#what makes superman superman is that he will use those great powers to save a cat from a tree as well as fight evil gods from space

[thenotoriousscuttlecliff]

Snyder fans: Man of Steel made us Superman fans.

Snyder fans when a Superman movie has Superman acting like Superman:

[imagitory]

All right...for those of you who don't know my thoughts about Wish, yes, I wasn't happy with the finished result, but no, I'm not a hater. I'm mostly just disappointed that this project that had so many good ideas came out so half-baked, and THIS is a perfect example of what I mean.

No, it's not because "Star Boy" appears in it -- at least, not by itself. I do actually like Star's "himbo" personality in this, even if I also completely understand liking the idea of a mute version of the character. (The downside is that the mute Star from the finished film honestly doesn't have much personality outside of just being cute, in contrast to other mute magical Disney characters like Tinker Bell.)

No, the lost potential here is two-fold --

Firstly, I once again felt more emotion watching this storyboarded sequence than I did at any point in the finished film. I smiled hearing the fun banter between Star and Asha, insinuating that they're becoming closer despite their contrasting personalities; I felt some suspense in how Star and Asha were going to get away from evil!Queen Amaya; I even laughed pretty hard at the cat-and-yarn gag! I didn't laugh once while watching the finished movie.

Secondly -- and this point is actually the one I want to focus on more -- is the commentary given about why this scene was cut. I truly think another unspoken reason behind the decision was that this sequence was clearly inspired by the transforming chase scene in Nimona, which Disney of course infamously dropped when they closed Blue Sky Studios and later got picked up by Netflix, only to receive glowing reviews from just about everyone...but one of the core reasons that Head of Story Mark Kennedy cites for why they changed this scene (aside from wanting Star to be mute and not a shapeshifter like other Disney characters, which I'm a bit confused about because yeah, Disney's done cute, mute non-human characters before too -- what about Dopey, Pascal, Maximus, Dumbo, Bambi, Magic Carpet, Sven, and again Tinker Bell?) is that they wanted Asha to be the hero and be able to "solve all her problems" without Star's help.

Up to a point, I understand what Kennedy means -- the theme of the film is supposed to be that we all have the power inside of us to make a difference, and that's great. But by making it so that Asha doesn't need any help from Star, it takes something away from their relationship. No human is an island, and relationships, both in stories and real life, are often built on that fact. Just look at Ariel and Eric in the original Little Mermaid -- Ariel saves Eric from drowning and from Ursula zapping him with Triton's trident, and then Eric saves Ariel from Ursula by skewering her with the broken figurehead of a ship. Even in non-romantic examples, we have Judy and Nick having to help each other solve the case in Zootopia; Buzz and Woody helping each other get back to Andy in Toy Story; the Parr family and Frozone all fighting together against Syndrome's robot with their unique powers in The Incredibles; Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver working together to save themselves and everyone else at the end of Treasure Planet; even Anna helping Elsa learn how to control her magical abilities through an act of authentic, courageous, selfless love that only she can do in Frozen. These characters needing help and deep emotional connections with others is what creates a bond between them, helps the characters grow and change into stronger people, and makes us as an audience enjoy watching the two characters together. We become invested in both the two individual characters and the relationship forged between them. Because they all have their unique strengths and weaknesses, they supplement and complete each other. Even perfect paragon Superman in most DC properties isn't an island -- when he's in the Justice League, there are plenty of times where he needs help from Batman or other team members to save the day. Even Superman is a stronger character when he has people around him who can balance out his flaws.

If Asha never needs help, that runs the risk of the challenges she's facing seeming far less consequential, because no human can handle absolutely everything, all by themselves. Yes, perhaps in the finished film, Asha asks her friends to help her liberate the wishes (a task which ultimately fails, leaving Asha to confront Magnifico alone again and realize exactly what everyone has to do to defeat him on her own anyway)...but just in regards to Star and Asha's relationship -- which even the filmmakers have said is something like a "soulmate" relationship, though not in a romantic sense in the finished product -- these two can't have a meaningful connection if one of them is completely self-sufficient. This is also why quite a few Disney fans didn't like that the Little Mermaid remake changed Ursula's defeat to have it be Ariel who killed her, rather than Eric, because it hurt the "equal" dynamic between the main couple where they both helped and supported each other.

In short, "girl power" shouldn't have to mean never needing to rely on anyone else...and honestly, looking at this scene concept, we don't see Asha relying on Star too much! She's the brains of the outfit -- she's making plans; she's providing Star some much needed common sense; she's using Star's light as a distraction so they can get away...she even escapes Amaya at one point by sliding right under her horse! Asha in this storyboard is a bad-ass!

What we see in this sequence is these two characters having to help each other in order to succeed. And that would've been a great foundation on which to build more dramatic stakes and a relationship with actual pathos, whether romantic or not.

[bruciemilf]

Imagine that one scene from that animated series justice league where Batman reveals everyone's secret identity(like a badass) then takes off his cowl and they're all in shocked confusion. I mean that's baby girl Bruce Wayne, sunshine of Gotham as The Dark Knight. Then they all get really protective of him. They might've feared him before but now they know he's just baby. It doesn't matter that he can beat them all, he's baby... Idk I find the idea cute

Okay, so I love that scene dearly, but my heart screams for something more personal? If that makes sense? I'll take inspiration from one of my favorite Spider-Man identity revels.

Let's imagine this; The city, Gotham or Metropolis or just an unlucky piece of land that had a really bad day. Hal saw the building collapse first, coming down on them like an avalanche of death.

Hal isn't very good at brain work; He's not like Flash, who can map out an entire route in his mind in a blink, calculating escape routes, and distances, and lengths, and how fast he can run without injuring anyone.

He's not strategic like Wonder Woman, or pragmatic like Batman, or sensible like Superman. He's not the brainpower; But he's pretty damn good at acting like he's okay.

And withstanding that building because Superman got Injured, well.

He can do so with sweat raining down his temple and pain screaming in his system and a smile on his lips, "This is a really good arm work out, guys,"

" Hang in there, Lantern,"

He hears that you're doing great, Hal just well under his hero moniker from Barry. It's a good power up, if nothing else.

Wonder Woman rubs his shoulders before attending to the injured, helping them dig a way out before the oxygen dries out.

Another thing he's not good at is comforting people; He's lost to crying kids. Especially crying kids whose parents are paste under rubble and hubris.

His back is arching, his fire's going out. All he knows is that those little sniffles and whimpers in the hissing silence hurts worse.

The only person he can think would be worse than him at it is Batman; Stone masked, more shadow than person, a labyrinth of a man.

But Hal isn't paid to think for a reason, because Batman kneels by that kid, and places a fatherly hold on his shoulders, just like Hal's father used to do when he bruised his knees climbing trees.

He doesn't say anything, because there's nothing to say. Words aren't medicine, after all. He's just waiting, it seems like, until the kid speaks first, " My daddy's dead."

"...Yes. I'm sorry."

"But, -- but you were here. You're the justice league! No one dies when you're around! You're supposed to save everybody! So why-- why not him?!"

The weight gets heavier.

" Your father asked us to take care of you first. He protected you."

" You should've left me, then! What am I going to do now? I'm just, -- I'm just...A human."

" So am I."

" No, you're Batman. That's, -- That's not the same. You don't understand. "

Hal's vision is blurry and pained, bordering dangerously close to the deep dark void of unconsciousness, -- but he can't, he can't, God damn it Hal, be useful for once in your entire life, -- but he makes out a shadow moving.

He makes out the shape of Bruce's cowl, an armor, a secret, a mystery with no epilogue. Then he sees pale. Two dots of blue, sparkling from dark grey smudge.

When his vision sharpens, so does the tired face of Bruce Wayne.

"...Oh, holy shit."

" I do, " his voice changes, too, thought that may be just Hal's pumping eardrums playing tricks on him. He goes from grainy and rough to rain soft and porcelain. " I do know. Our pain isn't the same. But the way we can get through it, is. Together."

The kid falls in his arms. For just a moment, it seems like death won when the ring powers out.

"Shazam!"

" Hey guys," Shazam's pretty wheezy for a tank made of beef and godly hands, " Sorry for the hold up. Got stuck in traffic."

They make it out. They use the picture of Wonder Woman carrying him out on her back, and Green Arrow shoves it in his face at the first opportunity.

He doesn't expect them to stick around in the hospital. But he does need to know, " Okay, so, hopefully that wasn't a near death fever dream. But are you Bruce Wayne?"

He asks Batman, and Bruce answers, a tone of shyness not unlikely a new kid introducing himself to the class, " ...Yes. and you're Hal Jordan."

"...Was it the biceps that gave it away?"

He doesn't smile, but Hal doesn't expect him to.

" Well, I mean...I'm in for the long run with you guys," Barry offers them a dorky smile before taking off his mask, too. " My name is Barry Allen. And I'm the fastest man alive...Also a bit of a science nut. I need to see your gadgets, by the way. Your Kevlar durability is just amazing, I mean the way you somehow altered the material,--"

" Oh," Apparently, Batman can blush. It's pretty addictive.

One by one, they follow, all easy smiles, all trust.

" My name is Diana. Princess of Themyscaria. I enjoy ice cream and swords."

" My name is Oliver Queen, and if you want to make a gay joke, don't bother. I said them all and I'm getter at it. And you!" He points directly at Bruce with an arrow, " You're in so much trouble for not telling me about this!"

" You didn't tell me either."

" What kind of detective can't explain the white, blonde, rich, good looking guy apart from Green Arrow? Come on."

Hal has a suspicion Bruce already knew, but said nothing out of courtesy.

" Hal Jordan. I almost broke my spine for you, so, you're welcome for That."

Superman strokes the back of his neck and hunches his shoulders, " I'm, uh, Clark Kent. I'm a journalist for the Daily Planet. I, uh...Make a mean apple pie. Which I could really go for right now."

" Hey, you punched Lex Luthor in the face! Good on you, man."

Diana chuckles, " You'll have to make your famous apple pie for us some time."

" Sure. I like eating with friends."

Hal and Oliver are definetly discussing that blush on Bruce later.

They all turn to Shazam, who's been listening, quiet for once, before he blows a laugh, "Uh, yeah, pass. You guys are nice and all, but I'm more than fine with this. Just me. Good old Shazam."

Crack.

" Is that...Is that a fucking 10 year old?!"

" I'm eleven!"

" What the FUCK,--"

" Don't curse in front of the 9 year old!"

" Again, I am eleven!"

" Who let the 8 year old in!?"

" Wow. Adults really don't listen, huh."

Bruce quite literally shakes on one place, " Are, um, are your parents deceased by chance?" He sounds hopeful about it, too.

" So. A handsome pilot. The fastest dork alive. A badass princess. A good guy who punches hard. A bow and arrow. A weirdo. And a 5 year old. We're quite the group, huh?"

" Again. I'm 11."

" Until you don't bring me some pizza and a bear, you're nothing."

[maxwell-grant]

Any thoughts on the second Mr.Terrific?

I like him quite a bit. I'm not super well read on the guy but he feels like a character Jonathan Hickman would have made a star out of by now if he worked for DC, or at least an extremely Hickman-esque set of ingredients. He is not just an omnicapable genius Great Man of science and technology with spiritual or emotional or moral blindspots, but an omnicapable-yet-compromised Great Man who defines himself around an ideal and statement of intent that can clash with the practical reality around him. He quite literally wears on his sleeve his own arc words to be repeated for emphasis.

And there is a bit of a tension in his composition also in that, he wears the most straightforward possible motto taken straight from a Golden Age guy, he's defined one of the purest distilled ideals a superhero can wear ever put on paper, and has an origin about him taking up superhero work as a newfound and sole meaning in his life, but he is not a traditional superhero, he is a Doc Savage kind of guy modeled after the heroes of the bastardverse across the street. Much of his origin is defined around the fact that he is just not operating on the same wavelength everyone else is. He is very much not a bastard, it is important that he isn't, but still, Batman would not get invited to the Illuminati, where as Michael might. He helped form a rip-off of it, even.

But to me he also feels like a character who still needs some work put into him to reach something really great. He's a guy with a killer design and a pretty good origin and sometimes occasionally a cool personality and generally is very useful to have around as a handyman gluing plots together, but who always seems to sit at a weird middleground between Reed Richards, Tony Stark, and Not-Batman that keeps him rather undefined. In his present state he is a plug-and-play character to explain plots as they happen, rather than the center of uniquely interesting things himself. He sits at a middleground now where he is too big to be street level, but he's not powerful or big enough to save the world on his own, so he's forced to fill out the stuff in between usually in mediocre spy or tech guy roles.

On the other hand, that malleability can also be a strong point to him, the fact that you can insert him anywhere from detective stories to scaled all the way up to managing a Justice League. He has legacy baggage but he is not a guy you really need to explain, you can put him in the big leagues and big stories and he explains himself as is. And it seems that people kinda get that he should be a bigger deal than he actually is, that he is open to bigger and better and more interesting things to be done with him, but there needs to be more put into it. He needs his own set-ups. He is a cool design and a cool guy and within those, really cool ideas waiting to happen.

I have been really loving the set photos that have been coming out of James Gunn's Superman and particularly the ones with Mr.Terrific, it's making him click with me a bit more and I think the movie might be what pushes me to outright love him. Given Gunn's statement comparing Holt and the other heroes to workplace buddies, he just makes intuitive sense as a guy who does things with Superman at the weird sci-fi superhero job which they both have whether it's to knock asteroids out of orbit together or deal with runaway super dogs. There is a pretty lovely World's Finest kind of symmetry to them that I really hope to see expanded on.

[hollowsart]

Peter Parker's great struggle in his life is mostly the death of his uncle. that's technically the catalyst to his whole thing of becoming Spider-Man the superhero. We all know how this goes and plays out.

Gwen's great struggle in her life is the death of her best friend, Peter Parker, and less-so the fact her father is deeply against her. The loss of Peter affected her greatly and is a major driving point for her and her overall motivations afterwards and how she acts and reacts to things.

Mile's great struggle is similar to Gwen's in that it's the death of Peter Parker. but unlike Gwen's. Peter WAS Spider-Man before Miles. Miles felt like he could have saved him if he wasn't running away from the "responsibility" his powers gave him apparently. (comics he didn't make it there in time at all to do anything, while in the movie, he was too afraid although he did have the opportunity to intervene. he didn't take it, he ran away scared and filled with regret.)

Acedia, similar to Spider-Punk, doesn't have a great struggle that deals with loss. But unlike Spider-Punk whose struggle is with his entire world being fascist America run by President Norman Osborn, Acedia's struggle is within herself.

(cut for length)

it's a personal struggle. Anxiety, Social Anxiety specifically, can feel like a suffocating claustrophobic glass prison placed in front of a crowd of millions with a blinding spotlight constantly bearing down with a crushing intensity.

this struggle is both what makes her HER and is what also affects her life and her actions greatly. without it, she wouldn't be herself. She'd be like everyone else. she'd lose her character and uniqueness. Without her anxiety revolving around social interactions, with 1 more more people, she would just be.. boring.

There's nothing else there for her to have any real interest or conflict. She'd be like a Spider-Man variant whose uncle or parents never died. like a Batman whose parents are still alive and healthy and he's mentally and emotionally stable. a Superman whose home planet never exploded and he never went to Earth (ok wait that actually sounds interesting--).

Acedia's struggles with anxiety is literally her driving point. She does everything she does because of her anxiety and tries to work around it in some way to the best of her abilities. She struggles a lot in her own ways.

She was anxious when she rescued Otto. Anxious when he escaped the hospital. When she was being chased by Otto. When she confronted Mysterio for the first time.. and several times thereafter before feelings started to bloom. She was anxious when she had to try to figure out what to do when dealing with Electra. Anxious when she encountered Curt in the sewers after his unintended transformation.

And so many more instances than just those alone.

Only time she wasn't was when she was bit by the spider that hitched a ride in her bag from her visit to the lab. She was fine when she went to the lab, aside from the arachnid section of the tour. Fine when she got home. and fine when her powers started to show. She was excited and amazed about the powers, finding it fascinating and kind of fun. Learning how they work and what she can do.

She stopped being anxious with Otto after their first confrontation at Oscorp. She stopped being anxious with Mysterio after he waned off using his fear inducers in their subsequent encounters. She stopped being anxious with Vulture after she visited him after their first confrontation at Oscorp after Otto's incident.

Anxiety plays a huge part in Acedia's life. it's in the background, always present, but never the main focal point of the story.. it's still a major "character" in her overall story and life. It is a major controlling factor in her behavior, way she thinks, way she feels, way she acts and reacts.

[youngmasterwisdomperson]

I’ve been thinking a lot about what makes for a legitimately helpful superhero who isn’t just a cop with superpowers and even less accountability for their violent actions, and I think it largely comes down to whether I would consider their approach to hero work as more like that of a firefighter or, well, a cop. Because the stereotypical thing for a superhero to do is like, fight criminals, stop muggers, foil bank robberies, that sort of thing, but not a lot of superhero media acknowledges that crimes are largely just symptoms of large-scale socioeconomic and political issues.

I mean, sure, if you’re bullet proof or whatever and there’s someone who’s about to get shot, then by all means stop the guy with the gun. But crime fighting in my opinion shouldn’t be the main focus of any superhero. A great superhero only fights crime in the sense that a fireman might “fight” things like arson and building code violations. The primary goal of a superhero should always be to protect people from danger and take steps to ensure any given disaster doesn’t happen again, or if it does happen again, to ensure that they’ll be more prepared for it the next time around. A great superhero should be fighting to create a world that doesn’t need them anymore.

Well-written interpretations of Superman are especially good at this actually, with a very recent example in the form of the show My Adventures With Superman. This Superman’s goal is never once to fight the bad guys just for the sake of it or because they’re committing crimes and he thinks they ought to be put in jail or anything. In fact, I’m struggling to think of any example in that show where Clark’s motivation in a fight against the villain of the week was anything other than to get civilians out of harm’s way and then save the human bad guys from themselves. This Clark doesn’t want to hurt or imprison anyone! He’s extremely aware of his overwhelming strength and power and capacity to break things by accident, having grown up in a world that may as well have been made of cardboard, and when we see Supes out and about doing casual Superman things, the help he provides is almost never about catching criminals. Most of the time, he’s rescuing cats from trees, helping lost children find their parents, saving people from getting hit by cars, stopping bridges from collapsing, catching people who fall from high places, rescuing people from burning buildings, that sort of thing. This superman is a firefighter type to his very core.

Even when he defeats Dr. Ivo, a man who Clark has been shown to despise for the ways he’s been using his wealth to uproot people from their homes (and for the way he treats women), he doesn’t turn him in to the police. Instead, he notes his state of critical health as a result of the side affects of the Parasite suit, and brings him to the nearest ambulance. Even objectively horrible people who have done terrible things aren’t exempt from Clark’s desire to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Fighting supervillains was never about fighting evil for him. The goal was always to bring people to safety first and foremost, then to de-escalate the situation, neutralizing the source of the threat without causing anyone unnecessary harm. That is what Superman is all about.

Moving away from MAwS for the moment and into the characterization of Superman as a whole, I think that all too often Superman writers who don’t understand the point of the character undersell the importance of Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter in the ways Supes goes about helping make the world a better place. Far too often in media, superheroes serve only as defenders of an imperfect status quo. They prevent the villains from bringing about whatever change they have in mind that would make the world worse, but more and more often as of late supervillains have been written with pseudo-sympathetic goals and motivations. They’ll pay lip-service to real-world systematic problems and social issues, then proceed to immediately undermine the validity of their stated mission by attempting to fulfill their alleged motives through needlessly ruthless, violent and authoritarian means, which only serves to imply to the audience that any sort of societal change will only make things worse, and that the status quo is the best we can possibly hope for. A bad superman writer will have Superman help the world by punching bad guys really hard. A good superman writer will have him focus on protecting people and saving those in peril instead. But a great superman writer knows that Superman alone is not enough.

Saving people, while noble and righteous and something Supes alone could do to such an effective degree, is ultimately just a patch job. A great Superman fights for a world that no longer needs his help, and Clark Kent is a big part about how he does that. Systematic problems can’t be punched, and bulletproof skin can’t save people from it. Superman can’t encase police brutality in a block of ice, or cut systemic racism to bits with his laser eyes. The tools Superman uses to protect people in a direct, physical sense are therefore not the powers he needs to create real positive change. No, the only thing that can overcome that sort of monster is the spread of information. More specifically, the truth. That’s why out of all of Superman’s abilities, it’s his super hearing and X-Ray vision that offer him the greatest amount of power to enact positive change, because while both of those have their uses as the Man of Steel, they’re actually infinitely more useful to mild-mannered newspaper reporter Clark Kent.

Superman can take on pretty much any physical threat, which is why his greatest foes are always those who threaten the world with problems he can’t punch. Picture in your mind, if you will, Superman’s arch-nemesis. I don’t even have to say his name, do I? Sure, you might debate for a split second the importance of the more direct threats like Braniac, Doomsday, and Zod, but everyone knows who Superman’s true nemesis is, and it isn’t any of them. It isn’t anyone with special powers or the innate capacity to level entire cities, but instead Lex. Fucking. Luther. A human man. A rich CEO, a politician. The living personification of the problems Superman can’t punch. That’s why Clark Kent is so important. Because he’s a reporter for the daily planet. It’s his job to chase leads, seek out the truth and expose it to the world. And Clark hears everything. He knows how severely corrupt the police are, because he can hear them from his office. He knows how awful the prison system is, because he can see what goes on in there through multiple layers of concrete walls.

True, he has to hide his identity as Superman and thus can’t just tell his coworkers everything he sees and hears. And even if he could tell them, it would all amount to little more than hearsay. But Clark Kent can also just follow up on “anonymous tips,” or leave hints of a big story for his coworkers to find and sniff out for themselves. Honestly, being Clark Kent must take infinitely more restraint for Supes than being the Man of Steel, because if he follows up on too many tips or knows too well where to look for leads on too many scandals, he’ll draw too much attention to himself and lose his edge against the bad guys. Hell, even with ample amount of subtlety and restraint I wouldn’t be surprised if Clark came to earn something of a reputation around the office as the “spiders georg” of police corruption and political scandals. And all that on top of that one really good tumblr post about Clark cracking down on lead pipes in Metropolis. Like this man must be a journalism machine, the whistleblower to end all whistleblowers! Superman may be able to save the world, but Clark Kent is the one who can actually change it for the better.

Not to say Superman wouldn’t publicly speak out about these things as well of course. Save enough families from burning buildings and people are bound to start caring about what you have to say sooner or later. And what are the police going to do about it if fucking Superman calls them out? Shoot the man of steel? Arrest a guy who can melt through concrete just by looking at it? Call the fucking military to deal with a man who spends his time rescuing cats from trees and helping old ladies across the street? Superman represents everything that cops want us to think they are, and logically speaking he would fucking despise them. Because Superman stands for Truth and Justice. And all cops are bastards. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

[mdhwrites]

Why Can’t Clark Kent Control His Strength?

TL:DR: This Supes is only NOW starting to actually get used to his powers. He spent years fearing them and so when his nerves are high, he doesn’t have control because he used to be purely afraid of them. Afraid of what this other side of him can do and what it might do to others, despite his nature meaning that naturally he wouldn’t harm a fly which is a GREAT bit of characterization to go with the seemingly main theme of the show of “Who am I?” Who is Clark Kent, especially as he figures out who Superman is as well.

Spoilers for the first two episodes of My Adventures with Superman:

So this has been one of the topics I’ve seen thrown around about My Adventures with Superman (MAWS). In the first episode we get a couple cute and silly moments of Clark not quite controlling his strength and breaking something. He breaks his alarm clock when he wakes up, is practicing on his sink how to shake hands with Perry White before Jimmy yells at him, at which point he breaks it and then he also tears off the handle to a push door when he tries to pull on it.

However, the first scene of the show lets us know that probably around ten, and he’s probably in his early twenties during the current day, he gains his powers. That’s a LONG time to go without mastering your powers or at least being 98% in control. So what gives? Is this just a throwback to other superheroes? Just a cute gag? What?

Well first... He is 98% in control. Most of the time he doesn’t have any issues with his powers because when he’s not thinking about them or relaxed, they’re fine. In fact, in two episodes we’ve really only gotten this montage showing Clark not having control over his super strength... And only his super strength which actually makes a lot of sense, at least for Clark. Yes, he doesn’t want to be caught and superspeed would ruin his identity... But the strength hurts people.

And this Clark Kent doesn’t do that. Period. In fact, helping is so ingrained into his being that using his powers to help others is the most natural thing he can do. We see this with saving the cat, which he does fine, and we see it when at the end of the first episode, he has to rush out of nowhere to push Jimmy aside before a giant robot can kill him. Is Jimmy even hurt? Nope.

Because it’s natural to Clark. His body IS adapted to his powers, his mind just isn’t. So when he’s not thinking, not worried or doing what comes naturally to him, the powers don’t go out of control. They are perfectly fine for him and he can do what is necessary to help others.

And this actually makes a LOT of sense with how episode 2 begins. Episode 2 shows us that when he tried to get answers as a young boy, those answers almost hurt his parents. Not only that but scared the ever living shit out of him at the same time, reducing him to tears and never wanting to see the pod again, at least until as an adult he sees the true good, and potentially the necessity, of these powers. With that as context... Why the fuck would he have trained? Why would he be 100% with his powers? He has avoided using them as much as possible for over a DECADE.

So here comes one of the most important days of his life, he’s only just woken up, and he’s trying to calm himself. So he puts a little too much oomph in turning off his clock. When his buddy distracts, he yanks on the thing he was holding. When he forgets which way a door to a gas station opens, he accidentally puts too much strength into it. Buuuuut he doesn’t saving a cat because that’s how natural saving people is to him.

And this plays into the question posed three times in the first two episodes: “Who am I?” Clark doesn’t see these powers as an extension of himself yet. They are the scary specter that makes him abnormal. That makes him potentially hurt people if he messes up, or scare them with his oddity. Superman is not a part of who he is yet, even though who Clark Kent is is exactly why Superman exists at all as the paragon he normally is.

Could it just be for the gag? Absolutely. A good, lighthearted way to introduce Clark, and even have a parallel gag with Lois failing to turn off her alarm, while also implying that Clark is early in his powers and strength. That plays into the concept of the show and is charming. But I like that it can be read in a way that plays into the greater thesis and really emphasizes how this writing team is tackling early Superman.

And I think that’s super personally.

=======

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

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead, If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And finally a Twitter you can follow too!

[v0rd1g4n]

The Thundermans Return - Review

All right, as I already stated in Part 1, I really liked the movie. It was great how fast it got released, after they officially announced it back in 2023, less than a year later. I could even enjoy it with the mexican spanish dub (with the same voice actors and everything), as soon as it was available on Paramount+, which by the way was awesome.

However, I think they had a few problems to work with all these characters in the same story, and this is what I think...

The art of nerfing

From time to time, they seem to be forced to nerf their powers for the story to go on and putting about 15 characters with superpowers in a movie like this, quite frankly, is not an easy task. We would expect to see the twins stronger and experienced than ever and probably they are, but its more likely that they tried to balance things up.

I think this is like creating a Superman game, which by the way, is something people have been discussing for a while. You could try to make it perfectly accurate to how powerful he can get to be, which is practically a god, but this is just a lot to work with and that's why they need to nerf, either his superpowers or the city. Otherwise, the game would be boring.

All right, let's get to it. These are my thoughts...

Losing a lost battle

First of all, when the family go to stop Blue Flame, the Thundertwins didn't even use telekinesis against him. Only close range atacks like heat breath from a long distance, which has no sense. Especially for someone like Phoebe.

What about Max's gadgets? All we saw was the jetpack but none of his new inventions, maybe a repulsor gauntlet or something like that. I know the Thundermans were meant to fail on this save, but I just think it could've been better executed.

A lost opportunity

Also, when Max and Phoebe get caught by the V-Team, I would've liked to see an intense fight between them, maybe not as good as the one they have, later in the movie and then get defeated by a bad decision from one of the twins, for example.

Besides, they could've left a huge mess all around the headquarters, for President Kickbutt and her team to find and start to investigate the V-Team.

A missing fight

During the Thundermans house break in, again, it would have been cool to see a small fight before they show how Max and Phoebe were being tortured. Maybe even turning Dr. Colosso back into a human, to help them out or something.

The amount of destruction inside of the house with all those powers, would've been amazing. By the way, did you notice how Chloe walks out of the scene, right before the V-Team get in the house?

Prison break

Near the end of the movie, we learn that the V-Team had broken their parents out of prison, and again, a security camera shot of them taking a few guards down and breaking out of prison together, would've been enough for me.

We've only seen Metroburg Super Jail from the outside and the cells area, but that building looks massive. Also, did you see they forgot to add the Metrobug Superjail sign at the top of the building? This screenshot is from "Tunder In Paradise".

The band and the mothers hunter

Other things I would've liked to see, is Max and his band playing a song at Splatburger again and not only talking about rejoining the band. Maybe even having Gideon still dating Sarah, instead of trying to become the next Paul Finch, still obsessed with his friend's mother, I mean... come on dude, chill out! 🤣

Weird relationship

And of course, how could this be a Nickelodeon show/movie, without the mandatory awkward scene? Dr. Colosso, a grown ass man turned into a rabbit, had been using Max's old suit as a sooting blanket. It was funny though.

I think sometimes the writers jut forgot that Dr. Colosso was not a talking rabbit. Oh, and by the way... what happened to his son, Balfour? They didn't even mention him.

Interesting origin but bad executed

And last but not least important, I'd like to talk about the reason I said in Part 1, that the Power Plant was a terrible idea.

But don't get me wrong. The origin of superpowers was interesting, but if Hank and Barb had this source of powers at home all along, then why didn't they use the blue seeds to go stop Dark Mayhem after Max took their powers away with the power-sapping orb?

Obviously, this was years before the movie came out, but still, it kind of ruins the moment, now that I look back and know what was really there.

Budget and filming

Now, I don't know if the budget was pretty low for the movie to last only 1 hour and 10 minutes or if it was filmed in a short span, but maybe that's what happened, because I remember people saying the filming was over in less than a month, so that may be the reason we didn't get to see more cool stuff, but I don't know.

I'm just speculating.

Music

As for the music, I gotta say I really liked it, except for the V-Team's song. It was funny, but not my thing. The new version of the theme song played during the closing credits, was so cool and I don't know if you're gonna be with me on this, but the song we could hear during the final battle against Dark Mayhem, was great.

I even turned on the subtitles while writing this and look what it says in the background. Damn! I thought the movie was for kids 🤣

VFX

And finally the VFX. I did have in mind that the movie was family friendly, so the special effects we see during the entire movie, are practically an improved version of the ones we've previously seen on the TV Show, which is cool most of the time, but sometimes... it doesn't.

Thundercest

Did you really think I wasn't gonna talk about Thundercest here? Well, guess again. It would've been awesome to have another big hug between Max and Phoebe, just like the one we saw in "Thunder in Paradise", but we can't have everything, right?

It's weird, because Max and Phoebe share a lot of screen time together, but something feels different than the tv show vibes. Don't you think? Anyway, here's a couple pics of them together.

Errors

I wasn't sure if I should share these two errors I found while writing Part 1 and Part 2 because this is not a movie rant, but it's kind of funny now that I think about it. So here they are:

Did you notice how they changed She-Crab's claw from one arm to the other?

Or how Phoebe's footage was duplicated while blowing freeze breath at Dark Mayhem Jr.?

And as Forrest Gump would say: “That's all I have to say about that”.

Colosso, the skater

Oh, wait. I almost forgot... All of the promos and posters had a small picture of Dr. Colosso on a skateboard. Is a deleted scene or something? I guess we'll never know.

Look at that. I wanna see Dr. Colosso performing a few tricks on a skateboard.

#SpingarnCut

Ranking

All right, I rank this movie 8/10.

And this is it, guys. I hope I'm not forgetting something important. I've been writing Part 2 and this post for the last three days, so please tell me what you think about the movie, about my review and if you'd like to see more of The Thundermans soon.

How would you rank the movie?

Let me know all your comments.

[thisbelongsto-nohbodys]

With having just watched episode 4 of “My Adventures with Superman” and thus completing my “3 episodes to WOW me” test, I can safely say that I like it and I highly recommend it. (the 1st 2 eps is a 2-parter and I count multipart episodes as 1 since it’d be unfair to count half or a third of a story on it’s own, thus waiting till ep4)

Clark Kent is the lovable puppy himbo that we all know he is. Just a humble kid from Kansas who wants to help people, track down a story for the Daily Planet and saves cats from trees no matter how late he is. This being early Superman, it’s great to see him develop and learn about his powers overtime instead of being godmode almost immediately like in a lot of modern adaptations. For those that think that Clark is acting a little too nervous really need to go back to the earlier works and watch how actors like Christopher Reeves played Clark. Just a nervous, shy but good person who doesn’t draw attention to himself.

Lois Lane was a change that a lot of people didn’t see...especially that she is strikingly similar to Luz Noceda (tho’ Lois is Korean in this) but that doesn’t matter after a while since your quickly won over by how determined she is to break a big story and prove that she’s a real reporter instead of just an intern. Her and Clark having pretty much a “crush at first sight” type relationship is pretty cute in this as while it seems to be moving fast, it’s also taking it’s time... however the ending of episode 4 might toss a wrench in that for a bit. Lois is still that overeager ace reporter we all know except that she’s still got a lot to learn until she gets to the ace reporter we all know.

Jimmy Olson being a conspiracy theorist (a fun one, not the losers we have now) is an interesting change and I’m waiting to see how far they take this and what it’ll do to help the story along. Granted that for a bit of the Clark and Lois romance, Jimmy knows that they like each other but at the same time is fulfilling the typical anime 3rd wheel and interrupting things, tho’ not maliciously. Him and Lois have a neat dynamic together and him being best friends and roommates with Clark makes sense and hopefully we get an episode showing how they met and became friends.

The villains have been neat takes on the classic ones, like  so far we have Livewire, Deathstroke, Parasite, Ivo, Silver Banshee. I’m actually very glad we haven’t gotten Lex Luthor yet because I’m so sick of the movies using him as the main villain for Superman. I know that Lex is the Joker to Superman’s Batman but it’s great that the other villains are getting a chance to shine without Lex around. Also just like with my mentioning that this is early Superman, that also means the villains aren’t the villains that we know, I’ve seen so many people complain that they “ruined” Deathstroke by anime-ifying him but they forget that this isn’t the Deathstroke we know, this is before the orange/black mask and getting his ass kicked by teenagers on the regular. Let these things build up, y’all. (Also, I’ve seen ppl wanting to see this show’s version of Bruce Wayne and like, c’mon. let Superman have something without the Bat for at least another season)

So yeah, I highly recommend this show atm

[rex101111]

Finally gotten around to watching the three so far released episodes of My Adventures with Superman (in a way that is Totally Legal(TM) I Swear), and I love it! Its very sweet, very cute, just a really sunshine show with a lot of room to grow and some nice intrigue thrown in right away to let quietly simmer throughout it, very good.

A few noteable things i liked:

* Superman. Supes is...so good here. Just the perfect blend of modern Good Boy Shonen Protag and classic Farm Boy Clark he’s been since the 90′s. He’s a delight. Specifically I really liked how they established how central his “I’m here to help” thing to his character right off. He had a kite stuck on a tree, and his powers didn’t awaken when he wanted to this (very very slightly) selfish thing. A person is in danger? His powers roar to life right away. Pitch Perfect Superman.

* Lois!! She’s such a delight, honestly. Its a bit jarring since I just finished binging the old Superman cartoon from the 90′s, in which Lois is the hardass experienced reporter she’s been in just about everything since the late 90′s, but new Lois here is still very recognizably Lois Lane, the reporter that doesn’t think twice about putting herself in danger for a story, she’s just more puppy dog about because we get Intern Lane for the first time in a while. A thing I really liked about her is that, yeah, she wants to interview Superman for the big scoop...but her initial and main driving motivation for that is that she wants to say thank you to the person who saved her life. That’s just great.

Also also these two are totally a Gohan X Videl Au fanfic with the names changed and I am all for it lets fucking GO.

 A couple things I’m undecided on:

* Fuckboi Deathstroke is...a choice. That’s for sure. I’m really torn because im so used to Slade being this totally in control, always scheming older dude with a rancid vibe you can only get from dating a 15 year old. (YEAH THAT’S A THING, YOU THINK HIS DYNAMIC WITH TERRA WAS FUCKED IN THE CARTOON??? HOW LITTLE YOU KNOW). So him being this young is throwing me. Granted, he’s still a douche, and a slimeball, and he introduces Amanda Waller into the narrative right away and I am always game for The Wall to show up and make things difficult, so I’m in the middle here. Lets see what they do.

* I want to like Jimmy, I do, but there’s just something about his energy that seems too...desperate. I dunno I think he needs a bit more fine tuning with his writing because he’s just a bit...too much for me. Which is not that bad honestly, he has his good moments, specifically when he teases Lois about Clark, but unlike those two he’s too surface level. Sure he and Lois stick around to help people but that’s...basic. Lois is driven to be a real reporter and is willing to stick her head into any bear trap that looks interesting enough. Jimmy is a...conspiracy theorist...lovely.

Okay, real talk, can we stop making conspiracy theorists main characters? Or treat it as some cute quirk? Because I swear these guys are never likeable enough to hold major screen time every episode. I swear if Jimmy says some bullshit about Lizard People I am going to McFreakin lose it.

And just because he’s right about the aliens and meta-humans and all the other shit doesn’t make that gimmick any less annoying! Give the guy something else! If he isn’t Superman’s Pal anymore, okay sure fine shifting dynamics is fine, but maybe give more weight to him and Clark knowing each other since college? Maybe have him visit his folks and show off how much he cares for Clark as a friend more specifically without the tinfoil hat bullshit? Please?

Anyway major nitpick above besides, good show! Go watch it! In a way that is totally legal but is sure to not give anyone in WB any money. 

[ordinaryschmuck]

Quick Thoughts on Echo

I feel like Echo is going to be one of those shows where, depending on who you are, you're either going to REALLY love it or REALLY hate it. For me, though, I'd say it's...MOSTLY good.

The action is well-done and well-choreographed (don't let people tell you differently). You feel the punches and impacts a lot of the time, showing off how brutal and violent a character like Maya Lopez is.

It's also great to see the MCU get dark and gritty again, killing people, showing blood, and diving deep into the darkness of a character's backstory. They really did show a little girl watch as her mom bled to death, huh?

As for the characters, almost everyone here is written and acted well. Maya, especially, works as this character shrouded in darkness that her family tries hard to bring back into the light. And her family are all charming as can be, with the performances being entertaining and allowing each actor to do well to sell that they care deeply for Maya despite her shortcomings.

Then there's the representation, which I'm told is on point. Marvel worked well with the Choctaw Tribe to make this as authentic as possible, and I'm willing to take their word for it. I'm too white to know how authentic all of this is, but I haven't heard anyone other than other white people complain so I think it's fine. But...Okay, there are SOME negatives to be had with how it connects to her powers.

In the show, Maya has the powers to reach out to her ancestors, where their strength ECHOES through her and her bloodline, making THEM strong. Each episode even shows us one of her ancestors and just what made them so cool and empowering. And, yeah, that's a cool concept with half-decent execution, and I like all the different ways each ancestor is represented. The problem is...that isn't Echo. That couldn't be FARTHER from Echo. Echo's powers in the comics is that she's kind of like Taskmaster, she can memorize a person's fight moves and stand out on her own because of it. The reason why she doesn't do that HERE is because the person in charge of this series saw that and said, "Nah, that's stupid. I'm going to do my OWN thing." And call me crazy, but if you can't find a way to make a superhero's powers cool in an adaptation, then maybe...DON'T write for that character?

Because I already went over this with Ms. Marvel. The superhero's powers are their most important feature. Spider-Man swings, Superman flies, and Hulk smashes, it's a whole thing. You change the power, and it's not the same superhero anymore. And it's a weird change too. Like, this character doesn't need big, glowy superpowers to be badass. It sort of takes the punch out of the fact that she's this disabled hero who kicks butt despite being deaf and missing a leg. Give her superpowers, and it gives this idea that she NEEDS them to prove that she's capable instead of...proving that she can do it despite her disabilities. It's why I liked Episode Three within this first season. It shows how resourceful Maya can be in a dangerous situation with the episode hinting that her ancestor's spirit is guiding her gunshots and aim, but not enhancing her strength and abilities. THAT is how I think the power change could work better, where the ancestors' spirits guide Maya but leave her own strengths to win the day. None of that weird glowing shit. You don't need weird glowing shit if all she's fighting is the Kingpin.

Speaking of which, Kingpin's in this...And he's not as engaging as he was in Daredevil. The show tries SO HARD to force this relationship between Fisk and Maya, and...it doesn't work as well as it should. Like, Maya's rage towards Fisk? I buy that. THAT works. Fisk's love for Maya? It...feels disingenuous and almost out of nowhere, especially since Hawkeye didn't do much to show us that bond in the first place. The writers COULD HAVE, but they wanted to leave Kingpin as this big surprise just to get audiences to cheer. And I'd say that'd it be for the best to save the real bonding moments with Echo and Kingpin for ECHO'S show, making it more about her, but...it falls short. There's not enough time to showcase Maya's relationship with Fisk BEFORE the big betrayal, and it hurts the show and Kingpin's character considerably with how badly he's shoehorned in. I do like this one idea in the end where he faces his trauma and there's some decent set up for what lies in the future. Other than that, he...doesn't work well here.

Overall, I'd say Echo works fine enough. When it's good, it's REALLY engaging and some of the MCU's best work. When it's bad, it's pretty awkward and obviously rushed out. I'd still recommend it as a great time as these five episodes just fly by with some epic, brutal fun. But if you want something that hits the same highs as Daredevil, you're going to be disappointed. This isn't Daredevil, this is Disney trying to BE Daredevil. It works fine enough, but let's hope these edges are polished out by the time Daredevil: Born Again comes out or, at the very least, Echo gets a Season Two.

(Also, don't worry about having to watch Hawkeye. The first episode catches you up quick...It's poorly paced and rigid, but it still catches you up if you want to watch Echo for, well, Echo)

[spongebobafettywap]

It's so weird how by giving Nightcrawler 1) a prophecy, 2) a weird and overly complicated origin story and 3) a "chosen one" label, he became way less interesting and special as a character

The prophecy showed that technically the world would have been fine without him until Azazel decides to do a takeover... Which only happens when Nightcrawler is like what ? 30+ years old ? Meaning : The X-Men and Excalibur ? Fine. Every X-Men story and plotline that featured him would have went down the same even if he wasn't there. Don't believe me ? It's pretty much stated that Nightcrawler being part of the X-Men wasn't something that was predicted/part of the plan. His entire time as an X-Men and saving the world apparently doesn't matter in either shaping who he is or changing the world and his friends ever so significantly. This low-key makes any time Nightcrawler was involved in anything be pointless since the universe would have found a way around it to make things happen the same as 616 canon.

The overlycomplicated origin story is a staple of the superhero comics genre so the more complicated a character's is the more cliché and boring a character gets by rule of "your past is your present and future actually". When Nightcrawler was the result of an affair that backfired, the way he came out being unknown to either of his parents and his life being up to him since neither cared about him beyond him existing (Mystique needed him to keep her lavish life and Azazel needed him for his schemes : Him being a good or bad person didn't matter to them in any way so that was always up to him to make all his choices in life) made his struggles in life mean so much more and feel real. Now, everything was planned about him and the character we see today was specifically molded to be this way from birth with outside intervention making sure he never stays from that, even tho he never would have by design.

The chosen one bit makes him by far the most pathetically useless chosen one in the history of chosen ones : The X-Men setting has every tool and every character possible that could have stopped Azazel by the time he did a takeover. Any shapeshifter could have pretended to be Nightcrawler when the time came, any of Azazel's kids could have been convinced to do what Nightcrawler did. When he was around, Nightcrawler needed the X-Men to stop him both times, Nightcrawler needed a power nullifying collar to stop him the last time. The only key contribution Nightcrawler brought to the table was through his blood ties to Azazel (as his biological son) which were needed on both occasions... But now, since he's "no longer related to Azazel", anyone's blood could have literally been used. He wasn't even the one to definitely put a stop to Azazel in 616, an alternative reality version of him (the Bamf Dragon) did who neither looks, acts, thinks or is made like him. That version of him didn't even put a stop to his own Azazel as far as we know so there's a world out there that's apparently out of balance. The chosen one trope has a character "being framed as the inevitable hero of the story" but Nightcrawler's entire existence is null in the great scheme of things if he was brought to this world to stop Azazel as anyone could have done what he did.

Agreed with what you said and wanted more people to see it so I'm publishing this ask.

It's also just like with origin stories the best ones are simple and memorable, Spider-Man got bitten by a radioactive spider, Superman baby refugee from a dead planet, Batman witnessed his parents murder and vowed to fight crime for their memory.

Nightcrawler's was a Demonic Mutant and a Shapshifting Assassin had an unexpected child who grew up to be a hero. Now it's Nightcrawler is technically the offspring of Azazel, Mystique and Destiny so all those references to him being a blood relative are still true but we needed to shoehorn Destiny into his backstory and also there's a prophecy he is going to defeat Azazel who is now the strongest Marvel being as evidenced by the prophecies depiction of him defeating everyone unless Kurt exists.

[latveriansnailmail]

Justice League in D&D

Today's thought experiment for my idle mind while my hands were doing work. This is in response to those videos I see in my recs along the lines of, How To Play This Jackoff Or Other In D&D5E!!! I never click on them because I usually don't see the point and I know I'll disagree anyway but today I went down a mental rabbit hole because why not? It's whatever, something to think about.

To simulate the Big Seven mainstays of the JLA I think we can all agree that they'd be very high level if not top tier and we'd need a DM who was a pushover and actively trying to facilitate this outcome. A couple of these guys, namely Superman and Martian Manhunter, are going to be outlandish. Here's what I have:

Batman This one's easy. Everyone argues that he's got Monk levels and I could be convinced that he has a couple but I see him as Standard Human for those unrealistic stats, Noble background (quite possibly the Knight), and stack levels of Inquisitive Rogue to the heavens. Use a feat for Improved Unarmed Strike (or whatever they call it nowadays) and boom, you've got a rich human being with skills and expertise out the yin yang who specializes in stealth, surprise attacks, investigation, and foiling villains more powerful than himself.

Green Lantern Another easy one. Variant Human with a Willpower type feat to push those wisdom saves to the heights. Soldier background for Stewart or (yawn) Hal; Guild Artisan background for Kyle. Straight Sorcerer with a focus on force constructs like Bigby's Hand, as well as Flight and anything that'll help survive the void of space.

Wonder Woman Another straightforward one but with an odd choice for race: Goliath. She is made out of earth, after all. Noble Background. Full levels of Oath of Redemption Paladin. Get a feat for deflecting projectiles and some magic gear and skew her spells towards influence, but she won't be using them because for the most part she'll be funneling them into Smites. She is a great advocate for peace but she will annihilate anyone who violates the peace. Rest in peace or rest in pieces.

Aquaman (Arthur Curry) The last straightforward one, I'd say Sea Elf with (again) a Noble background. I don't think Druid because he doesn't wild shape and does use metal. Instead, full levels of Beast Master Ranger.

Flash (Barry Allen) Here's where we have to start getting weird. Standard Human, maybe Folk Hero background? Dude's popular. Then we multiclass him Monk/Wizard. I did say weird. You would think Open Hand but I say Drunken Master with Alchemist's Tools subbed out for Brewer's Supplies. Then perhaps War Mage for the improved initiative. Take spells of Passwall, Lightning Bolt, Planar Shift, it's doable.

Martian Manhunter Now we're going to needle that indulgent DM. The best way I figured out to make him was, get this, race: a friggin' TROLL: strength, reach, regeneration, and a vulnerability to fire. Background Sage or Soldier (Sage suits better). Then, get this, Whispers Bard with the instruments swapped for skill proficiencies. Polymorph, Disguise Self, LOTS of influence spells, Passwall from Magical Secrets, and then mundane social Skills and useful proficiencies. WACKY. I made him a Bard. I am on some bullshit.

Superman And finally there's the Man of Steel. I warned you that bullshit was afoot and we'd need a fool of a DM. The thing is, Supes is not in Player Character Race/Background/Class territory. He doesn't actually have that many powers, just stats that are out of this world. He's not a fighter or a caster or an expert, he's just a power fantasy and his abilities all boil down to his Kryptonian heritage. We're not talking PC but rather a Monster. I say start with the Empyrean as a template (CR 23!!!) and modify size and flight and such from there. Give him disadvantage on saves versus spells from Arcane casters. Pepper the world with two types of magical rocks, one of which weakens and poisons Kryptonians and the other of which messes with his personality.

So yeah, there's today's bullshit. What's your take? I'm genuinely curious but don't call me wrong. Of course I'm wrong. These characters don't belong in D&D.

[neutrulycynical]

Ancient Games

Aka idk why I spent so long rewriting the song to fit but I made it anyway.

[Shazam]

Clockwork, master of time, I beseech you to be fair

Now, i came to correct a crime in your lair

With hopes to save a world

With people who did no wrong

In the name of justice

[Clockwork]

Divine intervention, is that what you meant?

To untie apprehensions by your government?

You are playing with thunder for a world full of shame

But if they’re worth the risk of going under

(spoken)

Why not make it a game?

Convince each of them that they ought to be released

And I'll reverse the damage

[Shazam, spoken]

Who's them?

[Clockwork, spoken]

Nocturn, Frostbite

Undergrowth, Fright Knight

Pandora or me

What do you say?

[Nocturn, spoken]

Great

[Frostbite, spoken]

Vеry well

[Undergrowth, spoken]

Eh

[Fright Knight, spoken]

Alright

[Pandora, spoken]

Excellent

[Shazam, spoken]

Bring it

[ENSEMBLE]

Nocturn

[Nocturn]

You all know I'm a fan of eternal sleep

But with the prince, everybody weeps

I think Earth sowed and now they reap

[Shazam]

They didn’t understand the difference

All they did were out of ignorance

But the rest should rest in peace

To live another day and dream in bliss

[Nocturn, spoken]

If that's true, release them

[ENSEMBLE]

Frostbite

[Frostbite]

Trust is delicate like ice

Why should they not pay the price?

When they refuse to give us rights?

[Shazam]

Did you forget they failed to listen?

He (Phantom) was betrayed and then imprisoned

But if you make the right decision

We can still heal our trust with those who miss them

[Frostbite, spoken]

Fine, release them

[ENSEMBLE]

Undergrowth

[Undergrowth]

Your little high and mighty league of justice

Claims to uphold virtue, but our cries, they dismiss

[Shazam]

They were busy fighting

[Undergrowth]

More like busy spiting each other

Let them feel the pain that our prince felt and rot

[Shazam, spoken]

Wait

[Shazam]

Please reconsider this

[Fright Knight]

Really, Shazam? These old tricks?

[Shazam, spoken]

Fright Knight

[ENSEMBLE]

Fright Knight, Fright Knight

[Fright Knight]

What kind of sick coward holds back their power

While our prince gets devoured?

They didn't even fight Waller, didn't even try to kill her

Hides inside a watchtower to get the job done

Never handles things upfront

Pathetic and weak without your sun

[Shazam]

Hold your tongue now, Superman's my friend

And tell Undergrowth that this isn’t the stories end

You want more justice? Then set them free

To get back to our world, where their fates are guaranteed

[Undergrowth & Fright Knight, spoken]

Ugh, release them

[Pandora, spoken]

Hey, hero

[ENSEMBLE]

Pandora

[Pandora]

So many heroes, so many tales

Give me one good reason why yours should prevail

[Shazam]

He's got the mind of a genius (Batman)

[Pandora]

Try harder

[Shazam]

He's pretty skilled with words (Superman)

[Pandora]

You can do better than that

[Shazam]

He's kind of funny (Flash)

[Pandora, spoken]

Eh

[Shazam, spoken]

Wonderwoman is in our Justice League!

[Pandora, spoken]

Release them

[Shazam, spoken]

I've played your game and won, release them

[Clockwork]

You dare to defy me, to make me feel shame?

[Clockwork, spoken]

No one beats me, no one wins my game

[Clockwork & ENSEMBLE]

Timeline, watch her through it all

Show them I'm the judgment call

The one who makes their timeline fall

[Fright Knight, spoken]

Is he dead?

[Instrumental Interlude]

[Shazam]

Let them go, please

Let them go

An Ancient's Game

It started off small at first. A robbery in Metropolis. A missing persons case in Gotham. An 'accident' in Amity Park. None of it connected. Nobody thought to connect them. It was just another case after all. There would always be another case so sometimes things slipped through the cracks. It happened.

Even heroes made mistakes after all.

They overlooked things.

But in the end they messed up and someone had to pay and someone did when Clark Kent heard his wife and son’s heartbeats vanish off the face of the earth during a somewhat quiet afternoon while he was handling a disaster in France.

He was the man of steel though, he could have made it. He should have made it but he was a second too late. His family was gone and Metropolis felt the fury of the old gods as a being made of wind and storms ripped its way free of an unseen portal cackling with mad laughter as it devastated the city.

It was another distraction though.

A massive distraction that drew the Justice League's attention away from the real prize as nightmares descended on Gotham like shadows. They morphed from the darkness slipping out through the cracks like ghosts and only Oracle saw the fight as they swarmed the youngest Robin, the Dark Knight's youngest son vanishing under an endless tide of nightmares as Nocturn took control of Gotham's nightlife.

More distractions followed as more and more of the old gods, Ancient beings long forgotten returned to Earth.

Storms raged.

The ground quaked.

Creatures of myth and legend were free to run wild as reports of everything from dragons to even yetis flooded the Watchtower.

In the end it was Diana who found their first and only clue when one of her mother's messengers appeared warning them of Themyscira's fate when a portal was opened for Undergrowth deep within the island's jungles. They fought. They fell. Then they were turned into mindless puppets bent to the monster's will as the sounds of war subsided into silence within a matter of days.

Her losses gave them a name.

Undergrowth, a creature of the green who cheered the being known as Clockwork while Constantine explained its origin.

He told them of Cronos, of the pieces of him that had formed into a new life deep within the endlessness of Infinity.

And Fate opened the way.

The first thing the gathered heroes saw was a massive clocktower surrounded by gears and pistons twisting in every direction as they spilled out into an endless void. Each tenth of a second, the hands on the clocktower click one step forward.

A single tooth on one of the smaller gears is easily the size of the Watchtower and no matter how far anyone looked there was no beginning or end to the clocktower.

There was nothing except the click, click, click of endless clocks as they stormed the Titan's lair.

Nothing stopped them.

There were no enemies or traps.

In fact the doors were left wide open as if welcoming the Justice League inside and they soon discovered why when Shazam found them. Superboy stood on a scale across from Luthor, the same with Robin and Waller. They were frozen in time, trapped in a single second of a moment while in the very middle of the massive room was a kid, easily Jon's double sleeping on a throne made out of the void of space but that wasn't what had him worried.

What worried him was the silence, the sudden nothingness in his mind as the voices of the gods empowering him faded away in the presence of the cloaked figure of Cronos suddenly standing beside the throne.

Even as the other heroes flooded into the room he couldn't hear anything besides a soft click, click, click as Superman was waved away forced into a loop of repetition that began and ended with his first step forward.

Green Lantern fell next, rapidly aged into an old man unable to match a Titan's will.

Then Constantine collapsed clutching an invisible wound on his chest. It was his contracts forcing him to obey while Fate eventually faded under time's cold embrace.

There were only a few heroes left when Flash made a move blitzing the throne only to suddenly lose his speed. The others simply glitched, like static on an old tv leaving only Shazam, J'onn and surprisingly Lois Lane standing in front of Cronos as he declared a game to decide Earth's continued existence.

'Convince each of them you're worth another chance and I'll restore everything.'

'Who's them?'

I don't really know what I was going with here. I was just listening to some of the songs from Epic and figured why not let an enraged Clockwork have some fun. I'm blaming Vlad for everything cause I can and he's done it before and caused a ton of problems for everyone else so I'm just picturing something he did or tried to do backfiring badly enough that Danny got seriously hurt so now everyone's gotta pay.

[originaltyphoonkryptonite]

Chapter 23: The Dunkel Clan Comes To Town

Zella pov

I hum as I help Alfred clean some dishes. "Sorry that me and Dick are staying here until the baby is born. But on the plus side, we didn't really plan a honeymoon anyway."

"Think nothing of it Mrs. Grayson! Besides......I really doubt ANY of the bat family will want you too far away right now. At least Master Bruce has the apartments renovated into one large one for a wedding gift for you and Master Grayson and it is already done.", he replies as he washes the dishes then hand them to me to dry. "Well Master Bruce and Mr. Kent's wedding gift. Having Superman doing the work makes it done faster and ensures that the work is done by the best."

"Just gives you more time to figure out where to have one if you want one.", Gus says as he takes the dried dishes and put them away. "And very true old friend. Clark gets a nice check he can save for a rainy day for a few days work. Wally also paid off the favor he owed me by helping those two with the apartment."

"All are very true.", I giggle as we work.  "So, you sold your old apartment?"

"I did. Then bought the building that is apart of the building of your place. Gonna open a cafe on the ground floor, have Lina work there. Us two would be having the two upper floors."

"That's not a bad idea Gus! You and Mrs. Grayson could have a book-cafe together!", Alfred says with a smile.

"That is a great idea Gus.", I say as I smile as well. "And sorry for making a midnight snack and a mess."

"Don't be!", Alfred turns to me with a mock glare. "Besides, that just means there are snacks for when the family returns from patrol."

We all pause as we hear barking and yipping.

"Looks like Cippia and Haley are having fun...it boggles the mind that anyone would hurt a sweet pup like her just because she is missing a leg.", I say as I hear them coming closer.

Awhile back, about a month ago, Dick found the poor girl when on patrol. We were staying with Gus and my sister for a week or two to get caught up with her life and mine. Then of course afterwards, Bruce insisted Dick, Aileen, Gus, Haley, Cippia and I move into the manor for the rest of the pregnancy. We couldn't exactly refuse the offer, the rest of the bat clan were very insistent as well. 

Aileen knows the family secret so no worries about her finding out. I personally think she has a crush on Jason who she is near the same age as. Gus was smirking when he told us her favorite hero was always the second Robin, then when she got older the Red Hood when he came on the scene. I think he and Alfred are planing to play matchmaker again. And the funny thing is, I think Bruce is encouraging them.

"Well Cippia never had a puppyhood so he is making up for it by being the best big brother he can for the little girl.", Gus says as he gets some dog treats ready.

I smile as I watch the two wag their tails as they gobble up the treats. "Good practice for when the baby comes."

"So Dick thinks that it is a boy still?", Gus asks as he goes back to putting the dried dishes back.

"Yes. Though I personally just want the baby to be happy and healthy.", I say as I hand Gus the last bowl then go to sit down. "And if they have powers, then I won't shame them for having them. I WON'T let them go through what I did."

"Well said.", Alfred says as he hands me a cup of tea. "Here, good for morning sickness."

"Thank you Alfred.", I say then take a sip.

"You're welcome, my dear.", he says as he and take a seat at the table with me.

"So......I heard Roy started a betting pool on the gender and whether they will have Dick's parents' names as the first name. Dick joined in."

"Why in the world would he do that? .............what did he say?", Alfred asks with a mischievous grin.

"He says boy and that the name of the baby won't be John."

"I did say we could name the baby after his parents depending on the gender.", I say as I take a bite of the cookies we made. "But he said he'd be fine with his father's name being the baby's middle name. So I made a deal with him. If he is right about it being a boy, he can name the baby. But if it is a girl, I name her, and I told him that she will have Mary as the first or middle."

"That sounds fair enough."

"Just wish I could get him to stop singing you are my sunshine to my belly every time he comes back from patrol, or even just being five minutes away from me.", I sigh.

"And if he isn't singing it, he's humming it......well guess we have an idea of the baby's nickname now.", Alfred says with a wry smile.

I just groan. "He's lucky he is cute....."

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

Dick pov

I have a goofy grin on my face as I soar through the air.

"Hey slow down Dickwing!",I hear call from behind me so I stop on top of a tall tower.

"Ever since your wedding you been more annoying then normal.", Red Hood says as he lands beside me. "Poor Phantasma."

"Really? Why is everyone liking her more then me!?", I say with false hurt.

"Because she is better?", I hear the new girl 'Goldfinch' reply. "I mean.......it's kinda obvious?"

"Remind me WHY  having Lina work under Oracle was a good idea again?", I pout.

"Because Nightwing,", Oracle responds with no doubt a smirk, "It wouldn't hurt to have someone trained to do my job if something happens."

"I thought Agent G was being trained?", Hood asks.

"He is, but he will be more kinda like Agent A but for the superhero team in Bludhaven along side Goldfinch. He will also be more of a medic."

"Either way,  if Oracle or Agent A is sick, injured, or worse, we have some backups.", I say with a shake of my head. "B's idea.....one of his backup plans. Though I have to admit....this is a valid worry to have so."

Red Hood snorts. "We are NEVER telling him he was right....he won't let us live it down."

"Do I look like I want to deal with him being smug?"

"Hey Hood,", we hear Goldfinch suddenly ask. "We still up for self defense training later?"

"Yeah we are."

"Good, we'll check in on you two later.", she says as she hangs up the comms.

"Self defense training?", I start to ask.

"Hey! Not training her to be like us, just enough to get away should something happen."

"But why with you? I.." I pause in speaking and start to smirk. "Aw. My little brother is growing up!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"YOU LIKE GOLDFINCH?!"

"W-What!? Are you insane!? Wait...what am I asking of course you are insane. But anyway! N-no I don't!"

"Well even if you don't I am pretty sure she does LIKE you.", I say as I sit on the ledge of the building.

"No way she does.", he sighs as he sits next to me. "But let's say she DOES like me like that......how are you so sure?"

"Hood..... she's not over with her crush of the second Robin who now is Red Hood....then we need to have refresher lessons on your detective skills."

"Wait.......she had a CRUSH on me back when I was Robin?"

"Is that all you got out of what I just said?"

"I guess it is kinda obvious now that I think about it...."

I smile but then frown. "We're being watched."

We go to stand up and when we do, we see a figure covered head to toe in black run across the roof then dive off.

"What the fuck!?", Hood says as we dive after but stare in shock at the figure's arm turns into a large hand to grapple around the rooftops.

"Well....that's new.", I say as we give chase. "Think we should call it in?"

"Nah, might be just Nighthound trying out a new form or something....what? If he can change sizes or add things, then why can't he be able to turn into a human form?"

The figure soon lands near the docks and runs into a abandoned warehouse and we enter.

"Where did he go?", I ask.

Suddenly, there are a bunch of figures melt out of the shadows and surround us. Some on the catwalks, others hanging upside down on support beams, and some blocking the door ways and windows. Even the skylights looked like it had at least ten surrounding each one.

"OK....safe to say...it's not Nighthound.", Hood says

I snort as I get my weapons ready. "Gee...who could have guess it wasn't."

"Yeah, yeah. Just call it in already."

"I am afraid you won't be able to.", we hear a voice from the darkest part of the building. "We need to get Phantasma's attention and what better way then having Nightwing follow one of us so we can have a chat."

And despite how cliche it is, a older man with what looks like a reverse of Jay's hair steps out of the shadows His green eyes the exact same shade of green as Zella's.

"So.....shall we chat?", he asks.

[daydreamerdrew]

Action Comics (1938) #782 and Action Comics (2016) #1066 and Superman (2023) #15

I really need to do a proper reread of all of Lena’s appearances because I don’t think I noted before just how direct the parallel was between these two scenes. not just Lena instinctively begging her father not let Brainaic take her again vs. Lex yelling that he won’t let him take her again. but also Lex quickly moving on from Lena having been taken vs. him saying that he’ll protect her even if it kills him. and then Lex using Jimmy Olsen as a back-up conduit and trying to enact a plan that kills Superman and Lena but saves everyone else vs. Lex declaring to Lena his intention to risk his own life to “save you… and my friends.”

also, Lena’s great line that “You’d be s-surprised what meat is capable of… when the heart is involved” was her reacting to what Superman managed to do that made Lex’s plan unnecessary, defeating the threats without sacrificing anyone.

it is so compelling for Lena, who was raised by Brainiac 13 to think negatively of mere ‘meat’ and to try to be like him instead, who then sided with Lex over Brainiac 13 because she understood why he sacrificed her and that “we must sometimes eat our young,” though Lex then went on to try to sacrifice her again, to in the end identify herself with Superman doing the impossible because of his ‘heart,’ which is really what Lena was doing herself in verbally resisting Brainiac 13 in the position she was in. I will say that current Lena immediately aligning herself with Superman when she first appeared does make sense to me because of that characterization.

Superman (2023) #15 portrays Lex as crying after all that in Action Comics (1938) #782 was over and he was given baby Lena back because of the stress from that he couldn’t certainly protect Lena from Brainiac in the future and because “I didn’t deserve you.” it’s a stretch because he was just talking before about being remorseless about giving her to Brainiac, that he felt a little bad but justifying what he did as necessary. I know it’s tricky because Joshua Williamson is trying to connect two very different periods of Lex’s publication history. it’s a decent concept to have Lex have his big epiphany over what he did to Lena and want to try and be a better person for her, but Lex being a bad person but a good father isn’t as interesting to me because it was their prior messed-up dynamic that compelled me, and Lex being a good person and a good father is even less interesting.

to clarify my perspective, I do think that original Lex also genuinely loved Lena, and I think the specifics of the context in which he traded Lena away is really important. at that moment Lex-Corp was completely destroyed and Lex had nothing except for Lena. and then Brainiac 13 offered Lex technology, which would not just make him as powerful as he was before, but even moreso because it was technology from the far future. for example, Lex having control of the B-13 technology and the positive press of what he did with it is a big part of how he was later elected President of the United States. I think those circumstances are uniquely why Lex was able to make decision he did, though I don’t think they’re the only possible circumstances he could have done it in.

and I think that how flippant Lex acted to Superman after trading Lena away, saying that he could always make another child, wasn’t reflective of his true feelings. and that things like visiting her nursery along and then having it sealed off, so that it would remain forever untouched but inaccessible in the building, rather than repurposing the room, was reflective of Lex’s true feelings. however, I also think there is some truth to that he could always have another child, as because Lena was a baby he wasn’t yet attached to the particulars of who she was as a person. I think if Lena was an older child, while it wouldn’t have ultimately changed his decision, it would have made it more difficult for him to sacrifice her.

I think there would be interesting for Lex to try to change, not because of him trading Lena to Brainiac 13, but just because he recognized that his approach to parenting Lena was harmful to her, so there would be tension between him trying to change in that one respect while still being the same bad person that fed those behaviors in every other respect.