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twistedtummies2 · 3 years ago

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Top 15 Portrayals of The Joker

Due to a certain play I’m involved with, I’ve been in a major Batman mood. (Not that such a mood is uncommon for me, mind you, but I digress.) I thus had a notion I thought would be fun: the play features four of Batman’s chief villains, and I thought it would be fun to discuss my favorite interpretations of all four. I may also cover Batman himself and possibly a couple of other side characters or villains that don’t show up in the play, but we’ll see.

For starters, let’s begin with the Dark Knight’s arch-nemesis: that Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker. The Joker is my favorite Batman villain, and arguably the single most iconic of them all. He’s also the one who has been adapted the most times out of any take on the character. The interesting thing about Joker, in my opinion, is that there are very few interpretations of him (outside of comics) that don’t work: maybe it’s just my own personal bias for the character, but there are only a small number of portrayals of the Ace of Knaves I’m not especially fond of. Most incarnations I like at least a little bit. But which Harlequins of Hate are the most nefarious? Here are my personal opinions: these are My Top 15 Jokers!

15. Zach Galifianakis.

In “The LEGO Batman Movie,” Zach Galiafianakis plays a wildly designed Joker who, while just as devious and maniacal as other versions, has a different bend with his schemes and plots. We all know the constant theme of interconnection between Batman and Joker, and some versions have even toyed with the idea of the character having a sort of one-sided romantic interest in his nemesis. This version does the same, but it’s played up for laughs: the animosity between the two characters is very literally treated like a love relationship, and the glorious irony speaks for itself. The film’s story basically treats the Joker almost like Batman’s ex-boyfriend or something, trying to get his beloved to see how much they truly need each other…and the hilarious thing is, in THIS movie, Batman actually DOES realize he needs Joker, and the results throughout are kind of hilarious to me. I know some people didn’t like this Joker, or even this movie, but I feel you have to go into this picture with a certain mindset: it’s ultimately a parody, and if you go into it understanding that fact, you can have a lot of fun.

14. Brent Spiner.

Spiner - famous for playing Data from Star Trek, among other roles - first played the Joker in the series Young Justice, where the Joker showed up as a member of Vandal Savage’s Injustice League. I have to be honest, at the time, I didn’t particularly care for his Joker, and neither did a lot of people, to my understanding. HOWEVER, Spiner has since handled the character a few more times, not only reprising the role in more recent seasons of Young Justice, but also playing the Joker in the Batman Audio Adventures you can find streaming now. Now, I’ve only listened to the first episode of those Audio Adventures (my ability to watch HBO Max is on the fritz), but between both that and his return on Young Justice, Spiner has REALLY kicked it up a notch. He’s gone from a version I’m not really fond of to one I actually want to hear more often, and that’s definitely deserving of some praise.

13. Christopher Corey Smith.

Galifianakis voiced Joker in the LEGO Batman Movie, but for most of the LEGO Batman games (and the first of the direct-to-DVD features), this guy has been the voice of the Clown Prince of Crime. Smith is a wonderfully zany, childish Joker - fitting for the off-the-wall universe of LEGO - who I can only describe as “delightfully obnoxious.” To the other characters, he’s often an annoyance, but he manages to be the right kind of annoying where the audience can enjoy his madcap antics. On top of that, he’s consistently shown to be smarter than he often seems, his humor belying a dangerous and cunning mind - perfect for any version of the Joker. Other people have played the character in the LEGO franchise, but Smith is the single most consistent, and I would argue the definitive LEGO Joker voice.

12. Richard Epcar.

Epcar first played the Joker in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, and his Joker was, in my opinion, my favorite character in the game, and the best-voiced of the entire DC side of the cast. It’s no surprise that Epcar would reprise the role in the MK-esque “Injustice” video games, which allowed for further depth and danger to the character, and allowed Epcar to further hone his vocal chops with the role. What I love about the Injustice Joker is that you can sort of blame the entire Injustice universe ON Epcar’s character: it’s because of the Joker’s actions that Superman ends up going…well…off the rails, to put it mildly, which in turn leads to the twisted, dystopian universe of the games. Since then, Epcar has reprised the role in other places, as well, further cementing himself as a particularly special portrayer of the part.

11. Troy Baker.

Troy Baker’s Joker is one I have a bit of an odd relationship with. Baker first played the Joker in the game “Arkham Origins,” where he was specifically set to play a younger version of Hamill’s Joker. While I thought Baker’s Joker was okay in that game, I had a few niggling issues with the use of the character there, plus I felt that Baker was trying so hard to follow in Hamill’s footsteps that it was hard to really find HIS Joker. HOWEVER, as time has gone on, Baker has reprised the role several times in numerous other versions, and I honestly and earnestly feel that, with every passing performance, his handle on the Joker becomes more uniquely his, and while his voice is still decidedly Hamill-esque, it feels like with every new rendition he gets more solidly into the role. On top of that, he has a lot of versatility with the character, from playing more comedic interpretations to more nasty and gritty ones, and nails it every time. I still can’t say he’s in my Top 10, but it’s a VERY close eleventh place here.

10. Joaquin Phoenix.

A lot of people will probably be upset with how low I’m placing Phoenix, but do not construe this to mean I dislike his portrayal. The issue here is what it’s always been, ever since I saw “Joker”: I do enjoy the film, and I think this might very well be my favorite of all of Phoenix’s performances. I also feel that this is truly a fascinating reimagining of the classic character we all know and love…but this is both a pro and a con. It’s a pro because it works really well, and the movie is truly a mindbending little piece of madness to behold, in the best possible way. But it’s a con because, in several ways, I think Phoenix goes too far against my personal grain: this is a great reinvention of the Joker, but it’s not by any means MY Joker. I also have to admit I’ve never been TOO big a fan of the design. It’s enough to get this Joker into the top ten, but not any higher: a brilliant performance, an interesting movie, a neat new take on the character…but perhaps a little too different from the norm for its own good. Again, this is MY opinion, and to those who feel differently, I can hardly blame you: there’s plenty to admire with this rendition.

9. Cesar Romero.

The one that started it all. I’m sorry Joaquin Phoenix, but when I think of the Joker, it’s this guy and his painted-over moustache that I tend to think of before thee. While Romero is obviously not by any means my definitive Joker, I do think he earns a lot of credit for being the first to play the role. While the character, of course, got started in the comics, so many of the traits and ideas we recognize in the character today, through various other actors and portrayals, really got started with Romero’s enthusiastic interpretation. On top of that, I think a lot of people underestimate just how good a performance this actually is: coming from someone who’s actually seen other Cesar Romero movies and roles, his Joker is really one of a kind: he’d never really played a character like this before, and never really would after. But to this day, we recognize him better for this part than any other, and you can’t deny he sinks absolutely and completely into the evil clown’s shoes.

8. Kevin Michael Richardson.

In several ways, I’ve always felt the early 2000s animated series “The Batman” was a sort of “60s Batman 2.0.” Something about it’s sense of style, in terms of writing, color choices, action-themed style, and the portrayals of several of the characters, reminded me of the 60s era…but with some more modern touches that more contemporary audiences would quickly recognize. Kevin Michael Richardson’s award-winning take on the Joker is a key example of that: while the character design is certainly way out there (the designs were a common issue of polarization among fans, with this show), it’s still recognizably the Joker, and the hyper-energized, at times childlike depiction of the Clown Prince of Crime - one of the most cartoonishly kooky of the past couple decades - definitely brings Romero’s comedic leanings to mind. Despite that, however, this Joker could be far more menacing than Romero’s, with a much more homicidal and depraved mindset. It’s even implied that some twist on the infamous storyline of “The Killing Joke” takes place in this universe, which only adds to the threat level this Joker could potentially provide. And if that wasn’t scary enough, there was the animated spin-off film “The Batman vs. Dracula.” Two words: Vampire Joker. It is as mortifying and marvelous as it sounds.

7. Michael Emerson.

A lot of people really seem to love the animated film adaptation of Frank Miller’s seminal classic, “The Dark Knight Returns.” My feelings about the movie are, coincironically, the same as my feelings about the graphic novel: I don’t think it’s a bad Batman movie, but I do feel it’s overrated…but with that said, I absolutely LOVE the Joker in both. Miller’s Joker is played absolutely perfectly in the animated feature by Michael Emerson, an actor who has quite the reputation for playing unhinged scoundrels and depraved monsters. So, naturally, the Clown Prince of Crime was excellent casting for him. Emerson’s Joker is very different from most, just as Miller’s is in the book: this Joker, in some ways, feels more disturbingly real. A detached, cold-blooded, crafty, deeply unsettling psychopath with a sassy, sexually ambigous side to his personality. This is, in my opinion, one of the scariest versions of the Joker ever put to film, and that alone earns him high marks.

6. Anthony Ingruber.

Telltale’s Batman games had some ups and downs, in terms of character portrayals: some takes on the characters were unique and delightful, while others were sort of underwhelming. If there’s one thing I personally think Telltale did brilliantly, though, it was the way it handled the Joker. Referred to for most of the series as “John Doe,” this game REALLY played around with the interdependence of the characters in a new and fascinating way: we don’t know where the Joker comes from, really, and if he’s ever encountered Batman or Bruce Wayne before becoming the mysterious and demented John Doe, but what matters in the games is how his relationship with the Dark Knight and his alter-ego ends up creating who he will someday be. Depending on how you play your cards (so to speak), while John Doe will inevitably become Joker, he may not necessarily become your eternal and fated nemesis. You can actually finish the game with Bruce and Joker as friends! But in most endings, the rivalry we all know and love is completely unavoidable, though even why and how that rivalry happens can be different depending on what you do. Ingruber brings this new take on the character to life brilliantly: he’s funny, twisted, and perhaps more sympathetic than any other portrayal of the nefarious supervillain ever created. It’s long been said that Batman and the Joker created each other, in some way, shape, or form: perhaps nowhere is that taken more literally than in these games.

5. John DiMaggio.

DiMaggio actually used to be one of my Top Three Jokers for a time…but after careful reflection, I don’t really think that’s true. I do love DiMaggio’s take on the Ace of Knaves, but there’s one key problem with his Joker compared to the four above him: focus. DiMaggio first played the Joker in the animated movie “Under the Red Hood,” a movie in which the Ace of Knaves is a VERY important part of the story, but he’s actually not onscreen for that long nor is he the true focal point of the conflict. Similarly, DiMaggio would play the Joker for two LEGO movies, but in both cases, once again, the Joker really wasn’t the major antagonist: he had to share screentime with SEVERAL other villains and was never the main baddy in either case. Most recently, DiMaggio appeared as the Joker in the interactive feature “Death in the Family,” and once again, while Joker is a major player in the PLOTLINE, he’s not the main source of all the problems Batman and his allies face in the tale. In other words, DiMaggio’s Joker turns all have the same issue: the Joker is an important contributor to the story each time, and he’s brilliantly depicted, but the actual stories themselves do not revolve around him solely. This doesn’t make DiMaggio’s take on the Joker any less wonderful; he brings the same theatricality and psychotic zeal to the part so many others have done, but gives the voice a rougher, sort of unsettlingly jagged edge, not usually found in other depictions. It surprisingly works well with his interpretations, in my opinion, and his Joker is often equal parts hilarious and horrifying, just as the character should be. It just doesn’t seem fair to rank him higher any more when other Jokers simply get more of a chance to shine, comparatively speaking.

4. Jack Nicholson.

Well, you can’t put this guy low and be considered a real Joker fan, some would say. For many people, Jack Nicholson remains one of the definitive takes on the Joker outside of comics, especially in live-action. Whenever people talk about who the best Joker is, he is ALWAYS among the contenders for that title. It’s easily one of Nicholson’s crowning performances as an actor, as he delivers probably one of his most quotable and acclaimed characters in cinematic history, and sinks completely into the role of the Clown Prince of Chaos. He steals the show from top to bottom (to a fault, some might argue), and the makeup and costume is as iconic as anything else. Much like Telltale, the Tim Burton movie also toys with the interdependence of the Joker and Michael Keaton’s Batman, but in a different way: in the universe of this film, it’s revealed that Jack Napier (the Joker’s true identity in the film) is the one who killed Bruce Wayne’s parents. And it’s because of an encounter with Batman later on that Napier falls into the vat of chemicals and becomes the homicidal Harlequin of Hate. It’s a vicious cycle of the truest sort, and it makes this version of the Joker particularly unique: whether you like or hate the idea (fans seem polarized about it), it serves its purpose well within the film.

3. Jeff Bennett.

While the aforementioned John DiMaggio is a Joker I’ve actually come to like less over time, Jeff Bennett is a Joker I’ve come to like more. I never understood why some people apparently DIDN’T like Bennett’s Joker from the animated show “Batman: The Brave and the Bold”: pretty much from frame one, this became one of my absolute favorites. Not only does Bennett’s take on the self-proclaimed Clown Prince of Chaos have one of my favorite designs ever - a gloriously animated version of Dick Sprang’s take on the character from the comics of the Golden and Silver ages - but his episode appearances were always great. From his two-part debut where he teams-up with Batman to take on evil versions of various DC heroes, to an entire episode from his point of view (based on a very underrated Joker comic, I should add), to him becoming Ruler of the Universe thanks to the antics of Bat-Mite, the episodes where Joker took center stage were always a treat. And even when he WASN’T center stage, such as in episodes like “Death Race to Oblivion” or “Chill of the Night,” he always seemed to steal the show whenever he popped up onscreen. While the series was lighthearted in tone, it actually didn’t stray from Joker’s more monstrous side, either, as he remained the homicidal maniac so many people nowadays identify him to be. Contrariwise, this didn’t prevent him from being a wonderfully funny interpretation of the Crazy Crime Clown, and one who I think doesn’t get enough appreciation.

2. Heath Ledger.

The amount of influence Heath Ledger has had on the popularity of the Joker can hardly be exaggerated. In Christopher Nolan’s much-acclaimed motion picture “The Dark Knight,” Ledger brought to life a newer, slightly more realistic take on the character, which held true to the key points of the villain established over the decades, and for some people, reinvigorated an interest in the character that had not been seen in years. Ledger’s take on the character is a psychopathic and mysterious anarchist, whose singular goal is to show the world what he believes is the true and natural order. That being, that deep down, human beings are a barbaric and savage race. Why, exactly, the Joker does what he does - whether it’s just for his own sick pleasure, or if he has some deeper purpose - is hard to determine. Ledger’s portrayal proved highly popular, and is one of the most lauded and impersonated portrayals ever put to the screen, and arguably one of the most chilling. He’s hardly the definitive take on the character, but he’s certainly an impressive one; every time I revisit this performance, I notice something new that makes it all the more interesting, and for that reason above all else, he has earned his spot at second place.

1. Mark Hamill.

Heath Ledger may be the greatest live-action Joker to date (at least in my humble opinion), and he was certainly a fascinating reimagining of the classic comic book baddy…but in my opinion, Mark Hamill simply IS the Joker. Alongside perhaps Ledger and Romero (the latter due to the fact he was the very first, and that can hardly be ignored), I think Hamill has been one of the most influential Jokers of all time. Whenever you ask someone to do a “Joker Voice,” it’s usually Hamill they attempt to impersonate, and nearly every actor who has played the Joker in animation since this guy has basically done some variation on his voice. Hamill has also played the Joker more times than any other actor, through all kinds of interpretations, from the more morbid and macabre to the more campy and comical, and everything in-between. And every time he plays the character - and I do mean EVERY time - it never ceases to impress and amaze. He steals the show whatever he’s in, and it’s telling that Hamill’s career as a voice actor has, in many ways, been defined by this character: he pretty much uses that “Joker Voice” for everything nowadays, and to be honest, I don’t think anybody minds that much. Bottom line, when you’ve been playing the Joker almost non-stop for THREE DECADES? You have definitely earned your stripes and the right to be heralded as the Number One Clown Prince of Crime. Case closed.

#top 15 #joker #batman #portrayals #actors #acting #movies #film #tv #animation #live-action #video games #best #favorites #list #countdown #batman villains

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aion-rsa · 4 years ago

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Sailor Moon Crystal Recap: What You Need to Know Before Netflix’s Sailor Moon Eternal

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Sailor Moon is one of the most well-known anime from the last 30 years. Based on a manga that first launched in 1991, the series has been adapted into a beloved 200-episode anime, several films, a live-action drama, and more recently, an anime reboot called Sailor Moon Crystal. And if that legacy weren’t enough, we can now add another film to the franchise: Sailor Moon Eternal.

What Is Sailor Moon Eternal?

As previously mentioned, Sailor Moon Eternal is the latest addition to the Sailor Moon franchise. It’s a two-part anime film based on the Dream arc of the original manga. Despite this, the production has officially dubbed this portion of the Sailor Moon saga the Dead Moon arc, named after the antagonists the Sailor Guardians face.

The film was first announced in 2017 as part of the franchise’s 25th anniversary. It’s meant to be a direct continuation of Sailor Moon Crystal, the anime reboot that concluded its third season in 2016. After some pandemic-related delays, Sailor Moon Eternal hit Japanese theaters in early 2021 before Netflix picked up the films for streaming release a few months later.

How Does Sailor Moon Crystal Connect to Sailor Moon Eternal?

Sailor Moon Crystal is the anime reboot that commemorates the manga’s 20th anniversary. The anime industry loves celebrating anniversaries of its most famous and enduring properties, in case you haven’t noticed. Typically by releasing more anime.

While the original 1990s anime took some liberties with plot and characterization, Sailor Moon Crystal stays true to the original manga. It consists of three seasons totaling 38 episodes, with each season covering a different story arc: Dark Kingdom, Black Moon, and Death Busters. While Season 3—aka the Death Busters arc—ended on a satisfactory note, it set the stage for the film with a solar eclipse that presages the arrival of a major character from the Dead Moon arc.

Think of Sailor Moon Eternal as Sailor Moon Crystal Season 4, if you like.

Do I Need to Watch Sailor Moon Crystal First?

It would probably help. There are many characters, so if you have no familiarity with Sailor Moon at all, you might have a rough time. On top of a sizable main cast, this series loves reincarnation, time travel, and multiple dimensions. Things might get confusing if you’re coming at this franchise as a brand-new viewer.

That said, if you’ve read the original manga, you should be fine.

If you’ve only watched the 1990s anime, you’ll generally be okay. The big caveat here is that some of the characterizations and relationship dynamics are different in Sailor Moon Crystal. For example, Rei Hino, aka Sailor Mars, is more aloof and serious in the manga and Sailor Moon Crystal versus the original anime where she loves chasing boys and constantly fights with Sailor Moon’s heroine, Usagi. But as long as you’re aware of those differences, fans of the first anime series can skip watching Sailor Moon Crystal if they’re short on time.

I’m adventurous and know nothing about Sailor Moon. What basics should I know?

How brave! The biggest thing to know is that the entire series revolves around the concept of Sailor Guardians. Sailor Guardians are teenage girls who are given special powers connected to planets throughout the universe. For the Sailor Guardians protected by planets from our solar system, sometimes the powers are elemental in nature. Other times, the powers are related to classical mythology.

The other major thing to know is that our heroine, Usagi Tsukino, is royalty. She’s the reincarnation of a princess from the Moon Kingdom. That’s right. Sometime in the past, there existed a kingdom on the moon. In the future, she becomes the guardian queen of Earth that ushers it into a sort of golden age. These past and future identities serve as focal points for plotlines throughout the entire series.

Can You Give Me a Sailor Moon Crystal Recap?

As mentioned earlier, Sailor Moon Crystal is divided into three seasons.

Season 1 covers the Dark Kingdom storyline. This arc introduces us to Usagi Tsukino, who discovers she’s both Sailor Moon and the reincarnation of Princess Serenity of the Moon Kingdom. It also introduces us to the inner Sailor Guardians—Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus—who are Sailor Moon’s closest allies. In addition, we meet Usagi’s love interest, Mamoru Chiba, who happens to be the reincarnation of Prince Endymion. Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion had a tragic, star-crossed romance and you better believe that influences their present incarnations. Together, they all fight the Dark Kingdom, which was responsible for the destruction of the Moon Kingdom in the past and wants to take over the Earth in the present.

If Season 1 focuses on preventing a repetition of past tragedies, Season 2 is about averting future annihilation. After the events of the Dark Kingdom arc, Usagi and her friends are living their best, peaceful lives. That changes when Chibi-usa, Usagi and Mamoru’s daughter from the future, appears. She’s traveled back in time to find the means to save her mother. Hot on her heels is the Black Moon clan, who destroyed the future Earth that Chibi-usa came from. The Black Moon arc also introduces us to Sailor Pluto, a Sailor Guardian with the ability to control time.

The Death Busters arc, or Season 3, adapts the Infinity storyline of the manga. Chibi-usa has stayed in the present day to train to be a Sailor Guardian. Here we meet more Sailor Guardians from our solar system: Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune. After sacrificing her life in the previous story arc, Sailor Pluto has also incarnated in the present timeline. Along with Sailor Moon and the inner Sailor Guardians, they fight the Death Busters, alien invaders from another dimension. Central to the plot is Hotaru Tomoe, who is the key to the Death Busters’ invasion plans but also happens to be the incarnation of Sailor Saturn, who has the ability to destroy the world.

How Does Sailor Moon Crystal Lead into Sailor Moon Eternal?

After using her abilities, Hotaru has been reincarnated as a baby. Sailors Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto leave to raise her as the coolest queer family unit ever. Having completed her Sailor Guardian training, Chibi-usa is ready to return to the future. But before she goes, she accompanies Usagi and Mamoru to watch the solar eclipse. As the moon begins to cover the sun, however, both Usagi and Chibi-usa hear a mysterious bell, setting the stage for Sailor Moon Eternal.

Expect to see all these characters return for Sailor Moon Eternal, along with a whole new set of villains plus one notable ally.

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Sailor Moon Eternal streams on Netflix on June 3rd. All 3 seasons of Sailor Moon Crystal are currently streaming on Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Amazon Prime.

The post Sailor Moon Crystal Recap: What You Need to Know Before Netflix’s Sailor Moon Eternal appeared first on Den of Geek.

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lord-squiggletits · 3 years ago

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Watched this video and a short survey of the comments bothered me enough that I felt like making a rambling personal post about it.

It’s funny how much my perspective on G1 is similar to the situation I experienced in one of my previous fandoms, Star Wars. I left SW for specific and probably obvious reasons, but I’m going to be talking about certain elements of it as my personal interpretation/what I hoped for rather than what we actually got from it. Also, this isn’t some sort of formally researched thesis statement but rather observations based on my subjective fandom experience.

Both Star Wars and Transformers are huge science fiction franchises that originated from American creators (at least as far as the G1 cartoons are concerned). They even came out around the same time (in the 80′s) and both became extremely famous and well-liked in popular culture. Both of their original incarnations (A New Hope/the Original Trilogy for Star Wars, and the Generation 1 cartoon for Transformers) continue to be extremely culturally relevant and used as inspiration for new media despite being decades old.

In addition... they also have the same trait of... shall we say, having a large portion of the fanbase heavily focused on nostalgia for the original version?

Going back to my experience in Star Wars, the Sequel Trilogy was the first trilogy that was made during a time that I was old enough to experience it (I was barely even in kindergarten when EP III/the Prequel Trilogy was released). As such, since I had recently binged all of the OT and PT, I was really excited to get into the ST, because finally here was a Star Wars series that was made “during my time” where we were getting new characters and-- literally and figuratively-- passing the torch from the older generation of characters to another.

...Except the issue with the ST is that it was not only made with basically no plan for a cohesive story arc, but the people who made it-- and the fanbase!-- were so blinded by nostalgia for the OT that they cared more about their favorite characters being cool and beloved than they did about making a coherent, next-generation story with new characters. (And that’s only one of the issues the ST had!) For example, there was a TON of fandom hate-wank about “How dare Kylo Ren kill Han Solo!” because everyone was mad about their precious favorite being killed off, and even MORE hate-wank about “#NotMyLuke! How dare Rian Johnson write the Most Loving And Best Jedi Ever as being fallible and having moments of fear and weakness!” Any discussion about the narrative reasons for killing Han/making Luke flawed was constantly derailed by angry accusations of “ruining characters” as a personal middle finger to the original fans. And then of course it culminated in the writers of TROS thinking “Rey Skywalker” was a good idea, as if the family name of Skywalker was nothing more than a toy to be bestowed upon a new character and not... A FAMILY NAME owned by the CENTRAL FAMILY who the entire Star Wars soap opera revolved around! Screw having your new generation character have her own identity (or making the actual Skywalker child Ben Solo get to reconcile with his family)-- let’s make her related to an old villain for no coherent reason and then slap her with the family name of the old heroes! Because being a carbon copy of the original protagonist (right down to being a desert orphan in white with a dark side parent) is the only way to make new characters cool of course!

(Deep breath) Anyways... the point that I’m trying to make is that the Star Wars ST-- a series that I had high hopes for as being a story for “my generation” where new characters would get to take the lead-- fell apart due to both the creators’ and fandom’s obsession with nostalgia and placing the “original” version of the media on a pedestal. The story was entirely catered to a middle-aged audience obsessed with the characters they loved from the OT. The characters were not allowed to be CHARACTERS, narrative devices that are subject to flaws and mistakes in the pursuit of a wider thematic vision, but PARAGONS. None of the new characters were developed to stand on their own, but rather to be cheap copies of the OT characters.

So...how does this relate to Transformers, and the G1 cartoon specifically?

Well... I honestly get the same vibes off of the Transformers fandom about G1 as I do from Star Wars fans about the OT. (Except at least the Transformers fandom isn’t as full of hate, nerd-wanking, and drama.) I always see people talking about G1 Optimus Prime as if he’s the best thing ever and how every other Prime is “boring” or “too stoic” in comparison, and I... honestly disagree with it?

It’s not that I think G1 Optimus is bad at all. He’s definitely fun and charming, and the G1 cartoon, for all its cheapness and painfully obvious flaws, is still worth watching even if all you’re after is some fun entertainment. The only thing that bothers me is just... the veneration for a cartoon that’s what, 40 years old or more at that point?

Sorry if I sound like a snot-nosed, entitled young brat who’s ruining beloved franchises by demanding everything cater to me, but... why? I get that people older than me watched different Transformers media at different times, but...why is the nostalgia for G1 more important than every other possible interpretation of Optimus, or the story in general, out there?

Let me just be frank. I’m a young 20-something. In this franchise that’s decades old, why must the “original” version always be viewed as best simply because of nostalgia? G1 isn’t “my” Transformers. A cartoon that came out 40 years ago with shitty production values that was basically made only to sell toys doesn’t represent the kind of media that I’m interested as a person living in current year. I understand why people would love G1, but... to say that it’s the best iteration of Optimus Prime or the franchise as a whole? Really? You want to travel so far back in time and put on nostalgia goggles so thick that you think a story from 40 YEARS AGO is the pinnacle of writing for this franchise?

I just... I don’t get it at all. Am I just “too young to understand it”? Am I crazy for thinking that we should be enjoying newer stories and creating new molds for the franchise instead of recreating/wishing for G1 over and over again?

I left Star Wars because I was tired of the shitty writing and tired of the shitty nostalgia bias in the fandom/among the writers. Yet it seems I have also joined a fandom that has the exact same problem with nostalgia and comparing everything to the original. Literally the only thing Transformers does better is that the fanbase is less toxic.

#squiggposting #a really really long post #honestly if i were to talk more about my experiences in the SW fandom i think my current perspective on transformers #and fandom in general #would make a lot more sense to everyone who follows me #i once saw a set of graphics that showed the number of movies that were original stories vs remakes over the years #you could literally see the number of original movies shrinking until everything was a sequel or remake #i guess i shouldn't complain when i'm literally a transformers fan... but #as a young person i'm really tired of reading stories that live in the shadows of media that existed decades before i was born #when will franchises start making new stories instead of relying on decades old formulas that primarily appeal to an aging audience #i really don't think it's that hard to ask for #just because it's first doesn't mean that it's best #nor does it mean that every story should be exactly like it

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repentantsky · 4 years ago

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5 Franchises That Should Have Warriors Games

I don't know how new anyone who read this is to Warriors/Musou games. Maybe the game I'm about to reference was a first for you, or maybe you've been with the franchise since it moved to the style it uses today with Dynasty Warriors 2. Whatever the case, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity showed just how capable the style of gameplay is, and I think it would be a massive missed opportunity to not make more spin-offs in that style to bring new fans in. With that said, let's take a look at 5 Franchises that deserve their own Warriors/Musou games.

5. Pokemon.

Pokemon, while it does have some experience with action combat in some spin-off games, most notably it's Mystery Dungeon entries, it's never really gone full in with the idea, but imagine what a success it could be. With so many Pokemon to catch, and so many options for the basis of a story, be it something more serious like the theorized "Pokemon War" that's not mentioned in X and Y, but something more recent, to something more simple, like your team trying to earn it's way into a special tournament by beating rival teams in Warriors style battles, Pokemon is primed and ready to go combat where Pikachu takes out thousands of Mupkip's or Charizard gets to burn a grassy plain full of Roselia. Whatever Pokemon would do with the idea, it could be a lot of fun.

4. Just, everything Atlus.

Atlus has a history of many great characters, and many dark settings, but possibly nowhere could the type of games they like to make be made darker than by the idea of thousands of it's famous, or infamous demons prowling the streets of Tokyo, or the hell, go world wide and capture everything from the Golden Gate Bridge to Big Ben, to the flipping pyramids. An easy story to write would simply be that the God's who have done nothing while their kind of have been murdered by protagonists and their teams over the years are finally going to try to end earth, but their all converging to the planet, caused all the timelines to blend together, and the hero's of each Persona, each Shin Megami Tensei, Last Bible, Etrian and everything beyond all need to work together to put an end to the evil and return to their own homes. It's a plot that could be interesting, and practically writes itself, so get on it Atlus.

3. Castlevania.

The Castlevania series hasn't been the most active as of late, for obvious reasons, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't make for a great Musou experience. Finding yourself, a Belmont in a castle that causes you to see things that aren't there, this Belmont could find power in the illusions they see to create false, but functioning versions of protagonists in their family line, even making up a few to better fill up the roster. From there, it's just fighting the many hoards that are blocking your way through the castle. To create more content, there could even be a second castle that you have to make your way through with harder enemies, much like many people's favorite game in the series, or make it a somehow improved Demon Castle, and simply have it restore itself faster than normal. Regardless, taking on Dracula's supernatural army, sure sounds fun.

2. Final Fantasy.

We already know that Square has dabbled in the Warriors style of combat with it's two entries Dragon Quest's two Hero's entries. Both games were solid, and people love to see their favorite allies from across this legendary series fight together, or against villains from other entries in the franchise. It could even be the next step in the Dissidia franchise, as another round with Chaos himself would be something fans would love. Regardless of what would be done, Final Fantasy is full of iconic characters, iconic monsters, and has more than enough lore to make a fantastic (pun intended) Warriors game. Chaos would be the perfect reason for all the characters to be fighting alongside one another, and the fact that some Warriors games can have a long run time, it gives the potential game plenty of chances to really play into it’s roster of character’s stories, and their abilities to really mess things up, or save the day.

1. Legend of Heroes/Kiseki/Ys

Of all the developers that have really been coming up in the world, Nihon Falcom or NIS America for some, has been making spectacular games for 40 years now. Of all of those, the Kiseki, or Legend of Heroes franchise, is probably their most beloved at this point, and for good reason. The first entry, named Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes, came out way back in 1992, which hello to the 30th anniversary next year by the way, and has had so many fantastic characters it could bring to the a Warriors style game. With action combat something the company is already well versed in thanks to Ys, espeically Y’s IX, and a number of great characters to pull from both franchises, a Warriors game is begging to be made, and hey, maybe Dogi can finally be playable again huh? That would be nice. Jokes aside, it really should be something worth considering.

And that’s my list. Can you think of any other franchises that the Warriors/Musou style of games can fit well into? Let me know in the notes below, reblog this list if it got you thinking, and have a fantastic day!

#warriors #hyrule warriors #Final Fantasy #ys #ys ix: monstrum nox #pokemon #atlus #persona #persona 5 #persona 5 strikers #shin megami tensei #etrian odyssey #the last bible #castlevania #musou

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365days365movies · 4 years ago

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March 1, 2021: The Hobbit (1977) (Part 1)

In a hole in the ground, there lived a Hobbit.

When I was 9, my school let us read a very special book, originally meant for kids, but beloved by everyone. My folks and I went to Borders Books (FUCK ME, I miss Borders), and we got an illustrated copy of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. I can’t find that book, but if I ever find it again, Imma buy it IMMEDIATELY, I tell you what. And...oh shit, it’s on Amazon for $12?

Well. I just made that purchase, I guess. But yeah, I loved that book when I was a kid, and this was during the same year that Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy began, with Fellowship, of course. And I wouldn’t end up watching those until a few years later, but I loved those too when I saw them. And I’ve NEVER seen the abridged version, by the way, I’ve only ever seen the extended editions.

Although, I can’t call myself a hardcore fan. I’ve never read the Silmarillion, for example. Although, weirdly, I wanted it as a kid at some point, so I was almost there. But no, I ended up getting into comic books hardcore instead, so I can’t tell you the history of Tom Bombadil, but I can tell you about at least one of the fuckin’ 87 tieles that the Legion of Super-Heroes has been involved in. I’m not gonna like it though.

...Yes, I will, who am I kidding, I love the Legion. Anyway, I’ve still always been a fan of the franchise, and I was extremely excited when Jackson announced that he’d be doing an adaptation of The Hobbit! Seriously, I WAS FUCKING PUMPED, you have no idea. I re-read the book, I was super-excited...and then Harry Potter changed EVERYTHING. Kind of.

See, Harry Potter’s development as a two films made from one book seemed to kick off a trend. Breaking Dawn and Mockingjay are the two that immediately come to mind, as does this film. However, to be fair...that’s probably a coincidence. Yeah, this film was originally developed as two parts, WAY before Deathly Hallows got that treatment. And even then, Jackson and Del Toro had difficulty breaking it up into two parts, and three ended up being easier. Still...the change from two-to-three does feel a little connected to that trend.

Anyway, in celebration of that decision, I’m gonna break this review into three parts! Yes. Really. I want to see if it works. And so, let’s talk about the other most famous adaptation of this book by talking about its creators.

Yup. Rankin-Bass did 2D-animated cartoons, too! And this was one of their most famous ones, dating back to 1977. But wait! There’s more! This was followed by Ralph Bakshi’s version of Lord of the Rings by a different studio. You know, this one?

Yeah, that one. It was only based on the first two books, Fellowship and Towers. But it was technically unconnected to the Rankin-Bass version. Which is why it was REALLY weird when Rankin-Bass came out with an adaptation of the third book, Return of the King, right afterwards!

BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE. Because both of Rankin-Bass’ specials were animated by a Japanese studio called Topcraft, who’d actually worked with Rankin-Bass for years. But then, they went bankrupt a few years later, and was bought by Isao Takahata, Toshio Suzuki, and...Hayao Miyazaki. And it was renamed as...

So, this is a Hobbit adaptation produced by the Rudolph people and animated by the people who would eventually become Studio Ghibli. Well, uh...holy fucking shit. Let’s DO THIS BABY. SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap (1/3)

As we’re wont to do in this story, we head to Hobbiton in the Shire, where we meet Bilbo Baggins (Orson Bean). A simple Hobbit in a simple home, with a happy and simple life. But one day, he’s approached by Gandalf (John Huston), who seeks a burglar to help with the mission of a group of dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield (Hans Conried).

We also immediately start off with two songs from the original book, and I have to say that I like them a but better in the Jackson movies, but they’re still well performed here. Anyway, after dinner, the true goal of their quest is given. Beneath Lonely Mountain, the ancestral home of the Dwarves, there was a kingdom ruled by the King Under the Mountain, Thorin’s grandfather.

Through reading the lyrics of the song “Far over the Misty Mountains,” Thorin tells the tale of the takeover of the Dwarves’ great golden hoard by the dragon Smaug. Bilbo is tasked to help the Dwarves steal back the treasure stolen from them. And, while he’s extremely reluctant to be a part of all this, Gandalf basically forces him to, the pushy bastard. And Bilbo’s Greatest Adventure now lies ahead!

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Speaking of, here’s the song “The Greatest Adventure”, sung by Glenn Yarborough, who is the living personification of vibrato. Fuckin’ seriously, this guy’s voice is ridiculous, but I love it so much. As the night passes underneath Glenn Yarborough’s hypnotically shaky voice, and uncertain, Bilbo stares out at the moon. Once it’s over, we’re on our way to the Misty Mountains.

Bilbo’s having a tough time with the long journey and rough weather, and it doesn’t get much better when they encounter a trio of trolls. They send out Bilbo to try and steal some mutton from them, but he’s IMMEDIATELY a failure, and also manages to tell the trolls that the dwarves are present. Nice one, Bilbo. The trolls catch all of the dwarves, although Bilbo manages to escape.

The trolls argue about how to cook the dwarves, but before they get to do anything, Gandalf shows up and summons the dawn, turning the trolls into stone and saving the dwarves. While they’re initially quite frustrated by Bilbo’s failure, he makes it up by discovering a horde of goods and weapons stolen by the trolls. This is also where Bilbo gets his classic weapon, Sting.

Gandalf, cheeky bastard that he is, suddenly reveals a map that he’s kept secret from Thorin, its rightful owner. Bilbo, a classic cartomaniac, is able to interpret the map. But there are also runes that they can’t quite read. And so, Gandalf brings them to his friend, Elrond (), who’s wearing a sick-ass glittery tiara that’s hovering off his head. How come Hugo Weaving didn’t have that?

Anyway, Elrond identifies the swords that Thorin and Gandalf grabbed as Orcrist, the Goblin-Cleaver and Glamdring, the Foe-Hammer, because FUCK YEAH, BABY, those are some fuckin’ NAMES! WHOOOOOO!

Anyway, he also points them in the direction of the mountain, and shows them hidden features to the map. They head through the mountains after this, and rest in a cave. Unfortunately, this cave is on Goblin territory, and the group (sans Gandalf, who’s disappeared to make out with Cate Blanchett or whatever) is quickly ambushed by a group of now-horned Goblins, who chant their song as they go “Down, Down, to Goblin-Town”. Which is a song that I love, unironically. It compels me to sing along.

The Goblins nearly kill them when they discover Orcrist in Thorin’s possession, but they’re saved by the sudden appearance of Gandalf with the glowing sword Glamdring. He kills the Great Goblin, and the group run out with the Goblins in hot pursuit. Well, except for Bilbo.

Yeah, Bilbo falls into a cavern below the mountain, and the dwarves think him gone for good. However, he’s miraculously safe on the ground, having landed in an underground aquifer, in which lives THE GREATEST CHARACTER IN THE MIDDLE-EARTH FRANCHISE FUCKIN’ AT ME I DARE YOU

And just so we’re clear, I’m not talking about the film version only, I’m talking about Gollum/Smeagol in general. Granted, I don’t want a film starring him or anything (coughCruellacoughcoughMaleficentcoughcoughClaricecoughcough), but I love this dissociative little dude so much. He’s one of my favorite fantasy characters in general, and is also maybe the best example of a sympathetic villain, in film at least.

OK, to be fair, I love Andy Serkis’ version of the character a LOT, like a LOT a lot, and it’s a great version of the character. OK, so what do I think of this version? He’s...interesting, actually. If I’m honest, I kinda like him. This is similar to how I always pictured Gollum when I was a kid.

I mean, listen to this description from the book, yeah?

Deep down here by the dark water lived old Gollum, a small slimy creature. I don't know where he came from, nor who or what he was. He was Gollum - as dark as darkness, except for two big round pale eyes in his thin face...He was looking out of his pale lamp-like eyes for blind fish, which he grabbed with his long fingers as quick as thinking.

I dunno, that does sound more like this version of Gollum to me, just saying. Anyway, while Gollum is off fishing in the water, Bilbo gets up on the shore, where he finds a little golden ring Not important, just a ring, definitely means nothing at all, NOTHING AT ALL, NOTHING TO SEE HERE.

The hungry Gollum (Brother Theodore) happens upon Bilbo, precious, wonders if Bilbo would taste good, and is basically about to kill him for his sweet hobbit meat, before Bilbo takes out Sting. Now afraid, Gollum offers a game of riddles. The two make a deal: if Bilbo wins at a game of riddles, Gollum will show him the way out. But if Gollum wins, precious will eat him raaaaaaaw and wrrrrrrrrrriggling!

The riddles commence, in a super-fuckin’-classic moment, and also ends with maybe the most bullshit moment in all of fantasy lore. After clever riddles with answers involving eggs, wind, and time, Bilbo’s last riddle is “What’s in my pocket?” The fuck, Bilbo, that’s absolute BULLSHIT!

Not that it matters. Bilbo wins, but Gollum goes to find his ring to show it to Bilbo before he takes him away. Thing is, though, that’s what was in Bilbo’s pocket, which Gollum quickly figures out, my precious. He’s about to kill Bilbo to get back his birthday present, precious, but Bilbo discovers the secret trick of the ring: it turns the wearer invisible, AND THAT WILL NEVER BE A BAD THING EVER.

Gollum thinks that Bilbo’s escaped and runs after him toward the exit. This, of course, leads Bilbo towards the exit inadvertently, and he follows Gollum, then jumps over him to get back. To which Gollum screams the following:

Thief! Thief! Baggins! We hates it! Hates it! Forever!

I hear you, buddy. I hear you. Well, once Bilbo escapes, he reconvenes with the rest, and shares his adventure in the cave, but leaves out the ring. And Gandalf seems to know, based on his dialogue. And I checked, and he figured it out in the book and Jackson movie, too. And I gotta say...WHAT THE FUCK GANDALF

I mean...DUDE. CHECK UP on that shit. Do you wizard job, man! If you’d been like, “Dude...you didn’t find a magic ring that turns you invisible, ight, because we’re FUCKED if you did”, NONE OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS WOULD’VE HAPPENED, AND BOROMIR WOULD STILL BE ALIVE

Everybody talks about the fuckin’ eagles, but WHY DO I NEVER HEAR ANYONE MENTION THIS SHIT? Gandalf the Grey: Middle-Earth’s most irresponsible asshole, I swear...

This seems like a good place to pause, actually. See you in the next part!

#the hobbit #the hobbit 1977 #rankin-bass #orson bean #bilbo baggins #thorin oakenshield #john huston #gandalf #otto preminger #cyril ritchard #brother theodore #gollum #don messick #paul frees #glenn yarbrough #j.r.r. tolkien #rankin bass #hans conried

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kdtheghostwriter · 5 years ago

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Building A Better Protagonist

Yes, predictable I know. But it’s me after all. You should have expected no less. Jokes to the side, though, this fella is in the upper crust of main characters. Certainly of the main characters named ‘Jack.’

A good protagonist is the fuel of any narrative. A bit obvious when broken down like that but many do forget. The audience is more or less stuck with this character for the duration of the story - in some cases for years - so it’s important to give them a good reason to follow along.

There are several ways to do this. The most practiced and effective method is with a dynamic character arc that moves the protagonist both physically and tonally. The wider the arc, the more interesting the story (with other variables added of course).

I almost wrote a similar piece about Kylo Ren, but I don’t feel like tempting Stan Twitter today, so I’ll stick to more familiar waters.

Even in a fictional world, the first impression has to count. It’s different in this context because in real life, someone’s initial opinion of a person is often enough to shape their view of them going forward. When crafting a narrative, one has the advantage of steering that opinion, even changing it from scene to scene.

When we first see Jack, our impression of him is that of every Devil May Care action hero of the era. He’s a mile in the air, about to cross into hostile airspace, and is openly smoking a cigar with minutes left until his base jump. Further on, we get a close up of his shit-eating grin as he spots beehive hanging above an enemy soldier. Functionally, this is just the game directing you toward the easiest way to clear a path without engaging in combat. On top of that we get to see how different this Snake is from the established series protagonist, Solid Snake.

Naked Snake: Slapstick Comedy Enthusiast

Fast forward a bit (past the superhero landing and intro card) and we see something different entirely. Jack is speaking with his mentor for the first time in five years and his demeanor changes. No longer confident and aloof, he is pensive and anxious. Annoyed at the woman known as The Boss for leaving without a proper goodbye. We don’t know who this person is but we know what affect she has on our protagonist. Put a pin by this point.

Jack’s mission is to retrieve a Russian scientist who defected to the States but was transferred back GBA style after the Bay of Pigs. You see, because Jack is a CIA agent during the Cold War. He is devoted completely to the cause of the US Government - observing his directive without protest. This is where his thematic journey starts, so to speak.

The Boss warns him that the Mission is all that matters in war. Your comrades today could be your enemies tomorrow [foreshadowing!!] so it really isn’t worth it getting attached to anyone in the field of battle. This is Jack’s first lesson and the first obstacle he must overcome as his teacher defects to Russia and throws him into a ravine.

(Quick aside here as this piece is about Big Boss and not The Joy and while I think her character is fascinating and complex in equal measure, it would also require another essay entirely. So, quick notes here. She didn’t actually defect. She was a double agent deep undercover trying to intercept a nuclear weapon. The mission went sideways so she had to defect for real to save her cover.)

This is a clear turning point, both in the story and in the character. The warning of The Boss has come true. Your beloved mentor is now the antagonist. Literally the Final Boss: the last person you fight on your journey. Jack spends much of the runtime processing this. He is also told by multiple people on his path (including Ocelot, a triple agent working for your CO) in basic layman’s terms that he has to kill The Boss. She’s an enemy of the State and directly opposes his objective. The bulk of the game is Jack building up the nerve to do this.

We’re a long way removed from the guy smiling and cracking one-liners. Over the course of the story we see him traverse the aforementioned arc. It’s more than just the superficial journey of Point A to Point B. We see Jack move emotionally, becoming more cynical and unsure of his mission. He physically changes, too. Losing an eye halfway through, he spends the rest of the game in the eyepatch he would later become famous for.

Movement of any sort is inherently dynamic. It’s well enough to simply have a character move from one end to another. To add texture to the narrative, though, there should be questions. How long will this journey take your protagonist? Where will it take them? Is the end of their arc the end of the story? Will the journey change them? If it doesn’t, why not? How will the other characters react to them? These are all minor things that add up over time as the audience keeps track of the different moving parts. In this example, it’s important to remember that Snake Eater was the third numbered installment in the Metal Gear franchise. Essentially, a look back in time to see the first steps of Big Boss and his descent from war hero to series villain. To do that, we have to ask questions.

Why did The Boss betray Jack and why does he care? As mentioned before, she had a mission that was compromised. As a double agent in enemy territory, there was no backup to speak of for her. In order to protect the US Government from being implicated in this very covert, very illegal operation she was forced to take the fall as an international terrorist and this is not even the saddest part of this story.

Jack is understandably distraught by this because in addition to being his mentor, it is heavily implied the two lived together for some time. His feelings for her are complicated, but they are obviously quite strong. Once it becomes clear what he has to do, his psyche begins to falter.

How does this change him? To answer that, we get to the real saddest part of this story. The Boss is true to her word from the beginning of the story. Devoted to the mission until the end. She tells the story of her child being born on the battlefield in WWII. She is still a US soldier, but in spirit only. In the interest of avoiding an international catastrophe, The Boss becomes a Russian asset and to make the Heel Turn more convincing, her best student is the one sent to stop her.

In killing her, Naked Snake becomes Big Boss and is so traumatized by the experience, he leaves the Green Berets, goes AWOL in South America and attempts to found a nation-state composed solely of mercenaries. But that’s another game entirely. I don’t need to say this, but Snake is fucked up for life by this. The naïve, bright-eyed soldier we start the game with is crushed by the system he swore to protect and it turns him against it full stop. Big Boss spends the rest of his life warring against it.

Recall if you will what I said about “steering” opinion. We are sympathetic to Snake because we identify the shock and hurt of the betrayal; we want to follow him to victory because of his personal charisma. Then we discover the truth. Worse still, we see the truth through his eyes. That is, the eyes of someone who remembers the exact day they lost contact with their loved one. Five years separated from your favorite person, and you’re reunited in order to end their life. The Boss is no longer the mean woman that tried to kill you in the Act One finale. She’s a tragic figure, specifically because of how we view her through the lens of our main character.

It’s such a powerful weapon in prose. And so, it never fails to astound me to see paid professionals – people in charge of multi-million-dollar franchises – do little or even nothing to exploit this totally free, always effective method of storytelling.

“This is the main character! Clap for them!”

“They’re not doing anything.”

“Clap pls!”

“They haven’t even said anything interesting.”

“They’re tall and have a chiseled jawline! That is worth one clap!”

As the kids would say, make it make sense.

#metal gear solid #mgs3 #snake eater #big boss #the boss #character study #should be working on the batman #but this wouldn't leave me alone

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that-shamrock-vibe · 5 years ago

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D23 Dissect: Emma Stone Is Cruella De Vil

First of all I want to make something quite clear, this is going to be a slightly biased post for the pure and simple reason that Cruella de Vil is not only my favourite Disney Villain but in many regards I feel my spiritual mother.

That being said, I am still going to try and present a balanced view as to why I feel this is a bad idea not just in terms of casting and creative choices over the character, but also just the movie in general.

Background:

I made a post way back when in January 2016 when the announcement that a live-action origin movie based on Cruella de Vil first surfaced, however in the three and a half year time span between that announcement and this first look, nothing has been mentioned so I genuinely believed the idea had been scrapped.

Turns out it was either just shelved in favour of their big live-action remakes, because this at least can’t be a remake due to being a prequel to The Hundred and One Dalmatians, but I desperately wanted this to just be a scrapped idea, yet this is the reality we are now in.

Also to date the character of Cruella de Vil has had three live-action incarnations with Glenn Close, Victoria Smufit and Wendy Raquel Robinson all giving their own unique interpretations to the fur-loving socialite who was first introduced in the original 1958 novel by Dodie Smith and then made famous by Betty Lou Gerson in the 1961 One Hundred and One Dalmatians animated movie.

Cruella is also one of the most well known Disney Villains, she is up there in the top tier along with Maleficent, Jafar, Ursula, Captain Hook and the Evil Queen. So any re-imagining of these beloved characters will always be under a microscope to ensure that whoever is handling them is honouring the legacy of the character, just look at the reactions to the latest trailer for Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.

Disney Live-Action Renaissance:

Well it has finally happened, I strongly feel that everyone has a cut off point when it comes to franchise and brand loyalty and for me the Disney Live-Action Movies have finally reached saturation point for me.

Now again, I know that the remakes are technically a different category to the original movies, but when the movie is drawing inspiration from original material then you have to always compare because you can’t help not to.

Just to clarify, I love the live-action Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Maleficent and I enjoyed Dumbo, Cinderella, The Lion King and the first Alice in Wonderland. But 101 Dalmatians is the first movie to be remade for live-action back in 1996 and it was, for me, a fantastic version of the story.

Cruella:

As I said before, Cruella de Vil as a character holds a special place in my heart and has done since I can remember. So for me, this is a character that when portrayed differently to how they were when I first saw them, I just critically.

Glenn Close is the exception for me because for me she is on the same level as the original animated version and I can almost compare the two enough to see them both as the same character in the same universe.

Victoria Smurfit on Once Upon a Time was another good interpretation. I will admit when she was first introduced the fact she was an alcoholic magic-user who looked more like a drag-version of Patsy Stone than Cruella de Vil was an adjustment but I fell in love with the sadistic and cynical whit she had and her origin episode was brilliant.

Wendy Raquel Robinson is probably my least favourite interpretation to date and I understand she was not meant for a substantional role in Descendants but they turn her from the mad Devil Woman into simply the crazy dog lady. I loved Carlos and he was my favourite character possibly because I wanted to be him but Cruella herself wasn’t great.

In terms of the animated version of the character, because she was the first version I saw I guess I kind of imprinted on her but in both the animated movies and the animated series she’s simply brilliant.

Emma Stone:

Alright so Emma Stone is a marmite actress for me, but in her defence she is in a lot of either niche or marmite movies.

My favourite role of hers is still probably Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man movies and the prospect of at the time seeing her as Spider-Gwen would have been interesting.

Her most recent movie The Favourite was a great role for her, but the movie itself isn’t too memorable. Similarly La La Land was overhyped and Zombieland I haven’t seen.

But from a completely biased judgement, Emma Stone is not the type of actress to portray Cruella de Vil.

Prominently, Emma Stone is American while Cruella is from London. now yes both Glenn Close and Betty Lou Gerson are American but put on the British sophisticate persona, but Emma Stone to me does not have that.

She tried in The Favourite, but she never made me think “Oh yes she’s perfect for Cruella”.

Cruella Origin Movie:

Now in terms of the movie, the main things we know about it firstly are what we see in the released image from D23, where first and foremost I have to say that this looks like a drag version of Cruella de Vil...but a very bad interpreted drag styling.

Why is she wearing leather? Leather may be from a cow, but Cruella de Vil is primarily known for wearing furs rather than leathers yet here she looks like a punk goth with that really heavy eye-shadow

She doesn’t even look like Emma Stone here, genuinely she looks like Helena Bonham Carter. The only thing about this that says Cruella is the two-tone hair because nothing else from the makeup to the outfits says Cruella to me.

Also why the dalmatians, I mean obviously this could be her having captured three dalmatians to turn into a coat but you can’t tell from this photo.

Again going back to Once Upon a Time and Cruella’s origin episode “Sympathy for the De Vil” showed Cruella as a child supposedly at the mercy of her mother who was a dalmatian dog trainer, but when she’s an adult and reveals that she is in fact a villain she turns her mother’s two dalmatians into a coat.

Emma Thompson has been cast in an undisclosed role, but if she’s playing her mother or not we don’t know.

As for Jasper and Horace, aside from the dalmatians, they are my favourite thing about this image. That’s Joel Fry on the right as Jasper and Paul Walter Hauser as Horace on the left, the latter of whom looks authentic as hell aside from the moped.

This is listed as a comedy crime drama fantasy movie, I have to say I find the fact they have comedy as a listed genre for the movie rather offensive. You’re talking about the origin of a woman who hordes furs by having innocent animals like dalmatians skinned. Jasper and Horace can provide comedy fine, but the movie should not be a comedy.

Overall I have to say I am not impressed or confident with this project at all, it is possibly the first time I can safely say I am not looking forward to a Disney movie. I will still see it to judge fairly for myself rather than not seeing it and judging without evidence, but I am not happy.

So those are my thoughts of the upcoming Cruella origin movie starring Emma Stone, what do you guys think? Post your comments and check out more D23 Dissects as well as other posts.

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daughter-of-the-prophet · 5 years ago

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Aveline Vallen (TV Tropes)

Action Girl: Hell yes!

Amazonian Beauty: So far, she's the most muscular woman in the Dragon Age franchise (or any other BioWare franchise) to date, but that's not to say she doesn't have a feminine figure. It's really only seen in the prologue, however.

Babies Ever After: Hints that she regrets never having children with Wesley. After she marries Donnic, separate conversations with Isabela and Fenris reveal that they are considering starting a family in the near future.

Aveline and Donnic eventually have a daughter whom they named after Areida Hawke, Aveline's dear friend who brought her and Donnic.

Badass Normal: Deserves special mention; see Establishing Character Moment below.

Battle Couple: With Wesley and later, Donnic. She definitely prefers someone with whom she can be Back-to-Back Badasses.

Beauty, Brains and Brawn: In a trio with Areida and Bethany, Aveline is the Brawn. She's tall and muscular, skilled with sword and shield, and works as a city guard. The others sometimes make jokes about her being able to lift a cow.

Berserk Button: As mentioned below, do NOT question her loyalty or accuse her of coddling her guards.

Big Good: To Kirkwall in Inquisition, after Areida is forced to leave town. Varric notes that "Kirkwall would probably fall into the sea if she ever quit her job."

Big Sister Mentor: Has some shades of this for Areida and Bethany especially. Some cut-dialogues refer to her cornering most of the party and getting them to practice swordsmanship with her (including the mages) and criticizing their techniques.

Breast Plate: Initially played straight during the prologue sequence, in which she sports form-fitting leather armor. Averted for the rest of the story - the metal plate the guards wear is the same general shape for both men and women, giving Aveline no more chances to show off her assets.

Cannot Spit It Out: Towards Donnic. She tries courting him in more subtle ways, but her methods seem to make sense only to her. One of Aveline's ways of trying to court Donnic causes him to mistakenly conclude that Areida is the one awkwardly hitting on him.

Insane Troll Logic: Eventually, Aveline's efforts to woo Donnic get so bad that even when she does explain the reasoning behind her actions, Areida can't argue directly with them because they make no sense.

The Captain: Served as an officer in the Fereldan Army at Ostagar, and later becomes Captain of the Kirkwall City Guard.

The Champion: To the Hawke family during their first year in Kirkwall. She claims it's just to keep Areida out of trouble.

City Guards: Joins the Kirkwall guard after fleeing Ferelden and is promoted to Captain of the Guard after a mission where she investigates her superior's corruption.

Clear My Name: In Act 3, Cullen alerts Areida that Aveline is accused of coddling her men, and urges her to speak with Aveline and clear up the issue. Aveline takes the accusation extremely personally and goes on a bit of a rampage to settle the matter. See Cowboy Cop, below.

Comically Serious: Especially when paired with Varric and Isabela.

Cowboy Cop: Even as Da Chief, she has no problem telling authority where to shove it and will bend the rules for the sake of her friends.

However, do not ever question whether she is going soft on the men under her command and coddling certain individuals (Donnic). When the Templars force Areida to investigate her on this in Act 3, they set out to prove that Donnic is doing the same routes as the other men, if not more dangerous, and most of her men are fighting for their lives twice a week to keep Kirkwall safe.

Da Chief: Eventually reaches this position on the Guard.

Defector from Decadence: Aveline's mysterious father. "Orlais has a game. He wouldn't play it. I never cared to ask further."

Depending on the Artist: Her official art is... considerably more mannish when compared to her in-story model.

Did We Just Have Tea with Cthulhu?: During the Prologue and on Sundermount in Act 1, Aveline appears to be the only person in the group who actually recognises that talking to the Witch of the Wilds is not something any sane person would want to do.

Drill Sergeant Nasty: Borderline; she trains with each guard individually and makes certain that they know what they are doing. They certainly think that it's Training from Hell. She bonds with each of the guards as well, which takes the edge off of it.

She also asks Areida to allow her to have her dog, Maximus, help her train, to see if her people can handle a "good old-fashioned Mabari charge." Brings about a Pet the Dog moment (almost literally) later, as she rewards Maximus with some contraband mutton that was seized

Establishing Character Moment: One of the first things she does is tackle a darkspawn that severely wounded Wesley and punch it into submission before lever-cutting its head off with its own sword. She proceeds to fight the rest of the horde with the intention of saving her husband or dying with him.

Expose the Villain, Get His Job: Her personal quest in Act 1.

Failure Knight: Her sometimes obsessive need to protect everyone seems to be the reason she latches onto looking after the Hawke family. It is implied to have largely stemmed from her guilt at being unable to save Wesley.

Fantastic Racism: A much more subtle and realistic (and likely unintentional) example than most, but she doesn't see any issue with elves being segregated into impoverished ghettos, nor elves being forced to sleep in stables and out-buildings (just like farm animals) in towns too small to fit an alienage, and seems mildly surprised when Merrill (an elven companion) gets upset to hear it.

She also takes her time looking to the "rumors" of one of her guards raping an elven woman, but immediately cracks down on the brothers of the alleged rape victim (also the ones who accused him) when they got tired of waiting for her to do anything about it and killed him.

Femininity Failure: She gets teased about being "mannish" by hard-drinking, hard-fucking, foul-mouthed Isabela. That's how badly she fails at femininity. That said, it doesn't usually bother or cause any trouble for her, but it does prompt her personal quest in the second act where she needs help getting the guy she's interested in to even realise that she's a woman.

Fire-Forged Friends: At the start of the story, she bonds with the Hawke family when they fight their way out of Lothering together.

Good People Have Good Sex: After Aveline marries Donnic, Isabela offers some tips on how they can spice up their sex life. Aveline lets her know Donnic needs no help in that department.

Hair-Trigger Temper: At least where card games are concerned, according to Fenris and Donnic.

Happily Married: With Wesley before the beginning of the story. Later with Donnic.

Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Areida.

Hollywood Atheist: Averted; Aveline has no issue with the Chantry or those who believe in the Maker (she even married a Templar), but she doesn't seem to believe herself. She says that she thinks the Chant is lovely, but perhaps that is all it needs to be.

Honorary Aunt: Like Isabela, Aveline becomes an Aunt like figure towards Anders and Areida's children. They call her "Aunt Aveline".

Hypocrite: The reason she gives for pursuing the elven vigilantes is "they took the law into their own hands," yet she tolerates Areida taking the law into her own hands every day, and potentially does it herself when she joins Areida on missions.

I Let Gwen Stacy Die: Wesley's death remains a sore spot for her for a good half of the story, partially because she feels she should have been able to prevent it. Her fear of losing anything else drives many of her actions throughout the story.

Idiot Ball: Played for Laughs. She's a bright, talented, and quick-thinking guardswoman... but her intelligence plummets when it comes to dealing with Donnic. Case in point? While trying to be romantic with him, she turns it into a conversation about the sharpness of swords.

Played for Drama when she refuses to look into the cases of kidnapped Hightown women, which contributes to Leandra being kidnapping and murdered by the same serial killer, something she denies any responsibility for afterward.

Jerk with a Heart of Gold: As strict as she can be and as cold as she can be to the other companions, she's fiercely loyal to those she cares about and always attempts to do what she considers to be right.

Lantern Jaw of Justice: Rare female example.

Married to the Job: Apparently the reason she's having such difficulty with romancing Donnic. Even though she was once married, she's thrown herself into her work so much, she's forgotten how not to be a guard for a while.

Matchmaker Quest: Her personal quest in Act 2 involves her attempting to court Guardsman Donnic. They eventually get married.

A Mother To Her Men: Particularly seen in Act 3. The men and women of the city guard revere her, to the point that they unanimously refuse to join ex-Captain Jeven in his smear campaign to have her removed. Donnic says that there's not a single member of the guard who would hesitate to follow her across the Void itself if she asked.

My Beloved Smother: She's not their mother but she definitely acts this way towards the others during party banters, especially Areida and Bethany.

Foreshadowed slightly in Act 1 party banter with Bethany, who asks her why she and Wesley never had children; Aveline explains that their respective careers forced them to put the prospect on hold. When Bethany asks if she regrets it now that Wesley is gone, Aveline replies, not unkindly, that the question is too personal. It's possible that she sees her companions as surrogates for the children she never had. She does however, have a daughter with Donnic.

Named After Somebody Famous: An In-Universe example; Aveline was the name of the first female Chevalier.

She actually doesn't seem fond of the symbolism, (though it fits her perfectly), calling the name "a wish [her] father made," and expressing relief that Fenris doesn't know the story of Ser Aveline. By the end of the story, though, she seems much more sure of herself and has come to terms with it.

Never My Fault: When it comes to being a City Guard, Aveline is always convinced she's right.

She straight-up denies any responsibility for Leandra being kidnapped and murdered, even after Areida asked her to look into the disappearances of Hightown women, which Avline had refused to do despite it being her job as Captain of the City Guard.

No Guy Wants an Amazon: Ser Wesley and Guardsman Donnic are the exceptions that prove the rule; almost everyone else finds her intimidating and off-putting, as other party members point out. According to Isabela, she's a "woman-shaped battering ram."

Non-Answer: When Aveline and Areida go to confront the Arishok, the elven converts claim that one of her guards raped their sister and they tried to report him many times, but got turned away each time. When Areida asks Aveline if this is true, she responds, "There are rumors. I'll look into them."

No Social Skills: Most noticeable during her bizarre efforts to romance Guardsman Donnic.

Not So Above It All: In Act 3, she has evolved an Odd Friendship with Isabela. Any time Aveline deadpan snarks at her, Isabela warmly says, "That's my girl!" At one point, Aveline has apparently invited Isabela to a family dinner, but she didn't show up because she didn't think she'd fit in; Aveline disagrees.

Isabela: "How's marriage been treating you, big girl?"

Aveline: "It's been good. No, great. I'd forgotten what it was like to..."

Isabela: "Be flipped ass over tits and hammered like a bent nail?"

Aveline: "To. Be. Loved."

Isabela: "Oh. Right, of course."

Aveline: (coyly) "Not that I'm complaining about the other thing."

Odd Friendship: With Fenris and Isabela.

The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Aveline invokes this when Arishok says he must take Isabela back along with the book she stole: "Oh, no. If anyone's going to kick her ass, it's me."

Reasonable Authority Figure: As Captain of the Guard. Under her command, the guard is the most efficient and respected it's been in generations, though once Meredith takes over, some of the Templars seem to be making it a point to limit her influence and try to oust her from her position.

Despite her late husband having been a Templar, she refuses to turn Bethany in to the Templars, since she at least tries to do good. She also makes no efforts to turn in Merrill or Anders, and does her best to keep the patrolling guards from taking notice of Fenris squatting in the Hightown mansion.

Replacement Goldfish: Though never outright stated, Aveline maintains her strong bond with Areida likely because she's the closest thing Aveline has to family. Bethany will even question why Aveline continues to follow Areida, and Aveline skirts the answer.

Secular Hero: Aveline is the closest to agnosticism on team Hawke. She married a Templar and sometimes refers to the Maker, but doesn't generally worry about religion and is skeptical of the Chantry's stance that "the less [he] does, the more he's proven".

Aveline: "Wesley's at the Maker's side, or he's not."

Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: The first companion Areida meets, as well as one of the most important ones after becoming captain of the guard.

Slut-Shaming: Does this to Isabela on an extremely regular basis. Isabela takes it in stride.

Skewed Priorities: When a group of elven brothers formally reported that one of her guards raped their sister, she dismisses it as "rumors" that she'll look into eventually. When those same elven brothers killed the guard they reported, Aveline dropped what she was doing to arrest them first thing.

When tentions between the Qunari and Kirkwall are reaching their breaking point, Aveline decides to antagonize the Arishok even further by demanding he hand over the elven converts whose sister she put off seeking justice for, becoming the last straw that breaks his patience and plunging the city into open warfare.

Socially Awkward Hero:

"Yes, and it's a real nice night for an evening."

One of her gifts to Donnic is a copper engraving of marigolds. Odd enough to get a man (and specifically a watchman, who'd you think would be a practical type) a picture of flowers, but in traditional floriography, marigolds represent grief and cruelty. Whoops. Her reasoning behind the gift borders on Insane Troll Logic: "Metal is strong, flowers are soft, copper ages well. I thought it was clear."

Stone Wall: Her specialization focuses on defense and protecting party members. Thanks to her Indomitable ability, she's the only party member with a built-in immunity to the final boss's "stun you all so I can monologue" move. Should she be knocked out, the others' reactions are equal parts concern and astonishment that it actually happened.

Varric: "Sweet mother of green cheeses, how'd they take that woman down?!"

Merrill: "By the Creators, Aveline has fallen!"

Fenris: "Aveline has fallen?"

Straight Man and Wise Guy: The Straight Man to Varric and Isabela's Wise Guy.

Take Up My Sword: Upon first encounter, she wields a two-handed greatsword. After Wesley loses the use of his sword arm, and later dies, she takes up a Sword & Shield style like him. Her starting shield in Act 1 is Wesley's.

Taking Up the Mantle: By the time of Inquisition, Aveline is still leading the guard, and Bran's letter all but calls her Areida's successor as Kirkwall's protector.

Team Dad: Gender-flipped, alongside Varric's Team Mom. Most of her conversations with the party involve her providing some form of advice or critiquing their lifestyle choices. It's also said that she has people spying on most of the others and bends the rules a bit if necessary in hopes of keeping them out of trouble.

She's particularly protective of Areida, and the only person besides Anders who really takes time to console a devastated Areida after her mother's murder. Notably, she's the only companion to whom Areida seems to feel comfortable admitting that "My heart's broken" about the whole thing - even Varric, who is Areida's best friend, doesn't have this conversation.

Made especially clear by a line she says when she drinks a health potion:

Aveline: “I hope no one else needs this!”

To Be Lawful or Good: Establishes herself as being on the "Good" side of things at all times early in Act 1, despite having only just taken the job. She remains lawful only so long as it is useful in her quest to do good. When the two conflict, there is never a moment's hesitation in her mind.

Tragic Keepsake: Wesley's shield. She later clarifies it's less about Wesley and more just holding onto the last pieces of her old life.

Tsundere: A Type A, especially towards Isabela. Wesley and Donnic both seem to be the only people who constantly get her softer side.

Vitriolic Best Buds: With Isabela towards the end of the story. She eventually starts barking "Shut up, whore" with an obvious twinge of affection.

Widow Woman: Ser Wesley, her Templar husband, dies shortly after meeting the Hawke family due to darkspawn taint. Aveline Mercy Kill him. She eventually remarries, though.

Workaholic: The Codex notes that her life revolves around guarding others; when she's not on-duty as a city guard, she's guarding Areida and her friends. After her personal quests are completed, she starts to relax a little bit. Discussed by Varric in some dialogue in Act 1, when he asks what she does.

Aveline: "You know I'm a guard, why are you asking?"

Varric: "I mean in your off-duty hours? For fun? You've heard of it, I hope?"

Aveline: "These are my off-duty hours."

Varric: "And the trend of you scaring the piss out of me continues..."

You Can't Go Home Again: Discussed. "That's supposed to be about maturity. It's not the same if you don't have the option."

#dragon age #dragon age 2 #aveline vallen #TV Tropes

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hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger · 6 years ago

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Suggestions for where could the MCU go after phase 3?

With the rights to the X-Men and Fantastic 4 characters back at Marvel, I wanted to throw out some suggestions for films the MCU could now pull off, beyond just saying ‘a F4 movie’ or ‘an X-Men/X-Factor/X-Force/New Mutants movie’

· Dark Avengers: Pretty much confirmed at this point and also a logical place to go after 4-5 movies with heroic Avengers

· Secret Invasion: The MCU has a tendency to borrow more heavily from stories made during the late 1990s-now, especially during Quesada and Bendis’ reigns. This is possibly informed by the fact that both men were part of the MCU’s creative committee initially and were also in power when Marvel were seriously preparing the ground work to be their own studio in the 2000s. As such Secret Invasion, being a Bendis event story, would be a possible option at the best of times. But with the Skrulls established, no ifs or buts about owning the rights to characters like Super Skrull and Secret Invasion being the most famous Skrull story ever (which has already been adapted at least once in Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes) it’s all but inevitable that we’ll get this story. The temptation to bring back dead or otherwise retired characters, to play a game of mistrust between the heroes and to generate Super Skrulls who have zany combinations of different heroes powers is too irresistible

· A Sam Alexander Nova movie: The Nova Corps have been a thing since 2014 in the MCU. There is speculation that Spider-Man: Homecoming may well have once been a proto-Sam Alexander Nova script. Sam Alexander himself has been in the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon (which is produced by Marvel themselves) and he’d add yet more diversity to the MCU. There is speculation that Marvel’s insistence upon pushing him as Nova over the original Richard Rider Nova may well have been the result of their test piloting him for an inevitable film. Now he isn’t all that popular, but the MCU has not been shy (unfortunately) of combining the traits of characters and their legacy counterparts. See Spider-Man, Black Widow, Ant-Man, etc. So we may well get a Sam Alexander Nova movie in name but elements could be swiped from Richard Rider. Specifically his mid-2000s solo book by Abnett and Lanning. Not only was this a beloved book but it was also a sister title to their Guardians of the Galaxy title which of course later inspired Marvel Studios to make the GotG movies. In particular there is one story Nova (Richard Rider mind you) was heavily affiliated with and had a blockbuster quality to it. And that story was...

· Annihilation: The OTHER massive 2006 Marvel crossover event book (that was actually good unlike Civil War), Annihilation reignited Marvel Cosmic and in doing do laid the groundwork for the rise of the modern Guardians of the Galaxy. The villain is of course Annihilus, whom Marvel Studios now definitively own the rights to. Annihilation could work as a Guardians movie, a Nova movie (Captain America: Civil War is an example of a crossover event comic turned into a solo film) or a MCU Phase finale ala Age of Ultron or Infinity War/Endgame. Possibly it could be a crossover between Guardians and/or Nova and/or the Fantastic Four. Like Civil War it may well be used to launch new films, like the F4 or, considering they were heavily involved in the event itself...

· A Galactus movie: Not a solo film, but a movie where Galactus is the big bad. There are lots of options for this. As I said Annihilation could be used to set up Galactus or could make use of him after he’s already appeared to sell you on the threat Annihilus poses (which would work better in a Phase finale). Alternatively Marvel could risk essentially remaking F4: Rise of the Silver Surfer but better (it has been over 10 years since it flopped). Or they could simply use him as the Big Bad of one their Phase Finales (Galactus served as the final villain of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, which involved the F4 so there is a precedent here). Or they could just use him as the main villain or a main player in...

· Silver Surfer: A Silver Surfer movie has been discussed since the 1990s and almost happened in the 2000s after Rise of the Silver Surfer. With the rights back to one of, if not THE, most quintessential of Marvel’s cosmic heroes the MCU is likely going to want to finally make use of all those proposals and put something together. If nothing else it’s guaranteed he will show up sooner or later.

· A movie featuring Super Skrull movie: Nothing really to add to this. Marvel own the Skrulls. They own the characters Super Skrull’s powers come from. He’s the most famous Skrull character out there. He’s one of the more memorable F4 villains. Just plain economics at that point.

· House of M/Decimation: An Avengers/X-Men event crossover involving Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange and Magneto and straight from the pen of Bendis himself and originally published when we were waist deep in his and Quesada’s tenure at Marvel. It would somewhat depend upon the state of the Avengers post Phase 3 but you could easily tweak this story to make it purely an X-Men movie that involves Wanda somehow, especially when we consider Wolverine is arguably the lead character of it. The story itself might not be adapted exactly but the concept of Wanda essentially erasing most mutants from Earth would make for a compelling place for the new wave of X-Men movies to go, but probably not early on into their introduction into the MCU

· War of Kings/Realm of Kings: Another Abnett/Lanning crossover event, this one crosses over the Starjammers (who’re the X-Men’s Guardians of the Galaxy though they predate the team by 3 decades), a few X-Men, the Guardians themselves, the classic Guardians (Yondu, etc), the Shi’ar and the Inhumans. Now maybe the Inhumans are out of bounds given their terrible TV show but these are stories with a lot of scope that involve X-Men franchise characters and Guardians characters and is again from an era the MCU has proven it likes to swipe from

· Trial of Jean Grey: I tentatively suggest this one because it’s more based upon the fact that it’s a Bendis story involving the Guardians and the X-Men rather than the actual events of the story itself. Along those same lines though:

· Black Vortex: A much more recent crossover which is also courtesy of mostly Bendis and is also a Guardians/X-Men crossover. I’m suggesting a lot of cosmic X-stuff mostly because the MCU would likely seek to do something new with the X-Men and no matter what Dark Phoenix does, cosmic stuff is not the most explored territory for any X-Men movie so far

· Secret Wars 1984: Secret Wars was arguably the first ever Marvel crossover event comic and Marvel Studios now have access to ALL the characters involved. The story itself might not be suitable to be a movie on it’s own but then again neither was Civil War and Feige et al turned that into one of the most beloved MCU entries ever. So you could do something with that, especially with a truly Godlike being like the Beyonder. Like Infinity War it could well be a crossover movie that centres upon a villain, specifically...

· Doctor Doom: Of course we will see Dr. Doom eventually in the MCU. But given he’s been in 4/4 F4 movies thus far its likely he’ll be benched for awhile and built up. But my suggestion would be to not simply make him a villain but make him (possibly in his debut) a villain protagonist. This might sound nuts but Doom has headlined his own ongoing before, more than once in fact. He’s a villain yes, but a complex one, in fact Stan Lee and Jack Kirby themselves made him the lead of a story in one of their earliest F4 Annuals, revolutionary for the time. It seems fitting that Doom be granted the distinction of being a villain protagonist when DC are maybe doing a Joker movie and Doom is himself the quintessential villain of the Marvel Universe.

· Secret Wars 2015: Alternatively down the line you could do something akin to Secret Wars 2015, wherein the universe is destroyed and reconstructed from the remnants, ruled over by Doctor Doom with Reed Richards and a handful of other heroes as the sole survivors against God Emperor Doom.

· Annihilation Conquest: Mostly this story features the same players from Annihilation (minus Annihilus himself) and was also the formation of the modern Guardians under Peter Quill. So it’s a story Marvel are obviously aware of and could be very ambitious for them to do because it’d be the return of an old defeated villain, specifically Ultron but an Ultron now facing off against new foes and in a very different cosmic context. And it heavily involved the Technarchy/Phalanx whom Marvel studios now own the rights to. Whilst they could do a Phalanx Covenant movie for the X-Men Annihilation Conquest is another 2000s Abnett and Lanning affair whilst the former is a 1990s story that in concept wouldn’t be that different from Age of Ultron but with the X-Men

· Inferno: This was a general Marvel Universe event but focussed upon the X-Men. I already mentioned how the MCU would likely wanna do new things with the X-Men franchise and an area the older movies never touched upon was the demonic stuff the X-Men got involved with, which Inferno was all about. Even as just an X-Men movie Inferno could be interesting but as a crossover it could be a chance to allow the New York based heroes to fight off demons and demonically possessed objects. The MCU, for better or worse, also like brainstorming their movies as ‘This classic movie/classic type of movie but with super heroes’. E.g. Ant-Man was a heist movie, Homecoming was a John Hughes coming of age movie, Captain Marvel was informed by True Lies among other things. Inferno, and this was part of it’s original concept in the 1980s, was essentially the Marvel universe riffing on Ghostbusters. If they promoted it that way they’d make a shed load of cash!

· Avengers vs. X-Men: This is 100% inevitable. Not because it’s a 2012 very modern story. Not because it was written by Bendis. Not because it even happens to feature the Avengers and the X-Men. No it’s inevitable because any movie with that name alone would sell like hot cakes and it’s the next logical step in the escalation of the MCU. Avengers Assemble was crossing over solo heroes. Civil War was the Avengers fighting themselves. Infinity War was EVERYONE showing up. AvX is the Avengers fighting another superhero team. It could replicate the appeal of Civil War on a certain level but there is more bank off the decades long beloved X-men fighting the more recently beloved Avengers. And it could possibly lead to...

· Uncanny Avengers: Basically a team movie where Avengers characters and X-Men characters are on a team together. Not really any particular story in mind but just in concept it could be a possibility. And that in turn might lead to...

· AXIS: The unfortunately named 2014 crossover event starring the Avengers and the X-Men the concept of which was the heroes go bad, the villains go good. In particular if you’ve set up the Dark Avengers then this story could make for a fun pseudo Freaky Friday movie and is again a logical escalation of where we’ve been up until now

· A Wolverine and Captain America period piece: Heavily dependant upon what Chris Evans future holds and whether Marvel will want to return to the cash cow that is Wolverine, but this has happened repeatedly in the comics, it’s happened repeatedly in the cartoons, it’s a movie that sells itself much as AvX did. Throw in the possible return of Peggy Carter and people will buy this. Yeah it’s a prequel but we’re already doing prequels now because of Captain Marvel and I’d be willing to be people would be even more hyped about this.

· Infinity War: Not the movie, the comic. Just as a basic concept the heroes fight evil edge lord versions of themselves seems like a cool concept to go with in the future, its another logical escalation of what we’ve seen so far and could allow the actors to have a lot of fun

· Infinity Crusade: I’m suggesting this more because I honestly have no idea what the benefit of introducing Adam Warlock is AFTER you’ve already adapted the Infinity Gauntlet into a movie. Even though strictly speaking Adam Warlock wasn’t the focal point of this crossover event you could tweak it so he was.

· The Guardians stories involving the Magus: I tell a lie, there is ONE other thing you could do with Adam Warlock and tell a story about him possibly becoming his own evil future self the Magus. This happened in his solo book from the 1970s (which debuted Gamora btw) but it also got revisted in Abnett and Lanning’s tenure on Guardians of the Galaxy

· An original Guardians movie: So far whenever a MCU hero concludes their own trilogy they might stick around into other films but their own film series is caput. With Guardians Vol. 3 on the horizon Marvel could switch things up by making a second trilogy based upon the ORIGINAL Guardians (Yondu, Starhawk, Aleeta, etc) who were introduced in Guardians Vol. 2. They had a loooooooooong history and their own solo book, which involved Mephisto (whom Marvel has had the rights to for awhile now) and many other characters so there is enough material to make into a trilogy.

· Maximum Security: Even though a major player is Ronan, this story is definitely a crossover with movie scope as the assembled body of various alien races (the Shi’ar, the Kree, the Skrulls, etc) band together and decide that Earth should be turned into a prison planet for alien criminals, one of which is Ego the Living Plane himself. Obviously you’d have to change some things but this could be an ambitious Avengers/ X-Men crossover film

· A movie where Rogue steals Carol Danvers powers: Rogue stealing Carol Danvers’ powers is a famous part of both heroes’ histories and it’d give a uniqueness to MCU Rogue over her XCU counterpart.

· The Fall of the Shi’ar Empire: Suggested as the MCu looks to cosmic stuff to give their movies scale, the Shi’ar are cosmic, they now have the rights to them and as previously mentioned Marvel Studios looks a lot to more modern stories for inspiration and this arc stems from the 2000s

· Holy War: It’s an X-Men story about vampires involving Dracula whom Marvel now has the rights to again since Dracula is a Blade character

· Messiah Trilogy: Following on from House of M/Decimation, the Messiah Trilogy is a modern trilogy of X-Men stories that culminated in AvX and had Bendis input so it’s more likely than not that Marvel studios will look to it for inspiration eventually

· Midnight Sons: In the 1990s Marvel’s consistently strongest out put was their horror/supernatural titles including Blade, Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider, etc. They formed a team, a supernatural Avengers if you will, at one point and so this seems like a nice money maker for Marvel to go for now they have Blade back and have already established Ghost Rider.

· Siege: I duno how given how Asgard is GONE, but the Dark Avengers eventually led to Siege so if we’re getting the former we’re probably going to get the latter. Bonus points because Bendis was involved with it.

· Operation Galactic Storm: This is fundamentally an Avengers story so maybe it’s less likely to happen post-Phase 3 but I suggest it because it’s a story that hinges upon the X-Men’s Shi’ar and the Kree who’ve been built up more in Captain Marvel, specifically the Supreme Intelligence who plays a major role in this story.

And my final suggestion, which I’d actually place money on panning out would be...

· Onslaught: I’m dead serious. Even though it’s a much derided (unfairly imo) mid 1990s crossover that existed specifically to reboot the Avengers and F4, it is still a massive and ambitious storyline that is at it’s heart totally and utterly a crossover between the Avengers, the X-Men AND the Fantastic Four. Whereas other crossovers either split things between two groups or favours one over the others, Onslaught is just about the ONLY Marvel crossover event story I know of which makes a big deal out of all three of Marvel’s most famous superhero teams. To me it seems like the absolute most logical story to serve as the basis for not just a Phase finale but as a Grand Finale to all that came before much like Infinity War. Marvel have proved they can turn questionable comic book arcs into solid films and that they are not above looking to the 1990s for inspiration

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dalekofchaos · 6 years ago

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My Ideas for what they can have Indy search for in Indiana Jones 5

Indiana Jones 5 will eventually come out and since there is no title to indicate what Indy will be searching for, here are some ideas I have that I’d love to see in a Indiana Jones 5!

The Voynich Manuscript. is a 240-page document (though some pages are missing) which is believed to be around 600 years old. Despite years of research and analysis, nobody actually knows what it says. Cryptographers all over the world have been stumped by its mysteries, and its true purpose remains a mystery to this day. Maybe Indiana Jones, genius explorer, could figure out the secret of the Manuscript.We could easily envision Indy's next adventure revolving around deciphering the meaning of the curious text and following its instructions on some kind of ancient treasure hunt, all while being pursued by villains. In this respect, the Manuscript could function like a more esoteric version of Dr. Henry Jones's diary from The Last Crusade, dragging Indy and his allies to a variety of wild places in the search of fortune and glory, while focusing the story and keeping the action moving at a blistering pace.

Holy Lance/the Spear of Destiny/the Spear of Longinus. the Spear of Longinus is said to be the weapon which pierced the dying Jesus of Nazareth as he hung from the cross. According to Christian legend, Longinus is said to have been so moved by the events of the crucifixion that he dedicated the rest of his life to spreading Jesus's teachings, and is today remembered as a Holy Saint. Numerous cities claim to hold the Spear of Longinus today, though such a claim is practically impossible to verify.If there's one (fictional) man who could find a way to prove the legitimacy of any of the so-called Holy Lances, it's Indiana Jones. The man has prior experience with biblical artifacts, having successfully tracked down both the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail. We trust in Indy to recover the spear from... Let's say, satanic occultists, and put it in a museum, where it belongs.

Al Capone‘s Treasure. Al Capone is probably the most famous gangster of all time; during the late 1920s, Capone practically had the whole of Chicago under his thumb. Eventually, he was busted for tax evasion (of all crimes) and sent to Alcatraz prison. He died in 1947. However, years later, secret tunnels belonging to the dead gangster were discovered, including locked vaults, and Geraldo subsequently hosted a two-hour television special dedicated to opening the vault. In the end, however, only a handful of empty moonshine bottles were found.What if Indiana Jones did battle with the mob over Al Capone's treasure, which is the reason why it was empty in 1986? Indy fighting against Mafia hitmen in a big city would be a cool change of pace for the character. Likewise, pursuing a more modern treasure would offer a new take on the classic Indy formula.

Pandora’s Box. Pandora's Box contained all of the evil in the world, as well as hope, which was all humanity was left with to protect themselves after the box was opened. Indiana Jones has surprisingly not explored Greek mythology in the movies, and we think it's time to change that. We'd love to see Indy chase after some secret cabal of evil-doers across scenic Greece in a race to discover Pandora's Box and the power concealed within.Also, Pandora's Box would be a good place for Disney to go if they want to try to evoke the first film in the series, Raiders of the Lost Ark. Both the Ark of the Covenant and Pandora's Box are mysterious chests containing a powerful esoteric force within that can presumably destroy entire armies in an instant. Maybe the movie can even use these similarities to make an attempt to connect the Christian and Greek mythologies.

Excalibur. The mythology of King Arthur and his knights of the round table is universally known in one form or another. From the Disney classic, The Sword in the Stone, to Guy Ritchie's upcoming King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. King Arthur's iconic signature weapon is Excalibur, given to him by the Lady of the Lake; in most versions of the legend, Excalibur is not the same as the Sword in the Stone, contrary to popular belief.We know that Indy is a whip-and-six-shooter kind of guy, but we still would love to see him wield the famous sword of Arthurian legend, perhaps doing battle with evil knights clad in full armor or some other sinister villains who want to seize the blade's power to blind its enemies, and make the wielder immune to damage. Unless they're going up against Daredevil, any army that went up against Excalibur would be useless against its great might. This one definitely "belongs in a museum."

The Fountain Of Youth. Indiana Jones is old. Harrison Ford is 74 years old, and will be 79 when Indy 5 comes out in 2021. What if Indiana Jones discovers the fountain of youth about halfway through Indy 5, and we are treated to a gloriously young and vibrant version of the swashbuckling hero? Maybe the effect will wear off or have some kind of undesirable side-effect, and Indy will have to accept that it's okay to be old, and resolve to make the most of the time he has left. This will satisfy the audience's desire to see a young Indy, as well as tackle the perceived problem of Harrison Ford's advanced age all without having to resort to recasting one of cinema's most adored and respected characters.

The Tower of Babel. Biblical lore suggests that the tower existed during the days of Babylon, but that God mysteriously destroyed the edifice and cursed its erectors. The video game takes this legend one step further; Indy suggests that the Tower may have housed a legendary machine, which the Soviets want to use in order to summon a malevolent deity known as Marduk to Earth. This particular storyline maintains the traditionally biblical nature of the Indy franchise, but cranks the stakes up to eleven by having Indy quite literally prevent an apocalyptic event.

The Knife of Cain. The Knife of Cain is an artifact that appeared in the 1990 novel Young Indiana Jones and the Secret City. Taking inspiration from the legendary story of Cain and Abel from the Old Testament, it’s believed that the knife was used to commit the first recorded act of murder in the history of existence. The Indy story suggests that the knife’s power would reveal itself every time the stars, planets, and moons aligned in the same position as they were when Cain murdered his brother Abel, and that the power endowed by the knife would afford the one in control of it the power to conquer the world. That's a lot of pressure to put on a kid, so an older, more seasoned Indy may have a better chance of winning this time around.

The Labyrinth of the Minotaur. Another entry from Greek mythology, the next installment in the landmark franchise could see our hero lost in a maze, searching for the fabled Minotaur. Having Indy scower the Labyrinth of the Minotaur on the island of Crete could offer the Indiana Jones franchise a refreshing change of pace. Rather than a globetrotting adventure, the entire movie could be restricted to a cat-and-mouse game between our favorite archaeologist and a monster possessing the head of a bull and the body of a man. Using only his wits, the equipment he brings with him, and the thread of Ariadne, Indy would have to navigate the Labyrinth, defeat the Minotaur, and get out alive

Montezuma’s Treasure. Montezuma was an Aztec king that was responsible for major expansion of the Aztec Empire. But then a bunch of Spaniards showed up and started slaughtering the Aztecs, so Montezuma rounded up a bunch of gold and other valuables and sent them north, out the hands of the Spaniards.Fast forward a couple thousand years to 1914, when a prospector named Freddy Crystal would find a stone etching in southern Utah that matched a symbol on a map said to lead to Montezuma’s treasure. This symbol led to the discovery of a vast network of caves, laced with booby traps that claimed the lives of more than a few treasure seekers.Now, the great thing about this treasure is that entire story is verifiably true. And, like the Bermuda Triangle, this treasure fits wonderfully into Indy’s timeline.Last Crusade’s opening scene, as I mentioned before, takes place in 1912, when Indy is just thirteen years old. And where is he living in 1912, and thus likely in 1914 when Freddy Crystal would begin the search for Montezuma’s treasure? That’s right, Moab, Utah, the exact geographical location of Crystal’s search. Surely young Indy would have heard of Crystal’s excavation, and maybe could have even been a part of it. There you go, Disney. There’s half a screenplay for you right there. Indy needs to go on a good, old-fashioned treasure hunt, because, after all, what does he want most in life?Fortune and glory, kid. Fortune and glory.

Atlantis. One of the most well-known and beloved ideas in all of mythology, the lost city of Atlantis is a world that exists at the bottom of the ocean and has informed numerous works across all of pop culture. We’ve seen Indy trek through deserts, jungles, and ruined cities, but we’ve never seen him wholly envelope himself in another world, so this could represent the next major step for the franchise.

#Indiana Jones #Indiana Jones 5 #Harrison Ford

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aion-rsa · 4 years ago

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The Best Horror Movies to Stream

https://ift.tt/36P7Are

Updated for October 2020

The world of streaming horror movies can be an overwhelming place.

Let’s say you’ve got your Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu and HBO Max subscriptions all set and ready. Now you want to get terrified with the best horror movies you can find in time for Halloween. But there are so many options! What’s a horror addict to do?

Here you’ll find the master list. That’s right, we’ve hand-selected only the absolute best and most terrifying horror movies available on all the major streaming services and combined them here for your streaming (or screaming) pleasure.

Be sure to let us know if you make it through all 31!

Apostle

Available on: Netflix

Apostle comes from acclaimed The Raid director Gareth Evans and it’s his take on the horror genre. Spoiler alert: it’s a good one.

Dan Stevens stars as Thomas Richardson, a British man in the early 1900s who must rescue his sister, Jennifer, from the clutches of a murderous cult. Thomas successfully infiltrates the cult led by the charismatic Malcom Howe (Michael Sheen) and begins to ingratiate himself with the strange folks obsessed with bloodletting. Thomas soon comes to find that the object of the cult’s religious fervor may be more real than he’d prefer.

Apostle is a wild, atmospheric, and very gory good time.

The Blackcoat’s Daughter

Available on: Netflix

Some kids dream about being left overnight or even a week at certain locations to play, like say a mall or a Chuck E. Cheese. One place that no one wants to be left alone in, however, is a Catholic boarding school.

That’s the situation that Rose (Lucy Boynton) and Kat (Kiernan Shipka) find themselves in in the atmospheric and creepy The Blackcoat’s Daughter. When Rose and Kat’s parents are unable to pick them up for winter break, the two are forced to spend the week at their dingy Catholic boarding school. If that weren’t bad enough, Rose fears that she may be pregnant…oh, and the nuns might all be Satanists.

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A24 Horror Movies Ranked From Worst to Best

By David Crow and 3 others

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Katharine Isabelle on How Ginger Snaps Explored the Horror of Womanhood

By Rosie Fletcher

The Blackcoat’s Daughter is an excellent debut directorial outing from Oz Perkins and another step on the right horror path for scream queens Shipka and Emma Roberts.

The Cabin in the Woods

Available on: Amazon Prime

A remote cabin in the woods is one of the most frequently occurring settings in all of horror. What better location for teenagers to be tormented by monsters, demons, or murderous hillbillies? Writer/Director Joss Whedon takes that tried and true setting and uses it as a jumping off points for one of the most successful metatextual horror movies in recent memory.

Like you would expect, The Cabin in the Woods features five college friends (all representing certain youthful archetypes, of course) renting a….well, a cabin in the woods. Soon things begin to go awry in a very traditional horror movie way. But then The Cabin in the Woods begins doling out some of the many tricks it has up its sleeve. This is a fascinating, very funny, and yet still creepy breakdown of horror tropes that any horror fan can enjoy.

The Changeling (1980)

Available on: Shudder

A classic haunted house ghost story that frequently makes horror best of lists The Changeling sees a bereaved composer move into a creepy mansion that’s been vacant for 12 years. Vacant that is, except for the spirit of a little boy who met an untimely death…

An unravelling mystery with a sense of intrigue and pathos that draws you into the narrative, all the way to the sad and disturbing final act revelation.

City of the Living Dead

Available on: Amazon Prime

Italian horror director Lucio Fulci kicked off his famous “Gates of Hell” trilogy with this gruesome, crude but surreal 1980 gorefest, in which a reporter (Christopher George) and a psychic (Catriona MacColl) struggle to stop those gates from opening and letting a horde of hungry undead into the world.

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The Horror Movies That May Owe Their Existence To H.P. Lovecraft

By Don Kaye

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How Relic Explores our Most Primal Fears

By Rosie Fletcher

Fulci loosely based the movie on the works of H.P. Lovecraft, vying for the latter’s brooding atmosphere while indulging in his own trademark splatter. The results are somewhat slapdash but a must-see for Italian horror fans. Followed by the much better The Beyond (1980) and House by the Cemetery (1981).

The Dead Zone

Available on: Amazon Prime

The Dead Zone strangely remains both one of Stephen King’s more underrated movie adaptations as well as one of director David Cronenberg’s more unsung efforts. Yet it ends up being among the best from both author and auteur, while also providing star Christopher Walken with one of his most moving, complex performances to date.

Upcoming Stephen King Movies and TV Shows in Development

By Matthew Byrd and 6 others

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Jason Blum Promises “Faithful” New Adaptation Of Stephen King’s Firestarter

By Don Kaye

Walken’s Johnny Smith awakens from a coma to find out he’s lost five years of his life but gained a frightening talent to touch people and see both their deepest secrets and their future. Whether to use that power to impact the world around him is the choice he must face in this bittersweet, eerie and heartfelt film, which found Cronenberg moving away from his trademark body horror for the first time.

Doctor Sleep

Available on: HBO Max

Let’s be up front about this: Doctor Sleep is not The Shining. For some that fact will make this sequel’s existence unforgivable. Yet there is a stoic beauty and creepy despair just waiting to be experienced by those willing to accept Doctor Sleep on its own terms.

Directed by one of the genre’s modern masters, Mike Flanagan, the movie had the unenviable task of combining one of King’s most disappointing texts with the opposing sensibilities of Stanley Kubrick’s singular The Shining adaptation.

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Doctor Sleep: Inside the New Overlook Hotel

By John Saavedra

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Doctor Sleep Ending Explained

By John Saavedra

And yet, the result is an effective thriller about lifelong regrets and trauma personified by the ghostly specters of the Overlook Hotel. But they’re far from the only horrors here. Rebecca Ferguson is absolutely chilling as the smiling villain Rose the Hat, and the scene where she and other literal energy vampires descend upon young Jacob Tremblay is the stuff of nightmares. Genuinely, it’s a scene you won’t forget, for better or worse….

The Evil Dead

Available on: Netflix

1981’s The Evil Dead is nothing less than one of the biggest success stories in horror movie history.

Written and directed on a shoestring budget by Sam Raimi, The Evil Dead uses traditional horror tropes to its great advantage, creating a scary, funny, and almost inconceivably bloody story about five college students who encounter a spot of bother in a cabin in the middle of the woods. That spot of bother includes the unwitting release of a legion of demons upon the world.

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Evil Dead Movies: The Most Soul Sucking Moments

By David Crow

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Living with the Cult Legacy of Evil Dead

By Hannah Bonner

The Evil Dead rightfully made stars of its creator and lead Bruce Campbell. It was also the jumping off point for a successful franchise that includes two sequels, a remake, a TV show, and more.

A Field in England

Available on: Amazon Prime

2013’s A Field in England presents compelling evidence that more horror movies should be shot in black and white.

Directed by British director Ben Wheatley, A Field in England is a kaleidoscope of trippy, cerebral horror. The film takes place in 1648, during the English Civil War. A group of soldiers is taken in by a kindly man, who is soon revealed to be an alchemist. The alchemist takes the soldiers to a vast field of mushrooms where they are subjected to a series of mind-altering, nightmarish visions.

A Field in England is aggressively weird, creative, and best of all clocks in at exactly 90 minutes.

Fright Night

Available on: Amazon Prime

Screenwriter-turned-director Tom Holland lets a jaded, smarmy vampire named Jerry Dandridge loose in suburbia and watches the blood spurt in this beloved ‘80s horror staple.

Chris Sarandon brings a nice combination of amusement and menace to the role of the bloodsucker, while Planet of the Apes veteran Roddy McDowall is endearing as a washed-up horror host recruited into a real-life horror show. Much of Fright Night is teen-oriented and somewhat dated, but it still works as a sort of precursor to later post-modern horror gems like Scream.

Green Room

Available on: Netflix

Green Room is a shockingly conventional horror movie despite not having all of the elements we traditionally associate with them. There are no monsters or the supernatural in Green Room.

Instead all monsters are replaced by vengeful neo-Nazis and the haunted house is replaced by a skinhead punk music club in the middle of nowhere in the Oregon woods. The band The Aint Rights, led by bassist Pat (Anton Yelchin) are locked in the green room of club after witnessing a murder and must fight their way out.

Hellraiser (1987)

Available on: Shudder

Directed by Clive Barker based on his novella The Hellbound Heart, Hellraiser is an infernal body horror featuring S&M demons who’ve found a way out of a dark dimension and want to take you back there.

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Michael Myers vs Pinhead: The Hellraiser/Halloween Crossover That Never Was

By Jack Beresford

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Ranking the Hellraiser Movies

By Jamie Andrew

This is the movie which introduced chief Cenobite Pinhead (played by Doug Bradley) – who would return for seven more Hellraiser sequels. But the first is of course, remains the edgiest and the best. Hellbound: Hellraiser II is also available.

Hereditary

Available on: Amazon Prime

Between Hereditary and The Haunting of Hill House 2018 was a great year for turning familial trauma into horror.

Written and directed by Ari Aster, Hereditary follows the Graham family as they deal with the death of their secretive grandmother. As Annie Graham (Toni Collette) comes to terms with the loss, she begins to realize that she may have inherited a mental illness from her late mother…or something worse.

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Hereditary: The Real Story of King Paimon

By Tony Sokol

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Hereditary Ending Explained

By David Crow

Hereditary is terrifying because it asks a deceptively simple but truly creepy question: what do we really inherit from our family?

The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

Available on: Shudder

Wes Craven’s 1977 cult classic sees an extended family become stranded in the desert when their trailer breaks down and they start to get picked off by cannibals living in the hills. It’s brutally violent but it also has things to say about the nature of violence, as the seemingly civilized Carter family turn feral. The film was remade in 2006 but the original is still the best.

Horror of Dracula

Available on: HBO Max

Replacing Bela Lugosi as Dracula was not easily done in 1958. It’s still not easily done now. Which makes the fact that Christopher Lee turned Bram Stoker’s vampire into his own screen legend in Horror of Dracula all the more remarkable. Filmed in vivid color by director Terence Fisher, Horror of Dracula brought gushing bright red to the movie vampire, which up until then had been mostly relegated to black and white shadows.

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Bram Stoker’s Dracula and the Seduction of Old School Movie Magic

By David Crow

BBC/Netflix Dracula’s Behind-the-Scenes Set Secrets

By Louisa Mellor

With its penchant for gore and heaving bosoms, Horror of Dracula set the template for what became Hammer Film Productions’ singular brand of horror iconography, but it’s also done rather tastefully the first time out here, not least of all because of Lee bring this aggressively cold-blooded version of Stoker’s monster to life. It’s all business with this guy.

Conversely, Abraham Van Helsing was never more dashing than when played by Peter Cushing in this movie. The film turned both into genre stars, and paved the way for a career of doing this dance time and again.

The House of the Devil

Available on: Amazon Prime

Indie horror auteur Ti West’s low-budget creepfest is a homage to 1980s horror yet plays it straight; he sets out to make a movie with the feel of genre films from that era without making self-aware in-jokes and references — and he mostly succeeds.

But The House of the Devil is also the definition of a “slow burn”: very little happens for much of the first hour (save a jolt here and there) and then the third act explodes into a paroxysm of murder, gore and Satanic horror. That makes the film feel a little off-balance, although in the end it all becomes quite unnerving.

House on Haunted Hill

Available on: Amazon Prime

What would you do for $10,000? How about surviving a night in a mansion haunted by murder victims and owned by a psychotic millionaire? Seems like a party trick until people actually start dying.

Vincent Price is the master and mastermind of a house that suddenly makes everyone homicidal—but the real pièce de résistance is what dances out of a vat of flesh-eating acid.

Some vintage horror never dies, and this 1959 classic is immortal.

Hush

Available on: Netflix

In his follow-up to the cult classic Oculus, Mike Flanagan makes one of the cleverer horror movies on this list. Hush is a thrilling game of cat-and-mouse with the typical nightmare of a home invasion occurring, yet it also turns conventions of that familiar terror on its head. For instance, the savvy angle about this movie is Kate Siegel (who co-wrote the movie with Flanagan) plays Maddie, a deaf and mute woman living in the woods alone. Like Audrey Hepburn’s blind woman from the progenitor of home invasion stories, Wait Until Dark (1967), Maddie is completely isolated when she is marked for death by a menacing monster in human flesh.

Further, like the masked villains of so many more generic home invasion movies (we’re looking square at you, Strangers), John Gallagher Jr.’s “Man” wears a mask as he sneaks into her house. However, the functions of this story are laid bare since we actually keep an eye on what the “Man” is doing at all times, and how he is getting or not getting into the house in any given scene. He is not aided by filmmakers who’ve given him faux-supernatural and omnipotent abilities like other versions of these stories, and he’s not an “Other;” he is a man who does take his mask off, and his lust for murder is not so much fetishized as shown for the repulsive behavior that it is. And still, Maddie proves to be both resourceful and painfully ill-equipped to take him on in this tense battle of wills.

The Invitation

Available on: Netflix

Seeing your ex is always uncomfortable, but imagine if your ex-wife invited you to a dinner party with her new husband? That is just about the least creepy thing in this new, taut thriller nestled in the Hollywood Hills. Indeed, in The Invitation Logan Marshall-Green’s Will is invited by his estranged wife (Tammy Blanchard) for dinner with her new hubby David (Michael Huisman of Game of Thrones). David apparently wanted to extend the bread-breaking offer personally since he has something he wants to invite both Will and all his other guests into joining. And it isn’t a game of Scrabble…

Intense, strange, and not what you expect, this is one of the more inventive thrillers of 2016.

Midsommar

Available on: Amazon Prime

It’s hard to categorize Midsommar, Ari Aster’s follow-up to his absolutely terrifying horror debut, Hereditary. Part straight up horror, part The Wicker Man, and part anthropological study, Midsommar seems to occupy many genres all at once. Aster himself called it a “break up” movie. But whatever genre Midsommar is, it is a brilliant, and at times deeply disturbing film.

Florence Pugh stars as Dani, a young woman trying to heal in the wake of an enormous tragedy. Dani follows her boyfriend, Christian, and his annoying friends to an important midsummer festival deep in the heart of Sweden. Christian and company are there partly to get high and have fun and also partly to study the unique, isolated culture for their respective theses. To say that they get more than they bargained for is an understatement. But Dani may just end up getting exactly what she needs.

Night of the Living Dead

Available on: Amazon Prime, HBO Max

George A. Romero’s 1968 zombie classic The Night of the Living Dead messed up the minds of late ’60s moviegoers as much as it messed with every horror movie that followed. Shot on gritty black and white stock, the film captures the desperate urgency of a documentary shot at the end of the world. It is a tale of survival, an allegory for the Vietnam War and racism and suspenseful as hell freezing over.

The Walking Dead vs. Real-Life Survivalists: How to Prep for The Zombie Apocalypse

By Ron Hogan

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Night of the Living Dead: The Many Sequels, Remakes, and Spinoffs

By Alex Carter

Night of the Living Dead set a new standard for gore, even though you could tell some of the bones the zombies were munching came from a local butcher shop. But what grabs at you are the unexpected shocks. Long before The Walking Dead, Romero caught the terror that could erupt from any character, at any time.

They’re coming to get you. There’s one of them now!

Nosferatu

Available on: Amazon Prime

Nothing beats a classic, and that’s exactly what Nosferatu is. As the unofficial 1922 adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, this German Expressionist masterpiece was almost lost to the ages when the filmmakers lost a copyright lawsuit with Stoker’s widow (who had a point). As a result, most copies were destroyed…but a precious few survived

This definitive horror movie from F.W. Murnau might be a silent picture, but it’s a haunting one where vampirism is used as a metaphor for plague and the Black Death sweeping across Europe. When Count Orlock comes to Berlin, he brings rivers of rats with him and the most repellent visage ever presented by a cinematic bloodsucker.

13 Essential Dracula Performances in Movies and TV

By Tony Sokol

Culture

The Bleeding Heart of Dracula

By David Crow

The sexy vampires would come later, starting with 1931’s more polished vision of Count Dracula as legendarily played by Bela Lugosi, but Max Schreck is buried under gobs of makeup in Nosferatu making him resemble an emaciated cadaver. Murnau plays with shadow and light to create an intoxicating environment of fever dream repressions. But he also creates the most haunting cinematic image of a vampire yet put on screen.

Pet Sematary (2019)

Available on: Amazon, Hulu

After the classic Stephen King novel of the same name and Mary Lambert’s 1989 movie, what could there possibly be left to say about Pet Sematary? Quite a lot actually! Directors Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer breathe new life into this old tale…not unlike a certain “sematary” itself.

Movies

Pet Sematary Ending Explained

By John Saavedra

Movies

On the Set with Pet Sematary’s Producer

By Nick Morgulis

Jason Clarke stars as Louis Creed, an ER doctor from Boston who moves his family to rural Ludlow, Maine to live a quieter life. Shortly into their stay, Louis and his wife Rachel (Amy Semeitz) experience an unthinkable tragedy. That’s ok though as neighbor Jud Crandall (John Lithgow) knows a very peculiar place that can help.

Phantasm

Available on: Amazon Prime

Director and writer Don Coscarelli has said that this 1979 cult classic was inspired by a recurring dream — and we believe him, since Phantasm has the surreal, not-quite-there feel of an inescapable nightmare from start to finish.

With its bizarre plot about a funeral parlor acting as a front to send undead slave labor to another dimension, the iconic image of the Tall Man, killer dwarves and those deadly silver spheres, Phantasm was and is like no other movie of its era.

Poltergeist

Available on: Netflix

Before there was Insidious, The Conjuring, or a myriad of other “suburban family vs. haunted house” movies, there was Poltergeist. Taking ghost stories out of the Gothic setting of ancient castles or decrepit mansions and hotels, Poltergeist moved the spirits into the middle class American heartland of the 1980s. With a smart screenplay by no less than Steven Spielberg (and, according to some, his ghost direction), Poltergeist finds the Freeling family privy to a disquieting fact about their new home: It’s built on top of a cemetery!

You probably know the story, and if you don’t you can guess it after decades of copycats that followed, but this special effects-laden spectacle still holds up, especially as a thriller that can be enjoyed by the whole family. Fair warning though, if your kids have a tree outside their window or a clown doll under their bed, we don’t take responsibility for the years of therapy bills this may inflict!

Ready or Not

Available on: HBO Max

The surprise horror joy of 2019, Ready or Not was a wicked breath of fresh air from the creative team Radio Silence. With a star-making lead turn by Samara Weaving, the movie is essentially a reworking of The Most Dangerous Game where a bride is being hunted by her groom’s entire wedding party on the night of their nuptials.

It’s a nutty premise that has a delicious (and broad) satirical subtext about the indulgences and eccentricities of the rich, as the would-be extended family of Grace (Weaving) is only pursuing her because they’re convinced a grandfather made a deal with the Devil for their wealth–and to keep it they must step on those beneath them every generation. Well step, shoot, stab, and ritualistically sacrifice in this cruelest game of hide and seek ever. Come for the gonzo high-concept and stay for the supremely satisfying ending.

Sweetheart

Available on: Netflix

Don’t let the name fool you, Sweetheart is very much a horror movie. What kind of horror movie, you ask? Well, after a boat sinks during a storm, young Jennifer Remming (Kiersey Clemons) is the only survivor. She washes ashore a small island and gets to work burying her friends, creating shelter, and foraging for food. You know: deserted island stuff.

Movies

Dog Soldiers: The Wild History of the Most Action Packed Werewolf Movie Ever Made

By Mike Cecchini

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The WNUF Halloween Special: The Making of the Most Fun Found Footage Horror Movie Ever

By Gavin Jasper

Soon, however, Jenn will come to find that the island is not as deserted as she previously thought. There’s something out there – something big, dangerous, and hungry. Sweetheart is like Castaway meets Predator and it’s another indie horror hit for Blumhouse.

The Tenant

Available on: Amazon Prime

Roman Polanski, in addition to being a creep and outright sex criminal, has a grand fascination with apartments, directing an unofficial “Apartment Trilogy” with Repulsion, Rosemary’s Baby, and The Tenant. And it’s not hard to see why. There is something a little strange about dozens if not hundreds of relative strangers all calling the same place “home.”

1976’s The Tenant is the culmination of Polanski’s obsession with communal living and in some ways is the creepiest. Polanski stars as Trelkovsky, a paranoid young file clerk who is on the verge of succumbing to the constant dread he feels. Things are exacerbated when Trelkovsky moves into a Parisian apartment and discovers the previous occupant killed herself. What follows is a tense and trippy exploration of fear itself.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

Available on: Shudder

You’ve probably seen this one already, but this founding father of the slasher genre is a bit of a fairy tale when glimpsed at the right light. Some dumb kids wander into the wilderness, far away from the safety of civilization, on a trip to their grandparents’ home.

Movies

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: How Low-budget Filmmaking Created a Classic

By Ryan Lambie

Movies

The Real Texas Chainsaw Massacre: How Ed Gein Inspired Classic Horror Movies

By Tony Sokol

But instead of reaching their destination, they wind up on the dinner table for the “Other,” who in this case is a redneck family of cannibals with a crossdressing serial killer who’s weapon of choice has an electric motor that makes a sweet hum as its blades tear into your flesh. When viewed like that, it might be worth seeing all over again, eh?

Under the Shadow

Available on: Netflix

This recent 2016 effort could not possibly be more timely as it sympathizes, and terrorizes, an Iranian single mother and child in 1980s Tehran. Like a draconian travel ban, Shideh (Narges Rashidi) and her son Dorsa (Avin Manshadi) are malevolently targeted by a force of supreme evil.

This occurs after Dorsa’s father, a doctor, is called away to serve the Iranian army in post-revolution and war-torn Iran. In his absence evil seeps in… as does a quality horror movie with heightened emotional weight.

Underworld

Available on: Netflix

No one is going to mistake Underworld for high art. That obvious fact makes the lofty pretensions of these movies all the more endearing. With a cast of high-minded British theatrical actors, many trained in the Royal Shakespeare Company, at least the early movies in this Gothic horror/action mash-up series were overflowing with histrionic self-importance and grandiosity.

Take the first and best in the series. In the margins you have Bill Nighy and Michael Sheen portraying the patriarchs of warring factions of vampires and werewolves, and a love story caught between their violence that’s shamelessly modeled on Romeo and Juliet. It’s ridiculous, especially with Scott Speedman playing one party. But when the other is the oft-underrated Kate Beckinsale it doesn’t matter.

The movie’s bombast becomes its first virtue, and Len Wiseman’s penchant for glossy slick visuals, which would look at home in the sexiest Eurotrash graphic novel at the bookstore, is its other. Combined they make this a guilty good time. Though we recommend not venturing past the second or third movie.

Available on: HBO Max

Jordan Peele’s debut feature Get Out was a near instant horror classic so anticipation was high for his follow-up. Thanks to an excellent script, Peele’s deep appreciation of pop culture, and some stellar performances, Us more than lives up to the hype.

Movies

Us: How Jeremiah 11:11 Fits in Jordan Peele Movie

By Rosie Fletcher

Movies

Us: Jordan Peele’s References and Influences

By David Crow

Us tells the story of the Wilson family from Santa Cruz. After a seemingly normal trip to a summer home and the beach, Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o), Gabe (Winston Duke) and their two kids are confronted by their own doppelgangers, are weird, barely verbal, and wearing red. That’s just the beginning of the horror at play for the Wilsons and the world. Fittingly, Us feels like a feature length Twilight Zone concept done right.

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batmannotes · 6 years ago

Photo

DC Universe is gonna launch fully loaded!

Watch exclusive original series, legendary features, epic animated movies, classic TV series and more.

DC Universe released a trailer and new Robin poster today to help promote their upcoming streaming service. Here are some of the shows you’ll get to enjoy.

Members of DC UNIVERSE can:

WATCH exclusive originals and classic favorites;

READ from an extensive list of curated comic books;

CONNECT with the DC community;

EXPLORE the latest breaking news and the ever-expanding DC encyclopedia;

WIN premium rewards and participate in sweepstakes and contests;

SHOP for exclusive merchandise.

Fans can sign up today for an opportunity for beta access, which will open in August 2018. Beta access will give members a chance to test the new digital experience and provide valuable feedback on the early version of the service before it goes live later this fall 2018.

“DC UNIVERSE is so much more than a streaming service. It’s a welcoming place for everyone to immerse themselves in their own level of DC fandom, with the epic characters, stories, and experiences they have come to expect from DC,” said Jim Lee, chief creative officer and publisher, DC Entertainment. “We are investing in and creating original, high-quality shows including the new Titans series, and curating the most beloved nostalgic content, while at the same time elevating the comic reading experience to new heights. Nothing this robust has ever been offered to fans before.”

WATCH

At the heart of DC UNIVERSE will be all-new exclusive original live-action and animated series based on DC’s iconic characters. Developed by Warner Bros. Television, Swamp Thing and Doom Patrol are scheduled to debut in 2019, following the dramatic, live-action adventure series Titans which premieres later this year. Warner Bros. Animation is also developing a slate of animated TV series based on existing fan favorites, including Harley Quinn and the highly anticipated third season of the popular Young Justice: Outsiders animated series which are both scheduled to debut in 2019.

Titans follows young heroes from across the DC Universe as they come of age and find belonging in a gritty take on the classic Teen Titans franchise. Dick Grayson and Rachel Roth, a special young girl possessed by a strange darkness, get embroiled in a conspiracy that could bring Hell on Earth. Joining them along the way are the hot-headed Starfire and loveable Beast Boy. Together they become a surrogate family and team of heroes.

Doom Patrol is a reimagining of one of DC’s strangest group of outcasts: Robotman, Negative Man, Elasti-Woman and Crazy Jane. Led by the mysterious Dr. Niles Caulder they're called into action by the ultimate hero for the digital age, Cyborg. Banding together these rejects find themselves on a mission that will take them to the weirdest and most unexpected corners of the DC universe.

Swamp Thing follows Abby Arcane as she investigates what seems to be a deadly swamp-born virus in a small town in Louisiana but soon discovers that the swamp holds mystical and terrifying secrets. When unexplainable and chilling horrors emerge from the murky marsh, no one is safe.

Young Justice: Outsiders features the return of the fan favorite animated series with a huge cast of DC's most iconic young superheroes - plus brand-new characters, many of whom are just discovering their unique meta-powers and special abilities. Set against the backdrop of a rich, deep world that touches all corners of the DC universe, the season focuses on meta–trafficking, and an intergalactic arms race for control of these super–powered youths.

Harley Quinn follows Harley’s adventures after she breaks up with the Joker and strikes out on her own in this new adult animated comedy. With the help of Poison Ivy and a ragtag crew of DC castoffs, Harley tries to earn a seat at the biggest table in villainy: the Legion of the Doom.

An assortment of DC’s most beloved superhero films will also be available at launch for exclusive streaming windows, including all four original Superman movies as well as a selection of epic animated movies including Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, Green Lantern: First Flight, and Wonder Woman. The service will also feature classic TV shows, including the first two seasons of Batman: The Animated Series and the original Wonder Woman series available for the first time in HD.

READ

The DC UNIVERSE comics reader will include native, untethered access across devices from a smartphone or tablet to a living room screen rendered in vivid detail. Fans can scroll through some of their favorite comics from the comfort of their couch with family or friends and see this vibrant art form come to life like never before. A curated selection of thousands of DC comics will be available to DC UNIVERSE members from a library that includes decades of comics creations.

Members can read some of the most famous stories in comic book history such as the first 1938 Action Comics that introduced Superman to the world as well as Detective Comics #27 which first introduced Batman in 1939. Other titles include Geoff Johns and Jim Lee’s iconic Justice League (2011), Swamp Thing (2011) written by Scott Snyder, and Harley Quinn (2013) written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner. Rotating selections will cater to both members new to comics and passionate fans looking for hard-to-find titles. Comics can also be downloaded for reading offline on a smartphone or tablet.

“We wanted the DC UNIVERSE comic reader to be a blend of art and technology that would further enhance fans’ experiences of the live-action and animated programming on DC UNIVERSE,” said Dan DiDio, publisher, DC Entertainment. “This hand-curated selection from our decades of comic creations gives fans a thematic digital longbox to carry with them on the device of their choosing or lets them watch exclusive video content on a big screen followed by the comic that inspired it.”

CONNECT

The community within DC UNIVERSE will be a place where members can rate, create and share their own personalized playlists of their favorite heroes and villains. Members can personalize their profile and select their own avatar, be it Superman, Wonder Woman, or another heroic character or symbol. Designed to be a place for finding commonality and sharing favorite rivalries or the latest list of must-read comic books, members will have a forum for posting information, finding friendship and sharing their DC passions in a shared, moderated space within DC UNIVERSE.

EXPLORE & WIN

Latest news, an extensive DC encyclopedia, and chances to win round out the membership benefits of DC UNIVERSE. Short-form news, interviews and previews in daily video segments will keep fans up-to-date on the latest from all corners of the DC universe. The ever-expanding DC encyclopedia, to which fans can contribute, will house bios of hundreds of DC characters and places. In addition, members will have chances to win premium rewards, including game unlocks, first-chance access to pop-culture events, exclusive experiences and more.

SHOP

Exclusively for DC UNIVERSE members, DC Collectibles—the award-winning line of collectibles from DC Entertainment—will offer a wide range of new action figures and collector’s items based on DC’s iconic characters and stories. Members will have exclusive access to all-new six-inch Justice League Animated action figures based on designs from the fan-favorite animated series (2001-2004), starting in fall 2018. In addition to DC Collectibles, members will have access to a wide range of exclusive, curated and hard-to-find DC merchandise from a variety of licensing partners before the rest of the world.

The operation of DC UNIVERSE will be managed by Sam Ades, general manager and senior vice president, Warner Bros. Digital Networks, based in Burbank. The digital media executive formerly served as the senior vice president, direct to consumer, for DC Entertainment, where he was responsible for creating and executing DC’s digital marketing strategy.

DC UNIVERSE will be available in the United States at launch on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV, as well as the web and mobile web. To learn more and register for an opportunity for beta access, visit dcuniverse.com and follow DC UNIVERSE on social networks including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Watch the trailer below!

youtube

Be the first to sign up for updates: https://yourdcu.com/twsizzle1

#batman #titans #young justice #news #notes #dc comics #dc universe #comic books #animation #harley quinn #swamp thing

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dccomicsnews · 6 years ago

Text

DC UNIVERSE is a first-of-its kind digital subscription service that gives fans access to exclusive content and experiences not available anywhere else. With membership, fans will enjoy all-new original live-action and animated series, classic TV series and films, a curated selection of digital comic books, breaking news, an expansive DC-centric encyclopedia, and access to exclusive merchandise. Additional fan features include opportunities to connect with others in the DC community, earn premium rewards and participate in sweepstakes and contests.

“Developing new ways for consumers to access some of our most popular and iconic brands and franchises as well as exclusive, new content whenever they want, on the devices they choose, is one of our studio’s top priorities,” said Craig Hunegs, President of Warner Bros. Digital Networks. “The DC UNIVERSE platform gives fans a place to tailor their experience and build a direct relationship with DC in a way they never could before.”

Members of DC UNIVERSE can:

WATCH exclusive originals and classic favorites;

READ from an extensive list of curated comic books;

CONNECT with the DC community;

EXPLORE the latest breaking news and the ever-expanding DC Encyclopedia;

WIN premium rewards and participate in sweepstakes and contests;

SHOP for exclusive merchandise.

“DC UNIVERSE is so much more than a streaming service. It’s a welcoming place for everyone to immerse themselves in their own level of DC fandom, with the epic characters, stories, and experiences they have come to expect from DC,” said Jim Lee, Chief Creative Officer and Publisher at DC Entertainment. “We are investing in and creating original, high-quality shows including the new Titans series, and curating the most beloved nostalgic content, while at the same time elevating the comic reading experience to new heights. Nothing this robust has ever been offered to fans before.”

WATCH

At the heart of DC UNIVERSE will be all-new exclusive original live-action and animated series based on DC’s iconic characters. Developed by Warner Bros. Television, Swamp Thing and Doom Patrol are scheduled to debut in 2019, following the dramatic, live action adventure series Titans which premieres later this year. Warner Bros. Animation is also developing a slate of animated TV series based on existing fan favorites, including Harley Quinn and the highly anticipated third season of the popular Young Justice animated series which are both scheduled to debut in 2019.

Titans follows young heroes from across the DC Universe as they come of age and find belonging. This gritty take on the classic Titans franchise finds Dick Grayson and a special young girl possessed by a strange darkness named Rachel Roth as they get embroiled in a conspiracy. They’re joined by Starfire and Beast Boy to become a surrogate family and team.

Doom Patrol is a reimagining of one of DC’s strangest group of outcasts: Robotman, Negative Man, Elasti-Woman and Crazy Jane. Led by the mysterious Dr. Niles Caulder they’re called into action by none other than the ultimate hero for the digital age, Cyborg. These rejects band together on a mission that will take them to the weirdest and most unexpected corners of the DC universe.

Swamp Thing is a scary love story following Abby Arcane as she investigates what seems to be a deadly swamp-born virus in a small town in Louisiana but soon discovers that the swamp holds mystical and terrifying secrets.

Young Justice: Outsiders features the return of the fan favorite animated series with a huge cast of DC’s most iconic young superheroes – plus brand-new characters, many of whom are just discovering their unique meta-powers and special abilities. Set against the backdrop of a rich, deep world that touches all corners of the DC universe, the season focuses on meta–trafficking, and an intergalactic arms race for control of these super–powered youths.

Harley Quinn tracks the lovable, raucous villain with a fractured psyche after she breaks up with The Joker and tries to make it on her own to become Gotham’s main queen-pin.

An assortment of DC’s most beloved superhero films will also be available at launch for exclusive viewing windows, including all four original Superman movies and classic TV shows remastered in HD which include, Batman: The Animated Series and the original Wonder Woman series. The service will feature a selection of epic animated movies including, Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, Green Lantern: First Flight, and Wonder Woman.

READ

The DC UNIVERSE comics reader will include native, untethered access across devices from a smartphone or tablet to a living room screen, rendered in vivid detail. Fans can scroll through some of their favorite comics from the comfort of their couch with family or friends and see this vibrant art form come to life like never before. A curated selection of thousands of DC comics will be available to DC UNIVERSE members from a library that includes decades of comics creations.

Members can read some of the most famous stories in comics history such as the first 1938 Action Comics book that introduced Superman to the world as well as Detective Comics #27 which first introduced Batman in 1939. Other titles include Geoff Johns and Jim Lee’s iconic Justice League (2011), Swamp Thing (2011) written by Scott Snyder, and Harley Quinn (2013) written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner. Rotating selections will cater to members new to comics and passionate fans looking for hard-to-find titles. Comics can also be downloaded for reading offline on a smartphone or tablet.

“We wanted the DC UNIVERSE comic reader to be a blend of art and technology that would further enhance fans’ experience of the live-action and animated programming on DC UNIVERSE,” said Dan DiDio, Publisher at DC Entertainment. “This hand-curated selection from our decades of comic creations gives fans a thematic digital longbox to carry with them on the device of their choosing or lets them watch exclusive video content on a big screen followed by the comic that inspired it.”

CONNECT

The community within DC UNIVERSE will be a place where members can rate, create and share their own personalized playlists of their favorite heroes and villains. Members can personalize their profile and select their own avatar, be it Superman, Wonder Woman, or another heroic symbol. Designed to be a place for finding commonality and sharing favorite rivalries or the latest list of must-read comics, members will have a forum for posting information, finding friendship and sharing their DC passions in a shared space within DC UNIVERSE.

EXPLORE & WIN

SHOP

The operation of DC UNIVERSE will be managed by Sam Ades, General Manager and Senior Vice President of Warner Bros. Digital Network, based in Burbank. The digital media executive formerly served as the senior vice president, direct to consumer, for DC Entertainment, where he was responsible for creating and executing DC’s digital marketing strategy.

DC UNIVERSE will be available at launch on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV, as well as the web and mobile web. To learn more and register for an opportunity for beta access, visit DCUNIVERSE.com and follow DC UNIVERSE on social networks including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

DC Universe Beta Access Sign Up Now Available DC UNIVERSE is a first-of-its kind digital subscription service that gives fans access to exclusive content and experiences not available anywhere else.

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