The Dark Knight Rises looms. As The Avengers makes ungodly sums of money and other potential blockbusters come and go, the true tenor of the season wont be determined until Batman has his say.

Warner Bros. has released a new one sheet for the anticipate super hero conclusion, and it really plays up the ‘fire rises’ motif that has been a constant in the marketing. The ad campaign for the sequel has thus far been much less interesting than for The Dark Knight.

The viral aspects seem to cause less of a fervor among fans, there is nothing like those variant Joker tagged posters that popped up in theaters after a few months of the regular ones hanging on those walls. Just on the whole the marketing for this movie just seems to have less impact. Of course this could be on purpose, you don’t need much impact when everyone and their mother saw the last film.It is still interesting to see the different tactics in play.

As for the quality of this particular poster, it is rather nice. Getting a splash of color in there is a good touch, and I like the symmetry of this design and some of the earlier teasers.

Check out the full poster after the jump.

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If you were a fan of the CW show Smallville you probably already know that the show has continued on in digital comic book form with Smallville Season 11. What you may not know is that, according to DC, once three issues of the digital comic are released, they will be collected in a print version and sold in comic book stores.

That first three-issue printed version is now available. But wait, there’s more. Not only will the printed comic contain the first three issues of Smallville Season 11, it will also include new, bonus content like episode guides and more.

The first print issue is available now with the next digital chapter of Smallville Season 11 coming out on Friday, May 18. Check out the full release schedule after the break.

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The Dark Knight Rises is going to be a big film, and now we know that has more than one meaning. The blockbuster is going to be setting a new standard for how much IMAX native footage is released for a Hollywood feature film.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Christopher Nolan’s Bat-Finale will include the most actual IMAX footage of any studio film before it:

When Mr. Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises” opens July 20, it will contain the most IMAX footage ever for a Hollywood feature, more than one hour’s worth. There were 40 minutes of such footage in 2008′s “The Dark Knight”—which set box-office records in its opening weekend.

IMAX’s summer slate also includes potential blockbusters “The Avengers,” “The Amazing Spider-Man,” “Men in Black 3,” Tim Burton’s gothic comedy “Dark Shadows,” and Ridley Scott’s 3-D “Prometheus.” Mr. Nolan’s film was the only one shot using IMAX cameras; the others were converted using IMAX’s technology.

Sounds exciting. These Nolan Bat-Films are paving the way for the first truly IMAX movie. Sure the cameras and tech have been around for ages, but up till know it was used for nature docs and educational programming. We want to see what true film-making legends can do with the tech. IMAX is always going to be more immersive than traditional movies, so this can only be a big win movie goers.

There is a new Superman movie on the way folks. It may not arrive for over a year, but the film is coming and director Zack Snyder hopes to put his visual stamp all over it.

The first of many changes that Superman will have in Man of Steel is his logo. Not a terribly huge alteration on the classic “S “shield, but a change none the less. This S has all sorts of swooshy textures going through it. As well as some hints of some type of rock. I guess the texture of steel didn’t pop as much.

We here at The Flickcast try to look past the general fan boy gripes and judge elements of movies based on the context of said movie. That said, this new logo presents some troubling portents of things to come.

One, it is dark and gritty. The one thing Superman should never be is dark and gritty. He is hope, optimism, justice and faith all wrapped up in a single package. That certainly can be corny in this day and age, but when done right Superman can be a beacon of fun in an otherwise dreary era of DC cinematic adaptations.

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Just when you thought DC would calm down after the backlash of their drastic logo change earlier this month, they’re here to alter more of your childhood favorites by bringing us a series of prequels to Alan Moore’s epic Watchmen series from decades ago with their Before Watchmen line of books.

Catchy name, right? That’s about the caliber of originality you can expect to see with these books, with the major saving grace being the talent that DC has gathered for the event. Here’s what they had to say.

Stepping up to the challenge is a group of the comic book industry’s most iconoclastic writers and artists – including Brian Azzarello (100 BULLETS), Lee Bermejo (JOKER), Amanda Conner (POWER GIRL), Darwyn Cooke (JUSTICE LEAGUE: NEW FRONTIER), John Higgins (WATCHMEN), Adam Hughes (CATWOMAN), J.G. Jones (FINAL CRISIS), Andy Kubert (FLASHPOINT), Joe Kubert (SGT. ROCK), Jae Lee (BATMAN: JEKYLL AND HYDE), J. Michael Straczynski (SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE) and Len Wein (SWAMP THING).

BEFORE WATCHMEN includes:

• RORSCHACH (4 issues) – Writer: Brian Azzarello. Artist: Lee Bermejo
• MINUTEMEN (6 issues) – Writer/Artist: Darwyn Cooke
• COMEDIAN (6 issues) – Writer: Brian Azzarello. Artist: J.G. Jones
• DR. MANHATTAN (4 issues) – Writer: J. Michael Straczynski. Artist: Adam Hughes
• NITE OWL (4 issues) – Writer: J. Michael Straczynski. Artists: Andy and Joe Kubert
• OZYMANDIAS (6 issues) – Writer: Len Wein. Artist: Jae Lee
• SILK SPECTRE (4 issues) – Writer: Darwyn Cooke. Artist: Amanda Conner

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Sony Online’s DC Universe Online has had a pretty rough year. Between the server blackouts, the massive PSN hack, and dealing with a paid service to a broke community, they’ve fallen on some hard times.

But that isn’t stopping them from releasing tons of new content for their now free DC Universe Online. Just a few months ago, we were opened up to the world of Green Lantern with their Fight for the Light DLC. Now their continuing in the trend with a whole Flash universe-based DLC in Lightning Strikes.

Set to hit your console and PC next week on December 6th, the new features include a brand new Eletricity Power set, as well as an all new map, new challenges, and tons of Flash-based characters for you to interact with.

We’ve got a brand new trailer highlighting these features for you to check out after the jump, as well as the full rundown on what the DLC includes. Take a look at that after the jump, and don’t forget to grab DC Universe Online for FREE on PC and PS3 now.

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Superheroes are huge now, incase you weren’t up to speed. With films like Dark Knight and Spider-Man making over a billion dollars in the worldwide box office, that means you’re going to see movie and TV studios make bolder decisions that lean towards comic book properties that could bring eyeballs (and dollar signs) to their company.

That’s just what Syfy is looking to do, as they have ordered a script from Greg Berlanti, who wrote Green Lantern, as well as helped shape the story of ABC’s Modern Family, which will focus on DC’s anti-hero from the future, Booster Gold. THR has the report.

The story will center on Booster Gold, a washed-up athlete from the future who travels back to the present in hopes of becoming the greatest super hero of all time. Instead of chasing criminals, however, his main priority is chasing fame and money. But Booster Gold discovers that being a hero takes more than just a megawatt smile, and that the future doesn’t happen without first protecting the present.

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In typical fashion for DC Entertainment and Warner Home Video, just as we get a brand new release, which in this case was Batman: Year One, we are already getting excited for the next animated project, Justice League: Doom.

The story comes from the Justice League story titled Tower of Babel in which one of Batman’s many “contingency plans” ends up putting the League, and the world, in imminent danger. If the story isn’t enough to excite you, the cast will surely put you over the edge.

Primetime television stars Nathan Fillion (Castle) and Tim Daly (Private Practice), the reigning voices of Green Lantern and Superman, respectively, join a group of eight actors reprising their famed cartoon roles, including Kevin Conroy (Batman: The Animated Series) as Batman, Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville, Breaking In) as Flash, Susan Eisenberg (Superman/Batman: Apocalypse) as Wonder Woman and Carl Lumbly (Alias) as J’onn J’onzz/Martian Manhunter.

With the team of Timm, Romano, and Montgomery behind the scenes, using the final script from the late Dwayne McDuffie, this JL story is sure to be one of the best that WB Home Video has put out. Take a look at the trailer after the jump and grab the DVD and Blu-Ray early next year.

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While New York Comic Con had tons of scoops and news hit over the weekend, one bit of news that both fans of comics AND animation were eager to hear about was more on Cartoon Network’s upcoming Green Lantern: The Animated Series.

Unlike the rest of the DC animated series to cross paths with Cartoon Network, this one is a bit different, as it’s animated using CG, rather than cell animation. Here’s info from the official release.

As Earth’s Green Lantern, Hal Jordan is used to being in dangerous situations — but he’s never faced anything like this! Set at the farthest reaches of deep space, Green Lantern: The Animated Series finds Hal on the Guardian Frontier, where he must face down an invasion by the Red Lantern Corps.

Powered by pure rage, the evil Red Lanterns have sworn to destroy the Green Lantern Corps and everything they stand for. Dispatched on the experimental spacecraft The Interceptor, Hal is soon joined by an all-new group of heroes on a mission to protect Guardian Space — and the Green Lantern Corps itself!

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Since we first started getting casting news about Zack Snyder’s upcoming reboot/sequel to the Superman franchise titled Man of Steel, questions have been flying in from every direction about what the possible story could be.

With names like Kevin Costner, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Keaton, and Russell Crowe tying up the cast, we could only imagine how these A-listers would make their way into the film. The official synopsis has made its way onto the web, so maybe this will clear things up:

In the pantheon of superheroes, Superman is the most recognized and revered character of all time. Clark Kent/Kal-El (Henry Cavill) is a young twentysomething journalist who feels alienated by powers beyond anyone’s imagination. Transported to Earth years ago from Krypton, an advanced alien planet, Clark struggles with the ultimate question – Why am I here?

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When DC Universe Online launched earlier this year, it was possible to recreate almost any character, classic or modern, that fans of comics have loved for decades. There was one group of heroes and villains though that was noticeably left out in terms of power sets though. The Lanterns. Green, Red, Yellow, Blue and all the others had no presence in DC Universe Online from the player community. Sure they could fight alongside Hal Jordan but without a power ring of their own where is the fun in that?

Coming at the end of summer, the Fight for the Light expansion comes to DC Universe Online allowing ring based power sets to create a new array of combat options. Boxing gloves, freight trains, fighter jets, machine guns and more all produced by little green rings will up the ante in DCUO.

At Comic-Con, Mark Anderson from Sony Online Entertainment spoke with The Flickcast about what we would see in this expansion. In addition to seeing sights like Coast City or the Science Cells on Oa, the expansion will also help wrap up the story with Brainiac and the anomalies of the power rings. Players will be given the role as Corps Reserve members to help explain why so many lanterns are running around in a single sector.

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While DC is currently scratching their collective heads to figure out how to beat out Marvel Studios and their plan for world domination, they’ve had a few busts of recent history. Films like Green Lantern and Jonah Hex were pretty big flops, but nowhere near as much as the critically panned reboot/sequel hybrid Superman Returns from X-Men director Bryan Singer.

The film was panned by most fans, made some money, and did absolutely nothing for the franchise (unless you consider calling for yet another reboot a few years later “progress”). After a few years, it turns out there are still a few secrets that have yet to be uncovered about the film.

As it turns out, there was a $10 million opening sequence for the film that was shot and rendered in which Routh’s Kal-El returns to a dead Krypton to see if there is any semblance of life from his once lively home planet. Short answer: there isn’t.

No dialogue, lots of slow shots of deep space, and Routh looking all sweaty. Overall, it’s probably a good thing this scene wasn’t in the film, but the fact that Singer and his team once thought this was a good idea should remind us that this film was probably no good from the get-go.

Take a look at the 5-minute long opening after the jump, and let’s hope this trend doesn’t continue with Zack Snyder’s upcoming Man of Steel reboot.

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