We’re Getting More She-Ra By the End of the Month!
I absolutely loved the first season of She-Ra and the Princess of Power. It was pretty much perfect, and everything I could want from a modern cartoon reboot of an 80s classic. And season is arrives on April 26!
Of course, that’s the same weekend Avengers: Endgame arrives, so it’s going to be a busy weekend! We just have to get through the entire month of April first…
——————-
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 3/30/19
And so the slow march towards Avengers: Endgame reaches the home stretch. We’re less than a month away! Within the week, I’ll buy my ticket. And hopefully Shazam! will tide us over until the big show. Can’t wait!
Not much in the world of comics this week, at least not for me. But I got through some solid comics, like Mr. & Mrs. X and Fantastic Four. Comic Book of the Week goes to Action Comics for another corker of an issue. I’m finally really digging Bendis’ Superman.
Lois Lane delivers the Amanda Waller smackdown I’ve waited years to see
Meanwhile, I read the second issue of the X-Tremists, the one Age of X-Man comic I’ve decided to follow. The issue is better than the first one thanks to the character work, but the overall premise of the alternate reality has already worn out its welcome for me. None of it holds together in any sort of meaningful way. At least Leah Williams is delivering some of the best Blob character development he’s ever received. It almost makes up for having all of my other favorite X-characters killed recently.
Comic Reviews: Action Comics #1009, Fantastic Four #8, Heroes in Crisis #7 and Mr. & Mrs. X #9.
Batman Shouldn’t Kill
In an effort to have more original written content in this blog, I’ve decided to weigh in on the current topic du jour of former DC movies director Zach Snyder going off on some angry rant about how superheroes kill and we should all get over it. Specifically, of course, he’s referring to how he had Batman and Superman kill all sorts of people in his dark, gritty and soundly rejected movies, Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Still not fully recovered
I think the fact that the bright, cheerful and fun Aquaman earned over $1 billion, while Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice is widely mocked, is all the evidence I need to not talk about Zack Snyder anymore.
The point has been made elsewhere, and in far better verbiage than I can muster, but Batman and Superman are fictional characters. Their actions and the world they exist in are controlled by the whims of the creators.
So if the creators want a Batman who doesn’t kill, then that’s what we get. It’s ridiculous to insist that Batman would kill people in the real world because Batman doesn’t exist in the world.
Rather than get bogged down in that argument — I have been known to ramble — I just want to express my personal views on the subject: Batman shouldn’t and doesn’t kill his enemies.
A creator like Snyder is welcome to create his own take on Batman, in which Batman does indeed kill people. All creators are welcome to do that. And there are plenty of superheroes who do kill, like Wolverine, Punisher and perhaps even Captain America. But they kill in context, and that’s important.
It would be so simple
In the context of the canon comic book Batman, he should not kill.
Batman’s whole shtick is that he wages a war on crime because of the crime that was committed against his family. And as part of his war, he will not lower himself to kill people, the way his parents were killed. So he’ll maim and he’ll punch you in the noggin, but Batman doesn’t kill. It’s a personal code. And that’s good enough for me.
I am fully capable of suspending my disbelief when reading Batman comics. I can gloss over the idea that Batman might, technically, cause gross bodily harm to his enemies. There’s no need to get that pedantic when you’re reading Batman comics.
But Batman doesn’t kill criminals.
He’s also under no obligation to kill the Joker. Batman is an ordinary civilian, and just because he’s proven capable of beating up the Joker and stopping the Joker’s murderous schemes doesn’t obligate him to break the most important law we have, to not kill another person.
If anything, blame the system for the Joker’s murderous rampages. Why doesn’t Commissioner Gordon kill the Joker? Or any Gotham City Police Officer who is armed with a gun and allowed to use it in certain circumstances? Why doesn’t the Gotham City judicial system sentence Joker to death? Why does he keep getting tossed back into Arkham Asylum?
Batman shouldn’t kill anybody. But society has plenty of ways to legally and lawfully kill people.
———————–
Doing My Part to Keep the Godzilla 2 Hype Going
Godzilla: King of the Monsters is coming out on May 31. We’ve had a lot of neat trailers, and plenty of looks at those big beasties. But how about one more?
Still looks good! I was a big Godzilla fan as a kid. I even enjoyed the one in the 1990s when it came out, and I loved the most recent film. So there’s a good chance I’m going to enjoy this one. I’m definitely looking forward to the film!
——————–
I Want More of Age of X-Men Blob
The Blob is one of my favorite X-Men characters. I’ve even cosplayed as the guy! I love the idea that the Blob isn’t some maniacal madman or major, world-threatening super-villain. He’s just another mutant, like the X-Men; he just happens to be a jerk and a bully. And can you blame him? Guy was treated as a freak growing up, and has only ever been treated as a freak as an adult. Largely due to his weight. Makes total sense that the Blob grew up to be a real asshole.
But he’s finally getting his due under the pen of Leah Williams for the X-Tremists in Age of X-Man.
I’m loving it! Someone has finally found a chance to give us a new and different take on the Blob. Here is a Blob who didn’t grow up being insulted and ridiculed for his weight. Here’s a Blob who didn’t have to go work for a carnival due to the mutant power he did not choose and could not control.
Here’s a Blob with soul, who likes to read and clearly enjoys the finer things in life.
I’ve been excited for Williams to explore a fat-positive Blob since she first started talking about her plans for X-Tremists. And while the rest of Age of X-Man is something of a dumpster fire, this little corner is my one bit of joy in all of X-Men comics right now.
I’m really excited to see where all of this is going for Blob. And I hope it earns him some much needed respect as a proper character going forward!
——————–
Henchman-4-Hire 