"Freedom Fighters: The Ray" Animated Series News & Discussion, Part 1 (Spoilers)

[MDawg]

Don't have much to go off of yet, but a new animated CW Seed series featuring The Ray from old school DC Comics team, the Freedom Fighters, will be coming to CW Seed. It will take place in the Arrowverse, so shared universe with Flash, Arrow, Vixen, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl. The show will launch next year.


Edit: Article from Bleeding Cool, again not much in the way of info.

Mod Note: The World's Finest also has official details up.

 

[gmster]

August 11, 2016 (Beverly Hills, Calif.) – CW Seed, the digital channel of The CW Network, will debut a new animated series in 2017, FREEDOM FIGHTERS: THE RAY, based on the characters from DC and produced by Warner Bros.’ digital studio Blue Ribbon Content.

In DC’s Multiversity series, writer Grant Morrison updated the Freedom Fighters to better reflect American demographics. Inspired by Morrison’s new take on the character, the series FREEDOM FIGHTERS: THE RAY will introduce the first gay Super Hero to lead a show.

Based on the characters from DC, FREEDOM FIGHTERS: THE RAY is from Berlanti Productions in association with Blue Ribbon Content, with executive producers Greg Berlanti (“Supergirl,” “The Flash,” “Arrow”) and Marc Guggenheim (“Arrow,” “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow”).

http://cwtvpr.com/the-cw/releases/view?id=45845

 

[Troy Troodon]

Was the Ray gay in the comics?

 

[RoyalRubble]

I'm not too familiar with the character, but it's pretty cool another DC animated show is coming out.

 

[Frontier]

Wow, I didn't see this coming .

I mean, a new DC animated web-series on the CWSeed is one thing, but starring The Ray and the Freedom Fighters? And possibly as a tie-in to the Arrowverse? I could never have imagined this .

I wonder if this is going to somehow tie-in to the JSA appearing in Legends of Tomorrow season 2? And I also wonder if they're looking at someone to play The Ray who could also play him in live-action, as they did with Vixen ?

Also, given the title, could this be one in a continuing series of web-series focusing on each Freedom Fighter? Like "Freedom Fighters: Uncle Sam" or "Freedom Fighters: Phantom Lady?" You can already see some of the other Freedom Fighters in the background, though they look like statues .

It definitely looks like one of Bourassa's designs on the poster, so presumably he's still the main character designer .

Whatever the case, I'm happy to be getting more DC Animation as well as a spotlight on a more obscure (yet cool) property .

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

I wish they wouldn't ANNOUNCE the character as gay. It cheapens the character and only serves as veiled progression.

 

[RoyalRubble]

IGN has some more details, including a description and some comments from the CW president Mark Pedowitz:

The Ray, debuting in 2017, will center around Raymond "Ray" Terrill, a reporter who gains light-based powers after being exposed to a "genetic light bomb." Ray discovers the bomb in his investigation of a secret government project attempting to harness the power of light and weaponize it.

"That is correct [that the actor is being cast to appear on the show]. Marc Guggenheim did a really good job doing that last time with Vixen and Megalyn. We want that. We want that performer, his voice, to be as part of the live action," CW president Mark Pedowitz said, discussing the series as part of the network's Television Critics' Association presentation.

"That is the intention, to build out these animated shows into the Arrowverse and to be able to introduce them in any of the four shows," Pedowitz said, though no specific plans for how or when the character will appear outside of the animated series have been announced.

 

[MegasMilo379]

I have never heard of The Ray at all, but after one look of the artwork, I'm totally hooked. I'm so excited to see this.
CW & DC is still a perfect match.

Sent from my LG-H631 using Tapatalk

 

[Dragnatek]

I wish they wouldn't ANNOUNCE the character as gay. It cheapens the character and only serves as veiled progression.

I agree it feels too gimmicky to do it this way. Hey look we are accepting of everyone. Him being homosexual shouldn't be a big deal it should just be a part of him.

 

[MegasMilo379]

I wish they wouldn't ANNOUNCE the character as gay. It cheapens the character and only serves as veiled progression.

I agree it feels too gimmicky to do it this way. Hey look we are accepting of everyone. Him being homosexual shouldn't be a big deal it should just be a part of him.

Same here with me.

I'm totally cool with gay characters on TV shows in general, but with this element happening so constantly now, it feels less like a deserved major evolution of television and more like "we're just gonna add this aspect here because we can and just because everybody else is doing it too".
And here, it feels so much like the latter, that it just feels kinda unnecessary.

I'm not angry about it all. I'm just not excited about it either.

Sent from my LG-H631 using Tapatalk

 

[TFormersMarvel]

Same here with me.

I'm totally cool with gay characters on TV shows in general, but with this element happening so constantly now, it feels less like a deserved major evolution of television and more like "we're just gonna add this aspect here because we can and just because everybody else is doing it too".
And here, it feels so much like the latter, that it just feels kinda unnecessary.

I'm not angry about it all. I'm just not excited about this either.

Sent from my LG-H631 using Tapatalk

Kind of agree as well, but then I realize that most adaptations are within their own universes, which tend to play around with rebooting old ideas. As along as the writers don't ham fist their new ideas awkwardly that wrecks the story as an adaptation AND its own thing, then I'm cool with it. Some writers genuinely want to modernize these properties, usually not the date the property or make it "kool with teh kidz". Then there are some who fall under pressure from hypocritical extremists or the execs to do so half handily, and are still angered when it doesn't work out (but that's another issue).

The Legends of Super Flarrowverse tends to make such changes serviceability, in my opinion, so I'm still interested in this obscure hero (not sure if Brave and The Bold had The Ray as a cameo, I remembered Uncle Sam).

 

[Troy Troodon]

Well... to be fair, he is technically gay in the New52 continuity when Grant Morrison introduced the Freedom Fighters.

That, and I suppose a better solution is to go for a middle ground, I.E. just making him Bisexual or Pansexual, that could work to I suppose.

But frankly, I'd rather they just take the second Starman to introduce more LGBT characters, he is sincerely underrated.

 

[Yojimbo]

That's a surprise. Just when SDCC is over, more news coming from the TCA.

No surprise it's another animated project inspired by Morrison.

 

[Rick Jones]

LOL I didn't even know the current Ray was gay but that's all I see when I look it up. Has it been specified that this in the Arrowverse? I mainly knew the Ray that was in Young Justice but he's a cool pick to headline a short series. You can make out Phantom Lady and some of the other Freedom Fighters on the poster.

Either way, I'm all for this. Vixen wasn't the be all and end all of action animation but it did show that this can work on streaming and it's great that CW Seed is taking these chances.

Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk.

 

[hobbyfan]

Was the Ray gay in the comics?

Not originally. The new show is based on Grant Morrison's reinterpretation of Ray "Happy" Terrill from his Multiversity books from 2014-5. Thus, Terrill becomes the 2nd Golden Age character reimagined as gay (Alan Scott being the other) as part of the ongoing cultural diversification in comics.

 

[Frontier]

Just a reminder, but please keep discussion focused purely on the topic at hand, which is the new animated web-series set in the Arrowverse, and any news and content released for it.

 

[Troy Troodon]

Not originally. The new show is based on Grant Morrison's reinterpretation of Ray "Happy" Terrill from his Multiversity books from 2014-5. Thus, Terrill becomes the 2nd Golden Age character reimagined as gay (Alan Scott being the other) as part of the ongoing cultural diversification in comics.

I know, I mentioned that.

 

[Yojimbo]

Has it been specified that this in the Arrowverse?

Yeah, TV Guide tweeted confirmation of that during the TCA. Articles about the PR confirmed it. But I think the next question will be, "When in the Arrowverse?"

 

[Frontier]

And "how" given this is the first we've heard of the Freedom Fighters existing in this universe .

 

[Yojimbo]

And "how" given this is the first we've heard of the Freedom Fighters existing in this universe .

Yeah, I'm starting to get confused/concerned the canon is getting expanded too quickly. Isn't there a JSA and LoD appearing on Legends S2?