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This Thursday was Halloween, a time where little kids and adults dress up in spooky costumes — or as their favorite superheroes — and head out to celebrate a time of childhood innocence and fun and get wasted on candy. It seems Halloween fever also struck Congress, as Democrat Rep. Katie Porter showed up to cast her vote in a House Financial Services Committee meeting rocking a Batman costume. Strangely, she was allowed to cast her vote this way, despite the fact she looked utterly ridiculous and the complete and total lack of professionalism. However, the worst part was the...

Where does evil come from? Joker offers the most banal answer imaginable — budget cuts for social workers — but it’s a devastatingly effective portrait of a serial killer in formation, bringing to mind a long, sickening line of American psychos.More than any comic-book movie to date, Joker, directed with a fierce commitment by Todd Phillips, eschews entertainment and dares to repel a sizable proportion of the potential audience. With an awful foreboding, it drills into the psychic pain of Arthur Fleck — failed clown, failed standup comic, failed human. Joaquin Phoenix gives one of the creepiest performances ever...

The film is "Joker," and while it comes in the form of a comic-book movie, it is the opposite of light. The movie focuses on the pre-Joker Arthur Fleck, circa early 1980s Gotham - a sad-sack clown slowly unraveling u At the Venice premiere, a moviegoer approached Phillips and said he thought Paris would burn as a result of the movie. Stephanie Zacharek wrote that Phoenix's character "could easily be adopted as the patron saint of incels," referring to the "involuntary celibates" group of frustrated males whose beliefs have come up in several mass killings. "In America, there's a mass...

Peter Scattini who was onboard the flight tweeted a video of the bat, writing: "Me, twice a year: 'I'll never fly spirit again.' Me, this morning, after deciding I'd rather save 12 dollars." "Hey Batman," says a woman as the panicked creature flaps its wings and flies over the heads of passengers.

Today is June 23, 2019, making it the 30th anniversary of Tim Burton’s Batman. [snip] Looking back at its success, I maintain that Batman, not Star Wars (and certainly not Jaws), is the movie most responsible for the current Hollywood blockbuster. [snip] First, somewhat obviously, it showed Hollywood that they could make a film, a non-sequel film no-less, that could be a presumed guaranteed moneymaker by virtue of its source material. Sure, it wasn’t the first Hollywood blockbuster whose popularity partially stemmed from a book or a play. Think Gone with the Wind, Ben-Hur, The Godfather or Jaws. But Batman’s...

Robert Pattinson will play the Caped Crusader in the upcoming The Batman flick slated for a June 25, 2021 release. The 33-year-old British actor is the next in line to play the DC Comics superhero after Ben Affleck last played Bruce Wayne in 2017's Justice League. Pattinson is in talks to play Batman in the Matt Reeves led project according to Variety on Thursday night.

Happy birthday to Batman, who made his debut eight decades ago in Detective Comics, issue number 27. It was dated May 1939, but actually hit newsstands in March that year. Batman made his screen debut in 1943 - see the somewhat saggy long underwear at right, and then took a two decade break till the campy TV series of the mid-Sixties. Another twenty years later he returned in a feature film by Tim Burton, and has been a fixture at the multiplex ever since. I was trying to recall whether I'd ever met anyone who's played Bruce Wayne, and to...

Baldwin is the latest high-profile actor to join the project, which is scheduled to begin shooting in two weeks. Robert De Niro, Deadpool 2 breakout Zazie Beetz and Glow actor Marc Maron are already on the call sheet. Phoenix is set to portray the DC Comics villain in a film that is more moderately budgeted and darker than the studio’s other DC-based movies that make up its shared universe. The project is also described as more of a dark character study than a crime thriller, with Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy as the tonal watchwords. Baldwin has been...

Batman, one of DC Comics' most recognizable fictional heroes, no longer believes in God in the latest comic book issue. ScreenRant shared the storyline details for Batman #53, released on Wednesday, which comes at the conclusion of comic writer Tom King's post-Catwoman/Batman wedding arc. In the story, Catwoman leaves Batman, whose secret identity is billionaire Bruce Wayne, at the altar. This leaves Wayne in a questioning state, where he explores his life and reflects on his theological background — he had been raised as a Christian by his father, Thomas. In one exchange with another character, Wayne is asked, "Do...

It’s not often that we think or talk about the religious beliefs of our favorite superheroes, barring the times when writers blatantly state from where these characters are coming. For example, we’re all aware of how Daredevil’s a devout Catholic, or how Batwoman’s Jewish. Speaking of which, the latest issue of Batman really hammered home the point that the Dark Knight is, in fact, an atheist. I mean, it’s technically nothing new and has been somewhat explored in the past (I believe it was Broken City that briefly touched on this before), but the latest entry into Tom King’s ongoing...

Robert De Niro is in talks to join Joaquin Phoenix in Warner Bros’ Joker origins movie starring Joaquin Phoenix. Todd Phillips is directing and co-wrote the backstory tale of Batman’s archnemesis, which is described as a gritty character study but also a broader cautionary tale of a man disregarded by society who becomes the ultimate supervillain. These talks have been going on for weeks, but a deal is near and they have finally worked out the financials. As opposed to the iconic turn Jack Nicholson took in the Joker role in Tim Burton’s Batman, De Niro will be bringing his...

I'm trying to learn the origins of the playground parody "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells, Robin Laid an Egg...". What year and where did you first here this parody?

Greg Berlanti and Caroline Dries are developing the drama ahead of the lesbian character's debut in the network's DC crossover event in December. The CW is looking to expand its DC Comics world. The network is teaming with DC's small-screen universe mastermind Greg Berlanti to develop Batwoman as a TV series. The character of Batwoman will officially be introduced in December as part of The CW's annual DC series crossover event. Batwoman revolves around Kate Kane, who, armed with a passion for social justice and flair for speaking her mind, soars onto the streets of Gotham as Batwoman, an out...

Everyone I meet down the Pub thinks I'm some brilliant businessman forging and empire. They see me engaged in my work, deep in thought and driving ahead. They comment, your the guy who always works. The chick bartenders whisper they wish their husbands we 1/2 as ambitious. They know what I want, pour before I ask and are happy to be part of my insane drive. They just don't realize I'm Freepin' ...and yes it takes immense concentration and a great sense of humor. Love FreeRepublic! Class of '98.

Justice League‘s Friday, coming off a solid $13 million Thursday, is landing at the high end of its midday estimate with $38.4M, however, Warner Bros./DC’s superhero ensemble is falling well short of $100M with an industry estimate of $93.5M over three-days, quite far from tracking’s $110M-$120M projection. How dismal is this? This event movie at a reported estimated production cost of $300M was ten years in the making, and was intended to be the pinnacle for the Warner Bros./DC universe introducing new characters such as The Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman who could hold their own franchise weight with their own...

It sounds like a joke headline, or maybe something cropped from the basement of some keyboard warrior, but this is actually published as a real life article on the University of Alberta Website with the headline: “Frank Miller’s Batman is a fascist and you really shouldn’t cheer for him.” If you like to laugh at general idiocy and see the impacts of indoctrination over education, I highly recommend it. But there is something far more sinister behind the ideas the writer puts across. Super Heroes are a very American phenomenon. They were created (for mainstream consumption) in the U.S, they...

There are few things in the world that can get people as hyped up as hypotheticals about superheroes. Most people have opinions about which superhero characters they like, and even which actors they prefer to play major characters. Which brings us to Batman. The Caped Crusader has been everything from a young Bruce Wayne on the small screen in Gotham to an aging hero in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Recently a whole slew of people on a Comic-Con panel predictably couldn't agree on who the best Batman is, but their vociferous arguments might indeed sway you in a...

Holy family viewing, Batman — it turns out the Caped Crusader’s fetching satin pants spent a lot of time on the floor.

At precisely 7:30PM Eastern time on Wednesday, January 12, 1966, “Commissioner Gordon” (onetime Saturday matinee idol Neil Hamilton)—surrounded by uniformed Gotham City police and elected officials—carefully lifted the plexiglass cover off a glowing red telephone in his office. Looking around the room, he solemnly declared: “I don’t know who he is behind that mask of his. But I do know when we need him. And we need him…now!” Of course the person on the other end of that call on the Batphone was actor Adam West, about to step into television history as star of the iconic 1960’s series Batman....

Adam West — an actor defined and also constrained by his role in the 1960s series “Batman” — died Friday night in Los Angeles. He was 88. A rep said that he died after a short battle with leukemia. “Our dad always saw himself as The Bright Knight, and aspired to make a positive impact on his fans’ lives. He was and always will be our hero,” his family said in a statement. With its “Wham! Pow!” onscreen exclamations, flamboyant villains and cheeky tone, “Batman” became a surprise hit with its premiere on ABC in 1966, a virtual symbol of...