Superhero Bits: Ms. Marvel Sets A Big MCU Record, A Wild Fantastic Four Rumor & 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:

• "Ms. Marvel" now has a very impressive record in the MCU.

• A wild rumor regarding the "Fantastic Four" reboot is making the rounds.

• DC's "Batgirl" movie may be heading to theaters after all.

• New gameplay from the "Multiversus" video game.

• All that and more!

Spider-Man is gearing up to celebrate his 60th birthday next month as the publication of his first appearance in "Amazing Fantasy" #15 originally hit stands on August 10, 1962. To help commemorate the occasion, Marvel has teamed up with the folks at Kith for some apparel, as well as a custom comic book. Fans can glimpse the comic above and, those who live in or will be near Queens, New York can visit a pop-up on Friday. Surely, the collection will also be made available online at some point as well. The collection can be previewed by clicking here.

Marvel has released a unique new promo for "Thor: Love and Thunder" just ahead of its second weekend in theaters. It features director Taika Waititi along with members of the cast providing softly spoken, calming words of affirmation to fans out there. As anyone might expect, there is a little something more going on here and there is a special guest that arrives in the video to make it special but I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise.

Warner Bros. has unveiled a brand new trailer for the upcoming video game "MultiVersus," which is not unlike "Super Smash Bros.," but using the studio's many franchises and characters to fill out the roster. That means, lots of DC heroes and villains such as Batman, Superman, and Harley Quinn, duking it out alongside everyone from Bugs Bunny to Steven Universe. While the game doesn't have a full release date yet, it is set for early access beginning next week, with the full open beta going live on July 26. Be sure to check out the full trailer for yourself above. The game will be available for the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC, with crossplay enabled.

It had previously looked like the "Batgirl" movie was going to be arriving later this year as an HBO Max exclusive. But not so fast! As was noticed by Batgirl Film News, a new Warner Bros. UK theatrical schedule lists the film for a theatrical release in 2023. Now, it is important to note that the studio may not be doing this in North America and it still could be an HBO Max exclusive domestically. That said, with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav axing the "Wonder Twins" movie because it was too expensive for streaming, it would make every bit of sense to pivot to theatrical for a movie that also includes Michael Keaton's Batman, not to mention the introduction of Barbara Gordon as a beloved superhero within the DCEU. Something to pay attention to, certainly.

With the conclusion of "Ms. Marvel" season 1 on Disney+, the MCU has crossed a pretty major milestone. As noted above by IGN, the MCU has now crossed 100 hours of total viewing between the films through Phase 4 at this point, as well as the shows on Disney+. That's 29 movies and seven Disney+ shows in total. It's worth pointing out that this doesn't seem to account for "Agents of S.H.I.E.LD." which is at least loosely tied to the MCU, though not as directly as the Disney+ shows. In any event, that's a heck of a lot of programming in 14 years and the franchise is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down any time soon.

Joe and Anthony Russo, aka the Russo brothers, are the latest to participate in Wired's Autocomplete Interview series. The directing duo is best known for helming "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Endgame," as well as "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and "Civil War." So, as anyone might imagine, there is an awful lot of Marvel conversation in the video. They discuss the strongest Avenger, why they killed Loki, and much more. You can check out the full interview for yourself above.

Whether or not "Ms. Marvel" season 2 is going to happen remains to be seen but, if the show goes no further, it can claim one very impressive record when it comes to the MCU. As noted above, the show's first season has a near-perfect 98% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. That makes it the highest-rated project in the MCU to date on the site, sitting above "Black Panther" (96%). That is, to say the very least of it, impressive. It should be noted that this is the critical approval rating and not the audience score which, for the record, sits at 81% for this series. On that front, "Spider-Man: No Way Home" and "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" sit at a stellar 98% audience score. Still, "Ms. Marvel" has a lot of fans out there and we certainly haven't seen the last of Kamala Khan.

What's the time? It's rumor time! And man oh man, this is a big one today, folks. I don't just mean big in terms of the news itself, but also in terms of the grain of salt we're going to have to take it with. That said, the rumor is so wild that it certainly warrants some discussion. But this is far from confirmed and rumor is the key word here, so understand that going in. That said, the folks at ComicBookMovie.com note that Steven Spielberg ("Jurassic Park"), one of the greatest directors of all time, is rumored to be connected to the "Fantastic Four" reboot.

Several have reported on the rumor and this site states that its own sources have confirmed that Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has indeed talked to Spielberg. Jon Watts ("Spider-Man: No Way Home") departed the project recently and, as we reported, Marvel Studios is apparently aiming high when it comes to his replacement. Spielberg would be about as high as it gets. Does this seem likely? No, not really but it certainly would be wild.

Lastly, with "Ms. Marvel" season 1 in the books, Marvel has decided to share some original artwork that was cooked up for the series, with an individual piece inspired by each of the show's first five episodes. Above, we can see the piece cooked up for the first episode by Neha Kapli. Below, we have shared the other four pieces of artwork that Marvel threaded on Twitter, showcasing Iman Vellani's Kamala Khan in a variety of unique art styles.

Relive the first five episodes of #MsMarvel with a gallery of inspired-by artwork from these amazing South Asian artists before streaming the EPIC finale, now streaming on @DisneyPlus.

🎨: @manal_mirza_ pic.twitter.com/IIG5riLgfl

— Ms. Marvel – No Spoilers ⚡ (@msmarvel) July 14, 2022

Relive the first five episodes of #MsMarvel with a gallery of inspired-by artwork from these amazing South Asian artists before streaming the EPIC finale, now streaming on @DisneyPlus.

🎨: @colorsofhoney pic.twitter.com/MEeKSFB8sV

— Ms. Marvel – No Spoilers ⚡ (@msmarvel) July 14, 2022

Relive the first five episodes of #MsMarvel with a gallery of inspired-by artwork from these amazing South Asian artists before streaming the EPIC finale, now streaming on @DisneyPlus.

🎨: Vik Kainth pic.twitter.com/40oD2Xw8dV

— Ms. Marvel – No Spoilers ⚡ (@msmarvel) July 14, 2022

Tweet 5
Relive the first five episodes of #MsMarvel with a gallery of inspired-by artwork from these amazing South Asian artists before streaming the EPIC finale, now streaming on @DisneyPlus.

🎨: @Inkquisitive pic.twitter.com/iYKULGBOlb

— Ms. Marvel – No Spoilers ⚡ (@msmarvel) July 14, 2022