Comics
[TV Review] “The Flash” Episode 1.18, ‘All Star Team Up’
By Brady Steele / Twitter: @mrbradysteele. The Flash‘s ‘All Star Team Up’ is one that doesn’t quite live up to its moniker. On the one hand, it is very cool to see The Atom / Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh) and The Flash / Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) together in one adventure. However, on the other hand, it feels like a fill-in episode before something big and cool is about to happen.
This week felt like a done-in-one issue kind of chapter. Normally, I love those when it comes to comic books. It takes some serious writing skills to put it an entire story with a beginning, middle and end into one issue or one episode. Like the comics they are getting inspiration for this show for, this feels like padding before the next big arc starts up.
Ray and his girlfriend / superhero whisperer Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards) literally fly into town so Barry and his S.T.A.R. Labs friends Cisco (Carlos Valdes) and Caitlin(Danielle Panabaker) can help improve his Advanced Technology Operating Mechanism = A.T.O.M. I initially really liked the idea of introducing The Atom into this DC Comics Television Universe. I really did. But now that I’ve seen it in action a few times, I’m pretty underwhelmed so far. I do like the nod to include one of the Mighty Mite’s rogue gallery with the Bug Eyed Bandit (Emily Kinney). What I don’t like is the wannabe Iron Man flying around who can’t get his suit wet or take a shot from an arrow. So far, it’s a pretty fragile battle armor. There is still hope that they will get The Atom after this week…fingers crossed.
The other big dilemma this time out is who can Barry trust? The conspiracy on Dr. Harrison Wells / Reverse-Flash (Tom Cavanagh) continues to grow and The Flash has to decide who else he can bring into his circle. Again, there seems to be only one person staying left out of The Flash loop: Iris (Candice Patton). Keeping her safe and in the dark makes her kind of the dunce of the characters on this show which is a shame. There are some cool moments with the suit and what those geniuses built into it in case of emergency. It’s a trickBarry tries out himself later on in the show which was also cool to see super speed in action. It was fun to see geek bonding between Cisco and Ray over which I’ve no doubt they will play up when the next team up occurs.
This fill-in episode was serviceable but not up to the high standards of previous ones. Once the showrunners get back on track, I believe the finish line of Season 1 will be great one. This was a good lighter chapter for one week, but not every week.
SCORE: 7 / 10 BOLTS
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Mr. Steele enjoys all things comics and imagination-based. Using his lifetime of comic-fu-dom for good, he imparts his knowledge for the universe to enjoy and for you, dear readers, to pass it on.
The supernatural world of Korean folk horror movie Exhuma grows larger with the arrival of prequel spinoff webtoon Maengjong this weekend, Variety reports today.
Naver Webtoon debuts Maengjong on May 30.
The series hails from Haemuri (Olgami) and will trace the high school origins of how shaman duo Hwarim and Bonggil, played by Kim Go-eun and Lee Do-hyun in the 2024 film, came together to face occultish threats.
The story is set to begin when “Hwarim, who has been concealing her identity following a childhood encounter with a snake spirit called Jin, crosses paths with Bonggil at their school.”
Variety notes that Exhuma director Jang Jae-hyun participated in the project’s early concept stage.
“We are presenting ‘Maengjong,’ a new series capturing the appeal of the horror-occult genre, ahead of the full summer season,” said Lee Jeong-geun, Naver Webtoon’s Korea webtoon content leader. “With the high school story of Hwarim and Bonggil, who left a strong impression in the film ‘Exhuma,’ enhanced by Haemuri’s characteristic tense direction, we expect it will be a welcome work for genre fans.”
“It is meaningful that the spin-off story of ‘Exhuma,’ loved by many audiences, expands by meeting the new grammar of webtoon,” said Lee Hyeon-jeong, managing director of the film business division at Showbox, which distributed the film. “We hope it will be a fresh experience for both film fans and webtoon readers.”
Exhuma was a breakout hit in 2024, becoming the first Korean occult film to surpass 10 million ticket buyers and the country’s highest-grossing film of the year. I wrote in my review that “the intricately woven Exhuma delivers one of the year’s biggest surprises in horror so far.”
The bond between Hwarim and Bonggil was one of the film’s highlights, making this prequel webtoon a must for fans.
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