Blog Archives
Abandon All Reason and Bear Witness to the Justice League of Animals
It’s good to know that insanity still exists in the world of cartoons.
That was just…there are so few words. A toilet joke? Aquaman as a baboon? Lex Luthor as a liger? That is just brilliant. And I know a certain someone who is going to love Wonder Wombat.
This isn’t going to be a full series, but instead just another bunch of cartoon shorts aired alongside the DC Nation cartoon block. Like those Super Best Friends Forever cartoons that were so good. I definitely like where DC’s head is at with all these cartoon shorts.
Joker as a fish? You guys crack me up
The New Justice League of America
Even though Justice League: International crashed and burned, DC Comics is going to try again with a brand new Justice League of America team. Apparently it’s going to run concurrent with the Justice League series that already exists. Because as the Marvel marketing department will tell you, why bother coming up with an original superhero team name when you can just re-use a name that is already a proven seller?
Behold the new team lineup!
Additional member: Catwoman’s cleavage
At the very least, this new team is spinning out of the ongoing story in Justice League. When Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Flash, Aquaman and the rest banded together into a team in the New 52, they did so on their own, with no government oversight or control. And there has been an ongoing story about how the U.S. government is a little skittish about the fact that this supremely powerful team of superheroes isn’t beholden to anyone.
So it looks like the government is putting together their own version of the Justice League.
The new line-up: Martian Manhunter, Catwoman, Green Arrow, Katana, Hawkman, Vibe, Steve Trevor, Stargirl and Baz, the new Arab-American Green Lantern.
Here’s what writer Geoff Johns had to say about the team:
The idea of why the JLA forms, and what it is, and what it’s in reaction to… It kind of spins out of Justice League #12; what happens in that, and then subsequent issues, because JLA comes out next year some time. But the book itself is a group of heroes that aren’t necessarily coming together because they want to be together… They’ve been selected specifically. They all want, or need something that Steve Trevor, and the other person behind the scenes that’s in charge of this team can provide.
The first arc is going to deal with something they learn is called The Secret Society of Super-Villains. It’s specific because its run by A.R.G.U.S. They have a team they feel they can now control. Whether or not that ends up being the case is up for debate.
You can read the full interview at Mtv Geek. Because when I think of geek culture, I think Mtv.
As for my personal opinion…I dunno. I think it’s too soon to be doing something like this. We’re barely more than a year into the New 52 reboot, and the Justice League title has barely had any time to settle itself. It’s a good enough comic, but I don’t think it’s as strong as it could be. Adding something like this for it to contend with is too much too soon. It’s like DC doesn’t think they have any time to let anything grow. They did this big reboot of their universe, and now they still have the modern day mentality that they’ve got to just push and push and push more stuff out the door to keep fans happy. They won’t let anything settle or simmer.
So I dunno. Maybe it’ll work, maybe it won’t. Justice League Dark is still selling. But Justice League International got cancelled. So we’ll see what happens when this new book comes out next year some time.
At the very least, the name is a little dumb. The names ‘Justice League’ and ‘Justice League of America’ are synonymous in the minds of the fans. Applying them to two different teams is going to get a little confusing.
Superman and Wonder Woman Sitting in a Tree
K-I-S-S-I-N-G!
Long the fodder of Elseworlds tales and creepy fan fiction, DC Comics has decided to go ahead with an in-canon, for realsies, kissing and everything relationship between Superman and Wonder Woman. This is the New 52 people, you’re living in it!
But speaking as a longtime comic book reader and occasional curmudgeon, I am absolutely, 100% in favor of this hook-up.
I think new romantic relationships between classic superheroes is a good thing. It’s new, it’s exciting and it’s much better than just resting on the old, classic, long-boring relationships. Superman and Lois Lane? Please. Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson? Been there, done that. Gambit and Rogue? Sayonara, Sugah!
Give me Superman and Wonder Woman. I want to read about Iceman and Kitty Pryde. And, most especially, I want Spider-Man and Captain Marvel!
The absolute worst thing that DC could do instead would be to create a brand new love interest for either Superman or Wonder Woman. Just look at Carlie Cooper in Spider-Man comics. She was created for the sole purpose of eventually becoming Peter Parker’s new girlfriend. Whatever stories the writers tried to give her, like being a police investigator, were just window dressing for her eventual existence as Peter Parker’s girlfriend. There was no drama. No ‘will they/won’t they’ playfulness. When a new female character is created solely for a relationship – or male character, for that matter – it’s just so fun to read.
This, however, will be fun to read. Wonder Woman is not beholden to Superman. She’s not around just to be his girlfriend. She had a lot going on right now. In fact, her comic series is a lot better and much more critically acclaimed than Superman’s title. He’s the one in dire straits here. So I, for one, want to see where this relationship goes. It’s going to debut next week in Justice League #12. I think it has a lot of potential.
What do you guys think? I’d love to hear your opinions in the comments!
What’s Next for Batman?
So what the heck should they do for the next Batman movie?
Christopher Nolan has just wrapped up arguably the greatest superhero trilogy of all time, and he did so in spectacular style. His three films – Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises – are all fantastic! Not a stinker in the bunch! And they’re not just good superhero films, they’re a cinematic masterpiece! A trilogy that’s greater than its individual parts.
They were awesome movies, is what I’m trying to say. But both Christopher Nolan and lead actor Christian Bale have repeatedly said that they’re done with the series. It’s over. They’re moving on. And Nolan, especially, was the creative driving force behind those films.
So Warner Bros. has now got to decide what to do with the Batman movie franchise without Nolan.
The previous time the franchise was without Nolan…
The way I see it, they’ve got three choices: keep going with a new director, total reboot, or the third option, which I think is the best option:
Wait until the Justice League movie.
Join me after the jump for an explanation. And there will definitely be SPOILERS for The Dark Knight Rises.
Justice League Fan Trailer
Because the geeks of the world have decided they’re not going to take any more of DC Comics’ crap, and they’re just going to make a Justice League movie all on their own, dammit! This one, which I think is part of a series, was made by the fine people at kashchei2003.
Henchman-4-Hire 