#i really liked blue beetle and i really liked my adventures with superman

[knife-dad]

What if I re-enter my comic book phase but like, do it better this time

[pluckyredhead]

hi! i'm new to comics and i got in through reading your fics and wayne family adventures. i've since started reading more of the mainstream verse and i realized that most comic fans consider wfa to be totally fanon. you're one of the few i saw that disagrees. would you mind elaborating a lil on why? i'm too new to really form an opinion either way but i'd like to know your's!

(also yes i really did stalk your blog back years worth of posts i'm sorry! 😭😭)

Aw I love this! Welcome!

So I think it's really important to be clear on definitions here:

Canon means it's part of an official text. It's literally in a comic (or book or movie or other property) published or licensed by DC.

Fanon means it's made up by fans. That doesn't mean bad or good, it just means that it comes from fandom and is not part of the official text.

Wayne Family Adventures is an official licensed comic by DC, so by definition, it cannot be fanon. That doesn't mean everyone has to like it, but it's not a fan comic. It's an official DC product. It's not fanon.

Now, WFA isn't part of the main DCU canon. It takes place in a separate universe. The Jason in Batman #138 and the Jason in WFA are not the same and they are having very different experiences. (And I'm sure the Jason in WFA would be grateful if he knew.)

But that's no different than a comic that takes place in an alternate universe, like Dark Knights of Steel or DCeased, or a movie like Blue Beetle or a show like My Adventures with Superman. They all take place in their own universes, but all of those universes are canon. None of them are fanon.

What I think most people mean when they say WFA is fanon is that WFA draws on tropes and characterizations that are popular in fandom. Which...yes, absolutely. This is on purpose, and honestly, it pisses me off when people complain about it. (Not you, anon! Your question was lovely, you just triggered my unskippable cut scene of dialogue. Sorry lol.)

Wayne Family Adventures is probably the single best idea DC has had in the 20 years I've been reading comics. (The second best was the kids and YA graphic novel lines.)

I just checked, and WFA has 1.3 MILLION subscribers. That's more than every floppy comic starring Batman sells in a month, combined. It's more than literally any superhero comic has sold in decades - in this century! The combined strips have over A HUNDRED MILLION VIEWS. That is bonkerstown. That is a readership like DC hasn't seen since the 1970s. That is unparalleled success, and it's introducing characters like Kate Kane and Duke Thomas to a whole new audience.

Now, WFA was clearly designed to appeal to Batfans who were active on social media and fanfic sites like AO3 and Wattpad, and Webtoon readers. The readership of Webtoon is mostly young and female. Fandom as a whole is mostly female. The writer of WFA is female.

And maybe I'm not being fair here, but when I see people dismiss WFA as "just fanon," I always catch a whiff of "It's not a real Batman comic. It's a girl comic for girls."

I have spent the past 20 years begging DC (and Marvel, DC is not alone in this) to see women as a viable audience - as their largest potential growth audience! I have watched in dumbfounded frustration as they ignored the juggernaut success of Raina Telgemeier and Ngozi Ukazu and Alice Oseman running rings around the NY Times bestseller list and counted a 50k shipment here and there as a resounding triumph. I have literally seen them throw out survey responses from women because "those women had an agenda." (This is a true story. 2011 was rough, y'all.)

And all of a sudden, they gave us a comic actually catering to women and young people and fandom, and they put it on the most popular, current, modern platform for comics availably - and it's brilliant. It's smart and funny and stunningly drawn and every episode makes clever, inventive use of the scrolling format. They FINALLY gave us a girl comic for girls, and it's a masterpiece.

And yes, it riffs on fanon concepts. It also has its roots firmly in mainstream DCU canon. It references deep cuts. CRC Payne and StarBite know their shit. Jason Todd being a bookworm may be a fanon staple, but he does plenty of reading - including Jane Austen - in the 100% canon mainstream DCU comics.

It's not going to be for everything, because nothing is. It's completely fine if you don't like WFA. No one has to read it or enjoy it. If you're into Batman for the darkness and the crime and the ongoing plotlines and the angst, WFA won't be for you, and that's totally fine!

But to finally, finally be valued as a reader by DC, to have them do something smart and innovative and so, so well executed, and have the exact people they made it for dismiss it out of hand because Bruce has a "World's Okayest Dad" mug or whatever? Yeah, that chafes.

[popculturebuffet]

Beetlemania Epilogue: Batman Brave and the Bold (Rise of the Blue Beetle, Fall of The BB, Revenge of the Reach and Meanace of the Madinks) (Comission for WeirdKev27)

Hello all you happy beetlemaniacs and welcome to the long delayed finale/epilogue to my look the blue beetle. So while I was working on this project which for those just tuning in was a look at all three men to wear the blue, Kev asked me to take a look at Ted and Jaime's brave and the bold apperances. Being a massive fan of both, enough that Brotoman asking me to do this retorspective in the first place was one of the easiest yesses i've made in my career, and absolutely loving brave and the bold it was an easy addition.

So for those less familiar with this cartoon, Batman: Brave and the Bold was a 2009 cartoon. Brave and the Bold is easily the most unique of the batman cartoons thus far: while each one has it's own touches, Bold decided to go against the usual dark and broody nature of batman he'd had in the 70's to do something a bit diffrent.

Instead BATB takes after the silver age of comics, a time of camp, innosence, and fun goofiness like batman getting his own dimensional imp, Superman and Supergirl having two pets with superpowers and capes a piece, and of course a bunch of kids from the future who still act like it's the 50s who come to grab a young superman, leading to one of my faviorite teams of all time. But not before you know making him cry because 50s. It was a time of brilliant concepts, bonkers carefree storytelling and superman in a pope hat.

And while some fans titled their head, some wailed he needed to be grim and gritty and I just said "oh cool plastic man's in this"... the change in tone was both brilliant and needed. We'd already had three fairly serious batman shows, each distinct: BTAS is a noir masterpiece, Beyond is neo noir putting someone else in the role and thus giving us a batman with school and family to juggle and an older bruce as the mentor, and The Batman was an attempt to really shake things up, using both a younger batman and wildly diffrent versions of his rogues. So while another likely would've worked, and as seen with Beware the Batman it did as likely will the caped crusader, I can't blame showrunners James Tucker and Mike Jelenec for deciding to do something entirely unique.

Thus while Batman's still stoic, instead of being a loner who slowly adds sidekicks and uses over the top silver agey gadgets, from having a jetpack and helmet in his suit, to being able to summon fighting gloves to having his batmobile as a transformer. It comes off as a child's idea of batman: a guy who can do anything and can use all those neat toy add ons you usually only see in his action figures. It's a batman that has a sense of fun about it: While he's stoic as ever, the world he's in is werid and he adapts to it.

The the other secret sauce here is the show's decision to be a team up show: instead of the batfamily, who still show up on occasion, Batman teams up with a fellow superhero in each episodes opening teaser as a fun one off adventure and then in the main story, another nod to the silver age in how many books would have more than one story, batman in particular. It's also telling that most of the main focus heroes are almost entirely b listers: Common sights include Plastic Man, Blue Beetle, Captain Marvel (aka Shazam, pre movie), Guy Gardner Green Lantern and Aquaman, the only a-list of the bunch and the main character. Some had shown up before in the DCAU, sure, but most hadn't gotten this kind of focus and some like Blue Beetle, our natural focus for today's, hadn't shown up at all thanks to rights issues. And even some like Aquaman got a revamp, with the stoic brooding 90's anti-hero of the DCAU replaced with a glorious large ham whose every bit as goofy as the silver age but every bit as badass as he is now. They also wisely kept his beard.

It provides a nice mix of actual silver age characters, and more modern ones like the Jason Rusch firestorm or Jaime that simply hadn't been adapted yet, as well as for whole teams like the Metal Men, JSA and Freedom Fighters to get proper first appearances in animation. This series is one giant love letter to dc and just about every hero they could cram in here and have it make sense is here> And if that wasn't enough, for me personally instead of doing a big 7 lineup of the justice league or just using heroes batman had teamed up with a lot like green arrow or plastic man, they just straight up decicided to recreate my faviorite Justice League Lineup of all time, the Justice League international, even bringing in Martian Manhunter just to make it as close as possible to the core lineup of Batman (Who was leader in those days), Martain Manhunter, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Guy Gardner, Fire and Ice. The only changes were changing the beetle from Ted to Jaime (to fit the shows continuity) and adding Aquaman as it'd be all kinds of weird to not feature the shows breakout star.

So with what the show is down that finally brings us to the Blue Beetle and his long overdue first animated apperance. The DCAU PLANNED to include him but rights headaches meant Ted was relegated to the tie in comics. And since Jaime was such a fan faviorite , when it came time for Brave and the Bold he became the primary beetle instead, providing the fun angle of batman having a teen sidekick.. whose far more powerful than he is, if lacking experince. We rarely see Batman mentor superteens, and it's an intresting concept: He has a partner he can order around and such but can't REALLY stop if Jaime wanted to operate without him. IT's something I hope gets explored again sometime.

That said while Jaime was the main blue beetle, and one of the most common recurring cast members, the series , like most adaptations didn't forget ted exists or to honor him. And while they sadly didn't give us the two beetles operating at the same time, something we didn't get in full blast until Blue Beetle: Graduation Day LAST YEAR (He did mentor Jaime for a while but weirdly they didn't have him resume the costume for a while), we do get one hell of an episode focusing on both beetles in the past and present, another hell of a heroic death, and a time travel episode with Ted's best buddy booster going back to see his friend one last time... and fucking it up because it's his superpower. So join me under the cut as we put on the armor and see the dawn of a new blue beetle and the legacy he protects one more time.

The Rise of the Blue Beetle!: Stinger: Batman teams up with Green Arrow to defeat clock king. Honestly my reaction to this version of Ollie is mostly

As he dosen't really have anything that makes him that.. unique or intresting. He's cocky and wants to one up batman. That's about it. I love Ollie, but this version is so boring. It dosen't help most of his spotlight episodes feature someone more interesting.

The opening however.. is solid, spotlighting the two's competitive nature with each other (and contrasting Ollie's open boasting with Batman being reserved and not showing his compettive streak outwardly), and fighting Clock King. And not the more grounded, awesome version we saw in Batman TAS, but the goofy silver age version complete with robes and a clock face.

Is it the best cold open they could've used? Probably not. But it gets across the team up theme of the series, and the important fact that most of the foes we face.. aren't batman's usual foes. Most of his Rogues are mia, and the only one who gets used a LOT is Joker, and even then it's in more creative ways like having him be Batman's team up for the mid season finale (And leading to the glorious scene in the final fight of him just running around with a mallet like a giddy three year old), teaming up with his own inspiration, or adapting emperor joker. Just like the team up format allows for a wide exploration of the dc's heroes, the antagonists are usually guys you wouldn't see or at least wouldn't see fighting batman.

The episode proper begins with Jaime and his best buddy Paco talking superheroes, with Jaime hyping up batman. It's here we get two big changes: the first is Jaime's personality: Instead of a kind, reserved, if with a biting tounge when called for it kid who just wants to help out his friends and family and who feels overwhlemed, this Jaime is a superhero fanboy whose super jazzed to have power armor.

This change is hit and miss for me: it does kinda miss a lot of the point of Jaime and his personality, a kid burdened iwth incredible power and responsibility who uses it not because he wants to but because it's the right thing.. but I get it for the context of this series. Here Jaime's being trained and mentored by batman, and thus having him be a bit more cocky and eager in places opens up stories more as otherwise Jaime would just be waiting at home. Not only that the series already had a reluctant legacy hero in Ryan Choi, the Atom, so at least one of them had to change personality a bit and it made more sense with Jaime. So while i'm not a huge fan of this change, I understand it enough to not be all that bothered by it, especially since both his Young Justice and Movie Counterparts hem closer to the comics.

A change I DON'T like at all.. is that Jaime's best friend Paco (his family and brenda don't show up).. has NO IDEA who he is. There is absolutely NO justification for this either. We don't see enough of Jaime's home life for him having a secret identity to have any impact and there's really nothing about his appearances that coudln't of been done without him knowing. In fact his next two probably would've been better had he known. It feels like the producers didn't know how to handle a superhero who doesn't have a secret identity.. despite Plastic Man and Aquaman, neither of whom have one and are just fine, being recurring characters. It's an annoying decision and one i'm not a fan of at all, especially since Paco doesn't seem to be in ANY other adaptations.

The rest of the episode is okay. Out of the episodes I had to rewatch (and in our last case watch for the first time) it's the one I was the least happy to see again as it didn't leave much of an impression. On rewatch it has some intresting ideas, but is mostly just a typical "supehero needs to not rely only on his powers" story mixed with a training the peaceful villagers one: Batman and Jaime are shanghied to a colony of admittedly neat looking little protoplasmic blob men woh put out an energy charge. They kidnapped Jaime to help because a previous wielder of his Scarab saved them from Space Pirate and justice league villian Kanjar Ro. Ro is part of why I largely forgot this one as i've never been a huge fan of the guy. He dosen't look terrible but other than space pirate there isn't much to him. The DCAU used him well but also had him as a simple criminal helping frame John Stewart. Here he works decently enough as he's intimidating ENOUGH to be a foe for Jaime, whose the real focus here, and give batman a fight, while still clearly being a villian of the week.

I do like that already, even before we get to ted, the writers of the show get that Jaimee. .is tied into legacy and It's a neat idea to hint at just who carried the scarab before Dan Garret, the first beetle, who for all we know very well COULD have been the person who fought Kanjar Ro before. It's just a shame this NEVER comes up again which is disappointing. It'd be neat to know if the Scarab had a host before the reach dispatched it to earth.

The rest of the episode is pretty by the numbers though, and while the idea of jaime getting cocky isn't bad... he's just not cocky Enough with his powers for the message to work. The episode has more clever stuff like batman hooking one of the little goo people up to a power cable to save them when kanjar leaves them all tied to a piece of debris to die, with the little guys later hooking their guns into themselves, using the fact Kanjar Ro harvests them for fuel against him. It's a clever chekovs gun and speaks to the message of the episode that DOES work: relying on one's self and the power of inspiration.

I"ll also say Batman is kinda.. fucked as a mentor this episode: While I get his logic, having Jaime pretend to be his predecessor to inspire these adorable blobs to kill their opressors, a good message for all, it's still mildly fucked up Batman is asking a children to lead a bunch of people to posisbly die in a war against a ruthless space pirate. I get jaime needs to be a symbol but maybe do't gloss over just how big an ask your asking bats.

Finally i'll say the episodes climax has a good idea: Jaime forced to rely on his brains.. and Kanjar Ro taking the armor. The problem.. is the latter RAISES A LOT OF QUESTIONS, especailly since later episodes go with the idea from the comics, that the scarab coudln't bond with ted kord and specifically choose jaime, making it come off contrived as all apokalips that Kanja Ro JUST SO HAPPENS to be a compatable host. It dosen't ruin the climax, seeing someone evil let loose with the armor is neat and Jaime turning the gamma gong, Ro's weapon he used to strip Jaime of the armor in the first place, against him is genius.

Overall an episode that's jus tokay. i'ts not a bad start to the series or Jaime's time on the show, but it's still clear they needed an episode or two before they started really cooking with gas. Thankfully that only took the first 4 or so episodes and by the time we next saw Jaime this season, the show was firing on all cyllnders with a true classic.

Fall of the Blue Beetle!:

Fall of the Blue Beetle! is more like it and while i'ts not where my obessesion with ted started, that'd be

This episode certainly didn't hurt. It is where Jaime started to grow on me though and where a lot more of his character from the comics comes from.

The biggest part of this.. is Legacy. We got a touch of that with the previous scarab wielder in Rise, but a key aspect of Jaime is that he ISN'T the first blue beetle. That he has to step into someone else's shoes. And it's something that fits dc like a glove as one of DC's bigger draws, one that they snuffed out for a while, is Legacy. Most heroes have more than one version and many have sidekicks, something marvel almost completely avoids thanks to Spider-Man's existence being a direct response to the concept, who more often than not later take up the mantle or find their own new one, leading someone take up THEIR old costume. Often you'll also get heroes sharring identities: it's why we have 9 earth green lanterns, three flashes, and two supermen.

So the fact that Blue Beetle was ALREADY a legacy made ted fit right in long before Jaime had to follow him up after his fatal case of bullet to the head. And Jaime learns that early, and thus has to carry around the fact that not only did Ted die a hero.. but armor or no this could EASILY happen to him. He has to learn to think with his head and learns to appricate Ted as he was. It's not an overwhelmingly major part of the book but the fact Jaime is part of a proud legacy is still important and when he needs help for his final fight, it's Ted's grandaughter Dani and Ted's friends in the JLI who come to help... because they know it's what ted would want.

Brave and the Bold cleverly plays with this as while like his comics counterpart Jaime knows there were other beetles.. he dosen't know what happened to Ted off the bat and this episode brilliantly plays with that.

It also plays with another Key aspect of Jaime: his self doubt. At the end of the days Jaime is a throughly normal kid given great power. In the comics and movie a lot of it is simply not WANTING this power, but with no way to remove the scarab and live he does what he can with it anyway because it's the right thing. The poor kid teared up because during a fucking hurricane, made worse by a supervillian, the kid couldn't save everyone, with his vetran dad having to explain that.. you simply can't. And the fact Jaime was there still saved a LOT of people.

While this Jaime's way more happy in the roll from the off, being a superhero fanboy, the idea that he's not worthy of it still crops up here in a clever way: He and Paco have a campout, and when he recites the Hal Jordan Green Lantern's origin (Which he likely knew as he easily could've met Hal at this point as he DOES exist in this continuity), Paco is doubtful. For those whose attitude to green lantern lore isn't

Like yours truly, a quick recap: The Green Lantern corps are space cops, though thankfully not nearly as corrupt as that implies, who patrol sectors of space. When one dies, their ring finds a replacement. But in this case, dying Green Lantern legend Abin Sur didn't really have time for the ring to do it's thing so he crashed his rocket on earth near Hal Jordan, the nearest worthy canditate and gave it to him personally.

Paco.. dosen't buy any of this, thinking heroes aren't chosen and most dickishly that a hero.. is just their powers. It's just the RING that's special not the person.

Okay look I try not to go on tangents refuting a fictional character.... but given this kind of argument occasionally crops up in real life... no. While a heroes powers are cool and what allow them to do the job...it's the person that makes the hero. And the green lantern's are the biggest example of that. They were all chosen sure but each chosen because they can overcome great fear (Paco IS right that the idea of someone being WITHOUT fear is kinda fucked and the daredevil comics have gone into what exactly that means, it's why they changed it), nad because each one of them chosen brings something to the table. Hal Jordan can think on the fly like noone's buisness, Guy Gardner WILL never give up (Wether he actually should or not), John Stewart is a tactical and archetcural genius, Kyle Rayner has a boundless imagination and some of the best contracts, Jessica Cruz has deep and noble heart and empathy and the power to go on and Simon Baz has a drive no lantern can match. And tha'ts not even getting into Alan Scott, gay icon or the ones whole books I own but haven't read like Jo Mullen or Tai Pham, both of whom deftinely deserve it.

I do love the episode exploring this idea though as given it's something a kid watching this might've thought it nicely deconsturcts it.. and shows what hearing that would do to a person. IN Jaime's case he sprials and goes to his mentor for validation. And this brings us to one of the weaker parts of the episode as Batman is in Batdick mode this episode. Granted at FIRST it's a bit understandable: jaime interupts him during a fight with Doctor Polaris. That fight itself.. is a nice subtle nod to Jaime's history as in the comics, one big arc had him fighting the newest Dr. Polaris. It's really damn good for the record and I hope it gets reprinted. Later we can see batman having recently beaten the Squid gang from Ted's first solo issue. It's some nice background stuff.

Jaime is worried he wasn't chosen for a reason, and while Bruce not reassuring him at first is okay... bruce saying, and I quote "you are NOTHING like the blue beetle I knew" is a level of dickish only suprassed by this guy

Seriously bats, a teen comes up to you, is clearly going through something regarding being worthy of this. I get it, Bats was close to ted in this continuity.. but even in that context it's comes off pretty dickish to compare the kid to someone who had years more experince in the field.

Also yes, in this continuity Ted and Bats.. were besties. I had honestly forgotten that and it's a fun uniquely wholesome take. See in the original comics.. Ted and Batman weren't exactly FRIENDS. They were coworkers: Batman was the stern, often mean boss who expected everyone to do what he said without question, and Ted was the snarky guy in his cubicle who'd shut up when that guy said to but certainly would talk behind his back. It was a good comedic value. Even later, when ted was in his final hours in countdown, batman was someone he turned to.. and Bats didn't take him seriously.. and later deeply regretted it.

Here? The two utterly respect each other, and we get a lot of fun dialogue as the two talk about their gadgets: Bats is impressed Ted managed to get a mini laser working, he switched the coils, while Ted is suprised he can get smoke pellets on his belt because his always blew up. Bats then explains he had the same issue and the casing was ungodly expensive. Thankfully he just put it on the bat credit card.

As for how the two are interacting when Ted's a corpse in present day, that's where one of the episodes most clever aspects comes in: rather than have the intro be an unrelated cold open... the intro is Bats and Ted's on Ted's final case. We don't find out the last part till later, but it's a clever way to have ted around while still having him sacrifice himself in some way.

I'd also like to stop for a moment to talk about how great the voice actors are for our beetley buddies.. and this show in general. For Jaime we have vetran voice acting legend, feeeeee-hany fan, podcaster, and critical role hall of famer Will Fredidle, who does a great job with Jaime's wide eyed enthusasim, ocasional haminess.. but also his vunerablity and depth. You can sense at times in these episodes a kid who badly WANTS to be a good as hero as the heroes who inspired him, covering it up with a layer of jokes... just like his predecessor really. Granted this all comes with the necessary asterix of THEY SHOULDN'T OF HIRED A WHITE GUY TO PLAY JAIME.. which.. they really shoudln't have. It's.. not complicated and it shouldn't of taken till 20goddamn20 for that to be standard practice and not just what some productions did and other didn't. Given a cast this size they STILL coudl've cast my boy in a roll that wasn't racist. Hell he woudl've made a great booster (though who we got is excellent). So the casting decision dose'nt have a leg to stand on.. but Will still did a good job and I dearly miss his voice acting. He's still around granted: he's currently doing the podcast pod meets world with fellow BMW allums Danille Fischelle and fellow voice actor who really should be doing more of it these days Rider Strong. Seriously he was great in Star Vs. Maybe he's focusing more on his family, as he sometimes watches episodes of BMW with his son for the pod, and if so.. fair enough. I do miss these guys and I am glad Will at least is showing up in Legend of Vox Machina and that they have a podcast together.

The other will in the equation is will wheaton, star trek's scrappy doo turned geek icon. Will is a natural fit for ted and does him justice: this version's a bit more anlytical, but as we see later with boosters ep he can play the jokey side just as well and does ted really good. he's the bar that's set for whoever plays him in live action.. and i'm pulling for their top pick of Jason Sudekis. that is PERFECT ted kord casting and the only thing that could top this casting. If not.. will is old enough to still fit the part in the live action dcu. Just saying.

The freindship adds a nice layer to Batman's action: yes he's being bat dick... but it's clearly hard to talk about his best friend's death, someone who really got him as a crimefighter and he could relate to. Green Arrow uses similar methods.. but Ollie's ego's so big he's more concerned with one upping bruce instead of talking to him like a person. Given mots of Batman's partners defer to him in some way or form (and it's telling that for as much as his boisterous baffles our blue bat, he treats aquaman with respect), it had to hurt deeply. And as we'll see later the pain is still there and he's still not quite over Ted's death. It also explains why he's specifically mentoring Jamie: he wants to protect Ted's legacy. While the meteor mission in the last episode was to test of Jamie was ready to partner with him regularly with this ep it feels more like he wanted to make sure Jamie was worthy of his friends mantle.. and makes how proud batman was at the end all the sweeter. It also shows that despite batman using the worst possible phrasing, he DOES think Jamie is worthy.

It also adds a layer to Batman's

Behavior regarding what happened to ted, refusing to tell Jamie and then flying off in his batjet. Bats later fully admits he was worried Jamie coudln't handle it.. but it may be in part he simply didn't want to relive one of the worst moments of his life, when once again someone he loved died and he could do nothing but watch. He didn't want to saddle a teenager with his grief or the fact that in this job you CAN die. And that's something shockingly consitent about this series: Dead.. means dead. There's only three major deaths in the series: Ted's, B'wanna Beast's and the Doom Patrols, but all three stick. All are given weight and gravitas and all deeply effect bats.. not from episode to episode as this is more episodic but the moment still clearly shakes him.

Jamie isn't really happy with that explination and the scarab suggests checking the internet. Turns out ted has a fanpage run by a notboostergold. Who knew? It tells Jamie ted vanished a while back and is headquartered in Hub City, Ted's hometown in the comics though where he operates out of varried: he also operated out of Chicago, New York, el Paso and currently Palmera City alongside Jamie and his long lost slightly older sister we just met because the movies gave him one and DC thought "eh this could work". Which .. honestly it does, with Vicotria being more buisness minded and ruthless. Also sidebar but.. this.. this has happened with booster and ted right?

This had to have happened. We're alli n agreement, good.

Anyways Jaime heads to Hub City and finds Ted's old layer, covred with dust, something the movie ended up copying and I fully approve of. In fact it feels like the movie took some cues from this episode, turning Ted's adventure on pago island into a jamie story, having someone try and use the scarab to create robots, little touches like that. I don't mind as they did enough of their own thing with it and frankly more people are going to see the movie over this episode, so i'm fine with a good idea being used twice.

Speaking of which Jaime finds out the last cordinates were Pago Island. For anyone who knows Ted's origin that's a red flag. Quick recap for those who didn't read my review of Ted's first two solo issues: Ted worked with his uncle jarvis, found out he was a bad dude, and then brought dan to stop him. Good news: it ended terribly for jarvis with his robots sealed and him dead. Bad news: it ended with dan dead. Gooder news: Dan told ted to take up his legacy. So the fact Ted died on an island where nothing good happens cannot end well for Jaimie.

Batman DOES try ot make up for earlier, calling Jaimie.. only for Jaimie to tell Bats where he's going and where to stick it. Batman takes it like a mature adult and while flying ot rescue Jaime, mumbles "no more teenage partners"

This line.. just.. my god> I mean yes he says "adults got him into just as much trouble " right after.. but he still soley blames JAIME for this catstrophe. Jaime is screwing up yes.. but h'es a kid desperate to know he was chosen for a good reason and to live up to someone he found out went missing on his own because you coudln't take two bat minutes to try and explain things. Maybe tell him about ted without telling him what happened just yet. INstead you accidently told him he wasn't good enough then got mad when he was rightfully pissed you gave him nothing. His timing sucked, but you really should've brought up ted LONG before this.

And as a result.. it makes it VERY easy for Jarvis, still alive here, to con Jaime into giving him data on the scarab , claming he intends to improve humanity's lot and make things better. I get not telling him he was dead.. but maybe if you'd screamed "Ted kord was dead", as traumatizing as that would've been it woudl've at least stopped a villian you KNEW was still around fro mconning him

I"ll also say this.. Jarvis' scarab based tech.. looks amazing, very beetly and while I saw the twist coming... most viewers not familiar with jarvis' existance wouldn't. The tech all looks like something ted would make. It's something I give it over the movie where despite victoria kord's OMAC"s being based directly on the scarab.. they look NOTHIGN like the scarab armor nor the actual omacs. i'm fine with it being different enough to be visually intresting but the omacs and later caprapax armore are just.. boring. But that's a rant for another review.

The main takeaway is that Jamie has accidently given a mad genius an army of super fighting robots.. and by bringing up batman NEARLY caused the man's death. But not only does Jaime catch on the robots are weapons whne one spills i'ts bullets, Batman, being you know, the goddamn batman, is alive and well. He only gets tied up when Jarvis puts a gun to Jamie's head.. which i'm 90% sure is a bluff as the scarab can take on MULTIPLE green lanterns as we'll see next episode, but it speaks to Batman's character he doesn't risk it.

Jarvis.. is an excellent villain here, taken from your usual cackler to a guy who genuinely seems like his talk about wanting to make the world better is legit.. he's just willing to conquer it to make that happen. And a utopia forged in blood isn't rally a utopia is it? But Will does a great job as Jarvis too, making his voice similar enough to ted to buy him as an older ted.. but diffrent enough to hint at the twist.

With that Batman FINALLY is forced to explain what happened: Ted gave Jarvis the scarab because he genuinely thought he could help him use it. IN this continuity dan died another way. So when Ted found out from Batman that Jarvis was instead plotting world domination, he lept to stop it.

In the end though while they did beat Jarvis... he had one last play: launch a rocket full of his robots out to begin his world conquest. So much like with Countdown when backed into a corner.. Ted sacrificed himself to save the world, not telling Bruce exactly what his plan was till the was already on the rocket. As for how the Scarab got away that's easy: ted stole it back during the scuffle and put it on the rocket, so like the comics but in a much simpler way, it still got rocketed to el paso. Ted Kord once again died a true hero.

This dosen't help Jaime as he feels he failed Ted and his leagacy and was chosen just to do this. Batman explains the episodes aseop, similar to last times but executed better: it's not being chosen or what powers you have that make a hero. It's choosing to do the right thing> Despite not having the scarab Ted choose to use his intellect to fight crime. And while Jaime didn't chooose the scarab.. he choose to use it to help people and fight for good.

The two naturally escape, fight off jarvis, and fight the throng of robots, actually beating him this time and with Jaime setting it to explode. Our heroes win, Batman shows his pride and Jamie has his confidence back.

As you can probably tell.. I love this episode> it's one of brave and the bold's best and aside from the excess of bat dick, it's a compelling story of legacy and loss. If you haven't seen the show or are curious about ted and jaime after watching the film, this is an excellent watch.

Revenge of the Reach:

Revenge of the Reach is another banger episode. On first watch I wasn't really into this one and didn't really remember it but on rewatch it was a lot of fun. I'm also happy this episode is as good as it is... as this marks the final Jaimecentric episode in the series. The big reason for this is simple: The Justice League International.

For those less familiar with Ted and this show itself, the JLI was the first version of the justice league post crisis on infinite earths, the grandaddy of crisis crossovers and the event that brought Ted into the DCU. Writer J.M. Demattis finally got the gig writing the league after begging for it but the amount of stuff being reworked post crisis meant most of the vetran justice league was off limits. Demattis and his partner in crime Keith Giffen decided "Fuck it let's make this a sitcom", and used lesser known heroes including good old ted. The only vetrans to join the team were Black Canary (Who only stayed for about the first 12 issues) , Martain Manhunter, and Bats himself as leader before giving that headache to Jonn.

And since Brave and the Bold already had prominent spotlights for key members Blue Beetle (Jaime instead of ted), Booster Gold, and Green Lantern Guy Gardner, featured Fire as a guest star and had Batman as it's lead, it was easy enough to simply introduce Martian Manhunter and Ice. Also Aquaman was there since, as said before, he was their biggest star. The team showed up a decent amount in season 3 and likely would've more had the series not been cut so short, eventually adding other members from the comics like Rocket Red and Captain Marvel.

So with season 3 cut in half and the crew knowing the end was nigh, there was less time to give Jaime more stories, instead focusing more on stuff they clearly wanted to get in before the end: Stories with the league, a whole episode dedicated to Superdickery that's one of the most glorious things ever put to film, an origins episode for batman and his other recurring patners that weirdly didn't have jaime. Season 3 was just packed and had only so much time left. It also had powerless which objectively sucks and I will get to when we eventually do a JLI in brave and the bold retrospective, one of a few Kev's floated along with the Starro arc and Batmite (the latter I especailly want to do as I forgot the late great paul rubens was his voice. ) So this is Jaime's last hurrah. And lucky for him, he got a heck of a writer on board as J.M. Demattis himself wrote this one.

Spekaing of the Starro arc, our intro ties into it and i'll likely be covering again when I do that one. It features a jack kirby creation, THE CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN, with the intro for the segment funly done in the style of a 60's tv show. THE CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN are a quartet of adventurers who well.. challenge the unknown, experts in their fields who survivied a plane crash, put on matching jumpsuits and took on weird cases for the pentagon. They , to my shock came BEFORE Kirby would move on to Marvel, and with the challengers not having got a lot of traction, and even in recent dc works mostly showing up for one off apperances, I wouldn't be shocked if he reworked the concept of four adventuerers with public identtites who fight weird shit while wearing matching jumpsuits as the fantastic four.

Anyways the quartet fight a weird creatue with batman... but where this connects to the eventual story arc.. is after batman leaves a bunch of mini starros popping out of the meteor to posses the challengers.

So let's move on. Our main story has Jaime going out to space for an unauthorized solo mission. I'd say it was suprising Batman dictated when he could save lives or not .. but he is batman. And TBF, Batman probably wouldn't chastise Jaime if say he stopped a local fire or helped out with disaster relief. I"m sure the kid does the basic heroing stuff daily to stay sharp, and Batman, for all his faults would never want someone to not step in and help when they could. He just likely dosen't want Jaime tackling super crime without him.

Jaime fights Evil Star, whose name isn't a joke from me, but an actual Green Lantern villian, fitting given the Corps plays a large role in this. With some unknowing help from Paco, Jaime does in fact win on his own merits. Batman however isn't pleased as he apparently has Jaime chipped and followed him out there in his bat space suit. What I like though is Bruce isn't mad and his reasons for keeping Jaime on a leash aren't dickishness like last time: he TRUSTS Jaime, he both likely worries about his young ward, especially after loosing ted.. and DOSNE'T trust the Scarab, knowing nothing about it.

The two take him to Oa to drop Evil Star off. Oa is the home of the Green Lantern Corps I mentioned earlier, where new corpsman are trained and the central power battery, the source of their power is stationed. It's there a squad of Lanterns comes to pick up the leftovers, lead by Guy Gardner

So quick backstory for guy: guy was the second space cop green lantern for earth, being a backup for Hal Jordan and only not picked because Hal happened to be closer to where Abin Sur could land. For a while he was an also ran who ended up in a coma.

Eventually though Steve Engleheart decided to make use of him. During his run Steve made John Stewart the main green lantern and had Hal depowered for being mad at the responsiblity and such. Standard angst. Many a fan was simply, as tends to happen in comics, waiting for Hal to come back. Steve however didn't want that and had a simple thought: "Why CAN'T there be more than one earth lantern? Ther'es thousands of others up in space". So he not only allowed John to remain in the role, hence John getting to be the GLC's rep for crisis, but also brought Guy back, this time as a jingoistic right wing loud mouth. According to wikipedia Steve.. regrets the decision a bit as other people around him weren't fond of it and he got no royalties as he didn't create guy. Which is sad as this version became the premiere one.

But while steve lit the spark, it was Demattis who turned him into the tire fire we all know and love, deciding to pick guy for the JLI, likely because out of the four lantern's avaliable, Guy fit into the dynamic the most. While the JLI was still fighting superheroes, it made sense for a more comedic group to have a resident asshole, someone within the group who generally tends to start shit. The person no one likes but they can't really chuck for whatever reason. So for the JLI, guy was that dick, swaggering onto panel demanding to be leader and pissing everyone off with his abrasivness and general dickishness, paticuarlyl Black Canary who, in one of JLI's weaker moments, was portrayed as a straw feminist, working best against guy as a chauvnist. It was essnetially if someone had given Steve Dallas a power ring.

While Guy has mellowed out slightly over the years, he's still largely the loud obnoxious older brother of the superhero set, mostly known for challenging batman to a fist fight with predictable yet hilarious results

Guy ended up as BATB's main GL, mostly because he fit the tone well and James Arnold Taylor did a pitch perfect job getting Guy down. He never got bumped up to the status of Jaime, Plastic Man or Aquaman of being as close to a main character as the series format allowed, but he was still a memorable part of it and they did him good.

Which is bad for Jaime as Guy's approach to the lantern's request to take JAIME in with his prisoner goes over like a lead ballon, not helped by Guy basically saying "Shut up and get in the van' While his fellow lanterns do fuck all to actually explain WHY the guardians want Jaime. A fight insues and it's easily the best part of a standout episodes. See with the Green Lantern's what makes them so awesome is that the power ring can make ANYTHIGN they imagine. Any thought can be a weapon. There's limits of course: some things can tamper with the vibration, the user needs to be able to concetrate, the rings have to be recharged by reciting the badass oath, stuff to keep the stories interesting, but even with those limits the ring is a deadly weapon in the right hands. It's also what makes the lanterns fun in comparison to other heroes who share the same power sets: while they all have the same ring, each person uses it diffrently: from Hal Jordan favoring planes due to his airforce background, to Kyle Rayner going with a lot of Manga style designs due to being a self confessed "Manga nut with a power ring". It's just some writers can't see the full potetial and just have it be a glorified ray gun or have them only reatrain people with rings and such.

Demattis.. dosen't have this issue, and also fully gets that Jamie's scarab is just aas formidable, leading to a dope as hell fight as we get two fighters both experinced, both with weapons that can do anything going at it with highlights including guy making a sword and shield and later armor for himself, befitting his brawler styles.

Batman eventually steps in and stops this, though I like that he dosen't chastise Jaime. While Jaime esclated, he was faced with a bunch of people wanting to take his incredibly dangerous scarab that he saw as a friend and not explaning why. Guy on the otherhand.. is guy and tries to get Bats to butt out.. only for Batman to remind him he punched his lights out in this contuity too. Yes folks BATB made sure to adapt that moment for Guy's debut. Guy wouldn't listen to batman on a mission, with Bats keeping him on a short leash.. so Guy decked him. While Guy mumble's it was a lucky shot.. it's clear he's cowed and the Guardians step in.

They explain things to the trio in private: the Scarab is, like in the comics a dangerous weapon of the Reach, intergalactic conquerers the Corps defeated years ago, with the scarab users being a false flag: heroes sent to help them.. to keep the planet alive long enough for said user to conquer later when the programming tookover. The diffrence here is in the comics, the Reach played the long game, planning to wait a few generations to sell the planet and use it's inhabitants for slaves, slowly making them docile so by the time they were ready for market, they woudln't fight back. IT's part of what made them such a threat: Jaime coudln't just punch them away, he had to outsmart them.

Here their more like the borg from star trek: a cold collective with but one purpose, a hive of insects planning to swarm. The false flag part remains, it's just less nuanced. And tha'ts.. okay. I didn't like it at first, but I get that unlike Young Justice after this... BATB simply didnt' have the real estate for that kind of story, so they codnsensed it.

The Guardians let Jamie go for now as they want to see if he can control it and trust Batman's words. Guy being guy.. isn't convinced.. and proves a broken clock is right once a day as the Scarab, now in position to do some damage way sooner, regretfully hyjacks Jaime. The one weakness of this one is it's hard to buy Jaime and the Scarab as friends given we've barely seen the two and don't really see them bonding. It just beeps behind him, with the comics, movie and young justice taking effort to show Jaime warming up to his metallic parasite.

Most of the ep is really just a large fight between a possesed Jamie and the corps, and unlike the comics, where their on an even keel, or when Jamie is in control.. this scarab easily mows through them without anyone holding the leash, and Jamie only gets to wake up for a secona nd panickedly try to fight it's control.

So we're left with two sides; Guy who, again, being a dick assumes Jaime is a willing traitor

And Batman.. who see has come a long way, now fully respecting Jaime and has all the faith in the world he can fight this. He gets blasted a lot but is ultimately p;roven right even as a small reach squad arrives.. and easily mops the floor with an ARMY of green lanterns who barely hold them back.

Jaime ends up turning the tide though, fighting his way free and proving himself.. and Guy decides to trust him because why not. How Jaime wins is also clever: he has the lanterns load him up with thier power.. but choose THEM for a reason: since the lanterns run on a user's will, it allows jamie to tape into the scarb's hosts an dresotre there,s disarrming the scarabs. The guardians not only thank jamie ut plan to destroy them... and Guy, as is necesiated by tv law, steps in and tells them not to include Jaime's, with Batman fully graduating his old sidekick.

Revenge is a solid ep. It lacks some of the depth of Fall, but is still a fun episode with some really tightly animated action and plays with the toys it has beautifully. So that leaves us with one last beetlecentric episode.. only this time.. it's Ted's farewell.

Menace of the Madniks!:

We end this retrospective still in season 2.. and this is a very close second favorite out of this pile. It's also the only one I hadn't seen, having not really tracked down most of the episodes I missed, apart from the Doom Patrol one.

The opening.. is the Haunted Tank. Now the concept of a possed wwII era tank, is awesome and the car chase is great. But for some reason not only did the original writers think it being a CONFEDERATE ghost was okay.. but so did the staff of BATB. I get this was long before BLM but.. come on. Just.. come on. He has CSA ON HIS HAT. WHy is batman riding shotgun with a racist confederate ghost? WHY IS BATMAN TEAMING UP WITH...

Menance builds on Batman's characterization from Fall of the Blue Beetle, having been one of Ted's closest friends and working hard to mop up the Madniks, the only member of Ted's rogues gallery to have staying power after his death. Their a bunch of artists, doodly doo, who want to peddle their weird anti-society ways man. Basically their what Steve Ditko thought beatniks were, but work because they have great designs that help cover up being created by an old man who yells at clouds.

Batman is trying to take them down in ted's honor.. but wasn't the ONLY one with that idea as we get the glory that is Booster Gold. Booster was ted's best friend in the comics, a janitor from the future who came back to our time to get rich being a hero, learned to be a hero, and spent most of his time in the league dragging Ted into get rich quick schemes

The two are joined at the hip, with Ted's death shattering the poor guy. Their also shipped a lot. Not really my thing in most cases but this episode is very much "the two guys into me have to hang out and neither likes each other", and I suppport it.

And tha'ts how they cleverly account for Booster and Ted's history not having been brought up till now: Ted was close with both bats and booster.. but made sure neither one knew about it, with booster only finding out when Batman berates him.

Booster being a time traveler also allows for them to cleverly bring ted back without undoing his sacrifice: While he is VERY dumb, Batman outright snaps at him later when he asks too many time travel questions a time traveler should DAMn well know, and Skeets, Boosters robot buddy voiced by voice acting legend billy west (Who along with Booster's va tom everett scott is reprsing his role from the DCAU, the only actors to do so here), is worried Boost just wants to save ted. He dose'nt know: while he'd LIKE to, he's again not THAT dumb and simply wants to see him again and wrap up the madmen as they were the last case Ted worked before Pago island.

It's sweet at first as we see how close the two are: Ted's super happy to see booster, glad to work with him, and only mildly confused his best friend is here after seeing him just a week ago. It speaks to the type of friends they are: wo goofuses who need each other and speak the same very dumb language. Ted is way more relaxed in this episode and it implies his more withdrawn manor with batman.. is simply matching bat's energy. IT's a nice way to have ted still be the awesome science guy.. but inject the fun back in.

The two go to stop the Madniks together, but booster makes an oopsie and shoots the gun their stealing. Their all imoblized by it but if you thought "a weird raygun backfiring and spraying red ominous energy over a bunch of c list villians" is going to end badly, your correct as Booster going back to the present.. finds it ravaged by three weird energy monsters who i'm calling the Meganiks as unlike booster, you can put two and two together. Booster tells on himself, and Batman, having not even REMOTELY suspected him, makes Booster take them back.

This leads to the fun part of the episode: Ted awkwardly having to navigate his VERY different besties, with batman being utterly shocked Ted spends time with such a goofus, not getting that not EVERYONE thinks fighting crime is the funenst thing possible. Seriously this episode has such "my best friend hates my boyfriend" energy and I love it. The two naturally bicker a lot with Ted trying to be civil before just telling the two to shut up and admitting this is WHY he didn't tell them about each other. Eventually the two DO end up working together well enough when Ted's in real danger.

And that's where the two sweetest parts of this come from. The first is when Booster finally admits he just wanted to see Ted again.. and Bats not only realizes he was a bit hard on the moron, accidently end of the world or no.. but that their friendship was as strong as Bats own with ted. I mean really.. who WOULDN'T want one last moment with a loved one, wether that loved one knew it or not. It bonds the two.. and in doing so gives ted something better than simply finishing his last case.. he gets to see the two people he cares about most actually get along. It's a really nice way to end it and when they get back to the present bats decides to invite booster to patrolw tih him. They may not really get each other.. but mayeb they can help each other move on.

So all in all one meh, early episode and a bunch of REALLY strong episodes. In general Brave and the Bold was really fantastic and only had maybe a few duds. It's a glorious celebration of the dcu and I wholly recommend checking it out especailly if you love those boys in blue

For now.. it's time to let Jamie and Ted have a rest. I'll go back there someday, I still want to cover the movie at some point, the rest of Jaime's run but for now we can simply watch as one flies and one swings off into the sunset, for more adventures, and a bright future. The bluest, and bravest, heroes there ever were. Thanks for reading.

[windona]

Prompting night: Clark and Jaime bonding over being 22 year old superheroes?

A/N: I assume by the prompt you mean My Adventures with Superman and Blue Beetle movie crossover.

"It's just so hard. I tried to get a real job with my college degree, but apparently the only jobs in my town are full lawyer or bust. You'd think they needed paralegals or something," Jaime said.

Superman tilted his head back and laughed. "Yeah, I ended up as an intern. I had a stipend, and potential for advancement, but me and my friend shared a studio for a reason. But hey, I made it to full reporter, so it ended up working out."

"I mean, Jenny did help me get an interview for a job. Not that I'm not qualified, but apparently companies don't list all their jobs online, and many they do specifically because they have a person in mind to fill it, so... connections and networking really helps!" Jaime took a bite from an empanada his mother made him. He offered the box to Superman.

"I feel you. By the way, your suit- it's alien technology, right?"

"Yeah, not Kryptonian though."

"Kryptonian?" Superman tilted his head to the side.

"Yeah, like you are? Khaji Da says you're Kryptonian anyway. House of El, specifically, big Science family."

"Your scarab knows about my home planet?"

[romancomicsblog]

5 DC Animes I want to see after My Adventures with Superman

My Adventures with Superman opened the door for DC in a big way. Not only did it revitalize fans for more Superman content ahead of Superman: Legacy, but quickly put Jack Quaid up there in the conversation for best portrayal of Superman.

While that conversation is yet to be determined, I think the fact that this version of Superman connected with people made one thing clear, people are hungry for more quality animation.

While I am excited at the potential of more Jack Quaid Superman, I think DC would be kicking themselves if they didn't branch out this universe and try to build to something greater.

I have 5 pitches for characters who I think should get a My Adventures with Superman style show, ideas of who could play them, and what they could bring to this already fantastic universe. Also I gave them all fun titles. Enjoy.

5. Mysteries of the Question

The Question is a character many know from the hit DC show Justice League Unlimited. A wack job with a theory about who is pulling all the strings in the DC Universe, The Question is a ridiculously fun character I'm surprised hasn't been seen in a while.

Putting the Question at the center of a mystery and having to solve cases day to day would make for classic television, all while setting it in a crazy DC world.

The cop chasing him could be the 2nd Question: Renee Montoya, and the mystery could be something as big as an incoming alien invasion or as small as who is leaving riddles across Gotham? Hell he could be after Amanda Waller.

He can run into other detectives like Detective Chimp, Martian Manhunter, even the Batman, and through this side character we introduce half the Justice League.

I'd love a comedian like Charlie Day to voice this mad man, but a good friend of mine brought up Will Arnett and I can't unhear it. The role could be overly dramatic and silly, but can go to the sad levels of Bojack Horseman. He'd be perfect for this universe.

Having a detective who needs to get the a major story out could lead him to our three favorite journalists, making a fun mini crossover imminent.

4. Strange Tales from Arkham Asylum

While What If? Is not my favorite MCU project, the premise itself is quite fun. A narrator telling warped tales of stories we know in a freshing new take.

I'd like to take that concept and add it to DC by exploring Batman's Rogues Gallery in one off, anthology episodes narrated by one Hugo Strange.

Fan favorite characters like Clayface, Mister Freeze, Catwoman, and yes, even The Joker, can be introduced via their backstory with exciting different voice actors, all leading to a breakout in Arkham.

I'd like this to serve as a partial retelling but also reimagining of new characters with an emphasis on the creepy, the macabre, but also the sympathy. I want this to fix the mistakes of past villains in My Adventures with Superman and make them more 3 dimensional and iconic.

For Strange we need a maniacal evil voice who can narrate and keep us captivated. I like Chiwetel Ejiofor for this, and will be happy for the inmates to take him down by the end.

3. Evil-Doers fear the Wrath of Wonder Woman

I'm having fun with these titles.

It is incredibly insane we do not have a definitive Wonder Woman show. I'd like a classic Spectacular Spider-Man or My Adventures with Superman style show centered around ya girl Wonder Woman.

Ares, Giganta, or Cheetah can be the main villain. Hell make her main antagonist Black Adam, but having a magical god character immediately makes the world bigger and the threats greater.

She can run into Shazam (due to their god powers) and round out the League more, but really this is just a project that should already exist. It's wild it doesn't.

Since it is voice acting and we can go any which way with it, I love the voice of Ming Na-Wen. Having a powerful Disney Princess playing Diana also feels appropriate, and brings a sort of wisdom to the League.

2. Blue Beetle Back in School

Blue Beetle in a character basically built for anime.

With the overall critic and audience reviews being positive but the film underperforming, it's clear Blue Beetle has an audience that can steadily grow over time. I think animation is a great way to softly continue the story without it technically being in continuity.

The story should center around Jaime continuing college post getting the scarab, and meeting young heroes like himself along the way all while trying to having a normal life. Classic superhero stuff.

This leaves room for it to be part of any universe you want it to be, or mostly be true, or not at all. Either way, we grow with the character of Blue Beetle, and await his return in the DCU.

This could be a fun way to flesh out the young heroes of the DC universe: Robin, Raven, Cyborg, etc.

It could also start a fun trend of Xolo playing the character across mediums. It's clear Xolo Maridueña loves the character, and if the voice fits, why change it? If Mark Hamill can play the Trickster across animation and live action, so can Xolo.

1. Green Lantern: Cosmic Chronicles

The character done most dirty since his live action debut, Green Lantern could add dynamic interesting fighting to an anime universe. Take Atom Eve from Invincible and her spin-off episode.

Using that type of animation and fluid fight choreography would make for excellent television.

Although we already have a fantastic Green Lantern show (Green Lantern the animated series) with an excellent narrative, I think introducing more Lanterns and wider universe of DC aliens could be really fun. Martians, Thanagarians, Lobo, Mongul, etc all trying to be contained by Lanterns but failing horribly would be awesome. It could all leading to an alien invasion on Earth, putting them directly in line with Superman.

A Green Lantern show could rejuvenate faith in Lanterns before its release, and lead up to the big anime crossover we know we all need.

While I'd love to see all Lanterns, I think having Hal Jordan at the center of it and bringing in others down the line is a good way to go.

Alan Ritchson has played Aquaman, Hawk and even Raphael in Ninja Turtles. A little more hard headed Jordan could be fun to pit against Jack Quaids more hopeful Superman.

While all these shows should get made, I think Lanterns is the most likely. Honestly, I'd be happy to see anything more in the DC Anime Universe.

Thank you for reading! If you'd like to support me you can find all my socials here!

[is-jan-jan-is]

Dawn of Dc fucking slaps my dudes.

I've been meaning to make a post about the Dawn of Dc for quite a while but haven't due to depression and 80 hour work weeks.

My pull box used to be one third marvel, one third dc and one third indie. Nowadays, with marvel focusing on more of those godawful movies it's producing more and more garbage. Meanwhile, dc-who has been struggling since the 90s-seems to have found its stride. My box is honestly two thirds dc and one third indie.

I've maybe three or four marvel titles. Captain marvel, mckay's avengers run and ewing's thor. I did also pick up Sentry but havent read it yet. I was about to deep dive into the fall of the house of x stuff but the whole 'Genocide' storyline is in bad taste to say the fucking least. With last year's Symbol of Truth sam wilson run over i dont have much more marvel stuff catching my eye.

Meanwhile I'm collecting most of dc's catalog. The Dawn of Dc rebrand has been phenomenal through and through. Part of it is due to color coding which my autism especially likes. Mostly, it's great storytelling.

Here is how I would rate the Dawn of Dc titles I've been collecting so far on a scale of 'bruh' to 'BRUH'(all of the ratings are made up terms):

*******Spoilers*********

Jon Kent Adventures of Superman: absolute banger...if not a tad formulaic. If seems poetic to have Jon kent-a product of Joshua Williamson- fight injustice superman-a product of Dan Didio. Dan famously hated legacy characters and loved the idea of fascist superman so-get fucked Dan. 11/10 because he beats him with a hug

Action Comics: fuck yeah dawg. It's been great. The wholesome super family shenanigans, the inclusion of Kenan (finally) on top of just damn good story telling. 10/10 would super again.

Superman: BRUH. So, after years of piss poor 'superman' books we get the warworld saga (certified banger) followed up with this delightful story from Josh Williamson. All of the classic villains get the correct treatment. Lex, parasite, banshee-with the current 'Chained' reveal. Im so glad somebody understands how to write superman. This has genuinely become a title i look forward to every week. 10.5/10

Superboy Man of Tomorrow: Certified Banger. Listen, Connor Kent was the first love of my life. 90 percent of my personality is Teen titans and Young Justice was always my favorite flavor of teen titans. Either way I was always going to love a boom about Connor Kent. That said: this book is pretty good. It clearly skews young as far as its obvious intended audience but it was still fun.

Steel: CERT-FIED BANG-ER! God I love Worf. I'm glad that my boy Steel is getting the proper treatment. Michael Dorn does a damn good job. It was a good run, just read the last one (6 out of 6) today.

Powergirl: fuck yeah dawg. I love powergirl, and this series is not as annoyingly thirsty as previous stories. She's presented as a complex yet baddass character. Her motives are complex and her actions are badass. I also like that she's part of the super family officially.

Blue Beetle: Certified Banger. Pretty damn good. Once again it's a tad formulaic but still a fun read. 8/10

Green Arrow: Certified Banger! Pretty damn good, tbh. I love the fact that my boii Roy Harper is back. Pretty strong familial vibes all around. 9.5/10

Green lantern: bruh. Listen, I only picked up this title originally because it held the preview to John Stewart's 'War Journal'. Its well done, don't get me wrong. Jeremy Adam's is an asset to D.C. at this point. Quality wise, it's a knockout. Unfortunately, it's also Hal Jordan. He's as much of an unbearable p.o.s. as he's ever been. 6/10.

Green Lantern War Journal: BRUH!!! Fucking Slaps. John Stewart is back at it in an incredibly endearing story. I was really interested to see where they would take it after Gregory Thorne basically made my boii a demigod. The ultraviolet corps are super interesting and the b plot with his mother is heart wrenching. 100/10

Green Latern Alan Scott: fuck yeah dawg. Pretty good. Love the gay representation. Been meaning to get back into JSA stuff. Haven't read the huntress or sandman stuff yet but might after this.

Hawkgirl: absolute banger. Ngl, they kinda phoned in the antagonist but that's ok. Its a fun read about a cool character we've always wanted more content on anyways. Also Jadzia is god tier. 8/10

Wonder Woman: BRUH!!! I've never been a huge fan of Diana honestly but this story had me hooked from the beginning. It's a complex, heartfelt political intrigue. Tom King can do NO wrong. 20/10

Birds of Prey: absolute banger. Super fun to read. I definitely look forward to it every month. I love cass and I love barda so- 11/10

Batman and Robin: bruh. Listen, I love Joshua Williamson but all the love in the world won't make me tolerate Bruce fucking Wayne. After the catastrophic mess that was the Gotham War event we get this run by Joshy boii and Simone DiMeo. It's a decent little story which I follow only to ensure that Robin is OK. The breakout star of this title for me was DiMeo's art. It's so kinetic! Honestly, the art is the only reason this isn't a 0/10. That said...6.5/10

Outsiders: Fuck yeah dawg! The this series only has two issues out so far but it's been fun. I love Kate abd Luke respectively and together they are lots of fun. Also this title seems to lean in to the whole 'superhero fatigue' thing. So fuck yeah! 8/10

Nightwing: BRUH!! Tom Taylor has been in charge of what is honestly the best Superhero title on the market for the past couple years-and its Nightwing. His Grayson is charming, endearing and resilient: All of the good qualities of his deadbeat dad without any of the bullshit brooding and class warfare. This Dawn of Dc title feels different because it's less a relaunch and more a continuation. It's a super interesting deep dive into the BludHaven lore that Taylor began teasing years ago. Also pirate Dick Grayson-90/10

Titans: BRUH. 10/10 MY BOIIS (boiis is gender neutral) ARE ALL GROWN UP!! THEY'RE IN CHARGE. THEY RUNNING SHIT NOW. Seriously it's very good.

Titans/Beast World: heartbreaking but ill allow it. Crossover events are always iffy, we'll see where this goes. So far-7/10

Cyborg: fuck yeah dawg! I love cyborg and I love to see him getting his own title. It's been a good one and I can't wait for the finale next month. 9/10

Flash: BRUH! So far it's a very good Wally story but we're only a few issues deep. I like the Linda subplot. 9.5/10

Speed force: fuck yeah dawg. MAS AND MINOS ARE BACK!!!!! listen I was almost ready to write this series off as another story pandering to the youth. There is a Panel wherein someone describes the scene as 'bad vibes' and is told-'bet'-in response. That said, Joshy boii is clearly happy to be writing Wallace and Avery again AND MAS AND MINOS ARE FINALLY CANNON LETTSSSSS GOOOO!!!! 7/10

Jay Garrick Flash: fuck yeah dawg! Pretty good so far. I love Jay. Love the addition to his family. 7/10

Spirit World: BRUH! Crazy fucking good. I ADORE the way this title handles deadnames. Cassie, Envoy and John make a pretty good team and this depiction of the afterlife is really neat and engaging. 15/10

City Boy: BRUH! A+ for originality dudes. I love this character's motivation, powers and personality. This title genuinely makes a positive impact on the overall dc universe. 10/10

*note* I tried to color code the titles with the corresponding comic colors but tumblr mobile didn't have yellow so

[roy-dcm2]

Countdown to Infinite Crisis (Reading Order)

I love DC Comics, and despite being an unpopular opinion, I love the build up and aftermath of Infinite Crisis, because that was the era when I started reading. Frankly, I can't believe we're reaching the 20th anniversary of the event, soon.

While single character / author runs are what are usually lauded in most comics circles, I believe the sprawling epic events (when done well) are a unique charm of Superhero comics that a reader should experience.

What I hope to accomplish is by giving you my recommended reading order, it'll add more texture to the event as a whole.

Part 01 - Count Down to Infinite Crisis

So it all starts with the special issue "Countdown to Infinite Crisis #1" where the Blue Beetle - Ted Kord is investigating who has been stealing money from Kord Industries. In the end, the Blue Beetle is assassinated and his death is a catalyst for nearly everything that follows.

Part 02 - The OMAC Project

(This is the weirdest reading order in my entire collection)

The OMAC Project #1-6 directly follows up the death of Blue Beetle as Batman investigates the death of Ted Kord, but also searches for who has gained control of the Spy Satellite he build Brother Eye. Turns out it was taken over by a government agency called Checkmate, and is controlled by a former JLA ally, Maxwell Lord. At the climax, Max uses mind control powers to set Superman against his two friends, and it ends with Wonder Woman killing Maxwell Lord.

In the middle of the OMAC Project, (between issues 3/4) you should stop and read the Superman : Sacrifice storyline. This gives us the point of view of Superman. We get to see that Max had been giving him visions of Lois dying. This story can be found in Superman #219, Action Comics #829, Adventures of Superman #642, and Wonder Woman #219) Sacrifice illustrates just how important Lois is to Superman, and I believe it can make you more sympathetic for Kal-L during Infinite Crisis.

Finally, after The OMAC Project #6, you should read the aftermath of both events in Wonder Woman: Missions End. Diana tries to deal with the repercussions of her actions. Now, suddenly, the whole world is turning against her over the death of Maxwell Lord. This story is found in Wonder Woman #220 - #221.

(You should also read Adventures of Superman #643 for a nicer cap to the story)

When you read it like this, it really inflates The OMAC Project as the event that really did tear the Trinity apart.

Part 03 The Day of Vengeance

The Day of Vengeance #1-6 are pretty straight forward. The Spectre goes on a rampage to destroy all Magic in the DCU, and so a new magical team The Shadow Pact band together to TRY stop him. These events carry over into Infinite Crisis itself.

Part 04 The Rann-Thanagar War

The Rann-Thanagar War is mostly about a Cult on Thanagar that is trying to destroy the universe, meanwhile there is tension between the forces of Rann and Thanagar that don't fully explode into open war until the end of the mini series. You can find the main story in The Rann-Thanagar War #1-6.

After the mini-series, my recommend reading is The Outsiders : Crisis Intervention. This plot is a bit of a tie-in for all other events. At first, the Outsiders are dealing with the aftermath of The Spectre, then part of the team goes into space to help Donna Troy, and finally the other half of the team clashes with the Secret Society of Supervillains. You can read it in The Outsiders #29-33.

I like it as a spotlight on Roy Harper, Arsenal. He's dealing with what kind of hero he wants to be. Grace his teammate says he's not a dark vigilante like Nightwing, like Batman. Roy is a swashbuckling Hero, like Green Arrow. This is great when you know Roy ends up joining the Justice League after Infinite Crisis.

(BTW, the Return of Donna Troy is also a tie-in, but it is terribly boring. Just read this Crisis Intervention to get the lowdown on Donna Troy's part in all this.)

Part 05 Green Lantern Corps - Recharge

This is also taking place in the aftermath of The Rann-Thanagar War, but it is removed enough that I count it as separate. Since the war in space is steadily expanding in the background, the Green Lantern Corps is looking for new members. It's a great look at the other Green Lanterns that had been pushed aside by the return of Hal Jordan. You can read this in the mini-series Green Lantern Corps : Recharge #1-6.

Part 06 Villains United

This is following up on the aftermath of Identity Crisis. The villains created a secret society to take revenge on the heroes for altering people's minds. However, there's a secret group of villains that are united against the Secret Society. You can read the main story in Villains United #1-6

And you can see some follow up in Birds of Prey : Perfect Pitch, where the Calculator has set his mind to capturing Oracle, and it ends with a rematch between Black Canary and Deathstroke. It's a great spotlight for the team (And Gail Simone's writing.) You can read the story in Birds of Prey #86-90

Part 07 JSA Classified : Power Trip

Also known as "Power Girl : Power Trip"

This is a storyline from the JSA Classified books that serves to highlight Power Girl's confusing origin as she is plagued by illusions of people claiming to know the truth. And it ends leading directly into Infinite Crisis #2. You can read this storyline in JSA Classified #1-4.

Part 08 JLA Crisis of Confidence

Finally, the dark secret of the JLA comes back to destroy the team. Long ago, the inner circle of the JLA used magic to alter villains memories. Those villains are back for revenge, and while the heroes do ultimately come out victorious, the JLA disbands in disgrace. But it also ends with the destruction of the JLA moon base, which leads directly into the first issue of Infinite Crisis. This story is found in JLA #115 - 119

When you take it all in, you understand how monumental the event was. The villains are united just as the JLA community could not be more broken. Then the main event of Infinite Crisis is pretty epic, too.

I love this era, and I wish more people would learn to embrace it.

[autisticcassandracain]

Finished Blue Beetle: Graduation Day! Pros and cons list bc I like lists!

The Good:

I overall liked Jaime’s characterization! The graduation was a good kickstarter for character development and provided an easy way to switch up the setting and Jaime’s life, which I think the comic utilized well. I am really satisfied with where the comic went in regards to Jaime’s future; I think helping the Horizon suits Jaime really well as a character. I also like that the disconnect between him and the scarab came from both of their scrambled mental states rather than outside interference, I think that’s neat. Overall I think this comic did a good job with his character and developing him for future adventures.

I also liked Kori’s characterization! I think they did a good job making her serious but also exuberant. I’m always apprehensive about post-flashpoint Kori (or, tbh, non-NTT Kori) but I think they did a decent job, considering the limited screentime they had for her. I liked the interactions she and Vic had, and the inclusion of Tamaran’s connection to the Horizon was a great way to work her into the plot a bit more. I also enjoy what they did with the language absorption power; it was a really interesting way to utilize what is usually more of a plot convenience than a proper power! I don’t think her characterization was Super Deep, but considering the limited length of the series that’s fine.

The dynamic between Jaime, Brenda and Paco was great and I loved the scene where Paco hugged them. I wish we could’ve seen more of them. Though I don’t think it was quite as good as in Blue Beetle (2006), but like, that’s to be expected.

Kori’s hair really pretty. Love this take on it!

I think The Horizon is a great addition to Blue Beetle lore. It’s an interesting and refreshing take on the previously established lore that has a lot of future story potential. I also think their introduction was, overall, quite well handled. I’m very interested to see what other comics do with them (and really hope they don’t just get sort of handwaved and stuck to the side).

Likewise, I like the new Beetles. I don’t think their introduction was as strong as it probably should’ve been, but I think there’s story potential in Beetles connected to a peaceful split-off from the Reach. I like Nitida’s powers a lot, and Xiomara’s character seems interesting. I hope future comics actually expand on them, rather than just sort of leaving them hanging.

I thought Victoria’s character was fun! I know literally nothing about her (don’t even know if she’s a Graduation Day original, an established post-flashpoint feature, or an established pre-flashpoint feature), but I thought her moral grayness and contrasting moral system to Ted made for a fun character who had fun interactions with the rest of the highly moral superheroes around her.

Gratuitous use of Spanish was great! Love when I’m obviously not the target audience for a piece of media, and I’m saying that completely unironically. It felt like this series was being written for latines with a similar background as Jaime first and everyone else second and that’s great. I, however, am not latine and don’t speak Spanish at all so I cannot vouch for how that was handled. These are just my impressions.

The Meh/Bad:

The biggest problem I had with this series is that I do not understand why we are listening to Batman. Or Superman, for that matter, but Batman was the worst offender. I get that they’re established Powerful, Senior Heroes, but that doesn’t mean they can just order everyone around? Even in the Justice League, while the other members may listen to them, they’re not their soldiers they can just send out and order around at will. Like, why do they have the power to ground Jaime? Jaime’s not their sidekick, he’s not under their command, they have no power over him, yet everyone acts like they do. Like. Why do we care what Batman thinks? A different superhero team clashing in the finale makes sense, but what doesn’t make sense is the rest of the comic acting like Batman and Superman can just decide whether Jaime does or does not do hero work, or why his mistakes should be reported to them, or whatever. It’s weird as hell and I don’t like it.

By extension: weird as hell that it took this long for them to bring Jaime in on a presumably Reach-based crisis, and no good reason is ever given for keeping him out of it, aside from ‘keeping him safe’, which, again, is not Batman’s (or Superman’s) responsibility (beyond the same base responsibility they have towards everyone). Jaime is the world’s foremost expert on kicking Reach ass, and frankly, the Reach in general (or at least, he should be). It’s super weird to me that they all tried to sideline him because, what, he’s young? This is comics? Since when do we care about that? As a result, the ‘we follow Jaime’s lead’ moment at the end that was supposed to be a major character note kinda fell flat to me. It’s weird it took this long and it’s weird Jaime let them walk all over him before that.

To be fair, I have very little knowledge on post-flashpoint Jaime. I tried to read N52 Blue Beetle, and it was reeeaaaally bad, and I just haven’t bothered keeping up since. I’m pretty sure there’s some post-flashpoint stuff I’m missing that makes this make a little more sense; it definitely reads like Jaime at some point had a mentorship under Superman/Batman and that’s why he defers to them. But it’s really jarring when compared to the agency and respect he got in Blue Beetle (2006), and I am really trying not to hold this 6-issue miniseries in a completely different continuity to that standard, but Jaime’s independence was a large part of the reason I liked his character and this just feels like a much less interesting narrative choice. Is it OOC for Jaime to defer to more experienced heroes in an alternate timeline where those heroes never, y’know, left him in space for a year? Not really. (And even pre-flashpoint, he clearly had a lot of respect for Superman. Presumably because he wasn’t involved in leaving him in space for a year.) But I hate these vibes and I will complain about them.

Second biggest issue I have is that at several time this plot falls prey to ‘this only works because nobody acts like a normal human with common sense’ syndrome. Brenda and Paco trusting Fadeaway based on what seems like literally zero evidence. Jaime trusting Fadeaway based on what seems like literally zero evidence. Jaime not getting Victoria’s side of the story before resorting to breaking into Kord Industries and stealing (or, for that matter, talking to Ted if nothing else). Everyone listening to Batman and Superman like there’s a chain of command (why does Ted care what Batman has told Jaime to do?) Nobody bothering to ask why Xiomare wants Jaime dead so badly despite clearly not being evil and actually quite reasonable seemingly, or even bothering to interrogate her stated concerns. Etc Etc Etc. There was just a lot of very convenient losing of braincells when the plot needed it. 

Aside from that the only major issue is that the inclusion of Fadeaway wasn’t particularly great. It wasn’t necessary to the story at hand and obviously only really there as a set-up for Blue Beetle: Scarab War (which I know literally nothing about but that title fills me with dread, please don’t be what that sounds like). I’m also not entirely clear on how much of their backstory was a lie to trick Jaime and how much wasn’t, but I think their character would’ve been more interesting if their motives were genuine rather than a way to trick Jaime. As a straight villain they’re kinda boring so far. IDK I’m not like, upset at their inclusion, I don’t think it tanked the story, but idk, it still feels like a sacrifice for the sake of setting up the next story more than anything else.

From hereon out its nitpicks and minor complaints mostly, that was the structural stuff that really bothered me.

It felt like there were a lot of implicit plotbeats that were just sorta... skipped over. Kori wanting to mentor Jaime is honestly kinda handwaved. Victoria and Ted knowing about the Horizon while we haven’t seen Kori or Jaime give them that information yet. I don’t quite understand why Khaji Da was scared. Was it Jaime’s graduation? The ‘Reach’ transmission? Maybe I’m just stupid but it’s kinda unclear to me. Also, Jaime helping Fadeaway steal the artifact is treated like an obvious mistake when I don’t even get why? Fadeaway said Victoria bought a stolen artifact that should be returned to its rightful owner. Victoria did, in fact, knowingly buy a stolen artifact. The ‘returned to its rightful owner’ bit is where the disagreement lies, unless that was a lie, which was never actually. Stated? Was that a lie? It felt like it was, but again, it’s never stated. Etc etc etc. Most of this stuff was ultimately minor but it was frequent enough it added up for me. Maybe all this was explained and I just read over it, though, who knows, I do that sometimes.

I don’t. Like the casual imprisonment of a citizen by a private corporation. This is a fancy way to say ‘kidnapping’. Like it’s great that Xiomare was held in humane conditions but it’s still deeply fucking uncomfortable. Ted and Victoria Kord should not have this power and everyone else should not be okay with letting them have it.

The characters of the Green and Yellow Beetles are underdeveloped. This makes sense considering this is a 6-issue-miniseries and there’s only so much time, but nonetheless, I literally can count the facts I know about these characters on one hand and that’s kinda sad. Feel like their character introduction could’ve been a lot stronger, even with the limited runtime.

Jaime and Kori’s relationship was rushed and felt way too close at the end considering they’d only had, what, one extended interaction prior to the climax? Again, limited runtime, that’s why this isn’t a major complaint, but still, it was a little strange to me. I liked what we did see, but there wasn’t enough to really make much of a call either way tbh.

The parallels that the comic attempted to draw between how Khaji Da functioned at first and how the Green and Yellow Beetles function fell kinda flat. This may be a result of me not knowing Blue Beetle’s backstory in the post-flashpoint continuity, though, but still, it felt rather weird to hear Xiomare shout about how the Horizon tried to ‘conquer’ them, which just felt like a gross overreaction to what actually happened (they got Scarabs and those scarabs told them that the Reach and their technology are dangerous, which they are, and should be eliminated, which, as a general rule, they should be). As far as I can tell no actual mind control or even forcible persuasion was going on; Xiomare and Nitida seemed in complete control of themselves, they were just working on the advice of scared and wrongly informed scarabs. But, again, I could be missing crucial post-flashpoint context regarding how scarab persuasion/mind control works and be wrong here.

An extremely petty complain but I really don’t like the way this artist draws mouths. I’m sorry I could just never get used to it. They take up almost the entire length of the face and it makes the characters look like muppets. This is highly subjective because it’s clearly a stylistic choice but it really did bother me quite a bit.

An even pettier complaint but I miss Jaime’s ragtag group of misfits :( Like I don’t need the exact Blue Beetle (2006) cast to show up, but I really liked that Jaime’s (superhero) mentors and friends consisted 100% of outcasts, losers, and/or B-listers. It feels weird to see him be so close to a bunch of A-listers and generally respected heroes and I don’t like the vibes as much I’m sorry. This is 100% a post-flashpoint thing rather than a ‘this comic specifically’ thing but it bothered me.

Verdict: A fun comic written by people who obviously care about Jaime a lot, with interesting new lore added that could easily be expanded upon in future stories. Has its flaws, but those can probably mostly be ascribed to the comic being set in the post-flashpoint continuity, and even if that’s not the issue, it’s not that big a deal. Definitely worth a read if you’re a fan of Jaime!

[hedgiwithapen]

Answer the Questions and Tag 5 Fanfic Authors

Tagged by @mosylufanfic

1. How did you get into writing fanfiction?

Daydreamed a LOT. hated writing. Made up stories in my brain, mostly about Digimon. then, was Chronically Unsupervised for a summer and found Fanfiction.net and went oh heck, I could do that? I could just. write one down??? people would maybe like it?? and then I Did That. at this point I had, you see, decided I Liked Writing Now. (active choice, the way I recently decided that I Like Celery.)

2. How many fandoms have you written in?

Uhhhh ok so there's Digimon (technically) and Fablehaven (again, only technically.) Big Hero 6 and then Flash, Young Justice, Supergirl, Stargirl, Avatar, the Librarians, Leverage, Blue Beetle(movie) My Adventures with Superman, Superman and Lois, Legends of Tomorrow, pokemon (game--sapphire) and Agents of Shield. And like. my various RPGs. but a lot of those are like.... just a couple dammit hedgi day ficlets so... shrug?

3. How many years have you been writing fanfiction? the first one I ever posted on the internet was in I want to say 2007. but the first one I guess I ever like. actively came up with was a little booklet about an oddish and a jigglypuff escaping team rocket (they were the only pokemon I could draw) and that was back in like. '99. it had aproximately ten words in it so that's more of a fan comic than fanfiction.

4. Do you read or write more fanfiction?

I write more than I read, I think, but I read more than I finish, excuding the month of september. DHD is an outleir adn should not be counted.

5. What is one way you’ve improved as a writer?

I can do action and fight scenes now!!!! Also I think I'm better at dialog. I used to be real bad at both those things.

6. What’s the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

hmmmmmmmmm. I mean. I feel like the deep diving into victorian flower language maybe? or like. How Trial By Combat worked in the Age Of Knights? How many calories a kitten with superspeed would need, perhaps. oh wait you know what, it's absolutely more obscure catholic patron saints, which I hardly even used in the fics i was researching them for, but man. did y'all know that St. Jude is also called Thaddeus and that he and St. Bartholomew are co-patron saints of Armenia? there's some kind of Barth Allen and Thaddeus Thawne Joke in there.

7. What’s your favorite type of comment to receive on your work?

I really like the key smashy "how dare you." ones. also a big fan of the ones where people leave their favorite line and a string of emojis. I love anything that lets me guess how emotional a person got.

8. What’s the most fringe trope/topic you write about?

uhhhhh idk. metakitties?

9. What is the hardest type of story for you to write?

Long fics that drastically diverge from canon or are big AUs... I run out of roadmap and then worry no one's really going to care. also, just. ship fic in general. So I do not. or I do so rarely and in smaller sections.

10. What is the easiest type?

present tense introspective fics. those just flow.

11. Where do you do your writing? What platform? When?

I mostly use google docs, and I also do a lot of hand writing in a notebook. usually sitting at my little computer desk on my bed, or in the back hall at work, and typically in the afternoon-evening.

12. What is something you’ve been too nervous/intimidated to write, but would love to write one day?

ehhhhhhhh I'm not really like. intimidated by anything that I'm interested in doing? I'm just lazy. lol.

13. What made you choose your username?

Assigned Hedgehog by cubscouts when I was a counselor at a summer camp. It Stuck.

uhhh I tag @windona @pennflinn @wrencatte @thenarator and @parvumautomaton but no pressure but also anyone else who wants to do this.

[davidmariottecomics]

Week 86 - 8/28/23 - A BLUE BEETLE MOVIE???

Hi there, 

It probably isn't news as it's a pretty popular film in theaters right now, but there's a Blue Beetle movie out! And it's a lot of fun! 

If you didn't know, Ted Kord, the second Blue Beetle, is my favorite superhero. There's a pretty good joke in the new movie about the difference between Ted and Batman, and not to step on the punchline, but it boils down to Ted knows how to laugh. He's a character frequently written to have a sense of humor, to know a good joke, and to be the dramatic superheroic straightman when it counts. He is not exactly an everyman--he's a genius, he dresses up in a silly costume, and he's rich--but in a lot of ways, he's just a guy trying to do the right thing because he can. 

And he casts a long shadow over the new movie, which is about Jaime Reyes--fantastically played by the dreamy Xolo Maridueña--who I don't love quite as much as Ted, but who I think is himself a great and important character. He's a very different hero. He's got a sense of humor, he's got a good heart, but his relationship with his family, with his friends, with the scarab, and with the Blue Beetle legacy allows him to be something totally apart from Ted. The movie takes a lot of liberties--it's part Spider-Man, part Ant-Man, part Green Lantern (though... honestly probably better than the past few recent film adaptations of those characters)--but it doesn't run from the truth of who Jaime is as a character, which I think makes it all the better. The best superhero movie projects don't try to be just an adaptation, but to take what makes the hero great, understand it, and share it in a way that makes them more accessible and loom larger as a hero. 

I don't want to spoil anything, but there was one extremely stupid part that made me tear up (out of just finally getting to see a thing on-screen and knowing there's some practical version of it out there and honestly, a little bit jealousy). If you see me, or want to reach out and ask about it, I'll gladly tell you. 

But there's a Blue Beetle movie. And even though I saw it and really quite liked it... I kinda still can't believe it. 

Next week: No blog on the website/newsletter! There is a Patreon post scheduled if you need your fix, going out to all backers at $5 or more a month! But I'm outta town and will see you when I return. 

What I enjoyed this week: Blank Check (Podcast), Yu-Gi-Oh: Duel Links (Video Game), Craig of the Creek (Cartoon), Honkai Star Rail (Video game), My Adventures with Superman (Cartoon), The Broken Room by Peter Clines (Book), Dumbing of Age (Webcomic), Solve This Murder (Podcast), The Venture Bros: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart (Movie--which my pal Phil Murphy worked on!), Kaiju No. 8 (Manga), Kaguya-Sama: Love is War (Manga), Blue Beetle (Movie--duh), Oldboy (Movie), Witch Watch (Manga), Becca playing a little more Persona 5, Tangled (Movie), Jurassic Park (Movie), D.E.B.S. (Movie) 

New Releases this week (8/23/2023): Godzilla Monsters & Protectors: All Hail the King TPB (Editor--on the latter half)

Final Order Cut-Off next week (8/28/2023--last day to get your preorders in): Sonic the Hedgehog #65

New Releases next week (8/30/2023): Godzilla Rivals: Vs. SpaceGodzilla (Supervising Editor) Sonic the Hedgehog: Endless Summer (A very silly credit) Sonic the Hedgehog: Scrapnik Island TPB (Editor) 

Announcements: Becca is at Cartoon-a Palooza in Temecula on 9/15 & 9/16. It's a cool free all-ages little con, so come on out and see them!

Wanna support me? Consider joining my Patreon! I've got a bunch of cool stuff coming up and already on there. As well as some silly stuff like a tour of my desk, so you can see where the comics magic happens! I've got a bunch of stuff scheduled for September already and there'll always be more! 

I have a webstore! It does look like I'm going to get a small supplement to my Beast Wars Vol. 3 stock, which is nice, but most everything else, I am not going to have more of anytime soon! Maybe give it a look! 

I've still got a few things on my eBay, if you're looking for stuff! But obviously, anything that would get shipped out won't until I'm back!  Pic of the Week: It was National Cinema Day yesterday, which is why Becca and I went to Blue Beetle ($4 tickets to the movies!). But they had to work, so I went and saw a second film, the 20th anniversary screening of Park Chan-wook's Oldboy. And the theater that was showing Oldboy had a special Cinema Day deal on the Blue Beetle backback popcorn bucket, so I did pick it up because that with a popcorn and a drink was still significantly cheaper than the bucket usually is by itself. So here's a photo of Becca modeling it. 

[chernobog13]

DC STUDIOS ANNOUNCEMENT

James Gunn and Peter Safran, the heads of the new DC Studios, finally announced a small part of their 10-12 year plan for the new DC cinematic universe.

Like the MCU goes in Phases, the DC films will be presented in Chapters.  Chapter One is entitled Gods and Monsters, and includes the following films:

Superman: Legacy - yet another reboot of Superman, scheduled for July 11, 2025.

The Authority - the Windstorm characters getting introduced in =to the mainstream DC Universe.  I think this  is a huge mistake, both in films and in the comics.  The Wildstorm characters work best on their own world, especially as many of them are analogues of already existing DC characters.  And at this point and time, grim and gritty has been done to death.

The Brave and the Bold - Batman (Bruce) and Robin (Damian), supposedly inspired by Grant Morrison’s stories (although Dick Grayson was the original Batman Damian worked with).

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow - a science fiction adventure based on the recent Tom King=written limited series.  While I admire the story King was trying to tell, it wasn’t really my cup of tea.  And he has earned my eternal wrath for what he did to Krypto!

Swamp Thing - a film about Swamp Thing (natch!).

The Batman: Part Two - the continuation of Matt Reeves’ noir Batman, set in its own universe.  Scheduled for October 2025.

Then there are television series:

Creature Commandoes - an animated series Gun wrote featuring Amanda Waller putting together a black ops team consisting of monsters.  This is probably the mysterious unnamed series Gunn stated a few weeks ago that he was working on.

Waller - a series starring Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, and featuring the Peacemaker crew.  Not wild about this as I have always found Waller to be a detestable character, and certainly not one that should be leading a series.  This  also probably means we’re not getting a real second season to Peacemaker, which is a shame.

Booster Gold - Booster being Booster: trying to pass himself off as a great superhero using his future tech.

Lanterns - a series described as “True Detective with space cops,” this is what is replacing the previously announced Green Lantern series at HBO Max.  This series features Hal Jordan and John Stewart.

Paradise Lost - a series set on Themyscira (Paradise Island) focusing on the intrigues and politics on a island of just women.  So, a Wonder Woman series without Wonder Woman.  I absolutely hate these type of series.  I would rather have another Wonder Woman film with Gal Gadot, thank you.

According to Gunn, this list is not all inclusive of everything coming in Chapter One.

Before any of this happens, there are still the upcoming films Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and Blue Beetle.

Gunn stated that events in The Flash “resets the entire DC Universe” (I guess it’s a version of Flashpoint), and that Aquaman “leads directly” into Chapter One.

I’m not real excited by what I see so far, although The Brave and the Bold could be fun if done right.  And I’m downright not looking forward to a couple of these (The Authority, Waller).  I’m going to go into “wait and see mode” and hope for the best.

That is if my ancient, dilapidated carcass manages to live long enough to see any of these come to pass.

[forever1kay]

DC Masterlist

MISC

The misc masterlist will feature characters I don’t plan to write about often. That list will be created eventually, but as of now we’ll just focus on the masterlists below!

-

→ Titans

This list includes characters from the 2018 series Titans. Works about Dick Grayson and/or Kory Anders will frequent more, but I do still write about Conner Kent, Gar Logan, Rachel Roth, Donna Troy, and Jason Todd. You can request other characters such as Hawk and Dove, Tim Drake, or Blackfire but they will be in the misc masterlist.

→ The Losers

This list includes characters such as (Jake) Jensen, Carlos “Cougar” Alvarez, (Franklin) Clay, (William) Roque, Linwood “Pooch” Porteous, and Aisha Al-Fadhil.

→ Black Lightning

This list includes characters such as Jennifer Pierce, Anissa Pierce, Lynn Stewart, Grace Choi, Jefferson Pierce, Khalil Payne, Issa Williams, and Peter Gambi.

→ Justice League

This masterlist includes Henry Cavill’s Superman, Ezra Miller’s Flash, Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, Ben Affleck’s Batman and Jason Momoa’s Aquaman!

→ Young Justice

Including characters from the 2010 DC cartoon show Young Justice. Including characters such as Conner Kent (Superboy), Wally West (Kid Flash), Robin/Nightwing (Dick Grayson), Kaldur’ahm (AquaLad), Karen Beecher (Bumblebee), Jaime Reyes (Blue Beetle), and Virgil Hawkins (Static Shock).

→ My Adventures With Superman

Here I will write about Clark Kent/Superman. If you would like anything written about Lois Lane or Jimmy Olsen, you can request it but it will go in the misc masterlist.

→ Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

I really only planned to write about Clark Kent/Superman, Jack Milner and Jimmy Olsen but you can request works about other characters. If I fulfill your request, those works will go into the misc masterlist.

→ Smallville

Okay, you caught me! I haven’t actually watched the show yet. I’ve only seen short clips. For now, I only plan to write about Clark Kent. This list may possibly be updated after I watch the show.

[joleneghoul]

if there was one superhero crossover that hasnt been done lately (either in-company like the flash and green arrow or across like Spiderman and Superman) what would you want to see?

Alternatively, do you have any favorite team-ups or clashes between heroes? Hope you feel better soon!

thank you! <3 oh interesting hm. Honestly I'd love to see a main Charlton character team up again that's done well (so like ted, the question, nightshade, etc). The idea i mentioned for a new Ted solo would involve that I think (in general I wish ted could have team ups outside of Booster nowadays, even if he's retired he can work with someone as backup or tech.) I mention my own dc universe a lot but Ted in that is like a tech-guy for the vanishing point which leads to a lot of fun interactions with strange teamups.

Speaking of vanishing point I am really hoping with the addition of Jai/Lilly (gold beetle) being a new couple in dc comics that we get more interactions between the flash family and time masters/vanishing point heroes. idk much abt the flash family but i would find the interesting.

omg sorry I cant stop talking about time travelers but I also have become a little bit obsessed with imagining a Team up adventure between Rip Hunter and Guy Gardner because I think that'd be really interesting.

If it's not obvious i have my own little niche of heroes I think abt sob..um..I honestly don't think abt Marvel too much I remember wishing a hero was in dc universe but i can't remember WHO right now... I think a whole Bug Superhero event would be funny. Like blue beetle, ant-man, spider-man, etc. (i need to get into ant man but like i said marvel isn't something i'm super interested in)

Oh can we get a muppets/DC crossover ( iknow its not possible bc of disney so the closest we have are the old muppet tv show superman and wonder woman eps but i yearn)

idk what do yall think?

[mourning-at-night]

thanks to @weird-bitch-r for the tag, that’s v sweet :>

last song: waco jesus by the callous daoboys

currently watching: just started my adventures with superman. im only a few episodes in but im really enjoying it so far!! it’s really charming and fun and im loving the characterization choices they made

current obsession: blue beetle lol. i didn’t love the recent movie personally but it did remind me how much i like jaime reyes and the blue beetle story, so i rewatched young justice and started a reread of the 2006 comics. the funny blue kid and his murderous bug friend are spinning in my mind all the time rn <3 also im constantly thinking about yellowjackets, forever and ever, rn the team pre-crash and immediately post-rescue in particular. also also ive been listening to like. A Lot of the callous daoboys, i think it counts as an obsession. if u think u would be interested in mathcore that doesn’t take itself too seriously but also has some of the most engaging and emotionally gut-wrenching lyrics ive heard in a long time, would strongly recommend!! it’s simultaneously fun and disorienting and a little painful to listen to

anyways if ur reading this and u want to put this information out there do it :0 im tagging u, and also @queerhummingbird if u are interested <3

[spookiat]

Ooo thanks for the tag! I've been recovering from surgery so it took me a while to get to fjfhfhf

3 ships: right now???? Jayroy uhhh JonGerry also aaand like. TimKon ig. Jmart somewhere distantly in the bg but that's 4 so. idk it depends on the vibe and how it's written fjngisj (those relatable ace grey-ro struggles ammirite)

1st ever ship: god idk like. Teorenzo probably??? From books at least?? I honestly don't know. If they're too niche (bc no one has ever heard of The Undrowned Child) then... idk percabeth probs :/

(look, ship content is never really my priority in the long run so i tend to forget which ones i like after i stop .. uh. caring about them. as much? hyperfocus is fickle etc etc)

Last song: lonely vampire by Weathers! I'm listening to my Jason Todd playlist >:3

Last movie: .... The Power Rangers movie from 2017.. bUT the last one I saw in cinema was Blue Beetle and that slapped!!

Currently reading: I'm still on Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge but idk if it counts I've barely touched it.

Currently watching: I finished My Adventures With Superman like. Yesterday? And OPLA a few days ago too but I'm currently still bouncing between the Young Justice cartoon and the Justice League cartoon. Yes there's a lot of DC here. I have a problem.

Currently consuming: nothing :(( sad

Currently craving: some good fucking cookies. Also gf ramen. I was craving nachos but I had those for lunch so! Done

I'll taaag ummm @raylaandcallum @yahargulian @sapphichoneymoon @adamspunkgf @sncwbaz @yaboiiskinnypenis000 @catboyparrish @percysbluepizza aand @minicita 9! <33 hii

9 people you would like to get to know better

(tagged by @horrorwoood, I’ve made another post because the other was quite long)

3 ships: rimster (Rimmer / Lister from Red Dwarf), hilson (House MD), and the murder husbands/hannigram (Hannibal)

1st ever ship: I don’t fully remember but it may have been Logicality (I’m not a massive Sander’s Sides fan anymore but a few years ago it had me in a chokehold)

Last song: This Is Hardcore by Pulp

Last movie: Amelie

Currently reading: Piranesi

Currently watching: I’m (re)watching Red Dwarf because I’m several seasons behind and I need a reminder of the earlier seasons

Currently consuming: Nothing :(

Currently craving: I’m really in the mood for ice cream (it’s basically been >25 degrees C the whole day and I’m melting)

9 people to tag: @what-is-this-tomfoolery @whatcantheharvesthopefor @bildadtheshuhlte @hereforthelizardsex @justgotpunched @kittyhighfive @continuallycowardlycod @vintageghoststories @nightdiety :)

[firegio]

what comics should I read about Ted kord and booster gold? I know nothing about then but they seem cool

Hey there!

it really depends if you want to read comics only with the two of them together or if you wanna read comics about Beetle and Booster.

Either way, I'll do my best to give you some kind of reading list.

First of all I must refer you to this very useful sheet where all their appearances have been listed; I'm also referring you to this guide list my best friend made (@ted-kord) for me.

Blue Beetle:

- Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985) #1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12

- Legends (1986) #2, #4-6

- Secret Origins (1986) #2

- Blue Beetle vol. 6 (1986) (aka Ted's first DC solo!!)

- The Weird (1988)

- Doctor Fate (1990) #14-15 (fun story!)

- DC's Showcase (1994) #2-4

- Birds of Prey (1998) #9, 15, 19, 23-25, 33, #35-37, #39-42, 75, 79 (!)

- Robin (1995) #95-96 (connected to BoP)

- Nightwing vol.2 (1996) #63 (connected to BoP)

- L.A.W. (1999)

- DC Legacies (2010) #10 (!)

- Convergence: Blue Beetle (2015) #1-2

- Blue Beetle Vol. 9 (2016) #1-14, #18

Booster

- Booster Gold vol.1 (1986) (aka Booster's first DC solo!) + Action Comics #594

- Secret Origins Vol. 2 (1988) #34

- Adventures of Superman (1991) #476

- OMAC Project (2006) #1-6 (!)

- 52 (2006) #1-8, 10, 15, 19, 20, 22, 24, 21, #35-35, #50-52 (!)

- Booster Gold Vol. 2 (2007) (!)

- JL: Generation Lost (2010) (!)

- Time Masters: Vanishing Point (2010)

- Booster Gold Future's End (2014)

- Booster Gold: Convergence (2015)

Boostle

- Justice League (1986) #1-6

- Justice League International (1986)

- Justice League America (1989) (!) (keep in mind that towards the end, the team changes!)

- Justice League Europe #27-36 (!)

- Justice League Quarterly (1990) (!)

- Justice League Task Force #13-15, 37

- Extreme Justice (1995) #0-18

- Martian Manhunter vol. 2 (2000) #24

- Formerly Known As The Justice League (2004)

- I Can't Believe It's Not The Justice League (2005)

- JLA 80 Page Giant (2011)

- Heroes in Crisis (2019) (!)

- DC Cybernetic Days of Summer (2020)

- Blue & Gold (2021 -ongoing)

AUs

- Adventures in the DCU (1997) #8

- JL Unlimited (2004) #5 (Just Beetle!), #30, #34

- Injustice 2 (2016) #9, #10, #27, #28, #41, #42, #47-52, #57-66 (I hate this comic but ,,, maybe you will like it?) (!)

-DC Very Merry Multiverse (2020) ('Twas the Night!!) #1

Hope this helps!! Have fun reading <3 PS. (!) = in this comic/run, there could be something potentially triggering, be careful!