#superman tries to talk with them in kryptonian and gets chased off for being a ghost

[chaoswarfare]

dp x dc writing prompt #20

Espiranto is ye old kryptonian (not my original idea, couldn’t find the first prompt but all credit for the concept goes to them)

Danny speaks ghost instead of english when he’s really tired and doesn’t notice. When his mom asks him where he learned ghost speak, he rambles about a ghost that taught him, and she believes it enough to not push it. she tries to get danny to teach her and jack ghost speak in order to trick ghosts, and danny panics and teaches them Espiranto gibberish, and to most humans it sounds like they’re speaking another language somewhat fluently, but it’s basically odd words strung together.

The problem is that a citizen filmed them trying to talk down a ghost and ‘succeeding’(the ghost dropped and rolled on the floor laughing for ten minutes), and posts it on the internet.

clark just wants to know who taught these people so many words in kryptonian.

[disregardcanon]

caught up with maws and here are some concepts for a self-indulgent jimmy and lex dated between the pep talk and the s.t.a.r labs debate ambush au

we have a few episodes in between for more time for general lane to be the worst house guest, lois and clark to be bad at communicating, and jimmy and lex to go on some little dates where they both think "oh wow he's so cute and so wrong and i could FIX HIM"

jimmy is keeping this from clark because like, his best friend is having enough of a crisis having to live with his girlfriend's alien-hating father, right? he doesn't need to know that jimmy is going on dates and trying to fix someone that fought on the opposite side like, two months ago. it would just stress him out

jimmy of course is blindsided when he gets to the S.T.A.R. Labs jumpscare debate against the guy he's in a situationship with. he goes more in depth about how jimmy's reporting as flamebird inspired him to look beyond the usual and try to protect the world from all the threats Others Don't See and how he's better than playing second fiddle to this superhero guy that's using him just like his friends that he's WAY cooler and more talented than and he could clearly come to The Right Side with his Skills and Hot Bod and Keep Earth for Earthlings.

this is all very clearly Super Personal and makes it obvious that not only did jimmy give him A Pep Talk that One Time but was in... some kind of relationship with him. this guy that's saying all these terrible things about clark and turning all his words against him.

after that, give us a bit more time for lois to deal with the emotional fallout of her dad leaving her. maybe two episodes? clark and jimmy are in a rough spot so they can't stay together, but lois isn't ready to talk to her boyfriend about Feelings so jimmy's the one that ends up on her couch and they watch cheesy romcoms and don't really talk about anything important. clark keeps isolating because neither of them are quite ready to have this conversation but he just... needs someone to talk to that isn't one of his parents he doesn't want to upset.

lex keeps hacking through the block on different sites that jimmy's blocked him on and trying to get him to try things again. WE COULD BE GREAT super villain dating pitch while jimmy's just. spiraling out. the most he's done is tell lois what happened with clark in a roundabout way. lois is still so obsessed with her own hurting that she doesn't even do the cursory google search that would show her the ex is probably Lex Luthor.

then and only then do we get to metropolis's hottest bachelors, bachelorettes and bachelorexes. jimmy is in major rebound mode so him immediately latching on crush wise to this cute, volatile girl who doesn't seem to know fuck about feel like a natural conclusion in the I Am Rebounding And Lonely From All Sides equation.

jimmy brings kara to the event to try to talk to clark and things go Just As Bad, but the bachelor guy who is in the coalition with lex is like yo your man brought the other kryptonian that went off the deep end and tried to kill the one that's pretending to be nice. that might be your chance to get in with him again

as jimmy and lois chase after kara and clark, jimmy turns his phone off because every lex is blowing it up.... AND spinning the story as jimmy just being his genius but naive ex boyfriend. look i've got pics! time stamps! this security footage of jimmy unknowingly leading that girl into the event! don't you agree with me that he's clearly being used? this new kryptonian girl was using him to get to superman, how do we know that my very clever but kind-hearted and naive ex isn't being suckered by the other one too? i am just being A Concerned And Kind Former Partner! jimmy dumped me because i Spoke The Truth About the Alien! cult behavior! preying on the innocent impressionables of metropolis! save our Earthlings from Those Evil Kryptonians!

jimmy, who has turned off his phone, is not going to find out how much damage has been done to his, superman, and lois's reputations until it's already done.

[thevindicativevordan]

What are Mark Waid's takes you don't agree with?

The Lois/Superman/Clark love triangle is essential to Superman’s narrative. Either have Lois date one of the identities, or have Clark and Lois date someone else while still teasing the possibility they might get together. Having Lois chase Supes while Supes tries to point her towards good ol’ Clark doesn’t interest me at all, nor do I think the general public wants that anymore.

Lex being CEO of Lexcorp/a villain with good publicity is a bad idea. I love mad scientist Lex and The Last Days of Lex Luthor does provide an example for why that status quo might be better. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Lex cut loose and just slaughter people, handcuffing him like that hurts him in the long run… but I like CEO Lex! I think that’s a better place to position Lex for the opening years of their feud, culminating in Lex getting elected to the Presidency and Superman bringing him down. After that you go full supervillain Lex, with him being the most despised man in the world only fueling his hatred - he had everything he wanted and the goddamn alien took it away! - as he becomes singularly focused on killing Supes without caring anymore for maintaining the facade of benevolence.

Clark is just a disguise. By all means, emphasize that Superman is not a normal person with normal problems, but he grew up thinking he was Clark Kent. Superman and Kal-El are identities he discovers later on, even Waid doesn’t seem to want to bring back Superbaby retaining full memories of Krypton. I agree with PKJ that it makes sense for Superman to think of himself first as “Clark”, even though I vehemently disagree with takes that try to say he’s just a simple farmboy. If I had to choose an identity to be real, I think I would say “Clark” is the real one, and the nervous neurotic wreck Clark comes off as at the Daily Planet is actually how he really feels. Superman is just the visage of confidence he projects to the world, at heart Superman is a huge dork who is nervous/shy. Basically the MAWS/American Alien approach to Clark being the “real” identity rather than the Byrne one where Clark is as cool as Superman. Of course the ideal is the Busiek approach where both halves are valid parts of who Supes is.

I don’t think having lots of other Kryptonians around is a good idea. Definitely not the Kandorians. Waid likes having lots of Kryptonians around to contrast them with Superman, and his approach to how they can be around yet Supes remains unique in TLDoLL is a good one… but I prefer the current mainline take to Kandor. Let Kal access the Kandorian libraries, but he shouldn’t actually be able to talk to them.

Maybe his takes on Superman’s villains outside of Lex? He’s barely used them which makes it difficult to judge his approach, but his Metallo was straight out of the DCAU. Reads as old fashioned compared to how Morrison and PKJ have updated him. Brainiac in TLDoLL is the Silver Age incarnation and again, Morrison and Venditti had superior updates. Zod was fine, wasn’t a bad Terrence Stamp impression like Jurgens, and there were the bones of an interesting take there. I know that Waid believes Mxy NEEDS to stick to the whole “he plays pranks until Supes tricks him into saying his name backwards” formula and I’m sorry but that is painfully lame. Maybe Waid’s execution of that would win me over, but on a ideological level I think that approach to Mxy sucks, and is why he isn’t taken seriously.

Perhaps it would be shorter to say that I diverge from Waid when he’s too stubborn to properly update old Superman lore. Morrison loves to play with old stuff too, but their Brainiac was a genuinely thoughtful update that built on what Johns had done, rather than just recreate the Silver Age Brainiac like what Waid seems intent on doing. Waid doesn’t want to be seen as “retro” but he absolutely is. Put Hickman and Waid side by side and tell me which of the two reads as more “modern” given they are both sci-fi fanatics. Waid is a solid and enjoyable superhero writer, but what he doesn’t know how to do is create something new. He only knows how to take old stuff and make it more palatable for modern audiences.

[radioactive-earthshine]

*Cracks Knuckles*

If I was a writer at DC currently, specifically in the Superman office, I’d make some big event that revolves around more of Clark’s memories being unlocked and use that as an excuse to bring everyone in the Superfamily back together.

It would start with Kon, who remembers the the past Supergirls and how much he misses them. It would then transition to Metropolis being attacked by Xenon, who’s gunning after Kara and nearly kills her. Kon would have a moment where he remembers hearing that name, and Clark reveals that he also recalls it, but can’t think of from where. After doing some digging, and maybe having to fight him again and just barely win, they realize he’s going after not just Kara, but all Supergirls. So this leads to “Supergirl Hunt”

They go to the Flashfam for help, since this is against someone who’s crossing timelines out of an obsessive drive. The first to be found is Cir/Mia, who’s been running from Xenon for a while now. She crashes into the current reality being chased by Xenon’s goons, running low on energy. Kara saves her and brings her to the fortress so she can rest, and the Superfam talk about their next move. Once John Henry and Nat arrive, Nat instantly remembers Cir, and they have a nice tearful reunion. (Side note: this sets the stage for Cir “wanting to get the team back together” leading to the Supergirls Team of Mia, Traci, and Nat reforming).

Meanwhile, as the Super and Flashfam try to remember others, Xenon attacks Metropolis once more, while also having his henchmen cause trouble for the other heroes in the world to keep them from helping out. This time, he’s gunning for Lana and Karen. However, just as Clark and Kon get there, they’re saved.

It would be revealed that Linda and Mae not only made it to Prime Earth after the events of Convergence, but they also fused together following Dark Crisis and Infinite Frontier. Realizing that he’s severely outnumbered and against the one who banished him to begin with, Xenon retreats to his lair. Meanwhile, the Superfam all meet up again. Clark remembers each of them, and Linda-Mae bawls at the sight of Kara, who’s older and alive, and not doomed to die like she believed she’d sent her to be. Anyways, the Superfam go to Xenon’s lair for a final confrontation, where he’s already waiting for them. He reveals he’s got two surprises of his own, being Chris and Laney (Jon Lane from the N52), who he rescued out of time himself, and then brainwashed. They’ve come into the powers of the Nightwing and Flamebird gods respectively, and are his “ace up his sleeve” to finally kill not only Linda, but the entire Superfam.

Blah blah blah. Big ass battle ensues. Chris fights against Jon, Clark, and John Henry while Laney dukes it out with Kon and the Karas. Linda, Kenan, and Lana, meanwhile, go for Xenon, being non-Kryptonians. During the battle, Kon’s abilities begin to falter and it’s revealed that this is the event where he begins to lose them. Laney goes nova with the powers of the Flamebird, and Kon attempts to sacrifice himself. This makes Lane remember the N52 Kon and helps him break Xenon’s control over him, but it’s too late by that point. Kon grabs Lane, and uses his telekinesis make a bubble around them, keeping everyone else out as the solar flare goes off. But surprise surprise, he’s alive for reasons that’ll be revealed later on.

Meanwhile, Chris has managed to take down John Henry, albeit softly, and is turning all of his attention to Clark and Jon. He accuses Clark of trying to replace him, and being so happy now that he’s surrounded by a real blood family (little shot at DC and their eugenics fest). Clark ofc denies it, and Chris tells him to prove it after opening up portals all around Jon to suck him down. Jon tries to pull a Kon and instead rushes Chris, taking them both through a portal that lands them in the Phantom Zone. Clark cries.

In the end, Linda, Kenan, and Lana defeat Xenon and banish him once again, this time using Kenan’s magic to send him to the Underworld.

Sorry this got so long, this is something I’ve been sitting on for a while now and just really wanted to share wkdhzbajwhsve

This is the kind of passion I like to see. You seem to have a clear and unique vision that would definitely add to the richness of DC and I like that you're incorporating elements across the various Earths we've seen. I gotta know what happens to Chris and Jon though?!

I feel a lot of Chris Kent fans and Superfans would have complaint about this but if it ends on good note...

I appreciate the jab towards DC and their penchant for sweeping adopted family out of the way in favor of biological family.

Tell me what you would do if you had full creative control to write for DC with NO push back from editors and who would you piss off the most with your unhinged creative wiles?

[random-movie-ideas]

Superboy (Movie Outline)

And now for the last of our planned Superman movies set within a cinematic universe as of right now. This movie follows shortly after Steel, and pits Conner Kent/Superboy against our young Clark, displaced from another universe, and documents said young Clark’s fall to evil as Superboy-Prime, setting the stage for Infinite Crisis to take place.

We begin with Conner Kent in his bed on the Kents’ farm, tossing and turning as nightmares fill his head. He sees images of an angry fist punching at an invisible world between their reality and the other realities that no longer exist. With every punch, he sees flashes of another world, including images of a Lois, Jonathan, and Martha that aren’t the ones he knows, a white dog, a man building toys, a pink-skinned parasite, and a girl with lightning powers. Finally, he sees an angry but familiar face and jolts awake.

We then cut to the next day, when a ship is being launched from Earth, with the express purpose of returning to the ruins of the planet Krypton, to see what could be salvaged of the history of their people, as well as to attempt to terraform it and make it habitable again. Conner is there, with bags, being seen off by Jonathan and Martha, Lois and baby Jon, and John Henry and Natasha Irons. Emil Hamilton sees him off too, giving him a pack of “sun charges,” which contain collected yellow sunlight that will allow him to have powers there if he needs them.

Among those also departing are Conner’s “uncle” Zor-El, a human scientist named Anthony Ivo, a leader from the new Kryptonian colony of Daxam named Lar Gand, and the young Clark Kent from another universe. Conner greets Clark like a friend, while Clark acts shifty at first, but puts on a good smile, and they pair sit together as the ship takes off.

We will probably have a few scenes while on the journey, of Zor-El and Lar Gand telling stories from ancient Kryptonian history, and Anthony Ivo talking about researching all of the fascinating Kryptonian technology he hopes to find there. Ivo and Clark seem to know each other, but Conner just brushes it off. He still deals with the same nightmares on the way.

Once they arrive on the planet, we get a scene of them all stepping out onto the barren wasteland. Conner goes first, and he gets to explore the real Kryptonian homeworld for the first time. Clark follows after, and starts wandering out on his own while the others start setting up camp. He works his way up into the mountains, accidentally stumbling across a white Kryptonian dog turned feral after all these years alone. Believing it to be Krypto, Clark tries to chase it, and in the process, stumbles across and activates an ancient Kryptonian robot called the Eradicator.

The Eradicator immediately detects and targets the camp around the ship and heads for them. It attacks, prompting Conner to activate one of his sun charges, gaining his superpowers back and facing off against the Eradicator, quickly defeating it and ripping out its power core. Anthony Ivo shows an almost concerning fascination with the machine, while Clark is awed by the sun charges at Conner’s belt.

Zor-El and Lar Gand both explain what an Eradicator is, ancient robots built by a militant warlord to “wipe out corruption” which they ended up interpreting as nearly all Kryptonians, and were ultimately shut down and buried. It seemed that some had been unearthed. Later that night, Conner goes to sleep, and deals with intense nightmares again, only to be awoken by someone wearing armor that looks a lot like the Anti-Monitor. The armored person quickly produces a shard of Kryptonite and places it on his chest, then steals all of his sun charges. Thanks to the Kryptonite, Conner is unable to go after them.

The next morning, Conner is found by Zor-El, and he tells him what happened. Lar Gand, the leader of the camp is disturbed by this news, that someone in their camp would do such a thing. Clark seems confused about it all, but sympathetic to Conner’s plight. Conner decides to investigate.

Several days go by, and their project seems to be working. Zor-El’s attempts to terraform the planet prove fruitful, and the crew all work together to expand the camp and make strides to revive the planet. We see several scenes of Conner and Clark becoming close friends and bonding with each other. Clark tells Conner stories about his old universe and how much he misses everyone he cared about. Conner is taken aback a little when some of the things he describes match elements of his nightmares. Meanwhile, Conner’s nightmares become more and more intense as the days go by.

As they work, Zor-El starts to notice strange readings cropping up around the planet, like several Eradicators being activated every night, then just as suddenly going offline. He also detects readings that seem similar to the fluctuations between universes during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Conner looks into this more and more, noticing strange behavior from both Clark and Professor Ivo. He decides to investigate a lead-lined part of the ship normally closed off (Ivo had consistently told them that was the engine). Inside, he finds Clark and Professor Ivo working together on what Conner recognizes, from reading about it, as the device Ultraman had built in order to tear a hole between dimensions. It seemed to have been repaired by them. He also notices the Anti-Monitor suit hanging on one wall.

Later that night, Conner invites Clark to sit and chat with him. Clark does, and they talk. Conner gets onto the topic of Kryptonite, mentioning that he’d done a little reading and figured out that Kryptonite from this universe doesn’t affect Clark, and points out that he hid the shard under his chair. Lar Gand and the other Kryptonians surround them, telling Clark that he’s under arrest. Clark looks scared and panics, screaming at them that they don’t know what it’s like to lose their home and family forever. Zor-El says that he does. Clark points out that he still has his people, and that he’s out here, trying to restore his old home, so why is it so bad if he tries to restore his. They try to remind him of the devastation that had happened in the Crisis, but he doesn’t care. He pulls out a Sun Charge, uses it, and knocks everyone away, flying off into the distance.

The Kryptonians try to march on Ivo’s lab and destroy his work, but Ivo reveals a secret project he’d been working on behind Clark’s back. He had been taking the destroyed Eradicators, that he’d been having Clark awaken and destroy for their cores, and rebuilding them with his own tech, to create an army of machines called Amazos. The Amazos attack the camp, completely overwhelming the de-powered Kryptonians and humans. Ivo says he cannot let them destroy his work now, not when he’s about to become more powerful than any superheroes or supervillains ever were. He activates the machine and starts ripping a hole in the universe.

The Amazos take all of the camp hostage. Conner tries to fight them, but without his powers, he is helpless. He ends up running, an Amazo chasing him up into the mountains. Just as one’s about to catch him and kill him, Clark sees it and is about to step in, when the white feral dog leaps out and defends Conner from it. The Amazo pauses, then vaporizes the dog without a second’s hesitation. Clark flies into a rage, launching himself at the robot and letting Conner escape. The Amazo is able to overpower him for a moment, but Clark calls in the Anti-Monitor suit, which he had found at the same time he found the multiversal generator, and uses it to destroy the Amazo. Unbeknownst to him, one of his sun charges came loose and fell to the ground.

Clark flies back to the lab to see that all of the Kryptonians and crewmen have been taken hostage by the Amazos. Clark goes to Ivo and demands him to stop, saying they’ve gone too far. Ivo refuses, having suited up into an Amazo exoskeleton of his own, connected straight to the machine and drawing out multiversal power. Ivo tells Clark about a vision he experienced during the crisis, showing them that in one of the universes, he had been the most powerful man on Earth, and that he had overthrown the Justice League and killed them all. He had pretended to be helping Clark get his home back, but in reality, all he wanted was that.

Clark and Ivo fight, and eventually Clark manages to break through Ivo’s defenses, break his suit off of him, and fly him out of the compound, miles above the ground. As Ivo struggles in his grip, Clark remembers sparing the Toyman all those years ago, and all the other monsters and criminals he had spared because of his parents’ influence. Parents who were now gone, as well as all the criminals and all the people he’d been protecting. He finds himself unwilling to care anymore, and drops Ivo to his death.

Clark flies back down, destroying all the Amazos and telling the crew to run, to savor what is left of their existence because he’s going to get his universe back one way or another, and he doesn’t care what happens to this one. His universe will be the prime universe, and he will be the prime Superman. Lar Gand tries to fight him, but Clark powered by the yellow sun and the Anti-Monitor suit blasts him away without a struggle.

Zor-El and the others rush to the mountains, where they encounter Conner tending a wound. Zor-El tells him what happened, and Conner feels furious and betrayed. Zor-El talks him down, drawing from his own experience, remembering the things he felt when he learned his home was gone, imagining it must be so much worse for Clark because there is nothing left of his world, while he still had his wife and daughter. Conner realizes he needs to stop Clark but not kill him, pulling out the sun charge that Clark dropped.

Conner flies to the compound as Clark does his best to control the machine. Flashes of the universes wiped out in the Crisis flash by, including the 50s universe and several others. Conner arrives, punching Clark away from the controls and trying to shut it down. Clark fights him, the pair clashing back and forth. Clark mostly overpowers Conner, thanks to his Anti-Monitor armor. Getting the upper hand, Clark gets to the controls and manages to find his universe, seeing Jonathan and Martha and Lois and Krypto and Leslie and everyone he loved. He tries to cross through, when the world around him starts warping, as does the world where all of his family is. He tries to touch the portal and is thrown back by the sheer power of it.

Conner tells him it’s not going to work. He’s just going to start another Crisis, and then both of their universes will be destroyed. Clark shouts that there’s a chance that his universe will be the one to survive, and Conner replies that they don’t know that, and even if it is, then this universe and all the people in it will be destroyed, and this time, the blood will be all on his head, and all those people he loves will know exactly what he did. He asks if they’d be proud of him, what they’d want him to do? Clark tearfully says he just wants to see his family again.

Cursing, Clark launches himself at the machine, trying to destroy it. The universe keeps warping, and the energy given off is too much for Clark to handle alone. Conner helps him, the two working together to shut it down. Though Conner manages to work the controls and get it down, they need someone really powerful to cut off the stream of energy. Clark decides to take it, getting bombarded by multiversal energy and falling into the gap between universes just as it closes, disappearing forever. Conner remains behind, seeing that Clark is gone.

A short time later, Krypton is now flourishing. Emil Hamilton arrives on a new ship, as do Martha and Jonathan. They greet and hug Conner, asking him if its all true, what they heard about the alternate Clark. Conner nods. He says Zor-El has ideas about what happened to him, and that he might be alive, but there’s no way to get him back anymore. Conner tells Emil that he wants to find a way to restore Clark’s universe without causing another Crisis. Emil says they’ll figure it out together.

A post-credits scene shows Clark in his Anti-Monitor armor, glowing with multiversal power, floating in the world between universes. His eyelids flicker, and he wakes up.

And that's it. Now I want to work on the Batman series of movies, starting with Batman and Batgirl fighting the Mad Hatter.

[uncouth-the-fifth]

Hello!! I was wondering when you'd write a general smut HC for Jon like you did for Damian

hell yeah, it's Jon day now 😤

when asked, Jon (after a lot of blushy fumbling) will claim that he had the normal teenage sex experience. He tried to have one, anyway. The occasional s/o had brought it up with him before, and Jon, desperately clinging to his human side for any sense of normalcy in his bizarre life, prematurely agreed. He soon finds out that he's barely compatible with humans in the first place. His strength alone makes the entire situation dangerous, since the premise to sex is a loss of self-control - Jon can't even stop himself from crushing his phone when he's not paying attention. Simple math.

So, he moves on to aliens. Being Superboy gives him lots of... access... across the galaxy, so he gets away with lots of things he shouldn't. Sneaking off to makeout with a girlfriend is pretty normal for teenagers, so Jon gets some points there. But flying behind Saturn to get some action in a spaceship? Not so much.

This makes Jon sound not so innocent, but he's still the gentleman we all know and love. These alien girls he goes around kissing are remembered by name and treated kindly every time Jon sees them again - he's not the type to play and toss. All he wants to do is learn about himself and other people. His sexual curiosity is definitely tied to his sense of identity, since it takes an entire saga for Jon to figure out what satisfies Kryptonians.

The answer: very, very little.

When he's hard, he stays hard, even after he cums. Jon's endurance is literally endless as long as the sun is up or light's touched him in the last day. His heat vision acts up when he's turned on, too, something he had to learn the hard way. He's probably never had a truly good orgasm in his life... (Until you, but will get to that).

But like every hard thing about being Kryptonian, Jon twists it into something positive.

Obviously, he's huge. He's aware how uncomfortable it can be for some people to handle something that big, so he's content with oral instead. Giving, that is.

Jon's mouth never tires, so he can stay between your legs until his breath runs out - which it doesn't. He picked up a couple handy tricks in space that make him a menace in bed. If Jon touches light enough and moves fast enough, his fingers can vibrate inside of you at super-speed. As he's tenderly kissing your clit, he'll blow icy puffs of air on your pussy to make you squirm. If you're cramped for room or can't find a good position, Jon can pick you up with one hand and hold your thighs around his face comfortably in the air. And if someone happens to walk in? A little super-speed goes a long way for your privacy.

There's other things about having sex that Jon learns to enjoy, too. His superhearing catches every wisp of a moan, every hitch of breath. He likes to remind you that his sense of taste is super, too ;)

Eventually, you start to feel guilty. Jon does so much for you but you're physically unable to do the same for him. Though it takes a bit of looking, there are solutions to this problem.

Star Labs discreetly develops a bracelet/collar that cancels out yellow sun energy with red. Jon's nervous to use it, but after the hundredth time you hear the little click as it snaps onto his wrist (usually before he makes love to you like a heathen), you both think of it like you would a condom or birth control. Though this means no super-vibration or limitless endurance, Jon makes it more than worth it for you both.

He's a sweet, impatient lover. Jon needs very little foreplay to get heated up, and he does a lot of whining and begging if you prolong anything. He'll scoop you off your feet and effortlessly drop you in his lap, where he'll pepper you with dovey kisses and giggle about how eager he is to feel you squeeze around him. Jon's just sassy enough to be considered on the edge of vulgar - but if you dare to dirty talk to him in return, he'll dissolve into a crimson-faced puddle and do anything you ask.

Years of being Damian's "sidekick" has given him the smallest degradation kink. One time, you'd smacked his ass with a kitchen towel and teased him for being a bad boy- only to end up bent over a counter and pounded into until your thighs were purple.

(And the spanking... the harder, the better. Pain is out of the equation for Jon, so all that's left is the nature of the act, of being punished and submitting to it. He's always forced to be the one in control. It's nice to relax and take orders for once. When he's not wearing that bracelet, the best way to turn him on is by clawing your nails up his back, over his neck, and into his hair. None of it hurts, but the sensation never fails to make Jon go berserk).

In bed, Jon's a very flexible switch. His default is bottom, since his powers always put him in charge in every other situation. After a harsh day as Superman, there's nothing he wants more than to go home and not be in charge for once, especially if it's him submitting to some filthy snuggling. Though he's always in a rush to get to the dirtiest part of things, Jon never fails to chase the bone you hang over his head. One x-ray vision glimpse of your lack of underwear makes him forget how to walk. The look you give him as you get out his bondage ropes - starved. A lot of it is about letting go and losing control for him, but just as much relies on getting some good ole fashioned attention. Jon loves to be treated like a puppy. Kiss him, coo at him, pet him, and he'll be yours.

His favorite positions are, without fail, the ones where he can hold you up. Jon's bumped your head against the ceiling plenty of times in the process, but he prefers to eat you out with your legs wrapped around his head, your whole body held up by two hands. He can maneuver you however he needs to in order to fuck you best with his mouth, and often it ends with your hands in his hair, pretzeled around his head and wailing while he devours you. Or, with your legs around his waist instead. It's a position that gives his strength the advantage, where he can easily kiss you and glide his cock into your core in the same motion.

Jon loves to take his time when you get to sex, but with his schedule and the constant calls for help, he will never mind a quickie. As long as you find an appropriate spot (aka: kitchen counters, behind the clouds in the sky, in the shower, against the front door before work, etc), Jon will satisfy you just as easily as he would with more time.

Along the way, Jon discovers that sex is his best outlet for liking his powers. After his first time, his confidence is permanently boosted. Behind those baby blues adored by the public, a dirty secret lurks: Jon knows precisely how to make you scream his name, and it has everything to do with why they call him the Man of Steel.

[robinofgothamcity]

♡ scenario: connor losing his mind when you're hurt and charging into the fight recklessly.

♡ pairing: connor kent ( superboy ) x fem! reader

♡ note: not checked for grammar or spelling mistakes / i'm sorry but i'm living for these angst to fluff moments rn especially bc i rewatched reign of the superman and forgot how much i loved connor in it.

Connor watched as you were completely slumped on the side of the building, no longer clear headed and struggling to stay awake. what was supposed to be a clean and easy mission turned out to be more than what the league expected.

he had requested for back up and while they were already trying to fight off the thugs that were attacking Connor, he could still see that you were fighting to stay alive and he had no idea if you were even going to come out of this fight alive.

"what the fuck?" Connor whispered, seeing you now slumped on the ground. he turned to the person who attacked you, eyes fully red with no intention of holding back. Clark could sense his song was a second away from committing murder as he saw Connor charge into the heart of the battle with no game plan, just murder.

"SUPERBOY NO!"

+

you waved shyly to the group of league members as you hid behind Wonder Woman. you were new to the scene of sidekicks and had no idea how to even introduce yourself without sounding like a complete idiot.

"woah new girl!" you heard a male voice say as you stood in your place petrified. you had no idea who it was as Diana had yet to individually introduce you to everyone, "i call dibs!" you heard the same voice say.

Diana turned to you before grabbing the boy who was charging towards you by the head and tossed him back to Superman, "she's not up for 'dibs' Superboy. she's my newest apprentice and you will treat her as such," she threatened.

you giggled behind her as a few of the sidekicks introduced themselves. you knew them as the Young Justice team and although you weren't formally with the team, you figured Diana was training you to become apart of them in the future.

"( your hero name ), this is Superboy," Wonder Woman said, "he associated to the Super family," she explained as he pushed up his dark circled glasses and flicked his hair back, "pleasure is all mine," he muttered, shaking your hand.

you returned a tiny smile before she continued to introduce you to Robin and Impulse. you noticed how Superboy kept his eyes on you. you had no idea if it was because he liked you or he disliked you but every time you turned to look at him, he was already staring at you.

after introductions and the cliche 'your real identity is sacred' conversation ended, Diana felt it was for your own good to get used to your new 'teammates'. she wanted you to make sure you weren't uncomfortable around any of the YJ team even if that included Superboy.

"so, what do you like to do for fun?" Wonder Girl asked, sitting down next to you and handing you a bowl of popcorn. you shrugged, "uh, not much. I like to watch tv and read for the most part. no one really invites me to do things with them," you admitted, scratching the back of your head.

she laughed, putting her arm around you, "well that ends today! we should all do something fun! how about we go to the county fair? doesn't that sound fun?" she asked. you shrugged, not really opposed to the idea, "I call all the rides with ( your hero name )!" Jinny replied.

you smiled, following her and Wonder Girl out the door as Robin, Impulse, and Superboy followed behind you. Robin looked at him, "you like her don't you?" he asked, already calculating the minute Connor had fallen in love with you.

"well she's apart of the team, i'd like to hope we'd all like her," he replied as Robin shook his head, "no, you get what i mean by that," Robin pressed as he could see Connor's face fall with realization. he didn't reply but he could tell what he was tell Connor's real answer through his face.

as they arrived to the fair, they all booked it to the first food stand they saw. Robin offering to pay for everyone being Bruce Wayne's son had its benefits. you ordered a simple coffee as you didn't want Robin to spend too much on everyone.

"what ride should we all get on first?" Jinny asked excitedly. you pointed to the tallest ride, it was one of those high rides that sat two people at the top and had them spinning around, "oh I can't do that. it's way too scary," both Keli and Jinny said.

Superboy smiled at you, "I'm down if you are," he said as he grabbed two tickets from the worker, "cool," you replied as the two of you walked to the line, sweat already building up from nervousness.

once they sat the two of you and made sure you were both buckled in, you stared at Superboy nervously as the ride started up and pulled you up before immediately starting to spin. you stared at Superboy, screaming for you life. you unintentionally grabbed his arms, not realizing you were holding onto him as you continued to yell.

Superboy chuckled, finding your reaction cute.

+

after the months passed and you finally grew closer to everyone on the team, you were particularly close with Jinny and Superboy. you and Jinny shared a lot of common interests as she showed you how to shoot a gun and Superboy...well, everyone could tell the two of you were just seconds away from actually dating.

you walked into the YJ lair, sipping on hot chocolates with Jinny as the weather was turning cold. she was cracking some cringe dad jokes, trying to make you laugh as you tried to contain from choking on the hot chocolate.

"hey, where we yall at?" Keli asked. you turned to Jinny before giggling, "just doing a few errands we had to run before I had patrol with Superboy," you said, not really clarifying on what you both were actually doing.

although everyone could see how much you liked Connor, Connor himself thought you had a thing with Jinny. he knew she was particularly close with you and felt as though he was practically competing with her for your attention.

"do you have my phone?" you asked Jinny as she dug into her pocket and handed it to you. you grabbed your phone before quickly snatching her hat and putting it on, "yee-haw," you giggled into the mirror as Jinny started chasing you down the halls.

as you turned a corner, you bumped into Superboy and fell flat on your ass, "oh, I'm sorry Superboy, I didn't see you there," you groaned as Jinny grabbed her had and put it back on her, "you've yee'd your last haw," she said, making you laugh harshly.

Superboy's eye couldn't help but twitch as he gave you his hand, "ready for patrol?" he asked sternly. you looked to Jinny who crept away from the angry Kryptonian and left you to deal with him, "yeah, let me just freshen up again and I'll meet you outside," you murmured, going into the bathroom.

you quickly used the bathroom before checking if you had everything. you opened the door and walked into the lair's common area. Connor had yet to drop the angry attitude and everyone was eerily silent as you walked in. he grabbed you by the arm and practically rushed you out the door.

"weird," Jinny told Robin as he shrugged, "what isn't weird about him," he replied making everyone laugh.

patrol started extremely awkward. you hadn't felt this weird since you first started on the team and you had no idea what was wrong with Superboy since he wasn't telling you.

the two of you walked on top of roof, scanning the empty roads before you turned to look at him, "what's up? you seem bothered," you asked him as you both sat on the ledge, "seriously? you seem annoyed at me or something so at the very least you can try and tell me what's wrong," you pressured again.

he looked at you with eyes of determination before grabbing you by the collar of the shirt and pulling you into a very heated kiss. you were taken back by surprise but let him continue to kiss you. a part of yelled at Connor pulled you close but another part of him was still screaming at him that you still could've liked Jinny.

"I had to do that before Jinny officially took you away from me," your eyes fluttered in confusion, "uh, what do you mean by 'take you away from me'?" you asked, not knowing what he was talking about.

Connor sighed in frustration, "I see the way you're around Jinny and figured that she likes you and vice versa," he finally admitted as he stood up, not wanting to hear your response. you quickly stood up and grabbed him by the wrist, "hey wait," you said.

he stared at you, "I'm really not in the mood to get rejected ( your hero name )," he ran his fingers through his hair annoyed. you shook your head, "I don't like Jinny nor does she like me. we're just really close friends Superboy," you whispered, bringing him into another kiss.

this time, he was the one taken back but he melted into the kiss, all his negative emotions washing away as you continued to kiss him. he wrapped his arms around your waist as you him in closer by the neck. Connor was definitely not expecting this tonight.

"so does this mean that we're like....together together?" you asked playfully shy. Connor let out a laugh before lacing your hands together, "clearly. I can't let Jinny steal you away from me," he jokingly replied.

+

Connor ran to the three different henchmen as his strength was to the point of killing, not caring if he died in the process. he was recklessly dodging bullets, knowing they wouldn't do anything to him. he grabbed the first man and threw him against a wall as it collapsed around him. Connor only hoping that it did enough damage to unalive him.

the second one he managed to choke him out enough to the point where he passed out but that wasn't enough for him. you were on the brink of death and if he had to see you die, he was going to make sure the men who possibly killed you got what they deserved.

"SUPERBOY!" he heard his father scream again. Connor paid no attention to him as he grabbed the third henchman and slammed him to the ground, throwing punches left and right, "listen to me," Clark screamed at him.

he could see the tears coming down Connor's face as anger, fear, and sadness clouded his mind, "this is not you! pull out of it!" he yelled, shaking Connor's shoulder, "you're about to kill this man. I get that you're angry but you don't get anything out of hurting him. all you get it consequences and your girlfriend needs you right now more than ever!" he continued.

Connor finally shook himself out of his trance as he heard his dad telling him to go to you. Connor nodded and ran to you, seeing you unconscious and hardly breathing, "I'm taking her to the hospital," he yelled to Batman before hauling your body into his arms and flying towards the nearest hospital.

once he finally reached the emergency doors, he shoved everyone out of his way and to the front desk, "she needs help...NOW!" he yelled to the poor receptionist. the girl jumped up from fear but nodded and screamed for a bed and a few doctors.

the doctor asked Connor to place you on the bed before the doctor told him that he could follow them inside. a part of Connor wanted to straight up move the doctor to follow you into the OR but he knew that he'd get into more trouble with his dad and the MPD if he hurt anyone else.

for what felt like hours, he was waiting inside of the room they had told him you'd be in once you got out of surgery. he had already gotten the lecture from his dad about the consequences he would've gotten if he actually managed to kill the three men earlier.

"she's going to make it," the doctor told Connor as he walked into the room while they adjusted you to the bed. Connor nodded, "she'll be out of duty for months. she sustained a lot of injuries to her body that'll take weeks to recover and she got a nasty concussion so you'll need to play doctor for the next few weeks to make sure she's okay," he explained.

Connor nodded as the doctor told him that you should be waking up within the next few hours. Connor adjusted himself on the seat and got comfortable as he had no intentions of leaving your side until you were awake and ready to leave the hospital.

you woke up a few hours later, your body killing you from all over as you saw balloons all around the room. you knew you had landed in the hospital but you had no idea how long you were asleep or in a coma even. you turned to see Connor passed out next to you, his body slumped awkwardly.

"Kon, Kon wake up!" you whispered, shaking him softly. Connor jumped up in a fright as he immediately realized you were awake, "how do you feel? are you okay? do you need anything?" he immediately asked as you couldn't help but laugh at his frantic attitude.

"Connor, I'm okay, I promise," you whispered as you brought him in for a kiss, "my body just hurts and i'm still kinda tired," you murmured as Connor nodded. you managed to wiggle yourself enough to make space for him, "babe, it looks like you haven't slept in days."

"I had to make sure you were okay so i haven't exactly slept in a while," he admitted sheepishly. you shook your head, "you're too much sometimes," you giggled as you put your head on his shoulder, "but you love me regardless," he replied.

this was the first time the L word had came up in the relationship, "yeah, I guess I do but now you need to sleep," you said as you closed your eyes and felt Connor pull you closer to him, "I love you too by the way," you whispered, giving him another kiss on his partially exposed chest.

[river-bottom-nightmare]

zatanna said the word anchor point, and that's where she lost dick. anchor points and multiversal constants and universal stability. galaxies shattering into pieces behind his eyelids before swirling together tighter and more whole, before dick would inevitably wake, the lights from that goddamn recurring dream still flashing in his mind.

constantine was looking at him with sympathy, pity. dick wanted to wipe that look off his face with bleach. with acid. he normally wouldn't consider fighting john constantine, since he's always been able to sense the sheer power bubbling under the man's drunken and sloppy exterior. though, apparently, that ability to sense was what could possibly give him the edge in the fight he was imagining, but would never happen.

there were only a few people in the room, but someone would rip him off the man. maybe clark, whose features were painted with worry and concern. that, and the lights from the galaxies outside the watchtower windows, the eternity of the galaxy covering the entire room in a gentle wash that dick had been able to ignore for all of his life, excluding the past couple of hours. maybe diana, who was starting to look at dick with a bit of fear. not of him, but for him, and for everybody else. dick couldn't blame her. she had more than enough experience with powerful men who made themselves god. the only difference was that dick would rather let himself burn up from the flame that was inside of him before becoming whatever they said he was.

it's not about becoming, raven whispered in his mind. her presence was gentle, familiar. it took a certain length of self control for dick not to latch onto her, about the length of rope needed to make a noose. you already are. there are no new powers or abilities or anything that will happen to you. you always were a nexus being, and you always will be. it's just a part of you.

"just a part of him." just a part of him? like how wally's slowly failing heart had just been a part of him? or how jason's pit-induced fits of rage were just a part of him? or how cass' assassin training she fell back on no matter how hard she tried to override it was just a part of her?

bruce hadn't said anything. actually, zatanna had stopped talking, not that dick had been fully listening in the first place, and everyone was lost in their own quiet thoughts. but bruce's silence had been the most stomach-churning, the most horrific.

dick knew bruce didn't like metas. knew it because of the sighs he used to make due to the league's foolishness back when dick was robin, running a hand through dick's ruffled hair and telling him he was so glad you're not like them, dick, they're exhausting. he knew it because of bruce's fury every time someone powerful fought in gotham and destroyed the city, rubble on the ground as they went off, completely unconcerned of the damage they left behind. he knew it because of the extensive files in the batcomputer detailing each league-affiliated and known meta's weakness, or how their strength could be flipped like a playing card, until dick was almost convinced being a meta made one weaker. (according to bruce, it did.)

bruce didn't like metas. and dick wasn't a meta, but no one knew what he was anyway. no one but the magic users, whose vague explanations told them they weren't really sure what he was either.

"you're connected to the universe, dick," zatanna sighed. "the multiverse comes together in you. and as much as i don't like it, we need you."

all eyes were on him. dick was looking at his feet, but he could still feel them. that was one of his new "powers," right? knowledge of the multiverse? a gross misuse and bitter accusation, dick knew. but he couldn't get the fear out of his mind, and fear left unchecked grew fuzzy with mold until it disintegrated into anger.

"you need me?" dick said hoarsely. "the multiverse, what, comes together in me? you do realize what utter bullshit that sounds like?"

"i know it don't seem all that good, but trust me," constantine said. "it's a thing. it's real. you are one."

"you said these people are supposed to be beings of power," dick argued back. "so why aren't you a nexus being? or raven? or fucking ra's al ghul. i'm sure as hell not a being of power. i'm human."

"i suppose that's exactly what makes you one," diana murmured. "i have met many powerful men in my life. i've found the ones that i respected the most were the ones that were most in touch with their humanity."

this was crazy. this was crazy. dick felt like the particles that came together to make him were blowing away in confusion until he was one big cloud of unrecognizable light, before he was scattered in every direction. how the hell was he supposed to be one of the things that kept the universe together when he couldn't even keep his own damn self together?

avoiding bruce wasn't working. dick just felt like he was about to fray at the edges. so, gathering up his courage, dick turned to face the man and quietly, in a voice more delicate than china, said, "b?"

batman didn't look at him. batman didn't even look up. but batman did speak.

"alternate universe superman. he called you the multiversal constant. the one thing he could depend on."

out of the corner of his eye, dick could see clark nodding a little.

bruce continued. "you named yourself after a mythological figure who was known as the catalyst of change. or the great rebuilder. and kryptonians we've met have said how well you embody the role."

"it's...it's just a name, bruce."

"you, of all people, know it's not," clark said.

"so what am i supposed to do, huh?" dick whirled around. "fight this battle zee's recruiting me for that's entirely above my skill level. become some sort of, what did you say, universal anchor? i don't know the first thing about this shit, and i don't know what it'll do to me!"

"you're scared," bruce said, always willing to cut right to the chase with everyone but himself.

dick didn't answer.

"raven, establish a mental link between me and nightwing."

raven nodded, then with a flutter of her hands, dick felt a presence inside his head. it scared him to realize how easily he accepted it, how easily he had always accepted it. he never understood how unusual that was until now.

of course i'm scared, dick whispered into the mind link. i've gone my entire life knowing exactly who i was, what i could do, what i strive to be. and in the span of one day, that's all gone.

then what do you plan to do about it? bruce asked.

he said it so simply, so easily. like discovering something this monumental about himself was just another tricky case or difficult puzzle to solve. dick would have an easier time plucking each and every star in the galaxy and making a mosiac out of them.

raven's hood was lowered, but dick could still feel her eyes on him. constantine's features were still dripping in pity, zee looked imploring. diana was looking at him with hesitating acceptance, bruce was unreadable as always.

but clark. clark was looking at him with steady eyes and and a kind smile. he looked knowing, quietly vindicated. it was as if he'd known there was something...off about dick. something two hopscotches and a backbend away from "special," but close enough. something that had led to clark giving dick a piece of his people's legacy, and trusting him to fulfill it to the best of his ability.

clark wasn't scared of him at all. but clark couldn't make up for bruce.

"will you help?" zatanna asked.

everything inside dick was itching to say yes. jumping at the chance to help his friends, aching to be useful. it was a response he'd carefully cultivated years ago, and pushing it down was an almost physical ache.

but the stardust behind his eyes wasn't so easily forgotten. the hook behind his navel that seemed to drag him into the fabric of a universe that dick couldn't comprehend still dug into him. the world was spinning and the stars were turning and the earth was tumbling over itself, all of them in an effort to stop their twisting and turning and to right themselves once and for all. but dick wasn't moving. dick was completely, utterly still.

"i don't know," he said.

Dick Grayson Anniversary Week ‘21, Day 6: Universal Constant

"i don't know," the author says, because she truly has no idea what the fuck she just wrote. i started imagining nexus dick grayson and this just spilled out onto the page. it makes absolutely no sense, but there are some nice sentences in there that i don't want to get rid of, so hopefully yall can somewhat make sense of this ramen soup of a fic.

tag list: @woahjaybird @birdy-bat-writes @anothertimdrakestan @screennamealreadyused @subtleappreciation @bikoncon @catxsnow @pricetagofficial @maplumebleue-blog-blog @sundownridge @thatsthewhump @dickgraysonweek

[miss-choco-chips]

Umm... I was wondering if you could Maybe do a follow up on your mini fic Last Line from dicks pov? It gave me alot of feelings and i would love to see the fallout?

Your work is really good! Its so cool how your brave enough to put pieces of yourself out there for other people!

Hey babe! Thank you for your kind words! It made me smile getting this, you are very sweet <3

I totally forgot about Last Line lol, but when I saw it reminded me that I actually wrote a bit more of it, both before and after the scene I posted. So, this isn’t exactly what you asked, but here’s some backstory and then the fallout!

---.---

Four years old, and he watches the red string on his finger pulled taunt towards the crying boy, the color of the thread well disguised among the red blood of the murdered acrobats.

Nine, and he watches from the shadows as it swings right and left, following Robin’s pirouettes from building to building. The thread, that usually goes a few feet before ‘vanishing’ from sight, was almost completely visible now, at such a short distance from the person holding onto its other end.

He’s on his twelve when he tries to explain to Dick the importance of him going back home. He wasn’t sure of his success, even though the older hero took him to the manor, because during his whole speech, Nightwing hadn’t looked up from the red joining them together. It wasn’t exactly how Tim wanted him to find out, but… Batman needed a Robin, and he was out of options.

At fourteen, he feels Kon’s hand clenching on his shoulder, as they both watch from the side how Nightwing swept Barbara off her feet and twisted her around, laughter falling from both their lips even as Dick thread’s end was pointing towards Tim. The third Robin didn’t turn to look at his best friend, didn’t meet Bart’s eyes or react to Cassie taking his hand on hers. He just made sure his face was perfectly devoid of any emotion when he muttered, low enough only a kryptonian would hear, ‘I wish it was any of you’. 

(A few nights later, when he and Conner were sitting quietly on the Tower’s roof, the clone took Tim’s hand with his own, his lack of red string blatantly obvious as he said ‘If I had any, I wish it could be you’. To this day, it’s the sweetest thing anyone ever said to him)

He is so, so tired, and he’s only sixteen. But keeping up with the shitfest that was the Battle for the Cowl, helping Dick while ignoring his red string (pulling him towards Nightwing, now Batman, stark contrast against the dark of his suit, with distracting insistency), dealing with Damian’s abuse as expected of him as the ‘mature, older brother’, coping with Bruce’s death, the shock of Dick throwing him, his soulmate, away so so easily…

(Shouldn't be surprising; Dick had been discarding him in favor of others since they met, shamelessly displaying his various relationships in front of him with an attitude that might be called cruel from anyone else but that just earned him playful shoves from other Leaguers while Tim was expected to swallow his pain, because a red string isn’t a promise, Dick is free… and yes, he knows that, but it doesn’t mean shit to his dying heart)

(Maybe, when he left for proof of Bruce being alive, it wasn’t so much for his old mentor than it was for himself)

----.----

Tim is seventeen and halfway across the world, looking at the string attached to his hand that never truly meant anything to any other than him (not to Bruce, who never took Dick aside and talked to him about consideration with his soul mate; not Dick's conquers, who never gave a fuck  about the red string in the hands that touched their skin, even when a lot of them knew who was on the other end of it; not Dick himself, who after asking every thing out of Tim and having it, forcefully took the one thing Tim wouldn't give by choice and claimed Tim was his equal, his soulmate, so he never could be his sidekick... even if it was the first time ever that Dick even mentioned the string tying them both together), when he thinks 'you were always free; now, I'm freeing myself’.

He gingerly bites on the string, and with his other hand takes a handful of it and pulls.

The pain piercing his heart is expected, but not new. He had been feeling it since the first time he saw Dick's back as he walked away with someone else.

He times it carefully, too. He doesn't think Dick would care, but just in case, Tim waits until it's morning in Gotham, when he's sure Dick is probably sleeping after patrol.

Maybe he would wake up without noticing

---.---

In Gotham, Dick is carried by Alfred and Damian to the cave, when the new Batman's screams of pain woke everyone in the Manor up. They are suspecting cardiac arrest, and then Dick looks down to his hand and notices the string, always tense, signaling him where his north is, where Tim is, laying loose and lifeless.

He panics, asks Superman to track Tim down or something, and when the man confirms Tim is still alive somewhere in the Middle East, he knows.

And like a freight train, the parting words Kori told him the last time they saw each other hit him right in the chest.

"He isn't going to wait for you forever"

----.-----

When Tim does come back, at nineteen, it’s a quiet thing. 

He spent the last how many days carefully setting his systems up, making sure his mainframe would outstand Oracle’s scrutiny when she realized he was back in town and tried to hack her way into his life.

(He didn’t blame her, of course not. Dick was charming enough, good enough, anyone he set his eyes into would be helpless to nothing but fall in his arms.

And, wasn’t Tim the one who would have been intruding, had he tried to chase after the first Robin? Everyone knew he and the original Batgirl were a perfect match, thousands of times better than Tim, whom Fate just wanted to screw over.

But not anymore)

The first thing he did, once the safe houses were chosen and his programs up and running, was to ruthlessly hack into the Batcomputer and take a look at patrol routes. 

He would need to keep clear of Diamond District and Old Gotham, least he risked crossing paths with B and R. The Financial and City Hall Districts were apparently Batgirl’s playground for the night, and if he wanted to drop by and let Cass know he was back, he could always search for her by the Upper West Side down to Chinatown.

He would avoid the Upper East Side like the plague, though. Maybe Coventry too, just to be safe. Lots of skintight blue in that direction.

Which left… Crime Alley, the Bowery and Burnley, mainly. He needn't check to know who’s house that was.

And that’s how he ended, on his very first night back on the streets, dragging Red Hood’s bleeding ass away from a blowing up building.

-----.-----

Apparently, saving a recently rehabilitated murderous vigilante was a bonding experience, because Jason didn’t kick him out of his side of town, nor tell on him. 

He couldn't, however, do anything to prevent the criminal gossip mile from spreading, and before a week had passed, half the city was aware of the new player on the board.

-----.------

Jason was taking a breather, smoking while sitting on his favorite rooftop, when the rustling sound of fabric told him his peace and quiet was over.

“I thought you were back at being N”, he greeted, not bothering to turn around or get up. 

“B was out of town, and Robin needed someone to watch over him during patrol.”

A quick glance around had Hood snorting, “Then y’re doing a shitty job. Don’t see the midget anywhere.”

It would never NOT be weird to hear a strangled laugh coming out of the Bat suit, as tight and humorless as it was now. It seemed big ol Dick wasn’t doing so great tonight.

“Batgirl took him to a party in Diamond District. Gang war.”

He humms in response, not bothering to keep on the smalltalk. N, no, B was here for something, and it wasn’t Jason’s job to ask it out of him; if it was important, he would do it himself.

“Where is him, Hood?”, he finally went to the heart of the matter. 

Jason tilted his head, still looking over his city, unmindful of the steps coming closer to his position, “Robin? Ya just said it, B. Going senile? Gang war, wasn’t it?”

“Don’t play around. You know I mean…”

Oh, yeah, Dickie still wasn’t sure what to call Timbo. Criminal gossip only went so far, for someone who didn’t bother to shout his hero name to everyone he beat up. It was very possible only  Jason was aware of his new monicker. All gothamites knew was a young vigilante showed up recently, wearing red and black and hanging out with the Hood, which immediately upped his street rep to ‘not to be fucked with’.

“Lil red?”, he completed for his older brother, feeling both charitable and petty. Batman’s wince was more evident by the rustling sound of his cape; he had hit a sore spot, hadn’t he? 

“Where? I’m not asking again.”

“Good, ‘cause I’m not answering. Must be ‘roundere somewhere, the little creep.”

“Hood, I’m running out of patience.”

“And I’m out of cigarettes, your point? I don’t have him on a leash asshole. We just share the same hunting space, it’s not like we go home together and do face masks while we talk about feelings.”

They did go to a safespot, though, and share beer and pizza while cursing their relatives and Fate as a whole, but it wasn’t necessary information for the fucker. He just breathed in the last of his smoke before dropping the cigarette butt and stepping on it, stretching as he did.

“Now, any more of this riveting conversation, or can I go? No, wait, it was a rhetorical question; get out of my part of town, ass. I’ve been plenty generous by letting you come this far, but our truce lasts as long as the lot of you don’t build any sandcastles on my playground and you know it. Now, scram.”

He could feel Dick’s reticence at leaving without what he came here for, but Oracle must be talking him into letting it be for tonight, because he didn't push. Jason turned just in the right moment to catch the way Dick looked down to his gloved hand, as if expecting the lifeless red string to be pulled taunt in Tim’s direction by some miracle. Jason felt the smallest ping of pity, quickly washed away by the memory of the younger hero’s haunted eyes as he told Jason the story of his severed soul bond and how he came to do it.

Thirty seconds after the bat vanished into the night, a little red bird landed softly on the spot next to him.

“Thanks, Hood”, he muttered, just as tired and hurting as he’d been ever since he saved Jason’s ass and they became partners, but with the smallest hint of lightness that made him prouder of driving Dick away than he’d ever been.

“Don’t mention it, but fair warning, the big B scomin back home in a few days, and he’s harder to kick out than a hurting, annoying bluebird.”

“I know”, Tim sighed, well aware of both facts. “I’ll play it by ear. For tonight, what about bashing some skulls and ruining Two Face’s new op? Good intel says it’s just a few blocks from here, and shattering bones always makes you smile.”

“Babybird, you speak the language of love.”

“Wasn’t that french?”

“I’m trying to compliment you, don’t be a smart ass about it.”

“I am smart, and I do have a good ass. That seems like an impossible request.”

----.----

[pl-panda]

Damienette arranged marriage: part 13

Credits: Miraculous Ladybug team for the elements I take from MLB show. DC for their characters, @ozmav for the AU, @maribat-archive for giving me access to so many different stories to have take inspirations from, @thyladyanput for idea for Chat Damian and me for the plot.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

Part 9 Part 10 Part 11

Part 12

Damienette arranged marriage: part 13

NEXT

-----------------------------------------------------

"Shut up Superboy." Damian frowned. He had to restrain himself not to out Kent in front of the irritating girl. He wished he just got Mari home when he had a chance.

"I though we were on the first-name basis Robin!"

The sound of Damian's facepalm could be heard in Fortress of Solitude.

----------------------

"What?" Jon asked confused. He had no idea what he did wrong.

"tt. I am getting that dusters Kent. And if I go down because of you, I am taking you down with me."

Chloe stood there with gaping mouth. Her brain was short-circuiting. The mysterious Damian Wayne dating Marinette? Okay. Them being already married? She heard weirder, but it was close. Him being raised inside of some cult in tibet? Okay. Weirdest day ever. Damian Wayne being Robin? Utterly Ridiculous. And yet he was there, bantering with Superboy like they knew each other for years. And it would add up to his skill with sword. Chloe, contrary to popular belief was not stupid. A bit lazy, prideful, maybe tiny miny mean? Sure. But not stupid. Adding three to seven together is not above her.

"I think I might have broken your wife Damian..." Jon said a bit uncertain while waving his hand in front of the blonde.

Wayne heir held back the urge to facepalm again. "tt.I swear I would feed you to Titus if not the risk you would cause him some stomach problems. This is not my wife!"

"Uh... So she was not supposed to know you are Robin..." Jon asked sheepishly.

"You are an idiot." Damian scowled and turned to Chloe. "Tell anyone and I will hand you to my mother." He then opened his case to reveal his outfit. He looked through his belt. He was sure he had the talisman somewhere...

"You are Robin... And you are Damian Wayne... That means Bruce Wayne is Batman... But you are also married to Dupain-Cheng..." Chloe was murmuring/babbling to herself, trying to sort the influx of information. Finally, Damian pulled a small ruby in golden ring. There were some words around it that were definitely not human. He also pulled a small piece of paper from the same pocket.

"tt. Mother of Azarath! Drain the curse and free the body!" He recited the spell and gem glowed slightly. Then, there was a loud Crack! and the ruby broke, turning almost black.

"Uh... Robin? What was that?"

Damian didn't answer, but instead glared at the kryptonian making him immediately shut up and just float there in silence.

Chloe finally shook off the shock. She walked to him and smashed the lid of the case right in front of him. "I don't care if you are a fucking billionaire superhero! You are not going out there with twisted ankle! You are not making my only friend a widow!"

"tt. I am not sitting here."

"And I don't care." She stated simply and turned to Superboy.

"Kent, right? Keep him here. I am going to get some real help."

"What? You have a bat-signal or something..." Jon stopped when he saw the grin on her face.

------------------------------

Marinette ran through the city. She had to get to Tikki. The Cat was hot on her trail. No matter how much she tried, he seemed to be able to get her. She tried calling for help, but people just straight up ignored her. She run through the whole crowd and nobody even batched an eye. For a brief moment she wanted to go to her home and grab some other miraculous, but then she remembered that she still had no idea how to open the new box without her yo-yo. There was no instruction on that thing.

She could hear steps above her on the roofs, but luckily the Hotel Grand Paris was already in sight. She doubled her efforts, completely ignoring the pain. Adrenaline coursing through her veins numbed the pain enough to allow for this. Somewhere on the back of her mind she noticed that nobody paid any attention to her. She just ignored it for now and dashed to the elevator. In any normal circumstances stairs would be safer, but she had no way of outrunning Chat d'Amour on stairs. She could only hope that he didn't know she took the elevator

Sadly, he did. She heard something crash with the doors, but luckily the elevator already started going up. She knew he was hot on her trail, but unless he cataclysmed both the doors and the floor, he would not reach her in time. Poor Plagg. Having to experience all this...

When she reached the top floor, she dashed to Chloe's room. She had to get there before Chat could see her. She needed to transform.

Marinette barged into the room and straight to her purse. Kwami floated out. She wanted to say something, but the time was running out. "Tikki! Spots on!"

In a flash of pink light, she was transformed. The lingering pain didn't stop, but she happily noticed that there were no more effects from falling from the roof. Just then, Chat d'Amour entered the room. He was fuming with anger.

"Ladybug!? What have you done with my purrincess?!"

"She is safe away. Probably already downstairs and running away. What happened to you Kitty?" She asked with worry.

"No. You've done something to her. I can't sense her anymore... What have you done to her!" He shouted and lunged at Ladybug, but the red heroine was able to deflect his attacks. He still scratched her several times. The suit stopped all but one of that. A small gush formed on her cheek. Nothing big and blood was minimal.

Marinette focused. He could track her. His akuma power must have included knowing exact location of Marinette Dupain-Cheng. But right now she was not just Marinette. She was Ladybug, so her miraculous cancelled out with his ability. "I gave her mouse miraculous again Chat. You will not find her." She stated, trying to stay calm. This made Black Cat only double his attempts.

"You put her in danger just because of your jealousy?!" He made an overhead slash with his staff, which Ladybug blocked by crossing hands before her and pushing him away. "You are truly useless guardian! You do not deserve this earrings!" Chat was not giving up. He continued his assault.

"I would ask you to step back from the lady." Someone stated in English. Both combatants looked to where it originated only to see a boy wearing superman jacket on himself.

"And who purrr you?" Chat asked also in english. He looked unamused by a thirteen years old boy.

"Superboy. Nice to meet you. 'Ow ya' doin'?" The last sentence was with heavy southern accent that made it a bit hard to understand.

"Huh? Are you what? Superman Junior?" Chat had no idea who was that supposed to be. He seemed like some overly eager fan of the big blue.

"Oh! He is my dad!" Jon lightened up. He was pretty irritated that the cat doesn't know him, but maybe since Paris had their own heroes they didn't pay much attention to the rest of the world.

"Y-your dad?!" Suddenly Chat felt his confidence die. He believed in his abilities, but facing superman, even in version XS was still not something he wished for. Especially since he just wanted his princess.

"What's the matter Kitty? Afraid of a kid?" Ladybug teased. She looked for his Akuma, but there was so much off about him that she could not focus. This was Chat Noir she was talking about. He was... used to be her partner. She had to focus.

"You have no right to call me Kitty! I am Chat d'Amour and you are not my ladybug. You are not even fit to be Ladybug. You are adult but you didn't unlock your full potential! I will take your miraculous and hand them over to Marinette! She is better Ladybug than you! I will just need to borrow them to Hawkmoth for one moment and then I will be together with my true partner!"

"You are delusional Chat."

"Uh... English guys? Jon asked and both Marinette and Chat realized they switched back to French.

"Superboy! Pin him down so I can find his Akumatized object!"

"Cataclysm!" Chat Noir held his hand which was now bubbling with dark energy extended. "Try to get close and I will destroy you!"

"Uh... Ladybug, right?"

"He threatens to cataclysm you."

"Yyyy..."

"His special power is that he can destroy anything."

"Then we might have a problem. Magic can actually hurt Kryptonians..." Jon was suddenly not so eager to engage.

"Huh. Good to know." Chat quipped and lunged at Superboy. Ladybug acted practically on instinct, Tossing her yo-yo and grabbing him by the ankle. She pulled Chat and tossed him back. Perhaps because of the adrenaline or perhaps because of the anger, she underestimated his strength and Black Cat ended up flying out of the window. He used his staff to support his landing, but once he landed to support himself he had to touch the ground and wasted his cataclysm. From the highest level, Ladybug and Superboy could see him look up in defeat as a purple butterfly appeared around his face. He said something, but Jon did not understand French and Marinette couldn't hear him. Suddenly Chat d'Amour was covered in black and purple bubbles and turned back into Chat Noir. He looked angry and run away into the city.

Marinette wanted to chase after him, but suddenly the pain in her heart flared again. She suddenly detransformed and fell on her knees. The green glow around her heart got stronger and she was suppressing the scream of pain.

"I am so sorry Marinette. I tried to heal you... but this is some dark magic. Oh no! I think I made it worse..." Tikki was lamenting while floating next to the girl. The last thing Marinette rememebed before passing out from the pain was a scream and a pair of green eyes staring at her. There might have been some words, but she was unable to hear them.

——————————————————————————————————–

Taglist (sorry if I missed you)@pheonixashtree @sassakitty @unabashedbookworm @vixen-uchiha @maggiecc12 @actualdisasterwoman @tired-butterfly @shizukiryuu @floralfi @imanerddealwith @northernbluetongue @krispydefendorpolice @toodaloo-kangaroo @dast218 @bluesoulblueheart @theatreandcomicfreak @disneyfoxuniverse @mindfulmagics @alwaysnumberonetruth @nyaabinch @jardimazul @lenamau @rosep16 @dramatic-squirrel @sonif50 @daminett4life @lulutheawkwardess @weird-pale-blonde-person @mooshoon @jeminiikrystal @mochegato @moonlightstar64 @dragonflyswing @silverwhiteraven @shamefullove @magic-miraculous @valeks-princess @heaven428 @mlbchaosqueen @winter-gardenflower @spicybelladonna @emo-elaine13 @vetilora @karukofox21 @my-name-is-michell  @sturchling @lokiifriggasonn @redscarlet95 @melicmusicmagic @interobanginyourmom @the-fusionist @razzledazzle247 @miss-mysterys-blog @darkthunder1589 @i-is-mysterious @catthhay @the-one-woman-army @zestyzealot @dahjokester @write-for-your-life2 @mermaidreject @peachedpocky @sassakitty @dahjokester @crazylittlemunchkin @novicevoice @justafanwarrior @eliza-bitch @schrodingers25

[trulycertain]

Unpopular opinion: god, Batman v Superman had some really good ideas that it chucked down the U-bend, and there are parts of it I really enjoyed. I don’t regret seeing it (and yes, I watched the Extended Cut. All three hours). I was just discussing this with @masutrout​, and here’s a slightly abridged version of my thoughts.

Look, I know no-one sets out to make a bad film, and with so many moving parts, a film getting released at all is a miracle. I know it’s not down to one person and (I’m quite glad) it’s not up to me, because I have no idea how to make films. But if I had, say, a magic lamp and a wish for an ideal BvS and DCEU in general... Here’s what I liked; here’s what I’d magically tweak in a parallel universe; here’s a rant. A 2.2k rant. An Extended Cut rant.

I know it's all desaturated and so on, but I genuinely really love Snyder's style. Dude can set up a shot, and he knows how to use chiaroscuro. In theory, I totally get why they'd look at him and go, "his shit is like comics brought to life, pick him." I wish he'd just... allow a bit more colour into it and let people colour grade properly, because the Metropolis/Gotham Clark/Bruce contrast could've been played up beautifully with visual language and colour too. I mean, I know he can do overwrought iconography and imagery, look at how they went to the trouble of CGI'ing Clark's cape in every scene because it was such a banner, and the pop of red. 

I'll admit, I wasn't always all-in on Affleck's performance, though it was one of his best in his back catalogue (I am one of the few people I know who has zero problems with him as an actor and tends to find it more the material, but I grew up on Kevin Smith films and his shtick works for me, even if he has a manner. I'm not too discerning). But. A Bruce who's tired and broken-down and greying and has lost even more, and still in the aftermath of that, tries to find hope and "I can't let this happen to anyone else" again, in the wake of one more death? God yes give it to me. A Bruce who's taller than Clark and just plain tall in general, because maybe Kryptonian ideals are different and because it'd give Bruce one more thing to desperately play down? God yes. Just... in general, middle-aged Bruce but without a lot of the Batfam stuff (which I like, I have a love for several of the Bats, but my favourite stories are always solo) with a regimen of painkillers and who's turned Wayne from an "I'll just jump into the water feature" jackass to a schmoozer and flirt and maybe a drunk. Take out the branding. I wanted Bruce as a broken idealist, not a fascist. It's actually way more fascistic than the original Dark Knight Returns, even. But goodness, the whole idea of an established, tired Batman is good. There’s a reason the comics and animations keep coming back to it.

"Superman was just a story. Superman was just the dream of some farmer from Kansas." I forget the exact phrasing, but everything about that idea, and this idea that Superman is as much an ideal for Clark to live up to as everyone else, and he’s daunted by it? Yeah. There’s something in there.

I loved everything about Jeremy Irons' Alfred. Seriously, everything. Tech guru, little less RP, little rougher around the edges, clearly has some scars of his own. Absolutely biting, even more than most incarnations, and gets all the best lines. Yes, keep that, it'll do.

I liked the voice changer... halfway. To me it makes way more sense than putting on a voice, which is a bit daft and way more variable. I just wouldn't have gone that heavy on the processing, so that Bruce sounded less like a hacker from 1999. I also thought it was a good way of representing how Bruce desperately tries to emotionally distance himself when he’s the Bat, and how his anger has made him colder.

Batman as just a rumour or an urban legend is great, and a wonderful contrast to Superman, who’s this bright, transparent... common god. Bruce never did it for credit, he did it to get it done. It’s stretching the bounds of credulity, sure, but in this strange, semi-operatic storytelling with heavy myth feel, it makes a bunch of sense thematically.

Bruce meeting Martha Kent, and their first meeting being him saving her life. Even this broken-down Batman who thinks he’s a mess. Actually, just more Martha in the DCEU in general.  I mean, I get why they didn't lean into it so much because they maybe wanted Bruce and Clark to feel more like equal peers, rather than Bruce being too dadly, but... god, again, more Martha. In JL, in something, if nothing else. Martha who's lost a son (Jason); Martha who later has a son in another city trying to do good and is worried as hell about them (Dick's canonically in Bludhaven PD at this point); Martha who is one of about five people in the world who knows who Batman is and hasn't spilt that information; Martha who saw Bruce at the cemetery and might have some really interesting things to say to him, angry or forgiving; Martha who is one of the few people who's seen the good in the Bat (when Bruce himself couldn't)... Man, I was so, so glad that fic leaned into that. I would read a regular comic book of just Martha and Bruce Being Reluctant Friends and Worrying A Little About Their Kids, But Maybe In An Enemies-To-Friends Way Because Holy Shit You Had A Fucking Spear What the Fuck.

No, really, wait, I’m going to go on about Martha again.  The scenes in BvS where she was basically saying, "God, don't kill yourself for them, come home, if they're gonna hate you they don't deserve you..." On the one hand she could've been a contrasting voice to Jon, but this way also makes sense. "I know you want to help but please don't kill yourself..." It was always both parents in the comics who affected him equally, even if the Donner films had his father's death, iirc. It was Martha who pushed to keep him, Jon who taught him not to break people and show off, Martha who taught him how to cook and be gentle with things and in Superman: Birthright, which MoS is heavily, badly based upon (I love that miniseries, time to read it again) she researches alien sightings in the hope he won't be alone. I get why they went for a more "grounded" Kryptonian uniform thing, but Martha made his costume, in the original canon. In all canons, she was a huge help in creating the "Clark Kent" persona (yeah, sure, maybe a woman would have something to say about making yourself quiet and shrinking in a room and having to look helpful and nonthreatening all the time, but Snyder and Goyer were never gonna be the kind of people to explore that and even Waid, whom I love, barely touches on it). Every other film or comic book is crap, dead, or crap and dead dads. Clark's relationship with his mother and father is hugely important.

Getting to see Bruce doing the society beat, and just a little more philanthropy would've been great. You don't have time to build that character? Sure, OK. Take out the Flash dream sequence and the sleeping-with-random-women, maybe don't have a totally unnecessary but kinda hilarious shower scene, and replace it with some identity weirdness where Bruce and Clark are stuck interacting as civilians a little more. Or something about what the hell happened with Jason and the manor, though I don't mind most of it being unexplained. There, still building character, still serving a purpose, you can fit a brief scene into your three hour movie. Civil War had a ton of "Steve Rogers and Tony Stark brood or sit in rooms talking to each other."

If they were going to throw away all the secret-identity potential, they could at least have done it interestingly. That scene at the gala made it clear how hard they both had to act, and Jesus, the idea of Clark eventually, finally finding someone else who has to lie and cut off what they can do, who has to bumble almost the way he does... That could've been interesting and also maybe worried the shit out of him. Or made him want to talk to this crazy billionaire who goes round combat-booting people in the face and try and get what his deal was, which could've led to more interesting misunderstandings. 

And then there's Diana, who's not a bumbler but a "nothing to see here, rich eccentric" type too (no wonder she and Bruce had weird insane chemistry in that "sizing each other up/I know exactly what you are" way), and why the hell does Clark basically never see her? I actually don't mind the whole "she's only here for her photo and never meant to get involved, so she's only needing to chase Bruce," that makes sense, but after Doomsday?! In Justice League?! She understands what it is for the world to be frightened of you, resistant to you, the urge to go and hide where it's safe with your family, the loneliness. I mean, just imagine MoS!Clark meeting her and the goddamn relief of it. And the way it could've played off the whole Jonathan Kent is a creepy "kill em all" weirdo now thing, if they insisted on keeping it.

Similarly, please god please show Clark being a journalist more. Perry chewing him out more. A mild hint of office politics. That's the perfect place to leaven a rough film with a dose of humour. People wouldn't have been so bothered by "Is she with you?", which is actually not that terrible a line next to some Marvel "zingers", except for it being so tonally inconsistent. A gentle thread, a few moments of it. Maybe have Clark save someone and have to scrabble to keep his identity a secret, like in MoS - maybe a minute, you could go for some physical humour or a mild sight gag. Obviously, this'd be pre-bombing the courthouse. Relatedly... 

Take out Nairomi and the branding. They serve very little purpose, story-wise, basically never come back into the plot, and only serve to make Clark and Bruce look like dicks unnecessarily when if you want to inject flaws, you have a ton of opportunities to do it with how they deal with people and their loved ones, how they deal with perps, and their brooding moments. 

Seriously, Bruce kicking the shit out of people and investigating shipments from the Black Zero and World Engine crashes would be enough to worry and piss off Clark, as would the whole "I am the night"/lack of transparency shtick. I mean, for a start, John Byrne retconned their first meeting that way in the 80s and that issue is actually great (Clark is trying to arrest Bruce when they meet, because he's young and idealistic and maybe a little up himself and he's been Supes for about five and a half minutes). Look: Clark is being revered and hates it. He blames himself for Black Zero, at least a little. He has excellent reason to be desperately projecting brightly-coloured not-a-threat and also hate that someone else is terrorising a city and violence is being revered, especially when Metropolis and Gotham are still so raw. I mean... Snyder and Goyer did the fucking stupid offensive 9/11 comparisons. Look at how that affected people and still does to this day; emotions run bloody high, and the entire point of Clark is that he's still human and terrified and guilty. And with Wallace O’Keefe and all the threatening notes... look, there's already a good plot in there! 

Meanwhile, Luthor clearly knows Bruce has been sniffing around the K shipments and could've just tipped off Clark about that as well, saying, "He clearly is gonna use it for his own power, and with how sinister and opaque and violent he's already been, he's gonna hurt people." Having his heritage used against people is one of Clark's worst nightmares, it was implied pretty clearly in MoS, and you'd still have the righteous anger. No branding needed. Kryptonian artefacts and the entire masked violent vigilantism are already enough "this is someone who thinks he's above people and can decide their lives" to piss Clark off. He could even investigate that as himself rather than Supes. You need it to be an unanon tip-off and Keefe wouldn't have access to that information? Sure, OK, just filter it through Mercy Graves and make her a "worried confidential source." I mean, she's in the movie and completely wasted. Why not actually, you know, do something with her? Clark wants to believe the best in people, and he might dislike Luthor personally, but he doesn't know Luthor's out to get him yet - or wouldn't, if the writing was better. Again, Birthright, the text Goyer repeatedly ripped from, did this brilliantly. The brand... it's overkill. Grimdark overkill.

I actually... look, I had a really fun, if baffled, time with this movie, but goodness I’d like to see what it could’ve been. And now all the film sites are waving goodbye to Batfleck again while running DC retrospectives due to Birds of Prey, and Cavill’s blue tights are in doubt, it seemed like as good a time as any.

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

Kara raging at Lena and Alex. Because honestly? She gets blamed for everything. She kept herself secret to protect Lena and Alex is kinda responsible for her being Supergirl in the first place. "If making Kryptonite is okay if it's for a good cause then why not me keeping my identity secret? Killing my aunt, Alex, was okay as long as it was for a good cause, but I'm a monster if I so much as twist someone's arm too hard!"

Kara ignores the knock on her door.

Alex lets herself in anyway.

She meets Kara’s unhappy gaze, takes in the suit she still wears, and offers a grim smile. “Didn’t go well, then.”

“She hates me,” her sister mutters thickly. Her eyes are dry but her voice is thick from recent tears. Alex joins her on the couch, wrapping her arms around her shoulders. Kara leans against her, shrugging helplessly. “She didn’t even let me explain, Alex.”

A moment later, Kara pulls away, vibrating with anxious energy. “What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t tell her! She made Kryptonite for Rao’s sake. Which, was I supposed to thank her for making the one substance on Earth designed to hurt me?”

Kara gestures sharply, then falls still, waiting for Alex to chime in. When she doesn’t, Kara’s eyes narrow.

“What?”

“You don’t agree with her, do you?” Kara accuses. Again, Alex hesitates. “Alex!”

“Maybe I’m not the right person to weigh in on this,” Alex hedges.

“You’re my sister! You’re the only one who gets to weigh in!”

Alex shrugs. “What do you want me to say Kara? Last year I had Kryptonite armor! And it worked!”

Kara scoffs, shoving to her feet to start pacing. “Unbelievable.”

“Kara…”

“You defended me in the dark forest. So, what– were you lying?”

“You’re my sister, Kara, of course I defended you. And I didn’t lie– it is personal. I just don’t know if there’s one right or wrong answer here.”

“No,” Kara argues, “there is, because Kryptonite– it kills me!”

Alex pushes to her feet. “I understand that, believe me. But just a few years ago you were training under Kryptonite radiation, sparring with me. It helped you learn how to fight. And since then, we’ve faced multiple threats who could only be stopped by Kryptonite–”

“Yeah, I remember!” Kara cuts in sharply, voice lifting in rage. “I was there! I was there when they pumped my aunt full of Kryptonite to torture information out of her. I heard her scream for hours as it burned her from the inside. I remember when you put a kryptonite blade through her heart!”

Kara’s shout rings in the silence that follows. Alex freezes– she can hardly breathe for the reminder of the heartache she caused Kara. For the loss that nearly drove them apart. She thought they’d moved past it– days of working towards a new normal and countless nights spent talking for hours, trying to heal. Maybe they did heal. But Kara will never forget.

“It’s not just a tool, anymore,” Kara continues, reduced to a whisper. “It never was. It was the DEO’s reminder that I answer to them. My reminder that they could end me if I ever stepped out of line.”

Alex shakes her head. “No, it was never–”

“And now my best friend has found a way to not only make it, but make it more deadly, and all you have to say is that maybe she has a point?”

The air suddenly feels thick around Alex, pressing close against her. Her throat locks tight, and she has to swallow several times before she can summon her voice.

“Kara, I–”

“You should go,” Kara says flatly. She folds her arms around herself, suddenly small under her cape.

“Kara.”

“Either you go, or I will.”

Alex presses her eyes shut. She nods. “Okay.”

She collects her purse and lets herself out without another word.

Kara knocks her fist against the door and freezes between a grimace and a giggle when it splinters with a crack. It opens a moment later to an angry Lena, who glares at her warily.

“Sorry,” she says. “I’ll– I’ll replace that.”

She staggers inside, belatedly spotting the gun in Lena’s hand. Oops. She turns to offer reassurance that she isn’t going to hurt anyone, but loses track of that thought when she nearly unbalances.

“Are you drunk?” Lena asks. Her brow knits with reluctant curiosity. “Your metabolism–”

“I can with Aldebaran Rum,” Kara tells her stoutly, “and guess what? The corner market carries it now. We’re coming up in the world.”

Lena’s jaw tightens. “You should leave.”

“No, you should leave.” Kara pauses. “Actually, don’t. You should sit. We need– to talk.”

“I’m not interested in talking.”

“Then don’t! You can listen, like I did when you called me fucked up.” Kara waits, but Lena doesn’t move. “I’ll yell at you standing up if you want.” Lena still doesn’t move. “Okay, fine. I’m fighting with my best friend and my sister– why would this be even a little easy?”

She paces unsteadily, wading through murky, sluggish thoughts. Her cheeks feel a little numb but this time it’s not from smiling. It just is. It’d be easy to drink just a little more, and let that numbness spread to the anguish roiling around in her guts.

But not yet.

She needs that anger.

“You don’t know what it’s like,” Kara declares.

Lena only rolls her eyes. “Yes, we’ve already established that humans are unaccustomed to the pain of near-invincibility–”

“No!” Kara shouts, whirling to face her. “No, you made me sit there and take everything you said. Now it’s your turn to listen.”

Lena’s eyes widen, then narrow. But she remains silent.

Good.

“You don’t know what it’s like, to have to hide who you are. You project all of yourself into the world, for better or worse, and whether they love you or hate you, it’s you. Do you remember what you said to me? The day you met Supergirl? You said, we can’t live in fear. Well, I do! I live in fear. Every day, I’m afraid that someone will learn who I am and use it against me– that they’ll use it to target my friends, my family! I’ve been so afraid that my best friend will find out, and that I’ll lose her too.”

Lena scoffs. “You distrust me that much–”

“Oh, don’t even!– try to lecture me about distrust!”

“I have always been open with you–”

“Yeah, I remember! You were so proud to show off your fancy new alien detection device last year.” Lena freezes, and Kara feels a small trill of triumph. “Yeah, don’t think I’ve forgotten how gleefully you explained it to me, completely unconcerned that it would ruin lives. So long as you turned a profit, you were happy.”

Green eyes sour at the accusation, but she doesn’t say a word. Suddenly, Kara deflates, losing some of her righteous anger as hurt crept in around the edges.

“Did you?” she asks, plaintively. “Did you really think I’d forget that my best friend created a device that would allow businesses to deny me service? To kick me out of my apartment and leave me homeless?”

This time, Lena has the decency to look away, cheeks reddening under the criticism. Instead of fueling her fury, Kara blinks away tears.

“What would you have done? If I hadn’t damaged it? If it confirmed I was an alien?” Kara’s throat closes painfully. “Would you have turned me out right then and there? Would you have requested a different reporter the next time CatCo asked for an interview?”

She blinks, and the wavy figure of her best friend sharpens as her tears fall free. Maybe she imagines it, but she swears Lena’s eyes are shining too.

“Would you have ended the best friendship I’ve ever had, before it even started?”

Lena inhales sharply. “Maybe, I could swallow the secret identity easier,” she grates out, “if it didn’t mean that my best friend treated me like a villain for daring to create the one tool that was able to stop a Worldkiller.”

But Kara shakes her head no. “You didn’t make the Kryptonite for Reign, Lena. We both know it.”

For a long moment, the truth hangs heavy between them. Quiet lingers, before Lena finally takes a shaking breath.

“The threat is there, Kara,” she says. “Whether you want to admit it or not. Less than a year ago, Superman was ready to kill, even if it meant leveling the city to do it. And you– you threw Cat Grant off a balcony. Maybe you weren’t in control, but you still did it. Are we just supposed to sit back and pray you’ll take mercy on us the next time it happens?”

Kara stares at her. Then she laughs. It starts slow, bubbling in her throat before spilling out of her. Soon she’s doubled over, guffawing so hard her sides start to ache. Lena looks truly unsettled, and only that serves to curb her mirth.

“Sorry,” Kara wheezes, still grinning as she wipes her eyes. She flops onto Lena’s couch, breathless. “Whew!”

Lena swallows. “Good to know you find that part of my concerns hilarious.”

“Oh, pfft. Don’t be stupid. What’s funny is that both those examples you mentioned? The two times Supers have been a danger to humanity in the decades since my cousin started protecting the planet?”

She pauses, meeting Lena’s gaze as a fresh giggle tickles her throat.

“Was because of kryptonite! Because Maxwell Lord tried making Kryptonite, screwed up, and turned me into a monster, and because Queen Bitch Rhea waved some silver Kryptonite to turn my cousin into her personal attack dog. And your solution is to add more Kryptonite to the mix. That’s what’s funny.”

Instead of looking cowed, Lena’s jaw tightens. “And why did Max need to make Kryptonite in the first place?”

Kara sobers in an instant. The face of her aunt flashes across her vision, green-veined and twisted in agony. Then Reign’s face, chased by the phantom image of the dark priestess.

“Are you and Superman the only Kryptonians left?” Lena asks.

Lena knows they’re not. She knows about Argo, has given them the means to survive.

“Are you and Superman even the only Kryptonians on Earth?”

A lump forms in Kara’s throat. “No.”

“And can you guarantee that none of the other Kryptonians on Earth or elsewhere will never try to harm humanity?”

She doesn’t think they will. Those on Earth have spent decades hiding, even when Clark became Superman and their refuge planet fell under attack by alien threats. But she can’t guarantee it. She can’t.

“No.”

“Then I have a responsibility to ensure humanity has the means to defend themselves if the need arises,” Lena tells her. Her voice is calm, devoid of the emotion that gave Kara hope they could salvage even a small fragment of their friendship. “If you can’t understand that, then… I don’t think there’s anything left to say.”

Kara stares at her. Her heart throbs in her chest, like the space around it suddenly turned hollow. Words– the very thing she’s supposed to be good at– fail her, leaving her throat painfully dry.

Finally, she slowly pushes to her feet, struggling not to stagger as she pulls her puse onto her shoulder. She licks suddenly dry lips, grits her teeth, and meets Lena’s gaze.

“Fine,” she says stiffly. “Nice knowing you.”

Kara pushes past her, and escapes into the safety of the night.

[iheartsupergirl]

Supergirl Season 3 Re-watch

I missed Supergirl so much over the long hiatus, that I’ve decided to go back and re-watch Season 3 up to this point. I will post recaps and reviews of these episodes when I can. I will be re-watching some of these for the first time since they aired so it will be interesting to see if my thoughts on them have changed.

Season 3, Episode 1: Girl of Steel. Kara tries to close herself off from her pain, Supergirl fights a submarine, Lena has a new rival, and Maggie and Alex face wedding planning in the season 3 premier.

This re-watch occurred between episodes 3x14 and 3x15.

          This episode opens with Kara in a white dress on a dreamy alien planet. (I am not sure I noticed that ringed planet in the sky last time) Kara sees Mon-El and gives him some smooches, and even gets to give her mom a hug. Kara, however, is just daydreaming (or maybe having a vision?) and is in fact hovering over National City. As she comes back to reality, she can hear all the traffic, and conversations, and crime happening below. She quickly zeroes in on a police chase. Maggie and Alex are chasing after a big truck and quickly end up in a gun fight. The truck driver manages to trap Maggie’s car against the truck’s back bumper. A large, imposing man opens the back door and almost kills Alex and Maggie with a big Gatling gun thing, but Supergirl shows up in the nick of time. The bad guy (Bloodsport, it turns out) tries to fight Supergirl with some kind of electrified baton but has no success. Supergirl backhands him and sends him crashing into a distant car. He escapes while Kara stops the runaway truck from killing some civilians.  

           Back at the DEO, Kara has Winn swab some of the bad guy’s blood off her hand to test for DNA. Alex, J’onn, and Winn all feel like this was a big win for Team Supergirl, but Kara seems gloomy and detached. Alex tries to cheer her up by inviting her to taste test unlimited wedding appetizers (including potstickers!), but Kara does not seem that interested. As Kara leaves, Winn, Alex, and J’onn wonder out loud about how long she’s going to be so sad and self-serious. J’onn stresses that they need to be patient. This leads to some teasing of Alex for being serious all the time.

           In a corporate boardroom, a jerk in a suit with a weird face and a bad haircut is talking about capitalism and how capitalists like him have rebuilt the city after the Daxamite invasion. This is Morgan Edge, and he’s in a big meeting with a guy who’s apparently the Mayor, James and Lena, and a bunch of other people who never say anything. James and Lena think Supergirl deserves most of the credit for the rebuild. The Mayor seems pleased with both Edge and Supergirl. He is excited to unveil the new Supergirl statue down by the waterfront. This leads to a discussion of Edge’s plan to completely rebuild and redevelop the waterfront neighborhood. James and Lena are clearly against it, saying his plan would force people from their homes. Edge complains about Catco’s biased coverage of his plan and talks about improving the city’s tax base. Lena and Edge for all intents and purposes flip each other off as the meeting ends. Sidenote: Katie McGrath’s American accent has its ups and downs, but it’s particularly bad in this scene. Maybe they had just returned from hiatus? I like Katie McGrath a lot, but I also wish they would include a backstory that Lena went to boarding school in the UK for many of her teenage years.  

           At Catco HQ, we get a glimpse of Cat Grant performing her duties as President Marston’s Press Secretary. I am not sure if the writers realize that Press Secretary is not really a very good job for someone of Cat’s age and experience. It’s more likely she would be Secretary of Commerce or something, but whatever. James holds a staff meeting and learns that there’s not much going on in terms of news. Metropolis’s baseball team is terrible (does National City have a team?), and crime is way, way down because Supergirl has been catching so many criminals. James asks Kara how her exclusive interview with Supergirl is coming along. Kara is a bit terse and says that Supergirl has been too busy. As the meeting breaks up, James pulls Kara aside to see how she’s doing. Not that well, clearly, because she rebuffs James’ offer to catch up over a drink. James says he realizes how much Supergirl has been doing for the city, and Kara tellingly says, “well, that’s my job.”  They then see on one of the TV’s behind James’ desk that Morgan Edge is planning on buying Catco.  

           Kara drops by L-Corp to see Lena. They both are worried by Edge’s attempt to buy Catco. Kara encourages Lena to try to talk to Edge and convince him not to pursue the buyout. As Kara gets up to leave, Lena tells Kara that she misses her. Lena keeps trying to make plans to hang out, and Kara keeps bailing. Kara says she’s simply been busy. Lena also apologizes for the role she played in what happened to Mon-El. Kara reminds her that it was ultimately Supergirl’s call and leaves.  

           The whole gang minus Kara are having drinks at the alien bar and worrying about Kara. Alex frets that she’s not sure how much longer she can give Kara her space. J’onn urges patience and says they can’t put a clock on grief. Alex leaves the table and heads over to the jukebox. Maggie follows to see what’s wrong. Alex says she really misses her sister. Maggie tries to cheer her up by reminding her of the appetizer tasting, but it becomes clear that Alex is not really excited about it. Alex insists she’s not “down on the wedding,” but Maggie becomes frustrated and leaves. Winn runs up and says they’ve figured out who the “Merk” is (Merc? Merck? What’s a Merk?)

           Alex, J’onn, and Winn meet up with Supergirl at the DEO and everyone is still using the word Merck for some reason. The Merck in this case is Robert Dubois, aka Bloodsport, who we met earlier in the episode. He’s ex-military and he conveniently used to be stationed at Fort Harrison just outside of the city. Winn realizes that the base’s server is down, which must mean there’s trouble at the base. Kara grimly says, “I got this,” and flies off.

           At the base, Supergirl finds incapacitated soldiers and a lead-lined mystery warehouse. Supergirl goes inside to investigate and we see some kind of computer targeting system zeroing in on Supergirl. Kara gets blasted by a laser and is sent flying across the room. Further laser blasts wound two soldiers as well. Supergirl ducks under the next shot and uses her heat vision to disable the cloaking device of what turns out to be a Daxamite ship. Bloodsport escapes while Kara tends to the wounded soldiers. She then hears James’s signal watch going off.

           Supergirl lands on the balcony of James’ office and does a funny quick change into her civilian clothes. Kara clearly expects to find some kind of emergency, but James is just standing there looking grim. She failed to turn in her Supergirl interview. James thinks this is important, but Kara is furious that he would use to signal watch for something like this. James reminds her that he is her boss, and that Kara Danvers has a job. Kara states that being Supergirl is her job and it’s keeping her very busy. James tries to reason with her, but Kara announces that she’s quitting Catco and leaves.

           At the DEO, J’onn is yelling at our old friend General Lane on the phone about the Army keeping an alien ship, “alien artifacts are the DEO’s purview!” Winn reveals that what Bloodsport stole from the military supplier was a high-pressure regulator. There is then some comic book science talk about he could combine this with the Daxamite cloaking device to make a plane invisible.  

           Lena goes to Lena’s office to try to talk Morgan Edge out of buying Catco, but he’s pretty open about the fact he is doing it so he can defame Lena in the press. Lena calls him despicable and leaves. Edge then goes and pours himself a big ol’ scotch cause he’s a bad guy. Bloodsport saunters in and says the plan is ready to go, “They’ll literally never see it coming.” Cause, you see, the cloaking device or whatever.

           At her apartment, Kara is working on her laptop. Maybe on KaraDanvers.com? Alex comes in and Kara wants to know the DEO news. Alex, however, is very angry that Kara quit her job of Catco, pointing out that Kara spent years working her way up the corporate ladder. Alex says that she’s done giving Kara space to grieve and they get in a big argument. Kara tells Alex that “Kara Danvers sucks right now.” She likes being Supergirl, not the girl who lost her boyfriend. Alex tries to convince her that it’s okay to feel broken, that it’s okay to grieve, but Kara reminds Alex that she’s not human. Raised on Earth, Superman couldn’t have made the sacrifice she did, but she could because she’s Kryptonian. Kara tells Alex that “Kara Danvers was a mistake.” Alex leaves but not before telling Kara that Kara Danvers is her favorite person, someone who has saved her more times than Supergirl. It’s clear that Kara is upset, but she doesn’t say anything in return.

           Down at the waterfront, Supergirl is joined by J’onn on a rooftop as she keeps watch over the statue unveiling. J’onn tells Kara that she has been “courting emptiness of late.” Kara is clearly upset and tells J’onn, “I can’t help people if I’m broken.” J’onn reminds her that she saved him from the pain of his past, and taught him to accept his grief. J’onn talks about the importance of having a human heart. Kara begins to tell J’onn about her dreams of Mon-El and her mother, but decides that they need to stay focused on the skies. They are still assuming that Bloodsport is going to cloak a plane or a missile.

           On the ground, Alex and Maggie are working their way through different parts of the crowd. Maggie wants to talk on their radios about what happened at the bar. She wants to know if Alex still wants to get married. Alex is adamant that she does, but admits she is saddened by a big wedding because her father won’t be there to walk her down the aisle. Maggie encourages her and talks about having to find your own family.            

           Alex bumps into Ruby and Sam, who will become very important going forward. Lena gets onstage and unveils an honestly-not-that-great statue of Supergirl. Lena gives a nice speech about how Supergirl has been an inspiration to her, as well as a friend and a mentor. Just as Kara is about to fly down to join the ceremony, an explosion rocks the waterfront. Glass shatters and concrete splinters.

           Winn is working the tech at DEO HQ, but has no idea where a missile could have come front. J’onn tries to find Bloodsport telepathically, but has no luck. Kara realizes that he must be underwater. We see Bloodsport inside what appears to be a military submarine, ordering more torpedoes fired at the waterfront. Kara hovers in the air and uses her super hearing to locate Bloodsport’s heartbeat. She then goes crashing right into the water. A worried Alex tells Maggie, “she can’t breathe underwater,” which is hilarious because why would Maggie assume that she could? Was that for the audience’s benefit?  

            Underwater, Supergirl gives the submarine a big push and disables the cloaking device. Realizing they’re in trouble, Bloodsport orders another torpedo fired. Supergirl chases after it but gets caught in the explosion when Bloodsport detonates it. On land, Sam and Ruby have become separated and the latest explosion has trapped Ruby under part of a steel tower. Distraught, Sam screams as she tries to lift the tower. We see her hand crush part of the tower like it’s made of tin foil as she is able to lift the tower off of Ruby. Underwater, Kara is unconscious and sinking into the murky depths. Winn and Alex try to contact her with their radios (would that work underwater?), but they have no luck. Finally, we see a quick shot of Mon-El on the alien dream world telling Kara to “wake up.” Kara wakes up and clearly decides she’s tired of this stupid submarine business. She shoves a torpedo right back into the tube as it’s fired and then lifts the whole submarine right out of the water.

           At L-Corp Kara meets up with Lena in her office and learns that Lena has bought Catco right out from under Morgan Edge. Lena is excited to work with Kara, but Kara tells her that she quit. Lena encourages Kara to “unquit” because she’s her best friend and she doesn’t actually know anything about running a media company. Edge waltzes in and tells Lena that she will regret screwing him over. Kara pointedly leaves as Lena and Edge argue. Just as Edge is telling Lena threateningly that she now has all of his attention, Supergirl shows up on the balcony doing her best hands-on-hips pose. She grabs Edge and dumps him on a cargo ship out in the ocean. She tells him that she knows he was behind the attack on the waterfront. She then says that he has all of her attention and flies off. This all seems incredibly illegal on Supergirl’s part, but whatever.

           As Supergirl flies back to the city, we get a glimpse of what we now know is the Legion’s ship underwater, jostled loose by all the explosions. At the DEO, Alex meets up with J’onn and tells him that she and Maggie have agreed to have “the biggest, gayest wedding National City has ever seen.” There’s then a very emotional moment where Alex asks J’onn to walk her down the aisle. J’onn is deeply moved and they both start crying. There’s a funny moment where J’onn asks if he has to wear a tux, and Alex says, “I’m wearing Kevlar and boots, so . .”

           At her apartment, Kara is going through a box of stuff and finds some cute photos of her with Mon-El from a photobooth. “Wake up,” she tells herself. She texts Lena, “see you tomorrow, boss.” Lena responds with a heart emoji. She then joins the whole gang at the bar for drinks. We see a shot of Kara’s mother on the alien dream world, but it turns into a nightmare as she turns around and screams with a hideous monster face. Sam sits up startled in bed. Apparently, she was the one having a nightmare.  

Now for the review:

The Great:

Much of the Alex and Maggie stuff from this season is ultimately a huge bummer because it’s setting up Floriana Lima’s exit from the show, but the scene where Alex asks J’onn to walk her down the aisle is great. It’s sweet and well-acted, and it’s honestly the highlight of the episode for me.  

The Good:

The continuity! Season 2 began with the show unceremoniously dumbing some aspects of the first season, including Kara’s and James’ romantic relationship. So, I really like that this season begins with everyone dealing with the aftermath of the Daxamite invasion and Mon-El’s departure from Earth. Mon-El’s not my favorite character (I don’t hate him. I’m mostly Mon-neutral, to borrow a term from the fan podcast Supergirl Radio), but I like that Kara is dealing with the emotional fallout from his departure.

Kara: They do some thematic things with Kara in this episode that don’t completely make sense (more on that below), but I really like that the writers let Kara be not okay in the early episodes of this season. It makes sense that Kara would be grieving and feeling lost, and Melissa Benoist as always does a great job playing the character.

The action: I am not big on this episode’s villains (more on that below), but there are some cool action sequences in this episode. Supergirl lifting the submarine out of the water in particular is a really cool moment.  I enjoyed the submarine lift so much I had the wonderful @danidraws do a sketch of it for me. I support @danidraws on Patreon and you should too!

Sam and Ruby: They are a small part of this episode, but it’s fun to see the introduction of these characters again. I like Sam and Ruby a lot, and I have enjoyed them this season.

The Okay:

Human vs. alien: The episode sets up a theme that is played out over much of the season up to this point. The idea is basically that Kara has a human side of her personality that is warm, caring, emotional, and vulnerable, and a Kryptonian side to her personality that is cold, logical, and ruthlessly pragmatic. I definitely understand and appreciate what they’re going for here, and I think it sort of works. We see this in a later episode when Alex tells Kara to “be cold, be alien” when she fights Reign, which doesn’t work out so well. The idea, I think, is that ultimately it will be Kara’s humanity, and Sam’s humanity, and probably also Ruby’s humanity that will stop the Worldkillers and save the world. So, I get what they’re going for, BUT! Kara had a good life and loving parents on Krypton. So, the Krypton=cold, logical thing strikes me as a little odd.

Kara’s job at Catco: Relating to the theme above, this episode treats Kara’s willingness to quit her job at Catco as an abandonment of the human part of her personality. Once again, I get what they’re going for but the show often doesn’t really care that much about Kara’s job at Catco. We sometimes go entire episodes (particularly this season) without seeing Kara at Catco. So, I think Kara’s assertion that she has a lot on her plate as Supergirl kind of makes sense. We do see Kara in the DEO a lot, and it’s never been clear how Kara has been able to hold down the Catco job at the same time. Lots of super speed, I guess. I also wish someone had at least raised the issue of money. I know shows like this are not about life’s economic realities, but Kara has bills, right? I assume she needs money. Does she get a paycheck from the DEO? Does she have a trust fund? Someone has to pay for that apartment and all those potstickers and donuts.  

Alex and Maggie: There are some well-acted moments between Alex and Maggie in this episode, but ultimately this is all kind of depressing in retrospect because they’re just setting up the end of their relationship. I give the show credit for slowly building up to a plausible end of the relationship rather than just having Maggie get kidnapped by aliens or something, but it’s still disappointing. I liked this relationship a lot, and it’s a shame Floriana Lima wanted to leave the show.

The Bad:

Morgan Edge: I hate this character. He’s a rich, entitled jerk. That’s it. That’s the character. He’s not secretly an alien who can fight Supergirl (at least not yet) and he’s not presented as some kind of scientific or engineering genius who can create super-weapons and traps that can hurt Supergirl. He’s just rich and mean. I get that the show is probably trying to say something about white male entitlement in the age of Trump or maybe something about the banality of evil, but he brings nothing interesting to the table as a villain as far as I’m concerned. He’s a foil for Lena, I guess, but I am not sure I care.

Bloodsport: Just seems like a waste of a character that I know exists in the comics. Here, he’s really just a hired gun, and he’s never that much of a threat. I feel like they should have given him some stolen alien weapons and tactical gear that could at least slow Supergirl down, kind of like Master Jailer or the ray gun-toting thugs from the ‘Crossfire’ episode. Then, they could have had a real fight scene between him and Supergirl.

Edge’s Big Evil Scheme: Things don’t always make perfect sense in a comic book show like this, but Edge’s whole plan was really needlessly complicated and implausible. At the board meeting, the Mayor seems to like Edge’s development plan, so why not just go through the normal zoning process? Or maybe bribe some people? And where the heck did Edge get a military submarine? Those things can cost billions of dollars to build. Did he buy one? I’m also not buying that none of those guys in the sub turned on Edge once they were caught. Villains’ plans on shows like this don’t always make sense, but this one struck me as particularly dumb.

Odds and Ends:

Kara at one point regrets knocking Bloodsport off the truck and says, “I should have cuffed him.” Does Supergirl carry handcuffs? Have we ever seen her cuff someone? Not that I can think of. It would be funny if she had some Supergirl-themed handcuffs with the ‘S’ on them that she carried around.

I am still curious what the deal is with the dream world that Kara sees. Is she seeing a real place? Could her mom, like Mon-El, still be alive?

I love Alex telling Maggie, “she can’t breathe underwater.” I remember many fans realizing that this might mean that Alex testing that out at some point. The artist @comickergirl did some wonderful art about this:

http://comickergirl.tumblr.com/post/166272448971/inspired-by-this-post-normally-i-just-like-to

Overall:

Some good thematic table setting for the season to come and some fun action sequences, but the villains are mostly a bore.

Grade: B-

[delkios]

About a week ago I was talking to @robininthelabyrinth about doing some Rogue-centric comics recaps, starting with the brief time Heatwave worked at Cadmus with Superboy.

For those of you wondering “Why is what is generally a criminal working with a hero?” here’s a brief rundown of things that happened that lead up to this point:

Back in the mid-90s there was an event called Underworld Unleashed in which Nero, DC’s version of Satan, tricked most of the Rogues into attacking key points around… some continent that is literally unrecognizable on a map.  Those points exploded, killing them.  The event went on, Trickster I figured out Neron’s angle and helped the heroes defeat him and the Rogues remained dead at the end of it.  A couple years (real time) later, Flash issues 125-129, Neron is back to his old, manipulating people into giving him unlimited power schtick and brings the Rogues’ souls to Earth, this time as unkillable, power-amplified specters bent on causing as much death and destruction as possible.  Through Linda and Wally’s teamwork and love for each other, Neron is forced to retreat while restoring the Rogues their souls/life.  In the New Year’s Evil special issue, Trickster I tricks the Rogues into going after a sacred treasure in a Zhutan temple when, surprise, Neron pops back up and Heatwave, who emphatically does not want his soul back in Neron’s clutches, convinces the other Rogues to help Tricks and Piper defeat him.  It was a convoluted issue.  After Neron is, yet again, defeated, Heatwave decides to stay with the Zhutan monks, hoping to save his soul by being good.

That is, to my knowledge, the last we see of Mick until his appearance in Superboy 65.  Recaps are taken from issues 65, 76-81, 87-90

For those unfamiliar with this particular run, here are some characters to know:

Superboy/Kon-El: a psuedo-clone of Superman who debuted following The Death of Superman storyline.  Very 90’s teen-with-attitude, he’s one of the founders of Young Justice. His powers weren’t originally copying Superman’s (he was originally a modified human clone rather than half-Kryptonian) but mimics the basic flight/super strength/super durability through the use of tactile telekinesis.  Lives at a Cadmus facility.  At the time, his relationship with Clark was very… hands off.

Guardian/Jim Harper: another Cadmus clone who acts as chief of security and mentor to Kon.  As a clone, his body was modified to be stronger, faster, etc, with accelerated healing.  He also has an indestructible shield.

Dr. Serling Roquette: former head of the genetics division with a sense of style that is both terrible and amazing.  Has a thing for Kon.

Mickey Cannon: Cadmus admin director. Called ‘the Mechanic’, he’s said to be able to fix anything.  Uh… that’s about all I can say about him, really.

Dubbilex: one of Cadmus’s experiments known as a DNAlien, part chaperone and part mentor to Kon.  He is a powerful telepath and can use telekinesis.

Dr. Dabney Donovan: co-founder of Cadmus and creator of various genetic experiments.  You remember that line from Jurassic Park about scientists being so concerned if they could they never considered if they should?  This guy never bothered to hear the second part of that sentence.

Dr. Helen Angelico: head of genetics, called Doc Angel.  Not nearly enough of her.

So we start with Kon crashing a ship into the aptly named Planet Krypton- a superhero-themed restaurant that, thankfully had just been shut down for renovations -with some Challengers of the Unknown.  Who will continue to be unknown because I don’t know a thing about them.  He’d been gone for so long, Cadmus was trying to find someone to replace him as a field agent.

Always fun to play 'Who Can You Name?’

Some heroes decide it isn’t their scene and bounce, others attempt and fail to make themselves look good, and others still- notably Young Justice to the side there -just want some news on Kon.  Steel and Kyle, meanwhile, are there as JLA reps, passing along info about Superboy as it comes (which, at the moment, isn’t really anything).

Guardian, please.  Cadmus hires much worse than a crook with a flamethrower.

After being exposed, Punch and Jewelee take Serling hostage.  Luckily that’s when Superboy finally manages to make it back.

Figuring with Kon back in the picture, a new field agent is no longer needed so the heroes begin to disperse.  Until Cannon decides to hire Mick as a back up agent.

And potential patsy.  Nothing comes of this mental aside.

Jumping forward to issue 76, a little backstory is needed to understand the current situation.  Originally Kon’s genes were modified to stop aging at 16 because of a clone disease, but, immediately proceeding this issue, the events of Sins of Youth caused Cadmus scientists to restart his aging, unfortunately at the expense of his powers leading to Cadmus to call in their back-up agent.

He’s not without his own gadgets, of course- a Legion ring grants him flight and a Cadmus scientist by the name of Gadget Guru gave him a shield that can fold and expand in an instant.  Kon tries asking Harper to train him but Harper declines despite preferring to have Kon watching his back over Mick.

Donovan tries to get Serling to cash in on a favor she owes him but, before she can meet him, gets into a reconstructed space ship with Kon, Cannon and the Guru which takes off into space.  As Cadmus tries to locate them, Rex Leech, Kon’s former very shady manager, comes in carrying his unconscious daughter, Roxy.  Meanwhile, a pair of Cadmus guards are transporting an important blood sample that Donovan, mad that Serling didn’t follow his instructions, decides to take for himself.

Oh comics.

Doc Angel has Roxy stabilized in a containment tank while Rex tries to schmooze up to Mick.

Harper gets an urgent call to get to a storage vault.

For some reason they call Mick “Rory Calhoun”- and it’s not just here.  There’s at least one issue in the Flash- written by the then current writers -where he’s called that.  I don’t know why this is a thing.

Anyway, a bunch of guards dead on the floor, their armor torn open but whatever killed them instantly cauterized their wounds.  On the wall are the words 'Rip’ and 'Jak’.  An alarm goes off, announcing a fire in Lab Three- Doc Angel’s lab.

Quick shout out to Paul Gambi, the Rogues’ tailor, for making some fantastically durable costumes.  Mick’s in particular has been noted on more than one occasion to not only survive some of the hottest temperatures around, but also protects him well enough he barely breaks a sweat withstanding those temps.

Doc Angel is missing but Roxy’s tank was damaged in the fire meaning it’s time for the Guru’s apprentice Tekka to step up.  Harper, meanwhile, explains to Mick that they had a possible sample of Jack the Ripper’s blood and Donovan is the most likely person to make a clone from it.

Tekka finds a hole in the floor that’s venting heat like a volcano.  In true, heroic fashion, Harper and Mick head down.

Ripjak attack!  Turns out that Ripjak’s blood and even touching his skin burns on contact.  Harper says Donovan must have infused Ripjak’s blood with pyro-granulite, something Donovan’s done before. Unfortunately the build-up means he’ll explode, destroying anything or one near him.  They chase him to where Doc Angel is being held. Harper plays bait while Mick frees the doc.

Ripjak does a number on the two before they toss him into the geothermal reactor, including partially melting Harper’s shield and managing to burn through Mick’s suit.

They’re both treated and expected to make a full recovery, and Tekka stabilizes Roxy.

Meanwhile, in Kon’s half of the plot, the bad guy he’d been fighting, Kossak the Slaver, gets beaten out of his own ship and escapes, following a beacon that leads him to Cadmus.  He heads to Lab Three and claims that Roxy is an escaped slave he’s here to collect.  Kon gets back in time to stop Kossak from attacking Doc Angel and, in the ensuing fight, Roxy’s tank explodes.

Roxy is actually possessed by… something, which makes her skin turn bright red and her eyes glow.  She agrees to return to Kossak so long as he leaves all the people in the lab alone and, when she goes to say goodbye to Kon, imparts her power on him.  Which somehow kickstarts Kon’s powers again and Kossack leaves after another butt-kicking.

Superboy, back in costume, visits Harper, passing over the gauntlet with collapsible shield since Harper’s was destroyed.

Roxy is back in the containment tank after giving Kon her power and Doc Angel called in a doctor from STAR Labs, Sarah Charles.  The two promptly get snippy at each other and Kon has them leave to cool off.  Which is, of course, when Roxy busts her way out again as the red sun critter thing, saying she won’t be kept imprisoned.  She flies off, Kon gives chase and when Harper does the same.

She starts destroying property in a town called Kurtzberg and a local cop, with all the logic and protocol of a generic comic cop, calls for the two of them to freeze while simultaneously firing directly at Roxy.  The bullets, however, melt in the heat she’s generating but Roxy doesn’t enjoy the unintentional pun.

I’m not quite sure how Mick managed to get there before Harper who is in a flying car.

Anyway, it turns out the people Sarah called are the Titans who immediately peg Roxy as unstable (as in, unwilling to calm down) and decide they need to use force to contain her.  Kon isn’t having it and puts himself between them.  Tempest uses a hydrant to freeze Kon and Mick shoots off a blast of fire to free him.  

How can you be a jerk to that face, Harper?

Eventually Doc Angel and Sarah make it over and explain how Roxy’s sharing a body with an alien entity and they need the entity to expend its energy to get Roxy out.  The problem is eventually solved through what essentially amounts to the power of friendship.

If you’re wondering how Arsenal got the heat gun, it’s because Nigthwing took out Mick in pretty short order.  Which, really- Nightwing vs Heatwave is no contest.

Mick doesn’t show up again until issue 87 where Harper dies in the line of duty, protecting someone from Shrapnel.  Mick doesn’t have over much to do this issue as Kon feels responsible for Harper’s death (Harper went out on that mission instead of Kon) and gets taken on an astral jaunt with Deadman.  There are a couple choice moments, though.

I should note that Kon’s tactile telekinesis doesn’t work when he’s unconscious, making him as vulnerable as a normal person.

I find it hilarious they gave Mick a flamethrower bigger than his torso.

But, at the end of the issue, there’s a cryptic conversation between Amanda Waller and Lex Luthor (he might’ve been president at this time, I don’t remember) and someone trying to steal Harper’s remains.  Kon manages to take it back and, upon opening the casket, finds there’s a baby inside.

Next issue, the Wall is very unhappy to see that her super-clone cargo has disappeared (aka with Kon) and threatens Cadmus as, being the Secretary of Metahuman Affairs (so yes, Luthor is president), they fall under her jurisdiction.  Cannon, not a fan of the kind of pressure Waller and the new administration is putting on them, decides to get rid of Cadmus.  Literally.  Asides from a hole in the ground, the building is gone.

In the span of a few days, baby Harper grows a couple years, old enough to talk and, with the memory of his previous life returning, worries that he’ll have to fight.  Oracle finds tech and data traced from Cadmus at a LexCorp building and Kon follows her directions to a sewer where he promptly fights tofu critters and finds Mick and Serling.

I gotta say, artists generally make Mick the beefier of the Rogues (when they bother to give them different body types) but this artists really put that heroic build on him.  His shoulders are literally twice the width of his waist!

A random encounter with some sewer ferryman later, the quartet makes it to a weird underground compound where they jump a robot-looking thing and pull the equivalent of three-kids-in-a-trenchcoat with it.  They come across Talia al Ghul experimenting on a gender-flip Superman Blue by the name of Strange Visitor who I know nothing about.  After Talia and Waller’s assistant leaves, the gang bust out of their disguise and take out the guards.  Mostly.

And then this ability was never seen again.

Kon and Mick go to rescue Stranger who very much does not appreciate it.  Talia re-enters and calms down Stranger and the group is captured.  When they come to again, they’re on a space station.  Some guy in a flying chair named General Good makes an army of clones from Harper against Harper’s explicit wishes.  Kon destroys the incubating clones and the quartet is rescued by Sgt Rock who drafts them into the upcoming war.

This issues then follows into the Our Worlds at War event which I never read so if Mick shows up anywhere there, I don’t know about it. Superboy was also canceled shortly after.  In the following year Mick shows back up Flash comics in issues following up to Rogue War where his attempts at reformation are retconned as the Top’s influence in order to tie into the ongoing Identity Crisis event. And these issues are promptly forgotten by everyone and we are all deprived of Kon confronting Mick about going back to the Rogues. Especially egregious when Mick helped kill one of Kon’s best friends.  I mean, yes, Kon was also dead at the time but you’d think that’s one of the things you’d follow up on when you come back to life!

[ununniliad]

Superman Week Epilogue: Building a Better Superman Movie (Drew Nerds Out: Part Omega)

@creepingmonsterism asked a question so good, I figured I had to make it part of Superman week. They write:

And. Oh man oh man oh man. :D Buckle up, this is gonna be long. (Special thanks to Emma McGill for being a sounding board and providing, like, half the ideas in this!)

Okay, so. Assuming I got to do something free from prior continuity and franchises, starting with a clean slate...

First off, no origin story. Everybody knows the basic deal; doomed planet, desperate scientists, last hope, kindly couple. I would definitely want to make sure we got brief-but-useful recaps of the basic elements, but then we move forward.

Secondly, the movie would be themed around "Superman as immigrant" - how he is who he is because of the people who raised him, how his heritage and his upbringing and his current circumstances affect him, and why he has embraced the ideals he has taken as his own.

It would start off rooted in both Clark and Superman doing their everyday stuff. We would see what Clark's daily life is like, and how he interacts with the humans around him, especially the ones at the Daily Planet. Lois would have a significant role here; less as love interest - the chemistry and attraction would definitely be there, but wouldn't be the focus - and more as a representation of everything humanity can be; spirited, kind, badass, inspiring. There would also be significant attention to Ma and Pa Kent as the people who made Clark a hero, and whose example still guides him.

As Superman, he'd be doing heroic deeds, big and small, but at the same time, we'd see how he's trying to hold himself a bit apart from humanity; feeling like he's innately a bit distanced because of his alien heritage, and that, to be humanity's protector, he has to kind of hold himself above it all. Things end up at a crossroads when, naturally, the two sides of his life conflict; perhaps he hesitates during an emergency because someone from his human life is involved, a hesitation that didn't cost lives - but could have.

It's here that the primary plot driver makes its appearance - a Kryptonian artifact that states that its purpose is to preserve the culture of Krypton. That's right, I'm pulling my antagonist from the Superman comics of the early '90s, the being known as The Eradicator. (I'm not sure if I'd keep that name - it's really early-90s, and would kind of give the plot away. But I'll refer to it as the Eradicator here.)

So, while he's pondering on how important his human life is, Clark finds the Eradicator and starts learning about Krypton. He learns about its culture, its science, and its art. This should be useful in an immediately apparent way; maybe a bit of Kryptonian science solves a problem he was having earlier in the movie. But also, from what the Eradicator shows him, he's not doing well enough at being apart from humanity - the thrust of the Eradicator's message is that Kal-El is simply not up to the standards his Kryptonian parents would set.

Now, we should pause here and take note of something really important. We do not, repeat do not, want to fall into the trap of making the moral "assimilation is the important thing and embracing the culture you come from is evil". I'd rather scrap this whole idea and make a movie where Gus Gorman returns, and this time, he's Superman! than put across that message. This would require some careful detail work that's beyond the scope of this document, but the most important thing would be to emphasize, not assimilation, but making a life for yourself, that itself emphasizes the things you find important.

Anyway - so he separates himself further. Superman moves more rapidly, fixing disasters and not talking to people as much. He spends less time as Clark and more time at the Fortress of Solitude (which might be, in this version, something built by the Eradicator). He wears a new costume, with more Kryptonian elements.

It ends up, of course, being the human factor that snaps him out of it. First, I think, Perry calls Clark in. He talks about how he's been doing a great job on the technical details, but the fire seems to have gone out of him - he's letting the moments where he could have run down the story and exposed the bad guys slip by. He talks about things that Clark found but just seems to have let drop, and we realize that previous scenes of Superman involved him "efficiently" stopping these criminals - but no longer exposing the greater corruption or systemic problems behind them. Clark apologizes, and then has to excuse himself - Superman has an interview with Lois.

Lois herself set up this interview, and Superman thinks it's about his new look, but it turns out she's playing hardball. She asks him where he's been; he's confused, he's been taking care of as much stuff as ever, or so it seems like to him. She points out that the only reason she even knows about his new look is random shots off people's phones as he swoops by. He's been taking care of stuff, sure, but nobody knows about it - there's been unease in Metropolis, as people aren't sure if they still have someone to turn to, someone who cares so openly and hugely as Superman did. This especially gets Lois's goat, because the entire point of a reporter is to let the people know what's going on, giving them the information they need to have control over their own lives. And if the people in power aren't forthcoming with that information, whether that power is governmental or extraterrestrial, it's her job to chase it down.

Afterwards, perturbed and needing some good advice, Clark goes to visit his parents and talk to them about what's been going on lately. They point out that Clark had always wanted to do good in the world. But it was only after he found out what his Kryptonian parents had done - that they were scientists, dedicated to finding out the truth, and that they'd tried to use that truth to save everyone - that he wanted to become a reporter. He'd save people, and then he'd find out the truth, and give it to people so they could save themselves.

It's about this time that the Eradicator calls for Kal-El - he's been away from the Fortress for so long this time. Superman returns there, and tries to have a discussion with the artifact. He doesn't think that his parents would have actually wanted him to hold himself apart, and whether or not they would have, it's not a good idea.

The Eradicator is surprised. It has to take a bit to process this information, and determine the course it should take based on this new situation. It invites Kal-El to recharge himself in the solar energy chamber while it's doing so, and he does.

And, of course, naturally it tries to brainwash him into its vision of Kryptonian-ness. We get a cool battle on the mindscape here, along with a glimpse into the Eradicator's backstory; it was created as a device to teach youth and give them what they needed to become productive members of society, but it was ordered by those who used it to focus on what they thought of as true Kryptonian-ness, leading to some rather unfortunate results. The mental construct of the Eradicator is powerful, and it can beat Superman alone - but it can't beat the mental forms of him, Clark, and all of the people who have supported and inspired them. (Yes, this will be Very Cheesy. :D)

The solar energy chamber breaks, and the mental battle breaks into the physical. The Eradicator becomes an energy being patterned on Superman's body, with the Kryptonian artifact at its heart. We get a big colorful battle sequence. The Eradicator attacks him not only with its energy body but with the Kryptonian science and technology at its command. However, Superman was paying attention, and can use it right back.

So... the very climax is the part I'm least sure about, but I think it should go something like...

As the battle rages, Superman starts taunting the Eradicator, pointing out how it's destroying the Kryptonian things it had brought back, not to mention the Kryptonian in front of it. The things that were built can be rebuilt, the Eradicator responds, and the body can be healed. It is the mind that is important.

Superman seizes on that. The Eradicator is saying that the mind is important, the person is important. The Eradicator's purpose was to teach - to spread the truth.

The Eradicator says its purpose is to restore the glory of Krypton.

Yes, says Superman, but what was the glory of Krypton? Was it a static snapshot of a moment in time, a picture of a planet already dead, or was it the people, the ones who used the knowledge they were taught to move ever forward? Krypton died because people tried to hold it frozen in a moment, and would the Eradicator repeat that with the last Kryptonian?

The Eradicator is taken aback, and Superman presses forward. It doesn't have to be this way. It can work with him. If the culture and science of Krypton, all it was, is valuable, then it doesn't have to be forced - it can be freely given! It can improve the lives of actual people - the people of Earth!

The Eradicator pauses, and...

Cut to: The former Fortress of Solitude, now the Museum of Kryptonian Culture and Science. Superman explains to the assembled press that scientists and historians from all over the world will be invited to explore its wealth of new information.

Naturally, Clark Kent and Lois Lane are there covering the event. Superman comes up to them, and they talk; eventually, he reveals that he's a robot, powered by the former Eradicator. Lois notes all the possible destructive uses for the technology at hand; Eradicator-Superman says that that's humanity's burden now, but he - and Superman - will be there to help them with it.

I think this ending is probably slightly too easy, but not by much. (If it was an actual script, I'd give it a couple of editing passes, but this has already taken long enough to write!) The important part is that it hits the right ballpark, in terms of tradition-versus-assimilation-versus-making-your-own-life. Superman has always been a story of immigrants, of new influences coming into our culture - don't forget, his creators were Jewish Canadians of Lithuanian and Ukrainian descent. I think a story that emphasizes that is overdue.

[cloakedsparrow]

Over the decades, DC movies have struggled to find the same box office enthusiasm as Marvel. Part of the issue is that DC has trouble bringing its comics to the screen without changing them. “The Dark Knight Trilogy” was a huge success, but it took Batman out of a comic book world for a more realistic setting. Gone were the colorful costumes and eccentric villains.

While fans might argue over the quality of the movies, it seems like almost everyone can agree that the DC Animated Universe (DCAU) was great. Beginning with “Batman: The Animated Series” in 1992, and continuing all the way up to “Justice League Unlimited” in 2006, these cartoons captivated kids and adults at the same time. Here are 15 times that the DCAU was better than the DC movies.

15. IN BRIGHTEST DAY

Warner Brothers’ 2011 “Green Lantern” didn’t connect with fans in the way the studio was hoping. There were many complaints about the overuse of CGI, the confusing and overstuffed plot, and too many villains. Ryan Reynolds starred as Hal Jordan, a hotshot pilot who is drafted into the Green Lantern Corps because he can overcome fear. Jordan must deal with training to be a lantern under Sinestro, while also stopping the psychic Hector Hammond, on top of preventing Parallax from destroying the Earth.

Green Lantern’s origin was adapted into an episode of “Superman: The Animated Series,” titled “In Brightest Day” (1999). Here, Kyle Rayner, an artist for the Daily Planet, gets the ring, although his origin and design are based on Hal Jordan’s. The story is much simpler, with Rayner obtaining the ring and then having to learn to use his powers while Sinestro tries to destroy him and the ring. Superman is there to protect Rayner, and the episode does a much better job of introducing the Green Lantern mythos in 22 minutes than the movie did in almost two hours.

14. THE DOOMSDAY SANCTION

Doomsday is notorious for killing Superman in “Superman” #75 (1993) by Dan Jurgens, and for being shoehorned into the last act of “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016). Created when Lex Luthor combines his blood with General Zod’s body in a Kryptonian genesis chamber, Doomsday shows up for a quick fight that rushes through the death of Superman arc, killing off the beast only a few scenes after he’s introduced.

Doomsday is treated with more respect in the “Justice League” cartoon, especially in the episode “The Doomsday Sanction” (2005). Here it is revealed that Doomsday is actually a failed clone of Superman, created by Project CADMUS, in an attempt to create a weapon to use against meta humans. Doomsday breaks out, and chases after Superman, as he was programmed to do. While Superman doesn’t die in this story and his origins are drastically changed from the comics, Doomsday gives him a run for his money in a hugely entertaining fracas. After trapping the monster in lava, Superman tries to reason with him, to which Doomsday coldly responds that he’ll get free and continue trying to kill Superman, no matter what.

13. MAD LOVE

The most noteworthy addition to the Batman mythology from “Batman: The Animated Series” was definitely Harley Quinn. She made her big screen debut in “Suicide Squad” (2016), where she’s depicted as the Joker’s insane girlfriend. In the film, her origin shows her as a therapist in Arkham Asylum, who escapes and is then forcibly given electric shock treatment by the Joker. He then gives her the same chemical bath that turned him into the Clown Prince of Crime.

Harley’s cartoon origin was first explored in the episode “Mad Love” (1999), which was adapted into a comic within the show’s tie-in series. This shows a similar origin as the movie, although it dives deeper into Harley’s relationship with the Joker. As she tries to treat him after each arrest, she begins to see him as a victim. He’s actually manipulating her into helping him, but she was genuinely falling in love. This version of the story is much more tragic, painting Harley as a sad, conflicted character caught in an abusive relationship.

12. HEART OF ICE

One of the most unforgivable casting mistakes ever committed was hiring Arnold Schwarzenegger to play Mr Freeze in “Batman and Robin” (1997). His Mr Freeze was a former scientist/Olympic athlete who was caught in an accident while experimenting on his cryogenically frozen wife. He has to wear a special suit to keep his body at sub zero temperatures, which also powers his freeze gun. He also loves ice themed puns and apparently makes his henchmen sing and dance while hanging out in his hideout.

This characterization was actually based on the Emmy award winning “Heart of Ice” (1992), from “Batman: The Animated Series.” Surprisingly less cartoony than the live action version, Victor Freeze is seeking revenge for the death of his cryogenically frozen, terminally ill wife, caused during the same accident that turned him cold. This Freeze has no time for jokes, and is too grief stricken to feel emotions anymore. His skin is frozen, but his heart is ice.

11. AMANDA WALLER

Throughout “Justice League Unlimited,” Amanda Waller appears as the head of the secretive Project Cadmus. After an incident involving the evil version of the Justice League, known as the Justice Lords, Waller didn’t trust any of the metahumans. Cadmus was dedicated to coming up with ways of keeping them in line, including the creation of Doomsday. This version of Waller, although not super powered in anyway, was one of the most intimidating characters on the show, and even stood up to Batman.

She was even responsible for the birth of Terry McGinnis, who turned out to be a the genetic son of Bruce Wayne. Waller manipulated the events leading up to his birth, and even attempted to have his parents killed, just so she could replicate Batman. Her appearance in “Green Lantern” (2011), however, was less impressive, where she appears as a scientist working for the government. “Suicide Squad” (2016) introduced a revamped version of Waller, although her inability to control the Enchantress, despite having her heart, made her look a lot less intimidating.

10. ON LEATHER WINGS

While Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight Trilogy” is generally beloved by fans, Christian Bale’s Batman voice is one of the few missteps that irked audiences. Whenever Bale put on the cape and cowl, he stopped talking like a normal person and growled like an angry animal. One of the most over-the-top moments in the entire trilogy is in “Batman Begins” (2005) when Batman intimidates a crook cop by dangling him upside down and growling gravelly in his face.

Kevin Conroy voiced Batman in “Batman: The Animated Series” and found the best balance between Bruce Wayne’s voice and Batman’s. The best example of this is shown in the episode “On Leather Wings” (1992). While investigating Man Bat, Batman makes a phone call to a bat expert as Bruce Wayne. Within the same scene, Conroy switches between Batman and Bruce Wayne, who sound almost like two completely different people. Bruce is higher toned and more playful, while Batman is deep and serious. It’s much more impressive than growling.

9. OFF BALANCE

“Batman Begins” (2005) introduced a modernized take on Ra’s al Ghul, focusing on his leadership of the League of Shadows and ignoring his life restoring Lazarus Pits. His daughter, Talia, was introduced in “The Dark Knight Rises” (2012) with less success. After meeting Bruce Wayne under the guise of Miranda Tate, Talia seduces him and secretly helps orchestrate his downfall, along with Gotham��s. The relationship, however, was brief and Batman seemed to have much more chemistry with Catwoman. When Talia betrays him at the end, the moment isn’t as shocking or heartbreaking as it’s meant to be.

“Off Balance” (1992) also shows Batman meeting Talia while they’re both chasing after the villainous Count Vertigo. They work well together and seem to have a real connection, and Batman slowly begins to trust her. Ultimately, she’s only chasing Vertigo to retrieve the villain’s weapon for her father. She betrays Batman and steals the weapon for herself. When she tests it, however, it turns out Batman booby trapped it. Batman knew Talia better than she realized.

8. SECRET ORIGINS

While “Justice League” (2017) hasn’t been released yet, the ending of “Batman V Superman” (2016) made it clear what brings the heroes together. Batman and Wonder Woman join Superman to fight Doomsday, and based on Batman’s vision of a possible future, they believe that there are greater threats coming and they’ll need to band together. Also, while Bruce’s vision may have just been a dream, Lex Luthor also revealed he may have made contact with something from space and whatever it is that is coming. Basically, there’s a vague possibility of a threat.

The animated Justice League is brought together in “Secret Origins” (2001), the first episode of the series. When Batman and Superman discover a group of shape shifting aliens plotting to take over the Earth, they rescue Martian Manhunter and team up with the Flash, Hawkgirl, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman. Once the aliens are defeated, the heroes decide to keep working together, having naturally bonded in battle.

7. BANE

Tom Hardy’s Bane was an unusual take on the character. He had a vague backstory about being a mercenary, who was vaguely wounded and needed to wear a mask, and he had an accent that didn’t really tie him to any location. For the majority of “The Dark Knight Rises” (2013), Bane appears to be a ruthless mastermind, hellbent on not just destroying Gotham, but erasing all hope from the city. While he does break Batman, the finale reveals that Bane was just Talia al Ghul’s pawn, and he’s ultimately killed by Catwoman, as opposed to be truly defeated by Batman. The less said about the Bane in “Batman and Robin,” the better.

“Batman: The Animated Series” introduced Bane in an episode appropriately titled “Bane” (1994). Here, the villain is a Cuban assassin who uses a drug called venom to enhance his strength. He’s hired by Rupert Thorne to kill Batman, and at first seems like he might be the caped crusader’s match. After beating Batman down, however, Bane loses when Batman outsmarts him and takes advantage of his dependence on Venom. Bane’s defeat is much more meaningful, while still leaving his character intact. Nothing onscreen has yet matched Bane’s characterization in the comics, but at least the animated series came close.

6. TASK FORCE X (SUICIDE SQUAD)

Amanda Waller’s covert strike force was unveiled in the “Justice League Unlimited” episode “Task Force X” (2005). The team was comprised of criminals who, if they completed five years of service on the team, would be granted pardons. Waller assigns the team to infiltrate the Watchtower, the home base of the Justice League, to steal a weapon known as the Annihilator. Working together, the team is able to sneak aboard, steal the weapon and then fight their way out. It’s pretty darn great.

In the film “Suicide Squad” (2016), however, Task Force X is deployed to take down the Enchantress, who has attacked Midway City. The biggest flaw in the movie is that the majority of Task Force X is never fully utilized (or realized, really). Characters like Boomerang and Kitana are useful in a fight, but that’s about it; two examples in a list of many missed opportunities in the movie. Many members of the team could have been replaced with any random brawler and gotten the same results.

5. INJUSTICE FOR ALL

No matter what Superman did, he just couldn’t bring Lex Luthor down. That is, until the Justice League got involved. In “Injustice for All” (2002), Luthor is finally caught when Martian Manhunter poses as Superman and gets Lex to reveal his evil, while Batman and Green Lantern record the conversation. While that’s only the beginning of this particular episode, it proves how worthy an opponent Lex Luthor was. After years of causing trouble, he’s only caught when some of the Earth’s most powerful heroes team up.

This makes his downfall in “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016) even more embarrassing. After tricking the titular heroes into fighting each other, Lex unleashes the Doomsday monster, only for it to be defeated. He’s immediately arrested, and ends the movie in a prison cell after having his hair forcibly shaved off. The worst part is that the world’s smartest supervillain’s plan was foiled because he didn’t realize that Batman and Superman both have mom’s named Martha. Rookie error, Lex.

4. THE LAST SON OF KRYPTON, PART 2

One of the biggest criticisms leveled against “Man of Steel” (2013) was Kevin Costner’s portrayal of Jonathan Kent. As a young Clark slowly realizes his powers, Jonathan comes across as an almost negative influence. He even suggests at one point that it might be better for Clark to have let a school bus full of kids drown than to expose his powers to the public. He’s clearly protective of the boy, but his worldview is incredibly dark and depressing; hardly the bastion of hope who inspires his adoptive son.

The second episode of “Superman: The Animated Series,” named “The Last Son of Krypton, Part 2” (1996), also deals with this time in Clark’s life. As his powers manifest and Clark begins to realize that he’s different, Jonathan Kent comes across as more nurturing and — get this — fatherly. He never yells at Clark for saving anybody, and when Clark flies for the first time, Jonathan greets him with a smile as opposed to a stern lecture telling him to hide his powers all the time.

3. ROBIN’S RECKONING

Based on the realistic tone, it seemed unlikely that Robin would ever appear in Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight Trilogy.” In “The Dark Knight Rises” (2012), however, Batman’s sidekick made an appearance, of sorts. Police officer John Blake figures out that Bruce Wayne is Batman, and spends the movie helping him. At the end of the movie, a seemingly dead Bruce Wayne leaves Blake his Batman gear and cave, and it’s revealed that Blake’s real name is Robin.

“Batman: The Animated Series” also revamped Robin’s origin in the episode “Robin’s Reckoning” (1993). When Robin gets a lead on the gangster that killed his family, he goes on a manhunt. Batman tries to keep Robin from going down a dark path, and flashbacks reveal how Dick Grayson came under Bruce’s care and became Robin. The story dives deep into Batman and Robin’s relationship, and while it’s still farfetched that a grown man would bring a kid with him to fight crime, “Robin’s Reckoning” makes Robin’s pain and quest for vengeance seem real, along with his friendship with Batman.

2. WORLD’S FINEST, PART 1

In “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016), Batman doesn’t trust Superman due to his extreme power levels and alien nature, and Superman wants to end Batman’s brutal vigilantism. With some prodding by Lex Luthor, the two icons face off in an epic, abandoned building-destroying fight that ends with a whimper when Superman reveals that they both have mothers named Martha. They then realize that Luthor manipulated them into fighting and team up.

The pair’s first meeting in the DC Animated Universe happened in the “Superman Animated Series” episode “World’s Finest.” When Joker gets his hands on some Kryptonite, he travels to Metropolis to help Lex Luthor kill Superman. Batman follows, and immediately clashes with Superman’s personality. After a brief altercation, Superman uses his X-ray vision to see under Batman’s mask. Thinking he has the upper hand, Superman tells Batman to leave Metropolis. He then returns home only to find a tiny bat-tracer on his cape. Batman waves from a nearby rooftop, having outsmarted Superman and learning his secret identity as well. Of course the two later team up, but it was how they got the measure of each other that far out-shined their movie outing.

1. TWO-FACE

Harvey Dent was the hero Gotham needed, until half his face got burned off in “The Dark Knight” (2008). He briefly becomes Two-Face, before being accidentally killed when he threatens Commissioner Gordon’s family and Batman intervenes. While it has a big impact on the plot, Two-Face’s story is actually relatively brief. Also, he never becomes a crook, as his main motivation is only to seek revenge on the crooked cops and gangsters who killed his fiancé.

His story is given more detail in “Two-Face” (1992) from “Batman: The Animated Series.” Here, Harvey has always struggled with an aggressive split personality, caused by his anger issues. When the mob causes half his face to be disfigured in an explosion, Harvey lets the angry personality take over. He also becomes dependent on his coin for every decision, where the movie version only uses it to decide who to kill. Batman actually beats Two-Face by throwing a pile of coins at him during one of his coin flips, confusing him and crippling his decision making process, as opposed to “The Dark Knight,” where Batman just tackles Two-Face off a building.