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, take your first look at the new Daredevil, learn who the 'Justice League' may be battling, and gaze upon two of The Flash's most iconic villains.

'Daredevil' at NYCC

A lot of big comic book news came out of this year's New York Comic Con, but none was bigger than the first official look at Marvel's upcoming Netflix series, 'Daredevil.' Before we get into the nitty gritty, here is the official synopsis of the show, which makes it sound like everyone is sticking very closely to the comic book template:

‘Marvel’s Daredevil’ follows the journey of Matt Murdock, who was blinded as a young boy but imbued with extraordinary senses, now fighting against injustice by day as a lawyer, and by night as the super hero Daredevil in modern day Hell’s Kitchen, New York City.

And that brings us to the first images from the show, giving us our first look at Charlie Cox as the "Man Without Fear." The first pic shows Cox as Matt Murdock, blind lawyer. The second shows him as a nighttime vigilante who uses his super senses to fight crime.

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Before you ask, yes, it's been all-but-confirmed that the all-black costume is Matt's "test run" costume. We'll definitely see the classic red get-up as the series progresses.

The NYCC panel itself was full of other great information beyond a few early glimpses at Daredevil himself. We learned that Rosario Dawson will by playing the "Night Nurse," a classic Marvel character who caters to New York's vigilante set when they get injured. We also learned that the series will draw heavily from Brian Michael Bendis an Frank Miller's famous runs with the character, which sounds like a no brainer. Why not adapt the best of the best?

As for the footage that was screened, we were there:

The first clip begins heavily in darkness, as a nervous Karen Page enters her apartment, and retrieves a thumb drive hidden away. Out of the shadows, a man with a knife attacks her as rain beads down on the windows from outside, when who should enter, but Charlie Cox’s Daredevil! Mind you, he’s not wearing any official outfit at this point, but more of a Miller-inspired stealth outfit, resembling the one Murdock wore in the ‘Trial of the Incredible Hulk’ movie as well.

The fight feels particularly brutal, with close-quarters action and no CG radar senses augmenting anything, before Matt launches both out a window into the rain-soaked street below. Later on, Loeb would show the second half of the fight scene, which inserts a flashback to Matt’s past with his father, as the man urges his son to “get to work,” lest he end up like him. The fight sequence continues for several minutes in the rain, before Matt finally incapacitates the man with a chain around his neck. Matt takes the thumb drive and promises Karen he’ll get it to the right hands, though she pleads that not even the police can bet trusted.

Click HERE for more details from the panel. This production sure sounds like a promising one.

Marvel on the Horizon

While 'Daredevil' made its confident debut, the cinematic Marvel universe continued to do what it does best: expand. The latest rumor is one that should be taken with a huge grain of salt, but if it's true, it could be the superhero news of the year. According to the very reliable Drew McWeeny over at HitFix, Sony is considering making a deal with Marvel Studios that will allow Spider-Man to team up with the Avengers:

While I can’t get the confirmations I need to verify the story, I’m hearing that there are some very cool 'Spider-Man' plans being discussed that would help Sony refocus their enormously important franchise while also opening up some connections in the onscreen Marvel movie universe that would blow fandom’s minds… What seems clear from what I’ve heard is that Marvel wants to be able to play with all of their characters, and if they can make that work creatively and on a corporate level, they will, and that means the world gets bigger again.

It makes sense because 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' was a disaster on every level and Sony is no longer sure what it wants to do with the character. With their plan to make a quartet of Spidey films derailed, it would make sense for them to start lending the character out to people in exchange for a nice piece of the future profits. It still feels like a long shot, but the potential has never been higher.

As for what Marvel is actually planning for the future, we'll have to look to the company's next TV special, which will premiere in November. The last time they threw together a big television preview, wet got a first look at cool concept art for 'The Avengers: Age of Ultron.' Could they premiere a trailer this time around? We'll have to watch to find out and that's all part of their grand scheme.

Meanwhile, the most popular of the Avengers continued to play the media like a fiddle. When asked about the possibility of an 'Iron Man 4' by Ellen DeGeneres, Robert Downy Jr. did his lovable charmer thing and hinted that he was in "negotiations" for a Marvel project and couldn't say anything more.

Later, David Letterman asked him to clarify what's going on behind the scenes and Downey once again danced around the question:

However, his full quote has some actual meat on it. Even if there's no 'Iron Man 4,' it seems like he's definitely working on something with Marvel and it may not be 'Avengers 3':

There’s no plans for an 'Iron Man 4.' There’s no script for 'Iron Man 4,' but they do have a plan and I think they’re going to announce it…they’re very secretive about it.

I’m going to do other stuff with Marvel. I’m still going to be involved with Marvel and there’s gonna be plenty of fun stuff to happen.

Next, if you've ever wanted to pretend to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and interact with the Marvel universe as part of a massive touring playground of superhero goodness, make sure you check out The Marvel Experience when it starts touring next year. Bring your kids! Or bring your inner kid. Whatever makes you happy and makes you feel okay about attending such a thing.

Finally, 'Ant-Man' has cast Martin Donovan in an essential but unknown role. And that's all we know about that.

The 'Justice League' Villain and Other DC News

This week's DC movie news may not be as grand as Marvel's, but it's hard to imagine fans not being excited about the latest 'Justice League' revelation. If the latest buzz is to be believed, the big bad of the upcoming superhero team-up film will be Brainiac, the classic Superman villain. A Kryptonian robot/artificial intelligence, Brainiac has been one of Kal-El's most vicious and long-running nemeses, so he'll be the perfect foe for an entire team of heroes to take down. We don't know anything about how the film will present him/it, but it seems that he'll make his way to Earth after he hears the beacon Clark Kent activated in 'Man of Steel,' which was also how Zod found the planet. Hindsight is 20/20, but pushing that button was a very bad choice in retrospect, wasn't it Mr. Kent?

Meanwhile, the possible lineup for the 'Suicide Squad' movie was revealed and it's a weird one. Although subject to change, the current list of characters suggests that Warner Bros. is willing to dig deep into its library to pluck out obscure characters and that they're not afraid to reuse characters who have already appeared on 'Arrow' and 'The Flash.' For the time being, here's the team:

...the lineup for the supervillain team will consist of the super strong Blockbuster, the self-replicating Multiplex (who will appear in the second episode of 'The Flash'), the speedster Jaculi (who only survived two issues on the team), the illusion-casting Mindboggler, the original Captain Boomerang George Harkness (set to appear on 'Arrow' this season), the animal mimicker Vixen, and the face of Task Force X, Floyd Lawton aka Deadshot (who was previously played by Michael Rowe on 'Arrow.')

A world away, the sequel to 'The LEGO Movie' was delayed to make room for a spinoff film starring Will Arnett's LEGO Batman. Since Arnett's take on The Dark Knight is inspired and he's one of the best superhero parodies in recent memory, we welcome this news with open arms. If it's half as much fun as 'The LEGO Movie,' it'll be a good time.

DC on TV

That header is a little misleading: this week is pretty much "'The Flash' on TV."

First, The CW revealed a first look at Wentworth Miller as Captain Cold, one of The Flash's most iconic villains. We can't help but be a little disappointed by how modernized he is, but we'll live. After all, Captain freakin' Cold is going to appear on a major TV series where he's played by a respectable actor:

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Elsewhere, some very unofficial images of Rick Cosnett as The Reverse Flash made their way online. The arch-nemesis of The Flash, this character should end up being the main villain of the entire series, so pay attention.

And just when you thought the show was done casting B-level superheroes and allies, Victor Garber officially signed on to play Dr. Martin Stein, a brilliant scientist who finds himself fused with Robbie Amell's Ronnie Raymond in a lab accident, making them into the superhero known as Firestorm. We don't know how far the series will take this very odd character, but Garber will make his first appearance in episode 12 of this season.

Oh, and here's one more trailer for 'The Flash,' which deals with the rest of the season beyond the premiere.

Marvel on TV

In semi-interesting Marvel TV news, Kyle Bornheimer joined the cast of ABC's 'Agent Carter,' playing the role of Agent Ray Krzeminski, a character who will "clash" with Hayley Atwell's badass Peggy Carter.

In more interesting news, it looks like Fox wants to bring the X-Men to the small screen and they're looking to Peter David's 'X-Factor' for inspiration:

The X-Factor team has been many things over the years, but under David's watch, the series focused on a team of mutant private investigators, which is a concept that feels practically pre-packaged for TV. There's no official confirmation that Jamie Madrox, aka the Multiple Man, who can create copies of himself, will be involved, but his mutant power would sure make sense for a TV budget. However, the latest news suggests that Fox is currently hunting for its female lead and that Evan Peters' Quicksilver, last seen in 'X-Men: Days of Future Past,' could be part of the ensemble.

Use this opportunity to build your dream 'X-Factor' lineup in your brain space.

Alternate Superhero TV

While most superhero media is firmly focused on Marvel and DC, 'Powers' is looking to shake things up a bit. Based on Brian Michael Bendis an Michael Avon Oeming's comic of the same name, the series is the first to premiere exclusively on the PlayStation Network. Regardless of quality, it's going to shake things up a bit.

It may exist outside of any other superhero continuity, but 'Powers' has a massive world that feels as rich as any comic book universe. It's ideal for television and the official synopsis sounds fairly close to the source material:

In a nutshell, 'Powers' is an edgy dramatic series that follows the lives of two homicide detectives, Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim, who are assigned to investigate cases involving people with superhuman abilities, referred to as Powers. Set amidst today’s paparazzi culture, 'Powers' asks the questions, what if the world was full of superheroes who aren’t actually heroic at all? What if all that power was just one more excuse for mischief, mayhem, murder, and endorsement deals?

Enter the men and women of the Powers Division, the brave people in charge of protecting humans like us and keeping the peace with these over-paid, commercialized, god-like men and women who glide through the sky imposing their power over the mortals who both worship and fear them.

But then there's the first trailer, which seems, uh, questionable. The whole thing looks a little cheap and the humor of the comic seems to have been completely drained. And then there's star Sharlto Copley who ... well, if you can't say anything nice...

We'd love to see a great 'Powers' series and hopefully, the finished product is more impressive than the marketing.

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Fun With the 'Guardians'

You asked for it and the powers that be delivered: an official Dancing Groot toy will arrive before Christmas:

And while we're talking about 'Guardians of the Galaxy,' the first test footage from the upcoming animated series premiered at NYCC and it looks good enough. The animation is lovely, but hopefully that's not the final voice for cartoon Star-Lord because yikes.

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