As some people may know(at least those people following the current DC run of comics) Rebirth is in full swing, and I've decided to give the first 3 or so issues of all the titles a read and re establish my regular reads.
I'd always enjoyed Wonder Woman in the Justice League comics but I'd never had the urge to read her solo stories before, until now. I'm currently up to issue 4 of her rebirth run and I'm completely sold, amazing art and a story with just the right amount of mystery to make me look forward to continuing.
I'll definitely be reading her future stories for the foreseeable future.
Yeah I know, I already posted today, but I just found out the gameplay trailer for Injustice 2 dropped at E3 and oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh it is just one of those trailers that reverts you back to your young teen years and you sit there like "yeah!", "awww sweet", "Oh my god they have *insert character name here*",
For those that haven't yet seen it, here it is in all it's hi def glory...
Ordinarily this would be the bit where I rant about Superman and Batman but (excuse language), Fuck That Shit. The best parts of this trailer are the first appearances. We get to see Grodd, donned in his armour. We see Kara Kent (Supergirl) kicking ass and taking names. We get to see Atrocitus, which Mat was most looking forward to and damn, we are NOT disappointed. The Butcher (the being in the red power battery, if you're a Lantern fan you'll know what I'm trying to say here) looks like it's part of his Special move.
What I didn't expect, and it's a blink and you'll miss it sneaky peaky, is that they have Black Manta in this game. I'll be honest, I was so overwhelmed watching this trailer, I missed him on the first viewing and Mat was the one who was like "shit! did you see they have Manta?!".
That clip at the end though, man I love when they make Aquaman look badass. Let's be real for a moment kids. Aquaman really is a badass. So it's great to show that off in a game that will be seen by a wider audience than just the comic reading crowd. Yes, everyone SHOULD read the comics, but there is still that stigma...that's a story for another day.
So enjoy, let us know what you think in the comments, subscribe. You know the deal!
Ok, so weeks behind the ball here, sorry about that, but I felt like we needed to read more than just the MASSIVE Rebirth one shot to give an impression in this.
So, what DID we read?
Obviously we read the large DC Rebirth one shot. Besides that, I read Flash and Batman, and Mat read Batman, Flash, Aquaman, Green Lanterns, and Action Comics (bloody overachiever!)
Thoughts? ok. First off. That first comic though...anyone who has read that surely copped a massive dose of the feels. Particularly if you're a fan of the Flash (Wally or Barry). Beautifully drawn, more beautifully written, it has been called a "love letter to DC fans". I personally agree, it is a brilliant, almost apology, for what fans hated about the New 52 Universe.
Instead of ignoring or undoing what the New 52 built, they are bravely doing the opposite: Embracing it. The Rebirth kicks off with Wally (Kid Flash) being liberated from the speedforce by Barry, the only person who remembers who Wally is (oh the feels). Wally tells Barry that 10 years are missing from everyone's lives and that those years are where most of the worlds heroes formed their most important relationships (Arrow & Canary, Wally & Linda, Barry & Iris, etc etc etc). Wally knows that some superpower is behind this but has NO idea who. So Good Guy Barry Allen (swoon) hops on over to visit the world's greatest detective at the Batcave to see if they can work out what the hell is going on.
Now, one of the BEST pieces of this comic happens, it is revealed that there are not one, not two, but three Jokers. Oh yeah, that's right. Three. It makes so much sense and also doesn't but by God did that draw me in like a moth to a flame. THAT alone left me hanging for this next run of Batman comics.
The end of the comic reveals the person behind all the 10 missing years shenanigans... Batman pries an embedded watchmen pin from the wall of the Batcave and there's a cut to a watch, stopped. Holy mother of God, Dr Manhattan. You never see the guy, but damn. Well played DC. Well played.
I swear if Marvel hadn't one upped everyone with the Captain America being Hydra thing that week, DC would have OWNED with that massive issue.
So off all of that epicness I was set to read my picks: Batman and Flash. I figured it would lead on directly from the launch issue. With Flash it absolutely did, and I loved every page of it. Batman on the other hand.... I thought, hey, if they're not going to focus on the Watchmen angle, then maybe it'll be about hunting down the Jokers. Nope. Calendar Man is our baddie of the moment. Now to be fair, I should give it more than one issue to judge, but I just was not drawn in to Batman like I was with Flash. Maybe I'm the only one?
I must say everything has been so beautifully drawn in these issues. I haven't come across a single art style, where I was like, "meh, it's a different take, not sure if it's the right tone". All were perfect.
Mat will probably write a stand alone post on the Green Lanterns comic as he is all about the Lanterns, and maybe he might have something to say about the other books, but for now that's all I have for you guys.
As always, feel free to share your comments, let us know your thoughts on this or any other geeky goodness. Subscribe if you'd like to know when we put up new posts (top right of screen).
Awesome, from the makers of my favorite fighting games (Mortal Kombat) Injustice was a great game, we usually played it as part of partying or drinking fun with friends.
And now there's a second one coming out, and some of the rumors we've read so far include Gorilla Grodd and Atrocitus being playable characters.
We have high hopes for DLC especially seeing that Supergirl will be in the game, maybe a Powergirl skin or (fingers crossed) Red lantern Supergirl or Guy Gardener.
With a pool as diverse as the DC universe the possibilities are endless so we're looking forward to everything this game has to offer
Last week I found some LEGO I just had to have. I have an unnatural obsession with the Flash so, of course this happened.
I love it. But there is an obvious missed opportunity for any fan of Young Justice or Justice League animated series.
As you can see, Flash is holding a can of "Power Bolt" (and how super cute is Cold holding an Ice Cream!?!?!?!?!).
But as any fan of Young Justice would know, if Flash should be holding ANY can of soda, it should be REACH.... Cue the music.......
Alternatively, they could have skipped the soda altogether and gone with Flash's favourite power bar...
All that said, I'm not disappointed, please see the humour in this!
God I miss these shows...think I'm going to binge watch some Young Justice. If you're not doing that already, you totally should. I hear the US Netflix (immensely superior to Australian Netflix) has YJ and if enough people watch it, they may renew the series for the MUCH NEEDED third season. I named my son Connor after this incarnation of Superboy, so no doubt I'm passionate about this.
So, go binge my friends, sorry to get preachy at the end here!
And Reach for a Reach.....then again, best you don't........
An X-men Apocalypse trailer that even gave us goosebumps.
At least 3 more clips with more spiderman footage, soo looking forward to this movie.
More great movies coming up
We've been so excited for this ever since comicon last year when we were actually in the hall when they announced they were making it. This ad hasn't wow'd us like we expected but we trust DC animated not to let us down, this will be an awesome movie telling one of Batman's darkest stories
__________________________________________________________________
This last one didn't come out this week but this week we bought tickets to a movie premiere in Australia (also puts us in the running for some cool prizes). This is a short film being used as promotion for the movie being made starring Robbie Amell (from the Flash tv show).
Not sure how often we'll be doing weekly geek-out posts, but there were a few things this week I wanted to share.
MAT
Ever since this official picture of Scarlett Johansson as Motoko Kusanagi was released the internet seems to have blown up with people whinging and complaining about Hollywood 'white washing' a Japanese story by putting a white woman as the lead. I'm starting to find it infuriating though,HOLLYWOOD HASNEVER GOTTEN A LIVE ACTION ADAPTION RIGHT , why do people still put so much stock in them to the point they are offended when it's not cast the way they want, or tell the story true to the source material, or even reference the source material?
Every person who says that Ghost in the Shell is being white washed all have one thing in common
-they all say Rinko Kikuchi from Pacific Rim should play the Major - why? because she's the only Asian actress who has been a lead in a big Hollywood blockbuster in the last decade? That shouldn't be the only prerequisite to playing the role (she is a great actress) but based purely on Pacific Rim, the character she played is nothing like the Major. The Major should be strong and in control in all situations, a woman who can shut up a room full of people with a look or one comment (she should be Batman), not the innocent girl who fought to be counted as an equal in a man's world. The Major dominates man's world. Based purely off performances in Pacific Rim, Idris Elba should play Motoko Kusanagi, lets hear what people's complaints are about that decision. Ok that ends my rant on that.
Back to my original thought, Hollywood has (and never will) get a live action remake right in a way that'll appease everyone. Their biggest problem is moving away from the original source material, they choose things like comics, or cartoons, or anime, which have a large following (or cult following) and choose to make a movie of it.
Great idea don't you think ..NO... as much as you'd think NO it's a horrible idea, the more money spent on a project the wider the audience Hollywood will want. If you're a fan of the original they already know you're going to see it whether you like it or not. So they start changing the things they think the general public won't understand, rather than use good storytelling to explain.
It's quicker and easier for them to make an easier character to relate to if they put that character in situations you've seen in a million other movies in your lifetime. Suddenly Goku - the little boy who grew up in the woods with his grandpa with no schooling - is having girl troubles in high school, because that's what was great about Dragonball(Z).
Green Lantern, Avatar the last Airbender, Dragonball, Transformers, Fantastic Four, all shows and comics with years of history and great storytelling all thrown away in the expectation that they could make it better, or make it more accessible to the general public. But that's the point isn't it, there is a following already and it's not just because 'bending the elements sounds cool' or 'transforming robots look awesome', it's the storytelling, the character development, the troubles and the triumphs.
Most of that gets thrown out the window when a live action is being written. They ignore (or what I find even worse cherry pick just names or part of an idea from) the great stories already written and give the reigns over to someone who a lot of the time (not always) hasn't ever seen or read the source material.
I actually read in an interview that Warner Brothers asked Geoff Johns at one point if they could make Green Lantern without the ring, and Snyder in a recent interview responded to fan criticism by saying no-one knows Superman like he does. A lot of the time direction misses the point, Green Lantern and Fantastic Four should have been sci-fi. Just because the source material is a comic book, doesn't mean it's purely another superhero movie.
This is starting to turn into a rant again, but as production photos and trailers are released we become more and more excited about a movie coming out, thenwe are resentful when the final product doesn't meet our expectations. But if we want good stories and character development there is one answer .................. go back to the source material, it's why we became fans in the first place, and a lot of the time the original continued like Legend of Korra, the Dragonball Z movies, and comics will never stop being created.
Now I'm going to go binge watch Ghost in the Shell again. All this talk of the new movie has me longing to see the series again (for about the 50th time) because it's soo good
So after a somewhat disappointing Bats vs Supes, I have been worried about Suicide Squad. I am a massive fan of Suicide Squad and of Harley Quinn (yes, even the New 52 Harley, haters. I love her) so I have been scared that the source material wouldn't be honoured. After this trailer, I'm putting most of my concerns to rest.
WOW.
So if you haven't watched it, here's clip, courtesy of the Warner Bros. UK YouTube
I'll leave my ranting and raving about Harley Quinn until last, as that will be a bit of a spiel.
Let's talk about the construction of the trailer. The editors of this and the last trailer (you know, the Bohemian Rhapsody one) are masterful. Ballroom Blitz and You Don't Own Me? Hell yeah, great choices. They've managed to piece together enough action without giving away all the good bits. There's enough character that the general 'movie going public' (i.e. not geeks) will get an idea of the motley crew without us knowing what the entire plot is. Unlike the last DC movies' marketing...sigh.
So, for the geeks in the world, what do we know from this, and previous trailers:
We get a Harley Quinn origin story (*squee*)
Joker is NOT part of the squad
Joker and Harley are probably not on the best of terms at the moment
This is the squad's first mission
What we don't know:
How is Bats involved? Flashbacks only? Helping out the Squad?
How far along Harley's timeline (comics wise) this is
Which Katana mythology they have gone with. Is her power derived from the spirit of her dead husband that is possessing her sword?
Enchantress's story
Captain Boomerang. Has he had run-ins with the Flash? Is he part of the Rogues yet?
We still know shit about Slipknot (potential cannon fodder?)
Will there be the appropriate amount of fan service in this flick? Not just the odd Ferris Air sign or LexCorp logo.
This is a never ending list really.
Characters - What We Love So Far Killer Croc The initial "leaked" photos of the croc make up made Mat and I look nervously at each other and think that this might be a very bad choice. I'm happy to report that now, after seeing 3 trailers, that the look of Croc is on point!!!
We are also big fans of Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. Seriously, if you haven't seen the TV show "Oz", do yourself a favour and binge watch that shit. He's AMAZING.
Rick Flagg Finally, in the 3rd trailer, we got to see some Rick Flagg action. How the hell was it so hard to cast this role? I mean, he's an awesome character, and a crucial part of the Suicide Squad story. I'm hoping the script is true to character for him (and everyone else obviously), but with so many people who reportedly turned down the role as they didn't like the character's arc...
I'm still hopeful.
He kicked ass in this trailer.
Amanda Waller Nobody screws the Wall
Arguably the toughest bitch in the DCU, we were both SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad that the casting rumours about Oprah taking on Waller turned out to be false. In the trailers she looks like the hard ass she really is.
Viola Davis should crush it as Amanda Waller and I hope the filmmakers being the magic of the comic and animated DC Waller to the big screen. This character deserves the proper treatment.
Captain Boomerang Oh Digger, you're so awesome.
It might be my Aussie Pride talking, but I'm so glad Boomer is in this movie. Such a great character. See "Batman: Assualt on Arkham" the animated movie to get a little taste of the humour. Seeing the 'beer cracking' moment in trailer 2 was one of the highlights for me so far. I think I actually snort laughed. I love his little flirtations with Harley and Katana too. I'm looking forward to seeing more.
Deadshot He's such a badass. Ok, I'm not a massive fan of the casting here. Not that I hate Will Smith. I think he's awesome. Do I think he's Deadshot though? Nope. Was I convinced by what I've seen in the trailers that he could be Deadshot? Nope. Now, Mat is a little more pro-Will than I am. And I do see his point but I just can't get past the perfect depiction in Assault on Arkham. I've been spoiled by the high quality of Warner Brothers Animation.
Mat thinks that Will Smith is always cast as Will Smith. That's the character he plays. If he was to play Deadshot as a sarcastic version of his character in "I Am Legend", that would be pretty spot on. I was wrong about Batfleck, so maybe I'll be wrong here too and he'll do an awesome job. I hope so.
Enchantress, El Diablo, Slipknot
I know of Enchantress from Justice League Dark, and El Diablo from the New 52 Suicide Squad, but I haven't read anything with Slipknot so I really can't judge him.
Enchantress and El Diablo look freakin awesome. The effects look believable, thank god, and they look very true to character. I feel like I just don't know enough about them to really give an opinion.
Harley Quinn
Ok, brace yourselves. This is my girl, so this might get a bit crazy. Go get a cup of tea. I'll wait.
You good? Ok let's get into it.
I was honestly worried when I saw the first trailer. The accent wasn't Harley, she had a new style, hmmm, I didn't know. But now...my god, Margot looks like she's doing an AMAZING job as Harley. The scripting and delivery of the lines are spot on. I'm fully expecting to see the transition of Harley from Harleen to Harley Quinn with the Joker to Harley Quinn no longer needing the Joker. How they'll achieve that, well, that remains to be seen.
Ever since the movie was announced and we knew that the Joker was going to be a part of the film in more than just an 'origin story' capacity, I've hoped that they are going to tell the Joker/Harley story from New 52 Suicide Squad #15, part of the Death Of The Family arc. It is beyond question, my favourite issue of Suicide Squad. To see those scenes done well in live action would blow people's minds. Including my own.
THIS! This would be EPIC!
A little bit of guilty fan service, but I would be so SO happy if they included Bud and Lou. For those unfamiliar, those are Harley's pet Hyenas. That's right, you heard me. Pet Hyenas. Damn she loves those puppies.
In Suicide Squad #15, she's forced to kill her "babies" as the Joker has transformed them into rabid beasts.
It becomes just another reason she wants to kill her once beloved "puddin".
It's an amazing, action packed sequence that really makes you feel for Harley and the continued torture she endures from Joker.
Plus, I just really want to see Harley and Joker kicking the snot out of each other.
I am SO looking forward to this movie and I hope it doesn't disappoint. I also hope there are no further trailers. This is enough to get the fanboys/fangirls, as well as the general public, chomping at the bit. Nom Nom Nom.
Lets talk about the Justice league movie, we could talk about Batman v Superman all day, whats right with it, whats wrong with it, hypothesize on how it could have been amazing. But no, it's the movie we have, we cannot change it, so, what could they do in the next movie to explain the choices made or the direction of that movie.
There will be SPOILERS for Batman v Superman, we can't have this conversation without them(so don't read on if you haven't seen it).
At the end of BvS we see the dirt on top of superman's coffin begin to lift or float, most people have assumed this is signifying superman is healing/waking up/resurrecting. I'd prefer something a little different - What if the dirt lifting wasn't caused by superman's power but by a boom tube opening up nearby.
And a single Para-demon takes the coffin back to Apocalypse for Darkseid. the movie would continue as you'd expect otherwise, Batman and Wonder Woman gathering up the other Metahumans, butting heads with them as they go. But in the back ground something dark is going on.
When superman returns he's changed, manipulated and brain washed by Darkseid alive but a slave to Darkseids will. He leads a para-demon invasion of earth and the Justice League is there to try to stop them. But it isn't the Justice League who free superman from Darkseids thrall but Lois, Lois is the key (this kind of explains the Flash time-travel / dream scene in BvS) . Now that Superman is back in the fold the league have an easier time fighting back the Para-demon army. I'd leave it there, but a studio wanting a big boss fight could then have Darkseid himself step through a boom tube and decimate the Justice League, and it'd take teamwork to send him back.(it'd give the studio the boss fight but I think it would make the movie too long), a good story shouldn't need the boss fight, there'd still be plenty of action in there with an invasion and a Superman fight.
This type of story could also explain why we didn't get the Lex Luthor we wanted, if this was a long play from Darkseid Lex's apparent insanity could be him trying to fight back against Darkseids mental control. The speech at the party where Lex is lost mid thought and says that knowledge with out power is a paradox. He might have been upset at his knowledge of Darkseid and Apocalypse by not have the mental control(power) to use that information.
I know this is just me day dreaming but I like the idea that the next movie could repair or at the very least explain the choices and direction of Batman v Superman. feel free to comment and let me know what you think and if you have any ideas of your own.
After finishing that last post about Dawn of Justice and the DC animated movies I thought it was about time I wrote about how I fell into my obsession with DC and the worlds it has crafted.
I work shift work on an even time roster, which means I have as many days off as on shift. This gives me a lot of free time to watch tv. Young Justice was the first DC show i started watching consistently, it's well written stories filled with amazing character development left me craving more and more. It was devastating when it finished. I ended up searching online for another, any other shows or stories in that world I'd fallen for.
After reading a list of the best animated series on television, I started watching Justice League / Justice League Unlimited it was no young Justice but it was still a great watch with good stories and a lot of unexpected feelsy moments. It gave me a better understanding and respect for the lesser known DC heroes and villains. But when i ran out of episodes of it I was once again left wanting more.
The next tv series I stumbled across was Batman the brave and the bold , a completely different way of storytelling, it was fun and a little campy. After seeing this I realized that there are just so many ways these characters could come alive and I am yet to find one I don't like or haven't enjoyed. I'd now resided myself to the fact I was going to start reading comic books (oh the shame, how will I live down the stigma). But which ones, where do I start.
This is going to sound like an add but it's not, I downloaded the comixology app, it seemed like a good way to start. I decided on Green Lantern as the first series to read, I knew the least about them and was interested to find out if I'd like, I also started at the beginning of the new 52 run, it was the most recent reboot/rebirth point. I ended up loving it, I'd let the stigma of "comics" stop me for too long, I'd started getting hooked on the stories and characters, my regular reading list expanded from one or 2 titles to 34 titles at one point. I even back tracked and read the blackest night story arc in it's entirety, I'd been missing out on so much.
It's been a hell of a ride with DC, so many great animated shows and movies, almost as many good-ish live action shows and movies(will talk about more in another post, this one is getting too long). and an amazing range of characters and stories to choose from. And with the announcement of Rebirth last week, I look forward to many more hours of entertainment.
This week we had a chance to leave bub with the folks and go to the movies. Naturally Dawn of Justice was the pick. Since then each of us have tried to do a movie review of it, but no matter which angle we take it comes across as fan boy petty complaints. So all I'm going to say is we didn't hate it, we didn't love it either, but if you want to know the DC movie we did love this week ..............
Justice League vs Teen Titans - Sooooo awesome, i think the reason we feel let down by the live action movies is because the DC animated movies and tv shows are so great, and this installment has jumped straight to one of the top 2 in the pile.
This movie has everything - Ravens origin, Damian becoming a real boy, and some of the most spectacular fight scenes you'll see between children and their mentors ever.
The stand out for me was unexpected - Damian Wayne - time and time again i want to hate this kid but i can't, he's so full of himself, but his growth of character and the fact that no situation could stop or even slow him down.
Ok now this next bit might have some SPOILERS so be warned. Damian was in all my favorite moments of this movie, I got goosebumps watching him bring down superman, not even hesitating as he stabs superman with a kryptonite shard and ride him to the ground. It's not just the action that made me love this movie though, the carnival scene is almost a montage or Damian and Raven becoming more.... like the children they really are. Plus Dick and Starfires relationship seems real - not too subtle and not a forced, in your face thing.
Ok, NO MORE SPOILERS We had so much fun watching this I could talk about it for hours and hours so I'll just say this is a must watch, especially if you're a fan of any other DC animated tv shows (so many easter eggs and nods to previous incarnations).
If you're really looking for our honest feelings on Batman v Superman I suggest you watch these 3 youtube reviews, somewhere in between all them is where our true feelings on this movie lie.
