Superhero Bits: A New Black Adam TV Spot, Why New Line Didn't Make An Iron Man Movie & More

(Superhero Bits is a collection of stories, updates, and videos about anything and everything inspired by the comics of Marvel, DC, and more. For comic book movies, TV shows, merchandise, events, and whatever catches our eye, this is the place to find anything that falls through the cracks.)

In this edition of Superhero Bits:

• A new "Black Adam" preview arrives.

• New Line could have made an "Iron Man" movie.

• The "Constantine" and "Madame X" shows are looking for a new home.

• "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" may not be released in France.

• All that and more!

Marvel Comics is getting in on the Halloween spirit this year with a new anthology comic, "Crypt of Shadows" #1. The book is set to feature tales from the spookiest characters in the Marvel universe, including Morbius, Werewolf by Night, Moon Knight, Elsa Bloodstone, Man-Thing, and Victor Strange, among others. The lineup of talent that contributed to the book is impressive as well, as it includes Al Ewing, Ramon Bachs, Chris Cooper, Ibrahim Moustafa, Danny Lore, Karen S. Darboe, Chris Condon, Fran Galan, Rebecca Roanhorse, Geoff Shaw, and Adam Warren. Look for the book on shelves on October 19 and check out the full preview above.

Khary Payton has been voicing Cyborg for two decades in shows like "Teen Titans Go!" But could we see the actor make the jump to live-action? That's certainly something he would be interested in. In the above interview with The Movie Dweeb, the actor was asked which of his characters he would like to bring to life and said, "Cyborg" before adding, "He's going to be an older Cyborg, but Cyborg," Payton said. Speaking further, the actor explained that he feels very grateful to have played the part for all these years saying, "I feel so lucky man. When I was a kid growing up, I read Cyborg in the comics ... and then to audition and get that part ... after twenty years, there's so much of me in the character." Maybe, just maybe, somewhere in the DC multiverse, Payton's Cyborg exists.

The folks at Sentinel are now taking pre-orders for the upcoming Spider-Gwen and Spider-Ham figures inspired by "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse." The good news is that you won't have to make multiple purchases here since the figures come together in a nice, neat little package, priced at $119, give or take, depending on the retailer. Pre-order links can be found at ToyArk.

2008's "Iron Man" is the movie that launched the most successful franchise in history, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But, in a slightly alternate universe, it was New Line Cinema who would have/could have brought Tony Stark to the screen. So why didn't the studio press forward with the project? Well, in a recent piece from The Hollywood Reporter detailing Warner Bros.' search for a new head of DC, a miraculously silly reason was provided. "Bob Shaye, the New Line chief at the time, let the option lapse, arguing that it didn't make sense because Iron Man was too heavy to fly," THR states. What can even be said about that? I will not wax poetic about the lack of imagination that it takes to wander down that line of reasoning, but it's impressive. All things considered, it probably worked out for the best that New Line let the rights revert back to Marvel.

Dave Callaham is a very accomplished screenwriter who has spent some time working on some big franchises, including films from both Marvel and DC. But how do those experiences compare? In a recent chat with Austin Film Festival's On Story, Callaham compared writing "Wonder Woman 1984" to "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings." The difference? In short, it comes down to ownership over the project.

"Wonder Woman [1984] was never mine and it never will be mine ... And none of these things are mine. But it was never my story to tell. I was just helping Patty out. Shang-Chi ... it's not mine, but I do feel a sense of — ownership's not the right word, but I'm very connected to that movie because of what it is, and what it represents for me, and what it represents for my family members, and what it represents for the culture."

So, from what he's saying, it sounds like Callaham was more of a gun for hire on "WW84" and actually had more of a say in what was going on with "Shang-Chi." Not to get into a whole thing here, but I think it seems fair to say that, based on his comments, Callaham probably isn't to blame for "Wonder Woman 1984" and that movie's shortcomings compared to its predecessor.

In an interesting turn of events, it seems that "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" may not be released in France. The reason? As noted by the folks at The Direct above, all has to do with a law on the books in the country that relates to streaming. France requires all theatrically released movies to wait between 15-17 months before being made available on a subscription streaming service. That being the case, it would get in the way of a Disney+ release in the country, which is valuable to Disney. We'll see if the two sides can come to an agreement, but this could be unfortunate for the movie's box office prospects and MCU fans who happen to live in France.

Last week brought the pretty surprising news that "Constantine 2" starring Keanu Reeves is indeed happening at Warner Bros. But, as a result, the shows set in the "Justice League Dark" universe that J.J. Abrams had been developing for HBO Max have been scrapped at the streaming service. However, as Deadline reports, Abrams and Co. will be shopping the "Constantine" and "Madame X" shows around, hoping to find a new home for both. The indication is that other suitors will not be hard to find. So the shows aren't dead, they just won't live on HBO Max anymore.

Lastly, Warner Bros. has released a brand new TV spot for "Black Adam," signaling that the film is, indeed, finally almost here. This one has been in the works for many, many years, but once the TV spots start coming, it's only a matter of time — in this case, only about a month until Dwayne Johnson alters the hierarchy of power in the DC universe on October 21. To go along with the new spot, The Rock also shared a brand new poster for the film which, fittingly, sees him sitting on a throne, promising that the age of heroes is over. You can check out the 30-second spot above and the new poster below.

THE TIME OF HEROES IS OVER

In one month

The new era of the DC Universe begins #ManInBlack#JSA #ThroneEnergy #BlackAdam
Only in theaters OCT 21st 🌍 pic.twitter.com/kBNqJhdksu

— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) September 20, 2022