Fanboys Anonymous

Want to know what happened the past few days in nerd culture? WEEK IN GEEK is your quick fix to catch up with the rest of the fanboys out there.

MOVIES

DC Announces Huge Slate of Movies.

My take: I can easily see this news getting fanboys and girls drooling. Within the next six years, we'll see DC and Marvel on the big screen, duking it out just like in the heydays of comic books. I won't be surprised when WB changes some of these plans, however. Committing to a Cyborg movie in 2020 will only happen if the character is well received in the Justice League franchise. The most confusing announcement is The Flash to me. Although we fans can wrap our heads around different continuities, the layperson may have trouble distinguishing the film version from the TV one. As we say, "there can be only one."

Lego Movies!

My take: In WB's big announcement, they included The Lego Movie 2, Ninjago and The Lego Batman Movie. I'm most excited for the latter, of course, which will hopefully not just be a pack of video game shorts strung together. With Will Arnett returning to voice and Chris McKay directing, this could be a huge comedy hit. Not something often associated with Batman!

Robert Downey Jr. in Captain America 3 for Civil War.

My take: Another confusing announcement. I'm curious which way they play this as they'll be fleshing out their Netflix characters at the same time as this story comes into play. Considering how Captain America: The Winter Soldier had immediate effect on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., this could get dizzying.

Sony Cancels Spider-Man 3 and May Share Rights?

My take: Everyone has been dreaming of Sony sucking it up and allowing Marvel to use Spider-Man and now it might happen. However, they're planning on rebooting AGAIN first? And replacing Andrew Garfield? Sony can't decide if it wants to make up for lost time or fix the mistakes it can't stop making.

TELEVISION

HBO Offers No-Cable Streaming Service At Last.

My take: Now you can have your cake…and you're done! Finally, in 2015, you will be able to have a stand-alone HBO service, not tied to any cable package. Considering how expensive cable packages are these days, I'm totally on board paying Netflix and HBO $8 a month each for quality programming.

The Flash Premiere.

My take: Finally I can talk about the show I watched illegally months ago!…er…I mean, I finally got to see this show I've been waiting so long for! This was a nice surprise, actually, I wasn't expecting this show to be so layered. The Easter Bunny would break is back carrying a bag of this show, it was so full of easter eggs. The story did a great job of raising questions that I want the answer to. The visual effects were also great, for TV. Even though Wally West will always be my Flash, I'm definitely going to be hooked on this series.

Arrow Season 3 Shocker.

My take: La la la la la, believe it or not, I'm only on season two. Don't tell me anything. All I know is, something big happened on the first episode of season three.

COMIC BOOKS

Marvel Double-Dipping.

My take: Not only is Marvel bringing back Civil War and Secret War as well as Years of Future Past in X-Men. They're also mashing up Age of Ultron with their Marvel Zombies line next year.

2015 Could Be the Year Of the Reboot.

My take: DC has been leading up to a huge event in spring of 2015 and now Marvel is doing the same thing. In both cases. they appear to be heading toward a franchise-wide reboot. In DC's case, they would likely be cleaning up The New 52 errors they've made in the hastily thrown together reboot from 2011. In Marvel's case, it appears to be a need to finally be rid of the Ultimate universe. More and more "616" characters have been meeting up with "ultimate" characters lately and signs point to the timelines merging.