Welcome back to Critical Blast’s weekly look at what new comics you should check out each week.   Just a warning, I make these picks pretty much a week BEFORE I actually get to read any of these comics, so if something is a stinker, I take no blame on that.  Let's get to it!

Comics shipping this week

Ben Affleck is an actor I probably ride harder than I should. He’s certainly not bad. I thought he was easily the best part of BATMAN VS SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE, but I suppose that’s not the strongest endorsement. Seriously, though, he’s quite capable of great performances and his ability behind the lens may even be better. Sadly, he was not behind the lens for THE ACCOUNTANT.

The CW superhero show LEGENDS OF TOMORROW started out last season with potential that was, largely, unrealized. The fact that it didn't end its season with an alert from Gideo about time changes being wrought by The Flash (see "Flashpoint") seemed to be an obvious connection that should have been made, but instead we fluttered through time tracking Vandal Savage.

The good people at Valiant and Catalyst were kind enough to send us a review copy of Valiant Universe: The Deckbuilding Game. I’ve been reading Valiant almost as long as I have been reading comics; since Valiant relaunched in 2012, I have not missed a single issue.  Also, I really enjoy deck building games, including Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game and Star Realms.

Over the next few weeks, I will be doing more of a formal gameplay review once I get my gaming group together and get a few plays in, but I did want to give some of my early impressions of the game.

Let's not kid ourselves. As much as Batman has been used for merchandising, it's always been that the toys were based off the character. With BATMAN UNLIMITED, it's clearly a case of the story being designed to foster a base for the merchandising. It's an advertisement wrapped in entertainment.

The plot: Mr. Freeze (ODED FEHR) is providing asylum to Penguin (DANA SNYDER) at his arctic retreat. But drilling in the region prompts Freeze to respond by siccing a giant monster of his own creation on the crew.

That Freeze can do this gives Penguin an idea, and he encourages Freeze to return to Gotham City and turn it into an icy wasteland for himself, while creating an impossible enemy for Batman. But first they must break out some Arkham inmates (which do not include The Joker, although he gets two cameos voiced by Troy Baker).

(story submitted by Ronald Green)

"Stranger" is good for Marvel's upcoming movie DOCTOR STRANGE as it now banks on the comic book panels that fans have loved since the 60s.

DOCTOR STRANGE's first few teasers were a bit perplexing because the director seems to have taken his inspiration from Christopher Nolan's INCEPTION. Bending cities have so far been the theme of the previous DOCTOR STRANGE teaser clips. Now, it would seem that the creators have decided to show that the movie will be sticking to its roots; the Doctor Strange that Steve Ditko created.

Below is the latest DOCTOR STRANGE clip.

Last week, we saw the first appearance of the big bad whom we assumed to be Prometheus. This episode, he confirms the name, but again only in the brief amount of time that we see him. However, that time is enough to conclude affirmatively that he has a grudge against Green Arrow, with the warning that he gives to the new criminal kingpin in town, Tobias Church (CHAD L. COLEMAN).

But that's not the focus of this week's episode, "The Recruits." Oliver (STEPHEN AMELL) decides he can't go it alone after all, and relents to recruiting local would-be vigilantes Wild Dog (RICK GONZALEZ) and Evelyn Sharp (MADISON MCLAUGHLING), as well as volunteer Curtis Holt (ECHO KELLUM). His training is harsh, and harkens back to yet another "5 Years Ago" flashback when Oliver was infiltrating Russian gangs.

Naturally, they hate him for his methods, and almost quit.

From Lucasfilm comes the first of the Star Wars standalone films, ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY, an all-new epic adventure. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.

ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY is directed by Gareth Edwards and stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, with Jiang Wen and Forest Whitaker. Kathleen Kennedy, Allison Shearmur and Simon Emanuel are producing, with John Knoll and Jason McGatlin serving as executive producers. “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” opens in U.S. theaters on December 16, 2016.

While I really enjoyed Doom Patrol, Young Animal's second book just didn't win me over.  This isn't the worst comic I have ever read, but it felt very middle of the road.  In a crowded marketplace, there wasn't enough here to keep me engaged as a customer.

Whenever you think of metal bands your first thoughts may be Metallica, Iron Maiden, Slayer and so on but even Christians love to get down and head bang for the Lord. An uprising Christian metal band, Analyzed Within is releasing their latest album and showing just how heavy metal Christians can truly be.

Analyzed Within is comprised of three very talented members.

Champions #1

Written by: Mark Waid
Pencilled by: Humberto Ramos
Inked by: Victor Olazaba
Colored by: Edgar Delgado
Lettered by: VC's Clayton Cowles

Published by: Marvel
Cover Price:  $4.99

When Barry (GRANT GUSTIN) reset the timeline in last week's episode, he learned that Iris (CANDICE PATTON) was no longer speaking to her father, Joe West (JESSE L MARTIN). This week, in "Paradox," he finds out why -- and what other tragic changes have been wrought by his attempt to save his mother from being murdered.

I understand the need to be a critic. Heck, for me it’s a way of life! So if you don’t like something that I do, or you like something that I don’t, I get it. Wear what you dig, live and let live.

But when your criticism is based on something ludicrous, well, expect your criticism to be critiqued. We can do that.

Case in point: Miley Cyrus. The former Disney good girl Hannah Montana was recently interviewed by Variety, where she spoke on a bunch of things important to her, including the CW show, SUPERGIRL, for, of all things, perpetuating gender stereotypes.

Rod Lurie wrote and directed the widely praised Academy Award- and Golden Globe Award-nominated political thriller THE CONTENDER, which took the first-ever Alan J. Pakula Award. For the small screen, Lurie also created the series COMMANDER IN CHIEF, which was nominated for the Best Drama Series Golden Globe, and for which Geena Davis won the Best Actress Golden Globe for her depiction of the first female president of the United States.

Lurie's latest project is the made-for-television movie, KILLING REAGAN, based off the book of the same name by FOX News commentator Bill O'Reilly, which airs Saturday, October 16, on the National Geographic channel.

Bill O'Reilly's book, KILLING REAGAN, is done in a very "outside looking in" documentary style. How is the film going to be in comparison -- a documentary style or a more traditional dramatic reenactment?

Last night SUPERGIRL debuted as the highest rated show ever in its time period among men (18-24), on The CW, and tripled the network's performance in total viewers in all key demos.

That's not to say Supergirl did it alone. She had a little help from a certain Kryptonian kinsman who seemed as though he were sent to us in a pod directly from the Donner-verse.

If you haven't yet watched last night's episode you can check it out on The CW app available on itunes and Google Play.

***Minor Spoilers Ahead***

Welcome back to Critical Blast’s weekly look at what new comics you should check out each week.   Just a warning, I make these picks pretty much a week BEFORE I actually get to read any of these comics, so if something is a stinker, I take no blame on that.  Let's get to it!

Comics shipping this week

Between the holiday and my birthday, I am way behind this week, so just some quick summaries…

One of the most talked about events coming out of NYCC was the Iron Fist panel where fans of the long-awaited show finally got some insight and were treated to a flashy trailer.

And by 'flashy' I mean the scenes flash so quickly on-screen that you'll want to have the pause button ready to really appreciate the work being done. The fight sequences are sure to be 'lit' with more martial arts action than you can shake an escrima stick at.

Finn Jones may not look like a traditional version of Marvel's Danny Rand, with his curly hair and beard, but at least the signature chest marking is still there. Season 1 is set up to be his origin story so don't expect to see a full-fledged costume right away.

The critically acclaimed Netflix original series, that paved the way for Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist, is arriving on Blu-ray November 8th.

DAREDEVIL was recently honored as Best New Media TV Series, at the 42nd Annual Saturn Awards, hosted by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. Earning every accolade the series has collected, with it's realistic vision of a popular street-level crimefighter, Daredevil, season 1 ignited fan excitement about Marvel properties on Netflix.

Lionsgate posted up a first look at the new Power Rangers trailer.  I will say up front, I hate when movie trailers use a modernized version of one of my favorite songs (in this case "I Walk the Line").  And I have been struggling with the idea of a angsty remake of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.  All that said, I actually really liked this trailer far more than I expected to.  I am actually looking forward to this movie now.  Power Rangers comes to the big screen in March 2017...

Valiant posted this trailer earlier today.  They are partnering with Bat In the Sun on a new webseries called Ninjak Vs The Valiant Universe.  In the trailer we see Ninjak (played by Arrow's Michael Rowe), Bloodshot (played by Jason David Frank),Eternal Warrior (played by Johnny Mundo/John Morrison), Archer and Armstrong, X-O Manowar, Livewire.  This looks so damn cool!!