Episode #104: Oscar Nominations & January Nerd News
Join hosts Tim, Troy, and Sunjay to round up and discuss this weeks Star Wars, Marvel, and DC news! The guys also breakdown the 2018 Oscar Nominations and tackle a listener questions about comicbook origin stories!
Be sure to check out more from the Star Wars Commonwealth and follow Talk Star Wars, Tumbling Saber, Generation X-Wing, Rogue Squadron Podcast, Skyhopper Podcast and the San Diego Sabers!
Episode #101: 2018's Most Anticipated in Nerd
Join hosts Tim, Troy, and Sunjay to discuss their most anticipated films, comics, and collecting for 2018!
Join hosts Tim, Troy, and Sunjay to discuss their most anticipated films, comics, and collecting for 2018!
Now, with the arrival of a New Year always comes a commitment to change, so the crew layout their three Nerd-Year resolutions! The guys also rundown their top 10 most anticipated films for 2018 and tackle The Nerd Room's Box Office Fantasy Draft!
Be sure to check out more from the Star Wars Commonwealth and follow Talk Star Wars, Tumbling Saber, Generation X-Wing, Rogue Squadron Podcast, Skyhopper Podcast and the San Diego Sabers!
Episode #100 - 2017 Year in Review
Join hosts Tim, Troy, and Sunjay for Episode #100 of The Nerd Room! This week the guys discuss 2017 in Nerd! What were the biggest stories in Star Wars, Marvel and DC in 2017? Did 2017 live up to the expectations set in their most anticipated lists? What are their top 10 films of 2017? Tune into find out all this and much more!
Join hosts Tim, Troy, and Sunjay for Episode #100 of The Nerd Room! This week the guys discuss 2017 in Nerd! What were the biggest stories in Star Wars, Marvel and DC in 2017? Did 2017 live up to the expectations set in their most anticipated lists? What are their top 10 films of 2017? Tune into find out all this and much more!
Be sure to check out more from the Star Wars Commonwealth and follow Talk Star Wars, Tumbling Saber, Generation X-Wing, Rogue Squadron Podcast, Skyhopper Podcast and the San Diego Sabers!
Batman, My Batman
I have made no secret of the fact that I am not a big fan of the direction Zack Snyder has taken the DCEU. I’m not keen on the tone of Man of Steel, I didn’t appreciate his vision of Batman or Superman in BvS and I’m not looking forward to Justice League. I find the tone too dark and the characters too hopeless. But I’m not suggesting everything that came before was perfect either. In fact, I had issues with The Dark Night Rises. These issues were largely mine because I had built a headcanon version of the movie that could never be…
I have made no secret of the fact that I am not a big fan of the direction Zack Snyder has taken the DCEU. I’m not keen on the tone of Man of Steel, I didn’t appreciate his vision of Batman or Superman in BvS and I’m not looking forward to Justice League. I find the tone too dark and the characters too hopeless. But I’m not suggesting everything that came before was perfect either. In fact, I had issues with The Dark Night Rises. These issues were largely mine because I had built a headcanon version of the movie that could never be…
After the Dark Knight, my mind went directly to the sequel. Nolan’s sequel to Batman Begins may be the best superhero film ever made. It also happens to be very dark, lacking any sense of hope and takes the characters extremely seriously, but somehow Nolan made it work. The film was released in 2008 as Marvel was just booting up the MCU and getting ready to teach the world how to manage comic book IP. But, when Dark Knight swooped into theatres it did so beneath a huge shadow. The shadow was cast by the loss of Heath Ledger who breathed life into The Joker in a way that made the character a poison chalice for anyone who dares try to fill Heath’s shoes.
The way the Dark Knight ended, and indeed, the way it closed the book on the Joker felt like the series had more to say. As if the Joker’s return was inevitable, and so my imagination run away with me and ultimately, I created a “headcanon” movie that The Dark Rises, in some small way, to me alone, failed to surpass. I wanted to share that with you today.
My idea for a Dark Knight sequel would require that Christopher Nolan recast the Joker with another actor. Nolan stated pretty clearly as The Dark Knight Rises entered production that this simply wasn’t going to happen. So my vision for a sequel featuring the character started to fade almost immediately, even as my first choice to replace Heath, Joesph Gordon Levitt was cast in the film. Here is what I wanted to see.
In my Batman movie, we would have seen a slightly different version of the Joker. One incarcerated in Arkham. A Joker with no makeup, no brightly coloured hair and no purple suit. This Joker, I envisioned would have sported a close-cropped haircut, clearly visible scars and a subdued persona. This a Joker who is being kept level by a prescribed list of narcotics. Courtesy of his psychiatrist, Dr Quinn of course. In my mind Joker belongs behind glass, rather than bars, the way we meet Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs, and that wouldn’t be the only parallel to Jonathan Demme’s movie.
Gotham would have fallen prey to a terrorist of sorts. A warped individual who is completely obsessed with The Batman. A fanboy who is setting bombs in Gotham designed to test The Batman. To see if the man the press are calling a vigilante is actually hero or villain. To test his prey, the bomber is leaving a series of test, clues that Batman needs to follow in order to foil his dastardly plans. You might call them riddles…
One thing I wanted to see was the introduction of The Riddler. In my story, the Riddler was a simple Gothamite who had grown increasingly more obsessed with Batman and intrigued by the battle of wits between the Joker and The Bat. This is when The Riddler reaches out to The Joker in Arkham. Dr Quinn passes correspondence between the two men, much like The Tooth Fairy in Silence, giving The Joker an opportunity to strike out at Gotham from within his cell in Arkham.
With Batman being the worlds greatest detective (not something we have seen a great deal of in Batman movies so far) it won’t take long before he realises that The Joker is pulling The Riddler’s strings and he enters Arkham with Jim Gordon, in disguise as Matches Malone, to question The Joker and game is on.
This would have been a way to tell a Batman story that shares some of the themes in Se7en. The Riddler, with the help of The Joker, would put Batman in some impossible positions and ultimately tell a zero-sum tale that costs Bruce Wayne dearly.
Ultimately The Dark Knight Rises wrapped up the Nolan Batman trilogy in a spectacular way. Bane was fantastic, Catwoman was a wonderful, morally grey character, and Gotham, perhaps Bruce Wayne’s greatest weakness, was indeed at the centre of the story. But I think I would have preferred a story that utilised The Joker, introduced The Riddler and set up further tales, even if they were not told by Nolan.
My biggest hope for the end of this film that never stood a chance of being made would riff on the Joker playing card sting from Begins and potentially set up the DCEU. In my imaginary movie, just after the credits, we see Batman, crouched on the edge of a tall building in Gotham. Silently, behind him, Brandon Routh’s Superman flutters down into the frame. Batman’s head turns slightly acknowledging his arrival and Superman has one line, “Bruce, I need your help.”
Thank you for reading,
Marc
The Nerd Room Episode #92: Batman: The Animated Series Commentary
When host Tim is away, Troy and Sunjay will play! Join them as they celebrate the 25th anniversary of Batman: The Animated Series by providing commentary tracks for two landmark episodes from the series (Robin Reckoning Pt.1 and Old Wounds).
Be sure to check out more from the Star Wars Commonwealth and follow Talk Star Wars, Tumbling Saber, Generation X-Wing, Rogue Squadron Podcast, Skyhopper Podcast and the San Diego Sabers!
New Justice League Trailer
As promised earlier in the week, WB has released what will likely be the final trailer for The Justice League!
As promised earlier in the week, WB has released what will likely be the final trailer for The Justice League!
They have cranked up the scale of this trailer to epic with moments of levity amongst the destruction. I'm still not totally sold on this film yet, but the first few seconds of the trailer really get me and it is the perfect tease for a certain character.
We will be breaking down the latest Justice League trailer on this weeks episode of The Nerd Room (Ep. 90), dropping this coming Thursday!
Let us know your thoughts on The Justice League trailer in the comments below.
Thank you for reading,
Tim
The Nerd Room Episode #89: A Mixed Bag of Star Wars, Marvel & DC!
Join hosts Tim, Troy, and Sunjay for an off the rails, mixed bag episode were they discuss Star Wars, Marvel & DC comicbooks, Falls TV line up, a whole bunch of Star Wars collecting and much more!!
08:37 - The Marvel (Star Wars) and DC Comicbook Landscape & News
37:16 - Falls TV Lineup - What are we watching?
58:16 - Justice League Character Posters
1:10:41 -Collecting
Toys R US Bankruptcy
The Elite Series Wave 2
Black Series Wave 3
1:32:55 - From a Certain Point of View - Soft Canon?
1:34:29 - Star Wars Rebels S4 Poster
Be sure to check out more from the Star Wars Commonwealth and follow Talk Star Wars, Tumbling Saber, Generation X-Wing, Rogue Squadron Podcast, Skyhopper Podcast and the San Diego Sabers!
The Nerd Room Episode #85: DC Takeover and Top 5 Fights in Comics
As the dust settles from the Mayweather v Mcgregor fight, hosts Troy and Sunjay discuss their top 5 fights in comics! The crew also takes advantage of Tim’s absence and talk a bunch of DC!
As the dust settles from the Mayweather v Mcgregor fight, hosts Troy and Sunjay discuss their top 5 fights in comics! The crew also takes advantage of Tim’s absence and talk a bunch of DC!
Next week the guys are taking a deep dive into Star Wars and are talking Force Friday 2!
Check out our NEW WEBSITE - thenerdroom.net
Be sure to check out more from the Star Wars Commonwealth and follow Talk Star Wars, Tumbling Saber, Generation X-Wing, Rogue Squadron Podcast, Skyhopper Podcast and the San Diego Sabers!
The Nerd Room Episode #81 P1: Marvel & DC at SDCC 2017 & D23
Join hosts Tim, Troy, and Sunjay for a monstrous discussion of Marvel and DC at SDCC 2017 and D23. Its been two of the biggest weeks in fandom and the reveals have been pouring in!
Join hosts Tim, Troy, and Sunjay for a monstrous discussion of Marvel and DC at SDCC 2017 and D23. Its been two of the biggest weeks in fandom and the reveals have been pouring in!
This week the guys take a close look at what Marvel Studios and WB (DCEU) had to offer from their Hall H panels (and D23) and how the announcements change the landscape in each of their Cinematic Universes.
They also breakdown the Hasbro Marvel Legends reveals and what we can expect in the coming months from the toy line.
01:59 - Sunjay at SDCC 2017
22:23 - Spider-Man Give Away Results
23:59 - The DCEU SDCC Panel (Film Slate, Aquaman, Justice League Trailer)
1:10:31 - Marvel Studios SDCC/D23 Panels (Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Infinity War, Captain Marvel)
1:41:17 - Hasbro: Marvel Panel
Check out our NEW WEBSITE - thenerdroom.net
Be sure to check out more from the Star Wars Commonwealth and follow Talk Star Wars, Tumbling Saber, Generation X-Wing, Rogue Squadron Podcast, Skyhopper Podcast and the San Diego Sabers!
Sunjay does SDCC 2017
Everyone's favourite DC fan is kicking down at SDCC 2017!
Everyone's favourite DC fan is kicking down at SDCC 2017! As a first time Con attendee he could only snag Thursday passes but the atmosphere in San Diego is all encompassing!
Here are a few photos from his first few days down at the nexus of nerd!
For on the fly updates of Preview night and Thursday from the floor, follow Sunjay on twitter (@SunJabbi)!
Hear all about his adventures in San Diego on Episode #81 of The Nerd Room, airing next Wednesday July 26th, 2017!
Thanks for reading!
The Nerd Room Podcast | D23 & SDCC 2017 Coverage
There will be no new Nerd Room Podcast episode for the week of July 20th but we will be coming back next week with a special double episode!
There will be no new Nerd Room Podcast episode for the week of July 20th but we will be coming back next week with a special double episode!
July 26th, 2017 - Marvel & DC - D23 / SDCC 2017 Reveals
July 27th, 2017 - Star Wars - D23 / SDCC 2017 Reveals
Make sure to follow our reactionary commentary and coverage of SDCC 2017 on TNR website and twitter!