Compiled by Carl Slaughter:

MARVEL

(1) Dark Phoenix  –  first photo — “X-Men: Dark Phoenix heats up EW’s First Look Issue”.

This Phoenix has risen… again. On Nov. 2, 2018, Dark Phoenix will arrive in theaters and finally deliver the storyline X-Men fans have wanted for years. Simon Kinberg previously attempted to tell the iconic Jean Grey tale — about the telepath’s battle with demons in her own mind — with his screenplay for 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand, but studio pressure squeezed her story into a reductive subplot. Kinberg, making his directorial debut, felt in his gut that this was the story that he needed to tell once Bryan Singer, who directed the previous two sequels, stepped aside. “[The film] was so clear in my head, emotionally and visually, that it would have killed me to hand this to somebody else to direct,” Kinberg says

(2) ScreenRant — “15 Things Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Wants You To Forget About”.

As Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs its fifth season, there are certainly some loose hanging threads left behind by previous seasons. But some of those loose ends go all the way back to season one, which means that those are probably plots and characters the series just wishes fans would forget.

However, fans are notoriously good at remembering many smaller details of their favorite shows. That means we still have a lot of questions about what happened to those hanging plot threads that sort of got tossed to the wayside. It’s bad enough that two characters, Bobbi and Lance got forced to leave the show for Marvel’s Most Wanted, a series that never made it to air. But it’s also even worst that never really said goodbye to Agent Grant Ward after he became a good guy in the Framework. And it’s just sad that Ian Quinn is still out there somewhere doing bad Hydra things. Also, there were a lot of Daisy LMDs running around: surely they’re still out there somewhere ready to create chaos?

Perhaps some of these questions will get answered in season five. But most of these will probably keep hanging in the ether as questions that will never get answered.

(3) CinemaBlend reports another round with Peggy Carter — “Check Out Hayley Atwell’s Return As Peggy Carter For Marvel’s Avengers: Secret Wars”.

Ever since Agent Carter left the air, fans of both the character and actress Hayley Atwell have been hoping Marvel would bring Peggy Carter back into the action on a more consistent basis. While the world continues to speculate on whether or not the actress will appear in Avengers: Infinity War, Atwell fans can definitely witness her return as Peggy in animated form on a new episode of Marvel’s Avengers: Secret Wars.

(4) WhatCulture: Predicting the fate of every Avenger in Infinity War

(5) ScreenRant says Marvel has the rights to 7000 characters:

Marvel Studios may not own the film rights to the X-Men or Fantastic Four, but they have thousands of other characters that could one day come to theaters. The story of Marvel Studios’ film and TV rights is a long and complex one, but the comics giant has been slowly regaining them over the years. By now, most of Marvel’s heroes and villains are under their roof save Fox’s ownership of various X-Men and Fantastic Four characters. There’s also Sony’s Spider-Man pantheon, though that’s become a bit of a gray area due to recent events.

Despite some major characters not being able to show up in the MCU, Marvel Studios has done a masterful job of elevating a roster of heroes and villains to household names. And given their working relationship with both Sony and Fox, a uniting of the entire Marvel Universe doesn’t seem unlikely. In the meantime, however, Marvel are gearing up for a team-up film like no other in Avengers: Infinity War. It’s sequel, Avengers 4, will then wrap up the current iteration of the MCU—and kick off a new era of films.

(6) “35 Avengers Characters Unite For Vanity Fair Infinity War Cover”.  Click through to see.

DC

(1) WhatCulture: 5 ways Justice League ruined its best characters

(2) Grunge: Why DC changed the way its characters look

(3) Cosmonaut  Variety Hour tells the problem with DC superheroes

(4) ScreenRant says The DC Movie Universe is Worse Without Zack Snyder

For those who felt that Zack Snyder was always the problem, not simply for his tone, but his entire method of storytelling, Justice League seemed the perfect chance to prove it. Considering the reactions to Justice League‘s ‘Frankenstein-ed’ identity (and some woeful CG mishaps), the problem was never that simple. And for the fans demanding Snyder’s version of Justice League be released, the movie that was supposed to jumpstart DC using Snyder’s successes has crushed it into the dust.

(5) ScreenRant opines about 8 Villains The Arrowverse Failed At Adapting (And 7 They Nailed)

The Arrowverse, which began with Arrow almost 6 years ago and has grown with The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and most recently Supergirl, has already seen a number of very successful crossovers and though its cast of characters is immense, it actually follows through on the promise of individual programs’ events having consequences throughout the universe.

Having said that, some of the villains they’ve attempted to adapt from the comics have been less than stellar. While it’s understandable that over multiple series some villainous interpretations are bound to fall short, there have been surprise successes as well

(6) ScreenRant says Arrow needs more female characters:.

Supergirl, which has always been the most female-centric of the CW’s universe, continues to put its female characters front and center. Beyond the superheros and villains, though, Supergirl has also been focusing on female friendships this season. Kara (Melissa Benoist) and Lena (Katie McGrath) continue to develop their relationship, while also bringing newcomer Samantha (Odette Annable) into the fold. Along with Kara’s sister Alex (Chyler Leigh), they form a group that supports each other in a wonderful way. Legends of Tomorrow continues to add new female heroes to the team with Zari (Tala Ashe) bonding (slowly) with Amaya (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) while Sara (Caity Lotz) heads up the team as Captain. And The Flash pulled out all the stops in recent weeks to address the friendship between Iris (Candice Patton) and Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker). Finally, Joe’s (Jesse L Martin) new fiancee Cecile (Danielle Nicolet) and Cisco’s (Carlos Valdes) girlfriend Gypsy (Jessica Camacho) round out the women of Team Flash.

But where the rest of the Arrowverse is killing it, the one that spawned it all seems to be falling down. Arrow has fewer female main characters than ever, and no female friendships appear this season. What’s gone wrong with the women of Arrow, and how can they get back on track?