#more like how we would expect power girl than superman

[justletmeramble1701]

I want to write an essay about masculinity in My Adventures with Superman, specifically how Clark is presented with traits that would traditionally belong to a feminine love interest, but I feel like I will need knowledge on anime romantic archetypes and yuri tropes.

Can anyone help me find resources so I can talk about this in an informed manner?

[thevindicativevordan]

Comics on this awful week?

Absolute Superman #1 - I had a grim foreboding leading up to this week that this book was going to hit hard in part because of the result of the election. I take no joy in having been correct, even though I did love this. Maybe it's the aftermath of the election, but starting this off with a clear cut Champion of the Oppressed Superman makes me extremely happy. He's willing to fight and mess those Peacemakers up, but he retains the compassion we expect from heroic Supermen. Right now all I want to read is a power fantasy story about an underdog immigrant alien going up against an evil megacorp, and this book is delivering that in spades. I like how Aaron has flipped all the major foundational pieces of Superman and positioned them in the AU as weaknesses at first. Kal's farming upbringing on Krypton was the opposite of the idealized life he had in the mainstream universe. His shield, which was a symbol of hope for Krypton in the mainline, is instead a mark of shame on Krypton in the AU. But Aaron takes that and manages to make it a source of strength regardless for Superman. Clearly his low class status on Krypton is where he gets his affinity for outcasts on Earth. He wears the symbol of laborers proudly and gives it a new meaning. It's all great stuff, and clearly Aaron has something to say about our modern reality that I think is only going to get more hard hitting with Trump's re-election.

Cool to see Lois start off as an enemy as I expected. If you're going to take all of Superman's comforts, you can't leave his iconic love interest untouched! I'm betting Absolute Lois is a daddy's girl, that older guy might even be Sam Lane, and I don't think it will be love at first sight for Supes and her. I'm freaking hyped for Brainiac to be the first villain, Brainiac desperately needs stories that do more with him beyond having him try to bottle Metropolis, and Brainiac working for a megacorp is so unlike his mainline counterpart that I want to see where this goes. Glad he has the bottles, and one of them even appears to be Kryptonian as per norm. If Brainiac is *merely* working for R&D, who is the CEO of Lazarus? Could it be Kobra as I have speculated? Ultra-Humanite? Either one would be a cool choice. Absolute DC is now 3/3, I'm totally invested in seeing where this universe goes.

My Adventures With Superman #6 - A nice heartwarming wrap up to a sadly totally overlooked mini. My guy Bloodsport makes it through alive which gives me hope he could show up in future seasons of MAWS. This ends with Clark salvaging Amazo's core and teases that Amazo might get rebuilt in a new body. S2 ended with them likewise having an intact Brainiac core. I'm thinking this mini is foreshadowing that we will have a similar situation in S3 where Lex gets his hands on the core and builds Brainiac a new body (hopefully one more like his comic or DCAU appearance).

Action Comics #1074 - Henry's art improved! I liked his depiction of Krypton anyway. I'm warming up more and more to the main plotline. While I don't love Waid's take on the Phantom Zone, his take on Krypton is closely in line with what I think Krypton should be: technologically advanced while socially regressive. I loved that Kal was acknowledged as older than his own father, really adds to the tragedy of Krypton's death to have Jor and Lara die young. Kara's backup is good too, her new found robot friend makes me smile. No clue what's going on still!

Aliens vs. Avengers #2 - Not as full of twists as the first issue, but still prime Hickman.

Ultimates #6 - Wow I was completely wrong about who gets killed. Tony?!? I don't buy that he will stay dead mind you, but I did not see that coming. Alright my guess is either we're going to get an "Ultimate Vision" based on Tony's brainwaves, or that DoomReed is going to use the Immortus Engine to change Tony's fate.

[frasier-crane-style]

Okay, that's True Grit. That's entirely True Grit. Exact same plot, exact same tone, exact same Coen-wannabe dialogue (and Tom King is no Coen Brother)... all King did was transpose a bit of a by-now-generic high fantasy/space opera setting onto True fucking Grit. It's not even that obscure a work to rip off. There was a remake in 2010. Hailee Steinfeld debuted in that movie and she's still playing a 'Young' Avenger.

Oh, but hey, there's Supergirl in the Rooster Cogburn role. That's different, right? Because Supergirl is Supergirl and not a drunken, cynical badass type?

And if you've seen True Grit, either version, you pretty much know how it goes (aside from a shock value ending that is, surprise, deeply cynical and mean-spirited). King mercilessly mischaracterizes Kara into this very 90s bad grrl caricature--she calls Superman a little bitch at one point, because he's not as tuff as herrrr--and the bad guys all go "oh, you can't beat me, you're just a girl!" Aren't we past this?

I found the premise pretty unbelievable... I know comic writers have to know up with far-fetched scenarios, since the real top-tier superheroes are unbeatable otherwise... but Supergirl has turned 21 and wants to get drunk. She doesn't want to do this with any of her friends, apparently, so she takes a barely controllable starship to a sector of space with only red suns... she can't just borrow a red sun room in the Fortress of Solitude or wherever... and she lands on this world that's a hellish dictatorship where people are killed for laughing at jokes about the king... she brings Krypto along, who is also depowered... and she doesn't bring any kind of communication device so she can call a Green Lantern or someone for help... and she's gone for months, but no one thinks to look for her.

And the villain... this is another one of the very few changes from True Grit, where the killer is just a random thug, the kind of guy you'd expect to impulsively kill someone. Here, he's a criminal mastermind that can summon up magic that nearly kills Supergirl and he almost randomly hooks up with this gang of superpowered mass murderers (who indulge in ethnic cleansing so frequently that you'd think a Green Lantern or someone would go after them--seriously, they are depopulating planets on a weekly basis) so it takes more than five seconds for Kara to rout him.

There's also a super heavy-handed segregation/racism metaphor. I mean, it is TOS, "all his people are black on the left side and white on the right side!" blatant. Like, embarrassingly hamfisted.

And this comic is WORDY. Not only is OC donut steal Hailee Steinfeld doing her Coen act every time she speaks, but she also narrates, choking every panel with multiple paragraphs of PROSEPROSEPROSE. Everything is a speech, everything is a monologue. Mike Flanagan would read this and say "hey, buddy, don't you think you're overdoing it a tad?" And there's some good art here--that's the one real positive of the comic--but it is just drowned out by King not trusting his artist one iota to tell a story.

Supergirl is given this really stock "it sucks to be Superman" angst, which we're all tired of with Clark, right? Is it really fresh to just transpose him being broody and violent onto Kara? All the cursing and casual violence would be a little more appropriate for Power Girl, but I guess that wouldn't subvert expectations like making the main character an embittered Supergirl. Clearly, we're supposed to find all this shocking and edgy, but it just comes off risible. You're really going to have Krypto the Super-Dog and dead babies in the same exact story?

And since when does Supergirl hang out with Krypto? I thought her pet was Streaky. King goes all pre-Crisis with Comet the Super-Horse showing up and really being a man with a magic spell cast on him, but he doesn't know that Supergirl's pet is Streaky the Supercat? Boooooo.

[hotpinkstaples]

AND ON THE JAY NAKAMURA AND JONJAY HATE....

when you take into consideration the fact that gamorra, a political narrative that’s borrowed from ANOTHER set of books that only recently merged into the dc universe, it’s like... what did you expect jay nakamura’s story to be about? sure, FINE, you don’t wanna see a story about superman saving a boat full of refugees, and maybe you just don’t care for this twink in a green mask that is clearly recruiting jon for some shady shit. and that’s fine! you can hate jay for being a pink-haired twink with shady underpinnings. totes fine. i still think hal’s a green fascist even after seventy years of character development, BUT THAT’S OK. we each have our no-no’s.

but then i see ppl talk about jon as if he’d an uwu bby boy who was so unjustly seduced by some pink-haired asian twink, and i think.... please tell me more.

pls tell me how the most powerful heir on the planet, the son of superman the god himself, was so uwu bby boy seduced, hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, run amok, and flat out DECEIVED by some broke asian twink refugee with a podcast. actually, don’t. i’ve read enough twitter threads, reddit forums, and random commentary on youtube. i may be a fool for doing so, but i live for the drama, so i will read some more laterz.

like fine if u think jon did indeed get played, but i have to ask.... and what about it? even IF jon got played in the end, no one’s holding a gun to his head telling him NOT to fuck that damn gamorran. he’s fully consenting to smashing that twink, and by all the kissies, im thinking they are both very much enjoying their mutual shenanigans.

.... so why don’t folks like jon with jay? like really. be forreal.

and while reading LOSH, i finally got it! i thought about how, narratively, it makes PERFECT SENSE why jon and lor zod get married in the future, ESPECIALLY if the earth does get destroyed. if the earth is gone, then so are all of jon’s roots and ties to his human side. it would really only make sense for him to marry a zod, give half his dna to zod’s scientists, let them slap it together with lor zod’s, and thus produce children that could continue to help repopulate new krypton. plus, we know jonno’s stronker than his pops! a zod plus an el with those pesky human genes that makes him stronger? i know in my heart dru zod himself drafted the marriage proposal and took it to clark while he was just tryna have dinner with his wife and son. unfortunately, bc of this decision, mon el now exists. le sigh.

AND IT’S DURING THIS SHIT ASS LOSH RUN THAT I REALIZED... well of course jon/lor zod makes sense in the narrative. jon’s a plot device. he’s the most powerful fucker in the world, arguably. not yet fully realized, hella pretty, falls in love easily. it makes perfect sense that he’d give into an el/zod union if would make peace. and really, nobody really cares about bendis’ LOSH implications, bc it is such a stanky run, but it’s there. and apparently it’s ok bc it makes sense, bc hey, the zods are SUPPOSED to be evil, so why WOULND’T they try to rope jon into marrying their son so that they can be the universe’s power couple? it’s par the course for the zod famileh.

so why does it make people sooooooooo uncomfortable that jon is dating, in the current timeline, someone who is arguably just as politically inclined? what is it about some asian twink with a podcast that THREATENS fandumb’s delicate sensibilities, and i realized..... it’s cuz he’s literally not lois.

snake eating it’s own tail, jay is not lois!!!

by FUNCTION, he is lois, and is arguably, jon’s central and most important love interest. but jay is NOT lois. he is not even lois adjacent. he is a revolutionary. he’s a refugee. he’s asian. he has pink hair, and apparently that makes him effeminate. he sometimes dresses up like a ninja, but it’s the pink mop that makes him look like a girl lmao.

and, oh yeah. the haterz in-universe think he’s a terrorist. lex framed him as one. in-universe reddit and 4chan DEFINITELY thinks he’s a terrorist.  batman thinks he might be one too. his friends, aerie and wink, certainly were at one point.

so what happens when the son of superman the god, someone who’s supposed to do better and BE better even when the options are all garbage, starts dating a guy who is being touted a terrorist by a billionaire, a foreign government, AND people on reddit?

well, that’s just too woke now, innit? this is woke. this is what happens when kids learn CRT. they end up falling in love with terrorists. superman can’t love a terrorist!! siegel and shuster rolling in their graves.

except anyone Who Can Read and DID read KNOWS that, that’s not true, and the fact that lex, bendix, and the people in-universe FRAME the revolutionaries as terrorists is literally a meditation on how OUR world frames the question of the revolution, youth-led revolts, and anything not being shielded with rose-tinted glasses. it’s literally a common theme in fiction these days. it’s a common theme in LIFE.

and it’s FASCINATING to see how a thematic element in a comic book that’s geared towards 12-22 yr olds garnered such OUTRAGE, when that thematic element is played on like every other tv show and i think.... oh people are CRAZY crazy now. and not just crazy, they hate being uncomfortable, and dont like that jonno’s not in a traditionally white hetero romance that’s solely dressed in black in white in terms of morality and politics, like lois and clark are. and no, im not referring to the new anime where lois is racebent, this is not a factor in this convo. historically, and up until recently, the question of lois and clark has been and still is a deeply americentric approach at truth and justice, aka the american way. lois is the star reporter, the uncoverer of truths and part of the reason why justice gets served, but she does it the AMERICAN way, the way white people always have and always will find palatable. and that’s fine! these comics have a history. they have a pedigree, and ppl love them for a reason.

but jay doesn’t fit into that mold. he’s not even pretty to look at, in terms of conventional handsomeness, and that seems to be by design!

cuz it’s not just jay being brain smart that makes folks uncomfortable, but that he holds a Frame of Reference that even jon doesn’t really understand. his mom might be a military brat and his dad a refugee’s who’s DEEPLY assimilated into the land he was able to find refuge in, but jay is decidedly NOT assimilating. lord knows how many cops, armymen, and green lanterns we got running around, but jay’s not a lantern, and he’s certainly not US military. he’s the son of an ousted politician from an asian nation most ppl dont really care about. he’s got pedigree that’s decidedly NOT americentric. he’s NOT invested in truth and justice done the american way. he literally does everything unamerican, including seducing superman’s son, to make ends meet and make his revolution happen, and man oh man, that shit makes the intellectually conservative fandumb so damn UNCOMFORTABLE!!! his broke ass was able to bamboozle jon kent AND dick grayson! he went to take down a dictator the rest of the world saw as a hero! and superman joined him! and dick grayson funded the campaign!

superman fell in love with a terrorist. that’s what pisses people off 😂😂😂

[cisthoughtcrime]

I'm in my pre-Halloween horror binge, just tried the 2019 movie Brightburn (a few plot spoilers but not a review, just dropping a thought)

esp given how thoroughly superhero-fatigued I am after the last 15yrs of Marvel/DC's advertising campaign inspired by uninterrupted air raid sirens, an unaffiliated subversion of the genre was welcome.

for those who don't know what it's about, it's basically

I didn't think it was particularly special as a movie and it seems like most reviewers agree, but I'm setting aside stylistic criticism of the movie's execution and getting to the point: none of the commentary I've found so far on the plot latches onto the gendered aspect. that's what I wanted to prompt you (radblr) about.

(Yes, yes, the point is more about "good thing Clark Kent has a moral compass that aligns with humanity's interests cuz wow if he were interested in world domination and apathetic about killing we would be Fucked" and, no, I don't want to get dragged into the comic lore about his parents imparting him with specific values or any discussion about the similarities to the premise of Invincible.)

I was thinking about how heavily the premise is arguably influenced by the maleness of the superpowered alien kid (Clark Kent / Brandon Breyer). We have a male director, male writers, and a male producer coming together to tell the story of a socially alienated (and literally alien) boy mired in his repressed violent urges and his discovered inheritance of a legacy of conquest. While it's clear that we're not exactly supposed to be rooting for him and that he's not a 'hero', my immediate read was that this is the narrative framing found in the manifestos of incels and shooters. The way they built up Brandon's anger and isolation followed a recognisable path: at the cusp of puberty, his temperament changes suddenly and for the worse; he's bullied and begins to view himself as a martyr for it; when a girl is kind and sympathetic towards him, he becomes obsessed with her and stalks her and scares her; when she correctly identifies him as a pervert, he crushes her hand; when his mother tells him the upsetting truth about his origins, he trashes her house and kills his crush's mother who had gotten him in trouble for severely injuring her daughter; when his parents try to stop him, he kills them (with a big emphasis on the mother's love for him). I'm not arguing anything about the intent of the movie, I'm just pointing out the centrality of the 'male manifest destiny' world view we know from copious real life examples, and it's a story we've seen many times before.

all this to lead up to my main question for y'all:

what if she were female? not actual superman and not even necessarily horror, but a reimagining of the premise from the scratch ingredients like this (think of what Ann Kelley's Koh Tabu was to Lord of the Flies, not the unambiguously-still-a-superhero-story execution of Supergirl).

On a non-horror side, I imagine there's potential for a story of suppressed strength, of pretending to be weaker/reliant/lesser while fearing the irrevocable consequences of failing to keep secret her exceptional gifts, until she's freed by her discovery that her power being greater than men's isn't something broken in her. On the horror side, I can see two main angles: one would be horror-tragedy, where she has an almost Princess Kagura life in which, unbeknownst to her, she is a visitor to our planet for just one lifetime, blessed with curiosity and scrappiness and the capacity to improve our world... but her potential both to save and even to experience the earth is stifled by the expectations of her as a woman. The other horror angle would be more like Carrie meets Brightburn but without the incel mentality: the alienation goes hand-in-hand with the constant reinforcement of her 'female inferiority' and she finally fucking snaps (I'm picturing that one similar scene of Yennefer's explosive unleashing of her power).

The feminist comedy angle on the last one would be following the world's reaction and news coverage each time some male general is confident he can bring her down (I always think of what you see when you read ancient Roman men's writing about formidable contemporary female enemies of the state like Cleopatra or Boudicca; insisting that she's just a woman and not a serious threat, but having to explain how she keeps outsmarting them).

TLDR: I'd be curious to hear radfem thoughts on the basic premise of "overpowered humanoid alien grows up female on Earth"

[moviemunchies]

Before this movie came out, there were some reservations about it–whether it would be good, or if it would even be released. There were problems with the state of the DC movie universe, for starters, and the weirdness going on with Warner Brothers management. Despite all of that, the guys at Warner Brothers insisted that this movie was coming out, and that it was “one of the greatest superhero movies ever made.”

It is… not.

Barry Allen is the Flash–a founding member of the Justice League and the fastest man alive. Upon getting a better grip on his power to travel through time, Barry decides that he can prevent his mother’s murder and clear his father’s name through a very simple switch-up. So he does that; except he’s thrown out of the timestream unexpectedly to his eighteen-year-old self’s life, where his mother is alive and he’s in college. 

Except everything’s changed! Because changing history isn’t only going to change the present, it also disrupts everything else, so Barry’s now in an alternate timeline. And in this timeline, Zod is invading and Barry can’t find Superman or the League around to help. So he’s got to figure out how to save the world, and then get home.

Yeah, it’s another loose adaptation of Flashpoint.

This movie was being billed as the thing that was going to reset the DC continuity for the movies and put it in the new state for Superman: Legacy. Except watching it, the movie is plainly not that at all–the way the universe is left at the end of this movie is not really compatible with whatever they’re doing with the new DC movies. The end result is that the movie feels pointless in its conclusion, a funny little one-off that affects nothing.

It’d be more forgivable if we’d had more time with this iteration of Barry Allen/the Flash. Instead, much like Superman in Snyder’s movies, we’re skipping straight to big stories without developing these characters enough to care. And now we’re getting no more of Barry Allen, or at least this Barry Allen.

Which is kind of a shame? Because I went into this out of curiosity, and I didn’t expect that much from it. I remember for the first third of the movie or so, I was having a surprising amount of fun. I liked this version of Barry. I enjoyed seeing his interactions with his fellow Justice Leaguers, and I thought about how I’d love to see more of these characters interacting. I’d love to see more stories about Barry, but I don’t think we will, at least not anytime soon.

Also, Ezra Miller went kind of insane in the last year or so, and that’s probably an admittedly good reason as to why they’re not rushing to make more anytime soon.

The multiverse is pretty weak here–people have written pieces as to why we’re all sick of the multiverse by this point, and that’s fair. Other than the main Plot itself, where Barry is in an alternate timeline, it only really comes up in the climax, to sort of say, “Hey! We remember all of these past DC iterations! Do you?” Okay, fine, that doesn’t make it good storytelling. It’s not terrible, it’s just not great, either.

Michael Keaton’s a fun Batman. I’m going to be honest with you–I never had much attachment to the 1989 Batman. I liked this take on Batman, though I don’t know if that means he should have replaced Ben Affleck, or even the Thomas Wayne from the comic; the decision to reference the Burton film felt more like fanservice than something that actually made sense.

Also! Question: why does Iris like Barry? By the end of the film, she’s clearly interested in him, and while we know he’s a great guy, the way he’s acted towards her throughout the movie isn’t very appealing from her point of view. She should be incredibly skeptical about his prospects as a romantic partner, if anything. It seemed like a typical ‘Nerd guy gets The Girl’ Hollywood trope than actually writing for the characters.

This movie feels like it’s had a dozen reshoots added to it, to try to make it appeal to more fans through references, and to try to make it fit or not fit in a new DC universe. And while it’s great fun at times, I’d have preferred if the movie only tried to tell a singular story. I would like an actual Flash movie that had Barry interacting with his own supporting cast and rogues gallery–because Flash has an amazing rogues gallery! Thawne! Zoom! Captain Cold! Mirror Master! These would be fun on a massive blockbuster budget!

And it’s pretty darn egregious that, with everything that’s going on in Warner Bros, that they canceled Batgirl, a film with a female Hispanic lead, and kept straight on with this, when its star has actually committed crimes and threatened people.

I don’t know! I had more fun watching this than I expected, and that was a nice surprise! At the same time, this far from “one of the greatest superhero movies ever made” that was promised–I don’t know how someone even arrived at that proclamation, unless the executives decided “nostalgic references to previous movies” counts as quality. Given the state of Hollywood, that’s a possibility.

If you’re a massive DC fan, or liked other movies in this iteration of the DC universe, than you’ll probably have some fun with this movie. But is it a must-watch? No. Not even close.

[dascarecrow]

Multiversus Wishlist

You know the drill here people. I'm making a list of the characters that I want to see join the roster of Multiversus. This will be influenced by various leaks, hints and datamines for the game.

Here we go.

-Green Lantern (has been hinted at in the trailers and could be interesting gameplay wise)

-The Flash (my favorite DC superhero and would give us a speedster in the game)

-Aquaman (he's been hinted at and voice lines were datamined)

-Martian Manhunter (I just want him in because I want to see the Big Seven of the Justice League in the game)

-Hawkgirl (I'm fascinated by the Hawk mythos in DC and she would diversify the roster a bit)

-Lex Luthor (we need more villains in the game and his rivalry with Superman is legendary)

-The core Teen Titans (Robin, Raven, Cyborg, Starfire and Beast Boy. All of them would bring something unique to the table of a platform fighter. Plus Raven has been hinted at through voice lines.)

-Deathstroke (If any of the Titans get in then we definitely need their premier enemy in there.)

-Green Arrow (He's a big deal for DC and his archer based moveset could be fun)

-Beetlejuice (Voice lines were datamined and plus he's the Ghost with the Most.)

-Harry Potter (I know there's been controversy with the creator of the series but the Wizarding World is still a huge IP for Warner Bros. so I expect they'll include someone as a playable character and who better than the main character.)

-Gandalf (Was datamined and Lord of the Rings is still a big property for Warner Bros. Plus he's a wizard and that's always cool)

-The Powerpuff Girls (Voice lines were datamined for all three)

-Ed, Edd, and Eddy (Despite being one of the original Cartoon Cartoons they haven't really gotten representation in a platform fighter before so this would be a chance to fix that)

-Samurai Jack (Voice lines were datamined and besides it's freaking Samurai Jack. Why wouldn't they include him?)

-Johnny Bravo (I just want him in because he was one of the original Cartoon Cartoons)

-Numbuh One (I want to see some representation from Codename Kids Next Door and he's the most likely to get in)

-Daffy Duck (Was datamined and could be funny to see)

-The Road Runner (Mostly want them because of nostalgia for the Road Runner SNES game)

-One of the following Dexter's Lab characters

-Dexter (Main character with numerous inventions, duh.)

-Monkey (Was a superhero in the show and could be fun)

-Major Glory (Same deal as Monkey above)

-Val Halen (His magic guitar would give him a unique moveset)

-One of the following Thundercats (Because I grew up on that show)

-Lion-O, Panthro, Cheetara, Tygra

-Space Ghost (His powers are incredibly varied and we need some representation for the Hanna-Barbera superheroes)

-Secret Squirrel (I want one of the Hanna-Barbera "funny animal" characters to make it into game and Secret has numerous gadgets that would make for a good moveset)

-One of the following Mortal Kombat characters (to give Warner Bros. video games some love)

-Scorpion (Most popular MK character and has fire powers)

-Sub-Zero (Second most popular MK character and has ice powers)

-Reptile (A fan favorite and wouldn't be expected plus his reptilian powers would be fun in the game)

-Raiden (Typically the "Big Good" of MK and a good pick for a hero character)

-Liu Kang (He is supposed to be the hero of the series, which MK1 has made more clear than ever so he might have a chance)

-The Animaniacs (Yakko, Wakko and Dot could be a three-in-one fighter much like how the PPG are predicted to be and it would be just fun to have them in the game)

-Ruby Rose (I love the RWBY series and it is owned by Warner Bros so the main character making it in is a distinct possibility)

-A Bionicle character (I loved the Bionicle series, it would give Multiversus a Lego rep and I would ideally prefer Takanuva with his light powers or Mata Nui with the Kanohi Ignika giving him life powers)

[mdhwrites]

My Adventures With Superman Episode 7 Review: IS THAT AN OURAN HIGH SCHOOL CLUB REFERENCE IN THE TITLE!?

I want to believe it is.

Anyways, short, non-spoilery version: We have the show going "You want a comic book show right? Well, let's fucking go then." This is however WITHOUT losing its identity though as we see highlights for each character, them working together, and the personalities we've gotten used to grounding what would normally be an extreme escalation WAY too quickly in most media. This is the payoff for keeping it tech based for five episodes and focusing so much on the characters as now they can expand on their adventures. I will say that I wish the budget for the animation was expanding with it though as I'm still finding the Superman fights somewhat lackluster and so while I liked the episode, I actually wouldn't say it had any big bang moments before the one alluded in the title. So good but I won't be surprised if I remember nouns from this episode more than scenes.

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+++++

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Okay, so lets start Myxz (thank you to a friend for introducing that shortening to me). So when I talk about the animation budget, it's probably what makes me the most trepidatious about him in the long term. Discord in My Little Pony was so effective because he genuinely fucked up the world. As a god of chaos, he seemed genuinely as chaotic as he preached. That takes a lot of money and a lot of effort though which is part of why Discord didn't show up too often, or at least I assume that's part of it.

BUT with that said, I do think they did a very good job with him. Not only does he get a couple moments to shine with his powers like turning into the various Supermen, he also works the chaos angle through his words very well. "I told some VERY excellent lies" stands out as just a great line but how he's looking to be entertained, see where things go, etc. like that is very in line with not only god mentality but chaos god mentality as well. By the end of the episode, you know why he's not shifting the portals in a way that could actually kill the league because that wouldn't be any fun.

Speaking of fun: The League of Loises. Fun in a different way. I LOVE the use of multi-dimensional beings for how things like the planet Clark is from and the introduction of Kryptonite is used, but I also want to shout out the separation of information. Lois has the actual substance kryptonite and knows those weapons are designed specifically to beat Clark but Clark knows what they can actually do to them and knows that Krypton is his home planet, while Lois knows Kryptonian is the race he is. It's a fun back and forth that will be interesting to see, especially given their characters.

Because while they've grown... I don't expect them to dive in deep with each other yet. Now Jimmy will fill in Clark on what they know and I'm hoping Clark talks about the name Krypton with Jimmy and Lois but if he just wants to brush it off as a liar's tricks, I wouldn't blame him. Lois though? Poor Lois. She's made a lot of headway but I can just imagine "I don't want to worry Clark about these other Supermen and this weird green gem so I'm going to look into it myself" as her response. Care while also putting too much on herself, much like what Clark does heroing and putting himself into danger.

Honestly though? I complained last episode that Lois didn't really get a chance to shine in their reconciliation but this is the episode that goes "This is Lois. This is why someone would want to be with her. Take her or leave her." And that is VERY true for her. Everything that makes her the cute, tough girl the internet fell in love with is also what makes her the invasive, brash, nerdy girl who makes mistakes. The good comes with the bad for her and that is GREAT. That is how most people are, hence why someone can theoretically be 'your type' and not be someone you're into at all because people are complicated and messy and their specific quirks can be a NIGHTMARE.

But Lois' heart is in the right place and while she needs to be tempered, she is working on it. Also, it's not always a bad thing, like the fact that other Loises would simply trust themselves but ours? Ours is about openness and honesty. Period. Honestly, it's probably part of why she hasn't gotten a Pulitzer yet. She works too hard to make sure what she's writing is 100% right, instead of 100% what will make her famous.

Last thing I want to touch on is the ending. I said in other places that the most subversive thing about this show is that after a decade of Supermen who were mean or cold or bad or evil (it has been literally a decade since Man of Steel came out) this show has a blue boy scout. A Superman who is just a good person and who will never stop being a good person. The ending with the reveal that a LOT of Supermen have turned evil feels like the show knows that that is its big hook, that is what makes it special in our media landscape, and wants to play with that some. Heck, we even got it a couple episodes back with Lois' line of "That's if you had powers Clark but we're not talking about you." It's kind of a bit of recognition that Clark is an anomaly. A paragon to be an example to all paragons. Just as Superman should be. Is he flawless? No, because he's still human, and that's also why so many are falling in love with this Clark so rapidly. Why we got the confession we got in this episode. And I for one am here for it.

Also, sorry I'm not talking about the romance element. Honestly, with how amazing Clois is written in this show, it feels a bit like beating a dead horse at this point to praise it. I will give a shout out to the difference in nerd attitude to the two though since they are both AWFUL when it comes to first dates but the reminders that Lois is also a trainwreck are always welcome.

But like seriously, can we PLEASE get fanart of Lois in a host's outfit? She'd make such a good Haruhi! PLEASE!

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past.

I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead.

If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And finally a Twitter you can follow too!

[dramatic-squirrel]

Daminette December Day 29- Membership

@maribat-calendar-events

Stars lit up the window, creating a view like none other but, more eye catching than any other star, was the sight of Earth, floating there in all of its various hues of blue, green and brown. It was so gorgeous that Ladybug zoned out of the conversation as she thought of how to best depict the colors of Earth in an outfit. 

“-bug. Ladybug!” Superman’s voice finally brought her out of her trance.

She jumped slightly before responding. “Yes! Sorry, what is it?” 

Superman gave a little chuckle because all new timers were like that at first. “We were just saying congratulations on becoming a member of the Justice League.” He expected awe, happiness, maybe even a little shock. What stared back at him was none of those emotions.

“What?” Her head tilted to the side as she tried to understand what was going on. “Why am I being inducted into the Justice League?”

Superman looked at Wonder Woman. This wasn’t something that happened often and he wasn’t sure what to do. Knowing distress when she sees it Wonder Woman stepped in to explain. “Because of your valor, sharp wit, selflessness, and abilities, the core members have decided to offer you membership into the league. Be honored Little Ladybug,” she placed a hand on the young girl’s shoulder. “You’ll stand amongst the greatest warriors of Earth in order to defend it.”

Ladybug stepped away from the duo before trying to ease the tension gathering on her forehead. “I think there’s been a misunderstanding. Did none of you talk to Batman or Robin before deciding this? I thought I made my stance on this very clear to them.”

“They’re dealing with a lot of Rogue problems in Gotham right now, so we excused Batman and his team from any decision making for the time being.” Superman explained. “Why, what’s the issue?”

“I’m not joining the league, now or ever.” This time it was the two of them who were confused. “First of all, I just entered college and the league is a full-time commitment I do not have the energy or time for. And secondly,” she held up her hand when Superman was about to protest. “The miraculouses are not meant to be governed by an external force.”

“What do you mean, Ladybug?” Wonder Woman questioned.

“I mean, that I can’t work under someone, when I have to take responsibility as the guardian of the miraculouses. If I join the JL, there will be the expectation that the Justice League has control over the miraculouses, who wields them, where they are stored and so forth. Not only is that a ridiculous amount of power, all controlled by one group, but you all have no clue how to properly deal with the miraculouses.”

“That's a big assumption on your part, Ladybug. We can give you full autonomy over the miraculouses as that is your duty. Joining the League will give you greater access to resources to help you solve crime.”

She shook her head again. “I’m willing to be allies, but how will the rest of the world react to you gaining such powerful magic? The world needs to understand that if the Justice League is compromised, I can step in to save people. Batman agrees with me on this.”

Superman sighed as Batman once again made his way into another failsafe against the League. “Well, we can’t force you. But I thought you would have been happy, being in the League with your fiance.”

“Please. We see enough of each other already. If I had to fight crime with him too, on a regular basis, I think we’d get sick of each other.” Wonder Woman and Superman shared a look, was she dense or simply too close to see how much Robin actually cared?

[friendly-books]

Dresden files Grave Peril live blog

Grave Peril

Michael! Weird how he’s just now showing up in book 3

Michael is a Harry/Susan shipper

I’m with Michael. Harry should tell Susan that he loves her

Who’s Elaine? 

Not the maternity ward :(

Harry fighting a ghost is cool

Poor Agatha Hagglethorn and her daughter :(

Why does Harry think his soul is bad?

Trip to the Nevernever. Oh am I going to meet Lea?

“You’re right. Sorry. Holy shit,” I breathed “heckhounds” pg. 58 Ha 

“Long estranged godson” pg. 64 Why are they estranged?

Is it bad that I kinda want a fae godmother?

“I can’t believe we’re in jail” pg. 72 Ha 

Oh no Michael got full named. Why doesn’t Charity like Harry? She’s being really mean to Harry. 

“I’d never said them to anyone I didn’t lose” pg. 81 Well now I’m sad :(

Where’s Mister? 

Vampire time 

Not Bianca :( 

“Yeah, their saliva’s some kind of addictive narcotic” pg. 84 First Ew Second I guess that helps them when they’re attacking people. Third that’s terrifying 

Why would Bianca invite Harry? She doesn’t like him. I’m suspicious. If this is “official” business why invite Harry? He’s not a warden of the White Council.

“The safety of all invited guests is assured, by word of the assembled court.” pg. 86 Hmmm are we talking about guest rights here? I need more information about this. What counts as safety? Why just words, why not written? Invited guests so unless you have an invitation you’re in trouble? I guess Harry isn’t gate crashing. Bianca is up to something. This is definitely giving me trap vibes. Bianca is probably the reason the ghosts are acting up. As with the previous two Big Bad guys they were behind the “unrelated” problems being connected i.e.: Victor and the drugs and Denton all the murders. I doubt she’d turn him. Maybe it has something to do with Michael and his sword? 

Yay Mister is safe

Susan, why would you want to go to a party with vampires after what you’ve just seen? Please listen to Harry. He knows what he’s talking about. I know you got a career boost from the werewolves but you aren’t Lois Lane and Harry isn’t Superman he can’t save you from everything so please don’t go to the ball.

Lea stop kissing Harry. It's weird. 

I don’t think I’ve ever been smacked in the face with remembering when a book takes place than this quote “Wait until some poor sap who got AIDS from a blood transfusion breaths his last” pg. 121 I was not expecting that. Very late 90’s or early 2000’s. When do these books take place? 

“An unmarked car sat in my driveway” pg. 126 my sheer level of disappointment when I read on and realized I wasn’t getting Marcone was immeasurable  

“Rudy’s clean cut good looks” pg. 126 Bi Harry 7

No, not the birds :( 

Rudouph is the worst 

Poor Micky :( The barbwire curse is scary

Murph is so cool with The Sight

Bob being scared is worrying 

“What could possibly go wrong?” pg. 172 Harry why would you say that?

“And then droplets of her spittle fell onto my throat, my cheek, and into my mouth” pg. 183 oh no I’ve never been more happy that Harry destroyed a building

Why would Bicana send two of her maybe powerful red court buddies (subordinates?) to find Lydia? Maybe Lydia knows too much? Maybe Lydia is one of Bicana girls? 

“I’d learned to block out pain, when necessary. Studying under Justin, it had been a practical necessity.” pg. 188 Not a big fan of Justin 

Scary dream

Oh no it ate Harry’s magic

Oh no it disguised itself as Harry 

Oh no Murph 

Oh no Charity 

What pact did Harry make with Lea? How is Harry going to get out of this new pact with Lea? 

How am I only 48% of the way through? So much has happened? And we still haven’t gotten to the ball

Oh no the baby is coming 

Oh no Lea has Amoracchius

Harry’s mom got him a fae godmother? Harry’s mom makes some weird allies 

How are they going to fight Nightmare and get Amoracchius  back?

Michael, Harry’s a little busy can you have Susan leave a message

“It’s thine heart” pg. 278 Ha

It’s party time 

“Hell’s bells, I noticed how good he looked” pg. 290 Bi Harry 8

Thomas! Yay! 

Wait wait did Harry just talk about how good his brother looks?!? 

“Not just a vampire,” I said, “a cheesy vampire.” pg. 297 Ha 

Bianca’s dress is a fire hazard 

All this talk of hospitality makes me think that’s how the vampire-white council war started. Someone broke hospitality. Why are you drinking the wine Harry? It could be spiked? You don’t know what’s in it or where it’s been. It could be roofied. “The wine is poisoned” pg. 308 Aaaahhh!!!! This is bad. Oh no it’s the venom 

Harry please listen to Micheal and Thomas and leave the party

“We’re here to get information, not bring the house down on a bunch of nasties” pg. 313 but Harry your really good bringing the house down

Dragons are a thing in this universe? Cool! Michael killed a dragon, cool!

“Harry, you're not the biggest kid on the block. You’ve got to learn to be a little more polite” pg. 318 Ha like that will ever happen 

SUSAN WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!?!? You didn’t get an invitation…You forged an invitation.

SUSAN YOU NEED TO LEAVE 

Oh no 

No Susan you can’t protect yourself here

Did Lea just try to bargain for Molly? Oh no Lea made Susan forget Harry

Who’s Mavra? Well you don’t need to call Mavra an it. That was rude.

No Susan, you didn’t know the risks before coming to this party. Susan, Harry and Michael aren’t chauvinist pigs they’re trying to help 

Vampire wizard?!? That is cool but bad for Harry 

Gift giving time

So the vampires want a sort of false flag operation? Maybe not a false flag but pressure Harry to attack.

“Lords of the Outer Night” pg. 354 that’s important not sure what it is but with those capital letters that’s important 

How is it Harry’s fault that you (Bianca) killed Rachel?

“Here lies Harry Dresden, he died doing the right thing” That’s a very accurate epitaph. Bianca knows Harry well enough to know that. That’s some villain vibes to gift someone a tombstone 

They draw weapons and the vampires immediately start attacking it’s like they’re trying to start a war. 

Oh no Justine 

Thomas don’t listen to Bianca. THOMAS why would you do that to Susan?!? Oh no Bicana didn’t keep up her end of the deal who would have thought 

Time to burn some vampires. That’s a lot of fire. Bicana isn’t the fire hazard it’s Harry 

Here comes Harry guilt complex 

Lydia what’s up? Nightmare in disguise? Possessed? I’m with Harry, Thomas needs to back off from Lydia 

I like this mushroom plan 

Does everyone know Harry’s mom but Harry? The demon knew her and now Lea 

“The handsome vampire” pg. 440 Bi Harry 9

I think you should all stick together. Oh no Harry’s surrounded 

Why is Bicana naked?

Why are they taking Harry’s clothes off? 

NO NO NO don’t like the end of chapter thirty-three

NOPE NOPE NOPE don’t like the beginning of thirty-four 

I’m crying :( Poor Harry, I don't like the implications. Can someone anyone please help Harry he needs help

Poor Justine, where are her clothes?

“I heard them taking you. Playing with you, for two hours maybe” pg. 453 I really don’t like those implications. 

Rachel ghost to the rescue…or not 

Kravos go away 

Oh no Susan got half turned. Yay Harry told Susan that he loved her! 

The ghost fight was cool!

Why would the Reds want to start a war with the White Council?

The ghosts fighting is cool!

Awww they named their child after Harry! :)

“What goes around comes around. And sometimes you get what’s coming around. He paused for a moment, frowning faintly, pursuing his lips. “And sometimes you are what’s coming around. You see what I mean” pg. 506 Does that mean that Harry is the consequences for the monster? 

“I don’t want you far away marry me” pg. 510 awww Harry asked Susan to marry her 

“And they were always the same: darkness, trapped, with vampires all around me, laughing their hissing laughter. I’d wake up, screaming and crying.” pg. 511 Poor Harry I’m sobbing 

Well I guess the White Council is at war with the Red Court now. 

Final thoughts 

I wished I had Marcone in this book. I need my Marcone fix. Glad I got to meet Michael. Charity needs to calm down. The Red Court vampires are terrifying. I’m upset that I was right about the party being a trap and Bicana. I’m upset that Susan got turned. More Bi Harry the counter is up to 9. Murph looked so cool with The Sight like a guardian angel! Not a fan of Justin. I want to know more about Lea. I hope I get to see more Thomas. Does he know that Harry’s his brother? Is he just messing with Harry? Why would he do that to Susan? I love Harry’s costume. Bianca had it coming. I kinda love Bianca’s gift to Harry. I don’t know if I’m reading too much into the implications but I don’t like them at all. I’ll probably make a whole separate comment about it because I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about it. Harry has a bit of a guilt complex/chronic hero syndrome. Now about this war. As vampires they’ve probably been around for a while so they know about the White Council. Why would they pick a fight with them? They must think they can win against them so they must have had a plan like this in the making for a while. I assume the White Council will try and make peace, maybe throw Harry under the bus as a way to appease the Reds and get rid of their (Council’s) black sheep. I need to know more. Susan went a bit too far in her investigative reporting and it came back to bite her. She’s only half turned so I assume she has some powers but not all and has some weaknesses but not to the extent of a full Red Vampire. I’m sad Harry and Susan broke up but I know she’ll come back and have Maggie. I thought the fights were good and I liked the world building. I’m looking forward to a more central storyline/plot with the war. It'll be different from the sort of monster of the week that I got from the first two books. Despite my several “oh no’s” I did enjoy this book and I’m looking forward to reading the next one.

[rainbowgod666]

The perfect DC/Marvel comic is like this

Its a batman book, the joker is killed off in the first panel and that has no meaning or repercussions over the timeline

The watchmen are a thing and Dr. Manhattan figured out a way to get rid of the whole "every moment is the present" thing. This makes it easier for the writer to write its dialogues. He is still earth-shatteringly autistic and everyone loves him for this

Also he and deadpool accidentally bond over "seeing the 4th wall". Deadpool is also buddies with moon knight. Guess what my favourite charachter is?

Good ol IRL me is there and its canon that the one time when i tried to help constantine every demon/spirit/whatever that has a stake on him was SCREAMING to him "get tf away from him not even death's gonna save you". Which i mean, rude

Welcome to the multiverse. Batman has small dick energy and superman is such a pacifist some people have trouble seeing him as anything other than "alien übermensch thats just a really nice guy and thats eat". He may be white bread but here in italy we say "buono come il pane" or "good as bread" so yeah hes a Certified Good Boy

I cannot stress enough how much unimportant is the death of the joker. He basically might as well have never existed.

Wonder Woman comes to the realization (after i confronted her about it because FFS WHY DO I HAVE TO BE THE MULTIVERSE'S BABYSITTER) that MAYBE reducing her entire power assortment to "r/TwoXChromosomes" is a bad thing both for boys AND girls alike. I know the song goes "forget your balls and grow a pair of tits" but i would instead put programs so that boys feel safe about their masculinity and girls wont have to worry about Bad People In Dimly Lit Alleys.

SCP and MONUMENTMYTHOS are referenced really tangentially. Only the wikis (official or not) aknowlegde this fully

There are at least three scenes where tony stark reads about elongated muskrat on the news. In all of them hes disappointed

He also references him appearing on big bang theory, which in THIS universe is ran by the charachters of the series as a fun class B science program that has way more audience than it should have. Sheldon met Dr. Manhattan, who described our multi-knocking boy as just like him but "less knowledgeable and more arrogant" (no fr shelly is one /gamemode 1 from becoming dr. pasadiña or whatever)

Considering this is "DC and Marvel, but Alex did his bullshit", expect dumb shit

I am introduced with a MadCom reference that is also a Courage the cowardly dog reference. KeK

The Owlman is revealed to have had a massive brain tumor that straight up removed his ability to think rationally while making him speak like his cigars are made of dictionaries

So many events from so many storylines happen all at once lol

Spidey disapproves of O'Hara. Like everyone else.

Multiple references are everywhere

There is SERIOUS PROOF that thanos accidentally something important when he was testing the infinity gauntlet, whoops!

Gamora tries to kill me after i try to roast her for how she is. She is shocked to find out that me getting Kakyoin'd did nothing but "ow"

@moringmark is referenced in a 4 panel scene in the toh universe

A cover story reveals that, on the moon, a portal opens. The portal is traversed by a shiny deoxys and many little among us crewmates. The impostors are all black (literally) (if you see racism in this, fuck you not everyone is an american cop) (on that note, watch southland) and act as guards for the group. Deoxys is in its base form

The valve universe is a thing so welcome BLU, RED, aperture and black mesa!

[onewordshy]

2023 Animated Shows (That I Watched) Ranked

(Picture unrelated, I just like putting a picture at the top of things)

My friend and I watch a lot of animated shows and since it's a new year I put together a little ranked list with my thoughts on all of the 2023 releases we watched- beneath a read more, of course.

#1. Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur

I never really got into the whole Marvel thing but this is basically its own thing (Lunella is a more recent character in the comics so she doesn't have the daunting backstory of the more established hitters) and also probably one of the best pieces of superhero media to come out in ages. Maybe even one of the best animated children's programs of all time? The story, characters, aesthetic, soundtrack, messaging, it's all there, especially during the action scenes where the soundtrack and animation come together to create some incredible sequences.

Diamond White's vocal performance as Lunella deserves a special shoutout, she brings so much life to the character. I was a fan of her music before watching the show but I had no clue she had these acting chops! It's incredible the chemistry that her character builds with a nonspeaking character like Devil Dinosaur, but they make a great heart for the show.

#2. Fright Krewe

Banger alert! I feel like it's been a while since we got a good "kids get powers and have to keep them secret and in the process become best friends" show (a la W.I.T.C.H.) and this scratches that itch in a big way, absolutely nailing the archetypes and dynamics that make these types of shows work. It's set in New Orleans so the lore/aesthetic draws a lot from the cultural tapestry of that area and the story it tells is tight and intriguing- I know "this kid's show is DARK" become kinda played out in recent years but like... come on, the antagonist is a skinless corpse. Animation is kinda weird at first but once you get used to the style it's pretty good.

Overall it reminds me a lot of the Discovery Kids programming block from when I was growing up, which is one of the highest compliments I can give. I don't see a ton of people talking about it, which would concern me BUT it's already renewed for season two so I stay winning!

#3. My Adventures With Superman

I like that they called this My Adventures With Superman because it really felt like our Superman- like this is the version of this story that we wanted to see today. Clark is a dorky himbo, Lois gets to be a girlboss, Jimmy is a YouTuber, and these versions are refreshing while still feeling recognizable and organically written. And funny.

Despite the epic alien invasion/high-tech crime syndicate story it spins it's almost cozy in a way; Metropolis has never felt so warm and inviting, and it all works to highlight the optimism that's at the heart of the Superman mythos. With how grimdark most mainstream interpretations of the Superman archetype have been in recent years it was nice to see a show that leans into the potential for good that a man with power has.

#4. Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix

Biggest surprise of the year for me, this came out of nowhere and wound up being a total gag. It was a high-octane thrill ride that felt more like a movie than a series, but in a good way- there was no "status quo" to uphold so it wasn't afraid to break its own mold and offer twists galore with no punches pulled. The story was way darker than I expected from a show built around licensed video game characters but it felt fitting in a way, a Subspace Emissary type of deal where the rule of cool reigns and all your childhood heroes come together for an epic adventure.

The animation was just as ambitious as the story, bringing to life a sexy and stylish cyberpunk city while also throwing in some fun pixelated sequences that gave the show a unique style. I don't know how this got made or if it will get a second season but I'll be watching if they do.

#5. Skull Island

Never been much into King Kong so I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did but I had a blast with it! A classic "mysterious island" adventure with a lot of fun creatures and monster fights, I came away loving the characters and really wanting to know what happens next in the story- which isn't always easy to do with franchised properties like this. Surprisingly funny too. I'm actually a little bit surprised that this doesn't have more buzz considering the central trio have a dynamic that seems laser designed as fandom bait (somehow, I mean this as a compliment) and the overall quality of the project.

Also King Kong was sexy. Let's just say that.

#6. Pokémon Concierge

Somebody please isekai me to the Pokémon resort... the colors and textures alone made this one of the prettiest shows I've watched in a while, but the most delightful part is seeing the Pokémon world brought to life in a new way. It's a cute little story clearly aimed at bringing hope and cheer to the franchise's continually growing adult audience, but at just four episodes all below twenty minutes it feels more like a short film than an actual tv show. Sort of like a lo-fi chill hip-hop beats to study for type of thing.

#7. American Dad (Season 18)

For a long time I had this show pegged as "not for me" but my friend made me watch a bunch of it and honestly, it's quite good! The strength of these long running sitcom type shows is that you develop an affection for the cast and the formula, but this can be a double-edged sword as over time the characters naturally wear down to caricatures and the plots spiral out of control- but despite the odds I think this has helped actually American Dad. Everyone is such a huge, wacky character now and the storylines are so off-the-wall that you can count on every episode to be entertaining.

It helps that the show isn't as reactive to pop culture as some of its peers and the writers get a lot of room to play around with unusual plots and sometimes surreal humor. A great testament to what can happen to these types of shows when the driving force is silliness.

#8. Digman

This kinda debuted to crickets but I enjoyed it- in the sea of adult animated comedies coming out these days (usually I watch an episode or two then stop) I thought this stood out for having good heart and some strong humor. It tended to lean a lot on volume, meta humor, and overly long gags, but its flips on standard adventure stories and sitcom plotlines were clever and it did get a lot of laughs out of me and my friends. I think this one deserves to survive for another season.

#9. Tiny Toons Looniversity

Had a fun time with this show but I'm not really sure who it was for? Like, it's airing on Cartoon Network but it's set in a college and a lot of the plotlines feel like stuff that would be lost on kids so it was like a show for young adults but with the tone and content of a kids' show. Some great bits and fun character dynamics but it left zero impact on me, I don't really think I'd notice if it went away.

Honorable mentions: Hailey's On It / The Ghost & Molly McGee (S2)

Didn't finish either of these because I didn't find either one particularly compelling but they were cute enough. Specifically I found The Ghost & Molly McGee to be a bit of a letdown after how fantastic the first season was, but it was still a strong show so I might finish it later.

#10. Rainbow High (S4)

Centering a season around a Project Runway style competition was a stroke of genius but just like season three's Rainbowvision, it was let down by the execution. The individual episodes were fine but none of the characters were allowed to have the storylines or iconic moments that make actual reality competition shows memorable so the season was just like... pleasant, but not much more. For fashion doll line shows the point of these webisodes is to get us invested in the characters, and this missed the mark on that- losing some of the more intriguing characters early on in the season didn't help either.

Ultimately though I think the only thing anyone is going to remember about this season is the Poopsie Surprise jump scare in the final episode. Can't wait to see what treasures the reboot brings.

#11. Barbie A Touch Of Magic

I literally forgot that I watched this until I was making this list... it was pretty okay! I'm not really gonna critique it because I don't think it was really made with an all-ages appeal in mind, like this is explicitly for little girls and I think they'll enjoy it.

It's about what I expected from a modern "regular girl" Barbie series that takes a more grounded approach to the franchise, but the fantasy elements were a decent shakeup and Rocki in particular really stole the show. She's a trickster fairy called a "glyph" which involved some surprisingly cool lore concepts for the otherwise standard fantasy plot, and having the main antagonist maintain a friendship with the heroes by wiping their minds any time she's discovered led to some interesting scenes.

Fashion and music were bad though :\

#12. Velma (2023)

Didn't hate this as much as everybody else seemed to, but I can't deny that it let me down in the end. The show never quite realized its own potential- it set up interesting premises and character arcs but then neglected them in favor of a web of uninteresting love triangles and tasteless jokes, and the way the final five minutes of the last episode just completely threw out any semblance of progress made over the season felt like a big middle finger.

On the positive side though I did get a good number of laughs out of it and the designs and animation were pretty great... I'd watch a season two.

#13. Fired On Mars

I can't say that this was a bad show- might even say that it was a pretty good show -but I think my friend put it best when he said "I think this show has a body count." This was sooo depressing, like, the main character is so pathetic it's difficult to watch. That's what they wanted, and it does go places and ask interesting questions, but man, I could not in good conscience recommend this to anyone.

#14. Unicorn Warriors Eternal

One of the worst animated shows I've seen in a while! It clearly wanted to tell this huge, generational fantasy epic, but the actual plot was an uninspired combination of disparate elements populated by flat characters. None of the dialogue is memorable, the tone is wildly inconsistent, the drama is overwrought but the attempts at humor are painful, the pacing is bizarre, and on top of ALL THAT the animation is bad! Like I thought I could count on the show at least being pretty to look at but the Fleischer-esque style that they go for looks like something out of a YouTube parody video.

(There was also like a shockingly racist "mysterious Arabian mystic" caricature in several episodes, not sure how nobody stopped that.)

The only show on this list that I would say I outright disliked- it seemed to get a positive reception which makes sense I guess because it has all of the qualities that make it seem like a good show, but I don't know about this one team. I think this might be a miss.

Special Mentions: The Amazing Digital Circus (they only made one episode but it was fun) and Lackadsaisy (they only made one episode but I hated it) and Family Guy season whatever (I don't know why I'm addicted to clips of this show but they're all soulless)

On the watchlist: Scavengers Reign, Carol at the End of the World, Hilda (S3), Teenage Euthanasia (S2), Lupin The ZERO

Excited for: Jellystone (S3), Arcane (S2), Take Off The Blindfold... (aka the second season of Secrets and Lies In A Town Of Sinners), a Girls Of Olympus international release (please), an update that Magic: The Gathering show that's allegedly still in the works

So yeah, on the whole a really good year for animated shows! What I really liked about 2023 was that it was a lot of promising newcomers- a lot of the shows I've enjoyed have ended or been cancelled in the past few years (RIP Dead End: Paranormal Park, taken from us far too soon) and now I have stuff to look forwards to... assuming they manage to survive the cutthroat environment of modern streaming.

[thevindicativevordan]

Weekly comic review ?

Nightwing #100 - A great artist showcase that Taylor manages to stay mostly out of the way of. No real narrative developments worth mentioning, the Titans shilling and obvious setup for a new Taylor written Titans ongoing just makes me roll my eyes but hey - whatever pries Taylor off of Jon I'm all in favor of.

World's Finest #11 - Solid ending to an arc that surprised me. Got thoughts to share on Magog now that it's over that I'll write up in a different post, but I will say I didn't expect him and Clark to part on such amicable terms. Of course Waid canonized the depower chamber from Superman II, should have seen that coming. Ending is definitely setting up some kind of follow up, be that in a future arc or in a spinoff mini like how Lazarus Planet is resolving the Nezha plotline.

Stargirl #3 - Continues to be great, guessing the Foster Father is Per Degaton. Eventually I'm sure Courtney will join the JSA book, only question is how many of these legacies will too.

One Bad Day: Bane - After Dark Crisis shit the bed Williamson needed this book to come out to remind me why I was on board for his Superman. It's solid and I love the twist that the "one bad day" for Bane actually ends up being the day he broke Batman. He peaked then and there, and never achieved anything as noteworthy ever again, something Bane himself recognizes and regrets. By the end he's become a quasi-Batman figure himself, taking in and mentoring a young man in an attempt to find a new purpose in life. Very much feels like an abbreviated DKR for Bane which is fitting given his status as the Evil Batman.

Lazarus Planet: Assault on Krypton -

Dreamer: Fine. Mostly just served as the story to explain what the hell is going on if you didn't bother to read Batman vs. Robin or the Alpha issue.

Jon - Wow actual chemistry between Jon and someone else! Almost forgot what that felt like after a year of utter blandness between Jon and Jay. God just break those two up already and put Jon with Ash, it would at least be amusing to see Jon dating someone who pushes back at his preaching.

Mercy - Good, I liked the flashes we get of her relationship with Lex and I approve of her becoming more like her animated Young Justice counterpart. Not quite a cyborg, more like Alex Mercer in terms of powerset.

Power Girl - Beautiful art, and Leah seems to have a good handle on Karen's voice. If she's getting telepathy I think she needs to give up one of the powers she already has in exchange. Looking forward to the backup.

The New Champion of Shazam #4 - Ending was a bit rushed but on the whole this was an enjoyable mini that left me feeling very optimistic about MAWS. I'm not thrilled that they seem to just want to have Mary go by "Shazam" too, come on surely we can come up with a better code name for her than just having her use Billy's. Especially since not only is he coming back, but his book is going by Shazam! Have Mary go by "Captain Shazam" if DC/Campbell is that opposed to a gendered name for her, it pays homage to Billy's original name and let's her be "Shazam" without literally having the same name as him.

Immortal X-Men #10 - Holy fuck I haven't been this eager for the follow-up since HoX/PoX. Gillen nails Xavier, there's no question that he is a good man, but his goodness doesn't stop him from taking actions that leave you unsettled. And that cliffhanger... looks like we're seeing the beginning of the end for resurrections.

Invincible Iron Man #2 - It's fine. I have no clue what is going on with Riri since I have never read anything with her in it, but she comes across as Tony's equal in arrogance alongside intellect.

Strange #10 - I was not familiar at all with Clea before this mini but now consider me a Clea fan. Great ending and i can't wait to see where McKay takes these two next. I've seen articles hyping up the new Strange series coming as being about Stephen as a wife guy, but brethren, it's Clea who is the husband gal. Look at that adorable psycho itching to slaughter an entire building this issue, but shows mercy because she loves her husband that much! Awwwww!

[unluckiefriday]

The Assumptions The World Makes

It’s interesting how everything else seems to get darker as you stare at the light, like everything else can never compare to that light.  This was my only thought as I lay on the cold ground staring at the ceiling.  My face stung but that was expected since I just got punched by a superhero.  That flying bastard hit me pretty hard.  I just wanted to lay on the floor and give up.  Society expected me to do this yet they hated me for it.  You can only imagine how confusing it is for a kid to be told that they are a villain before they have even done anything.

“Why do you keep doing this to yourself?” June sighed as she pulled out the first aid kit.  “You’d think you’d use your invisibility to run away from a fight but no.”  She stopped and stared at me with a sad look on her face.  She was incredibly compelling for a girl who was only 4’ 8”.  She held her head high and that made everyone feel she was far taller than she really was.  I had the exact opposite effect.

“Name as many superheroes with invisibility as you can,” I asked her, still staring at the ceiling.  I counted the dots, making sure every single one was noticed, none left out just because they were hard to see.

“Sue Storm,” she said easily, obviously proud of herself.

“Now name as many superheroes with flight as you can,” I continued lamely.

“Superman, Ironman, Captain Marvel, Green Lantern, Shazam, Storm…” she trailed off.  “I get the point.” she said quietly in defeat.

“Even Invisible Woman has more powers than just invisibility,” I groaned.  “Everyone expects me to be like Gollum with the one ring or something.”  I threw my hands up in exasperation and let them fall back down to the floor with a loud thunk. Some people have that feeling that they are invisible, that nobody notices or cares to notice.  They feel as if they disappear into the crowd.  I do. 

“You’ve never listened to society before, why are you now?” June asked, confused.

“They already fear me.  Everyone’s already heard of me before I’ve even done everything.  I can’t walk into a bank without people thinking I’m gonna steal something and only you and Dad let me into your houses.  Everyone thinks I’m a thief because of my power.  There is nothing I can do to change that.  People have made up their minds based on one thing they saw and there is nothing I can do to make them think otherwise.”  

“Maybe you’re just lost right now,” June suggested quietly, gently pressing a cold rag against my black eye, bringing a bit of relief..

“Lost implies I had a destination.”  We sat in silence for a little bit before I decided it was best for me to leave.  I left without a word knowing that June understood.  She stared at the floor, not looking up as I closed the door behind me.  Some things were best left unsaid and some things were best left unseen.  I was still in the same clothes from the fight so I opted to go undetected on my way home.  I’m not sure how people would react if they heard the mean and scary Phantom lived at home with his wheelchair bound father.  Would they feel guilty or would they assume the invisible man has something planned?

I waited to turn visible until I closed the front door.  I sighed as I turned the lock from the inside.

“Kennedy, is that you?” my father’s voice called out, he voice was weak.

“Yep,” I answered.  “Why didn’t you lock the door?” I called out, exhausted.

“Why should I?” he chuckled, coughing a bit as he rolled around the corner.

“Because it’s dangerous,” I said like it was obvious because it was to me.  He laughed and I stared at him in confusion.  “There are evil people in the world,” I elaborated.

“I don’t believe in evil,” he said plainly, giving me a dismissive wave.  He turned his chair around and wheeled himself into the kitchen.

“You realize you’re saying that to a supervillain, right?” I asked rhetorically.  Dad stopped, spun his chair around, and stared at me seriously.

“Come here,” he said quietly, pointing to the ground in front of him.  I knelt down in front of him and he placed a gentle hand on my shoulder.  “You, my son, are not a villain.  You never have and never will be.  You are going through a hard time and have made some bad decisions but that does not make you evil.  This ability that you have does not define you.”  He placed his hand over my heart and I placed my hand over his.  “The heart does not beat in a body of evil,” he said quietly and I didn’t question him.  “Listen,” he whispered.  I listened closely.  He pulled his hand out from under mine and placed my own hand over my heart.  I could feel it beat as I breathed deeply.  “Evil does not exist in your heart, no matter how hard you try or how much you think it should.  You are the Invisible Man but that does not make an evil man.”

“What if the Invisible Man was evil?”  I asked quietly, biting my lip. 

“I don’t think he was.” he answered just as quietly.

“He hurt people, he stole stuff,” I cried, not just talking about the character anymore.

“He didn’t choose to be evil, it was expected of him by ignorant people just as ignorant people expect it of you.”  I looked up at my father.  “When I was young, my father was a drunk and didn’t care for his children.  He ended up leaving and everyone expected me to do the same when we found out your mother was pregnant with you.  They expected me to abandon you but your mother knew better.  She gave you my name as your middle name because she believed in me.  She gave you my last name because she knew I would want you in my life more than anything.  I ignored all what everyone expected of me and did what I felt was right. Now it is time for you to do the same.”  He sat back in his wheelchair and looked at me proudly.  “Kennedy Bobby Murray, I will always love you.”

Tears ran down my cheeks as I hugged my elderly father.  He hugged me tightly back and I could feel the tears running down his face as well. 

✳     ✳     ✳

  My name is Lee Santiago and I am the Phoenix.  I’m supposed to be a superhero, you know, a person in a stupid custom that flies around saving the day.  You might be confused why I said supposed to.  I am a superhero, but it wasn’t really my choice.  I made the mistake of revealing my power of flight to the wrong person and now everyone expects me to save the day.  I didn’t have the best upbringing and now I have the pressure of saving the world on my shoulders.  Everyone expects the superhero to be a joyful extrovert not a self-conscious introvert.  I’m temperamental at best.  I actually saw a study recently that the number of introverts that picked flight or invisibility was actually relatively equal along with the choice of extroverts.  Not that I was searching for it or anything.  I guess that just goes to show one choice can’t really tell you anything about someone.

As I was thinking this, I was sitting in my girlfriend’s apartment. Ruby gently wrapped my bruised and battered knuckles.  I winced everytime she pulled them a smidge too tight.  I brushed a strand of red hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear.  My own curly, black hair was tied back into a short ponytail to keep it out of my face.  She knew how I felt and knew very well that I never wanted to be a superhero.  She was the only person who understood how I felt and that itself was a comfort.  

“You know,” Ruby spoke, trying to make small talk.  “I read an email today in a scientific magazine about personality.”

“Really?” I chuckled slightly.  “What it’d say?” I asked, half paying attention and half zoning out while staring at the wall.

“Talking about how personality was an abstract concept and how there is no universal definition of good or evil,” she said nonchalantly as if she hadn’t taken notes about the whole thing and perfected her speech for five minutes before bringing it up.  

“You’re trying to convince me to stop being the Phoenix, aren’t you?” I gave her a knowing look.  I wasn’t upset and I actually hoped she had a good reason to stop.  As much as I wanted to please society, I was ready to stop.  I was ready to get rid of every single electronic I own just so I wouldn’t hear anyone talking about where I had gone or when I was going to be back.

“Being a superhero isn’t the only way to be a good person.  There are plenty of other ways to save a life by doing something you actually want to do.  You’re trying to shape your personality around your power and society and it’s breaking you.  You’re focusing so much on what society wants that you’re forgetting what you want.”  She laid her hand gently on my face.  “I love you, not the Phoenix.”

“I know,” I whispered, laying my head on her tiny shoulder.  “I feel like I’m stuck in a loop.  Everytime I try to get out someone starts crying about how I abandoned them.  I can’t live with that guilt.”

“What if you didn’t have to?” Ruby asked quietly.  It was obvious she had an idea.

“What are you suggesting?” I asked, a little suspicious.

“What if you weren’t there to protect them anymore, what if everyone knew you weren’t gonna come back, what if,” she paused.  “What if everyone thought you were dead?”.

[kaypeace21]

Mike's "superman' reference may be pro byler (mini analysis)

The more I think about it the weirder I find it , that Mike compared El to super-MAN. For a few reasons ...

1.Because mike is a comic book nerd who should be able to select a hero/heroine who is more similar to el, than superman. in s1 he was into fantastic 4, and the xmen. Will in s1, wanted a xmen comic about Jean gray ( a telekenetic woman). Mike could have compared El to her , or various other characters, like "wonder woman" (who max compared El to) or literally "supergirl" (which is what argyle called El). He's a comic book nerd who chose superman (instead of a more similar hero). Despite the fact el and superman are very different from one another. But oddly enough, superman and Will actually parallel more...

2. superman & el have opposite backstories/childhoods - which greatly shaped them as characters . Which is why superman is an awful comparison, especially in a season that explores el's childhood.

Superman had great power but : he had a relatively normal childhood. He, from birth, was placed in the care of human parents. He was raised human,despite his powers.

El has great power but : beacuse of it, was raised in a government lab with no parents, and dehumanized and raised to be a weapon - it's the opposite of superman's childhood.

Superman became a hero , because he was raised to be human. El became a hero inspite of others trying to strip away her humanity. They're literal opposites.

3. The st comic" zombie boy " : has someone mention "superman" to Will. Both "superman" scenes happen because of Will showing his art.

And if Will ends up having powers- the superman parallel would make a bit more sense for him . Because Will & Clarke kent (superman) both had similar childhoods.

- Clarke's adopted dad is named Jonathan. And will's brother / psuedo father figure is jonathan.

-being poor small town boys. Who were bullied

- superman has the "fortress of solitude" . WIll had 'castle byers".

-And the (comic) plotpoint of Clarke's first day of kindergarten sounds very similar to byler first meeting in kindergarten: "Clark's first day at school isn't as difficult as he expects and he ends up making many friends at school, until he notices a girl, Samantha, sitting alone in the playground; ostracized for being different. Clark decided that he wants to befriend the girl, but feared that if he did, he'd lose all the friends he'd made up to that point. Consulting with his parents, they advise him to befriend the girl regardless of his classmates' opinions"

Mike doesn't even realize he channeled Clark kent when first meeting and befriending Will. It's almost the opposite of how Mike feels about first meeting El . Mike's insecure and says El is superman, and he's inferior to Louis lane (superman's human love interest). Then he says about m*leven "it wasn't fate" and he just got "lucky superman landed on his door step". The first byler meeting parallels a scene that shows Clarke's humanity as a normal person- clark kent. M*leven's first meeting parallels " superman landing on Louis' door step": which shows mike still hero worships el , a struggle that Louis had in some versions. The movie scene mike mentions is where she was obsessed/loved the idea of superman the hero (who landed at her door), but was oblivious to clarke the human being , right beside her. I feel like mike does struggle to see El (the person) and not El (the superhero). He called her a superhero 3x in s4...

-Also "batman v superman " was comfirmed inspo for s4. It's the sequel to " man of steal". In man of steel: clarke (like Will) has a supernatural episode at school-and starts seeing things others can't. And their moms have to rush over to the school to snap them out of their episodes . The staging is similar and both boys love plaid and bowl cuts lol.

(in man of steel) we also see a photograph: both boys win the science fair with a volcano project... the photographs are so similar ...

Clarke kent is also like Will in obvious ways: he usually blends in the crowd, is considered nerdy in some versions, no one assumes he has powers, and often people underestimate or belittle him. He was even bullied as a kid/teen (again depending on the version,in 'man of steel' he was bullied alot) . And not exaggerating clarke (like Will) sems to really love plaid in almost every version Haha

[thealtoduck]

Being Giganta’s son and falling in love with Tim Drake…

Tim Drake x Male Reader

Warnings: None

Summary: Your mom gets arrested and you get an offer you can’t refuse.

(A/N: To celebrate Tim being LGBTQ+)

——

It started after your mother was arrested and your home was raided by the Justice League.

So when they broke down your door you did what most superpowered people do when someone breaks in to their house… fight.

Off all the things Batman and Wonder Woman would expect to find inside the room while breaking down the door a teenager was not one of them.

A superpowered teenager at that.

When they had walked inside the room you used your powers that you had inherited from your mother to grow in to a 50 feet giant.

From growing this tall you smashed through the ceiling. You then looked down on the now tiny super heroes and said in a hostile tone ”Get away”.

Wonder Woman tried to fly up to you but you reacted by swatting her away as if she was an insect causing her to smash in to the ground.

Superman the tried to make his way to you but you grabbed him by the cape and threw him at Hawkgirl who was flying towards you. But soon enough you were overwhelmed by the amount of superheroes attacking you and they managed to take you in to custody.

Though they didn’t put you in jail because to be fair they broke in to your house and smashed in your door… but they did try to get information out of you.

So there you were sitting in a chair while the Justice League asked you questions you refused to answer. The only thing you told them was ”First you break in to MY house, then you take ME in to custody for self defence and then you question ME for info”

”Can you see why i don’t feel like talking?” You then asked them ironically. They then saw that it was a losing effort talking to you and left the room.

When Tim saw Batman exiting the room he went up to him and asked how it went but was told you were difficult to work with.

But Tim got an idea, ”What if someone who didn’t arrest him talks to him, he might be more willing to cooperate then?” he suggested to his mentor. Which Batman accepted and let him in to the room where you were being kept.

”Hey” he said to you as you only stared towards him but before Tim had said anything else you said ”Look i’m not telling you shit so just leave” but instead of leaving he grabbed a chair and sat down opposite you.

”I’m sorry they broke in to your house and took you here, but there is a lot going on some of which involves your mom and also involves innocent people getting hurt and if you have any possible information we would be very grateful” he said kindly yet seriously and he added a quick ”Please”.

Well he did ask nicely and plus you hate innocent people being hurt as the result of good guys vs bad guys so you said ”I have somewhat of a location, not an exact adress but i know they are gonna be in Gateway city and close to the harbour. I think Cheetah and Doctor Psycho will be there, i think it’s a ”I hate Wonder Woman” kind off thing”.

”Thank you very much, you have given us more than enough information, i will make sure you let out of here” Robin said giving you a small smile.

With the information you gave them the league managed to take down the baddies and Robin kept his promise which meant you were released.

You were moved in to your old house which the league had fixed. Then everything mostly went back to normal except from the occasional visit from Wonder Woman just to check that you were doing fine living alone or to make sure you didn’t do anything illegal.

But that lasted for only a few weeks.

There was a knock on the door and it was Wonder Woman as usual but this time she had brought Wonder Girl, Batman and Robin. She then told you they were going on a mission and she thought that your skillset would be useful to them.

So now there you were… wearing spandex right next to your mother’s worst enemy.

After the mission you kinda became Wonder Woman’s occasional 2nd sidekick.

You also got to know Robin better, which Batman probably didn’t approve because your related to a super villain. But you’ve heard about him and Catwoman so he wasn’t really one to talk.

Soon enough you had fallen for the Boy wonder and the two of you became practically inseperable in costume.

But nothing really romantic happened between you until one day when the earth was attacked by aliens and you and him were defending Gotham while the Justice League dealed with the leader of the aliens.

You stood on a rooftop as you saw aliens spaceships flying towards the city so you looked at Robin and said ”Incase we die, i love you”. You then jumped off the rooftop before he could answer and altered your size to be ready to smash some aliens.

After the league had managed to defeat the big bad and all the smaller alien invaders were gone you met up with Robin.

You were about to say something but was cut off by him pulling you towards him and your lips meeting.

After the kiss he took of his mask and said ”I’m Tim, Tim Drake”.

When Batman found out it was hard to tell if he was happy or not but you think you caught a glimpse of him smiling slightly.