Just months before Superman Returns hits theaters, DC Comics, the oldest publisher of comic books around and Marvel’s main competition, is appearing all over in the film world.

The hype for Wonder Woman is getting to an insane level with polls on who should play the title character on nearly every film Web site, and articles about casting are appearing in nearly every film magazine. We should hear from the producers very soon now, as the film is still set to be released next year. Joss Whedon was set to do X-Men 3, but opted to write and direct WW instead. It’s because of this that the field has been narrowed down to just a handful of candidates. While it sounds like the studio wants to put a bigger name like Jessica Biel, it’s more likely that Whedon will go with an actress that he has used previously, based on how he works. I would expect Charisma Carpenter from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” or Morena Baccarin from “Firefly” to step in. Personally, I think both are great choices, too.

Speaking of X-Men, the producers of those movies have been talking about doing Metal Men. Metal Men is a DC property that tells the stories of a ragtag team of superhero robots and their inventor who all face prejudice and fight evil.

Captain Marvel (the DC hero, not to be confused with Marvel Comics’ Captain Marvel) is also coming to the screen in Shazam!, based on the comics. The story follows a young boy that turns into a superhero when he says the word “shazam.” The movie just got a director after years of development. That director is Peter Segal, the guy behind Anger Management. Uhh...that sounds bad.

It’s good to see that DC isn’t rushing all of its huge properties to films right away. I like that they are releasing these less popular characters before we get to see The Flash and Green Lantern.