#without falling back on the Luthors as plot devices

[twoheartsofsteel]

I don’t know, the Luthors and kryptoanians kinda go together. It’s like Barry and Reverse Flash, Batman and The Joker, Captain America and Hydra, Spider-Man and the green goblin etc.

I get where you're coming from. But all of those examples only work because the heroes also have a strong rogue's gallery of other villains. Batman does not always fight the Joker. Spider-Man does not always fight Green Goblin. And the best stories when they do fight their iconic villains tell us something about the heroes themselves.

The last three seasons (2 and a half if we're getting semantic) were devoted to the Luthors as villains (*seasons 2 & 3 also suffer from the inclusion of Luthors, but it's different and I'll explain further down*), and I don't think it's a coincidence that these are the seasons that give Kara the least emotional interiority.

The reason I say this is because what does Lex Luthor mean to Kara? What does he bring out in her character?

He hates aliens? Okay, perfect. Fantastic racism. This can be used to tie into themes of the immigrant experience and xenophobia. So Lex Luthor's inclusion in season 4 makes sense, at least from that perspective and without taking into consideration execution (that's a whole other topic).

But once that season ends, these aren't the themes that surround his inclusion. Yeah, he still hates aliens, but he's more so a megalomaniac that wants power and is mad that Supergirl has defeated him before. So what does that bring out in Kara's character? Well, not much because really in season 4 (which also suffers from a lack of emotional interiority from Kara despite bountiful opportunity, I'd be remiss not to mention that) Kara's motivation comes from being an alien- from how that has shaped her experience and how this is personal- not simply "Lex is bad and doing bad things" which is what this morphs into in the last two seasons. And that is just too simplistic to do anything dynamic with Kara's character.

The closest we get to Lex's inclusion creating something that engages with Kara's character is when he traps her in the Phantom Zone. But any villain could have done that; it's the Phantom Zone that has to do with Kara's character not Lex.

And even so there's the ongoing question of the execution of all of this; some of this simply comes down to the strength (or lack thereof) of the show's writers. But I am also speaking from a conceptual level.

I've spent an awful amount of time talking about Lex Luthor, so let's talk about the other Luthors and how they were utilized in seasons 2 and 3.

Part of the issues I have with the rest of the Luthor clan's inclusion is that it lays the groundwork for the intense disservice to Kara's character in seasons 5 & 6. In that regard, I am saying I would rather the Luthor's not have been included at all than have them included and lead to that disservice.

In my most generous conceptions, Lena would still show up for maybe two episodes and then leave (as was the original plan), because there is (was) potential to create some parallels with Kara and reaffirm Kara's belief in the good of others. Beyond that though, I don't think she serves much purpose.

Or perhaps she could've if they'd really committed to holding Lena accountable for her actions and not just portraying her as someone whose supposed deep good inside cancelled out all of the bad she actually did.

This actually could have been really useful in having Kara grow from black-and-white thinking to being able to see people as both good and bad (and still needing to be held accountable for the harm they cause others).

The reason I bring up these what-ifs is because I think they only serve to contrast what the show actually did.

I've spoken briefly about this before, but a major issue in the show's feminism is its unwillingness to hold rich women accountable or explore the way their privilege influences their experiences. This started with Cat Grant, who was treated as a de-facto force of feminism even as she mistreated her employees. She's a de-frosting ice queen, sure, but no one calls her out on her white rich-lady feminism (or if they do the narrative twists to suggest they were wrong to do so).

This then becomes an issue with Lena, especially the longer she is on the show. She creates alien detection devices, which should be a first indication that maybe she (without cancelling out her unhappy childhood and trauma) has internalized many of her family's biases, but instead it adds up to little else than a plot point.

Clearly this show is interested in power (whether it be that of an invulnerable alien or privileged humans in society), so to not explore these nuances within some characters only serves to make your theme incoherent and your other characters wishy-washy.

Particularly in season 6, and against an episode like Blind Spots, the fact that Lena is entirely forgiven for TRYING TO LOBOTOMIZE THE ENTIRE WORLD BECAUSE SHE WAS ANGRY AT A FRIEND with what is essentially an "I'm sorry" is just mind boggling. An offer of redemption is fine, but Kara, Alex, etc. all accept Lena back in the same way. And that means no exploration of how one can actually make amends, because, well, no one seems to think Lena should make amends.

To which I then ask what is the function of this character? How much screen time and story has been taken up in her name if she isn't actually adding to the show's themes? If she doesn't challenge other character's in meaningful ways that add to their characterization?

This leaves me wanting to know how all of that screen time and story could have been filled if she and Lex had not been included in the show. It's a problem of execution, certainly, but more than that I think the Luthors don't add to the themes that the show was aiming to engage with in any meaningful way. And in the process took away from Kara Zor-El foremost, and the other characters by extension.

[kuekyuuq]

Smiles, tests and courage [6x13]

So, first things first:

Was that the first time, we got to see Lena seeing Kara without her glasses? 

Oh, boi... The episode... I had such a hard time, listening to the dialogue. And not (just) because of Supercorp. The cheesyness... the Power-Ranger-esque fights... Could they really not spare a second take on the civilians punching air and flailing?

But, I was having fun. A whole lot more fun since the rest of whole season so far combined.

Non-Supercorp-Highlights:

J'onn getting pummeled by that science lady and giving her a thumbs up for her efforts

Mitch said "zoinks" XD

Nyxly bashing ridiculous Mission Impossible plots

The things Nyxly does with her legs...

J'onn (again): "Hold that thought."

We've found a potential mate for Spike?

M'gann--.. ah, nevermind, she's still nowhere to be found.

not from the show, but someone on yt called Veeta "Mad Madam Mim" and I am still laughing

I also laughed at the science-babble, that a device that harvests lightning could create lighting - and that the project was oh-so-cleverly called "BOLT"

Kara is a horcrux now

...so glad, Lena's 'secret' didn't remain a secret for long!

Now, somehow Kara's test of courage, the moment she lacked courage most, was somehow her first outing as Supergirl. I can see that... But my shipper-heart wants to scream "And what about the million times she chickened out of telling Lena her secret!?" ...in that regard, I like the theory of someone else here, that Kara denied later when Winn assumed she was gay. And it would tie in with the creators claiming something Nyxly said was the clue of what Kara's test was about (Nyxly pointing out that Kara was happy that moment - which was the moment Kara was with Lena... and being honest / vulnerable with her, but happy non-the-less). But, yeah, that's just my gay heart speaking.

What else could be the "courage to be vulnerable" in that pilot scene?

Really, I'm asking.

It does start at the bar... what are we missing?

...I did not like retconning a cry for help into the pilot. But then, after Crisis, it could have happened, on Earth-Prime.

[gif by misandriste]

Totem rules: 1) Keep the order. 2) Find them. (shouldn't that be first? how can you keep the order if you don't know what and where they are?) 3) Activate with magic word. 4) Pass test. (Test will take a deep emotional, unpleasant toll.)

...soo, for every Totem, right? Including Love? Yes? Okay, just checking...

Lena awkwardly crossing her arms in the med-bay, so she wouldn't reach out for Kara...

Ah...

[6x13]

[5x13]

My. Heart!

The Supercorp couch-scene was wholesome. 

No wonder, our girl was happy! Is it bad, that I kept internally scolding at Lena "Get these shoes off that couch, gurl!" ...nice treads, tho. What’s with Supercorp and couches, tho.....

Best theory I have come across (twitter @gayluthxr): Nyxly falls for Lex (a Luthor) because she feels what Kara feels... for Lena (a Luthor). If that's that, then suddenly I am all for ship BaldImp!

Kara had been on edge and depressed the past few episodes (rightfully so, after the PZ), barely a laugh or real smile. Now, Lena's back and look at Little Miss Sunshine:

🌞 Frown gone! Crinkle gets a break! (I was seriously worried, her crinkle would become permanent, but turns out, all she needed was her Lena.)

Yeah, and the acting and shooting / editing choices....

...

Don't give me hope!

Guess, we’ll have to wait and see...

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

Alt S5b Plot Bunny, Pt 6

By the time the others return from the desert to report an absolute bust, Lena is secured in the infirmary and Kara has hastily wrapped her injuries in messy piles of gauze.

Alex takes one look and immediately shifts into medic mode. "What happened?"

"Lena, she-- she tried to kill me," Kara murmurs. Her gaze shifts to her friend, still unconscious where she's strapped to a gurney. Despite what happened, all she feels in concern.

"She almost succeeded," Alex tells her, prodding the stab wound in her side. Kara groans. "Good news is, you're already starting to heal."

She sets Kara on a stool and wheels over a sunlamp. When she clicks it on, Kara sags under the relief it provides.

"It wasn't her fault," Kara tells Alex. Alex shoots her a look, but Kara insists. "It wasn't! She-- she tried to warn me. And then--"

"You're right," J'onn says, pressing two fingers to his temple. "Her mind has been corrupted."

"How?" Alex asks.

Kara scans Lena with her xray vision, and her blood runs cold when she locates two inorganic devices: one in her neck, the other at the base of her brain stem.

"Brainy--"

Kara describes the devices to the best of her ability. Brainy's eyes alight with understanding.

"It would seem Lex has covered all his bases," Brainy explains. "The first appears to be a small capacitor, capable of delivering an electric current. The other is an inhibitor of some kind, grafted onto her central nervous system. There would be no way for Lena to fight whatever mandate Lex installed."

"Can we remove them?" Nia asks.

Brainy considers that for a moment. "The first would be quite simple to remove. However the inhibitor is a different story. Even assuming Lex has not rigged the device with a failsafe, attempting to remove it could render Miss Luthor comatose, or dead."

Kara releases a shaky breath. "Then what can we do?"

"If we could deactivate the device, I could reverse whatever mandate Lex installed," J'onn offers. "Her mind would be her own again."

"How do we deactivate it if we can't remove it?"

Brainy perks up. "An EMP could render the device inert. There is a chance the device could be reactivated, but doing so would require physical adjustment."

"And I'm not going to let Lex get anywhere close to her again," Kara declares.

J'onn nods. He looks to Brainy. "How soon can you have a device ready to deliver the EMP."

"A few hours at most. I shall begin immediately."

Brainy goes off, and Kara turns to Alex. "Can we keep Lena sedated until it's ready?"

Alex eyes her. "You sure?"

Swallowing, Kara nods. Though partially driven to spare Lena the discovery of being strapped to the bed, more fervent is the need to never see the hate in Lena's eyes again.

"Yeah."

Alex nods. "Okay."

---

The hours pass slowly. Kara spends them under the sunlamp, refusing to leave Lena's side. Alex uses the time to fish the capacitor from Lena's shoulder, and Kara fights the urge to vomit when the small device clinks to the bottom of a sterile basin.

Seeing her distress, Alex offers her a steadying smile. "She's going to be okay."

Kara gazes at Lena, unable to banish the apprehension coiling in her gut. "Yeah."

When Brainy finally returns, they clear the infirmary of anything electrical. At Kara's nod, Brainy activates the device. The wait as it beeps once, twice, three times, then falls silent.

Awkwardly, they wait for something to happen, but nothing does.

"Brainy?"

"The EMP has been delivered."

Lena doesn't stir. Kara looks at her sister in concern. "Alex..."

"The sedatives should wear off any minute."

The wait in anxious silence until Lena finally begins to stir. Kara steps forward, taking Lena's hand in hers. "Lena?"

Lena's eyes open, rolling slightly before squinting against the overhead lights. She groans, then pries her eyes open to look at Kara.

"Kara..."

Lena breathes her name, smiling at the sight of her, her features soft and relieved. Kara studies her, and feels her heart fall.

Alex moves to unfasten Lena's other hand.

"It didn't work," Kara snaps, freezing Alex in place.

"The EMP was delivered--"

Kara pegs him with a sharp glare. "It didn't work!"

On the bed, Lena's grin deepens to something menacing, and a giggle pours out of her. Her grip on Kara's hand tightens, fingernails digging into Kara's skin like claws until Kara jerkily pries herself free.

"Nice try, Supergirl," Lena taunts. "But you can't change the truth: you're a menace--"

Alex silences her with a sharp jab of a syringe, administering another dose of sedative. In moments Lena is out like a light.

Thrusting the sunlamp away from her, Kara stalks to the side of the room, then paced to the other in furious agitation.

"Why didn't it work?"

Brainy thinks for a long moment. "It's possible the device is in fact biomechanic in nature. The nervous system is effectively one large conductor, carrying electrical impulses from the brain to the rest of the body--"

"The device could be powering itself using those impulses," Alex jumps in, catching on quickly.

Brainy nods. "It would be impossible to power it down completely so long as though impulses are present."

"So there's no way to save her?" Kara asks.

Brainy tilts his head, catching Alex's gaze. "There is a way..."

"But it would be risky," Alex finishes.

Kara stops pacing and looks at her. "How risky?"

"If we're right, and the device is powered in part by Lena's own electrical impulses, then we would have to suppress those impulses long enough for the device to run out of juice, then hit it with the EMP."

"And by suppress her electrical impulses, you mean--"

"All electrical impulses. Zero brain activity."

Kara's mouth goes dry. "You mean kill her."

"Only temporarily," Brainy points out. "As soon as the EMP is delivered, we would be able to revive her, and she will be herself again."

Sensing Kara's distress, J'onn places a hand on her shoulder. "It's risky, but it may be Lena's best chance."

Kara takes a deep breath, her mind racing. Losing Lena this way terrifies her, but in her heart she knows the decision Lena would make if she could. She wouldn't want to live like this-- she wouldn't want to be Lex's puppet.

She nods.

"Let's do it."

----

It takes almost an hour to prepare. Alex preps the drugs she'll need to slow Lena's heart, and the drugs she'll need to restart it. She collects a crash cart as well, just in case. In lieu of more advanced technology, which they don't have in the tower, J'onn will monitor Lena's brain waves to determine when it's safe to administer the EMP.

Kara can only watch it all with a lump in her throat, praying to Rao that she hasn't made the wrong decision.

"Ready?" Alex finally asks.

Kara nods. She steps up to Lena's bedside, taking Lena's hand in both of hers. She watches as Alex administers the first syringe, listening as Lena's heartbeat begins to slow. She prays silently as the thumps comes farther and fewer between, then cease entirely. Looking at J'onn, she waits with tears in her eyes as the seconds tick by.

"J'onn..."

"Not yet..."

Dread pours through Kara, filling her swiftly and completely. She shakes her head. "It's been too long. Alex..."

"Kara, wait--"

"Alex!"

"Now!" J'onn shouts. Brainy activates his device. The thing beeps slowly-- once, twice, three times.

Then

"The EMP has been delivered."

Alex surges into action. With sure, swift movements she uncaps the second syringe and plunges it into Lena's chest. Without waiting, she vaults onto the gurney, straddling Lena to begin delivering chest compressions.

"Alex..."

"We just have to keep her blood moving until the drugs kick in," Alex pants. Counting softly, she shoots a look to Nia. "Nia, rescue breaths, now."

Nia obeys without hesitation. Kara's tears spill over as she watches them work on Lena, unable to do anything more than stand idly by. As the minutes pass, Kara feels her hope dwindle.

"Brainy, the crash cart," Alex barks finally. She climbs off the stretcher while Nia breathes air into Lena's lungs. Brainy wheels the crash cart closer.

"Kara, let go."

"Alex--"

"Let go!"

Kara steps back, and Alex presses the paddles against Lena's torso. "Clear!"

Lena's body spasms as the current courses through her, only to fall limp when it stops. Alex presses two fingers to Lena's neck, seaeching for a pulse. Delivering another round of compressions, she then waits for Nia to perform the rescue breathing before shocking Lena again.

"Clear!"

Lena spasms again, and Kara has to turn away, covering her sobs with one hand. For a long moment, there's nothing but heavy silence before Alex calls out.

"I've got a pulse!"

[oops-supercorptrash]

4x17 and Insight into 5x08

since tumblr deleted my post that i spent an HOUR working on, i have to rewrite it. I rewatched 4x17 and i feel like it really gives some insight into why Lena responded to Kara the way she did, and why Alex treated Lena the way she did in 5x08. Spoilers for both episodes under the cut, obviously. Trigger warning for abuse.

The episode starts with Alex coming to rescue Lena after she was drugged by Lex and tied to her office chair. Alex and a DEO agent rush to Lena to ensure that she is safe and alive, and Alex unties her. The DEO agent then hands her a letter that is addressed “Lena”. Alex then leaves Lena and steps away to open and read the letter. Not only is this a violation of the Fourth Amendment as Alex is there under DEO orders and there is no probable cause to think that a document addressed to Lena on her work desk would be in any way related to her kidnapping, but it’s also a violation of Lena’s trust. Alex had no right to read something that was written to Lena, and Lena never even gets to read the actual letter. Also, one would think that Alex would be more concerned about her friend rather than a letter that can be read at any time. 

Moving on, Kara returns to the DEO to offer her help searching for Lex. She and Alex decide to talk to Lena to try and get as much information about Eve as possible. When Kara turns to leave, however, Alex points out that Lena has been through trauma and she and Supergirl aren’t on the best of terms. Kara catches Brainy’s eye, who also looks sad for Kara’s damaged relationship with Lena, and agrees to let Alex go speak to Lena alone. Alex shows up at Lena’s office, goes inside, and reads a file off of Lena’s desk. Lena walks in and catches her, and Alex throws down the file and says “There you are. I went to look for you at the hospital and they said you already left.” Lena looks around at her scattered files and says, “I thought the FBI already went through all this. Have you changed your mind about me?”. Alex had no warrant, no probable cause, not even friendly justification behind searching through Lena’s files while she wasn’t there and not informed of the search. Alex didn’t even know Lena would be at her office. For all she knew, Lena would have made her way back to her apartment since she just went through a kidnapping. And Lena’s the one who apologizes when it was Alex going through her stuff!

Back peddling a bit, before Lena arrives at her office, she visits Lillian in prison.  Lillian begins the meeting with, “The reports say you were knocked unconscious. You were always prone to migraines. Is your head okay?”. This instantly trivializes the trauma that Lena just went through, gaslighting her and making Lena feel as if she was dramatizing the entire ordeal. When Lena tries to cut through the bull, Lillian follows up with: “Do you have to be so emotional? It’s disappointing.” She again hits Lena where she knows will hurt her. To further drive home her point, Lillian hits her with “I know you’re upset Lex outsmarted you.” She even mocks that he hurt her “poor little heart”, to which Lena replies “Well, at least I have a heart.” Lillian brushes this off yet again, claiming it’s an overrated organ that’s been romanticized by poets and frivolous women. Lillian then questions why Lena never accepted Lex’s many offers to work with him. Lena instantly responds “I will never be on the same side as you and Lex.”. Lillian knows this, of course, but chooses to mock her again, saying “Of course not. The only side you’ll ever be on is the side of your friends.”  pointing out the Danvers sisters as her first example. She continues, “Oh, what those besties would think if they knew what you’ve really been up to.” referring the weeks helping Lex and experimenting with the Harun-El. Keep in mind that Lillian is fully aware of Supergirl’s true identity. She’s beginning to drive the wedge between Kara, Supergirl, and Lena by pointing out that Supergirl will never forgive her for working with such a dangerous device and helping Superman’s worst enemy. Lillian is also playing on Lena’s fear of abandonment, something we know Lex has done many times in the past when they were growing up. Lillian knows Lena’s biggest fear is to be hated by her friends. “I can smell your fear, Lena. Doing everything in your power to make sure your friends never find out your complicity. They would hate you. Then you’d find yourself utterly alone. Again.” It’s obvious the tactic is working. Lena’s lip is trembling just slightly, and her eyes shine with tears. She lashes out, jumping up and snapping “This is foolish.” to try and claim that Lillian’s words have no effect on her. Tears nearly falling, Lena claims Lillian doesn’t know anything because Lex deserted her, too. But, with a smug smile, Lillian merely says, “I may be in prison, but I’m not the one who’s going to be deserted.” Knowing she’s lost, Lena turns and leaves before she can lose control of her emotions. 

This is why Lena reacts to Kara’s secret in the way that she does. Lillian has spent most of Lena’s life convincing her that no one but the Luthors’ will want her, that she’s evil and all her friends hate her to keep her complacent and willing to help them with their nefarious plots. But Lena argues with her, claims that Kara and Alex would never hate her, that they’d never keep things from her. This is because out of all of their friends, Lena wanted Kara to be the one friend that proved Lillian wrong. That despite whatever Lillian said, Kara would never hate her simply because of her last name. So when Kara’s betrayal came to light, Lena was absolutely crushed. It felt like everything Lillian had said must be true. Her best friend treated her like a Luthor after Lena spent years fighting the conditioning that she was unlovable, untrustworthy, something to be kept at arms length. Kara’s betrayal validated the years of mental and emotional abuse Lena endured at Lillian and Lex’s hands. 

Moving on to the scene where Supergirl, Lena, and Alex investigate Eve’s lab. Kara discovers that Lena has been making synthetic Harun-El. Lena admits to the project, but the evidence of the fear Lena carries that Supergirl will hate her for it is everywhere. She doesn’t make eye contact. Her eyes dart around the room, landing everywhere but Supergirl. She admits to the mistake, thinking that the truth would gain her more than lying would. She admits to it after steeling herself against Supergirl’s anger, reminding herself that she and Supergirl never got along. Supergirl immediately asks in Lena intended on giving Lex powers, and Lena explodes. “This is why I didn’t want to work with you,” she says, “Because every time I think things are getting better with us, you display an inherent distrust of my intentions.”. Kara tries to defend herself, but Lena points out: “You look past all the good we’ve done and see red whenever you feel vulnerable.” This is when Alex steps in, pointing out all the good Lena did with the Harun-El, saving both Argo and James with it. She even points out that she saved Sam, which is highly ironic considering in 5x08 Alex claims that Lena kidnapped Sam and kept her in the basement. This is enough to calm Kara down enough to actually hand Lena a real, sincere apology. 

“You’re right--” Kara says, and Lena is so surprised at the admission she actually says “Excuse me?” But Kara continues, louder. “You’re right. If you hadn’t made Harun-El, James wouldn’t be alive; you saved him in a way I couldn’t. I do see red sometimes, and it’s not an ego thing or allegiance or anything like that. I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. And since Superman left and Lex has been free, it feels a lot heavier. If my enemies are strengthened, if I’m weakened in the slightest bit, I could lose. I just can’t...I can’t lose. I’m sorry, Lena.” Throughout this apology, we can see Lena is uncomfortable. She’s shifting around, not looking Supergirl in the eye, glancing at Alex. She’s trying to gauge if Kara is being honest or not. She’s just had a meeting with Lillian, who manipulates her at every turn. She isn’t sure what to believe. Lena is still struggling with the triggering event of facing her abuser, and this exchange has caused her to respond in a way that she would to Lillian or Lex’s attempts to manipulate her. This becomes more obvious after Kara’s finished, as she looks to Alex. When Alex doesn’t respond, only then does Lena accept the apology. This genuine apology surprises Lena so much she physically takes a step back and rocks on her heels. She’s nearly in tears again as she nods and whispers, “I appreciate that.”. 

Where is this Kara in season 5? This Kara, who explains why she did the thing that has hurt Lena (fear of failure), explains why she reacted the way she did (feels the weight of the world on her shoulders, and without Superman and Lex free, it’s heavier), and takes accountability for her actions (”I do see red sometimes, and it’s not an ego thing or allegiance or anything like that.”) Followed by a genuine “I’m sorry, Lena.”. This would go a long way with season 5 Lena. She needs reassurance that this wasn’t due to the fact that she’s a Luthor. Lena needs to hear that she isn’t what her family has spent decades telling her she is. She needs Kara to reaffirm that it was Kara’s mistake to not trust Lena, not Lena’s mistake to trust Kara. A simple “I’m sorry” would be better than Kara parroting back all of Lena’s past betrayals to her, digging in the fact that her best friend was just yet another addition to this list rather than being the one person who never hurt her. It wouldn’t fix things, but it would begin the long road to recovery and remaking their friendship. Are Lena’s actions excusable? No, she still broke the law and kidnapped Malefic. Are these actions explainable? Absolutely. Lena may never trust Kara in the same way ever again. Kara is a trauma survivor, able to relate to Lena in many ways. But the fear of becoming everything your abuser ever told you you were is a different type of trauma, and not one Lena will be able to shake in a few conversations. They need time, open and honest communication, and therapy. 

[alydiarackham]

(cover by me)

How to Be a Hero Like a Villain by Alydia Rackham

Introduction

I’m Basically a Geek

                 Hi. Yeah, so, it’s true. I’m a geek. Have been forever. I really had no shot at being otherwise. My mom raised my brother and I on musicals and Star Wars and Star Trek and Disney. Growing up, I read loads of YA sci-fi novels—again, lots of Star Wars—and then when Marvel started making movies, I got into X-Men and then Iron Man, Thor (my major crush on Loki still remains alive), Captain America, then Batman; all that jazz. I’m also a Disney fanatic and a theatre nerd.

I was an English major in college, am in love with Tolkien and Austen and Dickens and Doyle, and adore all things Victorian. My friend Jaicee introduced me to Vampire Diaries and Originals (which are both compelling studies in heroics and villainy, let me tell you). I’ve written tons of fanfiction, in addition to loads of original novels. I write in all genres, mostly because I get hooked on a good story, good characters, no matter the setting—though I do have a weakness for an epic story arc, flawed heroes and of course, powerful villains. Right now, I’m on the 5th book in my fairy tale retellings series. So far, I’ve retold “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Snow Queen,” “The Little Mermaid,”—and then I did a totally-original one about a Curse-Maker, from the POV of…yep, the villain! At the moment, I’m working on a retelling of the legend of King Arthur, called “Excalibor.” It’s a blast.

               As you might imagine, I am intrigued most of all by character. I enjoy reading about the great ones, and inhabiting the interesting ones in my own writing. Flat romantic interests and motivation-less villains drive me nuts. I’m fascinated by a character’s inner workings, his history, his motivation, his mannerisms, his relationships, his skills, his style, the way he presents himself to the world. My brother and I love analyzing plot holes and devices and flaws and symbolism and insights. (Our after-movie discussions can get very animated, and last for hours.)

               Often, we find ourselves yelling things at the Hero on the screen like “For crying out loud, don’t do that! Don’t go in there! Stop wasting your time! Watch out—don’t you know what’s in there?” We easily see the choices that the Hero makes that are flawed, impulsive, or just plain stupid.

               But very rarely do we notice such things about the Villain. A good one, anyway.

               The Villain takes us by surprise. He startles us. He’s two steps ahead. He already has the device, he’s laid the trap, he’s captured the girlfriend, he’s destroyed the evidence. (Cancer Man in X-Files makes me absolutely want to scream because of this stuff.)

               Why is that? How did he know? How is he doing this?? It drives us crazy—and yet, we reluctantly have to admire the greats for being such awesome masterminds.

               So…how are the Villains so successful? Sure, we could shrug it off and say, “Well, he’s a super-genius, what do you expect?” But that’s too easy, and frankly, it’s doing a great disservice to our Evil Neighborhood Menace. In fact, with everything we see, and with the Hero making such rash and stupid decisions, oftentimes it’s a wonder that the Hero even lives, let alone triumphs in the end.

               And actually, in real life, that’s often true. The Hero does die or fail, and the Villain lives and prospers. Why?

               What is it that the Villain is doing that the Hero is not doing, which makes him successful? Again, the easy and lazy answer is “He kills people to get what he wants, he lies, he steals.” Okay, sure. What you’re describing is a garden-variety thug. Somebody who gets caught in Spiderman’s webs every weekend.

You are not describing a Super-Villain.

There’s something about a Super-Villain—a really great one—that keeps him in the game, that makes him a serious threat to the Hero, even after being beaten over and over again. What is it about Lex Luthor—who has no powers—that keeps him alive, and makes him a continuous, serious threat against Superman, the most powerful being on the planet?

How is it that a Villain keeps coming back, when similar failures and losses would crush a Hero and send him home forever, never again to don the super suit?

Could it be that a Villain’s methods, his mindset, his approach, are vastly different from a Hero’s?

And, if a Hero could learn to take these qualities and mesh them with his own already-existing awesomeness, could he perhaps avoid a devastating loss, a crushing defeat?

Is that…in fact…what does make the Hero succeed in the end??

That’s what this book is about. Examining what truly is awesome about a great Villain, and showing YOU how you can put those qualities to use in your own life to do a great deal of good, instead of great evil.

Be a great Hero. Take a few tips from the Villains.

-Alydia Rackham

         P.S. I’m going to refer to both the Hero and Villain in this book as “he.” I’m doing that because it’s waaay easier than saying “he or she” all the time. Not because I don’t believe that women can be awesome Heroes, or terribly wicked Villains.

Because I totally do.

 Chapter One

What Makes A Hero or a Villain?

                 So, what is it that makes a person a Hero, instead of a Villain? We’re talking the foundation, here. What are the qualities he or she possesses deep down inside that distinguish, that draw the line, that clearly state to the world: “Nope, this is a good guy, this is a bad guy”? This can be confusing. Especially when we look at two characters, say Loki and Bucky Barnes. Both of them have been all over the map with both good and evil deeds. Both have been called Villains, and both could be Heroes.

               What is it that makes us decide where someone stands?

               I would say that it all comes down to one thing: CHOICES.

               It can’t be anything else. You can’t say it’s kindness, or love, gentleness, trust, honesty, bravery, self-sacrifice, or self-respect. Many Heroes and Villains alike struggle with self-respect. Many Villains sacrifice themselves for a person, or a cause. Villains are almost always exceptionally brave. Villains probably are honest with at least one person, or have been in the past. They also have trusted someone, been gentle with someone or something. Most certainly, the best Villains have loved very, very deeply, and tried their best to be kind to that person or animal.

               However, something went wrong. Very wrong. And with every Villain, it can be traced back to Choice.

               Sometimes, it’s a single choice. Many times, it’s several choices in a row. And eventually, they all decide that ��the ends justify the means.” They opt for self-preservation, for the removal of liberty for other people, for the arrogant assertion of their own will. Over and over again, until it poisons them.

               A Hero is someone who does not do this. Who chooses, even if it is wrenchingly difficult, to stand by what is right, no matter the consequences. No matter if he loses everything. He will not betray his honor. Even if no one else would see or know���he would know. And he will not do it.

               In the end, this is what makes the Hero stronger than a Villain. The climax, and the defeat of the Villain, comes when the Villain’s weaknesses are exposed, and the Hero takes all his own strengths, combines them with the strengths of the Villain, and declares victory.

               A Hero guards his or her good conscience fiercely. It’s pretty well summed up in this quote from Captain America:

               “Whatever happens tomorrow, you must promise me one thing. That you will stay who you are: not a perfect soldier, but a good man.”  

 Chapter Two

Good Guys Can Be Stupid

                 We all know it’s true. When we’re in the movie theatre, we mutter under our breath, shake our heads.

When we’re at home, we scream at the TV.

               “Nooooo! What are you thinking? Don’t go that way, go the other way!”

               “You moron, don’t go off by yourself! Never leave the group! Especially in the dark!”

               “What, you jumped in there but you had no way of getting out?”

               “Don’t ignore her calls, she’s trying to save your life!”

               Yep, we’ve all been there. So what are some bad traits that Heroes tend to display that we ought to try to avoid ourselves?

  Stupid Impulsiveness

               Sure, impulsiveness can be good on a date, or at a restaurant trying some new dish.

It’s not good when you’re, I dunno, jumping off a ten story building. Following a noise into a dark forest. Or deciding to stop a bank robbery two days after you discovered your powers. Bad planning, or none at all. Not even thinking about what could happen in the next five minutes, let alone preparing for it.

For us regular folks, this can be translated into deciding to go for a drive in the snow with no 4-wheel drive, jumping off something that’s too high, going on a trip without enough money, walking down a dark alley in New York City…

               Yeah, you get the idea.

Not Keeping Family and Friends in the Loop

               We’ve seen it a lot: Heroes thinking they need to conquer alone—deal with all their problems, and protect their family members. However, all that ends up causing is major trouble. Sometimes life-threatening, sometimes not, but it’s never good. One that comes to mind is Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. If she had told her sisters about what was going on with Darcy, and especially the drama with Mr. Wickham, she might have saved her sister Lydia from being entrapped by the Villain. Pretty much every single story about a superhero contains this type of lament: “If I had only just told them the truth!”  

               Heroes fall into the trap of thinking that they’re protecting their loved ones by keeping secrets. By not trusting their friends or their family with what’s going on in their lives. When in fact, this only puts their loved ones in danger, and puts serious stress and pressure on the Hero, which can lead to exhaustion, panic, stretched resources, missed opportunities, and giving the loved ones the feeling that they’re being neglected and forgotten.

  Discouragement

           So many times, the Hero just doesn’t have the tools to do what he needs to do. He’s isolated himself, he’s gone without sleep, he’s fighting an uphill battle every day. And then, one major thing goes the wrong way, and he’s broken. He collapses, he throws things, he cries, he’s in despair. He thinks there’s no possible way for him to do this, to keep going.

               He dwells on the failure. It almost swallows him. He loses all confidence, all belief in himself. He might even lose faith in the cause itself, in the people and things he’s been fighting so hard for. And if someone doesn’t come along and convince him otherwise, he’ll never put on that Hero cape again, or pick up that shield, or that sword.

Read this book: https://www.amazon.com/How-Hero-Like-Villain-Villainous-ebook/dp/B07NMVGCHP/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=how+to+be+a+hero+like+a+villain+alydia+rackham&qid=1572901986&s=digital-text&sr=1-1

[ruffiorocks]

This one got away from me

Soooo I'm beginning to suspect that the people who hate Lena do so because they aren't considering the fact that THEY as the viewer know everything that's going on, as opposed to Lena who does NOT!

Let me explain:

People always hold Lena responsible for the Daxamite invasion, they call her niaeve, stupid, a danger to society and why didn't she tell Kara?!

Ok, here's why! WE as the audience knew who Rhea was and what she was up to. So big red flags when she showed up on Lena's doorstep.

BUT for Lena, Rhea originally came to her as a human asking for her help. Lena figured out she was an alien due to Rhea slipping up. Lena then told Rhea to beat it, not because she was an alien but because Lena doesn't appreciate being lied to. Rhea talked her round by being nice and appealing to Lena's mind hearted nature. Rhea told Lena all she wanted to do was get home. She then spent the next few months working with her, getting close to her and praising her, becoming a mother figure that Lena lacked. Lena also thought the tech would be amazing because she could said to third world countries instantly. Which to be fair, she could have done and saved countless lives.

Lena did NOT know that Rhea was a Daxamite queen who had just killed her husband, whose son was dating her bestie, who hated Kryptonians and wanted to make Earth New Daxam. WE as the audience did know these things. Why didn't Lena? Well maybe because a certain someone never told her she was an alien and dating a mother alien. That little bit of info would have avoided all that mess entirely.

Those who hate Lena for helping Rhea, also still hate her for the alien detection device but they also hate her for helping aliens.

Lena makes the device:

Haters "she's evil!!"

Lena scraps the device, only time it's ever seen again is with Rhea:

Haters "she's evil!!"

Lena saves the lives of every alien in National City including Jonn and Kara:

Haters "she's evil!!"

Lena helps an alien who comes to her wanting to get home and solve many of the worlds issues:

Haters "she's evil!!!"

Lena discovers her friend is an alien and needs help, doesn't tell anyone because she didn't know what they would do to her.

Haters "she's evil!!"

Lena who has seen many an alien invasion suggests maybe they could make humans super. Not EVERY human, but is instantly shot down because the gang don't like the idea. An idea that later Alex and Brainy will be on board with and actually help with.

Haters "she's evil!!"

Lena already has a super suit with the House of El crest on it and saves Supergirls life. She makes more Harun El and now Argo City will survive. Even Supergirl tells Lex he has his sister to thank for the suit Kara has to fight him with.

Haters "we've suddenly gone deaf and blind, we're choosing to ignore that ever happened".

Lena discovers her best friend has been lying to her for 3years, been to her as Kara as her bestie and then treated her like crap as Supergirl, punches her in the face.

Haters "she's evil!! We told you".

You are all watching this with the hindsight if knowing certain people are bad guys or plotting other things, or knowing character backgrounds. All the things that Lena does NOT know.

Consider this, if Supergirl or Jonn had gone to Lena and asked her if she could make a portal to her to Argo or Mars there would have been no problem at all. Haters are total hypocrites, if Franklyn went to Lena asking for help and she gave it it would be fine, why? Because YOU as the audience know that Franklyn, Supergirl and Jonn are good. But to Lena? Rhea was just another Franklyn. Kara isn't the only one allowed to make good or bad calls on aliens.

Haters expect Lena to ask Kara or Supergirls permission every time she wipes her ass. Why? Because all they care about it Kara and her thoughts and opinions.

Going back to the alien detection device, Lena is STILL condemned for it. But do you know what was worse than that?

Kara's instant prejudice against Mon El the moment she learned he was a Daxamite. She was all concerned for him when she thought he was Kryptonian, even after he chocked her. She assumed he had attacked the president with no actual evidence, she assumed and told him he would be locked in the cell for a long time, no trial, no jury, Mon El was guilty of being a Daxamite. But this was forgiven??

Jonn was all lovey dovey with Mgann when he thought she was a green martian, but when she SAVED his life he nearly beat her to death purely for being a white martian, then locked her up telling her she could rot, with no evidence other than her being a White Martian, not unlike Kara with Mon El. Mgann wasn't actually guilty if any crime at all. Jonn didn't even care that she was dying of a psychic attack, he literally left helping her to the last minute.

Jonn also tried to murder every white martian he comes into contact with.

But all this is OK?? But Lena makes one device she never used (save for Rhea) and helps pretty much every alien she comes into contact with and she's evil??

Shall we all forget who made the alien image inducors? The polar opposite of the alien detection device? Nope? Choosing to not acknowledge this?

Lena didn't murder Adam, she shouldn't have gone ahead with human experimentation so soon, but the show isn't going to waste precious air time when they only have about 44minutes per ep, on legal jargon and all that jazz. It's not entertaining to film and no-one wants to see it. Adam chose to take part.

I saw a post saying Lena needs to be held accountable?? By who? Probably Kara I'm assuming.

Supergirl "Your honour, we would like Lena Luthor to be locked up!"

Judge "for what?"

Supergirl "She killed Adam, she Killed Lex Luthor, she made Kryptonite! She tried to make humans super! Shes anti alien, she made devices, she dared to make tech and not tell me about it, she kept Harun El, Shall I go on?"

Judge *looks at paper work* "it says here she never used that device, that she made image inducors, many that are used by people you know. She saved ALL of the aliens in National City including yourself. She had her mother arrested. It also says here and we have the footage that it was YOU that let Lex Luthor fall to his death without bothering to save him?"

Supergirl *sputtering* "I.... I... he survived that fall and she shot him!"

Judge "so you're upset that YOU didn't kill him?"

Supergirl "what....no....She can't just shoot people! She doesn't get to make those decisions!"

Judge "But it's ok for you to decide who save and who to let fall to the deaths? What I'm hearing here Supergirl is that only YOU get to decide who lives and who dies? I'd drop this right now Supergirl before I have YOU arrested for letting someone fall to their apparent death and then smiling about it".

Also judge "I believe that the young man Adam consented to all experiments, there is also no law against making humans super. In fact Supergirl Miss Luthor had a government contract and was working working within law. Something YOU can't claim, since you quit the DEO and were told to cease and desist getting involved. There is also no law against making Kryptonite, I believe it's thanks to you, Superman and the ex head of the DEO Mr Jonzz that there was no Kryptonite around anymore when we had just been invaded by Kryptonians".

Supergirl "what...no... that's not... She can't just make it!"

Judge "again, id stop now Supergirl, you and Superman left us vulnerable to Kryptonian threats, now you say she kept Harun El?"

Supergirl "yes!! She had no right!"

Judge *looks at paper work* "it says here she made it, and then gave a supply and the recipe to your mother so Argo City would survive and that your race would survive, is that true?"

Supergirl "Well yes......but she can't keep any! She has no right to it!"

Judge "but she didn't keep it's she made it. I won't lock someone up for using something they made that isn't illegal Supergirl and personally I question your attitude here."

Judge "now... She made tech without telling you about it? I'm not going to dignify that with a reponse, I find the defendant Lena Luthor innocent of all charges".

Lena and Jess *high five*

*Supergirl turns to leave*

Judge "not so fast Supergirl, how about we discuss your crimes?"

Supergirl "my....my crimes?"

Judge "Also Mr Jonzz you can stay for the illegal imprisonment of innocent aliens, and the murder of UK citizen Manchester Black".

Jonn "come again?!!"

See how dumb it is to hold Lena accountable but none of the others is??

[aeon-wolf]

I really don’t understand the logic behind this storyline the Supergirl writers are going with in regards to Lena, James and the Children of Liberty.

I’m writing this think piece as someone who doesn’t watch Supergirl much, watching specific scenes I want context to on YouTube. And usually reading a review or two on the episode. 

This is really long. Ignore me. I just wanted to write a think piece. Under the cut I’m talking about Guardiancorp, Lena’s likely descent into villainhood and James’ frustrating storyline thus far (as of 4x06). 

I’ve always been a relative defender of Guardiancorp, as in I’ve wanted desperately to give it a chance, unlike a lot of other Supercorp shippers or Katie/Lena fans in general. I always thought it could be a relationship that could have some intricacies and nuances that could be fascinating and lead to an awesomely written relationship. But instead, they’ve gone with, at the end of the day, it’s still Lex Luthor’s sister and Superman’s best friend, a doomed romance. 

S3 Guardiancorp was not half bad really. It seemed a little abrupt for my liking, especially because James had long been critical of Lena in S2 and never really seemed to change his opinion until he saw her romantically (much a criticism I had of Mon-El and Kara’s relationship), but I’m not going to complain a ton about that since Avalance, my #1 favorite ship, was also pretty abrupt. But there were a number of good moments in S3. And now in S4, it seems like they’ve just binned all of that growth and relationship development in favor of driving a wedge between James and Lena because they’re (probably) going to make Lena “evil”. It’s just disappointing in my opinion. 

I honestly understand why James felt betrayed by Lena when she told him that she got the DA to drop the inditement. Really I do. Thinking that something had gone your way because you, personally, handled it only to find out that your significant other, who you specifically told to not intervene was responsible for that thing and that they lied to you about it... That can cause some less than positive feelings. On the other hand, I think it was also way out of line that James berated Lena and reacted as strongly as he did, seemingly breaking up with her, especially after she told him she loved him and she did it to protect him because she was worried about him. And he basically just brushed her off. It shows that he has not really let go of the deep-seated distrust he has for her, as a Luthor most likely. I get him being disappointed and betrayed, but if they loved each other as much as they say they do, I would have expected him to at least acknowledge that she did that for him and that they could work it out. Instead of him storming off and then ignoring her later. I dislike the idea of using “I love you” in order to manipulate someone into staying (that’s a sign of a pretty fucking toxic relationship), but I didn’t get that vibe from Lena. It felt more that she was voicing her feelings, which we all know is difficult for her, because she wanted him to understand why she did what she did. 

And I said this in S3 and I think it’s even more relevant in S4, it’s really hard to take this “Lena is evil” storyline seriously after everything. I long wrote in S2 that I thought Lena could become “evil” either because after everything she’s ever done to be a good person and redeem her family name, no one trusts her still. Or that she would have a difference of opinion with the Superfriends that would make her evil™ in the eyes of the audience, but in reality, it’s less evil and more so conflicting opinions. After S3, they really made the “she’ll be evil because no one trusts her” storyline less and less plausible because she’s always wanted to do the right thing, despite what people think of her. She was at one of her lowest points on-screen when she thought she had poisoned all those kids with lead and yet she was still trying to fix it and when she couldn’t, she wasn’t callous enough to say “Well, I tried, too bad.” Instead, she took it really hard and felt super guilty. 

So it seems like they’re really going with the evil™ because she has an opinion that has been designed to be bad in the eyes of the audience. I honestly don’t really understand (and this may be because I don’t watch religiously) why the very idea that humans could have superhuman powers is such a negative. I obviously understand that kind of power in the wrong hands is super dangerous, especially with Agent Liberty and the Children of Liberty running around and if Lena creates that kind of technology, it will almost inevitably fall into their hands (because plot device). But it runs in the same vein of Lena being pro-gun (which anyone who thinks that’s out of character needs to get their brain checked). Yes, I think there is an inherent difference between having the opinion and doing something to invent a way for humans to have that kind of power, but even when Lena voiced the opinion to Kara, it was very much designed for the audience to be against that. I think, ultimately, what I would prefer if this had to be the storyline they’re going with, that Lena design/invent defensive abilities rather than offensive. Yes, you can still use defensive abilities for bad, offensive purposes, but it would make more sense with Lena’s thinking of using it for protection, not to actively fight aliens and I’d imagine that would go back to the idea of people abusing Lena’s inventions for purposes that she never intended, thus forcing her to work with Superfriends to overcome a mistake she made, and I’d imagine Lena would take responsibility for that mistake. (I do think this is one of her flaws though; shortsightedness, at least in regards to her inventions. She invents things to help people, but often doesn’t think about what would happen if the wrong person got ahold of her inventions and the damage they could cause)

They’ve created such an “us vs them” scenario, that people like Lena that want to try to bridge the gap get left behind and shoved into one side or the other, often the “wrong” side. Obviously, this “aliens vs humans” is parallel to “minorities vs whites” and likely has been very intentional in those similarities. I’ve always wanted Lena to be more of a morally gray character or anti-hero. And it seems like they’ve actually set that up, given her motives for doing what she’s doing. But they’ve also written the “us vs them” scenario so deep and hard that no one can be morally gray. If you’re morally gray, you’re evil. And that’s how its interpreted. And it’s probably just an inherent result of how culture (especially Tumblr black and white, “you do one bad thing, no matter the motive, you’re a bad person” culture) is. Given that Agent Liberty and (likely) Lex Luthor will be the true bad guys this season, Lena is perfectly set up to be in between the two sides. But often, if you’re in the middle, you’re on a side, usually the wrong™ side. Thus pushing her into the “villain” category instead of this middle ground character. 

Is Lena misguided in what she’s doing? Perhaps. Again, her inventions, regardless of what kind of powers she is able to create with the harun el, can always be used for bad things. And I feel like that’s the storyline they’re going to go with. Lena has even said, she is creating this for protection purposes, protecting humans from aliens. There’s a conversation to be had about blanketing certain actions and behaviors on one “group” based on the behaviors of a few. And Lena is certainly one of those kinds of people who would wary of, say African Amercian people, because maybe that person could be a “thug,” even when the vast majority aren’t and white people are just as, if not more so, capable of doing bad things. But in the context of aliens vs humans instead. And what she’s doing is basically saying that everyone needs to carry a gun (or at least have access to one) to protect from those “thugs” because you never know when you’ll get jumped in an alley. But people use those guns to commit way more murders than use them for protection, and there are ample ways to protect themselves without using a gun. And whatever inventions she makes with the harun el will always have the potential to be used for ill, especially with the Children of Liberty and Lex coming into the picture. So the question is, should that kind of technology be created at all, knowing that it will likely be used for things Lena never intended, especially because Lena is creating it for a misguided reason in the first place? And that, I think, goes back to one of Lena’s flaws of shortsightedness, at least when it comes to her inventions. She creates things because she wants to help people, but seems to not really think about the harm her inventions could create. And doesn’t weigh the benefits to the costs, or at least, not in the same way as the audience will and thus often creates things that we, as an audience, are screaming at the screen “NO, DON’T DO THAT”)

Then there’s the whole James thing. I feel like his arc is him trying to convince himself that he’s doing this to find information, but he really is doing this to feel like he’s having an “active” role in helping the cause. Being a journalist doesn’t seem to be enough for him anymore. Ever since he became Guardian, he seems to have taken that to be his “real” self and James Olsen is the skin he wears in public and it’s become increasingly like that in S4. And it’s irritating. Especially because it’s almost the complete opposite of Kara’s arc of “She’s Kara first, Supergirl second.” And learning to bridge that gap and not let Supergirl rule her life. And that she can do just as much good (if not more) as Kara as she can as Supergirl. Perhaps this parallel is intentional, but it honestly just makes James annoying, not interesting. I want him to have more screentime and storyline. He got sorely neglected in S2 and some of S3. But its like they’re intentionally giving James, the black man they’ve largely forgotten about for a season and a half, a storyline where they’re casting him in a rather unflattering light, especially to (what I see as) the most vocal of the fanbase of Supergirl. This is far less than he deserves. He deserves a storyline that lets him really explore his role as a reporter whilst also grappling with not being able to be Guardian. Not running around with the domestic terrorist group in the name of “getting information,” because he wants to stroke his own ego. While also getting mad at his girlfriend because she wanted to help him and protect him and instead of working through conflict, getting overly emotional, kind of breaking up with her, and running off. Then ignoring the conflict and running headfirst into danger. She shouldn’t have lied to him, but he shouldn’t have flipped out as much as he did. Gotten angry, sure I could understand that. But “breaking up” with her? That seems a little extreme. And had roles been reversed, Lena would most certainly have been seen as this overreacting, hysterical woman who isn’t appreciative of her man trying to protect her, even if he has to go against her wishes. It’s such a common theme in the reverse and it’s always expected for the woman to forgive a “tiny white lie” because her loving boyfriend was just trying to protect her. And for the reverse scenario to be any different is dumb. 

Anyways, as someone who doesn’t watch the show religiously, there’s probably a lot I don’t fully grasp but this is how I see it from someone who watched S2, got really into character analysis for Lena specifically and identified strongly with Lena. The storyline just seems somewhat poorly thought out and neglects a lot of the past content in previous seasons and is treating their characters as they are plot vehicles, not actual characters. They seem intent on fitting these characters into specific archetypes and roles, rather than taking their characters and letting them (to some degree) organically grow. There’s nothing wrong with having a vision for a character, but to go directly against the established canon of behaviors and personality traits to fit characters to speak to the desired plotline (they did this to Kara a lot in S2 and S3 and seem to have figured it out for S4) makes the story feel disjointed and somewhat empty. 

[wits-writing]

BOOKENDS: Morrison/Porter JLA

I wanted to do something Justice League related before the release of the movie this week. Part of me wanted to do a full reread and analysis of Grant Morrison and Howard Porter’s run on JLA, but I wouldn’t have the time. Only looking at one story arc from the run was something else I considered, but picking one story from one of my favorite comic runs wouldn’t give me as much space to talk about broader themes. So, this will be a little experiment.

Welcome to “Bookends”: A series of essays where I take the opening and closing stories from a longform serialized narrative in any medium talk about the story’s evolution over time and how each story works as a beginning/ending respectively.

I’ll be looking at JLA: New World Order and JLA: World War III from writer Grant Morrison and artist Howard Porter. Their JLA run gets touted as one of the best in the team’s 57-year history and it’s easy to see why, despite some problems I’ll get into later. In the aftermath of Crisis on Infinite Earths, due to some editorial problems about what was going on with different major characters in the new status quo of the DC Universe, they couldn’t start with the A-List heroes many expected on the team. The new Justice League book would start in 1987 and mostly be a team of second string heroes that would go on to be the basis of the fondly remembered Justice League International era. It wouldn’t be until 1997 that the group fans refer to as “The Big Seven”; Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, The Flash, Aquaman, Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter, would take center stage of the new on-going Justice League of America comic.

[Full article under the cut]

The Series:

That comic, simply titled JLA, ended up being headlined by Morrison and Porter with inker John Dell. Part of Morrison’s reason for doing the book, which they state in their novel Supergods, was to remind publishers that they were capable of more mainstream work than the mind-bending fringe titles they were mainly known for at the time and still are to an extent. Their high-concept for the series was superheroes as larger than life mythical gods. Approaching the League this way lead to stories on a scale that usually gets reserved for event comics or multi-book crossovers as the order of the day for these adventures. Stories sent the League through space, into their own minds, the future and across dimensions and pitted them against foes both new and familiar. These stories also hit key points in Grant Morrison’s grand DC Comics metanarrative that plays at least a small part in every book they’ve done for the company.

These stories get as superhero as comics can be while still feeling accessible. New World Order, despite a little continuity cleanup from the previous Justice League run at the start, let’s the familiar iconography work to help the reader keep pace with everything going on.

The Beginning:

New World Order (JLA #1-4) shows the recently teamed-up Big Seven fighting against the threat of the Hyperclan, a team of alien superheroes, each with Superman-level powers of their own, claiming they’ll save humanity from the Earth’s environmental decline. It’s revealed quickly that the Hyperclan are up to no good as the JLA realize that facilities they’ve built on Earth are being used to send out mind control signals to humanity. The team splits up and goes across the globe to disable these devices to save the world. In the end, it’s revealed that the Hyperclan are the warmongering White Martians (making their first appearance in the DCU) and merely the forerunners to a larger invasion. The JLA stop the invasion before it begins by using the villains’ mental broadcast equipment against them to tell all of humanity about the Martian weakness to fire.

The Ending:

World War III (JLA #36-41) brings the run to an end with the JLA’s battle to stop the Anti-Sun Mageddon, an ancient cosmic weapon designed to kill gods. Before the League can take any pre-emptive actions, Lex Luthor’s Injustice Gang strikes at them. Meanwhile, the heroes of Earth are all brought in to manage the chaos on Earth caused by Mageddon’s influence. Elements from every story in the run, plus some Morrison material outside of it, leading up to this are brought in to add to the scale of this story, character arcs for individual members are concluded and a climax that brings into full view how much these superheroes have been able to do for humanity.

Parallels:

On the surface the main villains in these stories present different kinds of threats to the JLA. From theme to names to character design, the Hyperclan are perversions of what it means to be a superhero. Direct action on the issues facing humanity are a major part of how they initially sell themselves to humanity as faux-saviors. They turn deserts fertile and publicly execute supercriminals. Showy displays of “might makes right” force that Superman calls out as spectacle. Pitting the classic heroes of the DC Universe against characters that represent a modern take on the concept is a trick that didn’t start here and would go on to make other comebacks in future stories, notably in the Superman story “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice and the American Way.” In the case of New World Order, the device is used to show why these superheroes shouldn’t simply use their powers to overhaul the Earth’s problems. It’s their job to be exemplars for the rest of humanity to follow and it’s a key theme throughout Morrison’s JLA that people can reach for those impossible heights and beyond. The Hyperclan underestimating what humans without powers, including Batman, are capable of ends up their undoing as Batman pieces together their Martian nature and uses it against them.

Mageddon in World War III presents the JLA with a threat that takes the capacity people have to stand stronger together and twist it to create chaos. The Anti-Sun’s form is never seen in full, the closest the story comes is a shot of what appears to be its face barely contained in a full-page spread with Earth in the foreground for scale. It’s a cosmic, existential threat as much as a physical one. For the first half of the story, Mageddon is only spoken of and the influence it has can be felt in everything the heroes are trying to stop. The first thing we see of this primordial weapon is the aftermath of its strike against the supergods of Wonder World, turning what was supposed to be existence’s first line of defense against each other and destroying themselves. The early parts of the story mainly consist of dealing with Mageddon’s slowly increasing influence over Earth with every nation on the planet prepared to go to war with each other. The other key threat in this story is Lex Luthor’s Injustice Gang, which includes himself, Prometheus (a villain created during this run), Queen Bee and General Eiling. They think they’re in control in their plot to destroy the League by sabotaging the moonbase Watchtower and take credit for the building conflicts on Earth, only for Luthor to discover they’re pawns under Mageddon’s influence. The Injustice Gang ultimately serve Mageddon’s purpose by keeping the League occupied during its approach.

Both threats are ultimately defeated through methods that reinforce the key theme of the JLA under Morrison and Porter, that superheroes are at their strongest when inspiring people to stand together. Humanity’s potential to become something greater recurs throughout Morrison’s body of work, probably taking on one of its more literal forms by the end of this run. The White Martians and Mageddon each work to undermine that potential. Protex, leader of the Hyperclan, refers to humanity as “stunted slaves” that should be ruled over by the superpowerful during his final showdown with Superman. The White Martian talks about how they were able to manipulate primordial life on Earth and humanity will never reach what they could’ve become. Superman understands that humanity believes in him and he believe in them. It’s why he needs to be the one who sends the message to humanity about how to exploit the White Martians’ weakness, so the invasion can end before it begins. Humanity can’t be forced into greatness, that can only be accomplished by a steady climb to always get better and the JLA will be there, as Superman puts it, “To catch them if they fall.”

How they’re ultimately able to defeat Mageddon comes back to this idea in a big way. Over the course of World War III, many forces that could help the League, including Heaven itself (I’ll get back to that), are already convinced that Mageddon’s assault spells the end for existence. The power in this massive ancient weapon brings even Superman to his knees when he tries to assault the Anti-Sun from the inside, subjecting him to the full force of existential dread and depression it broadcasts. Thanks to multiple elements from the Morrison/Porter’s JLA run, the League broadcasts their own signal that unlocks all of humanity’s dormant potential and none of them hesitate to help their heroes. It’s being told about humanity standing together against the end of existence that frees Superman from Mageddon’s influence and leads to them cancelling the apocalypse.

Superman and Batman’s friendship and respect for each other plays into both conflicts as well. In New World Order, Superman is certain the Hyperclan are going to lose the second he realizes they’re underestimating Batman, tying into the theme of that story. It’s because Batman works out the Hyperclan’s Martian nature that Superman can break out of a mental trap they’ve put him in. That gets paralleled in World War III when Bruce, using Martian Manhunter as a mental go-between, reminds Clark about why they fight against all odd in a universe that couldn’t care one way or another. This results in a great panel by Porter and Dell featuring a mental image of an amalgamated version of the tragedies that define Clark, Bruce and J’onn’s origins.

The similarities between the main threats of these stories and how they resolve was a key inspiration for why they serve as a testing ground for “Bookends.” New World Order ends with Superman affirming that they’ll always be there to pick humanity up and keep them on the path to become better. World War III resolves when Superman realizes that humanity will likewise be there for him if he ever fell. Morrison’s bibliography often comes back to the power of ideas over reality and the concepts of inspiration and belief in each other are the ideas that manage to save the world in JLA.

Development:

Most of the development over the course of this run occurs in Howard Porter’s art. His linework at the beginning reflects a lot of art trends of mid-90s superhero comics and not just because Superman sports his post-Death/Return mullet. It has a sharp angular quality that works in favor of dynamic action sequences and the designs of the Hyperclan members, especially once they revert to their white Martian forms. Character emotions and other beats are usually served for the worse. There are some key exceptions in New World Order, most notably the smile on Superman’s face when he realizes that the Hyperclan have underestimated Batman’s capabilities. By World War III Porter’s art shifts to an overall cleaner style, human figures are more evenly proportioned and expressions are more recognizable. Helping matters is that the inking by John Dell seems less heavy by the end of the run as well.

The shifts in Morrison’s writing style between stories are subtler, such as the lack of narrative captions to emphasize the mood of the scene by the time World War III begins. Otherwise the shifts aren’t as much in style as in what elements are brought into JLA between the beginning and the end. Morrison and Porter created multiple new concepts and characters through the run that make major comebacks by the end. New villains like the previously mentioned White Martians and Prometheus would go beyond this run to play key roles in other major DC Comics stories (for better or worse.) The run also got more cosmic as it ran on in the buildup to the final story, with concept like Wonder World and the enlistment of the New Gods, namely Big Barda and Orion, among the JLA’s membership. The lineup expansion also included new heroes like Zauriel, the angel who fell to Earth so he can protect the woman he loves, and Aztek, a Grant Morrison and Mark Millar created hero who was designed to stop Tezcatlipoca (which turns out to be one of Mageddon’s other names.)

Beyond new concepts and expansion into a cosmic scope, Morrison would also start bringing in elements from the DC Universe like Barbara Gordon as Oracle managing the JLA’s tactics, John Henry Irons as Steel working as the Watchtower’s main engineer, Helena Bertinelli as Huntress working to prove herself a hero to Batman, and finally Plastic Man. Even all of that is only the stuff introduced in this run that’s most relevant to the bookending stories. So much of this comes into play in World War III that there’s so many moving parts involved and how the story keeps transitioning between all of them can make losing track  in certain spots understandable.

The Big Seven themselves are mostly left to stand as the mythic icons Morrison intended them to be in this run, reacting to threats as they arise. The ones who show the clearest development between the two stories are Wally West as The Flash and Kyle Rayner as Green Lantern. Kyle Rayner was still a relatively new creation at the time of this series, first introduced a mere three years earlier, so his rookie status and having to live up to the legacy of Green Lantern are the main sources of internal conflict for him. Wally starts off the story incredulous at this young guy who’s taken up a major legacy out of nowhere, when he was a superhero for years before taking up the Flash’s cowl. Wally does manage to gain respect for Kyle as a teammate by the end and Kyle fully steps into the role of Green Lantern in World War III by stepping up to help lead the heroes of Earth against Mageddon.

Revisiting New World Order and World War III does a lot to reaffirm why these characters are so interesting when they’re allowed to exist in these stories on their own terms. They’re the types of stories that work best in a serialized format like superhero comics. People are weary of continuity for multiple reasons, some of which I’ve gone into here, but stories like the ones in the Morrison/Porter run on JLA are some of the best arguments in its favor. To paraphrase Kyle Kallgren’s video essay on Buckaroo Banzai, no other genre would try and no other audience could buy into it without the context continuity creates.

Morrison/Porter’s JLA ends one of my favorite ways for serialized narratives to end, a reminder that things don’t end. As they’re winding down from fighting against a godkilling weapon, they receive a new report that Doctor Destiny has a new plot brewing and spring back into action, even if it’s a smaller threat. I love this type of ending because in life, even when things seem to be at peace, we always have to face the next day and we have the strength to get through it.

[silver-tangent]

So I finally got around to watching Batman V Superman. Honest opinion? 3/5...

Get ready for a Tangent review. I have ripped in BvS before but hadn’t actually seen it. I find that to be unprofessional of any nerd philosopher. If you are going to dislike something you need to know what you’re disliking. So I watched it… and before the lovers of the film get too excited, my opinion hasn’t changed. A 3/5 for a superhero movie isn’t quite up to par. Call me stubborn but I want a 7/10 or better.

I did watch the directors cut, because that’s all I had access to, so I don’t know what was removed from the theatrical version, please keep that in mind.

So no restraint on spoilers ahead, here we go…

The movie was pretty great… until Batman fought Superman. Even before that it was falling apart, but that is the kryptonite spear that did it in.

Here’s the thing; it’s okay to establish this as an alternate universe, and get away with a lot of character changes, but if you call it “the expanded universe” and never say “this is it’s own thing, not a cinematic earth 1” you’re going to be judged like it’s earth 1.

Let’s start with Batman: ruthless, dark, and no restraint on killing. He didn’t break his golden rule “no killing with guns” but he did in his dreams. That… I guess that’s okay? But Snyder even said that he took inspiration from the original comics; “Batman DID kill people back in the day.”

Okay… I’ll get back to that at the end.

Batman then blamed Superman for the destruction during Zod, and people were divided, with Bats saying “no he’s evil.”

Superman of course confronts him during a reckless chase against Lexcorp’s smuggling operation, somehow miraculously doesn’t destroy his own tracking device when he PLOWED INTO THE TRUCK! And then Superman says “stop it” and Batman says “YOU’RE NOT MY MOM!”

This all blows up when the hearing held by the… Superman senate? Who I really thought was run by his mom… was blown up. Sabotage.

Batman has had enough, and he basically calls Superman down for a death battle….

Let’s pause here for Supes… framed for murder, and not painted in the best light towards the people but completely innocent…. and feeling terrible for all of the people that get hurt…

But here’s probably my first complaint there; in every Superman movie, Superman is super fast, and basically able to do anything… unless someone has plot armor. Seriously Plot armor is a bigger weakness to Supes than Kryptonite in this movie. He didn’t even try to outrun the bomb, he just stood there in shock, when we’ve seen that he’s faster than a speeding bullet… faster than a speeding bullet; fast enough to go “oh shit a bomb!”

Yet he doesn’t. He also doesn’t grab Lex and SHOW HIM AND THE PHOTOS TO BRUCE WITH HIS SUPER STRENGTH AND SPEED, he immediately caves.

He has super hearing too. There are so many times someone could have whispered; “it’s a trap, don’t go…”

But… the plot… it’s called Batman v Superman. They have to fight.

Well then how about Lois Lane? Well Lois Lane used to be the damsel in distress character back in the 60s, but I’m fairly certain that even pre-crisis Lois had already started to become a feminist icon. She’s tough, she’s capable, she can take care of herself, and she’s the daughter of a military general who taught her how to fight……. and while she has situational awareness in this movie, she is somehow overpowered by two hired convicts, even though she recognized the ambush and called it out… and again by a bony, early twenties Lex Luthor… Before that I forgive, the guy at the beginning had a gun and she was surrounded. You’re probably sensing a theme here, and I will get to it in my closing statement.

So finally we have Lex. Despite all of the hate that Jesse Eisenberg got as Lex, I feel like his Lex was the best performance in the movie! “But he had hair!” I hear you say, “And he was wacky and erratic, not cool and collected!” Ah but Lex Luthor used to have hair, in fact he was a redhead before his hair fell out because of kryptonite induced cancer… back in the 60s… So Lex is a difficult character. We’ve all been spoiled by Michael Rosenbaum’s Lex, and why not? He was Lex for 10 years, but we forget that Lex has been changed over 50 years. The original Lex wasn’t a misunderstood genius who thought himself a savior, he was a land owner, a mad scientist/billionaire who wanted more money. A lot of his schemes were based around land ownership, no joke… Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex is like a combination of Gene Hackman and Kevin Spacey, and in that light he was terrific! He was wacky, but always in control, he played himself as a spoiled foolish child, but he was playing the audience the whole time! But… the question is why? He completely Sherlocked the audience with a twist “I planned all of it from the beginning” moment… yet… he… why did he do this? Why did he want to see Superman and Batman fight? He didn’t know about Darkseid until the end of the movie, he wasn’t trying to prevent that. Did he just want to watch them kill each other? Did he think he was saving the world? Did he just want them both out of the way? His original plan was either to get Superman to kill Batman, or have them kill each other… but… if Superman kills Batman, then what? Will you maintain control of him? How? The point of this made no sense, and what made even less sense was initiating plan B before plan A even failed… did the ship tell him something? That’s the only explanation, but again he was already planning to frame Superman, he already HAD framed Superman once. What was the motive?

Backing up from that; here’s my biggest issue with Lex… it felt like Snyder’s solution to make Lex appear smart was to make everyone else in the movie a complete idiot. That’s a great cop-out but it’s kinda obvious. Batman was looking into Lex, but never suspected a setup? Superman was defeated by Martha being kidnapped, and Lex didn’t even have kryptonite as insurance? Lois figured him out and was damseled IMMEDIATELY? Really it felt like Snyder didn’t know how to write Lex as a genius so he settled for writing Lex as smarter than everyone else…

So we get to the moment when Superman is sent to kill Batman… and Superman says “No you need to listen.”

And Batman says, “I’m a detective and have been doing this for years, so of course I’ll hear you out, what do you have to say?” “F** you I’m Batman” and sets off booby traps…

And Superman says “No listen.”

and Batman thinks he may have some important information, still doesn’t listen, and picks a fight…

And Superman quits trying… for some reason… and batman shoots him with Kryptonite and beats the crap out of him!

Superman starts to get back up! He’s not as powerful, but that’s okay because he still has kryptonite in his system and we watch as the kryptonite wears off and he suddenly has the upper hand… and uses it to talk some sense into batman kicks batman’s ass because that’s what the title is about!

Batman shoots superman with another Kryptonite gas bomb, and superman for some reason hasn’t learned the first time and doesn’t avoid it… maybe he was still a little weak… 

But now Batman has an advantage. He’s a genius. He was testing it the first time, counting the seconds! Now he knows how long the kryptonite lasts… wait… it… it just stays permanent this time… no consistency in how long it works…

and suddenly Batman pulls a spear out of nowhere…

and then the Martha scene, and for some reason even though it’s their job to kill her, they put off killing her to try to kill Batman… because movie…

after that though, I think the last segment is pretty decent. Not the best, but not bad, just a bit forced in the writing…

So what’s my takeaway? Well… a lot of Batflek fans have argued that this Batman is the ORIGINAL Batman, and that’s great! Yet they hate Lex… the thing is that for all it’s faults, it seems like Snyder was trying to make a classic DC film; a 1960s pre-crisis Batman and Superman film but set in the 21st century… and that would be okay I guess? 

But here’s my opinion on that… Batman, Lex, and Lois all changed for a reason. Batman’s was that gun violence was frowned upon and the publishers asked to get rid of guns. Some people want to rebel against that, but this happened before Batman was 5 years old… the truth is that as a character, he developed into the modern Batman, regardless of the reason. As for Lex and Lois? Their original characters aren’t relevant to the modern world. Lex evolved to appeal to the audience and became a Julius Caesar; someone who wants the best for his people but becomes a tyrant to make it happen, and that version of Lex has become the more popular version. Lois became more capable because of the women’s rights movement, and because a damsel in distress who has to be saved every single issue was going to get stale and unmemorable. These character changes are all relevant to who the characters are, and the fact that it was ignored for this movie was in my personal opinion a bad move.

Lex was handled okay, but it’s obvious that people want Julius Caesar, not Goldfinger, and he was somewhere in between that I could appreciate, but obviously a lot of people didn’t.

This movie, for what it was, was good and enjoyable… but it wasn’t spectacular or memorable. It won’t sink the DCEU, but it didn’t do it any favors. It was just a set up for a grand entrance later down the road, and I honestly think that it would have been a better movie if they took out “Batman vs Superman”

The entire team pushed too hard to make Superman and Batman fight, and I don’t think it was necessary. In the grand scheme of things they damaged both characters by making them fight.

Batman was too stubborn. He wasn’t rational. Batman can kill, sure, and Batman can even have guns to an extent, but he was completely reckless and the only point was to make Superman not like him, and to make him jump the gun. He’s supposed to be clever and forward thinking, but instead he jumps right into things over and over, without any regard for bystanders, his own tracking devices, or what the heck Lex is up to. The fact that he tracked packages back to Lexcorp should have been a red flag that something was amiss. He should have been willing to listen. Instead he became extremely angry and irrational, and yes I recognize that he just lost Robin, but even at his most broken state, he wasn’t this reckless.

Superman gave up too easily. He gave in to Lex’s blackmail, he froze when the bomb went off, he sacrificed himself pretty quickly, and he gave up on trying to talk with Batman… why?

Those two things, even when rationalizing it as a pre-crisis based movie, just don’t fit, and really it could have been written better to come to the same conclusion. However, as the characters that they’re supposed to be, they wouldn’t have fought. It would have made more sense to blackmail Batman into killing Superman than the other way around by having Robin be captive the whole movie…

So yeah, 3/5 good action movie… about as good as any other Batman movie…

[lopithecusfanfiction]

The End of the Star: Chapter One

Author: Lopithecus Pairing: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne Rating: Explicit Word Count: 3061 Alternate: AO3, fanfiction.net Summary: Bruce Wayne, is attacked and kidnapped on his way home from a charity event. Mysterious men whisk the billionaire away to a remote planet, light years away from Earth. A star system in peril needs his help. He must act to save the people of this strange new world. Things are not always as they seem, and what awaits on this alien odyssey will challenge even the Batman's resolve. Warnings: 

Homophobia

Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent

Kidnapping

Alien Abduction

Non-consensual drug use

Prison

Lex trolling

World Destruction

General Death

Minor Character Death

Genocide

It’s Brainiac’s fault

Ruffles

Boys in dresses

Cross Dressing

Plot

Porn with plot

Porn with feelings

Heartbreak

Resolved sexual tension

Author's Note: So, since the SB BB is now over, I figured I should finally start posting the chapters to this here. Some announcements first: See the wonderful art to this fic by VaticanSaint here! I would like to thank my beta bscao3 for beta reading this story. I wouldn't have been able to do this without her help and her encouragement. She worked so hard and I appreciate it so much! I would also like to thank VaticanSaint for making the wonderful art. His pieces are absolutely beautiful and I love them so much! Please enjoy!!

Chapter One:

“I would like to thank all of you for coming today and for your generous donations to the Worldwide Orphans Foundation. Your money will be used to give these children better lives and to help them have a brighter future. Thank you.” Bruce continues to stand up on the stage for a few seconds longer as applause erupts throughout the room, before he makes his way back to his seat. He is throwing a party in order to raise not only awareness for children that have been orphaned, but to also raise money for the Worldwide Orphans Foundation. The turnout has been immense, to Bruce’s pleasure, and he wouldn’t be all that surprised if it was because he was throwing it in Metropolis. Metropolis is a bit safer than Gotham after all.

He walks back to his table where Dick and Jason are currently sitting. Bruce had goaded Dick into coming. He might not be Robin anymore but he is still part of this family, and it is important that he show up to these things every once in awhile. Plus, he’s there when Jason gets bored and starts to act up. Dick can entertain him a lot better than Bruce can.

As he sits back down in his seat, Dick holds up his champagne glass. Bruce picks up his own, and Jason picks up the flute that currently has sparkling water in it. He had put up a fight about not having alcohol, claiming that he has had it before, but Bruce refused to allow a minor any sort of alcohol. “Congrats on being successful in this endeavor. A lot of people showed up,” Dick says, clinking their glasses together.

“Thank you Dick.” Bruce brings his glass to his mouth and takes a small sip. Dick does the same while Jason chugs his water.

“So does this mean we can go home now?” Jason asks, leaning back in his chair. His tux is all rumpled from when he carelessly slouched in his seat earlier. Alfred will be displeased.

Before Bruce can answer, a hand is placed on Jason’s shoulder. “I do hope you won’t be leaving us so soon Brucie.”

Bruce stands and offers his hand. “Lexie.”

He relishes the small grimace that Lex Luthor gives him. “Please, just Lex.”

“Whatever you say, Lexie.” Lex’s eyebrow twitches. “Have you donated yet?”

“Of course I have. I’ve donated half a million dollars.” Lex wipes the hand that he had shaken Bruce’s hand with on a napkin.

“Wow, Lexie! That almost rivals my million-dollar donation.” This time Lex’s whole face seems to twitch uncontrollably. He can see Jason laughing from the corner of his eyes and Dick isn’t doing much better.

Lex frowns. “Yes, well, we all can’t just throw our money at things Brucie.” He clears his throat, looking from Dick to Jason and then back to Bruce. He looks displeased. “Have a good evening.” He walks away and the three of them watch him leave in amusement.

“You know,” Dick starts. “You getting under Lex Luthor’s skin will never get old. It’s just so priceless.”

“Did you see his face?” Jason all but chokes out, he’s laughing so hard. “I thought he was having an aneurism or something.”

“Now, now boys, settle down. We really shouldn’t tease the competition.” Bruce smirks and the two boys erupt in more laughter. When they finally calm down, Bruce answers Jason’s initial question. “We’ll leave in another hour. It’s important to show our faces at these things, and it would be rude of me to leave so soon after the speech.” Jason groans. “Don’t worry Jason, the hour will go by before you know it. Then we’ll go back to Gotham and do our regular patrol.”

“Yeah. I’ll head back to Bludhaven. It was nice seeing you and the squirt, but my city needs me” Dick shrugs. Bruce nods in understanding. It had hurt when Dick decided to leave, but they didn’t part on bad terms. Dick just grew up, something Bruce had a hard time accepting at first. Then he met Jason, and it made it a little bit easier to accept that Dick was no longer the little boy from the circus.

The hour passed quickly. Bruce mingled with other socialites and Dick kept Jason out of trouble. He’s thankful for that. Soon he’s ushering his boys away from a throng of young women, who were flirting with Dick and gushing over Jason. He leads them to the exit, and to the limousine.

Barely ten minutes down the road, Alfred stops the car unexpectedly. Bruce knows there isn’t a streetlight or stop sign here. There’s no reason for Alfred to stop the vehicle. Bruce leans forward and presses the button for the speaker. “Alfred, what’s going on?”

“There is someone standing in the middle of the road Sir, blocking our way,” Alfred answers. “He won’t move no matter how much I honk.”

Bruce looks towards the boys, exchanging confused glances. “Don’t worry about it Alfred. I’ll take care of it.” He then says to Dick and Jason, “Stay here. Dick, make sure Jason stays here.”

Jason crosses his arms. “Hey, I don’t need a babysitter!”

Bruce just gives him a stern look, and exits the limo. The first thing he sees when he looks over at the person who is blocking their way, is how the person is dressed. They’re male, and wearing a black, one piece bodysuit. Frilly sequins adorn the seams, with a long black cape, and some kind of symbol on his chest.

Bruce approaches cautiously, glancing back at the limousine. This person looks like they belong in Arkham. “Can I help you?”

“Bruce Wayne?”

“Yes?”

The man holds up a gun and Bruce stops walking immediately, holding up his hands with his palms facing out. The man says something in a language Bruce has never heard, and two more similarly clad men walk out of the shadows. One wears a green version of the black ensemble, the other man is in all red. The stranger in black barks orders at the two colorfully dressed men

Bruce can only watch in worry as the one in red approaches the driver’s side of the limousine and smashes the window. A small sphere is shoved in past the broken glass of the window, and the man presses a button. Smoke comes out of the device, and Bruce can see through the windshield that Alfred falls unconscious. “What did you do?” he demands of the guy in black but there is no response. The man in green walks to the back of the limo, and opens the door with strength Bruce has only seen from Bane. He repeats the action of the man in red, and smoke fills the back, knocking Dick and Jason unconscious as they fight to get out. Bruce turns back to the one in black. “If you hurt them-”

“We did not Bruce Wayne” Before Bruce can comprehend what’s going on, the man in green approaches him from behind and shoots some of the smoke onto his face. Bruce flinches backwards and tries to hold his breath, too late. He was caught off guard and Bruce can feel his eyelids getting heavy. “Don’t fight it Bruce Wayne. It’ll be easier if you just go along with it.”

“F-fuck you.” He doesn’t even remember hitting the ground.

*~~~*

Bruce opens his eyes groggily and blinks his heavy eyelids. He’s restrained to the wall by his wrists and ankles. He also has some kind of breathing mask on his face, it appears to be pumping, what he can only guess, is oxygen, into him. Bruce doesn’t know where he is or what is happening. A low humming sound, accompanied by a jostling that seems to indicate movement, can be heard. He can’t quite imagine what he’s in because nothing looks familiar.

Bruce looks around the room, trying to blink the fogginess from his vision. Beside him, another person is restrained, and it takes a few seconds for his mind to catch up. His fellow prisoner is none other than a knocked out Lex Luthor himself. This only makes Bruce more confused. Maybe they are being held for ransom. This conclusion didn’t fit with the indicators from the man who had stopped the limousine. No, there was something more going on here.

He pulls on the restraints. There is not even a rattle due to the lack of give. Under normal circumstances, he has the skills to escape, but he has no tools. The belt he wears with his BatSuit is not with him. He can’t just sit there and do nothing, so Bruce uses his clever brain and begins to think. How is he going to get out of this?

Bruce deliberates for a good minute until the door opens with a swish. Bruce looks in the direction of the sound and watches as two people enter the room. It’s two of the three people who had stopped the limousine earlier; the one in black and the one in red.

“Who are you?” He asks, his voice thick and muffled from the mask. They ignore him, and begin to speak in that strange language Bruce heard earlier. They are gesturing to him and Lex along with the restraints. One of them appears angry.

They turn to him and the one in black starts to talk in English. “Hello, we mean you no harm.”

“Who are you?” Bruce tries again.

“That is of no concern of yours. What matters is, we need your help.”

“I’m not helping you until you tell me if my family is okay, and what the hell is going on,” Bruce grits out.

The one who was talking to Bruce turns to his partner, says something in that strange language, and turns back to Bruce. “You will know everything once we return.”

“Return?” Bruce says in alarm. “Return where?” But neither answer, they simply ignore him and leave the room. Bruce sags in his restraints, not knowing what to really do. He can’t get out of his restraints, or the situation as a whole, he doesn’t know what’s happening. He hates it.

Alarm shoots through Bruce when he hears a hissing sound. His mask begins to fill with a green gas. He holds his breath, being able to hold it for up to four minutes, but the gas keeps coming and he can’t help but breathe it in. His vision starts to go blurry once more and the room starts spinning. Bruce tries to fight it, but the drug that they are giving him is too strong, and he ends up passing out.

*~~~*

When Bruce wakes again, he’s in a room that looks a lot like a bedroom. Bruce is lying on a bed, dressed in some kind of white gown and with purple frill. Bruce runs a hand down the gown, feeling the texture. He’s not sure what material it’s made from, it’s silky, soft and very comfortable.

Bruce sits up and looks around the room carefully. It’s spacious, with white walls and dark grey carpet. The walls are bare, with the exception of a window that seems to be letting in an unusual red glow. It gives everything in the room a crimson hue. The only other furnishing appears to be a wooden desk. At least Bruce is no longer restrained.

He gets up off the bed and walks cautiously towards the window. It’s open and letting in a cool breeze. The air smells different. As if it is somehow cleaner, but without the sense of home. Bruce doesn’t appear to be on Earth anymore. There are tall buildings looking nothing like the cities he’s seen before. Bruce knows he is at the top of one of those buildings because his view drops down steeply. He can see patches of purple on the ground, and grey rocky paths. The most striking thing is the sky. Instead of blue refracting from a yellow sun, there is a red horizon accompanied by a glowing, fiery, crimson star.

Bruce backs away from the window and takes a deep calming breath. Admittedly, he’s starting to get extremely worried. All he knows for sure is that he’s not on Earth anymore, which means whoever his kidnappers are, they are extraterrestrial. Human looking aliens, but aliens nonetheless. Bruce didn’t know such things existed, let alone ones that looked just like him. He’s also concerned to know if Alfred, Dick and Jason are all right.

When he hears a click from behind him, he twists around, getting into a defensive stance. Bruce calms, however, when instead of seeing an aggressor, he sees a wide-eyed man poking his head into the room. The man looks curious but wary, looking Bruce up and down.

Bruce takes a hesitant step towards him and the man flinches back. Bruce holds up his hands, palms out. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” The man looks Bruce up and down again and then hesitantly moves a little further past the door, until his shoulders can be seen. “Do you know English?” The man looks at Bruce in confusion. “Okay, do you know any language that is on Earth? French? Spanish maybe? Hell, even Russian or Japanese? Mandarin?”

Half a minute passes without a response and Bruce sighs in defeat. Then the man asks, “Earth?”

Bruce perks up. “Yes, Earth. Any language from there?”

The man warily enters the room completely. He’s tall, about an inch or two taller than Bruce, black hair and bright blue eyes. He, too, is wearing a black one piece with white frills. He also has a red cape that drapes in the back and the front of the outfit. Bruce becomes hyper aware of the gown he wears. Why is he the only one clothed in such an outfit? “Know little English.”

“Good!” Bruce takes another step and the man backs up again. “It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you. My name is Bruce. What’s yours?”

“Kal-El.”

“Kal-El, it’s nice to meet you. Can I call you Kal?”

“That not right, name sounds different from you, ok?”

Bruce raises an eyebrow at the broken English. He did say he only knew a little. Bruce clears his throat and gets to the point. “Do you know what I’m doing here?”

Kal shakes his head. “No, father not tell me.”

Bruce is starting to feel frustrated. He can’t seem to get answers from anyone and his worry is eating away at him. In frustration, Bruce glances to the window. Maybe he can get a few other answers to some different questions then. “Okay, how about this? Where am I?”

Kal’s head tilts. “Do not know?”

“No one has told me anything.”

“Father not tell you?” He looks confused now, as if he doesn’t believe Bruce. “Not father.”

“Well he didn’t,” Bruce says, hoping that one of those men that he interacted with on what he assumes was a spaceship really was Kal’s father. “Can you tell me?”

Kal moves around the door to close it quietly behind him. Bruce starts getting more apprehensive now. He doesn’t like that Kal just shut the door and not knowing what he is going to do to him. Except Kal just stands there, still looking a bit scared of Bruce but curious at the same time. Bruce stays where he is standing, not wanting to scare him. “You on planet called Krypton.”

“Krypton?” Bruce has never heard of it. “And how far away from Earth is it?”

“Your measures?” Bruce nods and Kal looks up in thought, calculating in his head. “Twenty-seven point one light years.”

Bruce balks. “What?”

“Twenty-seven point-”

Bruce waves his hand to stop Kal from talking. “No no, I didn’t actually want you to repeat what you said I’m just… surprised, that’s all.”

“Surprised?”

“As in, not expecting that answer. That’s… that’s a long way away from Earth, Kal.”

“Is it?”

Bruce nods. “Yes, it is.” He then pinches the bridge of his nose. He and Lex are in deep trouble. “And you are?”

Kal looks confused again. “I tell you. I Kal-El.”

Bruce, with his teeth clenched and eyes shut in frustration, says as calmly as possible. “I meant species. What species are you?” He looks up at Kal. “For example, I’m a human.”

Kal perks. “You human? Me wanting to meet human.” He then smiles warily, looking down as if he’s shy. “Me, no not right, I Kryptahnium or as English, Kryptonian”

“From Krypton… right. And the language?”

“Kryptahniuo or Kryptonian,” Kal says with another shy smile.

The way Kal says the words catches Bruce’s attention and he comments on it. “Why is it two different ways of saying it in Kryptonian but not English?” Kal just shrugs, still smiling. “Okay, and the red sun?”

“What about?”

“I come from a planet that has a yellow sun. Why isn’t your red sun affecting me?”

Kal shrugs again. “Put you process, aba… arda.. adapt to sun, and.. atmosphere?”

Bruce nods, realizing that must have happened when he was still knocked out. He doesn’t exactly like that fact, but at least he doesn’t have to wear some type of protected suit. He then notices Kal is still smiling. “Why are you smiling?”

“Question you arks, mm ask, amusing.” Kal chuckles. “me is, I is, I find amusing”

Bruce nods again, not really finding any of this amusing whatsoever. Annoyance quickly rises in him. “I’m glad you find this so funny and entertaining. Me, on the other hand, doesn’t find it particularly amusing considering I was the one kidnapped and brought twenty-seven point one light years away from my home planet.”

By now Kal’s smile has disappeared. “Kidnapped?”

“Taken against my will.”

Kal straightens, shaking his head. “No, father would take with, with permission. Never against will.”

“Well he did, Kal.”

“No,” Kal says sharply, looking hurt. “You lie.”

Before Bruce can tell him otherwise, Kal is through the door and gone. Bruce, taking the opportunity, walks up to the door and tries to open it. It’s not locked but as he steps out, a big man steps in front of him. Speaking in that alien language, Bruce is shoved back into the room. The door shuts with a slam and he can hear the click of a lock.

Bruce sighs.

A/N: Thanks for reading!

[ramajmedia]

Justice League: Wonder Woman's Role In The Snyder Cut Explained

Like her fellow protectors of Earth, Wonder Woman had a very different portrayal in the Justice League Snyder Cut. Zack Snyder stepped down from the director's chair following the tragic loss of his daughter while the film was in post-production. Ultimately, Joss Whedon was brought in to oversee Justice League's reshoots. The official stance of Warner Bros. at the time was that these were normal pickups that most major tentpole blockbusters undergo and were only intended to complete Snyder's vision for the film. However, upon the film's release, fans quickly discovered that this was hardly the case, with the version of Justice League released into theaters being a sharp detour from what Snyder intended.

In the nearly two years since Justice League's release, DC fans have continuously lobbied Warner Bros. to release the Snyder Cut. Snyder himself has given them plenty of ammunition for their efforts, with a steady stream of teases of his cut on social media. Additionally, a growing number of Justice League's cast and crew have joined fans in calling for the Snyder Cut's release, with Aquaman star Jason Momoa recently confirming to have seen it himself. But while it hasn't released yet (and possibly may never do so), there are quite a few things we know about it already.

Related: How The Flash Was Different in Zack Snyder's Cut of Justice League

With Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman being released in June 2017, it served as the final primer for Justice League, and set Diana up as a major player in the superhero ensemble after her supporting role in Batman v Superman. However, while we don't have as full a picture on Diana's original role in the film in comparison to other characters, the evidence available makes clear that her portrayal was also drastically altered by the reshoots. Here's what we know right now about Wonder Woman's original role in Justice League.

While Diana herself is not physically present in Justice League's history lesson, the reshoots had a ripple effect on the entire film. As seen in the theatrical version, Earth had previously been invaded by the forces of Apokolips, with Amazons, Atlanteans, the Gods of Olympus, and even the Green Lantern Yalan Gur repelling Steppenwolf's invasion. All of this is shown through a flashback in the movie, with Diana providing a narration to Bruce Wayne and the audience.

Per Snyder's teases on the social media app Vero, we know that the history lesson played out differently in his cut. Principal among them was the inclusion of Darkseid. While the theatrical version would swap out Darkseid for Steppenwolf, the zig-zagging that Yalan Gur's power ring does after he is killed by Steppenwolf suggests that it may have been a repurposed Omega Beam from Darkseid.

Additionally, the Snyder Cut was set to pit Darkseid against Ares, played in the film by stunt man Nick McKinless. While this doesn't directly reveal anything about Diana's larger role in Justice League, the contrast of the two versions of the history lesson indicates that her narration was added in by the reshoots. For that matter, Nick McKinless would only receive a "stunts" credit on the film, despite being specifically contracted to play Ares, without seeing any expected residuals from it.

With the ending of Batman v Superman, the presence of Darkseid in Justice League seemed like a foregone conclusion. In the aftermath of Superman's death in battle against Doomsday, Lex Luthor warns a furious Batman that "He's hungry, he's found us, and he's coming!". That could be seen as a reference to Steppenwolf, especially after his meeting with Lex in the Kryptonian scout ship (deleted from the theatrical version, but restored in the Ultimate Edition), but it's safe to say that DC fans took this as a tease for Darkseid's role in Justice League.

As revealed by Snyder on Vero, Darkseid's removal also affected Diana's role in the film. Snyder first teased a never-before-seen image of Diana, with her appearing unsettled by something she's seeing off camera. It wasn't until later that Snyder revealed that Diana was looking at a mural of Darkseid. Snyder ominously captioned the photo with, "A bell can't be unrung", a direct quote from Lex's prophecy to Batman, effectively confirming that Darkseid was indeed the force of evil Lex had been referring to. While this may or may not have tied in with the history lesson, it illustrates the ripple effect that the changes, like the removal of Darkseid (later revealed to have been played by Ray Porter in the Snyder Cut), ultimately had on the rest of the film.

Related: Justice League: How Batman Was Different In Zack Snyder's Original Cut

Wonder Woman's role in Justice League was also considerably sexualized by the reshoots. This is partially seen in her relationship with Batman. While not rising to level of an outright romance, the reshoots would inject much more sexual tension between her and Bruce. Another major indication of the impact the reshoots had on Diana's role comes during the League's initial tunnel battle with Steppenwolf, with Barry falling into Diana's cleavage after pushing her out of the path of falling debris. This recalls a similar scene involving Hawkeye falling into Black Widow's chest in Joss Whedon's Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Furthermore, as the League heads into the final battle with Steppenwolf, Aquaman sits on the Lasso of Truth and shares his suppressed feelings of camaraderie with his fellow heroes, which include hitting on Diana. Wonder Woman was certainly not the only female character whose role in Justice League saw these kinds of changes, as seen in Lois commenting "you smell good" to the newly resurrected Superman, or in Martha Kent's infamous "thirsty" line. Taken together, all these make clear just how much Wonder Woman and other female characters became objectified by the reshoots.

Related: Which Justice League Lines Are Definitely Whedon?

The exact nature of Superman's resurrection in the Justice League Snyder Cut remains among the film's biggest mysteries. However, we know it played out quite differently under Snyder's direction. One major piece of evidence in this regard comes from an image released by Snyder on social media, showing Diana, Arthur, Barry, and Victor retrieving Kal-El's body from the Smallville cemetery. The version of the scene in the theatrical cut only involves Barry and Victor, indicating another change to Diana's role in Justice League, and likely a crucial one, given the significance of Superman's resurrection in the film.

Additionally, the League's meeting in the Batcave where Bruce first proposes bringing Superman back to life is also a reshoot. We can infer as much just from looking at the trailer released at San Diego Comic-Con 2017, which shows snippets of a clearly different version of the League's Batcave meetup. Furthermore, the version shown in the theatrical cut doesn't technically take place in the Batcave at all, but rather a reframed version of the Wayne Aerospace set made to look like the two locations are the same. This effectively means that Diana's entire appearance in the Batcave meeting comes from the reshoots, to include her giving Bruce a violent shove after his dig referencing her past relationship with Steve Trevor. However, despite what we can currently pinpoint to the reshoots from these scenes, the exact nature of what Diana's role was in the Batcave meeting and the retrieval of Superman's body remains unknown.

Related: Superman's Original Role in Zack Snyder's Justice League Cut Explained

One of the most dramatic of the changes made to Justice League can be seen in the contrast between the ending of the theatrical version and that of the Snyder Cut. The plot device of Parademons smelling fear is itself an insertion from the reshoots. It was first seen in the film's opening minutes, with Batman battling a lone Parademon in Gotham City and making the discovery, along with their vulnerability to sound. This leads him to attempt to distract the Parademons with sonic waves during Justice League's climactic battle. When the League begins to gain the upper hand with Superman's arrival, Diana shatters Steppenwolf's axe to pieces with her sword. With the villain now stricken with fear, his Parademon army turns on him before they teleport back to Apokolips through a Boom Tube.

Not only are the elements of Parademons smelling fear and their weakness to sound a product of the reshoots, but Steppenwolf also met a far more brutal end, originally. As revealed by Snyder on Vero, the final battle of Justice League concluded with Wonder Woman making the same flying leap with her sword, only to behead Steppenwolf in Snyder's cut of the film. Additionally, Wonder Woman wasn't the only member of the League to go much harder on the villain than seen in the theatrical cut, as Steppenwolf's demise would come after he'd gone toe-to-toe with an "unhinged" Superman (in the words of storyboard artist Jay Oliva).

As is the case with virtually every constituent member of the Justice League, the changes currently known to have been made to Wonder Woman's role in the film could well be infinitesimal compared to the full extent of the alterations. Indeed, Wonder Woman's full role in the Snyder Cut is less known compared to other characters. With Gal Gadot set to return as Diana in Wonder Woman 1984, the character is sure to remain a cornerstone for the DCEU. However, the rallying cry for the release of the Snyder Cut is clearly nowhere near dying down, especially with more and more of the cast and crew beginning to voice their support for its release. Ultimately, the greenlight for its release can only be given by Warner Bros. (as Snyder himself has pointed out). Until that day comes, the full picture of Wonder Woman's original role in the Justice League Snyder Cut will remain as much of a mystery as the rest of the film.

Next: Justice League: What HASN'T Been Revealed About The Snyder Cut Yet?

source https://screenrant.com/wonder-woman-justice-league-snyder-cut-role-explained/