Batson's Blog

Something that's been happening in recent years is casting black actors in the roles of comic book characters who were typically white. Of course, it's something that goes back to timing and culture and society. When comic books were published several decades ago, it was during a time when race was still a very sensitive subject. Race may be a sensitive topic these days too, but in the 1940's and 1950's, black people still didn't have the rights they do today. I wasn't alive at the time, but I'd imagine it was even more tense than in today's current climate. It creates an interesting dilemma for Marvel and DC movie and TV-makers.  Do they change the race of beloved characters? Do they create new superheroes who are black (and Asian and LGBT, etc, etc?) to satisfy their diverse readers?  Do they elevate their lesser-known black characters to more prominent roles (like Luke Cage and Black Panther)?  Or do they stick to the original portrayal...

It was a huge Wrestlemania weekend just over a month ago. Between dozens of wrestling events in Orlando, the WWE Hall of Fame, NXT TakeOver, Wrestlemania 33 (the retirement of The Undertaker!) and, of course, the Raw after 'Mania. One of the bits of news that came out over the weekend was the announcement of a 32 woman WWE tournament.  Details aren't completely clear yet on this tournament.  Will it involve women from the independents?  Will it strictly be women from the independents? Will it be women who are currently in WWE?  Nobody is really sure at this point because WWE didn't release all of those details. I've got to think that it will be similar to the Cruiserweight tournament and the UK tournament.  In both of those situations, almost all of the participants were from the independents and not signed to contracts.  Sure, you had Tajiri (a familiar face from his previous WWE run), but most of the guys were indy darlings -- not having worked in...

So if the new He-Man movie is anything like some of the Masters of the Universe comics, we may see some She-Ra characters show up (or at least be set up for future appearances in sequels) in Sony's new MOTU movie. If there are any She-Ra characters who show up, here's who I'd like to see cast: Michael Cera as Mantenna It's been a while since Michael Cera was in anything that made pop culture waves, but he's got some decent roles Vin Diesel as Leech I am Groot.  That's usually what Vin Diesel says on the big screen these days.  In the Masters of the Universe series, he could be Leech.  I'd like to see a more menacing Leech than in the animated series. Vin Diesel has the physical attributes to make that happen. Put some make up and molding on his face.  Throw in some special effects and you've got a perfect candidate for this Horde villain . Dwayne Johnson as Hordak The hardest working man in entertainment. Surely he'd sign up for...