comicsqueer

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I love how many Golden Age “World’s Finest” covers are basically just Superman and Batman taking their adopted son Robin out for fun activities like good supportive parents (though not above a little harmless fun at each other’s expense).

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I just reblogged this article, but I’m going to clog my blog with it really quickly. This is my very first article for The Mary Sue! It was so fun to write, and getting to work with this website has already been such an amazing experience. As you may be able to tell, I’m just a tad excited. 

I’d love it if you guys would check it out! 

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What is the Deal with Titans (2018)?

I just saw an article that announced the newest cast member to join DC Universe’s original series Titans (2018). Esai Morales has just signed on to play Deathstroke, a classic Titans villain. More specifically, Deathstroke is staple foe for Dick Grayson, showing up across comics, TV shows, animated movies, you name it, and he always provides a compelling challenge for whichever heroes he faces. By all rights, this character belongs on this show, and we should be excited about his announcement, but when I saw this article I couldn’t help but sigh just a little bit. Another central villain, when the show isn’t even done with its first one yet? Trigon, the big bad of season 1 and of a lot of Titans media, takes time to do well, time that the show has yet to give him. Deathstroke should also be given a lot of time and consideration to do the character, and the show, justice. I know that no information about the character aside from the actor has been revealed yet, so it’s too early to get justifiably nitpicky, but seeing this news made me think something I’ve often thought while watching this show: What the hell is Titans doing?

It goes without saying this is not really the ideal audience response to a new show, and yet it’s what I found myself thinking all the damn time. I am a huge fan of the Titans, Teen and otherwise, and it feels like that has worked to my detriment while watching Titans. My pre-existing knowledge of a huge chunk of Teen Titans media from the last fifteen years set me up with a lot of expectations for the show, and I found myself grasping at straws trying to figure out just how anything in this show connected, and what it pointed to for the future of the series. Admittedly, I am partially to blame for holding so many expectations in the first place, but that’s the reality of creating a new TV show from existing storylines and characters. I just couldn’t help asking questions, like what was up with this version of the Raven and Trigon narrative. And why was Jason Todd there as Robin? Does this mean that the show will include a Red Hood plot line? That seems like a huge and random undertaking for a show called “Titans,” as Jason Todd is only tangentially related to the team.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m no opponent to new takes on old stories, especially for ones as old as these. I just found most choices the show made to be genuinely baffling. Even more baffling was that I couldn’t help but feel like this show wasn’t for Titans fans at all, but for people who had a passing knowledge of the characters at most. Certainly, someone without existing expectations of the characters would enjoy Titans more than I did. That’s very strange to me, because I find it highly unlikely that there are going to be very many casual Titans fans, or people who aren’t fans at all, on a paid DC exclusive streaming service. The center of a venn diagram of those people and people who would care enough to watch Titans seems like it would be very small. So who is the intended audience, DC Universe? Again, what are you doing with this show?

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Call Dick Grayson Romani, You Cowards

I’ve been a big fan of Dick Grayson for a long time, longer than I’ve even known that I was. I grew up obsessed with Cartoon Network’s Teen Titans, where Robin was one of my favorite characters. I only learned later who he was, what he became, and what he stood for, both in universe and out. As I got older and gayer and tired of hyper-masculine narratives, I grew to really, deeply, strongly dislike Batman. Even still, I never got tired of Robin. Guess when I learned about his Romani heritage? Last week. Over a decade of persisting interest in this character, starting from long before I was reading comics or even knew his real name, and I learned his cultural background last goddamn week. That’s garbage. It’s just gross, too. Retconning non-white backgrounds, or completely different non-white versions, for beloved characters is always difficult for the major comics publishers to pull off. This is obviously due largely to the overwhelming racism prevalent in comics fanbases, and I get how that makes it an impractical decision in a capitalist society where comics sales are already going down.

Here’s the thing though: do it anyway.

(Massive post under the cut, whoops.)

Electing not to tell diverse stories for the sake of making money is disgusting, but shoehorning in additional cultures to score points for diversity and then ignoring those cultures is so much worse. By doing that, not only does DC get avoid telling diverse stories, but they get to appeal to diverse audiences when they need to. Now they get racists’ money and liberals’ money, yay! This is exactly the case with Dick Grayson’s Romani culture. Don’t Dumbledore your readers, DC. It doesn’t count as representation if you never talk about it in universe, and especially not if you rarely talk about it outside of the comics either.

The retcon came in 2000’s Titans, and it was handled about as well as one might imagine a story of a deeply abused, stigmatized, and erased culture would be handled at the turn of the century. The whole thing is sloppy and littered with slurs and stereotypes, and it was rarely brought up after its rocky debut. This is the beauty of the comics industry though - it’s a constantly growing, evolving, collaborative effort. Devin Grayson had the right intention, even if her application of that intention was a hot mess, and it should have then been the next Titans/Batman/Nightwing/Whatever writer to smooth this transition out. Instead, DC dropped the ball completely, the addition to Dick’s character got passed around just enough to get basically retconned out again, and by the time the next generation of DC’s consumers was old enough to, y’know, consume, it was like it had never happened. What, was Dick Grayson’s white-passing appearance enough for all the racist and xenophobic writers on staff to just close their eyes to the newest chapter of his character? Like if they don’t say it out loud it never happened? Or was DC just embarrassed that they still publish racist books despite their best efforts, and if they don’t talk about it they don’t have to acknowledge their own faults?

It honestly doesn’t actually matter what the reason is, because all of that is bullshit. Fortunately Tim Seeley, writer for DC Rebirth’s Nightwing, agrees, and did mention Dick’s heritage in his books. That’s awesome. Really, it’s such an important thing to do, and he has talked about Dick’s heritage on Twitter so that even people not reading the books may know. Seeley put out some bomb Nightwing comics that you should really read, and all of which featured a canonically Romani Grayson.

That was a couple of years ago now, though. Since then, DC Universe has come out, and two (one and a half?) new versions of Dick Grayson came with it. Young Justice, another classic animated show from the 2010s, has featured Grayson prominently since episode one, and has shown him as both Robin and Nightwing. Young Justice has also been comparatively excellent about diversity, reimagining Aqualad as a black character who was so well received that he was written into comics after his Young Justice fame, and reimagining Artemis as half Vietnamese. Artemis remains a main character in the new season, and is joined by black superhero Black Lightning and a hero named Halo, who was reimagined as a refugee from a fictional East Asian country and who is always wearing a hijab. So where, exactly, is Dick Grayson’s acknowledged Romani background? This show has proven since episode one that they want to diversify the standard lineup, so why do they refuse to do so with the canon culture of one of its most prominent heroes?

The other one would have been huge. Not that any diversity is bad, but DC had the opportunity to hire a Romani actor for their live action Dick Grayson in the DC Universe original show Titans. The only thing better than diversity in media is diversity that directly benefits artists and creators of marginalized demographics. This show also reimagined a well known hero, casting the alien Starfire as a black woman, to intense backlash. That backlash was disgusting, but they carried on with her casting as they should have. It again begs the question, if they’re willing to break the mold for one character, why not represent Dick Grayson’s established Romani heritage?

We can assume that it’s because of a neat cocktail of ignorance and knowing prejudice on the part of creators, but it’s time to fucking stop. It is the year 2019, and it’s time to stop half-assing representation in media. The two superhero movies in theaters right now are both lead by people of color, and they’re both crushing the box office. The next to come out will star a woman. We are so far past disproving the bullshit excuse that there is no market for diversity in these stories, and it’s time for DC and Marvel to start taking some responsibility as creators who could reach way more people with stunning, new, and interesting stories that cross cultural boundaries. So get to it guys. Dick Grayson hasn’t stuck it out as one of the most prominent characters in your lineup for over 75 years just to have his history and culture erased by racist assholes who care more about money than interesting stories that represent their increasingly diverse readership.

Tl;dr call Dick Grayson Romani you cowards.

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The Definitive List of the Top 5 Movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

(In my very subjective opinion.)

Alright, this is just a straightforward, semi-obligatory ranking of the best MCU movies because I’m lazy today. So let’s jump right in with:

5. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

I’m going to be honest, this one almost didn’t make it. Other movies do far more for the MCU in an equally entertaining way, but this movie deserves a lot of credit for taking a hard left away from anything Marvel had put out before, and being good on top of that. It essentially invents a new genre of comedy superhero movies, the soundtrack is perfect, and the performances are funny and cover a wide range of comedic styles. Plus, the story is great and the movie introduces infinity stones, which obviously become hugely important, so it’s an overall win. Solid fifth place, hell yeah Guardians.

4. Marvel’s The Avengers (2012)

This seems shockingly low, but it’s still the fourth best movie out of twenty and counting. It’s a gimme, too. If your top 5 list doesn’t include this movie you’re wrong, and frankly a little disrespectful. Don’t forget where you came from, son. The first Avengers movie redefined superhero movies, creating a crossover team movie in a way that had never been done before. Not to mention that the Avengers theme music is still chill-inducing today. It’s only fourth because some plot points are questionable, and because Whedon played favorites like crazy, so some characters aren’t done justice. Still, a game changer that should be respected as such.

3. Iron Man (2008)

This movie deserves all the credit for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and that is not an exaggeration. It was the first movie made by Marvel Studios, which was at the time a brand new independent studio owned by a company that had already sold the rights to all of its biggest characters. They dusted off a B-list at best superhero, hired an actor no one else would cast, threw all of their money and hopes into the project and made a damn good origin story. If Iron Man had been bad, or hadn’t made enough money, Marvel Studios would be done and there would be no MCU. So points for due credit, amazing casting, and good, concise storytelling. All with a good moral and wrapped in an entertaining package! Good, good, good movie. Thanks, Iron Man.

2. Black Panther (2018)

One of the newest movies in the lineup and also one of the best, Black Panther redefines the genre again. It’s well thought out, beautifully shot, deeply emotional, and addresses topics that other superhero films wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole. It’s also crazy fun, and has the best world-building I’ve seen in a superhero film yet. Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger is genuinely astonishing, and brings with him real-world concepts of racism and colonialism that other films in the genre tend to avoid. He’s also a flawless foil to Chadwick Boseman’s amazing portrayal of the title hero, making their interactions far superior to almost any other antagonist conflict in the MCU. It’s also a geopolitical film, because this movie can do anything and we should all be grateful. Supporting roles here are also amazing, but I can’t rave about Letitia Wright, Danai Gurira, and Lupita Nyong’o without this getting extra too long, and besides, you already know. They’re great. This movie is great. The only reason it’s not number one for me is that I feel like the pace suffers under the weight of all that this movie tries to accomplish. Occasionally, the narrative drags as we explore certain characters or relationships that the movie doesn’t really have time for, or really interesting scenes and portrayals of culture are broken up by other bits that may or may not be necessary. Still, if this is what the future of the MCU looks like then we should all be very, very excited.

1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is, in my opinion, a near perfect film. It’s such a thoughtful exploration of every character in it, the MCU as a whole, and the entire superhero genre. The villain is the sort of “hero of his own story” that is fascinating to watch and rarely done well by Marvel. Not only is he a great antagonist, but his entire agenda resonates strongly with the current concerns about deceit in politics and dangerous abuses of power. While it is concerning that this film’s conflict is only getting more relevant, it does speak to the staying power of the broader themes at play. Comics fans should also be excited by the creative ways the movie manages to include more realistic versions of classic Cap villains like M.O.D.O.K. and Batroc the Leaper. The performances are phenomenal overall, but Anthony Mackie deserves extra credit for holding his own and then some as a thus far unmentioned character amongst heroes who have starred in one or two movies prior to this. And speaking of those previously seen characters! This is the first, and arguably only, Marvel movie that properly depicts Natasha Romanoff. The fights scenes are brutal and informative, the score is delightfully tense, and the color palette expertly directs the tone through the whole movie. Also, some shots are just plain cool - do not tell me that the first appearance of the Winter Soldier wasn’t awesome, because I will not have it. This one is an easy win for me. (Though if Black Panther is your #1, you’re not wrong either.)

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CA:TWS Bonus Opinion

(If you missed it, I made a really long post about a movie that came out five years ago. This is a continuation of that.)

Okay, so I stand by everything I said about the quality of The Winter Soldier being more fact than opinion. This next one is more subjective, but still important (to me and maybe only me): This movie has the best cameo in the MCU. 

Plenty of these movies have neat cameos, from cute family shoutouts to blatant and bizarre appearances. But Captain America: The Winter Soldier features Ed Brubaker himself, the writer who dusted off the long-dead kid sidekick Bucky Barnes from the comics of the 1940s and 50s and turned him into the Winter Soldier. It’s even better than that though - he appears in the bank vault scene as one of the Hydra scientists who brainwashes Bucky. This man turned Bucky into the Winter Soldier in the real life comics canon, and is in the movie physically turning Bucky into the Winter Soldier. Tell me that isn’t the coolest shit you’ve ever heard in your life.

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The Winter Soldier is Still the (Second) Best MCU Movie

Currently, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is 10 years and 20 movies deep, and there’s much more on the way. So far, the MCU has created 8 film franchises, and has movies holding four spots of the top ten highest grossing films of all time. Through all of that, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is still the best of them.*

(*except Black Panther, which is pretty objectively the best movie in the MCU, but it’s also crazy different than CA:TWS, so that makes comparing them tough. Anyway, note the title and this lil bit for the rest of this post)

This is obviously subjective, but only technically. This opinion is founded in so much visible evidence that it should basically be an accepted truth. To clarify, it might not be your favorite, and it’s not the most culturally significant, but it is expertly crafted, logically sound, and really the highest quality film in this collection of really, really good movies. So get ready, because here come the facts:

First of all, this movie is blessed by good source material. It’s almost unfair to the rest of the MCU movies that this one is derived from Ed Brubaker’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier. If you are a comics fan and you haven’t read this then please do, it is such a strong addition to comics canon overall, and not just Marvel. This run undid a known Marvel truth, shook an entire franchise to its core, and on top of all of that it was just regular old good. Well written, drawn, and colored, with all of those elements working together to make a seamless book. Really, this one is notable. If you’re not a comics fan then don’t sweat it, because the film adaptation is masterful. Super different, don’t get me wrong, but so were the comic and film universes at the times these works were released. It wouldn’t have made sense to do the movie exactly like the comics, and doing so would have cheapened all the really stunning moments in the story. Instead of doing that, writers Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus with directors Anthony and Joe Russo just took all the important elements, characters, and tones and repurposed them to work on screen. And shit, does it work. There isn’t a single thing about the comics that I miss, and I even think the movie did a couple of things better. (Everyone who has seen their favorite book adapted for the silver screen knows what high praise that is, so really take my word on this one. This adaptation is Good.)

The reason it’s done so well comes down to one really important factor: this movie is smart. Really damn smart. By their own admission the Russo brothers didn’t even like Captain America that much, so when they were creating his second solo film they didn’t just lean on all the characteristics that people already knew and liked about him. They put him to the test. Instead of a morally black and white brawl, where Cap usually shines, they put him smack in the middle of a spy thriller. The main supporting character, super spy Black Widow, is a direct foil to Captain America. This way, it’s almost impossible for a scene to pass without learning something about the characters involved. And while the very genre and cast were chosen to test Cap’s limits and force character development, the shooting process was designed to ground the film. Almost the entire thing was shot using handheld cameras for natural movement, and the lighting is natural while still maintaining the film’s tone.

The fight scenes are also very grounded and personal feeling, and they’re some of the best in the MCU. They just are. We can all just forget fan service and CGI, because the fight scenes in The Winter Soldier are visceral and intense. Chris Evans and Sebastian Stan apparently spent five to six months training for the fights, and it shows. The pace is just brutal, which not only looks super cool but also feeds into the tension and raw emotion already being cultivated by the storyline. This is, of course, their actual value. While they all look amazing and are impressive displays of technical prowess on the parts of the actors and the stunt team, they all exist to further character and plot development. The fighting styles across characters are deliberate, and if you watch the fights really closely they each can convey as much information as a verbal conversation.

This is ultimately the overarching measure of quality here. There is not a single wasted moment in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Every element of the story exists to tell the audience more, or to ground this science fiction superhero story in a believable modern reality. It’s also simple enough that the political thriller elements will always be relevant. The whole film is also overflowing with more easter eggs and hidden character exploration than should be possible, making it genuinely overstuffed without ever feeling that way. It’s just damn well crafted. Five years and eleven movies after its release it’s still one of the best movies Marvel has ever released, and prior to February of last year I would have said it’s the best, and it wasn’t even a contest.