Superhero Media: Superman The Movie

Does it feel like it's taken way too long to get here? It does to me. With a degree major in film studies and no small obsession with superheroes, I really should have done something about the Gilgamesh-level urtext of superhero cinema before I hit the 300 post mark, right? Then again, what can I say about Superman The Movie that film critics, comics fans and academics haven't covered since 1978, a whole eight years before I was even born? Then again, I just got the film on Blu-ray and it seems that even people my age, let alone younger, have forgotten just how damn good it is, preferring to complain about the "turning back time" segment or how they don't get that Superman is meant to come across as "gooder than good". So I'm not going to preach to the choir here, this "Superhero Media" is for the people who would avoid Superman The Movie like the plague, those who haven't considered that maybe this 1970s proto-blockbuster is a masterpiece whose influence is still felt more than 30 years distant. 

Superman The Movie does not shy away from the origins of Superman as a fantasy pseudo-god that could lift America out of the great depression and shine the light of hope, it embraces the overwhelming power and goodness of the character. The rooftop exchange between Superman and Lois Lane is still probably the best in the history of the two characters; the skeptic meets God in the wilderness and God is exactly as he promised he would be. Wonder is probably the best word to describe Superman The Movie, not only in terms of broad theme but in the intended reaction of the audience. "You'll believe a man can fly" is the desired result of the filmmakers, not that the viewer is intended to literally believe in Superman as a reality, but in that this inherently silly genre can, if only for an hour or two, be completely compelling and utterly engrossing. The impressive part? It works. Sure, the flying effects are a little dated, but Christopher Reeve plays everything straight, giving not one, but two brilliant performances as Superman and Clark Kent. Want to see just how good he is? Watch the scene where he decides to tell Lois his secret identity then changes his mind; Kent to Superman back to Kent in one take, fifteen seconds, no camera tricks. Brilliant. 

Are there flaws in Superman The Movie? Yes, the "Can you read my mind?" voice-over is awful, being cut away from the story elements of Superman II hurts the narrative and it just kind of ends with no post-3rd Act resolution. Despite all of this, Superman The Movie is still a must-see and one of the best superhero films ever made (The Incredibles still takes my vote for best). Sure, Iron Man created the world of high-concept superhero films in which we now reside, but, to continue the metaphor, Superman The Movie is the big bang that birthed the universe in which that world spins. As a great man once said; "You will travel far, my little Kal-El. But we will never leave you... even in the face of our death. The richness of our lives shall be yours. All that I have, all that I've learned, everything I feel... all this, and more, I... I bequeath you, my son. You will carry me inside you, all the days of your life. You will make my strength your own, and see my life through your eyes, as your life will be seen through mine. The son becomes the father, and the father the son. This is all I... all I can send you, Kal-El." 

I believe a man can fly. 

Thinking Out Loud: The Inspirational Spider-man

For those who have yet to see it, Spider-man Homecoming is not only the best Spider-man film ever made, it is, perhaps, the most important superhero film in the history of Marvel Studios. The reasons why it's so vital are not obviously apparent, and to examine them, we also need to take a look and another film, The Emoji Movie. The reviews of The Emoji Movie are interestingly split between poles of "good for the kids" and "the end of the film industry as we know it". Now, I've mentioned before that there exists an unfortunate assumption that media for children doesn't actually need to be of quality to serve its purpose, so why does the quality of The Emoji Movie matter in any broad sense? Well, most of my readership is older than I, so you may or may not be aware the the generation[s] currently undertaking their schooling have never known a world without social media and internet telephony. The way children and adolescents socialise is almost entirely mediated through devices and social media, marking a huge generational divide, culturally. Sure, pretty much every adult in the Western world uses social media of some form, but it is not the primary manner in which we communicate with our friendship groups, for the most part. 

So what does all this have to do with Spider-man Homecoming? Peter Parker, as presented in this film, is very much one of the youths discussed above; one of the youths who filters all of his social interaction through his devices, the kind of person for whom The Emoji Movie was made. The difference, and perhaps most important factor, that differentiates Spider-man Homecoming from films like Diary of a Wimpy Kid and The Emoji Movie? The younger millennials presented in Spider-man Homecoming are smart, heroic and driven by purpose; everything mass media says that they're not. Make no mistake, this film is to the younger millennials what Ferris Bueller's Day Off was to the gen-Xs or Scott Pilgrim Vs The World was to me (sat uncatalogued on the border between X and Y). Those in high school who have seen this film and truly identified with the characters in it are the same who are now considering film school and who will bring us indy gems in about a decade and blockbusters in 20 years. The next Edgar Wright, Taika Waititi and Darren Aronofsky watched this film in 2017 and the echos will be with us for years. 

Call it hyperbole if you like, but I truly believe that the next generation of Auteur filmmakers are going to list Spider-man Homecoming among their influences when they're interviewed on whatever replaces The Director's Chair once commercial television dies in the next five years. So sorry if you're sick of Marvel Studios setting the tone for the summer blockbuster for the past decade, they're now part of the film-making zeitgeist. So charge your smartphone, strap on your web-shooters, crank up The Ramones and get ready for this version of everyone's favourite friendly, neighborhood Spider-man to be here to stay. I don't care if you really identified with Tobey Maguire's interpretation of the character because you were also a single loser struggling with university when you saw it, this is better. Homecoming is really that good, really that influential, really that historic. Is you spidey-sense tingling, true believers? Mine is. 

P.S. I wrote this before Black Panther came out, I still stand by it, but maybe not the "the most important superhero film in the history of Marvel Studios" part. Who knew?

Superhero Media: Street Fighter (1994)

Despite its being a staple of 90s weekend television in my youth, I've never actually actually seen Street Fighter the entire way through. Naturally, I accepted the common wisdom that it was utter garbage and not worth my time. However, as Super Buddies proved, I'll watch pretty much anything once, so when I had a lazy afternoon of assembling miniatures, Street Fighter found its way to my television. After watching the film, a single, burning question filled my mind; is it really that bad? Sure, Street Fighter is a bad film, no question, but I honestly found it more "fun bad" than "garbage fire bad". So maybe I didn't grow up with the video games and find the "official" canon impenetrable and overwrought, but, hey, I lived through pre-Marvel Studios superhero films, I get it, ok? But maybe, just maybe, can we, as nerds, forgive Street Fighter, just a little? 

Yes, the film is dumb, but do we really want a super-serious, dour and overwrought live-action Street Fighter film? I sure as hell don't, look how bad that turned out for Superman. Yes, JDVD is terrible in this, but he's terrible in literally everything he's ever done, that's what he does. I'm not sure, with the whole UN thing going on, why they didn't just make Guile Belgian, but it only really distracts during the crappy speech he gives at the end of act two. Also, there is one great thing about Street Fighter that people tend to overlook; the cast. Ming-Na Wen (Agents of SHIELD), Byron Mann (Arrow), Roshan Seth (Indiana Jones), Wes Studi (Heat) and let's not forget Raul Julia, the man, the legend. Maybe this wasn't a great film to end a career on, but how can you be mad at a guy for doing a film to make his kids happy? He's no more campy than the rest of the film anyway. On a personal note, I also like that Zangief has no idea that he's working for the bad guy until the climax of the film and changes sides straight away. Also, he was unaware that literally everyone else in Bison's army was getting paid except him. Made me giggle.

A great deal of effort went into Street Fighter and it's a shame that no one really seems to notice. During the "UN" sequences, the sheer variety of flags present on shoulder flashes is impressive, not to mention how multicultural the extras are. Also, in Bison's base, there are a lot of propaganda posters in the background, all decrying the UN. What's really cool about this is that they are all real propaganda posters (mostly from WWII) that have been adapted by some clever artist whose work has never been appreciated. Seriously, I can't even find them on Google, what a waste of hard work. Give Street Fighter another go, it's worth it. Hell, Raul Julia camping around like Adam West is about to bust in is worth it. The scene between Julia and Ming-Na Wen is worth it alone! "For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday." Brilliant.

Cryptic Conflicts - Part II

No, I didn't forget about this one, but circumstance conspired against me. I blew through most of my savings in my last trimester of Post-Grad, so I can't be too picky with work at the moment, meaning I'm missing club more often than not. So the campaign did continue for a while, but I didn't participate as much as I would have liked and there weren't a lot of photos taken. That means that this is the second and final entry for the campaign, which is not really what I wanted, but it doesn't follow that the exercise failed. I ended up with half a dozen people playing SuperSystem [4], mostly for the first time and more interested besides that. When I break out the supers again at club, probably in 2018, I imagine I'll have even more players keen to give the game a go. 
Here are the last of the game pictures, with what commentary I can remember, with the "new format" of the blog, you'll be seeing this somewhere around six months after the games were played. 

 Testing out the "Base Battle" scenario on my new, easy to transport board. 

 Still thrilled to bits with my Deep Cut Studios mat. 

 Invaders from another reality menace the city. 

 The plaza needs a little work still, but looks good in this shot, right? 

 Triskelion Comics has had some updates since this, when it's closer to done, I'll take some new pictures. 

 My Knights of Dice building is waiting on the interior kit before I finish it off. 

 The view across the rooftops. 

The comic store owner has a sweet ride. 

Superhero Media: Neo Yokio - Season 1

This is one of those odd cases where I'm not sure if this programme is just silly fun or really damn clever. Some elements of the setting and characters remind me of 30 Rock and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, which may be contributing to the feeling that it's very smart, or perhaps obfuscating the silliness somewhat. The city-state of Neo Yokio is an odd hybrid of New York, Monaco and how Europe looks in Studio Ghibli films, with a sunken section of Manhattan, "the sea under 14th Street" and a slum district in Queens reminiscent of Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong. In fact, this programme is probably worth a quick binge for the setting alone, if you're the kind of gamer who likes a fictional base for their games. In the Victorian era, the city-state was besieged by demons so the mayor invited Old World exorcists citizenship and wealth to emigrate, creating today's Magocracy, where exorcist families are the wealthy and well-to-do of the city. 

Our protagonist is Kaz Kaan, a member of the idle rich more concerned with fashion and social standing than his destiny as a demon-fighter. Kaz's privilege is probably his defining feature, with more episodes revolving around Neo Yokio high society than actual demon battles. All of Kaz's friends are also vapid, idle 1%ers with no real need to work, excepting Helena, who, after being possessed and freed by Kaz, starts down a path of militant, anti-consumerist minimalism, calumniating with the bombing of a local landmark. Wait, is Helena the actual protagonist? She changes over the course of the series, is more identifiable to the audience and actually engages with narrative conflict. God damn it. I'm sick of these not being about the actual protagonist in favour of a bland male with poor motivation. 

Ok, so is Neo Yokio worth a watch, despite its flaws? I'd say so. As mentioned above, the setting is unique and charming, the voice cast is amazing (Jude Law, Richard Ayode and Susan Sarandon, to name a few) and the references to other Anime are fun to catch (I got Ranma 1/2, Sailor Moon, Dragonball Z and Naruto, but there are probably more). Given that it's Netflix and requires no real effort or additional cost to track down, I'd add it to your watch list and bust it out over a slow weekend whilst painting or making some terrain. Unless the second season manages to do a bit more, I doubt you'll ever see a Kaz and Charles on my Ultimate Alliance tables. 

Miniatures Finished: Shades of Moral Grey

Having been scrabbling to get some villains done for my "Champions of the Omniverse" Marvel RPG campaign, I'm a little shocked at the variety in the latest batch of supers off the painting table. 

 Misty Knight (Reaper), Magneto and Rogue (Clix). I went with "House of M" Magnus because it was the only version of the character I could find that seemed to capture the power and majesty that typifies him. 

 Ultrahumanite (Clix), the Marquis de Sade (Eureka) and Magic Lamp (kitbash). I really like Ultrahumanite and want to use him in games, the Marquis and Lamp will turn up in the (still coming) French Revolution campaign. 

Superhero Media: The Lego Batman Movie

Best Batman film since The Dark Knight. Possibly one of the best Batman films ever; no, really. As I've ranted about more than once on this blog, since the advent of Batman Begins and Arkham Asylum, Batman has had his skills, abilities, wealth and competency built up to mythic levels, to the point where there is essentially nothing he cannot accomplish. It is this version of Batman which is presented in The Lego Batman Movie, having probably the most awesome life ever, beating up dozens of bad guys whilst singing and being thoroughly beloved by all of Gotham. Batman lacks the emotional maturity to admit that he's lonely and overcompensating as a crime-fighter to hide his internalised grief. Holy hell, that's some heavy material for a "Family" film. Into Batman's life come two vitally important people, Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon. Due to a misunderstanding, Bruce Wayne adopts Dick and Babs is the new police commissioner, recruited from Bludhaven, where she cleaned up the mean streets using compassion and statistics. 

What follows is some of the most sharply written pastiche I've seen in years, not only because it tackles a subject dear to my heart, but because it manages to be incredibly funny the entire time. The film The Lego Batman Movie reminds me the most of is Mel Brooks' High Anxiety, in that it readily pokes fun at the weak corners of the Batman mythos like the lack of character growth in 70-odd years and villains like Crazy Quilt and Egghead, yet truly loves and admires the source material. The "I've seen this before" segment alone, which briefly (in Lego form) flashes back through every live-action version of Batman right back to Adam West, is a love letter to all of the mad fun that we've had with the Caped Crusader over the years. The overall "message" of the film, insofar as it has one beyond "we love Batman", is that the character of Batman, and thereby the audience, needs to grow up a little and accept that the "unstoppable badarse" version of the character is not merely only one version of the Masked Manhunter, but may not even be the best version. 

The Lego Batman Movie is, at some level, a passionate argument for a more "fun" version of Batman to come back to cinema; not something so divisive as the Joel Schumacher films, but at least let's get Robin back, ok? Robin first appeared all of eleven issues of Detective Comics after Batman, but he's only been in two of the eight Batman-titled films since 1989, what the fuck? No, I'm not counting The Dark Knight Rises, and neither should you. What about Batgirl, Nightwing, Batwing or Batwoman? There is so much damn potential in Batwoman alone as a film franchise that I can't believe WB and DC aren't looking at it. I think many forget, or willfully ignore, that Batman is a franchise, not just a single hero, and that the other characters help tell the stories. Batman is the inciting tragedy and ethical centre of the team, Robin and Batgirl are the surrogate children, Nightwing the child who left the nest, Alfred the father-figure, Batwoman the tangential "other" everyone is learning to accept and Azreal is the mentally ill cousin who's really good at that one thing you need done on occasion. This film is great, go buy it so that they make more.