SyFy’s Krypton is a show that no one really wanted. Taking some major inspiration from 2013’s Man of Steel version of Krypton - coupled with a healthy dose of comic lore - Krypton was meant to explore the relationships between the houses of El and Zod, while fleshing out the sociological and political climate that Krypton, Kandor in particular, were undergoing at the time. Set 200 years before Superman's tale, the show follows his grandfather, Seg-El and Lyta-Zod, through Kandor’s turbulent climate. The house of El, after some outlandish claims by Van-El, Seg’s grandfather, about extra-terrestrial life and the threat it poses to Krypton, ends up plunging the once noble name of El into disrepute. So shades of Jor-El then... We start the show with Seg and his family at the bottom of the caste barrel, fighting his way through life, literally at times, but still revealing a young man with a good heart beneath it all. Krypton is held under the ruthless rule of religion, presided over by the Voice of Rao, with citizens split between the haves and the have-nots. The law that keeps those in power, well, in power but rebellion is brewing beneath the streets. Now if you had to simply look at that synopsis for the show, you’d be forgiven for not wanting to waste your time on it. Krypton has never been something many people have wanted to read about or see more of, especially if it was merely a socio-political drama/thriller. Especially when we all know how the story ends. However, the show plays its hand at the end of the first episode by introducing the alien threat and how it will determine the fate of the universe's future. Adam Strange, time-travelling Earthman, brings a portent of doom – Brainiac is coming and Superman’s future is no longer set in stone. So pretty big stakes then. Krypton juggles a lot of story threads at the same time. Those interested in the inner workings of Krypton aren’t going to be disappointed as plenty of time is spent on the political machinations to usurp the Voice of Rao and we see just how this impacts the citizens who are, literally, at the bottom of the city. In fact, the shows first five episodes are spent more on what’s happening to Kandor and its people than actually tackling the main threat. To the shows credit, it makes these plot threads far more interesting and worth investing your time in than I expected them to be. Who the El’s were, who Seg wants them to be again, and just how devoted to duty the Zods are comes across nicely, especially when it all ties into the shows endgame and its character choices. The shows second half goes all in on the comic book side where story is concerned. Brainiac emerges as the true threat to Kandor, while another time-travelling character flips the stakes completely on what happens, provoking massive changes in the timeline that had me wishing a second season was already showing. Krypton’s greatest strength, as with some other notable comic shows such as I, Zombie and Luficer, is that it merely uses Krypton lore as a backbone for the story it wants to tell. Krypton takes the concept of what life was like in this doomed civilization, does its own thing with it, and comes out shining; which is a noticeable achievement as I was firmly in the “we don’t need this" camp. Acting for the show is pretty much on par with most other comic book shows, though it has a darker tone than most of the CW stuff. What was nice was seeing a show in which the bulk of the accents were English, which made a change from all the alien worlds in other shows that America had clearly colonised. The visuals are definitely a cut above what we usually expect from SyFy. There are repeated sets and locations that have been repurposed for different areas by utilising different camera views, and set dressings are usually sparse, but this feels more in line with Kryptonian aesthetics, rather than budgetary constraints. The visual effects shine. Kandor is wonderfully rendered in those distant shots showing us the city and the outlying wastelands, and it’s quite clear that a large portion of the budget was spent on making those distant views and the battle sequences feel tangible. The redesign of Brainiac's ship for the show, while maintaining ties to its original comic design, have been updated to create an impressive, oppressive, incredibly creepy skull-shaped ship that dominates planets. I would love to have seen more of the ship, especially its insides and Brainiacs collection room, but the fewer shots benefited the show as well. When his ship eclipses Kandor’s skyline, it’s quite breathtaking. Season 1 ends on a major cliffhanger that shakes up the timeline and sets up some much larger stakes for our heroes. With the show already renewed for a second season, promising a much larger focus in cosmic shenanigans, along with a visit to Thanagar, and the debut of the Main Man himself, Lobo, I certainly can’t wait for Season 2. Krypton is more than just a good comic book show, it’s a good SF show as well that you should certainly give a chance.

Director: Jake Castorena, Sam Liu Writers: Peter Tomasi Actors: Jerry O’ Connell, Rebecca Romijn, Jason O’ Mara, Nathan Fillion, Rainn Wilson, Rosario Dawson. While Marvel have been making the live action genre of superhero movies their domain, DC and WB have been producing mostly stellar animated adaptations of some of their best stories. The New 52 adaptation line has significantly flagged behind some of their more amazing movies. While passable and entertaining, they haven’t quite captured the magic that I usually associate with a WB DC animation, but they have managed to create a mostly consistent Universe for these versions of DC’s characters to exist in, and with this current line-up starting with Justice League: War in 2014, there’s a cast that’s already being established for a few years to come. The Death of Superman, an adaptation of the classic Death and Return of Superman storyline – and a remake of the stellar Superman: Doomsday animation – has just upended that trend and produced my favourite movie in the New 52 Universe adaptations. At this point in time we should all know the basics of this story as it’s been adapted for quite a few mediums and retold in various iterations throughout the years. Doomsday, an unstoppable killing machine, is unleashed upon the Earth and makes his way to Metropolis leaving a grisly trail of carnage behind him. When the Justice League fail to stop him, it’s up to Superman to put the monster down at all costs. The Death of Superman isn’t a scene-for-scene adaptation of the classic story. It changes what it needs to, to suit the New 52 universe and characters and it does so exceptionally well. Specific fan-favourite moments from the comics make an appearance and are exceptionally welcome: Luthor’s red hair and beard, Bibbo’s lament on a raining dock, etc. What Death does so exceptionally well in its meager 81 minutes running time, is provide a wonderful look at Superman’s character. It boggles the mind that a scant 1 hour and 21 minute long movie can do something that WB’s 3 hour long opus’s can’t: give us a glimpse into what makes Superman "Superman", and why the world, and you, should care about him. The movie's first 30+ minutes or so are about the characters: Superman wrestling with his relationship with Lois Lane and vice versa, Luthor’s maniacal insanity, and specifically how the denizens of Metropolis react to the Man of Steel. It’s great seeing Superman taking photos with Bibbo, greeting people passing him on the street whenever he’s around, so that when the final monster blows rock the city, it means something. And when that fight finally gets under way, damn is it impressive. The action rockets from one end of Metropolis to the other as Superman goes to toe with the indestructible juggernaut, trading blows while finding the time to save people around him even at the cost to himself. Of course we all know how this particular part of the story ends, and when it does, Death manages to make you feel the loss to the world. Something that BvS failed miserably at. The Death of Superman has an impressive amount of story bits flowing around that helps to establish the feeling of a lived-in world. Bruno Mannheims use of Apokolips tech is featured briefly, for instance, leaving one to wonder if many of these plot threads will be followed up in the sequel, Reign of The Supermen or other animated features. From an animation point of view, The Death of Superman is wonderfully animated, but as with all the DC animated movies, budget is clearly an issue. Our heroes have no fear in this regard, nor the impressive action sequences, but Metropolis suffers. For one of the most important cities in the DC Universe, its streets are always significantly vacant, or occupied with a mere handful of static figures. In this regard it’s a little hard to feel any concern over a city that feels mostly lifeless to begin with. The bulk of the budget has clearly been funneled into the impressive fight sequences between the League and Doomsday, and, finally, between Superman and Doomsday. The sense of scale, the dynamic action and the visual representation of these god-like powers colliding are all wonderfully animated. The voice cast does an excellent job as well, though I feel Rosario Dawson hasn’t quite hit her stride as Wonder Woman yet. Jerry O’ Connell is great as Superman and Jason O’ Mara is serviceable as Batman, but of course anyone will have a hard time living up to, or even surpassing Kevin Conroy’s legacy. Nathan Fillion, in the few lines he’s had in all of these adaptations, has managed to capture everything you expect Hal Jordan to sound like. The bulk of the emotional heavy lifting though is between O’ Connell’s Superman and Rebecca Romijn’s Lois Lane. The Death of Superman ends by laying the groundwork for the follow-up, Reign of The Superman, which is incredibly frustrating as that only launches in 2019 and when this ended I wanted to see the sequel right away. Viewers take note, there are also end credit scenes for this movie so don’t switch it off as soon as the credits start to roll. The Death of Superman is a fantastic adaptation of the classic Death and Return of Superman storyline that I didn’t think we needed, but have now watched 3 times already. It’s also the best movie in the New 52 Universe series of adaptations and has left me with an enthusiastic desire to what other adaptations WB and DC have in-store for these characters in the future.

Not to be outdone by the big guns firing off their blockbuster shells, the television landscape brought their own artillery to the show at SDCC. Superheroes and the supernatural, martial arts and drama, the CW brought the latest news and trailers for their most popular recurring shows to the event, and graced us with new stories, suits, adversaries and time travelling shenanigans for you to enjoy over the coming months. From Supergirl exploring the classic Red Son Superman storyline, to Oliver Queen behind bars, from the Legends chilling at Woodstock and Constantine joining the show, to The Flash's awesome costume ring while the Winchesters hit their 14th season. You can check out all the latest CW trailers below:

Now that DC's standalone Joker movie has Joaquin Phoenix attached to it to play the Clown Prince of Crime, it's full steam ahead for the production. WB has announced that the movies release date has been set for the 4th of October 2019 and that the previously untitled movie would simply be called Joker. Production on the title will begin in September, sporting a budget of $55 million. Joker will be an origin story for the iconic DC villain and WB indicated that it would be dark in tone, which is only fitting for the character, though not doing anything to differentiate itself from the rest of the DC movie universe's tone thus far; though not been linked to the current DC movie universe gives it plenty of freeway to play around with. The movies plot is still been kept under wraps, leaving fans wide open to speculate which origin the filmmakers will use.