Superhero Bits: Chris Hemsworth May Be Done With Thor, Marvel And DC Tribute Tim Sale & 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:

• "Thor: Love and Thunder" may be Chris Hemsworth's MCU goodbye.

• Sam Jackson updates on "Secret Invasion" and "The Marvels."

• "Doctor Strange 2" passes a big box office milestone.

• A piece of "Batman" history sold for a record at auction.

• All that and more!

As reported by the folks at Bleeding Cool, the cover art for "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" #1, one of the most important comic books in history, has sold for $2.4 million at auction. Heritage Auctions recently sold the piece, which was used to introduce Frank Miller's seminal 1986 DC Comics miniseries to the world. The book remains Batman's defining moment and, for many, one of the greatest stories ever told using the medium of comics. This now stands as a record for a piece of "Batman" artwork, as well as any piece of Miller's artwork.

Recently, the folks at the official Marvel HQ YouTube channel sporadically uploaded several episodes of the animated series "Avengers Assemble" to stream for free. The episodes aren't in sequence but selections such as "Under the Spell of the Enchantress" (above) are there to stream at your leisure should you so choose. You can check out all of the episodes currently available by clicking here.

Sony Pictures is continuing to do what it can to make "Morbius" look like less of a disappointment than it actually was. Sure, it topped its first weekend at the box office but between the critical blasting it took and the steep drop-off in the weeks to come, it didn't quite pan out. As we can see, the studio is now boasting that Jared Leto's superhero flick is currently the number one movie on Prime Video. This is a more modest boast than we're accustomed to seeing in movie marking but, at this point, what choice does Sony have? They can't release it in theaters a third time, even if lots of people are asking them to do exactly that.

Grant Morrison, one of the greatest comic book creators living today, has revealed that he pitched not one but two different movies to Marvel Studios some years ago. In an interview with Rolling Stone, the writer explained that, long before Kevin Feige took over, he pitched a "Doctor Strange" and a "Moon Knight" movie to no avail.

"Way back at the start, before even [current president] Kevin Feige was involved — I knew those guys back then — and I pitched Dr. Strange, and I pitched them Moon Knight," Morrison revealed. "But they just never took us seriously because we were comic-book guys. It was just always, 'we need to get our own people to do this.' They've got the formula now, and it really works well, but back then, it was very much, 'Hollywood people should be doing this stuff, not you freaky comic guys.' But you know, that never stopped them from stealing our stuff [laughs]. They're quite happy to put their hands in our pockets for whatever they needed to! I had a great Doctor Strange pitch, but obviously, they went their own way."

Those characters may be off the board, but perhaps Feige would be willing to hear Morrison out now on another pitch?

Marvel Studios has revealed when exactly the world premiere of "Thor: Love and Thunder" will be taking place, with a red carpet event scheduled for Thursday, June 23. Marvel typically streams the red carpet events so fans who wish to see the stars ahead of the film's debut can tune in. Beyond that, we can expect initial reactions to the MCU's latest at that time. Hopes are high for this one given that Natalie Portman's Jane Foster is finally returning to the fold, not to mention that Taika Waititi is back in the director's chair following the much-beloved "Ragnarok." Mark your calendars.

Samuel L, Jackson seems to be continually entertained by playing Nick Fury in the MCU well over a decade into his tenure. Speaking with Jimmy Kimmel recently, the actor explained that he's still got some filming to do on both "The Marvels," the sequel to "Captain Marvel," as well as the "Secret Invasion" TV show in the works for Disney+. "I'm not done. I am on my way back to London at some point in August. But I got to go back and do stuff for The Marvels and then I got to do stuff for Secret Invasion," Jackson revealed to Kimmel. What lies beyond those appearances for Nick Fury? Who knows but Jackson isn't done yet.

In news that sounds familiar, Marvel has a hit on its hands as "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" has officially crossed the $400 million mark at the domestic box office, per Deadline. It now stands at $416 million ahead of the weekend, with $935.3 million to its name worldwide. It is the 10th MCU film to cross this milestone and one of the highest-grossing movies of the pandemic era. It may not reach $1 billion but it's a heck of a result for a movie about a character few people were familiar with until 2016.

Chris Hemsworth has been playing Thor in the MCU for a very long time, with "Thor: Love and Thunder" serving as his fourth solo film. Now, in the above Autocomplete Interview for Wired, the actor explained that this may well be his last time playing the character, though he's not so sure yet.

"The last [Marvel movie] I shot was 'Thor: Love and Thunder' and it might be my last Marvel movie, I don't know. It was a wild and fun and wacky experience, as all Taika Waititi movies are. Played that character for 10, 11 years now, and each time it's been new and exciting, and this was no exception to that. It felt very fresh and it felt like we were trying something we hadn't tried before."

If this is indeed going to be Hemsworth's last ride, let's hope it's a satisfying one. If nothing else, we know it will be dipping its toes into uncharted territory for the MCU.

Lastly, the comic book world was dealt a crushing blow yesterday when it was revealed that legendary artist Tim Sale ("Batman: The Long Halloween," "Spider-Man: Blue") had passed away at the age of 66. Both Marvel and DC have since posted tributes to the man known best for his collaborations with writer Jeph Loeb. Marvel highlighted some of his best-known work (above), including the "Colors" series centering on characters such as Daredevil and Hulk. DC, also taking to Twitter, shared the following message:

"Tim Sale was an incredible artist, whose take on iconic characters had real human depth, and his groundbreaking page designs changed the way an entire generation thinks about comic book storytelling. Our condolences go to Tim's family and friends. He will be deeply missed."

RIP, Tim Sale. You will indeed be greatly missed.

Tim Sale was an incredible artist, whose take on iconic characters had real human depth, and his groundbreaking page designs changed the way an entire generation thinks about comic book storytelling. Our condolences go to Tim’s family and friends. He will be deeply missed. pic.twitter.com/VgXxu7O0V4

— DC (@DCComics) June 16, 2022