Superhero Media: Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse

So, just to recap, Sony Pictures and Tristar made one of the worst superhero films in years in Venom, then turned around and put out what may well be the best superhero film to date with Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse. Wow. How does that happen? Yes, very different teams worked on both films, but talk about tonal whiplash. Not having complete permission to use the Peter Parker incarnation of Spider-Man, instead the studio used every other Spider-Man they could find, and made a few more along the way. In a world where a hyper-competent and successful version of Peter Parker is a beloved Spider-Man, Miles Morales is shifting to a new Magnet School and struggling to define his own identity when he is bitten by a radioactive spider and if you don't know what that means, where have you been? Dying trying to prevent Kingpin from starting up an inter-dimensional portal machine, Peter Parker passes on the mantle of Spider-Man to Miles, who isn't even sure if he wants it; thankfully, Miles is about to get a whole lot of backup. Spider-Man, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Ham, Spider-Man Noir and an anime girl and her Spider-Robot are about to bring together the greatest super team ever known. 

Every frame of Into the Spider-Verse is a work of art, drawing upon several art and animation traditions at all times and all soaked with dot-shading and "Kirby dots" to create a visual feast that I can't recall any other animated feature ever coming close to. If you have a decent TV, just pause the film at random and you'll see it; I'd hang frames of this on my wall. And the way animation styles blend is simply astonishing, the fight between Penny Parker (and SP//dr), Scorpion and Peter Porker (The Spectacular Spider-Ham!) ranges from Anime to Looney Tunes to video games but doesn't miss a beat. Each character from a different art style (Noir, Ham and Penny) follow their own logic (Noir can't see colours) and it should be a mess, but somehow it works better than even the tone blending of The Avengers; seriously, I would watch 22 more of these including solo films, even just to hear Nic Cage say "real biscuit boxers" again. Drop a neon noir take on Miguel O'Hara in the post-credits scene and Spider-Man 2099 looks ready to drop in for the next one. Love every minute of this. 

Oh, did I mention that Into the Spider-Verse is also a post-racial coming-of-age story with a mixed race protagonist and complex relationship with law enforcement? Also there's a middle-aged character trying to put his life back together after his extended postmodern adolescence broke up his marriage. Want more? Aunt May wants Miles to help her set up a dating profile and there's some heavy hints that she's queer, Gwen is a ballerina in a punk band and Kingpin is motivated by a broken heart. Holy shit, this film is amazing. I had a few Spider-Man (Men?) figures in my miniatures collection before Into the Spider-Verse, but now that collection is growing, because I just have to game it at one stage.

Miniatures Finished: This is indeed, a dark universe

I was feeling silly one day a put together this squad of "Emu War Veterans" for no real reason. For those who don't know, my country, Australia, has lost wars to Emu twice in our history. Well, really, they were just really poorly implemented culls, but the joke is the same anyway. I also just really like Emu and hope to own a couple some day, they're really smart and have big personalities.

These were made with Eureka miniatures Emu with Warlord Games guns and pouches, the helmets are off some 20mm vehicle crews I had laying around. These may show up in my games as my "Equalisers" version of the "Ape Earth" that DC and Marvel both have, or maybe I'll never actually use them, who knows?

Superhero Media: Justice League Crisis on Two Earths

I have honestly completely lost track of which films go where in the broader "continuity" of the DC Animated Universe, but Crisis on Two Earths looks like the Bruce Timm Justice League Unlimited, but with different plot and voice actors. In fact, one of my major criticisms of the film is that the voice cast is really hit-and-miss, with most being middling and a couple being pretty poor. For example, Brian Bloom voices Ultraman with a "Joisey" accent, like a character from The Sopranos, probably because the Crime Syndicate are a form of supervillain "mafia", but it's just kind of jarring as the character is meant to be a dark mirror of Superman. Like, did the spaceship crash in the Pine Barrens and get found by some wiseguys whacking a stoolie? Ok, I'd read that comic, actually, but it's still odd. On the other hand, James Woods as Owlman is pretty fantastic, having about the perfect voice for the hollow nihilist the character turns out to be. Everyone else is fine, but not really memorable. 

When an alternate version of Lex Luthor arrives in the main universe, the Justice League is actually on board with a multiverse concept from the get-go, which is a nice change of pace for these stories, where the entire first act is usually an extended explanation of the mechanics involved. I guess when your team involves several aliens, a robot and a billionaire in a bat costume, alternate realities don't seem that far-fetched. In the alternate reality, the Crime Syndicate is conquering the world steadily, with only president Slade Wilson and his daughter Rose left to oppose them after the deaths of the Justice League, excepting Lex, of course. Considering that there is an entire criminal empire of super-beings, the action in Crisis on Two Earths is lighter on than one may expect, though this could be down to the crew wanting to take space to show off all the little details of the alternate reality. Fun little "blink and you'll miss it" details like the "evil" Martian Manhunter being a John Carter style Thrak or Uncle Marvel being the team lead for the Marvel Family, making it a great trainspotting exercise for longtime DC fans. 

I have to say that the extreme nihilist version of Owlman is pretty great, especially in the continuing environment of "hardcore" Batman dominating the fan narrative. Of course, Batman still manages to kill several people in Crisis on Two Earths, because I guess it's just too hard to write the character otherwise? If that was the contrast between Batman and Owlman, that would make a better conclusion to the film, rather than Batman just being slightly less of a nihilist so as to not want to destroy the multiverse. Like many of the DCAU direct-to-video films, Crisis on Two Earths is pretty good, but stops short of great due to just not having had enough time; both in terms of length, and the script could have probably used another edit run or two. In terms of gaming, just about any of the Justice League ones are ripe for roleplaying scenarios if you need the inspiration. These films come and go from Netflix occasionally, but I pick them up on sale on DVD from a variety of places for a few dollars and keep the ones I like. This is a keeper.

Miniatures Finished: Dominating the table

I'm back on the Doctor Who miniatures train, mostly just out of a desire to do something with the collection I already have, which has kind of languished as a "side-side-side" project for a long time. Also, I briefly worked at the most famous FLGS in Melbourne (yes, that one), and picked up a box of the Warlord Games Who minis, The Dominators.

Although it's generally considered a sub-par story, The Dominators at least have an interesting look, though I had to take some liberties with painting them to make them pop on the table. On the right is The Director, an obscure Time Lord character from the Cubicle 7 Doctor Who RPG, a converted Reaper Miniature.

Superhero Media: Once Upon a Deadpool

I haven't flown in quite a while, do they still edit down films for airlines, just so kids don't end up watching overly violent or sexual content? With those individual entertainment units that planes have now, I'm assuming no? If you can enlighten me in the comments, please do so. Anyway, Once Upon A Deadpool retells the story of Deadpool 2 cut down for content in such a way that it would have a "PG-13" rating in the United States, meaning a person at or above the age of 13 could see the film unaccompanied in most cinemas. By contrast, Deadpool 2 was rated "Hard R", limiting the audience to 18 and over, which was matched by the R18+ rating here in Australia. Interestingly, however, Once Upon A Deadpool got an Australian "M" rating, placing the age limit at 15, because my government is more sensitive to violence than America. Just thought that was a fun little fact to share. Because so much content has been cut from the original film to make Once Upon A Deadpool work, scenes have been added with Fred Savage, playing himself in an extended reference to The Princess Bride. How is this even a real film? 

I quite enjoy Once Upon A Deadpool, it hits a level of metafiction that delights the literature graduate in me no end, especially moments like Fred Savage being a huge Cable fan or that Deadpool is reading from a book titled "Deadpool 2 King James Edition". As Once Upon A Deadpool was put together during the negotiations for the Disney acquisition of Fox Studios, there are some jokes about the comparative quality of the X-Men and Marvel Cinematic Universe films that will likely date poorly, but should form as an interesting "time capsule" when Deadpool moves across to the MCU down the track. Despite some criticism that indicates Once Upon A Deadpool is predominantly recycled footage, there is actually plenty of new dialogue, some dubbed over the movement of Deadpool's mask and a reasonable amount in ADR, so there are new jokes for the diehard fans outside of the Fred Savage scenes. For those hoping that there would be any interesting commentary around censorship in Once Upon A Deadpool, sadly that opportunity is mostly missed, beyond Deadpool keeping a tally of the number of times "shit" is said. 

If neither Deadpool nor Deadpool 2 was your kind of film, Once Upon A Deadpool isn't really too different in terms of content and probably won't be deemed acceptable by those in your life who didn't like Deadpool the first time around. That said, you can maybe sneak the unicorn-bedecked DVD cover past your family and be the "cool uncle" at the next family gathering when putting something on for the kids to watch. I hope any future, feature-length, Deadpool outings don't get to quite the same levels of metafiction as Once Upon A Deadpool, as it's a little exhausting by the end, but I'd be in for Deadpool "reversions" of some MCU stuff if that becomes an option for quick content that Disney decides to exploit, so long as its not run into the ground. For now Once Upon A Deadpool remains an interesting little oddity that I certainly enjoy enough to go back to occasionally.

Danton - Part I

Whilst moving house recently, I came across some pages of loose leaf I've saved since my final year of high school. They contain a silly little story I wrote while bored in class one week and I just never seemed to throw them out for some reason. Reading over them again, I found that in these silly stories is something of the origin of some of my approach to gaming storytelling as it is nearly two decades hence. So for a little bit, I'll be writing up the story, which spins out of a synopsis of the first part of the 1983 film Danton, it's very silly and rather juvenile, and I've only edited the spelling mistakes and worst grammar, so maybe come back next week if you were hoping for anything more meaningful.


Danton

During the Terror, Robespierre and the Committee struggle to maintain control over the masses. Danton, the Great Orator, and his followers seek to overthrow the Committee and end the Terror. Robespierre seeks to imprison Danton without inciting a popular uprising. Danton allows himself to be imprisoned to further his cause. Some of Danton's followers turn against him. Robespierre decides to release the Sentinels to quell the mutant menace. The Justice League break Danton out of gaol and give him the armor of "La Dynamo Tricolore". Dracula seizes control of the Committee and reactivates Voltron, making the Marquis de Condorcet Voltron Commander. Seeking revenge, Robespierre allies himself with The Iron Paw, a coalition of werewolves. Gamera is awakening from his hibernation imposed by Doctor Strange, who has repaired Gundam Wing Zero.

When Gamera awakens, he goes on a rampage in Paris, Dracula sends Voltron to stop him. A team of Werewolf-hunting Ninja attack the Iron Paw, who are actually evil and trying to release a Storm Elemental into the world. In a pitched battle all the Werewolves and Ninja, bar a single Ninja, are killed. The last Ninja swears to hunt down and kill Robespierre, who has gone to Otherworld to fight in the Mortal Kombat tournament. A pair of Japanese fae turn Danton into a giant badger to battle Gamera and Voltron. During the battle, Voltron accidentally destroys Master Mould's holding cell and it attempts to destroy all humans in Paris. Doctor Strange arrives in Gundam Wing Zero and destroys Master Mould with his Beam Cannon. Voltron kills Badger Danton but is destroyed by Gamera, who leaves mysteriously with Doctor Strange.

Superhero Media: Teen Titans GO! Vs Teen Titans

Following on from the epic Teen Titans GO! To the Movies, Teen Titans GO! Vs Teen Titans (hereafter TTGVTT) finally returns the much-loved Teen Titans incarnation to screens thirteen years after they left. Can I just say that I don't get the appeal of Teen Titans? I don't feel that it's a bad programme by any measure, but I tend to find the tone a little off and could never quite get comfortable watching it. Sure, Teen Titans GO! is almost pure nonsense, but it never pretends to be higher art, so I have plenty to enjoy. After an encounter with Gentleman Ghost, the Titans (GO! version) have to help Raven stop her inner demon from being unleashed and destroying the world. Sucked into a mysterious portal, our heroes are forced to fight their greatest foes, the Teen Titans! The usual "we fight until we realise we're on the same side" superhero team-up shenanigans ensue and both teams of Titans have to face off against two Trigons, trying to conquer the multiverse. 

So TTGVTT is basically a Teen Titans version of Turtles Forever or Into the Spider-Verse, with a multiverse of Titans teams having to come together to win the day. The film is entertaining enough, though not quite as good as Teen Titans GO! To the Movies was, with the humor coming more from interaction between the two teams, rather than being observational jokes about the superhero film industry. Again, not having watched much Teen Titans, there was a bit that went over my head, in terms of references. That's probably the great weakness of TTGVTT, in that it requires a working knowledge of both programmes to fully enjoy, but there isn't too much crossover with the fanbases. I know some fans that don't like the original versions being sidelined and others that wanted more jokes and randomness, so it seems that TTGVTT isn't terribly satisfying for anyone. I do like that the focus is more on Raven than Robin for a change, but the friction between the two incarnations of the Boy Wonder is a recurring element still. 

I guess, in the end, how do you top Teen Titans GO! To the Movies? It's like how The Godfather Part III is actually really not that bad, but after The Godfather Part II, anything is going to look poor by comparison. The solid cast and crew make TTGVTT look and sound great, as they know their craft really well after all these years, like how the later seasons of The Simpsons are well produced if nothing else. If you're a grown person who's still butthurt over Teen Titans being canceled, because it had poor ratings, and being replaced by Teen Titans GO!, which continues to be huge across multiple platforms, maybe TTGVTT could be the push you finally need to give the new programme a real go. At the very least, this film is the only new Teen Titans content that has come out in years and may well be the last for a while.

Thinking Out Loud: Big Hero Sex

So this article is about the theoretical sex lives of characters in a children's cartoon. Not because that's the kind of thing really interests me, or turns me on, but because I've had this idea in my brain for years and need to get it down to get it out to make space for something useful. Hopefully this doesn't come across as too skeevy or pornographic, as that isn't what I'm going for, a healthy sex life is an important part of personal development and given that the older members of Big Hero Six (Fred, Go-Go, Honey Lemon and Wasabi) are probably somewhere in their early-to-mid twenties, it just kind of makes sense that they're engaging in this kind of thing, even if it's never on-screen. First big bombshell, I think Fred has had sex with everyone in the group. Yes, Fred is an eternal man-child, but he's demonstrated as having an irresistible charisma and I think he's just charming enough that he does alright. Is Fred bi- or pansexual? I doubt he really knows what he is, he just follows along with what he likes and doesn't bother with much self-examination.

The other big claim I have is that Honey Lemon is trans-feminine. This one is pretty tenuous, but throughout the animated series, Honey is referred to as "Tall Girl" repeatedly, which she chafes at. It's not universal, but within the trans community, trans-femmes can use the moniker "Tall Girls" to identify, and Honey does have moments where the "girly-girl" mask slips a little, such as when she gets really into professional wrestling or finds a boy band insufferable. I don't, for a minute, think that this reading is intentional on the part of the authors, just an odd coincidence of trying to write the character similar to how she was portrayed in the film. I also tend to think that if Honey has particular feelings for any other member of the group, it's Fred; though she recognises that he has a lot of growing to do and doesn't actively pursue the relationship. This frustrates Go-Go though, who has a huge gay crush on Honey Lemon. Yeah, sporty girl is a lesbian is a pretty obvious trope to fall back on, but Go-Go really only seems to have close relationships with other women in the series (Wendy Wower) and Hiro, a child.

Probably the least subtle in the series is Wasabi No-Ginger being gay, which, again, doesn't feel so much deliberate as plainly obvious. The one time he really seems to get into someone in the series, it's a genetically "perfected" male assistant who is a great cook and ideal host. Wasabi is certainly only just figuring out his sexuality and probably edges towards being ACE, but it is there to see if you're looking for it. I think the reason this stuff has been on my mind has more to do with my wanting the characters in the media I'm watching to have a little more depth without resorting to the typical grimdark nonsense. The majority of the Big Hero 6 team are in their twenties, so naturally would be likely to be engaging in sexuality and relationships, and nothing here is intended to be overly salacious or out of reasonable possibility for the setting. What these characters would be like if they were a little more "real" is fun to consider, and I don't feel much guilt thinking about them as adults with adult relationships.