DC Fandome lit up the internet both literally and figuratively when all of the major players at DC Comics, Warner Bros., WB Games Montreal, and even Milestone Comics were able to pitch their upcoming content to fans and audiences alike. There was a whole lot of hype involved in everything that was mentioned.

The first thing that grabbed my attention was the trailer for the upcoming video game “Gotham Knights.” You can play as Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, or Robin and it looks pretty sweet. Largely absent is the Dark Knight himself, but this could be a new direction and a soft reboot of the “Arkham” series. Of the villains teased, I would like to point out that the Court of Owls was on my list of possible villains to appear. Also, “Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League” had a great section with actor Will Arnett doing a mock interview with that game’s main roster: King Shark, Harley Quinn, Deadshot, and Captain Boomerang.

Speaking of “The Suicide Squad,” director James Gunn, revealed a massive cast including Margot Robbie’s return as Harley Quinn, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, and newcomer Idris Elda as Bloodsport, and a whole host of other actors to play Task Force X. It had a “behind-the-scenes” trailer where they interviewed several of the cast members and even got to throw shade at its predecessor courtesy of Pete Davidson.

Of course, Patty Jenkins shined when she introduced a new trailer for “Wonder Woman 1984” that had a first look at Diana Prince (Gal Gadot)‘s nemesis Cheetah, played by Kristen Wiig. The movie definitely looks like it will live up to the hype that surrounds it.

Dwayne Johnson blasted his way onto the scene by revealing some concept artwork for “Black Adam,” a movie that centers around the Shazam villain’s origins which will feature Atom Smasher, Hawkman, Dr. Fate, and Cyclone. The movie has a special take on the sometimes enemy and sometimes ally of the Justice League. This was definitely the snazziest section of the online event and had the biggest pump up, in my opinion.

Never one to shy away from publicity, Zack Snyder got his panel for HBO Max’s Justice League: The Snyder Cut, featuring the principal cast including Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Ray Fisher, and Ezra Miller. We learned that the film will be a four-part miniseries with hour-long installments. Snyder also revealed that Cyborg and Flash will have larger roles, being more “fleshed out” than in the Joss Whedon cut. I will say this, Snyder knows how to appear charming. When the facade is up and he’s not screaming curse words at Batman fans who do not like his interpretation of the character, he can pitch his film with a lot of savvy. I will say, Patty Jenkins guest-starred on the panel and he started to stammer when she appeared on the zoom call. I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that she said she was open to direct a sequel. She would be good at it.

This crescendoed to showing a trailer where we got some glimpses on the differences on the Snyder Cut. Darkseid made his grand entrance. Steppenwolf got a slight makeover. We got to see Superman in the black suit and a few scenes tied to the nightmare sequence in BvS. The scenery looked fine, but I have to say, the trailer was juxtaposed with the Leonard Cohen song “Hallelujah,” previously used in Zack Snyder’s Watchmen. It baffles me why he chose such a redundant song when Warner Bros. no doubt has a plethora of music that could have matched better. It really took you out of the trailer and made it difficult to enjoy. Of course, originality is not something you expect from a Snyder flick.

At the end of the night, Matt Reeves appeared to talk about “The Batman” which stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne. I will say, I go back and forth with this movie. Sometimes, I get incredibly hyped up about it and other times I do not like the way the casting is going. However, Reeves did a good job of selling his vision for Batman and what is going on in Gotham City. That panel also ended with a teaser that truly made the project appear that it is capturing the essence of the Dark Knight.

Other events included announcements for “Shazam!: Fury of the Gods,” a follow-up to the Zachary Levi film. Milestone Comics is getting a revival for its characters including Static Shock. Patrick Wilson is returning as Ocean Master for an Aquaman sequel.

Bottom line, the event was one big hype, clearly aimed at distracting the public from the massive layoffs DC Comics just faced following their acquisitions by AT&T. However, I do hope that this will be a course correction for the comic book company.
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