Who knows what powers these siblings will have, if any? Just watch Smallville next week to find out.

Here are a few preview images from Season 9 – Episode 5 – entitled “Idol”

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Most of this footage isn’t new. It’s comprised of images that we’ve seen already. However, there is one major image near the end that is new and it’s quite shocking when you think about all that it implies. I’m burned out on events and I’m ready for Dark Reign to end, however this looks intriguing.

SIEGE is coming! It’s all been leading up to this universe shattering four issue limited series from the superstar team of Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel! Following the events of Dark Reign: The List, Norman Osborn sets his sights set on Asgard and nothing will stop him from completing his mission. But what does he want? How do Loki and Thor figure in? And just how does this relate to the inner strife between the Cabal? Marvel’s greatest heroes unite against the deadliest threat they’ve ever faced, but even they have no idea what’s coming next. It’s time for the most jaw dropping comic book event of the decade begins in December with Siege: The Cabal and continues in January’s SIEGE #1!

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Back in The Cabal one shot, Norman revealed a shadowy figure to his Cabal members (Loki, Namor, Dr. Doom, and Emma Frost). This figure is someone powerful enough to keep Loki (a god) and Dr. Doom in line. Much speculation has been discussed recently about just who this figure could be.

Marvel has just released the above teaser (top image), leading us to believe we’ll get an answer in Siege: The Cabal (on sale December 2). Of the figures pictured above, who makes the most sense?

Odin is out. Although he’s powerful enough, I don’t see him in cahoots with Norman—even under some kind of mind control.

Molecule Man is out. He’s just popped up in Dark Avengers #10 – fighting against Norman. Wouldn’t make sense for him to be that shadowy figure.

Nate Gray (X-Man) is out. I’m not to versed in this character. But he seems too obscure.

Mephisto is a possibility. I don’t see Osborn being able to control him and I don’t see why Mephisto would go along with this plan.

Thanos is out. One, I think he’s currently dead. Two, he’s cosmic – that’s Abnett and Lanning’s area at Marvel. Three, he’s too headstrong. He wouldn’t go along with Norman, especially if he had the Infinity Gauntlet-which is the item that makes him powerful enough to pressure the others.

Scarlet Witch is a good possibility. Bendis is writing this and he’s got a history with the Witch and her reality bending powers. She’s been off the map for a while and the few times we’ve seen her, she’s been portrayed as confused. Norman could easily manipulate her. While not a great reveal – it makes sense.

Finally, we have the Beyonder. This is a character that some have been itching to see make a return. He certainly has the power and Bendis did retcon his origin in the The Illuminati mini-series—although I personally don’t like him as an Inhuman mutant. He could be manipulated by Norman. He was childlike and not used to humanity. Doom has a great history with the character that could produce a few good story beats.

So, I’ll put my money on the Scarlet Witch with the Beyonder as a runner up. I’d rather see the Beyonder, but the Scarlet Witch makes a little more sense and she’s got a history with the Avengers. Plus, Loki was recently impersonating her in the Mighty Avengers title.

What do you think?

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Here it is. The best DVD set of 2009 and one of the most amazing packaging jobs you’ve ever see on a DVD set.

G.I. Joe A Real American Hero: Complete Collectors Set [The Complete Series]

Just watch the video and I think you’ll agree that this set looks fantastic. From the solidly constructed footlocker down to the dog-tag USB drive, Shout! Factory has truly made this a set to cherish.

I predict these sets will go fast. It’s the first time all 94 episodes of the original G. I Joe: A Real American Hero animated series have been released on DVD. Rhino released a few sets many years ago, but lost the license before the completed the series.

Amazon has the set available for pre-order for $149.99 – that’s less than $10 a DVD. Well worth it when you consider all the coolness that comes packaged within.

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Justice League: The Complete Series arrives to DVD on November 10 and we’ve got an early look at this beautiful set.

With the exception of the new bonus DVD, the DVDs are the same as the ones from the single season sets. What’s new is the ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC packaging.

A beautiful metallic slipcase holds the two DVDs cases that contain the actual DVDs. Each DVD case holding the multiple DVDs features more great art from the series. My favorite piece is the inside cover for Volume 2. It’s a great piece that features the JLU and many of their villains.

Head on over the the Superheroes-R-Us Facebook Fan page to check out more images and the full size images.

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The Ruby-Spears Superman cartoon aired from September-December of 1988, so it was easy to miss the original 13 episode run. I don’t remember it as a kid, so I was only familiar with the show from bad VHS copies and second hand comments.

The John Byrne Superman was my Superman. I had read a few issues of Superman here and there before the post-Crisis revamp, but when the series relaunched with a new #1 issue, I dove in and began reading both Superman and Action Comics. So, this show should be  great.

It is – in a way, but it suffers from faults that a lot of earlier DC animation did as well.

First, let’s discuss the good:

The animation was top notch. The was easily the best looking animated incarnation of Superman to grace the television. Notice I specified television—I still love Fleischer’s Superman from the 1940s.

The Superman Family Album segments. Each episode consisted of an 18-minute feature and a 4-minute Family Album story dealing with events from Clark Kent’s childhood. Mundane tasks such as grocery shopping and baby sitters are shown to be much more difficult when you’re dealing with a “super” kid. The last of these shorts ends with Clark donning the Superman costume for the first time.

The theme music was adapted from the John Williams score from the 1978 movie. To this day, it’s one of my favorite movies and it served as my introduction to Superman. That music invokes a specific feeling and using a modified version on this show put me in the right mood to watch some Superman.

Lex Luthor is the businessman villain in this series. Gone is the mad scientist villain from the past 50 years. While I would later learn to love that version, this “new” Lex was a realistic portrayal that owed part of his character to the Superman movie.

Wonder Woman makes a guest appearance in an episode. This was a nice surprise and probably the last cross-over between animated version of DC’s big three until over a decade later when Superman and Batman met up in Batman Superman Movie: World’s Finest.

So, if all of that is good, then what’s bad (or maybe not good)? While you can nitpick away at the series, I’ll boil my main complaint down to one word – Villains.

Just like all of DC’s earlier animated efforts—with the exception of a few seasons of Super Friends—Superman is forced to battle generic villains. While a few characters created for the show were slightly interesting (Bonechill), the rest are generic monsters and aliens.

Aside from Luthor, the only other established Superman villain on display in the series is The Prankster—not hardly Superman’s A-list villain. Sure, General Zob makes an appearance, but only as a plot device. He doesn’t actually confront Superman at all. I’ll say that again – Zod doesn’t confront Superman. What’s the point?

Overall, the series is still entertaining, but I wanted more villains. A hero is only as good as his villains—and Superman has some great ones. Unfortunately, they’re not on display here.

Speaking of villains, the only bonus feature included on the set is a short feature (13-minutes) on the evolution of Lex Luthor from scientist to businessman. Corruption of the Corrupt: The Rise of Lexcorp is just an ok feature. It’s only relates to the cartoon in the broadest sense—so it comes across as an afterthought.

If you’re a fan of DC animation or the John Byrne Superman reboot, there’s a lot to like here and the Ruby-Spears Superman is worth a purchase. However, if you just want some great animated Superman stories, wait a few weeks and pick up Superman: The Complete Animated Series.

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It’s decent poster, but I afraid it practically confirms that Humongasaur and Big Chill are the only two aliens we’ll see in the movie. I hope that’s not the case.

Ben 10: Alien Swarm debuts on November 25, at 7 p.m. Eastern.

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Debuting in 1988, the Ruby-Spears Superman series brought back some familiar foes and new unfriendly faces for battles against the Man of Steel. In addition to the thrills of Superman’s weekly adventures, each episode included a mini-segment called Superman Family Album that told the “real” story of what it was like to grow up as the most powerful boy in Smallville.

Produced at Ruby-Spears Productions right next door to Hanna-Barbera Studios, and animated in Japan and Korea at Toei Animation and Dai Won Animation, the series benefited by a stellar production team of writers and artists (including supervising producer John Dorman, story editor Marv Wolfman, and production designer Gil Kane), solid voice acting, and an immediate link with Christopher Reeve’s popular films via an opening theme score that was remarkably similar to John Williams’ acclaimed Superman music.

Ruby-Spears Productions was founded in 1977 by veteran writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears. The team started as sound editors at Hanna-Barbera Studios, branched out into writing, and eventually went on to create “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” In total, Ruby-Spears Productions produced 36 different TV series including the hit, “Alvin and the Chipmunks.” They continue to be a creative force in the industry today.

Joe Ruby and Ken Spears took a few minutes to reminisce about the creation, development and production of their landmark 1988 series in a recent conversation. Here’s what the animation veterans had to say:

QUESTION: How was the title character developed for your Superman series?

JOE RUBY: “We went through a lot of different directions in development as to what kind of Superman we wanted. We had several different models – the crying/feeling Superman, the lecturing/do-gooder/save-the-day Superman, then there was the hip Superman and even the long-haired Superman. And, of course, there was the old straight-as-an-arrow Superman. Ultimately, we settled on the Christopher Reeve model – he had personality and a sense of humor, and yet he was still Superman. We figured that it worked for the films, so it would work well for us.”

QUESTION: Why were there only 13 episodes to the entire series?

JOE RUBY: “I think the problem for us was our timeslot. It turned out 8:30 in the morning was a killer for Superman. Only the little kids were up, and they don’t understand Superman as well as the older kids. It wasn’t for 4- to 5-year-olds”

QUESTION: Was there a guiding theme to the series?

KEN SPEARS: “I think we were true to Superman to begin with – we produced a show that the audience expected Superman to be. He was the tried and true Superman, That’s who they wanted to see – that’s the feedback that we continue to get today.”

JOE RUBY: “We basically had Superman tackling anything and everything, with the marching orders to have bigger-than-life fights.”

QUESTION: What did you see as the strength of your Superman series?

KEN SPEARS: “We had the best talent in the business at the time – that was our strength. They were excellent. When you first create a show, you hope your talent will be able to plus it – and they really plussed it. There are so many shots in the show that weren’t written into the script – those kind of great additions come straight from the artists and the storyboarders.

JOE RUBY: “We had a pretty amazing crew – and an especially great crew of artists – including some of the best comic book guys in the business, and that made for good filmmaking. Guys like John Dorman and Gil Kane – we had an army of great talent on that show. Give credit to John Dorman – he’s a filmmaker and that’s the difference. He made sure the show had all the creative shots, the movement, some of that great left-to-right or down-angle camera moves. The show was well paced, well boarded, and I think John really put these things together well.”

QUESTION: Did splitting the production between two overseas studios in Japan and Korea cause any problems?

JOE RUBY: “It was an experience for us, from a production standpoint, traveling overseas and working with two different interpreters having to translate in three different languages. They’d be answering before I’d get done with my question. It was the worst torture I ever had in my life.”

QUESTION: Looking back now, can you see how Ruby-Spears Superman fits in the canon of productions surrounding the Man of Steel?

JOE RUBY: “As a kid, we all grew up with Superman. He’s the favorite, always. Your heroes stick with you. So we wanted to make the best Superman show we could, to really set it apart. I think everyone that worked on it felt that way. He’s Superman.”

KEN SPEARS: “It was like an honor to do something that classy and classic as Superman. He’s the No. 1 guy. We wanted to do it justice.”

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These are the cartoons I remember watching growing up. While I’ve seen most of the 60s toons in some form or another, Batman, the Banana Splits, Bugs Bunny, and others really made me feel like a kid again.

Like the other sets in this series of DVDs, this release contains 12 cartoons spread across two DVDs. They are:

Help! It’s the Hair Bear Bunch – Keep Your Keeper
New Adventures of Gilligan – Off Limits
Sea Lab 2020 – Deep Threat
Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan – The Mardi Gras Caper
Shazzan – The Living Island / Master of the Thieves
Yogi’s Gang – Mr. Bigot
Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour – For Scent-Imental Reasons/Stop, Look and Hasten, Hare-Way to the Stars/Duck! Rabbit, Duck!
Valley of the Dinosaurs – Forbidden Fruit
Tom and Jerry/Grape Ape – Show #1 No Way Stowaway / That Was No Idol… / The Ski Bunny / The All American Ape / Stay Awake Or Else
Banana Splits Adventure Hour – Joining the Knights/The Littlest Musketeer/"Danger Island"
Inch High Private Eye – Diamonds are a Crook’s Best Friend
New Adventures of Batman and Robin – Sweet Joke on Gotham City

And what a collection it is! Several “classics” are included and must be watched. A “Sweet Joke on Gotham” is a great episode from the New Adventures of Batman and Robin. Say what you will about the addition of Batmite to the 1970 series, the episodes were still fun, action-packed, and featured Batman’s classic villains.

There are few Looney Tunes episodes that are better than the included “Hare-Way to the Stars” in which Bugs meets Marvin the Martian—who is trying to destroy the Earth with his Illudium PU-36 Explosive Space Modulator. Just say that phrase out loud and try not to smile. This is also one of the few episodes I remember where Bugs doesn’t really win. Sure, he escapes, but as he states at the end “Head for the hills, we’re about to be up to our armpits in Martians.”

That’s not all the classic Bugs you get. Also included is “Duck! Rabbit, Duck!” This is another entry in the Bugs, Daffy, Elmer Fudd series that has Elmer constantly shooting Daffy in the face, with deadpan results. You can’t catch these on TV anymore.

A great Tom and Jerry episode—also featuring Grape Ape—rounds out the classics that everyone should know. Next up are a few 70s gems.

The Banana Splits was the first show I remember that combine live action and cartoons into one show. Not only does it feature the animated adventures of the Three Muskteers, but it also has an animated Arabian Knights segment. Top that off with “Danger Island,” a live-action series directed by Richard Donner (of Superman fame) starring a young Jan-Michael Vincent (Airwolf) and you’re looking at an hour of fun.

Sealab 2020 is the series that spawned the AdultSwim series Seaslab 2021. This straight action series was fun, but couldn’t capture the energy of Johnny Quest and other popular Hanna-Barbera shows on the same format.

Valley of the Dinosaurs is the story of a family trapped in an underground prehistoric world. They are taken in by a family of cave-people, who aid them in their quest to find way home. I remember loving this show as a kid. Dinosaurs were—and still are—cool,

Less memorable—but still good—cartoons finish up the set. Gilligan and the Castaway’s adventures continue in the New Adventures of Gilligan. The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan are Hanna-Barbera’s attempt at an ethnic Scooby Doo clone. The Hair Bear Bunch is a wacky family of bears in a series of misadventures. Inch High Private Eye features the diminutive detective in another adventure.

Finally, finishing up the cartoons on the disc is the odd, 1970s influenced Yogi Bear show Yogi’s Gang. This features most of the 1960s Hanna-Barbera stars (

Huckleberry Hound, Snagglepuss, Quick Draw McGraw & Baba Looey, Atom Ant, Wally Gator, Magilla Gorilla, Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy, Squiddly Diddly, Peter Potamus & So-So, Touché Turtle and Dum Dum, Secret Squirrel and Morocco Mole, Hokey Wolf, Pixie and Dixie, Ricochet Rabbit & Droop-a-Long, Lippy the Lion & Hardy Har Har, The Hillbilly Bears) as they journey around the world with Yogi and Boo Boo looking for a crime and pollution free paradise to call home.

What?!

If you think that’s weird, wait until you watch the episode included in this set. Entitled “Mr. Bigot”, Yogi and the gang must deal with the same-named villain as he attempts to turn the entire gang into hateful bigots.

This is a cartoon that would not be made in this day and age of political correctness and sensitivity. Still, it’s an interesting lesson in a show aimed at kids.

The only feature you’ll get on this set is the Power of Shazzan feature. It’s a short look at the creation of this series that teamed a pair of teens with a 60-foot tall, all powerful Genie.

If you grew up in the 1970s or early 80s, you’ll remember some of these classic cartoons. This is the perfect 2-disc set if you want to catch up on those memories or share them with a younger viewer in your house. so, check out Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1970s Vol. 2 today.

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Every year, the hosts of NBC’s TODAY show dress up. This year, the theme was Star Wars. Sadly, I don’t think LucasFilm had the above clip in mind. Wait until just after the 2-minute mark for the moon-walking and other Ewok behaving badly awkwardness.

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