Lee image of Superman and Wonder Woman’s first kiss to the popular Match.com site. Match.com also collaborated with DC on dating profiles for the two superheroes, who are set to start dating in Justice League #12. The profiles have a bit of humor that comic fans will enjoy such as Wonder Woman explaining the origin of her invisible plane or Superman referring to his Fortress of Solitude as “a pretty sweet man cave.”

But Match.com goes farther than the profiles when it had its "scientific" advisor Dr. Helen Fisher, who sees the hormones of each of the superheroes as key determining factors in how they act. With Supes it’s "an acute sense of justice and fairness are traits linked with the testosterone system in the brain. So Superman’s affiliation with the "Justice League" is an immediate tipoff to his personality type: a high testosterone male. Most important, this "Man of Steel" saves people he doesn’t know. Known as 'heroic altruism,' this willingness to confront severe danger to save a stranger is linked with elevated levels of testosterone." While Wonder Woman, "exudes qualities built by estrogen. This type is compassionate and nurturing; they seek peace and harmony, as Wonder Woman does. Estrogen is linked with verbal skills, with intuition, and with the ability to read faces, postures, gestures and tone of voice."

But can these two iconic superheroes find happiness locked in an embrace that would surely crush most mortals? Dr. Fisher, who may not be totally conversant with the conflicting demands of long term serial drama, thinks so: "Superman and Wonder Woman are a classic match, as a very high testosterone male and a very high estrogen female. They also have many cultural and biological traits that will fuel their romance. People also tend to fall in love with those of the same background. Although Superman comes from a different planet, while Wonder Woman harks from an isolated island, both are aliens to our modern world. More important, Superman and Wonder Woman share the same values and goals: They are both dedicated to truth and justice and both fight evil to save the good—traits shared by both the high testosterone and high estrogen type. Lastly, both value independence."

Liefield Leaves DC: Twitterstorm Erupts

A Twitterstorm erupted on Wednesday after Rob Liefeld tweeted the news that he had left DC, where he was working on three titles. "I walked off all 3 books," he tweeted. "Can’t wait to see any attempts to spin. I have every email." His runs will end with the zero issues, he said.

Liefeld said his reasons were "the same as everyone’s you hear." He added, "I had at least 20 editorial battles and won 80%, but those battles wear you down." It sounded like it had been coming for a while: "This is the 4th time I quit in the last 4 months. This time it will stick."

Liefeld had begun with DC’s New 52 relaunch on Hawk and Dove until it was canceled, and more recently was writing and penciling Deathstroke, and plotting The Savage Hawkman and Grifter.

Major, Iconic DC Character to "Come Out"

DC Comics has revealed that a "major, iconic" character will reveal "he" is gay in a June storyline, according to ABC News and announced at Kapow! Comic Convention in London last weekend. DC had previously kept the sexual orientation of all of its characters consistent in the post-New 52 world, despite changes to many other characteristics of the characters in the relaunch.

As is often the case with maneuvers by the Big Two American comic publishers, who have competed for over half a century, there’s a subplot. Marvel has teased that there will be a "major announcement" on The View on Tuesday about Astonishing X-Men #50, believed by some to be a storyline involving a gay character.

First Image from "Superman vs. The Elite"

DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation have released the first image from the next DC direct-to-video feature film Superman vs. The Elite, which is based on the Joe Kelly story, “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?” that appeared in Action Comics #775. With the next DC animated release, Justice League: Doom releasing on February 29th, it is likely that Superman vs. The Elite will be released this summer, probably right before the San Diego Comic-Con.

TV Guide managed to get the first image of the somewhat stylized art from the cartoon for its article about TV star Pauley Perrette of NCIS fame, who will provide the voice for Lois Lane in the film with George Newbern (Justice League) vocalizing the Man of Steel’s lines. Perrette sees lots of similarities between Superman’s gal-pal and the inked-up forensic scientist Abby that Perrette plays on NCIS, telling TV Guide: “They’re both very smart and confident and really good at their jobs. They’re both really focused. Abby just doesn’t have a Superman.

Wonder Woman comes to Animated Life

It's been a long time coming, but DC Comics' most famous female super-hero finally comes to (small) screens in her own movie today. Some folks might try to dismiss Wonder Woman without a closer look, since it's an animated film, and it's direct-to-DVD, but they'd be fools to do so.

This updated take on the classic warrior-in-a-strange-land tale is an enjoyable mix of butt-kicking and empowered romantic comedy that will satisfy geek guys, gals, and kids alike.
The action starts (and starts big) millenia in the past, where the Amazons are fighting for the fate of all humanity against the armies of Ares, god of war (voiced by Alfred Molina), whose very proximity inspires chaos and conflict. Pegasi and Amazons battle gargoyles, Minotaurs, and every other dark member of classical mythology while Ares watches it all, literally feeding on the death and destruction. But Queen Hippolyta (Oscar nominee Virgina Madsen) isn't afraid to bring the battle, and a bit of tragic vengeance, straight to the gods.

To draw Ares out, and to make him angry and careless, she kills his son on the battlefield. The anti-Oedipal nature of the act is that this is Ares' son from an act of rape he committed on Hippolyta.

No, this isn't your average Saturday-morning super-hero cartoon. Wonder Woman is a PG-13 movie, and doesn't shy from it. Indeed, in interviews producer Bruce Timm has admitted that the first cut of the movie sent to the MPAA received an R rating. Parents may want to screen the movie before showing it to younger kids, but on the scale of other DC animated super-hero movies, Wonder Woman is much more palatable for younger kids than, say, Superman: Doomsday.

Ares is defeated, at least for the time being, but the gods intervene to keep Hippolyta from exacting ultimate justice. Ares' dad Zeus (David McCallum of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and NCIS) can't bear to see his son killed, but at least mom Hera (Marg Helgenberger- China Beach and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation) understands things from a woman's point of view. Ares will be imprisoned under the Amazonians' care, and his powers capped via a pair of magic wristbands. And to assuage Hippolyta's outrage at justice denied, Hera gives the Amazon women the hidden isle of Themescera and extended lifespans so they can perfect their manless paradise. And she grants Hippolyta one more gift - the chance to have a daughter without needing one of

those horrible, nasty, and brutish men to plant the seed.]
That's the setup that brings the story into the modern day. Fighter pilot Colonel Steve Trevor (the always hilarious Nathan Fillion - Firefly, Dr. Horrible) gets shot down over the Meditteranean by nasty middle-easterns with black jet planes, and through a chance of fate, crash lands on Themescera, only to be found by the now grown-up Princess Diana (Keri Russell - Felicity, Mission Impossible III). Trevor is something of a charming rogue, intriguing Diana while confirming most of her monther's negative images of the male of the species. Hippolyta is ready to execute him and be done with it when Ares escapes, and the fate of the world once again comes into peril. Now they need to send Trevor back to the world of men to warn them of the danger Ares poses, and one Amazonian must go with him as the ambassador from the hidden isle. If you remember anything of your Wonder Woman origin story, you'll easily guess who gets the job.

That's enough of the plot spoilerage, but suffice to say both action and a healthy dose of romantic comedy ensue. The crowd in the preview screening at Wondercon spent most of the movie straying between laughter and "boo-yah" style cheers.

Bruce Timm has been at Warner's for 20 years now, and continues to crank out the superior super-hero fare. What started with the gritty noir of Batman: The Animated Series continues with a serious, funny, action-filled look at one of the greatest super-heroes ever drawn, and all signs show he's perfectly happy to keep playing with the characters DC has given him (a Green Lantern animated movie is on track to be released this summer).

Director Lauren Montgomery demonstrates a well-balanced eye towards mixing the fun and serious aspects of the material, and Michael Jalenic's screenplay, from a story by him and well-respected comics writer Gail Simone, interjects great geeky moments of humor and action. And an all-star cast of voice actors, deftly handled by iconic voice director Andrea Romano brings it all to life. While Marvel seems to have hit upon the formula for turning its comics properties into successful live-action movies, Warner Animation has the market tied up when it comes to keeping the comics looking like comics while treating its audience like grown-ups.

Warner Bros./$13 Single DVD, $21 Two-disc Special Edition with Digital Copy, $22 Blu-ray DVD.

Fox Opts for more "Fringe" Benefits

The Hollywood trades are reporting that the Fox Network has picked up the option on a full season order for J.J. Abrams’ science fiction series Fringe. The order means nine more episodes of the series will be produced and will air during the second half of the current television season.

Fox’s action is in response to the show’s strong performance in the ratings. After solid ratings for the two-hour pilot, Fringe did extremely well when paired with Fox’s hit series House in an early season debut (see "Fringe Up in Second Week"). Ratings cooled somewhat when the competition got stiffer, but they have shown steady gains in the past two weeks and Fringe is attracting about 10.7 million total viewers and is tops among all the freshmen series in the coveted 18-47 demographic. Fringe is the second new series to receive a full season pick-up—the CW’s Beverly Hills 90210 was the first.

DC Comics is publishing a comic book series based on the Fringe TV series under its Wildstorm imprint (see “DC to Publish Fringe Comic”), though a recent announcement from the publisher stated that orders for the second, third, and fourth issues have been cancelled though they will all be resolicited. Fringe #2 is now slated for release in January, and Fox’s decision to opt for a full season pick-up means that the TV series will be airing in 2009 to support the Fringe comic book series