Justice League Double Feature

DC Animation recently released a double feature in their line of highly acclaimed animated films, Justice League: War and Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox.

WARNING: Similar to the brilliant and highly recommended, Batman: Under the Red Hood, these films are for adults only. Parents should watch them before deciding if they're appropriate for their children.

The classic origin of the Justice League of America (JLA Vol 1, #9) brought Superman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Batman and Martian Manhunter together to fight an invasion by aliens called the Appelliax (reference to this origin is made in the several episodes of the animated series Young Justice). The most recent revision of the DC universe, called The New 52, tweaks this story so that the invading force is from the hellish planet Apokolips, Martian Manhunter has been replaced by the pre-52 Teen Titan, Cyborg (aka: Victor Stone), and Shazam (aka: Captain Marvel/Billy Batson) is added to the line up. JL: War is the animated story of this new origin.

Arrow

"...if you're enough of a Green Arrow fan to know what I mean when I say 'Longbow Hunters', give this show a few episodes. I bet it will grab you the same way it did me."

As a DC fan who dropped Smallville after season 1, I've avoided this show since the day I saw the pilot at SDCC several years ago. I have a few friends who told me they liked it, and I respect their opinion, but the overall reviews were so mixed I didn't want to waste my time. Green Arrow is one of my favorite heroes and I didn't want to see him mauled by a pretty-boy scene-chewer. Changes like making Star City into Starling City were a red flag that some producer or director wanted to make stupid changes for no apparent reason. Last week a friend browbeat me into watching it now that Season 1 is free on Netflix and...I am absolutely shocked by how good this show is.


The writers of Arrow have an obvious love for the source material, planting subtle Easter Eggs throughout the season (look for references to the Nodell Tower, and the Wolfman and Perez law firm). Other locations in the DC universe, such as Bludhaven, Central City, and Coast City (home to Nightwing, Flash, and the Hal Jordan Green Lantern, respectively) are folded into the dialogue in ways that give DC fans hope for more to come (see links below). Characters like Deathstroke/Slade Wilson, Count Vertigo, The Royal Flush Gang, Deadshot, and Merlyn have counterparts in this "real-world" drama that make sense. The fight choreography is jaw-dropping at times, particularly because the main actor, Stephen Amell, is pulling off many of these stunts himself. Just as shocking is that the archery is fairly well represented. What I'm most surprised about is that they found an actor who could do the physical scenes and still actually act! Ollie has some subtlety, but is not overly complex in this series, so I'm not seeing the actor pull off major emotional stretches, but he is being directed well and is able to pull off believable emotional cues with skill.

The same love for the DC heroes, unfortunately, isn't given to the DC heroines. The storyline introducing the Huntress was written well, but the actress was heavy-handed and so a fan favorite fell flat. Laurel Dinah Lance will eventually become Black Canary (we guess), and though the character of Laurel is well handled and we see she can fight, so far I'm not seeing anything that makes me believe she can pull off Canary onscreen. The rest of the show becomes so good by the end of season 1, though, that I'll give the creative team some credit.

So, if you're enough of a Green Arrow fan to know what I mean when I say "Longbow Hunters", give this show a few episodes. I bet it will grab you the same way it did me.

-------

The Flash's secret identity, Barry Allen, will appear in two season 2 episodes of Arrow, then get his own pilot set in the same universe.

It's now been confirmed that my all-time favorite DC hero, Nightwing, will also make an appearance at some point.

-------

Addendum 12/14/2013: We're now 9 episodes into season 2 and it is just as good, if not better, than season 1. The writers inject great emotional payoffs to plots seeded in the first season and the Barry Allen episodes are making me long for The Flash pilot. It's rare to see the kind of understandable character growth they show between 1 and 2 as well. Finally, the Black Canary storyline forced some changes to the character, but worked out far better than I would have expected.

Man of Steel

Spoiler-Free Verdict: It was fine. Better than Superman Returns. Stable--though unimpressive--foundation for a trilogy. 

-------

My issues with Man of Steel weren't with the overall plot or the adaptations they made to modernize his story for the big screen. The heart of the character was clear throughout the film (except at the end, see The Kicker below). I thought Henry Cavill made an excellent Big Blue. The setup for kryptonite was well handled. I liked exploring his childhood. I enjoyed the twist on the Fortress of Solitude, and the nods to several DC heroes, villains, and supporting cast. I normally hate the TV/Movie need to kill Jonathan Kent (which has never happened in the comics or the Animated Series), but I found this version both interesting and touching. My issues, and they are significant, were with the storytelling.

Star Trek: Into Darkness

Spoiler Free Review:

Into Darkness outdoes its predecessor, ranking as one of the best Star Trek films in the series. Go see it before someone spoils it for you. Or before you read the spoiler-filled review to come.

Seriously.

Go now.

Retro Review: Ultimate Avengers

If you read Ultimate Avengers by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch, you probably felt like I did when you heard this animated movie was being released. Even the cover, reminiscent of Bryan Hitch's work, promised something special. I should have set my bar lower. Actually, I should have sent my bar back to the 70's.

Any single Justice League animated episode makes this film look like the Superfriends from the 1970's, and there simply is no excuse. Animation studios with amazing talent are everywhere, and Marvel certainly has enough cash after successes like the Spiderman and X-Men films. Though they tried to put in elements from the brilliantly developed characters in the Ultimates comic series, each scene was rushed, giving no time for emotional involvement. That, combined with chunky animation, leaves you with little ability to suspend your disbelief and really feel for these characters.

Retro Review: Batman: The Brave and the Bold

Image drawn from www.dccomics.com

There is a list of reasons why I shouldn't like this show. As an adult, the "classic" Adam West Batman makes me cringe, though it was my favorite show as a kid. When writers can't get past the camp, or try to use "it's a comic-based TV show" as an excuse for terrible scripts and acting, it pisses me off. So, naturally, when I heard the premise of this show I wanted none of it. Batman is never in Gotham? Tons of guest stars? Throwback to the 50's Bill Finger stuff? Yikes. Really?!

I was totally wrong.

The writers have put together something brilliant, hilarious, and a beautiful homage to how FUN comics were when I was growing up.

Young Justice

"Season One of Young Justice is one of the best written, plotted and developed pieces of animation I've ever seen on American television." 

I'm a Teen Titans fan.

What I loved about the Teen Titans, beyond the fact that they were led by my favorite DC hero, the Dick Grayson Robin, was that they were not the Justice League.

At first glance, the original team looks like a miniature version of their better-known, older counterparts: Batman, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Flash. In the 1960's that's all they were meant to be, but in 1980, Marv Wolfman and George Perez changed all that.

What made the Wolfman/Perez "New Teen Titans" series different and, in my humble opinion, better than the Justice League were their interpersonal relationships. JLA stories were about fighting alien invasions and ultra-powerful supervillains. If you wanted to read about Clark Kent's personal life, you had to read the Superman comics. Since none of the Titans had their own series, Wolfman and Perez could explore the lives of our favorite sidekicks in relationship to one another. The team became more of a family than the JLA could every be, because the JLA had their own lives, their own villains and their own problems outside of the team.