Comic Strip: Marvel Crossovers, a New X-Perience, and Some Cajun Flavor

ScreenCrush’s Comic Strip is a weekly roundup of the hottest superhero movie/TV news items. From Marvel to DC and points in between, if it pertains to costumed comic book heroes, we’re covering it here, bringing you our expert analysis. This week, the 'Spider-Man' producers shoot down the potential of a crossover, Zack Snyder explains why Batman just has to fight Superman on the big screen, and Channing Tatum may take on a certain Cajun mutant superhero.

Spider-Man Is Never Joining the Avengers

When the news broke that the end credits of 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' would feature a scene from 'X-Men: Days of Future Past,' a wave of optimism rolled over the internet. Was this a sign that the studios had realized that people would love to see these heroes cross over? Was this the first step in a massive secret plan to combine the X-Men and Spider-Man movies into one cohesive universe? Was this a sign that (through all kinds of backdoor wheeling and dealing) Spidey could actually end up with the Avengers?

No.

Once everyone understood that this was essentially a paid advertisement and nothing else, the producers of the Spider-Man franchise decided to go ahead and rub salt in the wound. In an interview, Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach said that a crossover will never happen because Spidey's world is big enough to support his own series and that they'd only do it when they "run out of ideas." Look, we get it. Sony likes their highly profitable Spider-Man franchise and they don't see a need to play well with others. Still, we're allowed to be disappointed when the outside shot of seeing all of our favorite heroes interacting gets officially shot down.

While that's not the best news, we do have new looks at 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2,' in the form of that clip from the MTV Movie Awards and a more in-depth dive into Electro's transformation.

Also worth noting for all you gamers, PS3 debuted its new 500GB console with 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' bundle. Retailing for $269, the pack includes the following:

• PlayStation 3 System 500GB
• The Amazing Spider-Man 2 PS3 Game
• The Amazing Spider-Man movie on VUDU
• DUALSHOCK 3 wireless controller
• AC Power Cord
• AV Cable
• USB Cable

You can purchase the console over at Walmart.

'Arrow' Welcomes a Few New DC Characters

One of the most remarkable things about The CW's 'Arrow' is how it's stopped being a show purely about the Green Arrow and started being a show about a very specific slice of the DC Comics universe occupied by various B-list heroes and villains. The latest villain has been hiding in plain sight -- Summer Glau's apparently deceased Isabel Rochev will soon be resurrected as Ravager, the partner to the deadly assassin Deathstroke. Sure, this take on Ravager looks to be wildly different than the comic book counterpart, but the geek-friendly Glau is perfect for the part. 'Firefly' and 'Terminator' and 'Arrow'? She's got this thing down.

Meanwhile, the show continues to plant the seeds for the upcoming 'Flash' spinoff, introducing Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) and Cisco Ramon (Edward Valdes), characters who more commonly go by the names Killer Frost and Vibe (you can see them in the video below starting around 3:14). Between this and the upcoming 'Gotham' and 'Constantine,' the DC universe is truly thriving on the small screen.

Will the X-Men Bring Channing Tatum Into the Mutant Fold?

It was a big week for 'X-Men' movie news. First, there was the latest (and final) trailer, which finally sells 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' as a true blockbuster event. Seriously, after the awful posters and stodgy initial trailers, it's nice that this thing is finally looking like a good time at the movies:

And then there was the first clip released from the film, which features the grizzled mutants of the post-apocalyptic future doing battle with the deadly Sentinels. Once again: it gives us warm fuzzies to see this movie finally showing its real scope:

And look! Here are two featurettes about the costumes of the film, with one concentrating entirely on Magneto's iconic helmet:

Elsewhere, the cast of 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' are ready to hit the round! Well, some of the cast. Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender announced a world-wide tour, called The X-Men X-Perience, which will set these stars up in locations across the globe following the New York premiere of 'X-Men: Days of Future Past.' Other actors making the rounds will be Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Jennifer Lawrence, Omar Sy, Fan Bingbing, Peter Dinklage, Nicholas Hoult and Ellen Page. Check out the announcement video below:

And that brings up to the biggest 'X-Men' news of the week. After months of rumors, Channing Tatum has come out and confirmed that he's taken a few meetings about taking on the character of Gambit. Here's what he had to say:

I met with Lauren Shuler-Donner. And I would love it. Gambit is really the only X-Man I’ve ever loved… I don’t know. I just related to him. I hope it [comes together]. You never know it’s a weird industry. If the stars align, I would die to play it. I’m already working on the accent. It’s crappy at the moment

Tatum isn't the first guy we think about when we fantasy cast the card-slinging mutant antihero, but there are few guys more charming and fun to watch onscreen. The fact that he's a bonafide movie star makes us wonder if he'd really consider joining an ensemble like this, but you'll hear no complaints from us. After all, they cast a more "traditional" Gambit with Taylor Kitsch in 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' and we know how that fiasco turned out. Bring on the Tatum!

Why Batman and Superman Just Had to Throw Down

Superman and Batman clashed countless times in the pages of DC Comics, so the existence of 'Batman vs. Superman' (still an unofficial title) isn't a surprise. However, the story of how director Zack Snyder and his team decided to bring the Caped Crusader into the 'Man of Steel' sequel has a certain amount of charm:

After Man of Steel finished and we started talking about what would be in the next movie, I started subtly mentioning that it would be cool if he faced Batman. In the first meeting, it was like, “Maybe Batman?” Maybe at the end of the second movie, some Kryptonite gets delivered to Bruce Wayne’s house or something. Like in a cryptic way, that’s the first time we see him. But then, once you say it out loud, right? You’re in a story meeting talking about, like, who should [Superman] fight if he fought this giant alien threat Zod who was basically his equal physically, from his planet, fighting on our turf…  You know, who to fight next? The problem is, once you say it out loud, then it’s kind of hard to go back, right? Once you say, “What about Batman?” then you realize, “Okay, that’s a cool idea. What else?” I mean, what do you say after that?

We like to picture Snyder and his collaborators sitting around a table, desperately trying to throw out new ideas but always circling back to Batman. That's the Batman way -- once you bring him up, he's just too cool to treat lightly. Can you blame them for being excited about bringing him back to the big screen? There are few things geekier than these two titans battling each other in the streets of Gotham/Metropolis. We certainly couldn't resist.

In the same interview, Snyder also confirms that the new Batman and Wonder Woman costumes exist and that he can't wait to share images with us. What's the hold up? Put Ben Affleck in that outfit and let us take a peek!

'Agent Carter' and 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' Bring More Strong Women Into the MCU

Now that 'How I Met Your Mother' is over, can the delightful Cobie Smulders join the cast of 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' full time? Maria Hill is one of the best non-superpowered characters in the Marvel comic universe, and she didn't have much to do in 'The Avengers' and 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier.' [SPOILER] We don't care about that shot of her trying to get a job at Stark Industries after the events of 'Captain America 2' -- team her up with Coulson's team!

Anyway, Smulders is set to return to the show in a special guest appearance and some new looks at her episode arrived online. And -- drumroll, please -- she looks like Cobie Smulders! Which isn't a bad thing! C'mon ... who can say no to one of the most badass Marvel ladies of all time?

Speaking of badass Marvel ladies, it's looking very likely that ABC is going to give the green light to 'Agent Carter,' a period espionage series starring Hayley Atwell's British spy/S.H.I.E.L.D. co-founder. Although Atwell's Peggy Carter is an elderly woman during the events of 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier,' we saw her kicking butt and taking names in 'Captain America: The First Avenger' and the excellent Marvel One-Shot 'Agent Carter.' That One-Shot short film doesn't just share a title with the potential series: it feels very much like a backdoor pilot, taking a fascinating time and place (America in the 1940s!) and filling it with spies and superheroes.

Anyway, the current scuttlebutt suggests that 'Agent Carter' will air a 13-episode season after 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' has completed its first season and before the season 2 premiere. We don't know if it will be an ongoing series or a limited series, but we're on board with anything that gives Atwell another chance to return to this wonderful character.

And while we're here, the latest episode of 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' revealed a brief featurette about the upcoming 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and because we can't imagine any self-respecting comic fan turning down the chance to see more of this crazy movie, here it is!