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Film Review - Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham
Our look into films released in 2023 now moves from DC’s live-action theatrical releases to those created for the home-release animation market, as we check out the Elseworlds-based Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham…
Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):
In the 1920s, Bruce Wayne travels abroad for twenty years following the murder of his parents Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne, searching for answers behind the criminal mind. While investigating the disappearance of Oswald Cobblepot's expedition crew, Bruce subdues an undead crewman, Grendon, who was freeing an otherworldly creature encased in ice. Bruce, his protégés Kai Li Cain, Dick Grayson, Sanjay "Jay" Tawde, and butler Alfred Pennyworth retrieve Grendon and return to Gotham City, unaware that Grendon was infected with one of the entity's parasites, with Jay staying on the ship to watch over him.
Arriving at Wayne Manor, Bruce and his group are shocked to find the corpse of professor Kirk Langstrom in the library, as Bruce hallucinates a demon speaking through it with Langstrom's voice. After he disposes of Langstrom's corpse, Bruce is visited by Jason Blood, the host of the demon Etrigan, who informs Bruce of a ritual which must be performed with his death, and the destruction of Gotham.
Bruce, Kai Li, and Dick are later invited for dinner at hunter Oliver Queen's mansion. They also meet Harvey Dent, who tells them about Langstrom's obsession with the bats he had been studying. Donning a bat-themed suit of his making, Bruce (under the alias of Batman) investigates Langstrom's work at Robin's Row, which is related to the Cult of Ghul, a group who worship an ancient demonic deity, with the Testament of Ghul being the tool required for the ritual. Seeking the Testament, he stumbles upon cult member Talia, who steals it to resurrect her father Ra's al Ghul.
Meanwhile, Grendon manifests ice abilities and escapes, killing Jay, while Dick is killed by a crocodilian mutant. While searching for Talia, Bruce discovers a book detailing Ra's's connection with Iog-Sotha, an inter-dimensional demon with power over darkness.
Grendon then meets with Talia and it is revealed that the key to Iog-Sotha is the seed that he was infected with. The seed emerges from his body, killing him in the process, to become Poison Ivy, who scratches Dent and mutates half of his body into a portal. Ivy and Oliver fight and kill each other, with the latter giving his holy weapons to Bruce and Kai Li.
Bruce is met by Jim Gordon who tells him that his daughter Barbara wants to meet with him. Batman goes to Arkham Asylum to see her and meets Thomas Wayne's spirit, who reveals his past. Centuries ago, he, Cobblepot, Henry Queen and Langstrom’s father established Gotham City, discovered the Testament in a cave, and used its magic to bring health and prosperity to the previously barren land, gaining long life and wealth in the process. However, this also awoke Iog-Sotha and brought him to the threshold of their reality.
Bruce takes Oliver's weapons and the bottle housing Etrigan, bids farewell to Alfred, and leaves Kai Lai in charge of the Batcave, before leaving to fight Talia. He kills her but is unable to stop Ra's, who transforms into a demon. Bruce accepts his prophesized role as the Bat, transforms into a bat-like monster, and kills Ra's, but Iog-Sotha has begun to enter.
Seeing the bottle housing Etrigan, Bruce releases him and escapes the caverns as they explode, killing Dent, and Etrigan traps Iog-Sotha within them. Kai Li delivers a speech in Bruce's memory as he watches over Gotham from the bell tower.
Review:
My initial draw to this film was that the Blu-Ray extras for Batman: Gotham by Gaslight suggested the story was a kind of sequel to the Gotham by Gaslight narrative. Sadly, that’s not really the case; both are Elseworld productions set in eras that pre-date Batman’s debut as a comic-book character, each of which combines him with some other concept as well, but each is a separate story rather than being a shared continuity. Where Gotham by Gaslight gave us a Victorian-era Batman combatting Jack the Ripper, this story centres on an inter-war Batman of the late 1920’s trying to combat some kind of doom cult. The story combines Lovecraftian horror with the world of Batman in this 1920’s setting, which is fine if you enjoy horror as much as you do superhero lore.
Alas, I’m someone who only enjoys horror when it’s a sub-genre within superhero/science fiction stories, so when I see the two combined, I’m counting on the superhero element to remain more prominent. With this film, that element is relatively prominent in the early and middle areas of the film, but it goes too far into the realm of mysticism and Lovercraftian madness for me towards the end, or at least farther than I feel a character like Batman should go. In most iterations, including the initial parts of this film, Batman is staunchly anti-mysticism, always knowing that all things have rational explanations and never trusting anything even remotely mystic. Because of this, I’m not a fan of the idea that as the film progresses, we see this Batman abandoning that stance and actually embracing the mysticism he’s facing.
If this was an element inherent to the source material, then this is one of the few times where I could have done with an adaptation straying a bit. For me, this would have been better if had turned out the “outer god” was just Starro, the weird monsters were all just scientific mutations and only the Ghuls and Etrigan were in defiance of Batman’s analytical mind. As it is, it’s interesting to see this world to retain the idea of Batman’s apprentices but in a new way that only alternate universe storytelling allows for. We saw this in Gotham by Gaslight, where the first three Robins were all street thieves ultimately taken in by Bruce and Selina. In this film, we see Dick Grayson picked up in another part of the US, an Indian variant of Jason Todd and an English-sounding version of Cassandra Cain, one of Barbara Gordon’s successors as Batgirl in DC lore.
The film is well-cast and said cast performs well; some notable mentions among the voice actors include Trek alumni like Tim Russ, Jeffrey Combs and Brian George (Tuvok on Voyager is Russ’ main Trek credit, while Combs has played several key DS9 and Enterprise roles, while George once appeared as Dr Bashir’s father), as well as film actors like David Dastmalchian (appears in the Ant-Man trilogy for the MCU, James Gunn’s Suicide Squad film and Oppenheimer) and Navid Negahban (the Sultan in the 2019 live-action remake of Aladdin). Fans of Disney Channel sit-com Jessie may also find some familiarity in hearing the voice of Sanjay, the Indian variant of Jason Todd in this film, as Karan Brar who played Ravi on that show provides this particular voice. It’s also interesting to see how many Batman villains have apparently been combined with existing Lovecraftian monsters, suggesting some fans of HP Lovecraft may be among the various writers who have shaped the Batman rogues’ gallery down the years.
Overall, I think the film is interesting and well done for the most part, but for me the superhero element needed to gain the upper hand more towards the end and bring about a different conclusion. As such, I’m only inclined to hand down a 7 out of 10 for the film we got, and hope that any future Elseworld-based animated films do better at favouring the superhero over anything they’re being combined with.
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#ThePenguin El primer Spinnoff del DC Elseworlds, ya tiene avances, y se ven exageradamente prometedores.
#xarliclub #Series #DCElseworlds #Elsewords #MAX #HBOMax #WarnerBros #dccomics #DCcrime #ColinFarrell #CristinMilioti
#xarliclub#movies#films#cine#cinema#blog#reviews#peliculas#pelis#news#series#dc elseworlds#dc comics#dc crime#hbo max#max#warner bros
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Comic Report: Superman's War Of The Worlds Crossover
The Clutter Reports raids my other site for a Comic Report: Superman's War Of The Worlds Crossover
Today’s project is dusting and some mild reorganizing. Seeing as I haven’t had the most interesting article lately I wanted to make up for it with something worth reading. So here’s a review from my primary project, BW Media Spotlight, about one of my favorite Superman crossovers, a different take on the H.G. Wells classic. Enjoy.
The year was 1938, which would see the debut of two influences…
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#Clark Kent#comic review#crossover#Daily Star#DC Comics#Elseworlds#H.G. Wells#Lex Luthor#Lois Lane#Superman#War of the Worlds
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⚠️Quick Review!⚠️
BAT-MAN: FIRST KNIGHT #1
Dan Jurgens, Mike Perkins & Mike Spicer take us to an Elseworlds-style trip back to 1939 - the year Batman made his debut - for a noir pulp tale from DC’s mature readers Black Label imprint. Completely unlike any Dan Jurgens story you’ve read before, this all harks back to the Bat’s earliest days (and earliest costume!). And it’s all brought to you with style and grit by the two Mikes! This is one incredible looking book and, despite knowing how much work Mike Perkins has put into it, I’m really hoping we take more trips back here after First Knight is over!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5
Official synopsis:
“The year is 1939. The world, still reeling from the horrors of the First World War, is on the brink of tipping into an even more gruesome conflict, as fascism is on the march-and gathering strength in America’s darkest corners. Against this backdrop, a series of violent murders has begun in Gotham, and the recent emergence of the mysterious vigilante known as The Bat-Man has the power brokers of the city living in fear of institutional collapse. All of the evidence in the murder investigation defies logic: the perpetrators are all men who died in the electric chair. But when the Bat- Man comes face to face with one of these sickening anomalies, he barely escapes with his life-throwing into question his ability to survive in a world that is brutally evolving around him! Legendary writer Dan Jurgens and superstar artist Mike Perkins return to the earliest days of the Dark Knight, retelling one of his most infamous cases through an acutely modern lens, depicting a world paralyzed by anxiety and a desperate populace crying out for release!”
52 pages
Magazine format
DC Comics
2024
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The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Wednesday, May 22
BUFFY: At least let the other people go.
CHANTARELLE: Why are you fighting this? It's what we want!
DIEGO: It's our chance for immortality.
CHANTARELLE: This is a beautiful day. Can't you see that?
BUFFY: What I see is that, right after the sun goes down, Spike and all of his friends are going to be pigging out at the all-you-can-eat moron bar.
~~BtVS 2x07 “Lie To Me”~~
[Drabbles & Short Fiction]
The Wreckoning (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by maxineeden
Treasured (Buffy, Angel, PG) by badly_knitted
Hangover (Spike, Dawn, PG-13) by veronyxk84
MedWhump May 2024 Day 21: Exhaustion (Riley/Graham, G) by MadeInGold
The Other Way of Stopping (Angel/Darla, T) by Octavia_Octopus
Care & Feeding (Riley, Spike, G) by reader304
Not So Wrecked (Buffy/Tara, E) by RavenclawSlayer
Something Like What He Was (Xander, Buffy, Spike, G) by JayeMaru
Death, In Quiet Tread (Buffy/Spike, PG) by Desicat
[Chaptered Fiction]
Object of Affection, Chapter 4/? (Spike/Xander, E) by felixsfishnets
Elseworld Buffy - One Bad Night, Chapters 1-10/10 COMPLETE! (Buffy, Diagnosis Murder xover, M) by Owen
Responding to Intel, Chapter 9/9 COMPLETE! (Xander, multiple xovers, T) by arcanedreamer
In the Company of Witches and Slayers:, Chapter 43/200 (Willow/Tara, E) by VladimirHarkonnen (TheLightdancer)
Infinitely, Chapter 53/? (Willow/Tara, M) by Laragh
[French language] Recommencer, Chapter 13 (Buffy/Faith, M) by Friday Queen
[French language] Do as Romans do, Chapter 28 (Dawn/Spike, T) by OldGirl-NoraArlani
Return of the Hellmouth, Chapter 2 (Buffy, Giles, G) by WannabeWriter89
A Ripple In Time, Chapter 36 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by CheekyKitten
Something Lingers, Chapter 18 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by goodbyetoyou
Deliverance From Destiny, Chapter 8 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Ragini
East of Nevada, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, R) by Blissymbolics
See You Yesterday, Chapter 2 (Buffy/Spike, R) by all choseny
Written in the Stars, Chapter 9 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by RavenLove12
Love Lives Here, Chapter 66 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Passion4Spike
So It Goes..., Chapter 6 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by scratchmeout
Trick AND Treat, Chapter 5 COMPLETE! (Xander, Supernatural xover, FR15) by Lostmind
Old Fashioned Romance, Chapter 10 (Xander/Steve Rogers, Marvel xover, FR21) by calikocat
Blood and dust, Chapter 12 (Buffy/Spike, 18+) by Blackoberst
The Kitten That Killed Slayers, Chapters 15-17 COMPLETE! (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by Desicat
Bruises, Chapter 2 (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only) by hulettwyo
What the Drabble? Vol. 2, Chapter 27 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by VeroNyxK84
See You Yesterday, Chapter 2 (Buffy/Spike, R) by all choseny
Love Lives Here, Chapter 66 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Passion4Spike
So It Goes..., Chapter 6 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by scratchmeout
[Images, Audio & Video]
Artwork: some old lilah art (worksafe) by genericaces
Icons: Buffy Summers — Buffy the Vampire Slayer, S02E01 (1998) (worksafe) by slashericons
Comic: drusilla turning william (worksafe) by spikedru
Artwork: [Coffy drawing] (Buffy/Cordelia, worksafe) by spikes-left-eyebrow
Artwork: Late night what-if Discord spuffy server shenans (Spike, worksafe) by isevery0nehereverystoned
Video: buffy & angel | espresso by lostlcve
Manip: Chasing Away Insanity (Buffy/Spike, G) by honeygirl51885
Artwork: ChiBangel: Enemies (Buffy/Angel, G) by MamaBewear
[Reviews & Recaps]
Buffy vs Dracula by buffster
Mothman’s Buffy Rewatch, Season 3, episode 6, “Band Candy” by mothmans-wedding-photographer
Just finished “Lies My Parents Told Me” and woof, that was rough by nicnacsnonsense
3x10 'Amends' and the joys of being blindsided by jm_leviathan
Buffy The Vampire Slayer ruined television for me by Cailly_Brard7
[Recs & In Search Of]
Recco/Reposts itmustbetuesday recced by teragramm
[ask by fezwearingjellybananas] In This House We Are Home recced by kitkatt0430
One of the fun bits of In the Company of Witches and Slayers as an AU recced by lightdancer1
ISO: Any good discords for fanfiction writers on btvs and angel requested by Sharp-Rest1014
[Fandom Discussions]
I think it’s a shame that we never had any sort of flashback to or mention of the Slayer immediately before Buffy on the show by coraniaid
I think a lot of btvs fans dismiss the degree to which Xander and Faith genuinely did have a connection by turing-complete-mammal
SlayerFest ‘98… another amazing concept by reality-schmality
[ask by badwolfwho1] Top 5 episodes in which Kendra should've been mentioned in? answered by coraniaid
It’s weird that none of the Potentials that come to Buffy’s house in s7 have their Watcher with them by nicnacsnonsense
[About the activation of all the Potentials in S7] by nicnacsnonsense
With every rewatch of this show, and every year that passes, I grow more feral and protective of [Faith] by takaraphoenix
The thing with Dawn’s peanut butter banana quesadilla confuses me by nicnacsnonsense
So I just read a quote from Joss saying Kennedy was designed to be the “anti-Tara” and I just… by nicnacsnonsense
I personally believe that Rupert Giles came to terms with the unhealthy attachment between himself and Buffy Summers throughout Once More With Feeling by xandersrailcrash
about what Buffy said in Seeing red after Spike’s speech about what real love is (it burns and consumes) by nightvisionsofthepast
[About the Council and their tratment of Slayers] by theredpharaoah
I wish someone would do a more detailed and hyper-realistic drawing of Illyria by theredpharaoah
how they dressed continued by multiple posters
What ending for Cordelia would you have preferred? by vampmogs, multiple posters
In many vampire lores, a crucifix will burn, hurt or repel vamps. What do you think happens if someone with a crucifix tattoo is turned? by phishezrule
Did anyone else read these? They were my favourite Buffy books even though they were unofficial. by CommanderFuzzy
Not including the musical episode, which dances or references to dancing come to mind when you think of these characters? by InfiniteMehdiLove
Over the years Xander should have become a serious fighter by QuaPatetOrbis641988
Unpopular? Opinion: I enjoy episode 6x17 Normal Again! by Excellent-Durian-509
What's something that you think had the opposite effect of what the Buffyverse writers were going for? by PristineSituation498
Cordelia should be traumatized beyond repair by Squeaky_Pickles
Do you think Buffy would have told Angel about Dawn [being the key]? by Usernamelesses
23 years ago, Buffy sacrificed herself to save the world on BtVS's fifth season finale "The Gift" by OptionNo1672
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Santa update on Li’l Gotham #2 and #12:
On review I don’t think Real Santa appears in either of these (I've counted a dressed up Santa, a decorations Santa and a hypothetical Santa fighting alongside Batman), but it’s Dustin Nguyen art and a cute Elseworlds, so I don’t really mind reading them (and then I smashed through the entire series). Especially some of the more subtle injokes and deep cuts worked in (my favourite subtle nod is Jim Gordon with a novelty mug designed by Barbara – which would normally not be something worth noting, except for the long history of Barbara’s own novelty mug collection).
I will however register a sigh, having not read all of these before, that Tatsu is being used to fill Cass’s spot, presumably due to editorial interference (though Barbara’s Oracle and dating Dick and in a wheelchair!) Having taken a quick glance around this is a situation where Dustin Nyugen especially was trying to take as much leeway as editorial would let him and sneak crap past the radar (he did manage to sneak Cass and Steph in on several occasions until editorial noticed and apparently on one occasion demanded a recolour), but Tatsu? Tatsu and Cass are in no way the same age (Katana is older than Dick!) and it does feel a little ‘let me just draw a late teen Asian girl into this story and wink at editorial that this is definitely Tatsu, not Cass, see the katanas? Cass has no connection to katanas, I know you don’t remember she was Kasumi’.
…actually now I think about it, Tatsu Yamashiro running around as a teenager with her katana has a bunch of weird implications. Is her husband still dead and possessing her sword? If not, why is she Katana? If he is, then why does she hang out primarily with Tim and Damian? How old was she when all of this went down? *squints at DC* This would have been far less creepy if you’d just let Li’l Gotham have a Cassandra Cain Batgirl.
Also I see this story is about 50% of all Colin Wilkes content ever, explaining his little fandom.
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Before I dive into this review proper I want to give a heads-up that I am about to get into book spoilers and will be approaching this review with the assumption you've read the source material, which the show also expects.
Likewise, I cannot talk about the show without getting into spoilers, due to the very nature of it. If you want my one piece of spoiler-free advice; think of it as a spin-off. Cause it kinda is. You'll have a much better time in that "What If?/Elseworlds" mindset.
If spoilers are cool with you, let's jump into it.
So, I was pretty much obsessed with the series in 2010. I was about 17/18 when I first got into the series. The 6th book wasn't out yet, and I can't even remember how I got into the series to begin with. But I believe I ordered volume 1 followed by 2-5 as soon as I finished, or maybe I went all in. I know for a fact I preordered vol. 6 when I finished vol 5. Still have the receipt for it; July 18th, 2010. 10.58 total.
I followed the various video updates on the movie, fan art, fell in love with the game, bought a Smashing Pumkins shirt, and the Anamanaguchi soundtrack was even the first digital album I bought for myself. I was basically just at the right age and state of mind for the series to grab me and have a profound effect with its themes. I think it's something I needed at the time.
But as much as the series meant to me, it's something I mostly moved on from. After all, the book ended in 2010, and until recently I probably hadn't reread it since 2013 or so. My books are in remarkable condition, actually. I mostly kept up with O'Malley's other works, and preordered Seconds when that was announced. Sadly haven't been keeping up with Snotgirl as much as I'd like, but I digress.
So when the show got announced… well, honestly my first reaction was "That thing they should've done after the Adult Swim short" Because, yeah, animation is a better medium for it. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the 2010 movie- one of the best theater experiences because the like 5 other people in the audience were massive fan girls loving all the bits. And there is a lot to love about the movie: its visual gags; the performances; the music selection; the overall direction- seriously, Edgar Wright doesn't get enough credit for how good he is at keying in on visuals. Dude knows how to translate comic panels and mimic the vibe of the source.
But it lacked the depth of the books. There's no major character arc for Scott and Ramona addressing their flaws. Hell, the books weren't even finished yet. There are a ton of great translations from comic to screen, but mostly the superficial. Moments like Scott's meeting with Knives in the alley showing that he's becoming more empathetic and confronting his mistakes are either absent or glossed over. Likewise, Knives' own journey of maturity isn't there.
This isn't a complaint mind you, it's not like those cuts are unreasonable. I can hardly blame them for not cramming 6 (and incomplete) books into a two hour film. That just ain't gonna happen.
The biggest advantage in a series as opposed to a movie is the opportunity to properly explore the characters beyond a surface level.
I'm not saying anything particularly revolutionary by stating the most universally agreed-upon element from the books is that Scott is a bit of a shit.
However, I think that statement is overly simplifying the situation and the character, one far too often invoked by hack frauds who don't truly engage with the work, because clickbait engagement is more valued than a nuanced analytical one.
I won't sit here unpacking the full 6 volumes, you can check out someone like Popculturebuffet for that. But part of what works so well with Scott is that we don't initially know the extent of his baggage- and rightfully so.
His worst aspect early on is ignorantly getting involved with Knives in the first place, stringing her along even after becoming enamored with Ramona, and being a bit of a slacker. This is something which is pointed out by literally everyone (sans Stephen) as being shitty. But otherwise, he seems fairly average and even endearing in a way. Scott's an affable character that's easy to like in spite of his very major flaws, and that's a statement that remains true throughout.
The reader doesn't even get to simmer much on the scenario with Knives until later- and to some degree, this even applies to Scott himself. He's slightly oblivious to his actions, past and present. A prime example would be that we're initially under the impression that Scott doesn't like to drink, which is mostly true. Mostly.
It's not until volume 6 that it becomes clear he got into a drunken fight with Envy on New Year's, suddenly re-contextualizing that and other events. It doesn't negate how Envy was very much a bitch who treated Scott like complete garbage, cheated on him, and screwed his head up something fierce. She is unequivocally the worse person there. But it adds nuance that wasn't present before.
I focus on the event with Envy because it's sort of a perfect microcosm of Scott as a character. Scott "doesn't" drink because of what happened, except on the 3-4 social occasions over the course of the 6 volumes, showing how he has a habit of just flat-out lying in various ways, including to himself.
He's aware on some level, but simultaneously suppresses that awareness from memory and even re-imagines scenarios outright (Sometimes with a little help, unbeknownst to him) acting like everything was always fine on his end. This is even more true in his prior relationship with Kim.
Scott's solutions are half measures where he can pretend that he was always the victim in a breakup, or at least innocent and free of blame, thus never growing in a meaningful manner. Hell, that's the reason he ended up with Knives in the first place; he was trying to get over Envy, but not in a healthy manner. Change is seen as scary to Scott, and yet it's inevitable. That is, at least due in part to Envy changing into a hateful person.
As such, Scott wants something simple where he doesn't have to put in effort. Knives is naive and doesn't see Scott for the dick that he is, she doesn't ask him to be better because he's already perfect to her naive mind. It's shallow, and a tad messed up, and everyone knows it, including Scott- hence his continued dreams about being alone. He knows it's not, cannot, and never will be serious. He's stupid, but not a monster- but stupidity can be a form of malice if one doesn't change their heart.
It's not exactly like the story is even subtle about this. The entire existence of Nega Scott is that you can't fight the past, you can't run from it even if you hate that part of you. You have to confront it and accept it to move on, hopefully changing for the better. To say nothing of how Gideon is what Scott could become if he never owned up to it.
That angle is why I felt Scott and Ramona worked. Quite frankly, Ramona is just as flawed of an individual running from her past. She's constantly trying to change herself, but always on a surface level. She's afraid of normalcy, of being stuck in a routine, of being happy.
She makes out (Not that much) with her ex, Roxie, in anger because she sees Scott hanging with Lisa Miller and suspects the worst. She (rightfully) gets enraged at how Scott was still with Knives when he and her first went out, thus cheating- yet she did the same with the Katayanagi twins, and possibly Lucas. And, ya know, she never formally handed off the breakup letter to Gideon, so she's kinda doing the same thing Scott did with Knives and her.
Ramona's past is just as checkered as Scott's. She's just as jealous, hypocritical, and nuanced. It just takes longer to realize that because she puts up emotional barriers and isn't the titular character/main focus.
Neither one is evil, but they've wronged people. Often they've been wronged, and sometimes it's not a clean-cut scenario of easily blaming anyone.
For all the great supporting cast, gags, fun references, and so forth, our two main protagonists being flawed yet likable is what makes the series compelling.
The heart is two people gradually learning to get over their selves and their mistakes. To stop running away, and accept their faults and one another. Over the 6 books, we see them (albeit mainly Scott) put in the effort to be better, to build and maintain something special, and not just go with what's simple and easy. It's not about fighting the exes, it's about fighting for each other.
That type of character arc requires time for development.
So, when it comes to this Netflix series, my biggest hope was simply that they would capture that element found within the books.
In the lead-up to the show, there were some rumors about the exes having more to do, and I can see that working. As much as I do think the book does a fine job, Todd and Roxie are the only ones with a decent amount of depth. Matthew works perfectly because his simple backstory is a gag in itself. Lee is a fun character with a tiny bit of backstory, but it's barely there. Gideon I can forgive due to his mysterious final boss nature and his schtick is being the extreme opposite of Scott.
But the Twins? They're shafted pretty hard. They're there to fill out a roster.
Honestly, though, even Roxie would've benefited greatly from the smallest of backstories ala Lucas Lee. She's perhaps the most interesting because she and Ramona are on good enough terms to have coffee together. Hell, Rox genuinely cares for Ramona, and unlike Lucas Lee, she's prominent enough in the story that a simple flashback could have been the cherry on top of all that.
The other part is streamlining story elements. No surprise there. From the get-go, O'Malley said it was not a 1-1 adaptation, and honestly, it shouldn't be. Some parts should be changed for the sake of convenience, and frankly, the book has some superfluous parts. Does anyone even remember Jason Kim? He shows up like twice as "dude with car" and apparently dating Kim Pine until dorking her housemate. That gives the impression of each character having their own life and drama that we're not privy to, which is nice. But it's also not important to include outside the books. Kim (Pine) becoming self-conscious when Envy is brought up, smiling when Scott stays over, or her dead-eyed expression as she lies during the fight with the Twins. All of that says far more about her, her feelings, her love life etc.
Then there's Knives' dad. Fun in the book, wouldn't take him out. But completely unneeded for emotional and narrative development.
Sometimes you gotta look at the source material and realize that even if you like something, tacking on an extra hour for the most obvious whodunit would kill the pacing in an adaptation. (That was a LOTR reference for those playing at home)
However, the above scenarios are a trepidatious path. How does one decide what needs reworking, cutting, or expanding? They're necessary for an adaption, but they're not always obvious. If you're not careful, you can completely undermine or mishandle key elements that made the original so beloved. You risk removing seemingly innocuous moments that add a lot to a character's growth. Above, I mentioned that the Twins got shafted in the book, but there isn't really a good place to expand upon them in the original story. They're not as important as Ramona's growing discontent. It's why Scott's fight with robot 01 is relegated to background gags while we focus on Ramona and Kim. You could put a flashback during the final confrontation with the Twins, but that would muck up the pacing and take away from Kim's far more important character moment in lying to Scott to bolster him. The Twins are just narrative scaffolding holding a spotlight on what we should be focusing on. That's what all the exes are to some extent. Shallow, sure, but only so the other characters get depth.
It's not an easy line to walk. If you push too hard on telling a more original story or focus too much on "correcting" various details, you can negate what were otherwise successful plot points. Do too little and the pacing falls apart because the medium is completely different. Would the changes made still contain a similar level of depth and satisfying character arcs, or would it merely be a shallow reworking of the broadest of strokes? The only way to not lose is not to play.
These are the concerns I had in the lead up to the show, which is fairly routine.
We also weren't getting a lot of information storywise, aside from that it would be mostly doing its own thing (This is something that should have been emphasized more in marketing) The trailers showed familiar set pieces; that Ramona delivers DVDs for Netflix now, which is a great and absurd change; You saw some of the streamlining by having Scott rent Lucas Lee films, thus inadvertently getting a head start on that and cutting out the No Account Video segment; there's a brief original bit where Ramona talks to Julie about how well the date with Scott went. Most of the setting also looked like it was from the first and sixth volumes, which was a tad odd.
But other than that, they were tight lipped about the narrative. Most of the promotional focus was on music, the returning cast, and the animation. All great things unique to this medium that we will get into in due time.
Speaking of, let's finally discuss
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
So you know how Final Fantasy 7 Remake emphasized the "Remake" part? Well, we kinda have that here with the "Take Off" part.
I'll just cut right to the chase. Scott seemingly dies in the fight with Patel in the first episode.
Episode two is his absolutely absurd funeral. Almost the rest of the episode is centered around Patel wanting to take over the league for himself, and succeeding in doing so, gaining all of Gideon's assets, while the league dissolves once they realize Patel didn't even get Ramona back after winning.
This is uh, certainly a direction to go.
Let's put aside not following the source material and this being an original story. Why should I care about this story? I'll concede that he and Gideon have a great fight. The animation from Science Saru is great, and the voice performances are great: Shoutouts to Satya Bhabha, his delivery is impeccable, hilarious, and a major highlight of the show.
But why should I care about these events, this retake? What's the hook?
Thus far, the primary purpose of the show feels like a fake out, gags, and fights. I spent the opening of this review going over the emotional weight of the books, that's the anchor. So far, I'm getting moments without substance. Am I supposed to care because I have a prior connection to these characters? This is something I wouldn't figure out a proper description and answer for until the finale.
My issues also felt exacerbated by both the advertisements not making the original story angle clear, and also how good the first episode starts off. Because Cera as Scott is truly perfect. Cera was a voice actor before transitioning to the screen, and his performance is top-notch in addition to being a great vocal fit to begin with. So it's kinda disappointing to not have him around for quite a bit.
Anyway, the second episode ends with Ramona dreaming and hearing Scott's voice, meaning that Scott isn't dead, he's in Subspace or somewhere.
Episode 3: Ramona Rents a Video.
As if answering one of my questions immediately, the third episode finally gives a hook as Ramona starts playing detective, like Pikachu Columbo. That's the selling point, that this is primarily Ramona's story.
She checks out footage of the Patel fight, showing that someone pulled Scott through a portal (Hence the title of the show, wink-wink.)
Ramona then heads to First Cup to get a person of interest list from Julie- which is a pretty damn funny sequence, actually. I'm starting to enjoy the show at this point, and it's kinda wild how much more enjoyable Julie is in both the movie and show compared to the comics. Sure, she's a bitch, but she's a fun bitch due in no small part to Aubrey Plaza's wonderfully riled vocals.
After getting the necessary info, Ramona is led to Kim since she knew Scott the longest. We even get a cute story about the poorly drawn Sheep Scott did, which looks hilariously WAY worse in the show.
There's also a key comment from Kim that I think is to make a point for dorks like me. Kim mentions that she was once kidnapped by a guy named Simon and rescued by Scott. That was a false memory of Scott's in the books. In vol. 6, Kim pointed out to Scott that Simon was just a dude she went out with like twice, probably hugged, and Scott beat up. This is one of a number of clues that seem to be here to firmly establish this isn't the same continuity as the books being messed with, and should not be thought of as a sequel if that was a concern.
Anyways, their conversation is cut short when Roxie arrives in the hope of rekindling her former flame. But things go south pretty quickly and Roxie's hotheadedness takes over.
What follows is one of the best fights in the show, equal parts funny and clever. Hell, it starts with Rox drawing her sword and accidentally cutting the sprinkler line. It adds a dramatic pseudo rain that's completely negated by Kim's wonderfully deadpan expression as all the damn tapes in the store become soaked.
During the scuffle with Ramona, a shelf of movies falls on the two which… somehow transports them into various movies? I dunno, we're working off video game logic, I guess Gex counts.
It's a sequence that I'm sure was done purely for looking interesting. To its credit, the visual styling is on point. From Japanese historical drama to a post-Matrix early 2000s green filter era, to a scratchy film-grain-heavy WW2 film. The backing track also flows into each film genre. I also love a quick gag where Kim watches the fight on a CRT and fucks around with the rewind and pause feature, allowing Ramona to counter an earlier attack. Roxie gets knocked back into the store, smashes the remote, and gets dragged back into the movies by Ramona. That's great.
As the fight continues, Ramona and Rox begin arguing about their relationship, and we get that flashback sequence! It's a small thing, but they show that Ramona left without a word and how that tore Roxie up. Good lord, someone hug that poor girl, she looks like a sad puppy. In a legit great moment, Ramona has to confront how she treated Roxie, sincerely apologizing for it, which Roxie tearfully accepts it. I gotta say, Mae Whitman really gets to shine in the role more than ever. She's one of those I point to when talking about just how perfect everyone sounds exactly how I'd expect.
After the fight, she hangs out with Ramona and Kim for a bit, being very flirty with both. Kim even smooches her for the hell of it, although both admit there wasn't anything there. But hey, they managed to still get a Bi-curious Kim in here, and in a way that was better than in the books.
Elsewhere, a beat-to-hell Gideon arrives in town, meeting with Julie, an old schoolmate.
I legitimately liked this, there's actual emotional weight going on, there's interesting shit being done, and I'm settling into the show's intent. I like the idea of giving Ramona her own story with a slight focus on how she feels about her past. I think her going out of the way as much as she does for Scott, a dude she just met, is a little flimsy. Again, it's really expecting the audience to care because we, in theory, care about them getting together.
Ep. 4: Whatever.
Things get really fucking meta in this one.
Ruling Roxie out as the kidnapper, who didn't even know Scott was alive, Ramona turns her attention to Lucas Lee, who is starting a new picture in Toronto.
Turns out the movie is from Young Neil's screenplay, which "he" wrote back in ep 3, or rather a mysterious "sleep paralysis demon" he saw did. The movie is about Scott's life if he won the fight with Patel.
This toying with the universe thing is getting a little unsettling.
Most of this episode is one big meta gag about making a Scott Pilgrim movie with Director Edgar Wrong.
I'm not even mad at this, I'm just completely flabbergasted at what the hell I'm seeing. And this will become a reoccurring bit throughout.
Also hope you like gags about Knives' age cause holy shit they reference this a lot throughout the show.
It's at this point in my viewing process I have developed a headache.
To give some credit, Lucas is fun in this episode. He's more in line with the film version, and Evans actually sounds better than ever, likely thanks to age and simply having more to say. And like with Roxie, Lee has a Flashback. There isn't much more than what was in the book, but I think the presentation is better. Seeing Ramona patch him up after a bad fall, and Lucas arranging his Locker (which is filled with photos of Ramona) as she and Todd walk behind him. Man, that stings.
Needless to say, Lee isn't responsible for Scott's disappearance and with the whole "controversy" regarding him dating a 31 year old actress playing a highschooler, he's hounded off the lot and has to be replaced by Todd, which seems to be a reoccurring thing for him.
Ep. 5: Lights. Camera. Sparks?!
I'm now starting to believe this entire show may have been an elaborate troll towards people obsessed with adaptation accuracy to a fault. I almost want to applaud the sheer audacity of it. Suffice it to say, 95% of this episode is done in a documentary style, and there are a lotta hijinks on set. Ramona is working as Envy's stunt double just so she can have easier access to the set and hopefully get a lead from Todd. Wallace also bones Todd. A LOT.
Oh yes, Wallace shacks up with Todd, and Todd is really into it. Wallace, on the other hand, just wanted to hook up with a hot dude, leading to a whole excursion and depressive vegan breaking episode for Todd. Brandon Routh really gets to go full ham here, and it's wonderful.
Some damn funny parts aside, Todd wasn't behind the portal, but it was certainly vegan in nature.
Ramona is otherwise back to Square one until Patel, by happenstance, arrives on the lot to fire everyone.
Afterward, Patel has a brief confluence with Stephen Stills and Knives, who manage to get an in with him. Since Scott's apparent death, Knives has taken his place in Sex-Bob-omb on Bass (and keyboard) making decent music with Stephen Stills. The importance of that will come into play next episode.
Patel then turns his attention to Ramona. Obviously, Patel wouldn't have any reason to keep Scott around, but it's entirely plausible Gideon, or rather his real identity, Gordon Goose, would as part of a revenge scheme.
Ep. 6: WHODIDIT.
This episode starts with probably the best opening gag that I kinda don't wanna ruin despite spoiling everything else. I'm probably gonna be adding "I was gone for 90 %#&! minutes" to my quotes, though.
In any case, this is a fairly straightforward episode. Ramona interviews Julie once again, but it becomes clear that Gideon, Goose, has neither the mental state nor resources to pull something like that off. As an aside, we get a flashback with him as well, showing that he was the school nerd. He supposedly had no fear (No pain) until he aimed well above his status in asking a girl out, leading to him being laughed out of school, which Julie remembers all too well.
It seems like another dead-end, but when Ramona accompanies Julie back to her house, they both see a familiar Robot, the Twins' 01 Robot, which has been making very unsubtle appearances in every episode up to this point; Lee's place; outside the video store; the studio lot, etc.
We also have a B-plot with Stephen Stills and Knives making music for a stage adaption of Neil's Screenplay so it doesn't go to waste.
Cute.
It's here where it becomes known that Neil didn't write the script, and upon checking the original file, realize something is off and that Ramona should be informed.
All parties gather in Ramona's apartment as she goes over the pertinent information in whodidit (dunit?) fashion, including treating us to another flashback, this time with the twins. It's probably the least engaging of the flashbacks, honestly. Even in this, they get shafted. Regardless, the who and how are solved. But Not the why or where. Where Scott is remains a mystery, but it's likely the Twins know, which is where Ramona intends to check out.
Oh, and the information the gang has about Neil's Script? The metadata says it was written 14 years from now.
But just as more questions are raised, another winds up on Ramona's doorstep; Scott, safe and mostly sound.
The Twins were in fact behind it, and the robot, and… himself.
Ep. 7: 2 Scott 2 Pilgrim.
Yes, the one who pulled Scott out of Time was himself, from the future; a 37 year old Scott. The how is rather simple and already answered; the Katayanagi twins. Older Scott and them became friends in the future, even starting a band; Pop'n TwinBee (RIP Shatterband.)
By the way, if you ever wanted to hear Will Forte sing a hilariously bad cover of Konya Wa Hurricane from Bubblegum Crisis as an older Scott Pilgrim, this is the show for you. I was laughing my ass off at this.
Anyway, the robot was disconnected from a fixed time stream, and being a vegan cause, ya know, robot, is able to create portals. Therefore Time portals.
As to the why, Scott showed his past self using a virtual reality machine on the Virtual Guuy[sic], complete with red and black pixel art mimicking the style of the game. Past Scott sees memories on the not Virtual Boy; Defeating the Evil Exes, future marriage to Ramona, their honey moon at Universal… and divorce. Well, technically they're just separated after 13 odd years of marriage. Older Scott has since been living with Wallace and his husband.
Exactly what happened is never stated, just that the pain was so much Scott decided to follow through on a sarcastic comment from Wallace and prevent falling for Ramona in the first place.
Old Wallace sums up the mental state of Old Scott to regular Scott, describing it as "Like after Envy, times ten." Which uh, yeah, no wonder Older Scott's a tad kooky.
It's at this point I have to bring up personal stuff, and it's something that I thought I might have to. So, when Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour dropped in 2010, I distinctly remember reading an interview with O'Malley about the ending. In the lead-up to the final book there was a lot of speculation from fans that maybe Scott and Ramona wouldn't end up together (there was a strong case to be made for Kim) maybe it would end badly since both Scott and Ramona have their struggles. Some people even thought he would end up with Knives, which is missing the entire point of her character arc, and also fuck no.
Ultimately we got the ending we did because, at the time, O'Malley was happy, so he thought Scott should be happy. But O'Malley divorced in 2014.
I dislike bringing that up, but that was leading me to speculate (and brace myself) if that would have an impact here. I mean, how could it not? And look, there is a good argument that Scott and Ramona needn't stay together for their journey together to be satisfying. It would fit right in line with the theme that things don't always stay the same. People can grow apart, even the important ones that change your life. I don't like that outcome, but it's not as if it's wrong to consider. Particularly for a story like this.
But I also think there's an element of overt cynicism to that. What's interesting is that the show doesn't go in that direction. In fact, it's actually insistent that Ramona and Scott can't help but be drawn to one another, there's a spark there.
We even get a scene of Scott hooking up the 01 robot to the VR, and since 01 is connected across time, he can see into the past versions. The robot seen throughout the show was Scott seeing that Ramona was constantly looking for him, and that's genuinely sweet.
Still, the situation is bad, as Scott is trapped in the future and can't use the Robot to travel for reason.
On Young Scott's insistence, he and Older Wallace meet up with Older Ramona, discovering she was the one who went back in time and wrote Young Neil's Screenplay in a failed attempt to preserve their story and hopefully thwart Older Scott. (Let's not go crossed-eyed thinking too hard about paradoxes)
He's a misguided idiot, but Ramona still loves the moron, even if she has her doubts after her failed plan. But Scott's words of encouragement about his Ramona never giving up on him gives her hope.
Importantly, she can time travel with her DeLorean roller blades, which is how Scott can and did get back to the past.
But even after Scott's return and reunion, their problems aren't over, as a force field prevents Ramona and Scott from kissing. Someone is still interfering, and the list of who might as well just be the entire list of exes.
Thankfully, Stephen Stills and Knives have a convenient plan: The stage musical is going to have all the exes in attendance, so they've got one big gathering spot to get to the bottom of this.
This is one of my favorite episodes of the show. It's cool seeing older versions of the characters, and frankly, the presentation is just great. I do think that too much of that emotional weight is relying on events from the books for your investment. I know, I know. Can't enjoy a good thing without a critique.
Still, this is a great episode, one of my favorites along with ep. 3, and our next and final episode.
Oh, and the end credits has a proper rendition of Konya Wa Hurricane, so that's fucking cool.
Ep. 8: The World Vs Scott Pilgrim.
So here we are at the big finale at the premiere of the Scott Pilgrim Musical.
The thing is, none of the exes seem to be suspect. Gideon is the only one with ulterior motives, but they're not towards Scott and Ramona, he just wants to blow up the stage and Matthew Patel.
But not long after everyone is seated something goes awry. A portal appears and transports all the exes and Scott's friend group (And also Julie and the robot) to a barren land.
The one behind this, and the force field, was an Even Older and very buff Scott (47) He slipped past Scott nano machines as a backup to prevent him from ever getting close to Ramona, but even that wasn't enough. So for 10 years he trained to take everyone out, as it's the only way to be sure.
And so our final battle begins: The World vs. Scott Pilgrim.
If you listen closely to the track during this scene "Big Bad" incorporates elements of "The Dark One" Nega Scott's theme from the game. That's a nice touch.
Even Older Scott is no pushover, he breaks Ramona's Hammer, and despite a fairly good comeback from regular Scott, he beats him pretty bad. The others come to his aid, Knives attacking with daggers, but Even Older Scott punches Knives so hard he knocks the highlights our of her hair.
Ramona begins handing out items from her bag, cyber broccoli for Todd, a cyber skateboard for Lucas, and a cyber sword for Roxie, just as the sub boss music from the game kicks in. Along with Matthew's mystic arts, they mange to actually lay into Even Older Scott, but that only causes him… to go… even further beyond, and One hit KO the four.
The Twins Robot is ineffectual and even Gideon's not quite the glow-douken has no effect. Even Older Scott just grabs it and turns it against Stephen, Knives, Kim, and Neil.
This. This is actually fucking awesome. It's going full Shonen ham.
We're down to just Ramona and Scott, who team up and hit him together, followed by Scott and Even Older Scott literally butting heads. We get our obligatory speech between a younger Scott just wanting to live his life, and Even Older Scott saying he'll just end up where he's at if he does.
And it finally clicked into place what the hell Scott Pilgrim Takes Off actually is. This is like a Shonen spin off story. Your Broly Trilogy, Hunter X Hunter The Last Mission, Naruto Blood Mission. But with an X-men time travel plot slapped on.
It's an excuse to play around and do different (mostly cool) shit with a set of familiar characters.
Like a movie or OVA, the characterization isn't as deep as the main source material. It banks on you giving a damn because of the familiarity so they can mostly get right to the cool bits and not try as hard or waste time on the re-interpretative parts. Don't think too hard about the misgivings, think about Akuma Scott beating the shit out of everyone while the familiar music you're nostalgic for plays.
And goddamn that's frustrating because that's what they should've led with. All the damn trailers were dancing around the new material and making it seem like an adaptation. To keep on the Anime brand, if people are expecting a "Brotherhood" or "Ultimate" version with a Cast they like, and then they don't get that… well yeah that's not gonna go over well. I can't fault anyone for being mad about that. That's having the rug pulled out from under you.
But once you realize what this is, and what it's doing, it's a lot easier to enjoy and be its own thing. It branches off a similar story to the books, but it's not like this is a canonical revision or sequel to them.
That said, just because it's "less developed" doesn't mean this is without heartfelt moments I enjoy. When it seems like Even Older Scott has the upper hand, an even older Ramona shows up to chew old Scott out for not even texting in 10 years, fighting people in the past rather than fighting for them, all because of one rough patch.
It's funny, but it also confirms the biggest divergence. This is a world where Scott was never kicked out during the Roxie chapter, a world without Gideon's "Glow" mental manipulation, and presumably Scott never faced his inner demons because of it. This also means Ramona didn't run off after the twins' defeat because the glow wasn't affecting her mentality, and thus she faced her own. That one line snowballs into a lot of stuff not happening for their character growth.
That- that is an interesting concept.
This all leads to a poignant scene where Ramona questions her older self if she should even bother. What's the point if it ends up like this? Maybe it's best to just keep moving.
But, that's also Ramona's thing, isn't it? Running away from what she loves, which is presumably (along with his own stupidity) what set Older Scott down a spiral in the first place. In a scene that parallels Scott's own understanding within the books, Ramona comes to realize she's ran all her life.
In the end, Ramona chooses to stop running and embrace herself, quite literally.
Both Ramona's combining into, as Scott puts it "Super Ramona" Able to see the situation for what it is, one Scott still in many ways a dumb kid, the other Scott just a sad mess. She simply sends Older Scott back to his time with the hope he'll straighten out. Meanwhile, the nano machines are still a problem with current Scott. But that's nothing a super form can't overload with a determined kiss. Daww.
Before things go back to normal and because she'll have trouble saying it later, she tells Scott she loves him, and that she tends to run away from what she loves. But who she was in the past isn't who she is now. She just needs help remembering that.
Everyone returns to the theater to enjoy the rest of the musical, and Patel's demon girls subvert Gideon's plans. After the show, he and Julie are apprehended, but Matthew instead begs Gideon to take all his crap back. He has no idea how to run a company, is stressed out, and has lost billions. All Matthew wants is to continue the stage show.
We then get an epilogue. Lucas Lee takes up a job at Second First Cup; Todd has returned to being a Vegan with coaching from Roxie; The rental store Kim worked at closes down; Wallace takes a vacation to Paris where he meets Mobile; Knives continues performing with Sex-Bob-Omb as their keyboardist; Ramona gives up delivery work and instead returns to being a stunt double.
We end on Ramona coloring her hair once again, before heading out and meeting with Scott and the others, as Plumtree's Scott Pilgrim plays us off.
Only for a mid-credits scene to show Gideon and Julie plotting revenge. Oooo.
And that is Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.
s'allright, innit? Okay, joking aside- I think I'm gonna have a hard time conveying my feelings on this one. But I still have three more things to talk about before we get to my final thoughts.
First off, the voice acting is great, shockingly great. I'm a person who is very much of the mindset that you should hire voice actors for voice roles BUT, in this instance, I can understand why. It's incredible they got everyone back and how well they work. I've already given my praise to Cera, Bhabha, Plaza, Whitman, Routh, and Evans in the story portion of this review. But I'm drastically overdue to talk about Winstead's performance. I think this was the one people were most curious about because in the movie there was this aura of Ramona feeling more "cold" in her personality. This was due to the original direction they wanted to take that version, and sadly it meant we didn't quite get a more angles. Here? Yeah, this is pretty great. We hear Ramona full of regret, angry, annoyed, sentimental. It's a much more well-rounded version. My one nitpick is Winstead needs to work on her battle cries, it really stands out in the Roxie fight opposite a veteran VA like Whitman. But otherwise, this is how I imagine Ramona sounding.
And I'd be remiss if I didn't bring up how anytime Ramona has a vulnerable moment talking about Scott, she genuinely sounds smitten. The Future Ramona (the first one) in particular stands out to me. That's a version of the character that's older, clearly hurt, and weary, but still very much in love.
I can't help imagining that being applied to scenes from the book. In Vol. 5 the part after The Twins are defeated and Scott returns. That scene always tears me apart when I read it. I'm fairly certain if I heard Cera and Winstead's performance of that it would rip my soul out. So maybe it's best we only have this original story.
So yeah, I'm happy to see that she fits right into the role better than ever.
Another performance I've yet to mention is Ellen Wong, who is just as perfectly energetic as she was in the film. It's a shame we don't get to hear her do a somber Knives in this setting, but it's hard to complain with how pleasant it is hearing her chipper over the top excitement.
Alison Pill's Kim Pine is as sardonic as always, and much like Routh and Evans, I think she's even better now.
Johnny Simmon sounds exactly the same, no complaints, 10/10.
Jason Schwartzman is an experienced VA, so no surprise he sounds fine. He doesn't get to stretch out much since Gideon isn't super prominent here. Although episode 6 did show a lot of range and potential for what you could do with him. Maybe next season?
Similarly Brie Larson's Envy doesn't have a whole lot of screen time, but she's equal parts charming and manipulative. Honestly, for a small as the role is, it made me realize just how much Larson is good at the role and how that level of emotion is often subdued in roles elsewhere.
Honestly, I hate to say it, but Mark Webber's Stephen Stills is probably one of the weaker performances on the show. It's not even that it's bad, it's fine and works- except for the animation. That's the one caveat. There are a couple of moments where Stephen Stills is pantomiming, and the voice doesn't match that energy. Truth be told, I even sorta have a similar issue with Kieran Culkin's Wallace, which I swear looks like the syncing was off in the earlier episodes. The saving grace is that Wallace has more scenes than Stephen Stills and therefore Culkin got more opportunities. This is sorta the area I mean when I think it's best to get trained VA. It's a completely different medium and hard to jump into immediately.
I don't wanna end this segment on a downer, so I'll once again mention Will Forte sings Like a Hurricane. OH, Segue.
Soundtrack
So I did not know what to expect going into this. I mean, I was a fan of Anamanaguchi, but I hadn't kept up since Endless Fantasy, sans the Miku single- which is really good by the way. And Joseph Trapanese I was most familiar with from his collaboration with Daft Punk on Tron Legacy, so no worries there.
But I did wonder how well a chiptune heavy sound would work. As much as I dig it, it's a very upbeat vibe. Even some of Anamanaguchi's more dramatic tracks have a charming bubbliness to them. How would that work within a series? Well, the short answer is they don't have as much chiptune going on as you would assume. There are a few that incorporate chiptunes to a limited degree, others a bit more, but most not at all.
The vast majority of the OST is more traditional fair and Synthwave, and in a way, it sorta mimics my own evolving tastes. I still listen to Chiptune stuff, but I'm also really big into synth music nowadays. It feels like a proper bookend to my late-teens early twenties listening to Anamanaguchi, and later Dance with the Dead and Midnight Danger, and now Anamanaguchi's synth offerings.
One of the tracks, Yet Another Winter Again (Calling back to the first stage in The Game) has a Redbook audio sound with a hint of Chiptune, but not the NES/GB Anamanaguchi is known for. It sounds like a SNES. In fact, I would compare the track to something you'd hear in VA-11 Hall-A. So even when there are chiptunes, we're branching out quite a bit in both sound fonts and style.
Of course, there are a couple of vocal tracks as well. Like the movie, there are universe songs for Sex-Bob-Omb. They have a unrefined roughness to them, which is perfect for a small unprofessional indie band.
As for some of my favorite tracks, the aforementioned Yet Another Winter Again; He's You; And They were Roommates; Blame it on the Goose; Big Bad; Bad Guys; Knives & Kim; and God Only Knows.
I'm sure that'll change as time goes on. I'm really digging Lucas' flashback music, and Fond Memories, nice parallel between those two. In fact there's quite a few pieces that, in tandem with the animation, do a lot to sell those heartwarming (or wrenching) moments.
Animation.
Oh right, the animation. So, if you read my Castlevania Nocturne review, you know I went on a slight tangent about how I think it's silly that they labeled it an anime despite it being produced and partly animated in goddamn Texas. It was just a label because they're embarrassed to call their super serious animation what it is because they think anime sounds more mature. I swear some people still think it's 1985 and Vampire Hunter D is the wildest shit cause blood.
Funny thing about Scott Pilgrim though, it's just straight-up animated by Science Saru. I'm not here to get into semantics, because then we'll be asking if Batman TAS counts because Sunrise. I just find it funny. At the very least Takes Off certainly fits the bill more than Nocturne does.
But back on topic, it's fucking good. I mean, I don't think that comes as any surprise. Science Saru has made a name for doing really impressive work from Devilman Crybaby, to Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, and the shorts Akakiri and T0-B1 for Star Wars Visions. Not to mention supplemental work for the Garo anime, OK-KO, and Adventure Time.
So Scott Pilgrim is perfectly in their wheelhouse, and they do an incredible job capturing O'Malley's illustrations while adding their own unique flare to the styling.
Sadly Tumblr's gif size limit means I can't easily showcase some of the fights as much as I'd like, but suffice it to say the level of fluidity and cinematography is astonishing. Again, episode 3 is an amazing showcase in itself.
To say nothing of how expressive everyone is in the show.
Also this is a weird one, but I think with the exception to episodes 5 & 7, each episode has Ramona going through a bleaching and dye routine. It is bizarrely satisfying to watch, like the tea making in Samurai Jack.
Final Thoughts.
Takes Off was both a confusing shock and a pleasant surprise upon first viewing. It's impressive in its existence, and has moments that I fucking love. Like the Shonen it emulates, it does also come off as a tad superfluous or melodramatic in many respects. But it is fun to bust out old toys and play with them again. The fact that in 2023 I'm seeing a new work related to Scott Pilgrim is fucking incredible. I'm happy that this exists, I'm happy to hear the cast together again, and happy to hear some great music tracks.
And I do love the characters of Scott Pilgrim, I love the performances in this show, I love numerous parts of this show. But, I also think it's fair to say what I love most aren't these characters. And that's okay. Those characters should remain in the series that ended in 2010, while these are easily malleable versions for an animated series to have fun with. Maybe you could never capture or replicate the exact magic of the books again, so it's better to just do your own thing. Takes Off was, in the end, a fun time that I think works best when you know what you're getting into. Once you're armed with that knowledge, I think you'll find a show much easier to appreciate.
All that said, as backhanded as this is going to seem, I still think the nicest thing that Takes Off did was get me to re-read the book series for this review. I got to re-examine a profound series from the perspective of a 31 year old, but still find all that I originally loved as a 17 year old. When it comes to adaptive works, no matter what, the nice thing is you'll always have the originals to go back to. You change, maybe your tastes change, and certain things hit differently or don't hold up when you go back. But it's nice to revisit. I think nostalgia can be a poison. Too many people get caught up in wanting to relive the exact moment, to be trapped. But I think it's more fun to see something you love still remain a love even after so much time has passed. I'm happy with how I felt as a teenager reading a story about emotional growth. Some personally, some apart, and others closer. In my 30s, I still appreciate that, and it still affects me and resonates.
But just because I cherish that above all else doesn't mean I wouldn't be interested in more Scott Pilgrim. And if O'Malley and Grabinski wanna make more people sing 80s anime songs badly, I'll be on board for that alone.
Or Roxie flirting with every woman. Seriously, she's so much fun.
As always, thanks for reading. Reblogs are appreciated and you can find me elsewhere on the worldwideweb at:
Bsky
Ko-Fi
So does Gideon still have his exes frozen somewhere, or is that another difference?
Oh, and now that we have a Netflix Series, can we get a Nendoroid Ramona? There's been like no high end merch since Mondo in 2017.
#scott pilgrim#scott pilgrim takes off#netflix#bryan lee o'malley#edgar wright#bendavid grabinski#science saru#anime#animated
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USAGI YOJIMBO: SENSO #1-6
2014 - 2015
BY STAN SAKAI AND TOM LUTH
20 years in the future of Usagi Yojimbo, the Shogun is finally in the endgame against Lord Hikiji. But everything turns for the worse as a new enemy hits the battlefield.
SCORE: 10
If someone told me that one of the best Usagi Yojimbo stories would be inspired by War of the Worlds, aliens included, I would probably think something was a little off. And something is a little off, but the results are so outstanding that I am just impressed.
The mini-series works as a possible ending for the legend of Usagi Yojimbo, it shows us the end of many characters and even a resolution to some of the long-lasting plots of the saga.
The first issue alone was super engaging, with the many battlefield sequences and the horror of the alien invasion.
One impressive detail about these issues is the way the covers were designed, with the hidden part of the wrap-around having a big reveal about that issue. It's just beautifully done.
Now, by the end of this story... well... you are going to need to jump to the spoiler section.
As I was saying... the whole story has the Usagi lineage at its heart. It's already very clear from the first issue that the whole cast is trying to protect Jotaro from dying. And some of them do die, like Gen.
It was also very satisfying to see the proper end of Lord Hikiji, not at the alien's hands (tentacles?), but at Lord's Hebi's.
The reveal that Jotaro has known Miyamoto was his father for a while and didn't want him to know so that it wouldn't be a burden to him, was a very bittersweet moment. But this moment is what actually guarantees the existence of Space Usagi. And speaking of which...
Now that was an impressive ending. Also fitting that for a character that was so unoriginally named, he decided to also name his son Jotaro.
But here is the key to the whole thing. This story was narrated by Space Usagi. In that regard, the sci-fi elements make a lot more sense. After all, no one really knows how Miyamoto really died.
This is a great ending for this story, as it doesn't really remove the stakes from the regular series.
Now, I am reviewing Senso because of Wherewhen, and that story took place just before Senso (in fact, it is the origin for the turtle tank). What I take from this is that at least the battle against Lord Hijiki really happened. In that way, Senso could still be an "elseworld."
Having said that, I still don't know how the turtles could end up in the same universe as Miyamoto by traveling back in time. I guess some questions are better left unanswered.
#comics#review#post modern age#dark horse comics#usagi yojimbo#senso#war of the worlds#stan sakai#space usagi#2014#2015
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So what are my thoughts on the comic that came with Page Puncher Batgirl? Aka Batman: Fighting the Frozen comic? Well, let's get into the Cass of it all.
I'm only going to post scans of what we have courtesy of book artist Travis Mercer. If you want to read this comic you're just gonna have to get the Cass figure (which is kind of actually pretty good and that's a review for another day).
Which is only fair. 😝
If there's only one wish I have is to have a clear version scan of the Batgirl variant cover by Emanuela Lupacchino and Arif Priantol gloriously displayed with the figure.
Now onto the story itself, Cass isn't really name-checked in the comic (neither is Robin or Batman for that matter).
But it is Cass (if the look wasn't telling you it was her), writer Rex Oogle gives her 0 dialogue compared to Batman and Robin in this.
Likewise, the story is rather crisp. It setups up the stakes and the "how" (Freeze and Nora traveling to the prehistoric past) and the former causing havoc to the Bat Clan (so he can cure his wife).
You get the sense the Bat Clan is a wide-reaching area with Robin and Batgirl representing the best warriors Batman has at his disposal.
At the very least you get that once Batgirl arrives in the comic.
I like that approach as it more solidifies Cass as Batgirl by just saying she's Batgirl. No Cass Cain Batgirl. Nope, she's Batgirl and yeah I dig that.
The other standout with her is she's the more wiley of the trio making sure every hit she gives Freeze to disarm and immobilize the antagonist of the story. While Batman and Robin go for more um.. crazier approaches in attacking Freeze.
Yeah, Freeze gets one good shot on her (but I blame more Robin for the crazy attack allowing Freeze to counter with that hit).
Likewise, I do enjoy the ending theme of the comic. Always good for a Batman comic to end on.
So yeah, this is a fun little comic that fans who are like, "Wait who is this Batgirl?" Given Babs had a monopoly of three (technically four now) figures by McFarlane prior to this point.
So it's good that FINALLY, we've got a Cass figure. Even if she's basically another Elseworlds version. Now gimme that DCU version Todd. You've got the figure buck. You got the maskless head too. Gimme.
But yeah this story is a fun tale. It reminds me of the stuff of 80s old when you'd buy a DC Super Powers or Masters of the Universe figure and get a mini-comic. Just here it's a regular comic.
It makes a reader scratch their head and ask, "Who's this Batgirl?" And that's where people like me come in.
So... you wanna learn more about this Page Puncher Batgirl huh? Time to learn the tale of Cassandra Cain.
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Hi!!! :) Hey, I have a Bart-Related question and I would like to know your opinion. I was given a list by somebody in a server to read Bart related comics. But the list says Flash: the fastest man alive is not a good serie, but none of my friends have read it and I want something like a honest review from somebody who loves Bart and I think about you! If this okays to ask :')
Have a good day! It's okay if you can't answer /pos
Hello!
First off I always suggest to people if they are a fan of Bart to read his solo series (Impulse) in particular as it really is one of the best runs DC ever did and I say that confidently. So if Bart's solo series is on that list, then YES I would read that above all others.
As for Fastest Man Alive AKA Bart's Flash run....
Here's where things get complicated... Ultimately it is a series (like Teen Titans v3) that did not treat Bart well and most fans of Bart will say confidently that the entire run was to his detriment (and Thad's) and did not serve anything other than to be fuel for angst.
The entire run feels better as an Elseworlds story than as something that happened in main continuity, but it did in fact happen in the main continuity which makes it all the more difficult to read. I feel if this series was released as an Elseworlds story the fan reception to that run might be a little more positive but even then after reading it you're just left angry and wondering why there was a need to publish this story.
I don't personally think FMA is a good series. I don't personally recommend the story to anyone. However, I make it a point to never say to not read a comic as I constantly implore everyone to read read read comics even the bad ones if it means actually reading.
IF you want to be extremely well rounded in Bart's comics or Flash comics then it would be to your benefit to read it just to have the knowledge under your belt. If you read through Teen Titans V3 and are enjoying that series genuinely then picking up FMA and reading it might not be as painful as it is to others as it follows the same amount of grim-dark angst as Teen Titans.
If you don't have much attachment to Bart you will probably not struggle with FMA but it sounds like you right now are at least a fan of his and want to get to know him a little better. Reading FMA is not going to let you get to know him better.
I would urge you instead to start with his beginnings with Mark Waid's comics all through his original solo series and then through Young Justice then see how you take to Teen Titans. If Teen Titans does not turn you off then pick up FMA (unless you just want to be well rounded).
Above all, read comics but don't torture yourself. Happy reading and thank you for the sweet message.
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Year in Review: 2023
Happy 85th to the Champion of the Oppressed! Big year for him in every medium. Let's take stock as we bid farewell to 2023.
Comics
First off the biggest Superman comic event was the launch of the new Superman ongoing by Williamson and Campbell. Williamson surprised me by turning in what is easily his best work at DC here. Drawing on a wide range of Superman stories, but mainly inspired by the DCAU animated series, Williamson has turned in the successor series to the excellent Mark Millar Superman Adventures run. If like me you've craving some peak Livewire content, to see Jimmy Olsen hook up with Silver Banshee, or just what the hell it looks like when Clark and Lex try to work together, this run delivers that in spades. Campbell is a fantastic artist who is a key factor in the run's success, which is why it's a bummer that he still has yet to return to interiors. Perhaps next year. Praying Williamson manages to finally turn in a good event with House of Brainiac, because all the build up has gotten me excited in spite of Williamson's previous failures with Dark Crisis and Knight Terrors.
Across the street we had PKJ and Sandoval on Action Comics, which despite being billed as a team book, really is just a Superman book that had the Superfamily in it. Metallo finally got cracked for me as a character here, even though I was disappointed the true final boss of his arc turned out to be Hank Henshaw. Sadly this turned out to be PKJ's last year on the book, finishing his run in Dec and handing it off to a rotating team of "Superstars" next year. Consolation prize is that PKJ says he will be writing Superman in whatever else he has in development, and he's teased more is coming with the future House of El characters he created. Likely means he will be taking over JL, and if he makes that a stealth Superman book which follows up on Action plot threads the way Hickman Avengers ended up being a story about Reed Richards, I'm all aboard.
For the other Superfamily members we got more content that we've had in ages. Conner's mini was a fun DBZ inspired series about the Boy of Steel kicking ass in outer space and figuring out what he wants from life. Supergirl got a neat Special from Tamaki in the vein of King's Woman of Tomorrow, and an excellent team up issue with Martian Manhunter vs. Doomsday by Watters and Barrows. Power Girl had a series of great backups in Action by Leah Williams and Sauvage and then a much more mixed-ly received ongoing series. Despite being his freshman comics assignment, Dorn turned in a solid Steelworks mini that continued the Steel/Lana romance that Pak set up after Bendis seemed to backtrack from it. Yang even came back to write a backup for Kenan that made me want to see Yang take over Action from PKJ on a permanent basis. Jon continues to flounder under Taylor's pen, with the awful Adventures of Superman mini cementing that Jon as a character is basically unsalvageable.
Last for the mainline we have Waid and Mora still on World's Finest. Waid had the opposite trajectory as PKJ, staring the year weakly with a frankly boring Amazo arc. His second arc of the year turned out to be the weakest take on Superman and Batman's first meeting I've ever read, with Waid's Silver Age fanboyism and refusal to have the two be at odds resulting in tepid interactions against an underwhelming villain in Jax-Ur. Despite that, Waid managed to assuage fears he was washed with a return to Kingdom Come arc that follows up on what happened to Boy Thunder. World's Finest managed to end the year as one of the strongest books in DC's lineup. Mora of course managed to compensate for Waid's fall off in writing with peak art and action at all times.
Elseworlds wise we had the first issue of the fantastic Last Days of Lex Luthor by Waid and Hitch, Cantwell and Rodriguez writing a solid Superman three parter in The Brave & The Bold anthology, Russel managing to overcome my butthurt over Batman eating up far too many pages in Space Age, and Priest writing Superman undergoing a cosmic odyssey in Lost. Sadly Venditti's follow up mini to his sleeper hit in Superman '78 has thus far been underwhelming, so not everything has been a banger.
Obviously one of the biggest surprise announcements was the return of Joe Casey to DC, and the Superman corner specifically with a Zod book. Pitching it as his effort to make Zod into Superman's Dr. Doom, and intended as a direct violent opposite to his run making Superman a pacifist, this announcement has my attention and interest. Perhaps we may finally be on the verge of Zod getting his due in the comics. Tomasi meanwhile is doing a Sinister Sons mini that features Lor paired with the son of Sinestro, which might be connected to this is some way.
Media
The first Superman cartoon since the 90s in My Adventures With Superman turned out to be an utter delight. Strong performances from the main trio of Clark, Lois, and Jimmy make this show the best take on all three, and the rest of the Daily Planet crew have never been better than they have been here. Weak approaches to Superman's Rogues was balanced out by three all time takes on General Sam Lane, Mxy, and Parasite. Cannot wait for S2 and thus far the reception seems to have been positive (overreaction to Lois aside), offering the hope that more seasons may be ordered. The other animated Superman and Supergirl of the Tomorrowverse had a solid showing in the Legion of Superheroes movie, but Justice League Warworld turned out to be an overambitious mess. Next year we will be getting a CoIE trilogy that seems poised to kill off the nascent Tomorrowverse, which was met with shrugs of indifference.
S3 of Superman & Lois managed to be a step up from the previous season thanks to the excellent performance of the actor playing Bruno Mannheim, the villain of the season. Hoechlin, Tulloch, and Parks continued to shine, and the show managed to beat the odds and be renewed for one final season to wrap things up before Gunn debuts the next film Superman. New actor for Jon also managed to be quite good, and Jordan seems to have realized what a shit he was being. rooting for this show to land the plane because it was enjoyable despite it's many shortcomings.
On the film side we officially got a new Superman and Lois in David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan, with Nicholas Hoult playing Lex Luthor, for James Gunn's Superman: Legacy. Holding out hope for one other Superman Rogue to be added to this, either Lobo played by Momoa or Brainiac. All of the casting thus far has been on point and it's certainly paints a picture of either ambition or hubris on Gunn's part to cast so many heroes. Otherwise the script for the Supergirl movie has been written already, hinting that Supergirl might be next up after Superman for release. Sasha Calle will apparently not be reprising her role, no surprise considering The Flash turned out to be one of the biggest bombs ever despite blatant nostalgia bait with CGI ghosts of previous actors including Cage, Reeves, and Reeve.
On the video game side everything remains awful, but that's just the default for Superman alas.
Not a bad year honestly. Wish we got news a Superman video game was in dev or got a renewal announcement for MAWS, but otherwise I'm optimistic about the state of Superman outside of comics for the first time in ages. Inside comics I continue to mostly enjoy the Superman books, excited to find out if PKJ is getting JL, but am concerned this Superstars initiative for Action is going to be dismissed as filler.
We've got Aaron/Timms, Williamson/Sandoval, Waid/Henry, and one last mystery team next year, and I want to throw Tom King's hat into the ring as the guy to take over Action. He wants to write a Superman ongoing, he's pals with Gunn, he's ignited excitement and interest in WW again amongst the general audience for the first time since Rucka, and he'd be a good balance to Williamson in terms of tone and content. If not him then Ram V (who recently expressed interest in doing Superman with Doc Shaner), or Gene Yang would also be excellent choices.
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Like if Hasbro decided I get to be in control.
Okay, brief history for those who missed my reviews: IDW held the rights to both Transformers and My Little Pony. For 8 issues in total they crossed over the two properties twice while teasing a third time that sadly never came to be. So what would be my plan for this? Well, it is going to be much bigger than the previous crossover. MUCH bigger.
Comic #1
It will be a year later. The Autobots and Decepticons are currently on the verge of breaking out into war again. But they are holding it off as the promised reunion of Ponies and Transformers is coming. It will be a combination of ideals: a Cultural Exchange to highlight the best of both worlds, a Swap Meet for any one side to get items the others have. And a Friendly Competition open to all racers.
But behind the scenes, the Quintesson were setting up their own things. They captured a Transformer who was in both crossovers (not doing a specific one) and found out as much as they could. But during their studies, they find out about another world. One that looks like the Transformers’ Earth but full of Humanoid Equestrians. This led them to discover that there are more worlds.
So when it was time to Open the Space Bridge to begin this exchange, that’s when the Quintesson made their move. The Ponies, seeing their new friends in trouble, go to help but the Judge Quintesson eventually takes control of the Space Bridge. And in a bright flash everything goes white. When vision returned, it was a twisted world that seemed to combine Cybertron with Equestria and some other landmarks recognizable to fans but not them.
In this world, the Quintesson are in charge and they want to use the Ponies' Magic to take control of Cybertron and the Rest of the Universe. But they wonder, which universe should they take over. And that’s when we see that it's not just a crossover with G4 Ponies and G1 Transformers: It's a crossover with every Generation of Ponies and Transformers.
The Tie In Comics
And here is where my big thing is, there will be three sets of comics 4 issues each. Each one features two stories each. The first one is like the original: Ponies and Transformers interacting with each other in various ways. Ponies and Transformers fighting together against another pair or against each other. Stuff like that. And as you figured, the other two series will focus solely on Transformers and Pony Crossovers with each other.
You can have stuff like Movie Prime facing Animated Optimus. All the Starscreams try to unite to take over their various Megatrons only to fight among themselves. Knockout horrified of the Transformers who share his name, Basically this set of series are for those solely interested in seeing the Transformers in this crossover.
And on the pony side, you can have the Equestria Girls version actually meet their Pony counterparts. You can see the G1 Ponies interact with G5. Izzy and Pinkie Pie uniting to cause their own kind of mayhem. Callbacks to the G1/G4 Crossover. Maybe even the Elseworld Stories from the Show and Comics interacting like Chrysalis' Army taking on Nightmare Moon.
The Final Issue...
And like DC’s Armageddon 2001, the thing trying it up are two issues of its own. Just as the Quintesson decided to take them all, all the sides decided to unite to attack them. Basically an all out brawl between all the Transformers and Ponies Vs the Quintessons forces, which includes the minions from those elseworlds as they have taken over their leaders.
Eventually the heroes trump and the Quintessons are sent to a place beyond time. Seeing how well the two sides work together, Megatron and Optimus Prime finally settled their beef and agreed to full peace. Everyone says goodbye to each other and to hopefully prevent something from this from happening again, they decide to ensure the Space Bridge can never be used for inter-dimensional travel.
But regardless of that, they feel that one day they will meet each other again in friendlier terms. They all leave learning that Friendship Truly is the Right of All Sentient Beings.
And that’s basically how I would do a third crossover. Of course, this will likely be a nightmare to do but that’s what these Twist of Fates are for, a nice what if.
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What will Cassandra Cain's role be in 'The Doom That Came to Gotham? 🤔
Disclaimer: this is a blog I posted on Amino, I'm copying and pasting it here to again see if people like my shit, I've done a lot of blogs and reviews on Amino about Cass, I'm just seeing if people actually think I'm good at this thing because I don't really know, I guess I have low self-esteem or something lmao.
...
Or more accurately Kai Li Cain to be precise.
Now I'm not expecting a 100% accurate adaptation of Cass from this movie, but it is nice to see her in it.
It's an Elseworlds tale so I'm expecting the character to be mighty different from her original counterpart.
Though it is still cool to see another adaptation of Cass.
Now, as said the character's official name is "Kai Li" Cain.
I have a theory though for how she'll be called Cassandra in the film.
It's because the name Cassandra has a very unique meaning, Kai Li will probably be referred to as one in the film as they brush off her warnings
And as we see in the trailer, she appears to be distressed by something and it looks like she saw something get destroyed or maybe saw the future, it's unknown yet.
So I think Kai Li will have a pretty important role in the movie, while also taking Tim Drake's role in the original book where he initially survives, so Kai Li might as well.
Also Tim is the one to initially meet the Oliver Queen of this universe too, so there will likely be a scene between him and Kai Li.
But yeah that's my main speculation on what will happen with Cass or "Kai Li" in this film.
If you haven't seen the trailer for 'The Doom That Came to Gotham' go here:
youtube
So that's my final little blog here for National Cassandra Cain Day! Hope everyone enjoyed all of the stuff I did for her today. :)
Till next year! But tbh I'll still be making blogs about Cass throughout the year so... lmfao.
Anyways, as always stay tuned!
Same bat-time, same bat-channel!
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Obsessed with gl: bmp Hal just straight up shooting a man, not wearing any clothes under the ring, and somehow maintaining the feral parallax energy WITH the fear bug retcon. Truly surreal.
IT'S THE BEST SUPERHERO MOVIE I'VE EVER SEEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. IT'S THE PARALLAX MOVIE I'VE ALWAYS DREAMED OF. IT'S EVERYTHING.
i'm not even joking, i just sincerely don't understand any of the complaints about green lantern: beware my power -- i don't just think it's fun or surreal or camp (though it is, in fact, every single one of those things) but i legitimately think it's a well-written, utterly fantastic movie. first off, it's probably the best animation we've ever gotten out of a dcau movie and it certainly stands out in the current landscape of animated movies as a whole, it's just gorgeous to look at and the fluidity of movement kept making me point at the screen and scream. secondly, it's quite frankly an impeccable adaptation of the intertwined storylines it's playing with.
while i'm definitely a stickler for canon, i also understand dc's animated universe to be something of an elseworlds and i consider the true measure of a good adaptation to be the ability to capture the heart of the story being told -- and beware my power does that like nothing i've ever seen before! the rann-thanagar war plays out exactly as it should, and i did get a little insane about adam strange's comic-accurate scar, and it oddly becomes the perfect setting for this particular version of parallax: it allows hal's motive to stay the same, it's still destruction and senseless loss of life and disillusionment with the green lantern corps' ability to do good that lead him to the conclusion that he could set it all right if given enough power to do so.
my issue with the fear bug retcon has always been the fact that it absolves hal of blame, whereas here he's very obviously in control of his actions and aware of what he's doing, the bug stays merely a trigger in coast city's absence and that suits me just fine (especially when we get the single most homoerotic scene i've ever had the pleasure of witnessing in an animated movie). in effect, hal stays himself. he's intelligent and ruthless yet frantic like the parallax of the 90s had been, he's the greatest of the green lanterns and written in a way that finally makes explicit the subtext that has always been there -- there's only one path after reaching that status and seeing through the guardians' lies, and it's the path sinestro had taken back when he'd been the greatest of the lanterns.
one complaint i keep seeing is something along the lines of this movie having made parallax a 'story about genocide' but that's what parallax has always been, the rann-thanagar war takes coast city's place but it doesn't change a thing about the story beats and hal & sinestro's massacre of the glc (more impactful now that they're together, i'd argue) is no more of a necessary evil that it had ever been before. beware my power is intimately familiar with the story its telling, even if the setting has been changed.
i also think the characterisation for everyone involved - oliver queen and shayera particularly -- was fantastic, and i enjoyed john quite a lot as a protagonist. there's the usual issues, of course, but it's neither here nor there that he'd been made a marine instead of an architect over twenty years ago in geoff johns' retcons. i also don't think they're using kyle's story as much as people claim they are, there's certainly similarities but it's a wholly original thing.
it's genuinely my absolute favourite green lantern movie of any sort, and without a doubt one of the best hal jordans i've ever seen! i'm sorry to have turned this into a mini-review but i CANNOT recommend the movie enough to anybody who might be seeing this. if you like 90s hal, you're gonna love it!!!!!!!!
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In spite of how good the films are, I really do hate what the Nolan films did in the perception of Batman these days. As good as TDK is, sometimes I feel like it created more problems for superhero movies than it solved
I actually wrote a review saying just that sort of thing a year ago!
As good as the films are, they really did lead to this idea that superhero movies need to be ashamed of their comic origins. Everything needs to be gritty, grounded, and realistic. It’s not much of a shock we got films like Man of Steel (which made the Superman Mythos into a dour Christ allegory) and Thor (which tried to write off gods and magic as aliens) in its wake. Thank god for directors like Gunn, Waititi, and Wan for injecting colorful comic book absurdity back into superhero cinema in a way that still leaves room for mature themes and strong characters.
I think the bottom line is Nolan’s Batman films are great movies, but shit comic book adaptations. They’re fine as elseworlds stories but they should not be the gold standard. ESPECIALLY since Batman has some real weirdos in his rogues that can’t be done 100% realistically (Arkham Knight did a great job with Man-Bat but that’s still a dude who is turning into a giant bat monster, Nolan could never)
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