DARWYN COOKE’s variant to THE FLASH #7

Every comic fan loves Darwyn Cooke's beautiful and creative comic art.  His variant cover to The Flash #7 is no exception.  DC's The Source Blog just posted this image.  Enjoy!

Chris Pine of Star Trek Fame, the New Flash?

A couple of weeks ago it was reported that Bradley Cooper’s name is being zipped around at Speed-force rate in relation to “The Flash” and though Cooper may be my current fave to play the Scarlett Speedster it’s a given we’ll hear of a few more names that are in with a chance to play Barry Allen before Warner Bros makes their decision.

With the script still not finished (it’s due to be done by Christmas) it’s going to be quite a while before we hear anything solid on casting, but Moviehole is reporting another casting rumor has popped up.  Apparently, Screen Rant let slip that rumors through the grapevine hint that the star of J.J. Abrams "Star Trek" movie, Chris Pine as a sought-after to play "The Flash"

Chris Pine, who is now involved in both the “Star Trek” and Jack Ryan franchises has his plate pretty full right now and may not have the time to commit to another franchise. I like Chris Pine, he did a decent job in "Star Trek", but I really do not see him playing The Flash.  I am really betting on Bradley Cooper to play the Flash, he just fits the Barry Allen character in my mind.

“The Flash” is going to be a very different kinda superhero movie by sounds. Screenwriter Marc Guggenheim tells Newsarama that it’ll even encompass shades of… “Silence of the Lambs”!?

“We’re being true to the whole Barry Allen science police… We’re being true to those origins and updating them for the 21st century. I feel like in many ways the movie is three movies in one. It’s part thriller, that forensic, cool, Seven, Silence of the Lambs; Part superhero movie and part sports movie because there’s an athleticism to this character that other superheroes don’t have… And you get to see how all three of those elements inform each other and make the whole movie even better. It’s sort of like the way in Green Lantern we took a superhero movie and combined it with a space opera, here we’re combining the superhero movie with these other two genres and it’s just a blast.”

What do you think of Chris Pine as The Flash?  Do you have someone else in mind?

via: Moviehole, Screent Rant & Newsarama

NYCC 10: DC Announces FLASHPOINT as Next Big Event. What is It?

After the announcement at NYCC 2010 that the next big Mega event for DC would be Flashpoint, I decided to do some research to determine what is Flashpoint?

If you recall DC and Geoff Johns teased us with a new series called Flashpoint in the first issue of The Flash.

After researching and reading numerous references to Flashpoint, I came across a post by Joey Esposito at Craveonline. Joey does a wonderful job of breaking down the teaser images for Flashpoint in the Flash #1 and analyzing other references to from DCU's history to form a hypothesis on DC's next big event.

Here is a summary of Joey's breakdown of Flashpoint:

So panel for panel, the first two are pretty obvious. Clock counting down. But the third panel is where things get interesting, with the Reverse-Flash costume coming out from Barry Allen's ring, where his usual scarlet costume is kept. Judging by the surprise on Barry's face, this is an unexpected occurrence. What's intriguing is the recent re-emergence of Eobard Thawne in The Flash: Rebirth, where we discover that Professor Zoom has been orchestrating Barry's life since childhood, from the death of his mother to his "resurrection" from the Speed Force.

Next up is Jay Garrick, Wally West and Bart Allen getting themselves rocked by the Speed Force, shades of Barry Allen back in Crisis on Infinite Earths. Combined with the panel above it, I think it's safe to say that some external force is messing with the Flashes, and perhaps even the Speed Force itself.

So, just what the hell could this all mean? Well, one important thing to note is a little series called... Flashpoint. In 1999, DC Comics released an Elseworlds story by the same name, which focused on a concept that involved Wally West uncovering the titular Flashpoint, which was a device that could be an entry into the Speed Force, let alone other realities. Of course Vandal Savage tries to overtake the device for his own purposes, including but not limited to a weird plot revolving around the JFK assassination. The reason that's relevant is a few words from this teaser: "if there is to be anything left of the past, present, and future, they must learn the secret of the Flashpont."

Could this Flashpoint be the same concept? In the Elseworlds tale, Barry Allen has dreams that represent other realities that can be accessed through the Flashpoint, including the DC Universe. Could our DCU be looking at a battle through time and across realities through this concept that was added to the DC lexicon some ten years ago?

If you add it up, it's possible. Consider:

• Geoff Johns has brought Elseworlds into the main DCU before. Kingdom Come Superman anyone? The man is a master of dredging up DC history and making it new. 

• Johns has also used this same build up in another title of his. You know, that Green Lantern book. Both titles, thus far, have begun with Rebirth mini-series that lead directly into a brand new monthly ongoing, with a tease for a big story featuring said character. How do we know that in 6 years we won't look back on The Flash: Rebirth realizing all of the little plot points Johns had set up, like we are doing today with Green Lantern: Rebirth?

• Every incarnation of the Big Three shown in the teaser isn't their natural state. A vampire Batman, war mongering Wonder Woman and militaristic Superman are all great fodder for an Elseworlds story or alternate Earth, some of which we've already seen. Could these twisted versions of our beloved DCU heroes be using the Flashpoint to invade our world, city by city?

• Brightest Day, The Return of Bruce Wayne and Rip Hunter: Time Master all point to a renewed importance in the timestream aspect of the DCU. DC went so far as to say that Rip Hunter would have some clues implanted in it that lead right to DC's next big event.

 Thanks to Joey and Craveonline for this wonderful theory on DC's next big thing, Flashpoint. 

What do you think Flashpoint is all about?  Do you even care about it?  Do you think rises to the level of a mega event?  Let us know?

Bradley Cooper Front Runner to Play Barry Allen in THE FLASH Movie?

Deadline is reporting that the latest script for the Dc Comics character The Flash will be handed into Warner Bros between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Marc Guggenheim and Michael Green are writing the draft, and Greg Berlanti did the story with them. No word on who'll direct The Flash yet, bu it's doubtful it'll be Berlanti... "He won't want to direct it because he kinda wants to do something in between size-wise first before attempting something that large,".... apparently the film (Green Lantern) shaping up is "jaw-dropping".

Moviehole, also a reliable source, claims The Hangover's Bradley Cooper is the front runner to play The Flash. Its unlikely WB would actually be speaking to anyone without having signed a director, but they may well have Cooper in mind. Funnily enough Cooper was also a contender for the role of Hal Jordan in Green Lantern, which of course went to Ryan Reynolds in Green Lantern, which of course went to Ryan Reynolds in the end.

Very early days but, I've heard Bradley Cooper, who of course was the runner-up for the role of Hal Jordan in DC's "Green Lantern", is the favourite to wiggle his way into the cherry tights. Warner Bros loves them some Cooper, and DC is very keen to have Cooper be 'part of the family', so don't be surprised to hear the "Hangover" star's name mentioned in relation to the role when the shortlist is inevitably leaked.

I believe that  WB got these castings a bit ass backwards and Reynolds would have better suite the part of The Flash and vice versa!


via: Comic Book Movie

Action Comics #892 75th Anniversary Superman Flash Race Variant

This is the amazing Ivan Reis’ variant cover to ACTION COMICS #892.  It's also the latest in a series of special variant covers done in celebration of DC Comics 75th Anniversary.  The cover celebrates the long tradition of races between Superman and Flash.  The first occured in Superman #199 published in 1967. 


How the Superman - Flash Races First Started

According to issue #199, the Secretary-General of the United Nations came up with the idea, and approached Superman and the Flash with the idea of a benefit race. Money raised from sweepstakes would fund aid programs for underdeveloped nations.  Superman and Flash completed the race with a clear tie, ensuring that everyone was a winner. 

Superman went on to race Barry Allen several more times, and also held races with Wally West and even Jay Garrick.  All three of those men who wore the Flash costume at one point or another would beat Superman at least once in a footrace.  Superman, who was able to force a couple of ties, has never outright won a race with a Flash.

What the the JLA Looks like on the iPhone vs. Android

Gfest found this post from Jase at about:blank that is damn funny.  Notice anything missing in the iPhone/iPad photo. 

He's been gone for 30 years after saving the the universe and the brought back to help save humanity once again, only to be killed again by Steve Jobs.  Poor Barry.

But Is He the Fastest Man Alive in Bed?

This is a funny cartoon of the Flash getting some real superhero action.  I wonder which Flash that is though?  Gfest's guess is that its Barry Allen.  The old man is probably just excited to be back from the dead and having sex again. 

Gfest was going to guess Jay Garrick, but we assume that Jay practices safe sex and always wears a helmet in bed.