#zack needs an animal sidekick

[duhragonball]

Who is your favorite non-Sayian, non-villain character in the Dragonball series? I really like Piccolo and Tien for instance. Or do you only have room for the major players?

Probably Bulma, Piccolo, or Krillin, depending on my mood. If I show greater appreciation for Saiyans and villains, it's only because they have a greater presence in the show, so there's more for me to talk about.

Even so, I still enjoy minor characters, or even obscure ones. To give you an idea, or just because I need to get it out of my head, I'll say a few words about my latest fixation, Ivy from Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?

I just woke up today and somehow got reminded of this cartoon, which was promoted heavily on Fox back in 1994 while I was trying to watch Batman: The Animated Series. Carmen Sandiego is the thief from the old computer games, and the cartoon introduced a pair of detective characters to chase her, a brother-and-sister team named Zack and Ivy.

Zack is pretty easy to read. He's a computer whiz, voiced by the same guy who plays Robin in the Teen Titans cartoons, and he's basically this adolescent sidekick type. Ivy, on the other hand, I could never quite figure out. And the show is unwatchable, so that didn't help much.

Like, okay, in 1994 I was 17, and I kind of had the hots for Ivy. She kind of looks like a prototype Kim Possible, so I guess that gives younger people an idea of what I'm talking about. I think I just assumed she was also 17, but sometimes the show plays her off like she's an adult. I mean, she's a professional detective, and she seems pretty experienced, and from what I've read she has a "history with Carmen" according to the show. The implication is that she's been working this job for several years, so maybe she started when she was Zack's age and she's about 24 now. I'm just spitballing.

On the other hand, that's kind of dumb. It's a kids show, and Zack's a kid, so why wouldn't Ivy also be a kid? You see her in the same scene with Carmen and it seems obvious. She's older than Zack, but not by that much.

On the other hand, the two detectives are in contact with a live-action character known as the "Player", which sort of suggests that the entire cartoon is taking place inside a computer game, and Ivy doesn't actually exist. That would explain why no one can find a woman in a bright red trenchcoat, and why Zack is considered the second most qualified person to catch her. So Ivy could be any age, or no age at all. She's not a character so much as an avatar for the faceless Player.

Anyway, I only got this far because I looked up information on the show over the course of the day, because I had completely forgotten the character's whole deal. I just remembered the red hair and the bomber jacket. But while I was looking it up, I found out they made a whole other Carmen Sandiego show in 2019, and in that one, Zack and Ivy are Carmen's accomplices, which kind of blew my mind. Apparently Carmivy is a popular ship in that fandom, so I feel less silly for crushing on Ivy in 1994.

I guess the point I'm trying to make here is that I always admired the Ivy design, even if the character concept was frustratingly vague and inconsistent. And this is just the example that I've been thinking about today. I find myself latching onto all sorts of obscure characters, wanting to find out more about them, and then getting frustrated when I learn there's not much to be had.

And this is my roundabout way of saying that of course I like the supporting cast of Dragon Ball. Characters like Tien and 17 and Zarbon are what make the whole thing come together, and a lot of them have lore that's much more satisfying than Ivy's.

[setoangel01]

Inspired by the fantastic story “Thing with Feathers” by AutumnalBlep over on A03.

I absolutely adore this story! I read it over three times now and when it was updated today, I was over the moon. <3 Such a fantastic premise and it’s written just so damn well, it just makes me happy. I love stories that include redemption arcs for Angeal and Genesis where they can finally get the help they deserve, and of course, whenever Zack is involved, it makes it all the better. The dynamic and comradarie that grows over the course of this fantastic story is some of the best I’ve ever read. So fantastically done! So just because I had to, I had to draw one of the scenes inspired by Zack befriending one of Angeal’s clones. Since he totally would and it is the most wholesome thing in the world. Colbalt is definitely best boi! So together, these two are def best bois! <3 Also, I never drew a ff7 griffin and I’m pretty terrible at animals in general so sorry if it sucks. XD I tried lol

[vrisrezis]

Rachel from Angels Of Death with a s/o that is her little sidekick headcanons? Like let's say Rachel's s/o was having a sleepover at Ray's house and the parents are already that insane that they forgot Rachel's partner was over and the events of that night played the same with s/o witnessing Rachel's mother's murder and past out from it only to wake up sitting on a chair sitting next to Rachel and the story goes on as it does in the anime with the difference that the s/o tries to pursue Ray into not killing herself and just generally tries their best to help both themselves, Ray and Zack get out alive? Sorry if this was too long^^' Thank you!

I think with this in mind, Rachel feels less alone. She even feels a need to protect somebody from Zack when you three first met. Generally speaking, not much will change. However, if she grows feelings for this individual, it would give her a reason to live. She’s grateful for you, especially when you try to help her figure out ways to escape the different unknown places you guys are trapped in. You’re selfless and caring, everything she wants to be. And in the end she will find a reason to stay alive, with you and Zack.

[ilovescaredysquirrel2]

Okay, so here's the story: I'll be doing movie reviews on my top 10 favorite movies and promoting them and why I think they need more love. "One Stormy Night/Arashi No Yoru Ni" is a big one and will change your life, that's how inspirational and powerful it is of a movie... and it's for family audience as well. However, I'm watching the English dub, which is technically a fandub. It's more well done, and I can't watch a movie with subtitles. The voices though... amazing! Even my grandma liked it the first time she watched it.

One stormy night has everything: The strong female character we all crave for (Mei's mother) who sacrifices herself for her baby, the overprotective grandmother (Mei's grandma), the goofy sidekick who is full of himself (Tapper) and the cute girly sidekick who kind of enjoys attention (Mina), a bad*** villain (Giro), the villain's slightly more lovable sidekick who speaks with British accent (Barry), the two screwups who can't do anything right (Zack and Beach) and our two underdogs who are different from the rest of their groups (Mei and Gabu). Mei is a sheep/goat (it's an English dub idk what he is exactly) who is not the stereotype of how a sheep should be. Mei is fearless, carefree, and outgoing. Gabu is also different from his pack. Gabu's sensitive, goofy, and not tough like the other wolves. Just by the descriptions of the characters, I think you canmake out which one suits you and which one you can relate to. If you have questions, FEEL FREE TO ASK ME!

The other movies I will be doing reviews of;

1.Barnyard/Back at the Barnyard (Nickelodeon)

2.Sheep and Wolves (WizArt)

3.Wolfwalkers (Cartoon Salloon)

4.Rock Dog (Mandoo Pictures)

5.Duck Duck Goose (Netflix and Origin Pictures)

6.Chicken Run (DreamWorks, Aardman, and Pathé)

7. Storks (Warner Bros)

8. Rio and Rio 2 (BlueSky and 20th century fox)

and finally at 9. One Stormy Night/Arashi No Yoru Ni (TBS and Studio Chizu)

and at Halloween I'll do a stream on Discord where I'll watch 4 Halloween-themed kids/family movies in a row

I plan for next year at Easter time. I'll start watching more movies with sheep but things happened that changed my life forever and now next year will start. Next year at Father's day, I'll be reviewing Duck Duck Goose so that means you got to wait a LOOOONG time for the One Stormy Night review. Those of you who watched One stormy night, let me know you're favorite character in the comments. I don't know if you know me already but you'll know I LOVE Gabu! ^u^ Gabu is one of my favorite anime characters of all time. I think he's so cute and funny. I love the movie's character designs, especially for him. His voice in the dubbed version is also really good too. Tustin Macafee did a great job on every character he voiced! I fell in love with Gabu!

Now I know the dubbed version is TECHINCALLY A FANDUB but I don't care. It's not fully a fandub, since they got permission from the companies that made One Stormy Night/Arashi No Yoru Ni, and had the funding to dub it over. It's not like a normal fandub. I can't watch a movie with subtitles, too distracting. If you're an easily distracted person like me, I recommend the dubbed version, and even if you're not I still recommend it. I was so shocked that one man could voice like 20 characters! If you know who Tustin Gilmer Macafee is, let him know what an amazing job he did and why isn't he voicing characters in movies/cartoons and stuff?

Another thing; One Stormy Night is mostly a family movie. I wouldn't consider it a kids movie, but I will say it's for family audiences. There's a difference between "kids movie" and "family movie". I would rate One Stormy Night as PG. Although, it does have some intensity in some scenes, I think mostly kids can handle it. It moves slow. I wouldn't put it on for a group of 2-5 year olds, though. Also, if you have a disability such as autism and are easily upset I don't think there's a lot that might upset someone like that, but I'd still be cautious. There's some violence, no real blood though. There is a LITTLE WEE BIT of blood.... but not a lot. I think it's mostly a cute movie though. It's only that first scene that's a little touchy. There are also a few minor swear words, not real bad swear words but they say "Hell" the wrong way and use the word "Bastard". I'm sure there's Disney movies that used those words, too, it's not like real bad swear words. It's not like street swear words like the F word and stuff. I recommend this movie to everyone in the world because of how powerful the message is but I know in reality that everyone in the world can not watch everything. My cousin is 9 and she is very sensitive and innocent, I think the movie is fine if you cut out the first scene and told her what happened. However, most 9 year olds I think could handle everything in the movie and I think more parents should let their children who are old enough to watch it. It's long and slow moving, not really the best thing for a group of preschoolers, though. I wouldn't have the newborn baby watch it either, they don't know what the heck is going on.

If you're looking for another option, and you have a bunch of little kids, the show is an option. They made a terrible adaptation, yet it's also amazing. I love the show but I hate the fact that they made Mei and girl and changed their designs... and the worst betrayal... Barry doesn't speak with British accent! 0_0 This can't be I can't listen to him and think that's Barry that's not Barry! (Just kidding, but the voices for the other characters in the show are very unfitting) I believe the show for One Stormy Night was meant for preschoolers, and even though it's a Japanese show, it reminds me a lot of western kids shows made for that age group. The animation reminds me a lot of Miss Spider Sunny Patch Friends and the voice acting is spot on! Jack Merluzzi makes a great Gabu. I don't love him like Tustin's Gabu, but Jack does a good job and makes Gaby always sound enthusiastic. The names are also different from the show, too! Baru=Barry, Mii=Mina, Tappy=Tapper

If you have questions, tell me in the comments

Where to watch the movie - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR91OFzEjKQ&list=PL0DF5236A6A2C7BC1 (i know it's a playlist, it'll play automatically)

This has all the episodes of the show- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQeBajjKkQQ&list=PLyg8y-6ZFxZShTgm92QzlVKAGTfg2SwkP

[popculturebuffet]

Loud House Reviews: Racing Hearts

Welcome back errbody. Continuing the Salauna trilogy with Racing Hearts. We’ve already seen the cute asking them out story , now comes the actual first date.. which ITSELF is massively important. Keep in mind even though Nick fully supported L is for Love and the crew put a lot of work into it given how good it turned out, Sam easily still could’ve vanished into Limbo. For it’s first 2 seasons loud house, the show HAD continuity: Once Ronnie Anne and Bobby moved away to set up their spinoff, there was an episode with Lincoln’s friends trying to help him deal with missing her in the first ep giving any of them  besides Clyde focus, a trend that would continue, they still showed up via video chat or in person where waranted and there was a full episode about Lincoln’s group of friends trying to help him deal with it... which also reminds me of a smiliar episode of ned’s declassified that was really damn good but unrelated to this... seriously that show is underated and I hope with the Netflix deal it shows up there.  Anywho back on the show we’re actually talking about, the show didn’t really have arcs, thigns that carried from episode to episode.. until Season 3. Season 3 is where the show REALLY hit it’s stride, with it now fully being an ensemble show and more continuity injected int, not interfering iwtht he show’s episodic nature but making it feel like events had meaning. Stella was introduced in “White Hare” and later got a full introduction that i’ll no doubt cover with “Be Stella My Heart” and afterwords rather than being forgotten entirely like the show used to do became part of his friend group in their episodes. Lynn SR. was revealed to have quit his office job to work at a restraunt and was working on opening his own, which while only a two episode arc, lead to the opening of Lynn’s table in the finale and it’s stuck around since. And Leni got a job at a clothing store she’s kept since and friends at said job who’ve shown up since.  See i’m fine with a show not having heavy duty continuity or serilzation, some shows thrive there but I love it when shows do this: even if it’s not all about plots, things progresing or being followed up on makes the show feel more vibrant and keeps it from stagnation in my book.  And as as show with a bunch of girls at dating age, it was invetivible theird’ be recurring romantic arcs, hence Chaz is mentoined as dating Leni, if not given any real focus so far hopefully that’ll change, while Luaan, in this episodes pairing brother, and most importantly Luna got followups on theres. And thus that brings us here to racing hearts,where nick earns the praise they got from l is for love by following up on it and showing in no uncertain terms the two as a blossoming couple.  I get to the actual episode under the cut:

We start with Lori being upset the bathroom is being taken up.... and that brings up a small issue I have: .. WHY IS THERE ONLY ONE BATHROOM FOR 10 KIDS. I do assume Lynn Sr and Rita have their own, and that it might be hard to put another one up there for plumbing reasons, but it still seems WEIRD to not have more than one up there or close to the stairs so that it dosen’t take 50 years for 10 children to get ready. And yes I said 10, Lily has a diaper and isn’t potty trained yet and any cleaning up or getting dressed, when needed, falls on Rita or Lynn Sr. But still it’s a LOT to ask for 10 children to share share one bathroom peacefully and it’s only through the power of not wanting to spend an animation budget on it that the bathroom isn’t a constant disaster area.  Anyways it’s actually Luna who, to her sister’s shock, is in a facemask getting ready to go to the Royal Woods Astonishing Quest with Sam for their first date. Naturally the other two are excited, and Luna, despite her usual nerves, is actually incredibly stoked and feels it’ll go perfectly. 

At any rate, she’s happy and Lynn comes in to kick everyone out to scrape off her callosuses instead of you know... having Lucy leave their room or doing it while she’s not there, butttt that little detail is actually a tell for later so fair play to you. Plus Lucy may just understandably find int gross and Lynn dosen’t trike me as good at picking up after herself. As it turns out to no one’s shock, Lynn was banned last year for being a sore winner and rightfully so as we see in flashback, but she’scome to terms with it... wink. But they agree to leave as the louds need to get over there anyway.  Cut to the ASTONISHING QUEST.. which turns out to be a scavenger hunt with admitely a great name. Seriously someone use that. But we see tons of returning charcters including Scootst, Pop Pop and his girlfriend, and... 

...........

I”d apologize for thatbut I feel that way any time I see the little weirners face. Be glad this dosen’t happen every time he shows up.  On the bright side he looks as dead inside as I do whenever I find out he’s in an episode, and Zack looks the same amount of dead inside.. probably because he realized a filing cabnet would’ve been a better partner. A review of your choice for the first person to get that reference and send it to me.  Thankfully my extesntial dread at seeing a Rusty cameo is lifted when Luna meets up with Sam and the two are awkard dorks together for a second as they figure out what greeting to do, settling on a handshake. It’s fucking precious. We then meet Royal Wood’s Mayor, voiced by Shirley! Now if she’d just show up on Ducktales already. Though hearing her reminds me I should do some Harvey Beaks reviews at some point... anyways, she announces the quest and Clyde and LIncoln make a fist bump while Lori and Leni stare down their parents like their about to start brawling in the streets then and there. What.. what have you guys done to each other over the years at these things? I want to know the history there. Have astonishing quest show up again in another season. I”d also love an Brooklyn Nine Nine style heist episode with this show .  Anyways, the rules are laid out: Each team is given an evelope with a clue, standard scavenger hunt contest stuff, and have challenges at each location to complete. The first team to finish wins the key to the city.. er a tiny trophy with you did it on it. Honestly that last one’s better anyway. Anyways after from trashtalk from Scoots and her partner Helen, who seems oddly familliar, we’re off! The first clue is easily figured out by Luna and the two old ladies quickly take advantage of Luna saying it loud where everyone can hear it by heading off: It’s off to Lazer Maze , the local Lazer Tag.  The guy there gives them their challenge: They need to get 500 points to get the next clue. Luna takes to it like a fish to water and easily tags Lisa and her friend Darcy... another nice little cameo. And it also shows something I like: not only are all the louds except Lynn, whose banned, and Lily, whose a baby, are competting on their own. And only Lori, who pops back up in a bit and Leni,whose partnered with her are plot relevant, but the episode easily could’ve left them out or used extras for the other teams but wisely decied to instead use characters we’re familiar with. It adds a nice touch that makes this feel like an actual event and make sme wish the show did more townwide events like this. Stars hollow it up. You have a fun character in the mayor, who was hilarious in her one minute here, you have your taylor. Just give her a quirky sidekick and have fun with it. Granted I want every series to have a little gilmore girls in it, but still.  Anyways Sam botches it and instead of shooting the golden girls shoots Luna by accient, though by the next cut they have their points, and the lazer tag guy encourages them anyway. Sam apologizes not being good at Laser tag but Luna happily shrugs it off: While she enjoys it it’s not for everyone. Anyways it’s Luna’s turn to be confused while Sam easily figures out the clue: IT’s off to the farm. And if you wanted the exact oppsite of my reaction to a Rusty cameo...

Yeah while my reactions to Rusty is “Why haven’t you died on the way to your home planet yet?” My reaction to Liam is pure joy. He’s like this generation’s stinky peterson and I love it and has a nice enjoyable personality instead of being my own personal Kahn.  Anyways LIam’s challenge is to get Eggs from the chickens. Which Sam does easily.. Luna however is nervous to start despite Sam’s reasssurances.. before totally freaking out. To be fair though, chickens can be downright terrifying. Just look at Poyo

. 

And why yes that is a chicken hell lordd whose also a cyborg  bisecting santac lause. And why no, you are’nt getting any more context than that, go read Chew.  Anyways theys till have enough eggs to complete the challenge, if now splattered in egg and with Liam disapointed with their shenanigans, but being a professinal about it. Total pro. Anyways, Sam is just as ready to brush it off as Luna, noting farms just aren’t for everyone. I also like this plot in general because while it has the series habit of “thing happens again and again and again then climax” it’s used to flesh sam out a bit. While she is there to be Luna’s love intrest, being a love intrest dosen’t mean a character can’t be good or fleshed out. Just look at tom from star vs the forces of evil for a good example of that.  Anyways it’s once again Luna’s turn to figure out the clue and we’re off to Werk It Dance studio.. I gurantee it was going to say twerk it but nick was like “oh honey no. “. The name is just awkward otherwise. Or maybe i’m just old. Also the twins are there. Just a nice thing to note and two characters I THINK are from an episode I haven’t watched yet but read about. Anyways, Luna’s pumped while sam has “oh crapbaskets” written all over her face and quickly does terribly. This one however is .. not as easy to brush of. Not liking going to farms or laser tag is easy, there just things not to do on dates. Not dancing.. is hard when your both musically inclined people whose taste in music is why you met in the first place. While they try to gloss over it, it’s clear this is an issue and worries them both.  Moving on you know the drill at this point: Sam gets the clue, Luna dosen’t, we’re off to rock climbing. Sam utterly loves it while Luna is terrified. Moving on We cut to Luna, whose sitting down feeling depressed, aka my natural state these days, when Lori and Leni show up. Lori even gave her a cute backpack for the quest.. that has a leash attached. I’d say it’s a bit extreme but i’m half convinced this happened at some point and is the reason Leni dosen’t wear laces. 

Luna is of course spiraling because it turns out she and Sam don’t have a lot in common. Lori however gives some really good advice: Turns out she and Bobby hit some of the same problems and she just suggest they both try embracing things the other person likes. Even if it dosen’t work, shocker given the episode is far from over yet, it’s not bad advice and I like that in relationsihp based episodes it’s Lori who tends to be the one helping out, having the most experince to deal with that and a, at least by this point early Lori could be a bit TOO asholish sometimes, really solid couple.  And if you read this before I apologize because for some reason Tumblr decided to EAT A THIRD OF MY REVIEW FORCING ME TO REWRITE IT. And yes i’m ranting a bit but in my defense I worked hard on this and to have most of it chewed up through no fault of my own pisses me off and thus I needed to rant a bit. Back to the review! So Luna tries Lori’s approach while Lori runs off to find Leni who got off the leash.. again. SHe’s probably just going to sniff some ground, eat the plants,she’ll be finnne Lori. Anyways Luna and Sam go to the local health smoothie shop, the kind of place that is my nightmare for people like me with Orangutan bods but makes sense Sam would be into, and the next challenge is identify what this smoothie is made of. I”ve played this game before: my guesses were fish bones,chicken bones, and dry bones.... seriously the glass was just purred bones. I never bought a smoothie from that guy again.. mostly because someone called the cops. There’s a lesson in that. Luna however spits hers out.  IN a break from formula the next activity is for Luna to come sail away, come sail away come sail away with Sam.. whose actually a pretty apt sailor. You can guess the rest. Luna botches it, they still get the clue, yadda yadda time for the sad part. The two have an honest discussion abotu the fact that despite chemstry being there, they seemingly have nothing but their music in common and are diffrent people, with Luna glumly resolving to finish the race as friends and neither being happy. WHelp my heart just broke, next episode.  So Mayor SHirley from Community greets the girls at the final challenge: A bake off... because apparently just being the first one there wasn’t good enough... then again i’ve seen far worse rule changes by a far smugger canadian man so i’ll let it slide. Thankfully the universe throws the two a bone: Neither can bake. What follows is a damn adorable scene: The two touch hands and blush over butter, before working in synch.. and Sam then procedes to cause their pie to explode in her face.. I could’ve phrased that better, but Luna giggles at it, Sam playfully tackles her giggling insues and the two end up on the ground, smiling at each other. Also Helen and Scoots win. Who cares. Luna realizes from this that she was an idiot to suggest giving up so soon, and proposes they simply try to find things they like together rather than focusing on their diffrences. Because as a coked out cat who sang a duet with a coked out Paula Abdul once said:  If things go wrong we make corrections, to keep things goin in the right directions, try to fight it but i’m telling you jack, it’s uselss opposites attract! By the way the show really dropped the ball not having Luna mention this song titles in one of her song refrence things she does this episode. Anyways the two decide to start dating and then hug. My heart.. it’s too full.  We end the episode on the reveal Helen is Lynn, a nice payoff for earlier as Lynn rides off on her elderly partner in crimes scooter into the sunset while Luna and Sam giggle and look on. Like any great love story. And we’re out.  Final Thoughts:  Okay second time around with this, and it’s a great ep. The repetition hurts it SLIGHTLY, but Sam and Luna’s chemistry helps the episode as does it’s terrific aseop: You don’t have to be exactly alike to love a person, or like the same things.. as long as you connect, and TRY to find things you both enjoy, you’ll be fine. The episodes also helped by plenty of nice little cameos, showing off the series new grasp on continuity, and Lori being Luna’s advisor and Lynn naturally being the douchey rival to them and everyone else. Overall a solid ep that was a natural step forward and set up a good status quo for Sam and Luna. The next ep dosen’t feel as natural a story step, but is still a nice one and the one that insipired me to take the leap and review these eps so join me next time as our faviorite couple bond with some cats and get into some scooby doo door shenanigans with “The Purrrfect Gig” Until then later days. 

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #455

Top Ten Comedy Sidekicks

Ha, LOL, ROFL, guffaw, snort. Comedy, eh? You’ve got to love it, unless you somehow fall through a timewarp into a late-seventies working men’s club in Blackburn and you find yourself choking to death on second-hand smoke, mother-in-law jokes, and a simmering undercurrent of racist violence. Good times!

Anyway, it’s fairly common that even in the most serious of narratives and with the most serious of protagonists, we need a little chuckle very now and again (nobody tell Zack Snyder – actually, no, scratch that, somebody definitely tell Zack Snyder). It lightens the load, makes the world more nuanced and realistic, and even makes the truly dark moments stand out all the stronger. Most films have a bit of a joke every once in a while (and, of course, Shakespeare’s tragedies are full of comic characters or bits of business), and one very common trope is the Comedy Sidekick.

What is a Comedy Sidekick? Well, it’s a supporting character who offers comic relief, basically. sometimes this can be obviously discernible – Luis in Ant-Man, for example, may function as a plot engine from time to time, but has little in the way of actual character development and is mostly there to be funny whilst the heroes do hero stuff. Sometimes it’s harder to define; I mean, are either of the Blues Brothers a comedy sidekick? Arguably Jake is the lead and Elwood is a bit more of a “turn” (he’s almost eternally deadpan and unemotional), but I’d never say one was inherently funnier or “straighter” than the other. And the you get onto films like Aladdin: sure, Aladdin himself is obviously the protagonist, and there’s an argument to be made that the Genie is a comic relief supporting character, but I feel in this case he’s far too integral to the plot, played by a significantly more famous actor, and really just dominates the film to the extent that he becomes the de facto lead (see also: Captain Jack Sparrow). Again, in Men in Black, Will Smith’s J is clearly the “funny” one, but Smith is also the bigger star and the audience entry point; plus, Tommy Lee Jones is hilarious as the deadpan K. So it’s not as simple as it may first appear.

Anyway, the ten in this list are ones I define as definitely being supporting characters. They may be big characters, in terms of plot or development, but they’re definitely there in support of another protagonist. And whilst they may be fully-rounded characters with their own arcs, their primary function is to be funny; they’re the ones who deliver the comedy lines back to the main character, or crack a joke at the end of a serious bit.

Right, I think that’s my usual ridiculous caveats out of the way. Now let’s make ‘em laugh.

Baldrick (Tony Robinson, Blackadder series, 1983-99): Baldrick is one of the supreme comic idiots in all of fiction. Serving as a perfect foil to Blackadder, he is not only supremely stupid but also his niceness and naiveté serves to undercut his master’s wickedness; plus his idiocy is often the undoing of Blackadder’s villainous plans. But he is also charmingly fully-rounded, oblivious to his own stupidity, possessed of “cunning plans”, and with a great love of turnips. A phenomenal turn from Robinson.

Sir John Falstaff (various plays by William Shakespeare, from 1597): is it cheating to include as significant and iconic a literary figure as Falstaff? Feels a bit like it, especially as he's practically a lead (and, indeed, becomes one in Merry Wives). But really he’s the archetype: a supremely vain and self-serving comic foil, but one with vast hidden depths as he’s keenly aware of his own frailties and the inevitable end of his good times with Prince Hal.

Father Dougal McGuire (Ardal O’Hanlon, Father Ted 1995-98): in many ways he’s a slightly watered-down version of Baldrick’s comic idiot; but Dougal is, if anything, even stupider, and less self-aware. He’s like a perfect idiot, a beautiful naïve fool, a supreme man-child with his Masters of the Universe duvet. And he’s divine, just incredibly hilarious throughout; and, like Baldrick, serves as the perfect foil for his more duplicitous and cynical elder.

Donkey (Eddie Murphy, Shrek, 2001): animated sidekicks are very often the comic relief, and I’d argue that Murphy’s Donkey is as good as they come. I actually think Murphy’s prior turn as Mushu in Mulan is probably the better character, but Donkey is just a comic force of nature, a creature who exists only to make everything dafter and funnier. It allowed Murphy a chance to go all-out in a way he hadn’t on screen for quite some time, and it was something we’d rarely seen in animation (arguably only Robin Williams’ Genie is in the same ballpark). Plus, he actually is a good friend to Shrek, bringing out his better nature. Well done, Eddie!

Danny Butterman (Nick Frost, Hot Fuzz, 2007): another of those characters who really skirts the edges of “supporting comic relief” and is really a deuteragonist. But I feel like most of Frost’s characters in his partnerships with Simon Pegg are, essentially, supportive; Pegg is almost always the lead. In this film, despite Danny having some great development and functioning almost as a romantic partner for Pegg’s Nick Angel, he’s usually presented as a beautiful comic foil, his folksy, slobby demeanour contrasting perfectly with Angel’s straitlaced professionalism. And – for the second film in a row – he gets a tremendous C-bomb.

Luis (Michael Peña, Ant-Man, 2015): another comic fool, Luis is the silly, charming, endearing, loveable thorn in the side of Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang. He’s daft, yeah, and comes across as a bit dim, but his permanently-smiling demeanour means we just keep on loving him, even when we can see how annoying he would be. but what cements his position is his rapid-fire OTT explanations, and how the movie presents them; pieces of comedic joy in the MCU.

Cosmo Brown (Donald O’Connor, Singin’ in the Rain, 1952): Singin’ is one of those great Golden Age movies full of witty dialogue (as well as great songs, natch), and by its nature Gene Kelly is the lead and therefore straight man, whereas O’Connor’s Cosmo can be wackier and funnier, and in doing so get to the truth of what his friend is feeling. But what really gets him in this list is his performance of “Make ‘Em Laugh”, running up walls like he’s in The Matrix or something, and feeling like a Bugs Bunny cartoon brought to life.

Silent Bob (Kevin Smith, View Askiewniverse, from 1994): I guess you could argue that both Bob and his less-silent colleague Jay are, as a twosome, the comedy sidekicks in whichever films they’re in (apart from the two they headline, I guess); but if you take the pair on their own, I’d say Bob is the comic of the duo. Yeah, it’s Jay who’s the mile-a-minute loudmouth, cracking jokes and being explosively filthy. But who really gets the laughs? For my money it’s Smith’s perfectly-judged expressions, punctuating the pomposity or reinforcing the eccentricity of whatever Jay’s on about. And then every now and again he gets to speak, and delivers a great one-liner (“no ticket!”) or serious, heartfelt monologue (cf. Chasing Amy).

Semmi (Arsenio Hall, Coming to America, 1988): Semmi is supposed to be a loyal and devoted servant to Prince Akeem, and he is, I guess; but he’s also a true friend. Akeem’s quest to find love in New York is genuine, and despite the film’s high joke quantity, Eddie Murphy has to be relatively restrained in his lead role. Hall’s Semmi, on the other hand, gets to be acerbic, throwing shade and barbs at his lord, questing their quest and seeking his own share of wealth and, well, women. And we all love his line “you sweat from a baboon’s balls”.

Dory (Ellen DeGeneres, Finding Nemo, 2003): as discussed above, comedy cartoon sidekicks are a cinematic staple. They’re not often female, however, and even more rare is a female character who gets to be both funnier and seemingly dumber/goofier than the lead. Of course, Dory is full of pathos, a borderline tragic character whose chronic memory loss has a dreadful impact on her day-to-day life. It’s her sunny optimism (“just keep swimming!”) that makes her endearing more than her humour, however; and, of course, it’s this optimism that begins to chip away at Marlin’s (Albert Brooks’) flinty suit of armour. Funny, warm, makes our hero a better person, but can be a little bit sad – perfect comedy sidekick.

There are two that I’m annoyed that I couldn’t fit in so I'll mention them here: Carrie Fisher in When Harry Met Sally and Danny Kaye in White Christmas. In the former case, whilst Fisher’s Marie is hilarious throughout, and definitely comic relief when put alongside the relatively straight Sally, the fact that everyone, really, gets a lot of funny lines in what is a consistently funny film kinda knocked her down the rankings a little bit, even though I feel bad about it, because everything is always better if Carrie FIsher is in it, including these lists. Kaye’s Phil Davis in White Christmas absolutely steals that film from Bing Crosby, with fast-paced witty wordplay and some supreme physical comedy, and the running gag about how he saved the life of Crosby’s Bob Wallace is golden. But, I dunno, he just kept slipping down the list, despite being my favourite thing in that film. Sorry, Danny.

[glapplebloom]

Netflix’s Two Newest Animated Series. Both reboots, but what do I think of them?

She Ra is the story of a girl named Adora who grew up believing the people who raised her was the good guys. But when she discovers the truth, she swore to stop them from causing any further harm. I saw this during the lack of computer time and I am glad to have seen it.

A lot of the characters are fun. Adora being a fish out of water. Catra’s relationship with her (even if you don’t want to take the romantic route). Glitter’s need to prove herself. And Scorpina is just fun. You only need to look briefly to the original to see just how different the two shows are in almost everything.

Look at how drastically different these two different Spinnerellas look. One looks like they can spin while the other one looks like if She Ra had a Jem-sona. You can even see here how the others look in comparison. Some aren’t that drastically different (I think both Glimmers would look cute in either outfits) while others are vastly improved (the removal of Bow’s mustache being just the top reasons he looks better).

She Ra will be getting a second season, so now is the perfect time to catch up.

She Ra Carmen Sandiego is the story of a girl named Adora Black Sheep who grew up believing the people who raised her was the good guys. But when she discovers the truth, she swore to stop them from causing any further harm. As you can tell, the origin does seem similar. But unlike Adora, her reason isn’t because Destiny called her.

Having Carmen as the main character I feel is a great idea. You didn’t see Where on Earth or Where in the World for the detectives (funny note, both Zack and Ivy are in this reboot as Carmen’s sidekicks), you came to try to solve Carmen’s crime. And while you lose that aspect of her, you gain her origin story. I think that’s a good compromise.

If I have to complain about one thing, it would be Chase Devineaux. He’s trying to be a Zenigata when he’s really a Gumshoe if he was a jerk to everyone. He’s thinking himself so highly when he’s probably the most incompetent detective to ever chase Carmen. And that includes those without the Almanac. Every other character is great, from the twins Ivy and Zack to the VILE villains like Coach Brunt and Dr. Bellum (the third Sara Bellum I ever saw).

It only has 9 episodes, but its definitely a much watch if you’re a fan of the original. And you could still enjoy it if you aren’t.

Those are my thoughts. Long story short, I say see them if you get the chance.

[aion-rsa]

Zack Snyder’s Justice League: DC Comics and DCEU Easter Eggs Guide

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This article contains Zack Snyder’s Justice League spoilers. We have a (relatively) spoiler free review here. 

Well, they finally released the Snyder Cut! Zack Snyder’s Justice League is now out in the world (and streaming on HBO Max) and it’s four hours of the director’s undiluted, controversial take on the DC Universe. It’s even more packed with DC history than the “official” theatrical release, if you can believe that, and it builds out the world of the DCEU in some new and unexpected ways.

There’s no shortage of DC Comics Easter eggs in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and even nods to DC movies of the past. It’s a six course meal of a movie that DC superhero fans should savor, because we’re unlikely to ever see anything like this again.

We’ve tried to find all the DC references and lore in the film. Here’s what we’ve got so far.

The Story

While the Justice League have been around since 1960 (they first appeared in Brave and the Bold #28) the broad strokes of this movie are based on 2011’s Justice League: Origin (which was adapted as the animated movie, Justice League: War), the comic book story that revamped the team’s initial team-up for a new generation. The villain of the comic was Darkseid not Steppenwolf, but the Parademon hordes, the Mother Boxes, and the tying of Cyborg’s origin to Fourth World technology all come straight out of this story.

Steppenwolf DID show up in a contemporary story as well, though. A visually-similar version of the character appeared in DC’s Earth-2, which indicated that Darkseid’s attack on Earth was one that spanned the multiverse, and his lieutenant Steppenwolf ravaged a different Earth, killing its greatest heroes in the process. So that’s two big comics influences out of the way here.

Throughout this movie, Steppenwolf keeps on trying to bring about “the unity” with the three Mother Boxes, but as far as I know, that has no correlation to anything in the comics. If anything, Steppenwolf’s quest and the movie’s backstory has more in common with the Lord of the Rings saga than anything Jack Kirby did, with magical tech being distributed across the different races of the world to keep it from falling into the wrong hands.

Aquaman

Of all the characters in this film, Aquaman seems to bear the most of Zack Snyder’s stamp. It’s incredibly visible just in his eyes, which were “humanized” considerably by the time he appeared in his solo movie.

Snyder’s original vision for Aquaman was clearly something a little grittier than the gleaming underwater fantasy that James Wan brought us. The eerie “hymn” that the women of the village sing to mark Arthur’s departure is a haunting reminder of how these characters are seen in this world.

As Aquaman returns to Atlantis, we see a familiar octopus. Could this be Topo, comic book octopus sidekick to Arthur and famed for his drum solo skills in the Aquaman movie? I’d like to think it is.

Willem Dafoe’s Vulko is here, looking a little different and perhaps a bit less kindly than he did in Wan’s film. Interestingly, he refers to Arthur as “the king who would be man,” an inversion on “the man who would be king,” and a shot at Arthur for not taking his rightful place as heir to the throne of Atlantis. For his part, Arthur’s refusal on the grounds that the Atlanteans are a “brutal, petty, superstitious people” also hints at broader visions Snyder had for the character.

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Aquaman: Complete DC Comics Easter Eggs and DCEU Reference Guide

By Mike Cecchini

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It’s interesting to note that Mera and other Atlanteans speak with English accents here, where they didn’t in the Aquaman movie. It’s a proud tradition of making alien races speak with an English accent, one perhaps most famous in superhero movies thanks to virtually the entire population of Krypton in Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie.

Similarly, Atlanteans don’t speak underwater here as they do in the James Wan film, instead creating bubbles of air in which to communicate like land-dwellers. It’s pretty cool.

The song that plays when Arthur vanishes into the waves is Nick Cave’s “There is a Kingdom,” and its lyrics are pretty much as on-the-nose as you might expect. 

Aquaman spearing two Parademons with his trident reminds me of this moment from Justice League: Origin, as well…

Is Aquaman the first person to call Bruce “Batman” in the DCEU? In Batman v Superman it was all “the Bat” this and “the Gotham Bat” that.

Speaking of Batman…

Batman

When we first see Bruce Wayne searching for the mysterious Arthur Curry, he’s riding a jet black horse, which is very similar to the steed he rode in some famous pages of Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, and Lynn Varley’s classic and influential The Dark Knight Returns, a work which has considerable influence on how Batman was portrayed here and in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

If you look closely you can see a 201 area code on Bruce Wayne’s business card, which further confirms that Gotham City is on the New Jersey side of the river that separates it from Metropolis.

This movie, like Batman v Superman before it, reminds us that we’re dealing with a Batman who has been active for 20 years. It’s yet another reminder of the influence of The Dark Knight Returns on the DCEU vision for Batman, depicting him as a much older, more experienced crimefighter.

Let’s just take a moment to appreciate how good Jeremy Irons is as Alfred Pennyworth. His line about “someone who broods in a cave” is classic Alfred shade (as is the moment later on when he is totally micromanaging how Diana makes tea). See also: Bruce’s joke about how he works for Alfred.

Bruce tells Alfred that he “made a promise to him [Superman] on his grave.” As we well know with Bruce and his parents, when he swears on someone’s grave, it’s a promise he takes very seriously.

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

By Mike Cecchini

TV

The Batman Animated Series You Never Saw

By Mike Cecchini

We meet Kobna Holdbrook-Smith as Crispus Allen very briefly in Gotham PD HQ talking to JK Simmons’ excellent Jim Gordon. Detective Crispus Allen was a Batman supporting character who played a significant role in the excellent Gotham Central series. While we don’t get any hint of his future here, Allen went on to become the human host of the Spectre after he was murdered by a corrupt colleague.

Barry asks Bruce incredulously, “you have a satellite?” to which Bruce calmly responds, “I have six.” It feels very much like something Grant Morrison’s Batman would say (he even owns a flying saucer), but it ALSO hints at the fact that for many years, the Justice League operated out of a satellite HQ. Perhaps Bruce would consider moving the team up there in future installments.

During the big battle at the end, there’s a terrific shot of Batman that mirrors his first appearance in Detective Comics #27.

There’s a pretty clear shot of the Bat-tank that is a very direct nod to a panel from Dark Knight Returns.

Cyborg

It seems like all the flashbacks to Vic Stone’s pre-Cyborg college days take place in 2015, so it’s after the events of Man of Steel, but he has only been “Cyborg” for a relatively brief period here.

Thanks to the backstory in this version of the film, we learn that Vic is already a genius level intellect. Although in the comics it was because Drs Silas and Elinore Stone were already experimenting on their son long before the accident that forced them to turn him into Cyborg.

Interestingly, the origin story here is neither the classic comics origin nor the New 52 version (surprising, since so much of this film feels inspired by the New 52 Justice League: Origin story). There, it was either an accident with interdimensional energy or the opening of a Mother Box/Boom Tube which virtually destroyed Victor’s body and caused the creation of Cyborg.

What is the Dean of GCU’s name? It looks like it might be “Dean Stanton” which would be a lovely tribute to actor Harry Dean Stanton (but there’s no DC Comics connection here in that case).

You may note that the scoreboard for Gotham City University was built by Wayne Enterprises.

It’s probably a coincidence, but Cyborg financially helps out a “Linda S. Reed.” In the comics Linda Reed was a short-lived Green Arrow character who (along with her twin sister Ramona) went by the uninspiring name of “Girl Archer.”

Since Vic Stone has traditionally been a Teen Titans character, and he and Barry are by far the youngest members of the League, it makes sense that they would bond. Especially since this version of Barry Allen has more in common with the comic book version of Wally West than anything else, and Wally was a member of the Titans with Vic.

The Flash

When we first meet Barry Allen he is late to a job interview. This isn’t just a play on “oh, the fastest man alive is actually really slow” or something, Barry’s habitual lateness was baked into the character in his very first appearance back in Showcase #4. Similarly, even his predecessor, Jay Garrick was known for this not terribly charming trait, too.

Interestingly, Barry’s persona in the DCEU feels much more in common with the Wally West of the DC Animated Universe. He’s the less experienced hero, a kind of point-of-view character, and generally younger and funnier than his teammates. But the more specific Wally reference is his need to consume tremendous quantities of calories to keep going (his “snack hole” crack), something that was unique to Wally among Flashes (but which was also utilized when John Wesley Shipp played Barry on the 1990 The Flash TV series).

That’s Billy Crudup as Henry Allen in jail (who sadly won’t be reprising his role in Andy Muschietti’s The Flash movie) The whole “hands on the glass” thing was done quite a bit between the TV versions of these characters, played by Grant Gustin and the great John Wesley Shipp. Henry’s line to Barry that he should “make your own future” would seem to foreshadow the events of Flashpoint, as well.

But there’s one other similarity to the TV show worth pointing out…

Henry is rocking the Jay Garrick look with the grey hair at the temples thing. With certain developments on The Flash TV series, this could also be an indicator of how things will be handled in the DCEU. I wrote lots more about Jay Garrick, one of my favorite characters, right here.

Barry notes to Bruce that he is fluent in “gorilla sign language,” which could come in handy down the road should he encounter a race of superintelligent gorillas who have started their own civilization or something like that. 

Is Barry wearing a “Black Freighter” t-shirt? As in the pirate story that is woven through the Watchmen comics? You don’t need me to remind you that Zack Snyder also directed a Watchmen movie, right?

If you look at Barry’s desk, there’s a photo of Nikola Tesla there, which makes sense given Flash’s whole aesthetic.

One fun thing about Barry’s personal HQ: If you look carefully on one of the TVs, you can spot that he’s a Rick and Morty fan, and a particular season two episode, which involves a chemically-enhanced Summer and Rick beating the crap out of unsavory types like Nazis, is playing in the background.

It’s interesting to note that Barry is only now just on the path to becoming a police scientist, rather than already having been driven to do so. It’s almost like his time with the Justice League inspires him to do more with his professional life, as well.

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The Flash TV Episode We Almost Saw

By Mike Cecchini

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Stargirl Season 2 Will Put The Flash in the JSA Where He Belongs

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It’s interesting that the Barry Allen of the DCEU is Jewish, if only because we’ve never had any hint of Flash’s faith (or lack thereof) in the comics or on the TV show. The closest Barry Allen has to any kind of religious or ethnic identity has always been “midwestern.” Brian Cronin at CBR thinks this could be a reference to a throwaway line from a late ’80s DC story, but I don’t necessarily think that’s considered canon. I’m open to corrections, though!

Iris West

We see the first meeting between Barry Allen and Iris West here. I don’t know the exact make and model of the vintage convertible that Iris is driving (if anyone does, please give us a shout in the comments or on Twitter), but it feels like it COULD be from the year 1956, when Showcase #4 was published. Similarly, the excellent and underrated The Flash TV series from the 1990s used to populate the streets of its version of Central City with vintage cars to give it a “timeless” feel.

Speaking of Showcase #4, the fact that hot dogs are among the things kind of hovering in midair thanks to Barry moving at super speed is another nod to the character’s first appearance, when one of Barry’s first super speed acts was to catch a spilled tray of food in a diner in mid-air before the waitress knew what had happened.

What’s the brand of fast food the truck driver is eating? I can’t quite make it out. It would be cool if it was a Big Belly Burger with a Soder Cola, but I think it might just be something lame like “Burger Shop.” Help me out, folks!

The truck that nearly kills Iris is for a company called Gard’ner Fox, a reference to classic Flash writer/co-creator Gardener Fox.

You can see a newspaper box for The Central City Tribune, which hints at the fact that Iris West is a journalist in the comics.

Superman

Martha’s dog’s name is Rusty, which I THINK is a reference to a briefly glimpsed pooch in Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie. But I can’t fully confirm that as of this writing.

Lois Lane’s depression and loneliness is soundtracked, appropriately enough, to “Distant Sky” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (Mr. Snyder seems to love the work of Nick Cave), which features lyrics like “They told us our gods would outlive us,” but there’s lots here that mirrors the journey of these heroes in the film.

The Daily Planet’s slogan in the DCEU is “reporting on the planet, daily” which seems a little on-the-nose to me, but whatever. It’s had several in the comics, but in Richard Donner’s Superman it was “Metropolis’ Greatest Newspaper.”

When the Motherbox generates the image of Superman flying, it’s a classic Superman pose this is. This is a really cool shot, and looks like a Curt Swan/Murphy Anderson drawing of the Man of Steel come to life.

During the return to the Kryptonian ship that served as the de facto Fortress of Solitude in Man of Steel (and which gives Supes his black costume here), we can spot the open pod that launched so many fan theories in 2013. A possibly no-longer-canon Man of Steel prequel comic that was nonetheless written by David Goyer implied that it was Kara Zor-El who was in that pod, and who has roamed the DCEU undiscovered thus far.

You can hear moments of Hans Zimmer’s truly excellent Man of Steel score at key Superman moments throughout the film, too.

Clark Kent was buried in a conservative dark blue business suit, with a red tie, and black shoes. That is the exact outfit that the comic book version of Clark Kent wore in virtually every single comic book appearance from roughly 1938 until 1986. Henry Cavill’s Clark was a little more fashionable in life, but not in death.

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Man of Steel: Complete DC Comics Easter Eggs and References Guide

By Mike Cecchini

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Superman Movies Ranked: The Best and Worst of the Man of Steel

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When Superman wakes up, well, it’s not pretty. This scene serves two purposes, though. For one thing, it demonstrates how he is more powerful than the entire team combined, lest anyone think that Superman is lame. But his disorientation and raw fury are a slight nod to how in the comics and cartoons, at several points, Superman has been manipulated by Darkseid. While that doesn’t quite happen here, the role of Fourth World technology in his resurrection feels like it’s not a coincidence.

Clark “returning” to himself in the field in front of his Smallville home and being greeted by Martha Kent feels like an inversion of Clark leaving home in Superman: The Movie and bidding his mother farewell. He’s wearing a similar flannel shirt in both scenes, too.

As Clark completes his journey and “returns” to being Superman, complete with the cool new costume (more on that in a second), we hear the voices of BOTH his fathers, both Jor-El and Jonathan Kent. It’s yet another nod to Richard Donner’s Superman, when Kal-El was guided by the voice and spirit of his Kryptonian father when he first wore the suit. And, of course, his takeoff here mirrors his first flight in Man of Steel, completing his “rebirth.”

The black and silver Superman suit was a fixture of Reign of the Supermen, the story that brought the recently deceased Man of Steel back to life. In the comics, it was a kind of regeneration suit, meant to help harness solar radiation for Superman’s cells. It’s not clear if it is meant to serve that purpose here, since (as we see when he kicks the entire League’s ass) he was already at full physical (if not mental) power upon his resurrection. It’s been done several times in live action too, but it has never looked as good as it does here.

Amusing detail about the Kent Farm being foreclosed on…there’s already some awful suburban McMansion built right across the road.

Marc McClure who played Jimmy Olsen in the Donner Superman films played an Iron Heights prison guard in the theatrical cut of the film, but here he is the cop guarding the Superman memorial in Metropolis.

And the final true shot we see of Superman in the film, with Clark Kent becoming aware of trouble and doing the classic “shirt rip” is another iconic moment from throughout the character’s history, although it’s never better than it is in Superman: The Movie right before the big helicopter rescue. It’s worth noting that in the theatrical cut, Supes was back in the red and blue, while here he has chosen to stay in the black and silver.

Wonder Woman

One of the big takeaways from Wonder Woman’s intro sequence is that even mundane villains in the DCEU are cool, stylish, dangerous, and they don’t think small. These guys are the face of a mysterious organization who want to “turn back the clock” but I have yet to find a suitable DC Comics parallel to them.

Of course, the statue we see Wonder Woman standing on is Justice herself.

Diana’s white dress while she’s working on restoring the statue feels vaguely reminiscent of her “mod years” in the late 1960s, where she briefly ditched her primary colored costume to fight in something a little more practical.

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Wonder Woman 1984: DC Comics Easter Eggs and Reference Guide

By Delia Harrington

Movies

Wonder Woman 1984 Post Credits Scene Explained

By Mike Cecchini

Wonder Woman wearing an appropriately stylish black getup when visiting Bruce in the cave kind of reminds me of Wonder Girl Donna Troy’s star-spangled black outfit that she wore for a little while…but that’s probably just a coincidence.

Diana tells Bruce that she “once knew a man who would have loved to fly it” regarding Bruce’s flying troop transport for the League. She is, of course, referring to Steve Trevor, but this line takes on a little bit of extra weight after we see Steve flying more modern aircraft in Wonder Woman 1984.

At one point in the film, Diana hints that Atlantis and Themyscira had been at war at one point in the past. This has been teased in the comics several times and came to a head in the Flashpoint comics.

There’s a cool moment when Steppenwolf tells Wonder Woman that she has “the blood of the old gods” in her veins. When Jack Kirby created the New Gods and the Fourth World, he was still working for Marvel. The original plan was for the Asgard of Marvel’s Thor comics to undergo a Ragnarok, everyone would die, and in its place would be these New Gods. Obviously that didn’t happen, and the concepts ended up at DC. But that one line, tying Diana’s Greek mythology roots directly to the cosmic New Gods of the DCEU, is surprisingly in keeping with Kirby’s original intention.

Ryan Choi

We get another hero snuck into the mix in this movie, in the form of STAR Labs’ Ryan Choi (played by Zheng Kai). While he doesn’t suit up in this film, Choi was the inheritor of Ray Palmer’s mantle as the shrinking superhero, the Atom.

By the end of the film, Choi is given the title of head of nanotechnology for STAR Labs, further setting up his future as a hero.

Green Lantern

While no Green Lantern remains alive for long in this film, there are plenty of references to the Green Lantern Corps throughout…

Steppenwolf promises that there are “no protectors, no Lanterns, no Kryptonian” guarding Earth this time, which is pretty self-explanatory.

This member of the Green Lantern Corps we see fall in battle during the flashback sequence is Yalan Gur, a character who has only made a handful of appearances in the comics. Gur was indeed the Green Lantern of space sector 2814 (that includes Earth) around the time this battle would have taken place. In the comics, Gur was corrupted by his own power and turned on the humans of Earth, but he clearly didn’t get that chance in the movie, as he was killed by Darkseid in the flashback.

During the vision of the future where Darkseid has gained control of the Anti-Life Equation, another dead Green Lantern can be spotted amongst the rubble of a ruined city. That would be of Green Lantern Corps drill sergeant and fan favorite, Kilowog. This is Kilowog’s second live action appearance, if you count 2011’s not great Green Lantern movie with Ryan Reynolds.

Darkseid

Steppenwolf tells the Amazons that he “has come to enlighten you to The Great Darkness.” The Great Darkness is more than just a reference to Darkseid himself and his entire philosophy, but is also a reference to what is perhaps the ultimate Legion of Super-Heroes story, The Great Darkness Saga, by Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen, which saw a long dormant Darkseid return to life to terrorize the galaxy a thousand years from now.

When Darkseid strikes the surface of the Earth with his axe, it creates the kind of hellish firepits that his homeworld of Apokalips is famous for.

Darkseid taking on the literal “old gods” of Earth including Zeus, Ares, Apollo, and Poseidon is a fun contrast with the fact that he is part of DC’s “New Gods” mythology.

Darkseid is searching for the Anti-Life Equation, which we wrote more about here.

During Darkseid’s “vision” of the universe once he has obtained the Anti-Life Equation, we can see Superman holding a charred corpse, which is presumably the body of Lois Lane. This apparently sets him up for corruption by Darkseid, and helps bring about the “Knightmare” vision from Batman v Superman, which is once again glimpsed at the end of this film.

The third figure we see on Apokalips with Darkseid and Desaad appears to be Granny Goodness, the chief of the armies of Apokalips (and the one who trained/traumatized DC heroes Mister Miracle and Big Barda).

Parademons

The weird insectoid drones making everyone’s lives miserable are Parademons, the foot soldiers of the planet Apokolips, a hellish world which lives in opposition to New Genesis, the home of the New Gods and Forever People. All of this great stuff was created by the brilliant Jack Kirby, by the way. Steppenwolf (more on him in a minute) and the Parademons are trying to collect three Mother Boxes left on Earth.

What is a Mother Box?

The Mother Box is the unifying piece of technology of Jack Kirby’s Fourth World epic. Think of a Mother Box as an alien smartphone that can do anything from heal the injured to teleport you across time and space. It’s pretty cool hearing their trademark “ping. ping. ping.” sound for real.

Mother Boxes are often used to call down Boom Tubes, the preferred method of transport of the New Gods and their friends and foes. We see them deployed quite a bit throughout this movie, obviously. Super Powers fans of the 1980s may remember that on Super Friends: Galactic Guardians, boom tubes were referred to as star gates.

It’s POSSIBLE that the knights burying the Mother Box are meant to be King Arthur and his crew, while the one with the horns could be Sir Bors. They relatively recently appeared in Demon Knights, but they were best in Seven Soldiers of Victory, where the Knights of the Round Table fought an invasion from evil Faeries and lost, only to have Sir Ystina, the Shining Knight, help save the world in the present day. Honestly, that sounds like it would be pretty up Zack Snyder’s alley too, now that we think about it.

Mother Box is cataloged as “unknown object 61982” after it has been discovered in the modern world. So far, I haven’t been able to find any DC Comics or DCEU significance to that number.

DeSaad

DeSaad is Darkseid’s chief advisor and torturer-in-chief (hence the name). Like all the other cool Fourth World stuff in this movie, he was created solely by the legendary Jack Kirby. He first appeared in Forever People #2 in 1971.

It’s kind of cool that the nameless “Motherbox priestesses” kind of look like DeSaad, too.

Steppenwolf

Steppenwolf is the first Jack Kirby creation to show up in a DC superhero movie (for comparison, nearly the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe owes its entire existence to Jack Kirby). They don’t really give us much to go on with Steppenwolf in this flick, but to be fair, he wasn’t one of Kirby���s most inspired creations and it’s not like he has the longest comic book history. In the comics, Steppenwolf was Darkseid’s uncle, and responsible for the war between Apokolips and New Genesis, but here he appears to be his nephew instead.

In a lot of ways, particularly his appearance, this version of Steppenwolf seems to owe more to his appearance in DC’s New 52 version of the Earth-2 comics than he does any of Kirby’s vision.

The weird little spider-y device that Steppenwolf uses to get information on people looks a lot like Starro, the first villain that the Justice League ever fought in the comics, right down to the way it attaches to people’s faces.

Martian Manhunter

We get our first long-promised revelation of Martian Manhunter in the film, who, as it turns out, had been masquerading as Harry Lennix’s General Swanwick the entire time.

Martian Manhunter finally revealing himself to Bruce at the end kind of completes Bruce’s journey from vaguely fascist xenophobe in Batman v Superman to someone far more heroic.

Martian Manhunter says he has “gone by many names” but doesn’t mention any of them. It doesn’t make sense why he wouldn’t have introduced himself as J’onn J’onnz (his Martian name). Other names he has gone by include Detective John Jones (not in the movies), and as we’ve seen in this very film, General Swanwick.

While we don’t get to see Martian Manhunter officially join the Justice League here, his presence in the film kind of completes the “unite the seven” tease that dates back to Batman v Superman. Martian Manhunter has always been depicted as a founding member of the team, both in comics and in the excellent Justice League animated series.

Deathstroke

We get a LITTLE more of Joe Manganiello’s Slade Wilson in this movie than we did in the theatrical cut…

In the theatrical version, Lex had summoned Deathstroke in order to start assembling a Legion of Doom-esque team of supervillains. But here it’s to give him Batman’s true identity. Apparently this would have helped set Deathstroke up as the villain of the Ben Affleck-led Batman solo movie, which would have featured Deathstroke dismantling Bruce Wayne’s life, Daredevil: Born Again style.

We see Deathstroke again during the epilogue where Slade (who is more of an antihero in the comics) has joined Batman’s ragtag group of freedom fighters against Darkseid and the forces of Apokalips.

Speaking of that epilogue…

Joker

No, your eyes do not deceive you, that is indeed Jared Leto returning as the Joker, marking his first appearance in the role since his controversial turn as the character in the Suicide Squad movie.

So…it appears that the “Knightmare” sequence in Batman v Superman wasn’t a vision of this movie after all, but rather for the Justice League 2 we’ll never see. And it’s up to Jared Leto’s Joker of all characters to explain this to us once and for all.

It seems that in a not-too-distant future, Darkseid’s armies have indeed come to Earth, and he is either in search of or has claimed the Anti-Life Equation, having murdered Lois Lane, turned Superman to evil (god, why does Zack Snyder love this idea so much), leaving a ragtag group of heroes and villains to try and set things right.

The death of Lois Lane at the hands of a villain turning Superman into a maniac feels quite a bit like the storyline of the Injustice video game.

Joker makes several allusions to having murdered Robin, which in the comics would be Jason Todd, although Snyder has hinted before that the dead Robin in question was actually Dick Grayson (hence, no Nightwing in the DCEU).

The notion of Batman and Joker teaming up in any capacity isn’t one with a whole lot of weight in the comics, but them coming together in a post-apocalyptic landscape with Joker acting as a kind of truth-teller for Batman is faintly reminiscent of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Batman: Last Knight on Earth.

Joker’s hints that Batman needs to die in order to set things right are reminiscent of Grant Morrison’s superb Final Crisis.

Lex Luthor

Lex Luthor’s escape from Arkham Asylum (side note, it has always rubbed me the wrong way that they keep Lex at Arkham…that isn’t where you put Lex Luthor) with a fakeout vaguely reminds me of how he escaped from prison in Superman II, which involved using a hologram to fake out the guard. The guard’s response to “Lex” not doing what he’s supposed to here is similar, too.

When we finally see Lex for real, it’s on the yacht, and his loud outfit is more than a little bit reminiscent of how Gene Hackman’s Luthor dressed as Lex in the Superman movies of the 1970s and 1980s.

Miscellaneous Stuff

Bruce returns to the ruins of Wayne Manor which he intends to convert into a headquarters for the newly formed Justice League. But placing a roundtable in a mansion has a little bit more of a Justice Society of America vibe to it…but that’s just a coincidence. However, we’ll be meeting the Justice Society in the upcoming Black Adam movie.

There’s a headline in The Daily Planet that says “Security Bank of Manhattan Sets New Architect.” No, this isn’t a John Stewart Green Lantern reference. Instead, it’s a nod from Snyder to the character of Howard Roark, the protagonist of Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead, a favorite of the director’s and a project he once hoped to adapt into film. In that book, Roark is an architect who is commissioned to work on the “Security Bank of Manhattan.” Draw your own conclusions about Snyder’s love for this book and Rand’s work, however.

That isn’t the only Ayn Rand reference in the film, either. The fishing boat that Aquaman rescues is called the Cortlandt, a reference to a housing development in The Fountainhead.

The place where Lois gets her coffee is “Fred and Ginger Coffee” as in Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Also, if you look really closely in the window of the coffee shop as she leaves, there’s a man at a table wearing a vest. I’m not 100% sure, but I THINK this is Zack Snyder giving himself a Hitchcock-esque cameo in the film.

The STAR Labs janitor who goes missing/gets eaten by Parademons is apparently named Howie Jensen. Whenever there’s a janitor in a top secret area working with alien tech in the DC Universe, my mind immediately goes to Superman villain, the Parasite. The most famous version of the Parasite was Rudy Jones, a STAR Labs janitor who ended up wallowing in some toxic waste (perhaps coincidentally because Darkseid manipulated him into it). Anyway, this isn’t Rudy Jones, so it can’t be the Parasite right? Well…mostly. There was a previous Parasite names Raymond Jensen…which seems to be our poor, doomed, pal Howie’s name in this. 

When Bruce leaves Barry’s lair to drive to the Central City Airport, there’s an American Foundation for Suicide Prevention billboard that says “You are not alone,” a nod to the work Snyder has done to help raise awareness for their cause. You can learn more about them here.

 During Darkseid’s vision of the future he wants, there’s a ruined Hall of Justice, the Justice League headquarters first made famous on the Super Friends cartoon and which, in more recent years, has become a fixture of the comics.

The pregnancy test in Lois’ nightstand is named, we kid you not, Force Majeure.

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Spot anything we missed? Let us know in the comments!

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[saftasming]

My thoughts on Ben 10 or “Why Abi didn’t go to bed at her usual time last night because she was consumed by Ben Tennyson feels.”

Ben 10: I seem to remember HATING this show when it first came on air and the reason why was because my precious Teen Titans was now over and was being replaced by some annoying 10 year old kid who I wanted slap every time he came on screen. I caught one or two episodes when they were on and I guess they were okay??? But Ben and his Grandpa were very urrrgh. Gwen and Charmcaster were probably the only reason I was interested in the show at the time because I love female sidekick characters (and redheads) and I thought Charmcaster was pretty interesting because at the time all we knew was that she and her uncle were funky magic users which pulled me in.

There are a few episodes that weird me the hell out though...Like IDEK. - THE CHRISTMAS ELF EPISODE. WHAT THE SHIT. KIDS WERE BEING TURNED INTO XMAS ELVES?! - The one where Ben gets stuck in his own nightmares or some shit and there are some pretty weird scenes like...WEDGIES AND SNAILS OR SOME SHIT, IT WAS DISTURBING AND KIND OF GROSS BUT IT WORKED BECAUSE I’M PRETTY SURE AS A 10 YEAR OLD I HAD SOME WEIRD ASS DREAMS LIKE THIS AT SOME POINT SO THESE ARE ALL VALID TERRIFYING FEARS. - The Sumo Slammers ep...I guess it was an okay premise but it wasn’t something I was interested in seeing Ben and Gwen getting themselves into. I remember doing a rewatch some years later mostly because it aired stupidly early when I was getting for work and I started to appreciate it a little more. Ben was still an insufferable little asshole though. “My big fat alien wedding” is probably my favorite episode though. It’s alot of fun, okay? Until I do another rewatch and find another episode that fills me with fun fuzzy glee as that one did it’s at the top of my favorites. ALSO WTF I SUDDENLY REMEMBERED THE EPISODE WHERE MAX WAS A FULL ON DOUCHE BAG BUT WHEN ISN’T HE ONE, TBH? ...Wait so how many alien GF’s did Max have because youtube keeps sending me B10 recs and I had honestly forgot about that one alien chick who turned up and Ben was super jealous and rude to her for whatever goddamned reason other than being a brat. Ben 10 : Alien Force YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. So I honestly forgot what pulled me into watching this other than “Oh fucking finally teenagers fighting space crime and super villains.” It was honestly the kind of shit I really missed watching. And I think overall it really did remind me of The Roswell Chronicles or whatever that show was called that I used to be all over because there was the same kind of vibe. Darker storylines and interesting plot twist/reveals were definitely more my thing so I was more into this. Also Beastboy and Terra were back in my life...sort of? So it was nice having familiar voices back on my TV set.

And my gosh we got ALOT of stuff that I was totally into. (SPACE DRAGONS YOU GUYS. WE HAD AN EPISODE ABOUT COOL MAP MAKING DRAGONS IN SPACE AND I’M SO SALTY WE NEVER GOT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THEM IN LATER EPISODES.) Also we had the introduction of one of my best girls from B10 and I’m still kind of sad Julie and Ben later split up because out of all the girls Ben was with Julie was one of my faves. (Esther and Eunice are my other two and good lord.) Ben 10: Ultimate Alien: Okay so it’s a continuation of Alien Force but with more alien forms I guess? Also I feel like I missed ALOT of UA somehow. Like we had some weird Cthululu BS going on with Vilgax which I barely remember other than Julie ended up joining some weird cult. Then didn’t Kevin go evil again at some point?

ALSO APPARENTLY THERE WAS AN EP ABOUT THAT FILM STAR IN A CREEPY RELATIONSHIP WITH A VILLAIN AND THERE WAS SOME KIND OF STOCKHELM SYNDROME BS GOING ON? I don’t think that episode aired over here in the UK though I never caught it if it did air. (Then again CN went through a phase of airing Ben 10 stuff whilst I was at work at this point so I think I missed out on alot.)

Ben 10 Omniverse: I can’t remember my initial thoughts on this show at first.. It was kind of a mess because I was confused as to why we had a teen Ben and a younger Ben in the same show and didn’t really want to try and understand what was going on. ALSO THERE’S A LEGO ALIEN WTF. Obviously later I learned that  most of the times we saw younger Ben were through flashbacks or weird crack happening BUUUUUT After all these years we got Ben 10 doing Teen Titans esque shit and it’s probably my favorite series out of all of them because of how light-hearted and fun it was and at the same time exciting and thrilling all at once! And my gosh, so many new characters to love too. (NGL Blukic and Driba cracked me up so so so much.)

Highlights included more well rounded female characters joining the cast. ROOK BLONKO IS A BLESSING AND IS THE BEST ALIEN CINNAMON ROLL EVER. Hey guys, Remember Secret Saturdays? No? WELL YOU FUCKING SHOULD CAUSE THERE WAS A CROSSOVER EPISODE THAT WAS GREAT. (Though Ben’s crush on Zack’s mom was weird.) TBF Omniverse had ALOT of weird episodes but it worked in the show’s setting and I honestly didn’t mind. (Though the one that makes me cringe the most was the frigging game show one and that one was written by Yuri Lowenthal himself so IDK. It might have been nice to see him write one or two other episdes to see if he had any other interesting ideas he wanted to inplement in the show but it never happened or at least I don’t think it did.

Ben 10 (2017 reboot): I can’t decide if I like this show or not because on one hand we get annoying 10 year old Ben again. But on the other there’s alot of humor I’ve sniggered at on the episodes I have managed to watch on TV.

Not sure why they needed to do the whole Ben/Gwen bodyswap episode again but eh. (ALSO MORE DRAGONS. Okay just the one dragon but that was a fun episode.) Ben 10/Generator Rex crossover WE SHOULD HAVE HAD MORE. I wanted Rex to come to Bellwood. I wanted Six drinking smoothies with Doc Holiday and more stuff. This was one of those crossovers that needed to happen and it did like aaagh it was SooOooOoooOOOo great. Also Gen Rex was a good show and even though I didn’t see much of it I can appreciate kickbutt plotlines and stuff when they happened. (I think if I remember rightly I was pretty miffed B10 was taken off air for a little while and Gen Rex replaced it. BUT LOOK WHERE WE ARE NOW.)

I think there’s some other canon I’ve missed off this list such as the live action movies and some of the longer animated specials/movies. Secret of the Omnitrix I’d quite like to sit through because we get more Azmuth backstory apparently and @cybra-sensei has opened my eyes to the awesomeness that is this grumpy little space frog.

[chiccywood]

Why “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” Is A Bloated, Yet Entertaining B-Movie

At some point, the English literary world is going to be fed up with Guy Ritchie. He’s already annihilated Sherlock Holmes and now, he’s moved on to another beloved English myth and applied his hyperkinetic, overly stylized approach to the legend of King Arthur. His “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” isn’t a disaster and is actually quite fun at certain points, but the phrase “loosely based” is an understatement.

Sure, there’s Arthur (Charlie Hunnam), son of King Uther Pendragon (Eric Bana), who is forced into exile by the reign of his evil uncle, Vortigern (Jude Law). There’s the obligatory moment when Arthur pulls Excalibur from the stone and the following battle for the throne at Camelot. However, Ritchie’s Arthur is raised on the streets of Londinium, where he hustles for gold and protects a brothel full of ladies that raised him. That’s not even something the guys in Monty Python would have tried to pull off.

Ritchie is at his best when relaying information quickly, which he does in an extremely clever and well-crafted way while filling you in on Arthur’s upbringing. While Arthur grows up, Vortigern rounds up males that would fit the age of Arthur and makes them try to pull Excalibur from the stone so he can then murder the true King of England and keep the throne.

To that point, Ritchie and his co-screenwriters Lionel Wigram and Joby Harold have put an interesting little spin on a tale that’s been told countless times. Once Arthur gets his hands on the sword and teams up with Uther loyalists Bedivere (Djimon Hounsou) and Goosefat Bill (Aiden Gillen), “King Arthur” loses all of its originality. It becomes a slog of sped-up action and dizzying camera angles that would make Zack Snyder’s head spin.

The plot kicker is what Ritchie and Company have done to Guinevere (Astrid Berges-Frisbey). Not only is there no love triangle (in fact, there’s no Lancelot), they’ve made Guinevere a mage, which is some sort of magician that could cause the braintrust of “Game of Thrones” to sue for intellectual property theft. She summons up animals to help out our heroes when needed, so why can’t she just tell an army of snakes to kill the evil King Vortigern?

It’s virtually impossible to follow along some of the fight scenes. The first time that Arthur wields the power of Excalibur should be a massive turning point in the movie, but Ritchie chooses to mask all the fun with dust, dirt, and camera shots that spin around as if they were filmed with a Go Pro attached to a cat strung out on catnip.

If “King Arthur” performs well, Warner Brothers has already announced that there could be up to six movies in this series. That does bode well for Charlie Hunnam, who is actually quite good as Arthur. There’s no stirring speeches, which is a relief, and Hunnam combines street-smart punk characteristics with nobility in a very believable way. It’s easily the best he’s been on the big screen and could potentially be the box office hit that makes him a massive star.

The supporting actors are fine, even if this is yet another boring action sidekick role for the immensely talented Djimon Hounsou. Eric Bana is wasted in what is little more than ten minutes of screen time, which has become far too common for him. However, it is pretty cool to see Aiden Gillen, so easily identified as the slimy Littlefinger from “Game of Thrones”, be a good guy for once.

Jude Law doesn’t chew up all the scenery, but he comes close. There are a few moments when he’s menacing, but he mostly gives off the impression that one French taunting would chase him away from the castle. If anything, Law has mastered the art of lazily sitting on a throne to imply how evil he is.

The odd thing about “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” is that it isn’t awful. It’s just simply…there. It’s just that the whole thing is so brain dead and pointless. There’s never an inkling of suspense because we all know how it’s going to end. Guy Ritchie has essentially mastered the art of making B-movies entertaining, yet forgettable mere moments after seeing them.

[animatorsandmoney]

My old essay

                                                      Handling popular licenses for adaptations

  Popular show that have a huge fan base and new reboots that have new directors and art style. Sometime they can be successful movie or show, bringing old fans with new generation of fans. Or bring a book to the big screen and giving new imagination to the world the story takes place in. But other times it can go very wrong. Sometime the reboots of shows don’t have the same writing or spirt that the pervious show once had. Or even when new director decide to put his vison of a show and make it into a new style of animation. The director could even change the tune of the show, from a serious character driven, to a slap stick comedy.

 An example of this would be Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go. Teen Titans was a show about sidekick superheroes fighting crime on their own, it was anime influence for the animation. Each of the characters were flesh out and were given their own season to do so, delving in to serious themes, of growing up, death, bad parenting, being an outcast and psychological obsess problem. The show had its light moments with its anime influence jokes and animation. But when it came to serious matters this got dark and personal. With each challenge they overcome the character came closer together.

With the spin off show called Teen Titans Go, all of that was drop or made fun of. Even though the show is supposed to be a comedy from the start, but of lately after many complaints from the fans of the previous show, the comedy is more directed to the old fans of the original Teen Titans. Their writing was made of kids of this generation, with musical numbers about favorite food, and the biggest threat to being too much television. With such childish writing for a popular action cartoon many people had a lot of complaints. This problem anger the writers because they decided to make episodes dedicated to telling people that they will do things their own way. Old fans did not like the brainless style of the new show, so they made a parody of themselves being a serous version of themselves. People complaint about the animation and voice acting. So the directors made the characters exaggerate being a proper actor and have better animation. Other times they just Break the forth wall and look at the viewers and tell them off. It would seem from watching the show that the creators are not going to listen to any negative feedback to do what they feel like. Other example would be the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Transformers movies.

  There are time when the Team behind a show or movie is having just as much fun as making it as the viewer is watching. While watching their work someone can see the love and personal attachment the development team has with the show. Weather it is stories that can only be created because someone had such and experience themselves or emotional struggle that they themselves had gone throw. Making sure that that they balance out the comments of their viewers and their own artistic ideas, bring their own taste in art and in music as well as putting different variations of themselves as characters. Creators would sometime make an appearance of themselves, whether it be in live action or cartoon form. Little jokes amongst the cast can be littered among a show as jokes that only they would understand or for them to share with their fans.

    An artist usually have their own style and opinions of how they want to do thing. But there are some things that should not be remake into a feature film. With some novel books or Dr. Seuss stories are can be tricky to put onto the big screen. Some books have many characters, sub plots and development that a movie cannot show in such a short time. It’s not impossible to be a shorten version of long books into movies. A movie called the watch men was one such case. The book had diverts set of characters that all had their own development. Many pack stories and flashbacks, all dealing with mature topics. Relationship between the team grew and broke apart. Leaving a bitter sweet ending to the ending of the series, cramming all the lore into a movie would not be possible. There were serval tries before the latest one. Some director said that the watch men deserved their own television series that would need multiple seasons to go through all the stories the comics have to offer. But then come two thousand and nine, Watchmen was release to the public. It was directed by Zack Snyder which got the movie four to three stars. But given the about of content that were in the original comics a lot of stuff were gloss over. Some things were also change from the original comics. What made the watchmen human was that they had no superpowers of to speak of. Except for one and those powers are part of his character arc. But Zack Snyder increase the action by giving all the normal humans super strength that are able to beat up twenty men at once.

 Changing a main protagonist into a different race or gender can throw previous fans of a show into discus. The director may have a vison that others may have to open their minds, to enjoy the end product. Some characters like The Joker from the Batman franchise can be portrayed differently and depending on how the actor played the part, can be loved by everyone. But then you have to consider the type of audiences that will you are targeting and the ones that will actually show up. For example, Dragon Ball: Evolution, a live action movie of a beloved anime series Dragon Ball Z was a complete failure of a movie. But poor action and terrible script aside, the director decided to change to the settings into modern day American school and giving it a very high school plot to marshal art action comedy anime series. This change was obscure because the people that grew up watching the anime are probably have grown up and kids of their own. Seeing the many out of place changes the movie had distort fans of the series. So was the director in his right when he decided to change so much for his own vision of the series. There is definitely a gray area when dealing with popular licenses.

[aion-rsa]

Comedian Zack Fox To Debut A Wild Live Variety Show With Guest Phoebe Bridgers

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Live television is electric. Even when it’s bad, like your average episode of Saturday Night Live or VICELAND’s mostly disastrous foray into live TV, VICE Live, there’s still something compelling about the chaotic, anything-can-happen energy. The spirit of a performance teetering slightly off the rails is part of what’s made live streaming platforms like Twitch so interesting and popular; there’s a little bit of danger baked into even the most innocuous feed. 

IHEARTCOMIX and Beats by Dr. Dre appear to be courting a bit of this danger by teaming with Twitch for a new global live stream series, RELEASED! Hosted by Zack Fox. Rapper/comedian Fox was the lone bright spot of the before-mentioned VICE Live and teaming him with director Kitao Sakurai (The Eric Andre Show, Bad Trip) for an “an interactive live performance narrative adventure” described as “in the being of Blues Clues, Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, Mystery Science Theatre 3000, Saturday Night Live, and the Best of Twitch,” is, if not a recipe for success, at least a recipe for something interesting.

Premiering Sunday, July 12 on Twitch.tv/IHEARTCOMIX, the first episode will feature singer/songwriter and internet darling Phoebe Bridgers. The loose plot synopsis for the show reads, “The series will be centered around Zack Fox, an everyman living on Planet Ass surrounded by animated characters such as his asshole pitbull sidekick Marlow or his alien landlord no one can understand but him. In each episode Zack will be visited by a featured musical artist that will help him solve his problems, or he’ll solve theirs. Always being sent on an escapade across realities in his ‘94 Corolla turned Mad Max-style spaceship, music artists will perform along the way, celebrating their new albums. Zack will have to go out of his way to be a nice guy, appease his own cast of characters and somehow make it out alive, all while dealing with the wildest shit.”

Bridgers will be there promoting her excellent new album Punisher and the episode will find her needing Zack’s help “to make it to the Cyber Goth Prom in Outer Space! But something’s not right, she needs to make some special punch to change into her true human form! And who will be her prom date??? Zack and Phoebe will traverse the galaxy to find the ingredients and answers.” Once the pair arrive at the “prom,” Bridgers will perform a few tracks from the record.

The rest of the press release touts “a level of creative writing not usually seen in live streaming” and boundary-pushing technology. As avid fans of the reference points dropped in the write-up, the wild ambition on display, and the musical stylings of Bridgers, sign us up! 

You can watch RELEASED! Hosted by Zack Fox along with us July 12 at 7 p.m. ET | 4 p.m. PT | 8 a.m. TKO | 12 a.m. GMT on TWITCH.TV/IHEARTCOMIX.

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