franchisewars-blog

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Spider-Man:

Into the spider-verse is the best Spider-Man movie period. Please @ me on this!

-Condor

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Catwoman - Concept Fanart

Here at the FranchiseWars Podcast, we recently recorded a podcast about “leaks”/”spoilers”/speculation about Matt Reeves “The Batman” movie. One of the “announced” villains was the felonious feline, Catwoman, aka Selina Kyle. That got the creative juices flowing, so I did a *very* rough “concept art for what kind of costume, background, and general “feel” for how to re-introduce Catwoman.

Since I’m not really great at getting proportions right to my satisfaction, I used lezisell’s Arkham City Catwoman extract to act as a base for my design: https://www.deviantart.com/lezisell/...ONLY-729569685

If you want to hear our podcast on The Batman, click this:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/matt-reevess-the-batman/id1286433288?i=1000439082184

NOTES ON THE REDESIGN

- General feel of Catwoman vs Selina: “Catwoman” embraces her tomboy and adrenaline junky side, while “Selina Kyle” generally showcases a more “girly” side - thus why Catwoman’s gear runs a bit more utilitarian than usual.

- No Whip: A rope dart is much more practical as a weapon and tool for a thief’s trade, and frankly, can look a lot cooler when in the right hands. All you have to do is track down a Youtube video showing either a weapons-focused demonstration of it... or the more graceful incorporation of it into dance.

- The Falcone Jewelry: Yes, this version of Catwoman is wearing jewelry stolen from the Falcones, the old crime family in charge of Gotham. Since Selina is (at least half-) Falcone herself but raised as an orphan by the Kyles, she stole her “birthright” from them, and brazenly wears the un-fence-able goods to insult them, in particular her *possible* father The Roman, who she also scarred as in the comics.

- The Calabrese Connection: As in the New 52, Leo “The Lion” Calabrese is a potential father for Selina, having *possibly* conceived her during an affair with Louisa Falcone that ignited Carmine “The Roman” Falcone’s rampage to the top of the underworld. The Roman’s vengeful streak is part of the reason Selina had to be raised in obscurity and on the streets.

- The Scarf: It’s a memento from her sister, Maggie, that Selina wears even though they aren’t on speaking terms. In general, a strong, protective “sisterly” streak is behind Catwoman’s more heroic moments, but she doesn’t like it being pointed out.

- Bat-Memento/Trophy: Her “Catspaw” grappling hook has a history involving the Dark Knight. Originally a “Bat-Claw” gadget owned by Batman, it was either *stolen* by or *given* to Catwoman after an alliance against Firefly. Selina’s recollection of the event changes depending on her mood, and Batman ain’t talking.

- Bat-Cat? It’s... Complicated: Neither Selina Kyle nor Bruce Wayne can deny that there is a strong attraction between them. He is *quietly* astounded by her strength of will and repertoire of skills considering her adverse origins, while she *quietly* admires his heroism in the costume and altruism outside of it. Plus they’re both, y’know, very physically fit individuals. And she has most definitely preyed on that attraction for her own benefit in the past... and reluctantly succumbed to it at other times that you DON’T bring up to her. She’s been employed as a thief and saboteur by him and against him, and an uneasy truce around the East End of Gotham, and a shaky past of promises kept and broken by both sides, defines a relationship that nobody feels comfortable labeling one way or another... least of all the rest of the Batfamily or the Gotham Rogues.

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OneMoreDraft: Fixing Poe’s Story in The Last Jedi.

This is a new series of articles and videos following a creative writing excercise with one central idea: how could divisive, disappointing, or frustrating films be reworked to overcome their falws with “one more draft?”

Unlike with a “Page 1 Rewrite,” the goal here is to preserve the overall strengths and objectives of the original creator, even if I disagree with them. All I want to do is refine, polish, finesse, or in some cases, cut out issues in a film’s script.

So, we’re starting with Star Wars: The Last Jedi, written and directed by Rian Johnson. The first video reviews the general strengths and weaknesses of the film, as well as the first OneMoreDraft take on a character’s arc, with that of Poe Dameron.

In summary, the strengths and weaknesses of the film break down like this:

+ Great Cast of Actors 

+ Strong Directing Skills from Rian Johnson

+ Ambition (at times...)

- The Sequel Trilogy leads, Rey and Finn, are pushe out of center-stage and weakly written, losing screentime and focus

- Characterization for most of the cast is in desperate need of help!

- There are some accidentally racist and sexist elements to the film, even as it tries to reject them, leading to some bad writing.

So, part one of the series can be summarized like this:

To fix Poe but keep Johnson’s goals, simply cut out most of his story and scenes, and truncate the entire arc around the first battle, splitting off Holdo into new territory.

Look, I love Oscar Isaac. His charisma and capability made Poe go from an expendable character to a major supporting feature in TFA. And I get *what* Johnson is trying to illustrate with his stroy, even if I don’t think he’s the best character for it and that he could be better used in some other way. Likewise, I see the intention behind Holdo... but I can also see how the film accidentally ends up making her seem massively incompetnt when he rpurpose is supoosed to be as a successful leader for a feminst message.

And ultimately, here’s the cold hard truth: the script can’t afford to spend time dragging out a suporting character’s arc in a story as packed as this, especially when the script is reduced to convulsions to try and make itself work, whether it’s in downplaying the human cost of Poe and Holdo’s mistakes, writing Holdo schizophrenically to maintain the surprise at the end, or simply having no logic to its central premise of the Space Chase and the ending wth the Hyperspace Ram.

Here’s how you fix that:

- Center most of the arc for Poe and his confornation with Holdo to the battle against the Dreadnaught: She has him thrown in the brig for getting her bombers killed while disobeying a direct order from Leia, chewing him out and getting his lesson done here in a quick and professional manner.

- Have Poe emerge from the brig more circumspect and respectful when released by Holdo later, perhaps even recognizing that command is a to way street from Holdo’s example.

- The Space Chase takes place within mutliple Hyperspace jumps: visually exciting vistas and increasing desperation as the fuel runs out with each jump replaces the nonsensical tactics and stupidity of the film’s version.

-Holdo shown to be a practical commander: she’s the one who sent Finn and Rose on their mission, and is trying to disperse segments of the Resistance fleet throughout the Chase. There is no schizophrenic writing on her, and no empty conflict with Poe.

-Holdo’s Hyperspace Ram occurs because of her taking adavantage of something Rose has done to the Supremacy: instea of breaking Star Wars’ rules on space combat and beg the question why she wasn’t doing this earlier, Holdo is joining her efforts with Rose to cause this damage.

Overall, Poe’s plotline ends up being the most superflous in terms of  time wasted for the audience in TLJ. Cleaning it up as I have above should cut down on wasted time, while still accomplishing the film’s goals of deconstrcuting the hot-shot pilot and sending a feminist message.

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YJ: Outsiders Post-Hiatus Predictions

While we all starve for future Young Justice episodes, I figured I’d collect my favorite theories for how the seaosn will unfold when it returns. In brief:

1. Cassandra Savage = Scandal Savage?

2. Future episodes for the young heroes on Tim’s team and Static’s team = Red Hood vs Robin? Lady Shiva vs her daughter, Orphan? Blue Beetle + Traci 13 = Love?

3. Cheshire... There’s got to be more to this story, right? Why doesn’t she trust herself? Will she get back together with Will and Lian, or will Weisman continue to mix his coffee with the tears of fanboys and fangirls?

4. Romance: So....GeoForce isn’t going to like what his girlfirend’s body helped do to his parents, will he? And does SuperMartian = Way Too Happy = Dead Superboy?

5. What surprises is the show going add to or even subvert Terra’s betrayal for? I mean, theres no way we’re doing the Judas Contract without any changes, right?

For more explanation, give this video a perusal:

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YJ: Outsiders - True Heroes Reaction + Terra Speculation

Final episode of the first Young Justice Season 3 Release! Here we go! Reaction and discusiion of what kind of twists they’ll pull off with Terra!

The Reaction:

How will Terra’s story be different than Judas Contract?

Let’s start out with some honesty here: Tara Makov actually being in kahoots with Deathstroke was not a surprise, or a twist, or even really a cliff-hanger, and it was never intended to be such.

Everyone with any fandom of the Teen Titans knows Terra’s whole schtick is that she joins the team than betrays them. It’s the classic comic storyline that defined the character, it’s been adapted into a DC Animated Universe Movie, it was the entire secodn season of the Teen Titans cartoon, and it’s about half the jokes they use for the character in Teen Titans Go!

So we are not looking at a straight up adaptation of the Judas Contract here. I mean, we don’t even really have the Titans present in this show to get betrayed, and this is a show where not only does the Team and Justice League have experience with infiltrators, but they’ve pulled that trick themselves. In a show that based its entire first season plot arc off of a mole hunt, and then based its second season on the Team one-uping the Light with an even more successful use of a mole, Terra’s classic story ain’t going to cut it if played straight.

(Plus, I’m sure we’re all hoping that the whole “Terra and Deathstroke have a sexual relationship” thing is far, FAR removed from this series, because *Blegh!*)

Here’s three options I can see them using to surprise the audience:

1. Terra goes native, and has her brainwashing/motivations broken down by being a hero. Pretty basic idea here, and one that we *know* these creators can pull off. The “villain learns to love being a hero” story is the basis for some great strories, and even entire series, like the Thunderbolts from Marvel. Terra can have her reasons for working for Deathstroke slowly deconstructed unknowingly by her brother’s love and the thrill fo being the good guy, and have a major internal conflict when the time comes to betray the team, and she has to decide to either go through with it, come clean about it... or even try to cover it up and attack her handlers with deadly force.

2. Terra’s cover is blown early on by someone, and the fallout becomes the story. The whole climax of The Judas Contract is how Terra’s infiltration and betrayal goes off without a hitch. what if that doesn’t happen? What if someone figures out what’s going on, and we have Brion forced to choose who to trust? And who could reveal Terra’s duplicity? Honestly, there’s a lot fo really fun option there: maybe Cheshire finds out and out of fear for her family suddenly attacks Terra, or Jason Todd gives her up when he returns to establish his wild card nature, or Red Arrow realizes he smells something familiar when she’s around.  Or what if, say, Dr. Jace has her own hidden objectves, and she doesn’t want Terra used against them?

3. Nightwing and co. already know about Terra’s loyalties, and are playing her in turn. This one would blend well with the idea of the League and Team maybe playing their cards too close to their vest; by allowing Terra’s infiltration in the hopes they can control her information flow and use her against the Light, they unintentionally set up an explosive situation for the Outsiders team regarding Brion’s kid sister. Terra has to modify her plans or abandon them when discovered, and ends up turnign the Outsiders against the other heroes to defend herself.

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YJ: Outsiders - Nightmare Monkey Reaction... and I think Superboy is Doomed.

Okay, second to last episode of the first batch of YJ Season 3 episodes, so here’s a reaction video and an article about why I think that Super-Martian fans should be very, *very* worried.

Here’s the reaction:

WHY I’M WORRIED SUPERBOY IS SCREWED:

Okay, I know a whole bunch of people are ecstatic about Superboy and Miss Martian getting engaged, and the relationship is easily the most developed and organic in the series. But heres the thing:

It’s too happy, too perfect, and introduced too early for me to trust it.

I’m 75% convinced Superboy is dying, getting captured, or having *something* terrible happen to him in the next part of this season.

Maybe I’ve just been conditioned by Dan Didio’s cruel streak in the comics, where he treats the idea of “marriage” as something you put in front of the audience before you punch them in the balls and yank it away before shooting it and burying it in a junkyard while decrying it as something that would ruin comics...

...But overall I’d have to say that the rules of dramatic payoff say that, if a marriage plot is introduced early into a series, its too be treated as the setup for a conflict. At minimum, M’Gann and Conner’s wedding is getting gatecrashed by a supervillain attack.

But there’s a part of me thinkign that this entire plotline is the equivalent of having Superboy played by Sean Bean, or talking about being only two weeks from retirement, or showing a picture of his M’Gann to someone and saying he “just can’t wait to see her once this war is over, and if I die, you take car of her for me.”

And yeah, I’m presuming Conner would be the one biting the dust and not M’Gann. It would both avoid killing the female pair fo the duo... and possibly give us a pissed off M’Gann, who I think we can all agree is a more intimidating than Conner.

Hope I’m wrong.

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Young Justice: Outsiders - Another Freak Reaction

Once more, these final eleased epsiodes from the first batch of Young Justice episodes are all getting their own reaction and article post.

This week, Cyborg, Halo’s true nature, and predcitions about how Halo and Geo-Force’s relationship will somehow go wrong.

First, the reation: 

Sooo... GeoForce and Halo are totally going to have some major issues.

Geo-Force and Halo are basically Season 3′s answer to Conner and M’gann in Season 1: they’re the cute couple founded on the idea of a positive, compassionate girl trying to tend to the angsty, broody angry boy’s sorrow, albeit to a far more explicit and less subtle version than Conner and M’gann’s more nunaced courtship.

Now, we all know that Conner and M’gann had a more coplicated relationship by the time Season 2 rolled around as both became more complex and fully realized characters. And they are the “Coca-Cola Classic” to Brion and Violet’s “Cherry Coke,” so Weismann and company are *going* to switch it up on us in some way.

And unfortunately, we can probably piece together what will likely lead to this upcoming conflict I’m predicting, and it’s going to involve the deaths of Brion’s loving parents. Halo, Violet Harper, this combination of a human body and a Mother Box soul, is going to end up paying for the sins of her human host.

In the very first episode, Halo’s human host was introduced sneaking around the Markovian palace and keying in the security card to allow Bedlam’s assassin in to slaughter the royal couple. And Halo’s access to her host’s human memories clealry seem to be building towards a traumatized young refugee who, on some level, helped make Brion an orphan.

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Young Justice: Outsiders - Excptional Human Beings Reaction

For the final 5 epsiodes of this batch f Young Justice episodes, I’m going to give each one a brief reaction video/article round up, usually some speculation about what’s coming next.

In this reaction, we’ll see how the new League of Shadows strikes compared to the old one, aaannnddd break the hearts of fans of Chesire and Red Arrow fans.

Here’s the reaction:

What’s up with Cheshire?

Okay, so this episode finally tackled the Harpers’ living situation head on, and showed that on the one hand, “Will” and Jade still love each other and she very clearly aches to be part of the family again, and also, the production staff *really* wants to twist the knife for fans of the relationship. Everything about the animation and voice acting by Chrispin Freeman and Kelly Hu is spot on!

But here’s the thing: do to *ONE* line of dialogue from the last episode Cheshire appeared in, and her conflicting actions and behaviors, I really doubt that we’ve had all of Cheshire’s reasoning laid out for us when it comes to abandoning her family. For all her talk of not being able to escape being the villian, most of Cheshire’s dialogue and actions have followed a morally ambiguous and at times even sort-of altruistic bent: she refers to her team in a protective tone, and frees Shade from imprisonment even as the heroes note that’s not the pragamtically villainous thing to do.

And then there’s the line “I don’t even trust myself.”

There’s something fishy going on here. And in a show that’s featured dozens of brainwashing/programming/mind control plots, a character being in turmoil, refusing to be out under for even minor surgery, and stating a lack of faith in their own self-control? 

Someone might have messed with Cheshire’s mind. And to be honest? That’s a highly intriguing possibilty with many frutiful avenues of possible explantion.

Lady Shiva vs Orphan?

Okay, this episodes felt like one of its *many* goals was to make sure that the audience has a good understanding of the character of Lady Shiva, as well as a healthy sense of respect for her perfectionist and competeive attitudes towards both teaching and practicing martial arts. They went out of their way to show her training Shadows in a positive, detailed, and holistic manner, and to make it clear that Katana’s matery of her art has pulled Shiva towards challenging her. All this, and we know that she loves both being a sensei *and* an enforcer, and even feels insulted when asked if it’s making her tired, enough to threaten Deathstroke of all people.

And here’s the thing: Young Justice makes a point of giving just about *everyone* a story arc, and I can’t help but notice that while Lady Shiva is being established as a character, her daugter Cassandra Cain was introduced just an episode before her, as the always silent but also sword wielding Orphan on Robin’s team.

These two have a complicated relationship and rivalry in the comics: both have suffered from death wishes, and there’s plenty of evidence that Shiva may have very well agreed to concieve and give birth to Cassandra and leave he rint he custody of her nutcase martial artist of a father in the hopes that her daugter would one day be able to challenge her.

Yeah. Shiva’s messed up, and Cassandra needs all the best friend help Stephanie Brown can get her.

And I can’t help but feel that including both these characters in this season, and giving them both swords when they’re generally known for just hand-to-hand fighting? All that feels like setting up an episode where they can duel, and we can get that awesome fight-scene/emotional mess on screen.

AND I WANT IT!

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Young Justice: Outsiders - Home Fires Reaction

Last episode before the new ones drop, and this time an episode that literally managed to find a qay to sqeeze in an idea that I didn’t know I desperately wanted as a spin off: Young Justice RugRats, the exciting and hilarious adventures of superhero toddlers starring Jon Kent, Damian Wayne, the Tornado Twins, and a half dozen other tiny but impressively badass babies.

Oh, also Lobo sowed up and joined the “I killed Halo” club, while Forager joined the “Faked my own death club” (Artemis is the president.)

Here’s the episode reaction:

And now, a brief discussion of the weird parasitic relationship the Light kind fo wants with the Justice League:

THE JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE ONE ASSET THE LIGHT WANTS MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE

This episode highlighted how even at their most antagonistic, the Light is careful about their approaches to conflict with the Justice League. No matter what plans and ruthless megaomania the Light’s leaders suffer from, they understand that for all their manpower and infrastucture advantages over the League, they’re still dealing with more raw power and destructive potential than anyone would feel comfortable facing at a fully unfettered and pissed off level (like if, say, someone slaughtered all their loved ones.)

But beyond that, it’s been clear since Season One that The Light doesn’t see the League as an opposition, but also as a coveted force that shuld preferrably be co-opted for the Light’s own ends. The Light controlled the League for around a day in Season One and used them as a weapon to declare Earth’s strength and soveriegnty to the galaxy at large. Then, when the Light’s gambit against the Reach to strengthen their own position and occupy two rivals in a Galactic war succeeded (setting the Reach and Green Lantern Corps against each other), the League was the all important safeguard against the Reach’s scorched earth plans.

And now, here in Season 3, we know what The Light’s long term goal was: joining Apokilis in establishing a Galactic rule which would then enter a final battle between the two partner powers for absolute dominion over everything. The League? They’re not just a possible asset to the Light’s plan. They’re probably the trump card The Light hopes to play; an organized, highly motivated, and effective team of champions capable of tangling with the big guns of apokilips and of higher caliber than the vast bulk of The Light’s other assets.

Those toddlers and kids aren’t just a safeguard “nuclear option”  the Light holds as a defense against League attack...

...they’re the cream of the crop of the new meta-human superweapons the Light wants to use, children born with power and abilities beynd those of most metas, and raised in an environment more capable training them than anything the Light can manage on their own.

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Young Justice: Outsiders - The Light vs “The Dark” Reaction

This week’s paired set of epsiodes for discussion deals with the origins of the Big Bad of Young Justice, Vandal Savage, and his extremely effective secret society of super-villains, The Light, while contrasting that organization with the heroes efforts to match the Machiavellian machinations of The Light with their own secret society of superheroes, who go nameless, but are accurately pointed out by Wonder Woman to not really have any good alternatives if they want to flip “The Light” for their own name.

First, Savage’s limelight episode (dedicated to his deceased first foice actor, Miguel Ferrer), “Evolution”:

VANDAL SAVAGE: THE PRIMORDIAL “HERO”

Greg Weisman once went out f his way to describe some members of the light as being “heroes” at some point in their lives, in particular to two aged and ancient immortals, the Lazarus Pit-dependent Ra’s Al Ghul and the functionally unkillable and immune to age 50,000 year old Vanda Savage. 

At first I thought he meant it in the modern sense of the word, and to some extent he did. It would be hard to not classify anicent “Marduk” Savage as a hero alongside his children (including Nabu!) for fighting off an invasion of Starro the Conqueror. 

But what Weisman actually seems to have meant was that Vandal, and Ra’s long after him, are heroic in the mythic fashion, where morality means a whole lot less than willpower, victory, and conquest. Vandal is still an inherently selfish, megalomaniacal would-be (and former) despot. But he’s not that different from such ancient heroes as Achilles (a collosal prick throughut the Illiad), Thor (a very murder-happy god in the original Norse myths), or even historical figures whose reputations have become highly ambiguous as time goes on, like how Julius Caesar was a praiseworthy figure for monarchs of the Middle Ages while also an inspriartion for Palpatine in Star Wars.

The “heroism” of Vandal Savage is the heroism of the “champion” for a people. And “champions” tend to build their reputation on the graveyards of their opponents, even in petty, totally amoral conflicts. And that’s what Savage is: a “champion” of Earth pursuing what he believes to be the elevation of humanity. And like ay old school “champion” he believes that sacrifices must be made to pursue that goal - even if those sacrifices ae dozens, if not hundreds or thousands, or even millions, of dead.

It’s what makes him and the Light more than your average villain group, and so much scarier than the word “supervillain”

Now, the second episode, Peter David’s “Triptych”:

HOW THIS *IS* GOING TO GO BAD:

The idea of the heroes covertly forming their own counterpart to The Light, even down to being composed of 7 members each controlling their own powerbases and keeping them compartmentalized? 

Fun! Exciting! 

And Doomed!

While this “The Dark” alliance allows the League, Team, Batman Inc., and Outsiders to obfuscate and conceal their true power and intelligence from The Light, there is one signifiant difference that will inevitably end up backfiring in some way this season:

The Light embraces the occasional internal conflict and purge, and the heroes... can’t.

Even beyond the blatant moral issues that will almost certainly arise from different hero groups inevitably clashng in some fashion, superheroes can’t shrug off potential losses of personel and infrastructure like supervillains can. For every hero, there are 3 or 4 villains, at minimum (or else the hero couldn’t have multiple adventures), and many vllains run huge NGO superpowers, if not actual countries.

And besides, this general scenario has already blown up in their faces once before: keeping Kal’dur’s infiltration of the Light a secret wound up with his brain fired by his own friend Miss Martian, and very nearly go them both killed in Black Manta’s retaliation.

All I’m saying is that someone’s getting “Season Two Miss Martian-ed” this seasn, and the stakes and likely collateral damage have all benn increased.

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Young Justice: The Outsiders Origin arc

Okay, so a pair of epsiodes are being covered here: the first introduces our new Outsiders member, the insectoid Forager of New Genesis, alongside a major Martian Manhunter villain with some very troubling implications for the future of M’gann’s people, and the second featuring Halo, Geo-Force, and Forager looking for Terra at Ra’s Al Ghul’s penthouse, and instead allowing Greg Weisman to again destroy my little fanboy mind.

So, first off, the Forager episode, co-starring our potentially genocidal villain for M‘gann’s season arc, Malefik:

Why Malefik should scare you:

Okay, so M’comm, M’gann’s little brother, initially seemed like just a little fun new character... then he dropped his preferred name.

This is the guy who wiped out the other Martians in the comics.

Now, you may be thinking, surely they wouldn’t do that, right?

To which I’d respond “This season began with dead kids, and this episode ended with dead kids. Anything’s on the table in terms of body count.”

Now, onto the second episode with its story bombs:

DAMIAN WAYNE AND JASON TODD! HOLY $#!+!!!!

Okay, so aside from my predictions about who’s replaced Ra’s in leading the Shadows and in the Light (which I now have an answer on), this was te biggest bit of storytelling awesomness in the episode, and one repleat with future storyline hooks, some of which may imply this series might go forward even further in time!

Jason Todd is in shape at the end of this episode to be deployed for episodes in *this* season; his returning memories and revival in Ra’s Al Ghul’s custody pretty much mean he could drop in and beat up Tim Drake or duel Dick Grayson whenver he wants to. And that might be a real, and genuinly intriguing subplot for later in the season.

Damian is the more game-changing addition here, though. He’s still a literal baby, and he’s not in a tube to speed his growth or anything. Does this mean Greg Weisman has planned out his Young Justice Series Bible to the extent that Damian will be born, age into his preteens, and end up sidekicking with Dick as the Goshdarned Batman all in one series!?!?

If so, than dagnabit, just put greg Weisman in charge of all DC products, and give him the authority to boss around Dan Didio! 

[franchisewars-blog]

Young Justice: Outsiders - Private Security Review

This particular episode of Young Justice Season 3 is a kind of “break” episode; a bit of fun and funny to help the audience reload for furtue heavy epsidoes after previous heavy episode.

So good news! No dead kids this week! (...That we can see.)

Even better news! If you like Crispin Freeman, you’re going to love this episode, because he’s voicing Roy Harper and ALL OF HIS CLONES! (Almost feels like he made a bet with Dee Bradley Baker, doesn’t it?)

First the Reaction:

Now, for a little bit of analysis:

How Crazy Is It That Greg Weisman Made An Awesome Roy Harper Team?

Seriously, how is it that Greg Weisman looked at the mess that DC was creating with the “Rise Of Arsenal” miniseries, infamous as a pointless, depressing, and generally badly written pile of crud, and said “You know, I think I can make that work!”?

When Weisman was making his series bible for Young Justice, Roy Harper = dude put through a “darker and edgier” story that killed off his daughter, cut off his arm, then had him do drugs, hook up with the ex, then suffer ED, then beat some guys up with a cat, and generally just be a miserable punchline to his fans.

So instead Weisman made *two* versions of the character who gravitated towards the two different sides of Roy Harper... and arguably made a better Red Arrow than even the late, great Dwayne McDuffie and a better 20-something Roy Harper than Devin Grayson, and managed to do the impossible and make One-Armed Arsenal a damn compelling character.

It just goes to show: GREG WEISMAN GOT GAME.

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Young Justice: Outsiders - The Markovian Arc Reaction

YOUNG JUSTICE IS BACK, BABY!

6 years after the legendarily well planned and holistic adaptation of not just the 90′s era team comic, but the entirety of the DCU, was unceremoniously cancelled by Cartoon Network (on account of being too much of a hit with a demographic larger than the pre-teen males CN was aiming for),  Greg Weisman has brought the crew back for a third season on the DC Universe Streaming Service.

AND IT IS GLORIOUS!!!!

First, the Reactions to the first three episodes, making up a small arc set in the fictional country of Markovia:

Now, some observations:

OUTSIDERS VS BATMAN INCORPORATED:

Okay, the very first episode heavily features a key scene that is very familiar to comic fans in the know about who the “Outsiders” were in the comics: Batman, frustrated with the limits and checks put on the League, quits their membership and forms his own team in response. That’s how the original Outsiders team was established.

However, Batman’s defectors are not referred to by that designation in the first episode, which wouldn’t be a big deal (this is the show that features “The Team,” after all)... except that the small covert task force that Dick gathers throughout all 3 early episodes doesn’t just mimic the comic Outsiders MO, but includes about half of their founding members: Black Lightning refuses to join Batman’s defectors and joins a group that ends up with Geo-Force and Halo, under Dick’s command.

So... is the idea supposed to be that Dick’s team is the Outsiders? Or is Batman’s? The former answer may be backed up, if Black Lightning’s derisive reference to the defectors as “Batman Incorporated” is anything to go by. Since the defectors largely include street level vigilantes and contain members of that organization, maybe that’s who they are?

It’s not like Greg “My Game Is So Good, I Made One Armed Arsenal A Good Character AND I Had Red Arrow As Well!” Weisman would shy away from adapting two teams instead of just one.

Now, we just have an intersting conundrum: What happens when two superhero teams operate under the same MO... but the younger team has the high ground?

ORACLE: SECRET CHARACTER?

Greg Weismann *loves* planting seeds in early episodes and seasons only to have them ay off much later, and generally these seeds are marked out by irregular character behavior.

So when Dick Grayson has no problem talking to his ally Oracle when alone, but is curiously mum about her when with his team, and communicates just with text when in radio contact with the team?

That’s a future plot point being hinted at. 

Now, if you’re a Barbara Gordon fan, you now why she became Oracel in the 80′s. And if you’re a sharp eyed Young Justice fan, you’re aware that a certain memorial in the Team’s HQ hinted that the Joker had already committed one of his most infamous crimes between Seasons 1 and 2. Oracle in Season 3? Probably means his other infamous crime has occured as well. 

Dick has a nasty habit of keeping some information need-to-know when maybe he should confide in fellow Team members. Is it possible that the rest of the Team is unaware of Babs taking a personal tragedy that’s preventing her from being Batgirl, and has used it to “ugrade” herself? How’s the Team, or Batman, for that matter, likely to react?

Food for thought.

[franchisewars-blog]

Titans: Jason Todd Reaction, and Red Hood Foreshadowing!

So, yeah, we finally have a live action media show that gleefully embraced the legacy character aspects fo superhero sidekicks, featuring both Dick Grayson and Jason Todd. This episode didn’t do a lot with the Titans as a team, aside from a hilarious bit where Dick’s two families meet each other and its up to Mama Starfire to get the “kids” to obey. But it laid a lot of groundwork for apossible future heel turn on th epar tof Jason into his arguably more popular identity... The Red Hood.

But first, the reaction videos:

Now, on to the Red Hood Foreshadowing:

So, there’s a ton of little persoality quirks, background info, and general character philosophy that clearly plants the seed for Jason Todd to ditch the utility belt and Robinarangs for a leather jaket and guns.

Most importantly, Jason’s just as hyperviolent as Dick has been in Titans, but seems to lack Dick’s pragmatic reasons and simply takes sheer, violent joy in being a one-man wrecking crew... against cops.

Yeah, he flat out maims a team of police who have appeared during the episode’s climax, misleading Dick into thinking he was just distracting or sealing them off, and when confronted by the older Robin, quite explcitly acknoweldging that Batman doesn’t know, wouldn’t approve, and that Jason doesn’t care. This is a myopic little revenge fantasy Jason’s living out, where he can get a bit of revenge for Gotham’s cops beating him up as a kid... by assaulting totally uninvolved and almost certainly innocent Milwaulkee cops.

This kid clealry has issues with authoirty, the rule of law, and with how to direct his anger and rage. He’s just One. Bad. Day. away from taking this rage out on everyone, even his mentor Batman, who he (right now) clearly idolizes.

Speaking of that One. Bad. Day. , comic fans will notice that Jason’s parents are both still alive, with his dead paternal figure instead being a new Uncle Ray. Why is this interesting? Well, on the one hand, Jason’s father is traditionally the victim of one Harvey “Two-Face” Dent, which may provide vengeance fodder for Jason to be talked down from/act on in a future episode... But more importantly? His mom, in the comics?

She’s the bait for a trap laid by the Joker, a trap that leads to Jason’s brutal murder at the clown’s hands, from which Jason will rise as the part-crimelord, part murderous vigilante Red Hood, one who holds Batman responsible not for his death, but for failing to avenge it by killing the clown.

Now, I want you to take this kid from the episode, with all his already myopic obsession with getting revenge, his self-righteous misanthrope, his hyper-aggressive love of violence, and idolization of Batman as a vengeful asskicker, and imagine him losing his parents and his life to someone Batman won’t execute afterwards.

Boom. Insta-Red Hood.

[franchisewars-blog]

Titans: Together - Reaction

So we have our first episode featuring the entire team together throughout, in what might be called “Titans Vacation!”... except for the Nuclear Family following them. We’ve got reactions, and some analysis of Starfire and Nightwing’s quickly consumated relationship.

First, the reaction!

Starfire and Robin

So, with barely any more interaction between Dick and Kory, we’ve got them sharing tequila and getting it on, doing the horizontal mambo, making the beast with two backs, knocking boots, dancing the hippity-dippity, the tango for keeps, you know...sex.

And it feels a bit too soon. Kind of like how Judd Winick kind of killed the core appeal fo Catwoman and Batman by having them DO IT on a rooftop apropos of nothing, having Dick and Kory know each other in the biblical sense so early kind of kills a bit of the tension. It’s far more tasteful than the New 52 Catwoman issue, mind, but there’s been no major build up, which is a shame, since the cartoon showed that founding the elationship off their interactions was more intriguing than shooting straight to boning via the physical attraction they share.

It’s not horrible, but it feels either like it s bit of a let down...

...or something’s going to knock over the apple cart when she gets her mind back, and I’m kind of calling that!

[franchisewars-blog]

Why TLJ poisoned Reylo for me

Reylo, as presented by TLJ, still seems to me like the most counterproductive and least exciting development of the ST.

The counterproductive part was a risk that would always have to be navigated by whoever made TLJ since TFA had made Kylo a torturer of Rey and since the Bad Guy-Good Girl dynamic is just fraught with implications, so it's not quite so shocking that Rian Johnson succumbed to some sexist writing while making TLJ when he decided he wanted to tease it, though its still an issue when a) the "Good Girl" is supposed to be the main lead hero, and b) when egalitarian feminism is supposed to be part of the point of her character. It's rather stupid that no one could prevent Johnson from accidentally supplanting Rey as an active protagonist in a plot that relies on sexist stereotype being implemented clumsily, but at least we all knew that the threat was there once you went down that path.

The "least exciting" part is honestly the more shocking bit. I'm still by and large convinced that Reylo fans are still flying high more off the concept of Reylo than they are anything solid in either TFA or TLJ, particularly if you are looking at it from the perspective of being a Rey fan. Genuinely antagonistic romances are supposed to be full of believable internal conflict, weird similarities, and hard fought compromises that expose how the attraction makes the characters more complicated; Batman's strict adherence to the law is belied by his willingness to allow Catwoman to operate somewhat unopposed, while she returns the favor by proving herself more altruistic and helpful when the chips are down. Both characters have their motives questioned and refined while they deal with competing desires and ethics.

But so much of TLJ's portrayal of Rey and Kylo as a possible couple/companions has *nothing* in it for Rey. There's no believable conflict within Rey over Kylo/"Ben's" actions against her friends and herself, since the film brushes over it with breakneck speed, and as a result, there's nothing deep about her attraction to him: if it isn't worth it to confront him over torturing her or killing her friends, than how can it be a significant decision on her part to see the good in him? By devaluing Han's death and Finn's injuries, and her own pain at his hands, the film is making Rey shallow while simultaneously not forging her sympathy fro Kylo in any genuinely hot forge. The connection formed in TLJ is brittle, shallow, and all about supporting Kylo. Rey's morality doesn't really get tested by it; the film neither depicts it as a mistake on her part, nor makes a case for how it has changed her in any way. Even supporters of Reylo tend to see the connections uses in IX as largely uni-directional: Rey remains a constant and static heroine who anchors and pulls Kylo back to her.

Even the most eloquent defenses I've heard for the relationship on message boards rely almost entirely on vague, easily undercut arguments about her seeing something more in him or having a "believable" attraction to him; none seem to be able to approach a satisfactory epxlantion for what depths of Rey's character this is supposed to reveal, or change, or do anything to. It's always the potential of the idea that sells itself. People see Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver, see him wearing gothy clothes and trembling his lip, and want to see him get with a cute girl in their fanfiction and headcannon.

I get why the CONCEPT is appealing. But the execution, thus far?

In TFA, we have an excellent use of Kylo as the villain Rey is motivated to fight with all her might, because he’s the creature in a mask that personally tortured her, killed one friend, and maimed another. It's a great little feud, a strong use of Kylo for the sake of Rey’s plot, and left us with the world to hope for.

In TLJ? We have a  Rey stripped of whatever personality and characterization would make teasing Reylo more difficult. And the story is more boring, the characters flatter, and a setup for IX where I need Abrams to reinfect personality and logic into both his lead hero and lead villain.

And Reylo in IX? That would just be a nail in the coffin of Rey as a well written lead and the ST as a worthy finale to the Saga.

[franchisewars-blog]

Titans: Doom Patrol Reaction

This week, we finally got to see Beast Boy for more than a few seconds! Ryan Potter actually gets full scenes of dialogue, in particular with Teagan Croft, as Raven and Beast Boy form a friednship that’s actually pretty sweet. We also have Geoff Johns writing this particualr episode... and you can really, really tell.

First off, the reaction videos for this episode:

Now, for some fun:

THE 3 MOST GEOFF JOHNS-IEST MOMENTS OF TITANS: DOOM PATROL!

1. The Introduction of Elasti-girl

Okay, one of the keys to recognizing a Geoff Johns tak on a character s to figure out how much pathos that character is introduced with. Not angst, pathos; The Johns is too good to make it not actually be a little sad and depressing, unlike other mere mortal comic writers. So when you first see Rita Farr’s room, and it slowly pans over all these classic movie posters of her and shows a movie with her acting in it... only to slowly pan onto the shapeless glob she is currently as she struggles to restructure herself? Yeah, that’s some pure, genuinely moving if a bit heavy handed pathos from the same guy ho decided Superboy should have Lex Luthor for a dad.

2. Robot-Man and Food

Oh look, another scene with pathos, at once both sincerely dramatic but also a bit on the nose! Seeing Cliff sit down to the same meal that everyone else is getting ready to eat, a meal so awesome it has to be prepared to AC/DC’s Thunderstruck, and then just sitting over an empty plate and asking Raven to describe the food? Yeah, that’s genuinely emphatically moving... and maybe a bit confusing as to why they make the guy who can’t eat watch everyone else eat, but hey, meals are often the prime instruemnt for facilitating fellowship wth one’s fellow man (or cyborg.)

3. The Chief’s Numerous Red Flags

The Johns writes good villains and morally challenged anti-heores, though generally speaking, they’re not exactly subtle about it. In fact, they usually convey the twisted view they have of those around them within a few seconds of opening their mouths. A character like Dr. Caulder isn’t...technically... a villain, but he’s not a man of entirely rational empathy. So when he cheerily interupts dinner to announce that he needs everyone to help him mad scientist the shit out of some tragic accident victim, or quickly establishes a pretty bluntly sociopathic tendency towards being a control freak with Beast Boy, we are witnessing the ease with which The Johns conveys what Caulder’s about: SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS!...oh, and helping people as a side effect of that progress.