Awesome Superheroes

If you’ve watched even five minutes of The Boys, you know that superheroes struggle with their mental health. GQ enlisted the help of Psychiatrist Dr. Eric Bender to look inside the minds of MCU characters like Thor, Deadpool, Iron Man, and Loki. Watch, and you might learn a thing or two about your own situation.

Chadwick Boseman may be gone, but he is most certainly not forgotten. In this sequel to 2018’s Black Panther, Queen Ramonda takes the reins to help save her nation while honoring the memory of her family. The teaser trailer dropped at this week’s SDCC, backed by an emotional rendition of Bob Marley’s No Woman No Cry by TEMS.

Flying through the air is one of the most common powers wielded by superheroes and supervillains. Insider takes a look at the history of flying characters in TV and movies, and how improvements in special effects and stunt techniques have led to more and more believable flight on screen.

(PG-13: Gore, Language) Homelander has been pushed even further off the rails, Billy Butcher has temporary Supe powers, and Soldier Boy makes his grand and bloody entrance for what’s bound to be another brutal and visceral season of Amazon Prime’s hit comic book series, The Boys. Premieres 6.3.2022.

Jewelry maker Manly Bands teamed up with DC Comics to create a series of rings inspired by comic book characters. They’re made from materials like black zirconium, cobalt chrome, and Cerakote, and come in Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Joker, and an extravagant Bruce Wayne design with black diamonds.

(PG-13: Gore) If there’s one thing we’ve learned from the first two seasons of The Boys, it’s that Billy Butcher HATES Supes. But from the looks of things, he’s about to get a dose of Compound V and become his own worst nightmare. Premieres 6.3.22.

Superman has always been seen as one of the more powerful superheroes. But there are others with similar superpowers – some good, some evil. Mighty Raccoon! imagines what might happen if Supes found himself face-to-face and fist-to-fist with One-Punch Man’s Saitama, The Boys’ Homelander, and Invincible’s Omni-Man.

(PG-13) Prime Video is starting to expand The Boys universe with the roll-out of its first spin-off. Diabolical is an eight-part animated series, each illustrated in a different style, and each telling a tale that lives in the same warped universe as the main show. Expect plenty of violence, gore, and chaos when it lands 3.4.2022.

Superman and Homelander both have heat vision. Whether they use their laser eyes for good or evil, it’s quite the spectacle. Hacksmith Industries replicated heat vision in real life by building a wearable rig with high-power lasers and eye-tracking. Of course, they couldn’t resist the urge to use them to burn stuff.

(Gore) Amazon’s uber-violent superheroes-gone-bad series The Boys gets its first spin-off. This animated anthology consists of eight short stories, each told with a unique visual style. This brief first-look teaser introduces us to a baby with similar superpowers to Homelander and the same disregard for human life. Premieres 3.4.22.

Marvel and DC Comics have been rivals for decades. Produced by the Russo Brothers, this documentary series explores the history of the two comic book juggernauts and their friendly and not-so-friendly competition over the years. Narrated by Kevin Smith and premiering on The Roku Channel on 12.24.21.

The latest trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home reveals a bit too much plot for our taste, but also gives us glimpses of several familiar villains from Peter’s multiverse. In addition to Doc Ock, expect appearances from Green Goblin, Sandman, Electro, and more. The jury’s still out if we’ll get Toby Maguire or Andrew Garfield, though.

Disney+ heads into the holidays with another Phase 4 MCU TV series. Set in New York City after The Blip, Clint Barton aka Hawkeye is on a mission to reach his family for the holidays. But when a threat from his past reappears, he teams up with Kate Bishop, a young archer who becomes his protégé. Premieres 11.24.2021.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings introduces the first new hero to Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But Shang-Chi has appeared in comic books since 1973. Alamo Drafthouse offers a retrospective on the character to give us a bit of background on the martial arts master before heading to the theater.

(Flashing Lights) When you’re faster than the speed of light, you occasionally run into people and turn them into a pile of goo. The Boys’ literal and figurative speed freak A-Train just dropped his own official music video, courtesy of Vought International, with Aimée Proal lending her powerhouse pop vocals.

(Gore) We were glued to our screen for every minute of Invincible season one. Robert Kirkman’s animated series has great characters, amazing action, visceral violence, and packs an emotional punch. Still, Screen Junkies managed to find a few things to poke fun at, especially the protagonist’s tendency to over-apologize.

To celebrate their 400th Honest Trailer, Screen Junkies takes on not one or two movies, but the entire DC Extended Universe – a series of questionably dark and brooding superhero movies that started with 2013’s Man of Steel. Despite their many flaws, we still keep coming back for more.

This 450-page book is filled with bios, stats, and stories about more than 1200 characters from the Marvel universe. Whether you’re Team Avengers, Team X-Men, or Team Guardians of the Galaxy, all your faves are here, along with lesser-known characters like Squirrel Girl. We prefer hardcover, but it’s also on Kindle.

From Mark Millar, creator of Kingsman and Kick-Ass comes a Netflix series about the changing of the guard between the first generation of superheroes and their children. Will the young heroes maintain their parents’ ideals, or has the world changed too much to live up to their expectations? Premieres 5.7.2021.

MyloTheCat chopped up old Super Friends cartoons and made the Legion of Doom rap Wu-Tang Clan’s Uzi (Pinky Ring). Stars Sinestro as U-God, The Riddler as Raekwon, Scarecrow as Ghostface Killah, Lex Luthor as The RZA, Captain Cold as Method Man, Bizarro as Inspectah Deck, Black Manta as Masta Killa, and Brainiac as the GZA.

Riding a bicycle usually involves sitting down. Sure there’s the occasional standing pedal for extra power, but lying face down is definitely not a normal position. That’s not the case for rider Michael Guerra who shows how this daredevil position can dramatically reduce wind resistance, speeding him past other cyclists.

Director Zack Snyder is finally releasing the Justice League he wanted to make. This trailer sees Batman rallying his fellow metahumans after a premonition of a terrifying threat to Earth, and teases new footage, including more screen time for Cyborg, baddie Darkseid, and the return of Joker. Premieres on HBO Max 3.18.2021.

If you watch The Boys, you know that Homelander is a serious egomaniac. So we imagine that he’d be thrilled that artist Dr. Garuda decided to make this picture-perfect clay sculpture to show off his Aryan good looks, all-American costume, and killer red eyes. Though Homie would prefer a towering 30-foot-tall sculpture of himself.

From the poison brick-slinging Brickbat to The Horrible Hand, author Jon Morris’ humorous reference book catalogs some of the weirdest and worst supervillains in the history of comic books. Can’t get enough? Round out your bookshelf with some equally unfortunate superheroes and their half-baked sidekicks.

From his earliest comic book days to incarnations brought to life by Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Hamill, and Adam West, The Joker is one of the greatest supervillains in history. Warner Bros. interviewed filmmakers, authors, and actors to talk about what makes The Clown Prince of Crime tick.

(PG-13: Gore) With its over-the-top violence and incredibly questionable morality, the Amazon Prime series The Boys is definitely not for everyone. We enjoyed the wild ride for its first season, and are looking forward to seeing what’s next. Of course, Screen Junkies has a thing or two to say before season two kicks off.