Book Watching: Superhero edition

Because comic books are books too, right? Here are the superhero and comic book adaptations coming soon, too soon, and not soon enough (depending on the movie).

I’m going to start with the shows, and then dive into some of the movies:

Powerless on NBC

DC Universe. It’s still all a bit vague and wishy-washy. But the rumor says this show may or may not follow the non-superpowered workers at an insurance company set in a DC superheroes-and-villains-exist universe.

Update: Right after writing this, I found myself the leaked trailer. Check it out:

Premiere: Late 2017? In the meantime, go read Trick of Light for pretty much the same premise, except also a ridiculous romance between a hunky supervillain and a geeky insurance man.

But you know which comic adaptation I’m super looking forward to?

Legion on FX

Part of Marvel’s X-Men universe, it follows the schizophrenic son of X-Men founder Charles Xavier. Except, you know, maybe he’s not schizophrenic at all. Maybe he has psychic powers.

Well, okay, we all know he totally does have powers. But the trick will probably be in seeing how long it takes him to figure that out.

Premiere: 2017. Probably late 2017. AKA not soon enough.

Iron Fist on Netflix

With the success of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and now Luke Cage, Netflix is on a roll. And it’s continuing to pull lesser known superpowered characters from the back-shelf of the superhero universe. In March 2017, we’ll get to see Marvel’s martial arts master Iron Fist adapted to the screen.

Premiere: March 17, 2017

Here’s the kicker (and you might already know this). There’s method to this fun Netflix madness. The channel is setting up a major crossover. All these characters, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage, make up The Defenders. You know, New York’s version of Avengers, so to speak.

It’s gonna be good. Even better, we’ll be seeing Jessica Jones return for a second season in 2017 as well.

The Tick on Amazon

Arthur is a reluctant, anxious accountant convinced that there city is blanketed in a huge, deadly supervillain conspiracy. The Tick is a zany, over-the-top superhero who urges Arthur to take a stand, and who may or may not be a figment of Arthur’s imagination. What could go wrong?

Premiere: If you have Amazon Prime, you can check out the pilot episode. Full season is slated for sometime around Fall 2017.

And now onto the movies.

Upcoming movies: Marvel Universe

On my immediate Marvel horizon, we have neurosurgeon-turned-Tibetan-reality-monk Doctor Strange (no relation to Doctor Strangelove, unfortunately), fan favorite prince vigilante Black Panther (we have to wait until 2018, unfortunately), the sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy (May 2017), and for reasons that elude me, another Spiderman (July 2017).

I’m going to skip the Doctor Strange trailer, because you can just see the entire movie in two days when it comes out on Nov 4. Instead, here’s a preview of Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

I can’t wait.

We will also be seeing more from the main Avengers gang with another (and possibly last) Thor installment. And while the official trailer for Thor: Ragnarok isn’t out yet, let me leave you with this jewel from the Marvel Universe.

More upcoming movies: DC Universe.

As much as we might sometimes wish it (I’m looking at you, Suicide Squad), Marvel isn’t the only superhero brand out there. In about a year’s time, we’ll be seeing Justice League hit the big screens, because everyone knows that what we need and want more of is Batman.Still, the other characters seem like they just might prop up this one.

But before we get to Justice League, we will have DC’s attempt to make a female-fronted superhero movie that doesn’t suck to look forward to in Wonder Woman (June 2017). So far, the trailer looks absolutely amazing. My fingers are crossed.

Come on, DC. Stage a comeback!

Oh hey, back to Marvel for a second. have you seen the Wolverine trailer yet? I’m really digging the soundtrack. Maybe this will be the Wolverine that will let me finally forgive Origins.