#like superman and lois the justice league animated series some of the dcau movies and more

[floq]

you know, a big reason i kinda drifted away from the phandom last year was because of how prevalent dp x dc content had become. at the time, i was more of a marvel girlie and i didn’t know much about the batfam or dc content in general. but this year during my (somewhat unintentional) hiatus i coincidentally got really into superman media, which then spiraled into an interest in the batfam and dc as whole and oh god I GET IT NOW

I GET THE APPEAL

dp x dc content creators, keep it going, y’all are doing wonders for this community

[pinkiemachine]

hey!! i saw some of ur posts on my feed, and im just wondering, what is the gotham files series u have going on? is it like a recap of the storyline or something else? :3

So Batman: Gotham Files is the name of a tv show pitch of mine. Basically, if Warner Bros. came over to me and said, “Here’s the DC franchise, go nuts,” I would then begin to create a new DC Animated Universe, starting with Wonder Woman: Heir to Olympus—Wonder Woman’s first ever animated tv series. At first, it would have two seasons, and then we’d move on to Dawn of Superman, which would also go for two seasons, before finally reaching Batman: Gotham Files. It would also go for two seasons, and then we would launch Justice League: Heroes Rising for one, maybe two seasons as well, and then The Mighty Teen Titans for two seasons. From then on, it gets very complicated, because not only are we going to continue making seasons for DoS, HtO, Gotham Files, Heroes Rising, and TT, but we’d also kick off a Flash show, a Green Lantern show, and possibly an Aquaman show, but I’m still figuring that one out at the moment. Not to mention, there would be mini series too. Like, Supergirl’s Lost in Space years, and Red Hood and the Outlaws, and then there’s Young Justice as well. I’m still in the process of making a detailed timeline that tracks everything and keeps the ages and events straight, but it’s coming along.

Why am I doing all this writing? Well, let’s put it this way: I walked into this big, old Victorian Manor, and it was full-to-bursting with junk. There’s a lot of really good, really cool stuff in there, but it’s over-crowded, there’s mold growing, there might be some rats, and it DESPERATELY needs to be cleaned out. This is a metaphor. This was me when I tried to walk into DC. A normie, just trying to enjoy the franchise. I looked at the comics… and they’re a mess of conflicting timelines, retcons, reboots, world-ending events, changing backstories, and so many characters that it is dizzying. Then I looked for something more digestible, like the tv shows or movies.

…

I did not like the movies.

I like the OG Teen Titans cartoon…

That’s basically it.

I’m trying to watch Justice League, the animated series right now, I’ve seen the original Superman film from the 70s, I’m starting to watch the live action Lois and Clark show from the 90s, I want to get into Batman the animated series, but 1: a lot of these shows don’t feature all the characters from the comics, especially the ones I’d like to see depicted in a show, and 2: they’re all disconnected from one another, with conflicting backstories and different takes on different characters.

I am tired. It is so much work to just try and get into the DC fandom. Let alone stay there.

So I took it upon myself to perform a public service. I told myself, I would roll up my sleeves and write a new DCAU from the ground up. One where even the most normal of normies could jump in and learn about these much-beloved characters and enjoy them. One where the timeline was untangled and there’s a proper beginning, middle, and satisfying end. I will tell the most complicated interwoven story in the history of television just to appease my need for organisation in this forsaken franchise!

…

I feel passionate about things…

Anyway, hope this clears everything up :)

Gotham Files post 1 👇

[ploppythespaceship]

So you really liked My Adventures with Superman... and you want more Supes!

I know quite a lot of people had their proper Superman introduction through MAWS, and are now curious to experience some more of him and his family. I can help you there! This post will go through some movies and TV shows you can check out for some more Superman greatness.

As a note, I'm not much of a comics person, so if you're interested in that I will plug @luthwhore's Superman Recommended Reading list.

Movies

Superman: Man of Tomorrow

This movie is an origin story for Superman, and it's pretty good! It borrows from several of his comics origins without directly adapting any of them. It understands the core appeal of his character, this time placing a heavy focus on Superman as an immigrant to Earth to explore the dichotomy of being both human and alien. This is the beginning of a shared universe of DC films known as the Tomorrowverse, which you can check out if you like. Personally I felt the other films were very hit and miss, but your mileage may vary.

Superman (1978)

This is one of those movies that's so iconic everyone should see it at least once. Christopher Reeve is the definitive live-action Superman for a lot of people, and it's very easy to see why -- he's one of the few actors who can really sell Clark and Superman feeling like separate people. It's also had an extremely heavy influence on lots of Superman stories going forward, even bleeding back into the comics. If you enjoy this movie, you can continue with its sequels. Superman II is solid, but Superman III, Superman IV, and Supergirl are all a bit of a mess. There's also the 2006 movie Superman Returns, which picks up right after Superman II with a new cast.

The Death of Superman / Reign of the Supermen

The Death of Superman is perhaps the most iconic arc in Superman comics, but it's not really accessible to newcomers. This pair of films changes that, and is, in my humble opinion, better than the comic story it's based on. Both Clark and Lois have some great characterization, and it features the origins of Superboy and Steel. These movies are part of the DCAMU, a shared universe of films, but you don't need to see any of the others to follow along. That being said, some of them are also pretty good, so you can expand out to those if you're interested.

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies & Apocalypse

This is a pair of animated films focusing on a team-up between Superman and Batman, and they're both a ton of fun. The two characters have a great dynamic that tends to not get captured well outside of the comics. These films are technically connected, but you could watch either one independently of the other.

Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons

This film focuses on Superman and Batman's sons, Jon Kent and Damian Wayne, as they are forced to work together to save the world when their parents are out of action. It's absolutely delightful and a wonderful introduction to the Super Sons.

TV

Superman: The Animated Series

If you want a solid overview of golden age Superman, his recurring characters, his rogues gallery, etc., this is absolutely the place to go. It's charming, it's well-made, and it's just fun. This series is also set in the DCAU, a shared universe that includes Batman: The Animated Series, Justice League, Batman Beyond, and more. You can continue to these other shows if you'd like to see Superman with other Justice League members.

Superman & Lois

This show follows an older Clark and Lois as they manage raising teenage sons in their superhero world. It's a very different vibe than other Superman stories, being a more character-driven family drama. It also plays fast and loose with comics canon, often adapting things with a fresh twist to keep them interesting -- but it remains very true to the core idea of the characters. All the characters are excellent, especially Tyler Hoechlin's Superman. Also, if you enjoyed the brief appearances of John Irons/Steel in MAWS, you'll be pleased to know that he is a main character in this show, and he's cool as hell. His daughter Natalie (based on his niece Natasha from the comics) is also badass. S&L was originally created as part of the CW's Arrowverse, but was later changed to be a standalone. You don't need to be familiar with any of the other CW series to appreciate this one.

Smallville

This is a fairly different take on Superman, primarily exploring him as a teenager growing up in Smallville and developing his powers. Later seasons see him move to Metropolis and show how he developed into becoming Superman. It also features what's widely considered to be the best live-action adaptation of Lex Luthor. That being said, this is a mid-2000s supernatural teen drama that's very much a product of its time -- it's got endearing but inconsistently written characters, irritating love triangles, campy plot lines, the works. It's one of those shows that alternates between being peak television and being the dumbest thing you've ever seen. How much that appeals is definitely up to you.

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

I will be very upfront -- this is a series that will appeal very highly to a particular group of people, and not at all to anyone else. The show is more or less your standard Superman setup, but with a heavy focus on the growing and complicated relationship between Clark, Superman, and Lois. The plots tend to be pure 90s cheese, and some elements have aged pretty poorly, but the characters and their dynamics are excellent. If you're really interested in Clark and Lois' relationship, this is a must watch -- Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher have incredible chemistry. Otherwise, you can probably give this one a pass.

Supergirl

This series is all about Kara as she becomes Supergirl. It does take a lot of liberties with her character, and her characterization is quite different from both the comics and MAWS. But she's still a great character in her own right, and the supporting cast is also excellent. The show features Kara, her adoptive sister Alex, Jimmy, and more. Superman does make a few appearances, but not very often -- this is very much Kara's show. The show does fall into some typical CW shortcomings -- forced romances, love triangles, overall cheese -- but if you're willing to look past that, you'll find a great series with a lot of heart and charm. This is part of the CW's Arrowverse, which can be overwhelming to try and get into. But apart from the few big crossovers, you can follow most of this show just fine.

[spiderdreamer-blog]

My Adventures With Superman: “Adventures of a Normal Man, Pts. 1 and 2″ Review

Since the end of Superman: The Animated Series, Superman has not had an animated series solely dedicated to himself as an adult in the intervening 23 years. He’s certainly been part of team shows like Justice League/Unlimited or Legion of Superheroes (albeit as a teenaged Superboy) that had his character as a key component. And there have been no shortage of movies, live action or animated, that starred him either. But it feels like something’s been lost, especially on the live action end, where interesting ideas by Zack Snyder and Henry Cavill largely failed to coalesce into a compelling character (and also were a major contributing factor in the current disaster zone that is Warner Bros. Discovery, so, that doesn’t help). But we finally have a new series starring him in My Adventures With Superman, and its two-part premiere has finally surfaced. How do things shake out for the Man of Steel?

Rather than start with the standard origin, the series picks up with Clark Kent (Jack Quaid, The Boys, Star Trek: Lower Decks) arriving in Metropolis to start work at the Daily Planet as an intern alongside his roommate Jimmy Olsen (Ishmel Sahid, Cousins for Life). They quickly meet Lois Lane (Alice Lee, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist), a fellow intern who dreams of bigger things, but is currently stymied by the Planet’s gruff editor-in-chief Perry White (Darrell Brown, Gabby’s Dollhouse). Lois drags Jimmy and Clark along on a story about military tech stolen by mercenary Leslie “Livewire” Willis (Zehra Fazal, Voltron Legendary Defender, Amphibia, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power), which pretty quickly spirals out of control. Clark quickly leaps in to save the day, and now the question of who or what this “Superman” is becomes THE question.

The first, most striking thing about My Adventures With Superman is its look and tone. Aided by the ever-capable Studio Mir, the character designs are bright, expressive, and far more rounded than the stripped-down, angular DCAU look of old. Clark in particular has an appealing sweet softness to his farmboy frame, Jimmy being black has been done before but never quite this excitable, and Lois is now a full-on tomboy with short hair and dark skin, much to the consternation of idiot YouTube grifter screamy men everywhere. This spreads downward to the tone, where producers Jake Wyatt (DuckTales), Brendan Clogher (Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), and Josie Campbell (She-Ra) basically position the proceedings as a shoujo/josei romantic comedy that happens to have superhero action scenes.

Nothing against them, of course, they’re very well done (and fix a core problem I had with She-Ra in that the action scenes were, number one with a bullet, the weakest part due to jank). But just as much attention is paid to loving close-ups of Lois and Clark blushing as they realize they might LIKE like each other. Needless to say, I find it incredibly charming, especially after years of SnyderBros breathlessly insisting that Cavill’s dour, contemplative lonely god Superman who SNAPS PEOPLE’S NECKS is the best version of the character instead of some pussy who, I don’t know, saves kittens from trees.

(Full disclosure: Cavill is a fine actor in other projects and I have a great deal of admiration for Zack Snyder as a filmmaker, just...not them together for the most part)

In particular, a Clark who’s unsure of himself gives things a bit more of a mysterious tone than usual, particularly in the most intriguing plot hook so far: the Kryptonian ship that he came in contains the usual hologram of Jor-El, but he speaks in garbled Kryptonian that Clark can’t understand and is frightened by as a child. This, the ship creating The Costume (though Martha adds a humanizing touch with a belt and shorts), and a flash of a space battle when he unhooks a piece of damaged tech from Livewire’s back hint that it may be harder than usual to reconcile his Kryptonian and Earth selves. Which I’m not opposed to. While, as said in my STAS review, I don’t generally like the idea that Krypton was some cold unfeeling society with no value to Clark, this could be going a different, more interesting direction.

The awkwardness also adds great dividends to his interplay with Lois, who he generally has to keep up with anyway. Jimmy is also boosted in terms of already having an interest in extraterrestrial stuff, and he feels like a genuine part of the ensemble instead of a third wheel. The supporting cast is also going in some interesting directions, with a wearier Perry White than usual as a solid semi-antagonistic force, Livewire standing out as a smart, canny villain even before she busts out the Electro powers, and an excellent read on the Kents, with Jonathan and Martha warm and supportive, but fretting about losing Clark to this new persona. (Hey, Snyder? That’s how you make the Kents conflicted about Clark being Superman, not “idk, maybe you should let kids die rather than reveal your secret”)

All of this is aided by an incredibly strong voice cast. Quaid is my favorite Clark voice in a long time, affecting a soft dorkiness rather than going for a slightly formal patrician vibe. His comic timing is also great, such as in an early scene where he first meets Lois and is quickly embarrassed. Lee matches him well by switching out Lois’ usual businesswoman vibes for “overcaffeinated”, as well as self-aware enough to admit her mistakes, though not enough to cop to her immediately becoming smitten with Clark. Sahid is a funny, excitable Jimmy, taking the edge off what could have been an eye-rolling “CONSPIRACY THEORIST” gag, and his interplay with Quaid and Lee is often a highlight of the show. On the supporting end, Brown wisely dials down to be a straight man, Fazal is credibly tough and intelligent as usual, Kari Wahlgren gets those aforementioned great beats as Martha, and Azuri Hardy-Jones is immediately endearing as Flip Johnson, a gender-flipped version of the leader of Jack Kirby’s Newsboy Legion (now the NewsKIDS Legion, given some other gender-swaps in the group); she’s very much a believable scrappy kid, worrying at one point if they should call the President or “my mom”.

(Sidebar: the funniest, most unusual casting here is Chris Parnell as an anime twunk-ified Slade Wilson/Deathstroke, who appears as an ominous figure that tries to get intel out of Livewire, fights her, then captures and interrogates her with Amanda Waller and seemingly Sam Lane in attendance after Superman de-escalates the situation. Now, Parnell is an excellent voice actor with a long resume at this point, but his stock in trade is usually characters like Cyril Figgis on Archer or Jerry on Rick & Morty, who are most charitably described as weak-willed sexual obsessives. It’s a head-trip to hear him take on a role previously essayed by deep-voiced gravel pit legends like Ron Perlman, Will Arnett, Mark Rolston, and the late Miguel Ferrer. Though perhaps wisely, he doesn’t try to imitate those guys and leans into his own tones, just more of a smarmy asshole variant. His delivery of “We’re the good guys” at the end of the premiere is wonderfully insincere.)

Overall, My Adventures With Superman is immensely promising and I hope it has a decently long, unimpeded-by-Discovery-fuckery run. By going off-book but also appealing to the fundamentals of the character, it’s a fresh take that I am keenly interested in seeing develop and grow. Also, it’s just really dang cute, sue me.

[thevindicativevordan]

What do you think of Justice League: Gods and Monsters? Especially its version of Superman.

Of the movie in general I'm a fan. It's the only post-DCAU work from Timm that made me believe that he's got some of his old spark remaining inside.

Story moves at a rapid pace so you don't get to spend as much time in this universe as I'd like. But what's there is solid and works within the timeframe given. Someone is framing the Justice League for murders of scientists, scientists who are all connected to a mysterious "Project: Fair Play". Sounds like a typical Justice League story, except this isn't your typical Justice League. Instead of the Trinity we know, here Superman is the son of Zod, Batman is a vampire, and Wonder Woman is a princess of the New Gods. Other differences abound, such as a Lex Luthor who is older and not power hungry, Amanda Waller being the President, Lois Lane not being in Superman's corner, and more. Such a shame that we never got to see this movie spun out into a full fledged animated universe the way Timm clearly was hoping, because the world building is in place to support a JL show.

Animation here is in the Timm-DCAU style and that helps the quality level markedly. Fight scenes are on par with some of the best in the DCAU, particularly the final fight at the end between Superman and the Metal Men. I'm not one for nostalgia over the DCAU but watching this movie, I must admit greater appreciation for how Timm's style results in more fluid animation. The DCAMU struggled to animate the more detailed style of that universe in ways that often led to choppy fight sequences, and watching a return to the old style helped me understand why many disliked the change. Think this was also one of Andrea Romero's last animated projects, and as expected from anything with her involvement, the voice acting was great.

I talked already about Superman here, and this movie's take on Batman and Wonder Woman are just as enjoyable twists on familiar archetypes.

Batman is still a weird figure of the night, and also someone who is connected to the traditional Batman Mythos: Kirk Langstrom who is normally Man-Bat. Not the first time Batman has been a vampire but Kirk being the man under the cowl makes for an intriguing change. For one he's a killer who feeds on criminals in order to sate his bloodlust, but isn't a sadist like most killer Batmen become. While he and Bruce have similar issues with social interaction, Kirk is less messed up emotionally because he isn't motivated by trauma. Telling Tina that he cares for her and won't let any harm come to her is that kind of confession that takes Bruce enormous effort, but Kirk makes it look easy despite his default emotional tone being rather deadpan. While Hernan gets focus as well it's really Kirk who is the main protagonist given he has direct ties to the villain responsible for framing the League, and is the one who takes point investigating the connection between the victims.

In line with her counterparts, Wonder Woman is similarly still a Princess from a utopian society blessed with divine powers. Furthermore she abandons her perfect home because of her love for a man. Unlike Diana however, Bekka is a deity herself, and a New God instead of a champion of the Old Gods. Her "man" is Orion of Apokolips, and it's his death which she helps facilitate that convinces her to break ties with New Genesis and flee to Earth. She's less kill happy than her teammates, or even when regular Diana is waving around a sword, and also less uptight and regal. Sad to say but while I think Timm had good ideas about Bekka, and I would love to see another movie or a series that picks up where this movie leaves her, much like her DCAU counterpart she is the weakest of the Trinity character-wise. Hernan and Kirk get little characters arcs that leave them in different places by the end, while Bekka doesn't change, something she acknowledges herself at the end. Clearly Timm wanted to do more with her which sadly doesn't seem likely to happen.

Far as Elseworlds go I thought this was one of the better ones, certainly a much more nuanced and interesting take than I would've expected from Timm. If we had only gotten the shorts/series he had planned I think this absolutely could be a universe strong enough to support further stories. Definitely recommend it as one of the "good" DC animated movies for anyone looking to kill an hour or two.

[compendiumofconstellations]

DC Muses

DISCLAIMER: I do not read the comics. I have never read the comics. Any and all comic knowledge comes primarily from my mother.

Bruce Wayne / Batman: Primarily inspired by Batman: The Animated Series (and the “reboot”, Batman: The New Adventures), but will contain pieces from various media (such as the Keaton!Bat, Nolanverse, and Battinson movies) and a whole lotta headcanons to piece things together.

FC: David Boreanaz (but let’s pretend his eyes are blue xD)

Barbara Gordon / Batgirl: Primarily inspired by Batman: The Animated Series (and the “reboot”, Batman: The New Adventures); mostly headcanon based to fill in the gaps.

FC: Holland Roden

Jim Gordon: Primarily inspired by Batman: The Animated Series (and the “reboot”, Batman: The New Adventures), but will contain pieces from various media (especially the Nolanverse movies) and a whole lotta headcanons to piece things together.

FC: Michael Sheen

Clark Kent / Superman: Primarily inspired by Superman: The Animated Series, but will contain pieces from various media and a whole lotta headcanons to piece things together.

FC: Henry Cavill

Lois Lane: Primarily inspired by Superman: The Animated Series, but will contain pieces from various media and a whole lotta headcanons to piece things together.

FC: Amy Adams

Diana Prince / Wonder Woman: Primarily inspired by the Wonder Woman movies, but will contain pieces from various media (and will probably incorporate more of Justice League’s version of her once I actually watch the Justice League that is in the DCAU) and a whole lotta headcanons to piece things together.

FC: Dominique McElligott

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

DC Muses I Am Considering:

Selina Kyle / Catwoman: Need to do more research, as I want her to be a WOC; it would incorporate the activist backstory from BTAS and some other things from various media like Michelle Pfiefer’s Catwoman and the version we saw in The Batman (2022).

Dick Grayson / Robin / Nightwing: Honestly, I mostly just need a faceclaim for him and need to decide if I want to include the whole Titans thing (whether it be incorporated from the animated version I grew up with or the live action Titans). 

[speedforcefanatics]

1-50, jk only if you'd like. If not just answer the ones you'd like to.

ooo boy. I guess I’ll just pick some of the ones I feel like I can answer the easiest haha.

2. Do you like the arrowverse? If so what’s your favorite show? I like it enough, but there are a lot of things I don’t like about it. Mainly just its CW-ness lol. I’ve only watched The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow, though.

4. What introduced you to the DC universe? Was it a show, comic or movie? I’ve always loved the Flash and that kind of stemmed from my love of the color red, but I think Justice League the animated series was my first real exposure to the DCU.

5. Favorite character? Wally West.

6. Favorite cannon ship? Wally West x Linda Park

8. Pre-N52 or N52? Pre-N52

9. Rebirth or N52? Rebirth.

12. Favorite animated movie? I remember liking Crisis on Two Earths, but it has been a while.

13. DCEU or DCAU? DCAU. I don’t really like what they’ve been doing with the DCEU, even though Wonder Woman was pretty good.

14. Favorite member of the trinity? Wonder Woman.

16. Outsiders or Titans? Titans.

17. Teen Titans or Young Just Us? I think I like both equally, tbh.

18. Favorite animated show? JLU

19. Favorite superhero family? Flash Family, of course.

20. Young justice(show) or Teen Titans(show)? Teen Titans! I have fond memories of that show and watch the DVDs to this day. Even went as Beast Boy for Halloween one year!

21. Do you watch Teen Titans Go? Not really, but I don’t hate it like many do. It knows what it is, and I appreciate that about it.

22. Favorite Robin? Dick or Tim.

23. So you prefer Superman and Wonder Woman or Batman and Wonder Woman? Neither. Superman should be with Lois and Batman doesn’t have nearly enough trust in his heart to maintain any kind of healthy romantic relationship.

24. If you had total control what would you change? I would bring the extended Flash family back and give them a book dedicated to their adventures, Wally would have his own Flash book and Irey would have her own book centering around Max Mercury training her as the new Impulse while Bart supervises from time to time. Just generally more Flash stuff lol. WALLY AND LINDA WOULD BE TOGETHER WITH THEIR KIDS AGAIN.

25. Batgirl or oracle? Oracle.

26. Whos your favorite batgirl? I really don’t know? They’ve all got a lot going for them.

28. Favorite comic run? Mark Waid’s Flash run.

30. Favorite comic writer? Mark Waid, Brian K Vaughn, G Willow Wilson.

31. Do you like the joker? No. 

32. Who do you think is the most overused or overrated characters? Batman and to a lesser extent the Robins. I have prepared myself for the hate I’ll get for this.

33. Batman the animated series or Superman the animated series? To be completely honest I wasn’t a huge fan of either. But I know how important BTAS was for animation in general and I’ve seen more episodes of that than I have of STAS, so I guess I’ll go with BTAS.

34. Legion of Superheros or Batman Beyond? Batman Beyond.

36. Justice league or Justice league Unlimited? JLU, even though both were great.

37. The Batman or beware the Bat? The Batman (only cuz I hated the style of Beware the Bat.)

38. Who do you think is the most overlooked or underused character? Booster Gold maybe? But that is honestly part of his appeal.

39. Do you watch Gotham? Nope, and I’m not interested.

40. Do you like marvel? Yeah! I’ve always loved both Marvel and DC, although to be fair, I’ll give anything a chance and there’s really nothing I hate.

41. Jon kent or Damian Wayne? Jon Kent! Not a fan of Damian. I would like to see Connor return at some point, though.

42. Renee Montoya or Vic Sage? Renee. 

43. Kate Kane and Renee Montoya or Apollo and Midnighter? Kate and Renee

45. Kara Zor-El, Stephanie Brown or Cassie sandsmark? I enjoy all of these blonde butt-kickers.

46. Kord Industrues, Wayne Tech or Lex Corp? Kord.

47. If you could have any characters powers who’s would you have? Just give me Batman’s money. I don’t need anything that has to do with Batman, I just want the money. No gadgets, no business responsibilities, no childhood trauma. Does that count? I think that counts.

48. Favorite villain? I really like Hunter Zolomon’s Zoom from the Geoff Johns run of the Flash. His motives were interesting and he was genuinely threatening while also coming from a place you could understand, even if you didn’t agree with his actions.  I also like Eobard Thawne if only for the fact that he’s basically just a hater who won’t freaking die. Like, no matter how many times you kill him, he will not be dead, and that’s hilarious.

49. DC Bombshells, Injustice or Kingdom come? Kingdom Come. I hate the Injustice universe with a passion.

50. Injustice or the Arkham Asylum? I’m not much of a gamer, but I like the different Flash skins in Injustice 2.

51. Justice League or League of Assassins? Justice League!

[thechurchillreview]

DOESN'T CONTAIN WONDER WOMAN SPOILERS. What does a successful (money-wise, with critics, moviegoers, comics fans) Wonder Woman mean for the future of the DCEU? How about the landscape of the superhero film genre in Hollywood after the fact? Just some personal thoughts along with my own adoration for Wonder Woman! 

The reviews of Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman, the newest DCEU installment, seem to be more positive than the ones for Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice alongside David Ayers’ Suicide Squad. The most memorable moments in Dawn of Justice were Gal Gadot’s smiling Wonder Woman kicking Doomsday’s butt singlehandedly and Ben Affleck’s Batman Arkham Asylum inspired fighting sequence towards the end. So, when it was announced that Wonder Woman was receiving the next solo live-action outing, I was extremely worried...Especially after the dismal treatment and narrative role of Amy Adams’ Lois Lane in both MoS and Dawn of Justice seriously miffed me. 

The humorous Wonder Woman Hark A Vagrant! commentary filled comic is by Kate Beaton. The WW ice cream gif is from 2011′s Justice League: War, borrowed from Tumblr user @wouldyouliketoseemymask. Comics pictured are Wonder Woman: Paradise Lost, Wonder Woman #25 under Gail Simone, Rebirth Wonder Woman: Year One, and New 52 Wonder Woman #41. 

At the same time, I sincerely hoped, almost prayed, that Wonder Woman would surpass the quality melange (I feel tonally and for watch-ability purposes Stereotype Squad is the strongest entry. Wasn’t overly serious or gritty for the sake of gritty versus having substance) of the previous DCEU flicks whilst being true to her iconic character. That’s a bit of a Herculean border-lining on unfair request, I know. But, if DC Comics/Warner Bros. did screw up Wonder Woman, I’d never give another cent towards anything in the DCEU because she’s one of my all-time favorite comic book heroes. I can’t begin to picture myself being forgiving of such a possible butchering combined with history in the making!

My introduction to Wonder Woman was through Super Friends, a series I never gained any enjoyment from viewing. Not due to her, simply all in all. To the point that for a long time I didn’t recall I’d ever seen it besides some Cartoon Network gag featuring said cartoon with Brainiac and Solomon Grundy complaining about not having pants. By the early 90s, I had finally read my first comic book story arc (The Death of Superman my sister’s boyfriend owned) which is ironic since he’s one of my most loathed heroes, yet his supporting cast and villains were and remain fantastic in my eyes to this very day. I learned about the DC Comics trinity and Marvel Comics as I devoured episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, X-Men: The Animated Series, and Spider-Man: The Animated Series. I’ve always had an affinity for superheroes, the varied powers with rad animation/visuals, numerous art styles, varied characters, costumes (unless objectifying, particularly on the women, I’ve never grasped this society standard), themes, subtexts, and etc. I was less influenced by solely the likes of Batman and Spider-Man, no, Princess/Senator Leia Organa, Buffy Anne Summers, Sarah Jeanette Connor, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, The Secret of NIMH’s Mrs. Brisby, Aliens’ Ellen Ripley, Ferngully’s Krista, Fa Mulan, Belle, Jasmine, Lady Kluck, Inspector Gadget’s Penny, S: TAS’s Lois Lane, X-Men’s Storm/Ororo Munroe, Xena, Widow Tweed, Maleficient, Andrea Beaumont, The Brave Little Toaster’s Toaster, Lisa Simpson, Daria, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle’s April O’Neil, and The Powerpuff Girls left a bigger impact on me. Bear in mind I think my feminist, equality for all, diversity, and embracing individuality stances confuse or vex my family the majority of the the time: no one’s officially said this, probably there under the surface though.

Then DCAU’s Justice League premiered and Wonder Woman got some spotlight as the other two members of the Trinity did a decade ago. Alas the time limit structure and sharing the limelight wasn’t enough for Wonder Woman tales most of the time. A fish out of water warrior learning about the world of men that wouldn’t put up with crap while practicing compassion/love (even to her enemies)? YES! This compassion is a double edged sword, serving as both a strength and a weakness for the Amazon from Themyscira. The established core of her character lends itself to some daring storytelling. Justice League and its sequel show Unlimited gave us some great moments with Wonder Woman. Naturally, adoring what the character stood for prompted me to locate comics of her past adventures at my local libraries. Stories by William Moulton Marston, Gail Simone, Jodi Picoult, Greg Rucka, Kurt Busiek, Joe Kelly, Trina Robbins, Darwyn Cooke, Meredith Finch, Nicola Scott, Aaron Loprestri, Phil Jimenez, and George Perez, made my fondness and appreciation towards the character grew. 

While Brian Azzarello did the opposite towards the character and Amazons in general. *GLARES*

Ever since the 90s which gave us animated shows for both Batman and Superman yet shafted Wonder Woman from the same treatment, I've wanted this movie. Sure, she was in the DCAU Justice League and Unlimited series alongside her first full-length feature in 2009's Wonder Woman followed by little screentime in Young Justice (when juxtaposed against Batman’s position) and a Lego Movie cameo role: still that's not quite the same is it?

Wonder Woman’s 2009 standalone DCAU movie remains one of my most beloved since the DCAU was initially formed and was the directorial debut (by herself, no co-director credit like with Superman: Doomsday) of animation director and storyboard artist Lauren Eve Montgomery best known for her storyboard on work on Avatar: The Last Airbender and Justice League Unlimited. It was penned by comic book legend Gail Simone and Michael Jelenic. In celebration of Jenkins’ Wonder Woman, a commemorative edition of 2009’s Wonder Woman with a cover that unfortunately has antagonist Ares on it was recently released with many special features and I’m tempted to re-pick it up (which is something I don’t normally do for any DVD/Bluray I already possess). Wonder Woman got a cameo role in 2014′s The Lego Movie, it was minuscule and added little though, siiiiigh. 

The lasting ramifications of a positively reviewed and liked Wonder Woman by critics and audiences alike are potentially revolutionary. Wonder Woman, is the first superhero female lead motion picture since 2005’s Elektra (it has taken 12 years) with a budget over $100 million under the hand of a female director. 1995’s Tank Girl starring Lori Petty was directed by a woman (Rachel Talalay) except it had a significantly less money to work with comparatively: I did a whole critique/analysis of it before on here. The last superhero motion picture directed by a woman was in fact 2008’s Punisher: War Zone, courtesy of equal pay in Tinseltown advocate Lexi Alexander, that was originally a box office bomb like Tank Girl that has also gained a cult movie status. Meaning, the track record of female-led superhero flicks hasn’t been good and studios (Marvel! Argh…) keep circling back to this to justify Doctor Strange, Black Panther, another Thor sequel, plus another Guardians of the Galaxy before 2019’s Captain Marvel and the in development hell/non-existent (?) Black Widow hit theatres someday.

In this regard, DC Comics, Warner Bros., Zack Snyder, and Geoff Johns, believing in Wonder Woman is unusual and refreshing. How well it does could craft a new future for superhero franchises! A planned Harley Quinn spin-off, a character actor Margot Robbie played close to on fleek in Suicide Squad, that has a writer attached which may or may not have the Birds of Prey/Batgirl in it is equally encouraging. The Hollywood superhero landscape might mirror what I’ve always longed for after the overall reception to 1999’s Blade, 2001’s X-Men, and 2002’s Spider-Man placed comic book adaptations in a mainstay pop culture position: a mixture of female, male, and LGBT heroes getting their chance to shine from a sundry of backgrounds, cultures, religions, and more. Essentially, an exceedingly more balanced reflection of the world we live in that’s been severely lacking forever, ugh.

May Wonder Woman demolish the longstanding myth that female superhero leads don’t sell thanks to its advertising campaigns, writing, acting, editing, visuals, and directing this weekend. That’s my wish. I’ll be checking it out on either Thursday or Friday with one of my nieces. I promised a year and half ago that I’d see it with her. I distinctly remember sitting through previews before the last Hunger Games and her transfixed reaction to that Wonder Woman teaser appearing onscreen. She was psyched. I was psyched! My vow will be fulfilled in the coming days. Of course I want to share this experience with her. It could be wholly transformative. The trailers bring merry tears to my eyes, so, what will the entire thing do to me? To her? Something wondrous (...Sorry) I am hoping. ;’) 

Link to Tank Girl: http://thechurchillreview.tumblr.com/post/154552289293/52filmsbywomen-rachel-talalay-just-saw-tank-girl 

[kennysamathedeviant]

Superman's Resurrection: A Theory

I’m excited for JL and the many possibilities it affords so i’m taking this opportunity to put some theories about Justice League out there and for this post, like the header above already spoils, is my theory about Superman’s resurrection. I wanna see if i can predict even a little bit, how Zack Snyder will go about it, based on information we already have from Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. So, here i go:

In the comics, Superman comes back to life when Cyborg Superman attacks Metropolis and we’re expecting him to make his grand return in the JL movie, so it goes without saying that any adaptation of his resurrection is usually in times of heavy crisis. Peculiarly, i’m suspecting a few plot points from the comics/animated series to carry over into the big screen for instance, in the comics, he meets Jonathan in the astral plane. Also, before he comes back, his body is stolen by Cadmus, the Eradicator and then by his fortress robot. In BvS, we get a glimpse into a dream sequence of a future Superman that has subjugated the world in Darkseid’s name and then there’s also the warning from Future!Barry about Lois being the "key". But in the present, the death of Superman has happened and now, Apokolips has found Earth, thanks to Lex Luthor and is on it’s way. So this is where one of my theories about the corpse stealing from the comics comes in, because I'm suspecting 2 resurrections in JL, one actual resurrection and a pseudo resurrection. I suspect that the first resurrection that can be powerful enough to clog that hole in his chest would be by Darkseid.

Darkseid Resurrection

There's a number of ways the movie could go about making Darkseid instrumental to Kal's resurrection, thanks to decades of canon. Darkseid has access to the Omega Effect, and his Omega Beams have the power to bring the dead to life and regenerate them. It'll be a simple matter of acquiring Superman's body and then he could bring it back in the way he pleases. In Smallville, Darkseid does exhibit this power over life and death and is the reason Lex finally comes back to life after Oliver kills him, by making a pact to take alternate Lionel Luthor's body on exchange for reviving Lex. The purposes of acquiring Kal's body is also another seed already foreshadowed in the DCEU because a common trait of Darkseid's is he’s always on the lookout for champions that can be brainwashed to serve him, powerful people who’ll betray their race, subjugate their world and act as his enforcers and in that Knightmare future, Superman is already one so here’s how i think everything plays out. I’ve said before that i’ve already made my peace with that dream sequence being real and something that’s meant to be changed ala Flash point, in order for the world to stand a chance against Apokolips’ forces, so i’ll be factoring that possibility into this theory.

Possible Brainwashing and Manipulation

Darkseid has a number of methods to invoke to break someone like Superman, the DCEU can introduce Glorious Godfrey, who in some incarnations, has the power to brainwash people. Alternatively, it could rely on Darkseid's power of mental manipulations but if they're not going with that, they could go for the next best thing, build up Granny Goodness and the Female Furies for a future appearance by having them be the instruments of the brainwashing. So to acquire Supes and make the brainwashing possible, the JL plot synopsis says Parademons are already kidnapping Earth scientists, which is a perfect distraction for the proto-Justice League, who have to also fend off an initial small scale invasion from the site of Superman’s public burial as seen by what may be happening in this gif.

However, i’m suspecting a little covert force of Parademons will sneak off with his corpse, all the way back in Smallville like multiple people did in the comics. Now, some people will say using evil Supes in JL goes in the opposite or against everything they’ve been doing or it invalidates all of Superman’s struggles but not necessarily, after all, tropes are not bad, only executions can be (I think). Doing something so cruel as to crush people’s hard work, and using someone like Supes to conquer Earth is something Darkseid would do, if he’s not using people as pawns and champions, then he’s not yet being Darkseid. And he has a particularly well documented fixation with Kryptonians. In Superman: The Animated Series, he repeatedly aims for Superman and Earth, he brainwashed Superman in the last episodes and set him loose on Earth. In the story reintroducing Kara Zor-el into the DC Universe after Crisis on Infinite Earths, he tries to capture and brainwash Kara. In the New 52, he captures and brainwashed Superman. So it’s perfectly in character for him to attempt something like this and the buildup to that has already been set through the Knightmare. Plus, Lex made a huge deal about this, the creatures among the stars learning "the god is dead", so Superman factors very much into why they’re coming and in so doing, the possible evil Supes arc already set up can be dealt with. Besides, i don’t think the world will be aware it happened (which i'm guessing is where a lot of concerns will lie), since the initial invasion may be subtle, Supes role could be as secretive as possible and this will most likely be something only the League and Lex know, and could play into a future story line where he’d want to turn public opinion against the League like in he did in the DCAU. So Supes reputation will most likely be safe.

So Superman is trained in Apokoliptian combat (I remember Henry went for martial arts training in preparation for JL and people don’t come back to life experienced in different forms of combat) and is sent to get the invasion underway. But since the proto League is already assembled, things are already happening differently from the events that could have lead to the Knightmare, Bruce isn’t going it alone, he’s upgraded the BvS Batsuit, created the tactical suit, the flying fox and other gadgets we’ll get to know, come November. In his corner, he’s also got Diana, Barry and Victor and would eventually get Arthur, so whatever events that could pose a danger to Lois’ life already has lesser chances of happening. And that way, Lois could live long enough to reach out to Superman when (or should I say "if" seeing as all this is just my crack theory) he inevitably comes back wrong and in so doing would be able to bring him back to his senses and that way, we get the “Lois is the key” arc plot point. If Kal does come back to his senses thanks to the love he and Lois have for each other now that she's survived and Knightmare future's been averted, Darkseid may have no choice but to take back the life he gave him, and that may put him in that near death state he had in the comics.

The Regeneration Matrix

The pseudo resurrection itself i suspect, will be using things we’ve already seen in MoS and BvS, namely the Genesis Chamber and the Kryptonian Codex. Like Jax-ur tells Zod, it’s still viable even if Kal is dead, and the codex itself is a fossilized ancient Kryptonian skull containing DNA. I believe we’ve already seen the DCEU's version of the regeneration matrix in action in BvS, while the methods of resurrecting Doomsday are vague, it’s clearly something that Kryptonian tech makes possible as seen by the scoutship teaching Lex what to do. It’s very possible that the mutations Doomsday underwent were all deliberate modifications made by Lex, since the Genesis Chamber allows for the manual choosing of desirable Kryptonian traits. The point of using his blood may merely have been an attempt to substitute for the DNA the codex would have provided, which possibly would have caused some of the devolved intelligence and skin discolorations but the other features may have well been part of the intended package.

So resurrections may possibly be a technology feat Krypton had perfected but outlawed in order to discourage other incidences like "Bertron’s Curse". So with Superman back in a state of near death, it’s a perfect opportunity for the robot in the scoutship to take his body and try to resuscitate it.

I meant this robot, suspiciously hiding in the Genesis Chamber room and which curiously enough, did not get destroyed or do anything important in BvS, so why was it in so many background scenes? Perhaps foreshadowing for the role it plays in JL like the comics? If questions arise about why it didn’t try to resurrect Supes earlier, it could simply be stated to be due to some secret, hidden prime directive inserted by the Jor-el A.I in MoS before getting deleted, that should Kal die, he should only be resurrected at a time when the world absolutely needed a Superman and with an invasion underway, JL’s the time for the world to need a Superman. This also allows Clark to have that conversation he has with his father’s ghost in the comics before coming back to life, but I hope if this happens, the movie possibly throws some Jor and Lara in there too, they deserve it. And with him placed in the Genesis waters and the codex in him still being viable and providing the genetic jolt or bang to his cells, he’ll be cocooned and regenerated to full health and full life in a way Zod’s corpse wasn’t as Doomsday.

Also, this arc about dying, being brainwashed and breaking free from Darkseid’s control before coming fully back to life, allows Superman to become a special target in Darkseid’s eyes and this can create the enmity they have in the comics in the same way BvS created the enmity that Clark and Lex canonically have between each other. Superman will be that valuable pawn that got away and broke free of his control, something Darkseid hates considering Scott Free did too and Darkseid’s ultimate goal is to purge free will from the universe.

[spiderdreamer-blog]

Superman: The Animated Series (1996)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[thevindicativevordan]

What's your opinion on the DCAU Superman? Tim Daly or George Newbern?

Daly over Newbern for a lot of reasons, mainly that Justice League Superman sucks.

Have an interesting relationship with this series. Namely that it was my introduction to the character and his wider mythos. I grew up watching this on TV, for some reason I never got any BTAS episodes. So this definitely helped make me into a Superman fan. My parents have told me that it was because of watching this series that I demanded Superman pajamas which I always tried to wear since they came with a little cape on the back. Thought the Saw movies were about Toyman because of how similar the two looked to me. Seeing John Henry Irons in this probably encouraged me to read Reign of the Supermen down the line. In short this series was a big influence on me growing up. Yet I have to say, I don't think it's the gold standard for Superman adaptations anymore.

Now Superman: The Animated Series brings a lot of ideas to the table. Some of them I like and some of them I don't, but it's important to be fair to Timm and Dini about one thing: they were working under the restrictions of Post-Crisis DC. The rules of that era had a number of restrictions that they had to work around, such as bringing in a Kara Supergirl who couldn't be Superman's cousin or from Krypton. So even though a more "grounded" take isn't to my taste, I don't hold that as being "bad" necessarily. Do think that they should've gone with their initial gut instinct of nerfing him back to Golden Age power levels (they seriously considered having this incarnation unable to fly). Clearly they were more interested in quasi-realism, and I do think Superman can work in that mindset. Just needs to be reset to what he was at the very beginning when he dealt with "real" problems.

Revamping Superman more to Timm's liking in Gods and Monsters resulted in a Superman that I enjoyed more because you could tell there was much greater enthusiasm for the character. Their approach to Superman in STAS felt like a compromise between stuff they wanted to do, and stuff they felt like they had to include in order for it to be a Superman show. The results were a mixed bag.

What I Liked About DCAU Superman

There is actually much that I think the creators did well. Superman himself is solid if rather flat characterization-wise. Daly does a great job at voicing a Superman who is cast in the Byrne model. As Superman he is suitably heroic and courageous. As Clark Kent... he's basically the exact same personality-wise, just a little more subdued. Not my favorite take on the divide between the two, but well-done here. There is some slyness to his Clark that I love, such as his "confession" to Lois about his secret identity. I love that bit, very cheeky and deadpan as befitting Superman's sense of humor. Have to say though, I think Daly's post-STAS return to the character is a lot better. He's got this warmth in movies like the Superman/Batman team-ups and Justice League Doom that feels much closer to my ideal voice for the character. It's because of those movies that I hear Daly as the voice of Earth 0 Superman in my head when I read his dialogue. While they didn't portray Superman as smart as I would have liked, he's not a complete idiot either. He breaks out protective suits when he has to face Parasite, Livewire, or Joker. Of course the suits get shredded but at least the creators didn't force him to be a moron to make their plots work, and JL has episodes like the one where he's flung into the future and loses his powers to show that it's not the powers that make him Superman.

Delany is fantastic as Lois Lane, she's the voice I hear for Earth 0 Lois. Great for all the usual reasons an actress portrays a great Lois (DCAU Lois is snarky yet compassionate and fiercely committed to her pursuit of the truth), the largest contribution to the wider mythos DCAU Lois made is I think she started the trend of Lois having purple eyes. Really like that attribute, it's a real shame we don't get to see this Lois and Clark get hitched. Does DCAU Lois ever even learn his secret? I don't think so but I could be misremembering. Only misfire is that Timm and Dini needed to assert their self-insert's alphaness by having her get into a fling with Bruce. Yes I recognize it was probably a play on Delany also voicing Phantasm, but if you don't think Timm at the very least had a hard-on at the idea of Batman fucking "Superman's girl", you clearly haven't been seeing the DC movies he makes once the restrictions are all off (and the fuckery was always there just low-key like the Bruce/Babs romance).

Rest of the supporting cast vary. Jimmy had one cool moment that I remember when he was leading the Resistance to Lex and Superman in Brave New Metropolis. Otherwise he was just Superman's Pal in a rather nondescript fashion. Love the mullet though! Perry was there but not really relevant. Ma and Pa were wise and old, clearly cast in the Byrne/Donner model. Jor-El and Lara were cool, the DCAU was the first to have Lara be the one with the S-curl right? I love that so kudos to the DCAU for putting forth that idea. Kara In-Ze was a great way of getting Supergirl while still paying lip serve to the editorial rules of the time. John Henry Irons rocked as Steel, damn shame he didn't get more to do because I loved him. Bibbo was cool. Dan Turpin and Maggie Sawyer were great, probably the best supporting cast members outside of Lois. Really bold of the creators to sneak in Maggie's girlfriend/wife (even if she couldn't be acknowledged as such due to the censors) in the scene where Maggie is in the hospital. Seeing Turpin die hit especially hard, Superman failing to save someone? That blew my mind!

Now the villains were usually pretty great. Clancy Brown as Lex Luthor and Michael Ironside as Darkseid are absolutely up there with Hamill Joker in terms of being the definitive voices for the characters. DCAU Lex pretty much set the bar for the modern Lex Luthor, combining the best of Pre-Crisis and Post-Crisis into one take. Lex is a scientific genius who used his brains to get rich and has crafted a public persona of being a philanthropist. More or less, if you're wondering how we went from Byrne's older Kingpin lite Lex to modern young Lex, the DCAU is what facilitated that change. Darkseid is phenomenal here, cunning and threatening. Whenever he showed up you knew shit was going to get serious. Kirby's New Gods probably get their best showcase here in the DCAU, on account of Timm being a Kirby fanboy. New Genesis gets to show up and actually be relevant! Kudos to the creators, they did a good job with the Kirby creations. STAS is definitely what cemented Darkseid and the other New Gods as being part of Superman's world in popular perception.

DCAU revamped Metallo, Toyman, and Brainiac, and I thought all of those were well done. Making Brainiac a Kryptonian AI built by Jor-El was actually a really neat way to connect Superman and Brainiac together! Morrison's idea of "Brainiac" being the Kryptonian internet equivalent that Jor-El built in the New 52 which merges with the Collector of Worlds feels like it had its roots in DCAU Brainiac. Maxima was a much better character here than in the comics, which is kind of crazy given it's Timm. The new villains they created were usually cool, I've written before about Livewire and Volcana. Lobo was great, such a piece of shit in an entertaining way. You could tell he really got under Superman's skin which is exactly how it should be. Bizarro was great, much better handling of the "clone" take than what Byrne did.

Overall the best summary of the series is that it's more consistent than Batman: The Animated Series. Nothing in STAS is as bad as I've Got Batman In My Basement or the Catwoman episodes, but there's nothing quite on the same level as Heart of Ice. Not to say there aren't some GREAT episodes though. The Late Great Mr. Kent for example is absolutely worthy of the accolades thrown it's way. Weird to say, but it's STAS that technically started the shared universe even though BTAS came first. Other heroes with powers first made their debuts here: Flash, GL (albeit Kyle not John), Aquaman, etc. It's this show, not BTAS, that really has a bunch of plot points come back in the JL seasons. Batman may have kicked the DCAU off but Superman is where the real building blocks got laid.

Also I'll throw one point in Newbern's favor here: I like that Superman's temper is portrayed as his fatal flaw. I like that he struggles with it over the course of Justice League. Wrath is what I consider to be Superman's Deadly Sin (like Pride is Batman's), and this incarnation of the character definitely showcases that.

What I Didn't Like About DCAU Superman

Alright so what went wrong? Well you may have heard that DCAU Superman is a jobber. This is very, very true. I'm not someone who really gives a shit about if Superman can push a planet or if he struggles to lift a car. Power levels aren't the most important thing to me, I'm fine with a weaker Superman who needs to wear a space suit out in space. But I need him to not constantly be flopping on the floor after he gets hit by a light breeze. Early seasons of JL really didn't know how to handle the cast, and it's something they got better on over time. There's one huge jobbing moment that I'll talk about later because it's the perfect encapsulation of how this guy went wrong.

Some of the villains I didn't like. Heresy to some but I don't like Gottfried's voice for Mxyzptlk. Gotta admit that's a me thing since I don't think Mxy just being a nuisance is the best use for him. Jax-Ur and whatshername were lame. Again the creators had to work under Post-Crisis rules so I don't hold it against them, but those two really should've just been Zod and Ursa. They're clear stand-ins but lack either the hamminess of the Donner takes or the nuance of later versions. Luminous is an interesting concept, a villain who manipulates light is a great challenge for Superman, but the execution feels undercooked. If I were to use Luminous it would basically be taking the name and the powerset and changing everything else.

These are all sort of minor nitpicks, nothing dealbreaking right? When it comes to the non-character aspects of Superman, I try to be more flexible. But there's a serious problem with this take on Superman that is baked into the show, and it's something that entirely lies in the opinions of the people handling Superman.

The fundamental problem of DCAU Superman is simple: the showrunners don't know what the appeal of the character is. Timm and Dini truly just don't know why people like him. They understand that people do like him, and they try a variety of methods to make Superman appeal to kids, the Superman fans that already exist, and themselves, but they just can't do it. Fundamentally they see the character and his world as lame. As an example Timm has made a lot of comments about how Superman's Rogues Gallery sucks which piss me off. It's not that I disagree that his Rogues couldn't be better, look how many posts about his Rogues I've written where I've "fixed" them to my liking, but Batman's Rogues weren't all awesome from Day 1 either. Timm knows this, look at Mr. Freeze! That's a character who sucked so hard he shows up in Limbo (place where all the uncool and forgotten characters go) in Morrison's Animal Man run! Hard to believe but he was a terrible character that people thought was lame before Timm and Dini reinvented him, and gave him a cool new design for the DCAU.

James Gunn isn't a big fan of Superman either, but he took Bloodsport, revamped him, and now people like Bloodsport! So I don't have much sympathy for Timm when he whines about stuff like that, it's clear he simply didn't want to put forth the effort. No reason "weak" Rogues such as Terra-Man for example couldn't have appeared in the DCAU and been revamped. The Legion of Superheroes cartoon did exactly that! Hell Timm and Dini did do a good job with Metallo, the idea of him losing all physical sensation as a result of his new body was an inspired change! I like that idea a lot personally, so they did have it in them to revamp the villains they didn't like into something cooler. There was a passion and excitement present you could see in the work on Batman, a desire to touch on every aspect of his Mythos possible, that just wasn't present in STAS.

One truly bitter fruit of DCAU Superman is that he's the start of all these fucking evil Superman stories nowadays. Darkseid mindcontrols him and sets him loose on Earth at the end of STAS, something that is admittedly well-executed, but results in him being a grumpy asshole for most of JL. Turning evil twice, TWICE, of his own free will in alternate universes, the main nailbiter of the Cadmus arc is whether mainline Superman is a big enough asshole to break bad due to Lex Luthor's goading like Justice Lord Superman. Brave New Metropolis Superman tossed morality in the trash after his Lois died, and main universe Lois has to point out to him that fascism is bad. Hell main universe Superman needs the same damn talk in JL, Lois has to explain to him that people don't like the League throwing it's weight around with zero restrictions. His response? "We come on a little strong sometimes, but it's for the peoples own good". Remind you of anything? Maybe two very high profile takes on Superman in film and video games? It's easy to tell that the heads were far more interested in the idea of Superman going bad then they ever were in a baseline take on Superman.

To be fair to Newbern, he plays that really well which is why he's such a good fit for Injustice. But his take is far too grumpy and bitter to work on a heroic Superman, which is why I'm always going to pick Daly over him for a more straightforward take. He just can't sell Superman as a good guy underneath all that anger to me, which can be blamed in part on the writing I suppose.

"But Vordan," you cry "you hypocrite, didn't you say you liked that Newbern played Superman as having a temper? Didn't you say Wrath is his Deadly Sin?" Yes I did, but here's the thing: that shouldn't fucking overshadow compassion as his main attribute. Love the Hulk, but Superman isn't the Hulk. If you're going to play up Superman's anger issues we need to see more of his compassionate side also, otherwise we end up with DCAU Superman: An angry toddler essentially who can barely control himself. He's an incredibly bitter dick throughout JL, and the heads just flat out refused to showcase him as anything but that. The best illustration of this is the contrast between what the "iconic moments" are for the two headliners of the DCAU: Batman and Superman.

Batman's iconic moment is his comforting of Ace. This is a beautiful moment that truly captures Batman's character. For all the talk of Batman's ruthlessness and preptime, he tosses aside the weapon and instead chooses to take a gamble on Ace's compassion. Why? Because this Batman wants to help people. He wanted to help his Rogues get better, it wasn't just about glorifying in the brutality of what he did. He wanted to protect people, to help others overcome their trauma in a way he could not. To be there for Ace, a child, in her darkest moment was exactly what Bruce crafted Batman to be.

This moment of compassion is what sticks with you even though we know Bruce is going to end up a bitter old man dying alone because he drove everyone away. It makes that ending feel sad instead of well-deserved because Batman wasn't a dick at the start. Slowly over time as things got worse and worse, he became what he is in Beyond, but the old Batman is still there. Understanding that Batman is more than just being dark and edgy is why DCAU Batman is so good.

Superman's iconic moment is the "World of Cardboard" speech and then punching Darkseid. People gush over this, but what exactly is it if you analyze it? Basically it's a speech where Superman talks tough, throws a punch... and still loses the fight. A jobber to the end, he has to be bailed out by Lex Luthor after Darkseid uses the "Agony Matrix" or whatever the fuck it's called. While hilarious that Superman gets taken down by "magic electricity" essentially (God is that fitting), this is such a frustratingly perfect encapsulation of the DCAU take on him. Superman screams about how ANGRY he is ALL THE TIME, how he just wants to SMASH, and now he's going to SMASH REALLY REALLY HARD!!!!! Except they can't even let him accomplish that, the cool moment is immediately undercut by him jobbing because the writers would probably die if they didn't remind you that they think Superman sucks.

Compare the two and you tell me, who comes off better? That Batman is by far the more popular of the two should tell you what the kids growing up watching the show thought anyway. Now we get stories about how Superman is one bad day from losing it, and I don't think that's at all disconnected from how the DCAU portrayed him. Not enough humanizing moments, not enough stuff where Superman gets to show how much he cares for the people he protects. The writers are too busy pushing back against the idea of him as being "corny" (something they probably think is true themselves) and trying to make him darker that they end up breaking him essentially. Truthfully it's Batman who is the guiding hero of the DCAU, with Superman as the loose cannon who fucks everyone over.

Ultimately the DCAU did a lot of cool storytelling, but that it's take on Superman himself went south is a dealbreaker for me. Characterization of Clark is the final arbitrator for me in terms of whether I like a work or not, and this take just doesn't do it for me. That DCAU Superman was basically the last major focus on Superman in animation has definitely played a role in his fall-off. Thankfully we're getting a new animated Superman show which doesn't appear to have Timm or any of his cronies involved. Hopefully that will be a much better showcase of Superman and his world.