Monday Edition May 11, 2026
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Our featured article today explores what Marvel and DC could learn from the recent success of video game adaptations as superhero fatigue continues to dominate the conversation, but it’s not just happening at the box office. On television, series like The Last of Us, Fallout, and Arcane have shown just how ambitious, emotional, and visually inventive game adaptations can be, while even a beloved property like Daredevil: Born Again has struggled to generate the same level of engagement. |
Are viewers feeling equal amounts of anticipation for DC’s Lanterns, featuring an A-list superhero like Green Lantern who has yet to be truly successful on screen, as they are for, say, God of War, Ronald D. Moore’s upcoming reimagining of the popular action adventure game? And is it easier or more difficult for a two-and-a-half-hour film to capture the attention of fans of the source material than a TV series? There’s no definitive answer, but it increasingly feels like we’re witnessing a major shift in which IPs are able to generate mass appeal, whether it manifests as ratings or box office earnings. |
— Michael Ahr, Newsletter Editor |
IN THIS ISSUE |
Our list of lessons video game movies could teach Marvel & DC ✅ An interview with the creatives behind The Terror season 3 😰 Our ranking of the best fights in Mortal Kombat II 👊 …and more!
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Photo: Paramount Pictures |
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MOVIES |
5 Lessons Superhero Movies Need to Learn From the Video Game Movie Boom |
Video games seem poised to supplant superheroes on the big screen. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is the highest grossing adaptation thus far, and Mortal Kombat II and Street Fighter are poised to be major hits. But that doesn’t mean that the cape and cowl set must fade into obscurity. How can superhero movies, then, give viewers what they want to say while not taking themselves too seriously? |
This article breaks down five specific lessons comic book movies should implement moving forward, including introducing more genre variety and being better at course-correcting after mistakes. Having fun doesn’t have to mean condescending to the medium as we saw in Thor: Love and Thunder and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and with Mortal Kombat II gaining attention and Avengers: Doomsday on the horizon, the question is becoming even more prominent: if superhero movies can’t evolve, will video game movies supplant them as the new fandom blockbuster kings? |
Read more » |
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Photo: Emily V. Aragones / AMC |
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TV |
The Terror: Devil in Silver Creators On Why Season 3 Was Almost an Entirely Different Story |
Chris Cantwell joins forces with co-showrunner Victor LaValle for the third season of The Terror, bringing the anthology series into the modern day with Devil in Silver, based on LaValle’s 2012 novel of the same name. The new season follows Dan Stevens’ Pepper, a Queens man who gets wrongfully committed to a decaying psychiatric hospital and discovers that the institution itself may be every bit as horrifying as the supernatural force lurking inside it. |
In our interview, LaValle takes us inside the motivation for filming in a real former prison on Staten Island to capture the oppressive atmosphere of the series. Director Karyn Kusama explains why she wanted the patients of New Hyde to feel like a found family instead of horror stereotypes, while LaValle talks about avoiding the usual “evil asylum” clichés by giving every character their own humanity and history. But oddly enough, Devil in Silver was not AMC’s original choice of LaValle’s works to adapt as The Terror’s third installment… |
Read more » |
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Photo: Warner Bros. |
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MOVIES |
Mortal Kombat II: All Fights Ranked From Babality to Brutality |
For fans who thought the 2021 Mortal Kombat movie missed the mark by neglecting to include the actual tournament depicted in the game, Mortal Kombat II has corrected course magnificently. The sequel leans hard into the franchise’s signature one-on-one battles, delivering everything from ridiculous scraps to genuinely brutal showdowns packed with fatalities. In our ranking of every major fight, hope blossoms that director Simon McQuoid may have finally figured out how to capture the chaotic energy of the games on screen. |
Come along as we dive into why Johnny Cage’s fights are more hilarious than heroic, how Sonya Blade gets one of the nastiest fatalities in the movie, and why even longtime fans might unexpectedly love Shao Kahn’s battle with Cole Young. There’s also praise for the surprisingly emotional Liu Kang vs. Revenant Kung Lao fight, which sounds like the movie’s true “flawless victory” moment. But if you want to know which match earned the top spot and which climactic showdown disappointed, you’ll have to click below. |
Read more » |
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DEN OF GEEK MAGAZINE |
The Ultimate Collector’s Item |
For more than a decade, Den of Geek magazine has been a staple at New York Comic Con and San Diego Comic-Con as well as an elusive collector’s item in comic shops across the country. |
Now we’re ready to bring the printed hidden treasure straight to your door. |
We’re opening up a waitlist to see just how many of our most dedicated readers are ready to go all-in on a print edition. If that sounds like you, hit the button below. You’ll be taken to a form where you can be counted among the fans helping make this happen! |
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EDITOR’S PICKS |
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Time and Water uses the writings of Icelandic author Andri Snær Magnason to investigate the bonds between love and nature. |
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Can She-Hulk be funny with the Fantastic Four? |
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With two episodes left of The Boys' final season, Butcher and the gang aren't totally out of options when it comes to taking down Homelander for good. |
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If it follows the comics, season 3 of Born Again can give us another Netflix reunion. |
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TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION |
Which classic monster from the original Resident Evil video game makes an unexpected appearance in the 2021 film Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City? |
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