#Reflection: Gordon Moody

[johnvenus]

RIP Alan Grant

9th Feb 1949 -  20th July 2022  

Meant to post this on the day he passed but it gets exhausting repeatedly writing tributes for creators who made an impact on you. But lets cut to the chase:  

Alan Grant was a prolific writer who was part of the British Invasion of comics talent in the 80′s and 90′s. He has worked on multiple titles ranging from 2000 AD, Judge Dredd, the Demon, Shadow of the Bat and Detective Comics.    What I remember him the the most for though, is his work on the Batman comics.    

In the 90′s, Alan Grant, Chuck Dixon and Doug Monech were the big three Batman writers and this was the period I got into DC comics. Paired with the immensely talented Norm Breyfogle (who also passed away a few years back), the duo gave us Batman stories that were not only dark, moody and noir-ish but also very human.    

Amongst the duos most well known creation was the villainous duo Ventriloquist and Scarface:   

And despite being a relatively recent villain, the characters became a staple of Batman’s rogues gallery after they were adapted in the seminal Batman: The Animated Series. 

Grant also played a key role in the development of Tim Drake’s character, he wrote the story in which Jack and Mary Drake were poisoned by the Obeah Man resulting in Mary’s death and Jack’s paralysis:  

And the subsequent fallout of Tim dealing with his parent’s death and the Master of Fear story arc that showcased Tim’s early outings as Robin:   

Grant is also responsible for introducing grim and serious slasher villain rouges like Kadaver, Cornelious Stirk and most famously Mr Zsaz:  

And whilst these villains were disturbed individuals who loved to stalk and torture and treated human lives as disposable meat, Grant also used this as an opportunity to flesh out citizens who lived in Gotham. Whether it was a homeless man living on a street corner or an orphan grieving the loss of their parents at a grave yard or a single mom who happens upon a dead body or Jack and Mary Drake reflecting on how they’ve been neglecting their son whilst being held hostage by the Obeah Man, Grant showed the inner lives and humanity of the citizens of Gotham thus Batman’s role as the protector of the city had a deeper meaning, showing that he was making a difference in their individual lives.      

Grant’s Batman was also never stoic in the face of darkness, thanks to Norm’s expressive art style, the full range of Batman’s emotions were on display as he confronted the darkest side of humanity:

  Shock, horror, rage and disgust. These emotions never made Batman seem weak at all. Some, like Bruce Timm seem to prefer a Batman who is an emotionless robot but I like a Batman who is human and can feel emotions besides rage.

On the other side of the coin, Grant also gave us Anarky:   

Contrary to what other writers would tell you, Anarky was never a villain. Antagonist, yes but not a villain.    

Grant also gave us the excellent, ‘Batman of Arkham Asylum’ Elseworlds; set in the 1900′s it’s a more thoughtful exploration of mental illness in Gotham Rogues and gave us a Batman who was a psychologist at Arkham by day and a vigilante by night. It also has the best take on Killer Croc/Waylon Jones in comics and I’m glad sympathetic Croc has crept it’s way to canon:   

Also, I’m probably the only guy who remembers and appreciates the Human Flea and bummed that nobody has brought him back:    

And misses one shot C-list villains like Chancer and Nimrod:  

This was a fun arc that ran from Shadow of the Batman #7-9 drawn by Tim Sale (who sadly also passed away this year) in which D list villains like Killer Moth, Calendar Man, Catman and Chancer kidnap Bruce Wayne, Commissioner Gordon and Mayor Armand Krol and holds them ransom. Now Tim Drake has to rescue them with the help of anti-hero Nimrod:

  It’s a fun Reservior Dogs style heist story but starring Batman villains. Also a rare occasion where Killer Moth isn’t portrayed as the laughing stock of Gotham:   

And sometimes, the characters you thought were going to be villains were never villains at all:   

And to wrap this up, Grant also wrote the Batman/Etrigan the Demon cross over and is responsible for giving us this hilarious panel from Detective Comics #601-603:  

Godspeed, Grant.  

Thanks for all the stories.   

#alan grant #batman #bruce wayne #tim drake #robin #etrigan #etrigan the demon #jason blood #scarecrow #johnathan crane #killer croc #waylon jones #mr zsasz #the human flea #chancer #nimrod #calendar man #killer moth #drury walker

[mouseratz]

reading tdrk.

I can see why people like it- the aesthetic is gorgeous and moody, the contrast between the stifling heat and the grey rains is even there.....

but of course, I do have to question it's politics. It tries to both-sides issues to explore them via snapshots of the news anchors and interviews, and....it still comes up as very anti-rehabilitation/recovery; nothing gets better, ever. Batman is still Batman because he's sick in the head, and is treated as having the same issue as Two-Face, basically (which is about the only reason I can figure he's been included in this story.) and also that it's batman's reappearance that caused twoface to return as well. whatever. at least it's kinda gay about it? like yeah "we tumble like lovers in the night" and "four men died" sure. yeah they were fucking at some point in their lives

also it's like "if you call Batman a fascist you don't know about true justice and patriotism" side-by-side with the guy talking about how he wished the criminals he illegally beats up anyway had less rights. Ok. yeah I don't know that you know what you're talking about man it kinda sounds like he wishes the government was more oppressive than it already is.

Jim Gordon shot a teenager and he gets to keep his job at least temporarily. well I guess that's realistic isn't it

also batman has a gun in this scene. broke the number one Batman rule

Carrie Kelley's design fucks SO severely why is she the one thing nobody took from this story????

I do also like that we get to see a big Lana Lang. like, the "grittiness" of the art style means the female characters are actually drawn like people with distinctive features.

I do really like Bruce mistaking Kelly for Dick when he was injured. that's a really cool way to have them meet.

I do also like the weird spiritual obsession Bruce has with genuine honest to god bats. like yeah that adds up

and of course. Fascist for real superman. I knew that was coming lol. it's not good but at least it's given more context (he turned to it after some kind of attack on heroes and vigilantes by the government, he gave in and gave up, and wants Bruce to do the same.) I still don't like it but I was bracing for worse.

I do still just love old lonely fucked up Batman and Carrie Kelley Robin they're cute as fuck. another crazy child adopts you after one abandoned you and you failed the next and gave up on it all.

selinas design is also.....hm. she runs an escort service. kind of hard to believe the character would turn to something she grew up in and hated in many of her origins,* but hey who knows. and then she's heavily implied to be sexually abused by the joker. awesome!!! I do feel that is actually really pretty misogynistic to have your strong female character show up and do nothing but get sexually abused. so. awesommmeeee

(*sex work is fine work irl and if it's something someone chooses to do, I just know that in this characters case she was forced to do it from a young age with many other young girls, it was a bad situation in her context for sure.)

joker calling him "darling" and having no qualms about being obsessed with Batman is alright.

oh, so NOW guns are a cowards weapon? gee. then where'd the rifle come from earlier bats?

okay. super weird that the joker killed himself or whatever. I do like how creepy his face is.

I do really love that this showdown happened in the "tunnel of love" though. this old man is a homosexual

the horses are awesome I will say. do you really need a reason. the horses are cool.

I also enjoy how it's kind of turned on it's head- the people who are supporting Batman, who are emulating him, aren't good. they're causing more meaningless violence. now does that cause Bruce to reflect on himself? Probably not. but it's kind of real bad when the people who wanna be just like you talk about purging the city. it's not going great. or not he just recruited them also? ok.

the nuclear thing is uhm. wow ok. "Nothing we can't handle, folks, we're still america- and I'm still president!" yeah.

well. I guess it's still kind of romantic to want to die together even if you also hate each other. it's dramatic, at minimum. sure whatever.

oh, faking your death. okay the rituals are intricate. I can't take any of this shit seriously the wink. so are you guys still a thing, or....? what is all of that. what is wrong with both of you.

oh that's the end. ok. I see why people like it. it's not bad but it's also not really my speed. I like the artwork more than I liked the story honestly, lots of iconic imagery. Carrie Kelley is awesomeee I want to see her again. uhmmm everything else can kind of stay here. forever.

I now see what Batman v Superman was trying to invoke (and did so very very very terribly) , because while there is a conflict and the government is evil Bruce and Clark are genuinely frenemies here I would say. wasn't as bad as it could've been

I also don't really get why Batman has multiple lines paying lip service to "guns fucking suck" as an ethos, but in reality, we see lots of "cool" shots of him holding a rifle so it's like. okay that feels like cheating and getting by on a technicality. if he has a gun in my book it's gotta be a crazy bat-gun that doesn't shoot regular bullets.

I actually legitimately love Clark getting blown up by a nuclear missile and it looking absolutely fucking horrific. like he ends up being more or less Fine but not before having that moment of grisly terror. it gives a sense of impact to it instead of just being like "oh it blew up and was bad". you SEE it.

overall, it's not bad. I kinda liked it but I don't think it's my kind of story, like it just has too muddled messages (it wants to have antifascist messaging, which I do respect, but the actual events are kind of confusing and weird to me at times, I feel it could've been a little stronger in that if it wasn't so obsessed with its own dark grittiness.)

[scrumptiousdefendorcomputer]

Fire

A man standing in front of a burning car, digital art, by Mike Winkelmann, awesome and moody, reflection, album cover, people daily art, Aenami Alena, deep emotional, dark aesthetic photo, cinematic, 8k, Unreal Engine 5, Jack Cardiff, roger deakins, Gordon Willis, cinematic, high detail, Hogwarts legacy, photo taken by camera Sony A7 IV Kit 18-135 mm, 4K, Unreal Engine 5, very realistic, great lighting, high details

#ai image #ai #ai art #artwork #art #ai artwork #pixel art #my art #character art #ai generated

[qu-film-history-to-1968]

Close but not the Same

JJ Tafuto

Film genres provide an outlet for filmmakers to experiment with different styles and provide the viewer with unique storytelling and visuals. However, as genres and audience tastes evolves, eventually some elements of genres get lost and are not fully committed to. I will be examining the worlds of film noir and silent comedies, their rise and fall, and where they are now in the contemporary movie landscape with films like The Batman and The Lego Movie providing homages to what came before, but further innovating and doing something more unique.

Film noir has previously left an undeniable mark on the cinematic landscape. A genre that was once extremely popular has mostly fizzled out in the more contemporary era of cinema. The genre was at its peak during World War 2 and the rise of the growing communist threat as it reflected the complexities and anxieties of the time. Film noir was known for its moody visuals, convoluted plots, cynical characters, and morally ambiguous protagonists. While true film noir may have phased out of the cinematic zeitgeist, modern films do take inspiration from what it began. An example is The Batman, released in 2022 and directed by Matt Reeves. The Batman delves into the territory of film noir, such as the visual elements of taking place in the metropolitan and gothic setting that is Gotham City and incorporating a detective story. However, the film does not fully commit to being noir and is rather a superhero film with noir inspiration. While the atmosphere of the film is truly noir, the dark and brooding nature being front and center, the moral landscape between characters is less ambiguous. Bruce Wayne as Batman and Commissioner Gordon are clearly on the side of good and doing what’s right, while The Riddler embodies an evil villain that must be stopped. The film was almost there in having the audience question right and wrong when The Riddler was unmasking corruption in the city, but all subtleties were quickly lost when he flooded Gotham. The departure from moral complexity leaves the audience with a more straightforward narrative structure than what is typically seen in film noir. This is likely a result to align more with traditional superhero storytelling, which makes you lose the questioning of good and evil and deep moral ambiguity that would come from film noir.

Silent films, particularly silent comedies, are clearly a thing of the past. With the advent of easily accessible sound, the genre in its most pure form has faded into obscurity. Silent comedies, exemplified by the works of Charlie Chaplin in films like The Gold Rush, rely on physical humor, slapstick comedy, and exaggerated characters and situations. These films communicate through the universal language of physical comedy, allowing them to bypass language barriers. While silent comedies are no longer what they once were, surprisingly, their mark on the industry is still felt in modern comedies like The Lego Movie. The Lego Movie is able to venture in the realm of silent comedies with its exaggerated characters and visual humor provided by its unique animation style. The stop motion type animation and jerky movement style of the lego characters offer visual humor in watching them go through motions, as well as lego physics being used for slapstick humor such as characters missing body parts, their faces being erased by a hand wipe, and disassembling and reassembling body parts. Visual gags like the double decker couch allows for laughs that can be had without sound. While The Lego Movie successfully incorporates visual humor akin to silent comedies, it does continue to place substantial emphasis on its witty dialogue and conveying story through characters talking. The Lego Movie’s themes and messages are also much more nuanced than the simplicities that silent comedies are known for.

#submission

[baileynormansblog]

The Batman Film Review

I have always loved the character of Batman, for me he is the greatest superhero across both DC and Marvel. My brother and I used to play with a toy Batmobile when we were kids. We loved everything about Batman, especially the aesthetic of the streets of Gotham. Playing The Lego Batman game on the PS2 was very special for my brother and I, we cherish those times a lot. It was particularly important that ‘The Batman’ was good, although I think I would have enjoyed it either way, as it is Batman. Going into the film I had just as much hype as I did going into see ‘Spiderman: No Way Home’, so there was a lot on the line. ‘The Batman’ certainly delivered on all fronts for me. My first cinema experience of The Batman was so good that I had to go and watch it again. I didn’t want to miss a second chance at experiencing the film on the big screen one more time. I went to the film with a few of my friends about a week after it premiered in cinemas. Admittedly I was probably the most excited out of all of us as they all preferred Marvel over DC, which I agree with in terms of the filmography of each franchise, however I much prefer the themes and characters that DC has to offer. We sat in optimal seats right in the middle of the theater to get the best experience possible. 

Right from the get go the film throws you into the perspective of the Riddler, giving a sense of terror, mystery and atmosphere of the world of Gotham. I love this as it perfectly sets the tone and journey that the film takes you through for the remaining three hours, knowing just enough to comprehend, but not enough to understand. A stand out scene for me was the chase scene with the Penguin. I found myself on the edge of my seat the whole time and was not expecting it to be as grand and elaborate as it was which was an awesome surprise. I also found myself wondering how much was practical and how much was CG, as all of it looked practical. Paul Dano’s Riddler is very different compared to his Jim Carrey, this is a very good thing. Batman Forever was a very goofy and fun movie that didn’t take itself too seriously, The Riddler reflected this. In The Batman however The Riddlers character perfectly reflects the dark and moody tone set out in this version of Gotham. In classic Riddler fashion he was full of surprises and the third act came as quite a surprise to me because of this. I was not expecting this film to have as big of a third act as it did as I thought it would stick to the mystery, detective vibe that Batman and Gordon had established. This was quite honestly my favorite aspect of the film, the fact that it could switch from a relatively low stakes detective plot, and flipping it for a dramatic and spectacular finale to a deep and personal story. 

The visuals and cinematography of the film was particularly inspiring. For example the scene where Batman and Catwoman converse overlooking Gotham City’s beautiful sunset is one of my favorite shots in a comic book movie. Robert Pattinson portrayed Bruce Wayne as Batman in a unique and very authentic way that I felt a great deal of emotion for. The three hour run time was perfect in immersing me into the world of Gotham and completely engaging me with the film, which is something that once I feel with a film, I get wholly attached to. ‘The Batman’ has become my new comfort movie, it makes me feel a sense of catharsis in my own life, while simultaneously inspiring me to create. My rating for this film is a 9/10, personally I think that this film provides a compelling and realistic Batman story that is unmatched in its aesthetic and portrayal of Gotham city. 

It makes me think about my own work and the ways in which I can start to ideate around a dark and moody aesthetic to create a compelling and visually pleasing piece of visual media. In my own practice I would love to write a script centered around the Christian faith, yet in a gritty and realistic way. For two reasons, first being that the aesthetic is something that I really enjoy and resonate with, second being that a lot of the Christian visual media hasn’t explored this in a compelling way. This is something that I wish to do someday.

[ofloremastery]

Gordon Moody Tag drop 

#Reflection: Gordon Moody #Aesthetic: Gordon Moody #About: Gordon Moody #Enemies: Gordon Moody #Inbox: Gordon Moody #Relationship: Gordon Moody & Regulus Black - ‘Wanna build a cardboard submarine?’ ‘get out of my head’ #Headcanon: Gordon Moody

[infractedink]

Gordon Moody Tag Drop

#Reflection: Gordon Moody #Inbox: Gordon Moody #Save/Crack: Gordon Moody #General: Gordon Moody #Aesthetic: Gordon Moody #About/Musings: Gordon Moody #Thread: Gordon Moody #Starter/Plotting Call: Gordon Moody #Headcanon: Gordon Moody

[aurorborne-moved]

Complete Tag Redo because I am getting annoyed

#Alternative Young Alastor FC #Reflection: Alastor Moody #Promotion: Only the Best #Self Promotion: Tact? What is tact? #Anonymous: Cloaked #Relationship: Alastor Moody & Rabastan Lestrange; You see me for what I am. #Relationship: Alastor Moody & Gordon Moody; not always eye to eye but always heart to heart #Relationship: Alastor Moody & Regulus Black; ‘There is nothing more than appalling than to be guided in the wrong direction’ #Verse; First War; There is no peace without Justice #Verse; Second War; Back to the Battlefield #Verse; Goblet of Fire; Locked away #Hufflepuff Pride; Loyal Just & True #Verse; Hogwarts years; Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus #Verse; Undetermined; let the chips fall where they may #Verse; Young Auror; Fight for those who cannot fight for themselves #Verse; Divergent; teaching verse; education is the movement from darkness to light #Relationship: Alastor Moody & Madeline Lewis; You're my satellite #Mun; I’m a shaman; you ask for salt and I give you soup because soup is better; you deserve better #Masterlists #Headcanon; Through my Eyes

[thebadboyfanclub]

The Sun And Moon (Pete Davidson x Reader)

Heyyyyyy besties! So I'm back with another white boy of the month. I would like to warn you that this will be mentioning Pete's BPD and the reader will be mentioned as somebody that has had traumatic experiences however i am not mentioning what does that imply so don't worry about it. Other than that I hope you enjoy!

Being with Pete was almost a gift and a curse, you were so different yet so alike. The ultimate example of twinflames, the yin and yang. If someone had to describe what you two were like was that (y/n) was like the sun, a warm personality with kindness and such just overall this untouchable beauty from inside and out, also she adores to be under the sun, Pete sometimes found her as she laid on the floor next to her cat just so she can enjoy the warm rays, sometimes she would have her crystals (Pete called them "magic rocks") which Pete found so adorable, also as the weather got warmer she got happier.

Pete was the moon, a little bit more moody, mysterious, yet alluring, he intrigued anyone that was around him. Unlike (y/n) Pete was a night owl, he liked late night drives, staying up all night just smoking weed and watching movies, he liked the silence that the nightfall brought, he felt more at peace with the idea of relaxing and enjoying the darkness that others feared. Many times (y/n) woke up in the middle of the night and found him on her balcony, just sitting there and enjoying the view.

People around them brought up that comparison so much that they even got it as a couples tattoo, (y/n) got the sun behind her ear and Pete got the moon on his left middle finger cause he found it funny. However the curse was that they had to learn how to be around one another, yes they had similarities but they weren't quite the same situations.

Pete was a comedian, (y/n) was an author, both of them had to sometimes sit their ass down and think of something to write, but the circumstances were different. 

"Baby I'm here"

Pete said as he shut the door of (y/n)'s apartment, dropping his pair of keys on the bowl that she had conveniently placed on a piece of furniture right next to her front door. Pete waited for an answer while taking off his shoes, (y/n) liked structure and she was a very neat person, another thing Pete had to learn, he wasn't dirty but he was a tad bit of messy so when he was at her apartment (which basically had become his also) he was careful with how he did things.

Silence greeted him back, he sucked in his teeth as he realized exactly why this was happening. (Y/n) had mentioned that she was writing the second book of her fantasy novel and she was in a bit of a writer's block, she had so many fresh ideas however when it came to writing them down sometimes her mind just wouldn't co operate and she just couldn't get it down in a way that she found right. He left the take out food on the small coffee table and continued to walk towards her bedroom. 

There she was, slightly laying back on her leather chair with her laptop in front of her, just staring at her screen and occasionally pressing a few buttons. The door was somewhat open so he could take a good look at her, her hair was down, she was wearing some shorts and a t-shirt she had accidentally spilled bleach on so now it was a house shirt and no socks, she hated wearing socks. Pete knocked on the semi closed door to get her attention.

"Oh I didn't hear you come in"

"I figured, what are you doing here babe?"

"Regretting my decision on signing the contract for a second book"

She mumbled when Pete approached her and leaned down to press several kisses on her neck and cheeks. (Y/n) smiled and enjoyed the feeling of comfort he brought her before shaking her head and pulling away from him.

"I need to finish this chapter"

"What you need to do is eat, I'm pretty sure you skipped breakfast"

She knew he was right, that's why she didn't respond so she just kept on staring at her laptop screen, hoping that miraculously an idea will come to her head. She deeply appreciated his concern but she felt the pressure of her publicist that called everyday to ask about the book, today was one of the few days she chose to not pick up the phone. Pete once again was met with silence although that didn't stop him from placing his hands on her shoulders to give her a massage.

"Come on sunshine, you can take a break and clear your head"

"Pete I have to write thousands of pages in a short amount of time, it's not just fucking punchlines"

Pete's face made a sour expression at her jab. It did sting a little bit yet he tried to understand that she was just overwhelmed with the responsibility of delivering on time. He took a deep breath before patting her on the head and turning away from her.

"I'll be in the living room"

For some time she felt relieved that he left so she could refocus, however after a few moments when she started to see her reflection on the screen she started to realize what she had done which was awful. She felt so bad that she had to shut down the screen and close her laptop so she wouldn't look at herself, she spoke in such a disregarding manner that she felt disgusted. With tears already clouding her eyes she got up and found Pete watching TV, the take out in front of him and it didn't take long for her to notice that he had bought her favorite making her feel even worse. She stood in front of the TV and Pete looked in her eyes and smiled.

"I'm sorry"

Her voice breaks in the middle of the sentence. Pete's smiled dropped when he saw a year escaping and heard her whimpering voice, he immediately got up from the couch and went to hug her.

"Its okay sunshine"

"No it's not, I didn't mean it I swear"

"I know baby"

"I'm just so… stressed"

She said and let herself relax in his arms as she wrapped hers around his torso, feeling the warmth of his engulf her. His scent went to her nose making her feel safe in his arms as the tears stained his sweatshirt. Pete started rubbing her back to help her let out her emotions, he knew how emotional (y/n) was and he found it cute how she feels like cry no matter what the situation was, she had happy tears, angry tears, sad tears, she saw a dog tears, attending a wedding tears, he didn't mind it though on the contrary he liked that she was able to express her emotions with no fear.

"I understand baby, it did sting a bit though, you know how much I love my work"

"I know, I wasn't thinking when I said it which is wrong"

They had agreed that they wouldn't do the "it's ok" type of shit, they preferred to actually say when something either hurt them or bothered them so they can have clear boundaries with one another, it was one of the best decisions they could have ever made, it was one of the strongest foundations they had for their relationship. (Y/n) looked at him and Pete immediately went to wipe her tears, before pressing a kiss on her forehead.

"I'm sorry"

"I accept your apology. Are you feeling better now?"

"A little bit. Thank you for forgiving me and I will try to do my best to not repeat that behavior"

She responded, her voice now was more steady and clear.  Setting boundaries between them and being clear about the behavior that is acceptable was something they had established early in the relationship, Pete was diagnosed with BPD and (y/n) had trauma from past experiences so they had agreed to see a couple's therapist in order for them to move on with their relationship in a healthy manner, so things like "it's ok" or "you know I didn't mean it that way" were unacceptable, taking accountability for their actions and having the humility to apologize was their key to success.

Pete's smile reappeared and now gave her a kiss on her lips, making (y/n) get a bit of a shiver down her spine. Their kisses always felt so strong, like energy passing through one to the other, it was such a magical experience to them.

"Are we good?"

"Yes, now take a seat and I'll microwave your food"

"Wow, Gordon Ramsey would be so proud of you"

#pete davidson imagine #pete davidson fluff #pete davidson fic #pete davidson blurb #pete davidson #pete davidson angst #pete davidson fanfiction #pete davidson headcanon #pete davidson one shot #pete davidson snl #pete davidson x reader #pete davidson x you #pete x y/n #king of staten island

[wits-writing]

What’s so Funny About Vengeance, the Night, and Batman? – Two Superhero Parodies in Conversation

Back in 2016, the first trailers for Director Chris McKay’s The Lego Batman Movie hit. A spinoff of the take on the iconic hero, voiced by Will Arnett, from 2014’s The Lego Movie. Those trailers spelled out a plot covering how Batman’s life of crimefighting is turned upside down when Robin unexpectedly enters the picture. It was a funny trailer, promising another insightful comedy from the crew behind The Lego Movie. A promise it handily delivered on when it came out in February 2017 with an animated feature steeped wall-to-wall jokes for the sake of mocking Bruce Wayne’s angst filled crusade that can only come from understanding what’s made the character withstand the test of time.

But there was a thought I and others had from seeing that trailer up to watching the actual movie:

“This seems… familiar.”

Holy Musical B@man! is a 2012 fan-made stage production parody of DC Comics’ biggest cash cow. It was produced as the fifth musical from YouTube-based cult phenomenon Starkid Productions, from a book by Matt and Nick Lang, music by Nick Gage and Scott Lamp with lyrics by Gage. The story of the musical details how Robin’s unexpected entrance ends up turning Batman’s (Joe Walker) life of crimefighting upside down. Among Starkids’ fandom derived projects in their early existence, as they’ve mainly moved on to well-received original material in recent years, Holy Musical B@man! is my personal favorite. I go back to it frequently, appreciating it as a fan of both superheroes and musicals. (Especially since good material that touches on both of those isn’t exactly easy to come by. Right, Spider-Man?)

While I glibly summarized the similarities between them by oversimplifying their plots, there’s a lot in the details, both major and minor, that separates how they explore themes like solitude, friendship, love, and what superhero stories mean. It’s something I’ve wanted to dig into for a while and I found a lot in both of them I hadn’t considered before by putting them in conversation. I definitely recommend watching both of them, because of how in-depth this piece goes including discussing their endings. However, nothing I can say will replace the experience of watching them and if I had included everything I could’ve commented on in both of them, this already massive piece would easily be twice as long minimum.

Up front, I want to say this isn’t about comparing The Lego Batman Movie and Holy Musical B@man in terms of quality. Not only are they shaped for vastly different mediums with different needs/expectations, animation versus stagecraft, but they also had different resources at their disposal. Even if both are in some ways riffing on the aesthetic of the 1990s Batman movies and the Adam West TV show, Lego Batman does it with the ability to make gorgeously animated frames packed to the brim with detail while Holy Musical often leans into its low-fi aesthetic of characters miming props and sets to add extra humor. They’re also for different audiences, Lego Batman clearly for all-ages while Holy Musical has the characters cursing for emphasis on a regular basis. On top of those factors, after picking through each of these for everything worth commenting on that I could find, I can’t say which I wholly prefer thanks in part to these fundamental differences.

This piece is more about digging through the details to explore the commonalities, differences, and what makes them effective mocking love letters to one of the biggest superheroes in existence.

(Also, since I’m going to be using the word “Batman” a lot, I’ll be calling Lego Batman just “Batman” and referring to the version from Holy Musical as “B@man”, with the exception of quoted dialogue.)

[Full Piece Under the Cut]

Setting the Tone

The beginning is, in fact, a very good place to start when discussing how these parodies frame their versions of the caped crusader. Each one uses a song about lavishing their respective Batmen with praise about how they are the best superheroes ever and play over sequences of the title hero kicking wholesale ass. A key distinction comes in who’s singing each song. Holy Musical B@man’s self-titled opening number is sung from the perspective of an omniscient narrator recounting B@man’s origin and later a chorus made up of the Gotham citizenry. Meanwhile, “Who’s the (Bat) Man” from Lego Batman is a brag-tacular song written by Batman about himself, even playing diegetically for all his villains to hear as he beats them up.

Holy Musical opens on a quick recap of Batman’s origin:

“One shot, Two shots in the night and they’re gone And he’s all left alone He’s just one boy Two dead at his feet and their blood stains the street And there’s nothing, no there’s nothing he can do!”

We then get a Bat-dance break as the music goes from slow and moody to energetic to reflect Batman turning that tragedy into the driving force behind his one-man war on crime. Assured by the narrator that he’s “the baddest man that there’s ever been!” and “Now there’s nothing, no there’s nothing he can’t do!” flipping the last lyric of the first verse. For the rest of the opening scene the lyrics matter less than what’s happening to establish both this fan-parody’s version of Batman and how the people of Gotham (“he’ll never refuse ‘em”) view him.

Lego Batman skips the origin recap, and in general talks around the death of the Waynes to keep the light tone going since it’s still a kids movie about a popular toy even if there are deeper themes at play. Instead, it continues a trend The Lego Movie began for this version of the character writing music about how he’s an edgy, dark, awesome, cool guy. While that movie kept it to Batman angry-whiteboy-rapping about “Darkness! NO PARENTS!”, this one expands to more elaborate boasts in the song “Who’s the (Bat) Man” by Patrick Stump:

“In the darkest night I make the bad guys fall There’s a million heroes But I’m the best of them all!”

Batman singing this song about himself, as opposed to having it sung by others aims the crosshairs of parody squarely on the hero’s ego. His abilities make fighting his villains effortless, like this opening battle is more an opportunity to perform the song than a life-or-death struggle. Even Joker’s aware of that as he shouts, “Stop him before he starts singing!” This Batman doesn’t see himself as missing out on anything in life, even if he still feels that deep down. Being Batman is the coolest thing in the world that anyone would envy. He’s Batman, therefore everyone should envy him.

The songs aren’t only part of the equation for how these two works’ opening scenes establish their leading hero. While both songs are about Batman being cool, they’re separated by the accompanying scenes. Lego Batman keep the opening within the Joker’s perspective until Batman shows up and the action kicks in. Once it does, we’re shown a Batman at the top of his solo-hero game. Meanwhile, Holy Musical’s opening is about B@man building his reputation and by the end of the song he has all the citizens of Gotham singing his praises with the titular lyrics. Both are about being in awe of the title hero, one framed by Joker’s frustration at Batman’s ease in foiling his schemes yet again and the other about the people of Gotham growing to love their city’s hero (probably against their better judgement.)

That’s woven into the fabric of what kind of schemes Batman is foiling in each of these. Joker’s plan to bomb Gotham with the help of every supervillain in Batman’s Rogues Gallery is hilariously high stakes and the type of plan most Batman stories, even parodies, would save for the climax. Neatly exemplified by how that’s almost the exact structure of Holy Musical’s final showdown. Starting with these stakes works as an extension of this Batman’s nature as a living children’s toy and therefore the embodiment of a child’s idea of what makes Batman cool, his ability to wipe the floor with anyone that gets in his way “because he’s Batman.” It also emphasizes Joker as the only member of the Rogues Gallery that matters to Lego Batman’s story, every other Bat-villain is either a purely visual cameo or only gets a couple lines maximum.

The crime’s being stopped by B@man are more in the “Year One” gangster/organized crime category rather than anything spectacle heavy. Though said crimes are comically exaggerated:

Gangster 1: Take these here drugs, put ‘em into them there guns, and then hand ‘em out to those gamblin’ prostitutes! Gangster 2: Should we really be doing these illegal activities? In a children’s hospital for orphans?

These fit into that model of crime the Dark Knight fights in his early days and add tiny humanizing moments between the crooks (“Oh, Matches! You make me laugh like nobody else!”) in turn making the arrival of B@man and the violence he deals out a stronger punchline. Further emphasized by the hero calling out the exact physical damage he does with each hit before warning them to never do crime again saying, “Support your families like the rest of us! Be born billionaires!” Later in the song his techniques get more extreme and violence more indiscriminate, as he uses his Bat-plane to patrol and gun down whoever he sees as a criminal, including a storeowner accidentally taking a single dollar from his own register. (“God’s not up here! Only Batman!”)

A commonality between these two openings is how Commissioner Jim Gordon gets portrayed. Both are hapless goofs at their core, playing more on the portrayal of the character in the 60s TV show and 90s Burton/Schumacher movies than the serious-minded character present in comics, Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, and other adaptations. Lauren Lopez’s portrayal in Holy Musical gets overwhelmed by everything thrown at him, eventually giving up and getting out of B@man’s way (“I’m not gonna tell Batman what to do! He’s Batman!”) Hector Elizondo’s Gordon in Lego Batman clearly reached the “stay out of Batman’s way” point a long time ago, happy to have “the guy who flips on the Bat-signal” be his sole defining trait. While the characterizations are close, their roles do end up differing. Lopez’s Gordon sticks around to have a few more comedic scenes as the play goes on, where Elizondo’s exist to set up a contrast with his daughter Barbara and her way of approaching Batman when she becomes Police Commissioner.

These opening sequences both end in similar manners as well; the citizens of Gotham lavishing praise on their respective Batmen and a confrontation between Batman and the Joker. Praise from the citizenry in Holy Musical comes on the heels of a letter from B@man read out on the news about how much they and the city of Gotham suck. They praise B@man for his angsty nature as a “dark hero” and how they “wouldn’t want him any other way!”, establishing the motif of Gotham’s citizens in Holy Musical as stand-ins for the Batman fandom. Lego Batman uses the praise of the Gotham citizens after Batman’s victory in the opening scene as a lead in to contrast their certainty that Batman must have an exciting private life with the reality we’re shown. Which makes sense since Lego-Batman’s relationship to the people of Gotham is never presented as something at stake.

Greater contrast comes in how the confrontations with the Joker are handled, Lego Batman has an argument between the hero and villain that’s intentionally coded as relationship drama, Batman saying “There is no ‘us’” when Joker declares himself Batman’s greatest enemy. The confrontation in Holy Musical gets purposefully underplayed as an offstage encounter narrated to the audience as a Vicki Vale news report. This takes Joker off the board for the rest of the play in contrast to the Batman/Joker relationship drama that forms one of Lego Batman’s key pillars. While they take different forms, the respective citizenry praise and villain confrontation parts of these openings lead directly into the number one common thematic element between these Bat-parodies: Batman’s loneliness.

One is the Darkest, Saddest, Loneliest Number

Batman as an isolated hero forms one of the core tenants of the most popular understanding of the character. Each of these parodies picks at that beyond the broody posturing. There’s no dedicated segment in this piece about how these works’ versions of the title character function bleeds into every other aspect of them, but each starts from the idea of Batman as a man-child with trouble communicating his emotions. Time’s taken to give the audience a view of where their attitudes have left them early in the story.

Both heroes show their loneliness through interactions with their respective Alfreds. Holy Musical has the stalwart butler, played by Chris Allen, try to comfort B@man by asking if he has any friends he enjoys being around. When B@man cites Lucius Fox as a friend he calls him right away, only to discover Lucius Fox is Alfred’s true identity and Alfred Pennyworth was an elaborate ruse he came up with to protect Bruce on his father’s wishes. Ironically, finding out his closest friend was living a double life causes Bruce to push Alfred away (the play keeps referring to him as Alfred after this, so that’s what I’m going to do as well.) After he’s fired he immediately comes back in a new disguise as “O’Malley the Irish Butler” (same outfit he wore before but with a Party City Leprechaun hat.) That’s unfortunately the start of a running gag in Holy Musical that ends up at the worst joke in the play, when Alfred disguises himself as “Quon Li the Chinese Butler” doing an incredibly cringeworthy “substituting L’s for R’s” bit with his voice. It’s been my least favorite bit in the play since I first saw it in 2012 and legitimately makes me hesitate at times to recommend it. Even if it’s relatively small bit and the rest holds ups.

That disclaimer out of the way, that conversation between B@man and Alfred leads into the title hero reflecting on his sadness through the musical’s I Want Song, “Dark, Sad, Lonely Knight.” The song’s split into two halves, the first Alfred reflecting on whether he played a part in Bruce’s current condition and the second B@man longing for a connection. The song does a good job balancing between the sincerity over the hero’s sadness and getting good laughs out of it:

“Think of the children Next time you gun down the mama and papa Their only mama and papa Because they probably don’t have another mama and papa!”

The “I Want” portion of the song coming in the end with the repetition of the lryics “I want to be somebody’s buddy.”

Rather than another song number, Lego Batman covers Batman’s sadness through a pair of montages and visual humor. The first comes after the opening battle, where we see Batman taking off all his costume except for the mask hanging out alone in Wayne Manor, showing how little separation he puts between identities. Compared to Holy Musical where the equivalent scene is the first we see of Bruce without the mask on, which may come down to practicality since anyone who’s worn a mask like that knows they get hot and sweaty fast. Batman is constantly made to appear small among the giant empty rooms of his estate as he eats dinner, jams on his guitar, and watches romantic movies alone.

Ralph Fienne’s Alfred coming in at the end of this sequence witnessing Batman looking at a photo of himself as a boy with his parents for the last time. Alfred outlines Batman’s fear of being part of a family again only to be met with Batman denying he has any feelings ever. Pennyworth’s role as a surrogate father gets put into greater focus here than in Holy Musical, as we get glimpses of Alfred reading a book titled “How to Deal with Your Out-of-Control Child.” Also shown in smaller scenes of Alfred dealing with Batman’s insistent terminology for his crime fighting equipment, like calling his cowl an “armored face disguise.”

Batman’s denial of his pain contrasts how B@man wallows in it. Though he’s forced to confront it a little as the Joker’s plan ends up leaving him with no crimefighting to fall back on to ignore his issues. This montage gets set to the song “One” by Harry Nilsson and details Batman, unable to express his true feelings, eventually letting them out in the form of tempter tantrums. There’s also some humor through juxtaposition as Batman walks solemnly through the streets of Gotham City, rendered black and white, as the citizens chant “No more crime!” in celebration, while flipping over cars and firing guns into the air.

A disruption to their loneliness eventually comes in the form of a sensational character find.

Robin – The Son/BFF Wonder

Between both Bat-parodies, the two Robins’ characterizations are as close as anyone’s between them. Each is nominally Dick Grayson but are ultimately more representative of the idea of Robin as the original superhero sidekick and his influence on Batman’s life. The play and movie also both make the obvious jokes about Dick’s name and the classic Robin costume’s lack of pants at different points. Dick’s origin also gets sidestepped in each version to skip ahead to the part where he starts being an influence in Batman’s life.

Robin’s introduction to the comics in Detective Comics #38 in 1940, marking the start of Batman’s literal “Year Two” as a character, predating the introduction of Joker, Catwoman, and Alfred, among others. Making him Batman’s longest lasting ally in the character’s history. His presence and acrobatics shift the tone by adding a dash of swashbuckling to Batman’s adventures, inspired by the character’s namesake Robin Hood, though both parodies take a page out of Batman Forever and associate the name with the bird for the sake of a joke. Robin is as core to Batman as his origin, but more self-serious adaptations (i.e., the mainstream cinematic ones that were happening around the times both Holy Musical and Lego Batman came out) tend to avoid the character’s inclusion. These two works being parody, therefore anything but self-serious, give themselves permission to examine why Robin matters and how different characters react to his presence. Rejection of Robin as a character and concept comes out in some form in each of these works, from Batman himself in Lego Batman and the Gotham citizens in Holy Musical.

The chain of events that lead to Dick becoming Robin in Lego Batman are a string of consequences for Batman’s self-absorption. A scene of Bruce barely listening as Dick asks for advice on getting adopted escalating to absentmindedly signing the adoption paperwork. Batman doesn’t realize he has a son until after his sadness montage. Alfred forces Batman to start interacting with Dick against his will. The broody loner wanting nothing to do with the cheery kid, played to “golly gee gosh” perfection by Michael Cera, until he sees the utility of him. Batman doesn’t even have the idea to give Robin a costume or codename because he clearly views the sidekick’s presence as a temporary measure for breaking into Superman’s fortress, made clear by how he lists “expendable” as a quality Dick needs if he wants to go on a mission.

This makes Robin the catalyst for Batman’s shifting perspective throughout Lego Batman. When Robin succeeds in his first mission, the Dark Knight is hesitant to truly compliment him and chalks up his ward’s feats to “unbelievable obeying.” Other moments have Robin’s presence poke holes in Batman’s tough guy demeanor, like the first time Batman and Robin ride in the Bat-mobile together, Robin asks where the seatbelts are and Batman growls “Life doesn’t give you seatbelts!”, only for Batman to make a sudden stop causing Robin to hit his head on the windshield and Batman genuinely apologizes. They share more genuine moments together as the film goes, like Batman suggesting they beatbox together to keeps their spirits up after they’ve been imprisoned for breaking into Arkham Asylum. Robin’s representative of Batman gradually letting people in throughout these moments.

On the exact opposite end of the spectrum, B@man needs zero extra prompting to let Robin into his life. Nick Lang’s Robin (henceforth called “Rob!n” to keep with this arbitrary naming scheme I’ve concocted) does get brought into his life by Alfred thanks to a personal ad (“‘Dog for sale’? No… ‘Orphan for sale’! Even better!”) but it’s a short path to B@man deciding to let Dick fight alongside him. The briefest hesitance on the hero’s part, “To be Batman… is to be alone”, is quelled by Rob!n saying “We could be alone… together.” Their first scene together quickly establishing the absurd sincerity exemplified by this incarnation of the Dynamic Duo. An energy carried directly into the Act 1 closing number, “The Dynamic Duet”, a joyful ode between the heroes about how they’re “Long lost brothers who found each other” sung as they beat up supervillains (and the occasional random civilian.)

That song also ties into the contrast between the Batman/Robin dynamic and the B@man/Rob!n one. While Holy Musical is portraying a brotherly/BFF bond between the two heroes, Lego Batman leans into the surrogate son angle. While both are mainly about their stories’ Batman being able to connect with others, the son angle of Lego Batman adds an additional layer of “Batman needs to take responsibility for himself and others” and a parallel to Alfred as Batman’s own surrogate father. It also adds to the queer-coding of Batman in Lego Batman as Batman’s excuse to Robin for why he can go on missions is that Bruce and he are sharing custody, Robin even calling Batman’s dual identities “dads” before he knows the truth.

In the absence of the accepting personal responsibility through fatherhood element, the conflict Rob!n brings out in Holy Musical forms between B@man and the citizens of Gotham. “Citizens as stand-ins for fandom” is at it’s clearest here as the Act 2 opener is called “Robin Sucks!” featuring the citizens singing about how… well, you read the title. Their objections to Rob!n’s existence has nothing to do with what the young hero has done or failed to do, but come from arguments purely about the aesthetic of Rob!n fighting alongside B@man. Most blatantly shown by one of the citizens wearing a Heath Ledger Joker t-shirt saying Rob!n’s presence “ruins the gritty realism of a man who fights crime dressed as a bat.” It works as the Act 2 opener by establishing that B@man and the citizens conflicting opinions on his sidekick end up driving that half of the story, exemplified in B@man’s complete confusion about why people hate Rob!n (“Robin ruined Batman? But that’s not true… Robin make Batman happy.”)

Both Robins play into the internal conflict their respective mentors are going through, but what would a superhero story, even a parody, be without some colorful characters to provide that sweet external conflict.

Going Rogue

Both works have the threat comes from an army of villains assembled under a ringleader, Zach Galifianakis’s Joker in Lego Batman and Jeff Blim as Sweet Tooth in Holy Musical. Both lead the full ensemble of Batman’s classic (and not so classic) Rogues at different points. As mentioned before Joker starts Lego Batman with “assemble the Rogues, blow up Gotham” as his plan, while Sweet Tooth with his candy prop comedy becoming the ringleader of Gotham’s villains is a key turning point in Act 1 of the play. Part of this comes down to how their connections to their respective heroes and environments are framed, Sweet Tooth as a new player on the scene and Joker as Batman’s romantic foil.

Lego Batman demonstrates Batman and Joker are on “finishing each other’s sentences” levels of intimate that Batman refuses to acknowledge. Shown best in how Joker’s plan only works because he can predict exactly how Batman will act once he starts playing hard to get. When he surrenders the entire Rogues Gallery (without telling them) and himself to police custody, he describes it as him being “off the market.” He knows Batman won’t settle for things ending on these terms and tricks the hero into stealing Superman’s Phantom Zone projector so he can recruit a new, better team of villains for a take two of his masterplan from the start. Going through all this trouble to get Batman to say those three magic words; “I love hate you.” Joker as the significant other wanting his partner to finally reciprocate his feelings and commit works both as a play on how the Batman/Joker relationship often gets approached and an extension of the central theme. Batman is so closed off to interpersonal connections he can’t even properly hate his villains.

Sweet Tooth, while clearly being a riff Heath Ledger and Caesar Romero’s Jokers fused with a dash of Willy Wonka, doesn’t have that kind of connection with B@man. Though there are hints that B@man and his recently deceased Joker may have had one on that level. He laments “[Joker]’s in heaven with mom and dad. Making them laugh, I know it!” when recalling how the Clown Prince of Crime was the one person he enjoyed being around. This makes Joker’s death one of the key triggers to B@man reflecting on his solitude at the start of the play.

What Sweet Tooth provides the story is a threat to B@man’s new bond with Rob!n. Disrupting that connection forms the delicious center of the Candy King of Crime’s plan in Act 2. He holds Rob!n and Gotham’s people hostage and asks the citizens to decide via Facebook poll if the sidekick lives or dies (in reference to the infamous phone hotline vote from the comic book story A Death in the Family where readers could decide the Jason Todd Robin’s fate.)

With the rest of the villains under the leadership of the respective works’ main antagonists, there’s commentary on their perceived quality as threats. When Holy Musical has Superman talking to Green Lantern about how much B@man’s popularity frustrates him, he comes down especially hard on the Caped Crusader’s villains. Talking about how they all coast by on simple gimmicks with especially harsh attention given to Two Face’s being “the number two.” Saying they’re only famous because B@man screws up and they get to do more damage. Which he compares to his own relationship with his villains:

Superman: You ever heard of Mr. Mxyzptlk? Green Lantern: No. Superman: No, that’s right! That’s because I do my job!

Lego Batman has commentary on the other villains come from Joker, recognizing that even all together they can never beat Batman, because that’s how a Batman story goes. The other villains get portrayed as generally buffoonish, struggling to even build a couch together and described by Joker as “losers dressed in cosplay.” Tricking Batman into sending him to the Phantom Zone provides him the opportunity to gather villains from outside Batman’s mythos and outside DC Comics in general. Recruiting the likes of Sauron, King Kong, Daleks, Agent Smith from The Matrix, and the Wicked Witch of the West, among others. When I first saw and reviewed The Lego Batman Movie, this bugged me because it felt like a missed opportunity to feature lesser-known villains from other DC heroes’ Rogues Galleries. Now, considering the whole movie as meta-commentary on the status of this Batman as a children’s toy, it makes perfect sense that Joker would need to go outside of comics to break the rules of a typical Batman story and have a shot at winning.

The Rogues of Holy Musical get slightly more of a chance to shine, if only because their song “Rogues are We” is one of the catchier tracks from the play. They’re all still more cameo than character when all’s said and done, but Sweet Tooth entering the picture is about him recognizing their potential to operate as a unit, takeover Gotham, and kill B@man. The candy-pun flinging villain wants all of them together, no matter their perceived quality.

Sweet Tooth: “We need every villain in Gotham. Cool themes, lame themes, themes that don’t match their powers, even the villains that take their names from public domain stories.” (Two Face’s “broke ass” still being the exception.)

Both Joker and Sweet Tooth provide extensions of the shared theme of Batman dealing with the new connections in his life, especially with regards to Robin. However, Robin isn’t the only other ally (or potential ally) these Dark Knights have on their side.

Super Friends(?)

The internal crisis of these Caped Crusaders come as much from how they react to other heroic figures as it does from supervillainous machinations. In both cases how Batman views and is viewed by fellow heroes gets centered on a specific figure, Superman in Holy Musical and Commissioner Barbara Gordon (later Batgirl) in Lego Batman. Each serves a vastly different purpose in the larger picture of their stories and relationship to their respective Batmen. Superman reflecting B@man’s loneliness and Barbara symbolizing a new path forward for Batman’s hero work.

Superman’s role in Holy Musical runs more parallel to Lego Batman’s Joker than Barbara. Brian Holden’s performance as the Man of Tomorrow plays into a projected confidence covering anxiety that nobody likes him. Besting the Bat-plane in a race during B@man’s Key to the City ceremony establishes a one upmanship between the two heroes, like Joker’s description of his relationship with Batman at the end of Lego Batman’s opening battle. Though instead of that romantically coded relationship from Lego Batman, this relationship is more connected to childish jealousy. (But if you do want to read the former into Holy Musical B@man, neither hero has an onstage relationship with any woman and part of their eventual fight consist of spanking each other.)

B@man and Superman’s first real interaction is arguing over who’s the cooler hero until it degrades into yelling “Fuck you!” at each other. B@man storming off in the aftermath of that gets topped off by Superman suggesting he should get the Key to the City instead, citing his strength and longer tenure as a hero (“The first hero, by the way”) as justifications. This only results in the Gotham citizens turning on him for suggesting their city’s hero is anything less than the best, which serves both as a Sam Raimi Spider-Man reference (“You mess with one of us! You mess with all of us!”) and another example of the citizens as stand-ins for fandom. Superman’s veil of cocksureness comes off quickly after that and stays off for the rest of the play. Starting with his conversation with Green Lantern where a civilian comes across them, but barely acts like Superman’s there.

One of the play’s running gags is Superman calling B@man’s number and leaving messages, showing a desperation to reach out and connect with his fellow hero despite initial smugness. Even before the first phone call scene, we see Superman joining B@man to sing “I want to be somebody’s buddy” during “Dark, Sad, Lonely Knight” hinting at what’s to come. The note it consistently comes back to is that Superman’s jealousy stems from Batman’s popularity over him. This is a complete flip of what Lego Batman does with the glimpse at a Batman/Superman dynamic we see when Batman goes to the Superman’s fortress to steal the Phantom Zone projector. The rivalry dynamic there exists solely in Batman’s head, Lego-Superman quickly saying “I would crush you” when Batman suggests the idea of them fighting. Superman’s status among the other DC heroes is also night and day between these works. Where Lego-Superman’s only scene in the movie shows him hosting the Justice League Anniversary Party and explaining he “forgot” to invite Batman, Superman in Holy Musical consistently lies about having friends over (“All night long I’m busy partying with my friends at the Fortress… of Solitude.”)

Superman’s relationship to B@man in Holy Musical develops into larger antagonism thanks to lack of communication with B@man brushing off Supes’ invitations to hang out and fight bad guys (“Where were you for the Solomon Grundy thing? Ended up smaller than I thought, just a couple of cool guys. Me and… Solomon Grundy.”) His own loneliness gets put into stronger focus when he sees the news of Rob!n’s debut as a crimefighter, which makes him reflect on how he misses having Krypto the Super-Dog around. (The explanation for why he doesn’t have his dog anymore is one of my favorite jokes in the play and I won’t ruin it here.)

Where Superman’s a reflection of B@man’s loneliness, Rosario Dawson as Barbara in Lego Batman is a confrontation of Batman’s go it alone attitude. Her job in the story is to be the one poking holes in the foundation of Batman as an idea, starting with her speech at Jim Gordon’s retirement banquet and her instatement as commissioner. She has a by-the-book outlook on crimefighting with the omnicompetence to back it up, thanks to her training at “Harvard for Police.” Babs sees Batman’s current way of operating as ineffectual and wants him to be an official agent of the law. An idea that dumps a bucket of cold water on Batman’s crush he developed immediately upon seeing her, though that never fully goes away.

Her main point is that Batman “karate chopping poor people” hasn’t made Gotham better in his 80 years of operating. A contrast to Holy Musical’s Jim Gordon announcing that B@man has brought Gotham’s crime rates to an all-time low (“Still the highest in the world, but we’re working on it.”) She wants to see a Batman willing to work with other people. A hope dashed constantly dealing with his childish stubbornness as he tries to foil Joker’s schemes on his own, culminating in her arresting Batman and Robin for breaking into Arkham to send Joker to the Phantom Zone.

Barbara’s role as the one bringing grown-up attitudes and reality into Batman’s world does leave her in the role of comedic straight woman. Humor in her scenes comes from how she reacts to everyone else’s absurdity rather than anything she does to be funny. This works for the role she plays in Lego Batman, since she’s not there to have an arc the way Superman does in Holy Musical. She’s another catalyst for Batman’s to start letting people in as another character he grows to care about. Which starts after she lets the Dynamic Duo out of prison to fight Joker’s new army of Phantom Zone villains on the condition that he plays it by her rules. Leading to a stronger bond between Batman, Robin, Alfred, and her as they start working together.

The two Batmen’s relationships to other heroes, their villains, Robin, and their own solitude each culminate in their own way as their stories reach their conclusions.

Dark Knights & Dawning Realizations

As everything comes down to the final showdowns in these Bat-parodies, the two Caped Crusaders each confront their failures to be there for others and allow themselves to be vulnerable to someone they’ve been antagonizing throughout the story. Each climax has all of Gotham threatened by a bomb and the main villains’ plans coming to fruition only to come undone.

Holy Musical has Sweet Tooth’s kidnapping of Rob!n and forcing Gotham to choose themselves or the sidekick they hate sends B@man into his most exaggerated state in the entire play. It’s the classic superhero movie climax conundrum, duty as a hero versus personal attachment. Alfred, having revealed himself as the “other butlers”, even lampshades how these stories usually go only for that possibility to get shot down by Bruce:

Alfred: A true hero, Master Wayne, finds a way to choose both. B@man: You’re right, Alfred. I know what I have to do… Fuck Gotham, I’m saving Robin!

B@man’s selfishness effectively makes him the real villain of Holy Musical’s second act. Lego Batman has shades of that aspect as well, where Batman gets sent to the Phantom Zone by Joker for his repeated refusal to acknowledge their relationship. Where the AI running the interdimensional prison, Phyllis voiced by Ellie Kemper, confronts him with the way he’s treated Robin, Alfred, Barbara, and even Joker:

Phyllis: You’re not a traditional bad guy, but you’re not exactly a good guy either. You even abandoned your friends. Batman: No! I was trying to protect them! Phyllis: By pushing them away? Batman: Well… yeah. Phyllis: Are they really the ones you’re protecting?

Batman watches what’s happening back in Gotham and sees Robin emulate his grim and gritty tendencies to save the day in his absence makes him desperately scream, “Don’t do what I would do!” It’s the universe rubbing what a jerk he’s been in his face. He’s forced to take a look at himself and make a change. B@man’s not made to do that kind of self-reflection until after he’s defeated Sweet Tooth but failed to stop the villain’s bomb. He’s ready to give up on Gotham forever and leave with Rob!n, until his sidekick pulls up Sweet Tooth’s poll and it shows the unanimous result in favor of saving the Boy Wonder. Despite everything they said at the start of Act 2, the people want to help their hero in return for all the times he helped them. All of them calling back to the Raimi Spider-Man reference from Act 1, “You mess with one of us. You mess with all of us.”

Both heroes’ chance at redemption and self-improvement comes from opening themselves up to the people they pushed out and dismissed earlier in their stories. Batman takes on the role he reduced the Commissioner down to at the beginning of the movie and flips on signals for Barbara, Alfred, and Robin to show how he’s truly prepared to work as a team, not just with his friends and family but with the villains of Gotham the Joker pushed aside as well. Teamwork makes the dream work and they’re all able to work together to get Joker’s army back into the Phantom Zone but like in Holy Musical they fail to stop the bomb threatening Gotham. Which he can only prevent from destroying the city by confessing his true feeling to Joker

Batman: If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have learned how connected I am with all of these people and you. So, if you help me save Gotham, you’ll help me save us. Joker: You just said “us?” Batman: Yeah, Batman and the Joker. So, what do you say? Joker: You had me at “shut up!”

The equivalent moment from Holy Musical comes from B@man needing to put aside his pride and encourage a disheartened Superman to save Gotham for him. This happens in the aftermath of a fight the two heroes had where Superman tried to stop B@man before he faced Sweet Tooth, B@man winning out through use of kryptonite. That fight doesn’t fit into any direct parallel with Lego Batman, but it is important context for how Superman’s feeling about B@man before Superman finally gets his long-awaited phone call from the Dark Knight. Also, the song accompanying the fight, “To Be a Man”, is one of the funniest scenes in the play. What this speech from B@man does is bring the idea of Holy Musical B@man as a commentary on fandom full circle:

B@man: I forgot what it means to be a superhero. But we’re really not that different, you and me, at our heart. I mean really all superheroes are pretty much the same… Something bad happened to us once when we were young, so we dedicated our whole lives to doing a little bit of good. That’s why we got into this crazy superhero business. Not to be the most popular, or even the most powerful. Because if that were the case, hell, you’d have the rest of us put out of a job!

This speech extends into an exchange between the heroes about how superheroes are cool, not despite anything superficially silly but because of it. Bringing it back to the “Robin Sucks!” theme that started Act 2, saying “Some people think Robin is stupid. But those people are pretentious douchebags. Because, literally, the only difference between Robin and me is our costumes.” The speech culminates in what I genuinely think is one of the best Batman lines ever written, as B@man’s final plea to Superman is “Where’s that man who’s faster than a gun?” calling back to the trauma that created Batman across all versions and what he can see in someone like Superman. So, B@man sacrificing his pride and fully trusting in another hero saves Gotham, the way Batman letting Joker know what their relationship means to him did in Lego Batman.

Each of these parodies ends by delivering a Batman willing to open himself up to a new team of heroes fighting at his side, the newly minted Bat-Family in Lego Batman and the league for justice known as the Super Friends in Holy Musical. Putting them side by side like this shows how creators don’t need the resources of a Hollywood studio to make something exactly as meaningful and how the best parodies come from love of the material no matter who’s behind them.

If you like what you’ve read here, please like/reblog or share elsewhere online, follow me on Twitter (@WC_WIT), and consider throwing some support my way at either Ko-Fi.com or Patreon.com at the extension “/witswriting”

#batman #holy musical b@man #the lego batman movie #wit's writing #movie review #misc writing #musicals #animation #starkid #team starkid #starkid productions #superhero movies #robin #joker #dc comics #comics #chris mckay #matt lang #nick lang #joe walker #will arnett #michael cera #superheroes #superhero animation

[r-misa]

THE MOON Meaning: Upright The Moon is connected to the unconscious of man, memory, intuition, fantasy, dream. Anyway it's not always a positive arcane: there are unacknowledged desires, traumas and anguished visions. The card indicates that we must trust forebodings and that we must use reflection. It can indicate secrets, regrets, meeting with people to the past, childhood friends or relatives who don't see seen for long time. The love is passionate; it also refers to home, family, relatives. The work indicates fight the dangers and persevere in the prefixed purpose; refers to creative professions. It can also represent a dreamer and imaginative person, but naive, lazy, with still some childish traits in the character.

Meaning: Reverse It means restlessness, depression, destructive emotions. The reality can take on false appearances. It indicates superficiality, illusions. Secrets can be disclosed. The love can be deception and betrayal; the relathion is confused. False promises and deceptions at work. It can also represent a moody person, a visionary and false friends.——————

Tim Drake-Jason Todd-Bruce Wayne-Damian Wayne-Barbara Gordon-  Stephanie Brown-Cassandra Cain- Dick Grayson-Kate Kane- Duke Thomas- Selina Kyle- Poison Ivy- Barry Allen- ——————

My English is very terrible, I’m so sorry!! If someone can help me I’ll be very grateful!

#bart allen #impulse #kid flash #DC Tarot #tarot cards #My Art

[dweemeister]

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

In American animation outside of Disney, no other studio inspires as much reverence as Warner Bros. The Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes shorts precipitated into worldwide recognition for those series’ stock characters. Despite this success, Warner Bros. did not release an animated feature until the musical Gay Purr-ee (1962), in association with United Productions of America (UPA). Animators at Warner Bros. from the 1930-1960s knew they were not making high art, nor were they pretending to. Warners, since the 1930s arguably the most financially stable of the major Hollywood studios, has historically seen little need to bankroll animated features. With that in mind, it might come as less of a shock that Warner Bros.’ first in-house animated feature is Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm’s Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Originally intended as a direct-to-home media release, Mask of the Phantasm – based on and made by the production team behind Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995) – transcends those modest intentions. It is among of the best superhero films ever made.

In the wake of Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), Batman: The Animated Series, unlike Burton’s efforts, affords time to characterize Bruce Wayne rather than surrendering ample screentime to thinly-written but scene-stealing villains. For that and many other reasons including the looming, vertical art deco-inspired production design of Gotham City; the distinctive and moodiness of its black paper backgrounds; and its balance of dark and lighter tones, BTAS remains a high-water mark among Batman fans – perhaps the best adaptation of the character there is. Mask of the Phantasm builds upon that foundation, in addition to crafting its own unique contribution within the DC Animated Universe (DCAU). As tired as origin stories are, Mask of the Phantasm is part-origin story for the Dark Knight – something largely avoided in BTAS – and somehow integrated here without distracting from the present-day scenes. Rarely is any Batman media a character study of Bruce Wayne, but Mask of the Phantasm proves itself a wonderful exception.

One evening, Batman/Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy) attempts to stop a gaggle of gangsters led by Chuckie Sol (Dick Miller) from laundering counterfeit money from a casino. Amid the scrum, Sol escapes from Batman, but immediately confronts a shadowy figure later known as the “Phantasm” in the parking garage – Sol dies in the confrontation. Batman receives the blame for the killing and the concurrent property destruction from Gotham City Councilman Arthur Reeves (Hart Bochner), who just so happened to be profiting from Sol’s racket. Across the film, Bruce reminisces about his courtship with Andrea Beaumont (Dana Delany), their breakup, and the lead-up to the creation of his Batman alter-ego. Juxtaposing Bruce’s past and present, we see how he channels his regrets and profound loss into being Batman. The past haunts him still, overhanging the high roofs of Wayne Manor and the ledges of Gotham’s skyscrapers. Back in the present day, the Phantasm has murdered another crime boss; a third murder involves the Joker (Mark Hamill), initiating an emotional dénouement that, because of the intricacies of motivation that the film develops, elevates the film beyond what might otherwise be sloppy storytelling.

The dramatis personae also includes crime boss Salvatore “The Wheezer” Valestra (Abe Vigoda); Andrea’s father, Carl Beaumont (Stacy Keach); the Wayne family butler, Alfred Pennyworth (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.); GCPD Commissioner James Gordon (Bob Hastings); and GCPD Det. Harvey Bullock (Robert Costanzo).

The screenplay by Alan Burnett (producer and writer on various DC Comics films and Hanna-Barbera productions), Paul Dini (head writer on BTAS and Superman: The Animated Series), Martin Pasko (a longtime DC Comics writer), and Michael Reaves (head writer on BTAS and 1994-1996’s Gargoyles) keep the film’s attention on Batman/Bruce Wayne, despite the introduction of various subplots and Joker – whose somewhat-questionable presence might seem to indicate a project going off the rails. Shadow of the Phantasm’s placement of flashbacks stems the awkwardness that Joker’s inclusion brings, assuring that the film stays grounded into Batman’s psychology. In past Bruce we see a charming young man with time, money, and looks to spare. His romantic side with Andrea is an element of his life, one that connects – inevitably, tangentially – to the trauma his parents’ murder. His most personal motivations – that which a younger Andrea could never see, and privy to only Alfred – are stuck in the past, circulating around that childhood loss.

The occasional reflections from Bruce Wayne on what his life has become make Mask of the Phantasm the most introspective piece within the BTAS continuity, freed from the constraints and expectations inherent of episodic television. No BTAS episode forces its eponymous character to confront himself to such extents. What Bruce Wayne and Batman have become in the present-day treads perilously close not to his style of vigilante corrective justice, but vengeance. The tragic paradox that lies at the heart of this tension is the soul of the Batman mythos. Anyone with the most basic understanding of who Bruce Wayne/Batman and the Joker are will at least have a glimmer of understanding of that paradox. This portrait of what Batman stands for is more maturely handled than any of the twentieth century live-action Batman films, and with less sensational filmmaking than Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder could produce. But with the film’s screenplay and Kevin Conroy’s iconic voice acting as the Caped Crusader, it becomes an inquest into Bruce Wayne’s tortured soul.

If Mask of the Phantasm ran longer than its seventy-eight-minute runtime, Andrea Beaumont, too, might also have received similar character development as Bruce Wayne here. Even within those seventy-eight minutes, Andrea – with a great assist from Dana Delany’s voice acting (Delany so impressed Bruce Timm here that she was given the role of Lois Lane in Superman: The Animated Series) – is a nevertheless fascinating character. In a cruel irony, her ultimate role in Mask of the Phantasm is to be an incidental mirror to the violence that occurs in this film. Her decision is not an imposition, whether conscious or unconscious, from someone else, but hers and hers alone.

In this drama fit for opera, this Batman occupies a world of operatic proportions. The background and character animation are not as pristine as the best examples of BTAS due to some scattered bits of animation outsourcing. The animation of BTAS might seem stiff and janky to modern viewers expecting Flash hand-drawn animation or hand-drawn/CGI hybrids. However, Mask of the Phantasm retains the gravity-defying art deco of the animated series that somehow does not clash with the ‘90s-influenced and futuristic elements it integrates. Its primary inspirations are of film noir and the Metropolis seen in the Fleischer Studios’ Superman series of short films (1941-1943). The black paper backgrounds provide Gotham’s street corners and rooftops a nocturnal menace, immersing the viewer into the city’s seediness.

Composer Shirley Walker (orchestrator on 1979’s The Black Stallion, conductor and orchestrator on 1989’s Batman) was one of the few women composers in Hollywood at the turn of the twentieth into the twenty-first century. A pianist (she played with the San Francisco Symphony as a soloist while still in high school) who studied music composition at San Francisco State University, Walker would later become one of the first female film score composers to receive a solo credit for composing the music in John Carpenter’s Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992). But it is her work in the DCAU that distinguishes her – of particular note is her arrangement of Danny Elfman’s theme to 1989’s Batman for BTAS and a wholly original main theme for Superman: The Animated Series. Though Walker could adjust her style to suit a more synthetic sound, she specialized in composing grand orchestral cues. That style was apparent in BTAS and is adapted here from the opening titles (the lyrics here are actually gibberish and are the names of Walker’s music department sung backwards). The foreboding brass and string unison lines seem to reverberate off the animation’s skyscraper-filled backgrounds. Numerous passages in Walker’s score, as if taking hints from Richard Wagner, elect not to resolve to the tonic – setting up scenes where tension escalates alongside the music, forestalling the dramatic and musical release.

One stunning exception to Walker’s ominous, atmospheric score is the gentle cue “First Love”, an interplay between solo oboe and synthesizer. Bruce’s flashbacks are not only a balm to the grimness of his present situation, but a musical reprieve from the intensity of the action scoring. That Walker can navigate between such differing moods exemplifies her compositional dexterity and overall musical excellence. Walker, who cited Mask of the Phantasm as her personal favorite composition for any film or television production, was one of the DCAU’s greatest under-heralded contributors. And how I wish she was given more chances to score different sorts of films.

Warner Bros.’ last-minute reversal on Mask of the Phantasm’s release strategy – abandoning the direct-to-home media debut for a theatrical release – meant minimal marketing for a low-budget film that made barely a dent at the box office. The film’s home media release would more than make up for the film’s theatrical release failure. Upon the success of BTAS and the critical acclaim lavished on Mask of the Phantasm, Warner Bros. kept the DCAU on television for another thirteen years, with infrequent direct-to-home media movie releases as recent as 2019.

For numerous DC Comics fans, the DCAU is an aesthetic and narrative touchstone. The limited animation is sublime for this period in animation history. In addition, one will overhear fans remaking that a certain superhero’s definitive portrayal might be thanks to the DCAU. The superhero benefitting the most from the DCAU’s characterization and storytelling is unquestionably Batman. And justifiably so, as Mask of the Phantasm shows due respect for Batman and Bruce Wayne – what molded them and how each persona intertwines with the other. The mythos behind any superhero is found not in fight scenes. Instead, it resides in the psychology and rationalizations that forces a person to directly confront another’s wickedness. Mask of the Phantasm realizes that such confrontations test Batman/Bruce Wayne’s remaining vestiges of humanity, and braves to ask moral questions that too many figures of superhero media would rather not think about.

My rating: 8.5/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found in the “Ratings system” page on my blog (as of July 1, 2020, tumblr is not permitting certain posts with links to appear on tag pages, so I cannot provide the URL).

For more of my reviews tagged “My Movie Odyssey”, check out the tag of the same name on my blog.

#Batman #Batman: Mask of the Phantasm #Bruce Timm #Eric Radomski #DCAU #Kevin Conroy #Dana Delany #Hart Bochner #Stacy Keach #Abe Vigoda #Dick Miller #Efrem Zimbalist Jr. #Bob Hastings #Robert Costanzo #Mark Hamill #Shirley Walker #Glen Murakami #My Movie Odyssey

[mean-scarlet-deceiver]

just some further thoughts on the potential of a boco-comes-to-sodor fic (3/4)

Just general steam/diesel culture clash? Main Line Engines and Enterprising Engines do very much address that the Sodor engines are still quite unfamiliar with diesels and inclined to be, kind of, you know, dicks.

But apart from the existential crisis and bitter rivalry, I’m wondering if there are just cultural differences in general. Like, in the books, pretty consistently, diesels tend to be a little polite and a little formal (even when they’re being rude, they’re doing it in a sort of “civilized” way? Old Stuck Up: “It’s not your fault, of course...”) We totally see how Diesel’s “flattery” gets Duck’s dander up at once... and then Duck seems shocked when Diesel takes his own “rudeness” so poorly (‘uh, all I did was snap at you a bit, why are we now at war? get over it!’). Like, they almost seem to be speaking past each other when they first meet, and unable to understand why the other one would be seriously offended because they both think their own initial behavior is fine... There might be an overall thing where, on the whole, steam engines are more plain-speaking (and much more direct—both when they’re being insulting and when they’re being affectionate).

And there might be an overall thing, too, where diesels are more... thoughtful, and capable of a bit more reflection and planning. (Diesel was “devious” and stirred up a certain type of drama that hadn’t been seen at Tidmouth before. Daisy, I think, is implied to have lied about her fitter’s orders? And, apart from Donald and Douglas trying to escape from scrap, I can’t really recall steam engines ever bald-facedly lying to authority figures in RWS at least. Mavis was capable of conceiving and carrying out an—admittedly foolish—plan over the course of months and months, when tbh I see no hard evidence but to say that steam engines have an attention span of about... forty-eight hours, tops.*) With exactly one notable exception and shout-out here to Gordon, who did not let go of the “I will find a way to sneak out of Barrow all the way to London” plot for a goddamn month. I’ve said it before and I’ll pro’lly get to say it again: the 10% of the time that Gordon is not being an idiot, he’s waaaayyyyyyy too smart.

So, BoCo has much more experience with steam engines than the Sodor fleet has with diesels, but I still wonder if he experienced some overall culture shock, coming from an either mixed or diesel-dominated environment.

First, with how blunt the steam engines are. (Like, with his kind, you show that you care by holding back, and being tactful. With the steam engines, apparently saying “Oy, turkey! Your new funnel looks absurd!” is practically a love language, because it means that you notice.) And also with how rash/moody they are. (This might have a lot to do with a coal-burning fire... I think it’s safe to say that steam engines are probably the most emotional type of vehicle out there.)

I’m imagining this last aspect coming out especially with Edward? Who is more tactful than the others, but also just as emotionally transparent and maybe even a bit more so. And I can just see BoCo, living with him, baffled as he watches ‘the sensible one’ still cycle through hours of ‘fretfully and fussily questioning every order concerning his branch line during pre-dawn hours when fire is not yet strong’ to ‘vibrating with impatience while waiting to be cleared with first train of the day’ to ‘giddy childlike excitement while working at full steam’ to ‘pensive gentle reverie during breaks at low steam’ to ‘affectionately cheeking off crew because excuse me I need attention!’ to ‘moping because the big engines said something mean (because it’s, ummm, not like they’ve ever done that before)’ and at least six other “moods” every day and BoCo just being like... “mate, it is exhausting just to watch you.” And, too, I can totally see them good-naturedly teasing each other about these differences. These two both just are intrigued by the mutual culture shocks, though, and there’s no underlying malice. “Are you supposed to be seventy or seven?” “Oh well, dear Metrovick, some of us actually have emotions. I suppose you wouldn’t understand!”

One very specific example of how this dynamic—a more level-headed, emotionally even-keeled diesel among more volatile steam engines—might play out: So, at the beginning of each shift, when after the rather lengthy process of building up steam the engine’s boiler is at full pressure? But before they are allowed to actually move? Imagine that being just a period of time when the steam engines are... especially blunt and transparent, because they are just so bursting to get started that they can’t really, like, watch their words, or hold back, or lie. 

And now imagine BoCo playing a bit of “devious diesel” and cheekily taking advantage of this little window to ask questions that he knows otherwise wouldn’t get answered? 

This can range from, like, “So, Bill and Ben!... where have you hidden my favorite brakevan?” 

to 

(if stuck at Tidmouth for an especially unpleasant night, and then getting his revenge at dawn) 

“’Morning, James! So, tell us the truth, how do you really feel about Henry?... Interesting. That brings up an interesting point. Gordon, would you also describe Henry as ‘melodramatic’?”

*ten minutes later, with World War III brewing, innocent-faced* 

“Oh, sorry, everyone. I just asked all those questions for information.” 

#ttte #ttte analysis #ttte boco #ttte duck #ttte diesel #ttte daisy #ttte mavis #ttte edward #ttte james #ttte henry #ttte gordon #i am trying to trim down my drafts folder #... i had to go back to the third page before i re-discovered that this was a Thing That Already Existed #way to go Past Me #Present Me has been *procrastinating* on finishing this series but look! you had my back! <3 #i am imagining BoCo starting the Battle of Tidmouth pre-Bear #tbh Bear does seem several shades sweeter than BoCo #which is saying a LOT but BoCo has a tough shell #Bear's just like '! ! !' #'you can't DO that...' #BoCo (who came to Sodor a nervous wreck with 5% self-esteem but who has Gotten Better): pfffftttt #'watch me'

[homoerotickerfuffle]

Batman (1989) — 10/10

Well, this one is a particularly weird one! As far as actual homoeroticism goes, which is kinda my raison d’être, it’s some pretty slim pickings over here. Early in the movie, a young officer approaches Commissioner Gordon to discreetly inform him of a scene-in-progress, and the two share a hauntingly intimate moment, utterly radiating sexual tension. And... that’s basically it? I mean, I could hear an argument that Carl Grissom and Jack Napier might be down for a hate-fuck. I guess. But funny enough, this is one of the few iterations of Batman and The Joker that has not an ounce, not a shred, not a drop of sexual tension in their relationship, even in jest.

Honestly, TMI for my shitpost tumblr so sorry, but for me, Batman is really one of the few superheroes I connected with on any level deeper than “Ah, fun movie.” I was late boarding the Bat-train. I was fully an adult, having only just accepted myself as a gay man, still very closeted for very good reasons, and still trying to figure out how to function like a complete person without letting my worst experiences dictate the rest of my life. Having only been exposed to “The Dark Knight” in my teens and not much else Bat-media, I was surprised to find so much of myself and what I was going through reflected in a fictional character hiding behind a mask. But then, I guess the mask was really the point all along, huh? What does it say about you that the mask you wear is a better reflection of you than the face you see in the mirror?

What Tim Burton and Michael Keaton bring to the table is an element that a lot of the comics, though certainly not every iteration, dance all around to the point that it’s hard to miss — and for their part, and their respective talents, it’s an element that Nolan and Snyder just absolutely do not care about, and probably don’t much want attached to their takes on the character — and that’s that Bruce Wayne? Kind of a fuckin’ weirdo, man. I don’t mean brooding or moody. I mean a socially maladapted, self-sabotaging, and obsessive brand of weird. Christian Bale’s Batman ponders philosophically over every fall he takes, and how to get back up. Keaton’s Batman smirks to himself when a mugger hits him back. Bale’s Batman dresses like a bat so his enemies will share his dread. Keaton’s Batman dresses like a bat because it makes him seem less, or sometimes more than, human. Burton and Keaton connect to the character not as a lone wolf type, but as a weird misfit who once was ripped apart by the world, so now he struggles to bring those parts of himself back together again.

Bruce Wayne is a guy who spends his daylight hours pretending to be an oblivious party- and sex-animal to throw observers off his scent, and then spends his nights dressing in outlandish garb and a mask that reflects a deep, complex part of himself that he otherwise finds difficult to express. But yeah, wonder how a gay person could possibly relate to about that?!

So, yeah. From me, full marks. I’m stretching my own arbitrary rules here a bit, but this one means a lot to me.

Anyway, I hope Commissioner Gordon and that officer quit the force, ran off together, and built a quiet life for each other somewhere quaint, free from the many, many, many burdens of straight white men who play dress-up and actively refuse therapy.

#movie review #batman 1989 #Batman #tim burton #michael keaton #jack nicholson #the joker #gotham #got too sincere #sorry #i crave death #homoerotic kerfuffle

[60sgroove]

4, 15, 23, 24, 38. 💛

4. what are your favorite songs?

I really do not know my favorite songs of all time. I guess I know some of them actually or ones that always strike a chord w me so here are some: stairway to heaven - led zeppelin (basic ik), the last time i saw her - gordon lightfoot, andmoreagain - love, most tool songs (except from their last album), graveflower - acid bath, made of stone - the stone roses, most stevie nicks led songs from fleetwood mac, and silver raven - gene clark. there are so many more so this isn't rly accurate but!

15. what songs give you the most nostalgia?

this is a challenging question for me ngl. nostalgia is my favorite feeling and some songs make me feel nostalgic for reasons i can't completely explain. here are some songs that make me feel inexplicably nostalgic: rhiannon - fleetwood mac, clarice - america, love theme - the dark crystal soundtrack (this is from my childhood), ten years gone - led zeppelin, blue lamp - stevie nicks, forever autumn - the moody blues, still ill - the smiths, dust in the wind - kansas, in the wake of poseidon - king crimson

23. if you were to become a musician, what kind of musician would you be?

I have no idea. I like so many different genres but I probably would end up trying to recapture that sort of mystical yet familiar feeling that stevie nicks and fleetwood mac accomplished haha...prob would have a classic rock/folk style actually

24. if you could pick one instrument to learn how to play, what would it be?

i would be happy learning to play any instrument, but guitar, piano, violin, or the clarinet all seem really cool!

38. which songs do you think have the best lyrics?

i rly don't pay much attention to lyrics and if i do, they are from specific bands bc i just like their lyrics so much. reflection by tool has some of my favorite lyrics just bc i have internalized them i guess? here are some of my fav lyrics from that song:

And in my darkest moment, fetal and weeping The moon tells me a secret, my confidant As full and bright as I am This light is not my own and A million light reflections pass over me

Its source is bright and endless She resuscitates the hopeless Without her, we are lifeless satellites drifting

And as I pull my head out I am without one doubt Don't want to be down here soothing my narcissism I must crucify the ego before it's far too late I pray the light lifts me out Before I pine away

#tysm dear <3!!! #replies #these were all such good questions i guess i wasn't prepared to answer some of them omg like i just wasn't completely sure #hofnerviolinbass

[scrollofthoth]

Emergent Magick: Bibliography

Abraham, Georg Dehn, and Steven Guth. The Book of Abramelin a New Translation. Lake Worth, FL: Ibis Press, 2015.

Bertiaux, Michael. Voudon Gnostic Workbook. New York: Magickal Childe, 1988.  

Betz, Hans Dieter. The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation: Including the Demotic Spells. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.

Blackmore, Susan J. Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford, UK: Oxford UP, 2005.  

Briggs, John, and F. David Peat. Seven Life Lessons of Chaos: Timeless Wisdom from the Science of Change. New York: Harper-Collins Publishers, 1999.  

Buckland, Raymond. Bucklands Complete Book of Witchcraft. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2011.

Carroll, Peter J. Apophenion: A Chaos Magic Paradigm. Oxford: Mandrake and Peter J. Carroll, 2008.  

Carroll, Peter J. Liber Kaos. York Beach, Me.: S. Weiser, 1992.  

Carroll, Peter J. Liber Null & Psychonaut. York Beach, Me.: S. Weiser, 1987.  

Carroll, Peter J. PsyberMagick: Advanced Ideas in Chaos Magic. Tempe, AZ: New Falcon Publications, 1997.  

Cornelius, Agrippa Von Nettesheim Heinrich, Donald Tyson, and James Freake. Three Books of Occult Philosophy. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2017.

Crowley, Aleister, and Israel Regardie. Gems from the Equinox. Scottsdale, AZ: Falcon Press, 1992.

Crowley, Aleister, and Paul Roland. Diary of a Drug Fiend: And Other Works. London: Sirius, 2018.

Crowley, Aleister. Magick in Theory and Practice. New York: Dover Publications, 1976.  

Davis, Wade. Shadows in the Sun: Essays on the Spirit of Place. Edmonton: Lone Pine Pub., 1992.

Davis, Wade. One River: Two Generations of Scientific Adventurers in the Amazon Rain Forest. London: Simon & Schuster, 1997.

Davis, Wade. Vanishing Cultures. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2007.

Davis, Wade. The Serpent and the Rainbow. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2008.

Dee, Steve, and Vayne, Julian. Chaos Craft: The Wheel of the Year in Eight Colours. England: The Universe Machine. 2016.  

Deren, Maya. Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti. New Paltz, NY: McPherson, 2004.

DuQuette, Lon Milo. Homemade Magick: The Musings & Mischief of a Do-it-yourself Magus. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2014.  

DuQuette, Lon Milo. Low Magick: It's All In Your Head ... You Just Have No Idea How Big Your Head Is. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2010.  

DuQuette, Lon Milo. My Life With the Spirits: The Adventures of a Modern Magician. Newburyport, MA: Red Wheel/Weiser, 1999.  

Eliade, Mircea, and Willard R. Trask. Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. New York: Bollingen Foundation; Distributed by Pantheon, 1964.  

Farrar, Janet, Stewart Farrar, Janet Farrar, and Janet Farrar. A Witches Bible: The Complete Witches Handbook. Custer, WA: Phoenix, 1996.

Faulkner, Raymond O. The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts. Stilwell, Kan.: Digireads.com Pub., 2007.

Faulkner, Raymond O., and Ogden Goelet. The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of Going Forth by Day. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2015.

Frazer, James George. The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion. UK: Macmillan and Co. 1890.  

Frisvold, Nicholaj De Mattos, Ọlàyínkà Babatúndẹ́ Ògúnṣínà Adéwuyi, and Childerico. Ifa: A Forest of Mystery. Bucknell: Scarlet Imprint, 2016.

Frisvold, Nicholaj De Mattos, and Peter Grey. Palo Mayombe: The Garden of Blood & Bones. Dover: Bibliothèque Rouge/Scarlet Imprint, 2011.  

Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York, NY, U.S.A.: Viking, 1987.  

Gleick, James. The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood. New York: Pantheon, 2011.  

Grey, Peter. Apocalyptic Witchcraft. London, England: Bibliothèque Rouge/Scarlet Imprint, 2013.  

Grey, Peter. The Red Goddess. London, England: Bibliothèque Rouge/Scarlet Imprint, 2011. 

Hagan, John C., and Raymond A. Moody. The Science of Near-death Experiences. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2017.

Hancock, Graham, and Santha Faiia. Underworld: The Mysterious Origins of Civilization. Toronto: Anchor Canada, 2003.

Hancock, Graham. Magicians of the Gods: The Forgotten Wisdom of Earths Lost Civilization. London: Coronet, 2016.

Harari, Yuval N. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. New York: Harper, 2015.  

Hine, Phil, and Peter J. Carroll. Condensed Chaos: An Introduction to Chaos Magic. Tempe, AZ: Original Falcon Press, 2010.

Hofmann, Albert. LSD: My Problem Child. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.

Hutton, Ronald. The Shamans of Siberia. Glastonbury, England: Isle of Avalon Press, 1993.

Hutton, Ronald. The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient times to Present. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2017.

Kraig, Donald Michael. Modern Magick: Eleven Lessons in the High Magickal Arts. MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2002.  

Lanza, R., Berman, B., & McKnight, A. (2009). Biocentrism: How Life and Consciousness Are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe. Dallas, Tex: BenBella.  

Leitch, Aaron. The Essential Enochian Grimoire: An Introduction to Angel Magick from Dr. John Dee to the Golden Dawn. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2014.

Lynch, David. Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2007.

McKenna, Terence K. The Archaic Revival: Speculations on Psychedelic Mushrooms, the Amazon, Virtual Reality, UFOs, Evolution, Shamanism, the Rebirth of the Goddess, and the End of History. San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco, 1992.

McKenna, T. K. (1999). Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge: a Radical History of Plants, Drugs and Human Evolution. London: Rider.

Noë, Alva. Out of Our Heads: Why You Are Not Your Brain, and Other Lessons from the Biology of Consciousness. New York: Hill and Wang, 2009.  

Parsons, Jack, Cameron, and Hymenaeus Beta. Freedom Is a Two-edged Sword and Other Essays. Tempe, AZ: New Falcon Publications, 2001.

Peat, F. David. Blackfoot Physics: A Journey into the Native American Universe. Boston, MA: Weiser, 2005.  

Peat, F. David. Synchronicity: The Bridge between Matter and Mind. Toronto: Bantam, 1987.  

Pollan, Michael. How to Change Your Mind: The New Science of Psychedelics. London: Allan Lane, 2018.  

Radin, Dean. The Conscious Universe: The Scientific Truth of Psychic Phenomena. New York: HarperOne, 2009.

Radin, Dean. Real Magic: Unlocking Your Natural Psychic Abilities to Create Everyday Miracles. Potter/TenSpeed/Harmony, 2018.

Regardie, Israel. The Golden Dawn: An Account of the Teachings, Rites and Ceremonies of the Order of the Golden Dawn. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1982.

Sheldrake, Rupert. Freeing the Spirit of Enquiry. London: Coronet, 2013.

Spare, Austin Osman. The Writings of Austin Osman Spare. United States: Filiquarian Publ., 2007.

Stratton-Kent, Jake. Encyclopaedia Goetica. Dover: Scarlet Imprint/Bibliothèque Rouge, 2010.

Stratton-Kent, Jake. Geosophia: The Argo of Magic: From the Greeks to the Grimoires. Dover: Scarlet Imprint/Bibliothèque Rouge, 2010.

Stratton-Kent, Jake. Testament of Cyprian the Mage. Place of Publication Not Identified: Scarlet Imprint, 2014.

Vayne, Julian, and Wyrd, Nikki. The Book of Baphomet. South Cockerington, England: Mandrake, 2012.

Whitcomb, Bill. The Magicians Companion: A Practical & Encyclopedic Guide to Magical & Religious Symbolism. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2007.

Whitcomb, Bill. The Magicians Reflection: A Complete Guide to Creating Personal Magical Symbols & Systems. Stafford: Megalithica Books, 2008.

White, Gordon. The Chaos Protocols: Magical Techniques for Navigating the New Economic Reality. Woodbury: Llewellyn Publications, 2016. Print

White, Gordon. Pieces of Eight: Chaos Magic Essays and Enchantments. Kindle Edition: Self Published, 2016. Electronic Only

White, Gordon. Star.Ships: A Prehistory of the Spirits. London, England: Bibliothèque Rouge/Scarlet Imprint, 2016.  

 Websites

American Folkloric Witchcraft: http://afwcraft.blogspot.com/

Chaos Matrix: https://www.chaosmatrix.org/

Hermetic Library: https://hermetic.com/

Internet Sacred Texts Archive: https://www.sacred-texts.com/

 Podcasts

Runesoup

Occult of Personality

Scroll of Thoth – The Podcast of Emergent Magick

#magick #emergent magick