Whether NBC will continue Constantine beyond its initial 13 episodes hasn’t been decided. Matt Ryan plays John Constantine. Quantrell Colbert/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Hayley Atwell goes undercover as a blonde in Marvel’s Agent Carter, airing Jan. 6-Feb. 24 on ABC. ABC/Eric McCandless
Hayley Atwell’s Agent Carter character has appeared in flashback in a number of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episodes, like this one, “The Things We Bury.” ABC/Kelsey McNeal
By Andrew A. Smith
Tribune Content Agency
Jan. 1, 2015 -- The biggest story about comics in 2014 wasn’t in comic books, or even in comic shops. It was on TV.
Three new shows based on comics debuted this past fall, joining three already on the screen. If you count Marvel’s Agent Carter – which will run for eight episodes during the Marvels Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. midwinter break – that’s seven comics-related shows, mostly doing pretty well.
The weak sister of the bunch is Constantine, based on the long-running con man-cum-wizard from DC Comics. NBC had to make a call on whether the show would continue based on very little ratings information, due to its late October premiere. Worse, the network was seen publicly mulling the smart-mouthed Englishman’s future.
In support, Constantine Executive Producer Daniel Cerone took to Twitter Sept. 24 urging fans to rally for the show.
“To support #Constantine, use #SaveConstantine, tweet to @NBCConstantine, and make comments on http://www.facebook.com/Constantine . NBC is listening!” read one tweet.
“#Constantine is not canceled,” read another. “We're here to kick ass and smoke silk cuts and we're all outta silk cuts. You watch, we live.”
Silk Cuts, it should be noted, is the brand of cigarettes the chain-smoking Constantine prefers in the comics. It’s actually an important part of his characterization, as it indicates his cynical lack of concern for his own health or the health of those around him. While the networks frown on characters smoking, the show has managed to imply Constantine’s habit by opening scenes with cigarettes burning in ash trays, or Constantine stubbing one out. Scenes often cut away as Constantine starts to light up, as well.
Anyway, ratings were on the uptick for Constantine as it aired the midseason finale Dec. 12, which was the first of a two-parter that left the fast-talking Brit (played by Matt Ryan) gutshot in a Mexican sewer. His solution to this dilemma, as the previews indicate, is not going to be pretty.
But the show’s future might be. NBC has promised the show will return Jan. 16 for the remaining five episodes at a new time – 7 p.m. CST Fridays instead of 9 p.m. Most analysts see the new time slot as an indication of network confidence, but as always, figuring out network executives is like reading tea leaves.
On the opposite end of the scale is Gotham, whose success is indisputable. It’s Fox’s No. 1 show, according to vulture.com, a top 10 hit and the only scripted series at Fox to average over 10 million viewers.
The midseason finale Nov. 24 could have been titled “The Fall of James Gordon,” as our intrepid detective (Ben McKenzie) has annoyed sufficient people in high places (he tried to arrest the mayor once) to be transferred to Arkham Asylum. You don’t have to be an expert in Bat-trivia to know that Arkham is no place for a decent person to be.
However, there will be one, if new character Dr. Leslie Thompkins (Morena Baccarin) is anything like she is in the comics. One of Batman’s confidantes and something of a maternal figure, Thompkins runs a free medical clinic in Gotham’s slums in the comics, and has patched up the Dark Knight more than once (and off the books). The comics never gave Thompkins much of a back story, so her development on the show at Arkham – beginning when the show returns Jan. 6 – should be a treat for Bat-fans.
The third new show is The Flash, and while not boasting Gotham numbers, its ratings have been solid, and grew in the last two episodes before the midseason finale Dec. 9. And that show left us a lot to ponder before Flash returns Jan. 20.
For example, Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) has seen the man who killed his mother, “The Man in the Yellow Suit” of the episode title, that Cisco (Carlos Valdes) has dubbed “Reverse Flash.” That character, sometimes called Prof. Zoom, has had two different back stories in the comics. But two things have been constant: Reverse Flash has the same powers as Flash (with the colors reversed on his uniform), and he is a time traveler.
And both are possible on the show, which has been gradually working up to Flash’s time-travel device in the comics, the Cosmic Treadmill. That means time travel, one of the hallmarks of Reverse Flash, is now on the table.
The first Reverse Flash in the comics was named Eobard Thawne; it hasn’t escaped anyone’s notice that Barry’s rival for Iris West’s attention is named Eddie Thawne (Rick Cosnett). Is Eobard a descendent? Or Eddie himself after a trip to the future?
The other Reverse Flash from the comics was a scientist in a wheelchair named Hunter Zolomon. We have a scientist in a wheelchair, Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh), who has a hidden agenda – and the yellow suit in a hidey-hole. Is Wells from the future? Is Reverse Flash Wells from the past? Uh oh: Time paradox headache coming on.
Also, in the comics a number of Flash’s early foes – his “rogue’s gallery” – teamed up as The Rogues to defeat the Scarlet Speedster. Among their number is Captain Cold and Heat Wave, and we saw the former recruit the latter Dec. 9 for a team-up that will air Jan 20. Another Rogue is The Trickster, scheduled for an appearance March 10, who will be played, according to Hitfix.com, by once-and-future Jedi warrior Mark Hamill.
Now, here’s the weird part: This will make the second time Hamill has essayed the role; he already played James “Trickster” Jesse on the short-lived Flash series of 1990. The actor who played Barry Allen on that show was John Wesley Shipp, who is now playing Barry Allen’s father on the current show. And appearing on the midwinter finale was Dr. Tina McGee, played by Amanda Pays, who played a Dr. Tina McGee in the original Flash 24 years ago. The characters played by Shipp and Pays were an item on the 1990 show, so if she hooks up with Shipp’s character again, she will have dated both father and son, both played by the same actor, although no one on the show will know it. Owwww! Brain hurts again!
Another new show of sorts is Agent Carter, which will air Jan. 6-Feb. 24 in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. time slot. Those who watched the first Captain America movie will remember Carter as a no-nonsense intelligence agent who was sort-of Cap’s girlfriend. (They never got around to actually dating. There was a war on!) Played by Hayley Atwell, a statuesque beauty born to wear 1940s fashions, Carter returned in a short film on Iron Man 3 and for a few cameos on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Marvel’s Agent Carter takes place in 1946, with the Strategic Service Reserve agent (the Marvel version of the Office of Strategic Services) tasked with tracking down weapons of mass destruction stolen from Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) before they’re used, and he’s held accountable. We know Carter and Stark will found S.H.I.E.L.D. in this time frame, so perhaps this is the vehicle to explain how.
Meanwhile, S.H.I.E.L.D. will return March 3, and pick up where it left off Dec. 9, with characters on both sides of the S.H.I.E.L.D./Hydra divide now transformed into super-powered Inhumans.
The remaining two comics-to-TV shows are Arrow and The Walking Dead, in their third and fifth seasons respectively. Both ended their 2014 runs with the death of a major character, but only one will stick.
On Arrow, Oliver Queen himself was stabbed with a sword by Ra’s al Ghul and thrown off a mountain. Since the show is named for him, I suspect he’s not quite dead and will be nursed back to health (possibly by his dead girlfriend’s ex-girlfriend and Ra’s daughter, Nyssa al Ghul). Or perhaps he is dead, but will be revived by the mysterious Lazarus Pits, which can do that sort of thing. And do you know who has these Lazarus Pits? Why, Ra’s al Ghul, of course. His daughter would certainly know where they are.
In the meantime, though, expect the other characters to get a lot more screen time, at least until Ollie gets resuscitated. The first episode will focus on Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy) who will – to absolutely no one’s surprise – take on the mantle of her dead sister as the Black Canary Jan. 21.
Meanwhile, Walking Dead continues with boffo ratings, which will likely continue despite the death Nov. 30 of a long-running character. Walking Dead is averaging 19 million viewers per episode, with 13 million of them in the much-desired Adults Under 50 demographic. The show returns Feb. 8, and if the ratings get any better, Walking Dead might be the big story of 2015, too!
Reach Captain Comics by email (capncomics@aol.com), the Internet (comicsroundtable.com), Facebook (Captain Comics Round Table) or Twitter (@CaptainComics).
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