Supergirl (2026) review

  

    SUPERGIRL (2026) is not great. I would go so far as to say it's not good. This is a shame because I genuinely loved the Superman reboot and most of the spinoff media by James Gunn like Peacemaker and the Creature Commandos. Basically, this movie struggles to settle on a tone and when it does settle on a tone, it doesn't really seem to work very well for the character of Supergirl. I never read WOMAN OF TOMORROW so maybe I'm missing out on something with the adaptation but the simple fact is that I am judging the movie on the basis of its own merits. It's not terrible but if I were to rate it, it would be a three star at max and more like two and a half stars. 

    The premise is that Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock) is a drunk survivor of Krypton (technically Argo) that lives her life moving from bar to bar in order to drown out the memories of her homeworld. She has no interest in being a hero as far as I can tell and is comforted only by her dog, Krypto. A young girl, Ruthye (Eve Ridley), comes to her after a bar fight with a request to help her get revenge on the evil Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts). Along the way, they run into Lobo (Jason Momoa) and there are shenanigans until they finally dismantle Krem's human (alien) trafficking business.

    This movie is a mess. I'm not one of those internet guys who goes into things trying to hate them and I am generally overly positive about things in fact. I tried to defend Bloodlines 2 for Caine's sake. But if I were to describe the plot of the movie, it is one part True Grit, one part John Wick, and one part Taken with the veneer of Guardians of the Galaxy. To explain why these things don't go together, True Grit is about a revenge story where the revenge is meaningless, Taken is about killing a bunch of Eastern European sex traffickers, John Wick is about avenging man's best friend, and the Guardians of the Galaxy movies are wacky crime dramas. All of these are good movies but none of them make sense when mushed together.

    To explain what I mean, True Grit is about a young girl who obsesses over the man who murdered her father even though its fairly clear he's going to die one way or the other. John Wick is about revenge as emotional catharsis over an innocent animal dying. Taken is about punishing people who have committed horrific atrocities that we like seeing get dismantled. Ruthye wants revenge and Kara thinks that's bad but Krem is an irredeemable monster who continues to commit atrocities left and right throughout the movie. Kara wants to save Krypto after he's poisoned but seems bored versus desperate and never seems to think about how she's running out of time.

    There's a lot of things that would have been more interesting than Supergirl just going from planet to planet looking for the Brigands (great name, real original). The flashbacks to where Supegirl is on Argo are the best parts of the movie and it would have been fantastic to see her adjusting to Earth as well as talking with Clark about how she doesn't "want" to fit in our small blue planet. Instead, their biggest scene together is one where he doesn't speak Kryptonian and she doesn't speak English. Doesn't he have robots for this? An app on his phone? He understood Kryptonian in the previous movie, he just didn't have the other part of the message.

    Jason Momoa is also not a cameo but not really in the movie either. A better writer, not saying me but me and I'm a journeyman at best, would have had Supergirl as an idealist who wants to bring Krem to justice via the Green Lantern Corp's science cells while Lobo wants to kill him for the cash reward from his victims. You could have them play angel and demon on Ruthye's shoulders but Supergirl barely cares and thinks Krem should die herself but a child shouldn't be the one to do him in.

    Basically, Supergirl is less Kara Zor-El in this movie and more female Wolverine (which would be X-23 now that I think about it). Krem is also a terrible villain and not just because he feels like someone tried to do Highlander's Kurgan with half the charisma but he doesn't have the power to pose a proper challenge to Kara. This is space, guys, give him strength akin to a Kryptonian or other superpowers. Instead, they just have Kara depowered repeatedly for increasingly dumb reasons. I was also confused by all the Earth music drops since Kara presumably is not familiar with most of these.

    In conclusion, I'm glad I saw this movie but it is very flawed. Milly did a great job but I would have preferred a Kara who had a lot of Superman's integrity and heroism. You can do a dark Kara as My Adventures with Superman showed but this one just feels like they missed the El symbol is a symbol for hope. I can't help but think if they'd just had a movie about Kara, Lobo, Krypto, and New Girl hunting the female pirates from midway through the film then it would have been a pretty awesome movie by itself.

Superman (2025) review

    SUPERMAN (2025) by James Gunn is a work that you certainly don’t need me to tell you to go see. Virtually the entire response to the movie has been nothing but positive and I’m not going to be a naysayer. After the controversial choices of Man of Steel, Batman vs. Superman, and Justice League, it’s interesting to see something go the other way to embrace goofy fun as an alternative.

    Of course, goofy fun is misleading because there’s a lot of darkness underscoring the wackiness in a way that James Gunn is a master of threading the needle for.mixing of both comedy as well as tragedy. This is something that I think will contribute to the longevity of this new incarnation of the DC Cinematic Universse as it is able to do incredibly dark stuff with Creature Commandos and Peacemaker but also moments of hilarity.

    The premise is that Superman has just lost his first battle fighting against Ultraman/The Hammer of Bulgravia after successfully preventing a war. James Gunn starts us in media res with the kind of comic book serialized storytelling that was the case when I was a child. Specifically, you picked up Amazing Spider-Man 203 and had to figure out what was going on as well as who was who. Superman has been a hero for three years at this point and it is a world full of superheroes.

    Basically, this movie is created with the explicit goal is making a world that can be built upon for future movies. We get seeds for the Green Lanterns, Supergirl, and possibly the Justice League as a whole. Characters like Guy Gardner, Mr. Terrific, and Hawkgirl not only make the world more lived in but they also answer an obvious question of: “what can threaten Superman?” In this universe, he might be the strongest superhuman but he’s not that by an overwhelming amount.

    The movie also jumps past the majority of typical drama with Superman’s supporting cast in a way that is very smart. Superman conceals his secret identity from the world as a whole but he doesn’t keep it a secret from Lois, Jimmy, or the Justice Gang. We also get a nod to the hilarious “Superman hypnosis glasses” that were a Silver Age explanation for why Superman couldn’t be recognized.

    The movie is surprisingly political but in a way that isn’t necessarily going to be noticed as such. The invasion of Borvaria, a United States ally, to a smaller “imperfect” country is something that occupies a lot of the movie’s conflict. Superman also has his immigrant status brought forward and his citizenship is revoked as an excuse by the government to imprison him without trial or rights. If you think this is against Superman’s values, well, you’re probably Dean Cain. I had a small issue with the handling of Jor-El and Lora-El but that’s mostly because I think it conflicted with the message.

    The handling of Lex Luthor is one of my favorite parts of the movie as they manage to elevate him to a malevolence that simultaneously feels believable but also grandiose. Ironically, this is the most human and least “savior”-like Superman but Lex Luthor does a good job as being a metaphor for Satan with his own underworld-esque Hell universe as well as an insane pride-driven motivation that will destroy the world if it means that Superman doesn’t get to save it. Given he’s a tech bro, that’s sadly also realistic.

    In conclusion, Superman (2025) is a fantastic movie and a great start off to the new DC cinematic universe. The movie “gets” Superman and the fact that it embraces its sillier side while also touching on darker themes (like Lex Luthor’s abuse of his girlfriends, threatening innocents, and the lack of respect for due process), makes it a Superman entry with something to say as well. I hate that the Engineer was used as a villain here but I think I’m probably like two or three who care about the character in the audience.

Injustice 2 review

    One of the big flaws of DC and Marvel comics is the "illusion of change", which is a term coined by Stan Lee. Basically, recognizing that monthly franchises could easily become unrecognizable, it was important to make sure you put the toys back in the box pretty much as you pulled them out. It's resulted in such good things as Spiderman not becoming a cosmically powered being called Captain Universe forever but also has resulted in such terrible things as One More Day and the perpetual cycle of universal reboots which plague both franchises.

    The solution to this, for the most part, is for comic books to have spin-off universes with beginnings, middles, and ends. The Ultimates was a mixed-bag version of this where they managed to trash the entire universe after just a few years. The DC Animated Universe is a triumphant example of this, successfully giving a multiple-series universe which ends in a fascinating but satisfying way.

It's a fighting game so you know what to expect.

    The Injustice universe is an example of a universe which benefits from this kind of creative freedom. Not only does it have the option of permanently killing characters but relationships can change, the world, and it's all open for the writers. It's because of this that Injustice is not just a pair of excellent video games but a decent series of comic books as well. It's an evolving world and this game does a decent job of continuing to expand it.

    The premise is, a year after the events of Injustice: Gods Among Us, Superman has been imprisoned by Batman with his regime being dismantled. Supergirl has finally arrived on the planet but is being kept in the dark about her cousin's madness by Black Adam and Wonder Woman. In this universe, Krypton was destroyed by Brainiac and the last two survivors lure the supervillain to this world. This being the first attack on Earth by Brainiac, humanity is swiftly overwhelmed and an alliance must be made between Batman's Justice League and Superman's regime. Worse, there is a group of wild cards in the last remaining supervillains on the planet led by Gorilla Grodd.

Superman vs. Batman is best when its ideological.

    The story is remarkably well written with Supergirl serving as the "point of entry" character. Superman's treatment is more sympathetic in the game and less one-dimensional, which raises the storyline quality up considerably. Batman vs. Superman in Injustice is best treated as freedom vs. security with the latter not being a psychopath but simply more ruthless. He's still considered the bad guy but he's not an insane child-murdering despot like he was in the previous game. Unfortunately, Wonder Woman is still one-dimensional and we don't have the option of playing the "real" Superman and Wonder Woman in the game.

    I have to say I think this game is probably the best use of Brainiac in the character's entire history and a reminder why he was once Superman's second most famous foe. He's also one of the few villains I could believably see as a threat to the entire Earth and require Injustice Batman to team up with his greatest enemy. I mean, there's Darkseid obviously and a decent number of other galaxy-conquering despots but none of them have the same level of personality as Brainiac aside from the Lord of Apokolips.

Brainiac is at his best.

    Gameplay wise, it's pretty much the same as Injustice with a few improvements. The combat flows much better than it did in the previous game, however. Unfortunately, the game includes loot boxes and they're one of the worst things in video games today. The game has the option of getting bits and pieces of equipment for the characters but this is a tedious bit of pointless busy-work that lowers the quality of the game as a whole.  The graphics are exceptional and far improved from the original Injustice, which wasn't bad itself.

    Storyline-wise, the ending of the game suffers a bit in Story mode. The defeat of Brainiac should be the ending but you end up having to face a repeat of Batman vs. Superman, which I think is a poor ending versus the two sides parting semi-amicably. I also think Brainiac should have been defeated by Supergirl in the ending rather than Superman and Batman. It is, after all, her story which begins with Brainiac destroying her homeland and should end with her avenging it.

    Speaking of Supergirl, I liked her portrayal in the game and think it's probably her best treatment since the Silver Age. She's an idealistic and Superman-esque character in a setting where that legacy has been severely tarnished. Contrasting her naivete and idealism to the harsh world around her is an effective storytelling device. It also reminds the characters that the DCU is not meant to be like it is in Injustice and the writers are aware of that.

Love Harley's design.

    The Society led by Gorilla Grodd was an excellent addition to the game because the previous game had Superman wipe out the majority of supervillains on Earth. Captain Cold, Deadshot, Poison Ivy, and the Reverse Flash are all characters who work well as antagonists. I was a bit disappointed by Grodd being revealed to work for Brainiac in the end but I supposed there needed to be a hierarchy of villains in these things.

     The characterization is well done with everyone from Black Canary to Harley Quinn being in character. There's also some great surprises like Robert Englund (a.k.a Freddy Krueger) as the Scarecrow. The DLC characters include some gems, too, like Darkseid, Hellboy, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I also liked the skins of some existing characters like Power Girl for Supergirl which comes with its own dialogue. I also liked how you could sometimes choose different characters in Story Mode.

    In conclusion, this is an excellent game that was enjoyable from beginning to end. There's some issues like the loot boxes and the fact there's still a Leveling System that makes no damn sense in a fighting game. Still, I think this is probably the best comic book game currently out today and excellent for those who want to dabble in the colorful but dark world of Injustice.

9/10

Justice League (2017) review

    Unfortunately, due to my wife breaking her leg, I wasn't able to see the JUSTICE LEAGUE movie in it's initial movie release. This is because I'm generally more of a DC rather than Marvel man. As much as the Marvel movies tend to be more my style (humor, light-hearted, and consistent), the iconic characters of the DCU are my jam. Sadly, most of us have been disappointed with the offerings since Man of Steel. Why is this? Well, the simple answer is the one we know: it's warmed over Marvel comics.

    Warner Brothers desperately wants their own Marvel Cinematic Universe and you can tell it's an attempt to be like them. There's also the fact Zach Snyder either was told to make "movies identical to Watchmen in tone" or he just naturally prefers that take on the subject. As such, the two Superman movies felt like Batman movies and somehow a movie set in WORLD WAR ONE ended up being the most lighthearted of the three. The Suicide Squad movie was generally better because of the humor but you could tell it was originally darker.

There's more of you?

    So, what about Justice League? I went into the movie with average expectations of, "Am I going to be entertained?" It generally exceeded these expectations but I'm going to admit it wasn't by much. This is probably because I'm actually not a huge fan of the big blockbuster-esque team up movies which Warner Brothers is copying (I didn't think the Avengers was all that great). I'm more a fan of movies which focus tightly on characters and their characterization. This movie, simply put, doesn't have enough room to do that.

    The premise is a pretty paint by the numbers video game plot. There's three Mother Boxes on Earth wanted by Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds) and the Justice League needs to assemble to get them before our villain invariably does. This is a really-really lazy plot and uncomfortably too close to The Avengers, so the derivativeness of the plot is doubly problematic. It's not only derivative of The Avengers but it's also the same plot of the new 52 Justice League origin where "Darkseid invaders, the JLA stops him." That wouldn't be a problem if not for the fact the new 52 Justice League origin is ALREADY a movie and wasn't great. In fact, I hated Justice League: War.

He looks more like Magog than Steppenwolf.

    I don't want to harp on what the movie is not but the big issue here is that DC comics has an array of countless villains who would have served as excellent villains to get the Justice League to team up against: 1. Vandal Savage. 2. Ra's Al Ghul. 3. White Martians. 4. Brainiac. 5. Darkseid. I'll come back to Darkseid in a bit but Steppenwolf is a doubly weird choice because he's been turned into a Generic Doomsday Villain (see TV tropes) and that's not something DC has any shortage of either (Mongul, Despero, Krona, Imperiax, the Anti-Monitor, and probably others I'm forgetting).

    The problem with Steppenwolf being the main bad guy is that its not just that he's a supporting character in the New Gods and not Darkseid himself (who would have been a real crowd-pleaser) but that the evil New Gods AREN'T generic villains. Steppenwolf has a lot of personality as a flamboyant alien super-hunter--just like all of the Apokolips bad guys do. They're cartoonish bad guys but they're certainly entertaining and have broad loud characters which translate well to the silver screen. If you're going to invade the Earth then use Desaad, Kalibak, Granny Goodness, and Darkseid. Hell, the Furies too. I mean, in what universe does a bad guy have an army of colorful female supersoldiers and you DON'T use them?

Gal Gadot looks like she's having fun.

    Yeah, I've heard the argument they don't want to blow Darkseid too soon but it seems like saving money when you are having your house foreclosed on. Either way, it means the majority of the story is on the heroes rather than the villains. Unfortunately, we don't have the build-up we needed for this movie and it doesn't follow up the events of Dawn of Justice very well. We introduce Cyborg, Aquaman, and the Flash with three sets of separate origins as well as throw in the resurrection of Superman. In short, the movie is a hot mess with no time to breathe and only a few truly good scenes.

    That doesn't mean it's not entertaining, though. I never expected Aquaman (Jason Momoa) to be as hilarious or entertaining as he is. The Flash (Ezra Miller) is a bit too similar to the show version but adds a Spiderman-esque dorkability to the story. Gal Godot's Wonder Woman and Ben Affleck's Batman both do a tremendous job and have tremendous onscreen chemistry. There's also a lot of unexpected moments in the film like J.K. Simmon's Commissioner Gordon and the touching scenes with Amy Adams' Lois Lane and Henry Cavil's Superman.

Old Bruce is a fascinating idea. It needs its own movie.

    Weirdly, my favorite part of the movie is Ben Affleck's performance as "Old Batman." Which is something that is very evident on screen. Normally, older superheroes are never portrayed as losing their edge with Sean Connery and Roger Moore playing the role well past their sell date. Here, it's very clear Ben Affleck is the senior member of the group and doesn't have his usual Bat-invincibility going for him even above and beyond the fact he's a mere mortal in a team of gods. I would be very interested in having that explored more in the story but think they kind of need to cast a Nightwing to compliment the character on that.

    The only character I feel like was a complete failure was Victor Stone (Ray Fisher) who suffers from the fact the original comic book Cyborg has a very ableist origin. Yes, it's bad to have 90% of your body destroyed but it's good to be able to walk around and enjoy life too. The fact he's another brooding character in a sea of them is also troubling. John Stewart as a Green Lantern would have worked better, I think. Probably still played by Ray Fisher who is certainly capable enough for the role. I admit to also being a bit perplexed by the fact we have the Flash on television as well as in the movies.

    In conclusion, it's not bad. It's not great but it's certainly entertaining and I hope they make an expanded addition with additional footage. This isn't the movie I wanted but I think they've reached the point where I'm happy to see the blockbusters every time they come out, even if it's only once.

7.5/10

Superman v Batman: Dawn of Justice review

Warning - Long Rant ahead about the nature of Superman and Batman. Also, minor spoilers.

    It's always the job of the critic to be true to his actual feelings on a movie even if they're going to be unpopular or go against the geek group-mind. Now I'm not an actual critic, just a guy who has a blog but I like to think some of you bother to care what I think when I read this. So, I'll be straight up: I liked Superman v Batman: Dawn of Justice. I liked it a lot and this is going to be a positive review in a sea of overwhelming negativity from other critics as well as most of my comic book fan circle.

    So be it.

    It's funny, actually, because I know exactly why this movie grinds the teeth of so many comic book fans. It's a continuation of the same sort of thought pattern which was established by Man of Steel, a movie which I had serious issues with, but got a good deal of enjoyment out of. However, the problem with Man of Steel (aside from some enormous plot holes and stupid decisions by characters that there's no defense for) is it's dark. Literally so as the movie saturates its colors and also in terms of plotting as it's a movie which reflects Superman's troubled and somber life.

Batfleck is probably the highlight of the film. Which, admittedly, is a bit of a problem in a Superman film.

    This is, of course, the bugbear of so many fans because Superman is not supposed to have a troubled and somber life. Superman is supposed to be a joyous, hope-filled avatar of goodness in a world where we're too often afraid of such things. Part of the reason the Spiderman reboot failed was, in addition to no one wanting a reboot, was the fact it wanted to make Peter Parker's life darker when Spiderman has always been about making his life brighter through his red and blue duds.

    Superman vs. Batman: Dawn of Justice is not about Superman being a cheerful goofy boyscout trying to make the world a better place. It's about a pair of men who are trying to make the world a better place but dealing with the immense responsibility thereof. It's a perfectly valid take on Superman but people and by people, I mean geeks, have a very big desire to see what they think of as the iconic depiction of their characters onscreen.

Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor is a genius manchild psychopath--which I have no problem with.

    They point to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and it's big, bright, and goofy depiction of the heroes in all of their four color glory. Never mind, my favorite MCU movie was Captain America: The Winter Soldier which is all about the fact SHIELD is an awful organization and questioning what sort of role the man who wears the flag should have.

    What does Superman vs. Batman analyze?

    Okay, not much.

Wonder Woman is a glorified cameo but what a cameo it is.

    This is where I'm going to undermine my entire case because this isn't a misunderstood masterpiece anymore than it is deserving of the intense vitriol it is. It's a movie about Batman deciding Superman is a threat after the events of the previous movie resulted in thousands of deaths. Events convince Batman that Superman has to be killed so he builds a supersuit to do it armed with Kryptonite. It's not going to be spoiling anything to say the heroes do not kill each other and they team up against the evildoer and his monster at the end. You know, if you've read a single comic book in your life.

    Superman v Batman is a movie of enormous spectacle surrounded by a few character moments. It's a film about big fight-scenes and the building up to the big fight scenes. The Avengers was one long fight-scene really and people loved that movie. In fact, I have got to say I found the final battles to be quite satisfying even if I suspect many a fan will think they're rather short compared to all the hype and buildup.

Superman's supporting cast might as well not be in this movie.

    Henry Cavill continues playing a Clark Kent who I very much enjoy reading about. He's just a guy who has an immense responsibility and incredible power. Indeed, if I would give into the fanboy rage for a bit then I'd say his biggest problem is he's playing Spiderman rather than Superman. Clark Kent is a miserable and troubled man who is tortured by the death of an adoptive parent figure who he could have saved but is determined to make up for that by saving as many people as possible.

    The fact is this Superman is not trying to be God or the messianic figure of previous adaptations. He's not even trying to be the inspirational figure of hope which so many fans want him to be. He's just a guy who wants to help people and be treated as someone who can do that. Cavill captures the Clark Kent who doesn't embrace the Nietzschean morality of so many superhumans but is just trying to do his part. The fearful or worshipful attitude other people put on him is on them with Lex Luthor wanting to make Superman God rather than just accept him as a person--a very Lex Luthor sort of thing.

Subtle mind-manipulation afoot!

    Ben Affleck's Batman is also a valid interpretation of the Batman character even if he's more Michael Keaton than Kevin Conroy. This Batman is a killer, not to a Punisher level but not too worried about casualties either, and quite possibly crazy. However, this Batman is one who is fundamentally one of the good guys. I like this is the Batman who has gone too far because of the loneliness and isolation triggered by his lifestyle, only to be brought back by realizing Superman is a force for good.

    Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor is a manic display of mad energy and genius which is the primary source of the film's much-needed levity. He is a psychopathic monster who sees nothing wrong with killing everyone and anyone who stands in his way but is offended at Superman's very existence. Superman being, essentially, a superhuman being who doesn't abuse his powers the way he does his genius and wealth.

    Eisenberg's Lex is the kind of character who would grow up to strangle his karate instructor for winning in a match or build a suit of power armor to kill Superman. Some people wanted Bryan Cranston for the role but the problem with that is, essentially, the older mature billionaire super-genius opposing Superman in this movie is Batman.

Batman really goes to town on Superman. It's actually kind of horrible.

    Supporting cast wise, they might as well not be here. Jeremy Iron's Alfred is a character who is needed and does a great job with the role despite being too young for the part compared to Batfleck. Amy Adams, however, is underutilized and is a character who we essentially skip the entire Superman-Lois Lane courtship thereof. It's a disservice to Adams as well as the character of Lois Lane herself but we really needed Superman 2: Krypton Boogaloo and Batfleck: I'm not Bale but I can do this before this movie.

    To no one's surprise, this movie is a gigantic set-up for the Justice League movie which could not be more obvious as against a certain villain set revealed via huge gigantic use of his symbol in the film. Indeed, one of the movie's biggest plotholes is they have Batman, essentially, have a psychic vision of said villain's coming which he interprets as about Superman.

    Yes, I'm serious.

"You're not the Superman we want!" "But maybe I'm the one you need." "Nope!"

     The ton of the movie is dark, somber, and depressing with Superman debating what sort of symbol he should be for the world or whether he should try to be at all since he's either scaring people or causing him to worship him. Batman is traumatized by, well, being Batman for twenty-years and facing the one thing he really isn't sure he can control or defeat no matter how much preparation he does.

    The human race is reacting to Superman like they're the humanity from the X-men movies versus the humans of the DCU and all of this actually forms a coherent theme. It's not the theme people necessarily want to see in a Superman movie but it's one I enjoyed. Superman is a perfectly valid character to analyze questions of God, responsibility, power, and worship with.  It's just not particularly the character which fans wanted to see who would prefer a jokey fun film instead. To each their own is what I say.

    Still, I enjoyed this film. I'm going to see it again. I had fun and that was really all that I wanted from it.

8/10

Injustice: Gods Among Us review

    I have an affection for fighting games which goes back to the Super Nintendo version of Streetfighter 2. The internet has revived much of the joy to be had playing against strangers in arcade games with multiplayer even if design has moved away from being able to sit in front of a TV with friends and multiple controllers. Of course, I've never been terribly good at fighting games since I'm a compulsive button masher. Likewise, I've always wanted more story and more investment in the characters while plenty of gamers I know prefer less (with some wishing there was none at all). Thus, I was a little skeptical anything could make Injustice: Gods Among Us interesting. Then I saw the introduction.

George Newbern's acting both as "normal" and "crazy" Superman is quite impressive.

    The premise is Superman goes insane after the death of Lois Lane and destruction of Metropolis by the Joker. Executing the Joker for his crimes, Superman creates a totalitarian state ruled by him and the corrupted version of the Justice League.

    This premise would probably be too dark and a character assassination of Clark Kent if not for the fact we immediately switch to an alternate reality where our heroes are still in existence. Superman's corruption occurred in a parallel reality and "our" heroes are recruited by Batman to take the evil Superman down. Longtime fans of DC comics and their spin-offs will recognize the "Evil DC Superheroes vs. Good Ones" plot as very similar to both the seminal comic series Kingdom Come (though Superman isn't the bad guy there) and the "Justice Lords" episodes of the Justice League cartoon. There's even elements of Mark Waid's Irredeemable.

    Some fans have expressed that it's a bit of a cop out to have the renegade Superman not be the 'real' one but I'd argue against this. As much as there's a kind of seedy joy to seeing heroes fall from grace, I'm an optimist in real life and prefer to see good triumph over evil. As such, my chosen character in Injustice: Gods Among Us is Superman and he's going to beat the crap out of the version who disgraced everything he stands for.

The environments are extremely well-designed.

    The gameplay is hard to really talk about since it's nothing new but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's more or less an adaptation of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, which was more or less an adaptation of the Mortal Kombat franchise to begin with. There's an addition of many mini-games which are fun and the cool factor of destructible environments but people who have played fighting games know what to expect. Two guys sit on opposite sides of the stage, start pounding on one another, then one finishes the other off.

    The stage design is wonderful, making Metropolis and Gotham City as well as so many other sights evocative. You can fight in the Fortress of Solitude or Bat Cave plus plenty of other recognizable locations. I especially liked the Atlantis, Hall of Justice, and Insurgency stages which really qualify as works of art.

Harley Quinn makes any game better. So, it gets a +1 just for that.

    At heart, though, what makes this game work is the fact its a bunch of recognizable characters the audience cares about going through a dramatic arc. For perhaps the first time, the plotline is not just an excuse for the fighting (well, it is, but it's not just an excuse). The plotline of the game takes place through multiple perspectives, chronicling various characters both good and evil as they explore the Brave New World created by the alternate Superman. You get to play from the perspective of Green Arrow, Superman, Batman, Cyborg, the Joker, and others.

    My favorite moment in the campaign is when Aquaman from the "normal" universe receives an ultimatum directed at the alternate one to surrender Atlantis. He proceeds to kick the ass of Superman's flunkies (including Captain Marvel) in a truly epic way. I also love Wonder Woman standing up for the true ideals of the Amazons (no matter what DC comics says): peace and justice. The voice actors give it their all and you manage to believe everyone is who they're supposed to be. The fact the game got so many actors famous for doing the characters in other mediums.

    This is a work which really "gets" the characters of the DC universe. The moral ambiguity and co-dependency of Harley Quinn, the peaceful warrior credo of Wonder Woman, and Damien Wayne's absurdest need for a father figure who unleashes his dark side are all handled wonderfully. I'm annoyed Supergirl doesn't have a role in the story but, otherwise, I'm impressed by so many characters having cool ties to the new world. 

The gameplay's biggest point? It's fun.

    I will say, the story gets a little too dark in places. For example: Not only does the Joker have to kill Lois Lane and Metropolis but the game makes it so Lois is pregnant with Superman's child at the time. I was like, really? You felt the need to go there? Then there's the fate of a certain child superhero's double who Superman executes to show he's fully beyond the moral event horizon. You know, like turning the planet into a Soviet police state wasn't enough. Overall, though, this was a very impressive bit of writing.

    How good is the plotting in the game? The fact they take the time to explain why Green Arrow can fight Superman in a fist fight along with the Joker. Sure, the excuse amounts to a magic Kryptonian-technology pill which makes people almost as strong as Superman but it works. The fact this excuse shows up in cutscenes is a great little bit of fan continuity which "sells" it to the player. There's a few slow parts in the plot but most of them are quite interesting.

    In conclusion, Injustice: Gods Among Us is a great piece of capepunk fiction. Superman's corruption and the toxicity it brings to his fellow heroes is a suitably well-developed tragedy. The fact it isn't, "our" Superman doesn't impact the fact the new world is treated as a valuable and important place in its own right. The fact I was invested in the story from start to finish says its worth getting for those who likes fighting games. If you don't, the storyline is unlikely to change your opinion but this is at the top of storytelling in its genre. With the exception of Arkham Asylum's games, this is probably the best DC comics video game ever made.

10/10

Superman/Batman: Apocalypse review

    As I mentioned in the "Who is the Girl of Steel" (here) essay, Supergirl was absent from comics in her original Kryptonian form for the better part of two decades. While there were women who wore the big red S, they weren't Superman's cousin from Krypton. This all changed in 2003 with the second story arc of Batman/Superman "The Supergirl from Krypton."

Superman is watching you. Do not look at his cousin.

    Overall, I was very fond of "The Supergirl from Krypton" because it was a fairly whimsical tale with some serious bits. It wasn't especially deep in its characterization, Supergirl is amnesiac about her past for example, but it was fun. You had such things as an entire army of cloned Doomsdays, the Amazons actually being good for a change, and a throw-down with both the Girl of Steel and the Man of Steel with the Lord of Apokolips.

    Superman/Batman: Apocalypse is a really good adaptation of that storyline.

    I know! It had to happen sometime.

    As mentioned above, the story consists of Kara Zor-El arriving with a mount of Kryptonite from her homeworld. In the original comic, it is the remains of Argo City but it just seems like a whole bunch of Kryptonite came with her this time. She makes the mistake of landing in Gotham City, immediately making Batman suspicious. Naked and unable to speak English, Supergirl gets into all manner of trouble with her new powers. Batman manages to disable her with a shard of Kryptonite, which really is troublesome since that's a teenage girl he's using a lethal radioactive isotope to knock out.

I love seeing the DC Trinity together.

    As expected, Superman shows up and is delighted to have some of his lost Kryptonian family back. We get some really good scenes between Kara and Clark where he introduces her to shopping. It's a bit questionable a girl from a scientific Utopia would take to buying like a credit-card happy Valley girl but I appreciated showing her taking to our world with gusto. Batman still believes this is all a trick by someone like Lex Luthor or Brainiac because Batman does not believe in good things happening to good people. Thus, Bruce Wayne calls Wonder Woman to see if Supergirl can get some hardassed training in her powers by someone who isn't her cousin.

    Darkseid, meanwhile, looks for someone to replace Big Barda as the head of his guard.

    Supergirl, being a Kryptonian, looks just right.

    This is a pretty straightforward story and there's not a lot of twists and turns. It's about the three biggest superheroes in the world dealing with the arrival of someone every bit as powerful as them (even if Batman's power is his mind) but none of the discipline. Darkseid senses Supergirl is a weak-link in Earth's champions and could be bent to the, no pun intended, dark side.

Supergirl goes Goth? Fine, good for her. Darkseid lusting after her? No, wrong! Find someone your own age, God of Evil.

    Sadly, we never get to see what methods the Lord of Apokolips uses to try to bend Supergirl to his will and it would have been nice for them to expand on the temptations he might offer. The movie makes much of how Kal-El is a controlling overprotective father-figure while Batman alienates everyone (and Wonder Woman tries to kidnap her for boot camp). Doing a Return of the Jedi scene where Darkseid tempts Supergirl with freedom would have been a good addition to the film.

    Really, my biggest complaint about this film is Supergirl is a sideshow to Superman and Batman's struggle between trust vs. caution. Summer Glau does an excellent Kara Zor-El and I can't help but think this story would have benefited from more scenes from her perspective. What works in a six-issue comic format doesn't always benefit from transitioning to an hour and ten minute movie.

    Also, less of a complaint and more an observation is the artists for these movies really threw in a lot of fanservice for the heterosexual male gaze. Supergirl and all of the women are depicted with large anime-esque eyes, curvy forms, and revealing outfits. Given much of the movie takes place on Paradise Island, this leads to a lot of attractive women in various form-fitting attire. It's on the mild-side but when some of Darkseid's Female Furies, who are historically a collection of grotesques, appear somewhat attractive then you know the artists have gone too far.

All will love her and despair!

    The voice acting in the movie is good with Kevin Conroy and Tim Daly doing their usual bang-up jobs with the Dark Knight and Man of Tomorrow. Susan Eisenberg also is an excellent Wonder Woman, which we knew already from the Justice League cartoon and the Wonder Woman movie. In a way, I miss Nicholle Tom as Supergirl but I think Summer Glau was a perfectly good substitute and probably better for their fundamentally different characters. Sadly, Andre Braugher just doesn't work for me as Darkseid after Michael Ironsides.

    In conclusion, this is an enjoyable little movie which is about as substantial as a vanilla wafer. It has beautiful characters, excellent action, and about 20% as much characterization as it needs. Still, I'm going to give it a generous review because I love Supergirl and Wonder Woman. Any movie which has both is hard for me to come down on hard on.

9/10

Justice League: Throne of Atlantis review

    Wow, that was bad.

    No, let me correct that.

    Justice League: War was bad.

    This was just sort of there.

    There's nothing really offensive about Throne of Atlantis but there's nothing really to sell it either. It was a decent arc for the New 52 with a number of interesting twists for long-time fans but these twists get removed for the animated adaptation so it becomes much more generic as well as bland.

Orm is mwahahahaha evil throughout. He's not even very good at it.

    The original comic had a semi-decent conflict between Arthur Curry, his mother, an unknown puppetmaster, and Arthur's half-brother Ocean Master. There's a lot of lies, double-dealings, and respectable positions going on. All of that gets thrown out to, basically, turn Ocean Master into underwater Hitler who wants to kill all surface-dwellers because he is a bad person.

    Now, I don't necessarily want moral ambiguity from my DC cartoons. With the exception of Ra's Al Ghul, who is still crazy don't get me wrong, the vast majority of Batman villains are just all around bad people. However, its notable when a story goes out of way to make things less emotionally complex and interesting.

    Say what you will about Justice League: War, there was a clear cut conflict between all of the various diverse personalities in the League. They may have all been unlikable jerks, but you understood where they came from.

Mera is a lot better character than Aquaman.

    The premise is Orm Marius is the Prince of Atlantis. After his father is killed as collateral damage from the battle against Darkseid in Justice League: War, he has become obsessed with revenge against the surface world. Making an alliance with Black Manta, who is (oddly enough) a surface dweller, he proceeds to murder a naval submarine and steal a host of missiles as to frame humanity for attacking Atlantis.

    Orm's mother, Atlanna, is the present ruler of Atlantis and is uninterested in war with the surface world. In what appears to be an unintentional bit of sympathy for the villain, she's revolted by her son and wants to pass her crown to her illegitimate half-human son Arthur Curry. This is more out of affection for her lover than any qualities Arthur possesses since we first meet him as a drunk who uses his superior strength to beat up regular humans at a bar.

The best moment of the movie for a multitude of reasons. Lois Lane finding Clark Kent dating Wonder Woman.

    The Justice League is mostly perfunctory to the entire proceeding, being helpless to fight Ocean Master and his mystical trident (yes, Superman, Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman, and the rest of the team which DEFEATED DARKSEID can't overcome one guy with a magic fork). They also exist only to get rescued by Arthur and engage in a few massive brawls against generic Atlantean mooks. I do appreciate a moment where we get to see Superman fight Cthulhu, the Great Old One making a random appearance about halfway through.

    Really, this movie would have made more sense as an Aquaman movie and that's what it really is. Like Batman: Assault on Arkham, the title is misleading as it's really about Aquaman instead of the Justice League. We follow him from being a working class hero to the superior King of Atlantis with almost no real follow-through and it's hard to believe. I'm not sure they sold Arthur winning the loyalty of Atlantis either.

Atlanna is a more interesting character than most of the cast. So, of course, she gets marginalized from any role in the story beyond being Aquaman's mom.

    Oddly, what I enjoyed most was the brief interaction with the league. The unintentional hilarity of Superman saying he'll show Diana the sights of the mortal world only to take her to dinner at a greasy spoon, Batman and Green Lantern's immense loathing for one another, and Cyborg's struggle to keep hold of his remaining humanity. The character of Mera is attractive to look at and fun to watch kick Atlantean ass but, really, that just makes me think SHE should be queen instead of Aquaman.

    In short, this movie is bland. There's nothing really impressive about it and it was a chore to get through. It's not as bad as Justice League: War but I can think of any number of DC Animated movies which are more enjoyable to watch.

5/10

Supergirl: Who is the Girl of Steel?

     The recent announcement of a Supergirl series coming to television was greeted by a lot of fans with a mixture of excitement as well as trepidation. Who would be cast? What would be the plotline? Who would write it? Would they go for a fun or a dark and somber tone? Most of these questions have been answered but one which greeted a lot of fans was: who is Supergirl?

    They have a vague idea who she is or can simply guess by the name, but I thought I'd take time to do an essay for those unfamiliar with the character's history both in as well as out of comics. I have a confession to make. I like Supergirl more than other superheroine on the planet. She is my favorite. Which is great, except for the fact nobody likes Supergirl best. Kara Zor-El occupies a weird position in superheroism along with Batgirl and Wonder Woman in that she's one of the most recognizable superheroines in the world but rarely gets much attention.

    This isn't quite the case outside of comics given she's one of the only superheroines in the world to ever get her own movie plus her role in Superman: The Animated Series but from 1985 to 2003, Supergirl as people normally know her was dead.

    No, seriously.

    The fact she's about to headline her own series on a major network in the upcoming Supergirl series is a major accomplishment for someone who was long considered the redheaded stepchild of DC Comics. A character who was too popular and recognized to keep dead but one they didn't really want anywhere near their main character. This, despite the fact Supergirl had never been unpopular or disliked by the majority of the fandom. Supergirl, instead, has ever been a character which struggled with popularity and fandom from the creators.

I wonder if Clark's mom had black hair or if Jor-El's brother adopted.

    For those not familiar with the character, Supergirl is a character created in Action Comics 252# (1959) by Al Plastino and Otto Binder. This was after a series of previous female incarnations of Superman had been debuted, up to and including one made by a Voodoo doll by Jimmy Olsen.

    Comics in the Silver Age were great.

    Her origin is a trifle convoluted in order to explain how a teenage girl could be born from a planet which sent Kal-El to a world he grew up on. It involved a Kryptonian city surviving the planet's destruction and floating in space for decades. However, because this would mean the planetary fragment they were on was composed of Kryptonite, they had to lead line the bottom of their city, only for that shielding to fail. So, they sent Kara away from their city as it died.

    Meaning Supergirl's home planet blew up twice.

    Superman was kind of a jackass back then so his reaction to his cousin from Krypton, which he visited regularly with time travel back then mind you, was to send her to an orphanage. He also ordered her not to use her powers on some vague promise of using her a "secret weapon." Even then, there was the weirdest sense they wanted to keep her character away from the main franchise. 

Superman... jerk.

    Superman was already the most famous superhero in the world and internationally famous as well as beloved. While I have no evidence, I can't help but think they were hesitant to rock the boat by introducing a character who had the potential of entirely upending Superman's life given, at the very least, she's a kid sister figure. Because, you know, the natural reaction of the world's greatest hero is to send your only existing blood-relative to live with strangers than your home in Metropolis.

    How little regard for the character cam be summarized by DC's vice president/executive editor Dick Giordano, "Supergirl was created initially to take advantage of the high Superman sales and not much thought was put into her creation. She was created essentially as a female Superman. With time, writers and artists improved upon her execution, but she never did really add anything to the Superman mythos—at least not for me."

Brainiac 5 once made a robot version of Supergirl to be his girlfriend. 

    Supergirl got plenty of interesting stories, don't get me wrong. She got a Kryptonian super-cat, a magical horse who was also a centaur, and also a boyfriend in Brainiac 5. He's the green-skinned alien genius from the 30th century only dimly related to the supervillain of the present era. She also got to use time-travel to team up with her cousin as Superboy in the future.

    Comics, everybody.

    Then she grew up and everyone forgot she existed. Supergirl, you see, was never quite popular. Well, let me rephrase that, she was never quite as popular as her cousin. Not as popular as Superman is still probably better known than 90% of all fictional character on the planet. Still, she existed in her own corner of the DC universe and was allowed to age through college and go on to become her own distinct person.

    Until two major events shook her character forever. The first was the 1984 Supergirl movie starring Helen Slater. Helen Slater looks like a girl who walked off the pages of a comic book and her acting was great but the movie itself was, quite simply, a mess. The story was incoherent as was the world-building but Supergirl (1984) was somehow still quite entertaining.

This is a great movie for good acting around complete garbage.

    Then they killed off Supergirl.

    The 1985 Crisis On Infinite Earths was an attempt to streamline DC comics continuity into something more mainstream and this meant cutting out countless things viewed extraneous. This included, as seen with the publisher upstairs, Supergirl. I always think Superman suffered the most out of the Crisis as he had a rich, weird, science-fiction universe. Cutting all of that out didn't make him a better character. It made him less. Supergirl, at least, got a badass send off, being able to hammer the Anti-Monitor (portrayed as the most dangerous villain ever faced in the history of the DCU) like Rao's own righteous hammer.

An iconic image of comics.

     The thing was, you can't keep a good character down and even then DC had an alternate Supergirl in Powergirl, who was an alternate version of Supergirl allowed to grow up as an adult. Except, they insisted she wasn't Supergirl. Therefore, she had no origin and would go through several ridiculously bad ones culminating in the horrible "mystical pregnancy" plotline which has worked exactly once in the history of storytelling.

    Then Supergirl would be replaced by a protoplasmic entity by an alternate dimensional good counterpart of Lex Luthor who assumed the physical form of that reality's Lana Lang, explaining her great beauty. She would become the girlfriend of this reality's evil Lex Luthor who had transplanted his brain into a clone body so he could fake his own death.

    After her, said protoplasmic Supergirl (called "Matrix") would merge with a young Satanic cultist (!) named Linda Danvers who would go on to become possessed by the power of an angel. Linda Danvers would be superbly written by Peter David for many issues until a beautiful finale for the character which involved the original Pre-Crisis Kara-Zor El returning for her grand finale.

    The Linda Danvers Supergirl, who was liked if never popular, would get replaced by Cir-El who was basically Rachel Summers if Rachel Summer's parents were Lois Lane and Superman. In other words, she was their daughter from the future who came back in time to spend some quality time with them. Everyone hated her and she erased herself from reality. I also recall a fun, briefly in-continuity, crossover between Superman and the Aliens franchise where Argo City was overrun by xenomorphs. Kara was a badass Ripley-esque fightere there (you can't make this stuff up).

    So, lots of Supergirls but none of them the "real" Supergirl.

    Or perhaps I should say, none of them were the Supergirl everyone remembered.

    Until 1997 and 2003.

Can there be too much of a good thing? Yes.

    Bruce Timm, producer of Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series, that mad genius, had the strangest idea that enduring characters like Superman and Batman had an intrinsic appeal to them despite the fact some comic creators wanted to change everything about them.

    He brought back Supegirl as a character and, surprisingly enough, had Superman bond with the young woman. Yes, he kept her out of his home in Metropolis but that was because he was trying to protect her from danger as well as get her accustomed to her powers first. She wasn't his cousin but was his surrogate sister, having grown up on a Kryptonian colony world.

    And people liked Kara In-Ze. She was a fun, intelligent, but naive character who fit in fine in Clark Kent's world. I wanted to see more of this Supergirl but, sadly, her role in the setting remained small until the end of the Justice League series where she decided to live in the future with the Legion of Superheroes.

    Supergirl would not return to the comics as Superman's cousin until Batman/Superman 1# in 2003 when she was returned with a bang instead of a whimper. Reaction to this version of Supergirl was mixed amongst fans. They tried to overplay her sex appeal in order to drum up interest, which was rather creepy given she was a sixteen-year-old girl.

    DC attempted to make her a mountain of violent rage and angst with a secret history as daughter of a mad scientist sent to murder Kal-El. Obviously, this is a bit like re-imagining Hello Kitty as a violent nihilistic assassin. Eventually, they got it sorted out by claiming all of her weird memories were a combination of PTSD and Kryptonite poisoning. Then Krypton got resurrected with her parents, only to get blown up again.

Supergirl needs no pants! But sleeves? Yes!

    So, yes, Supergirl has lost her planet THREE times.

    Despite this, she became prominent enough to have a recurring role on the Smallville television series as played by Laura Vanderoot. I can't say much of her depiction but it was a pretty decent-sized role and helped re-solidify the character in the public imagination.

    The New 52 has since rebooted Supergirl once more, this time in her classic self with a new costume. The new Supergirl was raised on Krypton and thus is having a great deal more trouble adapting to Earth than Clark Kent who was raised as an infant. Which only makes sense.

    I don't much care for the costume given I'm not sure what sort of costume needs sleeves but no pants but I like this Kara's desire to have her homeland back even if it brings her in conflict with her cousin. It's a nice point of differentiation between them. Kara Zor-El is the Last Kryptonian while Kal-El is a Kryptonian-American.

    Superman knows he's the survivor of his race due to historical records and messages left for him from his father. Kara Zor-El knows she's the last survivor of Krypton from the fact everyone she knew growing up is dead. It's a stark difference which both the 2003 and New 52 version of the character have played up (to great success I might add).

    What is the appeal of the character to me? I'd have to say it's the character's consistent endurance in the face of tragedy. Whether it's Linda Lee Earth Angel, Matrix, or Kara in her various incarnations, she always live truly sucky lives. Loss is never a stranger to her, even more so than Spiderman. Unlike Spiderman, however, she always manages to put on a smile the next day. Well, maybe the next week, but the smile comes back.

    The archetypal Supergirl is a teenage girl who perseveres in the face of the past and takes great joy in her powers. From the Silver Age girl who wrecked her own chances at adoption so she could continue helping Superman to the girl who chose Earth's safety over her own mother in New Krypton, Kara Zor-El is always making sacrifices without angsting over them. I think this distinguishes her from Superman as does the fact she exists in her cousin's shadow.

What will the newest Girl of Steel be like? Who knows.

    The struggle to prove oneself in the face of successful relatives is something a lot of us can relate to and another reason why I like her best. Supergirl is the most powerful girl in the world but few people give her the respect she wants because of her age and the so many other people have similar abilities. The quest to distinguish herself has become a part of the character and it's a pretty good story arc to follow (even if the answer is: she doesn't have to).

    So what do I hope from the new series? Honestly, I'm hoping for a series which has faith in the character. Someone who believes that she can be a lead without her cousin's shadow guiding the way. The survivor of a dead world with Superman's powers is a pretty solid concept, especially if she's allowed to also be a teenage girl with all of the angst that entails.