#lex still doing heroic things

[ruby-took]

Smallville thoughts

I've just rewatched the Season 5 episode "Lockdown", and for the most part, I really like it. The interactions between Lex and Lana especially are great. That said, characters constantly referring to Lex as a villain was really jarring, as was the way Clark was acting.

But the thought I was left with was that the episode seems to want to claim that the only difference between Lex saving Lana by taking a bullet for her, and Clark saving Lana from an explosion, is that Lana doesn't know that Clark saved her, and that just doesn't sit right with me. Because surely, there is a fundamental difference between someone saving you even though he has to put his own life on the line to do so, and someone saving you from something that could never actually harm him.

Sure, someone saving you with no risk to themselves means that they don't want you dead, which isn't nothing, but... Clark called an ambulance for Lex too, despite pretty much hating Lex at this point, so not wanting someone to die isn't some huge statement. But someone saving you when they know doing so could kill them? That carries the implicit message, "Your life is worth more to me than mine," and that's just not the same thing.

Which also once again left me thinking, "Someone explain to me again exactly how Lex is the villain here?"

#everybody except lana was so unfair to lex #lex still doing heroic things #even when canon had long made up its mind that he was evil #drives me nuts #smallville meta #s05e11

[paper-gold-theories]

Hey! How do you think Goldheart's relationship to Dr Slug would be? Like, Dr Slug will be "dominant"? And Goldheart a shy boy? I've always thought about this dynamic of original Goldheart and Dr Slug from Heroic AU, but I've never seen anyone talk about it.

Hi anon,

(For me personally, I prefer to call the HeroicAU Flug Dr.Slys rather than Dr.Slug as it sounds like he is an insectologist. Also because Alan mentioned that Flug asks people to call him Dr. Flug because people can't pronounce Flugslys, so the HeroicAU my headcanon is that Flug's name is still Flugslys, but similarly people can't pronounce that so he goes by the name Dr. Slys, basically the word sly with an s, because it sounds more menacing to strike fear in the hearts of criminals.

For GoldHeart, I called him DarkHeart because in Villainous, there is a popular saying in P.E.A.C.E which is "Gold be in your heart", so in the HeroicAU, there is a popular saying amongst D.O.O.M., the HeroicAU version of P.E.A.C.E., which is "Darkness be in your heart")

____

In Villainous I always see GoldHeart and Flug's dynamic as a Popular Jock Superman vs Nerdy Lex Luther.

In the HeroicAU, my headcanon of DarkHeart and Dr. Slys dynamic is like a Joker with superpowers and a Batman that kills.

(I kinda imagine DarkHeart to do the Mark Hamill Joker laugh)

----

In the HeroicAU, Dr.Slys is a hero that strikes fear into the hearts of Villains criminals just from intimidating aura, the only exception is DarkHeart who is not affected by him and enjoys his company.

DarkHeart is the strongest, most feared, dangerous, and the most insane supervillain with his own supervillain league called "The Dark Side". His goal is to end all good forever and Dr.Slys is the one to stop him.

----

Dr. Slys is a planner who thinks two steps ahead of people, but finds it hard to predict DarkHeart's insanity makes him unpredictable and comes up with plans that are equally insane and unpredictable. (Like hitting someone with a bag of rocks out of nowhere and dancing the macarena to distract people)

Dr. Slys is someone who similar to Flug is a planner, but unlike Flug he is more destructive and chaotic, like he enjoys crashing his plane into things causes a lot of property damage when saving people. Hence, because of this he is not popular amongst the public despite his success of being a hero. (I kinda imagine like this scene from Lego Batman)

But he does have loyal fans and supporters who appreciate him.

DarkHeart would often try to convince him that its more fun to be the Villain rather than a hero and no one would care how much property damage is caused and will in fact encourage it, and genuinely believes that Slys is more suited to be on the Villain because of his sadistic and violent nature. But Dr. Slys always rejects DarkHeart saying that he won't "go over to the dark side".

----

After Dr. Slys joins WhiteHat Organization, WhiteHat would try to help Dr. Slys improve as a hero and wants Dr.Slys to be less sadistic and violent while Dr. Slys would just see it as a job.

He also finds WhiteHat's methods for justice to be soft and also questionable because it can't be explained by science, but somehow manages to work and also because of these methods WhiteHat is able to become the no.1 and best hero.

This is why, despite there disagreement Dr.Slys has a lot of respect for WhiteHat and willing to agree and compromise to some rules such as not to kill Villains unless necessary.

Eventually Dr.Slys slowly and gradually improve as a hero, becoming a more empathetic and less-destructive after he joined the company and befriending Clemencia, 6.6.6., and WhiteHat and eventually come to like WhiteHat because he is genuinely a nice guy. But he is somewhat violent and secretly does things like build torture devices and death rays.

DarkHeart doesn't like that, thinking that after joining WhiteHat Organization and "family life" with Dr. Slys soft. And DarkHeart would often stir the pot with with Dr. Slys disagreements with WhiteHat and try to convince Dr. Slys to join him so that they can take down WhiteHat but Dr.Slys would refuse.

(I imagine DarkHeart convincing Dr.Slys to join him, its like "Say My Name" from Beetlejuice and if DarkHeart succeeds and he and Dr.Slys hangs out its like "That Beautiful Sound", also from Beetlejuice)

----

DarkHeart as mentioned absolutely batshit crazy and would randomly pop up at radom places at random times just to fight Dr. Slys. His intention was to sneak up on Dr. Slys, scare the shit out of him, or just fuck with him for his own amusement.

(source)

Like coming out of trash cans and man-hole covers. Or just dressing up as random people on the street. (I kinda imagine for them to have a Majima and Kiryu dynamic for this case)

____

Shipping Stuff

DarkHeart is the only Villain in existence that can scare Dr. Slys.

Dr.Slys can handle DarkHeart's crazy antics and persistence for him to join the dark side.

But freaks Dr.Slys the fuck out DarkHeart actually enjoying being tortured by him.

Dr.Slys tortures Villains to get information or to scare them off for doing crime, ect. but no matter what he does to DarkHeart, he just seems to want more and absolutely loves it.

Which no Villain has never reacted this way and this just scares him and makes him want to run for the hills, (which is ironic for a Villain that strikes fear into other criminals)

Something like this scene:

DarkHeart, after being dipped in acid: Whoa that was great, can we go at it again? :D

Dr.Slys: YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO ENJOY IT, YOU NUT!!

DarkHeart: You seem tense Slys. Looks like someone needs a hug. ~ 🖤

Dr.Slys: GAH!! Get away from me you're covered in acid!!

Dr.Slys: If you don't tell me what I want, I'm going to sew your your mouth to a butt like they do in human centipede.

DarkHeart: Only if it's your butt I'm being sewed to. ;D

Dr.Slys: YOU'RE INSANE!!

DarkHeart: So are you, that's why we are meant to be together. ;) 🖤

Dr.Slys, runs away: GAH!!

DarkHeart, going after Slys: Where are you going Slys? I thought you wanted something from me.🖤 ~

-----

(How they feel about each other)

Despite DarkHeart's craziness and his ability to be ultra sadistic and machoistic at the same time, and their different opinions on good and evil, Dr.Slys, does enjoy DarkHeart's company because he is someone who can truly relate to him and slowly his antics does grow on him and at times wishes they weren't on the other side.

While Slys thinks DarkHeart is just horny for being tortured by him.

Meanwhile, DarkHeart loves Dr.Slys because is someone who could truly relate to him, challenge, exits him and believes they can (literally) rule the world together and are ment to be together. And also because he is horny for being tortured by Slys.

#heroic au #villainous #villanos #villainous au #goldheart #gold heart #herbert leth #villainous headcanons #dr kenning flugslys #dr flug #flug #incorrect quotes #villainous incorrect quotes #black hat #villainous demencia #5.0.5 villainous #villainous 505 #dr flug and goldheart are not brothers

[clay-cuttlefish]

Forging ahead with 52. #19 to #38. It's so much.

#19

The Evil Skeets plot is great. According to the omnibus it was a very late change away from a generic broken-time story, and I can kinda see that with how some of the earlier evil Skeets behavior doesn't seem super purposeful, but it all works for me.

#20

Mostly spaceguy plot that I don't care much about. The fight's cool at least.

I have no idea what fan speculation was like at the time but the idea of Supernova Jason Todd conspiracy theories is extremely funny so I support the intentional red herrings here.

#21

I keep changing my mind on which storylines I like more as I go. How could I not love Natasha?

#22

Dr. Magnus is back! I wish him being bipolar was handled more sensitively, the whole "oh the medicine keeps me from going ~crazy~" thing is :/, but I'm willing to read it charitably as his own perspective because I like him. He's a psychotic DC character who's heroic and not spooky or magical, just a guy who really doesn't want to have another depersonalization episode and has some internalized sanism about it, it could be so much worse.

#23

I like that Vic's more jaded to the horrors he can't stop than Renee is. He's had a lot of time to get used to the idea he can't save everyone - back in his own book he would've thrown himself in harm's way just like she wants to, but he's gotten better at not starting fights he can't win.

Hate to give Geoff Johns credit for anything but "What the hell are you doing?" "Seeing if it's contagious." is really good.

#24

"We were both guilty of ignoring Ted" Pretty sure Booster nearly died because he dropped everything to help but okay.

Osiris is just a kid...

Introducing a First Nations hero just to kill him off and give his stuff to a white dude sucks.

#25

Alan's out of the spaceguy zone and doing his own thing.

Almost halfway and the threads are still only starting to link up.

#26

I cannot get enough of Vic and Renee being friends with the Black Marvels. It's very sweet!

Tot my friend Tot :)

This is just a nice moment for them.

#27

I'm very into how Evil Skeets is drawn. He manages to be expressive despite having no moving features, it's a good trick.

Ohhh no it's now. I thought I had another issue, but no, this is the turning point.

#28

THE QUESTIONS!!! Love how they're heckling Kate together.

Kate is so cool.

Oh right, the spaceguys are still here.

#29

The way the mad science island handles mental illness generally sucks, but it's almost hitting at something interesting with Will being forced off his medication for the sake of "creativity".

#30

Get out of here Bruce.

I am going to cry!

#31

I don't even dislike the spaceguys really, but cmon, more of Ralph or Nat would've been better.

Ralph's still a detective even at his lowest! Strong foreshadowing.

#32

Uh oh, Ralph.

#33

Ohhh Charlie.

Him hallucinating Myra? Only able to admit he loved her at the very end?? It takes me out!

Almost all of his dialogue is straight from the O'Neil run. Rucka describes rereading the entire run just to write this issue because he had to get this right, and it shows.

There's a reason I consider O'Neil and Rucka the essential Question writers, and all the other takes to be interesting sidenotes.

#34

The kids aren't doing so well.

aaaaaaaa

#35

Hands you a picture of Nat. Hands you a picture of Nat. Hands you a picture of Nat.

Lex is the best villain in 52 and it isn't even close to a competition.

#36

AAAAAAA

Fuck dude! Nothing coherent to say here! Look at them!

#37

Wild emotional roller coaster for me as I go from Renee agony to cheering about Booster. My first read of this was a Time.

It's such a fun mystery. I can confirm it works if you know nothing about comics and are just along for the ride, and it comes together so well on the reread.

Mayor Ollie!

#38

AAAAAAA

"I'm afraid of who I'll become without you..." How am I meant to be normal about this!

I had to read this in two pieces because it made me need to get up and pace. It has done this every time I have read it. I am physically incapable of being normal about this.

Head in my hands. Comics are good and worth reading actually.

#clayposts #clayreads #the question #vic sage #renee montoya

[super-hero-confessions]

find it a little weird that people seem to have a bit of a skewed and nerfed view of homelander's strength.

not even to say that he's the strongest of the superman archetypes, far from it,  i think it's pretty clear he's not. but he's not 'weak' or a 'little bitch' in comparison either and it's just... strange that people think that i guess?

in the comics, setting aside minor narrative inconsistencies, they make it pretty clear that the only thing that can go toe to toe or have a chance at destroying him:

is his identical clone.

but this would literally be true for most if not all of the superman characters so it doesn't really imply he'd be much weaker than them in any sense

if we just look at the show. nearly every other supe is deathly afraid of him and with very few exceptions, it is pretty much impossible to hurt him. there isn't really anyone who rivals him in a fair fight and this version is implied to be stronger than his comics self.

and that's just the thing, i think he is undoubtedly incredibly strong, well past the point of giving any of the superman type characters quite a handful of serious trouble or even actually doing many of the heroic feats we see superman handle with ease (we know an entire train brought down by a telekinetic didn't scratch him so he likely *could* have saved flight 37 and just chose not to). but i think people are measuring him from all the wrong angles.

and i don't mean it as just a measure of strength within his own world, i would argue many of the supes created by compound V are implied to be very very strong with a few drawbacks.

part of the disconnect i think comes with how 'weak' the general humans seem to be, or how easily they get killed. but it feels like people forget the show is meant to be gory and outrageous to a point in a way that almost none of the other medias are. part of the parody is how easily these people would die around recklessly strong characters, and it's desensitizing in a way.

so this would translate to all other stories, not stay confined to the boys universe as if the people were somehow more fragile there.

another element to consider would be his ego and emotion. yes, that's a factor two ways. i know the people guilty of this wouldn't admit it, but homelander's emotional instability, insecurity, and constant need for reassurance that he is the TOP of the food chain is definitely making people *want* to think he's much weaker than he really is. simultaneously, it is one of his *weaknesses*, but it still doesn't actually make him 'weak' overall

apart from this, the only real thing that disparages him from his counterparts would be his recovery ability. from what we can gather, that seems a bit slower which can significantly limit him in a fight with someone who can deal good damage against him, but if we're truly fair about it, he could hurt them back and he wouldn't be one to hold back or avoid any chances for cheap shots or killing blows.

and some of the others were just as slow if not slower than him when it came to healing--once they were injured. and we already know not much can injure them--homelander *included*.

hell, this might be controversial, but omni-man literally got hurt by things that would have barely if even phased homelander in the first episode of invincible and then took his sweet ass time to heal.

it's pretty much just superman who can bask in sunlight and instaheal... the motherfucker...

but what homelander is *actually* a big baby about... is the fact that he can get hurt--at all. but overall, his weaknesses are few and far between, and we know he would fight very *very* dirty and he isn't above fleeing if he feels outmatched or outnumbered or needs to recuperate.

this would be the reason billy butcher has so much trouble offing the fucker, regardless of what guys like lex luthor or batman would have people believe about the actual strongest of the archetype (fucking reality altering punches my ass).

and billy's much more ruthless than either of them (so is homelander).

#confession #the boys #homelander

[darthkvznblogs]

Total non sequitur of a question but what do you think of the DCEU?

I like the non sequitur! I hope y'all don't feel like you can only send me asks about the Kverse lol (though of course I'm always happy to answer those!)

I'll give you a very brief review of each:

-Man of Steel: I enjoyed it for the most part. I don't really gel with all the Jesus-y imagery, the bizarre choices with Jonathan, or the incredible amounts of collateral damage (you can't avoid everything but Superman would definitely try to limit it), but I kinda dig the look of all the Kryptonian stuff, I like Henry Cavill's more brooding Superman, and Zod was a cool antagonist.

-Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: wayyy too many things going on. I can't McFucking believe they made Jimmy Olsen a CIA plant and killed him off immediately. I don't completely hate that version of Lex Luthor but he gets grating pretty quickly. The Knightmare stuff is pretty eyeroll worthy IMO (especially once they double down on it later). The titular duel is pretty good, but very short, and leads into some of the worst stuff in the movie. Doomsday sucks!

-Suicide Squad: aside from some cool freaky stuff with Enchantress, and Viola Davis and Margot Robbie being great casting choices, this one's kinda nothing to me. Rick Flagg, Capt. Boomerang and Deadshot are various flavors of decent to good. Tried to do a Guardians of the Galaxy-y thing and failed miserably. Top contender for worst Joker adaptation of all time.

-Wonder Woman: Great, if very simple plot-wise. The Ares stuff at the end really lets the rest of the movie down, but most of the movie's very cool and fun. I still get chills from the no man's land scene! Chris Pine's Steve Trevor is pretty damn good (but Chris Pine is just good in general)

-Justice League (Whedon's version): I actually like the choice to have a more colorful look for a Justice League movie, but yeah, not good. To say nothing of the behind the scenes drama, they tried to do what the MCU did with the Avengers with half the build-up. Doesn't feel earned at all. Some good action and character interactions, but that's about it.

-Aquaman: Pretty fun, I really appreciate the commitment to being just kinda bonkers, from the more comic-accurate looks to the ginormous underwater battle. I don't really love Momoa's Aquaman but I didn't mind him too much on his own.

-Shazam!: One of my favorites in the DCEU. Doesn't overcomplicate itself, doesn't exhaust itself with references to other stuff, just a good story about found families with real heart, some good humor, and a decent villain.

-Birds of Prey: Other than the bizarre choice to give Cassandra Cain's name to a character that couldn't be more different, I fucking love this one. Very fun, great action, and it reminded me I have a crush on Mary Elizabeth Winstead lol

-Wonder Woman 1984: Sucks. I hate to say it, I went in thinking I'd really enjoy it but it was genuinely painful to watch for the most part. Not even the power of Pedro Pascal and Chris Pine combined could save this one.

-Zack Snyder's Justice League: Definitely an improvement overall compared to the theatrical release, but dear lord it did not need to be 4 hours long. Flash's turn-back-the-clock gambit was super cool. Legit kinda ruined by the Joker monologue in the Knightmare, lol.

-The Suicide Squad: Didn't watch it! I saw how bloody and murder-happy it'd be and just shrugged and moved on. I'm sure it's as good as people say, but I'd have to be in a very particular mood to wanna watch it, tbh.

-Black Adam: Enjoyed it quite a bit, though the presence of the JSA in the modern day with very little explanation is a bit jarring. The Rock's Black Adam is a bit too heroic and personable for my tastes but brutal enough that I'm okay with it. Kinda loved Pierce Brosnan's Doctor Fate (except for the suit design, I hated it)

-Shazam! Fury of the Gods: Haven't watched it yet, but I don't hear great things about it, so not super enthused about it. Probably will watch it eventually.

-The Flash: I categorically refused to watch this one because 1) I got spoiled on what happens to Supergirl and y'all know I love Kara so it pissed me off, and 2) the CGI nostalgia fest felt extremely cynical and cash-grab-y to me. Not particularly interested in watching this one, but maybe someday.

-Blue Beetle: Gods, I really wanted to watch this one in theaters. It was in my town for all of two days and I couldn't go :( I plan on watching this one soon-ish - even if it's really bad I'll probably enjoy it, I'm a Jaime simp haha :P

-Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom: Genuinely didn't know this one was coming out. Also not particularly interested in watching it, but also not against it, so I'll probably end up putting it on some really boring weekend hahaha.

#ask box #dceu #snyderverse

[thevindicativevordan]

Comics this week ?

Superman #10 - Wish the Old West story had gone longer and Terra-Man’s showing wasn’t as good as I hoped, but Redondo’s art still made this an enjoyable issue. Ending confirms Lena II is not the person wearing the Lexcorp power armor. Betting it's her aunt, Lena I (Lex's sister), last we saw of her she was imprisoned under Lexcorp tower by Lex during his SuperLex phase. Guess where the Revenge Squad breaks into during their assault on Lexcorp Tower? With Lex's extended family becoming more prominent, she's the only one left who hasn't shown up and is still alive.

Superman: Lost #10 - Final issue is out and it’s… interesting. On one hand the science of it all kinda makes sense and I can sorta follow along with how Priest managed to cut the proverbial Gordian knot he tied for himself. It all ends up being a fakeout of course, Hope’s baby isn’t Clark’s at all, it’s the kid of the guy she killed. Clark yanks a version of himself from earlier in the timeline and sends him back to Lois so she can get her husband back rather than the stranger he’s become. It’s an interesting approach in line with Priest’s love of messing with the timeline. Emotionally though… I dunno I don’t like how Priest ended up doing fake outs at every turn. Given this ends with there being two Supermen, one who is still the “classic” version and the other who has changed so much in 20 years, I don’t get why he didn’t just do the same story except Clark actually did cheat and had a kid with Hope. Ending would have been the same, he yanks an "unspoiled" version of himself from earlier in the timeline to be with Lois while white suit Superman accepts he’s changed too much to return to his old life. That would have been more satisfying to me personally, and taken more advantage of this being an Elseworld. Enjoyed the story all the same.

World’s Finest #23 - Gog's motive here reminds me of the motivation for the Big Bad of Arcaneum. Stories where the afterlife is a real thing raise interesting moral questions that I enjoy seeing explored. What Gog is doing is monstrous, but his plan to kill Darkseid via a suicide mission that will also guarantee all the heroes who die undertaking it get into Heaven/Valhalla is super fucked up because it does make a twisted sort of sense. If you know Valhalla is real and you know how to get there, is it a terrible thing to ensure that a bunch of people go there even if you use reprehensible means? They get to live forever in bliss after all. Of course the Supermen aptly demonstrate my feelings regarding that this issue. Looks like Darkseid is going to thin out the heroic ranks regardless unfortunately, maybe Gog will get what he wants after all.

GL: WJ #5 - I can't decide if John continuing to use a construct of his sister to set his mom at ease is wholesome or fucked up. Can something be both at the same time? I feel like it will end badly. Totally get why he does it, had a similar experience with my grandma. There's no happy ending where dementia is concerned. It does call attention to how both Stewart and the Queen are using the dead for their own purposes. Stewart is obviously morally better, he’s not enslaving his sister’s soul and all he wants is to help his mom, but it is a point of overlap between the two. Another great moment is where he tells Shepherd that heroes are as fragile as the people they protect, and flashes to his mom was so good. This series has done a great job showing John's emotional core beneath his stoic exterior.

JLvGvK #4 - Aquaman unleashing a Kraken to beat back the Monsterverse Kaijus is the kind of dumb fun I’m here for.

Hellblazer #1 - Team doesn’t miss a beat from where they left off, great start. For a second I was hoping to see Levi Kramel show up instead of Holland, but the swamp being turned into a golf course is the first acknowledgement I’ve seen of how the South has become more “business friendly” since the 80s when Moore wrote about the area.

Wonder Woman #5 - As a "Circe is Wonder Woman's archnemesis" believer, it made me happy that Sovereign was nervous about recruiting her and conceded she might possibly use him to her advantage rather than the other way around. Turning Steel into a pig before accepting the offer made me cackle too. Also as someone who thinks Grail doesn't have to suck, Sovereign respecting her enough to recruit her in person was a nice touch. Grail being the evil dominatrix certainly is one way to build her up as a foil for Diana. Glad King is not having all of the Wondy villains meekly follow Sovereign's lead, they all show that they're not lackies like Steel is by bullying him when he tries to recruit him. What the hell is going on with Angle Man though, I'm intrigued. Yara sounded off but I do think King mostly understood what drives each of the Girls. Yara's a hothead who cares underneath all her bravado, Cassie is the tomboy who became more comfortable with herself after meeting Diana, and Donna is Diana's little sister and thus the most like her. Donna challenging Diana to playing video games actually made me smile, do I like Donna now? I don’t know if I want to connect with that character given her convoluted nature, but King is winning me over. And yeah I loved how they decided fuck their oaths actually, they were going to help Diana like it or not.

Fantastic Four #16 - Lovely issue featuring the kids, I’m a sucker for whenever it’s shown that while she might be smarter than her dad, Val is still just a kid and makes mistakes. I also like how Franklin is portrayed as a capable pilot, something he has in common with his Uncle Johnny.

#weekly reviews

[spiderdreamer-blog]

Superman: The Animated Series (1996)

It’s not always easy to appreciate how groundbreaking Batman: The Animated Series was. Much in the same way that The Simpsons revolutionized adult animated sitcoms, Batman completely changed the game for action cartoons in America. And as it wrapped up its initial run, the obvious question arose of what to do next. While creator/producer Bruce Timm wasn’t initially eager to do a Superman series, believing it would be much more difficult even with Batman under his team’s belt, he warmed to the idea and set forth on a series that would follow in those footsteps, but create its own identity. Gone were the gothic shadows of Gotham City, replaced by sunny Epcot-esque futurism. The heavy Max Fleischer influence on the character design would give way to a sleeker, streamlined look more reminiscent of Jack Kirby and Japanese anime (designer and art director Glen Murakami would take the latter influences even further on series like Batman Beyond and Teen Titans). And Superman himself would be a vastly different lead character, which trickled downwards. So how do things hold up?

As usual, we start off with a bang in my favorite rendering of the origin in the three-part pilot movie, “The Last Son of Krypton”. Jor-El desperately tries to warn the planet Krypton of its impending destruction, but they are unmoved, especially with Brainiac manipulating matters to the A.I.’s favor. Right out of the gate, we have smart decisions. I greatly dislike the depiction of Krypton as a cold, ultra-conformist state, and while it certainly has problems from what we see, there’s less of an implicit suggestion that they had this coming. Jor-El is portrayed as a nuanced figure, correct in his warnings and ultimately heroic in his dogged pursuit, but it doesn’t ring false when Lara and others chastise him for being so caught up in being right that it’s become obsessive. And tying Brainiac into Krypton’s origins immediately gives him character through his twisted logic and ego rather than “he’s a bottle city collector because wacky Silver Age” (and don’t get me wrong, I love me some Silver Age).

The tragedy comes as it must, and moving into Earth gives us more smart decisions with Jonathan and Martha Kent coming off as regular people rather than saintly. Then we segue into Metropolis with my favorite depictions of Lois Lane and Lex Luthor ever, as well as Superman’s first public showing and fight against John Corben. All wonderfully efficient and full of great character beats. I particularly enjoy Luthor’s smugness that turns to anger as he tries to talk a stonewalling Superman into working for him, or Martha observing that Superman could use good PR because she doesn’t want people to think he’s “like that NUT in Gotham City”.

We then move into the main body of the series, which is episodic but far more connected than what could be amorphous continuity in Batman. A lot happens step-by-step, such as the discovery of Kryptonite in “A Little Piece of Home” or Parasite’s energy-sucking powers in “Feeding Time” prompting Superman to create protections. Or how “Tools of the Trade” has a story that appears to be about crime boss Bruno Mannheim, then reveals itself at the end to have set a far grander stage with the introduction of Apokolips...and Darkseid. It’s certainly not as heavily serialized as series we have now or even some at the time like Gargoyles, but it’s an important step regardless. And we get the first inklings of a wider DCAU, with appearances by the Flash, Dr. Fate, Aquaman (albeit with his classic design rather than the Peter David mullet-and-hook-hand 90s look that would take hold later in Justice League), Kyle Rayner becoming Earth’s first Green Lantern, and of course, Batman fully folding in with “World’s Finest”, a 3-parter still so awesome I’m mad more adaptations haven’t taken inspiration from it. This is a smart approach creatively because it allows Timm and company to expand the scale and tone of stories that can be told with these characters, esp. because it can be so matter of fact in terms of Superman going “well I know this magic dude, he might be able to help”. Superman himself gets to be far more present in the narrative than Batman could be at times, which so often ceded the viewpoint to its villains. And we even explore his psychology in episodes like “The Late Mr. Kent”, where he has to consider both the effect he’s had and what might be lost if he has to give up his human identity.

Character, of course, is what these shows live or die on, as well as casting, and voice director Andrea Romano assembles another incredible team of actors to give life to these icons. In terms of our heroes, Tim Daly is an excellent Superman, bringing his sitcom bonafides from Wings to create a man of steel who’s very grounded rather than an unapproachable god, and without coming off as phony or bland. If I had one criticism, it’s that I think he’s not always up to the task of Superman’s righteous fury, occasionally coming off as flat in trying to work himself up; George Newbern is more natural and intimidating with these beats later on in Justice League/Unlimited. (I will say he’s an excellent Bizarro, mining a lot of comedy and tragedy out of the character in ways I rarely see) Dana Delany is an outstanding match for him as Lois Lane, a modern career woman who’s genuinely sexy and romantic to boot; she often gets the funniest lines in any given episode like a fast-talking sum-up that ends in aggravation towards an elevator. While George Dzundza and David Kaufman don’t get AS much to do as Perry White or Jimmy Olsen, they’re excellent archetypal depictions nonetheless, and Kaufman gets to show off the likability that would serve him well later on as Danny Phantom. I also like Mike Farrell and Shelley Fabares as the Kents; not only does their real-life marriage add a certain flavor, they come off as warm and down to earth. Joseph Bologna and Joanna Cassidy provide able support as SCU cops Dan Turpin and Maggie Sawyer, tough and credible at every step. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Christopher McDonald as Jor-El; it’s a performance a million miles away from the likes of Kent Mansley or Shooter McGavin in its genuine heroism, and he gives real poignancy to Krypton’s final moments.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a superhero show without great villains, and Romano does this equally as well. The approach TO the villains is interesting in and of itself; even when there are hints of tragedy or sympathy, they’re far more straightforward in their villainy and motivations rather than the psychological Russian nesting dolls we could get on Batman. Lex Luthor is of course the pinnacle of all Superman’s foes, and Clancy Brown simply IS the man to me. There have been other good depictions of course, but none are so immediately arresting and iconic than his deep, overpoweringly egotistical tones. Though my favorite era of his performance might be Justice League/Unlimited, which sends him and us on an emotional rollercoaster compared to the relatively untouchable industry captain here. Just behind him is Corey Burton as Brainiac, who gives the A.I. a chilling intellectual tone that bolsters his logical-only-to-himself mindset, and Michael Ironside as Darkseid, who has never been matched in terms of seeming like a genuine personification of evil. Plus we get solid recurring threats like John Corben, who becomes Metallo, and even in lesser episodes, Malcolm McDowell’s sneering aristocratic villainy is always welcome; the late Brion James gives Parasite a working-class brutality; Brad Garrett is hysterically funny as Lobo, who I can never, ever take seriously and barely want to try; Gilbert Gottfried is just as comedically on point as the obnoxious Mr. Mxyzptlk; Bud Cort gives Toyman an arrested-development creepiness; and Ed Asner, he of the iconic grouchy grandpa voice, goes astonishingly against type as screaming queen Granny Goodness. If you ever wanted to hear Lou Grant himself try out an Ursula vibe, this is the show for you.

Animation-wise, one reason for the streamlining of both this and the accompanying New Batman Adventures episodes was to make things look more consistent rather than the peaks and valleys of how the original Batman run could look if you got a crappy studio that week. This is mostly successful. While Tokyo Movie Shinsha’s episodes still look the best in their fluidity and shading, only a few episodes at the tail end of the series look outright wonky, and both the character acting and action scenes evolve a lot. Musically, Shirley Walker is back to oversee things with a full studio orchestra and composers like Kristopher Carter, Lolita Ritmanis, and Michael McCuistion. They give things an upbeat, heroic sound and start mixing in flavors like electric guitar depending on the episode. I particularly like Darkseid’s doomy, foreboding theme that signals You Are Fucked in the most direct way possible.

The series isn’t without its flaws, of course. The upfront consistency is certainly appreciated compared to the early LOW lows of Batman. Even this series’ worst episodes, with the possible exception of the truly dreadful “Superman’s Pal”, feel better executed than the likes of “I’ve Got Batman In My Basement” or “Cat Scratch Fever”. But this can mean that there will be strings of episodes that are good but not necessarily exceptional, and many can become slugfests thanks to the nature of Superman’s powers; “Father’s Day” is a particularly apt example of this in starting at an interesting point, but devolving into a surprisingly dull, long fight between Superman and Kalibak. He gets to be clever, certainly, but there’s less chances for him to outright outwit an opponent in the ways Batman could. And while the female characters are still very well-portrayed, especially for the time, the unrelenting horniness of some of the designs is a little “oh wow, how did I not notice THAT back then”.

All in all, though, Superman is, on some days, my favorite DCAU series because of how rock solid the fundamentals are and how enjoyable it can be to really get in a groove. It was an important series for laying the tracks that would become Justice League, and compared to some of our more modern depictions of the big blue boy scout, it’s a breath of fresh air. Despite ending on a somewhat downer note with “Legacy”, the show kept hope alive. And that’s a nice sentiment to return to now and again.

#superman: the animated series #stas #dcau #media analysis #reviews

[petrenocka]

I always thought that I simply gravitated towards villains in media. And I might just be gay. But I think that actually I am really into a specific character trait that usually only manifests in villians.

And it is prety vague too. The best I can describe it “character knows exactly who they are and where they stand in this world and is fully owning up to it”. 

The pinnicle, the purest form of this is just a normall ass guy you can kill by hitting him on the head once. He is threatened by lethat force, yet still perfectly chill, becasue he knows the other guy wont do actually it. And not in an ass-pull-y “I put a bomb on your family off camera” manner, but with something previously astablished. Like when Superman can’t just kill Lex Luthor, not because he’s not building a Superman Killer 69 000, but because Superman doens’t have solid prof that he does even though he certanly 100% is. Or Alias Bushard from TMA.

But Bill Cyphers, Discords, Moriartys, Floweys, Silcos, Adam Smashers and the like also have that going for them. 

There are some heroic and neutral guys like that out there, don’t get me wrong. Gojo, c!Technoblade, most of all important Jojo characters.

They all are really commiting to the bit.

And the best thing is that it’s both extremely engaging when guys like that get their way through their sheer self assurance, and supremely satisfying when they crumble and are unable to cope. It’s all on the confidence.

That’s the best kind of guy. My favourite breed of meow meow.

#''shonen portagonist'' is an entirely differenr thing though #they are the one *wrong* about their place in the world and getting their way in spite of that #writing #media analysis #villains

[andieperrie18]

Leap of Faith (preview)

Spiderwoman! Reader x Batfam

Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3f6IhX23zaZMY1dfTWTt8T?si=e52aa14eec8b45c5 (this list is messy)

A/n: Heavily inspired by the Spiderverse Movie.

The pic is Cindy Moon also known as Silk.

Let's do this one more time.

My name is Y/n Parker.

I am also Bruce Wayne's biological daughter who basically detached herself to the bat-vigilante agenda and moved out of the depressing city of Gotham.

I am now living with my aunt on my deceased mother's side and living the normal life.

So here's the thing, since everyone in the Wayne Household is all heroically inclined unlike me who is your typical normal citizen and Heroically declined, I was eventually forgotten in the picture. So I was kind of lonely in most part and I had a unexpected crush with a foster brother of mine, who had recently revived by such circumstances.

And the guy is a big douche but I can't deny the fact he is hot and he's knowledge for novel and poetries is captivating. So liking him is a big no and he only likes women who can hold him down. And considering that I am simply smart minded but not smart mouthed I am out of the picture of potential love interests. I can here my love life fluttering away in the distance. * sigh *

I don't bond much with my brothers although two of them is extremely approachable, I can't vibe with my mute, raised by assassin's younger sister (whom I dedicate learning sign language for by the way), and being brutally done with my one and only blood brother with his almost of a decade of degrading me as a waste of space.

And so I left. To Metropolis I go where the Super's reign and the city is a tad bit more brighter.

I entered Metropolis State University, that's right. Mr. Superman's Alma Mater although I am not taking Journalism but Business Administration with a side course of Technology since Mr. Luthor himself said that I had a promising future in both.

And then, I was bitten by a radioactive spider at my school field trip in Lex Corp. and from that point on, I've been the one and only spider woman.

I told my two bestfriends who I was and we have been working secretly to help the city of Metropolis. I became a Lex Scholar, earned a heck ton but I still keep it a secret.

"Are you narrating?"

"Shut up, Liv"

"Where was I?.. Oh yeah… Ehem…"

"I've been living a double life. Although I've been knocked down here and there but I love being able to help people although I never intended to join the hero business ever since I left my "family" in Gotham.

But I won't be throwing in the towel soon. Since in my case, I'm not alone anymore.

Why?

Because I’m Arachned.

Tags:

@laurcad123​   @cristinayangsgirlfriend​

#batfamily x reader #bruce wayne x daughter!reader #spiderverse #spiderman reader #DC x MARVEL #jason todd x reader

[sapphic-luthor]

cwsg season 5, in a nutshell

season 6 starts tomorrow, so in a painstakingly long task, a friend and i have rewatched all of season 5 and broken down and discussed each and every plot point until we finally genuinely understood what the hell was going on. in extremely short form, it looks like this:

Pre-Crisis

Kara reveals herself to Lena, who pretends to be fine with that while also scheming to create Non Nocere, a project that sort of mind controls the whole world. Lena eventually comes clean to Kara and tries to launch it, but the Superfriends manage to stop her.

CatCo gets bought up by Obsidian, a tech company that creates VR lenses and is run by Andrea Rojas, a shadow assassin working (against her will) for a centuries old god-like organisation called Leviathan.

Andrea Rojas is also Lena’s childhood friend, and she got her shadow powers by making a hard decision to betray Lena way back when. The powers came with the allegiance to Leviathan.

New guy reporter comes from London, and is super suspicious of the Rojas family (but ultimately incorrect, because Leviathan did all the bad things he thinks Andrea did.)

J’onn’s long lost brother is brought back by The Monitor. J’onn betrayed him really badly in the past, they struggle around this for a while, but eventually forgive each other and all is fine.

Crisis

The Monitor needs help killing the evil version of himself, the Anti Monitor. The Anti Monitor launched an anti-matter wave that is destroying every single world across every single existence in the multiverse.

Everything does get destroyed, but through sacrifice and various heroics, one final world is recreated. This world kicks off the start of a new multiverse but only the audience knows that.

The new world that was created was made to Lex’s whim. He’s no longer a villain, and huge parts of the pre-crisis history were erased.

Post-Crisis

Lex wants to both use Leviathan, and destroy them. The entire season is just Lex playing 4D chess: he purposely orchestrates every single situation, from the main plot points to each of the villain-of-the-weeks, all with the intention of becoming friendly with Leviathan, and ultimately using that trust to weaponise and then destroy them.

He brings Toyman/Winn back in time so he can get hold of an immortality code.

He sets Leviathan up for failure via tampering with Obsidian, then rescues Leviathan at the last second to earn their trust.

He tells Eve, a blackmailed Leviathan assassin, that he can save her if she works as a double agent for him, and uses her to fuck with literally everyone’s storylines.

He tells Leviathan their big genocide event will only work if Supergirl is already dead, thereby using them as a weapon to be rid of her.

He gets Brainy on his side so that somebody can invert the immortality code and use it to make Leviathan mortal.

He also sets traps for Brainy to continually fall into, furthering his own plans.

Lena tries Non Nocere again, with Lex’s help. After a ton of trial and error, she finally realises it’s a shite idea and it was never going to work anyway. She turns on Lex, and jumps back over to the Superfriends to help them defeat her brother.

Where We Are Now:

Lex has (most of) Leviathan in a bottle, thanks to Brainy, and took it to Lillian to do whatever evil thing they have planned.

Gemma, Leviathan’s favourite milf, was inexplicably not bottled and is still going to have to be dealt with.

Leviathan is run by some all-knowing and all-powerful mystery figure who is referred to only as “she” and we’ll probably find out who she is soon.

Lena’s abandoned mind control tech is in Lex’s hands, in conjunction with some ‘kill people’ tech that probably will be Very Bad.

#so this is the extremely truncated version. i regret to say that when you delve into it it actually DOES make sense #and lex's storyline of how incredibly well he manipulated everyone is lowkey impressive #but it was told very very very badly and it should never be this difficult for the audience to know what's going on lmao

[sedge-yells-at-comics]

Reprinted below, in case the link implodes.

Flash #27 Reveals Why Reverse Flash Is a Truly Unique Villain                

The finale of "Running Scared" provides a gut-wrenching Rebirth update to one of DC's most complicated villains: Eobard Thawne, the Reverse Flash.

By Meg Downey Published Jul 27, 2017               

If you’re a fan of the Flash, you’re probably pretty familiar with the concept of the Reverse Flash, a man named Eobard Thawne who, like Barry, has super speed and wears a flashy costume. Of course, the “Reverse” might sound like he’s the literal opposite of the Flash -- maybe someone who slows things down instead of speeding himself up? Or maybe someone who runs backwards?

There are a lot of obvious and incorrect guesses pretty readily available for casual or newer fans to throw darts at. The reality of the Reverse Flash is, however, pretty complicated. Mostly because his “reverse” status is actually ideological at its core. Flash media, be it print, animated or live action, has traditionally made this apparent by painting Eobard as someone who is essentially pure evil -- a sort of manic, time traveling serial killer who is motivated solely by his endless need to destroy Barry Allen from the ground up.

At that point, the problem then becomes finding a way to make Thawne’s homicidal drive, well… unique in the scope of the DC Universe, a place that just so happens to be populated by enough over-the-top villains to populate a decent sized Midwestern town. Why is Reverse Flash someone that’s specific to The Flash? What differentiates him from any of DC’s other iconic arch rivals, like Lex Luthor or The Joker?

Well, The Flash #27 has the answer, and it's probably not the one you expected.

Running Scared

The rebirth of the “classic” Eobard Thawne (as opposed to his New 52 revamp) began in the Flash/Batman crossover mini-event “The Button” back in April, a four-part storyline which connected the original Thawne to the events of last year’s DC Universe: Rebirth one-shot.

Since, then, Thawne’s taken up residence as a perpetual thorn in Barry’s side in the hero's own ongoing series, stepping directly into the spotlight for the three-part “Running Scared” arc which served to highlight Thawne’s Rebirth status quo. For the most part, it’s a story that fans will be pretty familiar with, borrowing heavily from elements of stories like The Flash: Rebirth and Flashpoint. Thawne’s from the future, he time traveled to kill Barry’s parents, he’s connected to a negative form of the Speed-Force, and so on -- But that’s where things start to get their Rebirth-specific legs.

It’s not that creators Josh Williamson, Howard Porter and Paul Pelletier are trying to reinvent the proverbial wheel with “Running Scared” -- just unlock a different side of it by shining a light on one of the most unique aspect of Eobard and Barry’s relationship.

Reverse Flash doesn’t hate Flash the way Lex Luthor hates Superman, or Bane hates Batman. It’s actually (appropriately) quite the opposite. It’s the reverse. Eobard Thawne loves Barry Allen, obsessively and vengefully, which is where his endless, destructive need to ruin Barry’s life comes into play.

“Running Scared” highlights the fact that a young Eobard grew up alone (though Williamson was quick to confirm that that particular story element came out of an earlier Geoff Johns Flash issue) with only his idealized and imaginary version of Barry -- a character from his history books -- to keep him company. Barry was, for all intents and purposes, Thawne’s only friend, confidant, and emotional anchor, despite the fact that the two of them wouldn’t actually meet for years and years.

It was plenty of time for a very troubled and very lonely Thawne to fall in love with a version of The Scarlet Speedster that existed only in his imagination...and, well, it’s pretty obvious how that particular emotional endeavor actually went down. Actually meeting Barry and subsequently being forced to deal with the fact that he was just a guy and not the cartoon character Thawne had built in his head for years, proved to be too hard a stress test for Thawne’s fragile psyche.

Fatal Attraction

Meeting and being disappointed by a personal hero is a rough experience for just about anyone, but rather than allowing himself to move on -- or even allowing himself to simply decide to hate Barry instead, Thawne’s obsession only doubled down.

As issue #27 hurtles to its conclusion, Thawne’s real motivations become abundantly apparent. As Barry, infected with Thawne’s own inverted Negative Speed Force thrashes Thawne within an inch of his life, he presses him with a question - Why, if Thawne has always been so inspired by him, has he gone out of his way to ruin Barry’s life at every turn? Why has he done all of these terrible things, from killing Barry’s parents to beating Wally within an inch of his life, to kidnapping he and Iris and hauling them to the future?

Thawne’s answer is as unexpected as it is heartrendingly honest: because these horrible things are the only way Thawne understands how to make Barry spend time with him.

It’s that simple.

Thawne’s love for, and obsession with Barry Allen has permeated his life so deeply and completely that he is even willing to count his time spent being pummeled half to death by Flash as a win. He’s completely unable or unwilling to differentiate between Barry’s affection and Barry’s hatred, and he’s ready to do whatever it might take to put himself at the center of either emotion in Barry’s mind.

“A few years ago, it would have really hurt my feelings to hear you say that,” Thawne taunts after Barry threatens him, “but now to think that I caused you that anger? That I could get under your skin like this? It warms my heart.”

It’s deeply troubling, of course, and horrifyingly uncomfortable to get a look into the head of a villain who is, essentially, the personification of a fan gone terribly, terribly awry -- a theme that only gets more difficult to swallow when you begin to think about the increasingly complicated relationship between fans and their idols in actual, genuine, non-super heroic world around us.

This subtle reworking of the Reverse Flash has made him one of comic’s most poignant ruminations of the idea of toxicity in fan communities, idolization of strangers, and self destructive obsession, and it did so in a way that boldly allowed Thawne to win at the end of the day.

The issue closes, and the arc completes, with Barry exactly in the position Thawne wanted him in: completely alone, just like Thawne was as he built Barry into a hero of mythological perfection in his head. Now, where Barry will end up, and whether he’ll be forgiven by Iris, Wally and the roster of people he’s been manipulating as he leads his vigilante double life, is still largely a mystery.

It’s clear that Thawne didn’t expect, or even really want, Barry to come running into his arms to start their life together the second he succeeded in isolating him -- he makes that abundantly clear as he warns that he’ll just return again and again and again, de-powered, killed or otherwise hindered. Iris may have added an exclamation point to the end of the story arc by “vaporizing” Thawne with a Black Hole gun, but it hardly matters.

Reverse Flash will be back, somehow, at some point, and it’s doubtful that his love and obsession for Barry will have wavered in the slightest. We know now that’s just now how his mind is capable of working. It’s unlikely that Thawne will ever feel anything for Barry beyond his own supremely twisted adoration, no matter how many times the Flash pummels him into the ground. It’s just not the way Thawne’s brain is able to process information anymore.

It’s complicated, messy, and uncomfortable, but it’s also one of the clearest articulations of exactly what makes Reverse Flash such an interesting villain in the scope of not just the Flash family of books, but the DCU as a whole.

#the flash #eobard thawne #barry allen #eobarry

[motherwasapapafucker]

You've obviously spoke about the Ghost as a Superman figure within the larger context of Doctor Who but do you think the opposite is possible? A Doctor-like figure within a larger superhero setting?

There's been a couple of attempts, never quite as....jarring as the Ghost but that’s pretty much down to mad scientists and time travel being far more commonplace in superhero settings than overtly super-heroic figures are in Who. To the point the handful of times Who has played with that (Conundrum, Starfall, The Return of Doctor Mysterio) all draw at least some of their story out of the jarring presence of a superhero figure within the narrative. There’s a really nice sequence in Conundrum where the Doctor “explains” the presence of the superpowered figures in a way that reads like he’s as much kidding himself because he would like to think it’s possible as genuinely trying to explain how these people have gained their abilities. Which really feels like a deliberate building on “I wish...I wish I believed in wishing wells” given how Conundrum plays out. There’s obviously the conflation of Captain Britain’s Merlin and Who’s Merlin a couple of times, but that’s really overstated even if only in terms of Britain’s Merlin functionally different beast to the point any doctor connection is largely a minor detail as any attempt at creating a Doctor-like figure. I think then, when it comes to your Doctor-like figure the big thing that would distinguish them from other standard mad scientists and science heroes is the face changing, and basically none of your overtly doctor-influenced characters actually do anything with? Your big one in a standard setting is Professor Gamble in Power Man and Iron Fist #79, who really stands out in terms of being the only doctor-lite comic figure overtly building on Classic Who rather than Cultural Juggernaut David Tennant Doctor Who. Some overlap with Dr. Mysterio’s use of the Ghost in the conflation of the real and fictional but in very different directions; Gamble writing a fictitious account of his own life, dreadlox a fictitious account of the Incinerators. Gamble’s personal Dalek-stand in born of rogue temporal cleaning devices that have decided destroying space and time is the only way to clean everything. Where the overlap falls apart is the fact that Power Man and Iron Fist is arguably a far more flexible book at that point in its history than Who is by the point of Doctor Mysterio. So #79 is less of an out of genre moment so much as just more weird shit happening to Danny and Luke. As far as I know Gamble has popped up here and there since then, and is one of a fairly sizable amount of Who references across Marvel/Marvel UK (Yeah yeah we all know about Death’s Head, W.H.O. and aw that pish) The other big, very very direct and direct to Cultural Juggernaut David Teannant Doctor Who is...weirdly…Qubit in Irredeemable. Which is barely relevant to this question because it’s really not a standard superhero setting beyond the superficial, but bares some comment given it’s arguably the most prominent of recent takes and really hard to ignore how much he’s just David Tennant with a James from Twin Peaks forehead and LEGION hair. Also worth commenting on how fucking strange his entire role in the arse end of Irredeeamble is given the final 20 or so issues largely devolve into “The Tenth Doctor fights Evil Superman.” Given how little that aspect is remarked upon, and how incongruous it is with the broader attempt at presenting an Evil Superman story that gradually pairs back to show that the character’s never really been evil superman because for him to have that “turn” you basically have to have it be the tip of an iceberg that sketches back decades and ultimate reveals the character was never really Superman in any way beyond the iconographic. So the fact that happens while he’s fighting David Tennant is really strange, though I do like so much of that spilling out of the Plutonian forcing Quibit into one of those big, painful NuWho moral decisions, but I really struggle to care about Irredeemable beyond thinking Incorruptible was generally the stronger book towards the end. You’ve also got things like the Allred/Slott Silver Surfer that overtly drew influence from contemporary

Doctor Who, but it’s building on an already distinctive character so it can never really function as a direct one for one. I know, vaguely, that Ben 10 had a Doctor Who figure. But having never watched the show I’m not sure how he appears within the show and tbh I don’t care enough to look into it. I suppose the thing is that Doctor-lite easily slides into a superhero setting without losing too much and without drawing too much attention to the homage while someone like the Ghost is, by basic nature, designed to be at least somewhat strange within the larger normality of the show’s present day. The closest point of comparison I can think of is something like Silver Sentry in TMNT; There’s really nothing in TMNT or Doctor WHo that precludes the existence of “proper” superheroes, nether show is exactly the height of realism but the sudden introduction of basically superman presents a fundamental shift in their respective idiosyncrasies. I imagine people would be tempted to draw a comparison between the Milligan Shade the Changing Man revamp under Vertigo and Who, and given it’s MIlligan I’m sure there was some influence their even if only in terms of an English-coded otherworldly figure who undergoes startling changes across the run, but tbh it’s basically a passing resemblance and kinda overlooks the fact that Shade kinda hilariously preempts a lot of where Who as a franchise goes during the 90s and 2000s. It’s presentation of Shade’s changes as far-more psychologically damaging than classic who’s regeneration compared to some overlap with how NuWho treats the event particularly, but also in terms of the EDAs there’s a fairly notable arc where Shade gives up his heart to cope with a torrent of emotional loss and devastated worlds. Make of that what you will. I still haven’t answered the fucking question have I, right since you’ve asked me you’re going to get my shite, because here’s how I’d do it. There’s only one way really, one word Metalek Because the fucking rule don’t they? Morrison’s first, best Dalek-homage. The Xenoformers from Galaxy X, sentient construction vehicles serving masters that no longer exist. Terraforming the Galaxy one world at a time. Bow before Metalek. So yeah, those guys exist and they’re fucking great. I have...more thoughts than I’d like to admit about the “Metalek Empire” that’s really just self-indulgent pish. But that’s DC comics. So they exist, and they present what’s probably the best approach to a Doctor-alike in a superhero setting. In the same way the Ghost might as well be Superman in a setting where he isn’t the soul focus, you’re Doctor Who figure might as well just be Doctor Who in a setting where, building on the fact the key elements aren’t that notable, they really don’t stand out that much, so what then? Well he’s the mad scientist, but a good mad scientist. Counterpart to all the lunatics and madmen with their metal monsters, who is he? Who’s the grant morrison character fighting the dreaded metalek menace when they aren’t intruding on Superman’s narrative? Who spent decades trapped on earth, leading a reformed STAR Labs into a strange, wonderful new world? It’s Leo Quantum isn’t it. Basically, Leo’s one of those characters like Lan-Shin in Smashes the Klan or John Henry Irons who click perfectly into place with the larger idea of Superman’s social network. And given I’m an egotist, I’m going to do what I like with him building out of that admittedly bullshit old idea he’s future lex back to repent. If the Ghost is a version of Superman who’s world exists in the shadow of the Doctor, Leo would be a version of the Doctor that exists in the Shadow of Superman. He’s not literally Lex, he’s your Kristin Wells/Legion/DC One Million figure, possibly a future Luthor, possibly the first child of the Luthor/Kent families coming together in the far off 42nd century. A temporal adventurer who’s early experiments caused all his potential futures to crash down on top of him, transforming him into a hypertime singularity. His technicolor dreamcoat crafted from fifth world

wondertech, regulating his body to ensure each hypertime strand gets its time in sun while keeping the darker fringes in line….most of the time. Or at least, that’s what I’d do, feel free to discard this as mental bastard bullshit.

#doctor who #comics #superman #superheroes #rambling bullshit #leo quantum #grant morrison #metaleks #irredeemable #dc comics #the ghost #the return of doctor mysterio #tmnt #silver sentry is pretty great tbh

[thealmightyemprex]

Superman Orgin Evolution:Deafeat the Defendroids /The Adoption from Ruby Spears Superman

Welcome to my look at the various depictions of Supermans first adventures on the big and small screen .

Today we are looking at the Ruby Spears animated series,released during Supermans 50th anniversary ,that mixes the aesthetics of the Christopher Reeves movies and the John Byrne penned comic books from the time. If people want me too I can do a full review of this entire show (I have seen the whole thing ,its only 13 episodes )cause I have a lot of mixed thoughts

Sooooo Ruby Spears Superman is weird.Instead of telling Supermans orgins in an episode.....Clarks early life is actually spaced out in four minute segments called the Superman Family Album.Now I have seen the whole show before,and the Family Album segments are inconsequential ,they are mostly low stakes comedy segments apart from the first one and the last one.So my original intention was just to review the segments the Adoption and Its Superman....But rewatching them ,still not a lot to talk about. So instead of talking about the Family Album Segments,I am going to talkabout the First episode ,both its main story and the Family album segment

Plot:Lex has created robots to basically replace Superman,but with another dastardly scheme.Meanwhile in the Family Album segment we see the orphanage having a hell of a time with a super powered baby

Beat

Krypton:Ummm....We see it blow up in the opening sequence and in a later episode Zod shows up but other then that this show is fairly Krypton lite

Smallville:Very Ma and Pa centric show.They are played well by the amazing Tress Mcniel and Skeletor himself Alan Oppenheimer .Throughout the show we see several moments from Clarks formative years.In this particular episode we see him make a connection with the Kents and refuse to be adopted by anyone else .Its a very cute segment

Superman :Beau Weaver protrays a very traditional Superman ,very meek as Clark but with a nice booming heroic voice as the Man of Steel . A solid Superman but not in my personal favorites

Lois:Ginny Mcswain is a solid Lois ,very tenacious,leaping into danger and biting back at anyone who says a bad word about Superman

Perry White:Stanley Ralph Ross delivers a good grumpy Perry

Jimmy Olsen : Mark Taylor is a pretty standard Jimmy Olsen....Cept he rides a skateboard

Lex Luthor/Villain : The first on screen appearence of businessman Lex Luthor .Personality wise he is VERY much inspired by Gene Hackman ,which meshes well with the evil rich dude aesthetic .Michal Bell delivers a wonderful villainous performance with a great sense of humor ,with a lot of fun lines my favorite being "My daddy told me the three things youcouldnt get enough of are choclate ice cream ,real estate and money......Course he is now fat ,homeless and broke -".Possibly the most narcisstic Lex,love this version a lot

The Threat:The Defendroids ,which Lex is using to discredit Superman and steal gold from a train . Eh they are fine,do like the big one that has a cage in its chest holding Lois and Jimmy

As an Orgin :Kind of assumes we know all the details ,so Family Album kind of just fills in the gaps of Clarks life in a comedic fashion.....And I dislike the Family Album segments in general,though I do like the Asoptio0n segment from the first episode

General Thoughts:Gonna focus soley on this episode , cause it is one of the better ones ,I think it showcases Superman,Lois and Lex really well ,and the Adoption segment is heartwarming .Its a decent start

Also if anyone wants me to go into the show I will cause I have a lot to say

@ariel-seagull-wings @metropolitan-mutant-of-ark @filmcityworld1 @angelixgutz

#superman

[oathofoaksart]

YOUNG JUSTICE/DC OC: MUNCH “YELLOW JACKET” MARTINEZ

bio under the cut!

BASICS

Name: Taylor Martinez 

A.K.A: Yellow Jacket; Munch, Munchie, Jacket, YJ

Age: 16 [S2], 18 [S3]

Gender: Transgender Male 

Orientation: Homoromantic Homosexual

 Race: Metahuman 

Ethnicity: Afro-Latinx, Black-Colombian

Location: Dakota City, Michigan

Hometown: Dakota City, Michigan 

 Skin: Dark Tan, warm undertones 

Hair: Black 

Eyes: Dark brown; glow fully yellow while actively using metagene 

Height: 5’10

Build: Lean with sinewy muscles

Distinctions: Has a large collection of hoodies and jackets, specifically of shonen anime merch. 

 RELATIONS

Parents: Gloria Martinez and Jamal Winston, Danielle Seymore [step-mother] 

Siblings: Tori Winston [younger half-sister] 

Friends: Virgil “Static” Hawkins, Jacklyn “Ferro” Ericson @generalfandomsofthefreak, Raquel “Rocket” Irving, Eduardo “El Dorado” Dorado Jr., Jaime “Blue Beetle III” Reyes, Karen “Bumblebee” Beecher, Malcolm “Guardian III” Duncan, Asami “Sam” Koizumi, Tye Longshadow, Roy “Arsenal” Harper, Tatsuo “Irezumi” Sumioka [@Triskata], Bart “Kid Flash II” Allen, Gi “Riot/Geode” Flores [OC], Shizuka “Oni” Amachi [OC], Tim “Robin III” Drake, Forager “Fred Bugg”, Violet “Halo” Harper, Brion “Geoforce” Markov

Partner/s: Richie “Gear” Foley [ev.]

Misc.: Augustus “Icon” Freeman, Jefferson “Black Lightning” Pierce, Ivan “Ebon” Evans, See-More, the HIVE 5, the Meta-Breed gang, the Blood Syndicate

Affiliations: The Team, Taos Metateen Youth Center, The Titans [ev.], S.T.A.R Labs [formally] 

 PERSONALITY

Personality Type: ESTP-A [Assertive Entrepreneur] 

Temperament: Choleric-Sanguine 

Alignment: Chaotic Good 

Passionate | Social | Upfront | Risk-prone | Defiant 

 Smart-mouthed, openly opinionated, and with an apparent lack of volume, Munch quickly cements himself as the class clown in any group. He enjoys living in the moment, a truly free spirit with an infectious energy. He is the textbook extrovert, finding himself to be bored out of his mind if not sharing with others, leading him to have quite the large group of friends and acquaintances. He’s notorious for poking fun at anything and anyone, but has no problem sincerely apologizing once he realizes he might have taken something too far. 

As a hero, Munch takes after his namesake, the Yellow Jacket wasp. Quick, nimble, and particularly aggressive, Jacket revels in the comic book hero lifestyle of kicking butts and taking names. His energy blasts aren’t his only weapons, he has as much fun slinging insults and burns as he does physically taking someone down. He certainly enjoys the attention of being a hero in a celebrity sense, but Jacket sees his role as a chance to inspire others to fight the good fight in any capacity. 

Hot-blooded as he is, Munch struggles with controlling his emotions. He can be easily frustrated, especially when things aren’t as straight-foward as he is, and blisteringly fierce when angered. It takes an ungodly amount of coaxing to get him to let go of past grudges due to his tendency of being bullheaded. 

 ABILITIES AND WEAKNESSES

Metahuman Biology: Metahumans by standard are more durable than humans. While not by much, Jacket exhibits increased strength, speed, reflexes and resilience. 

Plasma Manipulation: Jacket’s metagene allows him to create, shape, and otherwise manipulate plasma matter

Plasma “Stingers”: By shooting short blasts of plasma energy, Yellow Jacket creates his signature “stingers,” the potency of said stingers can vary from shocks to explosions. 

Variants include plasma beams and large spheres, but they currently require more concentration and stamina to use

He can also use his stingers to push him off surfaces as a kind of super-jump and can sustain limited flight mobility

Plasma Shields: Jacket can create small shields, enough to deflect low to medium powered attacks. Large shields require significant effort to shape and contain, once he’s made one, he’s stuck sustaining it. 

Inventory

Flight Belt: Jacket can fly thanks to the inertia belt made by his mentor Icon, based off Rocket’s Inertia belt. Since it was not made of the same material as the original belt, it allows only for flight and a decent powered body aura. 

Goggles: Jacket’s goggles feature different kinds of vision including: Telescopic, Microscopic, Infrared, and X-Ray

 Weaknesses and Limitations

Energy Stamina: Jacket stands the risk of overexerting himself if he pushes his plasma control too far. The reason why he tends to stick with short blasts is because they take much less energy to conjure. Attacks such as beams, energy spheres, and large defensive shields can potentially wear him down to unconsciousness if the strain is too much.  

High Metabolism: Similar to that of a speedster; Jacket’s plasma energy tears through his calorie reservoir. He needs a rather high end amount of food to sustain himself properly or else his energy suffers. 

 HISTORY

16-year-old Jamal Winston and Gloria Martinez figured trying to force their relationship made having to take care of their newborn far more painful than it had to be and called it quits. They continued co-parenting with both opting to drop-out of high school, Gloria a fulltime mother and Jamal picking up a fulltime job. Eventually the two managed to assuage any resentment towards each other and made steps toward genuine friendship, both turning out to be equally dedicated and loving parents. 

Taylor, named Clara at the time, enjoyed school. Not so much the actual studying as the playtime and socializing, but he was a bright student. In middle school he discovered a love for track and kept at it when he entered high school. Taylor was doing well, but struggled with his self-esteem in connection with fitting in with girls. He’d always been masculine and known a tomboy for nearly all of his childhood. His parents never had a problem with that, but he was picked at by other family members. It wasn’t until high school where Taylor discovered himself as trans, which both gave him answers he’d been looking for and terrified him as he had no idea how to go about this with his family. 

The topic of LGBTQ+ matters rarely passed through his household with his mother or with his father and step-mother. None of them openly expressed homo or transphobia, but Taylor had met enough extended family anti-LGBTQ+ and that stopped him from broaching the subject. Still he began looking into subtle ways to get a "head-start" on transitioning, including buying a binder and teaching himself natural voice changes. 

But Taylor was publicly outed during a family get-together, when a few of his younger cousins rifled through his belongings and brought with them the attention of Taylor’s uncle. When the situation turned into an all out yelling match and nearly physical, Taylor ran off. It would be the last anyone would see him for the months to come. 

While wandering around Dakota City, Taylor was abducted by the Reach and experimented on, the stress and torture he endured all the while activated his dormant metagene. He was eventually rescued by a team of young heroes while deep in the Western Pacific Reach mobile base, recognizing a past classmate, Virgil Hawkins. The two stuck close out of familiarity as they were eventually shifted over to S.T.A.R. Labs in Taos. 

They spent a month or so under the eye of Dr. David Wilcox, building resentment over being treated as lab rats alongside Tye Longshadow, Eduardo Dorado Jr., Asami Koizumi, and Nathaniel Tyron. It was during this time that Taylor’s commonly used nickname of ‘Munch’ came about because of his extreme appetite due to his metagene and at that point Taylor hadn’t chosen his name yet. The group, sans Nathaniel, then came to agree their stay at S.T.A.R was over and escaped. 

Their party was joined in by Jacklyn Ericson, unknown to them a hero known as Ferro and Team member, and were soon approached by Lex Luthor who offered them security in exchange for favors against the Reach. Little under two weeks later, the gang were fighting their way through the heart of the Warworld to rescue the captured heroes caught in stasis. Munch was on board with Nightwing’s invitation onto the Team, he’d always looked up to the Justice League and heroics called to him, but left with the others at seeing Arsenal’s dismissal despite him leading the rescue. 

Munch wouldn’t involve himself with heroes until their group until the League reached out to Jacklyn; they needed as many hands on deck. The Reach had activated field disruptors around the world which would eventually tear Earth to shreds if not shut down; Munch was paired off with Rocket to shut down the disruptor in Chile. Munch couldn’t hide his joy at being paired with Rocket, he’d been a fan of hers ever since she started off in Dakota City as Icon’s protégé. The two got on well and Rocket extended another invitation onto the Team stating their hometown could do with another hero, this time Munch accepted. 

He would take on the mantle Yellow Jacket and when Rocket’s former mentor Icon returned to Earth, was taken under his wing as a mentee. He and Virgil, who had also accepted the invitation onto the Team as Static, became the new generation of heroes in Dakota City. 

Just in time too, as from the shadows rise a threat spreading across the city’s metayouth, the Metabreed. 

  NOTES

Munch does eventually make it back to his parents, who have been been running themselves ragged organizing search parties for him. 

Because of his color scheme and insect motif, Jacket tends to be confused as Bumblebee’s protégé instead of Icon’s. Not that it’s cause for insult, but Karen and Munch note they wouldn’t make good partners. 

Munch comes to find out of another super in the family, although not of the heroic kind. His step-cousin is member of the H.I.V.E 5, See-More. 

He enjoys various shonen anime, occasionally reading the manga if he likes the anime enough, his favorite being the Dragon Ball franchise. He makes a nod towards this during the escape at S.T.A.R when Virgil asked him if he could blast open the door. When Munch’s first few blasts don’t cut it, he tries a larger beam in the only way he knows how, via Kamehameha.

Yellow Jacket has become very active on social media and has a notable following, much to Icon’s annoyance. 

Munch has recently taken up being a peer counselor at S.T.A.R Taos alongside Ed Jr.

#young justice oc #Young Justice OCs #dc oc #gar's oc #gar's art #oathofoaks #he STING #meet the ocs #munch martinez

[narraboths]

previous anon (about sg writers and trauma) is right but i think they do kind of get it, it's just too much for them to handle and write because there is so much trauma between just kara, lena and alec without even thinking if everyone else.

i mean i certainly do think they are aware of the quality of the rather dark things they write into characters’ backstories or have them go through on the show, but they treat them regularly like fun plot elements that you can just pepper in there rather than shit that really fucking needs a follow-up and cannot be just brushed off with a casual little joke or a hug or brought up once per season and then forgot again like it wouldn’t be something that impacts a person’s day to day life. like yeah, the show’s not Designed™ for every action scene to be followed up by 20 minute long therapy sessions to round off every ep, but either you treat serious material with the care and understanding it requires, or you just dont even bother, because the results are not gonna be good.

(nb. the way Lena and her family dynamics have been written, especially from S4 onwards, is a prime example, because what already has been established to be a toxic family environment with Lillian went straight into trauma porn with everything that Lex has previously done to her or proceeded to do to her over the season, and then she’s not even allowed to heal from it. and then how much they don’t fucking get it at all is really emblematically presented with Winn’s father, whose story moved from “snapped one day and became a murderer” to “abused his wife all through Winn’s childhood to the point of chasing after her when she tried to escape him and threatening to kill their son”, and then he STILL gets the reconciliation and the heroic death in S5. like what the fuck, my good men.)

#abuse / #i dont mean to rant @ you but this is like. such a horrifically consistent failing of the show lol #trixicbean

[thevindicativevordan]

Metallo

I wanted to talk about one of my favorite DC villains, a guy who I’ve always thought was incredibly cool. A guy who I’ve thought makes a really awesome contrast for Superman. A guy who has never been in stories that have utilized his potential in my eyes:

Let’s talk about Metallo.

Metallo’s Background

He’s one of Superman’s oldest Rogues, and also one of the Rogues who has gone through the most revamps. The Golden Age Superman fought a guy called Metalo aka George Grant who created a suit of armor made out of the strongest metal on Earth (something that would resurface in the Grant Morrison revamp during the New 52) and a super strength serum that made him Superman’s physical equal. In an odd way he was an evil proto-Iron Man/Post Crisis Lex Luthor:

The John Corben take wouldn’t show up until the 1950s, created by Robert Bernstein and Al Plastino. This was the foundation for the modern conception of Metallo:

Right off the bat Corben was positioned as an Anti-Superman, predating Bizarro who wouldn’t show up until later. Corben worked as a journalist to cover up his real activities as a murderer and thief. An accident that nearly killed him and crippled his human body, forced him to accept a deal with a scientist to transfer his mind to a new artificial body. The scientist transferred his mind into an android body covered in synthetic bulletproof skin, gifting Corben with super strength. The synthetic skin idea would be used in Byrne’s revamp and the DCAU incarnation. He was initially powered by uranium, but was told he would need Kryptonite to fuel himself permanently. Corben would also act as a romantic rival for Clark via wooing Lois with his pretense of being Superman’s secret identity.

Ultimately John Corben would die in his debut issue, after mistaking a museum prop for the actual Kryptonite he needed to power himself. I often wonder if the character might have been better off if he had not been killed off in his debut, similarly to how the Joker was saved from dying in his debut by editorial. There were many intriguing ideas present in Corben’s creation: He was a romantic rival for Clark Kent, he used his journalism in a similar if villainous way as Superman did, and he was powered by the very thing that could kill Superman while still possessing enough raw strength to stand on equal terms with the Man of Steel. If they had kept him around, fleshed him out more, might Metallo have enjoyed more long term respect?

 Regardless, Corben’s death paved the way for the third Metallo: His brother Roger Corben.

Roger likewise had a lot of interesting ideas that would eventually get folded into the modern Metallo. He was not a petty thief, but had a personal vendetta with Superman over the death of his brother. Superman accidentally caused the very accident that crippled Roger, adding to the man’s feud. Roger was also a leader within the Skull organization, rather than the small time criminal his brother was. This Metallo’s design would form the basis for the Geoff Johns/Gary Frank revamp during Secret Origin, and I suspect the Johns conception of Metallo as a member of a wider organization and whose transformation was caused by Superman has it’s roots here.

Sadly the take on a more fleshed out Metallo would not last. The Roger Corben version of Metallo would meet his end with the rest of the Pre-Crisis Superman Rogues Gallery in the seminal Alan Moore story Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?

Enter John Byrne:

During his Post-Crisis revamp of the Supermythos, Byrne returned to the John Corben take of a petty thief injured in an accident, who is rebuilt by a mad scientist Professor Vale. Byrne added his own twist though, with the scientist believing Superman to be the first scout in a full blown Kryptonian takeover of Earth, and specifically crafted Metallo to be an Anti-Superman weapon powered by Kryptonite. Metallo was to be humanity’s defense against the threat of Superman, an idea that would be revisited in Johns’ and Morrison’s revamps. Unfortunately petty thieves don’t make for great heroes, and Metallo killed Vale, ultimately coming into conflict with Superman not over any desire to protect humanity, but to simply eliminate a thorn in his side.

This incarnation of Metallo has basically served as the basis for his appearance in outside media, with a design that blatantly draws on the popular Terminator films.

This version of Metallo would also acquire a variety of powers thanks to making a deal with Neron that included the ability to transform parts of his body into weapons, transfer his consciousness into any technological or mechanical device, and manipulate his size:

Personally I’ve always loved that powerset upgrade, and think it’s crucial it sticks. It let him kick the shit out of Superman AND Batman in Loeb Superman/Batman, which basically solidified for me that this dude was a badass you didn’t want to mess with. Shame he’s never come close to matching that initial impression since.

The DCAU mostly used the Byrne revamp’s take, but they did change a few aspects which would end up carrying over to the mainline version. Most important was the replacing of Vale with Lex Luthor as the mind behind Metallo’s creation, something that would be incorporated in both Johns and Morrison’s later revamps.

One aspect that they introduced that didn’t carry over, that was still utilized to great effectiveness in the show, was that Corbyn’s transformation had robbed him of most physical sensation. He couldn’t taste, smell, touch, all the little things that made us human, and that drove him nuts. Ultimately he would learn that Lex was responsible for what happened to him, and he would swear a grudge against both Lex and Superman. Malcom McDowell was a fantastic choice to play Metallo, and is still the guy I “hear” when I read Metallo’s dialogue.

Now we come to the guy who crafted the next big revamp of Metallo: Geoff Johns.

This version of Metallo incorporated a ton of aspects from the multiple revamps that had preceded it, in much the same way Secret Origin did to Superman as a whole, while also adding a few new twists that I consider essential to the character now.

Like the DCAU, Luthor was the one who transformed Corben into Metallo. Like the Roger Corben take, this John Corben was accidentally crippled in a fight with Superman that gave him a personal vendetta against the Man of Steel.  Similar to Byrne, this Metallo was created to be an Anti-Superman weapon. Corben and Lois had had a brief romantic relationship, similar to the original debut of Corben. Johns even incorporated some of the Golden Age Metallo by having Corben suit up in a mech suit made of “Metallo”, the strongest metal on Earth to fight Superman before the accident. Johns also added a key bit of lore that I love, that Corben served as a soldier under General Sam Lane, and became the man’s surrogate son, the child he always wanted as opposed to Lois and Lucy. Here Corben is motivated to fight Kal-El by a mix of xenophobia, need to impress his father figure, desire to impress Lois, and a simple dose of blood lust.

The last major revamp came from Grant Morrison during the New 52:

Morrison kept a lot of the Johns revamp: Corben was a soldier serving under Sam Lane, he had a brief romantic relationship with Lois, he was distrustful of Superman’s heroics, and his transformation into Metallo was connected to Lex. However Corben was a much more sympathetic figure under Morrison than under Johns, genuinely believing Superman to be a threat, he volunteered to be merged with the Metal-0 superweapon (another callback to the original Metalo) to defend humanity, but Brainiac hijacked his cybernetics and turned him into a weapon. 

While Metallo would get another visual revamp for Rebirth, posted in the first image, Corben has more or less stayed within the confines that Byrne/Johns/Morrison established.

How I would use Metallo

I said earlier that Metallo is a guy I loved that I’ve never thought has lived up to his potential. He’s a villain with a lot of cool ideas, he’s a villain who has been continuously used by a lot of my favorite writers, but he’s never lived up to the Anti-Superman characterization that’s baked into him. Too often he’s just been a glorified henchman, or a petty thug, rarely if ever challenging Superman except in the most basic physical sense. I think that’s a great disservice to the ability of the character to be a much more important Rogue. That writers so often refuse to focus on him or any of the Rogues beyond Lex also hasn’t done him any favors. Instead of creating countless new OCs that are tossed aside by the next writer, someone needs to come on board with a passion for revamping the classics.

A lot of Superman’s Rogues suck not because they aren’t cool or don’t bring any interesting ideas, but because the ideas don’t do a good job in contrasting with Superman’s attributes. Metallo is a great example of this, look at all the interesting ideas creators have crafted around him, yet none of them have really been able to push those ideas as a way to explore and contrast Superman, so we get basic “Metallo tries to kill Superman, fails, Superman sends him back to jail” stories. That’s a failure of creativity in my eyes. I think that by choosing from some of the revamps listed above, a better, cooler, more interesting Metallo can be crafted.

The basics as established by Byrne/Johns/Morrison are great! The essential ideas that should be incorporated from all of the revamps listed above are:

1. Corben needs to have a military background as in Johns/Morrison. The petty thief origin is too dull, there’s nothing really to be mined there from a characterization standpoint. As a soldier Corben can serve as an interesting critique and contrast of Superman as an icon of America. The “American Way” has always been a dicey add-on to the original “Truth and Justice” motto. Often it’s been used to cast Superman as an obedient stooge of the government, as he was in The Dark Knight Returns, a characterization that has dogged him ever since. I think Corben can serve as an interesting character to explore Superman’s relationship with the American military-industrial complex. I would have Corben be what said complex wants Superman to be, at least in the beginning: A human WMD they can aim and fire, who will always follow orders no matter how reprehensible they are, who has a firm “America First” mindset. That way you can contrast the mainline Superman, and show that Superman is not that while also establishing what “The American Way” means in his eyes. Or you can have Superman drop that aspect of his motto in-universe, out of disgust for how his government perverts it. Either option is fine with me, I didn’t mind when Superman renounced his American citizenship.

2. If Lois often has to end up working with Clark’s exes, whether it’s Lana, Diana, or whoever, I think it’s only fair that Clark has to end up facing down an ex from Lois’ past. It’s important to show that Lois had a life before Clark showed up, and I think Corben is a good way to explore some of that. He’s the possessive ex-boyfriend who doesn’t respect Lois’ personal space and is convinced he can “win her back” via sheer determination. You can also compare and contrast the way Clark courted Lois, did Clark occasionally make the same pigheaded assumptions as Corben did? Corben debuted as a romantic rival for Superman, and I think that aspect still has merit. I also like his status as Sam’s surrogate son, it adds for some nice tension with Clark’s father-in-law that the guy he actually wanted to marry Lois was transformed into a weapon to kill the guy who ended up being his son-in-law. 

3. Corben is a true believer in the threat Superman poses, and is willing to take on the transformation into Metallo to protect humanity. It’s xenophobia yes, but with all the Evil Superman stories going around, it’s hard not to sympathize at least a little bit with Corben’s viewpoint, which tie into a deeper attribute of Corben’s I think needs to be brought up: Corben should be a sympathetic villain. I wouldn’t make him a bloodthirsty psycho, Superman has plenty of those. Corben should have villainous valor, willing to tackle on whatever threats to humanity are out there, whether Superman or others. I would make Corben instead someone who has the genuine desire to protect humanity, but lacks Superman’s concern for collateral damage. In that way you could contrast the two’s brand of “heroics”, Superman’s loyalty to humanity as a whole over one nation, and concern with protecting lives first and foremost, Corben’s desire to protect humanity’s future for the “greater good” even if it costs a few lives in the here and now and loyalty to America above all else. 

4. I like the idea of Superman being inadvertently responsible for the accident that cripples Corben and mandates his transformation. It adds to his sympathy, helps justify why Superman might continue to believe Corben could find redemption (he wants Corben to change and also wants to find a way to earn Corben’s forgiveness one day), and provides a good personal reason for why Corben would hate Superman, blaming Supes for his current state. I would also have him blame Sam and Lex as well, but he would subdue those resentments for as long as he remained working for the military. Only after he finally snaps would he target those two.

5. Finally I would keep the ability to shapeshift his body into weapons, and to manipulate technology. I would have Corben emulating Adam Jensen from Deus Ex, able to “hack” tech around him for his own purpose, armed with a variety of weapons that make him a huge threat not just to Superman but to everyone. Finally I would get rid of the Kryptonite heart. I’m tired of every battle with Metallo going the same way: He shows up, blasts Superman with kryptonite radiation, Superman lies on the ground gasping in pain, Metallo stands around gloating like a moron instead of finishing Supes off, Supes beats him by tricking him or by someone else intervening. I want to see Metallo as an Anti-Superman weapon realized beyond jus the Kryptonite. How about incorporating the DCAU version’s lack of feeling, so that Metallo doesn’t feel pain from Superman’s blows or his powers? How about giving him an internal temperature controller, so he can’t be melted by heat vision or frozen by arctic breath? How about an invisibility cloak that hides him from Superman’s vision, sound mufflers that let him sneak up on Supes even with his hearing, basically go WILD with his Anti-Superman status, let us see a real fight between someone who can counter each of Superman’s powers! You have Kryptonite Man and Lex for the villains who mainly make use of Kryptonite against Superman, I think Metallo should go in a different direction. Morrison making it so that “Metal-0″ was already powerful enough to hurt Superman is all the justification you need as to why he still poses a threat in my opinion.

I’ll go over the basic arc I’d want to see him undergo and the kinds of stories I think he’s positioned to tell in another post.

#superman #metallo #Lois Lane #sam lane #lex luthor #kryptonite #revamp