One of the awesome things about playing a comic book-based video game is the inherent unlockables and easter eggs that are hidden inside of the game for the fans of the source material. More typical is that there are unlockable costumes that you can play as that represent alternate characters or timelines of your favorite hero.

It’s a trick that’s been used for years. Games like Spider-Man, where you can play as Green Goblin, or any of the Marvel Ultimate Alliance games, where you can don as a slew of unlockable costumes for your favorite characters. It’s a simple yet awesome piece of added value to many of the consumers rushing out to buy the game.

While Batman: Arkham City missed the boat on this, they’re definitely making up for it with their newest release, Arkham City. In this game, we’re told that you can unlock a whole cornacopia of alternate Bat-suits for the Dark Knight.

Those costumes range from Dark Knight Returns Batman, to Batman Beyond, 70′s Batman, Batman: The Animated Series Batman, Earth One Batman, and your standard Batman suit.

Here’s the catch: each of these costumes are only unlockable if you pre-order the game from a specific store. Kind of big catch, for those who want every costume, but don’t feel like buying the game 5 times.

Check out the full list of how to get each costume after the jump, along with the full-res image of each suit. Batman: Arkham City hits shelves October 18th.

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Quite a big weekend for casting in the DC and Warner Bros. world, as it was recently announced that Josh Pence will be playing a young Ra’s Al Ghul in Chris Nolan’s upcoming Dark Knight Returns. However, that’s not the only caped crusader flick to get a villain.

THR is reporting that Boardwalk Empire and Revolutionary Road actor Michael Shannon will be taking on the role of the villain General Zod. Here’s what Snyder had to say about the decision.

“Zod is not only one of Superman’s most formidable enemies, but one of the most significant because he has insights into Superman that others don’t. Michael is a powerful actor who can project both the intelligence and the malice of the character, making him perfect for the role,”

Shannon compliments a pretty rounded out cast including Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, and The Tudors star Henry Cavill playing the titular role. It seems that the role of Superman/Clark Kent is the only role so far to be played by a British actor, which is normally the opposite plan of producer Christopher Nolan.

For those worried that Shannon may be too “mainstream” to play an evil, super powered general, this isn’t the actor’s first foray into the world of comics. Last year, he graced the screen as Doc Cross Williams in DC’s bastard stepchild of a comic adaptation, Jonah Hex.

Now that we have our baddie for the film, we just need some iconic supporting roles like Perry White and Jimmy Olsen filled in. But who will be chosen?

Welcome to the first edition of The Pull List Comic Reviews for 2010! This week both Blackest Night and Siege took center stage with numerous titles, but don’t worry as the Caped Crusader and the Wall Crawler make appearances, too. As always, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

PULL OF THE WEEK:

Blackest Night #6 [of 8]
DC Comics – $3.99 US
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Ivan Reis
Score: 9/10

When we last saw our heroes, well… let’s just say that some of them were no longer heroes. As black rings zoomed towards the Flash and Green Lantern, their friends and allies who had suddenly switched sides surrounded them. Superman. Wonder Woman. Green Arrow. And so on. With the universe slipping precariously into a never-ending pool of black, a new group of Lanterns have risen to the cause, and you won’t believe your eyes when you see who they are.

I’m starting to think that Geoff Johns should have been a major league pitcher as opposed to a writer, just with the sheer number of curve balls he’s thrown at readers throughout this series so far. Clearly outdoing himself, Johns put together a new group of Lanterns consisting of some of the most inspiring choices to date. The story beats keep pumping along, making the rapidly approaching ending all the more bittersweet.

Artist Ivan Reis continues to weave his magic in this series. Classic speedster moments? Check. Glorious double-page spreads? You bet. Jaw-dropping panels for significant moments? Of course! All this, and a slew of costume re-designs for the new Lanterns, just in case you didn’t know that Reis is drawing at a level that’s almost peerless. The art in this issue, and the series overall, can be summed up in one word: unparalleled.

The fifth installment of this mini-series received a Pull of the Week and a spot on the Best of 2009 list, so I wasn’t expecting an encore performance with this latest chapter. Shame on me. Both Johns and Reis raise the bar once again, and let the record show that, if this upward trend continues, I might not survive the series in its entirety. For sheer comic brilliance – and Lex Luthor! – this was easily the Pull of the Week.

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