Superhero Bits: James Gunn Didn't Ax Titans And Doom Patrol, Avatar Dethrones Infinity War & More
(Superhero Bits is a collection of stories, updates, and videos about anything and everything inspired by the comics of Marvel, DC, and more. For comic book movies, TV shows, merchandise, events, and whatever catches our eye, this is the place to find anything that falls through the cracks.)
In this edition of Superhero Bits:
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James Gunn on the cancellation of "Titans" and "Doom Patrol."
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"Avatar: The Way of Water" dethrones "Avengers: Infinity War" at the box office.
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The official Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline gets officially announced.
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Lots and lots of people watched "The Boys" last year.
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All that and more!
Meet Junk Rabbit, the new superhero that is Swamp Thing meets RoboCop
Image Comics has announced a brand new superhero series by Jimmie Robinson ("Bomb Queen") that will bring a pretty unique dystopian hero to the world. Titled "Junk Rabbit," the book is being described as a mix between "Swamp Thing" and "RoboCop." But, you know, with a robotic rabbit. We've got some preview art for you to check out above. The synopsis for the book reads as follows:
In 'Junk Rabbit,' a new hero rises from heaps of consumer waste, mass homelessness, and devastating climate change. Some call the hero a myth, an urban legend, but others know that it's the Junk Rabbit come to life — and now it's on a bloody path of revenge against those who created it.
"Junk Rabbit" #1 is set to hit shelves on April 5, 2023.
Marvel's Midnight Suns releases a Deadpool character spotlight trailer
At long last, players of "Marvel's Midnight Suns" can enjoy playing as none other than the Merc With a Mouth, Deadpool. The character has arrived in the game via its first DLC, titled "The Good, The Bad, and The Undead." The above trailer serves as a brief showcase for what Wade Wilson will bring to the table. He looks very accurate relative to his comic book counterpart and seeing him in action seems like a great representation of the character. Those who own the game can grab the DLC now.
Street Style Ninja Turtles by The Loyal Subjects
The folks at The Loyal Subjects have revealed the "Street Style" editions of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" that are now available to purchase exclusively at Target. As we can see, the heroes in a half-shell are decked out in street gear, looking stylish while also taking out the bad guys. The figures currently retail for $18.49 on the retailer's website.
Things aren't looking great for Wakanda Forever or Quantumania in China
As we recently reported, both "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" and "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" will be getting released in China. A release in the country is a relative rarity for Hollywood blockbusters these days, and they'll be the first MCU films to open there since 2019. Unfortunately, as reported by Maoyan, a ticket-tracking service in China, less than 160,000 people have expressed interest in seeing "Wakanda Forever," with less than 116,000 voicing that same desire for "Quantumania." For comparison's sake, "Avatar: The Way of Water" registered 1.4 million interested parties ahead of its opening. So yeah, things aren't looking great at this time. We'll see how it shakes out.
How many calories does Spider-Man burn? What a tasty question!
Being a superhero is hard work, and one surely works up an appetite while busting criminals in New York City. But does Spider-Man work up an even larger appetite than the rest of us? How many calories does the web-slinger actually burn? This is a pretty interesting question that was recently addressed by JaxBlade, a personal trainer who tackles lots of nerdy topics such as this on his YouTube channel. The video is pretty interesting from a pure "science applied to superheroes" standpoint. I won't spoil the findings as it's worth a watch. Check it out for yourself above.
Avatar: The Way of Water overtakes Avengers: Infinity War at the box office
Move over, "Avengers: Infinity War," as there is simply no more room for you in the list of the top five highest-grossing movies of all time. That's because, per Variety, James Cameron's "Avatar: The Way of Water" has now crossed $2.054 billion globally, meaning it has just barely surpassed the 2018 Marvel epic, which earned $2.052 billion during its theatrical run. It now drops to number six all time, with Cameron's sequel looking to pass "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" ($2.07 billion) any day now. The question is, can it catch "Titanic" ($2.19 billion) to enter the top three all time? That remains to be seen, but it's very unlikely it will catch "Avengers: Endgame," which sits comfortably in the number two spot at $2.8 billion.
The Boys was the most-watched, non-Netflix series of 2022
Nielsen recently revealed a list of the most-watched TV shows of 2022 and, not surprisingly, Netflix absolutely dominated the list, with "Stranger Things" coming out on top. But the degree to which the company dominated is incredible, as the top ten shows were all from Netflix, while the service occupied 13 of the top 15 slots overall. But the most-watched show that didn't come from Netflix? It belongs to Prime Video's "The Boys," the ultra-violent, ultra-popular superhero series that returned for its third season last year. It notched 10.6 billion minutes of viewing across its 24 episodes. It was the only comic book show to crack the top 15. Pretty impressive stuff.
Don't go blaming James Gunn for Titans and Doom Patrol being canceled
We only barely learned that both "Titans" and "Doom Patrol" will be ending on HBO Max following their current fourth seasons. The news bummed out a great many fans and, in some cases, they took to Twitter to blame James Gunn and Peter Safran, who are now the co-heads of DC Studios. Well, in response to one such fan, Gunn made it clear that the decision to ax these shows had nothing to do with their new plans for the DC Universe:
"The decision to end the series precedes us. But I certainly wish the best for the talented group of creators, actors, and the rest of the crew that produced both shows."
So there we have it. Come what may of Gunn and Safran's revamped DCU, this was not a decision they were ultimately responsible for.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline formally announced
Lastly, it recently came to light that Marvel is set to publish an official timeline encompassing the entire MCU up to this point, appropriately titled "Marvel Studios The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline." Now, the publisher has formally announced the book, which will hit shelves from DK in September. The book was written by Rebecca Theodore-Vachon, Amy Ratcliffe, and Anthony Breznican, and is described as the "go-to resource for fans and filmmakers who are hoping to connect the dots and truly understand the web of interconnections between the different Marvel Studios movies and streaming series." So yeah, this might be a must-own for many Marvel fans. The artwork above offers a glimpse at what we can expect, though it is noted that the artwork is not final. The book retails for $50 and you can pre-order a copy by clicking here.