Stories by @justincasts

Green & Red: Vol 1

An anthology series following characters tied to the Green and the Red as they navigate their identities and deal with threats to the realms they are called to protect. Vol 1 follows Beast Boy, who is investigating a new fringe sect of the Church of Blood that holds the key to his ongoing nightmares and the traumas of his youth. He finds an ally and mentor in Buddy Baker (Animal Man), who helps him embrace the Red and teaches the value of restraint to control his powers. Together with Raven and Ravager, they learn that Mother Blood's attempts to siphon the Red and call forth Trigon are intended to ward off an even greater threat lurking in the shadows.

Before Superman

This series imagines Clark Kent's life before he was Superman. He goes back and forth between attending college and making time to visit family and friends in Smallville, Texas. Clark also dips his feet into big city crimefighting while developing a love for journalism. He begins interning at The Daily Planet, where he meets and develops feelings for senior associate and shining star, Lois Lane. But he is still hooked on his high school crush, the one that got away: Lana Lang. Along his journey, he meets future friends like a younger Bruce Wayne and Jimmy Olsen. It also follows Lana, who has political aspirations in the deeply traditionalist hometown, and Lois, who struggles to escape tensions in her military family. Season 2 delves deeper into Clark's tricky balance between journalism and superheroing. It follows his relationships with Lois, Lana, Jimmy Olsen, and Pete Ross. It also introduces his tense but evolving relationship with young billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne, who is on his own journey to cope with the trauma of losing his parents, and the younger Lex Luthor who struggles to find his place in his power-hungry family. As he moves closer to becoming the superhero we all know, Season 3 further explores Clark's relationship to his parents and to Smallville itself, and sees him grapple with new truths about his Kryptonian origin that Martha and Jonathan kept from him and meets his cousin, Kara for the first time. His relationship with Lois deepens as he contemplates his long-term prospects. Lana campaigns for mayor against Pete. Lex moves to oust his father from the company. Bruce learns new secrets about Alfred, grows concerned about the rising crime and gang activity in Gotham, and meets a mysterious woman from a mysterious land. Similar to the show 'Smallville', he won't formally become Superman until the very end.

The Martian 3: Libra Scale

For nearly a hundred years, J'onn J'onzz thought he was all alone. But he is visited by a familiar face who rocks his entire world. His niece, M'gann M'orzz, tells him that there was a small group of White and Green Martians who survived the genocide and are currently being hunted by the alien telepath Despero. But Despero is not working alone; there is an even greater threat lurking in the shadows. Together with friends, the Martian Manhunter and Miss Martian help to resettle the refugees on while battling the evil despot who challenges everything J'onn stands for.

The Martian 2: The Blazing World

This film right after JL 1 movie, and shows J'onn J'onzz in the wake of the Amazo battle. He wants to understand and get rid of his pyrophobia, and seeks help from a reforming villain for whom he develops feelings. Dreamer helps J'onn unlock the memories of his ancestors and discovers more about the history of the Martian races and a conspiracy hatched by the Guardians of the Universe. His discovery will unleash a fury from within that will threaten the entire world with a blazing destruction. It will take a team of his new superhero friends to stop him and remind J'onn who he really is. Artwork is mine.

The Martian

In the 1920s, J'onn J'onzz suddenly arrives on planet Earth, having escaped a genocide on his home planet, Mars. He was accidentally yanked away by a quirky but kind scientist after watching his family perish. Unable to return and with his memories fragmented, J'onn struggles to adapt to his life while witnessing the horrors of humanity. This film shows why he decided to adopt the persona he does, and how he became the hero we know as Martian Manhunter. He begins to learn the truth about the Martian genocide and, with a team of new friends, tries to stop his evil brother and the White Martians from infiltrating and destroying his new home and those he cares about. Artwork is mine.

Static

Virgil Hawkins, formerly the Dakota City hero Static, has been enjoying a life away from crime fighting. He stopped after his electrokinetic powers got out of control at a protest and he nearly harmed a crowd. Years after laying low, Virgil gets stopped by a cop while driving his date home. His powers suddenly flare up and he ends up accidentally killing the officer. What he doesn't know is that he was set up by his arch-nemesis from the past, Ebon. Virgil and his date end up on the run from authorities and rivals obsessed with catching them and stealing the powers he claims he no longer wants. To save himself and the ones he cares about, he will have to decide to accept what he thinks he is running from.

Markovia

An origin story for Tara Markov (Terra) - pre-Titans - and her brother, Brion Markov (Geo-Force), royals in the nation of Markovia, as they are experimented on my by scientist Helga Jace and battle the Fearsome Five to stop a broader calamity.

The Glades

After stealing secret information, former Gotham City detective, on the run from a cult of crooked cops loyal to Intergang, finds himself trapped in the gritty underground of Star City called The Glades. Trying desperately to hide his identity, he gets caught up in the criminal underworld and crosshairs of ruthless and brutal crimelord Danny "Brick" Brickwell, who is much more than what he seems. He joins their gang hoping that Brick will protect him from the Gotham PD, as long as he keeps hiding who he really is. How long will be able to keep his cover and identity hidden from his new friends in the Glades and from malicious enemies from Gotham?

Super-Sons

This series ties into the larger DC universe films. It is a comedy adventure, somewhat acting as a sequel to the Superboy Legacies series, showcasing the friendship between Jon Kent and Damian Wayne as they navigate young adult life as superheroes. It is their friendship that will ultimately heal the longstanding bitterness between their fathers, this repairing the Justice League for the upcoming battles. The second season introduces a new friend in the mysterious Lizzie Prince, who claims to be Wonder Woman's daughter from the future.

Suicide Squad 2: The Clean Up Crew

A team of mishaps and supervillains tries to circumvent Amanda Waller's protocols and orders to unleash a deadly weapon that targets every metahuman and superhero on earth. So, it seems like the villains are the new heroes! Meanwhile, she and Luthor greenlight a top secret protocol called "Project Doomsday" beneath everyone's noses.

Green Lantern VI: The First Lantern

Jessica Cruz's malfunctioning ring is stolen, and revealed to be the mystical Phantom Ring, a millennia-old creation of the rogue Guardian, Krona, for the omnipotent first Lantern, Volthoom. Awakened after a millennia of imprisonment, due to reality fractures caused by the GL battles against Sinestro, Parallax, Black Hand, Predator, and Starbreaker, Volthoom arises to steal energy from each the Lantern Corps, believing it to be his alone to possess. Hr succeeds in draining hundreds of Lanterns, leaving a handful from each of the Corps to make a final stand against him and his maker.

Green Lantern V: Nothing to Fear

Somehow, Sinestro broke out of the prison dimension and has been quietly living out his exile on his home planet, Korugar. Days after she accepts a marriage proposal from John Stewart, Katma Tui is sent to investigate Sinestro's return, but after he charms her, she discovers that he has quietly built his own Yellow Lantern Corps with the express purpose of eliminating the GLC. Sinestro murders her in cold blood before she can expose him. He then appears to the GLC and allows himself to be arrested, pleading for refuge from a band of powerful invaders on his planet. When the GLC goes to investigate, they realize it was a lol a ruse, and the Sinestro Corps reveals themselves and brutally attacks the GLC, taking hostages and releasing Sinestro. They go after the rest of the GL, their allies, and the Oa planet itself. Sinestro is focused on killing Hal Jordan, whom he knows is still alive. An enormous battle ensues with many casualties. In the end, Sinestro himself turns on the other Yellow Lanterns, who have recklessly killed his daughter and wife, Soranik Natu and Arin Sur, and sacrifices himself to destroy them all.

Green Lantern IV: The Starbreaker

Hal Jordan wrestles with his memory of instigating chaos. A mysterious and powerful figure named The Starbreaker, with an insatiable appetite for emotional energy, mounts an existential threat, and John Stewart leads the GLC to a showdown. Carol Ferris struggles to contain and control a malevolent entity that may ultimately prove to be the solution to all their problems.

The Lantern Mysteries

Each season explores the journey, struggles, and investigations of a specific member of the Green Lantern Corps. It ties in with the Green Lantern films and broader DC universe films and shows. Season 1: after GL 2, concurrent with GL 3, follows Kyle Rayner investigating the murder of his girlfriend by sadistic villain Major Force and his initiation into the GLC. Season 2: after GL 3, follows Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz as partners investigating the dark and murderous William Hand while working through their traumas and conflicting styles; Jessica struggles to control her ring's power. Season 3: following the Black Hand situation, Guy Gardner refuses an order from the Guardians, leading to disaster; gets kicked out of the GLC, and struggles with his identity without a power ring leading to a major battle with his villainous brother, Mace. Season 4: shows how a man named Mark Richards almost received a GL power ring, but instead leaned into malice and was cursed to feel his victims' pain. The second half follows Nathan Broome, and his slow descent into sorrow following his breakup with Carol Ferris. Season 5: follows Jo Mullein's story and her investigation of a cosmic conspiracy; based on "Far Sector" graphic novel.

Green Lantern III: Rebirth

One year after Hal Jordan's fall and disappearance, friends Carol Ferris, Tom Kalmaku, and John Stewart are left grieving in their own ways. Hal's missing power ring appears to John twice, but he rejects it, remembering what it did to Hal. It finds its way to self-proclaimed neighborhood protector Guy Gardener, who accepts it to become the second human Lantern. But Guy gets kidnapped on an outing by the powerful Atrocitus, the Red Lantern. Ganthet again tries John, but he says no until he appeals to him in person, asking for help saving Guy. John reluctantly accepts on a one-off basis, but ultimately stays when he sees the larger role he can play, and after developing feeling for his patrol partner, Katma Tui. John realizes that even with the current group, they will not be able to save Guy from the terrifying evil that awaits. He proposes, against convention, that they recruit more humans (locating Jessica Cruz and Simon Bas) to join the Corps. Ganthet reluctantly agrees, and sends them rings. John helps Ganthet release his fantasy of depending on a "chosen one" and pushes him to imagine the Corps as a community, which together can stop the malevolent force and save Guy. Also, Carol is overtaken by an ancient power that brings her closer to Hal in unexpected ways.

Green Lantern II: The Chosen One

Hal Jordan is everything the Guardians dreamed of. He is the perfect Lantern and is coming into his own as a leader of the Corps. But he has been sneaking away to converse with his former and exiled mentor, Sinestro, who uses the opportunity to slowly corrupt the young hero. He plays on Hal's insecurities and fears, hoping he will become a suitable host for the omnipotent entity Parallax, and the perfect weapon against Oa and the Guardians. Hal begins to fall to the power of suggestion and Sinestro's influence until he becomes a danger to himself, everyone he loves, and the Lantern Corps to which he has pledged his life. When he succumbs to his fear and loses willpower, he is overtaken by the Parallax entity, becoming a near unstoppable force that even Sinestro cannot control. Faced with a terrible choice, Hal's only hope is to sacrifice himself to save everyone and everything from obliteration. In the end, Sinestro takes on the Parallax entity for himself, seemingly killing Hal. But Sinestro cannot control it and it takes Ganthet everything in him to exorcise the being and exile Sinestro to another dimension, separating the two forever.

Shazam 3: The Rock of Eternity

Hawkman and Hawkwoman recruit Shazam, Mary Marvel, and crew (while they are out and about doing superhero stuff) to stop Black Adam from forcibly conquering the small nation-state of Khandaq, and potentially instigating a worldwide geopolitical crisis. Oh, and the Shazam Family continues to navigate interpersonal issues. Billy tries to escape old habits. Freddy and Mary try dating, but it's weird. Victor and Rosa adjust to a shrinking house. Meanwhile, an even greater evil awakens that will bring all parties together for the sake of the planet.

Shazam 2: The Tale of Seven Sins

Mary has gone off to college and Billy and Freddy wrestle with the possibility of separation. Billy continues his growing pains with his adopted family, and envelops himself in being a to avoid decision making. Meanwhile, he is tested in deeply personal ways as his closely held traumas as brought to the surface through battles with the Seven Deadly Sins and the obsessive Doctor Sivana. He will need all the help he can get, and therefore learns that he doesn't need to be a superhero all alone.

Hawkman & Hawkwoman II: Of Gods and Kings

This film delves deeper into the lore of Prince Khufu and Princess Chay-Ara, revealing the story of a young advisor to the Prince and rival to Hath-Set named Teth-Adam, who hides a secret from the court. The death of the prince and princess sets off a chain reaction that leads to an ancient Wizard granting Teth-Adam godlike powers for the purpose of stopping the rise of an all-powerful tyrant and freeing his enslaved comrades from the wrath of Egypt. However, he takes the power for himself and begins to rule with an iron fist. His actions cost his wife and son their lives, and his brutal methods inspire the name Black Adam. Now inadvertently awakened from centuries long imprisonment by the Wizard, Black Adam is out to renew his powers and seek revenge on the former prince and princess, as well as their former priest and nemesis. Oh, and he also knows exactly how to kill them once and for all.

The Shazam Movie!

What if you got the chance to be a real superhero? No strings attached. Orphaned and adopted, renegade and awkward, teenage Billy Batson struggles to fit in with his found family and friends while also moonlighting as a real-life superhero called Shazam!. He struggles with the weight and seriousness of this calling while battling the mad super genius caterpillar, Mister Mind, and his minions.