Katie Cassidy Plays Dinah Lance On CW’s Arrow

Canary’s Cry

According to Deadline, Katie Cassidy (Gossip Girl, Melrose Place and Supernatural) is headed back to the CW for the network’s pilot Arrow. Cassidy will play Dinah “Laurel” Lance in the pilot that will introduce a new version of the DC Comics character Green Arrow. Stephen Amell will play the vigilante archer, also known as Oliver Queen, a wealthy playboy and billionaire industrialist-turned-outspoken politician in Star City.

Cassidy’s version of  Dinah Lance will be a young legal clinic attorney who shares a romantic past with Oliver. However, it appears that the two may be at odds when Lance’s younger sister dies on Oliver’s yacht. In the comic books Dinah Lance is the hero Black Canary, and for a long time has had a romance with Green Arrow. The two were even married prior to DC Comics’s recent relaunch. I’m glad that Dinah Lance will be featured in the series, but I don’t know why they are creating a story that might make the two enemies. Also, why are they calling the series an abbreviated Arrow? They are making a show about Green Arrow. They are basing a show on a long established comic book character, so why not use the character’s full name as the title. It should be Green Arrow. Not just Arrow. Arrow doesn’t carry any meaning. Green Arrow is well known and marketable.

Susanna Thompson joins the cast as Oliver’s mother, Moira Queen. And  David Ramsey (Dexter) joins as Oliver’s bodyguard John Diggle. David Nutter is directing the pilot, which is being written and executive produced by Andrew Kreisberg (Fringe), Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim (Green Lantern).

Hanna-Barbera Characters Strike Justice League Pose

Wanna Make Somethin’ Of It?

Artist Daniel HDR created this cool image that places some old Hanna-Barbera characters in the Justice League. I like cover spoofs/homages, and this one is a send-up of the classic cover to Justice League #1, from the late 80s series relaunch from  Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire.

Toys Assemble !

Toys Assemble!

New York City’s Toy Fair brings us an assortment of images of upcoming toy releases. Hasbro has an extensive toy line-up planned for the upcoming Avengers movie.  There will be numerous action figures in various scales, an assortment of  3-inch Mini Mighty Mugg two packs that packages a Mighty Avenger with one of their foes, vehicles, and role-play accessories. A few highlights are pictured below.

MARVEL THE AVENGERS 3.75-INCH EARTH’S MIGHTIEST HEROES Assortment

(Approximate Retail Price: $7.99; Ages: 4 & up; Available: March 2012)

Earth’s Mightiest Heroes…Assembled! A movie event five years in the making, THE AVENGERS brings together MARVEL big-screen heroes IRON MAN, CAPTAIN AMERICA, THOR, HULK and more for the ultimate Super Hero action spectacular! Kids and collectors alike will want to assemble the whole team from Hasbro’s line of THE AVENGERS 3.75-INCH Action Figures. These figures are fully articulated, movie accurate, and packed with exciting accessories. See all the core team members in their updated costumes, including BLACK WIDOW and new hero HAWKEYE! Each figure sold separately.

MARVEL THE AVENGERS S.H.I.E.L.D. HELICARRIER

(Approximate Retail Price: $69.99; Ages: 4 & up; Available: Fall 2012)

Earth’s Mightiest Heroes need Earth’s most amazing vehicle! Straight out of the upcoming MARVEL film THE AVENGERS, this mobile battle station features launching projectiles and an incredible scale—at over 3 feet long, it’s the largest MARVEL vehicle ever created by Hasbro, with space for over 30 3.75-inch MARVEL action figures! (Figures sold separately.)

MARVEL THE AVENGERS QUINJET

(Approximate Retail Price: $29.99; Ages: 4 & up; Available: March 2012)

The signature vehicle from the upcoming MARVEL film THE AVENGERS comes to life as a heroic movie-accurate vehicle. THE AVENGERS QUINJET can speed into battle evil with two modes of action play – Super Sonic Mode and Attack Mode, with launching projectiles! Comes with a 3.75-inch IRON MAN action figure.

MARVEL THE AVENGERS HAWKEYE BOW

(Approximate Retail Price: $24.99; Ages: 5 & up; Available: March 2012)

Offered for the first time in Hasbro’s MARVEL line, kids can pretend to be THE AVENGERS’ mighty archer with this bow! Based on the newest hero from the upcoming film THE AVENGERS, the HAWKEYE BOW features high-performance launching for three included darts, with space to store your extra arrows!

MARVEL THE AVENGERS CAPTAIN AMERICA ATTACK SHIELD

(Approximate Retail Price: $24.99; Ages: 5 & up; Available: March 2012)

CAPTAIN AMERICA’S iconic shield is back, with electronic disc-launching action! Featuring the iconic movie design, the CAPTAIN AMERICA ATTACK SHIELD fires miniature foam disks up to 20 feet! The shield has a diameter of 15 inches and comes with five foam discs. Requires four “AA” batteries, not included.

DC Nation Launches In March

DC Nation Launches In March

If you’ve been wondering what happened to Green Lantern: The Animated Series , have no fear, The Cartoon Network will launch it’s DC Nation programming block on March 3rd. DC Nation is scheduled to start off as a hour-long Saturday morning block featuring Green Lantern: The Animated Series and Young Justice.

Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment  will be rounding out the programming with a mix of animated shorts and live-action interstitials featuring various DC properties. Next year a new CG-animated series, Beware the Batman , is expected to be added to the mix.

DC Nation will premiere Saturday, March 3, at 10 a.m. (ET, PT) with Green Lantern: The Animated Series, followed by Young Justice. Various shorts featuring DC Comics super heroes and characters will be brought to the screen with fresh designs and concepts from some top animation talent, such as award-winning Aardman Studios (Arthur Christmas, Wallace and Gromit) with its stop-motion clay animation techniques, and the unique direction and character designs of Lauren Faust (The Powerpuff Girls, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic). The DC Nation block will also have exclusive behind-the-scenes looks at movies, events, and an insider look into the world of DC Comics.

Amazing Advance Spiderman Screenings

Swinging By A Thread

Most people will have to wait until July for The Amazing Spiderman to swing into their local theatres. But some web-heads will get the opportunity to see an advance screening of the movie. You can go to theuntoldstory.com to find a list of a select few cities that will have an advance screening on February 6th. The city links take you to a site where you can register to RSVP your seat for the screening.