Superhero Media: Superman the Animated Series

Out of the main Bruce Timm DC animated programmes (Batman, Superman, Batman Beyond, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited), Superman the Animated Series [STAS] tends to be considered the weakest of the set. I can't fairly disagree with that sentiment, but to think that such a rating makes STAS "bad" in any form is doing it a disservice. Produced by much the same team as BTAS, STAS begins with a three-part origin of Superman, featuring Krypton, Smallville, Lois and Lex, all presented in a very Silver Age, Fleischer-inspired style which really works for the character. From there, the DCAU formula of mostly stand-alone episodes with a few multi-parters follows, with classic villains like Parasite and Metallo and new foes like Livewire. Whilst STAS never reaches the heady heights for BTAS, I'd have to say that the overall quality is better, as the team has had more practice putting the programme together. 

The brilliance of STAS is in just how compelling characters as silly as Toyman and Mr Mxyzptlk are made, and without turning either into a serial killer (more on that in a future review). A great guest cast helps, with Malcolm McDowell as Metallo, Lori Petty as Livewire and Gilbert Gottfried as Mr Mxyzptlk, but the writing is sharp and more compelling than most reviews seem to give it credit for. The crossover three-part episode with Batman, "World's Finest" was good enough to be repackaged and sold on DVD as The Batman/Superman Movie; Bruce and Clark have to put aside their differences to defeat a team-up of Luthor and the Joker, made more complex by Lois' new romance with Bruce Wayne. By the end of the crossover, Bruce and Clark agree to work together when they need to do so in future and we've enjoyed the antics of Harley and Mercy Graves constantly infighting. The episodes really demonstrate the scope for a Batman/Superman crossover that really puts Dawn of Justice to shame. 

Much like BTAS, STAS is filled with episodes, enemies and concepts that really could translate well to a film, if only someone at Warner Bros would take a look. Bizarro as a failed Luthor clone of Superman? Great idea. Introducing Aquaman with Superman having to broker peace with the surface world? Brilliant. Batman goes missing and Superman has to don the Cowl to uncover what happened to the Masked Manhunter? Freaking amazing! Seriously, how is that not a film? Hell, I'd love to see Gottfried in a purple suit and derby menacing whoever is going to play Superman next, just go nuts with it. STAS is a decent watch if you can commit to all 106 episodes, the retro-futuristic look of Metropolis, increased depth of some characters and genuine affection for the history of the character are perfect examples of everything wrong with most current interpretations of the character. 

Miniatures Finished - 25/05/18

Back at the liquor store for a little while, so more time to paint whilst I can't afford new minis. 

Doombot - Actually should be the last one I need, as I use them for a unit of German "Dhrones" in my Secrets of the 3rd Reich Latverian army, which I'm finishing on the side. Heroclix

Juggernaut - A touch-up of an old paint job, I'm honestly thinking I need a bigger mini after seeing Deadpool 2, maybe sculpt some prison fatigues on him. Heroclix

Mole Man - Well, now I'm committed to buying a bunch of Moleoids and giant monsters and painting them, what a shame. Heroclix

Rom the Spaceknight - Had to have a Rom, such a major character in Bronze Age Marvel Comics and another "Space Hero" to add to the eventual Annihilation campaign. 3D Print 

Yondu - Not many more Guardins of the Galaxy to go for me, at least until they release more characters in the Heroclix. Went for the film version of the character because he's more recognisable and more fun. Heroclix  

Madame Masque - I've got my girlfriend reading the Hawkeye Kate Bishop comics, so she asked if I had the characters in miniature. Found Masque in my box of spares and painted her up. Heroclix. 

Superhero Media: Transformers - Dark of the Moon

I've never been too sure about why the Transformers film series is so maligned; as I've written previously, I actually enjoyed Transformers. After seeing Dark of the Moon, I finally understand just how bad this series is. Essentially every defense I could muster for Transformers and Revenge of the Fallen melts away in the glare of this cinematic symphony of error, I have to liken it to the "Dark Age" of comics, in which publishers marketed to exactly the wrong aspect of something that worked once, and the audience lapped it up. I will still maintain that Transformers is a reasonably decent film, though one with a great many flaws, Revenge of the Fallen was about as good a sequel as the same team could have put out, but Dark of the Moon goes full Terminator 3 on this franchise. Mikaela, the only character with any agency thus far, is gone, Michael Bay having sexually harassed Megan Fox into breaking her contract, leaving the audience following Sam's continuing refusal to move past adolescence, now trying to land his first real job and dating Carly, another impossibly-attractive woman framed as an object. 

The Autobots, now working for the US Military, discover a crashed ship on the moon, recovering and awakening Sentinel Prime, Optimus' former mentor, starting a game of keepaway between Autobots and Decepticons. Soon, it is revealed that Sentinel has been working with Megatron the entire time, with a diabolical plan of using a space bridge to bring Cybertron to Earth's solar system and enslave the human race to rebuild their war devastated planet. So wait, the entire first two films were a ruse? The Decepticons were just biding their time, accepting considerable losses, until the American Government made an agreement with the Autobots, a conspiracy theorist leaks information to Optimus Prime and Sentinel is awoken to complete his space bridge after thousand of years? I don't think I can actually list all of the major problems with this plan in the length of this article, even if I were given over to that kind of nit-picking. The film builds to a big battle in Chicago where Lennox and the Marines from Transformers help Sam and Carly get to Sentinel before time runs out. The battle is nifty in parts, but is far too long and over the top to be interesting after the first fifteen minutes. 

That's not to say that everything in this film is terrible, merely that the overall film isn't worth watching unless you're of the kind of mindset as I am. As mentioned above, the Chicago Battle is interesting in parts, and would make a good scenario/campaign/roleplaying session, even if, when watching, you will get bored of Sam and Carly falling out of buildings and screaming. At the start of the film, the Decepticons are hiding in the desert, barely functioning, with tiny drones clambering all over them, it's actually a really engaging tableau, which I could see working well in Sci-Fi or Post Apoc gaming, if you had the conversion skills. Dark of the Moon, even outside of the space bridge, has plenty of references to Transformers cartoons, including The Wreckers, but like Punisher War Zone, the references only highlight the flaws in comparison to the original material. Also there's Shockwave, who is pretty cool and probably my favourite Transformer, but he's not even purple so why bother? I know it gets better after this, but I'm really sick of this franchise right now. 

Another Smash Bros Character Post

So the next lot of Smash Bros Ultimate characters will start dropping soon, we know the first one will be from the game Arms, but that's it as of time of writing. I'm pretty excited, despite having never played Arms, because at least the character will be colourful, bright and not another Anime-styled character from a fighting game or JRPG. As I've said before, I enjoy Smash Bros as a game in which cute mascot characters beat the hell out of each other in a series of colourful environments; the inclusion of more and more "human" characters is really dulling my enjoyment of the game. So yeah, this is another article about how I want more goofy characters in the game, deal with it.

Yooka Laylee 

Yes, I know these characters are already in Brawlout, but they're also finally on the Switch in their own games, which are a lot of fun if you've never played them. Basically, I'm just seeing Yooka and Laylee being an "Echo Fighter" for Banjo-Kazooie, rather than an entirely new build. No, I don't care that Banjo-Kazooie are only a recent addition, that doesn't disqualify them from having an Echo Fighter, it's not like there are rules for who gets to be in the game.

Wart 

Yes, I know I've said that there are already too many Mario franchise characters in Smash Bros, but that didn't stop another Fire Emblem character being added, so here we are. Wart is a big, evil frog that may be from Mario's dreams and/or an alternate universe and he uses bubbles for weapons; if you can't get a fun Smash Bros character out of that, you're really not trying.

Shovel Knight 

So I haven't actually played much Shovel Knight, but what I have was fun and I recognise that asking for Scrooge McDuck is a bit of a reach, even with the brilliant Ducktales reboot. I mean, Shovel Knight already has an Amiibo, so that's not a concern, and I don't buy the whole "they're already an Assist Trophy" line either. Shovel Knight's moves are pretty much already set for Smash Bros and there are 3D renders already in the game, this feels like more of a when than an if, you know?

Asura

I know I said no Anime-styled characters, but Asura, from the cult hit Asura's Wrath is so over-the-top as to almost be a parody of the style. From fights against bosses bigger than the planet to power-levels that break the universe, Asura's style and ethos is perfect for a game where Bayonetta can lose to Pichu if the RNG is right. Hell, a sequence where Asura catches the Moon from the Lake Termina level alone would make his inclusion worth the effort of dragging up this cult obscurity. Also, we could get another game, maybe? That'd be cool.

Juan

Yes, I've been on an indy-game kick of late, I'm just finding the big-studio platformers to be pretty unsatisfying. The Guacamele series is a "Metroidvania" style platformer starring Juan, a luchidor wrestler empowered by ancient Mezzo-American gods to battle evil. Never mind that Smash Bros only has one wrestling character so far, and no Hispanic representation, this guy just looks like a hell of a lot of fun to play. Also, Juan is pretty unique in terms of design, which would make for a fun clash with the Disney-styled mascots and Anime-inspired characters that populate the world of Smash Bros so far. 

Well, that's another list. I really hope we get Rayman soon, and not just more JRPG characters in this next round of DLC.