New Warriors Dot Com

So, since the news broke early in November, I’ve been patiently waiting to see if there was an update to the New Warriors TV show. It was originally picked up in 2016 by the Disney-ABC Television group known as Freeform; but then news broke that those plans had been scrapped and that the show would be shopping around for a new home.

Since then – there’s not been much in the way of news about the television show’s fate. I knew, back then, when they announced the idea of a New Warriors television show, chances were slim that it would be the New Warriors that most of us are familiar with; but regardless, I was excited at the prospect of The New Warriors heading for TV! When the news broke as to the characters they were proposing for the show, I was surprised the majority of them were legitimate New Warriors. I was even pleasantly surprised who they cast for the actors. The news has been eerily quiet since the initial news that Freeform was not going to be housing the show. There could be some negations happening in the background; but it’s odd that they were so excited about the show coming to Freeform and it was everything they wanted; and then… decline and silence. Makes me wonder if the show is dead in the water, and will be quietly swept under the rug to be forgotten; which admittedly, would mildly annoy me, because of the Fate of the New Warriors Facebook page would have been for naught.

What are your thoughts? Do you hope the show finds a new home? Come by our (new) Facebook page or hit us up on twitter!

A recent update to the site, made it so the forum was having all kinds of database errors. I tried to manually update the phpbb software, but hit a few walls. I had the provider try to see if it could be done, and they hit the same walls. (Speedball on the cover over there is supposed to represent the Forums, with Timeslip mourning the loss of the forums – I mean, Speedball)!

The forums weren’t getting much activity anyway, because everyone has moved to the social media platform. So as soon as I encountered the errors with the forum, I made a Facebook Group page for the New Warriors, that acts more like a forum. Currently there’s only a few of us on there, so if you’d like – please come by and join us! (Membership does require to be approved, so when you join, you may not immediately get access! I try to check it as frequently as I can for folks that have joined us there!)

• Crashpod

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Thanks to Insomnia (my best friend) and the epic battle we had – I finally raised my hands in defeat and said, “Fine! I can’t sleep! I will do something!” So I sat in my room and talked to myself. Not like a crazy person. Well… not any crazier than I already am… but I mean, I talked to myself, as in doing the next New Warriors podcast for The Crashpod. So issue #7 of the Crashpod covers volume one, issues #11, 12, and 13, which are all a part of the Forever Yesterday storyline. So give it a listen. Let me know what you think. If you enjoyed it, the best thing you can do is share it around!

If it does not stream on the site, and you do not have an iTunes account to listen to it there, then you can right click this link and save the MP3 file.

Please considering sharing this on your Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets; as well as, if you do have an iTunes account, please consider rating us and leaving a comment there as well. It’s much appreciated.

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We previously discussed New Warriors coming to Freeform TV. Well, it looks like the casting call has been completed!

Squirrel Girl will be played by Milana Vayntrub. Squirrel Girl grew in popularity with her crazy ability to be able to have the powers… of a squirrel. No. I am not kidding. Like Deadpool, the over the top characterization of Squirrel Girl shoot her popularity to the top. Milana herself is probably best known for her role as Sloane on This Is Us.

Calum Worthy landed the role of Speedball. I am not sure how they’re going to pull off Speedball without quite a budget for special effects, so I suspect this will be a very toned down version of the Speedball we all know and love from the comics. Calum has been in a few shows such as Lost Generation, Cassandra French’s Finishing Highschool and Austin & Ally.

Derek Theler landed the role of Mister Immortal, who is literally impossible to kill. In the comics, Mister Immortal is not a member of the New Warriors, but rather the Great Lake Avengers (or whatever they change their name to). As I previously mentioned in the other post, Mister Immortal is probably a part of this team for the show, because of the comedic value they can bring from someone who literally can not be killed. (So I imagine, he will make plenty of lethal mistakes, but be okay, each and every time). Derek has been in such shows as Project: SERA, Baby Daddy and in the short, Brotherly Love.

Jeremy Tardy landed the role as the serious Night Thrasher. I am hoping that we will see Jeremy in some form of Night Thrasher armor, and not just a rich kid who wants publicity. Because the show is going for the comedic feel of the New Warriors, I can’t imagine it’s going to delve into his past (with the murder of his parents, having a half brother, etc).

Next up, Kate Comer landed the role of Debrii, and based on this photo, I can see how she landed the role for her hair alone! She looks a lot like Debrii – but a much nicer, warmer, version of the comic book version, was was often written to be a … well, let’s just say she had a chip on her shoulder. Debrii is another one that I am hoping we see some good CGI for the use of her power. I see her as the serious, angry character, that doesn’t get along with the others (or doesn’t appear to, but probably actually does like them), for what this show is going for.

And the last casting is Matthew Moy as Microbe. Microbe was one of those characters that I actually enjoyed out of the volume that introduced both him and Debrii (I didn’t care for that whole volume as a whole, but appreciated Microbe). It was nice to finally see a hero who is not automatically a fit, perfect human specimen. So I am at least happy to see, even though Microbe was killed in the comics, during the event that triggered Civil War; that he will at least go on to live on the TV show.

So there you have it folks – the casting of Freeform’s New Warriors TV show.

What are your thoughts? Let us know on Facebook, Twitter, or on our Forum.

Well, to say the least – I am quite surprised. As you probably know by now, the current Nova series (featuring both Sam and Rich) is going to be cancelled. Usually Tom Brevoort is pretty snarky, especially when it comes to dissing Rich Rider fans. (Well, he’s generally very snarky, but questions about Rich Rider, were usually met with more snarkiness than usual). So I was a little surprised to read this about the cancellation of the current Nova series, from Tom Brevoort:

…please don’t think I am blaming the audience for the book being cancelled–no one is under any obligation to buy our books. On the contrary, we are under an obligation to make books you will want to buy, so feel free to lay the blame for the cancellation on me.

Every issue there were about 35,000 fans who read every issue of NOVA and GUARDIANS and every issue of every [limited series] that was a part of all of our events. They helped spread the word and they were there along for the ride and never went away, and without them the books would’ve never even existed; there would be no film without those loyal readers.

Thoughts? Come discuss it on our Facebook page or on Twitter or on our forum.

Some of you noticed that our existing New Warriors Facebook page was suddenly… gone. All the years of content swept away, and now it was a link to a page for the TV show (but with no content on there). This was done by someone above me, and I was never contacted about the URL being taken over.

I understand that, because the page was a page for the New Warriors comic, and that legally, Marvel (or even Freeform, the Television station) “owns” the legal intellectual rights to The New Warriors, and can do as they please – it would have been nice – and probably polite – had they reached out to me and said, “Hello. We would like this URL for the television show.” I would have been more than happy to create a new page, and merge my existing page into that new one – and thus, freeing up the URL for them to do what they need to do.

Now, unfortunately, I’ve lost all the history, content, posts, images, and most importantly the fan base that I had taken so long to build up. (I believe we were at 650 or so fans? Possibly a little more?) I had that URL for years, and now to rebuild it, because I wasn’t given any notification about the URL being taken over, is a little disheartening. Because I was doing everything to promote the comics, the show, everything and anything, New Warriors related.

I have reached out to Facebook, about restoring my page (even under a new name, like TheNewWarriors), but I don’t know when – or even if – they will do it. So in the meantime, I’ve created a new page, with the URL NewWarriorsDotCom (which, I am assuming will be safe, as I run the site myself). So, as I rebuild the page, please swing by the new New Warriors Facebook page and give it a LIKE. Also, if you don’t mind sharing the URL around to recapture all of those Warriors out there:

• https://www.facebook.com/NewWarriorsDotCom/

And folks, it looks amazing. Talk about it on the Cloak & Dagger TV Show Discussion thread on the forum!

From what was mentioned over Omega Underground, it looks like the roster for the Television show has been revealed:

Doreen Green (Squirrel Girl)

Squirrel Girl is the spunky fangirl and “wonderful heart of the show” with acrobat skills, superhuman strength and a cool squirrel tail, Biegel says. (She can also talk to critters including her sidekick, Tippy Toe.) “She is openly hopeful and earnest and sweet and optimistic, but smart and very determined that she can make a difference, too. She knows she’s great and if you’re not going to get on board with her, she’ll leave you in the dust.”

Craig Hollis (Mister Immortal)

The squad’s resident troublemaker and lothario, this guy can’t die — or at least that’s what he says — and is equally cocky and grumpy. “Craig is a little more jaded and saying things aren’t as rosy and the world isn’t as hopeful as you make it out to be,” says Biegel.

Dwayne Taylor (Night Thrasher)

The masked dude is a local celebrity with his own YouTube channel but no actual superpowers. His parents were killed when he was younger, though he worries about his family’s wealth ruining his street cred. “Dwayne is the one who’s enterprising and really trying to figure out the business side of this entire thing,” Biegel says, “but at the same time he really does care about justice.”

Robbie Baldwin (Speedball)

A guy whose childhood was spent watching Quinjets take off from Avengers Tower, Speedball has the knack — though maybe not the greatest aim — for tossing kinetic balls of energy. Although immature and impulsive, “Robbie has these noble aspirations, but can’t quite figure out which one to pursue,” Biegel says.

Zack Smith (Microbe)

A big guy with a sizable heart, Microbe communicates with germs, giving him telepathic-like qualities, though he leans on his pals to find extra confidence. “Zack literally is just looking for a connection: ‘Hey, maybe I can find a group of people I can hang out with,’ which is totally part of who you are in your 20s,” Biegel says.

Deborah Fields (Debrii)

Not only is she a low-level telekinetic trickster who has experienced serious personal loss due to the actions of superheroes, Deborah is also a proud, witty lesbian. “It’s not all about ‘Hey, I relate to the show because I want to have a squirrel tail,’ but ‘Hey, this is the story about someone who’s out as a lesbian and maybe it’s not that easy,’” Biegel says.

Given this cast, I am not at all surprised by it. The only one who does surprise me is the inclusion of Mr. Immortal – who was traditionally from Great Lakes Avengers. But since the show is going for the comedy feel, and not the more serious tone, that the comic series was historically known for; it seems that it’s based more on the series created by Zeb Wells, who created the characters Microbe and Debrii.

I am at least thankful, that they have included Night Thrasher and Speedball, as a part of this team. I am looking forward to see what they do with Microbe (who I actually enjoyed, and bummed that they killed him in Civil War).

Share your thoughts on the New Warriors “TV Show” Thread on the forum.

And with news of this cast being released – it’s probably no coincidence that Marvel, or someone, “took over” our Facebook page. All of the content that was there has been wiped out, all the fans of the page, gone. So I am trying to see, if nothing else, if I can get the page restored as TheNewWarriors rather than NewWarriors if Marvel, or whomever, insists on taking over my original hard work. We will see how that goes. I may be rebuilding the Facebook page from the ground up, however.

UPDATE: Because I don’t know how long, or even if, Facebook will restore my previous existing New Warriors page, I have went ahead and created a new Facebook page called New Warriors Dot Com. Please come by and LIKE the page, if you were on the previous page!

But before you get too excited, hold on. If you’re a fan of the New Warriors (and chances are if you’re reading this!), you know that the New Warriors have gone through several iterations since their initial concept. So let’s go over them, shall we?

We have the first iteration of the New Warriors written initially by Fabian Nicieza (and later, Evan Skolnick). Throughout the entire run, The New Warriors featured some hard hitting issues – and I don’t mean hard hitting and hero versus villains; but actual issues. The New Warriors had an entire story arc about the environment, and Eco-terrorists; had an issue dealing with the grey areas of war between two countries; it dealt with child abuse (with one of their own members being the victim); it dealt with divorce, and a laundry list of other such topics. Of course, there were issues where they fought villains, such as the White Queen, Hellions, Terrax, Tai (you have to read it to understand! And it’s so great!), their own unique villains (Folding Circle, Psionex, Star Thief, Mad Thinker, Sphinx, to name a few!) And while the series featured the wise cracking Speedball on the team to lighten the mood, the book was unusually serious and less bumble gum super hero.

When volume one ended in 1996, it would be three years later until the New Warriors resurfaced in 1999, with a team that was a mixture of the previous run, while adding a few new characters. Turbo had been a part of the team off and on, in the previous run; and Nova & Namorita were steady members (though both are seen with new costumes in this volume), as well as Speedball (who has a slightly modified version of his original costume). The new members added to this run are the mutant Bolt (who is dealing with the Legacy Virus) and a brand new character by the name of Aegis. Jay Faerber was the writer for this run; and he clearly was inspired by the original run, as his stories tried to reflect a more serious tone (for example, Bolt who was suffering from the Legacy Virus, was potentially dying from it), and Aegis was a street level hero, who found the magical chest plate (so he was iconic to the kids “int he hood” as it were). Sadly, Jay was not able to complete all the stories he had planned and the series came to an end after 10 issues (11, if you could the Wizard exclusive that was a #0).

The third volume was written by Zeb Wells in 2005. This one was met with mixed reviews when it came out. It featured Night Thrasher (out of his armor and in a new suit), Speedball (in a suit that’s been similar to all his previous ones), Namorita (now with her skin blue again – looking a lot like the character from the Atlantis cartoon, because her hair had suddenly become white and she had weird symbols all over her skin), Nova (back in a version of his original costume) and introduced Microbe as a brand new character (and eventually Debrii, as another brand new character). Both the writing and the art, lend to the comedic story telling found in this six issue limited series; and that’s where the mixed reviews came in. For those that read it, for what it was; it was an enjoyable, if not odd at times, comedic limited series, featuring young super heroes, who wanted to become a part of the craze of reality TV. For folks looking for a continuation of what they had expected from previous New Warriors books found these characters written out of their norm. To add salt to the wound, this series became a very sour point for many New Warriors fans, because it was used later to initiate the Civil War series; when these members of the New Warriors were filming an episode, and clashed with several villains; one of them being Nitro, who ignited himself, killing over 600 people (many of them school children, at a near by school) – this list included several members of the New Warriors including Night Thrasher, Microbe, and Namorita, with Speedball surviving (but later becoming known as Penance).

Kevin Grevioux would pick up the New Warriors writing duties with a new series in 2007. Kevin took several mutants who had lost their mutant abilities after the events of “M-Day” (in which Scarlet Witch uttered the words “No More Mutants” changing the world for mutants across the globe; most of them having lost their powers). This team of depowered mutants were brought together by Dwayne Taylor’s half-brother, Donyell (formerly known as Bandit) who took on the guise of the new Night Thrasher, back in Dwayne’s original Night Thrasher armor. Dwayne was one of the members of the New Warriors to die in Nitro’s blast that killed so many in the events of Civil War. Seeking to find out the truth about Dwayne’s death, he had formed this new team, using technology to give them powers. The stories were a call back to how the original New Warriors had been; with a far more dark and sometimes sinister tone. In the short, 20 issue run, several members of the team were shown to have died (though some have since been seen alive again; because no one stays dead in the comic book universe; just ask Jean Grey). The series ended in 2009.

Christopher Yost would be the latest to take up the mantle, as the writer of the New Warriors. From the start of this series, you could see Yost wanted to bring back what made the New Warriors so loved. The roster only contained two original members: Justice and Speedball. Because at the time, Rich Rider was still “dead” – Sam Alexander, the new Nova was used in the title. He also brought in Scarlet Spider (which was a title he was previously writing and had just come to an end) along with Hummingbird. He created a new character (much like Namorita) by the name of Watersnake who had proclaimed that they had sensed that Namorita was still alive somehow. He also introduced Haechi, one of the humans turned Inhuman (because of the current event happening throughout the Marvel Universe) and gave us a newly introduced Sun Girl (who had just been introduced in Superior Spider-Man Team Up #1). It starts up with some fun between Justice & Speedball fighting the Salem Seven (digging deep with the obscure!), but would go on to become a far more serious story about the High Evolutionary claiming the Celestials are coming and that Earth is doomed. Sadly, Christopher Yost was forced to wrap up the book with the 12th issue (where in the final panel we see Watersnake, as well as Namorita!)

So what’s the deal with the New Warriors on TV?

Freeform (formerly known as ABC Family Channel) has ordered up a live-action adaption of “Marvel’s New Warriors.” The show will center around six young people struggling with their powers. Now, this sounds like something that’s right up the alley with The New Warriors we all know and love, right? Because the original New Warriors was indeed six members: Speedball, Firestar, Namorita, Justice/Marvel Boy, Nova and Night Thrasher.

However, the six members of this TV version of the New Warriors has not been announced as concrete characters; except for one character. Squirrel Girl.

Now you might be saying, “Well, hold on a minute. Squirrel Girl has never been in the New Warriors.” But that’s all right – the New Warriors frequently had new members join their roster throughout the history of their series. Some members even joined “off panel” (such as Ultra-Girl and Slapstick). So there’s no need to panic just yet, right?

Now it’s interesting that Jeph Loeb acknowledges that the New Warriors have always been a fan favorite, by saying, “Marvel’s New Warriors have always been fan favorites, and now particularly with the addition of Squirrel Girl, they are Marvel Television favorites as well.” (However, other than the original volume of The New Warriors, Marvel never seems to give these “fan favorite” titles a chance to finish).

Based on the interview (pieces of it are below), it seems the show’s primary focus is going to be Squirrel Girl & Friends – because everything about the interviews has been about Squirrel Girl as the only revealed “member” of the New Warriors slated for TV. It also feels like they won’t be tackling the more serious issues we saw in the majority of the New Warriors runs (and perhaps going for more comedy type feel, found in Zeb Wells’ limited series run).

So far, Kevin Biegel (who was a writer for Scrubs, Enlisted and Cougar Town) is near to penning a script to serve as the show runner; with the show intended to be a comedy show. The 10 episode series is intended to be 30 minute episodes scheduled for release in 2018, with casting to begin soon.

The general premises is that these six heroes, who are just learning to do things, want to make a difference in the world; but they’re all young heroes, who, throughout the show will be encountering a lot of first time things (first time jobs, first time love, etc.) and Squirrel Girl fits into it because she is described as the tough, optimistic natural leader, who has an uncanny ability to make people believe in themselves.

“Freeform’s mission is to deliver incredible content to young adults and Marvel Television seamlessly aligns with that mission — we couldn’t be more proud to collaborate with them on Marvel’s New Warriors,” said Karey Burke, exec vp programming and development at Freeform.

Below, Burke talks with The Hollywood Reporter about what to expect from New Warriors as well as how it fits in at Freeform.

What makes this the right show for Freeform?

The more we got to know Marvel and the more comfortable they got with us as the home for their young adult IP, these conversations became easier. They started to see our strength with young adults and together we could create a pipeline for content that was specific to our audience that felt younger than what they’re doing at the other channels. I wanted to be in business with Marvel when I first got here but I didn’t want to chase them just to chase them. It was important to both of us to find the right characters that felt like they would speak directly to Freeform’s audience. The Avengers wouldn’t work here but the about-to-be-Avengers works here.

How will New Warriors fit in with the Freeform brand?

This represents an evolution. It’s not that we’re shifting away from something, but toward something that is important. It’s louder. Cable comedies, the hallmark ones, have been single-camera. They’ve been more conceptually distinctive. Knowing that was one of our strategies, this was an easy reach for us. We have another single-cam that we’re starting production on, Alone Together, from Andy Samberg and his company. These shows feel like they belong together. We are a network for young adults but we’re proud we’re No. 1 with young women and we want to find characters who speak to them. There’s a reason we chased Squirrel Girl: she embodies all of that.

Is the plan for Cloak and Dagger still winter 2018? Will these shows launch at the same time? Could they air on the same night? Maybe Alone Together and New Warriors leading Cloak and Dagger?

Yes, still winter 2018 for Cloak and Dagger. But that’s not a bad idea. We’re modeling schedules now as we head into the upfront [on April 19]. That is one alternative. Or we may stick with a comedy night and a drama night as originals that we’re doing now. Or we could not pair them together and have a Marvel comedy on the comedy night and Cloak and Dagger as part of the drama night.

Marvel likes to say that “everything is connected.” Will Cloak and Warriors be connected the way, say, Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter were?

It’s a great question. If you know these two properties, they’re not particularly connected. There are many degrees of separation with where they fall in the Marvel universe. But anything is possible with Marvel. Their tones are so wildly different. Cloak is this angst-filled achingly beautiful heartfelt romantic drama. And Squirrel Girl is a balls-out comedy.

What was Kevin Biegel’s take on the property?

We were big fans of Enlisted and were excited when Marvel put him together. Marvel and ABC Studios had made that marriage before it came to Freeform. He has a great love for all the characters that are populating the show around Squirrel Girl. He has a deep respect for Squirrel Girl. Her greatest weapon is her optimism — and this is a character who could easily be made fun of — but she’s written so lovingly that we were thrilled when he was packaged with it. When he came in and pitched it, he understood her importance in the world and as hopefully an iconic heroine for audiences.

What can you say about the other characters who comprise the New Warriors?

You’ll have to wait and see. We know who they are but I’m not at liberty to say.

What are your thoughts? Let us know on Facebook, Twitter, or comment on the thread on the forum.

Well, it looks like Marvel (so far!) has kept their word and brought back Richard Rider. The newest Nova series has officially launched; and it features mostly Sam Alexander, but it definitely has Rich Rider in it; and what he’s going through (between his resurrection and the news his mother gives him) is considerably dark. But I’d say the first issue is off to a really good start. Keep up here, with Nova Volume 8. And let us know your thoughts on our forum, Facebook or Twitter.