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With Superman now a certified success, DC Studios can breathe a sigh of relief. DC’s co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran can really start planning for the future. Reports are already coming out about how DC Studios hopes to fast-track Wonder Woman and Batman: The Brave and the Bold films. And Supergirl is already done filming. Once Gunn receives scripts he finds satisfying, that is. All of this is, of course, setting up the main course, which will be an eventual Justice League film uniting the main heroes. This time, the hope is that it’s a Justice League movie that’s done right, and does the iconic team, well, justice. And the key to how to pull that off might lie in the iconic Justice League animated series.

Say what you want about the DCEU Zack Snyder Justice League team, but it had a pretty solid lineup. Glaringly, however, it didn’t have a Green Lantern among its ranks (likely due to the 2011 Ryan Reynolds film flopping), nor a Martian Manhunter on the team. However, the latter did appear in cameo form in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Usually, the most iconic team rosters center on a “Big 7,” but the DCEU gave us only six. So in that regard, they started off on the wrong foot. On social media, Gunn has mentioned he’s a big fan of the DC Animated Universe. That DCAU encompassed Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, and Justice League (later, Justice League Unlimited). This is why we would not be shocked to see the animated JL roster as our big-screen League.

So, which possible DCAU heroes will anchor the DCU’s new Justice League? Right now, our only clues are who appears in Superman and characters we know will appear in future announced projects. We know that Superman is obviously a part of this new universe. Eventually, Batman and Wonder Woman will be as well. Superman introduced us to Hawkgirl, and Lanterns on HBO Max will introduce the John Stewart version of Green Lantern. That leaves two major members of the animated JLU that remain a big question mark: the Martian Manhunter, and the Wally West version of the Flash. If the DCU brings in the latter two heroes anytime soon, then we think it’s all but confirmed the animated League will become our new live-action team.

Despite over 65 years of different Justice League teams in the comics, the lineup most well-known to people remains the animated version. No matter how popular a comic book may be, millions more people see a TV series or film than read a comic book. So, for mainstream audiences, the appeal of seeing that beloved roster, which many adults today grew up watching as kids, might be too hard to resist. The show proved that the group dynamic of that roster of heroes really works well together.

Of course, James Gunn (assuming he writes and directs this one), may look to the later animated version, Justice League Unlimited. That version had a truly massive grouping of characters, although the seven founders remained the core of the group, and the big decision makers. So maybe we’ll see Mister Terrific, Guy Gardner, Metamorpho, and Supergirl appear, even if they aren’t front and center. Maybe even Blue Beetle, who it seems DC may retcon into the new DCU, could be a part of it.

That might seem like a lot of characters, maybe too many. But Gunn just proved he can lead a rather large ensemble cast with Superman, which has over twelve main roles. We’re not saying his Justice League has to be that big in size. But Gunn has proven again he can pull off a sizable cast and give almost everyone something to do. No matter what, we are literally years away from a Justice League film. We don’t think Gunn and Peter Safran are going to rush into this like the old DCEU did. But Gunn is smart enough to know that the blueprint for how the League can work on screen already exists. The trick now is how to translate it into live-action.

The post Will the DCU’s JUSTICE LEAGUE Be Based on the Iconic Animated Series? appeared first on Nerdist.

Scroll through TikTok these days, and you very easily might come across a cat stretched out blissfully on a warm slab of concrete.

It’s the latest enrichment trend for pet owners, and the results are pretty adorable. Cats of all breeds and personalities are rubbing and lounging on the slabs like they were made for them. Turns out, they kind of are.

If you only know the Fantastic Four from their previous big-screen incarnations, it’s safe to say, you don’t really know the FF at all. Their comic book history is wild, to say the least. But with The Fantastic Four: First Steps coming, you might want to take a crash course in proper FF history. And Marvel’s YouTube channel has now got you covered. They’ve released a 90-minute Fantastic Four recap, recounting the highlights of 60 years of Marvel’s First Family. Of course, some parts of their history remain left out of this video, which you can watch below, does a pretty comprehensive job of covering the bases.

Some of the more out-there parts of Fantastic Four history this video covers include the time when Reed Richards tricked some Skrulls into turning into cows on a farm. Not long after, their milk turned regular humans into half-alien creatures. Even later, they became burgers! Yes, they actually went there once upon a time. The recap video also talks about the time Reed Richards spared the life of Galactus. He then later went on trial for it in front of a cosmic tribunal. Then there’s all of Johnny Storm’s girlfriends, from Crystal of the Inhumans to Frankie Raye, who became a Herald of Galactus. That Human Torch guy sure got around.

Yes, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created many, many iconic Marvel Comics characters together. But their magnum opus together was easily the Fantastic Four. They spent over 100 issues together creating stories that impacted not just the Fantastic Four, but the entire Marvel Universe. And other great creators picked up the torch, some more successfully than others. Hopefully, watching this video will inspire you to pick up some Fantastic Four trade paperbacks or other collections. There’s no better time to dive into the illustrious past of “The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine.”

The post Marvel Video Recaps 60 Years of Fantastic Four in 90 Minutes appeared first on Nerdist.

The highly anticipated The Fantastic Four: First Steps, MCU’s first F4 movie that follows a flopped duology and an even worse reboot, is nearly upon us. Scheduled for release on July 25, 2025, the movie brings us Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn in the roles of Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, The Thing, and Human Torch. To be completely honest, the fandom is ecstatic, and for good reason; Marvel’s First Family and their creation marked the official beginning of the Marvel Universe as we know it today.

We already covered some of the best-known characters from the Fantastic Four IP. We previously discussed the origin of the Thing’s iconic catchphrase, his relationship with Alicia Masters, six times Doctor Doom proved he’s a better husband than Reed Richards, and whether or not he might be a better king than T’Challa. Now, in light of the film’s arrival in movie theaters, let’s focus on another member of the Fantastic Four, Johnny Storm, aka Human Torch, and discuss the origins of his iconic “Flame On!” catchphrase.

While the first Fantastic Four movie introduced us to the eponymous superheroes and provided us with insight into the origin of their powers, it wasn’t really a great movie. Its sequel was an even bigger disaster compared to its predecessor, but nothing beats the Fantastic Four reboot attempt from 2015, which received so much backlash it made the original movie and its sequel look great in comparison.

One of the film’s contention points was The Thing’s “Clobberin’ Time” catchphrase, which was given a much darker origin. While the Thing used the catchphrase in all three movies, the 2015 Fantastic Four gave Ben Grimm a slightly different background, and the exact words were used by his abusive brother before hitting him. According to the film, these words stuck with Ben and continue to remind him of his traumatic upbringing. However, none of the previously released films even touched on the matter of Johnny’s catchphrase and its origin.

Johnny Storm’s signature catchphrase, “Flame on!”, sadly, doesn’t actually have an in-universe origin story. The phrase first appeared in Fantastic Four #2, published in 1961, when Johnny shouted it to trigger his transformation into the Human Torch, and from that moment on, it became one of the most recognizable lines in superhero comics. It also became a defining element of Johnny Storm’s character, as he would often use this line to signal that he’s ramping up the heat.

The line itself was written by the legendary Stan Lee, with art by Jack Kirby, during the classic run of the Fantastic Four. Lee was particularly known for giving each of his characters a unique voice through bold, memorable dialogue, and Johnny’s catchphrase was one of those lines. Admittedly, while many of them are later retconned or given an origin story, “Flame on!” and Johnny’s use of it never received an emotional or scientific backstory.  

However, that doesn’t mean that the catchphrase is simply a filler for the panels of the comic book pages or to inject energy into action sequences. Quite the contrary, actually. It actually serves a function. Now, many would think that Johnny needs to say the line in order to activate his powers, but that simply isn’t true; the Fantastic Four aren’t Power Rangers (yes, yes, they can’t actually compare, we know), so they really don’t need to announce that they’re changing into their superhero gear in unison.

So, does Johnny need to say the catchphrase? No. Does he do it because he thinks it’s cool? Most definitely. You see, Johnny Storm is actually Peter Parker’s peer; they’re generally portrayed as contemporaries in the comics, and they’re both teenage superheroes, or at least they were, initially. For Johnny, the hot-headed youngest member of the F4 team, “Flame on” captures his brash confidence and love for the spotlight. It’s much more than just a catchphrase; it’s a statement of his identity and flair.

Additionally, it does serve an in-universe purpose, as it’s generally a good idea to let your teammates and other people surrounding you know that you’re about to burst into scorching flames and become a human torch quite literally. There’s also a clear narrative function, as the catchphrase signaled to the reader that action was about to kick off. Johnny didn’t just quietly burst into flames. Instead, he lit up with style, announcing himself with a line that was both functional and full of attitude, and that blend of character and showmanship helped solidify “Flame on” as an enduring piece of comic book history.

Over the years, the line has appeared in cartoons, video games, and other media. It also appeared in the movies, though its use in the first two movies gave the impression that Johnny had to use “Flame on!” to activate his powers more effectively. That’s most certainly not the case in the comics, and we hope that the upcoming Fantastic Four clarifies that further. However, we’d still like to see Johnny use his iconic catchphrase, simply because it shows that two simple words are enough to express personality, power, and legacy, all at once.

The post Stoking the Flames of Genius: The Origin of Johnny Storm’s Iconic “Flame On!” appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.