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dancing-with-the-madmen · 2 years

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The Massive Aggression of Calico Jack, redux

Several kind souls have complained brought it to my attention that my failure to use cut tags is, in fact, not optimal. I don't have any good reason that I don't use cuts - mostly I'm just throwing these thoughts out here so they don't endlessly rattle around my brain. Frankly, I'm endlessly astonished anyone but me can be arsed to bother wading through them at all. So, after a truly epic tantrum thoughtful consideration, I've decided to edit my longer posts to add cuts. If you've already read them, (may endless blessings rain down upon you) there's no new content (vile lies and calumny. I'm going to take this opportunity to fix errors and add a line here or there, but nothing major). Just making it more scroll-friendly. You'll know it when you see the word "redux" in the title. So without further ado...

I’ve been trying for a while to put my finger on exactly what it is about Our Flag Means Death's Calico Jack that makes me want to crawl out of my skin and smother him to death with my own abandoned ecdysis.

I mean, I normally love me a spurned admirer/cock-blocking ex. Romantic comedies have their beats, and there’s obviously no serious danger the love interest will end up with anyone other than their intended, so I may as well sit back and enjoy the machinations. After all, the course of true love never did run smooth, and these bitches are here to rough some shit up for sure. I also love Will Arnett. Hands down favorite recurring character on 30 Rock. The second best Batman after TAS (fight me). I can even cheerfully bear his Reese’s commercials if I must bear commercials at all.

Real-life Calico Jack? One of my v. favorite pirates. He wore floral-printed cotton from India as a fuck you to the British tax man. He had an affair with Anne Bonny and offered to purchase her divorce when her husband found out. The two ran away together into piracy when Bonny’s husband refused to quit her and had her whipped for her infidelity. Mary Read was part of Jack and Anne’s crew, and possibly their lover. We love a hopeless romantic, possibly polyamorous king.

So what is it about OFMD Calico Jack that makes him so acutely punchable?

I’ve rewatched the episode several times (oh my v. dears, I really hope this write-up is worth it. I am SO BRAVE to subject myself to this), and I think I’ve finally got it. It’s not just that he’s a loud, vulgar, hectoring, drunken jackass of a bird-murderer. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I have as little patience for his brand of mindless destruction and violence-for-violence-sake as Stede does, but that’s not all. It’s that he’s also a master of passive aggression.

Jack does the little whisper-y “Sorry! Sorry!” when Stede wants to know what’s with all the cannon fire, but immediately starts grinning like an unrepentant varlet as soon as he drops his hands.

And then accepts Stede’s introductory handshake with clear derision.

When Stede says he wasn’t expecting guests and there’s only two settings at brekkie, Jack doesn’t wait for Stede to sort things out, and he’s already lowering himself into Stede’s chair by the time Stede invites him to take his spot. He then purposefully keeps steering the conversation to topics that exclude Stede from participating, and cuts Stede short when he tries to reign the conversation back.

He insinuates Stede is less of a pirate for being “store bought”

He refuses to get Stede’s name right, even when corrected. Twice.

And is just SO insincere when calling him back.

And, just, the whole pissing contest scene.

But so what? We’ve had other passive aggressive assholes on the show; Badminton with his cracks about Stede’s tiny dick ship, the French captain’s slurs, Gabriel simpering about Jeff the Accountant’s dining manners. I’m not shedding any tears for their respective fates, but none of them made me want to crawl through the screen and sew all their face holes shut. Because Jack isn’t just passive-aggressive (and aggressive-aggressive), he might just be the most savvy reader-of-rooms we see on the show, and purposefully and systematically leverages his passive aggression to manipulate the actions of those around him for the purpose of making Ed and Stede betray their better selves and make them do the work of driving a wedge between themselves. That was a lot in one sentence. Let me break it down.

Jack uses passive aggression to achieve one of four goals: to nettle, to undermine, (seemingly paradoxically) to reinforce connections, or to coerce. And, if he can manage to achieve different goals for more than one target with the same attack? So much the better. And he’s frankly just astonishingly good at doing so. Like, I’d admire him for it if it didn’t also make me want to make him swallow all of his own teeth.

The basic gameplan goes thusly (this is not a strictly chronological list, a lot of these tactics take place concurrently and recurrently): Stede is the primary target, so Jack nettles him with passive aggressive comments, which puts him on the back foot and undermines his self-confidence. He reinforces his relationship with Ed in ways that excludes Stede and undermines Stede’s relationship with Ed and Ed’s relationship with Stede. Jack uses coercive tactics with Ed and the crew, which undermines Stede’s relationships with them, isolating and othering Stede, which further tanks his mood, which leads him to self-isolate. When Stede eventually lashes out at Ed for falling for Jack’s bullshit, Ed has no idea what’s got Stede so out-of-sorts; Jack has so carefully lead Ed to making the choices that have alienated Stede that they seem like they were Ed’s ideas in the first place. And if Ed has made the choices to do these things, then they are clearly just a reflection of who he is, which, if Stede is lashing out against them, then Stede is rejecting him. Wedge set and match.

So let’s look at the specifics.

Jack’s interactions with Ed are like a masterclass in neurolinguistic programming for evil. First, he plys Ed with booze from the very start. Just look at the bottle in this shot from right after they blow up the dresser drawer.

That bottle or rum is over half gone, and the sky in the background is the peachy-pink of sunrise. This isn’t the bottle Jack had with him in his dinghy; that one he drained and then threw in the air and tried to shoot before coming aboard the Revenge. Which means that they’ve consumed over half the bottle between just the two of them in a very short amount of time. Alcohol, of course, is a social lubricant - the physical warmth it produces mimicking the “warm, fuzzy” feeling of true comradery, and, more importantly, decoupling the decision-making process from inhibition (that is to say, Ed isn’t necessarily doing anything he absolutely wouldn’t otherwise do, but he might otherwise think twice).

But it’s more insidious than just having a few drinks with an old friend. Jack specifically gamifies the consumption of alcohol to reinforce the coupling of the feeling of inebriation with the comradery engendered by teamwork and excitement of success in order to encourage Ed to drink more than he necessarily otherwise would. Ed confirms to Stede during his apology that the idea to use the drawers of the armoire for target practice came from Jack, and we saw that a bullseye meant that Jack had to take a drink, but Ed didn’t. Presumably, there would have been some consequence for a “miss”, and it seems likely that it would be Ed has to take a drink and not Jack. In this way, Jack is able to exert a measure of control over how much Ed is drinking (by missing on purpose) while making it look like the responsibility lies with Ed and his skill as a thrower. This pattern of sneakily controlling Ed’s actions while making it seem like Ed is the one who made or is responsible for the decision will pop up again and again during their interactions.

After the apologies for waking Stede, Jack steps into the space where Ed is gesticulating to make himself readily available to be touched, reenforcing the bond between them, but letting Ed be the one to instigate the touching.

At brekkie, he pours rum into Ed’s teacup without asking or being asked while Ed’s attention is diverted by getting food.

Jack’s collaring of the conversation does not just function as a means of making Stede feel excluded, he’s also refreshing and reinforcing the bonds he and Ed forged under adversity. Talking over Stede also demonstrates that what he has to say is more important than anything Stede might contribute.

Note that just before Jack cut him off, Stede had referred to Ed as Blackbeard (“Blackbeard and I met on a ship”). This may be innocently explained away; if you meet a person from a facet of a close friend’s life with which you do not intersect, you might refer to said friend by their given name instead of a nickname that the other person might not know, for the sake of common frame of reference. But this is the opposite of that - referring to a friend by a nickname instead of the given name that you both presumably know. That suggests to me that the seed of the Ed/Blackbeard dichotomy has already been planted in Stede’s mind by the morning’s shenanigans. And when Jack invites Stede back into participating in the conversation by talking about something he knows Stede would find upsetting (the wanton cruelty of Ed purposefully trapping people to be burned alive, couched in what sounds like sincere admiration for his friend’s piratical prowess), Jack has picked up on that distinction and is leaning into it HARD. He WANTS Stede to see Ed as a collection of behaviors he finds palatable, and Blackbeard as a collection of behaviors he finds repulsive, and then coerce Ed into performing those “Blackbeard behaviors” in order to coerce Stede to drive the wedge by rejecting him. Fucking diabolical.

When Jack is calling Stede a “big girl,” or “store-bought,” or purposefully getting his name wrong, he’s not just throwing barbs that play on Stede’s insecurities (and with such harrowing precision, too; calling on the effeminacy for which he was tormented as a child, his body image issues that we’ve also seen him struggle with under the tender mercies of Badminton - both brain-ghost and original flavor - and the authenticity of his claim to piracy, which we’ve seen him confess that he fears he’s ill-qualified to claim to Jim, Oluande, and Ed. I mean,triple bullseye for this fucking guy). He’s also using these public declarations to undermine Stede’s authority in front of his crew, and establish himself as the real authority on things like piracy and masculinity. He further reinforces this idea by withholding the story of how he saved Ed’s life under the guise of false modesty; people never want something more than when they’re told they can’t have it. And what they’re being told they can’t have is the story of how Jack was so amazing that he even managed to save the life of the coolest, most legendary pirate they know. This withholding primes the crew to think even more highly of Jack and hang on his every word.

This puts Jack into a position where he can pressure the crew into things that sound fun at first blush (like diving off the yardarm or having a snowball fight, but with coconuts), but end up hurting more than anything. Of course, within this dynamic, no one wants to admit they aren’t having a good time, or don’t want to do it; to do so would be tantamount to admitting you are less of a man or not a real pirate. So when Stede refuses to participate, or admits his discomfort or disgust with the proceedings, he’s doing Jack’s work for him, and further alienating himself, and solidifying the roles Jack had put into place where Jack is the fun, cool guy, and Stede is the killjoy that no one should listen to.

Stede unwittingly plays right into Jack’s design when he tries to stand up for himself and wrest back a modicum of respect before things get too far out of hand. He’s well-versed in the world of passive aggression, and sees what Jack is doing. He also knows that you can’t call it out because passive aggression comes with a built in cover of plausible deniability gaslighting. So instead, he tries to push back with a little passive aggression of his own, suggesting that a real pirate has a ship and a crew. Sadly, Stede is not nearly so adroit at wielding passive aggression as Jack is. Jack uses the story (and we know that Izzy sent him, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole mutiny thing is just a story; I could even easily read that slight hesitation after Stede asks his question as Jack deciding on what would be the most effective cover story, instead of hesitancy to admit to something shameful) of his crew’s mutiny to casually re-sow the idea of mutiny on the Revenge. It’s played for comedy when the crew starts talking about how they almost mutinied on Stede and probably will again, but you can’t tell me this hasn’t been a major concern for Stede ever since the first episode. So Jack’s not only got the crew trying to buoy his spirits by assuring him that his crew mutinying on his doesn’t mean he’s a bad person; it’s just something that happens! He’s also got them low-key committing to a future mutiny WITHIN EARSHOT OF STEDE.

Additionally, while Stede is well-steeped in the ways of passive aggression, his crew and Ed are not. They are not particularly sophisticated at identifying passive aggression on its own merits as opposed to the reaction it provokes, which can make it look like they don’t care when it’s being leveraged against Stede, undermining his ability to trust they will look out for him. Stede stoically putting up with Jack’s jibes makes them even more difficult to identify as hurtful. Jack’s (fake) emotional reaction to Stede’s sally might make him look momentarily weak, but allows Ed and the crew to unequivocally identify who is in the wrong and react accordingly. By positioning himself as a victim, he villainizes Stede, further undermining Stede’s authority, and placing him in a position where he owes Jack recompense. Thus, Jack is able to manipulate Stede into the trap of Dead Man’s Cove and make it look like it was Stede’s own idea. I mean, the Xanatos Speed Chess of it all.

What’s heartbreaking to me is how Jack’s wedge-driving and othering of Stede is working so well that at this point we start to hear it from other sources. As they approach the island and Stede suggests going for a swim or taking a nature walk, Ed is the one who tells him, “I think with this crowd, I think they want something a little more…” Not Jack would want something more exciting, this crowd. Jack’s exclusionary rhetoric out of Ed’s mouth.

Which is exactly the time Jack decides to up the ante.

I want to take a minute to look at the immediate lead up to yardies, because I think it’s an excellent illustration of how Jack looks like a lumbering boor, but his actions are actually so carefully considered and nuanced. He runs up from behind Stede and Ed and throws his arms around them shouting “Yardies!” literally insinuating himself between them, which interrupts anything that was going on between them, puts them off balance, and focuses the attention on him. Then, when he says “Who’s up for yardies?” he makes eye-contact with Ed - the implicit social expectation being “You, Ed, are up for yardies.” When he turns to Stede, it is to literally laugh in his face. I mean, the absolute cheek.

Until this point, the crew of the Revenge have been passive participants in Jack’s hooliganry. They watched him perform whippies, and got whipped at without encouraging him to do so. They listened to his and Ed’s stories. But now Jack is cashing in on his established expertise of what real pirates do to coerce the crew into taking part in a dangerous stunt. It’s more of the “Blackbeard behavior” dichotomy he started sowing in Stede’s mind at brekkie, but now he’s extending it beyond Ed to the whole crew. He wants Stede to feel like he’s all alone in a sea of idiocy, but he wants him to come to the conclusion on his own by making it seem like Ed and the crew are doing things of which he would disapprove of their own accord.

Once we get to the island, we see the activities take a turn from the careless Jackass-ery of whippies and yardies to the abject cruelty of turtle vs. crab. There’s no saying that Jack organized the fight, but we do see the crew handing him various trinkets to be used in gambling on a winner, which certainly suggests he was the central figure in how the game was established. We also see that, though he has been presenting himself as a drunkard, there’s no bottle in his hand or around him in the sand. There is, however, one in Ed’s hand, who is directly to his side. I can easily see him handing it off so he could handle the gambling stakes, the real intention being to keep Ed readily supplied with booze.

And then we have the pissing contest. Jack’s got Stede literally and metaphorically isolated, and now it’s time to really drive it all home. Every moment of their interaction is designed to drive Stede to distraction; the amount of derision he lays on the phrase “Your good, close buddy,” the insinuation that he and Ed are just alike, and then being as rude and crass as possible. And because he’s read the room - the intimate breakfast for two, Ed’s little touches and the way Stede smiles at them, the way they keep going off together for little chats - of course Jack’s just got to twist the knife and allude to his and Ed’s former sexual history. So now that he’s got Stede primed, it’s time to name the fear: “Maybe you don’t know him at all.”

At this point, Stede is left to wonder: does he? Blackbeard’s reputation preceded him, after all. And he’s been acting so differently since the appearance of one of his oldest friends. It’s not the violence qua violence, per se; Stede is by turns delighted and impressed by the violence he’s seen Ed and his crew employ in the heat of battle in the pursuit of piracy. It’s the cruel and senseless violence that Stede objects to, and that’s exactly the brand that Jack has been peddling, and which Ed has gone along with so enthusiastically. And it’s not JUST the violence; Ed apologizes for Jack when he recognizes Jack has crossed a line in a typically agro way (destroying Stede’s belongings, and insulting Stede to his face), but it never occurs to Stede that his insistence on persevering with quietly aggrieved dignity in the face of Jack’s slights would make it nigh impossible for Ed to identify that Jack has crossed all sorts of other lines, and Stede is hurting because of it. For Stede, it must be frustrating and mystifying why Ed keeps letting his friend get away with his passive aggressive bullshit. Doesn’t he care?

Is it any wonder that one more failure to notice how Jack has riled him, and one more act of coconut-flavored Jackass-ary is enough to break the dam, and for Stede to spill all that built-up hurt on Ed? Is it any wonder that Ed is bewildered at where all this is coming from? I’ve talked before about Ed’s tendency to fawn on people, and how, as an emotional chameleon, he would have difficulty identifying when the motivation for his actions is self-directed or externally dictated. Jack has further confounded this distinction by manipulating scenarios to make it seem like participation in all the Jackass-ary he has instigated was voluntary instead of coerced. When Stede says “I don’t like who you are around this guy” what he means is “I don’t like how this guy is able to manipulate you into acting on your very worst impulses”, but what Ed hears is “I don’t like you”. For who is he, if not the collection of behaviors he chooses to exhibit? And were those choices not entirely his to make? With the rift clearly established, if in its infancy, of course Jack is going to do everything he can to foster its growth. So again, he interrupts Stede, again implicitly signaling that Ed should pay attention to what he says and not Stede. By lobbing the coconut at Ed at that moment, he forestalls any possible clearing of the air between Ed and Stede, and causes Ed to literally turn his back on Stede, in the way Ed feels Stede has emotionally turned his back on him just moments earlier. Jack reinforces this idea of turning his back on Stede again moments later when he says “Don’t go!” and immediately turns Ed around by the shoulders.

I know that I’ve been laying it on a bit thick and prolly sound like the written embodiment of the red string conspiracy meme, but I’m about to get a whole lot worse, and I’m going to ask you to stick with me, oh my v. dears. I think Jack killed Karl on purpose.

I know, I know. It was an accident! He was flailing drunkenly! But was he?

Have we seen him take so much as a single drink since the cannon fire at the beginning of the episode? Even though he’d been drinking earlier, did he not have devastating precision and accuracy when he first demonstrated Whippies - shattering every glass, snapping the cards from the Swede’s fingers, and ball-tapping Ed without permanently maiming him or even splitting the leather of his pants? In fact, while nearly every other crew member on the deck has a bottle in hand, just like on the beach, Jack does not.

Jack knows he has to get Ed off the ship before the British show up, but he can’t just say “Let’s ditch these losers” and expect Ed to agree, especially since he’s spent most of the day roping the crew into his schemes. The most effective way to get Ed to follow is if Jack is rejected for just being himself and doing what he does, just like Ed feels he was earlier by Stede. I think the original plan was to goad Olu into seriously hurting the Swede, the fallout of which would be recriminations that Jack made them do it, and Jack getting aggrieved that he was just trying to show this ungrateful lot how to have a good time, skulking off and leading Ed to follow him and reassure him that he’s really a good guy - how could he have known it would turn out like that? But when Buttons calls a halt to the proceedings and it looks like everyone is going to pack it in, Jack has to think fast. If HE maims a crew mate, that would be a bridge too far, painting him as the bad guy. But Karl? He’s just a bird. And if Jack can get a little revenge on the weird bird guy who made him change his plan, so much the better. AND, as people with far fewer auditory processing issues than I have pointed out, Jack mutters that he expected there to be more feathers. Could the evidence be any more damning?

Of course the whole ship turns on him, and then here’s Stede to order him off, explicitly rejecting him the way he metaphorically rejected Ed. But when even that isn’t enough to get Ed to follow him, Jack pulls out one last, desperate manipulation - the debt of life.

Jack’s tragic flaw is that he can’t turn it off. Once he and Ed are alone, he turns his passive aggressive assault on Ed, pressuring him into drinking the morning away by sarcastically saying he didn’t know he had an audience with the pope when Ed expresses disinterest, and, ultimately, giving up the game when he mentions with casual derision how he’d heard of Ed shaking up with Stede, and then deriding Ed for his failure to spot Jack’s machinations.

Too bad Jack didn’t know that the punishment for passive-aggressive fuckery on this show is death…

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd meta #calico jack

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nightwingism · 5 years

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The Devil of Blüdhaven

So, I’ve had this thought for a while, couple years actually, and it’s always been something that’s been in the back of my head. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone talk about it, either in the past or now. So, I thought it was about time that I sat down and typed it all out. Air it out. See if I would be crucified at the stake or possibly have people agree with me.

With comic book stuff, it always seems like it’s the extreme of the two options.

Heck, maybe people will see it and point other things out too.

It’s a long one, so I hope y’all don’t mind.

Nightwing, more specifically Dick Grayson, is one of my favorite characters in all of comic book history. Rather, I should say IS my favorite. I own every solo title issue that has been printed. Some of them I have multiple copies of. I currently have a large word document on my computer for my ideal and planned “Volume 5” of Nightwing, where I elevate him to become the Fourth Pillar of the DC Universe. Full of characters, stories, and re-introductions.

But with that being said, I am definitely no expert on the character. I often read other’s opinions and thoughts on him and find new and interesting facets of the character that I never even considered. It’s always a great day when I get to read a long ass essay on why Dick does something or why he is portrayed a certain way or even why he shouldn’t be portrayed in another way.

For the most part, people gravitate towards the same general literation of the character for his characterization. The highly praised Chuck Dixon run on Nightwing, from 1996 to 2002, issue #1 thru #70. I’ll be honest and state that his run was not my introduction to the character, nor even the first comic I bought involving the character. That honor would belong to Batman TAS and the New 52 Nightwing series. Loren Lester is my dude. But that’s a post for another day.

Getting back on track. I’ve reread Dixon’s run so many times, I can basically recite it by memory. This is the run I often cite for people to read, or for a Nightwing Netflix Series or movie. I have much love for it and all that it went out to do to set Nightwing apart from all the other heroes in the DC Universe and I wish that would have stuck around for much longer. Thanks Devin Grayson.

Nightwing is not the only superhero I’m enamored with. Shocking, right? Cyclops, Superman, John Constantine, Spider-Man, Captain America, and literally any hero from Valiant publishing. Love all those characters. They’re amazing. But one hero in particular is one I often circle back to. He goes in the same sphere as Nightwing usually. That is my boy in red, Daredevil.

I’ve been a fan of Daredevil since I saw his episode crossover in Spider-Man TAS. See a trend here? I’ve probably watched that individual episode a couple dozen times. I even own it on DVD. Frank Miller’s Daredevil run is one of my favorite runs, only behind the current one by Chip Zdarsky. His run went through Issues 158 – 191 and 226 – 233.

And while reading through these two actually short runs (70 and 40 issues respectively), I thought of something. I want it to be known that I say this with a lot of love and care for both characters and their stories. And this is where the possibility of me being crucified comes in.

I feel that Chuck Dixon really borrowed a lot from Daredevil, both as a character and in storytelling elements, when crafting his Nightwing run. There are many elements that are eerily comparable to each other, and less so in a normal, comics can only do so much before they start overlapping, kind of way. None of the things that are borrowed are “bad” so to speak for the character, and most of the time, they really just helped Nightwing branch out from Batman and any of the other superheroes in the community. And since a lot of people have clamored to this interpretation, it can be assumed that people responded well to this.

Let’s start with the basics.

Dick Grayson’s mainstay use of escrima sticks started during this run – being the first time they were used and started the trend in issue #1. Religion became an unspoken, but added part to Dick’s life, with Chuck Dixon even going on record and stated that:

“...(he) finds solace in religion. He’s never been the cynical brooder that Bruce Wayne can be at times. Even though both went through the same childhood trauma Dick sought answers outside of himself. I think that’s the basis of his belief in Christianity.”

Though, it should be noted that religion was something that Marv Wolfman and George Perez has hinted at during The New Teen Titans. Now we just have more to go off of here. We also have the fact that he found himself working in law, though working as a police officer rather than a lawyer. The job itself became important and tied into many of the stories. There’s some more superficial things, such as Dick being a rambunctious kid, who instead of stealing patrol sticks from officers and breaking-and-entering like a certain New York born kid, would run away from home and ignore direct orders from Bruce.

From there, the next part is the fact that Dick gets a whole new city to call his own. While this isn’t overtly a copy of sorts, every superhero has their own city, we can look at the name. Bludhaven and Hell’s Kitchen. Heaven and Hell. Both are these horrible places, where people are just bad to be bad. Crime runs amuck. I don’t really know how to put it into words, but it’s basically a sort of “worst possible city a person can be in, and it’s up to this guy in a mask to make this city a better place.” Bludhaven was actually a really great addition for Nightwing though. Everything was really a good addition for his mythos, but this was probably my favorite.

Then we have the rogue gallery.

Nightwing really didn’t HAVE a rogue gallery before his solo title. And that makes sense, because he was either fighting Batman villains or Teen Titans villains. The only villain that would be in his gallery currently would be like Deathstroke, and even then, that’s up for debate for some people.

Blockbuster is an obvious comparison to Kingpin. Up and coming Crime lord who is trying to take over their city through force and intimidation. Bribing officers, and having high-leveled officials under his thumb. He has a wide range of underlings, and often hires assassins to take out the hero when he starts to interfere with his plans. They can both be placed as an archenemy to their respective hero.

Shrike was an attempt at making a Bullseye, a mysterious identity psycho who has a personal vendetta against the hero due to past experience with them. Both are deadly in the arts of killing, and are quite successful in that field.

Nite-Wing I feel was an attempt at making a Punisher type character. An anti-hero with a twisted ideology that comes in clash with the hero and has at one point worked with the hero. Although, as we know, Nite-Wing fell more to one side in regards to Nightwing, becoming more and more of a villain, as opposed to the Punisher who fell to the other side with Daredevil and actually helped a good amount of the time - albeit still a thorn in DD’s side.

Amygalda could be seen as a Gladiator type character. A misunderstood character with a good heart, and not necessarily do the right thing but more so live a normal life, but can’t because of personal demons - whether it be mentally or physically. Both are adversaries to the hero when they are unable to keep that other side dormant. The hero is more willing to talk to them than straight up slug fest every time - though that is a thing that happens.

During the Love and Bullets storyline and the Hunt for Oracle storyline, we have Helena Bertinelli as this Elektra type character. Not to say she became Dick’s college girlfriend who left after her father died only to become the world’s deadliest assassin. That'd be overkill. Huntress instead became this sort of “femme fatale” who showed up to cause havoc in Dick’s love life, and his blossoming relationship with Barbara at the time. She was this dark and mysterious character who showed Dick this other side of addressing the world. Their relationship was built on that adrenaline, and who’s to say that he didn’t actually love her too. I’m sure if Dixon continue writing, that probably would have been touched upon again.

These, to me, were the biggest ones. I’m sure you can probably draw more comparisons that are maybe just as much as a stretch as some of these. I couldn’t help to see some of these comparisons though while rereading it again for the hundredth time.

#Dick Grayson #Nightwing #Matt Murdock #Daredevil #Chuck Dixon #Nightwingism opinions #nightwingism talks #i don't know what else to really tag this as

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dcarevu · 5 years

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Batman TAS: Moon of the Wolf

“If it’s a fight you’re looking for, try starting one with me!”

Episode: 43 Robin: No Writer: Len Wein Director: Dick Sebast Animator: Akom Airdate: November 11, 1992 Grade: B

This is perhaps one of the more infamous episodes of Batman TAS, being grouped with episodes like I’ve Got Batman in My Basement on several “worst” lists I’ve seen. But I don’t know, I didn’t think it was that bad the first time I saw it, and I don’t think it’s that bad now. Not a classic episode by any means, but it held my and Char’s attention, giving us some excitement and a pretty cool-looking villain. I can’t speak for everyone, but I think the werewolf-factor may directly affect people’s opinions, even though we’ve seen very similar through Tybrus and Man-Bat. If we can accept a giant cat-like creature created in a laboratory and a human-sized bat that flies around and turns back into a human, why is a werewolf suddenly just too much to believe? Probably because of how the story presents all this, which we will get into in just a second, but I did want to drop the bomb that I like this one, and all the complaints I have are pretty light.

So when the title card drops, we get some weird electric guitar that sounds like no other music the series has played. Think along the lines of The Last Laugh with how foreign that hip hop felt at the time. But now we’re more than 40 episodes in, and we’re so used to the orchestral stuff. On top of the werewolf, a lot of people seem to have a problem with the instrument choice, and I think that the episode could have gotten around it if the electric guitar was slowly inducted, reaching its most intense during the climax. That would have given us a little time to get used to it. Even though I like it, it was jarring to hear right away, right after the theme song we get to see every time.

After the title card, we start out at the Gotham zoo. Umm.. Okay. We’re starting at the zoo again? For the second episode in a row? The zoo really isn’t that interesting of a Batman location in my opinion. If I were writing this show, that would be a last resort setting. Y’know, not only is this the second episode in a row to start at the zoo, but it’s also the second episode in a row that deals with a human-sized creature of the night like this. Was this because of the time of year? Were these originally both planned for an October release? They must have had animals on the brain. Anyway, at the zoo a security guard’s dog starts going a little crazy, and a werewolf pops out from the shrubbery. This werewolf is incredibly awesome-looking, with gross slobber, these glowing eyes, and a very high intimidation factor. The werewolf gives the guard a hard time, but then Batman arrives on the scene, kicking the thing away. Batman does not typically pop up this early without some setup, so jumping into this type of action was a nice change of pace, even if other aspects we have seen recently. Batman fights off the werewolf, but it eventually gets away of course, because we’re still early in the episode. Going back to the Batcave, Batman tells Alfred that he fought a mugger wearing a werewolf mask. Looking at the creature, it’s pretty evident that this is no costume (or at least, no costume that your average mugger would likely be able to afford to run around and get into fights in), but more importantly, I don’t know why Batman doesn’t just assume that the creature is what it is. Bringing up Tyger, Tiger again, he just fought a humanoid-animal. It’s already been established that this kind of thing can happen in this world. Let’s move on from this! Batman notices some wolf fur on his gloves, and he actually ends up testing it, revealing it to be legitimate wolf-fur. But Batman thinks that it could just be an incredibly expensive costume. Look, guys, superheroes get brain-farts too. “What if that guy wasn’t wearing a mask?” Oh, I don’t know, I guess it would be exactly like what you’ve already experienced!

We get to see the identity of the werewolf as it arrives at this little shanty, and it turns out to be some guy named Anthony Romulus. The person in charge of him, forcing him to do his bidding, is Dr Milo, someone we saw in Cat Scratch Fever. He was honestly the last villain I ever expected to see again, and had no memory of him showing up here. Um. Welcome back, Milo? Dr Milo is a smug son-of-a-gun, and is using Anthony to…well, I think he’s just using him for money, as far as I can tell, and for doing his errands and chores (like killing the security guard). I don’t know why he wanted the security guard dead, because the security guard had no idea who he was anyway, but maybe he’s just tying up loose ends. Anthony explains (after turning back into a human) that Batman got in the way of the mission, and Dr Milo arranges a plan to get rid of the caped crusader before trying to deal with anything else. The plan is for Anthony (who is a star-athlete with plenty of money) to announce that he’s doubling up on a donation to a charity if Batman receives the check. We get a little more chatter on this in another scene where Bruce Wayne is shown to be working out with Anthony at the gym. I found this part to be fairly unnecessary, but it was harmless enough. Funny, though, how some of these characters that we’ve never seen before are all of a sudden shown to know Bruce when it’s their episode to become the villain. I like how they handled Two-Face much more, establishing him before the tragic episode. Now knowing about the check, Batman shows up to Anthony’s and is knocked out with gas. Dr Milo takes his utility belt and chains him down in this open area, which is to act like an arena where he will be torn apart by Anthony’s wolf-form (I’d love to know why these criminals always take his belt before taking his mask, by the way). While Batman is still unconscious, we get some exposition on why Anthony is the creature that he is through flashback, and this flashback is a bit confusing. There is a moment where is fakes you out because the flashback Dr. Milo starts narrating, and then it goes back to the present Dr. Milo. This makes it a little harder to follow in one watch, but I think Char and I handled it okay. Anthony’s werewolf origin is okay, but I did find myself questioning a few things. Not necessarily the writers, but the characters. Like, Anthony, why were you so quick to drink that substance which would ultimately transform you? Dr Milo said it hadn’t been tested. It could have immediately killed you. And for what, some gold medals? This puts a bad taste in our mouths over this character because of his willingness to cheat to succeed. He has his face in cereal commercials, being exposed to tons of people around the country and acting as a role-model to many of them, but he’s a filthy, rotten cheater. I also have to question Dr Milo. His plan is insane. Tricking someone to drink a solution that turns them into a werewolf so you can then control them by dangling the antidote in front of their face, getting free work and cash from it? I mean, whatever works for you, but there’s gotta be something a bit more inconspicuous. Throughout this, it’s hard to tell who to cheer for, but I think that at this point, Anthony has learned his lesson. It’s obvious that he finds Dr Milo’s work reprehensible. Dr Milo has absolutely zero redeeming qualities.

Shout out to the director (the show does little Easter eggs like this all the time, keep your eye out!)

Anthony changes into the wolf once the moon comes out (Milo’s scientific explanations never explain how the hell this works) and attacks Milo, throwing him through the wall of the shanty. Damn! Batman, before being attacked, comes to and finds a pin on the ground, using it to pick the locks that are keeping him restrained. I hope Milo provided that on purpose, and for the sake of me liking this episode, that’s what I’m gonna imagine. Otherwise, that is just way too convenient (and allows the writer to dance around Batman actually finding a clever solution). Now free, Batman and Anthony have a fight which moves to a rooftop where they are visible to the Gotham police force, being led by Bullock. It’s a really intense battle, and I couldn’t help but get into it. Oh, I’m aware that this episode is all style and very little substance, but hey, if it works it works. Not every episode needs to make me question morality and life itself. Just give me some dumb action every now and then with an awesome soundtrack and spooky vibes. Unfortunately, the fight comes to a close when Anthony is struck by lightning, and falls into the water below. Pretty stupid way to close out.

Oh, a highlight that I forgot to mention is when Bullock is interrogating the zoo security guard about the missing timberwolves. He pushes the dude right up against the cage, and we can see their jaws snapping, clearly getting agitated by the ruckus. “I want the truth before I decide to feed ya to your furry friends here.” Apparently the term “furry friends” can sound intimidating as hell if it comes with a slick accent like Bullock’s. Not only does Bullock get this moment, but when Batman and Anthony are on top of the roof, Bullock yells at the officers to not fire, and to let Batman handle the situation. This may have been to avoid conflict considering that, well, it’s a scary god damn werewolf which could easily eat all of them if it wanted, but I also like to think that after 40-ish episodes, Bullock develops the tiniest hint of faith in Batman. He’ll probably always be the cocky, sleazy oaf that we’ve known from the start, but it’s nice to see a little bit of development from such an unlikely episode. And that’s not worth nothing.

Oddly, looking back, Batman was never clued in on the entire steroid-situation like we were. I don’t even know if Batman figured out the identity of the werewolf. What an odd feeling. I don’t want to call it an oversight on the writing side of things, but this must be the first time that Batman just didn’t solve the mystery. Huh. Maybe Dr Milo is right, then, and he’ll get away scot-free. Then again, Batman is pretty smart. There are sure to be all kinds of clues lurking within that shanty.

I know I complained a lot, but that’s mostly because the logic was certainly not all there. I don’t grade these episodes based on anything but my enjoyment-level, though, so…

Char’s grade: B

Next time: Day of the Samurai Full episode list here!

#dcau #dc animated universe #moon of the wolf #btas #batman tas #batman the animated series #werewolf #halloween #batman #wolfman

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evillesbianvillainarchive · 6 years

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title: im bored and its currently 1.30 am

i saw some other comments on how much wider the lesbian representation is in cartoons for children compared to the gay one so for the sake of science and of being completely bored i actually tried to do a compendium of all the canon lesbians/bi women in western kids animation.

- Bubbline obviously is the first one that comes to your mind. Hinted at and CENSURED for YEARS, they finally had the kiss scene in the serie finale. If we really want to go wide, we can also count Achillea and Amazonia, the two lesbian ghost that appeared in morituri te salutamus (one of my persona favourite episodes) along with two gay ghost couples.

- Korrasami, the second big w/w couple you think of when thinking about lgbt characters in cartoons. The hold hands for three seconds at the very end of Legend of Korra. Kya and Kiyoshi, the other two wlw in the serie, are confirmed only in the comics.

- Ezor and Zethrid from Voltron, since this was obviously pronted by Voltron because its 1 am and i am tired and petty. They are evil, they die, they are confirmed as lesbians after their death and fit the “psycho lesbian” trope.

- EJ and Sue in Clarence, Jeff’s mothers.

- Katherine Kane in Batman: Bad Blood. Not sure this can count as kid animation tbh but let’s just put this here for the scene where Kate flirts with Renee Montoya

- Storks wich i have absolutely no idea what it is but apparently “near the end of the film, the storks deliver babies to straight, lesbian and gay couples, and single parents.”

- Scandal Savage and Knockout in Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay. Still I’m not sure this can be considered a kid cartoon but just because let’s leave them here (Scandal Savage is such a hot butch omg)

- Maggie Sawyer and Toby Raynes in Batman TAS who are seen near each others at the hospital and at a funeral. Never explicitly stated as lesbian in the serie.

- Marie Logan in Young Justice, Beast Boy’s dead mother. Also I’m pretty sure her death, aka the proof she’s either a lesbian or a bi woman, is in the comics and not even the animated serie.

- Plum in Bravest Warriors who is bi and kisses a girl only in the comics.

- Simone and Julie in Dofus. I haven’t seen it so I will refrain from comment.

- Luna Loud in The Loud House who is bi.

- Zarya and Kitty in Mysticons. Hinted and censored throught the serie.

- Then let’s go to Steven Universe wich representation is bad honestly bad oh so bad but let’s list them because: Pearl, a lesbian with an obsession for her former slavemaster, Rose Quartz, a manipulative bi woman who is actually a space fascist and that takes advantage of her personal servant who is in love with her, Lapis Peridot and Jasper I Guess??? It’s never actually confirmed that they are in love so much as Jasper and Lapis has been confirmed outside the serie by Rebecca that they are a metaphor for abusive relationships and Lapis/Peridot is a bad non canon fanfic of that one screenwriter whos name i forgot and Peridot and Lapis live together and Lapis is being creepy again and then she leaves for the moon. Then there’s Ruby and Sapphire wich is actually the only genuine good lgbt representation in steven universe they married and kissed on screen i am honestly mad such an iconic moment in kids animation is because of Steven Universe.

So at the end we have

4 characters who gets confirmed as couples only at the very end of their respective series and two of wich has been censured for years.

3 dead lesbians, two of wich were evil and non of which were confirmed in canon/in the serie

Another censored lesbian couple

4 characters from two animated movies that i can hardly call for children (they arent.)

A couple that is seen standing next to each others.

3 who are confirmed as wlw in the comics.

2 ghosts who appear in one episode.

And Steven Universe.

And people call this wide lesbian representation ..ok.

And just for the sake of science now let’s write all the gay characters appeared in kids animation.

Mitch from Paranorman: gets confirmed as gay on the last minute of movie so kinda shitty but it still counts. Gobber from HTTYD2: hinted since he said he never married because of “reasons”. Storks for the aforementioned reasons. Lexington in Gargoyles, censured gay. Mr Simmons in Hey Arnold, censured gay. Mark Jones from Braceface. Dean Toadblatt and Squidhat in the Grim Adventure of Bill and Mandy. Since i mentioned the two lesbian ghosts from adventure time there are other two couple of gay ghosts in the same episode morituri te salutamus. Blubs and Durland in Gravity Falls finale. Kevin in Clarence. Tom and Jacques in Total Drama. That shithole that is Shiro and Adam in Voltron. Howard and Harold McBride who are a married couple and fathers of the best friend of the protagonist. Ghost two dads in Summer Camp Island. Paul and Bayani in 16 hudson wich is actually a preschool show so how talking about kids, kudos. Bow’s two dads in She-Ra its not out yet but we know they are canon so.

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seenashwrite · 7 years

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(1/2)I've completely lost my ability to focus right now, except for hearing Dean saying, "You're awesome, sweetheart," on a loop. I've reread your many treatises on the subject, finally finding the one where someone asked you, "If not sweetheart, then what?" You seemed to believe that he would use "baby" or "sweetiepie" because of his love of his car and pie. I would object to both of these, because I believe that, for him, both Baby and Pie are proper names. (Brother and Angel similarly so, but

Cursing my name? For reals!?

Nah, I kid. I know it’s not hate. And I do apologize, RE: that first part - I obviously was not clear, that’s on me. ‘Cause those ain’t my recommendations. Noooo.

I wanted to convey that it was interesting to me how, putting aside that he only uses “sweetheart” sincerely for Baby & Colt, even if he was using it as an endearment for, um, living things of a twue lurve nature, well….

Dude don’t use it all that often. Not when we compare it to things he no doubt, balls-to-the-wall loves, such as the Impala and pie [and alcohol, but “my lil’ whiskey sour” don’t quite do it for tinglin’ the nethers]. Thus, it got a raised eyebrow from me, how people don’t seem to have the knee-jerk of “sweetiepie” or “babydoll”, derivatives of things he does talk about/refer to adoringly on the reg. Tell me if that’s not making sense, I’ll work on phrasing it better.

Now, having said that - imagining either of those coming out of Dean’s mouth makes me wanna throw up, go eat, throw that up, then mainline Pepto so I can do it all over again til the thought is purged from my person.

All right. Let’s build a profile on Dean’s behavior & verbiage with legitimate love interests, based on what we know from canon, then see if we can’t drill down on a plausible nickname or two.

On an aside, I titled the document containing the draft of what’s below “Endeanments” and I hate myself.

Here’s how this breaks down in my head, so that’s how it’s laid out below. Should the Mrs. or anyone reading this wanna skip ahead, you do you. Scroll til you see the heading.

I. Thing Of The First: What Do We Want & What Do We KnowII. Which Romantic Interests Do We Focus On?III. What Are We Looking For & When We Find It, What Do We Do?IV. What Else Do We Have At Our Disposal To Flesh Out Our Profile Of “Dean In Love"’s Verbiage?V. Thing Of The Second: Nash On Nicknames/Endearments For Unnamed Characters - A.K.A.: Where I’m coming from on this, just so’s y’all can do the whole “Consider the source” thingVI. What Has Worked In The Nashhole Writing RoomVII. Thoughts On The Examples Given In The Ask VIII. Nash’s Three Key Pieces Of Advice For Pulling This Off

And Before We Get Cranking, RE: That Other Post

So here’s the meat & potatoes of what I said when somebody asked my thoughts on what Dean would use as a genuine term of endearment:

I’d bet money that for the actual contenders [both the ones I haven’t yet researched & the nonexistents/potential true loves/soulmates/blahblahblahs], they’d most assuredly be friends first, they will not be a hunter [not a hunter proper, at least, though knowledge of is not a deal-breaker], and any endearment is gonna be something that’s a riff on their name [a la “Sammy” or “Cas”] or related to a specific situation….. she knocks over the sugar bowl, so she’s “Sugar” until enough glares shut that shit down…. things like that.

I. Thing Of The First: What Do We Want & What Do We Know

This whole shebang is based upon the premise that an author gives a shit about accurate characterization of Dean within the context of a legit romantic relationship.

We gotta have a profile in mind regarding the broad strokes of what this chick would be like if our writing of his behavior/the things he says - such as, ta-da! an endearment - is gonna ring true.

All we can know is what’s in canon, and bless the wiki and all their transcripts because no one has to re-watch all the seasons to answer this. #hallelujah

II. Which Romantic Interests Do We Focus On?

The bed-‘em-and-book-it chicks are ruled out, see above, RE: legit love premise.

In the draft of the answer to the other Q that’s referenced in the Q linked above, I have it fleshed out more than I do here - although it’s not completely episode/quote-by-quote sourced - so if y'all wanna know the reasoning behind why I deem these four and only these four ladies of the “legit, Dean was really into them/this had the potential for true love” category, I can share it, but I can’t promise when.

I have no idea if he had an endearment for any or all of these ladies, is my point, y'all feel free to do the deep dive in that respect,

----> ETA later: We did the deep dive. He called Lisa “Honey” when she was dying; unrelated but kind’ve, when he was pretending to be Bela’s husband and she fake-choked on shellfish (also “dying”), he called her “Honey”, too. There ya go.

I stand by these chosen few and the order in which I’ve placed them, the reasons why have to do with character autopsies I do/have done for my big story, ergo would have to be another post or fourteen. Moving on.

Here’s my ranking for “Legit, Dean Totes Felt Something” characters:

4. Jo3. Cassie2. Lisa1. Carmen

All of these ladies, no matter if nothing ever got off the ground [Jo] to the what-might-have-been [Cassie] to the long-term relationship [Lisa] to the dream ideal [Carmen] have some stark, can’t-miss-‘em, key characteristics in common [intelligent, mature, value family, etc.] but I won’t go into that here.

They’re as solid a guide as we’ve got right now, and not just for doing this nickname postulation exercise - I’d also recommend peeps who wanna reeeeeally drill down on an O/C love for Dean to utilize these characters as a jumping off point. R/Is are, of course, going to be [::coughs:: should be] more nebulous in their attributes.

Take home message is that he had a great deal of respect for all of them, so anything that would have to depend on tone because it walks a fine line, you may wanna axe it from the list as an everyday sub for their name.

III. What Are We Looking For & When We Find It, What Do We Do?

You are looking for any nicknames/endearments he assigned to them.

If he did use an endearment with them, do the following:

(1) Which of those 4 is your Dean love interest most like?

(2) Picture Dean calling your character whatever endearment he called them

(3) How’d that work out for you?

And if not, to speculate upon what he would say….. guess what?

(1) Which of those 4 is your Dean love interest most like?

(2) Picture Dean calling them whatever endearment you’ve chosen

(3) How’d that work out for you?

That is your litmus test. Wash, rinse repeat.

IV. What Else Do We Have At Our Disposal To Flesh Out Our Profile Of “Dean In Love"’s Verbiage?

Plenty.

We’ve got the ability to make the profile more robust because of the cooooooooopious amount of evidence on the flip side, what he zeroes in on with the bed-’em-and-book-it type of gal, what his verbiage is like with them, the peeps he doesn’t intend on keeping around for long.

Bonus: that recent ep of what he was like under a love spell. Take what we saw, scale down the intensity, fiddle with it where appropriate - meaning, ‘86 anything that was alike in all the men they charmed, as that isn’t evidence of “Dean In Love” coming to the surface, it’s evidence of the spell’s structure so as to elicit specific behaviors in victims.

Second thing you can look at in terms of nicknaming habits are people for whom he has no romantic inclinations. The easiest cases in point being Sam and Castiel, a.k.a. Sammy and Cas. Off the top of my head, for whatever reason, I recall him calling Gadreel “Zeke” prior to the stolen identity reveal.

So Dean’s a “-y” adder and a name-shortener, consistently with Sam and Castiel, however many times with Ezekiel/Gadreel, and there’s likely more examples, godspeed on that research journey, I ain’t your girl.

I am also 100% - and I know y’all are, too - that he’s a biiiiiiig proponent of situational nicknaming, and while it’s usually snark [think “Batman” for himself, “Harry Potter” for Mick, etc.] it still goes to pattern. I’ve got so many of these in the CASPN decks, it’s unreal, and maaany, possibly most, of them - as noted just now - are TV/movie/music/book-related. [I know this because I’m trying to pull them out as I go to stick them in their own “Deanisms” deck, because if the decks ever go “public” for sale, they can’t have copyrighted content in them]

Again: here we’re looking at a broad stroke in his verbiage, to get a feel of his go-tos, his habits in what he calls others.

V. Thing Of The Second: Nash On Nicknames/Endearments For Unnamed Characters - A.K.A.: Where I’m coming from on this, just so’s y’all can do the whole “Consider the source” thing

I don’t lean into the whole nickname thing. It’s not a purposeful effort, as in, I’m policing myself or when I edit I’m taking them out. It’s just not a reflexive brain-to-keyboard thing for me. I don’t often have characters calling each other by name/nickname/endearment, particularly when it’s just 2 people in a convo, unless it’s a heated convo, a la “DAMMIT NASH!” and “EAT ME, SHITBIRD!”

Longer the fic, trickier this gets. Somebody’s gonna have to address our nameless-faceless protag at some point, and as has been established copiously during my tenure in this fandom, I hope Y/N and her pouty, lip-nibbling, everything-she-does-including-fart-is-done-softly self would die in a fire, ceiling optional, so believe me: I *do* co-sign substitute monikers.

It’s too far to scroll up, here’s what I said about his nicknaming pattern —>

and any endearment is gonna be something that’s a riff on their name [a la “Sammy” or “Cas”] or related to a specific situation….. she knocks over the sugar bowl, so she’s “Sugar” until enough glares shut that shit down…. things like that.

We talked above about him riffing on the person’s name. The situational thing I mentioned - I’ll tell y’all what I did for this, RE: the sticky wicket of when it’s a mini-series/series. [Personally? I think most one-shots can dodge this issue altogether, though certainly YMMV]

VI. What Has Worked In The Nashhole Writing Room

Now, I haaaaated writing the smut thing of mine when I lost a bet, so I plotted it to hell to keep my sanity, and it expanded to 5 g.d. parts. The smut part of it is *riddled* with the tripest tropes that ever troped [part of said bet’s terms], so I’m talking about the story part of it here.

Dean and the protag had a touch-and-go, volatile sitch going on for the bulk of it, ergo chances high due to intense emotions that somebody at some point was gonna have to address each other in at least a tense manner, if not one of anger.

And she was tough as nails, a sniper called in to assist them on a hunt, and she would’ve ended him if he dared call her anything even in the realm of too cutesy-shmoopsy on the reg. It would be in conflict with what I’d built her up to be, bottom line, and likely suck the readers out of the story.

Here’s the dodge I came up with, keeping in mind the situation is she’s a sniper:

“So, we have a decision to make,” Dean said through a partially chewed bite of his burger.

Was he actively trying to be gross? He thankfully swallowed before continuing.

“I’m not in the mood to drive all the way back to Jody’s, then have to share a bed with Sam in her guest room,” Dean began.

Okay. He was talking to me.

“I think the best thing to do is head to the bunker—”

I looked to him, aghast.

“—and we’ve got plenty of room, we can pick up a toothbrush for you when we stop to fill up—”

Did he not notice the big black bulky thing I’d thrown in the back floorboard when they picked me up? I was never not prepared. There was already a toothbrush in my backpack. And a change of clothes.

And a Glock.

“—then we’ll all be fresh daisies, get you home tomorrow. Whaddya say, Snipes?”

Oh god. He’d nicknamed me. Had my letting him win a staring contest actually infused him with enough bravado to try and make friends? Convince me to stay in what Jody had described as essentially a really large basement?

They end up in love - but the sub for her name isn’t lovey-dovey, and it doesn’t have to be, the dynamic between them is vastly more important [more on that later].

In another one in the ol’ draft folder - and it’s not a romantic dynamic, but the nickname dodge happens because she’s unnamed - here’s how that’s gonna work. In an earlier scene, it’s mentioned that Dean was giving her a hard time via the Patsy Cline song “I Fall To Pieces” [spoiler alert: it’s the story based upon THIS thing, you’re smart cookies, you’ll get the reasoning behind it]

And you’d remember. It’s not something you’d forget. I know this because no one else has. Dean still calls me “Cline” - let me rephrase - he bellows it, with glee and snort-laughs, though I suppose there’s worse things to be called. He’s called me those, too, over the years, he doesn’t disappoint. And Sam still narrows his eyes at left my knee, watches my gait for any unevenness or wobbles, and it doesn’t matter what I say, he’ll believe he messed up the articulation til the end of days.

Tangentially-related, in “Build Me Up, Buttercup” - the nutty AU-ish thing that actually started because I was riffing on the sweetheart situation and it mutated - there’s a chunk of conversation between The Woman In Black/The Masked Vampirate/The Apprentice [—-> hint, hint, hint: we *can* refer to folks without using a name/nickname] and Dean on this very topic, of what we call others in lieu of their given names. Mini-spoiler: Even though she’s written 3rd person O/C, and even though she does end up as someone’s love interest, you’re never gonna know her name.

Not spoilers, because these stories are already “out there”, you also never learned/will never learn the names of the chicks in Hello, I’m Gone; The Lore You Know; It; The Once Demon Barber From Robintree; A Delicate Desiccation; The Bell-Watcher’s Daughter; A Fluff By Any Other Name; and who friggin’ knows what-all in the stack of quickies I’ve accumulated.

VII. Thoughts On The Examples Given In The Ask

Back to what you said….. and shit, Imma c/p it here, if anybody’s made it this damn far, I won’t ask they scroll up:

All right, in no particular order, just as things hit me…..

It’s about 7:30 a.m. here in Nashland, this is rotten and off the top of my head, but I could totes picture seeing pumpkin in a Halloween fluff, like - something happens with a pumpkin, it’s dropped or she slices open her hand trying to carve it, is like “[something something] and don’t start calling me pumpkin” and he’s like “Nah…. Punk.” ‘Cause, again - he loves a situational riff & he’s a shortener.

Agreed on princess, I co-sign your gut, he’d say it sneery/as a cut-down on someone who’s afraid to dig in, get a little dirt in the skirt on a hunt or something.

Darlin’ is tricky, because Dean’s not Southern/doesn’t have a drawl unless a touch of Jensen slips out…. and honestly, he’s not got much of an accent from what I’ve heard, though remember that’s going through a Dixieland filter, so consider the source. Might I offer a sub for it? See how “doll” works.

Well, honey’s hitting closer to sounding like him. I’d go “hon”, though, RE: being a shortener. “Hey, hon?” is more casual than “Honey”, and “Honey” also might run the risk of popping a reader back to… [forgive the Rocket inclusion]:

Full quote is “Honey, there ain’t no other men like me.”, but y’all knew that. It’s not on the OH HELL NO list for me, Honey/Hon’s definitely a contender.

But speaking of pinging my “OH HELL NO” radar -

[gasps] Oh, Whoozies…. oh my Whatsis…. sugarplum?

[shakes head vehemently]

* UNLESS* Y/N is a violet-hued fairy in ballet slippers, and they are battling a baby-chomping sentient Nutcracker. But even then, he’d call her ‘Plums.

Sweetie… hmmmm….. you know what might be worth a go? “Sweets”. I could hear “Hey, Sweets” coming out of his mouth. If you could figure a way to make it a lesser of two evils, that’s even better, like…. he pats her on the ass and calls her “sweetcheeks” and she’s all “Oh, but no”, so he downshifts to “sweets”.

“Puddin’“….. erm….. My knee-jerk is no. If it were suuuuper situational, perhaps. I’m drawing a blank on what the situation would be, though, because my mind immediately pops to that episode at the spa…. I just….

I’m hearing it in my mind as if somebody was writing a story where it’s basically a re-hash of that episode - Oh but (tee-hee) this time Y/N got the roofied pudding, and now Dean’s gonna drive her nuts never letting her forget it! Tune in for next week’s episode of Supernatural, guest starring Ordinary McTypical-Chick as Puddin’! [/announcer voice] [cue laugh track], and then I’m all……

Round up on the “Give ‘Er A Try” list:

Honey —> sure why not; “hon” may be better

Sweetie —> ehhhh, probably situational; “sweets” could be worth a try

Pumpkin —-> sooooo situational; and if go there, would 100% roll it into “punk”

Darlin’ —> ehhhh; “doll” suggested sub

….and wasn’t mentioned, but unless it works your personal nerves, from my POV, “babe” doesn’t pull me out of the story if it sneaks into Dean’s dialogue, a la “Hey, babe? You already toss some shells into the trunk?”

Nash’s Three Key Pieces Of Advice For Pulling This Off

1. Who is this person on the receiving end of the nickname - know this, and it’ll narrow down your choices;

2. Do it like Dean: if they have a name, go “-y” or shorten it, or take a situation/circumstance and spin it;

and, possibly the most important -

3. Limit, limit, limit

Make your own parameters for amount of times this is happening in a given piece. I’m just throwing #s - like, = 500 = 0, 501 - 1K = 1, 1.1K - 2.5K = 2, something like that. Take away the pressure of it by making “rules” and you’re free to get your brain back to the story.

Because here it is, y’all - and I’ve said this in other posts - the best thing you can do for yourself or for those you beta is to stop after every scene or paragraph or page or “x” amount of words, whatever your pref is, and ask yourself about what you’ve just read/written:

Who cares? - A.K.A.: Is ____ advancing the plot/the interpersonal dynamics, or not?

Regarding non-nickname stuff: Does it matter that we know about her morning routine? That she had oatmeal because she was out of bagels? The make and model of her car? Her co-workers’ names? Her co-workers at all? What her cat is like? What her cat is named? Her cat at all?

And the same applies here: Does an endearment matter in this particular sentence/moment? I care about the relationships between/amongst the characters, how well they’re grooving with each other [or not], how that weaves together, how it’s integral to the plot, how it impacts the action/the task, how it plays into the climax and resolution [or lack thereof].

Is it ideal to have things coming out of the mouths of the characters we all know ring true? Absolutely. And that’s the other “who cares” here: BIG cares if things that are “un-Dean” creep in. As the adage goes: “When in doubt, don’t”.

So, when stuck on this element, figure out something else to do with the sentence…. and I’d start with 86′ing the nickname. Bet you money most of the time, the message of the sentence will read exactly the same.

You got this.

Thanks for the Q, hope I helped in some fashion and that the curses either wane, or perhaps reach new, interesting heights and volumes, depending on the level of said helpfulness.

#Dear Nash #mrswhozeewhatsis #Let me call you sweetheart #Dean's Dream Gal #and what's in a name #gotta know who they are #and what they're about #and what his normal #patterns are in general #you got this #Nash Advises #Writing Tips #Queueby Dooby Doo #Dad's on a blog post and #he hasn't been queued in a few days #ok fine #Endeanments #why not

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frasier-crane-style · 7 years

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Mo’ Superman TAS, Mo’ Problems

SSeason 2

1-2: Blasts From The Past

Ugh... that’s the best title they could come up with for their season premiere?

One of the quirks of the DC Universe, in all its frequently crappy forms, is that in addition to there being seven Zods, there are about twenty evil Kryptonian characters that amount to being the Zod, Non, and Ursa from the Donner movies. This holds true as late as Supergirl, where Non, of all people, showed up as a Not!Zod. Here, Zod is Jax-Ur and Ursa/Faora is Mala (just to make things even more convoluted, this is the name of a male Kryptonian in the comics).

This arc has the novel twist that instead of a Phantom Zone criminal being released by misfortune, Superman realizes that Mala’s sentence is up and paroles her. Things quickly go amiss when she realizes he’s in love with Lois instead of her--given that Clark and Lois aren’t officially in a relationship, is it not a bit creepy that he chooses to obsess over her from afar instead of pursuing a relationship with an interested woman like Lana or, yeah, Mala? Maybe he heard about the gender-swapping thing and just isn’t into that. Mala releases her old CO, Jax-Ur, and they go at it.

3: The Promethean

Superman fights a kaiju.

4: Speed Demons

Wally West! Yes, it’s not Michael Rosenbaum, but still! And him being something of an obnoxious jerk here, but more of a sweetheart by the time of JL is actually in keeping with his comic book character arc. Man, it’s crazy how just... not obsessed with the Silver Age DC was at the time. The Flash and Green Lantern show up and they’re just Wally West and Kyle Rayner, that’s it. Kyle even gets the first human GL origin story instead of being a legacy hero. I don’t think DC would ever let one of their properties get away with that these days. And wasn’t ‘the Flash’ in Smallville actually Bart Allen? Jesus.

5: Livewire

Livewire was supposed to be the breakout character of Superman, the same way Harley Quinn was for Batman, but I think that actually turned out being Mercy Graves. Livewire just... she’s okay. The shock jock thing had to have been instantly dated and it’s hard to buy there being a rabid fanbase for an anti-Superman radio personality right smack dab in the middle of Metropolis. Plus, Lori Petty just isn’t as strong a performer as Arleen Sorkin. Her Livewire is just too one-note and even grating in comparison to Harley’s rich and well-rounded personality. What did Supergirl end up reinventing her as? Some kind of mean anti-feminist because women who make fun of other women are evil unless they’re Cat Grant? Ehhh.

6: Identity Crisis

Bizarro shows up as a flawed clone of Superman, named by a somewhat OOC Mercy Grant. Also, your childhood is ruined as you realize that Bizarro was as smart and heroic as Superman for a good while, before suffering the equivalent of severe brain damage. Superman, stop, you’re beating up a disabled man!

7: Target

Lois Lane gets a stalker. Seriously, stalkers, of all the people you could stalk, Superman’s beau? The baddie in question is Edward Lytener, who naturally becomes the evil light-themed Luminus. By his second appearance, he was reduced to the Mysterio chic of creating ‘hard light’ holograms of pirate ships and Old West bars to fight Superman in, so no wonder this guy never made it to the comics.

8: Mxyzpixilated

Great episode. Mxy shows up to essentially be the Coyote to Superman’s Roadrunner, with Superman getting to be cold as shit in sending Mxy back within a minute basically every time they match wits. Good to see Big Blue getting his Sherlock on.

9: Action Figures

Metallo again. He has amnesia. It doesn’t last. Was Metallo the most common supervillain Superman faced, besides the technicality of Lex Luthor? He comes across like the Shocker to Superman’s 90s Spidey.

youtube

10: Double Dose

Livewire again, and she teams up with Parasite. I wonder if they were trying to recreate the Joker/Harley relationship on some level. Basically, Parasite wants to fuck/rape Livewire, but she won’t let him unless he kills Superman. Cracked Presents: Top Five Times Your Childhood Was Raped And You Didn’t Even Know It.

11: Solar Power

That Luminus again. When will he ever learn? He doesn’t even care about Lois anymore, he just wants revenge against Superman, which kills any interest his character might’ve had.

12: Brave New Metropolis

Yes, even TAS did the ‘Lois dead = evil Superman’ story. Here, Superman teams up with Luthor despite knowing he was a scoundrel from literally day one, but at least Lex was lying to him about just how bad their dictatorship was, so Supes didn’t break that bad.

13: Monkey Fun

You ever think that if Superman were real, he’d be like “guys, can we quit obsessing over that time I fought a giant monkey? I have lots of other villains that I fight!” Now I demand that Titano appear on Supergirl. I want to see the writers try to turn him into a metaphor for the perils of online dating or something. Shut up and take my money!

14: Ghost In The Machine

Sort of a character episode for Mercy. Here, she was an orphan plucked from the streets rather than the Amazon she was implied to be in the comics, which is a seriously weird canon wrinkle that I think might’ve been entirely thrown down the memory hole. And that Brainiac is back, forcing Lex to build him a new body.

#superman

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blanddcheadcanons · 8 years

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Harley Quinn have mental illness?

Oh boy. :| Umm... yes in the comics she does have a mostly undefined mental illness and is constantly referred to as “crazy.”

Now I personally have mental illness, I have been treated for it for over a decade, I am educated on the subject, and have participated in activism to pass laws and raise money to better protect the mentally ill. While I am not too upset about it, I am disappointed at how her mental illness is represented in general. The real reason I am not too upset is because I am mostly resigned to the fact that just about every fictional character in the comic books I read is going to have an unrealistic image of what it means to live with mental illness.

Harley Quinn is one of many examples of comics fetishizing mental illness as being “crazy” or “mad.” When I say fetish I am not only talking about sexualization of mental illness (which they somehow managed to do in the Suicide Squad movie) I am also talking about when “madness” is used as a superpower such as Harley Quinn, Joker, and Rac Shade. Don’t get me wrong, I love all three of these characters and I’m not arguing that we should really change them but I can think of a few instances where I wanted to roll my eyes into oblivion on how they portrayed the characters’ mental illness.

Quick thing on “madness as a superpower” I wasn’t refering to Doom Patrol’s Crazy Jane. Despite the extremely insulting and dismissive name (though her name is a reference to a victorian painting actually drawn by a mentally ill man) I would argue that her superpower is simply related to her DID. For those of you who don’t know Jane has Dissociative Identity Disorder and each of her alters has a different power. My argument is that if Jane’s alters didn’t have superpowers Doom Patrol would have a mostly accurate portrayal of DID. (and yes she has the same powers as Marvel’s Legion) Feel free to disagree and argue with me on this point. I am willing to change my mind on this. I may be biased because I love this character.

Now onto Harley Quinn. In the rebirth suicide squad title something was making everyone in Belle Reve violently crazy. Harley Quinn, according to the book, is already crazy. So what does this thing do to her? Makes her sane of course! *sigh* It doesn’t really work like that. Yes there are environmental factors and stressors that can worsen the mental health of neurotypical people to the point where they have either a temporary or permanent mental disorder. But that same environmental stressor will not magically cure a neurodivergent person. Also Harley Quinn was able to look at Johnny Sorrow’s face without being “driven mad with Lovecraftian horror” because she was already mad. Ignoring the fact this character was derived from HP Lovecraft and there loads of problematic issues with his work (especially on mental illness as that’s what I am talking about now but the majority of the issues were extreme racism). We can simply say that Johnny’s face is an environmental stressor and what I said about that from the previous examples applies right here.

Now it’s not all bad. The episode of Batman TAS where she is shopping after being released from Arkham was amazing and I identified with that so much. Amanda Conner’s series is pretty empowering and I like it because I see a mentally ill woman successfully getting her shit together. Something I struggle to do every day. Also the Injustice comic portrays her great. I like the character a lot but I want to challenge writers to not bullshit on how she’s so “crazy” and I also don’t want them to a ignore her mental illness either. I want them to at least do the bare minimum of research and include it in the story. One thing I saw in Conner’s book was she went to a therapist and that’s a step in the right direction.

PS Has DC ever specified which mental disorder she has?

#harleyquinnfanboy18

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dancing-with-the-madmen · 2 years

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The Massive Aggression of Calico Jack, redux

So what is it about OFMD Calico Jack that makes him so acutely punchable?

And then accepts Stede’s introductory handshake with clear derision.

He insinuates Stede is less of a pirate for being “store bought”

He refuses to get Stede’s name right, even when corrected. Twice.

And is just SO insincere when calling him back.

And, just, the whole pissing contest scene.

So let’s look at the specifics.

At brekkie, he pours rum into Ed’s teacup without asking or being asked while Ed’s attention is diverted by getting food.

Which is exactly the time Jack decides to up the ante.

I know, I know. It was an accident! He was flailing drunkenly! But was he?

Too bad Jack didn’t know that the punishment for passive-aggressive fuckery on this show is death…

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd meta #calico jack

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mredwinsmith · 6 years

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Diamond Select Toys’ June Previews Offerings – Muppets, Marvel, DC and More

The June Previews catalog is out, and pre-orders are open for a slew of upcoming items from Diamond Select Toys. Among the new releases are the Gallery PVC from John Wick, the latest figure from the Muppet Show, the newest Tron toys from Kingdom Hearts, and upcoming products based on Marvel Comics and movies, DC Comics and animation, Pacific Rim Uprising, Aliens, and the Classic Batman TV Series. If something tickles your fancy, place a pre-order at your favorite comic shop or online retailer.

Muppets Action Figures Swedish Chef Deluxe Gift Set

A Diamond Select Toys release! Bork bork bork! The Muppets are bork, with the first ever action figure gift set in the Muppets line from DST! The Swedish Chef does the honors, with a massive number of accessories, including a table, pans, pots, food (talking and non-talking) and even a chicken, to make Chicken in the Basket. Packaged in a full-color window box, this figure is in scale to all Select action figures. Sculpted by Gentle Giant Studios! (Item #JUN182316; SRP: $29.99)

Alien Xenomorph Resin Letter Opener

A Diamond Select Toys release! In space, no one can hear you scream from getting a paper cut! That’s because everyone up there has the Alien Xenomorph letter opener, a resin Warrior Alien head (from Aliens) with a removable tongue, which holds the blade of the letter opener. Open all of your official Weyland-Yutani communications with this horrifically stylish office essential! Packaged in a full-color box. Hand-sculpted by Eli Livingston! (Item #JUN182314 ; SRP: $89.99)

Batman Classic TV Series Dick Grayson & Shakespeare Resin Busts

A Diamond Select Toys release! Gotham City needs Batmanand Robin! Quick, to the Bat-Poles! DST’s colorful line of resin busts based om n the Batman Classic TV Series continues with the first-ever bust of Burt Ward as Dick Grayson, a.ka. Robin, the Boy Wonder! In his civilian guise, this 6-inch bust of Bruce Wayne’s ward is ready to leap into action and head for the Batcave, and he even comes with the Bat-Pole-activating Shakespeare micro-bust! (Does not actually activate Bat-Pole.) Limited to only 1966 pieces, this hand-numbered resin bust comes with a certificate of authenticity in a hand-numbered, full-color box. Hand-sculpted by Jean St. Jean! (Item #JUN182317; SRP: $59.99)

Batman TAS Premier Collection Harley’s Holiday Harley Quinn Resin Statue

A Diamond Select Toys Release! It’s time for a holiday! Harley Quinn debuted over 25 years ago in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series, and for this new Premier Collection statue, she’s taking a day off with her two pet hyenas! Based on the title card for the episode “Harley’s Holiday,” this approximately 11-inch resin statue was meticulously hand-sculpted by Clayburn Moore, and features detailed paint applications. Limited to only 3,000 pieces, it comes packaged in a hand-numbered box with a certificate of authenticity. (Item #JUN182318; SRP: $150.00)

DC Comic Gallery Aquaman PVC Diorama

A Diamond Select Toys release! How deep is your Gallery? The DC Gallery line of PVC dioramas now adds the King of Atlantis, Aquaman! Springing from the sea with his trident poised to attack, Arthur Curry is the subject of this 9-inch-scale diorama, wearing his classic orange-and-green outfit. Made of a high-quality plastic, and featuring a detailed sculpt and exacting paint applications, it comes packaged in a full-color window box. Hand-sculpted by Jean St. Jean! (Item #JUN182319; SRP: $45.00)

John Wick Gallery John Wick Chapter 2 PVC Diorama

A Diamond Select Toys release! John Wick is back in, and his next target could be you! The master assassin makes his debut in the Gallery PVC Diorama line with this scene from John Wick Chapter 2, as he walks away from the Rome job. With smoke curling from his gun, this approximately 9-inch-tall sculpture features the likeness of actor Keanu Reeves, and comes packaged in a full-color window box. Sculpted by Rocco Tartamella! (Item #JUN182313; SRP: $45.00)

Kingdom Hearts Minimates Tron Light Cycle Deluxe Box Set

A Diamond Select Toys release! We heart Tron! With the Space Paranoids world playing such a big role in the Kingdom Hearts video game universe, DST has made that world’s Light Cycle the first deluxe vehicle in the Kingdom Hearts Minimates line! With working wheels, this approximately 6-inch long vehicle comes with an exclusive Space Paranoids Sora figure, which measures 2 inches tall with 14 points of articulation. Packaged in a full-color blister card. Designed by Barry Bradfield! (Item #JUN182320; SRP: $19.99)

Legends in 3D Pacific Rim Gipsy Danger Resin Bust

A Diamond Select Toys release! Jaeger alert! The Legends in 3D line goes on the attack with this bust of Gipsy Danger from the first Pacific Rim movie. Measuring approximately 14 inches tall, this massive bust features incredible sculpted and painted detail, and is the ultimate cinematic collectible from the Pacific Rim movies. Limited to only 1,000 pieces, the bust comes packaged in a hand-numbered, full-color box with a hand-numbered certificate of authenticity. Sculpted by Bigshot Toyworks! (Item #JUN182315; SRP: $200.00)

Marvel Comic Gallery Cloak & Dagger PVC Diorama

A Diamond Select Toys release! The Dimorphic Duo shine their light on the Marvel Gallery line! Representing the forces of darkness and light, Cloak and Dagger are the newest PVC diorama to come out of DST, with the lithe figure of Tandy Bowen throwing her light daggers as Tyrone Johnson materializes behind her from the Darkforce Dimension. This 9-inch PVC diorama captures them in their timeless costumes, and comes packaged in a full-color window box. Designed by Caesar, and hand-sculpted by Jon Matthews! (Item #JUN182324; SRP: $45.00)

Marvel Comic Premier Collection Domino Resin Statue

A Diamond Select Toys release! Your luck has just changed for better! Domino, the luck-powered but also weapons-savvy mutant mercenary, has joined the Marvel Premier Collection with this new, 12-inch scale resin statue! Depicting Domino in her classic comic-book appearance, crouching in an action pose, this statue can be displayed on its own or as part of a larger diorama with the collection’s Deadpool and Cable statues. Limited to only 3,000 pieces, Domino comes packaged in a hand-numbered, full-color box and is packed with a certificate of authenticity. Hand-sculpted by Jean St. Jean! (Item #JUN182321; SRP: $150.00)

Marvel Movie Minimates Ant-Man & the Wasp Box Set

A Diamond Select Toys release! These Minimates are actual size! This box set of mini-figures captures the cast of the next Marvel movie in the 2-inch scale, so you can have life-size superheroes running around on your desk! Scott “Ant-Man” Lang, Hope “Wasp” Van Dyne, the Ghost and a mystery figure are all included in this four-pack, packaged in a full-color window box. Each Minimate has 14 points of articulation, fully interchangeable parts, and most have removable helmets. Designed by Barry Bradfield! (Item #JUN182327; SRP: $24.99)

Marvel Movie Gallery Avengers Infinity War Iron Spider PVC Diorama

A Diamond Select Toys release! Spider-Man just got an upgrade! As seen in Avengers: Infinity War, this Marvel Gallery PVC Diorama depicts Peter Parker in his new “Iron Spider” armor with prehensile spider-arms! Measuring approximately 9 inches tall, this plastic diorama has all of the sculpted and painted detail of a resin statue for a fraction of the price. Statue comes packaged in a full-color window box. Sculpted by Dave Cortes! (Item #JUN182325; SRP: $45.00)

Marvel Movie Gallery GOTG Vol. 2 Star-Lord Unmasked PVC Diorama

A Diamond Select Toys release! It’s Star-Lord! Who? You know, Star-Lord? The leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy, comrade of the Avengers, enemy of Thanos and his cohorts? No? Well, this 9” scale PVCdiorama stands approximately 11 inches tall and depicts the space hero rocketing up with his jet-pack, element guns drawn. This exclusive unmasked version features the likeness of actor Chris Pratt, and comes packaged in a full-color window box. Sculpted by Rocco Tartamella! (Item #JUN182326; SRP: $45.00)

Marvel Movie Milestones Thor Ragnarok Gladiator Thor Resin Statue

A Diamond Select Toys release! They’re friends from work! The Milestones line is getting bigger with every release, and this approximately 17 inch tall sculpture of Gladiator Thor as he appears in Thor: Ragnarok leaps into action with his sword raised and shield at the ready! This statue can stand on its own or pair with the Gladiator Hulk statue to form a larger battle scene. Limited to only 1,000 pieces, each statue comes packaged with a certificate of authenticity in a full-color, hand-numbered box. Sculpted by Jorge Santos Souza! (Item #JUN182323; SRP: $249.99)

Marvel Movie Premier Collection Black Panther Resin Statue

A Diamond Select Toys release! The Black Panther strikes again! Leaping from a flaming neon sign, the Black Panther lands in the Premier Collection with his first-ever resin statue from Diamond Select Toys! Inspired by a scene from the smash hit Black Panther movie, this approximately 16 inch statue is limited to only 3,000 pieces, and comes packaged in a hand-numbered box with a numbered certificate of authenticity. Sculpted by Rocco Tartamella! (Item #JUN182322; SRP: $150.00)

from AwesomeToyBlog https://ift.tt/2t8JYsZ

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dcarevu · 5 years

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Batman TAS: Perchance to Dream

“It’s a big hole in the ground, with a big car in it that’s all black. Remember?”

Episode: 30 Robin: No Writers: Joe R Lansdale (teleplay), Laren Bright (story), and Michael Reaves (story). Director: Boyd Kirkland Animator: Dong Yang Airdate: October 19, 1992 Grade: A

This should go without saying, but because of the nature of the episode (and because it was spoiled for me before I ever saw it), I am issuing a MASSIVE SPOILER WARNING. Take this as me telling you that going into this episode blind is highly recommended, and part of the fun of it is the mystery.

Are you ever disappointed to wake up from a dream? For me, it is usually a matter of not having finished the story that was playing out, or forgetting details. I don’t like waking up and causing cliffhangers which go forever unsolved, especially when I can’t even tell people about them. Then there are the dreams that you are so glad you woke up from. Usually these dreams consist of the scariest things we have ever experienced. Isn’t it crazy to think about? For many of us, the scariest moments of our lives never even truly happened in the real world. Batman lives these moments practically every episode. Things like our friend getting half of their body demolished and then turning into a contradicting gangster, or a clown who turns all the fish in the area into smiling, trepidatious frights. These events have very dreamlike qualities. They likely would never happen in real life, and don’t make all that much sense. Ironically, when Batman has what starts out as the best dream of his life, providing an escape from all that we try to avoid at night, he wants nothing to do with it. Because even though our REM thoughts are his conscious ones, and he probably could have lived the rest of his life in bliss, it means nothing to him if it’s not real. Looking the other way is not something that Batman is capable of. This is why he has made the enormous impact he has. Not only did the night at Crime Alley send his life into a gothic cave of despair, it also seemed to cause him to purposely repel any hope of happiness. Happiness to Batman is irresponsibility. Yet he stops at nothing to allow the innocent to live the happy life he is incapable of.

This is one of my favorite episodes of the entire series, even though I never got to experience the unknown. Batman falls into a mysterious trap, but wakes up immediately afterward. Suddenly, his life is completely different. His parents are alive. Selena Kyle is set to become his wife. He is no longer Batman. The weight of responsibility has been removed. He is set to live life as a rich playboy, while someone else swings around the city in a bat-mask. But there is a nagging feeling that none of it is right. There are inconsistencies and problems that prevent him from enjoying. Through a series of events, he ends up at the top of a tower in a cemetery, in a fight against himself, eventually jumping to what seems like his death. He wakes up from a dream that the Mad Hatter set up for him, and apprehends the criminal. What makes this episode so sad is that Bruce so desperately wants the dream to be real. At one point, after talking to Leslie Thompkins, he actually does begin to accept things. He tells us, “The nightmare is over!” Bruce considers his life a nightmare. He hates being Batman, but he is an addict. Right as he is truly about to throw his old life away, he opens up a newspaper and can’t read a word. The text is all jumbled. This is proof that this new life is not real, as he knows that in dreams, it is impossible to read. Cleverly, at the beginning of the episode, there is a sign on a building that is jumbled up, and no one mentions it. A very subtle detail that one can appreciate on a second watch. Another Easter egg is the music that plays immediately as soon as the title card pops up. It’s the Mad Hatter’s theme music, and we have only seen Hatter one time, so one is not likely to recognize it. But if you know it, you know it. Figuring this detail out yourself can give one a sense of accomplishment, and discovering a twist ending on your own rather than a spoiler is incredibly satisfying.

I also noticed that certain characters are nowhere to be seen, most notably being Robin. At first I wasn’t sure how to take this. Does Batman regret inviting Robin into his life? Why is Robin not there? This is supposed to be his desired life. But after talking to Char, I realized that in Batman’s ideal world, Robin’s parents never would have been killed in the first place, and so Robin would have no reason to be living with Bruce. Alfred is here, but his usual warmth seems to have vanished. I think this is less a reflection of Bruce, and more that Alfred never had to become such a fatherly figure. He lived with Bruce’s parents, serving as the butler, and not much more. He is still fairly friendly, but there is not as much between he and Bruce as there typically is at all. Also, I’m not sure if this was an inside-joke, but there is one point where Alfred helps pick out something for Bruce to wear. He selects a brown coat and says, “This should be just the thing for your meeting.” In the DVD commentary, the crew has joked about Bruce’s sense of style, making fun of his typical mustard-yellow and brown combo. The way Alfred says it makes me wonder, but I could be looking way too much into it.

Perchance to Dream is mostly action free until the ending, but Dong Yang still manage to knock it out of the park. Their best work yet, and they especially shine during the climax. There were some incredibly beautiful shots, and other points in the story are great too. There were a couple instances where the animation was massively smooth, reminding me of the pilot The Dark Knight’s First Night. I’m wondering if they blew their budget on this one, and that is why their work on Robin’s Reckoning is so poor (coming soonish). Credit should also go to Boyd Kirkland who’s angles and ideas give us a sense of wonder at every step, even when fairly mundane. The voice cast does the same. I swear the police officer is voiced by the dude that did a bunch of trailers in the 90’s or early 2000’s. Because I am so used to hearing it in that environment, yes, it sounds very out of place in Batman, but in a good way. His delivery is startling, and it acts as icing on top of the dreamlike cake. While we’re on voices, though, it should be noted that Bruce doesn’t talk in his Batman voice for the majority of the story. if this is his natural speaking voice, I think he should have been. I’m sure there’s a way to make it sound happy. They did it in Batman Beyond. At the same time, lines like “I’ve never felt better in my life, sir” have such perfect delivery they make me tear up, and said any differently would not have been as stellar. Oh gosh, and Mad Hatter’s delivery. The anguish made you feel for him, and he is not a character I held any sympathy for previously. I found him to be the ultimate incel. Many people see him as a tragic character, he’s a creepy asshole who carries the dreaded “nice guy syndrome”. Does he mean well? Don’t know, don’t care. But hearing him scream at Batman, explaining that he was willing to give Batman the life he always wanted just to prevent him from being a bother anymore, it’s heart-breaking. He simply wants Batman out of the way, and he decided to do it humanely this time. I find this very interesting, and this Mad Hatter episode dwarfs Mad as a Hatter.

Batman’s wipers come on after his car is coated in gunk. It’s the little details.

Nothing good ever happens on catwalks in this show.

Pictured here is a 13-year-old in the presence of Justin Bieber. Or whoever the kids listen to these days.

Little known fact, the Batcave is very much there. But this is. obviously an episode where it’s located behind the bookshelf, not behind the clock. Silly Bruce! Must have forgotten to read that part of the script.

Well no wonder he always wears that jacket with those options.

I’m wondering what types of things Bruce does with his parents still alive and all. Then again, nothing in this world exists beyond the boundaries of when the dream starts and ends.

Bruce has been wanting Selena practically since her first appearance. But that face says it all. Is this relationship any more genuine than Mat Hatter and Alice’s?

This is the point of the episode where I could really sense the gears in Char’s head working. It’s the point where things go from being wrong to impossible.

Notice the sign.

Love the movement of Batman’s cape.

Some of the unusually smooth animation I mentioned before.

Great takedown. Batman holds the guy and spins down a pole, making him so dizzy that he faints.

These two have the most conflicting colors on...

“Then... The nightmare is over.”

Kinda wish we saw Bruce shed a couple of tears.

Not only is the text all jumbled up, but there also seems to be way more text than what would fit on the paper. Even more strange, we see a smiling Batman.

A look of madness on Bruce that we hardly ever see. it’s a great facial expression.

The text here is also unreadable. Also, we’re getting to the point of the episode where virtually every angle is perfect. So here is a series of shots:

Boyd Kirkland and his team clearly cared a lot.

Batman comes in mysteriously like a kite. It reminds me of when Dorothy was trapped in the tornado.

Bruce gets a taste of what criminals get almost every night.

Seriously, how can a figure with cute little bat-ears be so threatening-looking?

The Mad Hatter’s model isn’t quite as finicky this time around, and while I still feel that it was probably hard to translate to animation, it works a lot better. He looks like he belongs on the show.

Look at that smug face. He is sure that Bruce will never escape. I also like the thought of Bruce reaching a waking point, so even though he’s still asleep, he still picks up conversation going on around him. His subconscious recognizes Jarvis’ voice, and that’s how dream-Bruce was able to reveal the truth. But that’s just my interpretation.

Bruce took a gamble, and you can tell by his expression that he may regret jumping. He truthfully has no idea if this will do the trick or not.

This is weird, but I love the shape of Batman’s eye here.

Char’s grade: A Next time: The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy

Full episode list here!

#perchance to dream #dcau #dc animated universe #batman tas #btas #batman the animated series #mad hatter #spoilers

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wbwest · 8 years

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New Post has been published on WilliamBruceWest.com

New Post has been published on http://www.williambrucewest.com/2017/01/18/west-year-ever-pop-culture-review-2016/

West YEAR Ever: Pop Culture In Review - 2016

Thank 8 pound, 6 ounce newborn Baby Jesus that 2016 is over! I mean, I guess there was some good stuff peppered in there, but it was an overall rough year for a lot of people. I tried to keep my sanity here on the blog, but even I checked out for the month of November. Like Kenny Rogers told us, sometimes you’ve gotta know when to walk away. But I did make a return in December just to kick the year in the ass on its way out. So, besides celebrity deaths, what did 2016 bring us? Well, there was that week we were all mesmerized by Pokemon Go! Those were fun times. We got new X-Files episodes. Peyton Manning retired after winning the Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos. Atlanta and Luke Cage came along and entertained us on television. And things weren’t too shabby here on the blog either.

During Spring Break Week, I discussed several of the most underrated TV theme songs, including Webster, California Dreams, and Enterprise.

I also covered the worst Batman comic ever written, in the form of Just Imagine Stan Lee’s Batman

I did my annual Fall TV Upfronts post, where I discussed the upcoming fall lineups of the major broadcast networks.

A post that was several years in the making, I ranked the Hot Moms of Teen Shows over on The Robot’s Pajamas

I also did a guest post ranking the hottest Power Rangers Villains

It wasn’t all fun and games, though. The country was going through some dark stuff, and I’m particularly proud of this West Week Ever where I discussed the racial problems in the country.

I also experience my first live wrestling event as I attended a taping of WWE Monday Night Raw.

I brought back my graphic novel review column, Adventures West Coast, where I covered Wonder Woman: Earth One.

I also brushed off my Comical Thoughts column, where I discussed IDW’s disappointing Hasbro-centric Revolution event.

Finally, I closed out the year with a post that I’m particularly proud of, discussing the greatest problems facing comic retailers.

I saw about 13 fewer movies in 2016 than in 2015. It wasn’t for lack of trying, but there are only so many hours in the day. As you know, I’m not necessarily Mr. Movie, so I’m not even going to try to rank them. Here they are, simply in the order that I saw them. Wanna know my thoughts? Plug the title into the search box up on the top righthand corner!

Movies I Watched This Year

Lucy

Beauty Shop

Bikini Spring Break

Fifty Shades of Grey

X-Men: Days of Future Past (The Rogue Cut)

We Don’t Live Here Anymore

Gone Girl

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2

The Martian

Inside Out

Sisters

Batman: Bad Blood

Son of Batman

Batman vs. Robin

The Hundred-Foot Journey

Tomorrowland

Deadpool

San Andreas

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

Autism In Love

Cop Car

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice

Dead 7

Justice League vs. Teen Titans

Pacific Rim

All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records

CHAPPiE

Unhung Hero

Trainwreck

Confirmation

The Boss

Captain America: Civil War

They Live

Ted 2

Creed

Zoolander 2

The Ladykillers

10 Cloverfield Lane

X-Men: Apocalypse

The Intern

You’re F@#k’n Dead!

LEGO DC Comics: Batman Be-Leaguered

LEGO DC Comics Superheroes: Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom

Focus

The Good Dinosaur

Sleeping with Other People

Big Hero 6

Keanu

Southpaw

The Night Before

The Equalizer

The Bronze

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping

Batman: The Killing Joke

Sharknado: The 4th Awakens

Suicide Squad

The Day

Kingsman: The Secret Service

Independence Day: Resurgence

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Meet The Hitlers

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates

Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising

Doctor Strange

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

West Week Ever Recipients of 2016 (with commentary)

1/8/16 – Fall Out Boy’s “Irresistible” video

I’m a huge boyband fan, so the news that one of my favorite bands (Fall Out Boy) had reimagined the It’s Gonna Be Me video by one of my favorite boybands (*NSYNC) definitely made my week. The sheer fact that it didn’t really move the world of pop culture, however, shows you how slow of a news week it was. There would be many weeks like this in 2016.

1/15/16 – Power Rangers

This was quite the week for the Power Rangers franchise. First off, it was revealed that Saban would be skipping the train-centric sentai series Ressha Sentai ToQger, and instead adapt Shuriken Sentai Ninninger as Power Rangers Ninja Steel. This announcement was almost a year to the date of the premiere of the show (scheduled to debut next Saturday), and we spent the next few months getting casting and toy news about the show. Meanwhile, the #0 issue of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers comic was released by Boom! that week, setting up a series that is so much better than it has any right to be. I’ve written about it several times over the year, as I’m a big fan. And finally, former Wild Force Red Ranger actor Ricardo Medina was formally charged that week for killing his roommate with a sword. All in all, I think Power Rangers truly earned the West Week Ever that week.

1/22/16 – DC Entertainment

The Suicide Squad trailer was released this week, as well as the series premiere of Legends of Tomorrow. The Suicide Squad promotion machine would see its ups and downs over the year, the Legends premiere was fairly strong, even with a bunch of useless characters (I’m looking at you, Hawks). The show would get stronger in its second season, but this is where it all started. We also got a DC movie special hosted by Kevin Smith, giving us some Wonder Woman and Justice League footage. Marvel usually dominates the news cycle, but DC showed that they can also step up to the plate.

1/29/16 – The X-Files

When news of an X-Files revival hit, it was pretty big news. Then it launched, and it wasn’t exactly what folks were expecting. Clocking in at 6 episodes, only half of them focused on the conspiracy aspect of the show, plus they were aired out of order. I went from really liking the premiere to completely forgetting it existed, in a very short amount of time. If it was going to get the WWE, it would had to have been this week of the premiere, as it ended with more of a whimper than a bang.

2/5/16 – UnderScoopFire Podcast

I appeared on the UnderScoopFire Podcast 8 times over the years, and had a great time on every one of them. Those guys are some of my good friends that I’ve met online, so of course I was sad to see it go. After 150 shows (give or take a few. Yeah, I’m not letting that go!), I think their swan song deserved the West Week Ever.

2/12/16 – Denver Broncos

I couldn’t give two shits about sports, but Lindsay’s from Denver, so we’re a Broncos household. So, everything was coming up Milhouse this week, as the Broncos won Super Bowl 50. Not only was it a nice, round, milestone number, but it also served as future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning’s final game. It was the perfect storybook ending that sports fans seem to love so much. So, yeah, they totally deserved the West Week Ever.

2/19/16 – Deadpool

Deadpool came out and blew away everyone’s expectations. I mean, this thing is getting nominated for awards. And not Razzies, too! Personally, I thought it was too gratuitous. I’ve gone over my reasoning before, so I won’t rehash that here. Still, it went on to become the second highest grossing superhero film of the year, just behind Captain America: Civil War. Totally deserved.

3/4/16 – Fuller House

After Girl Meets World came along, the runway was cleared for any and every nostalgic reboot to come along. And along came Fuller House. Every fan of TGIF awaited it with bated breath, hoping for the same mindless entertainment they got from the original show. And it did not disappoint! The second season just debuted a few weeks ago, and it’s already been picked up for a 3rd on Netflix. This show not only showed the power of Netflix as a home for original comedies, but also showed that old dogs still have some fight left in them. I think this was definitely the high point of that week.

3/11/16 – Jay Pharaoh

This was a slow week. Sure, Pharaoh did an amazing impersonation spree during that week’s Saturday Night Live Weekend Update. Like, it was AMAZING. And to pay him back, the show fired him at the end of the season. He’s OK, as he immediately booked a Showtime pilot, but the fact that this was the most noteworthy thing of the week shows how slow things were.

3/18/16 – Nothing

Some weeks you’ve just gotta call a spade a spade. Instead of insulting anyone’s intelligence, nothing had the West Week Ever.

3/25/16 – Wonder Woman

Like a lot of people, I did not like Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Like a lot of people, I also felt that Wonder Woman was the brightest spot in that dark film. Totally deserved

4/1/16 – Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice

I may not have liked it. A lot of folks may not have liked it. But it made some money. A lot of money. And it was the true springboard to DC’s cinematic universe. So, for its money-making and its importance, I think it earned the West Week Ever. Just because I don’t like something doesn’t mean that it’s bad. It just wasn’t for me.

4/8/16 – American Idol

Idol‘s series finale aired that week, marking the end of a pop culture juggernaut. Unlike The Voice, Idol actually created household names. It gave us Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Carrie Underwood, and Fantasia. On the flip side, it also gave us William Hung, Taylor Hicks, and Daughtry. It spawned so many copycats, but it was the original recipe. Its influence may have waned in later years, but no one can deny what it was in its heyday. I think it’ll eventually come back, but this was when we said “Ta ta, for now.”

4/15/16 – Marvel

That week, we found out Natalie Portman wasn’t coming back for Thor: Ragnarok, we got a teaser trailer for Doctor Strange, an we learned that the new Spider-Man movie would be called Spider-Man: Homecoming. Marvel definitely dominated the news cycle that week.

4/22/16 – Harriet Tubman

While it was pretty monumental that a woman (a Black woman, mind you) would be adorning American currency, it doesn’t really move the pop culture needle that much. So, I ended up giving the West Week Ever to a dead woman – in a column that has a pretty strict No Death policy. This was kind of a slow week…

4/29/16 – Beyoncé

The singer dropped the surprise album Lemonade following their airing of her HBO special. One of the songs alluded to the possibility that her husband, Jay-Z, might have cheated on her. For the next week, everyone was pondering the identity of “Becky, with the good hair”. This is the kind of thing the drives pop culture. Totally deserved.

5/6/16 – Captain America: Civil War

I had seen the movie, and thought it was excellent.

5/13/16 – Captain America: Civil War

Then the movie made a lot of money. I mean, a fuckton of money.

5/20/16 – Nothing

It was just one of those weeks

5/27/16 – DC Universe: Rebirth #1

DC Comics lost a lot of fans after the New 52 event, in which they rebooted their universe. So, the Rebirth event was something of a mea culpa to those fans. More like a “Please come back! We promise to make stuff you’ll like again!” And for the most part it has worked. This special not only brought fan favorite Wally West back into the fold, but it also sort of introduced the Watchmen comic into the mainstream DC universe. We don’t yet know how that’s all going to play out, but this move helped DC to dominate more market share than Marvel for most of the year.

6/3/16 – Ecto-Cooler

I never really liked Ecto-Cooler. I mean, it tasted kinda like tropical piss, but I loved the fact that Slimer was on the box. That’s about where my nostalgia ended. But a lot of y’all out there LOVED that shit! So, when it was announced that Coca Cola was bringing it back in conjunction with the Ghostbusters movie, y’all started assembling street teams to track it down. I swear, if the 2016 election had been run in a manner similar to the vim and vigor displayed trying to track down green sugar water, I might actually have some hope for tomorrow!

6/10/16 – Awesome Con 2016

Slow week. Cool show, great company, but slow week.

6/17/16 – Hamilton

I discovered the Hamilton soundtrack the same week that it won 11 of the 16 Tony Awards for which it was nominated. We’ll talk more about the show later, but the West Week Ever was deserved, even if the wins did fall short of the Tony Award record.

6/24/16 – Black actors in Hollywood

This was more of a joke, as every Black actor in Hollywood was being cast in the upcoming Black Panther film. That trend has continued since this post. Still, slow news week.

7/1/16 – The 683 New Members of the Oscar Academy

Another joke. Due to the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag, signifying that the Academy was lacking in diversity, 683 people were invited to be members, bolstering the number of women and minorities. Still, slow news week.

7/8/16 – TNA’s The Final Deletion

Oh, man! This thing was incredible. They went on to milk it for the rest of the year, andI missed all subsequent installments. Still, this got me to pay attention to a wrestling promotion not owned by Vince McMahon, and for a brief moment, all wrestling eyes were on TNA to see what Matt Hardy would do next. Completely deserved.

7/15/16 – Pokemon GO!

This game came along and took the world by STORM. To say it was a success would be an understatement. It was envisioned to promote fitness, as kids would have to walk around to find perks and to get their eggs to hatch, but there were workarounds. Hell, I drove around looking for Pokestops. For about 4 weeks, this was all anyone could talk about. It was the Tamagotchi of a new generation, and I think, outside of all the political stuff, it’s one of the things we’ll remember most about 2016.

7/22/16 – Ghostbusters

It was a slow week, but Ghostbusters and the Republican National Convention were the only newsworthy events of the week. As much as we want to pile on that movie, it did take in a respectable $46 million, and it set a record for Paul Feig/Melissa McCarthy movies. I know a lot of folks don’t feel the movie’s deserving of any kind of accolades. As you saw above, I didn’t watch it, but I still think it’s not as bad as people would like me to believe. I swear, though, had they named it anything other than Ghostbusters, we’d still be talking about it.

7/29/16 – DC Entertainment

DC, back with their SECOND West Week Ever of the year? The word on the street was that they “won” San Diego Comic Con, with their new footage of Justice League, as well as the debut of the Wonder Woman trailer. Considering Marvel usually dominates SDCC, this was a feat worth acknowledging.

8/12/16 – Suicide Squad

The movie made $160 million in 5 days, which is nothing to sneeze at. Plus, I actually enjoyed it. I didn’t like it as a component of DC’s cinematic world building, but I liked it as a standalone thing on its own.

8/19/16 – Ryan Lochte

He was an Olympian at the center of a fake robbery attempt in a foreign country, who then fled to let his teammates take the fall. It’s the stuff of a great Aaron Spelling show. He had the West Week Ever simply because he got away with it.

8/26/16 – Guardians trailer

Slow news week, even if the trailer is pretty awesome. Billed as “Russia’s Avengers”, the English version of Guardians trailer started making the rounds because of its crazy action and gun-wielding bear man. Yeah, you’ve gotta see it to believe it. The movie might not even be released over here, and if it is, it’ll never get higher than cult status. Still, if you want to know what everyone was talking about that week, it was Guardians.

9/2/16 – Are You Being Served? one-off special

Some might say this was a slow news week, but I think this applied the West Week Ever to an international stage when I typically just focus on the US. After all, this special didn’t even air in America (nor has it since, nor do there seem to be plans to do so in the future), and I had to resort watching it on YouTube. Still, I grew up with Are You Being Served? and I was more than curious to see how an update of it might hold up. With a few small exceptions, it was pitch perfect, and definitely in the spirit of the original series. This one might’ve been a bit personal for me, but I think it was the best part of this particular week.

9/9/16 – Atlanta

The show just won the Golden Globe for Best Comedy Series. I think I called this one correctly.

9/16/16 – Better Late Than Never

Another personal one for me, but it’s my site, so whatever. I’m more than certain none of my friends were watching this show, but I watched it weekly with my mom and we enjoyed it. I wrote about it to get folks to seek it out, but I doubt that happened. Still, in a week when nothing happens, things like this are allowed to shine.

9/23/16 – Lindsay West

Mah wife. Running your first half marathon is pretty impressive. And nothing happened in the overall pop culture world. If you’ve followed West Week Ever since the beginning, you know that every so often some random person gets the honor. Hell, last year, my kid had the West Year Ever, so you never know where I might play that card.

10/7/16 – Luke Cage

It broke Netflix! So many people tuned in that Netflix couldn’t handle it. I still haven’t seen it, but I haven’t heard a bad thing about it other than the fact that it kinda drags in the middle – like most Marvel Netflix shows.

10/14/16 – Will & Grace

Considering I think I was the only one impressed by this Will & Grace special that was designed to get folks to get out and vote, I’m sure a lot of folks disagreed with this choice. Still, if you were a Will & Grace fan, then you can’t deny how great it was to see those characters in a way that felt like they’d never left us.

10/21/16 – Logan trailer

Can’t say much more because the movie’s not out yet, but we were ALL talking about this after it dropped, and it’s on most folks’ most anticipated movies of 2017 lists. I don’t think it’s going to disappoint.

10/28/16 – The Walking Dead

I don’t watch it, but I did tune into this episode just to watch a man die. Or two men. Whatever. All folks could talk about this week was whether or not the show had gone too far. The Walking Dead dominated the discussion, so this West Week Ever was well-deserved.

11/4/16 – The Chicago Cubs

Um, the “cursed” team won their first championship after 108 years. Yeah, this was deserved.

12/2/16 – Search Party

I don’t feel like a lot of my readers had seen the show when I wrote this, but I know a few who checked it out because I’d written about it. That’s why I do this, kids! It was one of my favorite shows of 2017, and if you haven’t checked it out yet, I’m not quite sure what you’re waiting for.

12/9/16 – Hamilton

Hamilton for the second time this year. The last time was for its Tony wins, but this one was two-fold: The Hamilton Mixtape was released and a beautifully pirated copy of the play was uploaded to YouTube. I watched it during the 5 days that it was allowed to stay on the site, and I can now die saying that I saw Hamilton. This was on the heels of a controversy where the cast members took a moment to address Vice President-Elect Mike Pence while he was taking in the show. For the next week, the conversation was whether or not they should’ve done that. So, it’s safe to say that Hamilton was on everyone’s lips around that time.

12/16/16 – WWE’s New Day

Yeah, then the lost two days after I posted this. I guess that’s how the cookie crumbles. Still, they deserved the West Week Ever for all they had put in leading up to this point.

12/23/16 – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

It was the last thing to make a dent in pop culture before the clock ran out on 2016. A lot of folks are saying it’s one of their favorite Star Wars movies. I don’t really get that, but I’m happy for them if that’s the case. I thought it was entertaining, but I didn’t really like it. It’s hard to explain, and I’ve tried. Still, there’s no way anything else is going to take center stage when there’s new Star Wars to be consumed.

So, who had the West Year Ever? In the past, I’ve added up who had the most West Week Ever wins and then it’s a runoff. If we’re being honest, Death had the West Year Ever. There were SO many celebrity deaths this year, that it would take another post just to do a proper In Memoriam for everyone we lost. And of course, you have those guys who wanna “Neil deGrasse Tyson” everything by pointing out that people die all the time, or that the year is an arbitrary number. Whatever, asshole. That doesn’t help anybody, and it’s why you don’t get invited to many parties. Anyway, I don’t like to focus on death in West Week Ever -not because it’s morbid, but more because I feel like I’d have to acknowledge every celebrity death, even when I didn’t personally give a shit about that person. Ain’t nobody got time for that!

Doing the math, it’s a three-way tie between DC Entertainment, Captain America: Civil War, and Hamilton. DC Entertainment really stepped up this year, taking a good chunk of the comics market share away from Marvel, as well as by launching their cinematic universe. After years of being the joke of the industry, DC finally started pushing back. And the Rebirth initiative didn’t hurt things, either. Meanwhile, not everyone loved Civil War. I did, but even I’ll admit that it’s basically “Dawn of Justice Done Right”. They’re both superhero slugfests that surround the concept of dead moms. Some called it “Civil Bore”, but I don’t agree with that. Still, I have to kind of acknowledge that there is a divide out there. Finally, there’s Hamilton. It had a big year, but I don’t know if we’ll look back and say “Hamilton really came into its own in 2016.” If anything, that’s more likely to happen at a time when the show can more easily be consumed by the masses. So, Hamilton’s year may actually be ahead of it, but it’s not 2016. So, I think it’s pretty clear. 2016 was the year where retailers stopped buying everything Marvel was selling, and so did the fans. The quality of Marvel’s output was in question more this year than it was in recent years, yet people still seemed to be able to find positive things about the DC Universe. Meanwhile, their movies might not be your cup of tea, but they made money, and the critics haven’t deterred them from forging ahead. So, with that, I believe I simply have to admit that DC Entertainment had the West Year Ever.

#80s #Adventures West Coast #Batman #Boybands #Comics #DC #Marvel #Movies #Music #Pop #Power Rangers #Race #Star Wars #Television #West Week Ever #West Year Ever #Wrestling #X-Men

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dcarevu · 5 years

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Batman TAS: The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne

“Sunshine. Clean air. I hate it.”

Episode: 37 Robin: Yes Writers: Judith Reeves-Stevens (teleplay), Garfield Reeves-Stevens (Teleplay), and David Wise (Story) Director: Frank Paur Animator: Akom Airdate: October 29, 1992 Grade: B

Whoa! Wait a minute! Didn’t we just talk about the episode Eternal Youth? And wasn’t that episode #29? Now we’re going to jump all the way up to #37? Did I miss something?

That was supposed to be an imitation of you. Not in a condescending way. Because yeah, we did jump ahead! Oh, don’t worry, we will be taking a look at every episode between Eternal Youth and Strange Secret, but we’ll be doing so in a “split timeline” fashion (term ripped from StephenVlogs/Zelda). I have been really behind with the posts for a while now because of the work I had in college. And I’ll keep getting further behind unless I do something. So today, we have jumped up to where I actually am with the episodes. This way I am caught up, and then I can go back and review the episodes I have missed when I have the spare time to do so. It’s as simple as that. And if you’re someone who would prefer not to read ahead, feel free to wait for me to catch up in the past timeline.

In the present timeline, we’re looking at Dr. Hugo Strange’s debut, as well as the first time we have seen some of Batman’s major villains work together. This episode is important, because it sets up possibilities for the future (ex Almost Got ‘im and Trial), but aside from that, it ends up being pretty inconsequential, and simply a fun episode with some laughs along the way. When we see the title and the title card, though, it is hard not to expect more. Char figured that this would be a deep episode about Batman’s past, and while we do go back in time a little bit through Bruce Wayne’s mind, it’s nothing that we haven’t seen before, and it’s incredibly short. Also, I don’t exactly know who that is on the title card. It looks like it is one of Strange’s men, but it’s also entirely possible that it is Bruce. It has virtually nothing to do with the episode, honestly, and because of that, it’s not one of my favorite title cards. Maybe this episode was much different in an earlier draft, and they had to water it down for kids. That wouldn’t shock me, this episode is a lot more cartoony than most. The main plot features a mind-reading device that leads its victims through personal, repressed memories, and then displays these thoughts as video onto a screen that Strange gets to look at. It also records the thoughts onto tape. Look, I’m willing to suspend my disbelief when it comes to invisibility (See No Evil), or even when it comes to transforming people into trees. This is a little silly. And this is following a pretty tense scene at the beginning, where a Gotham judge is desperately trying to buy one of these tapes back, which shows that she was the one who caused a major fire long ago as a child, and has kept it a secret ever since. She doesn’t have enough money to pay for the tape, so Strange’s goons don’t give it to her, and they tell her that she now owes even more (they also have a duplicate tape as backup, seen later. Evil bastards). She’s so desperate to get the tape, that when Batman swoops in to settle things, the tape happens to find its way onto a dangerous-looking metal beam, suspended above the water, and she crawls out to grab it (nearly falling). It may not be animated that well, but it makes for some good set-up. From here on, though, the episode receives a big tone shift.

After Dr. Hugo Strange reads Bruce’s mind, he discovers that Bruce is Batman. This is a major thing, no one so far in the show, villainous at least, has figured out who Batman is. Shouldn’t this be a super dramatic moment? But it’s really not. I question why Bruce didn’t simply look backwards to see what was showing on the screen or why he was so trusting to begin with, but even more so, I question how Strange deduced that Bruce is Batman through the footage shown. Yeah, we see the bat-signal and Batman’s glove, but this could be a simple metaphor or a desire to be Batman. It proves nothing, to me. But in the show’s logic, we must accept that this is enough to count, and now, armed with Bruce’s secret, Strange attempts to auction the tape to Joker, Penguin, and Two-Face. We get to see all four of these goobery characters interacting, and it is truly great. It’s what makes the episode so watchable. They have such strong personalities, and not once do they ever feel out of character. Even Penguin is a blast, only making one bird pun that I remember. And this bird pun is one that anyone would be likely to make, so it didn’t feel overly gimmicky. This is how to do Penguin right! As he sips his tea in the airplane as they are about to throw Strange out of it, I immediately realized that Batman in my Basement would not taint the character for me. Penguin, we have hope. Don’t screw it up. Two-Face being there wasn’t played seriously either, and this might bother some, but I was fine with it. It is sad to see Harvey stooping at such a low, but he’s a gangster now. It’s just how it is. Not every day for him is going to be that first episode with him all over again, y’know? And with him getting roasted by the Joker the way he did, I am totally open to having such a depressing character in such a casual episode. “Get out of my face, Clown.” “Which one?” Ouch, he walked right into that one.

The one major gripe that I actually have is the ending. I know I haven’t talked about it yet, but it has the same problem that I have with The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy where it is completely unbelievable. You’re telling me that not only does Bruce happen to have a perfect costume of himself that Dick can fit into, but also that Dick can do a 100% perfect Bruce Wayne impression? Get outta town! And then we got that exposition at the end, showing how Dick was able to appear so tall in Bruce’s clothes. I probably would have questioned it otherwise, but that could have been done more elegantly. Just show Dick stepping out of the stilts. We don’t need the “stilted” dialogue explaining it. I really don’t like when the show takes this route of Batman, or someone else, being disguised as someone else, because it always follows damn-near Scooby Doo-logic. Costumes aren’t that perfect. I just don’t buy it. It seems very “kidified", and like the writers simply had no idea how Batman would weasel out of this situation. If Loren Lester can actually do an impression of Kevin Conroy that well, I will eat my coffee cup.

I want this as a poster.

I’m sorry, but her hairline looks like it should belong to some middle-aged dude trying to be hip from the 70′s.

Seeing Batman walk along the top of the bridge was cool. Stealthy Batman is just as great to watch as brutal Batman.

But sometimes he’s both!

Sorry, but that judge was a lot thicker than that. Don’t skimp out.

Gordon chatting with Batman while appearing to be deep in thought, simply peering into the water was a nice touch.

Gordon witnesses Batman disappearing for once. It would be funny if from this point on, he thought that Batman always escaped via plane.

The large tombstones are cool, but this scene lacked the fluidity it required to be interesting.

The big reveal that Batman is Bruce Wayne. Ummm... Okay.

Looks kinda like Keaton Batman.

This face was really creepy. But apparently she started the fire on accident. Doesn’t really come across with a crazed look like that.

The animation didn’t destroy the episode or anything, but some of these characters have seen better days.

Like, I mean, it’s passable, but I’m not feeling the grotesqueness associated with Two-Face.

This was a rough shot. I’ve noticed that episodes tend to have trouble with shots featuring the Joker’s closed mouth.

Yikes. Look at. the henchman’s facial structure. What happened, dude?

I like the Joker’s popcorn-eating as Batman’s identity is about to be revealed.

And Hugo Strange rubbing his hands together with greed was delightfully silly. I also wonder how the rogues obtained so much money. I bet most of it is Penguin’s. Joker probably contributed the cents.

Got a nice screenshot of Penguin shooting the tape.

Nice badge.

Compare this to a similar scene in the Batman Beyond pilot. One has a much easier time climbing on a plane, given the suit.

Oh, Penguin. Thinking he’s so damn sophisticated as they drag a screaming man into the sky and threaten to toss him out the door. See, that would be absolutely barbaric, but the tea.

What a dreadful shot. Also, Strange’s voice actor (Ray Buktenica) knocks it out of the park with his pleas.

Once Gordon and Strange are gone, we see “Bruce” get a bit more of a smug expression that we don’t often see. This is actually Dick, and the change in expression I will praise. Still doesn’t excuse the overall scenario, though!

Char’s grade: A Next time: Heart of Steel (Part 1)

Full episode list here!

#dcau #dc animated universe #batman tas #the strange secret of bruce wayne #batman the animated series #btas #dr strange #dr hugo strange #hugo strange #batman #joker #two-tone #two face #twoface #penguin

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dcarevu · 6 years

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The Batman the Animated Series Theme Song

Animated tv shows that went on throughout the 80’s and early 90’s were known for having a really great theme song and animated intro to go with it, but rarely did this quality remain once the song ended. Look up “crazy stupid pranks h3” on Youtube sometime to get what could be considered a hilarious parody of this, even though he was actually parodying something completely different in this video. But back then, budgets were tight, and more money was spent on the theme song to get people hooked in. A lot of the time with theme songs, it wasn’t only the animation quality taking a dip once the episode started. Sometimes the tone would change as well. One example of this (although from later in the 90’s) is Pokémon, at least when it comes to the English dub. This is a masterpiece of an intro, but when the show starts, the tone is vastly different, focusing more on comedy a lot of the time (old Pokémon has more of a comedic focus than I feel a lot of people actually remember). Batman was one of the shows that changed the game in this aspect (and in many other aspects as well), at least when it came to action shows. This was no Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The show was every bit as dark, brooding, and menacing as the intro was, and there was no deception when it came to advertising what you were about to watch. Now, the intro did obviously have a pretty damn good budget. It looks beautiful, and TMS were the ones that animated it, a top-notch studio known for some great work on this show and others. So to get around a major quality/tone shift, the intro was heavily stylized, as was the show. It was a representation of what you were about to watch as opposed to a supposed sneak preview. I think anyone could see the opening sequence and automatically assume that the episode following wouldn’t have as much ambiguity. It was almost like a super stylized movie poster, doing its job of getting you excited, but never letting you down. I am very overdue on talking about all of this, so I figured it would be better late than never to go through this sequence and analyze it a little bit, just for fun. I probably should have done this before the first episode!

Right away we start by actually integrating the Warner Brothers logo. This could have been really cheesy, but that chilling score mixed with seeing it immediately makes me feel like I’m watching a Batman film rather than a TV show aimed at children. The logo shifts to a police blimp, something made up for the show, and we immediately get a sense of the Batman TAS world which we are about to dive into.

Some really nice background work that we get to pan through. This serves as our establishing shot, showing us as much as it can in the time provided of where our Batman resides and looms. It’s like a gargoyle’s playground, and already we can tell that this isn’t your average Saturday morning cheeseball.

Two sinister figures step into the shot. Notice the lack of any real texture or line work. This leaves so much up to the imagination and further sets up the tone. The production company behind the show has stated that when the intro was initially animated, it was done in full detail, but it was sent back and redone because they wanted this vague, mysterious aesthetic. I’d absolutely love to see the initial version, but I am more than happy with what actually became the sequence.

The music creates some tension, and then it is relieved by an explosion that cuts through the darkness. It almost makes you jump right out of your seat. Imagine seeing this in a movie theater. This scene also confirms your suspicions about the two figures. Their intentions cannot be good.

Wow, the music chugs right along here, almost taking your heartbeat for a ride along with it. Then we get a shot from behind the Batmobile. It blasts to life, and we see one red section amongst all the black colors. It’s almost like Batman’s version of the bank-explosion, and equally as threatening to the men he’s about to hunt down.

There it is. I’d love to know what show people thought this was if they happened to flip to Fox right as this show appeared. Would they have known it was Batman immediately? The Tim Burton movie had been out for a bit at this point, so I would assume that many did.

And here we see the villain’s parallel situation, rushing to the same spot that Batman is, little do they know. We barely see any background details, leaving all of the focus to the darting feet and gaining police car.

Boy, they sure do make it up that building quickly. Everyone loves to point this out, and I’ll admit that it’s something I’ve always noticed. But it’s also something that you don’t dwell on because, well, who cares. We see a dead end, and know there’s only so much further they can run until they become prey to the knight. We also see a really cool red skyline, which honestly wasn’t common to see in Batman the Animated Series until much later after the resurgence (TNBA). I’ve been kinda unsure of why people treat the red sky thing as if it’s an issue. I always loved how it looked, personally.

The look on their eyes says it all. At this point our fists are clenched. “C’mon. Show us what show this is!”

The menacing silhouette drops down. I loved this stylized look they they often do in the show, where all you see is the shape of a giant bat and some white, glowing eyes.

And there he is. Everyone watching immediately knows what they’re watching now. Here is the best-looking Batman that anyone had seen on tv thus far, giving that intimidating glare. We do see three dots of cell dirt, and it’s too bad that the crew never got around to editing these out before the first episode. Imperfections on an otherwise perfect looking shot.

The baddies were spooked, but now it’s clear that they’re aggressive and have no idea what they’re getting themselves into. We also see that they’re holding firearms, something that was not as common at the time (and definitely not as common now).

Batman, as always, a perfect shot with the batarang. This really has to be seen in motion to be appreciated. It looks so clean, and here you realize that there is no escaping for the thugs.

Batman leaps up, looking like a supernatural being. This is possibly my second favorite shot in the whole sequence, just because of how demonic Batman looks. If you saw this coming at you, you’d probably assume that you’d be sleeping in your death bed that night. I like to imagine that because of fear and the darkness, this is genuinely how criminals remember Batman looking.

Out cold. You don’t necessarily see what batman actually did to him. Before watching the show and knowing Batman’s philosophies, you’re not even sure if the guy is alive. You just know that Batman seems fascinating, and that you cannot wait to learn more about him, and possibly feel the same sense of mystery that you would feel if you were actually on that rooftop.

The way Batman bends here is again how I picture thugs remembering him. He moves way faster and a lot different than people usually picture humans being able to. And with the adrenaline rush, your mind can play tricks on you, man. Try staring at your reflection in a dark room sometime. Our minds aren’t always as straight forward as we assume.

Batman took care of them before the police could even get up to the top of the building. You know how effortless this fight was. For the dark knight, it’s just another workday. For everyone else, it’s something unforgettable and unworldly. Everything is relative.

Here we see that the two men are fine, when Batman easily could have ended their lives. We know now that Batman isn’t a cold-blooded killer, but a protector of the night. A twisted guardian angel.

Here we scale up, and the shot melts into another section of the city. We get a taste of the heights of Gotham City here.

This couldn’t get anymore awes-

Whoa. Um. I was saying. A section of the music that played before repeats (my favorite section, with my favorite shot), and we get that flash of lightning. No need for a title sequence. This speaks for itself. Text would have cheapened it.

And that is the intro to Batman the Animated Series. I’ll likely be going over every intro we come across throughout the DCAU, so hopefully look forward to that! I’ve also decided to mix things up sometimes with posts like this and not just stick to episode blogs. As long as I have something to talk about, anyway! I’m hoping that more people find the blog this way. If you liked what you read, check out more! I’m not necessarily the fastest at posting, I am a busy, busy college student who sets schoolwork as priority. But I do posts for every single episode of the DC Animated Universe! I also take submitted questions, and would love to start discussions!

Also, check this out:

youtube

#batman tas #batman #batman the animated series #dc animated universe #dcau

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