#every single mythological hero: daddy issues

[incorrect-galavant]

ignoring all historical accuracy and the existence of different time periods, i think galavant should exist in the same universe as every single other legend/epic/myth and happen at the exact same time as them

season three: Galavant fights Beowulf

[hyperfixated-fan]

Hello, Ninjago fandom, while we impatiently wait for the second half of Crystalized to be released, may I interest you in some good old nostalgic shows with familiar Canadian voice actors to pass the time. Ironically, Sam Vincent (Lloyd’s VA) is in every single one of my suggested shows and in 3 of the 4, he’s got a lead role. XD

Also, I need more people to revive some of these old fandoms! Please hear me out while I info dump! The options get better as we go along since I firmly believe in saving the best for last. I hope you like my long ramble.

First off, we have Slugterra:

This show had a pretty good run with multiple seasons and specials. It’s a good action show and enjoyable for passing the time. I binge watched it while reading through my driver’s training stuff. A solid Saturday morning-esque show.

As far as notable characters and voice actors go, we’ve got:

Eli Shane voiced by Sam Vincent (Lloyd’s VA): he’s the main guy and very comparable to Lloyd since he’s got daddy issues. Poor guy spends forever trying to locate his dad while at the same time filling the role as hero and protector of the Caverns. Also, he’s the reason this show got so many female viewers. Those simps.

Dr. Thaddeus Blakk voiced by Mark Oliver (Garmadon’s VA): he’s the typical big bad villain type. A bit bland but it’s hilarious to listen to if you’re a Ninjago fan because all you end up hearing is Lloyd vs. Garmadon half the time.

Kord Zane voiced by Andrew Francis (Morro’s VA): he’s a troll and the muscle and mechanic of the main group. Not much to say about him. He’s a sweet, protective dude. Also, I just like that he’s got the name Kord Zane since I’m a huge Zane fan.

Trixie Sting voiced by Shannon Chan-Kent (Racer Seven’s VA): she’s neat and seems to be the second in command to Eli. She’s you’re typical strong female character type. Good news is that there’s no annoying trope that she is in love with the main guy though.

Pronto voiced by Lee Tockar (Borg’s VA): he fits the comedic relief trope really well. Unfortunately, he’s borderline annoying for me. I don’t have anything really notable to say about him. You just gotta tolerate him. Occasionally he has his uses.

Junjie voiced by Vincent Tong (Kai’s VA): he’s not a main character but I really love him and the Asian influence the show goes through when he’s around. Cool dude that also has so much trauma packed into him when you think about all he went through. You’ll understand if you watch.

Burpy is the iconic slug of the series. A 10/10 character. Loyal as ever and super adorable. Sassy when he wants to be.

Pros of this show:

Adorable side character slugs with awesome powers

Elemental slugs!!

a whole arc about trying to free a place from an evil emperor (sound familiar?)

Teaches against animal cruelty.

Shadow creatures that for once aren’t evil villains.

So many other familiar side characters with Ninjago VA’s. It’s honestly just fun to see how many familiar voices you can pick out.

Interesting concept, lore, and world building if you dig deep enough and overanalyze everything.

Cool fights and slug shootouts.

Action with a side of found family is always a plus.

Solid team dynamics and brotherly teasing.

A bonus is that there’s very little romance in this show. Very refreshing to see.

Next we have a forgotten classic, Class of the Titans:

This show had two seasons and had a decent ending. It definitely deserved more run time because there really aren’t that many animated shows about Greek Mythology that are kid friendly. A big main crew with a few familiar Ninjago voice actors sprinkled in for the fun of it. Another Saturday morning-esque show but with a better feel of having an overarching plot than Slugterra did in my opinion.

They have so many character tropes that create the whole main crew so I’m going to try to go through them quickly.

Jay voiced by Kirby Morrow (Cole’s VA): the level-headed leader. Very similar to how Cole started out as team leader. Also, it’s just funny for Ninjago fans to see a character named Jay be voiced by Cole’s voice actor.

Theresa voiced by Kelly Sheridan (Gayle Gossip’s VA or better known for playing Barbie): a psychic seer who is Jay’s love interest (reminds me of Barbie and the Nutcracker solely bc of the voice actors). I wish I liked her more, especially since she’s a seer like Zane. Honestly, neither girl characters really stand out to me but they’re nice to have around.

Atlanta voiced by Meghan Black in season one: the action archer girl who has super speed. She’s neat and very strong-willed. (Side note: I find it funny that every main character girl I’ve mentioned so far are all redheads.)

Odie voiced by Doron Bell Jr. (Griffin’s VA): the smart tech guy. He has his uses and sassy moments. It’s also funny to see what was considered high tech back in the mid 2000s.

Herry voiced by Ty Olsson: your typical strong, protective, big brother guy trope. He’s got a really awesome, scrappy grandma.

Neil voiced by Ted Cole: the self-absorbed guy who serves as comedic relief a good portion of the time. Some might find him annoying but he has his high points and is genuinely funny. He’s not a fighter at all and is dubbed “the lucky one.” And boy, is he lucky indeed.

Archie voiced by Sam Vincent (Lloyd’s VA): my personal favorite. He’s an occasional jerk but he’s genuinely an adorkable guy. I relate to his whole “wonky ankle” thing, but he’s a great warrior regardless (and the second fastest on the team? How?). He’s got a huge crush on Atlanta which is amusing and sometimes cringy to watch.

Cronus voiced by David Kaye: the main villain of the show. Typical wicked guy who wants to end the kids who are prophesied to defeat him. I know there’s a good number of simps for him. It’s hilarious how much this god loathes this group of kids but is also genuinely terrified of them, especially Jay.

Pros:

If you’re missing Cole’s voice actor, this is the show to watch.

The entire show is free on YouTube Very imaginative spin on some of the Greek gods like Dionysius to make it kid friendly. And wait til you see Hades.

Still, they aren’t afraid to show the gods can be petty and vengeful.

Greek mythology! What more could you want?

I personally love the way they showcase so many Greek characters and creatures. Is it sometimes off? Yes. Is it still enjoyable to watch? YES!

Interesting battles and solutions.

Will show death and the occasional bloody injury. (Not overtly graphic though so don’t worry.)

The poor kids, similar to Lloyd, are prophecy bound to defeat the evil villain and thus have their lives turned upside to become heroes fighting monsters. Theresa eventually throws a somewhat justified hissy fit over this.

Enjoyable characters and team dynamics. So much sibling teasing between everyone and it’s so relatable to watch.

Also, they’re just teens being teens so they do stupid stuff sometimes and that just makes it all the more fun to watch.

A bonus, there’s two girls on the team rather than your stereotypical one main girl trope.

A big favorite of mine, Storm Hawks:

Oh look, another red head character with green eyes. And he’s the lead character voiced by Sam Vincent! XD Here me out though, this show is actually great. If you can get past the funky character designs and animation, it’s a genuinely fun show. It’s so imaginative and for me, it ticks all the right tropes. I would like to say that if you’re a Ninjago fan, you just might be able to like Storm Hawks. It’s a show that I rewatch again and again and still enjoy it. Fans of it will say it ended to soon with only two seasons and an open conclusion that leaves room for more adventures. I wish there was more. The flow was good and I felt it followed a decent overarching plot with quirky filler episodes thrown in to establish the characters more.

Now as far as main characters go, we have a good mix of interesting ones. Yes, they fall into stereotypical archetypes but for some reason, I really like them:

Aerrow voiced by Sam Vincent (Lloyd’s VA: the young, ambitious Sky Knight of the Storm Hawks. He’s your typical, altruistic hero/leader/chosen one. I love how you can really see how much he cares for his team. He’s got a big legacy to live up to and you know what, he’s absolutely demolishing everyone’s limited expectations of him. This boy survived multiple fights with the supposedly deadliest warrior in the world.

Piper voiced by Chiara Zanni: she’s the intelligent one of the bunch and typically possesses the one brain cell they all share. She’s the navigator, crystal expert, and the second in command. In short, she’s an adorable nerd and my favorite despite having some out of character moments. I also like the little something something she’s got going on with Aerrow. Yes, it’s cliché but it’s open enough that you can interpret it romantically or platonically. And honestly, the way Piper is written, you could almost say she’s bi. But holy cow, that finale with her and Aerrow was everything! Love it.

Junko voiced by Colin Murdock (Ed’s VA aka Jay’s dad): the stereotypical gentle giant type. He’s sweet and strong but constantly doubts his ability because he was bullied. He’s similar to Kord from Slugterra in that he’s got muscle but also serves as the airship’s mechanic. He has a couple of spotlight episodes that do his character justice.

Finn voiced by Matt Hill (Hyper-Sonic’s VA aka that random disco head racer from Prime Empire): on the outside, when paired with Junko, they typically serve as the meat headed comic relief. However, when it comes down to it, Finn is selfless and will make the right choice as episodes have shown. He can get annoying but I highly appreciate that he knows how to buckle down and get a job done and he truly is a great sharpshooter.

Stork voiced by Scott McNeil (VA for many villains in Ninjago): one of the fan favorites for his doom and gloom sort of attitude. He’s the pilot and gives off emo vibes to me. A very relatable character for most pessimists. He’s the oldest of the crew full of kids but he sticks it out through all their wild adventures even if he is completely terrified while trying to survive. Still, he’s got a beserk button so don’t you ever think of touch his precious ship, the Condor. He can and will take out a complete armada.

Radarr voiced by Asaph Fipke: he’s Aerrow’s co-pilot and animal companion of the show. He’s very scrappy and has good intuition. A valuable member of the Storm Hawks. He even gets a couple of his own episodes to shine in.

Now, I gotta mention the villains too since there is a quirky handful of them:

Cyclonis voiced by Lenore Zann: she’s the lead villain and ruler of her kingdom at just 14 years old. She’s very powerful and very intimidating when she wants to be since she’s got a bunch of wacky crystal powers like Piper. I find her interesting just because she’s a young girl who serves as the main big bad villain versus previous shows where it’s a broad-shouldered middle aged guy in a black suit. I wish they showed more on her backstory but a decent villain nonetheless. Comparable to Harumi in that she’s a female kid villain who is deep down broken and lonely and in desperate need of therapy and a friend.

Dark Ace voiced by Sam Vincent (Lloyd’s VA): is the second in command to Cyclonis and is extremely loyal to her. He’s constantly getting beat by Aerrow and can never manage to exterminate him much to his annoyance. It’s hilarious watching their fights because it’s just Sam Vincent alternating between tones. He’s got cool red eyes and I do believe he also has a bit of a following among the female fans.

Ravess voiced by Cathy Weseluck (Patty Keys VA aka that random sales lady): she’s an archer who has a penchant for the violin. I love her leitmotif whenever she comes onscreen. Ambitious but still scared to turn on her 14 year old boss. She does play a helpful role I towards the finale.

Snipe voiced by Colin Murdock (Ed’s VA): he’s the brother of Ravess and serves as the big dumb muscle guy. I don’t really care for him but his sibling interactions with Ravess are funny.

Raptors voiced by a bunch of familiar VAs: I just had to mention this reptilian group because they are reminiscent of the Serpentine from Ninjago.

Pros:

Great side characters and fun episodes.

Good action and adventure vibes

The whole show is free on YouTube.

Again, world building and lore is very imaginative. It deserved a larger budget and more seasons.

Has your typical chosen/prophesied one narrative that we’ve all come to either love or hate.

Crystal magic (kinda like how we’re now on the season Crystalized)

Adorable main cast who all get a chance in the spotlight, and even the annoying ones do have their high points like I mentioned.

Ninjago VA’s are everywhere in this show too. And with the limited voices they have, they really make the most of it but it’s hilarious to see VA’s essentially talking to themselves onscreen.

And once again, there’s top notch team dynamics in this show with good sibling-like interactions between characters. They squabble but still make up and really care for each other’s wellbeing.

Found family trope is in this and it’s great and I’m a sucker for it. It’s heavily implied the three human kid heroes are orphans so there’s that lovely dose of angst I always love.

Something about Aerrow being a leader just hits right. He’s a great one even if he is just 14 years old.

Good balance between high stakes and humor. The main characters are kids and heroes and it shows with all the shenanigans they manage to throw themselves into.

Great finale. Trust me. The show gets better as you continue to watch it and the episodes get less disjointed.

Friends to lovers or just really close friends trope between Aerrow and Piper. I cannot stop gushing about how natural their dynamic feels and how they play off each other’s energy beautifully. They communicate openly and really well with each other. And if romance isn’t your thing, their bond can totally be seen as platonic.

Cyclonis is a curious villain character that is different from your stereotypical guy cartoon villain. I like her and her powers.

Huge bonus that Ninjago has struggled with doing well, love triangles. Storm Hawks has no place for that. In fact, it subverts that trope entirely! Piper does not act all jealous whenever there is another girl character around and this is a huge breath of fresh air from the pettiness many shows contain. Aerrow occasionally acts wary and annoyed when Piper gushes over stuck up guys, but it’s proven justified and he isn’t overprotective or obnoxious about it. Just cautious and comforting when things do go south.

And lastly, this underrated masterpiece, The Deep:

Great news, this show is still ongoing and recently released their 4th season. It’s got a decent overarching narrative of searching for a lost underwater city Lemuria. There are many filler episodes, but trust me, they are fun. Not gonna lie, I’m a huge sucker for any ocean animated shows. This one is just so funny and relatable. It’s got great family dynamics with many familiar Ninjago voice actors. The adventures and creatures are all so cool! It ties myth, mystery, and science all into one great show. The sci-fi fantasy vibe is amazing. But basically, my liking of this show is hugely centered on not just the creativity of it but the strong family dynamics that glues the entire show together. Unlike most shows where parents are absent or there’s only one, this cartoon portrays a lovely married couple and their kids. Seriously, how often does the chosen one/protagonist of the show actually get a decent childhood with loving parents?!

With characters, we have a small main cast with a handful of recurring side characters. This means, you gotta love the main characters:

Antaeus Nekton aka Ant voiced by Vincent Tong (Kai’s VA): he’s the excitable main protagonist child and chosen one of the family. He’s extremely curious and gets into trouble often, but fortunately for him, he’s got an intelligent engineering mind that helps him get out of trouble… most times. Fortunately for him though, he’s got a great family backing him up. I find him to be a likable character as far as protagonists go and good representation of annoying younger siblings.

Fontaine Nekton voiced by Ashleigh Ball (Sally’s VA aka that pink-haired girl from Crystalized): she’s the older sister character. Sometimes she acts as the only voice of reason onboard the ship. I find her extremely relatable. It’s clear that although Ant annoys her, she still very much loves him and will do anything to protect him and that is so wholesome. She’s got a crush on Finn who’s a slick teen pirate voiced by Sam Vincent (Lloyd’s VA) and most of the fandom really loves the flirty dynamic they have. I gotta admit, they are pretty cute together.

William Nekton aka Will voiced by Michael Dobson (VA for many Ninjago side characters): he is the dad and the muscle of the crew. Still, like everyone else, he’s smart. He’s super reasonable and a really great example of a good father and husband. He has his funny moments and craziness too though.

Kaiko Nekton voiced by Kathleen Barr (Misako’s VA): this woman is my personal favorite and I could gush on and on about how totally awesome she is. Unlike Misako, Kaiko is the most awesome mother ever to her kids and is fiercely protective of them. She has a wide skill set from being a submarine pilot, mechanic, and marine biologist. In short, she’s amazing and I’m a huge simp for her.

Jeffrey: he’s the adorable animal sidekick. He’s an intelligent, expressive fish and has helped saved the Nekton family on multiple occasions. Very relatable because he is cookie-motivated. Smarter than your average wannabe pirate.

Nereus voiced by Lee Tockar (Borg’s VA): he’s your typical mystical old dude with a long white beard. Essentially he’s the Wu of this show. Funny but infuriatingly cryptic at times.

Pros:

This show was based off comics so you can go read those. (Kaiko gets an awesome moment in those that I really wish they would have kept in the tv show.)

Vaguely based off the Incredibles.

Non-absent parents who are top notch and actually parent their kids fairly.

Submarines and marine life are always a plus in my book.

Family dynamics are on point. Seriously, this is top notch stuff right here. Also, sibling dynamics are so sweet.

Representation of a good solid marriage. Bonus points because it’s interracial, making their kids mixed. All-round good representation.

Good musical score. (Not as good as Ninjago’s but still pretty good.)

The whole family is smart and super skilled but it shows that they still make mistakes and are flawed humans just like everyone else. Even the parents aren’t shown to be completely infallible and land in their own sticky situations plenty of times and I find that super neat and good of the writers to do.

Great mind-boggling adventures.

The villains are wacky yet endearing sometimes.

There’s villain that is reminiscent of Morro. He’s even got the same voice actor and goes through the same arc of being all jealous of the chosen one.

”Have faith in the fish.” Jeffrey is great animal companion. Who knew you could actually make a fish work as a good character.

Just huge bonus overall with this show because of the solid family representation we’ve got going on here.

Basically, to sum everything up, GO WATCH THESE SHOWS! And let me know if you enjoy them, I would love to hear your thoughts on them.

[theliterateape]

I Like to Watch | Zack Snyder’s Justice League

by Don Hall

Mythology is fun.

As a kid I loved reading Edith Hamilton’s book on the Greek gods and the myths. Hercules, Perseus, Apollo, and Hera—this fell completely in line with my love for superhero comics. The strangely petty human traits of envy, greed, and lust combined with the power to level cities make for some great storytelling.

Zeus was basically Harvey Weinstein in the retroactive revision we’re mired in today. If Harvey could’ve changed into a golden animal and boned unsuspecting ladies looking for careers in Hollywood I’m pretty certain he would. The gods and demi-gods of the Greeks dealt with daddy issues, mommy issues, bad relationships, and fighting. Lots of fighting. Sometimes for the good of humanity but more often for the glory of winning.

Zach Snyder is in the business of tackling myths and reframing them with a style all his own. His career has become its own myth.

From Dawn of the Dead (not so much a reboot of Romero's zombie mythology but a philosophical reimagining of the genre that arguably jumpstarted The Hollywood fascination with it), 300 (a borderline homoerotic take on the myth of the Greek underdog), and Watchmen (a ridiculously ambitious attempt to put one of the most iconic takedowns on the potential fascism of the superhero legend machine ever written) to his nearly single-handed hack at answering the Marvel juggernaut with Man of Steel and Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, Snyder is in the artistic business of subverting and re-envisioning the mythologies we embrace without even seeing them as such.

Snyder's style is operatic. It is on a grand scale even in the most mundane moments. The guy loves slow motion like Scorcese loves mobsters and Italian food. When you're tackling big themes with larger than life stories, the epic nature of his vision makes sense and has alienated a good number of audience members. With such excess, there are bound to be missteps but I'd argue that his massive take on these characters he molds from common understanding and popular nomenclature elevates them to god-like stature.

Fans of Moore's Watchmen have much to complain about Snyder's adaptation. The titular graphic novel is almost impossible to put in any other form than the one Moore intended and yet, Snyder jumped in feet-first and created a living, breathing representation of most, if not all, of the source material's intent. Whether you dig on it or not, it's hard to avoid acknowledging that the first five minutes of Watchmen is a mini-masterpiece of style, storytelling, and epic tragedy wrapped up in a music video.

Despite a host of critical backlash for his one fully original take, Sucker Punch is an amazing thing to see. More a commentary on video game enthusiasm with its lust for hot animated chicks and over-the-top violence that a celebration of cleavage and guns, the film is crazily entertaining. For those who hated the ending, he told you in the title what his plan was all along.

The first movie I saw in the theaters that tried to take a superhero mythology and treat it seriously (for the most part) was Richard Donner's Superman: The Movie. Never as big a fan of the DC characters as I have been of Marvel, it was still extraordinary to see a character I had only really known in pages to be so fully realized. Then came Burton's Batman movies. The superhero film was still an anomaly but steam was gaining. Things changed with Bryan Singer's X-Men in 2000, then Raimi's Spiderman, and those of us who grew up with our pulpy versions of Athena, Hermes, and Hades were rewarded with Nolan's Batman Begins. A far cry from the tongue-in-cheek camp of the 1966 TV Batman, Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne was a serious character and his tale over three films is a tragic commentary filled with the kind of death and betrayal and triumph befitting the grand narrative he deserved.

I loved Singer's Superman Returns in 2006 because it was such a love letter to the 1978 film (down to the opening credits) but by then, the MCU was taking over the world.

Snyder's first of what turns out to be an epic storyline involving perhaps seven or eight movies was Man of Steel. It was fun and, while I had my issues with the broodiness of Kal El, the odd take on Jonathan Kent, and a redheaded Lois Lane, I had no issue with Superman snapping Zod's neck. Darker and more tragic than any other version of the Kryptonian, it was still super entertaining.

Then came Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. By 2016, Marvel had codified their formula of serious characters wrestling with serious issues of power and responsibility peppered with lots of good humor and bright colors. Snyder's desaturated pallete and angst-filled demi-gods was not the obvious road to financial competition.

I'll confess, I hated it. BvS felt half-rendered. Lex Luthor was kind of superficial and played as a kind of Joker. The whole Bruce Wayne wants to kill Superman thing felt undeveloped and the "Martha" moment was just stupid.

When Joss Whedon's version of Snyder's Justice League came out in 2017, I was primed for it to be a turd and I wasn't surprised. So much of it didn't work on any level. I dismissed it as DC trying and failing miserably and was comforted by the coming of Thanos.

Following Thanos and the time heist was COVID. Suddenly, we were internationally sidelined and the movie theater industry caved in. Streaming services started popping up like knock-off smartphones and Hollywood was reeling, doing anything and everything to find a way back. Since Whedon's disastrous helming of Snyder's third act, fans online had been demanding to #ReleasetheSnyderCut but no one was ever really taking them seriously until all movie production was shut down for a year.

The stage was set to remedy a mistake (or at least make some bucks on a do-over of a huge box office failure). Snyder had left the production in part because of the suicide of his daughter and in part due to the constant artistic fights over executives looking for the quippy fun of the MCU but he still had all the original footage. Add to that the broiling accusations that Joss Whedon was "abusive" during the reshoots, the path seemed destined. For an additional $70 million and complete control, Snyder delivered a four hour mega-movie streamed on HBOMax.

Of course, I was going to watch the thing as soon as I could.

The Whedon version opens with an homage to the now dead Superman (including the much maligned digitally erased mustache on Henry Cavill). The SynderCut opens with the death of Superman and the agony of his death scream as it travels across the planet. It's a simple change but exemplifies the very different visions of how this thing is gonna play out.

Snyder doesn't want us to be OK with the power of these beings unleashed. He wants us to feel the damage and pain of death. He wants the results of violence to be as real as he can. When Marvel's Steve Rogers kicks a thug across the room and the thug hits a wall, he crumples and it is effectively over. When Batman does the same thing, we see the broken bones (often in slow motion) and the blood smear on the wall as the thug slides to the ground.

The longer SnyderCut is bloated in some places (like the extended Celtic choir singing Aquaman off to sea or the extended narrations by Wonder Woman which sound slightly like someone trying to explain the plot to Siri). On the other hand, the scene with Barry Allen saving Iris West is both endearing and extraordinary, giving insight to the power of the Flash as well as some essential character-building in contrast to Whedon's comic foil version.

One thing I noticed in this variant is that Zach wants the audience to experience the sequence of every moment as the characters do. An example comes when Diana Prince goes to the crypt to see the very plot she belabors over later. The sequence is simple. She gets a torch and goes down. Most directors which jump cut to the torch. Snyder gives us five beats as she grabs the timber, wraps cloth around the end, soaks it with kerosene, pulls out a box of matches, and lights the torch. Then she goes down the dark passageway.

The gigantic, lush diversity of Snyder’s vision of the DC superhero universe—from the long shots of the sea life in the world of Atlantis to the ancient structures and equipment of Themyscira— is almost painterly. Snyder isn't taking our time; he's taking his time. We are rewarded our patience with a far better backstory for the villain, a beautifully rendered historic battle thwarting Darkseid's initial invasion (including a fucking Green Lantern), and answers to a score of questions set up in both previous films.

Whedon's Bruce Wayne was more Ben Affleck; Snyder's is full-on Frank Miller Batman, the smartest, most brutal fucker in the room. Cyborg, instead of Whedon's sidelined non-character, is now a Frankenstein's monster, grappling with the trade-off between acceptance and enormous power. Wonder Woman is now more in line with the Patty Jenkins version and instead of being told about the loss of Superman, we are forced to live with the anguish of both his mother and Lois Lane in quiet moments of incredible grief.

To be fair to Whedon (something few are willing to do as he is now being castigated not for racism or sexism but for being mean to people) having him come in to throw in some levity and Marvel-esque color to Snyder's Wagnerian pomposity is like hiring Huey Lewis to lighten up Pink Floyd's The Wall or getting Douglas Adams to rewrite Cormac McCarthy's The Road.

I loved Snyder's self-indulgent, mythologic DC universe.

So much so that I then re-watched Man of Steel and then watched the director's version of BvS (which Snyder added approximately 32 minutes). The second film is far better at three hours and Eisenberg's Lex Luthor now makes sense. Then I watched Zach Snyder's Justice League a second time.

After nineteen hours of Snyder's re-imagining of these DC heroes and villains, I saw details that, upon first viewing, are ignored or dismissed, but after seeing them in order and complete, are suddenly consistent and relevant. Like Nolan or Fincher, Snyder defies anyone to eliminate even one piece of his narrative no matter how long. With all the pieces, this is an epic story and the pieces left at the extended epilogue play into a grander narrative we will never see.

Or maybe we will. Who knows these days?

[takaraphoenix]

Loki... Opinions?

I have them. They do not allign with the majority of this fandom that somehow thinks Loki is the greatest villain of the MCU. I mean, he is, but that’s more due to the fact that literally every single MCU villain sucks major balls and less due to the fact that he is an exceptional villain.

Actually, I have different opinions depending on the source-material we’re talking.

Generally, a disclaimer: I have come to accept alien!Loki as not actually Loki. I loathe when fics and stuff call the Asgardians gods, which they are not, they are aliens, thank you very much. They’re not even trying to stick with Norse mythology so there is really no point in pretending they’re the same thing.

There are three different Lokis I have opinions about. Two out of three are actually favorable, so let’s start with the one I dislike and work our way up.

Let’s start with Thor!Loki.

Thor!Loki sucks. I hate that whiny baby so much, to be quite frank. He’s a weak villain and a weak character with weak, whiny motivations. “Daddy didn’t love me enough so I now want world domination” just sucks as a motivation. Like, seriously? If we’d at least see Odin as purposefully abusive and not just as neglective, but damn… Especially with Frigga literally adoring the little fucker. She is such a loving mother that it seriously should count for something. He’s a whiny baby who spends all his time sobbing about how Odin didn’t love him enough and how thus, he doesn’t belong - dude, Thor and Frigga freaking love you. You got a supportive, loving family. Just because one member sucks, that really doesn’t give you the right to throw such an insane temper-tantrum, it’s ridiculous.

He did… get… better in Ragnarök, but really only mildly because I don’t think they really knew how to proceed with a Loki who wants to do good.

Now, obviously, I don’t fully dislike Loki. Otherwise, my first Avengers fic wouldn’t be IronFrost.

I like Avengers!Loki more.

He was suave and had presence. I still think he was a weak-ass villain - seriously, mind-controlling some minor agents and having this convoluted plan that was literally set out to fail? The only logical explanation for that is, still, to me that Loki was mind-controlled by Thanos. After all, I am still missing what Loki would have gained from the Chitauri destroying Earth. Aside from, you know, majorly destroying his brother’s favorite play-ground. But… seriously, not even Loki can be petty enough to allign himself with Thanos for that. Right?

This includes Loki from Infinity War too though. The moment of self-sacrifice, finally coming to terms with being and Odinson, with accepting Thor, with dying a hero’s death. Totally loved it.

So yeah, Avengers!Loki is a vast improvement to Thor!Loki, but he still… lacks.

My favorite Loki is animated.

Earth’s Mightiest Heroes!Loki was the first time I went “Oh, so this is why people like Loki!”. He was a really compelling villain with cool plans and he’s fun.

Now, Avengers Assemble!Loki has to be my favorite Loki though. His double-crossing is far less obvious as in the movies, he is fun, he is wicked, he has far more of an agenda beyond just being petty toward Thor.

He‘s a cool, complex and compelling villain.

I just wish the MCU had done, you know, half a decent job at adapting it, instead of opting to amp up the daddy issues to the max and leave it at that…

But then again, I just have to look at Clint to see that the MCU is definitely not the thing to go to for the best and most compelling adaptation of a character.