Here are the brackets in the second round (of eight), which begins April 5. 

• Hawkman & Hawkwoman: The Changeling vs. Constantine & the Demon: Vacation From Hell
• Justice League [Redacted] vs. Kid Flash: The Speed of Fear
• Green Lantern: The Light at the End of Forever vs. DC Horror Presents: Ghost Tour From Hell
• Green Lantern: The Birth of Conspiracy vs. Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow

Early favorites seem to be the first concepts in each bracket. 

We added the final voting tallies for round 1 along with the description of each match-up below.

Original story follows…

With March Madness tournaments in full effect in the NCAAs, DC is bringing back its own version of Bracketology – a second annual Round Robin fan-voted tournament. The 2022 version pits 16 new series concepts in a winner-take-all contest to score a six-issue digital-first series that will debut in September on the DC Universe Infinite digital service and then in October in comic book stores and on comiXology.

Voting for Round One begins immediately and runs through April 3, with eight match-ups where voters only get to see the series title, title card, and logline, so fans can only vote in Round One based on “character and concept—and nothing else!” according to DC. 

Here’s the full bracket:

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Winners that advance to the Elite Eight will then get their creative team, a more detailed pitch, and cover art revealed when Round Two begins on April 5 and runs through April 10.

More images and info are revealed through all four rounds. 

Last year, DC says over a million fans voted and selected Robins (opens in new tab) by writer Tim Seeley and artist Baldemar Rivas as the winner, and its six-issue series is currently in progress and will conclude on Tuesday, April 19.

Here’s a look at DC’s 2022 Sweet 16, with official descriptions provided by the publisher and the updated voting tallies as of Thursday, March 31 at 9:30 am ET:

Hawkman & Hawkwoman: The Changeling (52%) vs. Wildcat: Nine Lives (47%): 5368 total votes

The Questions: Grand Solution (44%) vs. Constantine & the Demon: Vacation From Hell (55%): 5326 total votes

Suicide Squad: Dark (43%) vs. Justice League [Redacted] (56%): 5336 total votes

Firestorm: Fourth World Problems (44%) vs. Kid Flash: The Speed of Fear (55%): 5280 total votes

Black Canary: When Canaries Cry (45%) vs. Green Lantern: The Light at the End of Forever (54%): 5320 total votes

DC Horror Presents: Ghost Tour From Hell (51%) vs. Animal Man: The Metamorphosis (48%): 5185 total votes

Green Lantern: The Birth of Conspiracy (62%)  vs. Captain Carrot & His Best Friend Darkseid (37%): 5282 total votes

Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow (58%) vs. Cyborg: Cyber Gods (41%): 5292 total votes

Justice League [Redacted] looks like a potential early favorite, but readers get to decide. 

DC Round Robin 2022 will run through May 17 and readers can vote on  DC Twitter (opens in new tab), DC Instagram (opens in new tab), or on the DC Universe Infinite community (opens in new tab)

Every new DC story is a candidate for DC’s best stories of all time (opens in new tab). 

The post DCs Round Robin 2022 Round One concludes – Justice League [Redacted], Green Lantern, Kid Flash winners appeared first on Game News.

DC’s upcoming new series Task Force Z (opens in new tab) does that, with former Robin Jason Todd (who has some experience coming back from the dead) putting back on his Red Hood moniker to recruit a group of dead villains for a mission – with the dangling hope they could be fully resurrected if they complete the job.

Task Force Z is written by Matthew Rosenberg, with art from penciller Eddy Burrows, inker Eber Ferreira, and colorist Adriano Lucas. Check out this preview of Task Force Z #1:

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Task Force Z #1 preview

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“Task Force Z rises from the simple question ‘what if we made the Suicide Squad even more fucked up?'” Rosenberg writes in his newsletter (opens in new tab). “Red Hood is in charge of a team of recently deceased villains as they work for a chance of getting their lives back, literally.”

Red Hood’s team includes the reanimated dead villains and heroes that died in Infinite Frontier #0 as a result of the Joker’s A-Day attack on Gotham City. His initial line-up is Bane, Man-Bat, Mr. Bloom, the Arkham Knight, and a new character called Sundowner.

“But more bodies will be added along the way, I promise,” Rosenberg adds. One of those “more bodies” appears to be the recently-killed Deadshot, at least according to the description of Task Force Z #3.

The writer makes it a point to note that Task Force Z is in continuity with DC’s main superhero books, particularly tying into the recent Red Hood serial in Batman: Urban Legends (opens in new tab).

Task Force Z is being built up with a backup story in Detective Comics #1041 (opens in new tab), #1042 (opens in new tab), and #1043 (opens in new tab) by Rosenberg with artists Darick Robertson and Diego Rodriguez.

Task Force Z series artist Eddy Barrows has drawn the primary cover to Task Force Z #1, with variant covers coming from Tyler Kirkham, Ben Oliver, Rodolfo Migliari, Dan Mora, Kyle Hotz (two versions), Lucio Parrillo (three versions), and Phillip Tan (a Things from Another World exclusive). Check them out here:

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Task Force Z #1 covers

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Task Force Z #1 goes on sale on October 26.

Make sure you’ve read all of the best Suicide Squad stories of all time.

The post Red Hood and Bane have a new dynamic in Task Force Z #1 preview appeared first on Game News.

In an interview with CinemaBlend (opens in new tab), David Hickman outlined how Warner Bros. “wanted to take things in a different direction” with Suicide Squad.

First and foremost, that involved making the movie a lot lighter. “[Ayer’s] was a much darker film,” Hickman said. “It was almost like a Black Hawk Down type thing. It was just very militarized, very serious. I mean, of course there were supposed to be comedic moments with Will Smith, but it was a darker film.”

It was structure, as well as style, that was affected. Hickman revealed Warner Bros. wanted the “origin of the characters to happen much closer to the beginning,” instead of being scattered throughout the first 45 minutes of the movie. “We kind of shoved everything into the viewer’s face right up front so that we could get the story going,” he explained.

Hickman even echoed Ayer’s previous remarks that more footage from Jared Leto’s Joker – who made a belated return in Zack Snyder’s Justice League in the new Knightmare sequence – was left on the cutting room floor.

In 2020, Ayer said Leto’s scenes involved “incredible acting” as a “terrifying” Joker. Hickman said that while he thought Leto “did a really good job” as the Clown Prince of Crime, “we just couldn’t find a purpose for it because sometimes he would just go off on such crazy, insane tangents and it would be really hard to weave it into the film.”

However, it doesn’t look like David Ayer’s director’s cut will ever see the light of day. Warner Bros. CEO Ann Sarnoff said in an interview with Variety (opens in new tab) that the studio “won’t be developing David Ayer’s cut” – and the director responded on Twitter with a sad face emoji and one word: “Why?”

It’s a question that might echo for some time to come – but is unlikely to ever get a Snyder Cut-style answer. A new Suicide Squad movie, directed by James Gunn, is due out in August.

For more from the world of DC, check out all the new superhero movies on the way.

The post Suicide Squad editor reveals the biggest differences between the director’s cut and the theatrical release appeared first on Game News.

But fans of the franchise can check out DC’s big-screen-influenced relaunch of the series on March 2 with Suicide Squad #1 (opens in new tab) by writer Robbie Thompson, penciler Eduardo Pansica, inker Julio Ferreira, colorist Marcelo Maiolo, and letterer Wes Abbott. 

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The Peacemaker variant cover seen above is by Gerald Parel. 

“Things have changed for Task Force X,” reads DC’s description. “As Peacemaker takes over as field leader, there will be no more avenging or defending for the government’s top-secret task force of killers, thieves, and criminals!”

Along with the addition of Peacemaker, no doubt a nod to the character’s prominent role in the film and upcoming HBO Max streaming series starring superstar wrestler/actor John Cena, Talon from Scott Snyder’s increasingly iconic ‘Court of Owls (opens in new tab)‘ Batman story, and Superboy (no, not that one … the other one) are joining the cast.

But comic books’ biggest badass herself, Amanda Waller, is still coldly calling the shots.

“Amanda Waller — now back in control of the Squad — sends a new Squad into Arkham Asylum to ‘recruit’ the deadly Court of Owls assassin Talon while she interviews another new candidate: Superboy,” continues DC’s description. 

“Why Conner Kent? Amanda Waller is Tired. Of. Losing.” (formatting DC’s). 

“Who else will Waller recruit for this new team of losers?”

Check out the eight-page preview below and Newsarama’s recent interview with Thompson on the new series. 

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Task Force X, otherwise known as the Suicide Squad didn’t quite make Newsarama’s list of the 10 best superhero teams of all time. 

The post Preview: Suicide Squad #1 kicks of the revamped teams big year appeared first on Game News.

“If you ever needed proof that you shouldn’t get too attached to the ‘heroes’ of Task Force X, it’s coming on Tuesday, September 22 in the form of Suicide Squad #9, and here’s your first look!”

Check out this unlettered preview, drawn by Bruno Redondo:

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Of course, he’s Superman… he wouldn’t… would he?

This comes as part of several of the series larger story threads come into focus. In this week’s Suicide Squad #8, the reunion between Deadshot and his daughter (who now dubs herself Liveshot) was in full force, and we began to learn more about why the one-time Blue Beetle Ted Kord has decided to act like a straight-up villain (opens in new tab).

While the preview shows Deadshot going up against Superman in his final moments, DC’s description of the upcoming Suicide Squad #9 points the likely factor in Deadshot’s death to the aforementioned Kord.

“The man who never misses has been on the front lines of Task Force X since its inception-bomb in his neck, gun in his hand. He’s seen teammates blow up and countries fall. He’s faced down heroes and villains alike. Now the Suicide Squad has one final mission: bring down the man who enslaved them, then put a bounty on their heads when they escaped: Ted Kord.

“But to finish the job, the world’s deadliest assassin will have to do the one thing he’s never done for the cause: die!” the description concludes.

Of course, the Suicide Squad series itself will be coming to close with November’s #11 – as part of a larger trimming of DC’s line (opens in new tab).

Suicide Squad #9 (of 11) goes on sale September 22.

Dead or alive, Deadshot is definitely one of the Suicide Squad’s best members. Read our rundown of top 10 best Task Force X members (opens in new tab).

The post Superman wouldnt kill Deadshot, would he? Someone will in Suicide Squad #9 appeared first on Game News.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Robbie has signed a first-look deal with Warner Bros. to develop and executive produce a standalone Harley Quinn movie with her production company, LuckyChap Entertainment. That’s not the only project Warner Bros. and Robbie will be working on either, as the report also states that the actress will also be developing and starring in an adaptation of Dean N. Jensen’s Queen of the Air.

This is fantastic news, not least because of the fact that Robbie herself is spearheading these projects. Together with Wonder Woman (and the upcoming all-female Ocean’s 11 reboot) Warner Bros. are showing their commitment to female-driven blockbusters, and that’s great to see. 

The only problem is that we could be waiting a while for Robbie’s Quinn to return to the big screen. Warner Bros. already have at least two DC films scheduled to be released every year from now until 2020, and Ben Affleck’s solo Batman film – not to mention the Man of Steel sequel – have yet to be assigned release dates.

With that said, this news is yet another indicator that Warner Bros. and DC are paying close attention to the reactions their movies are getting, so with any luck we’ll get more Harley sooner rather than later. 

Directed by David Ayer and starring Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, and Joel Kinnaman, Suicide Squad is out in cinemas now.

Images: Warner Bros. 

The post Harley Quinn spinoff movie will be executive produced by Margot Robbie appeared first on Game News.

Never mind Deadpool (opens in new tab): Suicide Squad is the bad boy of superhero movies, a film that has proudly purported itself to be “unhinged”, “nightmarish” and “fucking insane” in promotional interviews. It’s Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (opens in new tab)’s nasty, narky little brother. It’s A Clockwork Orange (opens in new tab) with special powers. It’s… not half as badass as you want it to be, but rather a major studio’s idea of being dangerously screwy, with even its soundtrack – ‘House of the Rising Sun’, ‘Spirit in the Sky’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ – designed for mainstream airplay.

Things start off well, with government hard-ass Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) assembling Task Force X, a team of misanthropic misfits who can help protect national security now that Superman’s in the ground. “In a world of flying men and monsters,” she barks at her colleagues over dinner, “this is the only way…”

For those uninitiated with DC’s cult comics (and needing to be brought rapidly up to speed with a bunch of characters who have not previously seen live action), Waller flicks through their files, one by one: Deadshot (Will Smith, reminding us of his star power), the world’s most wanted assassin; Harley Quinn (Robbie), an ex-psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum who first fell for patient the Joker (Jared Leto) and then into a vat of toxic liquid; Cap. Boomerang, whose drone devices return to him; fire-spraying meta-human Diablo (Jay Hernandez); Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), a man-beast being contained in a sewer-cell and who wants to be this movie’s Thing or Rocket Raccoon but is not as memorable; and aforementioned witch Enchantress (Delevingne), an ancient force who takes over Dr. June Moone (Delevingne again) when called upon, and whose physical-ethereal form, all billowing smoke and oozing embers, resembles one of Guillermo del Toro’s ghosts.

Led by ace military man (and Dr. Moone’s boyfriend) Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), they’re choppered into a burning Midway City to fight an unspecified, non-human, world-threatening evil, and to retrieve the equally mysterious HVT1.

Suffice to say they must first battle their way past an army of frog-spawn-suited minions that came to Ayer in a dream (and, like most nightmare-monsters, lose all power when presented to others) while Midway City burns with detritus all about. Yes, this is essentially Escape from New York with a squad of Snake Plisskens and a side portion of sadistic Joker. Leto’s grinning loon haunts the periphery of the action, but sad to say, proves as empty as his laugh. 

Early scenes are shot in tattoo-ink purples, gangrenous greens and electric blues, a palette that evinces Joel Schumacher’s Batman movies dosed with disease, though much of the action takes place in a world leeched of colour and forever soaked in rain. Frames shudder, edits jolt, and several images scorch the backs of eyeballs, not least Harley Quinn’s introduction – hanging upside down in a cage in the middle of a vast empty room, like some strip-joint Hannibal Lecter.

Once busted out, she goes on to be Suicide Squad’s best and brightest, Robbie playing it coy and male-fantasy sexy, cute and crazy. Sure, it can be argued that Suicide Squad puts gender issues back by 30 years – its guys are covered, its ladies all but unclad, with Harley squeezed into itsy-bitsy shorts and a tight T emblazoned with ‘Daddy’s lil monster’ – but Robbie at least owns her sexuality enough to make fools out of the gawping guys. Hell, she and her offensive costume are the only real anarchy on display.

But Harley Quinn aside, the bantz is blunt, the arcs predictable (all these “psychotic social freaks” just wanna have happy home lives, dontcha know?) and the Big Bad straight out of Ghostbusters (opens in new tab) – fine in a ‘normal’ summer movie, but lacking any of the real threat posed by the knife crime and terrorism in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (opens in new tab).

It’s to be expected, certainly, when the budget is in the (reportedly) $250m range, and serious kudos should be given for introducing new characters to the screen in a summer of sequels and reboots. But consider this exchange: “Outside, you’re amazing. Inside, you’re ugly,” says Boomerang to Harley, to which she replies, “We all are. Except him [points to Killer Croc]. He’s ugly on the outside too.” Now that’s the film we want to see. The film we were promised.

The Verdict

3

3 out of 5

Suicide Squad

Starts off flavourful, turns rather bland. This Injustice League jaunt proves that DC is still a long way behind Marvel for on-screen action.

The post Suicide Squad review appeared first on Game News.

Nothing new, right? Not so fast there. For the most part it treads over similar territory from previous trailers; gang of supervillains go up against another villain, one-liners galore, fight sequences, and Jared Leto doing maniacal like no other. However, there’s a couple of moments that confirm the early rumors that Goliath is the gang’s other adversary. 

As Will Smith said himself during the team’s Hall H panel: “This isn’t a movie about good vs. evil, this is a movie about bad vs. evil.” 

Directed by David Ayer and starring Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, and Joel Kinnaman, Suicide Squad will open in the UK and US on August 5, 2016. 

Images: Warner Bros. 

Want to see the latest footage from Suicide Squad, Justice League and Blair Witch? You can watch all the best San Diego Comic Con trailers right here.

The post Suicide Squad Comic Con trailer may have confirmed the movies OTHER big bad appeared first on Game News.

“All the Batman movies have been from Batman’s point of view”, Ayer told Collider (opens in new tab). “He’s the good guy. He’s the hero of his own movie in all the movies we’ve seen. If you look at what Bruce Wayne has done in creating the Batman persona, his idea was to terrorize criminals. It’s sort of psychological warfare against criminals. This wraith that comes in the night and attacks and pulls criminals from society. For the first time, we’re seeing Batman from the point of view of the criminals and he’s freaking scary”.

This is a really great quote from Ayer; Previous Batman films have only given us a small glimpse at how villains view Gotham’s vigilante, so the prospect of delving into that perspective is exciting. Ayer also offered some reassurance to those who may be worried that the various snippets of Batman in action we’ve seen in Suicide Squad’s marketing have spoiled the surprise: 

“We have had some material exposed by virtue of being out on the streets and working out on the streets, but it’s a sliver. It’s a fragment and it’s all out of context. For me it’s a lot of fun just to see how people try and assemble these pieces because in their minds, they’re a much larger piece of the film than they’re actually saying. But it takes days and days to shoot a scene so it’s how does all this fit together? That’s the big surprise”.

Directed by David Ayer and starring Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, and Joel Kinnaman, Suicide Squad will open in the UK and US on August 5, 2016.

Images: Warner Bros.

The post Suicide Squads Batman is “freaking scary” says director David Ayer appeared first on Game News.

Leto explained to Billboard (opens in new tab) that appeal of the project lay in the way comic-book movies have developed over recent years, with the Joker a particularly complex character within that landscape.

“The opportunity to take on this nearly Shakespearean character — that’s what graphic novels and comic books are becoming, right? [He’s] this beautiful disaster of a character — what a big challenge.”

While he’s got some pretty hefty boots to fill after Heath Ledger’s performance in The Dark Knight, we’re genuinely intrigued to see what Leto can do with the role. Of all Suicide Squad‘s flashy casting, it’s Leto’s Clown Prince of Crime who looks the most eye-catching…

Directed by David Ayer and co-starring Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney and Joel Kinnaman, Suicide Squad will open in the UK and US on 5 August 2016.

Get more great movie news by subscribing to Total Film (opens in new tab).

The post Jared Leto describes his Joker as “a beautiful disaster” appeared first on Game News.