With the passing of Adam West, we thought it would be only fitting to take this week’s Small Screen Heroes and do a commentary track for the grand daddy of all super-hero films, Batman the Movie, based off the classic Batman 66 TV series. Batch enlists Adam Bunch to be his Boy Wonder (eww gross) and the dynamic duo wax nostalgic about the flick as well ask the important questions like: What’s with all the obvious signage? How much poon is Alfred slaying by cruising around in the Batmobile when Bruce isn’t looking and exactly how much coke is the Riddler on right now?
Adam Bunch from the Bunch: Bagged and Boarded podcast joins Batch this week for some deep in the paint comic talk.
Supersons is awesome even though Damian Wayne is a dick, Thor looks like he’s going to get his hammer back in time for the new movie and what happened at the end of The Clone Conspiracy?
The latest goings on in Flash, Supergirl, Legends and Arrow are recapped, the casting news on the new X-Men universe TV show, as well as the epic teaser to Deadpool 2 that got dropped on comic fandom. And is this truly the last time we will see Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and is he ever gonna put on that damn yellow spandex?
This episode of Small Screen Heroes is the first our classic superhero tv show commentaries where we spotlight some of great and not so great episodes of shows we’ve all grown up with and love dearly.
So this week I recruit Episode 4 as we put on our respective cowls and spandex (i’m definitely Batman, he’s Robin) and watch some episodes of the classic Adam West Batman series, specifically episodes 5 and 6 of the first season entitled the Joker is wild and Batman is riled. These episodes are huge because of their the first episodes of Cesar Romero as the Joker, so strap on your utility belts, get turbines to speed, tell Aunt Harriet to go suck a ba-ba-dick and enjoy the ride.
I don’t typically feel compelled to write 500 words on a movie trailer, but I think there’s no denying that the recently released Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer was a pretty divisive experience for many fans. Rather than just go on a full-blown social media tirade, I’ve decided to come here to air my grievances. As a lifelong Batman fan I want nothing more than for this movie to do well but after this most recent look at the film I can’t help but think there’s NO FUCKING WAY they’re getting this anywhere close to right.
The Acting
I know judging the acting in a film based off of a trailer is ridiculous but it cannot be ignored just how distracting Jesse Eisenberg comes across in this promo. I think most of us have been curious to see how he fares but now that we have gotten a decent look at his take on the character there is a lot to be desired. Personally, I don’t have much of a connection to Luthor outside of Gene Hackman’s performance in the Reeves films. There, Luthor was a cheesy icon, but he works really well in that film. Here, Eisenberg seems like…well…Mark Zuckerberg, and I don’t think any of us wanted that. Cavill also looks to be incredibly vapid as a badass as well. His angry face when he rips off Batfleck’s mask is ridiculous. All that being said, I am liking what Affleck is bringing to the table here. I think he has a take on the character that we haven’t seen before and I really do believe that when he decides to kick the shit out of someone he is going to do it. Maybe that is a bit of hero bias, I can’t honestly say one way or another.
The CGI
I know this is a popular thing to harp on but take a good hard look at this trailer and you tell me why so much of what’s happening here had to be CGI. Granted, computer effects are a great tool when used SPARINGLY, and obviously with Superman you have a character who flies regularly, but I just don’t think that this particular style is going to translate well to film. Seeing the grounded and somewhat reality based Bruce Wayne squaring off with Doomsday or whatever the fuck that is is never going to look good. The tone of Batman just won’t work well with this. Which brings me to my next gripe:
The Direction
Part of what I love about Batman is the realism. It looks like that is being completely ignored/looked over for this film. I expected a level of fantasy and spectacle here but I did not think that we were abandoning any attempt at real-world grounding here. Also, I absolutely hate when Batman is utilizing a gun and it makes him look especially silly when standing next to Wonder Woman and Superman. Somehow, putting Batman in that situation lessens him as a force, which was one of my biggest worries going into this. It is fairly clear from the trailer that he will be in a largely reactionary capacity, which is a shame. Also, if Zack Snyder could fucking explain why they just decided to copy the Abomination from The Incredible Hulk and make him Doomsday I’d love to hear it. Great. Yet another superhero movie where the hero/heroes must fight a giant mongoloid monster in the third act. Gee, I wonder if they can put aside their differences for the greater good in time? Also, can we bet the over/under on super slo-mo shots here? Anyone know the line?
The Feel
This section is difficult to describe, but I just don’t think this trailer is properly capturing the feel of what this movie should be. It seems like there are a few aspects of the film that are pretty good on a fundamental level. Having a Batman that is aged and rugged is great, but I’m curious as to how he is supposed to interact with Superman who is relatively green to all of this. Aren’t they supposed to be relative equals? Despite his powers it looks like Affleck could take Cavill ALL FUCKING DAY DOOD. That’s a problem already. I thought that maybe Snyder would find a way to flesh him out a bit but he seems to have lost his way there. Wonder Woman looks like a sequel-baity joke. Wonder Woman looks like the punchline to a cruel joke that we haven’t been told yet. The inclusion of scenes from Man of Steel is intriguing but I find myself not really caring about them much. For a film that’s trying to separate itself from the Marvel movies and define a new cinematic universe it seems to be relying on hokey imitations of tropes already used in the aforementioned studio’s films. I would love it if I am dead wrong about this movie but Snyder’s track record suggests that I won’t be. An equally wise man said on Facebook just this past week the following:
“Soooo… Batman V Superman looks like complete dog shit. If you disagree I no longer trust your taste, about anything.” -J.E. Kupka
Kupka, I can’t help but agree with you here buddy. Hopefully Affleck makes it out unscathed because FUCK THIS MOVIE. And THAT is why Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Trailer 3 SUCKS!
Nick “The Dick” in the house! This week on Comic Binge, I touch base with a couple of the longer running titles of New 52, but should they still be running? The first book this week was a loaner from a friend so I got it a little earlier than normal, had I been waiting to get it from the library. This was Batman & Robin, Vol. 6: The Hunt for Robin, and it was a continuation of the greatness from the previous volume. Now, it’s so hard not to spoil the big story of the previous volume, and talk about this newest volume. While I really don’t give a shit to spoil anyone, I know how big this particular event was, and I’d hate to ruin the epicness of the issue for you. I knew what happened, but I remained in the dark about Batman & Robin‘s pinnacle issue for one reason alone. I knew it was going to be an emotional one, and I wanted to feel that on the first read, and I did. Now, this new volume finds Batman after Ra’s al Ghul for stealing what he believes should belong to him. I can see both sides, but goddamnit Batman wants to have all that he has ever held dear in his life, or so we think. The book opens in a dark, murky ocean, filled with dead bodies and plenty of mystery. The book doesn’t tackle into too much action, because we’re still emotionally hung over from the big event. However, this book is excellent, from the art down to the storytelling. Someone has picked up on the formula of what made the Batman book by Snyder so great. It’s emotion, and good storytelling, excellent writing, suitable art, dark atmospheres that bring out the extra Batsy-ness. I loved this volume, and I would highly recommend it. But, DO NOT PICK UP THIS VOLUME UNTIL YOU HAVE READ THE PREVIOUS VOLUME! I cannot stress this enough, but for those who have read it, I’m sure you will understand.
Next up this week was Justice League, Vol. 6: Injustice League. This book has essentially been a long time coming, as the Injustice League as sort of made slight appearances elsewhere before this. I was pretty excited about this one because not only has the New 52 Justice League been pretty great, so have its surrounding titles from the first wave of this new movement. The art in Justice League is one of its strong suits, and I didn’t quite feel like it was to maximum capacity in this book. Also, the story wasn’t nearly as great as I’d hoped it would have been. Honestly, I can’t hardly even remember what the story was about nearly a few days after completing the volume. It was decent, but not memorable. If you’re looking for villain team-ups, look elsewhere. One would hope that such a strong title at the beginning would continue to remain strong, especially after a great previous volume. However, we may be seeing the decline in some of the stronger titles because their stories are no longer there to tell, as most of them have ended and rebooted in a way. Aquaman just did this recently with their fifth volume, without rubbing out what happened before it, they were able to do sort of a soft reset that really resembled Aquaman‘s first volume in the New 52. While I won’t turn you away from Injustice League, but I would certainly recommend making sure it’s the book you want before you pick it up. Because of event books such as Forever Evil, it can make this book a tough pick up from where we left off. If it were up to me, I would go ahead and just stop at the fifth volume and move on to other titles from there. Who knows, maybe we’ll see a proper Injustice League spin-off come from this book, or another, possibly Batman-laced new story for the Justice League to deal with? Either way, after this week, we’ve got plenty of new stuff to review your way. So stay tuned to Binge and we’ll see you next week!
Following my defeat this week in the Binge Fantasy League, I had a drink and utilized my well-earned free time to read some books. One of the things I’ve been waiting to get to is Grant Morrison’s run on X-Men, commonly referred to as New X-Men. I’m not super crazy like some loyalists are with Morrison’s writing, but I do tend to enjoy his less overbearing titles and runs. When I first started reading comics again when I started working at the library, a lot of Morrison’s stuff was recommended to me. I tried out comics that I used to like with Marvel, like old X-Men, but I couldn’t really get into it as an adult. It just seemed silly, and full of unnecessary dialogue, because now I was actually reading these books and not merely looking at the pictures to tell the story. So my supervisor at the time recommended the Final Crisis saga in DC, as well as Batman R.I.P. which is one of the many well-reviewed Bat-stories of the last decade or more. Morrison’s saga in killing Batman and running him through the gauntlet is still among one of the best Batman books I’ve ever read. From the beginning, all the way through into Batman Incorporated and his Batman & Robin title, it’s all just such phenomenal work. It’s high-reaching, and the concepts are heavy, but if you have the patience and the time it can really work for you. So I find myself after one and a half volumes of his New X-Men, finding that same sort of underlying game of hunting concepts as it relates to the real, modern world. New X-Men is chock full of comparisons to today’s society via the struggle of mutants, and obvious villains and new heroes. So far, I’m really enjoying the series and mid-way through the second volume, Jean Grey has had an excellent moment defending the students of Xavier’s school. I look forward to continuing to read this series, but for right now I’ll leave you with this early numerical review for the first volume, titled E is for Extinction.
Next up was Ant-Man‘s new book with Marvel NOW! called Second-Chance Man. Now, I’ve seen the movie so I can say that the book does refer to it seems, but not enough to where it could become a possible spoiler situation. I really like Scott Lang as Ant-Man, and the writer for this book absolutely captures Paul Rudd’s sense of humor and delivery in writing form. I couldn’t help but to keep reading it in Rudd’s voice as Lang, and just personalizing the character as the movie version. I’m pretty sure it was done this way, much like the Guardians of the Galaxy after their unexpected blockbuster success. It’s all about marketing and gaining from the movie universe as that is by far their cash cow, and where in the past that normally doesn’t translate well, this book is another example of doing right. Now it really helps when you have a writer like Nick Spencer on board, with whom my lady and I have had a recent binge by reading up to current issues on his Morning Glories series. Which by the way, if you haven’t read that yet you need to give it a shot. A lot like Lost in structure and style, I’ve never found anything comparably confusing and entertaining as Lost until Morning Glories. However, Spencer does an excellent job at characterizing Scott Lang into the book, and also building a quality relationship between him and his daughter. These family story lines in the recent Marvel books I’ve been reading have really been hitting home. I’m not sure why, but they’re really working for me. The villain in this book isn’t terrific, as Scott is merely setting up life and trying to get back on his feet after defeating Cross and becoming Ant-Man. But the final page leaves us with a possible life-saving adventure, which looked like it was going to pretty cool. Who knows, it could even take up the whole next book if done right. And if Nick Spencer is still in charge, let’s have at it!
It’s been awhile since I read it, but I forget to review it here at Binge and it was worthy of mentioning. It’s ultimately nothing most of us haven’t seen before, since it serves to retell the origins of DC’s best and brightest. However, I did like reading through and seeing it redone with new art and in the new style of the New 52 books. We all mostly know the origins of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, etc., but it’s kind of neat to go back every once awhile and reread them to get a feel for the origin again. I read so many comics, that the origins rarely go away for me, but I thought this was a neat little book that gives each character their time to shine for a few pages. This volume only contains 4 issues, each of which are split up to tell the origins of a couple of characters, so it’s a pretty breezy read. Anything that’s easy to pick up and look at will always get a good review for me, but I felt that as unnecessary as this book was, it was fun to read. I’d be interested to see if they continued the series and told the origins of other DC characters that people are less familiar with. I’ll admit that there were a few contained within this book that I did not know, but at least had some semblance of where the story was coming from. I’d recommend this book if you’re looking for a quick DC read, or want a book that is self-contained and has the majority of the popular origin stories within.
The other book I had this week was the first book in the Marvel NOW! series for Cyclops. Yes, Cyclops has his own book. At first, I was hesitant, because Cyclops normally is not a character that stands on his own. He stands on his own ground and principles, all of the time, but rarely do we see Cyclops from the beginning or on his own. In this first volume titled Starstruck, we get to see the origins of Cyclops and where he came from. The book focuses on his relationship with his father, and how his father utilized his abilities for his personal gains. It was sort of an odd book because on one hand, it seemed like they were really going out of their way to highlight his relationship with his father for some reason. Then on the other hand, his dad really didn’t seem like that great of a person, or interesting, and you just wanted to see Cyclops break out and go on his way to X-Men stuff. Of course, Cyclops in this book knows that his future holds many opportunities, heartbreaks, and rewarding experiences, but instead of chasing them he wants to be with his father. It was odd considering I read this after Father’s Day, so maybe that’s why it was a little strange to me story wise. But for the most part, it was a readable book. I’m not usually one to go crazy about any Marvel NOW! title other than Deadpool, but I’d give this a shot if you’re a fan of the character. Just don’t go in expecting a whole lot of the Cyclops you know, because instead you will read about a boy who is truly obsessed with his father and wants everything but to be the person he becomes.
REVIEW: Batgirl has not been one of my favorite titles in the New 52, but I continue to read it because I cannot deny a Batman title a second, third, fourth, or fifth chance. Maybe sixth chance. The premiere volume of Batgirl just did not do it for me. It was geared towards a younger crowd it felt like, and Batgirl just wasn’t the kind of character I would get into. Batwoman has been successfully rocking the hell out of their title, at least the ones that I’ve read by the original showrunners J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman. They nail every single element of a comic in that book, and make the female Batman of Batwoman feel like even more of a badass than Bruce Wayne himself. But the fourth volume here in Batgirl is what finally set this title off for me, and I’m glad to see that it has gotten darker, serious, and a little more intense.
The third volume of this title benefitted from the Death of the Family arc that covered quite a few of the Batman titles. All of those books were just phenomenal for all of the many reasons you would think like The Joker’s return, Scott Snyder’s source writing, and the effect it has on each individual world. So to follow up such a dark and intense story, surely they had to make the one that they made here. Batgirl is being hunted by her father James Gordon, as both deal with the death of their own family in their own separate ways. Batgirl is struggling with being a hero, and what it means to her and her life. The inner turmoil that Gail Simone creates with her writing is on par with some of the great introspective writing we’ve seen that in the aforementioned Batwoman. I was really happy to see Batgirl combatting with these really heavy aftermath themes from the Death of the Family arc. Also, Ventriloquist is a really great villain that is haunting this book, and despite being the villain is totally balanced with all of the other story going on in the Gordons’ Gotham.
REVIEW: To start, I’m not that big of a fan of Andy Kubert’s Batman books, and they never seem to be anything that great at all. Half of the time they are just altered compilations of already Batman stories anyways, which in itself is just stupid. But anyways, this one deals with the events of Batman’s death, leading to Damian Wayne taking over the mantle of the Bat. In reading the plot, you would be led to believe that this book may actually be worth reading. And it was that book, but only at first. What starts as a pretty promising story with Batman’s death, becomes something else entirely.
So when you wonder what happens if Damian becomes Batman, you don’t actually think it could be too bad. But then, Batman comes back! Yes, the whole reason that the story was unique and different was because there is no “Batman” Batman, and then they bring it back. This alone just caused me to stagger about an issue into the book, and just really question why I had any hope for this book in the first place. So I keep reading, hoping that it turns around and becomes that book you hope it will be. Denied. This book goes nowhere, but in the absolute opposite direction of where it should, and not surprisingly it yet again uses material from other books in hopes of making their own easier to swallow. It’s an awful tactic, and I really just did not like this book. The story just didn’t amount to anything and only got weirder and weirder. The art was okay, but nothing to pop your eyeballs out at. Andy Kubert’s books are either just not for me, or not for anyone, and the word on this one has me leaning towards the latter. Read your Batman elsewhere.