Arrow-verse Strikes Multiple Targets

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Spotlight:

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Space…, the final frontier, these are the voyages of the Starship E___________________. Admiral Jean-Luc Picard hasn't been on the bridge of the Enterprise, or any starship, for the better part of two decades. Since leaving Starfleet in protest of policy, our, once, star trekking hero has been content to maintain his vineyard and produce wine under his family’s label. His golden years are suddenly disturbed by a mystery which, may, harken back to his days as a starship captain.

After having viewed the first two episodes, I have, so far, been treated to an exciting mystery. Like its online counterpart, Star Trek: Discovery, Picard isn’t as episodic as classic Star Trek series. Rather, it’s produced as one long novel with episodes as chapters. While I’ve found the new format to be tiresome on Discovery, it’s kept me interested to this point. I don't want to say too much about the show, but its runners have teased cameos from Data, Riker & Troi, and 7 of 9.

Fans can watch new episodes each Thursday, exclusively on CBS ALL ACCESS for $9.99 per month ($5.99 with commercials). Oh, and for those wanting more backstory, it can be found in the three-part comic book series Star Trek: Picard---Countdown.

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Arrow-verse Strikes Multiple Targets: (SPOILERS AHEAD!)
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On October 10, 2012 Oliver Queen found his way off of Lian Yu, and began his journey toward becoming Green Arrow. When Arrow premiered on the CW Network, showrunners, Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim, meant for it to be a quasi-realistic vigilante crime drama rather than a superhero show. That strategy lasted for one season.

Once The Flash spun off of Arrow, super powers, time travel, mysticism, and heroic teams became staples of both shows. Before long, Green Arrow was fighting alongside; Black Canary, The Atom, Mr. Terrific, and Speedy/Red Arrow; while The Flash teamed up with Kid Flash, Vibe, Killer Frost, Firestorm, and, later, Elongated Man.

As each show was forming a miniature Justice League of its own, Supergirl was forming alliances with Martian Manhunter, Valiant, and others over on CBS. Eventually, Supergirl jumped over to the CW in order to make annual crossovers easier. Once that happened, the franchise added Legends of Tomorrow, Black Lightning, and Batgirl. They even retroactively included NBC’s Constantine after it had been off the air for three years.

The lone show, Arrow, had blossomed into an intertwined universe of its own. Although all the shows tell superhero stories, each has succeeded in maintaining its own tone. Arrow, Batgirl, and Black Lightning offer dark gritty tones while Flash, Supergirl, and Legends keep things light and, occasionally, comedic. In fact, Black Lightning was so dark, there was online debate as to whether it was part of the shared reality.

Ironically, the recent mega crossover, Crisis on Infinite Earths, which removed all doubt that the tales are connected, saw the death of Green Arrow and the cancellation of his show. Fear not though, there's an upcoming spinoff featuring Green Arrow’s daughter on the way. And, now that Green Arrow's soul has adopted the mantle of The Specter, God's Spirit of Vengeance, there's every reason to believe Steven Amell will pop up from time to time.

Plus, fans are about to be treated to a Stargirl series, a Superman series, and a purportedly connected Green Lantern series over on HBO.

The televised DC Universe is the realization of one of my childhood fantasies. Seriously. I’d have loved to have seen Linda Carter’s Wonder Woman interact with other superheroes. Yet, back then we were lucky to see one comic book TV series per season, and even then they almost never fought super villains.

The televised story telling fans have been treated to within CW’s DC Universe is vastly superior to televised comic book fare of the past, which doesn't mean there's not room for growth. We know Batman has disappeared from Gotham, but we haven't seen, this universe’s, Robins or Nightwing. Plus, fans of Charmed & Legacies could easily be drawn to a, magic based, Dr. Fate series.

Future plans aside, what's being produced now is some quality comic book TV.
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Who's Watching HBO's Watchmen?

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Watchmen was a 12 issue comic book series which ran from September of 1986 until October of 1987. Rather than giving readers the well-adjusted noble superheroes we were accustomed to; Alan Moore painted a very dystopian picture of selfish emotionally damaged heroes. On October 20th, HBO premiered the first episode of Watchmen, a series supposedly inspired by Moore’s classic tale. Below are my thoughts on the show. Spoilers ahead.
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Going in, I knew the show would deliver an original story, instead of a retelling of the, now, classic comic book tale. However, I expected a story featuring the superheroes from the Watchmen super team.

Instead of a story featuring Dr. Manhattan, The Comedian, Silk Spectre, or Night Owl II, the focus of the series is on an original character, Sister Night, a stealthy police detective serving a small town’s police force where all police hide their identities for fear of reprisal. We do see news reports about the superheroes in the background, but they’re there more to justify the use of the “Watchmen," label than they are to move the story forward.

The Watchmen character we saw the most of was Rorschach. Well… sort of. Replacing Rorschach, the noir-esc hero, was a cult donning Rorschach masks. We know the cult is on the wrong side of the law, but weather they’re heroes or villains is unclear. Equally unclear is their connection to the hero they’re modeled after, or if he exists at all.

It’s a textbook example of bait & switch. Imagine going to an “Avengers” movie only to have it be about Luke Cage living in a small town. The product may very well prove to be an exciting story. It’s just not the one fans, like me, tuned in to see.

Final Note:
Interestingly enough, Amazon Prime streams a dark superhero show called The Boys, which reminds me more of the Watchmen comic book than the show which bares its name.
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Super Hero Prequels

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In 1999, George Lucas gave fans the first chapter of Darth Vader's origin story.  While Phantom Menace was, unquestionably, the worst movie of the Star Wars franchise (at least until Solo hit the big screen), it made over $1 billion and reignited the Star Wars universe. 

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Perhaps inspired by the success of the prequel, DC gave TV viewers a prequel of its own two years later.  Smallville, told the story of young Clark Kent coming to terms with his powers.  Unlike the syndicated Superboy series of the early 90s, Smallville focused as much on teen angst as on super powered plots.

I made the mistake of writing the show off early on, because I felt it was a cross between Superboy and Dawson’s Creek.  Despite what I thought, the show developed a huge following and lasted ten years.

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In 2014, FOX aired Gotham, the story of the city about ten years before Batman took to the mean streets.  While young Bruce Wayne definitely played a major role in the series, it really focused on a heroic Jim Gordon earning his future job as Police Commissioner.  

The series just wrapped up a few months ago, and I was sorry to see it go.  Not only were we given rich foundations for our heroes, but popular villains such as the Riddler, Penguin, and Catwoman were portrayed as multi-layered characters rather than one dimensional evil foils for Wayne and Gordon.

Right now, the Syfy Channel (don’t get me started on the whole Syfy vs. Sci-Fi thing) is airing season 2 of Krypton.  Basically, Krypton is to Superman what Caprica was to Battlestar Galactica (2004)… with a bit of Terminator thrown into the mix.  The series chronicles Adam Strange traveling back in time to protect Superman’s grandfather, Seg El, from Superman’s enemies seeking to prevent Superman’s birth.

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Setting aside the fact that if one can travel through time and space one can probably shoot down a rocket solely occupied by a baby, Krypton is an immensely fun show.  Not only have we been treated to live action versions of classic characters such as Brainiac, Lobo, Doomsday, and the aforementioned Adam Strange, but the scripts and production values are movie quality. 

This Sunday, July 28, 2019, epix is scheduled to premiere the prequel series, Pennyworth, about a young Alfred meeting Thomas Wayne.  At first I thought, “Who cares about a pre prequel about a butler?”  Then I remembered the character was a British intelligence agent before he came to work for Wayne Manner.
            
Judging by the trailers, Pennyworth looks like it has the potential to be an exciting TV show filled with humor, action, and Easter Eggs (allusions to related material).  Based solely on what I’ve seen, it looks to me as if the main antagonists will belong to the Court of Owls, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the League of Assassins being involved in some way too.

There's room for lots of other fresh material to be produced within the prequel genre.  I wouldn't mind seeing a pre-Hal Jordan Green Lantern series featuring Abin Sur.  Whatever the powers that be have in store, it’s a pretty safe bet that fans will be shown back stories of our favorite characters for some time to come.
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Spotlight:

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Wolverine is the best at what he does, selling comics.  Since returning from the grave late last year, Wolverine has been featured in Uncanny X-Men, War of the Realms, Infinity Watch, and other series which I’m probably not aware of.  However, he has yet to return to his own series

Instead of relaunching a Wolverine title, Marvel has spent the Summer putting him in a bunch of one-shot stories.  These solo appearances include; Wolverine vs. Blade, Wolverine + Captain America, Wolverine: Exit Wounds, and bizarrely a Wolverine Annual #1 for a title which doesn't exist.


Granted, this format has the benefit of allowing readers to by only the stories they want, without having to wait for another story to end.  I get it.  However, in order for that to work, one has to be aware of each one-shot coming out.  Keeping track of multiple publications can be a daunting task, even for a mega-nerd such as me; a casual reader doesn't stand a chance.


It would make much more sense to release the stories sequentially under a single title, so readers can sign up for “Wolverine” and know they're going to get every story.

Bye Bye Westeros

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It's been way too long since I’ve written one of these blogs.  I have no excuse.  Well, that’s not true.  I have multiple excuses, but simply none that are any good.  I think my sails lost some wind when I couldn't get to the movies to see Captain Marvel or SHAZAM!

While I’ve been gone, the world of geekdom has seen several major developments.  I’m not going to address them all, but I want to touch on two of them.

SPOILER WARNINGS FOR AVENGERS/AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D & GAME OF THRONES
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I'm not going to address the events of End Game, it's been analyzed by a good portion of blogosphere has already picked it apart.  That being said, I feel the need to address a plot hole regarding Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  The show was synced with the Avengers’ timeline at the end of last season.  This season picked up one year later, which should put it a year after the snap.  Yet, the show completely ignores the fact that half the people on Earth are gone.  It's just lazy writing.  Grrrrrrrrrr…….  Enough said about that.

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I’d rather spend time giving my impressions of the Game of Thrones’ finale.  I know that’s been picked apart too, but I’ve been hashing it over with my friend Kyle, so I thought it'd be fun to post my thoughts here too.  Kyle, you can take a nap, I’ve told you all this.

I liked the way the story ended,  for the most part.  Although, I wanted Sam to kill Daenerys to avenge his father and brother.  Jon doing it though was powerful, but having Daenerys inadvertently create her own worst enemy would have been so much more epic.

In a similar vain, I REALLY WANTED Jaime to kill Sersi.  It would have been a great moment of redemption for his character.  Going from an incestuous sleaze who pushes boys out of windows to a knight who kills his lover for the good of the kingdom would have made a complete hero’s journey.  Still dying in each other's arms, while Bran came out on top was poetic justice.

When I watched it, I groaned at Bran becoming king.  I thought they did it just for the sake of the big twist.  I thought about it though, and given all the people who struggled to protect him, it made sense.  Hodor died holding the door to protect the one who would be king.  We live for the one, we die for the one.  Oh wait, that’s from a different saga.

I think Arya served her purpose.  Some people think she should've killed Sersi, but given that she had already killed the Night King and saved humanity from the White Walkers, it seems like a lot to ask.  Just saying.  There is a rumor she may get her own spin-off showing us what's west of Westeros.  We’ll see.

Right now, I’m gearing up for The Dark Phoenix Saga.  I know going in that they have to combine The Phoenix Saga with The Dark Phoenix Saga, so that won't bother me.  I just hope they do better with The Dark Phoenix Saga than they did with Apocalypse.

Enjoying War Of The Realms

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Enjoying War Of The Realms:

When Odin of Midgard, Thor’s father, is, supposedly, murdered by Malekith’s forces, the Ten Realms are drawn into a war which will determine the fate of all existence.

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After reading issue #1, this is my non-spoilery synopsis of Marvel’s latest mega event, War Of The Realms. Like all mega events, since the original Secret Wars, the story consists of a main title, several tie-in titles, and relevant issues of ongoing titles.

Act 1: The World at War - April Books
War of the Realms #1 |
War of the Realms #2 |
Asgardians of the Galaxy #8 |
Avengers #18 |
Thor #12 |
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #43 |
Venom #13 |
War of the Realms: Journey Into Mystery #1 |
War of the Realms: Punisher #1 |
War of the Realms: War Scrolls #1 |
War of the Realms: Uncanny X-Men #1 |

Act 2: (Title Unknown) - May Books
War of the Realms #3 |
War of the Realms #4 |
War of the Realms Strikeforce: The Dark Elf Realm #1 |
War of the Realms Strikeforce: The War Avengers #1 |
War of the Realms Strikeforce: The Land of Giants #1 |
War of the Realms: Spider-Man and the League of Realms #1 |
War of the Realms: Spider-Man and the League of Realms #2 |
War of the Realms: War Scrolls #2 |
War of the Realms: Punisher #2 |
War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas #1 |
War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas #2 |
War of the Realms: Journey Into Mystery #2 |
War of the Realms: Journey Into Mystery #3 |
War of the Realms: Uncanny X-Men #2 |
Fantastic Four #10 |
Venom #14 |
Giant Man #1 |
Giant Man #2 |
Asgardians of the Galaxy #9 |
Thor #13 |
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #44 |
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #43 |
Champions #5 |
Tony Stark: Iron Man #12 |
Avengers #19 |

Act 3: (Title Unknown) - June Books
War of the Realms #5 |
War of the Realms #6 |
War of the Realms: Journey Into Mystery #4 |
War of the Realms: Journey Into Mystery #5 |
War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas #3 |
War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas #4 |
War of the Realms: Punisher #3 |
War of the Realms: Uncanny X-Men #3 |
War of the Realms: War Scrolls #3 |
Thor #14 |
Champions #6 |
Avengers #20 |
Captain Marvel #6 |
Captain Marvel #7 |
Deadpool #13 |
Deadpool #14 |
Asgardians of the Galaxy #10 |
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #45 |
Tony Stark: Iron Man #13 |
War Of The Realms: Omega #1

Make no mistake, I DO NOT plan to collect every single tie-in. Not only would it eat up way too much of my bank account, I learned long ago (in 1991 with DC’s Armageddon 2001 and War Of The Gods) that many tie-in issues don't add much to the over all story.

As for me, I’m going to collect the main title, War Of The Realms: Punisher, War Of The Realms: Uncanny X-Men, War Of The Realms: Scrolls (because Captain America is in it), and the tie-in issues of the titles I normally collect. I recommend you do the same; find a few tie-in titles featuring heroes you really like, and don't knock yourself out trying to collect every single skirmish.

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Editor's Note:

To make these blogs easier to post on social media, I'm moving the Spotlight section back to the end of each entry.

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Spotlight:

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Happy!, arguably one of most bizarre shows on TV, has returned to SyFy for a second season. The show, based on the graphic novel of the same name, tells the story of, alcoholic ex-detective, Nick Sax being guided by his daughter's imaginary blue unicorn.

The first season was about rescuing his daughter from a sadistic Santa. This season revolves around a sado-masochistic Easter Bunny and a plot to control the Easter holiday by scamming the Pope. Happy! is a show jam packed with graphic violence, adult language, and sexually suggestive content. While the show is crude, violent, and COMPLETELY INAPPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN, adults will find a hilarious exciting series.

Happy! airs Wednesday nights at 10pm on SyFy.

SHAZAM Is Just The Magic Word!

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Spotlight:
Based on Neil Gaiman’s book of the same name, American Gods has returned to Starz for a second season.

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Starring Ian McShane as “Mr. Wednesday," the show tells the story of the old Gods (Odin, Belquis, Czernobog, Anansi, etc…) trying to find their place in a world which worships Technology, Media, and similar new Gods. If such an array of characters wasn’t eclectic enough, Gaiman throws a zombie, a six foot tall leprechaun, and an excon named Shadow into the mix for good measure.

Stir the pot and the result is an exciting, mind bending tale filled with violence, dark humor, and profoundly thought provoking ideas about why we believe what we believe.

Due to the use of graphic violence and adult language, this is not a show for the little ones. Yet, adults, who tune into Starz on Sunday nights, will find new episodes of an intelligent entertaining series.

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SHAZAM Is Just The Magic Word!
The movie Captain Marvel opened on March 8th, and has been breaking box office records. SHAZAM opens in theatres on April 5th. Bizarrely, at least to us old farts, the two movies are about two completely different characters.

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When I was growing up, Billy Batson shouted SHAZAM (Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, Mercury) in order to transform into the world’s mightiest mortal Captain Marvel. Now SHAZAM is the name of the hero Billy Batson turns into, and Captain Marvel is a female heroin in a different universe. So, WTF happened ?

Fawcett Comics, the original publishers of Captain Marvel/SHAZAM comics, cancelled the title in the 1950s. In the 1960s, Marvel Comics trademarked the name Captain Marvel for their own Kree alien superhero, which meant when DC licensed the Fawcett characters in 1972, they had the Fawcett character named Captain Marvel, but couldn’t call the comic Captain Marvel, so they used his magic word “SHAZAM!” for the title.

The rule applied to non-print media as well. When Billy Batson made his TV debut in 1974, his show was titled The SHAZAM/Isis Hour, which I looked forward to every Saturday morning. Eventually, DC grew tired of making the distinction, and renamed the character SHAZAM when they rebooted their line of comics as “The New 52.”

In my mind, SHAZAM will always be Captain Marvel, mainly out of tradition. Plus, if you think about it, it just makes more sense. If his name and magic word are the same, how can the hero tell someone his name without reverting to Billy Batson?

The Umbrella Academy Graduates To Netflix

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Spotlight:

In 1975, the Justice League of America hit ABC’s Saturday morning air waves as the Super Friends. The first, kid friendly, season saw Wendy, Marvin, and their Scooby-Doo-esc pet Wonder Dog serving as the Super Friends’ interns. The second season saw the interns suddenly replace with the shape shifting Wonder Twins; Zan, Jayna, and their pet space-monkey Gleek.

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Unless you were fortunate enough to have read Super Friends #7, you had no idea the original interns had gone to Ivy University (Ray Palmer’s fictional university) and Paradise Island to further their educations, and the Wonder Twins had been sent from their planet, Exxor, to learn how to be super heroes. You only knew that when they touched hands, to activate their powers, he could turn into any water construct and she could turn into any animal.

Since the end of the Saturday morning series, in 1984, the twins have made occasional appearances in Extreme Justice, Teen Titans, Young Justice, and Smallville Season 11. Now, written by Mark Russell, with art by Stephen Byrne, DC has finally given the siblings their own title.

The new incarnation depicts the twins as exiles, rather than exchange students. Yet, like their TV predecessors, they're again being shepherded by Superman, and interning in the Hall of Justice, as they try to adapt to their new planet.

Wonder Twins is a light hearted comic book geared toward kids and teens, with plenty of super hero cameos and high school hijinks.  Think Archie meets the Justice League.

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The Umbrella Academy Graduates To Netflix:

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On October 1, 1989, 43 women around the world give birth simultaneously, despite none of them showing any sign of pregnancy until labor began. Seven of the children are adopted by eccentric billionaire Sir Reginald Hargreeves. This is the first bit of information the audience is given as the Netflix series, based on the Dark Horse comic book series by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, begins.

What follows is a majestically off beat super hero drama. Seeing a loosely knit team of super powered individuals who don't all get along invites comparisons to the X-Men. Yet, the grand mansion and non-human staff reminded me of SyFy’s Sanctuary.

Without revealing spoilers, it’s safe to say we meet our characters just as their lives change and they're thrust into a mystery. As soon as we start to get into the mystery, another, more ominous threat rears its head.

I’m only three episodes into the series, and so far I'm having a lot of fun with it. Not only is their plenty of high powered action, but the characters are written with layers of complexity, making them come across as believable despite their powers.

Although this is a superhero show, I’d recommend watching it when the little ones are in the other room. Violence and use of adult language makes this a show for adults and mature teens.

The Best Star Trek May Be Non-Canonical

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Spotlight:
Planetary Union Captain Ed Mercer commands the Starship Orville as he, and his eclectic crew, explores the galaxy.

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Show creator, and star, Seth MacFarlane brilliantly straddles the line between literary allusion and plagiarism with this hit Fox series. While the alien races, ship designs, and technical babble are different from those of Gene Roddenberry’s well established universe, The Orville throws an obvious nod toward Star Trek: The Next Generation. The color coded uniforms, pristine well-lit ship, and bridge layout all remind one of televised tales of Picard’s heroic crew.

Sure, this show focuses much more on comedy than its predecessor, but between the jokes one will find well written science fiction stories filled with excitement, intelligence, and heart.

Technically it’s not Star Trek, but Thursday nights, at 9pm, it’s a fun way for fans to get their Trekkie fix.
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The Best Star Trek May Be Non-Canonical:
I've been watching Star Trek since 1977, and attending conventions since 1985. I'm a Trekkie in every sense of the word.

Subject: This image is a promotional poster for the Star Trek: New Voyages series

Star Trek fans, in general, are known for being... exuberant.  Most of us get our "Trek on" by dressing up and attending conventions once or twice a year.  However, a hand full of zealous fans, apparently, weren't satisfied with this level if fantasy, so they've taken it to the next level.   They've written and produced their own episodes.

The first of these fan-run production companies, I was aware of, was James Cawley's Star Trek: New Voyages.

With himself in the starring role of Captain James T. Kirk, Cawley & company produced 10 episodes of Star Trek, complete with authentic looking sets and costumes.

If the quality of the production wasn’t impressive enough, somehow they were able to pay Trek stars, including; George Takei, Walter Koenig, Denise Crosby, William Windom, and others; to do guest spots in episodes. Keep in mind, since they don’t hold the copyright to Star Trek, they’re not allowed to make ANY money from these episodes. These are purely products of the love of Star Trek.

Star Trek was always at its best when it used stories to talk about contemporary issues. The writers of this series didn’t forget that simple truth. One story arch, beginning with episode 4, involved Kirk’s gay nephew coming out to his womanizing uncle. Seeing Captain Kirk officiate a same sex wedding was marvelous.

Sadly, after ten episodes production ceased in 2015 and their website came down. However, the web series can still be found on YouTube.

I thought Cawley’s series was the only game in town. Not so, Number One Son. As it turns out, YouTube is peppered with such productions. The makers of the movie, Starfleet Academy, hired William Shatner, George Takei, and Christopher Plummer to star in their story. Walter Koenig stars as Admiral Chekov in Star Trek: Renegades, while the crews of the Farragut and Exeter explore space with entirely original casts of characters.

Of course the quality of the special effects, sets, acting ability, and wardrobe varies from production to production. Yet, motivated by love for the show, they've each captured the spirit of Star Trek in a way CBS’s current offering hasn’t.
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The Punisher Returns

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I haven't posted here for a while, partly because of a busy holiday, and partly because it's been hard to care about writing about nerdcentric pop culture when our country is self-destructing.  Yet, it could be argued that diversion, via comics & scifi, may be the only thing keeping some of us sane.

I'm still polishing my piece on fan-made Star Trek productions, but I wanted to get this spotlight up ASAP.  I think I'm going to post a "Spotlight" each week, whether, or not, I have a main feature ready.

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Spotlight:

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This Friday, 01/18/2019, Netflix will be dropping season 2 of Marvel's Punisher.  Being a long time fan of the character, I devoured season 2 of Dare Devil (where Jon Bernthal debuted as The Punisher) and season 1 of Punisher.

While I liked Bernthal's portrayal of the psychotic brooding hero, Frank Castle, season 1 wasn't without its problems.  It's not a spoiler to reveal that the story involves Frank befriending a single parent family.  Seeing Frank visit a family in the burbs didn't feel like the Punisher to me.  Frank works best in either an urban downtown, or jungle combat, setting.  If he'd watched out for a poor, but honest, single parent family in Hell's Kitchen it might have been a better fit.

Nevertheless, the writing & urban combat action scenes were good enough to make me look forward to season 2 this week.  Plus, like I told my friend, Kyle, Jigsaw looks awesome in the trailer!  It looks like they're making him a hands-on criminal thug instead of a mob boss.  Can't wait!

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Picking Nits With The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

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Spotlight Pick:

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On November 12, 2018 the comic book world lost its, arguably, greatest creator, Stan Lee, at the age of 95.   If you're reading this blog, it's a pretty safe bet that you know who Lee was and you're familiar with his work.  Yet for those of you who live under a rock, Stan Lee was a prolific writer and creator at Marvel Comics.

In 1939,  Lee, age 19, was hired by Timely Comics, which would eventually become Marvel Comics.  After two decades of working on romance comics and western comics, he was given a crack at the superhero genre.  The rest, as they say, is history.

Stan Lee went on to create some of comic books', and pop culture's, greatest icons including; Spiderman, The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Ant-Man, the original X-Men, and hundreds of others.

He will be missed by true believers everywhere.

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Picking Nits With The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina:

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October 26, 2018 Netflix dropped the first 10 episode season of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

Because one of her parents was a witch and one was a mortal, Sabrina belongs to both worlds the same way Aquaman,  Namor, and Starlord do.  Walking the line between the two realms allows her to use her magical  super powers to help her mortal friends.

I knew going in that this show would be a darker version of the character Sabrina The Teenage Witch the same way that The CW's Riverdale in her darker version of Archie and Jughead.  I was prepared for an action oriented drama about good verses evil.  What I was not prepared for was the focus on devil worship.

While I am a Christian, I am not what you would you call a "bible thumper".  I can enjoy a Spawn or Hellboy comic book same as the next guy.  I can enjoy magic based shows such as Midnight Texas and Charmed as well.  However, those show don't feature heroic characters spouting, "Hail Satan," and referring to Christ as, "the false God," in almost every episode, in a bizarre attempt to hit viewers over the head with the satanic angle.

I could almost write it off as part of a fictional world if they had not gone out of their way to use the term Wicca.  By using the term, the show associates their characters with a real religion.  After college  I dabbled with the Wiccan religion for two years, and it has nothing to do with devil worship.  Real life witchcraft is about harnessing the power of mother earth and using it in a positive way.  To equate Wicca with devil worship reinforces the negative misconceptions which already exist in the world.

If your not like me, and a focus on devil worship does not bother you, you will enjoy 10 episodes of a magic based super hero show along the lines of Charmed and Legacies.  As for me, it makes me feel just uncomfortable enough to make me avoid season 2 unless they do a crossover with Riverdale. 

Women Can Be Doctors Too

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Spotlight Pick:

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Since I last updated this blog, Netflix dropped the third thirteen episode season of its inaugural Marvel Comics series, Daredevil.  Picking up shortly after the end of the first season of Defenders, season 3, based loosely on the graphic novel "Daredevil: Born Again," tells the story of Matt Murdoch trying to recoup from his injuries and put his life back together.

While I'm a little disappointed that Matt utilizes his black costume from season one, rather than his red costume from season two, I'm enjoying the show.  The highlight of the season is seeing Vincent D'Onofrio reprise his role as the villainous Wilson Fisk AKA Kingpin.

On a related note, although the second season of Iron Fist was far better than the first season, Netflix decided to cancel the season after season two.

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Women Can Be Doctors Too:

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Since 1963, the Doctor has traveled through time and space rescuing people from the forces of evil.  Being a Time Lord is dangerous work, which has resulted in the Doctor's death more than once.  Fortunately, every time the Doctor dies he regenerates into an all new person. The 13th incarnation (not counting John Hurt as the War Doctor) of the doctor happens to be a women played by Jodie Whittaker.

There was speculation for almost a year about how audiences would receive the a female Doctor.  So far fans have welcomed the lady doctor with open arms.  While I'm sure that the liberal attitudes towards sexualilty in England helped, I don't think it was the only factor.  Over the last two decades audiences have been softened up to the idea of gender transformation.

In 2004, the Sci-Fi Channel aired a revamped version of Battlestar Galactica.  In that show the characters Starbuck and Boomer were changed from men into women without loosing their heroic toughness.  It took some getting used to, but after the first season viewers accepted the cigar chomping fighter pilots as favorite characters in their own right.

Outside the sci-fi realm, the CBS show Elementary reimagined the characters Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson as modern day characters in New York.  The show cast Lucy Liu to play Dr. Watson was an Asian women.  While this was an obvious departure from the classic Doyle character, it worked. The character was still a smart courageous side-kick for Sherlock Holmes.

Over in the world of comics, Thor's hammer was wielded by a women for over a year.  After the initial grumbling died down, the comic sold as well as it always had.

After watching four episodes of Doctor Who, I feel safe in saying Jodie Whittaker has captured the spirit of the doctor.  We are still transported through time and space and treated to exciting adventures fraught with danger.  The Doctor still uses her wits and courage to save the day.

Perhaps viewers have embraced the idea that one's character isn't solely defined by their gender.  If so, there may be hope for society to apply this noble truth to life outside of fiction.  Wouldn't that be nice?

Bad Guys Can Be Cool Too

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Spotlight Pick:

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This week we see the return of CW's DC superhero shows line-up, also known as the FLARROW_VERSE (Flash + Arrow). The shows will occupy Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday on CW's prime time schedule.

The Flash and Black Lightning will kick things off on the 9th.  I know, I know, there's debate about whether Black Lightning is part of the FLARROW_VERSE, or not, but he's a DC superhero, so I count him as part of it.

Because the IHeartRadio Music Festival runs on the 7th & 8th, the rest of the line-up will premier on the 14th, 15th, & 22nd.

Tuesday, October 9th
8:00-9:00pm The Flash 
9:00-10:00pm Black Lightning

Sunday, October 14th
8:00-9:00pm Supergirl

Monday, October 15th
8:00-9:00pm Arrow 

Monday, October 22nd
9:00-10:00pm DC’s Legends of Tomorrow 

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Bad Guys Can Be Cool Too:

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On October 5th the movie Venom hit theaters, and I was there for the very first showing.  If you are reading this blog you probably already know who the character is.  On the off chance you don't know the character, Venom has been an anti-spiderman in the comics since 1987.

I enjoyed the movie, but as I sat there I couldn't help thinking it was odd that the bad guy had his own movie without his traditional superhero being involved.  Yet, I realized he's not alone.

Last year we saw the movie Suicide Squad about a group of comic book villains working for the government as heroes.  Next year the Joker and Black Adam (SHAZAM's arch enemy) will each have their own stand alone movies as well.

There seems to be a trend in Hollywood of making movies out of comic book bad guys.  I was forced to wonder why.  I mean, don't we usually root against the bad guy?

I thought back to when I was little and playing with Star Wars action figures.  We all wanted to be Boba Fett because he looked cool.  The bad guy, with his jet pack and wrist rockets, was the coolest action figure in our collection.  Bad guys look cool.

Not only do the bad guys look cool they can do things that superheros can't do.  Superheros have to stay the "good guys. "  Thus, they cannot kill.  Batman Vs. Superman flopped partly because we didn't want to see Batman shoot and kill bad guys.  That's not Batman.

Yet, we like to go to the movies and root for a protagonist who can f#&k up their antagonists.  We love to see our "hero" completely trash their foes.  Somehow watching our hero commit acts of violence satisfies some primal urge within  ourselves.  In response to this urge, Hollywood has given us Venom, who can do things we'd never accept Spiderman doing.  It is almost like a two hour Purge.

I'm not saying we're all sadistic, but maybe we do like to exercise our dark sides.

Sometimes Darker Works

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Spotlight Pick:

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Thanks to an alien virus robbing him of his healing factor, Wolverine has been dead since 2014.  For four years we've had to get our adamantium action fix from his daughter/clone (X-23), Wolverine's son from an alternate universe (Jimmy Hudson), an elderly version of Wolverine from an alternate timeline (Old Man Logan), and a Hulk/Wolverine hybrid (Weapon H).

Hold on to your hat, now the real deal is back in Return of Wolverine #1 (of 5), or is he?  Without revealing spoilers, we're treated to a comic filled with our favorite X-Man getting killy with a bunch of bad guys.  Fear not, there's a well written story to accompany the action.

Lastly, don't fret if you didn't read any of the summer's four Search For Wolverine titles.  You can pick up this book and not be a bit lost.  It kinda makes me wonder why I bought those issues of "Search."  Grrrrrrrrr.........

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Sometimes Darker Works:

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I don't know what took me so long, but I've just begun watching Riverdale on Netflix.  For those of you who don't know, the show uses characters from Archie Comics to tell adult stories.  I think I was resistant for as long as I was, because I didn't like the idea of a screwball comedy comic being retooled into a darker property.

Before I was allowed read superhero based comic books, which my  mother deemed to be too violent, I enjoyed the innocent adventures of Archie, Jughead, and the gang set within the Rockwell-esc town of Riverdale.  I didn't want that image to be tarnished.

I figured the show would be laughed off the air after a few episodes.  On October 10th, Riverdale is due to begin its third season on The CW.  With this in mind, I, begrudgingly, decided to check it out.

The first, thirteen episode, season is one long murder mystery.  I have to say I was surprised at the complexity of the story.  TV is full of, so called, mysteries,  which are completely obvious from the get go.  However, this one has multiple motives and twists.  I am a bit of a mystery buff,  and I found myself challenged by the solution.

In addition to the overall mystery, our heroes and heroines are challenged with their own struggles.  Themes of said struggles included; teen pregnancy, divorce, alcoholism, and student/teacher "relationships."

I know, I know, not long ago I did a whole blog about how I don't like light hearted characters in darker roles.  However, it works here.  Because we already know the characters, the show runners were able to dive right into the story without having to explain who all the characters are.

Riverdale is not alone.  There seems to be a trend in comics, right now, of using traditionally comedic characters in darker stories.  One good example is Scooby Doo: Apocalypse.  In this comic, the world has been mutated by nanites, and Scooby, now a cyborg, and the gang have to come together to find a cure.  While the concept sounds off the wall, the popular title's run earned a 7.5 out of 10 from 175 critical reviews on Comic Book Rounds Up.

Old timers, like me, will always remember Archie and the gang as carefree high school kids drinking milkshakes at Pop's and driving around in their jalopy.  Yet that doesn't mean there's not room for a new generation to reinvent the characters for a new age.    

Season 2 Of Iron Fist Shows Marked Improvement, But...

Spotlight Pick Gripe:

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DC Universe is the name of DC's new streaming/online comics service.  For $7.99 a month, subscribers have unlimited access to the site's library of movies, shows, and online comic books.  From their PR, I was expecting a pretty extensive collection of materials.

They have a few movies and TV shows, granted.  Yet, even though last Saturday was, supposedly, "Batman Day," the site has no Adam West Batman, Adventures of Batman, or New Adventures of Batman.  While one can stream Legend of The Super Heroes, which was canceled after two episodes, we can't get the three season run of SHAZAM! 

Streaming material aside, the online comics are a mishmash of weird odds and ends (1 issue of 52, 3 issues of Crisis On Infinite Earths, etc...).  I'm going to stick around until they begin their original content, but season 3 of Young Justice  better be dang good or I'll be cutting my losses.

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Season 2 Of Iron Fist Shows Marked Improvement, But...

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On Friday, September 7th, Netflix dropped the second season of Marvel's Iron Fist.  In fact, it was my pick in my last post.  Although I had been  bored by the first season of the series, tidbits of news made me cautiously optimistic about the second season.

In its debut season, I thought too much time was spent on board room intrigue instead of super hero action.  I also wasn't impressed with the fights, which just kinda slogged along.  As I said, I'd quit watching season one half way, and only went back to finish it once Marvel's Defenders referred back to the end of Iron Fist. 

This year I was somewhat more impressed by the show.  The action began right off the bat with crime-stopping martial arts.  Iron Fist's new showrunner, Raven Metzner (formerly of Sleepy Hollow), kept the focus of the episodes on the battle of good versus evil without distracting the audience with dull board room drama.

The series was further enhanced by the addition of Black Panther's Clayton Barber, who choreographed the second season's  fight scenes.  Barber succeeded in showcasing the characters' advanced martial arts skills with a series of fast paced exciting battles.

I've gone back and forth, with myself, about how much to say at this point.  At the eleventh hour I've decided not to include spoilers, because the season is so new.  However I will say, that the season takes a weird turn, half way along, which kinda spoiled it for me.  While it wasn't all that I'd hoped for, it WAS far better than the first season.

What do you think?  Leave your comments below.  

Star Trek: Discovery?

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Spotlight Pick:

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On Friday, September 7th, Netflix is dropping the second season of Marvel's Iron Fist. 

I have to say, I was bored by the first season of the series.  Too much time was spent on board room intrigue instead of super hero action.  When they did get to the action the fights just kinda slogged along.  I quit watching half way through the series, and only went back to finish it once Marvel's Defenders referred back to the end of Iron Fist. 

Finn Jones actually did a great job playing the martial arts based super hero in Defenders and Luke Cage, once he was able to focus on super heroism instead of a corporate soap opera.   Now that the show has recruited Black Panther's Clayton Barber to choreograph the fight scenes, there's every reason to believe that the second season will be better than the first.

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I love Star Trek.  No....  Wait....  I understated that a bit, let me try again.  I LOVE STAR TREK!!!!! 

I own all the movies and many of the television seasons on Blue-ray.  I've attended I don't know how many Star Trek conventions, and collected autographs from a multitude of Trek stars.  I even have a variation of Kirk's uniform hanging in my closet.  I'm a hard core Trekkie (Yes I use the term Trekkie, the whole Trekkie Vs Trekker controversy is stupid).

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When I heard CBS was starting another Star Trek series set in the Shatner as Kirk timeline I was thrilled.  Then I heard it would be on their online streaming service and I was less thrilled.  After months of fuming and hoping they'd eventually put it on TV, I broke down and joined CBS.COM.

I'm only five episodes into the series and I have to say it's not good Star Trek.  I wanted it to be, but it's not.   I'm going to watch the rest to see if it improves, but it has some major hurdles to overcome.

SPOILERS FOR SEASON ONE AHEAD! 
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Arguably the biggest problem with the series is the tech.  OK, I loved seeing the Kirk era hand phasers and communicators again.  I think I released a squeal of girlish glee when Michael pulled her pistol for the first time.  The problem is that the show takes place a decade before Kirk's five year mission begins, but much of the technology they use looks like stuff Picard would envy.

Rather than talking to people on monitors, holographic images of who they're talking to are projected right onto the bridge.  It looks cool, but we're supposed to believe that they went back to 2D image communication ten years later. Holy head scratchers Batman.

Initially, I felt the same way about the spore based method of travel, the show is based on, which makes warp drive look like a skateboard in an Indie race.  However, there are hints of enough problems with the technique that it's conceivable that it was abandoned by Kirk's time.

The technology isn't the only bone I have to pick with the show though.  One thing I've always appreciated about Star Trek is the ability to watch an episode, get a complete story, come back two weeks later, get another whole story, and not be lost.  Sure, watching each week helped you get to know the characters, but you didn't have to know Kirk's role in Spock's mating ritual to watch them steal a cloaking device from the Romulans.

Discovery is structured as a series of interlocking chapters of a single long story.  While the novel-esc approach worked well for Babylon 5 and the reimagined version of Battlestar Galactica, it just feels wrong when applied to Star Trek, DS9's Dominion war aside.

Another deficit of the series is the tone.  The series takes place during a war with the Klingons.  The premise sounds like it'd make a good series, but when everything is about the war, there's no time for exploration.  Ironically, the feeling of "discovery," Star Trek is historically known for, is lost.

Keep My Heroes In The Light

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Current Pick:

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Now that I've ragged on dark comics, I just picked up issue No. 1 of Batman: Kings of Fear.  Judging it by the cover, I actually thought it would be darker and scarier than it was.

The issue begins as a pretty good Joker story and evolves to give cameos to a lot of Batman's rogues.  While many of the bad guys don't play a major role, their inclusion was fun nonetheless.

This book's greatest strength was its art.  Kelley gave us colorful, well-drawn fights, which brought the action to life.  For $3.99 this book is my Current Pick.

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Narrator: Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.
Man 1: Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird.
Woman: It’s a plane
Man 2: It’s Superman!
Narrator: Yes, it’s Superman, strange visitor from another planet who came to earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Superman, who can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel in his bare hands. And who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights a never ending battle for truth, justice and the American way. And now another exciting episode in the adventures of Superman.

I remember watching The Adventures of Superman every Sunday after church when I was a kid. Between George Reeves' depiction of the character and what I saw on The Super Friends, I knew what Superman was about long before I ever picked up a comic book.  Clark Kent's alter-ego was a shining beacon of hope clad in bright colors to symbolize the positive qualities of truth, justice, and fair play which he represented.

This image survived Christopher Reeve's cinematic portrayal, TV'S Lois & Clark series, and the animated series.  In 2006, Brandon Routh donned a darker version of the time honored uniform, complete with a dark red S.  I grumbled all the way to the theater, but forgave him once I saw his effort to capture the spirit of Reeve's performance.

Fast forward to 2013's Man of Steel travesty.  Not only was the traditional garb a shade away from being black, but Cavill played Superman as a dark and brooding hero.  The filmmakers, for some reason, turned Superman into a super powered version of Batman.  That's OK though, because the next movie gave guns to, traditionally gun hating, Batman, turning him into a well funded version of the Punisher.

If those bastardizations weren't atrocious enough, DC will be kicking off their streaming service with a live action Teen Titans series.  To unveil the series, DC showed a trailer at San Diego Comic-Con, in which the Dick Grayson version of Robin says, "F%#k Batman!" then shoots a bunch of thugs with automatic pistols.  I can see Jason Todd making such a statement before going ballistic on a bunch of bad guys, but it doesn't feel right coming from a boy scout like Dick Grayson.

Meanwhile, Aquaman has adopted the look of a Dothraki warrior and Captain America has blackened his star. Granted, the Captain America movies are pulling from his Nomad story arch. Yet, Captain America only used the nomad personna for five issues (#180 - #184) back in 1974.  When Marvel has a limited amount of screen time to tell Captain America stories, referencing a five issue story arc from forty years ago,  in order to make the character dark, seems like a bit of a unnecessarily deep cut which ignores the overall spirit of the character.

I'm not saying there's not room for dark comic book characters on the big screen.  Batman, Venom, Punisher, and Spawn will always be staples in the comic book realm.  That being said, I see no reason to force traditionally bright characters into that dark role.  Keep your dark characters where they belong,  but keep Superman, Captain America, and alike as bright symbols of hope.