You Know Who

That's the tip-off really. The villain lineup reads like every fanboy theory put together. Or a Jeph Loeb book.

That initially bothered me too, but I could accept it if the comedy was on the level of that of the first Spider-Man movie and not the central thrust of the movie. Green Lantern isn't one of those ultra-serious, teeth-grinding, grim and gritty superheroes like Batman.

Yip. I hope so. Too many villains in one film. Even as just random, deformed thug like Zsasz was in Batman Begins, Croc is one of the least realistic of Batman's villains. If Talia appeared, it would be better if she wasn't Ra's daughter but as someone he trained in the League of Shadows and considered a daughter, but even then it would still seem contrived. Black Mask would be nice (especially if he was portrayed similar to the way he was in Under the Red Hood), but still he might look a bit too much like Two-Face, whose burnt half is black in this continuity. As for Strange, he might make for a good secondary villain, but at the same time, his surname kind of gives him away as a villain. It's like Victor Von Doom--with a name like those, you're bound to grow up to be a supervillain.

Ok, you win. A magic ax might even be more effective against a Doomsday clone since I think Doomsday is either from Krypton or has Kryptonian DNA.

Fantastic commentary I agree with your gripe about Batman's no-killing policy only applying to Homo sapiens but don't really mind it when he tries to kill the Doomsdays. I figure his rationale would be that they're monsters that aren't sentient like aliens or humans. That's also the reason why you see him get so rough with Man-Bat in "On Leather Wings" and the cat-human hybrid in "Tyger, Tyger" in Batman: The Animated Series. I do have a gripe with his fight with the Doomsdays, though, in that it's another case of the writer putting Batman over too much to compensate for his lack of superpowers. I doubt he could even get far on his own with one Doomsday, let alone a bunch of them. Also, the Creeper-looking Fury is Mad Harriet, the one in black with the spiky whip is Lasheena, and the big one Barda killed is Stompa. You should definitely do more of these. I also look forward to you and James covering this movie, along with the other DC Universe Animated films.

All-Star Superman: (See my post in the thread of Earth-2.net: The Show) Trade paperback count: 18

Just finished reading the last issue of All-Star Superman for the very first time and frankly I'm rather underwhelmed by the whole thing. (SPOILERS!) I won't claim to know what the Silver Age was all about since I didn't read Silver Age stories as a kid, and that may have compromised my enjoyment of the two trade paperbacks somewhat. I did find the stories with Superman competing with Atlas and Samson for Lois and the one where Jimmy essentially became Doomsday quite fun. I also liked for the most part how Luthor and the Daily Planet staff were written, how Superman turns the other cheek when dealing with the Replacement Supermen, Lois initially chews him out for keeping his true identity secret to her for so long, and Kal showing up incognito to see his father one last time. I wasn't as crazy about the Bizarro World story, if only because the backwards-speak thing was overdone and occasionally confusing. The main thing preventing me from really digging this book, however, was Frank Quitely's artwork, which for the most part I HATED: The faces had lots of unnecessary lines on them and far too many panels had over-rendered people and objects but vast, almost empty backgrounds that looked lazily-drawn in comparison. Also, for the most part, I didn't like the way he drew open mouths--whether people were yelling in pain or had them slightly open--and thought Clark Kent was drawn way too pudgy. Did Superman steal a Green Lantern ring and create a porkier projection of himself to hide his identity? All that being said, I do think I'll keep the two volumes and re-read them a few years later rather than selling them on amazon. I also look forward to seeing how Timm & company adapt it next year. Those are my two cents, spend them as you will.

I was impressed by the trailer too; I was probably gonna go see the film anyway since I loved the last Kenneth Branagh film I saw (Henry V) but now I'm gonna see it for sure. As for the hammer looking light, Thor is a god--of course it won't be heavy for him.

They parallel each other but they don't interlock. On that note, it would have been cool if the DCAU was one of the alternate Earths mentioned or shown briefly in that movie.

cough cough NOT IN CONTINUITY cough cough Oh, can it. It's pretty clear that Crisis on Two Earths was MEANT to be the tying thread from JL to JLU, but they never made it. Then, they used the ideas/script anyway. Sure, it's not in direct continuity, but I'd say almost the exact same thing happened within the DCAU. Flawless logic, except that John Stewart is replaced by Hal Jordan, Aquaman apparently grew back his hand and returned to his Silver Age design, and the exterior of the Watchtower looks nothing like the one in Justice League. Also, the character designs look absolutely nothing like their counterparts in JL and JLU and the voice actors give the characters completely different inflections, with exception of Flash and J'onn. And speaking of J'onn, the White Martians take over Mars rather than the Imperium and Starro didn't appear in the DCAU to battle the Justice League until the Batman Beyond episode "The Call". Had such a battle taken a place in the DCAU before "The Call", Superman would have disposed off the Starro in his zoo long before it took him over in that episode.

cough cough NOT IN CONTINUITY cough cough

MY THOUGHTS ON THE FIVE GEOFF JOHNS TEEN TITANS TRADE PAPERBACKS PURCHASED FROM MIKE: Teen Titans, Volume One: A Kid's Game My introduction to Tim Drake, Superboy, Impulse, and Wonder Girl, all characters I had heard of but never read before. I became much more interested in these characters than the four veteran Titans featured (Cyborg, Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy) because the latter were nowhere near as cool as their counterparts in the Teen Titans cartoon. By far, the best scene was the battle between the Titans and the League. Good art by Tom Grummett save when he had to draw people with their mouths open from the side. Teen Titans, Volume Two: Family Lost Decent but I really wasn't crazy about the child Brother Blood and the cult stuff. Particularly liked the full page spread of Superboy coming across Cyborg rebuilding himself. Teen Titans, Volume Three: Beast Boys and Girls Didn't care much for the "Nobody's Hero" story that comprised the first half, as the framed storyline has been done so many times and I didn't like Justiniano's art as much as Grummett's. Sadly, the art was at its worst when Justiniano was drawing the animals that Beast Boy took the shape of (many of them were over-rendered, ugly, and in one case I couldn't tell whether the Beast Boy impostor had taken the shape of a bear or a panther) when that's the art should be at its best. The "Wild Life" storyline wasn't excellent but was still a step up from the first story though in terms of both writing and art. The highlight of it for me was the final battle between Beast Boy and the one responsible for temporarily "curing" him and spreading Sakutia to kids in San Francisco. Teen Titans/The Outsiders: The Insiders Not a bad story but my enjoyment of it was compromised by the fact that it was set well after the other Teen Titans trade paperbacks and that it was the first Outsiders comic I've ever read and I had never been previously introduced to most of the team. It was also quite odd seeing the Teen Titans and the Outsiders team up against two major Superman/Justice League villains. Even so, I quite liked Cassie trying to bring Superboy to his senses while being controlled by one of those villains, Raven paying Superboy a visit in Smallville, and, on the side of the Outsiders, Shift trying to bring Indigo to her senses and his subsequent discussion with his "father" Metamorpho. Teen Titans: The Future Is Now Saved this one for last despite it preceding the crossover with the Outsiders. Mike had discussed the "The Future Is Now" storyline back in one of the Countdown-related episodes of Earth-2.net: The Show and told me that this trade paperback was one of the best of the bunch, and he was right. -"Superboy and the Legion" wasn't too deep and was mostly action but I liked the interactions between the Titans and the members of the Legion. I would've liked to have seen the five months in which Superboy fought with the Legion and came to regard it as a new home. -"The Future is Now" was quite good artistically and action-wise though I felt it was a little rushed and find it weird that the one member of the Titans West who hasn't gone over the edge had an entire city converted into a museum devoted to him and his predecessors. The stuff between Tim and his darker future self was also rather chilling, though I'd have liked to have learned what exactly happened to Bruce, Alfred, and Dick to make him go off the deep end. -"Hiding" was a nice short little story about secrets and coping with loss. Wish I know what the stuff with Bolt, Electricutioner, and the kids with the Lex Luthor suit was all about, but I still recognize it as necessary to drive Tim over the edge. -"Lights Out" I wasn't digging too much simply because I found it ridiculous that twenty heroes would be needed to take down even an enhanced Dr. Light (though once again, my feelings on this character might be colored by me having been introduced to him through his animated counterpart, who usually gets his ass handed to him on a silver platter; it was nice to hear, though, that the same thing happened in the comics to him too before he got his mind wiped and went psycho). Hawk and Dove were also distracting and totally unnecessary. Conclusion: While my readings of these books were somewhat compromised by the founding Titans not being as interesting as their animated counterparts, my lack of knowledge on a lot of the continuity, and perhaps me reading each book too fast, for the most part I liked the art, the writing, and the directions Johns was taking the characters in. Once again, what hooked me the most were the third-generation Titans and their various subplots, particularly Superboy coping with his identity and Cassie whenever she was visited by Ares. I can almost guarantee you I will read each of these books again in the future and that I will purchase the fifth volume of Teen Titans to see what happens next. Trade paperback count: 18 Coming Up Next: All-Star Superman!

Bravo, sir...bravo

Perhaps I did go a little nuts there, but the show does take itself seriously on sometimes and when it does it can be judged based upon how logical it is. It is disappointing that every hero on Earth went up against a swarm of psychic starfish when only eight stood up to the legions of Apokolips.

Funny; I was about to write in to WFP asking whether you and James would ever review the shorts and what you thought of each of them. Carry on...

Another huge gripe I had with "Darkseid Descending" that I forgot to mention--WHY DID BATMAN BRING TOGETHER ONLY SEVEN FUCKING HEROES TO BRING DOWN AN OMEGA-LEVEL THREAT??? IT'S ASININE. You'd think Batman would even recruit some of the villains to oppose the armies of Apokolips. I know they probably didn't want to replicate "Destroyer" too much and that you could only have so many characters in a span of 22 minutes, but COME THE FUCK ON.

Unfortunately, Baldwin also voiced Superman in Superman: Doomsday

Ditto, in part because Jurassic Park is one of my favorite movies of all time (I am lifelong dinosaur enthusiast, but even at a young age I could spot inaccuracies and exaggerations in that film, which revolutionized how the world outside of paleontologists viewed them). Yeah, I think consensus was Brainiac. Who would be the ideal voice for a heartless alien computer? Should he be completely robotic in appearance or have artificial skin like Data from Star Trek?

If you mean in comparison to Wagner's Ring Cycle and Igor Stravinsky's ballets, then I could see where you were coming from. Otherwise, you are dead to me as well. Anyways, we are getting I believe this has been asked before but who do y'all want to see Superman punch in the face in the next film?

He is, but what's to say he'll be scoring Man of Steel? btw what's that hilarious clip from?

We'll have to agree to disagree on The Joker, as I find him to be absolutely hilarious and used to great effect. As far as the villains go, holding them to modern comic book standards I can see your point, but looking at them in the context of the show as a whole, I can't imagine a more well done tribute to the Silver Age. It is true that the show is one giant tribute to the Silver Age and I'm glad that by and large it doesn't take itself too seriously. I'm not the person to ask about what the Silver Age was all about since I'm just coming into comics, but having seen or read a few tributes to the era, I prefer those that pay respect to it but are clearly written with modern sensibilities and without the silly puns, like DC: The New Frontier and the Justice League episode "Legends". The Joker is a character that has gone in several directions since he was first created, but he should always be either sinister or hilarious, or, ideally, BOTH and this version is NEITHER. I've seen every episode he's been in and cannot remember him saying or doing a single thing that made me laugh.

That I will give it, and though I wasn't crazy about the show's version of Darkseid, I'm glad they didn't ruin him like they did the Joker. In fact, I think the show has done a disservice to the DC Villains as a whole by just making them two-dimensional antagonists and not getting in deep with any of them like the DC Animated Universe did.

Sounds like Superman got bat-embargoed for this show. At the Comic-Con they implied they would do an episode with Superman, as well as one with Wonder Woman

meh... Michael-Leon Wooley's Darkseid was better than Andre Baugher's, but still made me wish Michael Ironside had voiced him. Wasn't crazy about the way they animated his facial expressions either. Also, a Darkseid episode without Superman? WHAT? On the positive side, Ice as a ditsy Swede was nice and I liked J'onn J'onzz better than I had expected to after watching the previews for it. I'm also glad I wasn't the only who caught the C-3PO joke. All in all, above-average but not great.