Tom Welling as Batman in the Arrowverse?

Robert Pattinson will be playing Batman in future big screen Justice League films, but another fellow teenage heartthrob may be headed to TV for the same role.

Tom Welling recently appeared on Michael Rosenbaum’s podcast Inside Of You. In the interview, he stated that he would be open to playing The Caped Crusader in The CW’s family of Arrowverse shows.

Welling, who is best known for portraying a young Clark Kent/Superman in the long-running show Smallville, had communication with Arrow showrunners earlier this year. He is reportedly appearing in Arrow’s final season in some capacity.

It is worth noting there is no official confirmation on what Welling’s role is as of yet. However, the show has an October start date. Whether the Dark Knight talk was a teaser or just a throwaway statement, will be known soon. If it does happen, it would make Welling the first actor to portray both Batman and Superman in live action productions.

Examining The Doctor #69: Shada

Geekville Radio Presents Examining The Doctor: Shada

Examining the Doctor is back after two years, and we wanted to come back with a doozy of a show. This episode is devoted to the infamously incomplete story Shada from 1979. This was meant to be the final story for Season 17, but due to strikes and politics, production halted after a few days.

The BBC finally released a complete reconstructed version using animated sequences to fill the missing scenes. The result is a mashup of live action and animation that would only seem to fit in Doctor Who.

Join Mark and Seth as they bring their signature blend of knowledge and humor to arguably the most popular story to never get broadcast. Written by Douglas Adams, Shada stars Tom Baker as The Fourth Doctor, Lalla Ward as Romana, and Christopher Meade as the villainous Skagra

Information Links

Examining The Dead #21

Examining The Dead #21

Coroner’s Report (2:30)

Gruesome Twosome (37:35)

First up, 2011’s The Rite starring Anthony Hopkins and Colin O’Donoghue. It is inspired by a true story involving exorcism.

Also, the 2018 Halloween reboot, now available on home video.

Into The Crystal Ball (1:10:43)

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters is currently in theaters. Train, Greg, and Seth all give their recommended Godzilla movies if you need a prep for the new film. In a previous episode of Geekville Radio, Seth and Greg summarized every Godzilla movie made through Final Wars.

Train’s Picks

  • Gojira (1954)
  • Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)
  • Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)

Greg’s Picks

  • King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
  • Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1973)
  • Ghidorah The Three Headed Monster (1964)

Seth’s Picks

  • Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
  • GMK: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
  • Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla/Tokyo SOS (2003)

Honorable Mentions

  • Godzilla 1985
  • Godzilla vs. Monster Zero (1965)
  • Godzilla vs. Destroyah (1995)
  • Destroy All Monsters (1968)
  • All Monsters Attack (1969)

Ghost Rider Series Headed to Hulu

One thing Agents Of SHIELD fans liked about the show’s fourth season was the introduction of the Robbie Reyes incarnation of Ghost Rider. Affectionately called “Ghost Driver” by some, this version used a black 1969 Dodge Charger rather than the more common motorcycle.

Gabriel Luna portrayed the character through the 2016-2017 season, which also dropped hints at a previous Johnny Blaze or Danny Ketch appearance.

Variety reports that Luna will reprise the role for a spinoff series on Hulu. However, sources say this will be a “new iteration”, without any connection to Agents Of SHIELD. That would seem to imply a different character. Or it could simply mean a reset without a recast, similar to the Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance feature film.

Also recently announced for Hulu have been series for Howard The Duck, Dazzler, and MODOK. With Disney’s recent acquisition of 20th Century Fox, they now own a stake in Hulu. Disney is also of course starting their own Netflix-like streaming service in Fall 2019.

Tom Welling Allegedly Turned Down Being The Arrowverse Superman

Actor Tom Welling recently appeared at New Zealand’s Armageddon Expo, where he confirmed rumors that he will be appearing in Arrow’s upcoming eighth season. He also implied he turned down being Superman in previous seasons of Supergirl.

CBR published the story the other day:

According to worldofmera on Twitter, Welling confirmed the news at Armageddon Expo in New Zealand. During a panel, he reportedly said, “I will be on Arrow next season.” The poster then noted that Welling didn’t indicate the extent of his role or even who he would be playing. However, he did reportedly reveal he turned down the chance to play Superman on CW’s Supergirl.

-via CBR.com

Welling of course played Clark Kent for ten years on Smallville, and only wore the Superman suit in the series finale.

Arrow was given an early renewal for an eighth season, but lead actor Stephen Amell revealed that it will be the final season. The series finale for Arrow will likely be around the time the Crisis On Infinite Earths crossover special airs.

So what role will Welling have come this fall? The actor didn’t say, but we likely won’t have to wait too long to find out.

Geekville Radio #227

Geekville Radio #227

Seth “Zandrax” Zillmann and “Crazy Train” Jonathan Bolick return to the airwaves to discuss some of the news topics of the week

Mark Hamill to be in Guardians Of The Galaxy? (1:15)

Since the return of James Gunn to Guardians Of The Galaxy 3, rumors have resurfaced that Mark Hamill may be playing a character in the film. Could he be a hero? Villain? Mercenary?

Emily Bett Rickards leaving Arrow (9:30)

The actress recently announced her departure from Arrow. Shortly afterwards, it was revealed that Felicity will not be appearing in Season 8. Could this mean a return to the comic-based pairing of Green Arrow and Black Canary?

Disney recasting X-Men except Deadpool (16:00)

It had been speculated for years, but Marvel all but confirmed during C2E2 that The X-Men and Fantastic Four will be recast and rebooted for The MCU. The only exception is Ryan Reynolds will continue as Deadpool.

We did predict on Episode 225 that this would happen, because it’s common sense. Though it will likely be several years before we get the MCU Proper X-Men film.

There is the new rumor that Stan Lee cameos may be replaced by Deadpool cameos. Which may be the best option to go with.

It is also worth noting that X-Men material is already available on Disney’s site.

Here is the list of channels and studios that Disney now owns after the merger with Fox.

  • Twentieth Century Fox
  • Twentieth Century Fox Television
  • Fox Searchlight Pictures
  • Fox 2000 Pictures
  • Fox Family
  • Fox Animation
  • FX Productions
  • FX Networks
  • Fox21
  • National Geographic Partners
  • Fox Networks Group International
  • Star India
  • Fox’s part of Hulu

Batman retrospective 80th Anniversary (29:30)

At C2E2, DC Comics held a Batman 80th Anniversary Panel, in which some fun questions were asked.

The creation of Batman has its roots in the pulp crime magazines of the 30s. Several of the panelists mentioned the characters of The Shadow, The Phantom, and Green Hornet as pre-Batman inspirations.

Well, who are three out of the first four entrants in our Lesser Known Geek Hall Of Fame? The Shadow, The Phantom, and Green Hornet

Is there a favorite incarnation of Batman?

All this and more in another fun-filled edition of Geekville Radio!

Mark Hamill is Chucky in the Child’s Play Reboot

Star Wars icon Mark Hamill has added another high profile voice role to his resume. The actor made the announcement via a prerecorded appearance for WonderCon that he will be voicing Chucky in the theatrical Child’s Play reboot.

The announcement appeared on Hamill’s official Twitter shortly afterward.

Mark Hamill announced his new role to the fans at WonderCon

It is important to note that this theatrical reboot is not to be confused with the Syfy TV show Chucky. That series is run by the franchise’s original creator Don Mancini, and will remain in the continuity of the previous films. Veteran Chucky voice Brad Dourif will reprise the role for the series.

The reboot opens June 21st in theaters, and will be directed by Lars Klevberg from a story by Kung Fury‘s Tyler Burton Smith. The series will bow this fall on Syfy.

Initial trailer for the Child’s Play theatrical reboot

Hamill is currently appearing in season 2 of Knightfall on The History Channel, and is rumored to have a role in the next Guardians Of The Galaxy film for Disney.

Geekville Radio #225: Disney/Fox

It’s a mega-sized collection of news on this episode of Geekville Radio. Seth “Zandrax” Zillmann and “Crazy Train” Jonathan Bolick return to talk some of the major headlines

Disney/Fox Merger and The MCU (1:27)

This week, Disney’s merger/buyout of 21 Century Fox properties still has the world buzzing because it has finally become a reality. The effects that this could have on some of their franchises could be felt for years to come.

Perhaps the biggest news, possibly even bigger than the obvious Star Wars distribution rights, is the Fox owned Marvel properties that can now be incorporated into the MCU.

The most obvious addition would be that of The X-Men. One of fans’ biggest complaints about the MCU is it never incorporated Marvel’s famous mutants. Now, that plethora of of characters can be introduced in Phase Four.

The other Fox owned Marvel property is The Fantastic Four. While the three movies may not have been as successful as most MCU movies, two characters linked to that specific brand could easily become major players as villains in future films. Those are of course Doctor Doom and Galactus.

While many fans are understandably thrilled about this, it is very possible there may be some major changes in store for the franchise.

First off, it is not a given that the existing X-Men actors will carry over into The MCU. And yes, that includes Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. Despite already having five films’ worth of Spider-Man films, Marvel still recast Tom Holland in the role.

There is also the possibility that, by using the same actors, continuity just would be less sensical. After all, if the X-Men movies are considered part of the MCU, why didn’t The Avengers assist with any of those world-threatening situations.

Deadpool may stay according to reports, though as Train points out, the studio change may legally be a recasting of the role to Ryan Reynolds, just under a new company.

Disney/Fox Merger and Star Wars (19:20)

Another fan friendly wish that may become a reality is the re-release of the Original Trilogy, aka “Non-Special Editions”, Star Wars films. As discussed before, Fox owned the distribution rights to Star Wars. Thus, any theater or home video release could only be through Fox, unless some deal was worked out with Disney. That of course is no longer an obstacle.

Disney Rehires James Gunn (32:10)

Disney announced the return of director James Gunn to Guardians Of The Galaxy vol. 3. Was the reaction to past controversial tweets overblown? Did Disney cave? Was it just trolls? Or did they have this planned all along? There is evidence for all of these possibilities.

Gunn will still be writing and directing Suicide Squad 2, so Guardians 3 will have to wait for that project to finish before it starts filming.

Arrow will end with Season 8 (40:40)

Actor Stephen Amell broke the news via Twitter that Arrow will be ending after a 10 episode season 8.

Oliver Queen himself revealing that Arrow is coming to an end


We already know that Crisis on Infinite Earths will be next years crossover. We also know they’ve been teasing Crisis since the pilot episode of Flash.

In the comics, Flash and Supergirl die during Crisis. Does this mean their respective TV shows will end as well?

Speaking of deaths, Oliver Queen did die in the DC Universe, but was brought back by Hal Jordan as Spectre. So it is very possible that Ollie may bite the big one, and be brought back in some capacity later on.

Bill And Ted 3 (52:40)

The last segment off the show is devoted to the long-awaited confirmation that a third Bill An Ted movie, now titled Bill And Ted Face The Music, has begun filming. Could a sequel to a 30 year old cult classic work in mainstream 2019?

As always, we welcome your thoughts on all these stories. Let us know in the comments section or on our social media

Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

For 35 years, fans have enjoyed the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles adventures in various incarnations. In 2015, the heroes in a half shell crossed paths with The Dark Knight himself, Batman, in a limited series by DC Comics and IDW.

Now that story has been adapted for an animated release entitled Batman vs. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which hits shelves at the end of the month. Check out the trailer below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGTeehoG0xI
Batman meets the TMNT

While the art in the comic book version seems to pay homage to the original Eastman & Laird artwork, the movie looks more like the Batman: Brave And The Bold format. The cast consists of Troy Baker taking on the roles of both Batman and The Joker (a first for the same release), Tara Strong as Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, John DiMaggio (Futurama) as Mr. Freeze, Darren Criss (Glee) as Raphael, Kyle Mooney (Saturday Night Live) as Michelangelo, and Tom Kenny (SpongeBob Squarepants) as The Penguin.

Who Is Captain Marvel?

Captain Marvel is a character that has a lot of history, not the least of which has been that there have been multiple publishers laying claim to the name. This episode of Geekville Radio hopes to clear up several things about the character.

  • The differences between Captain Marvels over the years
  • The different Captain Marvels in Marvel Comics
  • The character of Carol Danvers, and the significance of her big screen appearance

Seth “Zandrax” Zillmann, “Crazy Train” Jonathan Bolick, and special guest “Leadbase” Nic Feutz try to bring any new fans up to speed on who Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers is.

First, a history lesson!

Captain Marvel (no, the OTHER Captain Marvel…)

Back in 1939, Fawcett Comics created a character called Captain Marvel, who had superpowers such as flight, super speed, and super strength. DC Comics sued Fawcett, claiming copyright infringement on Superman, who also had many similar abilities. The legal proceedings lasted YEARS, but the courts eventually sided with Fawcett, stating DC did not properly maintain their copyright claims.

One of the fundamental differences between Superman and Captain Marvel was that Superman’s powers were based on him being an alien, whereas Marvel’s powers were magic based. All Billy Batson had to do was yell the word “Shazam!” and he became Captain Marvel.

The original Captain Marvel, who would eventually go on to be known as Shazam

Fawcett, tired of years of legal proceedings, stopped publishing Captain Marvel titles and got out of the comics business entirely in the 1950s.

DC eventually bought out Fawcett’s comic properties, meaning they gained control of all the Fawcett characters. This of course included Billy Batson and Captain Marvel.

But wait, it gets better…

Yet ANOTHER company, MF Enterprises, started publishing their own Captain Marvel title in 1966. Unlike Fawcett, MF’s Captain Marvel was an android who looked nothing like a superhero. This version was nowhere near as popular, and was canned after a few issues.

When it comes to impressive powers, dismembering ones self ranks low on the scale

By the 1970s, DC was all ready to produce stories about their Captain Marvel. Except there’s one problem. Marvel Comics had registered the actual term Captain Marvel. That’s right, the name “Captain Marvel” had not, up to this point, gone through the proper copyright procedures.

This is the part of the real life story that many comic fans know. In the end, DC agreed to not refer to their character as Captain Marvel as long as Marvel published stories with their Captain Marvel. Since the word “Shazam” was so closely linked to DC’s property, DC’s version would start regularly being referred to as Shazam.

Marvel’s Captain Marvel

So that brings us to Marvel’s Captain Marvel, and the character about to be introduced to the masses in the latest blockbuster MCU film of the same name. What do people need to know about Captain Marvel?

The Kree

First and foremost, Captain Marvel is closely associated with the alien race The Kree. Fans of the ABC series Agents Of SHIELD have seen the story develop about The Kree. As we’ll see in the film, The Kree are a militaristic race that have been at war with another race, The Skrulls, for millennia. While Skrulls are generally looked at as the villains, the war has been going on so long that neither race is truly considered “good” anymore.

The Kree have cosmic abilities, which means any Captain Marvel will as well. The Skrulls aren’t nearly as cosmically powered, but they do have the ability to shapeshift. This has lead to stories where famous characters have been revealed to have been Skrulls for years. These stories have lead to mixed receptions from fans.

Mar-Vell

Mar-Vell: The first Captain Marvel was, incidentally enough, named Mar-Vell. This is the only incarnation to have Stan Lee’s name connected to it. He and Gene Colan created the character in the mid 1960s.

Monica Rambeau

Monica Rambeau: The second Captain Marvel was Monica Rambeau, created by Roger Stern and John Romita Jr. This was the Captain throughout the 1980s.

Genis-Vell: The son of Mar-Vell took over the mantle in 1993. Created by Ron Marz and Ron Lim, this is the look that a lot of fans probably remember.

Phyla-Vell: Genis’s sister, created by Peter David and Paul Azaceta

Khn’nr: A skrull posing as Mar-Vell during the Secret Invasion storyline. This may or may not be what will happen with Jude Law in the movie. Khn’nr was created by Paul Jenkins and Tom Raney.

Noh-Varr: The last Captain before Carol, and was one of the Dark Avengers. Created by Grant Morrison and JG Jones.

And that brings us to Carol Danvers

Carol Danvers may be like the seventh Captain Marvel to come along, but she was a fixture in the Marvel Universe long before that. In fact, the character is over 50 years old.

She first appeared in 1968 as an Air Force security officer, and was an ally of the original Captain Mar-Vell. In the 1970s, she became Ms. Marvel. This is the name most associated with her throughout her run. The pilot aspect comes from the Ultimate Universe

Carol Danvers as Ms. Marvel, her previous name before Captain Marvel

She is a Human/Kree hybrid, which allows her to have the Kree abilities, while still keeping her human appearance. In the 2000s, she was also known as Warbird, and as Binary.

Her main powers include super strength, flight, and the ability to survive in space without air. Over time, she developed a “seventh sense” ability to see into the near future. As Binary, she also gained an energy absorption power. Simply put, she can absorb energy and dissipate it back out.

Boycott Controversy

Seth, Train, and Leadbase dive into the controversial news surrounding the film’s release. They do not take political stances when we talk about things like this, but there are things that are pretty hard to ignore.

  • Rotten Tomatoes “Want To see” ratings have been disabled due to negative reviews
  • While it can’t be proven, it’s a pretty safe bet that some, if not most, of these reviews are “troll” reviews by people without any real narrative
  • A lot of people are making blanketed statements when discussing these reviews
  • A lot of male Marvel fans have been wanting a Black Widow movie for years
  • No large scale boycott of Wonder Woman happened with male fans
  • Alita Battle Angel has been readily praised as a good example of a woman in a sci-fi action lead role
A perfect example of “trolling”.

One other thing worth mentioning, we had this poll on our Facebook page asking people if they were planning on seeing Captain Marvel this weekend. After approximately 150 votes, it was still 57% to 43% in favor.

In the last segment of the show, Nic gives a detailed (SPOILERS!) review of Alita: Battle Angel, and gives comparisons to the Captain Marvel controversy regarding content

If you want to hear more about the “Strong Female Character” types, check out our second episode entitled “Warriors Of Estrogen” linked below

Our second ever episode is still one of our most listened to

As usual, Crazy Train can be found on Twitter, and Lead-Base’s work can be found on Facebook

Sketch of Carol Danvers drawn literally during the show’s recording

Also, check out the project Nic talked about at the end of the show, Comfort & Adam!