Category Archives: DC
‘Baby Superman’ is Adorable
So the little cartoon shorts that are going to be a part of the new DC Nation animation block seem to gear more towards the insane than the realistic. Hence this new clip I found online of a cartoon called ‘Baby Superman’. The name alone is awesome. It’s way better than ‘Superbaby’. Check out the clip, and you can check out earlier clips here and here.
Today in Superhero Redesigns
I’m a sucker for a good superhero redesign. Everybody loves a classic costume, but letting an artist have some fun and design a new look for a popular hero is just a blast. You never know what they can come up with; it may be especially awesome and warrant new action figures and everything! And then there’s always the safety of just reverting back to the old look. It’s win-win.
Both Marvel and DC have some new redesigns coming up, and I figured it’d be easy to share them both in one place.
First is the new Iron Man:
It's like a new Black Costume Iron Man!
The story is that in May, we’re going to get a new storyline called ‘Long Way Down’, during which Tony Stark retires for reasons we don’t yet know. Then this black-costumed Iron Man shows up, and it’s going to be a mystery as to who is wearing the armor. This sounds ridiculous. Tony Stark retiring as Iron Man? Please. That’ll last a couple months at most – which I guess is the point. But still, why start this storyline in May?
Did Marvel forget that Tony Stark as Iron Man is going to be headlining a little movie called The Avengers in early May? Whose bright idea is it to ditch the familiar red and gold Iron Man for this temporary-at-best redesign/new character during the one month that movie fans might want to check out some Iron Man comics?
Seems silly to me.
Over at DC Comics, the Big Red Cheese himself, Captain Marvel, is finally going to make his first appearance in the New 52.
Oh look who's all gritty and hardcore now...
So I guess DC is going to be making him into a dark badass? Because that’s a brilliant idea. Oh no wait, I was being sarcastic. How will Captain Marvel benefit from being turned into a dark hero? They’ve given him a hood and a cloak, so clearly that’s what they’re going for. Not to mention seemingly insane amounts of electricity powers.
They’ve also changed his name to Shazam instead of Captain Marvel. I am totally OK with this. Everybody knows the word ‘Shazam’, so there won’t be any branding problems. Plus DC with a hero called ‘Captain Marvel‘? This will just work better when it comes to legal issues.
The new Shazam will debut in back-up stories of Justice League comics starting at issue #7 on March 21.
What is the Point of DC Animation These Days?
On the day after their latest film, Justice League: Doom, is released, I find myself asking what the point is anymore for the DC animation studio that keeps churning out these straight-to-DVD animated movies every few months. Mostly I ask this in regards to their next film, Superman vs. The Elite, and how utterly random and sort of ridiculous it sounds. This probably isn’t going to be a popular theory, and who am I to look such a gift horse in the mouth of actual, well-made Justice League movies, but hear me out.
Why do the movies produced by this very talented production company seem so random and disconnected? Why are the fantastic efforts of Bruce Timm and his people not put to better, more substantial use?
Let’s first take a look at Superman vs. the Elite.
Not to be voiced by Tim Daly, by the way
So far we have this description of the film:
The Elite, a team of super-powered antiheroes, is renowned for killing their enemies. Despite the acclaim and approval the Elite enjoy, Superman knows they are in the wrong, creating more harm than good by their methods. Tensions between them finally culminate in a mass showdown on Jupiter’s moons, when Superman is forced to prove that violence is never a positive.
The movie is based on an early 2001 story from Action Comics, where the Elite basically did exactly what it says there in the description. Right down to fighting on Jupiter’s moon. And the animated Elite is pretty much the exact same Elite from the comics.
I guess these guys made quite the impression on somebody more than a decade ago
The team members are, from left to right, Coldcast, Manchester Black, The Hat, and Menagerie. I have no knowledge of any of these characters or The Elite as a team, so I have no personal attachment to this being turned into an animated film. But I’m also free to ask the question of why?
Why this story? Why such a random choice from more than 10 years ago?
For that matter, why turn ‘Tower of Babel’ into Justice League: Doom? Why Batman: Year One and All-Star Superman? I’m not saying I haven’t enjoyed some, if not all, of these films. I’m just saying why does it have to be so haphazard?
Why not a Lois Lane movie?
Once upon a time, Timm and Co. were the masters of animation with Batman: The Animated Series, Superman and Justice League: Unlimited. They had an ongoing saga that lasted years and multiple shows that were beloved by fans. But these new movies don’t have anything to do with those old TV shows.
There have been several attempts to bridge certain movies, like Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths and Justice League: Doom, but those don’t seem to feature the same characters from Batman: Year One, All-Star Superman, Green Lantern: First Flight, Wonder Woman or even Superman vs. The Elites. All of these movies are disconnected. They’re just vanity projects, as if they pulled an idea out of a hat and decided to make that movie next. Would it really be so hard to unite the movies? Or make movies that lead into one another?
There’s also the problem that after the poor sales of Green Lantern: First Flight and Wonder Woman (which is the best of all the movies), Warner Bros. has demanded that all future movies must include either Superman or Batman. So that severely limits the production crew’s options.
So what’s the point? Is the market for an animated Batman or Superman film really so great that Warner Bros. keep demanding another film? Are they making a lot of money? Are they easier to make than a full TV show? Do they make more money than a TV show?
One half of the only money-making superheroes that DC owns
Right now, DC only has Young Justice and Green Lantern: The Animated Series on TV. Neither has anything to do with the animated movies, even if the style of animation between the Justice League films and Young Justice is quite similar. They should just go ahead and declare that the movies and the show take place in the same universe. Why not a Young Justice movie? Why not a team-up with the Justice League and Young Justice in one film? Why not have the various DC animation studios working together for the harmony of all?
There is already a built-in audience for a Young Justice movie. And surely it’s a bigger audience than those who want a done-in-one Superman vs. The Elite DVD. Why not make feature films that appear in theaters? Warner Bros. could make millions that way. But no, they want roughly two or three straight-to-DVD films popped out at random throughout the year.
More importantly, where’s the New 52 reboot film? DC is pushing this new initiative in its comics, why not have everything else line up with that? Why make a movie about a Superman storyline that nobody has heard of from 2001, when they could make a brand new movie with a brand new storyline set in the New 52 universe?
All this rambling comes down to one basic point: why is this amazing, brilliant production team reduced to making one or two movies a year based on old Batman and Superman comic book storylines?
They could be doing so much more.
New Lady Robin Costume is the Bee’s Knees
In the wacky, wild world of Earth 2, anything goes. A female Robin who happens to be Bruce Wayne’s daughter? Sure! Why not! DC Comics released this teaser image to show us what Helena Wayne’s Earth 2 Robin costume looked like.
Everybody loves shoulder pads
I like it! It’s modern, it’s stylish and it’s definitely Robin. Though I’ve seen other websites point out that the ‘R’ symbol is positioned directly under her neck, right beneath an opening in her collar, in fact. Not to mention the ‘R’ symbols on her knees. Wouldn’t those make fantastic bullseyes for Robin’s enemies?
Everybody knows that Batman put a bat-symbol on his chest because he could cover his chest in padding and a bullet-proof vest, so he wants to draw the bad guy’s attention to his chest. You don’t want the bad guy aiming for your neck or your knee caps.
So a little misstep there.
Anyway, some of you may be asking, who the hell is this? A female Robin? Earth 2? Have you gone crazy!?
Nope, it all makes some insane sort of comic book sense. Allow me to explain.
Review: Justice League: Doom
‘Tower of Babel’ was better. But then the book is always better than the movie adaptation. Still, the latest release from DC Comics’ animated movies is an alright film, with a killer ending. Justice League: Doom features great animation, solid characters and a fun plot. The problem is that it’s kind of boring and run-of-the-mill. This could have been a made-for-TV movie of the Justice League cartoon from a few years ago. There’s just nothing special about it, nothing that warrants its existence in the animated movie library.
But who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth? A Justice League movie is a Justice League movie.
Movie rating: 3/5: Alright!
Unless it’s a stupid Justice League movie. There were a lot of times during this film where I was rolling my eyes at just how stupid some of the ideas and plot points were. The villains, especially, were acting ridiculous, and some of their plans were downright dumb. These are the people Vandal Savage has hired to rid the world of the Justice League? These are the plans they come up with? But all of that foolishness is undercut by some pretty great characterization, especially on the part of the Justice League. They look fantastic, and the animation is top notch.
The ending is spectacular, really getting to the hearts of these characters. The problem, though, is that this is a stand alone movie. These character moments aren’t going to pay off anywhere else. There are aesthetic similarities with previous animated movies, so perhaps this is the same Justice League as those movies. But still, it’s mostly stand alone.
So what was the point?
Henchman-4-Hire 