Superhero Media: Justice League Dark - Apokolips War

I almost enjoyed Apokolips War, the finale to the "New 52" run of DC animated features, because there are a lot of great moments and cool ideas, but the constant violence and unnecessary brutality just kills it for me. Yes, there is room in the broader cultural context for more violent superhero fare, but why, when there is no other animated version of Superman, Batman or the Justice League out there for children to enjoy, make a film where Superboy gets ripped limb from limb? It's pandering and disgusting. I really never needed to see the Teen Titans eaten alive by monsters and I'm more than a little concerned that some people enjoy that kind of thing. Big slabs of Apokolips War seem to have been thought up by a twelve year old, from the blood and gore, to "grim and gritty" versions of heroes, and right up to the "Paradooms", Parademons, but also Doomsday. Gag me. But through all the raw sewerage of the film, Apokolips War still delivers some great moments.

Having John Constantine be the point-of-view character is genius, because he is pretty human under all the magic powers and cockney bluster, though the resolution for his character arc is pretty poor, basically boiling down to "a wizard did it". Damien feeling guilty and trying to put Dick in the Lazarus Pit, King Shark valuing his friendship with Captain Boomerang and Swamp Thing cutting loose with everything are all great moments, though mostly in isolation, with the story always dragging back to the bleak world left behind after the defeat of the Justice League. Even the, rather clever finale, involving Raven and Constantine unleashing Trigon to fight Darkseid, is kind of telegraphed early on and doesn't make the intended impact by virtue of being too bleeding obvious. Hell, the entire enterprise is essentially pointless as, in the end, Wally opts to Flashpoint again and reboot the universe. DC did a reboot, take a shot.

I'm still far too young to be as tired as I am over superhero films, and the, somehow, continuing trend of making them as nasty and violent as possible. Look, I enjoyed Brightburn, Jessica Jones and every The Punisher film (to a certain extent), there is room in the genre for the harsher takes, but with the Justice League and Teen Titans? Really? Apokolips War doesn't even have the excuse of being an Elseworlds title, it was the main continuity, and it ended in torture, death and cannibalism; stay classy DC. Meanwhile, the competition his Marvel Rising and Ms Marvel for the younger crowds and Werewolf By Night and Wandavision for the grown-ups. I try to not come across as a Marvel fanboy on this blog, but damn if DC don't make it hard to like them sometimes. I hope the next go round for the DCAU is better, both in terms of quality and how they choose to treat their characters.

Superhero Media: GANTZ (2010)

I've actually been watching a few "Live Action" Anime adaptations lately, and found myself enjoying them quite a bit, despite the conventional wisdom that they tend to be poor. I think it's down to my not really liking a lot of the general Anime tropes and genre conventions, many of which the films tend to jettison for time. In Tokoyo Ghoul, for example, a lot of the angst is compacted for the sake of the narrative, and it is more about the Ghoul community and existence than the big fights of the Anime, so I enjoyed it a lot more. Years back, I watched GANTZ: O on a whim and could not get into it, because I had no real idea what was going on and it was clearly made for people who were already fans. By contrast, GANTZ is exactly what I wanted, a good introduction to the core concepts of the series, with decent pacing and a lot of the chaff cut away. 

After dying helping save a man's life, estranged childhood friends Kato and Koruno awaken in an unfurnished apartment with several strangers and a Black Sphere containing an unconscious man. For those not yet familiar with the GANTZ franchise, people are taken at the moment of death and given a chance to free themselves by battling aliens (most often in the guise of Japanese folklore monsters), with many only dying again in brutal ways. As players kill aliens, they earn points which can be used to free themselves, resurrect dead players or upgrade weaponry. Basically, GANTZ (also the name of the sphere) is a really cool concept for a story (or roleplaying game or video game), but occasionally gets bogged down in its own lore and mythology. Really, the franchise reminds me a little of Hunter: The Reckoning, a roleplaying favourite of mine, in that the characters "chosen" are pretty diverse and tend to have little in common to begin with. 

GANTZ is a little more "heroic" than other entries in the series I've seen, with Kato even having a costume and training montage at one stage, though the brutality of the fights does strip this feeling away pretty quick. That said, the suits are cool, the weapons pretty unique and the monsters are memorable, if a little underdeveloped, so if you're intrigued, this film is worth checking out. I'm a little tempted to pull GANTZ into my broader Ultimate Alliance narrative, as a kind of failed technology running rogue, but the Japanese Government not trying too hard to shut it down, because it keeps the aliens under wraps. I may check out the Anime, if I can stream it or get it on sale, but I'm not sure how keen I really am on doing that anytime soon. 

Superhero Media: Rampage

Several friends were really keen on Rampage and kept hassling me to see it, but I never seemed to get the chance. When I finally go to it, I found Rampage fairly underwhelming, as I've never played the games and was just hoping for some Kaiju action, but what I got was a whole load of Rock and only the one monster fight. Not that there isn't a lot of fun stuff in the film, but I was in the headspace for Kaiju so Rampage couldn't help but disappoint. The opening, with a lone woman running from an (unseen) mutant rat through a space station is really well put together and quite tense, in fact, the tense scenes work well, like later when Ralph (giant mutant wolf) is picking off a team of mercenaries in the woods, but most of the "big" monster action leaves something to be desired. I'm not sure I buy the Rock as former special forces soldier/park ranger/bounty hunter turned zookeeper Davis Okoye, as he may be a competent actor, but basically only has one "action" mode. Compared to Jeffery Dean Morgan, playing Agent Russell, the Rock just doesn't seem to be having as much fun in the role as the premise would demand. 

What Rampage reminded me of most was the Transformers films, with the emphasis on military technology and what seems to be a lack of good ideas as to what to do with the actual monsters people turned up to see. Not that I expected Rampage to be Shin Godzilla or anything, but was Kong Skull Island too much to ask? I'm pretty sure only two helicopters get trashed, nowhere near enough. Though there is a cool bit where the Rock uses a broken helicopter to break his fall from a collapsing building, which is pretty neat. I guess if I'm grading on a curve for being a "video game movie", Rampage is actually pretty good, but when do we stop expecting these game adaptations to be lesser, and demand the same quality we get from comic book films? I still think the first Tomb Raider and Resident Evil are perfectly serviceable and will keep defending Street Fighter as a fun romp; not everything is the animated Donkey Kong Country film, you know? 

So what does really work in Rampage? Well, the size of the Kaiju is nice for gaming. Seriously, some larger animal action figures and model kits are pretty affordable around the 12 to18 inch mark and would sit well next to 28mm miniatures. My Gamera is around that size (he's 15mm if we're getting technical) and "looks" about right on the table. The Godzilla I've been eyeing off is a little taller and would probably be around perfect. Of course, I've seen Kaiju played at 10mm and 40mm, and most of mine aim for 6mm, so what you can afford and store is up to you, but I like a couple of big nasties to really give the "wow" factor for display games. Warmachine and D&D Miniatures have a nice giant Crocodile and Wolf respectively, and a few places do large apes in toy lines, so putting together a Rampage set would be pretty easy if that's your bag. For me, it's off to find more suitable Godzilla and Gamera Kaiju. 

Superhero Media: Batman Mask of the Phantasm

Generally regarded by fans to be the best Batman film ever made, Mask of the Phantasm was put together by the Batman The Animated Series [BTAS] team, including Bruce Timm, Paul Dini and Kevin Conroy. Something of an origin story, Batman must chase down the enigmatic Phantasm, clear his own name and wrestle with his past as mobsters are killed of in revenge slayings. The mystery elements of Mask of the Phantasm are pretty basic and rather obvious, but the tone, narrative and script make the journey engaging, certainly more so than most Batman films, animated or live-action. In terms of retelling the "origin" of Batman, Mask of the Phantasm focuses on a Bruce Wayne recently returned to Gotham after having trained around the world and, as yet, unsure as to how to proceed. Meeting Andrea, a carefree heiress with a wild streak, Bruce is torn between a path of revenge and one of happiness, which comes to a head when Andrea and her father flee America to escape the wrath of the Gotham crime families. 

Spotted the murderer yet? As I said, it's pretty obvious, but the film is enjoyable nonetheless and, in moments, is positively breath-taking. The reveal of the Batman costume stuns Alfred into silence in what is a brilliant animated sequence and probably one of the best attempts to make a bat costume intimidating for an audience at home. Mostly focused on mobster villains, Mask of the Phantasm also features The Joker, of course, this version given a Jack Napier style origin which is actually pretty neat, if you're going to go and give a cypher a distinct genesis, though you really still shouldn't. Like many of these animated Batman films, the Joker feels like an unnecessary element there because he'll draw more eyeballs more than being needed for the story. This feels especially like a token cast in Mask of the Phantasm, where there are plenty of other mafia-adjacent villains (like Scarface and Tallyman) who would probably fit better. 

All-in, Mask of the Phantasm is probably the best Batman film to date, even with the limitations of animation and a short run time. The action is well-paced and exciting without needing to resort to gore and killing, one of the best scenes involving Joker beating someone with deli meat, just going to prove that "make it R rated" is not the solution to improving the live-action Batman films. As I've said for years, good stories make good films, and Mask of the Phantasm keeps the myth and pace of Batman but also injects humanity and pathos that is much-needed, and the result is practically a masterpiece. I'm not sure that I'd put Mask of the Phantasm on any list of the best superhero films ever made, as whilst it is an excellent Batman film, it doesn't tell a grander story about the human condition like Black Panther or The Incredibles, but it remains brilliant nonetheless. Sadly, Mask of the Phantasm is getting harder to find, but it does come around on Netflix every so often if you want to check it out. 

Superhero Media: Upgrage

I've heard Upgrade referred to as "the good Venom movie", or at least "a good Venom" movie, and whilst I'll admit that it is a much better film than Venom; there is a lot more going on here than that one notion. Set in a near-future where automation and surveillance are so ubiquitous that criminals are forced to pay hackers to scramble their online identities, most Police are drone pilots and most people have chips in their bodies, Upgrade is strictly more of a Horror film than Superheroes, but it may be worth the watch anyway. Grey Trace is a motor mechanic specialising in old cars who refuses to upgrade to any cyberwear, married to a successful tech professional, when tragedy strikes and he is paralysed in a violent assault. Offered a way to walk again by reclusive tech billionaire, Eron Keen, Grey soon finds himself host to "STEM", a learning AI that can take over his body to do awesome fight scenes and basically just be better than the symbiote in Venom in every way. 

Logan Marshall-Green does a brilliant job of moving like a puppet cadaver in many scenes of Upgrade, and that tends to be the end of most reviews, but as the film was shot in my home town of Melbourne, it actually means a lot more to me than just being cool and fun to watch. You see, part of my Undergraduate Major in Film Studies was focused on Australian Cinema, so I've watched quite a few films made in Melbourne and they always feature two locations, the National Gallery of Victoria and the carpark at Melbourne University. You see, the carpark was the set of the "Last of the V8s" scene from Mad Max, so it's iconic and a bit of a film nerd reference. The Gallery is just a beautiful building, so that's no shocker. Upgrade uses neither building, but opts for some out-of-the-way locations and sections of industrial land that really sell the burgeoning dystopia of the setting, which is fantastic. 

As much as Upgrade is reminiscent of Venom, I got more of a Punisher and Ghost in the Shell vibe from it myself, with revenge not being something Grey wants to do, but feels driven to and the not-quite-cyberpunk-yet milieu of the entire film. Alought much better, Upgrade makes an excellent companion to films like Code 8 and Night Watch, which provide a "darker" setting, but still sit adjacent to the superhero genre in many ways, and could work together along their shared themes of dehumanisation and the entropy of progress. Would STEM be a villain in this world, or is the dial already so far against humanism that wholesale murder doesn't invalidate the possibility of heroic motives? I don't think I'll be going back to Upgrade all that often, other than just to show people something cool that they have not seen, as I did have fun, but there's not a lot to dig down into beyond that. Still, I'll be watching this before I watch Venom again. 

Superhero Media: Swamp Thing (1982)

After watching the disappointing Swamp Thing television programme, I went through what other Swamp Thing media I had access to, to get a better feel for the character. Mostly comics, and mostly guest spots at that, I did find that I had a digital copy of the 1982 film adaptation on my hard drive from somewhere, so I checked that out. Swamp Thing is amazing! A prime slice of direct-to-video, 1980s cheese, complete with exactly the kind of cast and crew that makes you want to go back to this again and again, despite the dodgy costume and cookie-cutter story. Directed by Wes Craven, only his sixth time in the chair, and starring Ray Wise and Adrienne Barbeau in the leads, this could almost be an alt-universe prequel to Twin Peaks, if that's the kind of odd mental gymnastics you're into. Following basically the same story as the series, science goes wrong, Swamp Thing is born from an accident and then we chase a monster around for about sixty minutes. 

Look, I, and pretty much any other fan of Swamp Thing, really prefer when the comics are about comparative mythology, spiritualism and postmodernist philosophy, but that's not really going to make a good film; or at least a film most audiences would want to watch. Once you strip away everything that makes Swamp Thing unique, you're left with a monster in a swamp and yet another retread of Frankenstein. With that being the case, I'd much rather sit through a quickie monster movie than a ponderous series that fails to capitalise on the premise in any significant way. Plus this version ends with a a sword fight with a pig man rather than a spoiler for a terrible villain, so what more could you ask for, really? I think the only real missed opportunity, other than a gloss coat on the Swamp Thing costume to make it look wet, is that Jeffery Combs isn't playing the villain, who is seeking a lurid green goo to make himself immortal. 

Also, a young Reggie Batts, of absolutely nothing else, plays Jude, the best "sassy black kid" in any film you will ever see. I was really disappointed to discover that Swamp Thing was his only appearance, he was the best part of many scenes. Despite the director, cast and material, Swamp Thing doesn't tend to enjoy the cult status of, say, Spawn or The Maxx, which I would say is due more to the overall blandness of the picture than any individual blemish. Individual parts of the film are fine, even great for moments, but it never coalesces into anything more than a mildly interesting watch. I seem to remember reading that there are a number of films in this series, but the internet was a bit light-on for information with just a quick search. If there's more, you can be I'll track them down at some stage, but for now I'm thinking maybe some Troma to keep the schlock vibe going? Also some other oddities in the pipeline, but time will tell.

Superhero Media: Dragon Ball Super - Broly

Finally, a genuinely good film with Broly in it! Well, the second half is really good, at least. And the version of Broly presented is different in a lot of ways from the previous incarnation, so it's almost a new character; but Broly is still amazing, right? Well... Look, if the Dragon Ball Super version of Broly had been the first one, I'd probably be fine with the character, but having lived with the Broly fanboys since the late 1990s, I'm kind of just done, sorry. Recasting Broly as a childlike innocent forced by his father's hubris to live on a nightmare world for most of his life before happenstance improves his lot is at least more interesting than having him hate Goku because he cried a lot that one time they were babies. The thing is though, Broly is still pretty shallow, even for a DB character; he gets mad and loses control and is really powerful for unclear reasons. Once the fight starts, it's great, on the best looking fights in DB history, hands down, and it manages to stay engaging for most of it, but the time to get there isn't all that great. 

What Broly does have is some interesting world-building that I really enjoyed, like having characters who joined Freiza's army for a diversity of reasons and Bulma using the Dragon Balls to keep herself young. That is so bang on for who Bulma was back in the Dragon Ball days, it's nice to see character continuity over such a distance of time. Bra is born, so hopefully we'll have some more of her down the track if we get more DBS at some point, I like that a Sayian character exists who isn't into fighting and would rather spend time at the mall. It makes a nice contrast to Goku and Vegeta, whilst also showing more of the slow integration into humanity that started with Gohan. I think I've asked this before, but why are fans so hyped for Gogeta, but less so for Vegito? I really cannot tell the difference between the two other than the cosmetic and method of fusion. Super Sayian God fusion is pretty fun though, especially with the return of failed fused forms, which was always a nice touch, given how ridiculous the power levels are at that point. 

I know a fair few people are big on the Broly soundtrack as well, but I really don't get it. It's just anime music with the characters' names being chanted, nothing special as far as I can tell. I do enjoy getting to see a more devious side of Frieza, who plans and schemes a lot more than he has in the past; making smart choices for the most part and making use of what advantages he has over Goku and Vegeta. The real star of Broly however, is the animation, which seems to draw as much from Into the Spider-Verse and psychedelia as it does traditional Shonen anime, with a fluidity of motion unlike essentially anything that has appeared in DB before. With the continued addition of cell-shaded CGI to help flesh-out the fight scenes, Broly is a visual delight, even if much of it is two or more burly men without shirts punching each other and yelling. Broly probably isn't a good jumping-on point for the broader DB franchise, but I really hope it does indicate what's in the future. More experimental animation, revising Movie characters into better versions and building the setting apart from the Sayians.

Superhero Media: Indestructible Man (1956)

My extended Golden Age kick continues with this supernatural Noir thriller starring none other than Lon Chaney Jr! Notorious criminal Charles "The Butcher" Benton is executed for a violent robbery, taking the secret of the stolen cash to his grave, but the intervention of a well-meaning scientist brings him back to life, stronger, tougher and completely Indestructible! More of a detective story, and a riff on Frankenstein, Indestructible Man has plenty of great fodder for pulp and Golden Age supers games. A mute, bulletproof, revenant criminal is a brilliant antagonist for just about any hero, as he looks like anyone else, but can't be stopped. Probably the best element of The Bucther's character is that he isn't on a rampage, he wants his money, his girl and to get revenge on the three people who turned States' Evidence against him, but the only people that get hurt are the ones that get in his way. It reminds me of classic monster villains like the Glob or Missing Link; there's a pathos and tragedy to the character that is endearing. 

Facing down The Butcher is police Lieutenant Dick Chasen (no, really), the kind of no-nonsense detective Noir is famous for, with a drinking problem and high-waisted trousers. Not all that distant from, say, The Spirit, The Shadow, Phantom Reporter or even early Batman, when you get down to it. A mute, bulletproof criminal bent on revenge would make for a challenging antagonist for any character without a lot of powers, and opens the door for scientific and/or magical solution, as well as mundane ones; in the film, The Butcher is taken out by a massive electrical current. Perhaps "evil Luke Cage" isn't the best concept for a recurring or ongoing villain, but various takes on Frankenstein's Monster are already prevalent in comics, so one more can't really hurt. Man, I really want to run a Golden Age campaign now, I should finally buy that copy of Pulp Alley. 

If you're not a regular viewer of classic films, Indestructible Man may be a tad difficult to digest, not just with the acting and cheap camera work typical of this kind of matinee fare, but in some of the ways they tend to date. For example, the film ends with Chasen proposing to his girlfriend, after having gotten her fired from her job so that she has to say 'yes' or lose housing; yikes. Seeing Police arm themselves up with BARs and Flame throwers is fun, but in this age of militarised police, there is an undercurrent of discomfort, especially as the plan from the beginning is to kill a man. The idea of a character's only power being invulnerability to harm is pretty interesting to me, I have such a character in my Equalisers team, and I'll explore it more down the track with a book I'll talk about here, but it's interesting to think that it's usually a secondary power, or part of a suite.

Superhero Media: Dragon Ball Z - Battle of Gods

How do you relaunch one of the most popular Anime franchises in history for a new century and a new generation? By adding a couple of new toyetic characters and giving Goku a new form, apparently. I really want to like Battle of Gods, there's a lot going on that I like to see in DB, such as the characters enjoying downtime, the "Otherworld" and Goku losing a fight. The animation is sharp, some of the best in the history of the franchise, with plenty of great fluid movement that isn't traditionally associated with Anime. In terms of the narrative, however, Battle of Gods leaves me cold. I like Beerus and Whis, and their role[s] later on in DBS are excellent, but here their only purpose seems to be to propel Goku to the next stage, "Super Sayian God". As much as people complain that the story of Battle of Gods was re-run in DBS, but, to me, this feels more like an introductory Saga to a new status quo, like the Trunks or Great Sayiaman Sagas before it. 

The Goku/Beerus fight is very cool to watch, and the bigger budget of the film format allows for a great spectacle, but I just cannot engage with it as much as I want to. There is almost no threat to the fight, with Beerus being unable to lose and the "Destruction of the Earth" never feeling like a real possibility with all of the godlike beings that hang around the main cast by this point. There are no stakes, as the Hollywood people would say, so there's no tension and I can't get invested. I do like that Whis and Beerus are just part of the cast from this point on, but the fact that the "Destroyer God" doesn't do anything other than eat and sleep wears thin as a joke pretty fast. Because, you know, he's a cat. Do the Destroyers in the other universes do the same? It's hard to imagine the clown guy just napping all the time, but maybe it works differently now. Oh, and the film ends with Beerus pointing out that there are more universes, because Goku needs to have stronger guys to fight. 

Again, I really want to like Battle of Gods, but I just can't get there with it; there's too many little things that bug me about it. Like, is this the first DB outing where Bulma is just stupid rich? I mean, she's always had money, but now she can give away a literal castle and a pile of gold at her birthday party? Ok, so it's good for some jokes and it's great to have the Pilaf gang back, but does Bulma really let her oldest friends rot in poverty when she has so much money? That's cold, Bulma. The Pilaf gang being back is amazing, 10 out of 10, would watch these guys as their own spin-off, especially with the Trunks/Mai pairing that pays off later in DBS. I know that sexuality is barely a thing in DB, but boy is Trunks in for a shock, given that Mai is technically in her forties and has a lifetime of "experience". As a jumping-on point, Battle of Gods is pretty lore-heavy, but it still looks great and I know some people who got their start here, so maybe check it out if older, clunky Anime tends to turn you off.

Superhero Media: Fantastic 4 Rise of the Silver Surfer

Ok, so this one took so long because my DVD copy of Fantastic 4 Rise of the Silver Surfer was corrupted and I wanted to finish up some other stuff on Disney+ before I forced myself through this again. Much like the previous film, Rise of the Silver Surfer has an excellent cast, now expanded with Doug Jones, Laurence Fishburne and Andre Braugher, but fails to do anything interesting with the embarrassment of riches available. Unlike the later, and much worse, Fant4stic, the crew of Rise of the Silver Surfer seem to have at least read some FF comics, as elements like the Fantasticar are present, as well as lines lifted directly from classic and newer comics. I don't believe that the cast and crew didn't care about the material, or not want to make a good film, I just think it fell apart with a few poor choices, and no, not just making Galactus a cloud for some reason. 

Actually, Galactus being a cloud is not my major bugbear with Rise of the Silver Surfer; I'll admit that it's dumb, but I can see how a studio ended up there by not wanting to have the giant purple guy on-screen. My take has always been that the cloud is just hiding Galactus' ship, and we get a glimpse in the climax, rather than the cloud actually being Galactus, but that's me. Doom is back, and up to his tricks in attempting to steal the power of the Silver Surfer, one of his more memorable Silver Age jaunts, but most of the story is sidelined for Reed and Sue having wedding jitters, because that's less expensive to film. If the adaptation of Fantastic Four was a television series rather than a motion picture, this approach to the family drama would actually be pretty good, especially with the smaller moments like Ben and Johnny talking about how they want to ride out the end of the world, but here it just reads as padding for the most part. 

All in, Rise of the Silver Surfer was a fun watch, in the same way the Ang Lee Hulk is fun; it's not the best, but there's enough there for me to enjoy that I don't feel my time has been wasted. Sometimes a crummy but fun film is just what you want for a slow afternoon, and, for all its flaws, Rise of the Silver Surfer is at least competently acted and reasonably funny. Doctor Doom may be a pale imitation of the real thing, but he still does Doom things and chews the scenery like a pro. Until we get the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of the Fantastic Four, this is likely to be the second best live action film featuring the characters, so my advice is to enjoy it for what it is, rather than waste time pointlessly wishing it was something else. Hell, pop this in halfway through your latest Brooklyn 99 re-watch for a bit of a laugh if that's what it takes. And maybe just bite on a belt or something when the Galactus cloud is on the screen?

Superhero Media: Tron Legacy

I remember when I first saw Tron Legacy at the cinema; it was opening day, I went to the first showing and I don't remember more than one other person being in the cinema. It was magic. I have a bit of a soft spot for Tron to begin with, but Tron Legacy was everything I could have asked for. When the Daft Punk soundtrack started up, when the Recogniser landed, when Flynn's Arcade lit up, I was transported. A few days later, I took my then girlfriend to see the film, she hadn't seen Tron and was a few years younger than me, but I thought she would enjoy it. She did not. When I asked around as to who among my friends had seen Tron Legacy and what they thought about it, the response was also pretty negative. Not to be "that guy", but I really think most people don't get Tron Legacy; it's a story of gods and mortals, of faith and religion, of fathers and sons, and, perhaps most of all, about the power of belief in dictatorships. Tron Legacy is a masterwork of Science Fiction, but it seems no one will ever know. 

Years after the disappearance of Flynn, his son, Sam receives a clue to to his possible whereabouts which leads him to an old Tron machine at Flynn's Arcade. Before you can say "iconic sequence", Sam is sucked into The Grid and is soon fighting for his life in a nightmare dystopia ruled over by Clu, the dark, digital reflection of Flynn. The Grid is beautiful, in high-contrast gloss colours like a neo-noir fever dream, with sleek edges and hard lines to evoke the look of the original Tron whilst still remaining something entirely new; visually, Tron Legacy is a feast, better even that Avatar in my opinion. Then there's the overarching narrative, whilst Sam isn't all that interesting in of himself, the ongoing conflict between Flynn and Clu holds deep meaning. The most obvious comparison would be Paradise Lost, with Clu in the Lucifer role, but it is Flynn who is cast into the wilderness and the Isos are spawned from nowhere, so the text I'd be inclined to consider would be William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Clu is the Urizen aspect of God, measuring out the world and not accepting of chaos and emotion interfering with his good works. 

Flynn, the true creator, retreats from his creation, while his greatest champion, Tron, is slain and resurrected to serve the Antagonist, not dissimilar to Blake's take on the Archangel Michael. Am I saying Tron Legacy is a postmodernist, digitalist take on the works of William Blake? Probably not, especially when the writer's other works are considered in the context, but the reading is there to be made and there's a decent Thesis in it for anyone who cares to try. Oh and the conflict between the spontaneously-generating Isos and the Programs made by Flynn is a whole other thing that we'll have to discuss in the next one of these. Yes, there will be a next one, as I've found one more piece of Tron media, and it explores the Isos better, so watch out for that somewhere down the track. Tron Legacy is amazing, and with any justice and a sliver of hope, it will become a cult classic for future generations. 

Superhero Media: The Shadow

I picked up a DVD of The Shadow on a whim after being reminded that the film existed by an internet video. I had seen the film many years previously, but didn't really remember much except the living dagger and invisible hotel, so when I put it on one afternoon I was in for a big surprise. The Shadow is pretty goofy and very Golden Age in it's approach, but with that comes all the violence, moral ambiguity and mix of magic and science that made Golden Age comics such a trip. Before becoming The Shadow, Lamont Cranston is a warlord in the badlands of rural China, having slipped into violence and unrelenting rage during the Great War and just walked until he found a place where those things led to profit. Encountering a holy man in the mountains, Lamont learns to harness the evil side of his nature and use it to fight for good, to become, The Shadow! With powers of suggestion, mesmerism and two massive guns, The Shadow brings justice to the dark corners of New York City. 

Yes, The Shadow stars Alec Baldwin, from when he was young and sexy, if you can believe that, but the rest of the cast is pretty awesome to behold; Tim Curry, Peter Boyle and Ian McKellen all have roles, as well as a bunch of great Asian-American actors from your favouite Cult films. David Lo Pan anyone? Oddly, the main antagonist, Shiwan Khan, is played by John Lone, never did too many films in the West, Rush Hour being the only other of his that I have seen. Oh, and "Magical Descendant of Genghis Khan" is a brilliant bad guy and now I'm eyeing off some 28mm Mongols as antagonists; but why not long-lost sons of other dictators like Norman Bonaparte, Caligula Jr or Albert Hitler? Throw in an anachronistic nuclear bomb, some brilliant Art Deco sets and a couple of classic pulpy death-traps and The Shadow is a heck of a lot of fun, if nothing else. Yes, the '90s CGI is pretty terrible now and the film is dated in other ways, but for its time, The Shadow is one of the better examples of the genre. 

I know I keep saying this, but I really need to get around to doing some more Pulp Gaming. I already have The Shadow, Green Hornet, Mandrake and The Phantom painted, and I have The Woman in Red and The Spirit somewhere undercoated. Also I just picked up some plastic WWII Germans in greatcoats for baddies, so I'm pretty much set if I just get my arse into gear. Many of the Golden Age and Pulp comics are pretty dated, being very racist, sexist and homophobic by current standards, but the settings and adventures can be tweaked to suit quite easily, just look at Atomic Robo or The Marvels Project. I find pulp can be a great way to use more of your miniatures collection for Supers as well, some Fantasy Undead at a a creepy temple, WWII tanks and infantry as antagonists, even your sci-fi aliens as "invaders from Mars"; anything goes, so just throw it in and see what works. And if you have the chance to check out The Shadow while you're prepping games, all the better. 

Superhero Media: Professor Marston and the Wonder Women

The story of William Moulton Marston, his wife Elizabeth, their girlfriend, Olive Byrne, and their collaboration to create Wonder Woman is the stuff of comics legend, but the story is often played for sensation, rather than being allowed to stand on its own. Professor Marston and the Wonder Women is one of the most sensitive and accurate retellings of the story, even if it does focus on William Marston more than the other characters and skims over some of the more interesting elements of Golden Age Wonder Woman comics. Having been in a polyamourous relationship for years, it is pretty common to find yourself being gawked at and asked plenty of invasive questions, and that was the 2020s, not the 1930s, but I do find myself wishing that the "sex stuff" wasn't the major focus of the story. Another failing, at least to my eye, of Professor Marston and the Wonder Women is that the invention of the polygraph is covered as a side note, and no time is given to Elizabeth Marston's later rebuking of the device as useless for intended purpose. 

Those quibbles aside, Professor Marston and the Wonder Women is masterful, a brilliant film that touches on many themes yet still serves as an excellent biography. Perhaps more so than any other creator of the Golden Age, the Martsons and Olive led fascinating lives, through the Great War and being early professors of psychology as the discipline moved from out of philosophy at the academic level, only really Anarchist Wizard Alan Moore can challenge this trio for an exciting life story. Wow, can I please get an Alan Moore biopic? That sounds pretty amazing now that I'm thinking about it. Talk about the "sex stuff" being some of the least interesting parts of the story. As to that same "sex stuff" though, the few minutes of Bondage, Pornography and Submission in Professor Marston and the Wonder Women are much better, healthier and more realistic representations of such than several hours of EL James adaptation can manage. There are better ways to learn about Bondage/S&M/BDSM if you want to know more, but for what this film is, I honestly expected much worse than what I got. There is a moment of triumph when Olive ties Elizabeth up for the first time that eclipses even the creation of the polygraph. 

As a documentary on the history of DC comics and the origins on Wonder Woman, Professor Marston and the Wonder Women leaves much to be desired, but as a piece of history, covering a man and the women he loved, and loved him, and loved each other, it is uniquely wonderful. Something that I struggle with when reading a lot of fiction is I don't see a great deal of alternate relationship models, such as ethical non-monogomy, in some ways it tends to be even less represented than queer relationships; I mean, how many couples in television series don't end up with a child, just for example? The fact that Professor Marston and the Wonder Women didn't get a broad cinema release pretty much anywhere doesn't give me a lot of hope for broader representation of alternate relationship models. Amazing how little has changed in that regard in nearly one hundred years. While we're at it, let's bring the bondage, discipline and submission back to Wonder Woman, I'm sure there's plenty of room for it in the next Gal Gadot film. Until then, this film is well worth your time to track down and enjoy.

Superhero Media: The Avengers (1998)

Based on a long-running British television series, which has enjoyed more than one incarnation, The Avengers follows the adventures of Mister Steed and Missus Peel as they battle the menace of August DeWinter. Quite a few years ago, in 2012, many YouTube film reviewers latched onto The Avengers as a quick source of content, as the Marvel Studios version was due soon and provided handy clickbait. I quite enjoyed many of these videos, as they were predominantly American in origin, and there were many laughs to be had in the lack of understanding of the, very British, humour of The Avengers. Cries of "Is the joke that they're polite?" were met by my friends and I chuckling; "No, the joke is that they're British." And that's the trick to The Avengers, if there can be considered to be one, if you can't buy into the, very British, absurdities and behaviors, you'll never enjoy the film, as it's full to the brim of a bowler hat of the very same. So if jokes about tolerable additives to tea (lemon and honey, please mother) or umbrella etiquette aren't for you, maybe give this one a miss. 

For me, a viewer of The New Avengers, Adam Adamant Lives! and The Prisoner, The Avengers does it for me very nicely thank you very much. It's honestly not as good as the classic programmes, but much easier to come by and watch when I need a quick fix. Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman perform admirably in the lead roles, but it is Sean Connery, yes, Sean fucking Connery, as August DeWinter, the camp, scenery-chewing evil mastermind, who steals the show. Seriously, Connery may be a somewhat "limited" actor in some respects, but he does what he does well, and his style lends itself well to the "No Sex Please, We're British" jokes and double ententes straight out of Are You Being Served?, I guess it's the great British pantomime tradition? Whilst I'm on a British cultural binge, the soundtrack features music from Skuggs, of Madness fame, and whilst it's not his best work, I'll take my Ska where I can get it. Fun fact, "Steed" and "Peel" were the PA callsigns for security at Coles Supermarkets when I worked there, that's how embedded The Avengers is in British/Colonial culture. 

Like, The Avengers is kind of up there with Doctor Who with certain generations, even enjoying an extended run in Germany under the title "With Umbrella, Charm and Top Hat", which I think we can all agree, is a better name for the series. In all fairness, The Avengers is not the best version of itself, that would probably be the original television series, but it does get the general idea across and is all done in 90 minutes if you happen to be, just as example, showing your girlfriend because she didn't believe what you were describing was actually real. That was a fun night. She did not care for it. If you want to broaden your concept of what a super-spy organisation can be beyond the SHIELD model, then The Avengers is a good place to start, with plenty of gadgets, fun henchmen (played by Eddie Izzard!) and a bonkers plot to ransom the world with a weather control device. Crooked Dice and a few other miniature makers do Steed and Peel models, so I may have to grab a set to go with my Archer and Lana and 3rd Doctor and Sarah Jane.

The Pitch: Super Smash Brothers

I was watching the new Jumanji films recently, the ones with The Rock and Karen Gillian, and an idea hit me. The framework of "we got sucked into a video game" isn't wholly original, having been used at least as far back as the original Battletoads and Tron, but it is oddly underused in a world where video games are a massive industry and trying to adapt them to film is a constant challenge. Way back in my "Nintendo Movies" article, sometime in 2022 if I'm not mistaken, rather than pitch specific films, I more generally discussed the idea of Nintendo multimedia and what that could potentially look like. This time around, though, I have something more akin to The Pitch which I haven't done for a while, based on, of all Nintendo series, Super Smash Bros.

Super Smash Brothers

Trapped in a world they didn't create, four friends have to work together to harness the powers of their favourite Nintendo characters to escape and save the universe.

The Idea

Ok, we're not pretending that this is anything other than doing Tron or Jumanji -Welcome to the Jungle with the expansive Smash Bros. roster, but that doesn't mean it can't be fun or clever. Get celebrity actors to do the voice of various characters, Sigourney Weaver as Samus, Ryan Reynolds as Pikachu, Cary Elwes as Marth, that kind of thing. Put some proven writers on the job, this isn't Citizen Kane or anything, workmen will do. The story involves four young people, probably in high school, getting trapped in a video game, how isn't super important, and the game turns out to run essentially along the lines of World of Light and/or Shadow Emissary. Why not just make a film out of Shadow Emissary, because that's what people will be asking for anyway? Well, because that's not how the industry works and I don't think we can sell a franchise film with no dialogue.

How it works

The gimmick of this whole concept is, of course, getting a cast of popular characters together to bounce jokes around and have cool fights, the plot is almost secondary, with the players needing to get from A to B through a series of iconic Nintendo locations and beat the final boss, who may be Gaalem or Light or whoever, maybe someone new? Given that the Smash series has a massive roster now, there should probably be some kind of "character randomisation" problem going on preventing the "players" from picking their mains and letting us rotate through more characters. For example, having a scene where someone is stuck as Jigglypuff and learns how to do the instant-KO, or wobbling with the Ice Climbers or complains about Hero being broken are the kind of little things that should probably go in there for fans, but not be major plot-points.

In the finale, of course, the issue is fixed and the players get their mains and work together to win out, go home and we have a sequel tease. Again, nothing complicated, as much of the entertainment and humor comes from things like seeing Warrior and Megaman have to team up to take down King Dedede or something like that. In fact, some kind of World of Light system where the players have to unlock characters by defeating them could be good if not overdone. Naturally, in the end, the players mains are characters that predominantly feature in the Smash Bros series, rather than being popular in their own right, like Captain Falcon and the Ice Climbers, mostly because you kind of want to keep your powder dry on IPs like Zelda and Metroid, giving the lesser-knowns time to shine.

Just for Fun

Now, if it were me in charge of all this, I'd be working close with Nintendo and planning for the film to be released at a very specific time. Much like the 1990s 'classic' The Wizard, our Smash Bros film will be the global reveal for the next game. I'm seeing this take the shape of being a new character available in the final battle that has never been in a Smash game before, and then a full trailer post-credits like at the end of No Way Home. Of course, that's a huge ask and may not happen, but I figure if we're already talking about making a big-budget Smash Bros film, then why not shoot for the moon? The character should be Dixie Kong as well, because I said so.

Superhero Media: Hellboy (2019)

I'm assuming at this point that no one needs me to tell them that the 2019 Hellboy reboot is a bad film. The script is poor, the CGI is somehow worse than the previous films, the sound mixing is so bad I couldn't make out the dialogue half the time, and it tries way too hard to set up a franchise. However, if Hellboy was just a bad film hijacking the goodwill of two previous films with the same characters to try and launch a cinematic universe, that would, like The Mummy, be the end of the story. Like many "bad" films I cover on this blog, Hellboy has enough in it to make it a worthwhile watch, even if the overall effect is a negative one. For the wargamer, superhero or otherwise, there is plenty of great stuff, from a WWII sequence featuring Lobster Johnson and British Wizards, through to Hellboy and Ben Damiyo (in wereleopard form) taking on a Celtic Troll with pig features. Modern incarnations of the Knights of the Round table are always pretty fun, probably one of the parts of Hellsing I enjoyed most, and Hellboy has them mounting up to hunt giants with electrified lances. Awesome. 

Seriously, the Great Hunt segment is pretty brilliant and over far too quickly when all is said and done, I'll certainly be running with that idea at some point, possibly for a display game. I've said before that superheroes need to fight more giant foes more in cinema, and whilst the poor CGI makes the fight hard to follow, I'll take what I can get. Also vampire Luchidoro. He's not there for long, but that's another cool idea to use somewhere else. And there lies the major issue with the script of Hellboy, it never sits still long enough to enjoy the clever moments that are there. David Harbor is fine in the role, but almost everything I know about the character is drawn from prior knowledge, rather than being informed by the film, as it should be. There is plenty or lore about Hellboy and the villain, Morgan le Fey, revealed in extended exposition sequences, but I never really learn who they are, in contrast to what. It's just bad film-making and is a real shame in the light of having had two excellent Hellboy films previously. 

Another point of contention that I, personally, have with Hellboy is that it has an "R" rating, but fails to do anything interesting with those expanded limits. Swearing and drinking more certainly grounds Hellboy, but the added violence is mostly grotesque, especially a sequence in the third act which seems more ripped from Attack on Titan than the Dark Horse comics. There are plenty of aspects of the comics present, but without having a solid tone or bothering to explain who Hellboy and the BPRD are, and their roles, it's just a series of Easter Eggs for a franchise that will never arrive. What Hellboy reminds me of most is an odd combination of Catwoman and The Mummy. The Dark Universe connection is obvious, with a failed Cinematic Universe effort filled with references to films that will never happen. The connection to Catwoman, however, is that Hellboy is just pretty bad, and even the good ideas in it may be lost if we don't dig through it and use them somewhere else. So throw a horseback giant hunt, vampire wrestler or ghost Pulp Hero into your next game[s], at least it should be more fun than this film.

Superhero Media: Green Lantern Emerald Knights

Released to tie in with the live-action Green Lantern film, Green Lantern Emerald Knights is an anthology of shorter stories involving the Green Lantern Corps, framed with a new recruit Arisia learning the history of the great Lanterns before her. Adapted from many comics over the history of both the character and the Corps, Emerald Knights changes much in the adaptation, losing quite a lot of the nuance that made the originals great. After watching Emerald Knights, I found I had to pull out my copy of The DC Universe by Alan Moore and thumb through some of the stories again. I've long felt that the Green Lantern Corps offer a great wide spectrum (pardon the pun) for telling interesting stories, which may be why Moore was drawn to the characters as well, with a literal universe of tales waiting to be told. I find it a real shame that it always seems to be the same few stories told over and over, the text diminishing with auxiliary performance. 

To me, what makes "Mogo Doesn't Socialize" or "Tygers" great is that they are isolated narratives that form part of the larger setting without directly informing everything that comes after. The initial twist that Mogo is a planet, rather than a human-sized alien, is fun, it makes the story memorable; but as Mogo turns up again and again, it becomes part of the background and the unique nature of the character is lost. The Lovecraftian, Faustian story of "Tygers" is so great because it drifts far from the Silver Age Science Fantasy typical of the comics, being a story unlike any other. Emerald Knights disposes of the demonic visions, replacing the fantastic antagonists with a pre-Red Lantern Corps Atrocitus, for much more mundane results. And there lies the rub, Emerald Knights especially, but also the broader Platinum Age Green Lantern storytelling, wants to tie every part of lore that the fans enjoy into the next event comic. 

Again, the apocalyptic ramblings of a monster predicting the final end of the Green Lantern Corps in "Tygers" is so great because it is sweeping, mythical and will never be here; once "War of Light" tries to tie it all together, the magic is lost. For all that Emerald Knights tries to be a great introduction to the broader lore of the Corps, the neutering of the classic stories means that any potential fan is better off just chasing down the comics and reading those stories. As mentioned above, The DC Universe by Alan Moore is a good buy, especially if you have the version without the post-2000s stories, but there are also collections of the stories that deal with the Corps rather than specific members. I really hope I never have to sit through a live-action adaptation of "Mogo Doesn't Socialize" that has been stretched from a four-page filler story into a feature film, because I could see that happening.

Superhero Media: Pokemon Detective Pikachu

Given how much buzz there was about Pokemon Detective Pikachu around the time it came out, the fact that it is essentially never spoken about now outside of Pokemon TCG players is frankly bizarre. I'm not super up to date on the Pokemon games, having dropped off after the Red/Blue era and only played a little of a couple of others, but one of the strongest elements of the franchise is the depth and richness of the setting, even if it doesn't always hold up to close scrutiny. As someone who is not a super fan of Pokemon, the best part of Detective Pikachu is still how it makes a real world populated by real people and plenty of pokemon running around doing their thing. To my recollection, none of my favorite "team of six" pokemon are even in the film (Venusaur, Beedrill, Fearow, Nidoking, Raihcu, Cloister), but I get a little thrill seeing some of what's there. I love the little Joltics scampering around on electrical equipment and the Bulbasaur sequence was enough to even get my mother to sit and watch a bit as she passed through the room. I'd prefer if Mewtwo was less... fleshy? But he still looks pretty great in the action sequences. 

Oh yeah, almost forgot, Detective Pikachu is a sequel to Mewtwo Strikes Back, that's some Unbreakable/Split level callback right there. Sure, the only character that crosses over is Mewtwo, but that's the upside of a cinematic universe, not every character needs to be in every film for it all to be linked; sadly this means Ash is out there somewhere, but maybe we'll get lucky and see Jessie and James in the future? The ending of Detective Pikachu leaves a bit to be desired, with the wrap-up being overly convenient and the lack of a decent pokemon battle disappointing. Even when watching it in the cinema, I kind of assumed that the human/pokemon that our protagonists had met along the way would team up to take on Mewtwo, but it never happened for some reason? Seems like a missed opportunity. I know that too much violence would boots up the rating, but what's Pokemon without the battling? Hopefully any other films in the series will remedy that somewhat. At it's core though, Detective Pikachu is a buddy cop comedy/coming of age film, and on that score, it really delivers.  

Plenty of films have done the "interrogate the mime" scene, but I don't recall any having done it quite as well as Detective Pikachu, putting a shockingly dark twist on it for a family film. Ryan Reynolds may actually be a comic genius, as there seems to be no one he can't bounce a scene or joke off, not that Justice Smith is any slouch either, doing great straight man work and still making his presence known, not an easy task. Hell, Bill Nighy is in this film and he's, at best, the third most interesting actor, what a cast! I was really hoping that Detective Pikachu would smash some records, not just because I enjoyed it, but because I want to see more films in the Pokemon universe. There is so much richness and variety to be had in the setting that to not use it seems like a waste of great IP, even outside of the game narratives, which can be a little obtuse at times. Seriously, if you're not a fan, look up the Uknowns sometime, strange stuff. Even with the weirdest stuff put aside, however, there is a world of stories to be had in the Pokemon world, and hopefully we'll get to see some more before too long.

Superhero Media: The Shape of Water

In the months leading up to the release of The Shape of Water, I had a habit of referring to the film as "X-Men Origins: Abe Sapien" as a bit of a joke, given the director and the visual look of the monster. Sadly, The Shape of Water isn't strictly a prequel to the Del Toro Hellboy films, but there are enough similar elements that they could certainly be in the same "cinematic universe" if you like to pretend. Which I do. Strictly speaking, were I required to place the film in a specific genre, it would be Melodrama, for quite a number of reasons, but there is more than enough superpowers, shady government labs and communist spies for it to suit your Silver Age needs. Elisa is a mute woman working as a cleaner for a shadowy lab in the employ of an American Intelligence agency, getting through the days with her friend Zelda and neighbour Giles, when she encounters, by chance, a strange creature and her life changes forever. I've noticed that people's acceptance of the romance in The Shape of Water can vary quite a bit, but there's no doubt that the film is magnificent in many ways. 

As you may expect, I'm not going to cover too much more of the film here, rather I'd like to discuss the elements which can work for your own superhero stories that can be found in The Shape of Water. As mentioned above, just making "the creature" just be Abe Sapien, or a member of the same species, from the Hellboy films is pretty easy, but let's not forget the other creature we can work from, the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Monsters as superheroes (or villains) isn't anything new, from comic versions of Frankenstein's Monster to characters like Etrigan and Ghost Rider, hell even the Mummy as portrayed by Universal Pictures is there in obscurities like Shadrac and The Living Pharaoh. Whilst I've never done the "monster team" thing myself, it is a legitimate take on a Superhero group, and someone I used to game with even took a swing at an update on it (using the Terminator, Xenomorphs and Predator) but he left the country before he finished getting the models together. I think with a little more work, my own collection could provide Abe Sapien, Marrina and the Creature, but I'm not sure how well that would go as a team. 

Or, just for fun, let's flip this concept around, have the monsters be the villains, but still have them working for the government. Think of the NSA or CIA, but outright evil, rather than just being kind of evil anyway, trapping monsters and cryptids and using them for black ops work. Something like the Suicide Squad, but only with Bigfoot, the Creature and Chupacabra; I'd be down for that, sounds like a fun antihero or antagonist team. Part of the reason I started making "Superhero Media" a regular feature of my blog was to cover media that wasn't strictly in the Superhero genre, but still had ideas that were worth exploring. The Shape of Water is pretty much perfect in this regard, using tropes that may, strictly speaking, be from Horror, but are certainly at home with Superheroes and suit a more grim and Gothic supers setting, if that's your bag. At the very least, The Shape of Water is a good way to sneak something more fantastic into the viewing you undertake with your partner, if they're typically inclined to avoid the kind of media you enjoy.