#when will justice league action come back from the war | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nightwing60thanniversary · 1 year

Photo

Clark Kent's Relationship to the other Mantle Holders

Clark has a personal connection to most of the Nightwing successors.

Dick Grayson Clark’s relationship with Dick spans decades. Since very early on their relationship has been defined by mutual trust. As a friend to Batman, Dick and Clark meet soon after Dick becomes Robin. Dick hero worships Clark, which comes out less or more depending on the writer. In some cases their team-ups treat them as equals (Legends of the DC Universe (1998) #6 ) while other times Dick has much to learn from Clark. (Superman (1939) #700).

Clark inspires Dick to become Nightwing in every main canon universe by telling him about the legend, if in different ways. (More info here.) Clark checks up on Dick from time to time once he’s settled in Blüdhaven (Nightwing (1996) #30). Mostly they are brought together by cases that lead to Metropolis and once Dick operates in New York, their paths cross even more (Nightwing: Freefall (2008)). Dick thinks of Clark as inspiring and powerful while Clark appreciates Dick’s detective work and focus (The Adventures of Superman (1992) Annual #4, Action Comics (1938) #841-843).

They know each other well, so well in fact, that Dick expects Clark to figure out the truth while Dick is forced to work for Slade as Renegade (Nightwing #115), and Dick knows Clark is the real Superman once he comes back to a distrusting community after having lost his powers for a year. (Action Comics (1938) #841)

When Dick becomes Batman Clark’s grief causes him to react in anger at first. He’s just lost his father and now his best friend. He claims Batman was the real Bruce and therefore Dick wearing the cowl is wrong. Diana and Dick manage to make him see reason and Clark begins to look forward to working with Dick (Superman/Batman #76). When Clark has to deal with New Krypton and later with the trauma of losing his home for a second time, Dick’s there for him (World’s Finest (2009) #4, Superman (1939) #703).

Chris Kent (Lor-Zod) Chris Kent is the adopted child of Clark and Lois. (Action Comics (1938) #845) When he crash lands on Earth in a Kryptonian ship, Clark immediately feels responsible for him. Clark bonds fast with the child and enjoys speaking Kryptonese with him. He also sees himself in Chris and what would have happened had he landed in a big city instead of a small town. When the government abducts Chris, Clark saves him and asks his parents for advice on how to hide him (Action Comics (1938) #844).

When Chris’ parents try to subjugate Earth, Chris doesn’t want to go back to being their pawn. He’s grown to love his adopted parents. Despite Clark’s efforts to save him, Chris ends up sacrificing himself to make sure his biological parents are trapped inside the Phantom Zone once again (Action Comics (1938) Annual #11).

Years later he still considers Clark and Lois his parents (Superman (1939) #696).

During War of the Superman (2010), Clark and Chris briefly reunite. Nightwing and Flamebird are tied to the phantom zone. In order for it to remain closed forever and for Clark to be able to remain on Earth, Chris once again decides to sacrifice himself by using his Nightwing powers to trap his biological father inside the prison dimension.

Karen Starr (Kara Zor-L) Karen Starr, also known as Kara Zor-L is the Earth-Two counterpart of Kara Zor-El and the cousin of Kal-L. Her relationship with the Clark Kent (Kal-El) of the main universes is defined by hardships but also a mutual understanding.

She first encountered Clark Kent of the main universe, the one that was Nightwing, in the pages of Justice League of America (1960) #147. She instantly preferred him to her version of Superman, which doesn’t mean she had a bad relationship with the Clark of her universe. In fact, the Clark and Lois of Earth-Two adopted her.

Karen returns to Earth-One some time later and joins the Justice League Europe. On one mission she ends up suffering a serious injury that is untreatable with normal methods. Superman helps by using his heat vision. Kara is saved but not without losing a significant portion of her powers. Clark worries she’ll hate him for it but Kara doesn’t. (Justice League Europe (1989) #9)

When the first Crisis happens, Karen’s home Earth-Two disappears and with that even her past (Secret Origins (1986) #11). Clark’s and her relationship grows strained when her memories of Krypton turn out to be fake. She is of Atlantean heritage (Justice League Europe (1989) Annual #2). Because of everything she believed was a lie, she has lost her place in the hero community. That the Kara of the main universe has finally landed on Earth, doesn’t help. She feels as if there’s no place in this universe for her anymore. Clark who was happy to have had another living relative is disappointed by the revelation (JSA Classified (2008) #1), but he’s there for her and treats her no differently (JSA Classified (2008) #2). Another Crisis event finally reveals the truth. Kal-L reveals to Kara that with Earth-Two destroyed, the universe has unsuccessfully been trying to integrate her into the main universe. She is in fact Kryptonian.

Kara trusts Clark enough to ask him for advice. When she wants to go serious with her company Starware, she asks Clark how to handle her secret identity (Power Girl (2009) #22-#23).

Damian Wayne (Injustice)

When Lois Lane is killed by the Joker, Clark’s ideology regarding criminals changes. He’s in favour of harsh punishments even leading to death. Damian shares this opinion early on due to his upbringing. When Nightwing dies during a prison break, his stance against his father’s softer methods only solidifies (Injustice: Gods Among Us #6).

Damian works as a spy and footsoldier to Superman in the second year. The third year he spends imprisoned, Bruce pleading with him and the others to switch sides, Damian refuses. He’s still convinced Clark is right. Even when Alfred discusses with him that Clark has gone way too far his opinion doesn’t change (Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Five #13).

It’s not until he has his father’s death to answer for, that he breaks his ties to Clark and his ideology, setting out to liberate Earth from the remaining regime. (Injustice 2 (Video Game), Injustice vs. Masters of the Universe)

In the video game Injustice, one possible ending causes Damian to betray Clark and defeat him.

Van Zee Van-Zee is one of many Kal-El doubles existing on Kandor (Superman Family (1974) #185). Their relationship has a bit of a rocky start when Van-Zee falls in love with Lois over a distance (Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane (1958) #15). Regardless, Clark helps him and Kandor whenever he can (Superman Family (1974) #183). Van-Zee sometimes has to remind Clark to not overexert himself (DC Retroactive: Superman The 70s (2011) #1).

Jason Todd Jason and Clark met while he was Robin. Same as Dick, Jason hero worshipped Clark quite a bit, and Clark thought he was a good Robin successor. (Action Comics (1938) #556). Clark doesn’t have a favourable opinion on Red Hood. He lets Jason walk free as a favour to Bruce. He’d prefer to see him charged and convicted. (Red Hood and the Outlaws (2011) #14).

#clark kent #dick grayson #chris kent #karen starr #van-zee #jason todd #superfamily #batfamily #dc comics #nightwing60thanniversary #spotlights #clark kent spotlight #mod post

34 notes · View notes

hypeonmovies · 4 months

Text

Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire

Let’s be honest - Zack Snyder has a history of being a hit or miss when it comes to his films. Yes, there’s the visually stylish and blood dripping action romp, 300, which greatly exemplified Snyder’s directing style. Then, there was the mess that came about from WB’s Justice League, which prompted years of fanboys demanding a Snyder cut that still left much to be desired. These ups and downs throughout the years haven’t made critics much of a fan of Snyder’s work. So, it wasn’t much of a surprise to hear that his new epic, Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire garnered a low Rotten Tomatoes score. However, though it’s certainly not Snyder’s strongest work, it’s also not his worse and provides audiences with an entertaining ride that only creates more excitement for Part Two.

Rebel Moon is a project years in the making. It was originally meant to be a Star Wars installment, but when that fell through, Snyder reworked it into his own original sci-fi adventure. Part One centers on Sofia Boutella’s, Cora, who is working as a farmer in a quiet, peaceful village that’s suddenly invaded by a tyrannical army lead by a relentless admiral. After the invasion, Cora becomes the village’s last hope and decides to gather a group of warriors from throughout the galaxy to fight back against the army. These warriors are considered rebels in the eyes of the army. The Hunger Games and Seven Samurai- esque story is only one of the sci-fi tropes that are used throughout the film including one or two that are reminiscent of Star Wars. However, despite this, Snyder’s visual style still shines especially in the action scenes. While there are more than enough slo-mo shots, the fight choreography is one of the strongest aspects of the film and captures the audience’s attention.

Snyder was able to round up a stellar cast that includes Cary Elwes, Charlie Hunnam, Djimon Hounsou, and Ray Fisher - who was great to see under Snyder’s helm agin after the drama he encountered at WB as Cyborg. While Sofia Boutella shines as the strong willed leader, the real star is Ed Skrein as the ruthless Admiral Atticus Novel. Skrein is no stranger to portraying villains i.e., Deadpool, and is the spark that drives the story as he and his army travel to different planets destroying communities in the most violent ways. Due to Skrein’s performance, by the end, you’ll find yourself wanting us to join Cora to take him down.

As stated previously though, this is not Snyder’s best. As Cora gathers her team of warriors, the only thing they share are their disdain for the tyrannical army and Admiral Nova, but there’s not much character development beyond that. The most time spent with the warriors are their scenes in battle where Sydner’s action directing chops are in full effect. The one with the most development is Cora and it’s clear that Part One is centered on her story and her connection with the Admiral within this grand epic. This is what I think some critics forgot during their watch. Yes, there are some story elements that are not fully fleshed out leaving viewers with more questions than answers in some cases, but it’s important to remember that this is just Part One of the story. Part One does excel at setting up the universe and the conflict between the army and rebels leaving audiences eagerly awaiting for Part Two next year - I know I am.

#zack snyder #rebel moon #review #sofia boutella #charlie hunnam #cary elwes #movies #netflix

3 notes · View notes

threewaysdivided · 2 years

Text

Thinking about The Light

More thought exercises? More thought exercises.

You know the drill: in this house we are Season 1 only - let’s see what we can extrapolate from just the information available way back when. You can consider this canon to the Deathly Weapons-verse if you like but I’m also a big fan of Death of the Author so feel free to ignore literally anything I say on this blog until/unless it appears in-story.

Let’s go:

What are the Light’s Overarching Values?

The Light’s recurring tagline is to “make humanity see the Light” or “bring humanity into the Light”, which can be decoded to mean driving humanity into “the next stage of evolution” and building Earth into a cosmic power.

In Auld Acquaintance, Vandal Savage gives the clearest explanation for why their organisation opposes the Justice League; he believes that the heroes are upholding (and perhaps even enforcing) a “calcified status quo”, and that by continuing to operate they have become “agents of stagnation” who allow weakness to persist, holding humanity back from the next stage of its evolution.

Here’s a question: Do they have a point?

Let’s break this down into some sub-questions:

Is the status quo bad?

Do the heroes exist to uphold or enforce the status quo?

Are the heroes doing harm by (accidentally or intentionally) upholding the status quo?

Are the heroes impairing humanity’s development?

1. Is the Status Quo bad?

This is argument that has the most validity. There are real issues with the status quo of Season 1; we see crime, corruption, poverty, domestic abuse, racial supremacy, violent dictatorships, warmongering and war-profiteering among others. Season 1’s Earth-16 is presented as fairly analogous to the real world of 2010 so it would be reasonable to assume it has many of the same underlying issues with structural and systemic inequality.

2. Do the Justice League exist to uphold or enforce the Status Quo?

From an outsider perspective it could be argued that the Justice League as an organisation don’t do much to meaningfully address the problems with the status quo. The League claims to uphold the principles of “truth, liberty and justice” but operationally they’re most publicly involved in danger management, apprehension of super-criminals, disassembling large-scale organised crime, and disaster relief. Some League heroes do overtly function as an extension of some kind of military or law enforcement organisation - for example, the Green Lantern Corps. From this perspective, one could argue that heroes exist to stop the status quo from backsliding/ being disrupted but don’t do a lot to better it, or to effectively address the root causes of suffering.

And for someone who empathises or agrees with the arguments of a figure who the Justice League has stopped, and who interprets this as the League condemning and silencing their ideology (rather than the actions it is being used to justify), they could come to see the League as existing to forcibly instate a specific status quo and set of values.

However, while this is a not-reasonable conclusion for someone with a limited in-universe perspective to reach, from the audience’s wider perspective we know it to be incomplete. Behind the scenes and outside of public Justice League activities, many heroes are working to improve the status quo and its systems. In-show Bruce Wayne (Batman) is acknowledged as an internationally active philanthropist, and general pop-culture knowledge holds that several others do grassroots work in their home-cities (either as civilians or openly as heroes). From certain angles, “heroes” could be considered a single extrajudicial facet of a diffuse humanitarian effort; the publicly visible stopgap against things getting overtly worse, while the same people work to make systemic improvement more quietly through other avenues.

The League also doesn’t have a single unified agenda or stance on the specifics of their mission and methods; as seen in Agendas, the actions of the organisation are decided democratically through a process of round-table debate and voting. From general pop-culture knowledge of the heroes presented as core members of the League, a range of political and ideological backgrounds are represented. In that regard, the Justice League is more of an administrative/ logistical body for efficient large-scale coordination and information-sharing than an institute with an active political agenda.

Some additional fridge-logic nuance should also be noted: because of their position, heroes cannot be too overt in their politics or in agitating for societal change. Heroes - particularly metahumans and aliens - are physically powerful and imposing, especially a large paramilitary body like the Justice League. They have to walk a fine line to avoid being seen as a political or military threat, or to give their more politically-influential adversaries material to make that argument. In order to retain the public and institutional sympathy needed to continue operating unimpeded, the League has to maintain some degree of outward image positioning themselves as apolitical defenders working with society and within the status quo. Being outwardly seen as safe is a necessity of being allowed to continue operating.

3. Are the heroes doing harm by (accidentally or intentionally) upholding the Status Quo?

Not really. An argument like this holds some weight in worlds like My Hero Academia - where heroism has become a widespread societally-integrated institute that is functionally a branch of law-enforcement, with a financial incentive to enforce the status quo and supress dissent - but in DC Comics heroes are still a fairly small movement with limited systemic power.

Exact numbers vary depending on the canon but there are usually no more than a handful of individual heroes or a small team (<10) per major city, with many cities having no permanent resident hero. Even on the scale of organisations like the Justice League (which, let’s be real, is small relative to most institutes), they don’t have the presence needed to be an oppressive force - let alone the inclination.

You could argue that the presence of heroes inadvertently creates more violence and expansion from “villains” - a risk that the Justice League themselves acknowledge during Agendas - but it’s kind of a non-argument. While heroes do sometimes create their own “villains” this is fairly rare - a lot of criminals are motivated by personal goals that have nothing directly to do with the heroes, and some of the ones who claim to be “the monsters you created” would probably have slid into villainy anyway and are just shifting blame for their actions onto the nearest available authority. (The Joker’s multiple-choice past being a prime example here). The fact that some criminals use the heroes as scapegoats to justify their actions or alliances doesn’t make them liable for those crimes.

4. Are the heroes impairing humanity’s development?

No. The Justice League uphold “truth, liberty and justice” - outside of opposing corruption, criminal actions and inhumane behaviour they do not arbitrarily block progress. They may be opposed to the development of technology that has the potential to be used for harm but the opposition is to the potential misuse and damage, not to progress itself.

Nor are they stifling innovation. Heroes exist to solve a very specific niche of problems; they are a supplement to existing systems, stepping in where the normal course of justice is failing/ being impeded and to manage immediate threats/ disasters that are too large to be easily handled by existing infrastructure, everyday civilians or communities. The problems they solve are not problems that had other viable solutions at the time, and they do not treat the development of alternative solutions as “competition” to be eliminated. The most legitimate argument is that the League hoard advanced technology (such as Zeta-transportation and holo-displays) for themselves rather than sharing it with the public, but even here they are not attempting to supress its use or distribution by others.

Vandal’s argument contains a more overt implication that heroes cause complacency because people become over-reliant on them to solve problems rather than using their own ingenuity/ developing resilience, but again the League doesn’t have the scope for this to be systemically true. It’s the same bad-faith argument that can be used against any safety-net or preventative system/tool: “X is bad because people can rely on it rather than having to be fully individually self-reliant to survive Y”. You might as well argue that oncologists are bad because people rely on them to help overcome cancer.

Let’s look at another angle: do the Light practice what they preach?

Are the Light addressing the problems with the status quo?

Are the Light working to progress humanity?

1. Are the Light addressing the problems with the Status Quo?

No. All of the members are either indifferent to these problems, actively benefiting from unfair systems that they have a vested interest in maintaining, or intentionally doing harm. Lex Luthor is an ultracapitalist war-profiteer who is openly self-aware about the moral bankruptcy and purely financial motivation of his actions in Targets. Queen Bee is an iron-fisted dictator, using dubious claims and propaganda to justify annexing her country’s peaceful neighbours. Ocean Master stoked the flames of the Purist racial supremacist movement in Atlantis as part of an attempted coup for the throne. Ra’s Al Ghul runs a sect of assassins, engaging in “extortion, manipulation [and] power-broking”. The Brain is largely removed from the world, preferring to conduct unethical experiments in pursuit of his interests in bioenhancement, immortality and the mind. Klarion is an overtly sadistic Lord of Chaos who would happily turn the world into a “personal playground of pandemonium”.

All of these people have the power to influence the status quo and address some of the issues but they are not interested in doing so. When they do attempt to make change it’s usually for the worse, in service of personal gain.

2. Are the Light working to progress humanity?

Not really. This one’s a little more complex as the big-picture scope and ultimate goal of their actions is not clear, but for the most part each are shown pursuing largely personal endeavours outside of the unified plan for Starrotech - which is itself a mind-control device intended to disrupt the Justice League rather than something to benefit the people. All of them in some way have the resources and/or influence to improve the lives of people in their sphere and/or contribute to technological advancement but we never see them doing this; more often than not they cause harm, and any good done is an incidental side-effect of pursuing another goal (e.g. the Rhelasian peace summit).

To summarise:

Claims of harm used to justify dissembling the Justice League are a gross overstatement/ wilful misunderstanding at best and illegitimate at worse

The Light are demonstrably not working to address any of the criticisms that have legitimacy

Many of the Light’s actions either directly or indirectly cause far more harm

From this we can draw 2 potential conclusions:

1. The Light’s claims are an empty placard used to lend a veneer of legitimacy to selfish pursuits

This seems very likely given the composition of their membership, their actions and that several members are openly self-aware of their wrongdoing.

The following statement could be easily applied to the narrative of the Light: “The moral of this new story is freedom over equality, and one freedom above all – the freedom to be unbothered by others' needs.” In holding the members of the Light accountable for their actions, the Justice League “impinges” on the desired “freedom” to indiscriminately do what they please in pursuit of selfish goals. It is not hard to interpret the Light as reactionary and their rhetoric as the bad-faith reactionary argument that being held accountable is a form of oppression.

This would explain why they do not propose an alternate solution beyond dissembling the League and eliminating/ restricting heroism. They don’t actually want to refine the system, they just want to remove a control.

2. The Light subscribe to a different moral/ ideological framework, which has diagnosed a different “problem” and is prescribing a different “solution”

This is not mutually exclusive to the first idea. While the Light is an organisation, it is composed of individuals who each have their own personal position towards the mission of the whole. Some may be in it purely as an alliance of convenience against a common enemy, others because they believe in “the cause” to varying degrees.

But to make sense of the Light as a unit you need to make sense of the ideology driving its formation. Which is to say, the ideology of its leader.

Vandal Savage and Survival of the Fittest

Vandal Savage is positioned at the leader of the light - he is designated L1, he is the one who brought them together and he is the character who most explicitly vocalises their stated motivation. The Light’s purported ideological stance is specifically a reflection of Vandal’s personal ideological stance.

What is Vandal’s ideology?

Functionally it is a belief in “survival of the fittest”. This is the overt explanation he gives - that by protecting humanity from dangerous situations the heroes allow the “weak” to continue existing, causing human evolution to stagnate.

Implicitly, his stance is that the heroes should stand aside and allow humanity to face danger directly, so that the weak can die and the survivors can build a stronger species.

Is there any validity to this?

No. He’s categorically wrong.

Firstly, this is a basic failure to understand what “survival of the fittest” means. It has nothing to do with individual strength or athletic “fitness” - what it actually means is that natural selection favours individuals and populations with traits that are best suited to efficiently survive in the ecological niche they inhabit. It is a process of random mutation and the primary success metric is simply that the organism survive long enough to pass that mutation on to the next generation. Physical strength or aggression are not prerequisites for this; in fact, both can become liabilities in excess (high musculoskeletal mass becomes deleterious if the environment cannot meet the nutritional needs to maintain it, while overly-aggressive individuals will be unlikely to successfully attract a mate). Some of the “fittest” organisms on Earth are incredibly physically weak and incredibly vulnerable to sudden changes in their niche.

Secondly, humanity has been evolving successfully around Vandal Savage in a way that disproves his thesis. Natural selection has been at work, it has been selecting for the traits that make humanity best suited to survive on Earth, and (on the whole) the traits it has selected for are ones that make humans pro-social, intelligent, compassionate, communicative, collaborative, adaptive and resilient. Evolution selected for a species of individuals who care about others, and whose ability to develop tools and pass on information outstrips the need for raw physical might - a collective that is greater than the sum of its individual parts. (To use a real-world example, there is a reason why women survive so long after menopause and why we feel compelled to care for people who are visibly elderly/ frail - it benefits the population to have individuals with accumulated life experience).

Within DC comics’ alien-inhabited universe there are also a large number of other social species with community structures. Pro-social/ tribal behaviour is one of the most commonly selected-for evolutionary traits across the galaxy (just look at the diversity of species that comprise Green Lantern Corp membership), with compassionate pro-social behaviour being a quite common variant. Vandal isn’t just wrong about physical strength being the end-goal of life on Earth - he’s wrong on a cosmic scale.

There is also an irony to Vandal Savage being a self-proclaimed champion of human evolution. Vandal himself cannot evolve. He can adapt, certainly, he can learn and he can grow on a physical/psychological/emotional level, but evolution does not occur on the scale of a single individual, even a long-lived one. As an immortal individual and static point, Vandal will always be limited to the constraints of his own starting nature; human evolution will inevitably leave him behind no matter what direction it takes.

How might someone like Vandal have come about this mindset?

Vandal is indeed limited by his origins and starting point. He is a relic of early-humanity; a man who fought a bear and won, who was big and strong - at best a warrior-protector type - and who gained immortality/invulnerability through exposure to meteor-radiation that either made him into a mutate or awakened a latent proto-metagene.

This was a random event - not necessarily the “next phase of human evolution” but simply the acquisition of a trait that offset the personal negative consequences of his more aggressive, uncompassionate and antisocial sides. But that invulnerability elevated him above his peers and gave him a reason to see himself as exceptional. It bred within him a narcissism, and a belief that his mindset and experiences were either universal or superior.

And then humanity moved on. It evolved, and that evolution selected for a more communal, more pro-social, more compassionate population; whose skills at collaboration, coordination and tool-building surpassed the need for raw brute strength and domination. Not only that but other meta-humans and mutates began to emerge - ones who chose to use their abilities in compassionate, pro-social, humanitarian ways. Vandal was left behind, no longer exceptional in any way that mattered.

But a world in which Vandal Savage was not “the fittest” was intolerable to his ego. Rather than considering that maybe he was flawed, that he needed to revaluate himself, adapt, grow and place value in other things, he became reactionary. Instead of accepting the evolution occurring before his eyes, he disdained it as wrong, as enabling weakness, as a regression. Vandal may have adapted the rhetoric of his worldview to fit within the new language of modern science but he’s never actually questioned the core premise. He actively rejects the evidence in front of him, seeking to drag humanity back to a mythologised past, where might is power and Vandal Savage is the apex of the species.

Underneath all the attempts at intellectual rationalisation, this is ultimately the validation-seeking tantrum of a reactionary narcissist, whose meta-abilities let him enact it on an immortal and cosmic scale.

Here is a small truth Evil is mundane.

What is the ultimate goal of The Light?

While never explained in-show the most logical answer is that it’s probably a form of intergalactic colonialism. This tracks with the membership of the Light - ultra capitalists, unethical scientists, dictators, power-hungry princes - and is a reasonable fusion of the “survival of the strong” and “evolved humanity” ethos.

It also aligns well with this reading of Vandal - the idea of conquering the universe, dominating all the warlike species and subjugating the peaceful ones to become the ultimate “apex predator” would flatter his ego and strength-based exceptionalism. It also tracks with traits of narcissism; one of which being a perception that others exist to support and serve oneself. In Vandal’s mind, humanity will be better off reshaped in his image: Earth as a cosmic power, not through trade or innovation or diplomacy but through might.

Let’s ask a couple of other questions:

If Vandal is immortal then why only form the Light now?

There are a few potential factors here.

Firstly, the tools he needs are now readily available. True global interconnectedness, communication and space travel were only properly refined in the last two centuries - before that he would have been limited to operating on a much smaller scale, over much longer timespans. The last two centuries also saw large leaps in technology, science and warfare. In the modern age Vandal can source allies from around the world, communicate with them instantaneously over distance and make use of a number of resources. Starrotech is the product of multiple advancements that would have until recently been impossible for even powerful people to easily obtain.

Secondly, this is the age of metahumans and heroes. The last two generations saw the prominent appearance and then public acceptance of heroes on Earth 16, and development of coordinated groups (first the Justice Society and then the Justice League) combined with global news media spreading the word. This would likely have provided the inspiration for Vandal’s plot of using the heroes as tools. It also would have made him more reactionary; the presence of people who were exceptional in similar ways to himself and who chose to use their gifts compassionately challenging both his view of human nature and his place as “the fittest”, spurring him to action.

A Theory T.O. Morrow and his Reds may have been an early test. Vandal may not have directly recruited him but he could have made contact and planted the suggestion of using Androids to infiltrate the Justice Society - an experiment he could observe from afar. It would also account for Morrow’s ambitions diverging into a plan to wipe out humanity - Vandal planted the seed but he didn’t have control over what it would ultimately grow into.

It is also possible that Vandal made smaller scale attempts in the past, but this likely would have been hamstrung by both technological limitations and by the personalities involved. Vandal’s preferred allies would be people who share similar strength-based antisocial worldviews but those groups are essentially doomed to tear themselves apart with infighting eventually - after all, there can only be one “fittest”.

What do the Light’s loyalties look like?

The 7 principal members of the Light have different motivations for joining, spanning from purely personal alliances of convenience to varying degrees of belief in Vandal’s mission. These factors will determine the closeness of their allegiance and the conditions under which they might turn on the others.

It’s also worth noting that all of the members of the Light are at least somewhat antisocial and will likely abandon or even betray the group out of self-preservation if needed.

Vandal Savage The originator of the ideology. He will remain loyal to it but may turn on the others if he perceives them as no longer useful, as “weak” or as a potential liability/ threat to himself, his ego or the cause.

Lex Luthor Luthor has a number of potential personal and ideological reasons for joining. As an ultra-capitalist he stands to economically benefit from their colonial schemes. As someone with political ambitions, the Light’s rise to power as leaders of the “new humanity” would appeal to him. Luthor is also often depicted as xenophobically motivated by a fear of Superman - a projection of his own mindset, which cannot conceive of someone using their power for pure altruism - something that aligns well with Vandal’s reactionary strength-based mindset.

Luthor will potentially turn on the others if he believes doing so is a more financially or politically profitable move.

Ra’s Al Ghul Ra’s alignment will depend on the specifics of the character; his depictions range from a brutal, villainous “demon” to a more sympathetic anti-villain with environmental motivations. What little is seen in Young Justice seems to swing more towards a calculating villain.

Ra’s often has a strength-based worldview, something that would resonate with Vandal’s mission: though they may diverge on the details, Ra’s has no great love for humanity in its current state and would have reasons to see them as weak. As the leader of an assassin sect, he has a potential business interest in intergalactic warfare as it generates a need for espionage and sabotage.

In canon it seems that Ra’s is withholding some information from the Light, as he explicitly knows Batman’s identity but does not appear to have shared this with the rest. He canonically has family, Talia Al Ghul appearing in the YJS1 companion comics. He also often has some degree of honour-code (if not a moral code), and a loyalty to his Shadows.

Ra’s will likely hold true to any agreement he has made, but may turn on the others if they go back on their word, if their actions severely violate his personal code or reveal them to be hypocrites, or if he believes they pose a threat to his Shadows or his family.

Queen Bee Queen Bee’s motivations and allegiance to the Light are somewhat unclear. Her personal motivations seem mostly concerned with retaining power in Bialya and acquiring Qurac as a territory. As a dictator holding power through military might and propaganda, it is possible that she is sympathetic to Vandal’s ideology and may stand to politically and materially benefit from the Light’s intended rise to power.

Interestingly, the Light seems to have more interest in Queen Bee’s connections than her own skills and abilities; making use of Bialyan locales and the more powerful telepathy of her second-in-command, Psimon. It is possible that the Light could turn on her if they were to require an equivalent alternative ally and supply of resources.

Queen Bee may turn on or abandon the Light if they do not provide adequate support to her ambitions in Qurac, or if she believes their plans will require her to cede power without equivalent returns.

Ocean Master/ Prince Orm Ocean Master’s reasons for allying with the Light are not explained. He seems personally motivated by jealousy toward his half-brother, King Orin (Aquaman), and a desire to supplant him on the throne of Atlantis. It is unclear what the Light are offering him in return, although the promise of gaining political power through alternative avenues, or the potential to discredit and unseat Orin as part of dissembling the Justice League may be driving him.

Like Queen Bee, Orm seems more useful to the Light for his position and sphere of influence than his specific personal skillset; he provides a foothold in Atlantis and the ability to monitor and potentially influence Orin’s court in his capacity as Prince Orm. The Light may turn on him should he fall out of Orin and Mera’s favour, or if they acquire another Atlantean ally with similar reach.

Orm may turn on or abandon the Light if they do not sufficiently support his attempts for the throne.

The Brain The Brain seems rather detached from the main activities of the Light - mostly involved in their experiments with Kobra Venom and bioenhancement rather than Starrotech. He appears to be their biochemical and neurology expert - being the one to suggest that the Kobra Venom sample could be reverse engineered - yet it is Luthor who seems to be driving the operational side of Project Cadmus.

It is possible that he scientifically agrees with Vandal’s Darwinian argument. However he may also be involved for more amoral, transactional reasons; content to provide the Light with scientific services and advice so long as they provide the resources and facilities for him to pursue his own unethical research interests. This may explain his relative distance from their central plan.

It is unlikely that the Brain will diverge from the Light on moral or ideological grounds, but he may turn on or abandon them if he believes they are cutting him off.

Klarion Klarion is here for shits and giggles; he allied himself with the Light because he thought it would be “fun”. As an immortal Lord of Chaos who cannot be contained, they have very little to offer that he might materially want. The Witch-boy is a wildcard loose cannon - impulsive, impatient and childish - both their powerhouse and biggest potential liability.

He will stay so long as it remains entertaining and will either abandon or turn on them on them if it becomes too “boring”, if he thinks the alternative would be “more fun” or if he believes they might try to contain him.

A Different Take on the 16 Hours

For the sake of people just tuning in: I don’t really vibe with the direction Season 2 took - I think both the heroes’ and villians’ plans are more hole than plot and end up much less compelling than they had the potential to be. So, let’s try something different:

How about this?

When the Light sent the Justice League members off-world for 16 hours, they sent them to directly adjacent solar systems and galactic arms (with the exception of Green Lantern who may have been sent further in attempt to divert the attention of the Corps). The intent of this was to extort resource-rich alien civilisations; demonstrating the strength of the controlled heroes before demanding that the inhabitants being paying protection tithes to Earth, with the threat that the full might of the League would descend upon those who did not comply.

This would accomplish several things:

The Light could quietly collect resources from any planet that complied, allowing them to stockpile wealth and alien technology to serve their future plans.

If any of the threatened planets attempted to contact Earth in protest it would reputationally damage the Justice League - shattering public trust by “revealing” that their supposed protectors had apparently been racketeering for personal gain outside of the public eye. In order to counter this, the Justice League would have to definitively prove that they had been controlled against their will - an admission to having been severely compromised that would weaken faith in a different direction and create opportunities for the Light’s publicly visible members to smear them as dangerously incompetent.

If any of the threatened planets attempted a military retaliation it could accomplish some combination of A) setting the Justice League up for targeted elimination, and/or B) present a “common threat” for Earth to militarily rise up against, allowing the Light to stoke demand for their own weapons-tech (bionic limbs, Kobra-Venom, Genomorphs etc.), potentially rise to power and drive humanity into a more aggressive state that would justify abandoning the “weak”.

Not only would this variant strategy offer multiple potentially beneficial outcomes, it would also yield results on a faster timeframe. By acting on adjacent systems, effects would likely be seen within a year or two at most - sufficient time for the Light to make preparations and set other support plans in motion, while also allowing just enough time to pass for the Justice League’s own investigations to potentially start turning cold, opening them up to be blindsided.

Anyway, that’s all I’ve got for today. Let me know your thoughts - or if you want other meta I did a S1-Only Take on Martian Colourism.

#scattered thoughts #young justice #young justice season 1 #yj meta #young justice: deathly weapons #YJ:DW Meta #The Light (YJ)#DC Comics #the thing that drives me bananas about this show is how much interesting stuff you COULD extrapolate from just S1 #3WD

30 notes · View notes

clonewarsarchives · 2 years

Photo

CLOAK OF DARKNESS (#103, SEP 2008)

The Clone Wars animated feature—and the television series to follow—provides new insight into Anakin’s heroics and the wartime abilities of the Jedi generals and their clone soldiers. Fifteen-year animation veteran Henry Gilroy is a chief writer of the new tales. Here, he tells Insider how The Clone Wars is different from other animated series, how many of the story ideas came from George Lucas, and which member of the Jedi Council is going to be your new favorite. Words: Dan Wallace

Insider: What can fans expect from the movie and series? Having already seen glimpses of The Clone Wars in Revenge of the Sith and the final, treacherous way that Darth Sidious brought an end to that conflict, how do you handle writing characters with predestined fates?

Henry Gilroy: Have you ever missed an episode of your favorite serialized TV show and refused to watch the 411 current episode until you’ve seen the one you missed? We’re going to see the reasons why Anakin misses Padme so much in Episode III. We’re going to see why Grievous hates Jedi so much. We’re going to see why the Jedi are so war weary and determined to end the fighting.

In Episode I, Qui-Gon Jinn told Padme, “I can’t fight a war for you.” In Episode II, Mace Windu says, “We are keepers of the peace, not soldiers.” Dave [Filoni, director of the movie and supervising director of the series] and I wanted this theme to permeate everything, because while the Jedi are forced into the role of military generals and must command clone armies, they are doing something that is opposed to their ideals. It really set the stage for interesting stories that have relevance today about how easy it is to be drawn into wars that maybe we shouldn’t [be].

How did you come to be writing for Star Wars: The Clone Wars?

Back in April 2005, I met with producer Catherine Winder. I brought her a one page pitch of what The Clone Wars could be with a logline that read, “Star Wars meets Band of Brothers.” I don’t think anyone ever saw my pitch, but I think she was impressed that I knew the universe well enough to have something prepared. I also had written several Star Wars comics [The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones] as well as having a decade of experience on various animated action-adventure series [Batman, Justice League] that made me a good candidate. I think another big reason I got the job is that I love to collaborate with other creative people, and being able to do that well is a necessity on a project like this. After weeks of writhing in agony and suspense as Catherine met with other writers, I got the thrilling news that I was ‘the chosen one’ and here I am three years later.

How did The Clone Wars go from script to finished animation?

The initial 15 or so story ideas were generated by myself and [director] Dave Filoni. We’d develop the stories into one- or two-page premises, then meet with George Lucas and he would input his ideas. Once George liked a story, we’d go through the outline process to figure out the specific character and plot arcs, and then we’d turn that into a script. Once we were happy, we’d send that back to George for his input. When George liked it, the script went final and the story would go into production, which means characters, ships, and locations are designed by our terrific design team. Then the script is pre-visualized, or storyboarded, by our awesome story team.

When the script goes final, it’s not really ‘final.’ The final script would be the end of the writing process on 95 per cent of animated television series. But at Lucasfilm, George uses movie-like pre-visualization and editorial stages as a big part of the writing process. The great thing about working this way is that you can really refine the story visually, adding and subtracting story elements to build drama and tension. Even though The Clone Wars started as made for television, George wanted a process where he could be involved creatively at every step. So making The Clone Wars series is more like making an animated feature except that every single episode is done this way! As Dave and I came from TV, George would regularly remind us, “We’re not making television here. We’re making cinema.” And that’s why it wasn’t really a surprise when he decided to release The Clone Wars first as a full-fledged animated feature.

It sounds like George Lucas was involved every step of the way.

George is the Alpha and the Omega, and is involved in the story from beginning to end. On The Clone Wars, that means from the initial story idea until the final sound mix. I knew from the moment I got the job that The Clone Wars was going to be George’s show. My job was to execute his vision and I have always tried my best to do that.

Who are the other writers involved?

My chief collaborators were Dave Filoni and George Lucas. Every story idea I had, Dave would hear first and once we got it to a place we liked, we would submit it to George who would bring his own magic. After about the first batch of stories, George got so excited about the show, he started writing his own story outlines! He’d send them over and we’d craft them into scripts. As time went on, George became more involved and wrote more stories and just about every story now comes from ‘The Maker’ himself.

The primary freelance writer I worked with was prolific animation veteran Steven Melching, who was invaluable because he is a great talent and really knows the Star Wars universe well. Then about a year into the project, I got some much needed help at Skywalker Ranch in writer Scott Murphy, who brought his experience as a live action TV story editor to the production for a few months. A couple of other writers I’d like to mention who did solid work on the series were George Krstic, Paul Dini, and Katie Lucas. [The screenwriting credits for the movie go to Gilroy, Melching, and Murphy.]

Are there any characters from the prequels you really wanted to explore?

I really enjoyed writing Obi-Wan Kenobi. Early on, I pushed for a story that gave us a little window into Obi-Wan’s past that added a new dimension to him. I think it really deepens this character that we already love. I had a personal goal to realize every member of the Jedi Council on the screen as a memorable personality that we would want to see again and again. I want to credit Lucas Licensing and the novels and comics creators for laying the groundwork for those characters, which we tried to stay true to. As for original characters in the series, I really enjoyed working with George and Dave to develop Anakin’s relationship with his Padawan, Ahsoka. Their snappy big brother/little sister interaction was a blast to write and I have high hopes for Ahsoka as a character who will soften the heart of even the most skeptical Star Wars fan. Jedi Master Plo Koon was the biggest challenge for me. I have to give all credit to Dave Filoni for really defining his voice. I think Plo is going to be an enduring favorite of fans for a long time.

So how readily did you and Dave Filoni collaborate?

In the early days of the studio, somebody created the nickname “Filroy Gilroni” because we were always together. In the very beginning of development, Dave and I used to meet at this coffee shop in Burbank almost every day and talk Star Wars, and we still talk Star Wars every day. We discuss the films, novels, comics and the stories we are developing and how to execute them thematically and visually, and how the characters interact and grow. Did I mention that the coffee shop is right next door to a Toys “R” Us? After our story meetings we’d go nerd out and see what latest Star Wars goodies were available. Anyway, it’s always been a lot of creative give and take, where I might pitch Dave an idea for a character or a story and the next day he’d email me this amazing concept painting for it. Or he would pitch me a one sentence idea for a story and I’d write it into a two page premise—Plo Koon, hint, hint.

Once I get the stories onto paper as premises, outlines, and scripts, Dave reads everything and his collaboration helps me get it ready for George, as well as production. Because Dave sits in editorial so much with George, he knows better than anyone what George wants. As time went on, George gave us boundaries and then took them away. He challenged us all the time to make it better than just good. One of his favorite quotes as he would finish our meetings was, “Dare to be great!”

We’re excited about the movie, but can you also give us any hints about episodes from the series?

I always tried to give the episodes titles that sounded like they came from the pulpy adventure sci-fi serials of the 1930s that inspired George. Here’s a few that don’t give anything away: “Rising Malevolence,” “Cloak of Darkness,” “Lair of Grievous,” “Downfall of a Droid,” and “Ambush in the Outer Rim.”

Keeping the right tone is critical to having something feel like Star Wars. How do you do that without getting bogged down in formula?

As far as the kind of stories we could tell, George told us that Star Wars could be a forum for any kind of tale. So even though the movie and series are set against the backdrop of The Clone Wars, there are dramas, romances, mysteries, horrors, comedies, and more. The biggest challenge was making the universe feel as large as it is in the existing Star Wars movies within the limitations of an animated movie and TV series, meaning we couldn’t go to three new planets every episode or have 10 new characters. We tried to include new characters in every single episode, extremely difficult on a weekly CG animated TV show. There is the time limitation—the original attack on the Death Star took 20 minutes of screen time, but our entire episodes are only 22 minutes, so it was great to be able to start with a full feature-length movie. It’s always a great challenge to squeeze in all the stuff we love about Star Wars: exotic planets and aliens, epic space battles, exciting lightsaber duels, plus the solid character development that brings it all together into our limited screen time.

How do you capture the voices of characters that fans know inside and out from watching the movies?

I was working directly with George and he created these characters. No one knows them better. The fun part for me was putting the characters we know from the live-action movies in new situations to explore how they would behave. I think Dave and I got it right most of the time, then George would come in and add bits of action, dialogue, and humor that only he can to give it that classic Star Wars feeling.

WHO’S HENRY?

As well as scripting the Dark Horse comic-book adaptations of The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, writer Henry Gilroy has had plenty of experience writing for animated TV series and movies made for DVD release. Here’s a selection of his pre-The Clone Wars credits:

Transformers: Animated (2008)

Justice League (2004)

Lilo & Stitch: The Series (2003)

Bionicle: Mask of Light (2003)

Atlantis: Milo’s Return (2005)

Timon and Pumba (1995)

The Tick (1994)

Batman (1992)

WRITER’S ROOM

What have the other writers on The Clone Wars done?

Steven Melching

Legion of Super Heroes (2008)

The Batman (2004-05)

Scott Murphy

Flash Gordon (2007)

Angel (2001-02) [writer & story editor]

The Nightmare Room (2001)

#i103 #Henry Gilroy #insider #crew #the clone wars #writing

18 notes · View notes

atlas-likes-writing · 3 months

Text

Febuwhump day 1: Helpless (DC)

Characters: Superman/Clark Kent, Lex Luthor, Darkseid

Summary: Superman is in the middle of fighting Lex Luthor. At the Kryptonian's failure, a new challenger arrives.

Word Count: 1473 words.

Tags: Action, whump, death, battle, graphic depictions of violence, guns/gun violence.

Author's note: Here's day one of Febuwhump! I hope you like it. I initially wanted to get this to 2k but the words weren't wording the way I wanted them to. Regardless, I'm pretty proud of this. Enjoy!

@febuwhump (forgot to tag you when I posted it. Sorry!)

Masterlist

“Come on, Lex. This is getting repetitive. Why don’t you take off the War Suit and come with me quietly back to Stryker’s Island,” Clark says firmly, dodging a flaming car that flies past his head. “I can talk to the judge and see if you can get a shorter sentence this time.”

“I don’t want a shorter sentence, Superman. I want you to leave my planet and my people alone! We don’t want you here,” Clark fights off the scoff that creeps up his throat and instead throws Luthor a poignant look.

“Racism? Really? In the 21st century? I thought you were better than that, Lex,” he states, a tiny grin growing on his face. He sees Lex turn all colours of the rainbow in his anger and Clark has to bite his tongue to prevent himself from laughing.

Lex rolls the shoulders of his suit as if stretching. The joints whir and rub together with a mechanical whooshing sound. His technology has improved, Clark realises, which means it’s going to cost more to repair. What a catastrophe! Lex is rich, right? He can afford it. Another car is thrown at him. This time, Clark catches it painlessly and gently places it on the ground behind him, the terrified family of four inside it scrambling out with a hurried “Thanks Superman!” as they run away down the street.

The Kryptonian cracks his knuckles where he stands, watching the family carefully to ensure that no more pieces of debris fly their way. He might as well get this over with. This is the second time this year that Lex has escaped (or rather, bribed his way out of) prison, and it’s only February. Money talks, as the saying goes. This is getting pathetic, now. The biggest risk Lex posed to him has come to pass. When he and Doomsday teamed up a few months ago, Clark thought it was the end of him, but with the Justice League at his side, Doomsday was destroyed and Lex imprisoned (which was a fact that Clark had made sure of. The remains of what is left of Doomsday’s body are currently floating through space millions of light years away in some galaxy far, far away).

Clark begins to turn around. “I thought you cared about human life, Luthor. If you really did, why would you throw a car full of civilians-”

A piercing pain shoots through his side. The force of it is so impactful that he actually falls over. He tries to get to his feet, but the whirring noise of a machine powering up grows louder and another object embeds itself into his leg and he falls again. He feels his strength slip away. His eyesight goes blurry, and a disgusting floaty feeling falls upon him. It’s a stupidly familiar feeling.

The feeling of Kryptonite. Of course.

“I used them as a distraction. A distraction, I’d like to add, that worked wonderfully. Your obsession with preserving human life will be your downfall, Superman. You should learn that.” The silhouette of Luthor’s suit appears in front of him atop a large pile of rubble, the light of the sun behind casting the man into darkness and causing Clark to squint. He grips his leg and watches with blurry eyes as the entry wound of the bullet closes behind it. He looks at his torso. The blue of his suit turns a gross purple as that injury heals over as well. The Kryptonite gun in Lex’s hand is shoved against his temple and he glares (or what he thinks looks like a glare) at the man above him.

“Say goodbye, Superman. I’ll send Lois Lane your regards.”

A lot of people beg for their life before they die. A lot of people crawl on their hands and knees and grovel at the feet of their killer in hopes that they may have a small fraction of mercy in their heart to spare them. Clark doesn’t. Superman doesn’t beg; not because he’s too proud or that he thinks he’s above it – Clark has simply never found a need for it and still hasn’t even now. He doesn’t beg. He doesn’t grovel. He sits there and closes his eyes and waits for the end of it all. He can hear the yells by the non-existent masses telling him he is a coward, and he simply does not care. Why would he care? He’d be dead. Dead people don’t care about anything.

But it doesn’t come. Instead, something wet and warm splats across his face. The thud of something heavy, followed by the thud of something heavier, is heard to his left. Clark opens one eye tentatively and looks to where Lex was standing. He isn’t there. Instead, he’s on the ground, his yellow metallic suit crumpled and limp on the concrete. He’s about to breathe a sigh of relief until he looks at where Lex’s head is.

Or rather, where his head was.

It isn’t there. The entire thing. It’s gone, and his eyes widen at the realisation. He’s seen death in his line of work - a lot of it at that - but anything he personally killed were not human. They were Parademons or other aliens or something else; never a human. Was Luthor a horrible person? Yes. Did he deserve death for it? That is where the debate lies. Something nudges his left thigh, and his eyes snap over to see what it is.

If he didn’t know where Luthor’s head was, he certainly does now.

Even with his vision warping, he can see that the man’s eyes are glassy and dead, his mouth open and too relaxed. Clark has never thrown up before, but he can feel bile rise in his throat at the sight of it. Lex Luthor - a living, breathing human being - is no longer living and breathing. Which begs the question: who killed him? The Justice League wouldn’t dare, and the cut is too clean for it to be a lucky shot by a civilian.

“Superman,” a dark, rumbling, sickeningly familiar voice bounces around his skull. “I’ve been looking for you.”

Clark’s eyes shoot up to try and pinpoint where the voice was coming from. A huge figure stands on top of the pile of rubble in the exact place Luthor was mere moments ago. The Kryptonian strains to see who it is, his eyesight twisting and blurring from his injuries which causes his sight to obscure itself. It’s only when the ash-grey face and the glowing red eyes come into focus that Clark realises who is speaking.

“Darkseid,” Clark states, a thick lump forming in his throat. “I thought we told you to never return to earth.”

“And why should I listen to you? Darkseid does not bow to the will of anyone and never will.” His voice booms and Superman fights back a wince as his leg shifts. He is in no position to fight, and he knows Darkseid is aware of that.

“Would you really fight a being that cannot fight for themself?” he questions, silently wishing that he had not been so arrogant when previously fighting Lex.

“No. I will not fight you,” the tyrant states, allowing Clark’s hope to fester before he squashes it. “It would not be a fight. Think of this as a mercy, Superman.” For the second time in the space of about five seconds, a sense of dread washes over Clark. It’s a feeling he detests; a feeling that suffocates him. It grips onto his throat and rips his trachea out of his chest. Superman is not one to beg, but he is one to fear. He is fearful now. If he didn’t believe he was going to die at the hands of Lex Luthor, he certainly believes he will at the hands of Darkseid.

Speaking of which, the shadow of the titan above falls upon him and Clark attempts to scramble backwards. His attempts are futile, of course. His right thigh is practically a piece of cardboard and nigh unusable due to the piece of Kryptonite lodged inside of it. The crystal in his side does him no good either. Every movement he makes shifts it around in his torso that makes him want to scream. He doesn’t scream though. He can’t. That is not what Superman does, so he doesn’t. No-one would think that Superman would die quietly, but if they just witnessed the happenings of the past ten minutes, they’d think differently. Darkseid braces his axe in his hands and brings it around his head, preparing for the strike. The killing blow. He can hear the voice of Batman calling him; the sound of Flash sprinting over to him to save him, but it doesn’t help. They’re too late.

This would be the day that Superman dies.

#dc #dc comics #superman #lex luthor #darkseid #tw violence #tw death #tw guns #tw blood #(sort of it's mentioned like once)#febuwhump #febuwhump 2024

0 notes

phantom-le6 · 5 months

Text

Ramble of the month December 2023: Phase 4 of the Batman Begins-Led DCEU

We now come to the last ramble of 2023, and to keep me from feeling more stress than I need to around the occasion I often call Stress-Mas, I’m sticking with my comfort zone of superhero film universes that could have been. In this case, it’s back to imagining the DCEU that could have been if Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins had launched DC’s live-action film continuity instead of Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel. So, let’s get right into it by quickly re-capping phases 1-3.

Phase 1:

2005: Batman Begins

2006: Man of Steel

2007: Wonder Woman

2008: The Dark Knight, Green Lantern

2009: The Flash, Man of Steel 2

2010: Aquaman, Justice League

Phase 2:

2011: Wonder Woman 2, Green Lantern 2, Green Arrow

2012: Hawkman, Batman/Superman, Aquaman 2

2013: John Constantine, The Flash 2, Suicide Squad

2014: Justice League 2, Green Arrow 2, Batman: The Long Crusade

Phase 3:

2015: Shazam, Man of Steel 3, The Atom

2016: Wonder Woman 3, Batgirl, Teen Titans

2017: Green Lantern/Green Arrow, Shazam vs Black Adam, Suicide Squad 2

2018: Justice League: Darkseid Rising, Aquaman 3, Doom Patrol

So, phase 1 is basically there to establish the DC universe in a film format and get the Justice League together. Phase 2 builds on that foundation, but it also takes a big whack at it by having Batman’s caution over his colleagues going rogue cause issues within the league. With Green Arrow 2, the caution proves apt and brings about a lot of change, which is followed up in phase 3. Now with the third Justice League film focusing on a prelude to an attack by Darkseid, one may assume phase 4 will take a similar tack to phase 3 of the real-life MCU and play into similar plot threads to Infinity War and Endgame. However, when we look into phase 4, things aren’t totally what you’d expect.

Phase 4:

2019: Superman: Doomsday, New Gods, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract

2020: Suicide Squad: Arkham, Knightfall, Green Arrow 3

2021: Reign of the Supermen, Green Lantern: Twilight, Knightsend

2022: Justice League: Armageddon, Teen Titans 3, Justice Society

Looking at this, the more knowledgeable DC fans out there can probably see what I mean when I talk about phase 4 maybe not going where you’d think. We’re channelling some major shake-up story arcs from the 1990’s in this phase, so expect the unexpected is definitely a must. However, for those who may be less knowledgeable and for those who want to get into the blow-by-blow details, let’s check these hypothetical DCEU phase 4 films.

Superman: Doomsday (2019) Directed by JJ Abrams

Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent = Brandon Routh

Lois Lane = Kate Bosworth

Kara Zor-El/Supergirl = Dakota Fanning

Doomsday = Terry Notary

Lex Luthor = Kelsey Grammer

Mercy Graves = Scarlett Johannsen

John Henry Irons = Aldis Hodge

Hank Henshaw = John Kraskinski

Terri Henshaw = Kate Mara

Martha Kent = Diane Lane

Jonathan Kent = Kevin Costner

Jor-El = Russell Crowe

Dr Emil Hamilton = Richard Schiff

Perry White = Sam Neill

Jimmy Olsen = Rider Strong

Cat Grant = January Jones

Steve Lombard = Josh Brolin

Capt. Maggie Sawyer = Jeri Ryan

Insp. Turpin = Colin Farrell

Bibbo Bibbowski = Luke Hemsworth

Mongul = Ioan Gruffudd

Guy Gardner = Damian Lewis

Dinah Lance/Black Canary = Malin Akerman

J'onn J'onzz/Martian Manhunter = Chiwetel Ejiofor

Barry Allen/The Flash = Matt Damon

Booster Gold/Michael Jon Carter = Alexander Ludwig

Fire/Beatriz Bonilla da Costa = Selena Gomez

Ice/Tora Olafsdotter = Kristine Froseth

Mari McCabe/Vixen = Lupita Nyong'o

To date, the Death of Superman story arc of the 1990’s has had three adaptations in film. The first was an animated home-release film called Superman: Doomsday, which heavily shortened the death arc and went a long way off the original source material story regarding Superman’s absence and eventual return. Next came Zack Snyder’s Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, which essentially shoe-horned a version of the story into its ending, then mangled the resurrection arc between Snyder and Joss Whedon in the 2017 Justice League film. Third were the DCAMU film adaptations from 2018 and 2019, with the first being a fairly accurate adaptation of the Death arc, while the second film was similarly good quality on part 2.

For this alternate DCEU, I’d want to borrow the title of the first attempt, ignore anything Snyder-based and try for a longer and slightly different variation on what the DCAMU gave us. As a result, we still get a good quality adaptation without being a carbon copy. The plot is roughly the same, in that Superman would have to go up against an alien monster called Doomsday, and has to lay down his life to end the threat. However, changes include the Justice League line-up aiding him, Lex Luthor isn’t trying to pass himself off as his illegitimate Australian son (don’t know what the comics were thinking on that one), and of course it’s the more modern Supergirl on hand instead of the 90’s version.

The cast is mostly retained from prior films, though a few are new in this film, specifically Doomsday, the Henshaws, Bibbowski, Mongul and JL members Fire, Ice and Booster Gold. In addition, there’s a change of direction; up to now, each Superman film has had different directors, going from Roland Emmerich to Ron Howard to Guillermo del Toro, with Rob Marshall directing the Batman/Superman film in phase 2. This time, it’s JJ Abrams taking up the reigns, having previously been my selection for the two Flash solo films of this alternate DCEU.

New Gods (2019) Directed by Ridley Scott

Scott Free/Mister Miracle = Charlie Cox

Barda Free/Big Barda = Lindsay Kay Hayward

Darkseid = Bernard Hill

Izaya the Inheritor/Highfather = Brian Cox

Orion = Tom Hardy

Solis/Lightray = Charlie Hunnam

Bekka = Danielle Fishel

Metron = Jonny Lee Miller

Forager = Steven Yeun

DeSaad = David Wenham

Mantis = Winston Duke

Virman Vundabar = August Diehl

Granny Goodness = Stockard Channing

Bernadeth = Rachel Weisz

Bloody Mary = Jennifer Stone

Lashina = Kristin Kreuk

Mad Harriett = Hannah John-Kamen

Stompa = Ronda Rousey

Steppenwolf = Ciarán Hinds

Kalibak = Liev Schreiber

For this film, we’re following up on events from the previous Justice League film as well as our Death of Superman adaptation. With Superman down, the heroes Mister Miracle and Big Barda return to their home-world of New Genesis in an attempt to bring their kin to Earth’s defence against an almost-certain assault by Darkseid. However, their leader Highfather is unwilling to violate a non-aggression pact between their world and Darkseid’s planet Apokolips. However, Darkseid is less scrupulous and facing potential usurpation by Virman Vundabar, so it’s actually New Genesis that comes under attack.

This film is very much about getting a better look at Darkseid and his supporting cast, while at the same time getting to explore the New Gods and paying cinematic homage to one of the more notable Jack Kirby creations from his DC Comics work. Mister Miracle, Big Barda, Darkseid, DeSaad, Steppenwolf and Kalibak are brought back from the last Justice League film, while everyone else is introduced for the first time. The castings of Danielle Fishel and Jennifer Stone attest to the attention I’ve paid at times to Disney Channel sit-coms (in this case, Boy Meets World/Girl Meets World and Wizards of Waverley Place, respectively), while most others are from a smattering of various mainstream films and shows.

As we’re dealing with alien worlds, I picked Aliens director Ridley Scott to helm this one. This is a first-time pick for this alternate DCEU.

Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (2019) Directed by Matthew Vaughan

Richard Grayson/Robin/Nightwing = Patrick Schwarzenegger

Koriand'r/Starfire = Elle Fanning

Donna Troy/Wonder Girl = Ciara Bravo

Wallace "Wally" West/Kid Flash = Calum Worthy

Raven = Maisie Williams

Victor Stone/Cyborg = Ashton Sanders

Garfield "Gar" Logan/Beast Boy = Dylan Sprayberry

Tara Markov/Terra = Emma Bading

Joseph Wilson/Jericho = Brenock O'Connor

Slade Wilson/Deathstroke = Daniel Day-Lewis

Sebastian Blood/Brother Blood = Tyler Hoechlin

Mother Mayhem = Jennifer Connelly

Adeline Kane = Kristin Davis

Wintergreen = Martin Shaw

The Judas Contract is a 1980’s story arc for the young heroes that’s seen a couple of adaptations, first in the team’s animated series of the early 2000’s and then as a film within the DCAMU. It’s a good tragic story, as well as a coming-of-age story about being careful who you trust. This film version would try to adapt it a bit closer to the comics, including the incorporation of Deathstroke’s mute son Jericho, his estranged wife Adeline and his best friend Wintergreen. The film would also showcase Dick Grayson’s shift from Robin to Nightwing, and since Terra is of Eastern/Mid-European descent like her brother in the Outsiders, the casting takes this into account.

While the main Titans and Deathstroke return from past films, Terra and the other characters are new. Emma Bading is a German actress with a decent filmography who would be of comparable age to the other Titans, hence her selection. Direction-wise, I’m looking to Matthew Vaughan, having previously picked him in this alternate DCEU for the solo Green Lantern films, based primarily on the work he did on X-Men: First Class.

Suicide Squad: Arkham (2020) Directed by Guillermo del Toro

Amanda Waller = Viola Davis

Rick Flag Jr. = Joel Kinnaman

Floyd Lawton/Deadshot = Christian Slater

Captain Boomerang/Digger Harkness = Hugh Jackman

Dr Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn = Margot Robbie

Ben Turner/Bronze Tiger = Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

Cheshire/Jade Nguyen = Rila Fukushima

Nanaue/King Shark = Sylvester Stalone

Claire Selton/Volcana = Kirsten Stewart

Killer Croc/Waylon Jones = Tyler Mane

Cluemaster/Arthur Brown = Martin McDonagh

Cavalier/Mortimer Drake = Kit Harington

Sonar/Bito Wladon = Silvio Simac

Baffler/Titus Czonka = Michael Chicklis

Bane = Rodrigo Santoro

Angel Vallelunga/Bird = Diego Luna

Zombie = Stephen Merchant

Trogg = Luis Guzmán

Dr Jeremiah Arkham = Dan Stevens

Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin = Sean Astin

Det. Crispus Allen = Djimon Honsou

Det. Peter Foley = Matt Le Blanc

Barbara Gordon/Batgirl = Bella Thorne

Having used Guillermo del Toro of Blade 2 fame to helm a third solo Superman film and the second Suicide Squad film of this alternate DC film universe, I’ve brought him back for a film that leads directly into the Knightfall/Knightsend duology. In this case, Amanda Waller has heard rumours of a new player in Gotham City planning to make some kind of move on Arkham Asylum. To that end, she recruits two Suicide Squads; one made up mostly of lesser Gotham villains who are to find out who the new player is and stop them, the other as back-up in case the first team fails or turns traitor. As to why team 1 lacks the usual explosive fail-safes, this is so Waller can avoid being found out, as Batman is wise to such things. However, as the film progresses, it’s more Batgirl and Detectives Allen and Foley of the GCPD who periodically disrupt the operation.

As the plot develops, the threat of Bane is ultimately revealed, at great cost to the Squad. In fact, this is where the first real shock probably comes in, because this film will see Harley Quinn killed by Bane. This is done largely to show that no one is safe from Bane and increase the stakes for the upcoming Batman films, but it also sets up for a Joker-related film plot in the next phase of this alternate DCEU. I won’t go into unpicking all the new versus old casting on this one; if you look through my Ramble articles past on this alternate DCEU, you’ll be able to see for yourselves.

Knightfall (2020) Directed by Matt Reeves

Bruce Wayne/Batman = Christian Bale

Alfred Pennyworth = Michael Caine

Tim Drake/Robin II = David Mazouz

Lucius Fox = Morgan Freeman

James "Jim" Gordon = Gary Oldman

Bane = Rodrigo Santoro

Angel Vallelunga/Bird = Diego Luna

Zombie = Stephen Merchant

Trogg = Luis Guzmán

Jean-Paul Valley/Azrael/Batman II = Connor Jessup

Nomoz = Michael Klebba

Det. Harvey Bullock = Donal Logue

Det. Renee Montoya = Penelope Cruz

The Joker = Willem Dafoe

Dr Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy = April Bowlby

Edward Nygma/Riddler = John Barrowman

Arnold Wesker/Ventriloquist = Giovanni Ribisi

Burt Weston/Film Freak = Luke Mitchell

Jervis Tetch/Mad Hatter = Matthew Jaeger

Aaron Helzinger/Amygdala = David Denman

Victor Zsasz = Elijah Wood

Maxie Zeus = Goran Višnjić

Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow = Cillian Murphy

Carleton LeHah = Lambert Wilson

Jack Drake = Tobey Maguire

Mrs. McIlvaine = Sinéad Cusack

Dr Shondra Kinsolving = Aisha Tyler

Mayor Armand Krol = Eli Roth

Dr Jeremiah Arkham = Dan Stevens

Dr Simpson Flanders = Aaron Taylor-Johnson

Knightfall is an epic-length film that covers much of the comic story arc of the same name from Batman comics on the 1990’s. In the original arc, Bane breaks out all the villains of Arkham Asylum, forcing an already weary Batman to exhaust himself chasing down the escapees prior to a showdown with Bane. In that showdown, Bane broke Batman’s back, forcing Bruce Wayne to hand the cape-and-cowl over to apprentice superhero Jean-Paul Valley, who was trying to overcome brainwashing he’d undergone to be an assassin of sorts called Azrael. After an opening act to introduce Azrael a few months prior, the film then jumps in at the moment the preceding Suicide Squad film ends; with Bane firing a rocket at Arkham to bust the villains out.

With a montage here and there to expedite matters, Batman wears himself down as before, only to be broken by Bane as in the comics, and as before, Jean-Paul is handed the mantle of the Batman. However, it soon becomes clear this may have been a mistake, and when Jean-Paul confronts Bane, it’s uncertain whether the new Batman will triumph over his mental trauma or not. The film contains a huge ensemble cast and covers a wide range of Batman characters both good and evil. To direct, I’ve picked Matt Reeves, who did the Planet of the Apes reboots and in this alternate DCEU has already helmed the third solo Batman film.

Green Arrow 3 (2020) Directed by Rian Johnson

Oliver Queen/Green Arrow = Ethan Hawke

Dinah Lance/Black Canary = Malin Akerman

Connor Hawke/Green Arrow II = Levon Hawke

Eddie Fyers = Seth Green

Roy Harper/Speedy/Arsenal = Cameron Monaghan

Veronica Dale/Hyrax = Anna Kendrick

Leopard/Leonard/Ed Pinkwater = Ian Somerhalder

Camorouge = Émilie Dequenne

Callendar = Jon Cryer

Dreyfus = Method Man

Nathan = Sam Worthington

Paine = Michael B Jordan

Monroe = Jon Bernthal

Belle = Sara Paxton

Green Lantern/Hal Jordan = Ben Affleck

As 90’s DC fans might guess, this film is all about adapting Oliver Queen’s death from 90’s comics into film, though I swap Superman out for Green Lantern on three counts. First, slating this film for in-between Superman’s death and return prohibits his involvement. Two, Hal and Ollie have long had a major bromance to add greater importance to the climax. Three, it makes the built-up to our solo GL film a bit better, as we will see. Aside from Hal Jordan, only Oliver Queen, Dinah and Roy are returning rolls, while the rest of the characters are all new and largely exclusive to this film and its storyline.

What is the story line, beyond killing the original Green Arrow? Well, like the comics, Ollie goes undercover with a group of eco-terrorists to uncover their plans, but he starts to fall for a member of the group, and at the same time, Ollie’s illegitimate son shows up looking to connect with his dad. For film direction, I’ve gone with Rian Johnson, a new selection for our alternate DCEU based on his work with the Star Wars film The Last Jedi.

Reign of the Supermen (2021) Directed by JJ Abrams

Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent = Brandon Routh

Lois Lane = Kate Bosworth

Kara Zor-El/Supergirl = Dakota Fanning

Hank Henshaw/Cyborg Superman = Brandon Routh

The Eradicator = Brandon Routh

Conner Kent/Con-El/Superboy = Asher Angel

Mongul = Ioan Gruffudd

Lex Luthor = Kelsey Grammer

Mercy Graves = Scarlett Johannsen

John Henry Irons/Steel = Aldis Hodge

Jaina Hudson/White Rabbit = Hayley Kiyoko

Green Lantern/Hal Jordan = Ben Affleck

Martha Kent = Diane Lane

Jonathan Kent = Kevin Costner

Jor-El = Russell Crowe

Dr Emil Hamilton = Richard Schiff

Perry White = Sam Neill

Jimmy Olsen = Rider Strong

Cat Grant = January Jones

Steve Lombard = Josh Brolin

Capt. Maggie Sawyer = Jeri Ryan

Insp. Turpin = Colin Farrell

Bibbo Bibbowski = Luke Hemsworth

Obviously, this film covers the return of Superman arc in much the same way as the comics do in the broadest sense; four Supermen turn up, Lois tries to work out who the real one is, one turns out to be a villain in league with the alien tyrant Mongul, whose role is expanded in this film. Their plans destroy Hal Jordan’s home town of Coast City, but Metropolis is saved by the returning real Superman. The film borrows a bit from its DCAMU counterpart by simplifying the Eradicator’s history, and indeed over this film and the previous Superman one we’ve done the same with Hank Henshaw. This is because the characters had prior history with Superman in the comics, but our film continuity wouldn’t cover that, so a bit of a tweak is in order.

Now because both the Eradicator and Henshaw were meant to resemble Superman outwardly to some extent, the casting of them is now a matter of putting Brandon Routh into those roles as well as playing his original Superman role in the third act. We also get another step on Hal Jordan’s descent into darkness, something that hasn’t had a proper adaptation in any media. The closest we’ve come is the last Green Lantern solo film in DC’s Tomorrow-verse continuity, which frankly isn’t that good, but more on this under the next film. JJ Abrams remains the director here to keep things consistent within this duology.

Green Lantern: Twilight (2021) Directed by Sam Raimi

Green Lantern/Hal Jordan/Parallax = Ben Affleck

Carol Ferris = Liv Tyler

Tom Kalmaku = Taika Waititi

Thaal Sinestro = Mark Strong

Kilowog = Tyrese Gibson

Kyle Rayner/Green Lantern II = Taylor Lautner

Alex DeWitt = Hunter King

Clifford Zmeck/Major Force = Luke Evans

Mongul = Ioan Gruffudd

Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent = Brandon Routh

Boodikka = Gina Carano

Ke'Haan = Kevin Durand

Laira = Emma Stone

Kreon = Ryan Philippe

Ganthet = Patrick Stewart

Sayd = Glenn Close

Appa Ali Apsa = Hugo Weaving

Tomar Tu = Tom Hiddleston

Jack T. Chance = Colton Haynes

Hannu = Lee Pace

Graf Toren = Hiroyuki Sanada

As you might imagine, this film would be filmed in close proximity to the two before it to facilitate the various cross-over aspects of it. This time, we’re doing the Emerald Twilight/New Dawn story arc, in which Hal Jordan suffers a mental breakdown after his home town is destroyed during the events of Superman’s return. In a fit of anger, he rampages across the stars to Oa, home planet of the Green Lantern Corps, defeating fellow lanterns and swiping their power rings. After a final showdown with his friend Kilowog and enemy Sinestro, Hal takes all the power of the central Lantern battery, becoming a villain known as Parallax who plans to remake the universe to prevent the destruction of Coast City. However, a last member of the Guardians travels to Earth and bestows a last Lantern ring on freelance artist Kyle Rayner, and thus a new Green Lantern is found, but one who must master the ring with no GL corps or Guardians to guide him.

Again, not going to unpick who is new and who is long-standing for this film as it would be a bit long-winded to explain. However, as we don’t really include Golden Age superheroes like original GL Alan Scott, exposition regarding Hal’s actions to Kyle ends up coming from Superman’s appearances in the film, as well as human GLs Guy Gardner and John Stewart. Due to the way Hal acts in this story arc, not to mention this film adapting the infamous murder of Kyle Rayner’s girlfriend, I picked Sam Raimi to direct this film based on his horror film background. Raimi was also my pick to direct a John Constantine one-off film in phase 2 of this alternate DCEU.

Knightsend (2021) Directed by Matt Reeves

Bruce Wayne/Batman = Christian Bale

Alfred Pennyworth = Michael Caine

Tim Drake/Robin II = David Mazouz

Jean-Paul Valley/Azrael/Batman II = Connor Jessup

Lucius Fox = Morgan Freeman

James "Jim" Gordon = Gary Oldman

Bane = Rodrigo Santoro

Richard Grayson/Nightwing = Patrick Schwarzenegger

Jack Drake = Tobey Maguire

Mrs. McIlvaine = Sinéad Cusack

Dr Shondra Kinsolving = Aisha Tyler

Mayor Armand Krol = Eli Roth

Det. Harvey Bullock = Donal Logue

Det. Renee Montoya = Penelope Cruz

The Joker = Willem Dafoe

Tallyman = Bill Skarsgard

Lady Shiva = Ming-Na Wen

Tony Bressi = Milo Ventimiglia

Arnold Etchison/Abattoir = Robert Kazinsky

Benedict Asp = Jason Isaacs

Colonel Vega = David Nykl

Yuri = John Morrison

Graham Etchison = Bill Hader

Penn Selkirk = Jason Sudeikis

Carter = Liam Cunningham

Barbara Gordon/Batgirl = Bella Thorne

When Bruce’s doctor Shondra Kinsolving is abducted, the crippled Bruce Wayne begins a search that leads to the healing of his back at great cost, while Jean-Paul Valley grows increasingly unstable. Now heavily armoured and armed, this Batman is more brutal, and when a man dies from Jean-Paul’s behaviour, the recovered Bruce Wayne must begin a crash-course in the fighting arts in order to confront his errant replacement and reclaim the mantle of the bat. Again keeping Matt Reeves in the directorial position for duology consistency, this film focuses on the follow-up to Knightfall as the defeated Bane is moved aside and the battle comes out as original Batman versus would-be replacement.

Justice League: Armageddon (2022) Directed by The Russo Brothers

Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent = Brandon Routh

Diana/Wonder Woman = Kate Beckinsale

J'onn J'onzz/Martian Manhunter = Chiwetel Ejiofor

Barry Allen/The Flash = Matt Damon

Kyle Rayner/Green Lantern II = Taylor Lautner

Fire/Beatriz Bonilla da Costa = Selena Gomez

Ice/Tora Olafsdotter = Kristine Froseth

Arthur Curry/Aquaman = Chris Pine

Dinah Lance/Black Canary = Malin Akerman

Amanda Waller = Viola Davis

Floyd Lawton/Deadshot = Christian Slater

Ben Turner/Bronze Tiger = Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

Killer Croc/Waylon Jones = Tyler Mane

Jaina Hudson/White Rabbit = Hayley Kiyoko

Weather Wizard/Mark Mardon = Michael Fassbender

Shimmer = Anna Faris

Eve Eden/Nightshade = Debby Ryan

Dr Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy = April Bowlby

Scott Free/Mister Miracle = Charlie Cox

Barda Free/Big Barda = Lindsay Kay Hayward

Darkseid = Bernard Hill

Orion = Tom Hardy

Metron = Jonny Lee Miller

Granny Goodness = Stockard Channing

Bernadeth = Rachel Weisz

Bloody Mary = Jennifer Stone

Lashina = Kristin Kreuk

Mad Harriett = Hannah John-Kamen

Stompa = Ronda Rousey

Steppenwolf = Ciarán Hinds

Kalibak = Liev Schreiber

Dr Niles Caulder/The Chief = Pierce Brosnan

Clifford Steele/Robot Man = Johnny Whitworth

Larry Trainor/Negative Man = Alessandro Nivola

Rita Farr/Elasti-Girl = Alyssa Milano

Mento/Steve Dayton = Nathan Fillion

Bumblebee/Karen Beecher = Kyla Pratt

Vox/Malcom Duncan = Donald Glover

Hal Jordan/Parallax = Ben Affleck

John Stewart = Derek Luke

Guy Gardner = Damian Lewis

Wallace "Wally" West/Kid Flash = Calum Worthy

Our latest Justice League film brings a few different plot threads in from past films. Following the events of Justice League: Darkseid Rising, the death and return of Superman and the New Gods film, Darkseid finally dares to try and assault Earth. Forewarned by survivors sent from New Genesis, the Justice League gathers what heroes it can, and also reaches out to the Suicide Squad. The Doom Patrol also appears, but at the climax of the film, as Darkseid takes to the field of battle, there are two major shocks; the death of the Flash, and the arrival of Parallax, who decides to wipe out the forces of Apokalips. Suddenly it's not an alien tyrant who threatens the armageddon of the film’s title, but one of their very own turned to darkness by grief and fear.

The film has a huge ensemble cast, largely reprising roles from past films. Debby Ryan as Suicide Squad member Nightshade is the sole piece of new casting in this film, and as for direction, I decided that the work done by the Russo Brothers in the MCU, especially Infinity War and Endgame, earns them the chance to direct this film and one or two subsequent instalments in this film universe.

Teen Titans 3 (2022) Directed by Matthew Vaughan

Richard Grayson/Nightwing = Patrick Schwarzenegger

Koriand'r/Starfire = Elle Fanning

Donna Troy/Wonder Girl/Troia = Ciara Bravo

Raven = Maisie Williams

Victor Stone/Cyborg = Ashton Sanders

Garfield "Gar" Logan/Beast Boy = Dylan Sprayberry

Trigon = Viggo Mortensen

Dr Arthur Light = James McAvoy

Cassie Sandsmark/Wonder Girl II = Amiah Miller

M'Gann M'orzz/Miss Martian = Marsai Martin

Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle = Iñaki Godoy

Tim Drake/Robin II = David Mazouz

Conner Kent/Con-El/Superboy = Asher Angel

Roy Harper/Speedy/Arsenal = Cameron Monaghan

Tempest/Garth = Luke Benward

For this film, we retain Matthew Vaughan from our last Teen Titans film for directing and explain the absence of the Teen Titans from Justice League: Apocalypse a little. Following an arc over all three Teen Titans films, Raven is struggling to contain her father’s presence, but after a major fight with the villainous Doctor Light, Trigon manages to possess Raven and attacks the Titans through her. With the main team decimated, a group of new, younger teen heroes rise to aid their predecessors. By the end, what Titans remain would not be in much shape to fight, win or lose. Much of the cast is retained from past films, with the characters of Doctor Light, Wonder Girl II, Miss Martian and Blue Beetle being the newcomers for this instalment.

Justice Society (2022) Directed by James Gunn

Jay Garrick/Flash = Miles Teller

Alan Scott/Green Lantern = Lucas Till

Ted Grant/Wildcat = Robbie Amell

Rex Tyler/Hourman = Adam DeVine

Carter Hall/Hawkman = Sullivan Stapleton

Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl = Jessica Alba

Billy Batson/Shazam = Zachary Gordon/Zachary Levi

Isaac Brown/Fiddler = Stephen Dorff

Cameron Mahkent/Icicle = Sendhil Ramamurthy

Richard Swift/Shade = Anthony Carrigan

Paula Brooks/Huntress = Gemma Chan

Neal Emerson/Doctor Polaris = Nicholas Hoult

Henry King Jr./Brain Wave = Ray Stevenson

Hal Jordan/Parallax = Ben Affleck

Black Adam/Teth-Adam = Dwayne Johnson

Metron = Jonny Lee Miller

Closing out phase 4 of my alternate DCEU is a take on the Justice Society that borrows from a Justice League animated series story line and Marvel’s Wandavision series. In this film, Hawkman, Hawkgirl and Shazam wake up in a world where they’re part of the Justice Society, a superhero team operating in a 1950’s-style American mid-west town. Though they initially suspect nothing wrong, Hawkman’s past life memories and Shazam’s wisdom of Soloman begin to disrupt a strange mental hold, and as they do, the infamous Injustice Guild becomes much deadlier. In reality, Parallax is doing a test-run of his proposed plans to the time stream, but as the test is disrupted from within, the New God Metron convinces anti-hero Black Adam to interfere from without.

For direction, I went with James Gunn out of curiosity to see what he could do with this, given that in real life he’s become the DC film-verse’s equivalent to Marvel’s Kevin Feige. In terms of casting, the individual characters mentioned in the paragraph above are all returning actors, while everyone else is new and exclusive to this film. As for why I think this would be a good approach on the Justice Society, that’s down to a desire to pay homage to the early comics in a way that’s nostalgic while also advancing the Parallax story arc.

So, that’s it for phase 4 of this alternate DCEU. More to come on this and my alternate MCU in the new year, but not right away as I’m hoping to get more variation on the go in the new year. So, until next month, Merry Christmas to everyone celebrating that occasion, Happy Holidays for those celebrating something else, have a prosperous new year when we get to the end of this year, and otherwise ta-ta for now.

0 notes

ao3feed-brucewayne · 6 months

Text

Living on a Prayer

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/gWc5YbX by skhwriter When strange energies over Italy and Greece are caught on the Watchtower sensors. Diana is sent back to Themyscira to consult with her mother about the events. It turns out that while she was running around space with the Justice League A LOT happened. And while normally she would do anything to protect the Demigods of Camp Half-Blood from the chaos of the mortal world, with Batman sniffing around, things might just be coming to head…This could get messy. Words: 3154, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Series: Part 2 of The Percy Jackson Multiverse Fandoms: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, Justice League - All Media Types, Batman - All Media Types, Young Justice - All Media Types Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: F/M, Gen, Multi Characters: Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase (Percy Jackson), Nico di Angelo, Chiron (Percy Jackson), Diana (Wonder Woman), Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Jason Grace, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, John Stewart (DCU), Oliver Queen, Justice League (DCU), Camp Half-Blood Campers (Percy Jackson) Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace, Nico di Angelo & Percy Jackson, Diana (Wonder Woman) & Percy Jackson, Diana (Wonder Woman) & Bruce Wayne Additional Tags: Post-Gaea & The Second Giant War (Percy Jackson), Not Canon Compliant - The Trials of Apollo, Trails of Apollo are in the back ground but everybody lives and no body dies!!!!, Batfamily (DCU), Fluff and Angst, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, I'm Bad At Tagging, Action/Adventure, Romance, Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson Fluff, No Beta read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/gWc5YbX

#IFTTT #bruce wayne #batman #the caped crusader #the dark knight #dcu #ao3 #ao3feed

1 note · View note

dancingbabya · 7 months

Text

I like the mundane, I realize it more and more considering how scarred I was as a child from the action and war displayed in media. (Both fictional and real) but as I’ve gotten older I don’t care much for the fantastical, I find it appealing and I enjoy it but I’ve been curious about the other side of things.

For example I was talking to my mom. I’m in my mid twenties btw, growing up I watched all the live action x-men movies with my parents. We also watched other super hero shows like justice league, TMNT, TeenTitans, and some stuff like Smallville.

I started thinking: does Superman (Clark Kent) eat or drink certain things just to appear normal? Because as a Kryptonian his senses and abilities are heightened due to our yellow sun, correct? Like his hearing is so strong that he can hear everyone heartbeats, canonically he heard Louis’s death and flew around the world backward to reverse time (this is like the old old movies I forgot when I watched it) just to save her from death.

↑ cause of this example shouldn’t there have been far more consequences in the gander scheme of things in the older shows. I know it’s just a movie, but previously things like the movies information was tied into the shows. Meaning it wouldn’t be too far fetched for the show to present the aftermath of reversing…

That wasn’t the point I’ll go on that tangent another day. If Superman’s senses (the five senses specifically) are heightened wouldn’t that mean all his life he’s tasted food and drinks far different from human?

IMO let me spell this out so I don’t get people yelling at me. In my opinion, I don’t think Clark would drink coffee because he wants to. He’d do it to fit the whole journalist drinking coffee because your up all hours of the night or things like that. Because coffee can be supper bitter if prepared incorrectly, not to mention sometimes when you work in an office you’ll get an asshole who takes the first freshly brewed cup of coffee leaving the rest of the coffee much weaker. (Having working in an office setting this grinded my gears even if my cup of coffee is mostly milk and sugar)

Yes, he could add copious amounts of milk and sugar (mans was raised on a farm so I feel like he’d be very picky about things like that too.) But I feel like he would also as a person who isn’t human wouldn’t be affected by things like alcohol or coffee. Things we consume that can affect our brain would have no affect on his because his body wouldn’t allow for that due to our yellow sun. He’d much prefer to drink and consume things he finds enjoyable. So I think he’d enjoy tea, and he’s never like dicky about it he’s a mild mannered reporter remember? Raised on a farm from infancy to maybe 18 or twenty, no one would think he has an accent because he’s practiced speaking proper since he decided to be a journalist he didn’t want any kind of misunderstandings. Tangent right I’ll go back to my point.

Clark would enjoy tea. But I feel like as someone raised on a farm he would let you know if you make bad tea. He wouldn’t be mean about it either. He’d try to be so kind about it, obviously not everyone is kind when they feel insulted.

That’s not to say he isn’t curious to try other foods and things outside of just America, but I think Clark’s pallet is very southern food centric. So he did have tips or recommendations on cooking when he started living with Louis. I feel like she’d get snippy with him and just tell him to cook in that case and he did. Clark would do all the cooking at home and no one can stop him. In the hustle and bustle of the city life yeah it isn’t easy to cook everyday but he tries his hardest. I personally think he’d have a little balcony garden of fresh herbs or veggies that he can’t seem to find in the city or they just aren’t up to his standards (his parents are absolutely sending him produce in the mail, and he brings come of it back to his apartment when he goes to visit them)

Thank you for listening to my rambling I just thought it was an interesting thing to think about and maybe I’m not following the right people who like superheroes the way I do.

#just rambling #i’m just wondering #superman #dc superman #just talking #feel free to add your own opinions this is just my brain rambling #I’m just really interested in the mundane #superheroes aren’t always doing hero stuff they have day to day

0 notes

pghcomics · 1 year

Text

Colin's Deep Thoughts

I was texting with a couple of people this morning. About the future of comics. It was good enough to share, so I will summarize some of it here. Marvel: What happened to the architects? The people plotting the course of the Marvel U? When was the last time you were genuinely excited about a book coming out that you wanted to get to the store early so that it wasn’t spoiled for you? How do we get back to that level of excitement for comics? I opened during Civil War and I definitely saw that excitement. The person I was talking to said Secret War. That was a while ago. Several marvel books that were critical to AXE (X-Men and Avengers) have had post AXE issues come out before the story ended, so the “threat” seems not that great. Yes, it will be nice to see how they get out of it, but, it would have been nice to feel there was a little danger. But at least Marvel has variety. DC is so Batman heavy, it is ridiculous. It was mentioned on a message board that DC only has 4 ongoing titles right now that are not Batman related: Action, Superman (rebooting), Flash and Wonder Woman. That is just nuts. Yes, lots of mini-series, but weird only having that many ongoing books. I am also concerned about the volume of Batman stuff. I see in the November book, DC is adding 2 more Batman titles. Come on guys. This concern led me to another problem. DC has 2 BIG books that they are promoting and want us to order big on: Batman/Spawn by Todd McFarlane and Batman & Joker by Marc Silvestri. a) Its really tricky to promote two books at once, especially from one company. Dark Crisis is doing much better that Flashpoint Beyond because people only have so much attention. Let alone other company stuff. b) they are both essentially vanity projects for the creators. The more I thought about it, I realized that these are both people whose height of popularity was 30 years ago. How do I pitch these to a 20 yr old? Has Silvestri done anything of note in their lifetime. Not trying to be critical, just realistic. You also have a creative director whose best years were 30 years ago. And their big event in November is the 30th Anniversary of the Death of Superman. And they are doing 90s variants. Why are they pushing books to 40 to 60 year olds? How are they garnering a new audience with this strategy? What I truly hope is that after Dark Crisis and Lazarus Planet they decide to revamp their entire line. Leave the Bat-verse alone. Its fine, but maybe no new books there for a while. Look elsewhere. Hopefully, along with the new JSA book, we get new JLA and Justice League Dark type books. A new Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps. Supergirl. Legion. Aquaman. Teen Titans/Young Justice. Hawkman (gosh, he’s in a big new movie), Dr Fate (ditto). There is so much more to the DCU. They are hyper focused on Batman. I get it. It sells well. They are now uber-corporate and need to hit numbers. But chances need to be taken with more than minis. I love Human Target and Dark knights of Steel and DC vs Vampires and the idea of Danger Street. But the idea of a big universe of characters is also really important. Minis are great, but they are really hard to find your numbers on for a store. You normally get it right around issue 3, so on a 5 issue series, you are just guessing. And we guess low. Customers are more liable to trade wait a 5/6 issue story. Ongoing books develop longer stories. You can branch new characters and books out of them. Its just crazy to me how little variety there is at DC right now. I really hope that there is a plan to use Dark Crisis as a Multiverse rest and they really let creators run with it. I hope. Because another Bat-family book is not going to get anyone excited. And we need more excitement right now.

0 notes

dereksmcgrath · 3 years

Text

I had said before that the number 108 can be unlucky. It wasn’t unlucky at all for My Hero Academia: Vigilantes. But 108 is kind of unlucky for this episode: not only are we focusing on the Villains, but we just aren’t giving their story the structure and emotional weight it deserves.

(I either opened with those remarks or just made a bunch of corny jokes about how “Meta Liberation Army” can be abbreviated as MLA--and I’m saving those jokes for a future review.)

“My Villain Academia,” My Hero Academia Episode 108 (Season 5, Episode 20)

An adaptation of Chapters 220, 221, 222, 223, and 224 of the manga, by Kohei Horikoshi, translated by Caleb Cook with lettering by John Hunt and available from Viz.

My Hero Academia is available to stream on Crunchyroll and Funimation.

Spoilers up to My Hero Academia Chapter 325.

When I teach literature, I refer to the plot as a problem: it is something that the protagonist is trying to solve. This problem can take various forms, but it is often as an antagonist that the protagonist confronts. When this episode has the Doctor refer to a “villain” as someone “who turns nonsense into action,” that’s kind of the point: the villain is here to get the plot rolling. Without them, you don’t have a hero, you don’t have a story.

It has been long accepted by a lot of fans and scholars that superheroes tend to uphold the status quo. I think the first time I gained awareness of this popular argument--although likely not the first time I encountered it--was Dr. Horrible’s mangled remark that “the status is not quo.” More recently, however, I have been reading academic books on superheroes, and not only does that argument persist--that superheroes represent law, order, and upholding traditional norms even in the face of new evidence or out of sheer obliviousness to the need for systemic change--but the argument has become that, if a superhero story does not have the heroes doing something to effect systemic change, then it’s not a good story. I may be misunderstanding that argument, but if I don’t, then it’s not an argument I can stand behind.

The argument is that superhero stories tend to reduce complex issues to having avatars for each side of the issue--the good guy and the bad guy--get into a fight, where we are focused on the spectacle rather than on seeing actual people engaging in the actual work needed to address problems not on the individual level--again, one good guy physically fighting one bad guy--but on a larger scope.

I am oversimplifying this argument, as even those same scholars will point out that, initially, of course there were superhero stories that had the protagonist taking the fight against the system. Superman is one of the ones named most frequently, whether in his initial comic book premiere doing what police and media would not to face down a corrupt senator (a sign of things to come in his later fights with Luthor and in Justice League Unlimited) or fighting the Klan (in the meta sense, fighting their analogue on the radio show and, more recently, literally in the comics). It kind of makes Superman look like one influence on the Peerless Thief in My Hero Academia, but we’ll get to him far later in these episodic reviews.

Even with that exception of Superman, it’s not hard for me to agree with the argument that heroes prop up the status quo. That has been the plot point for My Hero Academia and why this war against the villains has been incoming: a system that depended on just All Might, now depending on a wife-beating abusive father like Endeavor with his crimes not popularly known, has a level of corruption that cannot stand up with just one man’s shining example of honest goodness and integrity to be the Symbol of Peace. It was why I appreciated the manga eventually showing that, yes, there was an entire network of assassins within the Hero Public Safety Commission to keep All Might’s hands clean--and, in retrospect, while Lady Nagant was our first named example, given what Hawks ends up doing to Twice, deadly force may be frowned upon by law in MHA but has to have been something Hawks was told he had legal authority to do. (Also, as I will never stop pointing out, Endeavor unintentionally and unknowingly killed another Pro Hero in Vigilantes, and we’re just supposed to pretend that was fine.)

But going back to this academic argument, about how superhero stories tend to stick to one-on-one battles and don’t let the heroes effect systematic change, I’m ambivalent. There have been a range of superhero or superhero-adjacent stories that have the protagonist making on-page, on-screen, obvious work to not just get into fisticuffs with the bad guy. I already pointed out Superman’s first appearance and his fight against the Klan. I can also identify other examples, some hamfisted like Captain Planet, others more nuanced like Korra reaching out to Kuvira in The Legend of Korra. While the scholarship I read bristles at the idea of reducing these fights to just avatars for good and evil, I shrug and say that kind of comes with the territory of a superhero story. I hate justifying tropes: it’s like saying “this fanservice is acceptable because that’s part of the genre”--which leads to its own set of problems, especially when I hear fools defending sexualized fanservice that is just not needed for the story and is abusive by gender and representation. Heck, The Brave and the Bold animated series had Equinox and Batman battle as giants representing the avatars of chaos and order--which is confusing enough, with Equinox having a vaguely yin-yang motif that debunks any clean separation between chaos and order. And yet, here I am, arguing that this kind of fanservice of a hero and a villain beating each other up is to be expected: you have a debate about ideals of what a hero should do when you see Iron Man and Captain America each representing a side in a fight, whether the poorly handled comic book Civil War or the better film version, and even then, that film also lets the individual personalities get in the way of saying anything meaningful about government oversight and individual agency, ideas better handled in that other Captain America film, The Winter Soldier, and even then that film also gets stuck in just being about Steve and Bucky’s relationship.

All of this is me saying that, when you add a superhero to the fight, you’re going to feel disappointed that almost nothing systematically changes in its setting, not only because, as I’m hinting, these are stories about individuals fighting each other and not stories about the individual against society or nature, but also because a superhero can only change so much of their world for the better before that world no longer looks like our own or a new societal problem has to emerge to create the problem that is the plot itself for wherever the story goes next. Once a hero makes the setting into a utopia, either a new problem emerges to show the fiction of that story and that a dystopia is always married to a utopia, or the utopia is revealed to be hollow (Shigaraki’s word of the day) and fake. My Hero Academia already showed the utopia of a world where people get to live with their Quirks is fake, not only by (largely necessary) regulation of those Quirks but also, as we’ll see more with Spinner, Compress, Toga, Gigantomachia, and others, looking different, or being socially aware, or having disabilities, or being the “wrong” size, excluded you from that society.

What I’m trying to say is that, once you add superheroes into a story to fix the problem, you can’t show what systematic change looks like. How do you write a story where it makes sense that no hero came to save Tenko Shimura from becoming Tomura Shigaraki? What’s a story like My Hero Academia supposed to do to show the problems with a society, if you have superheroes who can fix those problems by beating up the bad guys?

Solution: You have the bad guys beat each other up.

In this corner, the League of Villains, people who were made outcasts because they did not fit in--which reveals the flaws of a society that is not accepting people who may not be able to change their past or their bodily conditions.

And in this corner, the Meta Liberation Army--which reveals how society breeds people in business, media, and politics who abuse laws and societal norms to elevate themselves and create a social Darwinist nightmare.

Granted, these are some foolish schmucks for starting up this fight in public, but I’ll address how the MLA just doesn’t work in a later episode review.

But for now, let the fight begin. No matter who wins, at least we see how society at large allowed these Villains to emerge--and we can either see All For One’s dictatorial forces get wrecked, or see Re-Destro’s fascistic oafs get wrecked.

Unfortunately, no matter who wins, the Pro Heroes are going to lose, too.

I am overly impressed with myself for realizing all of this. And I say “overly” not only because this is arrogant of me but also because I’m pretty sure just about every other person following this series already came to this conclusion: if you want to show actual systematic change, you have to show what the villains are up to, because they are the ones showing the holes in our society that need to be fixed. Either a villain exploits those holes to cause damage to people, or the villain is themselves representative of unfairness in the system and, by breaking the law to save themselves and others, are unfairly maligned as villains.

That being said, I’m not a big fan of the “[Insert villain’s name here] was right” arguments. Yes, Magneto is justified in his goals and ethics, and the debate is the means he takes to them, so his existence is to show why the X-Men are screwing up and need to be more radical. Yes, Killmonger is right that Wakanda’s isolationism is reckless and allows for travesties to persist, but his choices are largely out of individual desire for vengeance, so he’s an example that T’Challa can follow. Taken too far, though, and you get people who preach anti-establishment notions without having an alternative or are just trying to sound edgy rather than actually pointing to the actual problem: it’s someone who celebrates the Joker without recognizing that, no, you don’t want to be that asshole, or who celebrate villain-turned-hero Vegeta just because he looks cool and without appreciating what steps he took to change and what fall he experienced before he got to the point of being a villain.

In all these cases, if done poorly, you have the same tired trend of a villain existing only so long so that the hero changes for the better. It’s as tiresome as I unfortunately sometimes feel reading post after post celebrating how complex and sympathetic the League of Villains’ members can be when, still, a lot of them are just assholes using empty excuses to defend atrocious behavior (primarily, just All for One) or, for the most part, are people put into desperate situations (Shigaraki, Toga, Spinner, Dabi, Twice) who are doing the best they can (Twice, Spinner) even if their actions are not defensible (Toga) or also out of line (Shigaraki) due to their own refusal to seek the legitimate help they need to work through their issues (Dabi).

It’s hard to read posts online calling the League members sympathetic when we have not had a chance in the anime to know their full story. And as with the slow revelation that this setting is not really as welcoming of people of all shapes and sizes as initially hinted, so too do the villains’ backstories show that they were justified in some actions they took, except for those that led to deaths. Too bad none of that really pops up in a meaningful way in this episode that would rather tease out Shigaraki’s back story, keep dangling the obvious answer to who Dabi really is, and short-sells what should be a meaningful friendship between Twice and Giran but is just dropped as fast as Shigaraki takes off Twice’s mask. Jeez, Shigaraki, that is a dick move to Twice…

But I’m already on Page 4 of this rant, so let’s get to the episode already.

Pulling back the curtain yet again, these reviews tend to follow a pattern. Since I first wrote about the MHA anime, my process would be to first re-read the chapters, then watch the episode in Japanese, then watch the episode in English, so as to retrace my steps in how I first encountered most of these stories, as well as to see any patterns in the production process moving from manga to anime to localization. But with this episode, that practice was made nearly impossible given how prevalent the hostility towards this episode, this arc, and this season have been, especially when a friend shared numerous reactions from other viewers about this episode. Seriously, for all the whining I just did the previous four pages, you could read this person or this person who are much better at explaining why the introduction of Re-Destro to the anime sucks, for more than one reason.

So, I had a different approach: I already had the flaws to this episode shared with me by other viewers, then I listened to the English dub, then I re-read the chapters, then I watched the Japanese dub with English subtitles.

And, boy, am I grateful I took that approach, because this episode is a ton of talking--too much talking. For an anime adaptation that cut so much of Spinner’s Leonardo from Ninja Turtles narration, I’m shocked that they kept the boring parts of his narration and cut the only good parts, including the very opening that had a lot more action and gave us a reason to sympathize with these Villains.

I know I’m a snob regarding animation; I have expressed before how, despite my love for animated works, I tend to appreciate them more for what they do with storytelling rather than the spectacle of the visuals. I really dislike works where the value of the work is in the animation alone: I am here to see a story unfold, and if there is no narrative, no plot, no beginning-middle-and-end, then what I’m encountering is a museum piece, not a work of cinema. (Feel free to bash me for that hot take: I’m still railing against Patty Jenkins’s ridiculous argument from this week.)

And as with most forms of karmic punishment I experience, I pay the price: if I rail long enough about works that are only all about the animation and not the story, then my punishment is an episode where all we get is a lot of story and not much in the way of animation. Yet I can’t even say we got a story here, so much as back story, exposition, needless narration--it’s Blade Runner only bad. As much as I have loved how this anime’s storyboards stick so close to the manga panels, the pan over the League listening to Shigaraki’s vague back story felt like the least interesting way to handle this scene, especially when it excises so much of Spinner coming around from questioning Shigaraki to sympathizing with him. Who would have imagined cutting so much of Spinner’s initial narration and the opening from Chapter 220 would screw up how to adapt Shigaraki’s back story from Chapter 222.

The anime cuts how this arc begins in the manga: Chapter 220 starts with Spinner facing off against an extremist group that hates him for his reptilian appearance--a moment that would have garnered more sympathy from the audience for these Villains than this episode is exhorting. We needed a scene to get behind these villains and agree with them, before we are shocked to hear Shigaraki say what we have long expected, that he just wants to destroy everything and make everyone as miserable as he has felt, to wake us up that, no, you may sympathize with these outcasts (to use Twice’s one-word self-description), but you shouldn’t agree with Shigaraki’s goals. (I know Shigaraki relents somewhat when asked by Toga, but it’s hard to backtrack from “destroy it all” to “destroy it all but not the stuff my friends like.” How on Earth is Shigaraki going to destroy Izuku when Spinner somewhat admires the guy and Toga...well, yeah, best left unsaid.)

While watching this episode, I also was reviewing other topics about anime and manga I’m going to go into more detail about later this month, and one topic of discussion is the assumption that anime and manga, by their visual style and story tropes, especially shojo and shonen, tend to be about big expressions--emotional outpours in words, movements, facial expressions, and actions to more easily communicate what is happening, regardless of context.

I hate to keep repeating “ambivalent” in my reviews (another academic word I need to expunge from my lexicon for a bit), but I’m ambivalent about that argument, that anime and manga, especially shojo and shonen, are better at communicating. If your character is unreadable, that likely has an intentional reason: we don’t get much of a read on the Doctor in this episode, not helped by his mustache and glasses, but we also don’t get a read on what Shigaraki is up to.

This episode only heightens my regard, not just about anime, manga, shojo, or shonen, but in animation and comics at large, that not everything is readable in what a character is planning.

On the one hand, I do agree that visual works tend to make ideas easier to comprehend for some people who can engage with such visual works. As someone who teaches English literature and writing in a United States setting, I use comics in my teaching to cross language and cultural barriers, especially for students for whom English is not their primary language or who are the first in their family raised in the United States. And this teaching approach also helps in reverse: I include manga and anime in my teaching to show how not all details cross language and cultural barriers in a one-to-one correspondence, hence the challenges of translation and localization, and how all of us struggle to make ourselves understood within our own primary language to someone else who is fluent in that language, let alone trying to translate into another language or to present ourselves in a different set of cultural norms.

On the other hand, anime and manga are not a fixed genre. Yes, I agree that the images tend to emphasize big eyes, big expressions, and big motions--but that’s like saying all animation is Looney Tunes, or all animation is Disney, or is Dragon Ball, and so on. Likewise, as I’ve discussed elsewhere, shonen is more than just one type of storytelling, and the same goes for shojo. This arc of My Hero Academia is placing focus, after admittedly far too long, on the Villains as the protagonists--and their behavior pokes holes in the idea that things are obvious, when the Villains are themselves such liars, so crafty, have their own hidden agendas, are keeping secrets from each other. It’s as if their behavior is a commentary on this plot and how BONES is adapting it: the Villains are keeping secrets, so this plot is going to keep its secrets for just who Re-Destro and the Meta Liberation Army are, what their personalities are like, and what Shigaraki and the Doctor have in mind for getting what he wants. We’re even kept in the dark as to Shigaraki’s full back story; we’re in the same position he is, knowing just little bits and able to make assumptions from a handful of visual cues and memories, without fully knowing who the hell Tenko is. Add to that Spinner’s struggles to narrate all of this and to get into Toga’s mind and Shigaraki’s mind, as well as Dabi’s own secrets and agenda with Hawks, and we have a story that blows up the notion that anime and manga are easier for reading a character’s mindset: no, they are not always easier, not when the creators deliberately mislead the audience or keep them in the dark for a surprise.

By keeping so much of the audience in the dark, so that we become aware of how deceitful villains can be, and we are put into Shigaraki’s place of not knowing where he came from. This should be a set of brilliant choices by BONES to adapt this arc in this manner. But the problem is, no, almost none of this gets anywhere close to brilliant. It’s not brilliant--it’s frustrating, because we already know what is going to happen. You can just pull up the manga at low cost with a Viz account and read all of this in the order it was originally presented and get the answers ahead of time. And if you’ve been reading the manga all along, you already know how this arc ends, and you know stuff from the next set of arcs so that you do know already what Shigaraki’s back story is, what Dabi was really up to, who survives, who dies. You even learn more about Compress’s back story--stuff that really should have been hinted at much earlier in the manga, and could have been hinted in this adaptation but as of this episode has not.

Maybe that is why the anime removes Re-Destro murdering his assistant: it’s such an odd moment that it is challenging for me to get a read on Re-Destro, as he alternates in the manga between being very friendly and devoted to his comrades but also violent and heartless.

It may be obvious that I didn’t like much of this episode. I think when I stopped taking this episode seriously was when I heard the voices. Like I said, I tend to start with the Japanese dub first before getting to the English dub. And I have nothing at all against English dubs: I would not be listening to them as much as I have, often first before I ever hear the Japanese, and I would not be a fan of so many English-speaking actors in dubs if I had any animosity to the craft, their work, and the benefit they provide for creating a larger audience for these stories. And nothing against Larry Brantley and Sonny Strait, but some of this casting feels off. I wasn’t able to take this episode seriously as soon as I heard the voice distortion that was used for Re-Destro’s phone call: that took me out of the story. If I had the chance for localization, I would really need Twice or someone to call out how freaking ridiculous that Mickey Mouse voice sounded. You have freaking Sonny Strait here: use the Krillin voice, use the Chibi Ragnarok voice, use the Usopp voice--use something, really go bizarre here, it’s just a voice distortion device! And as I said, nothing against Strait, but when I hear Re-Destro when I read the manga, that’s not the voice I have in mind. For right now, HIroaki Hirata in the Japanese dub is closer to that smoothness I expected for this character. But I have no doubt Strait will do excellent as Re-Destro’s empowered form: think Strait’s role in The Intruder II from Toonami. It’s just that Re-Destro in the English dub is lacking that odd refinement I was expecting.

Granted, it’s the same problem for me when I hear Brantley as Spinner: I am making unfair assumptions that don’t suit the goals of the creators when it comes to this character. It is sadly not as obvious in this episode as it is in the manga: this arc in the manga starts with Horikoshi invoking Laird and Eastman’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by having Spinner, who is already a sword-wielding reptilian martial artist, narrating just like how Leonardo narrating at the beginning of the very first issue of TMNT. I wanted a voice for the English dub that is like Leonardo’s, a little higher pitch and more youthful, like what Brian Tochi brought in the live-action Turtles film or what Cam Clarke and Michael Sinterniklaas bring in the animated versions. I think, for the Japanese dub, Ryo Iwasaki’s performance as Spinner is very close to what I expected. But that also may seem too obvious: Spinner may be young, but giving him an older-sounding voice can belie his inexperience, youthfulness, and naivete, similar to how people make assumptions about him by his reptilian appearance. The anime is putting me into my place--I think of Spinner one way other than who he really is, so I’m no better than the people around him who have discriminated against him for his physical appearance.

Just as I have a set of assumptions that unfairly influence how I would cast Spinner, I also think Re-Destro should have sounded more refined and less graveley in the English dub. But my expectations belie that, just the Joker whom he resembles, Re-Destro puts on this cultured facade to hide that he is just another violent gangster thug, someone who would kill his own assistant. I know I cited examples above about how complex Re-Destro is, but it’s hard for me to see him as sympathetic just because he’s crying over something he did out of his own volition: he coldly killed his office assistant Miyashita, his tears and kind words don’t suddenly make this a warm and cuddly death, we don’t get to think of him as our woobie. It only makes it more irritating that BONES so far has cut not only that scene of Re-Destro killing Miyashita but also Re-Destro’s TV commercial: it would clue us in that the reason he has that gravelly voice is because, no matter how much he tries to present himself on TV, he is not that kind of a man.

But since I invoked the Joker comparison to Re-Destro, yeah, I’m disappointed we didn’t get Troy Baker as Re-Destro, as unlikely as I imagine that would be to happen, regardless of Baker’s previous work with Funimation. It does lend a bit more to conspiracy theories on my part, though, given casting director Colleen Clinkenbeard telling Twitter followers to stop expecting Mark Hamill in MHA, it’s never happening--we can’t even get Troy Baker doing his Mark Hamill Joker.

(I’m not being fair to Baker: I’m not saying his Joker is at all bad--it is not, he has been excellent as Joker, especially playing him and Batman in the Ninja Turtles crossover film, but it is obvious Baker is performing the kind of Joker that came out of Hamill, so I’m trying to say he’s doing the “Hamill Joker,” rather than the “Nicholson Joker,” the “Ledger Joker,” or the “Caesar Romero Joker”).

It’s also a challenge to sympathize with these characters when we aren’t getting what this arc should give them: a re-introduction. I hate approaching this episode in a post-James Gunn The Suicide Squad world, but seeing how much MHA owes to not The Suicide Squad of the comics but that motif in so many superhero comics, there is that missed opportunity to reacquaint the audience with who are the members of the League of Villains. So, where the hell is my freeze-frame re-introduction to each League member? There was that fan theory a long time ago that Giran was really Present Mic in disguise: imagine doing Present Mic’s introduction of characters by name, Quirk, and pithy comment, only it’s Giran in the announcer seat this time.

(Don’t even get me started on how annoying it is to have Izuku handling the post-credit preview: give that to Spinner.)

Again, maybe it is brilliant for BONES not to include some re-introduction scenes, whether narrated by Giran or happening naturally in conversation between these characters. These Villains barely know each other’s back story, so there’s no artifice where they would believably share their back stories to each other in conversation in this context. And as I said, Shigaraki does not know enough about his own past, and Dabi is hiding his real identity. But when we’re stuck with Spinner as our half-hearted narrator, who seems not to know why he and Toga are still here with Stain being gone, and when Toga is this dull in her answer about what keeps her going after Stain’s arrest, and when Spinner himself seems not to know what he’s still doing here, all of that does not communicate a reason for us to keep going with this story.

I know this arc is going to get better, storywise at least, just based on how it went in the manga. I can only hope that the animation can capture the chaos that the original manga illustrations showed. But I am trying to think what a new viewer is going to do if this is their introduction to this series. I’m not invoking the Episode 7 Rule, I’m not doing a hypothetical experiment to gauge which episodes are the best to bring a newbie into this series--I am asking, honestly, if a fan was already into this series, and was watching it one Saturday morning, and a friend or roommate or relative saw them watching, they would be utterly lost about why they should care about this. Even the explanation for why Twice is indebted to Giran is presented as such an afterthought that does disservice to a potentially emotional moment, to what is supposed to be a pretty deep friendship, as deep as it can be for a weapons trader like Giran and an outcast-turned-criminal like Twice, so that, when Twice helps rescue Giran, we feel that emotional payoff.

It is honestly shocking that, for all the throwbacks, recaps, and flashbacks we get, including how Giran’s fingers match up to previous places where the League fought, that this still leaves a new viewer in the dark. And the problem lies at the feet of MHA arriving at a fifth-season slump: the series has gone on so long that things feel lazy and making far too many assumptions on what knowledge the audience is bringing. You’re not getting a bigger audience if you keep appealing to the diehard fans and the people reading the manga. After all, why would you keep doing ridiculous recaps and flashbacks if the fans already know what happened?

But speaking of the recaps and flashbacks, that should have been how this episode redeemed itself. As I said last time, if you re-worked the order of episodes to start with the Oboro Shirakumo story, that would be more shocking. But what if this episode could have been the very first episode of the season, and following the trend of previous seasons, make it a recap episode? We already had Izuku narrating a clip show, Class 1A at the pool, a photojournalist visiting the UA Dorms--it would be so much more interesting seeing “League of Villains camping in the woods while in the background Shigaraki gets squished by a giant.” Have the Villains tell campfire stories about how they got here: it would be a great excuse to re-use the animation and save on the budget. You could fit in a few gags, as Toga starts telling a really gruesome story but gets distracted by all the blood in it, while Twice’s story bounces between sugar-sweet happy and grim-and-dark chaos, while Compress and Spinner are stuck trying to keep them focused. It’d be a hell of a lot more interesting than how BONES somehow screwed up a potentially emotional volatile moment between Izuku and Amajiki that would put into question whether Izuku is going to have to kill a Villain and just how devastated Amajiki feels after Mirio lost his Quirk.

And speaking of whether Izuku is going to have to kill a Villain: obviously, this arc is setting up how much more dangerous Shigaraki is than UA gave him credit. Back in Season 2, I hated how Nezu and UA staff referred to him as a “man-child,” given the connotations that have surrounded masculinity and being a man. I wrote that before 2016; in this post-2016 atmosphere, and the increased prevalence of toxic masculinity, I am, once again, that annoying word ambivalent. I am likewise ambivalent how well this series has shown Shigaraki to be able to form the plan he does by episode’s end. We’re only told by Spinner how much faster Shigaraki is getting and how much slower Gigantomachia has become--but the animation doesn’t show that. And we’re being told how great Shigaraki’s plan is--when it sounds ridiculous.

By cutting so much of Spinner’s narration from the manga, we also don’t get a scene where Spinner confronts Shigaraki to ask him what is his plan. Up to that point, Shigaraki has said that, with Kurogiri gone over the last month and the computers at the old League hideout destroyed, they can’t reach the Doctor. Spinner is insistent: what is the plan? Shigaraki responds that he just told them--as Gigantomachia crashes through their hideout. The other characters explain for readers like me who aren’t following: Shigaraki just said Kurogiri was gone; to contact the Doctor, Kurogiri sought Gigantomachia; Gigantomachia would sniff out where Shigaraki is and bring him to the Doctor. Brilliant--that shows more attention to Shigaraki’s planning and scheming, and now, it’s not even here in the episode to make me think this guy is that smart. (This episode also had Shigaraki reveal his plan to have Gigantomachia attack the MLA, whereas it was Spinner who predicted that was going to be Shigaraki’s plan--so, again, we’re not letting Spinner stand out as smarter than we expected, either.)

I know Shigaraki is supposed to be our chessmaster, given his association with gaming, especially when he was faking his ignorance about shogi to lower Overhaul’s guard before defeating him and stealing his Quirk-cancelling bullets. But I’m having the same problem I had when following All For One throughout this anime: it just feels like these two antagonists are getting ahead out of sheer luck and because everyone else is a fool, not because either of them are that great as villains. Give me a Xanatos, give me a Luthor, give me a Norman Osborne (not Clone Saga Osborne, a different one). Show me Shigaraki is more than a pawn for All For One and the Doctor, because I don’t feel anything here, not even when we’re supposed to feel that Shigaraki has some legitimate concern for All For One that just isn’t getting communicated to me, whether by my stubbornness or because the content is not giving the animators and actors what they deserve. Eric Vale can sell the hell out of a scene, but Shigaraki’s talk about All For One is not giving that opportunity to the actor.

My remarks this time are a lot more disorganized and doesn’t really arrive at any conclusion. I have more to say about how this arc works and doesn’t work, especially when it comes to how ridiculous the MLA comes across in underestimating the League, but we’ll get to that next time.

#my hero academia #shigaraki #league of villains #meta liberation army #spinner #long post #mha spoilers

61 notes · View notes

takaraphoenix · 3 years

Text

The Canonical History of SuperWonder

I love Diana and Clark together, but I found it oddly hard to track down a coherent list of when and how they were canon in the comics, so after consulting multiple lists that were each missing some iterations, I decided to make one myself.

This list turned out very long, because I included pictures of every SuperWonder kiss/one highlight moment from each run as well as brief reviews and warnings (deaths and triggers) to each, so here a TL;DR for those who only want the titles:

1974 - Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane, #136 *

1981 - DC Presents, #32 *

1983 - Wonder Woman, Vol. 1 #300 *

1985 - Superman Annual #11: For the Man Who Has Everything **

1987 - Superman, Vol. 2 #05 **

1988 - Action Comics, Vol. 1 #600

1996 - Kingdom Come (4 issues)

1998 - Distant Fires (oneshot)

1999 - The Kingdom (2 issues)

1999 - Wonder Woman, Vol. 2 #140 & #141

2000 - Created Equal (2 issues)

2000 - Act of God (3 issues)

2001 - JLA: Riddle of the Beast (oneshot) **

2002 - The Dark Knight Strikes Again (3 issues)

2003 - Red Son (3 issues)

2004 - New Frontier (6 issues) **

2005 - All Star Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder (10 issues) **

2009 - Thy Kingdom Come (18 issues from the Justice Society of America Vol 3) **

2012-2016 - New 52; Justice League + Superman/Wonder Woman

2013-2016 - Injustice: Gods Among Us (73 issues)

2013-2014 - Justice League Beyond 2.0 (24 issues) ****

2014 - Justice League: War (animated movie)

2015 - Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (animated movie)

2016 - Justice League vs Teen Titans (animated movie)

2016 - Justice League: Action (animated show) **

2017-2018 - Injustice 2 (38 issues) **

2020 - Golden Child (oneshot) ***

* fake relationship or a magical dream sequence ** very brief (< one page/one episode) *** Clark/Diana are absent; their children are the main characters **** I can’t explain the caution for this one in one sentence, sorry

If you know any issue/run that feature SuperWonder and that is not listed here, drop me a title so I can read it and add it onto the list!

Now, more detailed recommendations and some pictures under the cut!

1974 - Superman��s Girlfriend, Lois Lane, #136

The first time Clark and Diana are dating in canon, though brace yourselves - it’s only a Fake Relationship Trope. A ploy to protect Lois from Clark’s obsessive stalker and they part again at the end of the issue.

Still, the comic gives us a brief date-scene, two SuperWonder kisses and the entire plot is told through Lois’ POV, who keeps narrating just how well Diana and Clark fit together. So while not a real relationship, it still gives a good first visual and narrative representation of what their relationship would be like.

Definitely recommended, especially as a starting point into this SuperWonder journey.

1981 - DC Presents, #32

Again, not a real relationship - this time, magic made them do it. The god Eros is rejected by Diana and, to punish her, makes her and Superman fall in love.

They try to fight it, but the pull is too strong at times, giving us (including the cover) three SuperWonder kisses, jealousy and tension. It’s a good one for visuals, but the fact that it was all due to magic and is resolved in the end, having them part and go back to Lois and Steve, puts a damper on things.

1983 - Wonder Woman, Vol. 1 #300

The first of three instances where it’s all just a dream. Oblivion holds Diana captive in her own mind, trapping her in various dream-scenarios where someone not Steve lands on Themyscira. Among them, a few pages long dream-sequence where Superman crashes onto the island.

Despite being a dream, it gives a wonderful pitch for a What If, showing how they could have fallen in love had Clark landed on the island. They even get married in the dream. Sadly, even in the dream, they break up before Diana wakes up. I still appreciate seeing this take on how they could have fallen in love though.

1987 - Superman Annual, Vol. 1 #11

The story For The Man Who Has Everything features Diana and Bruce (and Jason Todd) as they free Clark from a mind-prison, a plant that induces a dream of your heart’s greatest desire.

And while the story itself resists the “SuperWonder are canon in a dream”, Clark and Diana do kiss in the end, outside of the dream, back in the real world. Though instead of acknowledging what a splendid idea that is, DC is being strangely winkey about it by having them call their getting together “too predictable” and end it there.

Truly not a lot in here, but a SuperWonder kiss is a SuperWonder kiss, I suppose.

1987 - Superman, Vol. 2 #05

While the very brief scene itself is only a dream, this is simultaneously the first instance of actually making Clark’s feelings for Diana canon. This is not a magic-induced dream, it is fueled by Clark’s real, actual feelings for Diana that are blossoming. While I don’t consider it worth reading if you’re reading for the ship - since it is truly only the first few pages of the issue - it is still an important instance to note in the overall history of SuperWonder.

1988 - Action Comics, Vol. 1 #600

The natural way to celebrate fifty years of Superman; by having Clark and Diana kiss on the cover and them, for the first time in actual canon, admit their feelings to each other. They kiss, for real, with no ploy or dream or magic, and agree to go on a date.

The best first date for two heroes their size is, naturally, to save Olympus from Darkseid. The issue beautifully illustrates what a great team they make and also just how well they already know - within seconds recognizing when a doppelgänger takes the other’s place.

Sadly, in the end, they agree to just be friends, Clark claiming that he does not stand equal with the Gods and that Diana is thus out of his league and Diana needing more time to settle into man’s world. Despite that agreement, it is a wonderful issue showing just how well they work together and having them share their first canon kiss and go on their first actual date.

1996 - Kingdom Come

Earth-22 is the holy grail of SuperWonder. We will revisit this Earth’s timeline two more times in this post, but let’s kick it off with its first run.

Lois is dead and Clark mourns alone. Diana lures him out of retirement and Clark has to face a world he has failed. Though they edge on over the course of the story, they remain each other’s most important pillar through this upcoming war. And, when the dust settles after the fight, they find each other.

In a brief epilogue, the two meet with Bruce to tell him that they are expecting a child, marking the first instance of endgame SuperWonder getting a happy ending; neither of them dead and both starting a family together.

1998 - Distant Fires

Oh boy, do I have mixed feelings about this one. Listen, if you just stop reading at page 49, this is basically perfection. And I am in love with it.

The premise alone is an intriguing one; man-made catastrophe wipes out basically all life on Earth. Lois is dead, and so are Clark’s friends. He thinks he is the sole survivor of the apocalypse, before he finds Diana - and she shows him an entire village of survivors. All heroes have lost their powers in the apocalypse and they now have to adjust to this new reality. As they rebuild a society for themselves, Clark and Diana fall in love, get married and have a son, Bruce Kent.

Instead of exploring this intriguing premise of powerless superheroes rebuilding their own society after the apocalypse, the comic introduces a twisted Billy Batson who is obsessed with conquering the world - and conquering Diana. Ultimately deciding that if he can’t have her, no one can and so he kills Diana. As a rage filled Clark fights Billy to avenge Diana, the Earth literally comes apart and Clark barely manages to send their son away from the exploding Earth, mirroring his own origin stories.

Not only is it incredibly disgusting to see Diana die in such a manner - killed for such a motif - but also to see Billy, of all people, as the antagonist. Yet I’d still recommend it because it’s very intriguing. And if you stop reading at page 49, you get to pretend it has a happy end.

1999 - The Kingdom

Here we have a direct sequel to Kingdom Come. We revisit Earth-22 in time for the birth of their son, Jonathan Kent. But we only get a brief moment to be joyous before a villain comes crashing the party (read New Year’s Evil: Gog from 1998 as a prologue and villain origin story). He ends up kidnapping baby Jonathan and Clark, Diana and Bruce find themselves on a time-traveling adventure trying to get Jonathan back and defeat Gog.

The comic does have a happy ending for our heroes and they are reunited with their son - not just the infant-version though; it is revealed that Jon will grow up to become a hero like his parents and protect the multiverse under the alias Hyperman. Clark and Diana’s past selves, from a time before the triggering disaster from Kingdom Come, wonder if this adventure has changed their timeline too, or if Jon will be born (and, consequently, Diana and Clark will end up together) in their timeline too, to which Jon gives a cryptic answer.

Personally, I enjoyed this as a sequel quite a lot. It gave us a glimpse into their happiness, it teased that their son would grow up to be a hero and it gave a potential of a changed, alternate timeline where just maybe, the heroes of the past manage to avoid the great disaster... and still get their happy ending.

1999 - Wonder Woman, Vol. 2 #140 & #141

I do quite love this two-parter. The premise is a similar one as 1983′s Wonder Woman #300, where Diana is captured in a dream. She dreams of world peace, but it is not enough to keep her captive, because she is lonely.

So to keep her trapped, Oblivion also captures Clark and Bruce - who had come to rescue Diana - and traps all three in a shared dream-reality.

Prior to being captured, we get a look inside Bruce’s thoughts and see him worry if Clark’s romantic feelings for Diana will jeopardize this mission, seeing as there are no other Justice League members as “buffers” (quote), not only driving home that, yes, that Clark has real feelings for Diana, but also that Bruce knows this.

Inside the dream, Diana and Clark are in love and happy - unlike in #300 where their relationship within the dream comes apart. They get married with Bruce as their best man (and, though I try to limit the amount of images in this post, I can’t not include a SuperWonder wedding) and Diana finds out she is pregnant. But even the most beautiful of dreams has to end and while both Clark and Diana express how much they enjoy this dream, they confront the fact that it is not real and break out of it.

While the relationship itself only happens in a dream, Clark and Diana’s feelings are very real and so is their yearning. We end with a shot of Diana, accepting reality but being sad that it was just a dream. The story very beautifully shows the Amazon princess’ lonely status as Wonder Woman and it also shows the potential of Superman as her equal, it also serves to show that they both still have feelings for each other in their reality, while also giving a beautiful dream-sequence of what their life could be like.

2000 - Created Equal

I wasn’t fully sure whether or not to include this one. They’re not explicitely stated to be together, though Diana’s feelings for him are evident and it is heavily implied toward the end that the two of them will end up together. So see this as a warning of sorts. I would still count it, even without the expliciteness.

Now, to the story itself. Lois dies. Again, she does that a lot. Also all men aside from Clark and Lex die of an unknown plague. It’s a pretty interesting two-issue story, I think, though the approach is very... man-hating in how it’s executed. Lex becomes the king of incels and all men are implied to be inherently bad by nature, so if that’s not your cup of tea, maybe steer clear.

2000 - Act of God

This one comes with actual trigger warnings, because it includes themes of alcoholism, depression and nearly attempted suicide. It also comes with a hearty recommendation though.

Remember how, far up above, I complained that Distant Fires didn’t deal with the more interesting elements, such as the power-losses? This three-parter features a so-called “act of god” that caused all super-powered beings to lose their powers and then deals with what this would actually mean for them. Clark and Diana are not the vocal point of the story; the comic focuses on other heroes and how they cope with the loss too.

Lois divorces Clark, because she realizes she “loved the Super more than the Man”, when she can’t deal with Clark’s depression and self-pity anymore. He can’t deal with all of this on his own though and seeks out Diana, someone he feels will and can actually understand what he is going through. Though their relationship is bumpy and they break up in-between - Clark a heavy alcoholic and Diana suicidal - when they hit rockbottom, they find each other again and they pull themselves together again.

Despite Clark sobering up and picking up the pieces of his life again, including his work at the Daily Planet, he does not get back together with Lois; the two reconcile as friends and Clark and Diana get to raise their son together, presenting the second instance of SuperWonder endgame with a happy ending. It also teased the potential for a sequel, revealing their son to have powers.

2001 - Riddle of the Beast

I’m not entirely sure how to describe this. It’s like how I imagine it’d be if the Justice League sat down together and played D&D.

The story is a Lord of the Rings-esque high fantasy setting and all characters are... very far removed from what they are in canon while still echoing their canon selves in certain ways.

In it, Diana and Kal are king and queen of warring kingdoms. They were once engaged but the engagement came off. The main plot happens - it’s centered around Tim Drake and Zatanna mostly, who are on a quest to slay the Beast - and changes both Kal and Diana’s situations.

At the end of the battle, Kal and Diana are reunited and at the very end of the comic, agree to give each other a chance, romantically. Though their interactions are very brief and they are not explicitely shown as a couple, as a fair warning. But they do end up together.

2002 - The Dark Knight Strikes Again

Don’t read this comic. I just... I can not stress enough how much I recommend everyone to not even touch it. The Millerverse is atrocious, obnoxious and misogynistic enough as it is, but this one also comes with horrendously ugly art - and that’s not just in the sense of objective taste; there is no anatomy in this hastily scribbled-looking comic (just look at the proportions below; Clark’s thumb is as thick as Diana’s arm).

Sure, they’re technically canon in this universe, but... at what cost... Clark is a better sperm-bank, purely sexual and not a romantic partner or equal to Diana, who is honestly quite the bitch in this story. They’re a very small fraction of a very large, overall mess. The comic can’t even be recommended for the SuperWonder content, much less for the actual plot.

Here, I’ll spare you the time of going through it for SuperWonder and will provide you with their kiss, which is basically the peak of whatever is going on between them in this comic:

2003 - Red Son

While the premise of “what if Clark grew up in Russia and became an important pawn in the Cold War?” is incredibly intriguing... the execution is sloppy and whacky. Lex Luthor is the good guy and though Kal and Lois literally only exchange one glance once, the story still kind of acted as though there was some romantic will they wont they going on between them - just to reveal (and no, I am not making this up) that Kal is a direct descendant of Lex/Lois who was sent back in time when Earth exploded.

Diana is introduced as a potential match made between Stalin and Hippolyta, but the comic never actually pull through with them. Diana is canonically in love with Clark, but no only does Clark not return those feelings, he also remains oblivious to them, ultimately ending up ruining Diana’s life.

Personally, I wouldn’t recommend it, not just because of the onesidedness of SuperWonder, but also because... seriously, I can not stress enough just how weird not just the ship of Lex/Lois but the fact that Kal is their descendant was and how even more weird the tension between Lois and Kal was, under these circumstances. The whole comic is just... weird.

2004 - New Frontier

While the story itself is more or less entertaining, if you came solely for the SuperWonder, this is not the right comic. They have a total exchange of three pages over these six issues and it ends with them sharing a kiss... right before Diana nearly dies. She does survive, but even as they reunite, the kiss is not spoken of again and they are not romantically involved after.

2005 - All Star Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder

More Millerverse. Still, can not stress enough how much I dislike this verse, but at least the art is pretty this time. But if you’re really only here for the SuperWonder, this is even less recommendable. They barely have one scene in this that lasts only if I remember right three pages or so.

And for the story itself? Again, it’s the Millerverse. It’s weird, and not in an entertaining way; in a disturbing way. So here, have the one obligatory SuperWonder kiss Miller put in there and move on to better comics:

2009 - Thy Kingdom Come

We’re back on Earth-22... more or less.. in this kind-of midquel to Kingdom Come. This one does require some explaining.

Clark is pulled out of his own reality and sucked into a parallel world, one where Clark Kent has died a while ago and where the Justice Society keeps the peace. An enemy appears who echoes Clark’s own past from his Earth.

But if you came here for the SuperWonder, you can safely skip this one - or at least skip to the final issue’s last five pages, where we are treated to a beautiful, art-style keeping redrawing of Clark and Diana’s getting together scene, as well as brief shots into what their future looks like, including a confirmation that Clark and Diana have four children in this reality.

Though that is really it when it comes to SuperWonder in this comic; it fully takes place on the parallel Earth and even there, Clark’s entire focus is on facing the ghosts of his past - in the form of Lois. He spares no thoughts to Diana or has real interactions with this world’s Diana; he grieves Lois and confronts her, his dynamic with Kara is also explored marginally. As a whole, I’d still recommend it though, because it’s very compelling; the storyline is interesting and well-executed, the characters involved are very compelling and the “man out of his world” plot presented an interesting angle on it all. Also, at the very least, it doesn’t undo anything about Kingdom Come, though it also doesn’t necessarily add much to it either.

2012-2016 - New 52

I have such mixed feelings and with this being the longest run of SuperWonder, there’s a lot to unpack.

For one, there is a lot of SuperWonder in here, which makes sense considering there is an aptly named Superman/Wonder Woman series in the New 52, which I definitely do have to recommend. But maybe stop early, if you aren’t into heartbreak, because Clark dies in the end. And he gets replaced by a Clark who comes with his wife Lois and son. They really just... replace Superman like you’d change a lightbulb, and I’m mad about that.

I do think that the SuperWonder relationship in New 52 is very beautiful. It highlights all their strengths and what makes them work. It also gives them some domestic moments and dates and really quite a lot of kisses and gentleness. If they hadn’t shit the bed with the ending, this could be such a beautiful, contained little SuperWonder universe.

The tricky part is knowing where to find it, outside the SM/WW run. Their relationship actually starts out in the Justice League run, in volume 2, and is also featured in volume 3. If you are only here for the SuperWonder, those are the only two times that their romantic relationship is really acknowledged in Justice League. So if by volume 3 the story is still not doing anything for you, I’d say stop reading there, because if if at that point, SuperWonder is still your driving force, you don’t really need to bother anymore.

Instinctively, you’d go to the separate Superman and Wonder Woman runs too. And you’d be wrong. The Superman run manages to, somehow, be C/ois bait, putting them very close, physically so too, and much in a “will they/won’t they” situation, which seems strange and uncalled for since Clark is with Diana from the get go and stays faithful with her and they quite literally have to kill this Clark off and replace him with a whole new Clark who is in love with Lois. Aside from that, Wonder Woman is an absolute mess and if you are invested in Greek mythology you too might feel personally offended by this as I did, and the Superman storyline wasn’t... the writing wasn’t after my taste, at one point I just started skipping through it for the SuperWonder tidbits.

And because the New 52 are horribly confusing to keep track of with the different series and how they interact, here is a short, chronological order in which SuperWonder are actually featured (for completion’s sake, all Justice League volumes not featuring SuperWonder are also listed but set in braces):

Justice League Vol. 1: Origin

Justice League Vol. 2: The Villain’s Journey

Justice League Vol. 3: Throne of Atlantis

(Justice League Vol. 4: The Grid)

Superman: Unchained

(Justice League: Trinity War)

(Justice League of America: Survivors of Evil)

(Forever Evil)

Young Romance

Superman Vol. 4: Psi War

Superman/Wonder Woman Vol.1: Power Couple

Superman Vol. 5: Under Fire

Superman: Doomed

Superman/Wonder Woman Vol. 2: War and Peace

Superman/Wonder Woman Vol. 3: Casualties of War

(Justice League Vol. 6: Injustice League)

Justice League: Power and Glory

(Justice League Vol. 7: Darkseid War Part 1)

(Justice League Vol. 7: Darkseid War Part 2)

(Superman Vol. 7: Before Truth)

Superman/Wonder Woman Vol. 4: Dark Truth

Superman/Wonder Woman Vol. 5: A Savage End

Superman: Savage Dawn

The Final Days of Superman

If you don’t want to see him die slowly, don’t read the crossed-out issues. If you don’t mind the death, or just want to get to the SuperWonder bits in between, that’s how the story goes and Final Days is where it ends.

2013-2016 - Injustice: Gods Among Us

This is gonna be one of these more complicated reviews again, because there is actually relatively little SuperWonder in this (considering the length of the run), but even so I would wholeheartedly recommend it because I am deeply, madly in love with this universe.

It takes an alternate turn on Kingdom Come, in a way: If you came out of that, thinking “Damn, I wish Clark hadn’t retired to farm in isolation after Lois dies but instead had murdered the Joker” - you have come to the right place. Again, Lois dies. This time, Clark kills the Joker for it and decides “no more”. No more unnecessary death. And what... starts out as a good cause slowly, very slowly and gradually, slips. This is an incredibly well-written slowburn thought-experiment on a corrupted Superman who becomes a tyrant and dictator to the world and I absolutely adore it, seriously, it is so well-written, even when juggling so many sub-threads and characters, it really fleshes their stories and motivations out so well.

The SuperWonder is just a bonus. And a relatively small one, at that, hence the opening of this being a more complicated review. They’re heavily implied to be a couple, Diana definitely is in love with him, there is a beautiful though short dream-sequence where they are happy together. There’s SuperWonder continuously sprinkled in between the story, but well, it’s not the main focus, so if your goal in reading these is to only focus on the SuperWonder, this might be a disappointing read. (The above image is not from the dream sequence; the below one is though.)

2013-2014 - Justice League Beyond 2.0

I’ve tried to write the briefest of warnings in the summary, but this one is too complicated to break down in one sentence, so if the summary note confused you and you ended up here for a full-length dissection of what is going on, take a seat.

This story takes place in the Batman Beyond continuity. Clark is a vocal point of the new Justice League, with a young team. Together, they saved a young boy named Zod-Ur from the Phantom Zone and Clark basically decided to adopt the kid, help him find his footing as a Kryptonian on Earth.

It later turns out Zod-Ur is actually Clark/Diana’s biological son. Only not this Clark.

Diana from the Beyond reality left many years ago to a parallel Earth where Lord Superman and Lady Wonder Woman rule as evil dictators and she went there to fight them. Along the way, she fell in love with that other world’s Bruce Wayne. Other Bruce and other Diana die in the continuous war between Bruce/Diana and Clark/Diana in what might be the strangest ship-war-metaphor possible.

Beyond!Diana then agrees to get married to Lord Superman; a political alliance to bring peace to their people. But they hate each other.

And still, they decide to have a child together because... they want to project all their marital problems onto the kid, I guess. However, the Brainiacs from both their worlds work together to steal the child and hide it away in Beyond’s Phantom Zone, where the boy grew up to become Zod-Ur.

You... can see how this is a bit more complex than a one sentence break-down? A biological child of SuperWonder is one of the main characters (he is a delight and getting to know him is definitely worth the read to claim him in later... better... takes on SuperWonder, since we rarely ever see their children beyond the baby stage). And technically, SuperWonder are married, but... they’re not happy or in love or... even like each other.

Meanwhile, Beyond!Superman... doesn’t have his Lois either, this part confused me because usually Lois being dead means SuperWonder is endgame. But there don’t seem to be romantic feelings between the Beyond versions of Diana and Clark either, though they do... kind of... end up as co-parents to Zod-Ur, since the boy already took to Clark and Diana is here to stay and trying to rekindle her relationship to her son.

I would recommend it still, because I found Justice League Beyond quite engaging and I think it is worth it for Zod-Ur alone if you want to get to know the possibilities of a SuperWonder family more, but if you read it for the ship itself, don’t, because the ship’s not a happy place in this. (Below, Beyond!Clark with Zod-Ur.)

2014 - Justice League: War

This is actually what started all of this for me; my first introduction to SuperWonder. Unlike all prior to it, this is not a comic - it’s an animated movie. And Clark and Diana aren’t (yet) actually together. Though they heavily flirt during multiple instances and their voice-actors brilliantly deliver on the inrigue both characters feel toward each other.

This movie marks the first in a multiple-movies spanning shared universe that I’m personally very fond of; I enjoy the characters’ characterizations, the constellations and the animation, as well as the stories.

2015 - Justice League: Throne of Atlantis

The next movie in the shared universe. And it directly opens up with SuperWonder sharing a kiss over Athens. Over the course of the movie, they bond, go on an actual date and banter throughout.

Aside from being heavy on SuperWonder, the movie introduces Aquaman to the universe - and to this Justice League - and explores the dynamic among this JL lineup more thoroughly. Seriously, I recommend these movies.

2016 - Justice League vs Teen Titans

The third (and last) of the Justice League movies in this universe (though there are more movies set in this world). This time, the Justice League has to face Trigon - in a rather different way, as the demon takes them over and the Teen Titans need to save them.

We see Diana and Clark preparing for a date and later coming from said date, just before Clark is taken over. In the final battle, it is Clark who brings Diana back from her possession.

Now, while I do recommend this universe, from a SuperWonder point of view, I’d advise you to stop after this movie; it is followed by the first Superman solo movies (Death of Superman and Reign of the Supermen) and the first Wonder Woman solo movie (Bloodlines), which... break SuperWonder up for... literally no given reason, just to have them in their usual endgame romances for their solo movies (also the final entry to this universe, Justice League Dark 2: Apokolips War, is simply an atrocity and a gorey mess). Still, that’s a total of 11 animated movies, even without those four. (Not that you can’t watch those four too, it’s just a well-meant warning, particularly if you don’t want to see Clark and Diana broken up for no reason whatsoever.)

2016 - Justice League: Action

This show SuperWonder baited me. It’s a cartoon series that, in theory, has SuperWonder as a canon ship in it, but... they’re only actively seen as a couple in one episode and mentioned in passing one more time. Not that I need a romance at the forefront of a cartoon series, but even for a background ship of two of the main characters, you’d expect it to come up casually more often, through small gestures shared or something.

The one (out of 52) episode that does focus on them is episode 12 Repulse!, where we see them on a date, having a good time, just to be interrrupted by a villain. There is a total of not one, not two, but three (3) interrupted kisses. Which is absolutely ridiculous, seriously if this was a mlm or a wlw ship I would understand the homophobic censoring of preventing them from an on-screen kiss but seeing a man and a woman kiss on screen in a cartoon is... really not that unusual. This cartoon is so strange to me in that they are canon, but they never get an uninterrupted kiss and they don’t even get casual background relationship behavior. It’s treated like a heavily censored queer ship would be treated in a cartoon and that’s just wild.

I’d still, on the overall, recommend the cartoon though, because the animation is cute, the stories are funny and quirky and explore the different members of the Justice League nicely. But if you only came for the SuperWonder... just watch episode 12 and move on, there is literally nothing more in it than that.

2017-2018 - Injustice 2

This is where things get complicated in the recommendation department again, because... there virtually is no SuperWonder in this. As indicated in the table of content/short-list at the top, it amounts to one page, really. And that one page is Black Adam referring to Diana as Clark’s love.

However, that’s not due to, say, them shelving the ship or something. They kind of... shelved both Clark and Diana in the sequel? Clark spends all of this in prison and only appears in the first and last issue of the run, Diana is also imprisoned for a huge junk of the comic. But seeing as it very much sets up a sequel and is itself a sequel to a comic where SuperWonder is canon, I would still recommend it - if you came out of Injustice: Gods Among Us really loving the story, the world and the other characters too. If you came out of that one already only liking the SuperWonder, then there is absolutely nothing in this run for you, aside from the one panel below.

2020 - Golden Child

This one’s different because Clark and Diana aren’t even in it (well, Clark is, very briefly), but they’re still technically a very important angle to this comic - because their children, Lara and Jonathan, are the main characters.

It’s Millerverse, again, by the way. But honestly, I actually kind of liked this one. It was an interesting exploration of how a child would deal with these kind of powers and I find Lara and Jon rather interesting.

#SuperWonder #Clark Kent #Diana Prince #DC Comics #New 52 #Injustice #Kingdom Come #Thy Kingdom Come #JLA: Act of God #Distant Fires #Created Equal #Red Son #JLA: Riddle of the Beast #Justice League Beyond 2.0

103 notes · View notes