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awellboiledicicle · 4 years

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TMA Statements In Chronological Order

But, not by when the events happened, by the order when the Statements were entered to the Institute. Because that wasn’t on the wiki timeline.

Below the cut because i’m not a monster.

Format is:

Episode // Entity // Statement Giver// Statement Given // Event Date

• #140 The Movment of The Heavens // The Dark // John Flamsteed // 1715 • #116 The Show Must Go On // The Stranger // Abraham Janssen // 2 November 1787 • #23 Schwarzwald // The Eye // Albrecht von Closen // 31st March 1816 // Winter 1815 • #127 Remains to be Seen // The Eye // Jonathan Franshawe // 21 November 1831 // April – November 1831 • #152 A Gravediggers Envy // The Buried // Hezekiah Wakely // 1837 - 1839 • #50 Foundations // The Buried // Sampson Kempthorn // 12th June 1841 // 1836 • #58 Trail Rations // The Flesh // Mrs. Carlisle // 10th November 1845 // October – November 1845 • #105 Total War // The Slaughter, The Eye // Charles Fleming // 1862 • #98 Lights Out // The Dark // Algernon Moss // 14 May 1864 • #138 The Architecture Of Fear // The Eye // Robert Smirke // 13 February 1867 • #7 The Piper // The Slaughter // Clarence Berry // 6th November 1922 // 1917-18 • #133 Dead Horse // The Hunt // Percy Fawcett // 27 June 1930 • #99 Dust to Dust // The Buried // Robert E Geiger // 20 February 1952 // April 1935 • #137 Nemesis // The Slaughter // Wallis Turner // 3 July 1955 // Winter 1942 • #29 Cheating Death // The End // Nathaniel Thorp // 4th June 1972 // 17th June 1775 • #60 Observer Effect // The Eye // Rosa Meyer // 12 July 1972 // April – July 1972 • #95 Absent Without Leave // The Slaughter // Luca Moretti // 2 November 1977 • #44 Tightrope // The Stranger // Yuri Utkin // 2nd March 1979 // November 1952 • #85 Upon the Stair // The Spiral // Unknown // 1980 – 1990 • #86 Tucked In // The Dark // Benjamin Hatendi // 2nd March 1983 • #84 Possessive // The Corruption // Adrian Weiss // 1 December 1990 • #125 Civilian Casualties // The Slaughter // Terrance Simpson // 19 July 1993 • #77 The Kind Mother // The Stranger // Lucy Cooper // 15 September 1994 //August 1994 • #93 Contaminant // The Corruption // Lester Chang // 5 March 1995 • #96 Return To Sender // The Stranger // Alfred Breekon // 15 May 1996 • #53 Crusader // The Eye // Walter Heller // 5th September 1997 // November 1941 • #2 Do Not Open // The Buried, The Stranger // Joshua Gillespie // 22nd November 1998 // 1996 -1998 (?) • #46 Literary Heights // The Spiral, The Vast // Herbert Knox // 21st December 1998 // September 1997 • #17 Boneturners Tale // The Flesh // Sebastian Adekoya // 10th June 1999 // 1996 • #66 Held in Customs // The Buried // Vincent Yang // 22 February 2000 // January 19 2000 • #78 Distant Cousin // The Stranger, The Web // Lawrence Moore // 12 June 2001 • #21 Freefall // The Vast // Moira Kelly // 20th October 2002 // 3rd-5th or 7th June 2001 • #35 Old Passages // All // Harold Silvana // 4th June 2002 // June 2002 • #9 A Father’s Love // The Dark, The Hunt // Julia Montauk // 3rd December 2002 // 1990-95 • #155 Cost of Living // The End // Tova McHugh // 3 December 2002 • #68 Tale of a Field Hospital // The Corruption // Joesph Russo // 3rd June 2003 // 1st June 2003 • #27 A Sturdy Lock // The Spiral // Paul Mckenzie // 24th August 2003 // July 2003 • #146 Threshold // The Spiral // Marcus Mackenzie // 1 September 2003 • #88 Dig // The Buried // Enrique MacMillian // 4 November 2003 • #70 Book of the Dead // The End // Masato Murray // 9th December 2003 • #52 Exceptional Risk // The Dark // Phillip Brown // 9th April 2004 // 1st November 2002 • #24 Strange Music // The Stranger // Leanne Denikin // 17th Jan 2005 // August 2004 • #59 Recluse // The Web, The Desolation // Ronald Sinclair // 29th November 2005 // Early to Mid 1960’s • #134 Time of Revelation // The Extinction // Adelard Dekker // 22 January 2006 // 2005, 1867 • #75 A Long Way Down // The Vast // Stephen Walker // 7 November 2006 // Early October 2006 • #139 Chosen // The Desolation // Eugene Vanderstock // 30 November 2006 • #115 Taking Stock // The Flesh // Michaele Salesa // 4 January 2007 // Autumn of 1999 • #8 Burnt Out // The Web, The Desolation, The Spiral // Ivo Lensik // 13th March 2007 // November 2006 • #67 Burning Desire // The Desolation // Jack Barnabas // 18 March 2007 // October – November 2006 • #3 Across the Street // The Stranger, The Web // Amy Patel // 1st July 2007 // 7th April 2006 • #51 High Pressure // The Vast, The Buried // Antonia Hayley // 7th January 2008 // August 2006 • #106 A Matter of Perspective // The Vast, The Eye // Jan Kilbride // 10 February 2008 • #49 The Butchers Window // The Flesh // Gregory Pryor // 11th March 2008 // June 2007 • #62 First Edition // The End, The Eye // Mary Keay // 3rd July 2008 // 1955 • #154 Bloody Mary // The Eye // Eric Delano // 21 July 2008 • #130 Meat // The Flesh // Lucia Wright // 19 December 2008 • #18 The Man Upstairs // The Flesh // Christof Rudenko // 12th December 2008 // 22nd October 2007 • #156 Reflection // The Extinction // Adelard Dekker // 4 January 2009 • #5 Thrown Away // The Flesh etc. // Kieran Woodward // 23rd February 2009 // 8th August 2008 • #97 We All Ignore The Pit // The Buried // Jackson Ellis // 3 March 2009 • #57 Personal Space // The Lonely, The Vast, The Dark // Carter Chilcott // 4 April 2009 // September 2007 • #145 Infectious Doubts // The Desolation // Arthur Nolan // 2 February 2009 • #114 Cracked Foundation // The Web Shtranger or Extinction // Anya Villette // 22 April 2009 // 23 April 2009 or 9 April 2009 • #37 Burnt Offering // The Desolation // Jason North // 6th August 2009 // August 2009 • #108 Monologue // The Lonely, The Stranger // Adonis Biros // 20 August 2009 // August 2009 • #144 Decrypted // The Extinction // Gary Boylan // 3 October 2009 // August 2009 • #126 Sculptor’s Tool // The Spiral // Deborah Madaki // 11 October 2009 // Spring 2004 • #72 Takeaway // The Flesh // Craig Goodall // 20 October 2009 // 27 September 2009 • #107 Third Degree // The Desolation // 1 February 2010 // January 2010 • #48 Lost in the Crowd // The Lonely // Andrea Nunis // 25th March 2010 // September 2009 • #10 Vampire Killer & #56 Children of the Night // The Hunt, the Web // Trevor Herburt // 10th July 2010 // 1959 (first event), Winter 2009 • #69 Thought For the Day // The Web // Darren Harlow // 18th November 2010 • #31 First Hunt // The Hunt // Lawerence Mortimer // 9th December 2010 // 30th November - 1st December 2010 • #33 Boatswain’s Call // The Lonely // Carlita Sloane // 2nd January 2011 // Late November 2010 • #45 Blood Bag // The Corruption // Thomas Neil // 9th February 2011 // Spring 2010 • #148 Extended Surveillance // The Eye // Sunil Maraj // 3 April 2011 • #14 Piece Meal // The Flesh // Lee Rentoul // 29th May 2011 // Early 2011 • #19 Confession & #20 Desecrated Host // The Spiral, The Web, The Desolation (Hilltop Road) & The Spiral, The Flesh // Edwin Burroughs // 30th May 2011 // November 2006 • #112 Thrill of the Chase // The Hunt // Lisa Carmel // 13 November 2011 • #113 Breathing Room // The End // Adelard Dekker // 2012 • #12 Page Turner // The Desolation, The Eye // Lesere Saraki // 11th February 2012 // 23rd December 2011 • #153 Love Bombing // The Corruption, The Flesh // Barbara Mullen-Jones // 2 March 2012 • #110 Creature Feature // The Web // Alexia Crawley // 14 March 2012 • #1 Anglerfish // Stranger //Nathan Watts // 22nd April 2012 // March 2010 • #38 Lost and Found // The Spiral // Andre Ramao // 6th June 2012 // March 2012 • #36 Taken Ill // The Corruption // Nicole Baxter // 19th November 2012 // August – September 2011 • #136 The Puppeteer // The Web // Alison Killala // 1 December 2012 // 2012 • #124 Left Hanging // The Vast // Julian Jennings // 11 December 2012 // 2012 • #149 Concrete Jungle // The Extinction // Judith O’neill // 13 May 2013 • #54 Still Life // The Stranger // Alexander Scaplehorn // 23 June 2013 • #4 Page Turner // The Vast, The Spiral, The End // Dominic Swain // 28th June 2013 // 10th November 2012 • #90 Body Builder // The Flesh // Ross Davenport // 7 August 2013 • #157 Rotten Core // The Extinction, The Corruption // Adelard Dekker // 14 August 2013 • #30 Killing Floor // The Flesh // David Laylow // 1st September 2013 // 12th July 2013 • #129 Submerged // The Buried // Kulbir Shakya // 4 September 2013 // July or August 2013 • #83 Drawing a Blank // The Stranger // Chloe Ashburt // 19 October 2013 // September – October 2013 • #42 Grifter’s Bone // The Slaughter // Jennifer Ling // 3rd November 2013 // Autumn 2013 • #32 Hive // The Corruption // Jane Prentiss // 23rd February 2014 // Pre-2014 • #63 The End of the Tunnel // The Dark // Erin Gallagher-Nelson // 31st March 2014 // 26th March 2014 • #102 Nesting Instinct // The Corruption // Francois Deschamps // 4 June 2014 • #103 Cruelty Free // The Flesh // Dylan Anderson // 2 July 2014 • #135 Dark Matter // The Dark // Manuela Dominguez // 14 July 2014 // 2007 • #87 The Uncanny Valley // The Stranger, The Desolation // Sebastian Skinner // 10 October 2014 // September 2014 • #15 Lost Johns’ Cave // The Buried // Laura Popham // 9th November 2014 // 14-15th June 2014 • #150 Cul-de-sac // The Lonely // Herman Gorgoli // 9 November 2014 • #6 Squirm // The Corruption // Timothy Hodge // 9th December 2014 // 20th November 2014 • #122 Zombie // The Stranger // Lorell St. John // 1 February 2015 • #11 Dreamer // The End // Antonio Blake (Oliver Banks) // 14th March 2015 // 12th March 2015 • #16 Arachnophobia // The Web, The Corruption // Carlos Vittery // 9th April 2015 // Early 2015 • #25 Growing Dark // The Dark // Mark Bilham // 19th April 2015 // January – March 2015 • #64 Burial Rites // The End // Donna Gwynne // 20th May 2015 // 2012 • #74 Fatigue // The Spiral // Lydia Halligan // 8 June 2015 • #123 Web Development // The Web // Angie Santos // 1 August 2015 // January 2015 • #13 Alone // The Lonely // Naomi Herne // 13th January 2016 //30th & 31st March 2015 • #22 Colony // The Corruption // Martin Blackwood // 12th March 2016 // March 2016 • #26 A Distortion // The Spiral, The Corruption // Sasha James // 2nd April 2016 // 1st April 2016 • #28 Skintight // The Slaughter, The Stranger // Melanie King // 17th April 2016 // January 2015 • #34 Anatomy Class // The Stranger // Lionel Elliot // 12th July 2016 // January – March 2016 • #39 Infestation // ATTACK ON THE INSTITUTE // 29th July 2016 • #40 Human Remains // Post Attack Debrief// 29th July 2016 • #41 Too Deep // Buried and Dark suspected // 2nd September 2016 // mid-august – September 2016 • #43 Section 31 // The Desolation, The End // Basira Hussain //19th September 2016 // August 2011 and 18 July 2014 • #47 The New Door // The Spiral // Helen Richardson // 2nd October 2016 • #55 Pest Control // The Corruption, The Desolation // Jordan Kennedy // 3rd November 2016 // 2011 & 2014 • #61 Hard Shoulder // The Hunt, The Stranger, The Buried // Daisy Tonner // 1st December 2016 // 24th July 2002 • #65 Binary // The Spiral, Extinction // Tessa Winters // 7th January 2017 • #71 Underground // The Buried // Karolina Gorka // 25 January 2017 // 6 January 2017 • #73 Police Lights // The Dark // Basira Hussain // 11 February 2017 // 10 February 2017 • #76 The Smell of Blood // The Slaughter // Melanie King // 13 February 2017 • #79 Hide and Seek // The Stranger, The Spiral // 16 February 2017 • #80 The Librarian // All // Jurgen Leitner // 16 February 2017 // 1994 • #81 A Guest for Mister Spider // The Web // Jonathan Sims // 18 February 2017 / 1995 • #82 The Eyewitnesses // The Eye, the Slaughter // Daisy Tonner // 18 February 2017 • #89 Twice as Bright // The Desolation // Jude Perry // 24 April 2017 • #91 The Coming Storm // The Vast, The Spiral // Michael Crew // 28 April 2017 • #92 Nothing Beside Remains // The Eye, The Lonely // Elias Bouchard, Barnabas Bennett // ? [Possibly 28 April 2017] • #94 Dead Woman Walking // The End // Georgie Barker // 29 April 2017 • #100 I Guess You Had To Be There // The Desolation, The Dark, The Spiral, The Web, The Lonely // Lynn Hammond, John Smith, Robin Lennox, Brian Finlinson // 2 May 2017 – 26 May 2017 • #101 Another Twist // The Spiral, The Stranger // Michael // May-June 2017 // October 2009 – 2011 • #104 Sneak Preview // The Stranger // Timothy Stoker // 14 June 2017 // August 2013 • #109 Nightfall // The Dark, The Hunt // Julia Montauk and Trevor Herbert // 29 June 2017 // July 2010 • #111 Family Business // Multiple, The End // Gerry Keay // 30 June 2017 // September 2008 • #117 Testament // The Eye // Jonathan Sims, Basira Hussain, Melanie King, Martin Blackwood, Timothy Stoker, Daisy Tonner // 2 – 4 August 2017 • #118 The Masquerade // The Stranger // The Unknowing Begins // 6 August 2017 • #119 Stranger and Stranger // The Stranger // The Unknowing Ends // 7 August 2017 • #120 Eye Contact // The Eye // Elias Bouchard // 9 August 2017 • #121 Far Away // The End, The Web // Oliver Banks // 15 February 2018 • #128 Heavy Goods // The Stranger // Breekon // 3 March 2018 • #131 Flesh // The Flesh // Jared Hopworth // 20 March 2018 // 2016 – January 2018 • #132 Entombed // The Buried // Jonathan Sims and Daisy Tonner // 24 March 2018 • #141 Doomed Voyage // The Vast, The Spiral // Floyd Matharu // 11 June 2018 • #142 Scrutiny // The Eye, The Buried // Jess Terrell // 12 June 2018 • #143 Heart of Darkness // The Dark // Manuela Dominguez // 16 June 2018 • #147 Weaver // The Web // Annabelle Cane // 20 July 2018 • #151 Big Picture // The Vast, The Lonely, The Extinction // Simon Fairchild, Martin Blackwood // 14 August 2018 • #158 Panopticon // The Eye, the Extinction, The Lonely // Martin Blackwood, Peter Lukas, Basira Hussain, Jonathan Sims, Daisy Tonner, Elias Bouchard, Gertrude Robinson // 25 September 2018 • #159 The Last // The Lonely // Peter Lukas // 25 September 2018 • #160 The Eye Opens // All // Jonah Magnus, Jonathan Sims // 18 October 2018 • Vigilo, Audio, Supervenio. The World Ends • #161 Dwelling // No // Sasha James, Tim Stoker, Martin Blackwood, Elias Bouchard, Jonathan Sims, Jurgen Leitner // No Longer Applicable // Unknown • #162 A Cozy Cabin // No // Gertrude Robinson, Gerry Keay, Sasha James, Timothy Stoker, Martin Blackwood, Jonathan Sims // No Longer Applicable // 2013 – 2015 • #163 In The Trenches // The Slaughter // Jonathan Sims // No Longer Applicable • # 164 The Sick Village // The Corruption // Jonathan Sims // No Longer Applicable • #165 Revolutions // The Stranger // Jonathan Sims // No Longer Applicable • #166 The Worms // The Buried // Jonathan Sims // No Longer Applicable • #167 Curiosity // The Eye, The Web, Others // Jonathan on Gertrude Robinson // No Longer Applicable • #168 Roots // The End // Oliver Banks // No Longer Applicable

#tma #the magnus archives #timeline #tma meta #eldritch bingo au #tma reference #tma ref

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hadarlaskey · 3 years

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Sixties sexploitation swings back in Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho

Edgar Wright’s new film Last Night in Soho holds a cracked mirror to London’s past, blurring the line between historic crimes and current events. Sixties obsessed Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) moves to London from Cornwall to study fashion design. Not long after arriving she experiences apparitions of a nightclub singer named Sandy (Anya Taylor-Joy), whose dream of stardom turns into a nightmare when she is coerced into sex work by her manager Jack (Matt Smith). Soon, a horde of faceless men in three-piece suits begins to haunt Eloise.

Wright crafts an ambitious story with psychedelic visuals and razor-sharp editing. His film is a hypnotic painting of the past packaged as a neo-giallo. Unfortunately, Wright and co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns’ attempt at a post-#MeToo cautionary tale is ill-judged for the decision to use sex work as an allegory. The film’s treatment of historical sexual abuse, and the implication that women like Sandy are damaged and therefore doomed to a life of crime and misery, demonises sex work and perpetuates the dangerous stigma against sex workers.

On the BFI’s Letterboxd page, Wright wrote: “The 1960s casts a long shadow on Soho and I’ve long been fascinated with the films of the period that peek into the darker corners of central London nightlife.” As influential and revered as they are, both Alfred Hitchcock’s Frenzy and Edmond T Gréville’s Beat Girl, to name just two of the films Wright listed as inspiration, contain voyeuristic scenes of violence against women whose primary roles are to endure abuse as a plot device.

Wright has also said, “You can not change what’s happened. You can only deal with it in the future,” in reference to the ’60s and the media’s romanticisation of the era. Of course, context matters: the ’60s saw a seismic shift in public attitudes towards sex, which male directors of the time were quick to capitalise on. But to “deal with it in the future” suggests that Wright set out to subvert certain exploitative tropes. Instead, his film recycles them for its own gruesome ends, revelling in objectifying imagery of women under the pretence of historical accuracy.

There’s a scene where Anya Taylor-Joy is dressed in a doll-like burlesque costume, performing a sexualised dance routine for a sea of male customers. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with showgirl performances, the point of this scene is to demonstrate Sandy’s discomfort with being sexualised against her will. Although Sandy verbally agrees to being a showgirl, she is intimidated and manipulated by Jack, who controls her by dangling the possibility of a prosperous future. Throughout the scene the camera lingers on Sandy, echoing the lyrics of Sandie Shaw’s ‘Puppet on a String’. Coercion doesn’t equal consent, and so the camera’s positioning makes the audience a complicit voyeur of Sandy.

To give Wright the benefit of the doubt, the ‘Puppet on a String’ scene could be justified as a means of visually portraying men’s misogynistic attitudes toward women during the ’60s – yet the very next scene, in which Eloise explores the backstage of the club, demerits any credible argument. Behind every door is a different woman in a submissive position, engaging in fellatio. Throughout Last Night in Soho, the audience is bombarded with superfluous sexual imagery at the expense of its female characters. There is something hypocritical about critiquing the past’s objectification of women while simultaneously paralleling it.

Beyond the imagery, the tragic arc of Taylor-Joy’s character is underpinned by an outdated sex work narrative. Stripped of any agency, Sandy embodies a biased and harmful sex worker stereotype. She is presented as a meek victim who needs saving by Eloise, a modern-day young woman. Whatever Wright’s intentions, it’s disappointing to see the film hurtle towards an old-fashioned horror trope where the fate of a female character is tied to her sexuality. The film does attempt to redeem Sandy in its final act, but this only leads it into the even murkier territory of false victimisation.

Another scene seemingly unaware of its implications concerns Eloise’s love interest, John (Michael Ajao). When the couple climb into bed together for the first time, Eloise hallucinates that Jack is attacking Sandy. Her confusion translates into harrowing screams and pleas for John to stop. On the one hand this scene, which boils down to a white woman crying wolf against an innocent Black man, broaches the complex power dynamic between women and men in both the past and present. On the other it is a validation of the ‘what if she’s lying’ sexual abuse defence that is counterproductive to the feminist narrative the film is apparently striving for.

Last Night in Soho is paved with good intentions but ultimately misses the mark. Wright told Empire magazine, “There’s something I have in common with the lead character in that I’m afflicted with nostalgia for a decade I didn’t live in.” But in attempting to highlight the toxicity of the past while paying homage to the sexploitation films that were popular in the ’60s, the director proves that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

The post Sixties sexploitation swings back in Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho appeared first on Little White Lies.

source https://lwlies.com/articles/last-night-in-soho-edgar-wright-sexual-exploitation/

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shesquiinnsane-ar · 4 years

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UPDATED BIOS;

As a precursor to this I just thought to add that both Arkham Origins and A Matter of Family have also been edited and updated. Whilst writing new bios I'm also working on editing older bios as some are probably a couple years old and full of typos I never checked. So that's happening too. All new bios will have my new icon form. I'll try and posted whenever I so update bios though so people know. And now, onto the new bio!

BATMAN NINJA;

This verse will typically be used for any anime/manga characters that Harley may interact with as well as those who simply just wish to explore it. Please note that Batman Ninja is a mash of ideas from the Japan studios. There are lots of anime tropes and plot points that need to be simply taken for granted.

Gorilla Grodd used a Quake Engine in Arkham Asylum to send everyone back to Feudal Japan, causing a small distraction that landed Batman in that world two years later.. Two years in the making and Gotham’s villains were taking over as Feudal Lords; Two-Face, Penguin, Poison Ivy, Deathstroke, and the Joker with Harley alongside, where all the Lord’s of their state. The Joker and Harley were considered to be the closest to uniting the kingdom to be the one true King of Japan, the Joker was known to be labeling himself as the Demon King.

The pair first bump into Batman, using Harley disguised as the Joker to tease him as they realize he is now in Feudal Japan. This distraction allowed Joker to engage Batman in a fight, asking Batman to call him Lord Joker as he was believed to be the most powerful man in Japan. After changing into her outfit she met up with the Joker and the Batman after he finished throwing razor-edged fans. To keep the Joker occupied, she poured him a drink so they could instead watch Batman against seven of the Joker’s samurai warriors. As Batman and the warriors fought, Harley asked if they should follow, to which the Joker just sighed with his drink, asking her to simply enjoy the moonlight as they had all the time in the world.

Batman subsequently joined forces with Catwoman as he learned that the secret to going home was in Grodd’s time machine, currently owned by the Joker in his temple. He then learned Catwoman was lucky enough to find Alfred, who was in the Batmobile, and had been maintaining it as best he could for the occasion when Batman was to return. The loud motor roared down the street straight to the temple which Harley overheard, rushing to the Joker to inform him. Pushing open the doors of the temple she shouted at the top of her lungs that Batman was coming. She dropped her knees in front of Joker as she told Joker that Batman was coming in the Batmobile. Trying to demonstrate her point, using a puppet show she told Joker that the Batmobile had passed their gunmen and the canons that were in place to try and hold him back. Then Batman was always so clever with his technology, but Joker believed he was nothing without the Batmobile. Joker demanded Harley activated ‘Arkham Castle’. At first, she protested, after all the castle wasn’t even finished yet, but it had been made for Batman so there wasn’t any time like now to use it. She agreed, and after licking her lips, she clapped with a giggle. Behind the doors that had opened to her command was a piece of the Quake Engine that had been lost to Gorilla Grodd.

With the castle activated, the temple started to rise out of the ground, as Batman was seen approaching the building. It seemed to transform into a mechanically charged robot in the form of the temple. Batman labeled it a form of madness as the left arm of the mech readied a set of giant throwing stars. Each one was thrown at the road in an attempt to stop Batman from reaching them. The three throwing stars narrowly missed the Batmobile as Batman blew up the gate with a rocket launcher extension to the Batmobile. He was storming the gates and the mech tried to squish Batman in the Batmobile as it plucked it from the ground. The Batman escaped, dropping from the wreckage with part of the car that converted into the Batjet. To Joker though, it was a persistent yet predictable move. With Batman locked on the top floor of Arkham Castle, he was trapped by two prongs, the wings severed on the Batjet, leaving Batman in mid-air. That wasn’t the only trick Batman could pull, however, as dropping the wings converted the Batjet into a Batcycle, a motorbike he used to drive along the arm of the fortress straight into the top room.

Harley had fled from the floor to drop a trap on Batman. As the right hand of the fortress came crashing down to the ground Batman had to choose; save a woman and child down below, or finally get the Joker. Batman used the cycle to try and crash to the ground ahead of the hand and managed to fight off Bane to save the poor woman. The woman, however, was no more than Harley Quinn and her mallet. With Batman narrowly escaping being crushed to death she had time to perfectly line up her shot before her mallet hit in straight in the face and sent him flying across the floor. Using a giant slide to get out from the tower, the Joker joined Harley on the ground as they were both laughing. Harley noted that it was typical Bats, as he always fell for the same tricks. Joker continued to taunt Batman, as Harley and a few of his armed guards surrounded the Batman. Joker could only wonder what Batman had in store for a second act as he’d destroyed all of his toys now and there were no friends here to save him. A short and worried shout from Harley seemed to change the tides, however, as she pointed behind the Joker and tried to get his attention. Behind him, a huge colony of Bats seemed to fly toward them. During the flurry, Harley tried her best to swat them away with her mallet but it didn’t seem to do anything. The bats aided the arrival of what Harley could only describe as Ninja Batmen. As quickly as they appeared, they disappeared, taking the Batman with them, and leaving Harley and Joker confused.

On a handmade ship, made in the vision of the Joker, Harley and Joker met with Gorilla Grodd. They stood within the bird’s nest to see as far as they could in case anyone should sneak upon them. Joker told Grodd that he wouldn’t kill him if he handed over the Batman and wanted to see where he was. He quickly made himself known as floatation devices were set up in the water which from the Joker’s viewpoint looked like people. Batman told him he was surrounded but this wasn’t going to over that quickly. With a laugh, Joker admitted that he was surrounded as his samurai warriors appeared firing at sticks of bamboo in the water. Harley came tumbling, laughing as she was firing her gun at whatever she could, hoping to hit a few people on the way down. Then she opted to throw a bomb into the waters, which she knew would cause more damage. Batman seemed to shout out ‘no’ but as Harley hit the deck she laughed, what else was he expecting? They knew he’d have men hiding in the water. As she joined Joker, who opened fire on Batman, Batman told them that maybe he would another time, but right now he had a trick up his sleeve. The tiny boat that Batman and Grodd had arrived on rose up to expose a huge underground deck. Despite looking confused at first, the pair still laughed and Joker claimed they were still doomed, opening firing on them again.

The boat nudged forward, rocking Harley and Joker off balance as the hull of Batman’s ship opened as the Batman Ninja Clan and members of the Batman Family started to attack. Harley was confused, as they’d already killed them all, but the people in the waters were simple decoys to distract them from this new attack. As Harley put the pieces together Catwoman reached out to attack her and the pair started to fight. When swinging her mallet failed to land a hit, Harley took out her gun trying to aim for the Cat, who seemingly didn’t want to be put down. As she continued to fire, Harley was recklessly splintering the boat’s woodwork. She laughed until her bullets ran out which was when Catwoman proceeded to fight back, backflipping over Harley to kick her across her face.

Soon enough the fight was over, and Gorilla Grodd siding with Batman in the hopes of gaining an advantage. Harley and Joker were subsequently tied together around the mast of one of their sails. Batman was happy to disappoint Joker by stooping ‘that low’ and siding with Grodd. But if Grodd had turned on the Joker, then Grodd would also turn against Batman. Joker didn’t have a chance to say anymore as he had been gagged alongside Harley. In Feudal Japan, trust meant nothing as Grodd used his mind control in an attempt to control everyone on board the ship. Or at least he tried to as the Bat Clan had mastered their bodies and their minds and could not be under the influence of Grodd’s mind control. Now everyone had to prepare to be annihilated by Two-Face as bombs destroyed the Joker’s ship. With the boat in flames, they had the chance to escape from their chains and climb back up to the bird’s nest with a barrel containing explosives. The pair laughed, as Joker told Batman he’d see him in hell before Harley lit the fuse and sent the explosive to the deck. After all only Joker could kill the Batman, he couldn’t forgive himself if anyone else had done it. The explosion destroyed the boat and bats left the flaming embers. Supposedly ending the battle.

There were no signs of Joker or Harley after the explosion. Some believed them to be dead or simply gone. In the fields away from the villages a couple had been found. The male donned green hair, the female, blonde. They had seemingly spent years on a field that didn’t seem to grow any crops. A male in a red helmet, Red Hood, was taken for a monk who was traveling through the region and he asked the couple for a glass of water. The green-haired man happily agreed as the blonde woman walked past him to sort out this water. She commented that the traveler must be exhausted as it was a rather hot day after all. As she leaned over the pot to fill his bowl with water the traveler grabbed the blonde, causing her to cry out, telling her to ‘break it’. Helpless, her man told him to stop, as he genuinely had no idea what was going on and why someone would go out of their way to attack his wife. He was threatening for the blonde to show her true face, or else he’d break her arm.

This traveling monk knew the Joker was alive when everyone else had said he was dead but there was a confusion to his face no one could fake. He questioned why the man was insistent on calling him Joker. Kicking the blonde to the floor Red Hood grew more irritated. The green-haired man ran over to his darling feeling threatened and scared. He even questioned the male’s sanity, as none of the situations made any sense. Supposedly that insinuated the man in the red helmet was stupid, as he was expected to believe that the Joker had taken up farming. Harley covered her eyes whimpering as the pair received a beating from the visiting male. They didn’t understand, their confusion was genuine. As he was assaulted the male continued to deny the allegations, and he dropped to his knees as a bamboo barrel was pointed at his head. Gunfire went off but just scraped past the male’s head as they were rescued by a man in a Bat costume. Supposedly they were both here for the same reason, as reports of foreign farmers in the area matched the descriptions of Harley and the Joker had been found but the couple genuinely didn’t remember anything of their past. They had come to Japan to live a peaceful life and had spent time plowing the fields.

As the danger seemed to pass the blonde woman had gotten straight back to work when a miracle appeared before her eyes. It seemed like the pair had waited forever for this moment. She shouted for her honey to come and join her, her voice filled with excitement as there was finally a sprout in their fields. They laughed and embraced as finally, they had gotten somewhere, the blonde calling the green male her puddin’ as they toppled to the floor. Batman had concluded that the couple had at one point been Joker and Harley Quinn but had lost their memories to a point where they were no longer a threat. He promised to keep an eye on them and to take them back when the Quake Engine was fully operational but for now, they were harmless and they just had to let the couple be. Things were not quite so simple, however, as the travelers left the couple laughing their euphoria. The sprout that had finally grown was blowing pollen across the field, and over the couple kneeling next to it. This pollen had been created as a trigger to the couple’s memories. The seemingly harmless duo would now once again become the Joker and Harley Quinn as their memories were restored.

A month later, the Joker and Harley Quinn were ready to make their come back. The Feudal Lords; Two-Face, Penguin, Poison Ivy, and Deathstroke were all manipulated by Gorilla Grodd to develop a mechanical structure each which was far beyond the technologies of Japan at the time. Grodd had been setting up the battlefield to take over and become the one Lord of Japan. As the mechs joined together to become one, the party-crashers made their entrance. No one had known that Joker and Harley had regained their status and now they were ready to make a comeback. Throwing a laughing bomb into the hub of Grodd’s machine, a form of knock out gas was sprayed around the room affecting Grodd and Catwoman who was in the hold at the time. Other identical bombs seemed to explode through the mech as floating above in a hot air balloon donning the Joker’s smile was Harley Quinn and the Joker laughing hysterically and spinning around as they declared themselves back! It was out with the old and in with the new as more bombs were dropped on the battlefield as Harley made sure they knew that there were no exchanges or returns. The color bombs covered the mech as Batgliders identified the couple. Batman couldn’t believe it to be true but Joker greeted him as there was no way you could keep a crazy man down.

The hot balloon crashed through the roof of Grodd’s castle, the same one that had previously been owned by Joker and Harley themselves. he didn’t want to be too late to the party but it seemed he had come at exactly the right time. As Catwoman glared Joker down, she was pushed to the floor as Harley stood on her, whilst wearing a jester hat that mimicked her modern-day attire. She grinned and waved at the pretty kitty. Grodd had taken them by surprise back at the lake in which their ship sank but now it was time for payback. The flower that had triggered their memories, wasn’t too potent yet but Harley admitted that they were thinking of increasing the dosage. The plant had been one Harley had previously taken from Ivy who had the best plants. As the plant seemingly paralyzed Grodd, Harley kicked Catwoman over to join Grodd on the floor before wielding her mallet and taking her place at the Joker’s side with a giggle. Now it was a turn of events Joker intended to take over Grodd’s plan and ejected Grodd and Catwoman from the castle as they were pushed down the slide and sent falling downwards. They were caught by the Bat Clan and carried carefully to the ground as Joker took the central seat and Grodd’s tools to play a few mind games using the mech he had developed.

Activating the full transition, the mechs assembled again. This time, however, the transition seemed more fluid as each of the villains controlled a part of the mech, with Joker’s hot air balloon forming the structure's head. Now they were all serving Lord Joker to take over, and the contraption was better than anything the Joker himself could have created. Chaos ensued as the Bat Clan struggled to withstand the force of the mech and the power it had. He had attacked Gorilla Grodd, injuring him badly. Despite being saved from death, however, there was no telling of his injuries. In return for the said Grodd gave Batman his commanding flute which summoned many monkeys to help the Bat Clan defeat the fortress the Joker was in control of. The monkeys formed a giant structure, a samurai monkey to take down the mechs. In one punch the mech was sent to his needs, which was unexpected but the structure did pick itself back up.

As the Joker controlled the head of the structure, Harley was left to control the main body. Joker suggested cutting down on the monkey business by greeting the guests with a warm kiss. Pushing down on one of her levers, activated a huge central flame thrower but the monkeys seemingly withstood the heat as only their armor was damaged. The flurry of bats at the Bat Clan’s disposal doused the flames as the bats now enclosed the monkey samurai to take on the form of a giant Batman. Harley pushed down on the lever again, at the command of the Joker, as he told the Batman figure to feast on the fire of hell. The flames had no effect on Batman and with a single punch pushed straight through into the head, destroying the Joker's hub and freezing the machine. Batman opted to take Joker alone as each hero took on their villain to destroy the mech section by section. For Harley, this meant facing Catwoman who had in her opinion, chosen the wrong side to play with. In Catwoman’s mind, Harley needed a good ass-kicking after their previous encounter.

As Harley intended to go and help Joker, Catwoman almost whipped her mallet straight out of her hands but Harley bashed it out of the way just in time with a little giggle. Catwoman declared it was time for some girl on girl action as the two began to fight. Harley laughed her way through the hits even jumping with intentions of smashing the cat to the floor. As she looked, Catwoman had disappeared but she smirked, throwing her mallet to her left and striking the feline. Trapping her in her grip, using the mallet to help, Harley told the pretty kitty to take her medicine and say goodnight, before licking the woman’s cheek.

It all seemed to be going well but the monkey army had split, tackling the structure individually to slowly tear it apart piece by piece. As Harley held her grip on Catwoman a shudder throughout the building had caused her to slip, and Catwoman freed herself taking advantage by kicking the jester squarely in the face as she crashed into the wall. Resting her back against the wall Harley tried to catch her breath as she’d been winded by the motions as Catwoman tightly gripped her costume, pulling Harley up by her collar. Catwoman told Harley to keep her tongue to herself as she threw the Jester into the main system causing it to explode and completely crash which was where the Jester remained. Out cold, and hopefully not burnt.

After the fight, the Quake Engine was restored, presumably returning all of the Gotham residents to the present day.

#V; BATMAN NINJA.{mechs and monkeys; just to rule japan}#BIO RELEASE!!!

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Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Complete DC Comics Easter Eggs and Reference Guide

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Your complete guide to DC Comics references, Justice League movie hints, and DCEU Easter eggs in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice!

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Feature

Books

Mike Cecchini

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice

Mar 22, 2019

Batman

Superman

Zack Snyder

DC Entertainment

Justice League

Wonder Woman

This article contains nothing but Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and DCEU spoilers.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is the second movie in the DC Extended Universe series, which began with Man of Steel, and continued in the Wonder Woman movie, will continue further with the Justice League movie, and more. As a result, it's positively packed with references to DC Comics, and hints about the future of the DC Extended Universe.

Here's our complete and spoiler-filled breakdown of everything you might have missed in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Batman's Origin

- Just as Man of Steel opened with Superman's origin (his literal birth, in fact), so does Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice open with Batman's origin story. Thank heavens for that, because if we don't see what motivated young Bruce Wayne to become the Batman, we might never know! That is, of course, a joke.

While Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in 1939, we didn't see his actual origin until a two-page segment in Detective Comics #33. To make up for that six month gap, DC Comics and their media partners are now contractually obligated to re-tell Batman's origin in some form, whether it's in the comics, on the screen, or via finger puppets, every six months in perpetuity. That's not true, but it sometimes feels that way.

The visual inspiration for this origin sequence is, like many things in the film, taken from Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, and Lynn Varley's seminal The Dark Knight Returns, which was first published in 1986. Things like the mustachioed Thomas Wayne and the string of pearls caught on the barrell of the gun are right out of there, as well as the (dream?) sequence where young Bruce is surrounded by bats after accidentally discovering the bat cave.

Watch Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice on Amazon

The Waynes leave the movie theater after a revival screening of the 1940 version of The Mark of Zorro starring Tyrone Power. That particular Zorro film holds up really well, is a great watch, and feels like a superhero movie before there was ever really any such thing. Totally worth your time. I also believe that The Dark Knight Returns was where it was first revealed that this was the film the Waynes saw on that fateful night.

You can also spot Excalibur on the marquee, which is John Boorman's highly stylized, overly serious 140-minute take on the King Arthur legend (sounds like another movie we know), here to help illustrate that this sequence takes place in 1981. Excalibur feels like a very long film at 140 minutes. Batman v Superman, on the other hand, feels even longer than its 153 minute run time.

We wrote lots more on John Boorman's Excalibur right here, if you want to learn more about this crazy movie.

I owe a special thanks to Peter in the comments for catching this next little detail, Excalibur is listed as "coming next Wednesday." Now, aside from the fact that the movie actually opened on Friday, April 10th, 1981, "coming next Wednesday" is still pretty significant. First of all, new comic books come out every Wednesday, so this is a nod to that.

The Justice League can be seen as a modern day Knights of the Round Table. Couple that with the fact that the Excalibur movie is "coming soon" (and on a Wednesday, no less!) it's kind of an in-joke about how the Justice League movie is next on the schedule. That's pretty cool.

There's more on Excalibur coming down below, just be patient...

- Visible in the Wayne graveyard is the name "Solomon." Solomon Wayne was Bruce's Great, Great, Great Grandfather. When the Batman comics decided they wanted their Gotham City to look a little bit more like Anton Furst's Gotham designs from Tim Burton's Batman movies, a story was crafted to make it happen, and Solomon Wayne was part of that.

- It's also worth noting that this movie marks the first time we've seen Bill Finger's name in the opening credits of a Batman movie. That's a huge deal, as Finger was a major creative driving force behind Batman and his supporting cast, but for years, Bob Kane took all the credit. We have a little bit more about Bill Finger's bat-legacy right here.

The Supporting Characters

- Anatoli Knyazev is known to comic book fans as (wait for it) the KGBeast, because he was created in 1988 when that was what you named these kinds of villains. Anatoli has appeared in non-beastly form on a number of episodes of Arrow, as well. He first appeared in a story called "Ten Nights of the Beast" which is a pretty cool read if you can track it down.

- The photographer who is apparently working for the CIA during Lois' misadventure in the desert is played by Argo's Michael Cassidy. And yes, as credited and as revealed in the film's Ultimate Edition, he is indeed Jimmy Olsen. "Superman's Pal" is promptly and brutally murdered. So, yeah, you can forget about that little piece of Superman mythology in the DC Extended Universe, as well. Read more about Mr. Snyder's comments on the matter here.

- Alfred Pennyworth first appeared in 1943's Batman #16. Like most enduring Batman characters, he was created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger, and Jerry Robinson. Alfred cut a rather different figure in his early appearances, and through the years he has become more of an aggressively badass figure.

Lex Luthor

- Lex Luthor has been around since Action Comics #23 in 1940 (you'll note that at the end of the movie, his prisoner number is AC23-1940), and as we see here, he had lustrous red hair. Later appearances alternately identified Lex as a shortening of Alexander or Alexei, and even later appearances revealed he was a childhood friend of Clark Kent, before a lab accident stole his luscious locks.

read more: The Actors Who Have Played Lex Luthor

- Lex Luthor's prison garb has the prisoner number of 16-TK421. TK421 is a reference to Star Wars when Luke and Han took on Stormtrooper disguises. You know, "TK421, why aren't you at your post?" Batman v Superman and The Force Awakens were tweaking each other with little social media crossovers during filming, but it appears this is the only one of those in-jokes made it to film.

Also, while orange prison jumpsuits certainly aren't just a DC Universe thing, Lex was looking a bit like Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's vision of the character from All-Star Superman in this scene.

The Lex of this film is "Alexander Luthor, Jr." Which means his father's name isn't "Lionel" as it was in the Smallville TV series or a handful of the comics that followed. Something tells me that Alex Sr. didn't die of natural causes.

Luthor has been something of a jerk-of-all-trades during his career, from straight mad scientist to captain of industry to President of the United States. I wrote much more about that stuff right here.

Mercy Graves is Lex Luthor's bodyguard, a super strong badass, although you don't see any of that in this movie. Mercy was first introduced in Superman: The Animated Series where she had considerably more to do than she does in this film, and has recently appeared on the Supergirl TV series.

Kryptonite

Let's get into a few notes about Kryptonite...

- It's amazing that Man of Steel went an entire movie without going down the Kryptonite road, but we do finally get it here. Kryptonite was actually a creation of the (awesome) Adventures of Superman radio show, a necessary plot device so that original Man of Steel Bud Collyer could take a vacation from the radio show's punishing, almost daily schedule. For weeks, Superman was played by another actor, who was only required to groan in agony while Supes was at the mercy of the alien mineral.

- Here's something I never would have noticed (thanks to JACS in the comments!). Ralph Lister is credited as Emmett Vale, and he isn't the guy who finds the hunk of Kryptonite in the Indian Ocean as I initially thought, but he appears in Lex Luthor's laboratory. Dr. Vale is the creator of Metallo, the cyborg with the Kryptonite heart who would be a great choice to give Superman a headache if we were ever going to get another Superman solo movie, but since who knows if that will ever happen, well...forget it.

The way Kryptonite looks in this movie is a little like how it was shown in Superman: The Movie. Later in that film, when Supes is debilitated by the effects of Batman's Kryptonite spear, Lois chucks it in the water to get it away from him. That kinda' reminds me of the Supes/Miss Teschmacher exchange from the end of that movie, too.

Speaking of that Kryptonite spear, wireman (cool handle, by the way) in the comments found this little gem from the comics, that I wasn't aware of:

The Dark Knight Returns Influences

In The Dark Knight Returns, a comic which obviously has influenced this movie quite heavily, when Batman first returns to action he lends a hand to two cops in pursuit of suspects, one who isn't old enough to remember Batman in action, and one veteran who advises him to chill out and enjoy the show.

The rookie cop and the veteran cop, who Batman encounters while out whupping ass, remind me a little bit of this pair from Dark Knight Returns:

It can also be noted that this exchange played out much the same way in 2012's The Dark Knight Rises when Christian Bale's Batman first returns from retirement, much like in the iconic Frank Miller graphic novel.

By the way, the two officers in question are named "Officer Rucka" and "Officer Mazzucchelli." Greg Rucka was the writer of the excellent Gotham Central comic, and David Mazzucchelli was the artist on Frank Miller's other great Batman story, Batman: Year One.

The news montage (which, rather surprisingly, features a cameo by Andrew Sullivan!) is another nod to The Dark Knight Returns, which helped set up its near-future vision of the DCU via TV news clips. You may recognize some of the anti-superhero sentiment from these, as well. Also, we get the return of Glen Woodburn from Man of Steel, too.

read more: Ranking the Superman Movies

- Alfred's quote about "the next generation of Waynes" facing "an empty wine cellar" is lifted straight out of The Dark Knight Returns. You're going to read words very much like that a lot in the course of this article.

While most Batman costumes are fairly similar in essence, the proportions and lines on this particular version are also right out Frank Miller's artwork:

Pretty cool, right?

The bit with Batman sighting a rifle atop a tower calls to mind still more stuff from Dark Knight Returns, albeit there it was a "grappling hook" gun, while here it's to fire a tracer.

- Also, I don't suppose that I need to explain Bruce's "freaks dressed like clowns" joke, right? Of course I don't.

The shot of Superman lifting the Russian rocket (numbered 300 of course) over his head has a hint of this page from The Dark Knight Returns to it...

Batman's opening gambit in his fight with Superman is to hit him with a sonic blast, this (again) is straight out of Dark Knight Returns. Same with the Kryptonite dust/gas projectile.

There are lots of other direct similarities to the comics in that battle, too...

Look familiar? Check out that first panel on the left!

That armor looks pretty familiar too:

You get the idea, I'm sure.

- When Batman shows up to take out the KGBeast, the action comes right out of the first chapter of (say it with me now, kids!) The Dark Knight Returns. Batman bursts up out of the floor to whup ass. Batman bursts through the wall to take a giant honkin' gun from some dude. Batman says "I believe you" after armed asshat says "believe me, I'll kill her" and then takes him out. All from DKR. Just change the names of the goons.

During the Doomsday battle, complete with lightning bolts, we get a recreation of the cover of The Dark Knight Returns #1. No, seriously, check it out...

Told ya.

Also in Dark Knight Returns, Bruce is often brooding over a Robin costume in a glass case, and Alfred reminds him about "what happened to Jason..." which brings us to...

The Robin Connection

Needless to say, there's only one character who would have spray painted that on Robin's body, so this mirrors the events of the 1988 Batman comic event, "A Death in the Family," which allowed readers to decide (via a 1-900 number... those were different times) whether the second Robin would survive a brutal beating (with a crowbar) at the hands of the Joker and a subsequent warehouse explosion.

It's tough to really see the colors on this, and they're certainly muted, but the basic design certainly mirrors that of the first Tim Drake Robin costume, which also happened to be the first one in the main DC Universe continuity that looked genuinely badass.

It was designed by legendary Bat-artist Neal Adams and first brought to comics by Norm Breyfogle (thanks to our very own JL Bell for keeping me honest here!) and remains one of my favorite costume designs of all time. You can see Jason Todd's Robin costume in a similar glass case in the above image, as well.

It's never made clear which Robin this is supposed to be in the movie, but it's certainly Jason Todd. After all, there's a Nightwing movie in development and they can't do that if Dick Grayson is dead.

Zack Snyder clarified that whoever this Robin is, he died about ten years ago. He later specified that it's probably Dick Grayson. But since we know that this version of Batman has been active for at least 15 years (Alfred says 20), and that's about enough time for this to line up with the Jason Todd version of the character.

The Knightmare

During Batman's weird little nightmare/dream sequence, you can spot several clues as to the identity of the big villain of the DCEU. There's a gigantic Omega symbol in the sand, and Earth appears to have had fire pits (ala the planet Apokolips) installed.

Couple that with what appeared to be Parademons attacking the Dark Knight, and, well... it's looking more and more likely that Darkseid, Jack Kirby's most famous DC Comics creation (and one of the greatest comic book villains of all time) was supposed to make his debut in Justice League 2.

The strange symbol carved into the desert there is Darkseid's, while the winged creatures flying around are his Parademon minions...

For reference, here's what they look like when drawn by Jim Lee in the New 52 Justice League re-launch, which featured Darkseid as the team's first big threat, and which was clearly meant to inform their film efforts...

Also, the sharp-eyed JACS (who is quickly becoming the MVP of the comments on this thing) pointed out the similarities to Batman's Mad Max garb here and the nightmarish future Batman that Damian Wayne becomes during Grant Morrison's run as writer on the character.

Doomsday

- Doomsday was created by Dan Jurgens, Brett Breeding, Jerry Ordway, Louise Simonson, and Roger Stern in 1992 with the express purpose of killing Superman dead and driving up sales. He succeeded in all possible respects in Superman #75.

Doomsday's Kryptonian origins weren't revealed until much later, although he was never a Frankenstein's Monster version of Zod, nor did he have Lex Luthor's DNA, nor did he... ummm... you get the point. But the idea of Doomsday as a highly evolved/continuously evolving killing machine came right out of the comics, as does the "he grows more spikes as he takes damage" thing.

- When Superman and Doomsday take their battle to Stryker's Island, we're told it's uninhabited. In the comics, Stryker's Island is the home of a massive Metropolis penitentiary. Clearly that isn't the case here...unless in the bleak moral universe of the DCEU, the inhabitants of a prison are completely expendable forms of human life.

- Superman getting caught in a nuclear explosion, becoming a weird zombified thing, and then charging up/healing via the power of the sun comes straight out of a particular Batman story that has been referenced numerous times throughout this article... you have three guesses. Go ahead. Guess.

-Superman flying to almost certain death while carrying a Kryptonian object (albeit a much smaller one) also calls back to mind a similar storytelling beat from the end of Superman Returns.

- Lex Luthor in Zod's old ship, talking to the AI, feels similar to Lex's infiltration of the Fortress of Solitude in Superman II.

- Luthor using the ship to turn Zod's body into Doomsday is also quite reminiscent (intentionally or not) of Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor using Kryptonian crystals to make a giant Kryptonite continent in Superman Returns.

Also, when Lex is talking to Zod's corpse (oofah), he says "you flew too close to the sun." This is a reference to the myth of Icarus, which doesn't remotely seem to apply to anything regarding Zod's arc. Unless he means "you flew too close to the son," as in "The Last Son of Krypton," but somehow I don't think that much thought went into this scene.

read more: Complete Schedule of Upcoming DCEU Superhero Movies

- Lex didn't create Doomsday in the comics, but in many recent versions of the story, Lex did create Bizarro, notably as an imperfect Kryptonian duplicate. There's a little bit of a similarity to that here. Bizarro is, of course, not in the movie, despite some hilariously inaccurate rumors.

Miscellaneous Cool Stuff

- Clark bringing Lois flowers and groceries is faintly reminiscent of their brief shot at domestic bliss in Superman II where Superman famously cooked Lois a souflee using heat vision, and flew around the world to get her some nice tropical flowers. This scene also illustrates the age old Supes/Lois problem, where she knows that he "belongs to the world" and not to her.

- Pery White refers to Clark as "Smallville" more than once in the film. That was Lois Lane's affectionate/condescending nickname for Clark on Superman: The Animated Series, which is an excellent way to spend your time, I might add.

Later, while admonishing Clark for actually, y'know, wanting to be a reporter and tell the truth, Perry says, "It's not 1938 anymore." 1938 is, of course, the year that Action Comics #1, the first appearance of Superman, was published. In other words, here's Perry White speaking for Zack Snyder, telling fans to stop whining over the fact that Superman doesn't behave very much like Superman in these movies.

- It appears that the Metropolis News channel, Channel 8, is indeed a GBS/Galaxy Broadcasting affiliate station. You can also spot a GBS microphone during a press conference later on, which is perhaps representative of their cable outlet or something similar.

- You can spot a mention of Gotham's Blackgate Prison when Clark is doing his investigation into Batman.

Incidentally, the Ultimate Edition has a lot more going on as far as Clark's investigative reporting, and that along with Henry Cavill's performance remind me quite abit of the better moments of the 1950s Adventures of Superman TV series. George Reeves routinely played Clark has a hard-edged reporter, and Cavill definitely channels some of that here.

read more - Men of Steel: 11 Actors Who Have Played Superman on Screen

- Bruce Wayne's "one percent chance" logic is childish and horrifying, and sounds like something Donald Trump would say about immigrants. It certainly was the logic that Dick Cheney used to condone "enhanced interrogation techniques."

- You can spot "Nicholson Terminal," which the Batmobile obliterates. Maybe this is a nod to Jack Nicholson's iconic take on the Joker. Maybe it isn't. Does this movie really ever make sense?

- When Senator Finch is asked "Must there be a Superman" well, that's a reference to a classic Superman tale. Not just any classic Superman story, either. The first published Superman story by Supes-writer extraordinaire, Elliott S! Maggin (that's not a typo) in Superman #247 from 1972. That story is far more nuanced and interesting in its 24 pages than this movie in its two and a half hours, and it's 100 percent worth reading.

- There's a pretty hilarious Wilhelm Scream when the Batmobile overturns some poor hood's car.

- Ma Kent's "you don't owe this world a thing" speech marks the return of evil, dystopian, Hunger Games Smallville logic to the series. For real, is it any wonder that the DCEU's Clark Kent is such a brooding mope? Between stuff like this and hallucination Pa Kent telling Clark about the time he drowned a bunch of horses by accident, it's a miracle that Superman isn't just snapping necks like... oh, wait, he already did that.

read more: Does Superman Have a Future in the DCEU?

- Hey, remember when the internet said that Scoot McNairy was playing Hal Jordan/Jimmy Olsen/Ted Kord/Morgan Edge/Che Guevara/Spider-Man/Ad Nauseum? Yeah. That didn't happen. He's Wallace Keefe, a character we've never heard of. The only Keef I give a damn about is Richards.

- Ma Kent is now working at Rolli's Diner. Now, there's two smaller Lex Luthor stories from the comics that Rolli's ties into. Superman #9 (1987) featured a backup story called "Metropolis, 900 miles" which dealt with Lex Luthor offering a kind of "indecent proposal" to a waitress at Rolli's.

Lex's kidnapping of Martha Kent is also kinda' like a story from Superman #2 (1987) where he kidnapped Lana Lang after he figured out that young Superman had ties to Smallville. He ended up figuring out that Superman was Clark Kent but refused to believe it.

- In the background during these scenes there's a prominent piece of question mark graffiti, which may or may not be a reference to the Riddler. There's some "Who Watches the Watchmen?" graffiti (not in this image), too.

- Lois boards a red helicopter on the Daily Planet rooftop, which reminds me of the best scene in the best Superman movie, the immortal Superman: The Movie.

The Justice League Connection

- So, in case you cannot tell because he's almost unrecognizable, the lightning tornado dream sequence echo voice thing is the DC Extended Universe version of The Flash (and that's Ezra Miller in the role). The Flash appearing in mysterious form, kind of like a dream, and possibly from a different point in time, is very much a reference to Crisis on Infinite Earths where Flash was appearing to various heroes trying to warn them of what was to come while he was busy dying later in the story fighting the very same threat.

Flash also seems to be teasing something about Lois Lane being "the key." If Bruce is right about Superman, that means Flash is speaking to Bruce from a time in the future where Superman has become a threat, perhaps because of the death of Lois Lane...or maybe Lois is the key to turning him good again, or bringing him back to life.

This could be a reference to the Injustice: Gods Among Us video game and comics, which features a morally compromised DC Universe where heroes fight each other and Superman is a terrible person. So, you know, that sounds awfully familiar all of a sudden, doesn't it?

We wrote more about the Injustice comics right here, if you're interested. I'm saving some more about the implications of this for another article, too.

- I'm sure you all realized that was Jason Momoa as Aquaman during the underwater sequence, right? His look here is reminiscent of how he appeared on the excellent Justice League animated series and his mid-90s makeover.

- The weird horror movie/RoboCop sequence is the origin of Cyborg, played by Ray Fisher, who made his next appearance in Justice League. He was scheduled to get his own movie in 2020, but that no longer appears to be happening.

read more: Every DCEU Easter Egg in the Aquaman Movie

One cool thing about that scene is that the weird cube thing that apparently makes the Cyborg project successful is a Mother Box, which makes this the film's second overt Jack Kirby reference, and the imminent arrival of Steppenwolf as the villain of Justice League.

Wonder Woman

- By the way, Wonder Woman first appeared in All Star Comics #8 in 1941, but the Wonder Woman in this movie is even older than that. Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman garb is reminiscent of how artists like Alex Ross drew her in Kingdom Come and Darwyn Cooke did in New Frontier to make her look more like the warrior princess she's traditionally depicted as.

You can also spot Chris Pine as Steve Trevor in that photo from 1918 and the rest of his World War I crew that we got to meet in her movie.

Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman performance is even better with a little more context after seeing her in action in her solo flick. For example, I only just noticed how immediately bored/disgusted she is with Lex Luthor when he's giving his little speech at the party. She sees right through him. It's awesome.

The Death of Superman

A few notes about the "death" of Superman...

I have to admit, this is really cool. Remember all the Excalibur stuff up top? It's back! A few of you sharp-eyed folks pointed out the similarities to this scene in Boorman's flick, and they are undeniable...

Video of Excalibur Mordred's death

- When you see his body cradled by Lois Lane, it's a nod to Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding's art from Superman #75.

- In the Ultimate Edition, before Lex is captured, he's seen communing with a mysterious figure on the ship. This is likely Steppenwolf, the villain of the Justice League movie, although there's a slight chance it's Yuga Khan, the father of Darkseid. But really, it's probably Steppenwolf.

- Ending on "Amazing Grace" and an ambiguous/hopeful note is more than a little reminiscent of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, which featured the death of Spock. Superman has somehow managed to show even less emotion and seemed even more alien than Spock ever did in this franchise so far, so it's really, really appropriate.

- You can see the weird little telekinetic effect that was used to show that Superman's powers were about to manifest in Man of Steel. So, y'know, of course he's not dead.

I explained the implications of Superman's death and the ending of this movie in greater detail here.

- Superman's coffin is black with a silver "S" logo. When Superman returned from the dead during the Death and Return of Superman story in the '90s, he wore a black suit with a silver "S" on it.

- By the way, it's worth noting that Warner Bros. has been trying to kill Superman on screen since at least 1995. Virtually every draft of every Superman movie of the last twenty years featured some form of Superman getting croaked (occasionally at the hands of Doomsday), while most others at least teased, it, too...including Superman Returns.

- To bring things full circle, I should also bring up the fact that The Dark Knight Returns also ends a "death" albeit Batman's (he isn't really dead, either). That hopeful ending involves Superman overhearing Bruce's heartbeat. Some folks claim they can hear a heartbeat as we zoom in on Clark's coffin, and that's another DKR reference for you!

Mike Cecchini is the Editor in Chief of Den of Geek. You can read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @wayoutstuff.

from Books https://ift.tt/2JzT7p6

#aion-rsa #Books

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pigballoon · 5 years

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Vice

(Adam McKay, 2018)

For anyone that found Adam McKay's entry into 'serious' cinema with The Big Short to be heavyhanded and condescending, his latest, Vice, isn't likely to win you over. Once again, the man who once simply made his point through plot in the criminally unappreciated Anchorman 2 feels the need to explain everything to you, again utilizing a breaking of the fourth wall, cross cutting editing of one man luring another into his web with him fishing, just in case you didn't get it, offering you a narrator to hold your hand through the movie, and going into very great detail on a case of open heart surgery just in case you hadn't already cottoned on to the point they're trying to make.

In short, Vice is a movie about a man who favoured tactful manoeuvring in the shadows with about as much tact as a wrecking ball, yet where it ideologically opposes the man in that department, it's condescending approach to the telling of its tale (if it isn't laid on thick enough in the body of the thing check out the mid-credits sequence. A scene so bitter and idiotic it didn't even make the main body of the movie) gives the impression that the people who made it seem to think the people watching are as stupid as their central character does.

Such sledgehammering to the point of offensiveness is not even the principle issue with the movie for me. The first (I want to say half, but what comes after has so little flow, and drags so much it feels like much less than half) part of this movie which chronicles Cheney before W is a really, really (really) strong movie. The hand holding voiceover is still there, but so too is narrative flow, a dramatic arc, thus characters that feel (however deplorably) human. Christian Bale is brilliant (to be fair, he remains so the entirety of the way through) in one of those turns where for all the physical work he's done in prep, and for all the makeup work that steals the headlines, the actor himself is still doing so much underneath it all that makes him fascinating to watch.

One of McKay's central ideas he builds the entire movie around is that Cheney is so secretive that he's essentially unknowable. That can be difficult to build a movie around, though I think that at least in that first half they succeed, on one hand because they have enough facts about the mans life to use as dramatic highlights to connect everything together (something they lose in the second half) but also because Bale's soulless turn is so captivatingly blackly comic (you can't tell if the man is smiling or sneering, and he has the most undramatic heart attacks imaginable) that the basic central premise that Cheney is something less than human is gotten over plenty strong.

Sadly the second half of the movie chronicling Bush Jr’s administration jettisons pretty much everything to instead role out a series of Greatest Hits scenes touching on all the worst stuff the man did during his time as vice president. His Hitler like seizing of power sort of fascinating to behold (though again, laid out with the grace of a bull in a china shop) but there's very little connecting tissue to hold the whole thing together and make it interesting as a story to anyone who lived through this period until the final couple of scenes where his time in government ends, and familial matters take centre stage again. The stuff with his daughters is strong, a perfect ending, but again it is not enough for McKay, who just keeps pummelling you in the face in case you stopped paying attention for 5 minutes.

Still, the first half is good, the way it maps out without belabouring the point that Cheney was no front man, the way his slithering up the ladder and erosion of soul is charted makes for fascinating, Godfather like drama that thankfully isn't always accompanied by Jesse Plemons (admittedly, very amusing and effectively delivered) narration to explain every little detail to you.

The cast is pretty strong too, Sam Rockwell makes a decent Dubya, Tyler Perry is strong doing internal confliction (one of McKay’s genuine great strokes as director is ensuring we never see him standing up. He looks the part sitting down), Amy Adams repeats the trick she played in The Master as the master behind the monster, in truth I think her first scene in the movie is the strongest by a long way, and after that she’s a little one dimensional. Alfred Molina shows up for the cameo of a lifetime, and the likes of Bill Camp, Eddie Marsan, Alison Pill and Lily Rabe are all thoroughly wasted. Best of all is Steve Carell (fulfilling a truth stated at the end of Anchorman) playing the Laurel to Bale's Hardy. The two of them make for a hell of a duo across the course of the movie, capturing so much of the horror of what we're witnessing in a way that really doesn't need all the assistance from the director.

Vice is a stronger movie than its closest relative, Oliver Stone's W, and it's probably slightly less ridiculous in its heavyhandedness than The Big Short was, but given the quality of its first half its a shame the rest of the movie sort of lets it down, and that its writer-director cannot escape his, uh, vices. Sometimes less is more, and there are moments here when it's clear he understands that. He just can't get out of his own way. Again, I've seen this labelled as intelligent or brainy cinema, it is absolutely neither. Let me say it again, the way Anchorman 2 left you to deduce what you were seeing without directorial assistance was more intelligent than Adam McKay going all in on a man whose desire to puppet master the masses he seems to share.

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gallifreyanlibertea · 6 years

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A Throne for Two

a/n: This was a request! The original ask is put at the very end so I don’t spoil(?) anything. Sorry if it’s confusing, I haven’t written anything but short fluff in a long time. A special thanks to egg for helping me figure out motive and whatnot

“I don’t know if I like the word ‘smirks’ here, sweetheart.”

Arthur rolls his eyes as Alfred squints down at Arthur’s draft, snatching the red pen from Arthur’s hand in an attempt to go about scratching and scribbling on the paper. Arthur crinkles his nose in response. He blocks the pen’s path.

Alfred tries it again, and Arthur smacks his hand. If Alfred knows it annoys Arthur, he doesn’t stop.

“That’s what you did in our interview, though, Alfred, you smirked.”

“It makes me seem… oh, I don’t know. Makes me look mean, don’tcha think?”

Alfred puts down the manuscript after a while, sipping from his champagne as a sudden gust of wind leaves his cape billowing behind him, and Arthur curses because he doesn’t have his camera. It would’ve made a good picture.

He would’ve captioned it Silver Star enjoys a drink after defending Metro City from one of its worst cyber attacks and his editor would’ve loved it. That was what had happened, after all, only minutes ago, the city shook under a series of hackings and other computer what-nots and Arthur isn’t interested in that sort of detail. He’s only in-charge of reporting the Silver Star, and how the man stops such attacks.

He’s in charge of the personality: the city’s own ‘superman’; and Arthur supposes that makes him the Lois Lane.

And being the one in charge, he finds it annoying when Alfred doesn’t allow him to mention details such as his frankly irrelevant facial expressions, because there should at least be a minute degree of truth to the media.

It’s a compromise, really, because it’s not like Arthur writes about the fact that it was Alfred himself who caused the cyber attack- nor does he mention the way those electric blue eyes of his glisten with anger, with hatred, because as far as both he and Alfred are concerned, the public doesn’t need to know the malicious intent behind the charade, the fictional character that was their beloved ‘superhero’. Alfred Jones, the Silver Star.

And they wouldn’t. Not anytime soon, that is.

“I heard you might be getting promoted.”

Alfred says it out of the blue and Arthur hums, stacking his papers neatly on the tabletop.

“I sure hope I do, I didn’t spend an hour sweet-talking my editor for nothing.”

Arthur’s editor is a stocky man whose breath smelled eternally of smoke. Arthur shudders at the memory of the saccharine smile on his own face as he convinced his boss he was ready for a bigger responsibility… the steel in the undertones of his voice as he reminded his boss he had friends in higher places.

Alfred is clearly proud of him. He smirks.

And that’s the kind of thing he did! Arthur hardly tries to make him look evil in his writing, he only tells the truth because Alfred smirks, he hardly just smiles, and Arthur wants to bring it up in reference to their previous argument but he finds himself rather occupied as Alfred somehow manages to snake himself out of his chair, kneeling next to Arthur’s seat.

There is a pair of lips on Arthur’s own, gloved hands pull at the back of Arthur’s neck until he’s fully invested in the alcoholic kiss.

Alfred found it attractive when Arthur did evil, manipulative things.

Perhaps it’s because he had never expected the mousy little office-employee he’d plucked up off the streets to ever hold his own, but Arthur had definitely done more than that by now.

“You’re hot, you know that?” Is Alfred’s breathy explanation for his actions as he pulls away, peppering kisses along Arthur’s jawline, and Arthur doesn’t disagree.

Although, he definitely finds it jarring, to think the man at his feet had, not long ago, terrified Arthur to the point of him having to clamp his hand over his mouth to stifle his breathing so as the other wouldn’t hear him.

Which was exactly what he’d been doing a year ago as he crouched behind a pile of wood and garbage in an alley to hide from the supervillain at his heels.

“Come on, dude, not cool!” Silver Star had called and Arthur’s gasp escaped his lips as a foot collided with his shelter, sending it flying out from above him, scraping against the asphalt until it came to a screeching halt.

Arthur scrambled to his feet, yet before he could run, a gloved hand dragged him back by the shoulder.

“Slow down, sweetheart. I just want to talk.”

Nothing inside Arthur had led him to believe that the man towering before him- in a dark silver suit paying homage to his name, with details in black and purple, all colours that were equally menacing to Arthur at that very moment- had just wanted to talk.

“P-please, I- I’m just a, I’m-” Arthur had never thought he would be reduced to such a babbling mess, yet under the gaze of those electric blue eyes- ones that seemed not to fit the color scheme the villain had gone for- it didn’t seem all that impossible.

“You work for my father. Is that correct?”

It was something Arthur hadn’t expected to hear. He’d glanced up. He had blinked. “Ah… yes, I-”

He was quite honestly one of the lowest of the low, the most expendable of the bunch, and there was no way the Silver Star would go out of his way to seek Arthur out when there were so many others that would prove more useful. Or at least, to whatever master plan that mind of his had hatched up.

“Do you like your job, sweetheart?”

What kind of a question was that? “Yes, your father treats us well, he-”

“You don’t have to lie to me. Daddy dearest and I don’t really get along.”

Arthur chewed his lip. “I... He can be a bit harsh.”

A bit harsh was an understatement. Paychecks had been cut twice that year, Arthur barely earned enough to pay his bills and survive, much less indulge himself like he would rather be doing.

“My father is a bad man.” The Silver Star said, with a voice suddenly hardened. “Now, how would you like to quit? I see a future in newspaper journalism for you.”

“Sir, I-”

“Join me, I pay well.” It was hardly a request. The man cracked his knuckles, lips spread into a grin. “Unless you have something better to do?”

Arthur, most certainly, did not have anything better to do.

After all, what was better than being a puppet at the hands of a villain? What could be better than being bound by will to a man who dictated exactly how he wanted things written, and exactly what he wanted Arthur to report- sometimes going as far as whispering it into Arthur’s ear as Arthur typed away in his bedroom.

“You really don’t have to… be here,” Arthur had found himself scrambling for his next word at the sight of those eyes turning to glare at him. “Sir.”

“How else do you want to get this done?” Silver Star had said.

“Well, usually, I would just write the article up and email it to you and you could… edit and send it back?”

“Emails can be traced.”

Fair enough. Arthur had then turned back down to his screen, fingers tapping against the keyboard as the villain peered over his shoulder.

Alfred had been picky the first month or two. He was always so cautious about what Arthur said, how Arthur said it, how to build each word so as to topple his father from his throne, to incriminate him, to steal the massive influence of him and his business on the city.

“Change your word choice there.”

“I thought it… I, um, thought it was fine.”

“It’s nice writing, yeah, but-” Alfred told him there was a way to say things without quite saying them. That was how they would work from then on, he’d said. “Between the lines.”

Arthur had felt Alfred’s words as hot breaths on his neck. He shivered, only slightly, as he moved to fix the error.

Alfred gripped Arthur’s shoulder. “Next time on, work your drafts on paper.”

Boundaries were, and still are, a problem with Alfred. It was something Arthur would come to know, come to be familiar with. The heat that radiated off the Silver Star’s body was almost surreal at times, almost as if the man sitting next to him was, well, a man. A living, breathing human and not some entity from Hell.

It had taken time for Arthur to become comfortable with that fact.

“I never thought I’d see you enjoy yourself.”

Arthur hadn’t thought it either, yet there he’d been, months into their wicked sort of partnership and Arthur had hung up a business call with a smile playing on his lips.

Silver Star- or, Alfred, as he’d let Arthur address him, seeing as “sir” was getting a bit old- had taken a strange liking to the left side of Arthur’s loveseat. Arthur seemed to always see him there, monitoring Arthur’s every move with a stern furrow of his brows.

Arthur turned to him, “I’ve just scheduled a meeting with that charity.”

“What was so funny about that?”

“I’ve also accidentally released this information to the public, I’m dreadfully sorry if you show up to find a horde of photographers ready to catch you off guard.”

There it was, that grin. Alfred seemed pleased, and Arthur had found that he had come to crave the expression, like some sort of pet awaiting a treat.

“I knew it was a good idea recruiting you, sweetheart.”

And Alfred had suited up to donate to the charity, finding cameras upon cameras ready to broadcast the staged event to the public. It turned out, the citizens of their city were quite the suckers for these things.

Despite the fact that Mr. Jones Sr. had told the public time and time again exactly why he’d disinherited his son and what sort of evil really laid in that persona of his, it was interesting to see the public opinion flutter at the sight of the articles Arthur had written in Alfred’s favour. That was the first step.

The Silver Star was seen working with orphans earlier this week-

The Silver Star catches bank robbers red-handed- Oh, that one had been Arthur’s personal favourite, seeing as Alfred had let Arthur hire the robbers himself, something Alfred usually took it upon himself to do.

It had been refreshing, in the earlier months that Arthur knew the man, to feel himself beginning to be trusted.

Yes, Arthur would do nothing to betray that trust, not when Alfred was doing his part pulling Arthur up the ranks of his newspaper company until his old, dusty furniture became brand and sparkling new, and the bottles of cheap beer in Arthur’s fridge became wine in his own wine cooler, bought with his own damn salary.

Arthur can’t remember a time, now, when he hasn’t been used to that luxury.

It’s a feeling he’s worked for all his life to achieve.

“I’m sending this to my editor, Alfred,” Arthur mutters as a final warning.

Alfred replies with another kiss, lips working on Arthur’s until Arthur can practically melt into the hand that cups his cheek, until he can taste the wine on Alfred’s tongue.

Alfred hates wine.

“I like beer better.” Alfred had said that day, and Arthur remembers the event to this very minute. The day Alfred had brought bottles of wine to Arthur’s doorstep at the stroke of midnight, with not one warning to the confused reporter, not caring to poke fun at Arthur’s striped, matching pyjamas.

Arthur had stammered, “I’ve… um, I’ve got, uh, beer in my fridge I think.”

“Villains look cooler sipping wine. I’ll get used to it.”

Arthur hadn’t known then, why he tended to lose his composure under that blue-eyed gaze.

“A toast to you.” Alfred had said and Arthur blinked.

“Me?”

“You.” Alfred sipped his wine and Arthur silently agreed. He did look cooler. “You turned out way better than I could’ve hoped for.”

Perhaps it was the wine that did it. Arthur doesn’t know to this day what had pushed him to the edge, and dear lord, had he not been tipsy, had he actually thought of the possible consequences of his actions, he never would’ve done it. He never would’ve even thought about it.

But Arthur was, and still is, an idiot, so he had leaned in to smash his lips against the lips of Metro City’s most notorious supervillain. Or, at least, that had been his title before Arthur came along.

Alfred hadn’t expected it, it seemed, but damn it if he was going to be caught off guard. As he later told Arthur, as an explanation for his actions, he was the human embodiment of spontaneity! No one bested him at that.

So Alfred had gripped Arthur’s hips, kissing back with a vigour of a man as young as he was, smiling onto Arthur’s lips, a self-satisfied sort of smile. It was as if he had expected it to happen. He had expected Arthur to have felt that way.

Alfred had the same smile on his face as he took Arthur to bed, and the same smile as he left.

“You’re leaving?”

Alfred had laughed just a little bit, swinging his legs over the side of Arthur’s bed. “I have something I need to take care of.”

Arthur had watched as Alfred slipped on his clothes, twisting the knob of Arthur’s bedroom door.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart, I’ll be back.” A sly smile.

(Arthur had later learned that Alfred couldn’t sleep without following through with a tight regimen, which included taking his contacts off. Yes, those electric blue eyes were too good to be true, and Arthur had awoken the next morning to a pair of big baby blues- and Arthur had laughed, accusing Alfred of being too dramatic for his own good.

“You couldn’t have just told me you had to freshen up?”

“I liked getting you all worked up to see me leave.”)

So Arthur eyes his manuscript, the lack of markings being a sort of reminder of just how far he’s gotten.

He remembers a time when Alfred would make those scribbly marks on his work, when Arthur would let him make marks on his work. He crinkles his nose. He’s glad he’s past that, Alfred’s handwriting is truly atrocious.

“This is the final edit, Alfred, are you alright with that?”

It’s hardly a question as much as it is a declaration.

Alfred rises to his feet, “Whatever you think is best.”

Arthur supposes he and Alfred make a charming couple. Not a single person can guess what’s to come from the two that scheme so quietly, so secretively; no one can see it coming, what they have planned for their oblivious city.

Arthur takes a break from typing up his final draft and slides next to Alfred on the loveseat, deciding not to protest as he’s pulled onto Alfred’s lap, just as Alfred likes it. “Soon enough, Artie, my father won’t even know what hit him.”

“The city will be yours, my love.”

Alfred lets Arthur toy with the purple streak in his hair. “This city is going to be ours, sweetheart.”

Here’s the original request:

I went for ‘power couple’!

#magical strike #usuk #aph america #aph england #this is my first fic in present tense #I literally went about fucking around with all these tenses dear lord I'm so sorry #request #IM SO SORRY OMG all these tenses are fucking me up to read but I also don't want to rewrite it I'm sorry ily anon #lovely anons #reply

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thefazbearsquad · 3 years

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15+ blog. Please don't follow unless you're 15 or older.

Muse list:

Marionette - the puppet, ???, they/it or any neupronouns (mario.txt)

Alfred - Toy Freddy, 22+, he/him (al.txt)

Felicity/Flick - Mangle, 21+, any pronouns (fix.txt)

Bridget/Biddy - Toy Bonnie, 18+, they/them (bon.txt)

Candace/Candi - Toy Chica, 18+, she/her (chick.txt)

Billy - Balloon Boy, 11+, he/him (billy.txt)

Bindy - Balloon Girl, 11+, she/her (binny.txt)

Cherry - Toy Cupcake, 8+, any pronouns (cin.txt)

(Ooc posts will be either tagged ooc or mod.txt)

About the AU:

This AU was made when I was 14-15, yeah it's cringe but I like it, deal with it.

Catboy/girl-like designs, aka human-looking robots with traits of the animals, mostly tails and ears.

The characters aren't possessed by children and are instead sentient robots, the murders did happen but the bodies weren't hidden in the animatronics. It's mostly due to the fact that I made this AU before diving too deep into the lore so I didn't know they were canonically possessed by children, after I found out it just felt too fucking weird to make a grown-ass looking people be possessed by children's spirits (which is the second reason).

It treats FNAF 2 as a sequel. It's because I made this AU before the prequel's release, I started to edit it before it was widely known that FNAF 2 is a prequel, and then was too stubborn to edit it further.

Mostly focuses on FNAF 1 and FNAF 2 characters, with some appearances from Soring Bonnie and Sister Location characters (though plots of these games are wildly changed). Fuck FNAF 3 though.

Most Toy Animatronics were modelled to look like young adults. Old Animatronics were modelled to look middle age and lower.

Rules:

No NSFW or so help me god.

Limited OC and other blogs interactions, I'll be picky, also don't try to insert yourself as somebody's friend/family member or don't try to alter the plot.

Limited M!As allowed, I'll mostly try to fit them in as random events that happen. I'll be picky. If it alters the character's personality, behaviour or plot in any way I'll reject it.

This blog will involve shipping, if you're uncomfortable with it or think it's wrong, just move along. I don't tolerate extreme age gaps, pedophilic, abusive or otherwise problematic ships, if I see you shipping one of the underaged muses with adult ones or the ones that are supposed to be related, I will block you. If it happens because you're not aware they were vastly different age or supposed to be related, that's okay, just don't do that shit when you know.

As stated at the beginning, this blog is 15+. It's due to the game's nature as a horror game, but also the fact that this blog will deal with some heavy topics (murder, trauma, sometimes violence, horror, etc etc.). All of which I will try to properly tag. Please don't be afraid to ask for something to be tagged.

About the mod:

Sooky/Talon, 21 years old, any pronouns. Main is @tasmanianstripes. Yes, I know, this AU and shipping FNAF robots is extremely Cringy™ but I've had this AU for 6-5 years now, it's been my comfort story for a long time and I am too attached to let it go.

#intro post #ooc #fnaf

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rjbailey · 6 years

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Wikipedia article of the day for December 18, 2017 -- Galaxy Science Fiction

The Wikipedia article of the day for December 18, 2017 is Galaxy Science Fiction. Galaxy Science Fiction was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by World Editions and sold two years later to Robert Guinn, the magazine's printer. Its first editor, H. L. Gold, rapidly made Galaxy the leading science fiction magazine of its time, focusing on stories about social issues rather than technology, including Ray Bradbury's "The Fireman" (later expanded as Fahrenheit 451), Robert A. Heinlein's The Puppet Masters, and Alfred Bester's The Demolished Man. Frederik Pohl, who had been doing most of the production work for some time, took over as editor officially in 1961. Until his departure in 1969, Galaxy had continued success, regularly publishing fiction by writers such as Cordwainer Smith, Jack Vance, Harlan Ellison, and Robert Silverberg. At its peak, Galaxy greatly influenced the science fiction field. Gold brought a "sophisticated intellectual subtlety" to magazine science fiction, according to Pohl. Historian David Kyle suggests that Gold's new direction led to the experimental New Wave, the defining science fiction literary movement of the 1960s.

#wikipedia #article of the day #Galaxy Science Fiction

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classicalliberalleague · 7 years

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@NAC you had a list of books on your old page of recommended readings...but I can't find it now. Could you repost it?

I assume you mean this one ( I have this list on my web page with links included for the public domain stuff I could find…I try to keep it updated as I think of new things or find new ones.)

Young adult/childrenThe Little Prince by Saint-ExuperyWhere the sidewalk ends by SilversteinElla Minnow Pea by DunnSophie’s World by GaarderThe Great Good Thing by TownleyThe Jungle Book by Kipling Bridge to Terabithia by DiamondThe Westing Game by RaskingLillies of the Field by BarrettFlowers for Algernon by KeyesThe Wrinkle in Time Series(Wrinkle In Time, Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet) by Madeleine L’EngleThe Dark is Rising Series by Susan CooperThe Tripod Trilogy by John ChristopherThe Hobbit by TolkienCoraline by Neil GaimanEyes of the Dragon by Stephen KingThe Original Shanara Trilogy (Sword, Elfstones, Wishsong) and Landover (Magic Kingdom for Sale, SOLD!, The Black Unicorn, Wizard at Large, The Tangle Box) by Terry Brooks by Elizabeth GeorgeThe Witch of Blackbird PondAdventures of Tom Sawyer by Twain

Literature Winter’s Tale, A Soldier of the Great War, Freddy & Frederika by Mark HelprinShakespeare (Especially Othello, King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, Tempest, Henry IV parts 1 & 2, Henry V, sonnets) Iliad Odyssey by Homer (I like the Fagles translation)Sophocles–Oedipus Trilogy , , Philoctetes , Women of Trachis Orestia by Aeschylus Medea by Euripides Victor HugoLes Miserables The Hunchback of Notre Dam by Hugo A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens To Kill A Mockingbird by LeeWuthering Heights by Emily Bronte Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Complete works of Faulkner ( esp.The Sound and the Fury, Light in August) by FaulknerHoward’s End by Forster Diary of a Young Girl by FrankThe Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne Catch 22 by HellerGone with the Wind by MitchellFrankenstein by Shelley The Portrait of Dorian Gray , Importance of Being Earnest , An Ideal Husband by WildeThe Time Machine by Wells A Raisin in the Sun by HansberryNight by WieselThe Glass Menagerie by WilliamsThe Devil’s Disciple by ShawA Man for All Seasons by BoltCyrano de Bergerac by Ronstad (unless you speak French only the Hooker translation)Dracula by Stoker Inherit the Wind by Lawrence and LeeMagnificent Obsession by DouglasSilas Marner by George Eliot Decameron –Boccaccio A Modest Proposal—SwiftSelf-Reliance, The American Scholar, Experience—EmersonUp from Slavery—Booker T. Washington

PhilosophyA History of Knowledge by Van DorenThe Cave and the Light by HermanPlato (Euthyphro , Apology , Gorgias , Crito, Phaedo , Symposium , Republic )Aristotle (Metaphysics , Nicomachean Ethics , Eudemian Ethics , Politics , Rhetoric , Poetics )The History of Philosophy by CoplestonDiscourses on Livy by Machiavelli Ethical and Political Writings of St. Thomas AquinasAristotle for Everybody, 10 Philosophical Mistakes, The Great Ideas, How to Read A Book by AdlerCicero (On the Gods , On Duties , 1st and 2nd Philippics Superheroes and Philosophy edited by MorrisBuffy The Vampire Slayer and Philosophy edited by South

HistoryHistory of the Ancient World, Medieval World, Renaissance World by Susan Wise BauerThe Forgotten Man, Coolidge by ShlaesHistory of the Peloponnesian Wars by Thucydides John Adams by McCulloughFrom Dawn to Decadence by BarzunPlutarch’s Lives Cicero, Augustus by EverittLetters of John and Abigail Adams Washington by Ron ChernowThe Glorious Cause by Robert MiddlekauffLost Enlightenment by StarrReagan’s War by SchweizerPatriot’s History of the United States by Schweikart and AllenThe closing of the Muslim Mind by ReillyThe Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

Economics/PoliticsWho Really Cares and The Road to Freedom by Arthur BrooksThe World is Flat by Thomas FriedmanDave Barry Hits Below the Beltway by BarryDemocracy in America by de Tocqueville The Law by Bastiat The Upside of Down by McArdkeSpirit of the Laws The Federalist Papers Adam Smith (Theory of Moral Development , Wealth of Nations )My Journey by BlairThe Conscience of a Conservative by GoldwaterLocke (Second Treatise of Government , A Letter Concerning Tolerance )Parliament of Whores, Eat the Rich, On Wealth, Peace Kills by O’RourkeIn Defense of Globalization by BhagwatiNovus Ordo Seclorum by McDonaldBasic Economics, Civil Rights by SowellThe Next 100 Years by FriedmanThe Mystery of Capital by de SotoThe Road to Serfdom by HayekCapitalism and Freedom and Free to Choose by FriedmanNew Threats To Freedom edited by BellowA Philosophical Enquiry into the Sublime and Beautiful; Reflections on the Revolution in France by BurkeThe General Theory by KeynesThe Origins of Political Order, Political Order and Decay by FukuyamaBourgeois Virtues, Bourgeois Equality, Bourgeois Dignity by Deirdre McCloskeyCapital by Marx The Conservative Mind by Kirk

Other nonfictionPower of Myth by Joseph CampbellThe Universe in a Nutshell by HawkingFreakanomics by Levitt & DubnerThe Art of War by Sun TzuScratch beginnings by ShepardThe Tao of Physics by CapraShadowplay by AsquithHuman Excellence by MuarryThe Better Angles of Our Nature by Pinker48 Laws of Power by GreeneThe Story of Western Science by Bauer

Pleasure readingMan in the High Castle by DickBeat to Quarters, Ship of the Line, Flying Colours by ForesterThe Road to Gandolfo, Bourne Trilogy by LudlumBig Trouble by BarryEaters of the Dead, State of Fear by CrichtonRed Storm Rising by ClancyI, Claudius by GravesThe Walking Drum by L’AmourGates of Fire by PressfieldThe Scarlet Pimpernel by Ozcry It and The Green Mile by KingThe Agony and the Ecstasy by StonePillars of the Earth by FollettThe Historian by KostovaGrail Quest by CornwallThe Thirteenth Tale by StterfieldLamb, The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove, Vampire Trilogy, The Stupidest Angel and Fool by Moore

Sci fi/Fantasy Mists of Avalon, The Forrest House by Marion Zimmer BradleyThe Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (et. al)Dune Series by Frank Herbert (et. al)The Sword of Truth Series by Terry GoodkindWorks of Robert Heinlein (esp. Stranger in a Strange Land, Puppet Master, Starship Troopers, Moon is a Harsh Mistress, and Double Star)Good Omens by Gaiman and PratchettWatership Down by AdamsEnder’s Game by CardAmerican Gods by GaimanAnthem, Atlas Shrugged by RandHitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Adams1984 by George Orwell2001–Clarke

Spiritual The Robe by DouglasLost Horizon by HiltonGod Talks with Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita by YoganadaThe Second Coming of Christ by YoganandaThe Tao Te Ching (best to read at least two translations)The Alchemist, Veronica Decides to Die by CoelhoAutobiography of a Yogi by YoganandaEvidence of the Afterlife by LongA Course in MiraclesThe Messengers by IngramThe Celestine Prophecy by RedfieldLife before Life by TuckerJonathan Livingston Seagull and Illusions by BachSiddartha by HesseKoranThe Book of CertitudeHoly BibleBook of Mormon

PoetryThe Prophet, The Broken Wings, Song of Man by GibranLeaves of Grass by Whitman (esp. Preface, Song of Myself, I hear America Singing, Corinna’s Going A-Maying,When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer, O Me! O Life!, O Captain! My Captain!)Works of Tennyson (especially The Lady of Shalott, Ulysses, Charge of the Light Brigade, For I dipped into the Future, In Memoriam A.H.H., Crossing the Bar, Ulysses)Works of T.S. Eliot (especially The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Wasteland, Hollow Men, Preludes-, Four Quartets)Divine Comedy by Dante (I like the Mandelbaum translation) Metamorphoses by Ovid Hesperides and Nobel Numbers by Herrick (esp. To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time, Argument of his book, Delight in Disorder, To His Conscience, Upon Julia’s ClothesFaust by Goethe Part I Part II Works of Sappho, Hafiz, Rumi, Li Po, Tu Fu (best to read several translations)Tagore (esp. Gitanjali)Spencer– Amoretti (Sonnets 1,8, 10, 35, 37, 67,68, 70,75, 79)Sidney —Astrophil & Stella (Sonnets 1,6,9,15, 31,39,45,52,69,71,72,87,89,108)The Passionate Shepherd to His Love—MarloweThe Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd—RaleighShakespeare’s Sonnets (all them)Meditation 17, Holy Sonnet 10, The Bait—DonneTo a Mouse, To a Louse, Auld Lang Syne. A Red Red Rose–BurnsThe Lamb, The Tyger—BlakeRime of the Ancient Mariner, Kubla Khan—ColeridgeShe Walks in Beauty Like the Night, When We Two Parted, Darkness, We’ll Go No More A Roving, When A Man Hath No Freedom to Fight for at Home—ByronA Little Learning is a Dangerous Thing—PopeThe Measure of a Man—UnknownInvictus–HenleyPrayer of St. Francis of Assisi—Unknown (but probably not St. Francis)Ozymandias, The Flight of Love, To—, —ShellyOde on a Grecian Urn, La Belle Dame Sans Merci—KeatsSea Fever–MasefieldMy Last Duchess, Andrea del Sarto, Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister—BrowningSonnet 43—Barret BrowningRemember, Up-hill, Echo, Promises like Pie-Crust, Lord thou thyself art love,—C.G. RossettiSudden Light, The House of Life, Soul’s Beauty—D.G. RossettiThe New Colossus–LazarusSecond Coming, Sailing to Byzantium, When you are Old, Lake Island of Inishfree—YeatsDo Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night—ThomasWork—Angela MorganThe Highwayman–NoyesCasey at Bat—ThayerJabberwocy, Walrus and the Carpenter, The Hunting of the Snark–CarrollDream Deferred, I too sing America– HughesThe Road Not Taken, Birches, Mending Wall, Fire and Ice, Out, Out–Frost

Short StoriesWilde (The Carterville ghost , The model millionaire , The nightingale and the rose )Poe (Masque of the Red Death . Tell tale heart , Cask of Amontillado , Fall of the house if of usher , The Purloined Letter ,The Thousand and Second Tale of Scheherazade , Pit and the Pendulum , Mertzengerstein , The Duc De L’omlette , The black cat , The Murders of the Rue Morgue , Van Kempelen and his discovery , Mesmeric revelation )Hawthorne (My Kinsman Major Molineux , Young Goodman Brown , Rappacini’s Daughter , Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment , The Snow Image , The Minister’s Black Veil , The Maypole of Merry Mount , The Celestial Railroad , Sister Years , The New Adam and Eve , The Artist of the Beautiful )O. Henry ( Lickpenny Lover , The Gift of the Magi ,After Twenty Years , The Last Leaf , The Cop and the Anthem , The Clarion Call , The Skylight Room , The Buyer from Cactus City , The Duplicity of the Hargraves , The Furnished Room , Witches loaves , The Third Ingredient , Spring time a la Carte , The Green Door , By Courier, The Romance of the Busy Broker, One Thousand Dollars, Tobin’s Palm)Lovecraft—(The Cats of Ultar , The Outsider , Beyond the wall of sleep , Hypnos , The call of Cuthulu , Dunwich horror , Dagon)EM Forrester (The Other side of the Hedge , The Machine Stops )Edith Wharton –The fullness of life Collins–Mr. Lismore and the Widow Bradbury—Exiles, Sound of thunderHans Christian Anderson –( In a thousand years , Little mermaid )Ambrose Bierce–Occurrence at owl creek bridgeConnell–The most dangerous game Thousand and One nights–Aladdin and his magic lamp The necklace by Maupassant Anthony Hope–The Philosophy in the Apple Orchard Doyle (The Red Headed League , Scandal in Bohemia)Gilman–The Yellow Wallpaper Harrison Bergeron by VonnegutThe story of an hour by Kate Chopin The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Rikki tiki tavi by KiplingThe ones who walk away from Omelas by Le Guin Bartley the scrivener by MelvilleThe lady or the tiger by Frank Stockton Abbot–FlatlandJericho Road by Henry van dyke Henlein– (The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag, All you zombies, By his bootstraps, Waldo, Beyond this horizon)Philip K. Dick (We can remember it for you wholesale, Paycheck, Second Variety, The Minority Report, The Golden Man, Variable Man)William Faulkner (A Rose for Emily, The Tall Men, Shingles for the Lord, Shall not Perish, Elly, Uncle Willy, That will be Fine, That Evening Sun, Red Leaves, A Justice, A Courtship, Lo!, Ad Astra, All the Dead Pilots, Wash, Mountain Victory, Beyond)Mark Twain (The celebrated jumping frog of Calaveras County, Diary of Adam and Eve)Washington Irving (Sleepy Hollow, , The Devil and Tom Walker )Gelett Burgess–The number Thirteen , The MacDougal street affair Lord Dunsany– The bureau d’exchange de Maux , The Exiles club , The Sword of Walleran The mortal immortal byMary Shelly The Adventure of the Snowing Globe By F. AnsteyThe Sleeper and Spindle by GaimanMark Helprin (Katherine comes to yellow sky, Ellis island, Tamar)

PodcastsThe History of Rome, Revolutions

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planetinformation · 6 years

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Martin Landau Dead: 'Ed Wood,' 'Mission: Impossible' Actor Was 89

http://styleveryday.com/2017/07/17/martin-landau-dead-ed-wood-mission-impossible-actor-was-89/

Martin Landau Dead: 'Ed Wood,' 'Mission: Impossible' Actor Was 89

His résumé includes ‘Mission: Impossible,’ ‘Tucker: The Man and His Dream’ and ‘North by Northwest.’ It does not, however, include ‘Star Trek.’

Martin Landau, the all-purpose actor who showcased his versatility as a master of disguise on the Mission: Impossible TV series and as a broken-down Bela Lugosi in his Oscar-winning performance in Ed Wood, has died. He was 89.

Landau, who shot to fame by playing a homosexual henchman in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 classic North by Northwest, died Saturday of “unexpected complications” after a brief stay at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, his rep confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.

After he quit CBS’ Mission: Impossible after three seasons in 1969 because of a contract dispute, Landau’s career was on the rocks until he was picked by Francis Ford Coppola to play Abe Karatz, the business partner of visionary automaker Preston Tucker (Jeff Bridges), in Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988).

Landau received a best supporting actor nomination for that performance, then backed it up the following year with another nom for starring as Judah Rosenthal, an ophthalmologist who has his mistress (Angelica Huston) killed, in Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989).

Landau lost out on Oscar night to Kevin Kline and Denzel Washington, respectively, in those years but finally prevailed for his larger-than-life portrayal of horror-movie legend Lugosi in the biopic Ed Wood (1994), directed by Tim Burton.

Landau also starred as Commander John Koenig on the 1970s science-fiction series Space: 1999 opposite his Mission: Impossible co-star Barbara Bain, his wife from 1957 until their divorce in 1993.

A former newspaper cartoonist, Landau turned down the role of Mr. Spock on the NBC series Star Trek, which went to Leonard Nimoy (who later effectively replaced Landau on Mission: Impossible after Trek was canceled).

Landau also was an admired acting teacher who taught the craft to the likes of Jack Nicholson. And in the 1950s, he was best friends with James Dean and, for several months, the boyfriend of Marilyn Monroe. “She could be wonderful, but she was incredibly insecure, to the point she could drive you crazy,” he told The New York Times in 1988.

Landau was born in Brooklyn on June 20, 1928. At age 17, he landed a job as a cartoonist for the New York Daily News, but he turned down a promotion and quit five years later to pursue acting.

“It was an impulsive move on my part to do that,” Landau told The Jewish Journal in 2013. “To become an actor was a dream I must’ve had so deeply and so strongly because I left a lucrative, well-paying job that I could do well to become an unemployed actor. It’s crazy if you think about it. To this day, I can still hear my mother’s voice saying, ‘You did what?!’ ”

In 1955, he auditioned for Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio (choosing a scene from Clifford Odets’ Clash by Night against the advice of friends), and he and Steve McQueen were the only new students accepted that year out of the 2,000-plus aspirants who had applied.

With his dark hair and penetrating blue eyes, Landau found success on New York stages in Goat Song, Stalag 17 and First Love. Hitchcock caught his performance on opening night opposite Edward G. Robinson in a road production of Middle of the Night, the first Broadway play written by Paddy Chayefsky, and cast him as the killer Leonard in North by Northwest.

In Middle of the Night, “I played a very macho guy, 180 degrees from Leonard, who I chose to play as a homosexual — very subtly — because he wanted to get rid of Eva Marie Saint with such a vengeance,” he recalled in a 2012 interview.

As the ally of James Mason and nemesis of Saint and Cary Grant, Landau plummets to his death off Mount Rushmore in the movie’s climactic scene. With his slick, sinister gleam and calculating demeanor, he attracted the notice of producers and directors.

He went on to perform for such top directors as Joseph L. Mankiewicz in Cleopatra (1963) — though he said most of his best work on that film was sent to the cutting-room floor — George Stevens in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), John Sturges in The Hallelujah Trail (1965) and Henry Hathaway in Nevada Smith (1966).

Landau met Bruce Geller, the eventual creator of Mission: Impossible, when he invited the writer to an acting class. Bain was in the class as well, and Geller wrote for them the parts of spies Rollin Hand and Cinnamon Carter. Landau earned an Emmy nomination for each of his three seasons on the series.

He could have starred in another series.

“I turned down Star Trek. It would’ve been torturous,” he said during a 2011 edition of the PBS documentary series Pioneers of Television. “I would’ve probably died playing that role. I mean, even the thought of it now upsets me. It was the antithesis of why I became an actor. I mean, to play a character that Lenny (Nimoy) was better suited for, frankly, a guy who speaks in a monotone who never gets excited, never has any guilt, never has any fear or was affected on a visceral level. Who wants to do that?”

Landau found a kindred spirit in Burton, who also cast him in Sleepy Hollow (1999) and as the voice of a Vincent Price-like science teacher in the horror-movie homage, Frankenweenie (2012).

“Tim and I don’t finish a sentence,” Landau told the Los Angeles Times in 2012. “There’s something oddly kinesthetic about it. We kind of understand each other.”

Landau played puppet master Geppetto in a pair of Pinocchio films and appeared in other films including Pork Chop Hill (1959), City Hall (1996), The X-Files: Fight the Future (1998), Rounders (1998), Edtv (1999), The Majestic (2001), Lovely, Still (2008) and Mysteria (2011).

On television, he starred in the Twilight Zone episodes “Mr. Denton on Doomsday” and “The Jeopardy Room,” played the title role in the 1999 Showtime telefilm Bonnano: A Godfather’s Story and could be found on The Untouchables, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Maverick, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Wagon Train, I Spy and The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

More recently, Landau earned Emmy noms for playing the father of Anthony LaPaglia’s character on CBS’ Without a Trace and guest-starring as an out-of-touch movie producer on HBO’s Entourage. He portrayed billionaire J. Howard Marshall, the 90-year-old husband of Anna Nicole Smith, in a 2013 Lifetime biopic about the sex symbol, and starred for Atom Egoyan opposite Christopher Plummer in Remember (2015).

And Landau appeared opposite Paul Sorvino in The Last Poker Game, which premiered at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

Landau worked as director, teacher and executive director at the Actors Studio West. He has been credited with helping to guide the talents of Huston, Warren Oates and Harry Dean Stanton in addition to Nicholson.

A documentary about his life, An Actor’s Actor: The Life of Martin Landau, is in the works.

Survivors include his daughters Susie (a writer-producer) and Juliet (an actress-dancer) from his marriage to Bain; sons-in-law Roy and Deverill; sister Elinor; granddaughter Aria; and godson Dylan. Donations can be made to the Actors Studio West.

TMZ first reported the news of Landau’s death.

#Actor #Dead #Ed #Impossible #Landau #Martin #Mission #Wood

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