Miniatures Finished: Bad meets Evil

I've been teaching someone to paint, as she likes superheroes, so my progress has been assisted a little. I don't consider it cheating. 

Batman (John-Paul Valley) - From the "Knightquest" event, I'm actually a bit of a fan of the character, despite the OTT '90s style. 

Captain Fate (Reaper Miniatures) - A conversion to get one of the more obscure Marvel characters I want to game with. 

Black Adam (Heroclix) - I was never a fan of the character until I read 52, now I want to get him into more games. 

Radioactive Man (Heroclix) - Touch-up of one of my first clix repaints. 

Lilith (Privateer Press) - As I continue to collect and paint superhero miniatures, the clix offerings are no longer enough and I'm having to hunt down unexpected miniature ranges for some characters. In this instance, Lilith from Marvel horror comics. 

Scorpion (Heroclix) - Same as Radioactive Man, this one was done years ago and was just a bit worn out. 

Superhero Media: Batman - Knightfall

For the pedants among you, for this review, I read from the "Omnibus Edition" of Knightfall, which includes many of the side-stories and tangentially-related non-Batman comics; if you're planning on checking out Knightfall, I'd highly recommend going with the Omnibus, even though it's almost twice as much to read, because it fills out the narrative better and some of the best writing is in the side-stories. In the continuing "fanboy" discussion of what are the 'classic' Batman stories, there tends to be three names that constantly come up; The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One and The Killing Joke. After that, there's a few on the next tier down, like Batman RIP and Arkham Asylum, then those that are maligned despite having a major impact on the Batman mythos, as it sits, like No Man's Land and, finally, Knightfall. If you saw The Dark Knight Rises, you know some of the salient points of Knightfall, namely Bane breaking Batman's spine, but what never really gets to be translated properly is the significance of Bane and the overall themes of the story. 

Bane is actually one of my favorite Batman villains and is far more than the muscle-bound thug that he often gets reduced to, being the true opposite of Bruce Wayne in all of the ways the writers try to keep insisting that the Joker is. Bane was born in the worst prison on the planet, condemned for his father's sins, he worked his way up the hierarchy, training his body and mind until he took revenge on the warden and escaped. How can you not make a good film out of this guy? Bane hatches a brilliant plan, releasing all of the inmates of Arkham Asylum and letting Batman run himself ragged until Bane can "break" him and usurp his place at the pinnacle of Gotham City. In order to give himself time to recover, Bruce Wayne hands over the cowl to John Paul Valley, formerly the assassin, Azrael, who wants to forge his own identity with the help of the Batman Legacy. This new Batman for the 1990s is more brutal, less forgiving and slowly replaces his costume with blades and weapons. 

Most criticisms that I've seen of Knightfall harp on the "over-the-top" 1990s elements, which results in my asking the question; "you realise it's parody, right?". The literal text of the story is that violent, 90s, edgelord Batman is bad and only the classic, blue-and-grey, 60s Batman is the superior article. How do people not get that? Is the real reason the 'hardcore' Batman fanbase hates Knightfall that it gives Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson interesting character development? Once Bruce ousts Jean-Paul, he hands the cowl over to Dick so that he can spend time reflecting on his future as the Dark Knight. Although Dick doesn't want to be the inheritor of the cowl, he takes up the mantle as a challenge to himself to find an identity that isn't defined by others; not Batman's sidekick, the Titan's leader or Kory's boyfriend. At the end of the story, Dick is comfortable with who he is outside of the Batman/Robin/Nightwing dynamic and ready to move on with his life. Knightfall, despite flaws like poor '90s artwork and uninteresting villains, is one of the more engrossing Batman reads that never seems to get it's due. If you can find the full run, trades or omnibus, Knightfall is well worth your time to read. 

The Pitch: The Triumph of Zorro

This idea actually came to me in a dream quite a while back and has been knocking around in my head, but I didn't want to take a swing at it until I'd seen at least a couple of Zorro films again. Confidentially, I was hoping to dig up a copy of Zorro the Gay Blade, but can't have everything, can we? As a therapist who works for an advocacy group, I get the "Social Justice Warrior" epithet thrown at me a bit (as an aside, "SJW" is kind of a crummy insult for people that actually advocate for Social Justice, most of us see it as a compliment), but I really do believe that the Hollywood film industry needs better representation of minorities and more female leads in diverse genres. Of course, any studio that takes the risk has to deal with a, shockingly large, amount of online vitriol from some of the worst excuses for men on the planet and some people who are just jerks about change. That's why I really think Zorro is a "safe bet" for getting a headlining Hispanic male into a lead superhero role; the character has history, is iconic and is tied to the mythology of the American West. However, that history can cause problems as well, there really isn't a lot of room for Zorro stories with the character in his current space. The "Wild West" was actually such a short period of time that film has pretty much tapped out every idea already, and whilst I'd love to see more "Masked Vigilante" Westerns, maybe there's somewhere else we can go with this character? 

The Triumph of Zorro
In modern-day Mexico City, the conflict between Cartels and the Police are fought so brutally that innocent people are often caught in the crossfire. In the slums of the city, there is little hope that the future will be any better, life is cheap and many children are exploited. Into this decaying urban edifice comes a hero, a symbol from the past, with a scrawled "Z", he makes himself known. Against all odds... Zorro has returned. 

Plot 
Our young male protagonist is a street-smart troublemaker who has always managed to stay one step ahead of both the law and the Cartels until one fateful day when his cockiness gets someone he cares about killed and he's arrested. A long-lost uncle comes to bail our protagonist out of gaol and reveals to the youth that he is descended from the legendary hero for justice, Zorro! 
The family has fallen on hard times and the uncle is essentially care-taking the last of Zorro's equipment, including a diary, several training manuals, a mask and, of course, a sword. Our young hero trains himself to take on the legacy of Zorro and to bring down the cartels and corrupt police, staring small in his local area and taking on bigger and bigger targets. After a close call that results with injury, the new Zorro considers hanging up the sword, but when his uncle is captured by the cartels, he must put his life on the line one last time. 
Zorro fights his way through the foot soldiers of the Cartel, confronting the corrupt detective who had him arrested in the first act before finally making his way to the head of the Cartel for the climatic showdown. The uncle has to sacrifice himself to save Zorro in the fight, leading to an epilogue scene where Zorro swears to keep fighting the good fight. 
Nothing special, but with these kind of films, we don't need to reinvent the wheel.

Tone
This is a bit tricky due to the state of the "Drug War" in Mexico and the countless lives it's costing every year. The film won't work if it's overly serious, our protagonist is fighting with a sword against men with guns and winning, it's silly if you think about it too much. Conversely, too light a tone and there is a real risk of trivializing the very real struggle that many people have to live with every day. Something close to Dredd springs to mind, as the film does not glamorise poverty or gang violence and still finds some room for lighter moments. Not quite as bloody as Dredd though, this needs to turn a profit. 

Cast
I'm going to admit straight-up that I have no idea who should play Zorro. I don't know any young, up-and-coming Mexican actors and the point is to elevate someone relatively unknown to the big time. There are probably plenty of candidates, as Mexio has thriving film and television industries and that's what Central Casting is for. 

That said, as the uncle, there is really only once choice, Antonio Banderas. 

The point isn't that The Triumph of Zorro is necessarily next in the series of the Banderas Zorro films, but creating a link could only benefit the film. People remember The Mask of Zorro fondly and Banderas' performance was a big part of that. Also, Banderas is a better actor than most give him credit for and this gives him a chance to take another swing at a character he's become closely associated to. 

For our villain, the mob boss of the local district, I like the sound of David Zayas; 

Zayas has played crime bosses really well in the past and thanks to Dexter and The Expendables has recognition in the English-speaking market. I'd rather not fall back on the cliche of having a white boss leading the ethnic gang just to get a bigger name in the role, Banderas should be a big enough draw.

Crew
There are actually a couple of directors that would probably do a great job with this material, Robert Rodriguez seems like a good fit, but I'd be more keen on seeing what  Guillermo del Toro could do with it. del Toro has a good track record with superhero and genre film as well as being adept at sneaking in broader cultural themes into his films. 

Note: Some of the pictures in this article I found as part of a "teaser" that a studio released a few years back for a similar concept, which I'd totally go see if it were ever released. It looks like it's set in California, which makes sense from a marketing perspective, but I feel would lessen the overall impact of the film. 

Superhero Media: Daredevil (2003)

I really like this film, honestly, even with the Netflix series being around, I tend to watch the 2003 film more often, despite it's flaws. Some background is needed for this one; I first came across Daredevil (the character) through a crossover with the Spider-Man comics I was reading as a child, I was struck with the image of the horned cowl and the epithet "The Man Without Fear". I grabbed what Daredevil comics I could for a few years (this was before I discovered comic stores), even if old Horn-head was just on the cover. Naturally, I loved Spider-Man (2002), so I was really excited for Daredevil. When I talk to people about this film, I tend to find myself describing it as "a good adaptation of Daredevil, but not a good film in its own right", which I want to modify now that I've seen it again and had a bit of a think. Daredevil is actually a "good" film, by all rights; the narrative works, the cinematography is competent to excellent (depending on the scene), the actors are all good in their roles and the script is fun. 

If I had to put down people's remembering Daredevil as a poor film down to a particular reading, it would be that the film has aged poorly. Daredevil isn't as fun as Spider-Man, or as dark as Batman Begins would be, a few years later, lacks the pace of X-2, basically, it was an overall "B+" effort for the genre at the time, which has been retroactively downgraded in the face of the MCU. Yes, let's get this straight, the cast of Daredevil is actually good, including Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, the play-fight in the playground and the rooftop rain scene[s] between the two are proof enough of that. The late, great Michael Clarke Duncan as Kingpin and Colin Farrell round out some of the best casting ever to grace a pre-MCU superhero film, but let's not forget Jon Favreau as Foggy Nelson and Joe Pantoliano is still the best Ben Urich in live-action. Despite it's age, Daredevil manages to do some things better than the Netflix series of the same name, especially the "Radar Sense" sequences, which look way better than the newer takes on it. Also, despite having more "time" to do so in the series, the film does a much better job of showing what day-to-day life is like for Matt Murdock as a blind man. 

What really doesn't work in Daredevil? Well, the Nu-Metal soundtrack dates it severely, though I do tend to find Evanesence more forgivable than, say, POD or Crazy Town, if only because Amy Lee can actually sing. The CGI isn't great and far too overused, though I would be remiss not to mention that Ben Affleck's Daredevil costume still looks better than Charlie Cox's, c'mon Netflix! If I were to do a series of lectures on the history of Superhero cinema, Daredevil would play a major part, as I can see in it all of the elements that would come to the fore in the MCU years later. Yes, I'm saying it, without Daredevil, Jon Favreau would not have the experience and knowledge he needed to make Iron Man such a hit. I know I tend to say this a lot, but seriously, give Daredevil another go if you can, it's better than you remember and so much great work has gone into it than people ever seem to give it credit for. 

Miniatures Finished: Topiary

I got inspired by an episode of Batman the Animated Series and made some animal Topiary for Poison Ivy to control out of some cheap plastic toys. 

 I'll have to get them on a table to have a game, but I think for $5, they turned out pretty well. 

Superhero Media: The Punisher - Season 1

Probably what shocks me the most about The Punisher is how much people enjoyed it whilst I found it painful to watch. There are a few things happening here, firstly, I actually really enjoy the Tom Jane The Punisher film from 2004 and have a soft spot for Punisher War Zone from 2008, as they do pretty decent jobs of adapting the source material, inherit flaws and all. Second, as you've seen before this, I felt the Netflix Iron Fist series was hard done by critics and fans and was much better than anyone seems willing to give it credit for. Third, and final, I'm a big fan of Punisher Comics, especially the Garth Ennis MAX run, which both the Netflix series and War Zone borrow from heavily, though not always successfully. At the risk of sounding like a hypocrite, The Punisher is simply too lacking in action, yes I am the same man who constantly rebukes the call for more "R" rated superhero fare, but the Punisher is one of the few characters I really feel demands such extreme content. 

In Narrative Theory, there is a concept often known as the "engagement curve" or "pacing curve", an algorithmic framework for keeping an audience's attention that "good" works of fiction manage to include. Star Wars, The Avengers and Jaws all manage this curve, or pretty close to it. Ideally, each individual episode or issue of a series will follow this curve to some degree, as well as the complete narrative as a whole. To my mind, none of the Netflix Marvel programmes manage the engagement curve very well, each feels a few episodes too long, but this is often difficult to notice with the great casting and binge nature of Netflix viewing. The Punisher was the first time I was bored watching one of these programmes, and, as a Punisher fan, that really pisses me off. There is an episode where the narrative centers around Frank and Micro getting drunk, talking about their wives, then Frank makes soup. What the fuck? I'm not saying that every episode needed extreme violence, but the Punisher makes soup? I had to stop watching for a couple of months after that. 

There are quite a few gunfights in The Punisher, and plenty of over-the-top violence, but they're pretty spread out and Frank doesn't even wear his costume until the last two episodes. Did the writers think that we hadn't had enough of the origin in season two of Daredevil? By the way, the best gunfight in the series doesn't even feature Frank, it involves some Mercenaries and the Feds getting into a shoot-out. I really can't understand how this turned out this bad, the roadmap to this character is in the Garth Ennis comics, "Kitchen Irish", "Up is Down and Black is White" and "Mother Russia" are all prefect stories to adapt to the Netflix model; even cramming two together may actually fill out the bloated 13 episode season. How bad is this? Tom Jane's fan film Dirty Laundry is a better representation of the Punisher than this series. I really hope there's a major change behind the scenes before the next series. What a disappointment.

Thinking Out Loud: Stardust in their Eyes

Regular readers will probably already be aware of my affection for the comics of Fletcher Hanks, especially Stardust the Super Wizard, a unique and inscrutable relic of the Golden Age of Comics. Hanks himself was a drunk, abuser and probable murderer, but his works, especially Stardust, evoke a sense of almost-divine justice and American Fascism that used to be found only in the inter-war period. Stardust, the character, is often compared to the Superman of the period, having such a vast array of powers that he strides like a god through his comics, rather than ever struggling or fighting to have to right wrongs. Stardust often turns up after the damage has been done, when bodies lie broken, wealth has been stolen or cities razed, he brutally punishes the wrongdoers before setting things right with a wave of his hand and vanishing into space again. The comics are quite singular and bizarre, I highly recommend reading a couple, they can be found online without too much difficulty as the character is now Public Domain. I own the complied works of Fletcher Hanks, Turn loose your death rays and kill them all! which is worth a look if you like Golden Age comics. 

What surprised me slightly was the love for Stardust that can be found online, with fan-comics, fan art and several archives of the original comics all out there to find. Check out some of the work at Super Wizard Universe, it varies in quality, but the passion is admirable. Even Image Comics, in their "Next Issue Project" published a new Stardust story, so there's still some genuine affection for the character even though he was last published in 1942. What bothers me is that I don't think the people writing "new" works with Stardust really get the character. Now, I don't mean to sound dismissive of the people that put a lot of work into their comics, but the tendency is to paint Stardust as a kind of Superman figure, compassionate and just, which is simply not indicative of Fletcher Hanks' work. Stardust does not seem to care too much about people getting hurt, only turning up to set things back to status quo after people are already hurt or dead, despite being omniscient and capable of both faster-than-light travel and teleportation. So long as the evil fifth-columnists and mobsters are dead or otherwise punished by the end of the comic, Stardust has done his job and off he goes. 

If I had to put it down to something, I think the appeal of writing Stardust stories isn't so much the character himself, who is highly problematic as a "hero" archetype, but in having a blank-slate version of the Superman "Paragon" to work with as a writer. The Stardusts that can be found in "Attack of the Super Wizards", "Super Wizard Returns" or "Next Issue Project" have more in common with Hyperion, Plutonian or Mister Awesome than they do with the original Hanks creation, which I find a bit of a shame. Sure, I'm very much in favour of postmodernist takes on classic superhero archetypes, but there is so much potential in Stardust as he was written by Hanks, as a mad god with a skewed idea of justice, that it feels like a shame to make him just another take on Superman. Superman has shifted with the times to be something that fits in with the society we have now, whereas Stardust has been frozen in time since the 1940s, an anachronism from a time gone by, that's what makes him interesting and the comics of Hanks unique.