Trailer Watch: "Man of Steel"

I missed the teaser for Man of Steel, Snyder's upcoming Superman film, at my IMAX screening of TDKR. It's online now, and it's a chilling teaser, and truly a teaser. Its very understated, as we see a young Superman reflecting on his earlier life, with a voiceover talking about him being a leader that people will follow. The music is excellent, subtly epic in nature. I'm looking forward to this. Hopefully an actually worthy Superman film. It seems to have deeper roots already.

 

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Movie Review: "The Dark Knight Rises"

The Dark Knight Rises

Nolan ends his trilogy with a whimper, not a bang. Not literally, of course, given the bomb that explodes. But in terms of character development and tone, I felt we lost a lot in this conclusion. It's late and there's work tomorrow, so I'll leave a plot summary for another time, and instead focus in my thoughts on the film.

Batman has been gone for eight years, and Bruce Wayne has become reclusive as well. Wayne is just as much a legend as Batman. Why did Wayne become reclusive? We learn he created some fusion reactor project that failed, and he became a recluse after that. Maybe he's nothing without batman, so fine, acceptable. But his motivations for returning are sketchy. After hearing bout some guy called Bane, he figures he needs to return. I figured, after being a villain, becoming the enemy for eight whole years,it would take a lot to bring him back, to give him the motivation to return to a city that cast him out. Like a leper.

Bane also had some odd motivations. League of shadows, destroy the city, that makes sense. Let's create class warfare in the meantime, to give them hope before destroying them? Odd. How about we just destroy them? And why where people suddenly against the rich? We didn't get an indication of that beforehand. It felt a bit forced.

Catwoman was done well. She was sly, elusive, we got just enough backstory. Tate was also done well, and her reveal as Talia was good, albeit a bit late in the game. And that reveal turned Bane from a decently interesting character to a henchman.... again. The Bane of the comic world was a genius, figuring out Batman's identity. The Bane here knew the identity not from keen observation of his prey, but because he was from the league. There are indications he was smart, in making calculations, but not on the level of the comic counterpart.

And the biggest gripe I had was the change in Bruce's character. Batman should've died. I didn't think that going in, not do I think it's the best option, but once Nolan went there, he should've stayed there. Bruce dedicated his life to Gotham, to being a symbol. Dying a symbol makes sense. Sneaking out of his life to live a happy life with Catwoman abroad? Seemed out of place. It would've been good if the character development led to that, but it seemed so sudden. As did Alfred's disappearance for most of the film, although they explained that. There also weren't as many good quotes as the past.

And Robin? Seriously, Nolan? It's enough that Bruce left the legacy to some random cop, but you had to spoon feed us the name Robin? And of course, everyone in the theater clapped like that was some fantastic plot point. And how did Robin figure out Bruce was Batman? Sure he was an orphan too, and saw Bruce as a fake face. But it was just thrown into the film without any good exposition or basis for the audience. Wudle made more sense if Gordon deduced it, and he was the one to convince the world that Btman was needed. I mean, he did in his hospital bed, but it felt sorta unurgent for Batman to come back at that time.

Overall, I think Nolan overreached here. We got inconsistent character development, bland villains, and an overall lackluster feeling at the end. BB remains the most consistent, smooth film, while TDK tackled a lot but compensated with Joker's theme. TDKR seemed to stop short on all accounts. I liked the return t the league storyline, maxed it somewhat full circle. But certain things, like Lucius coercing Bruce to be Batman by showing him fancy gadgets, seemed out of place. An inconsistent and disappointing end to what should've been a fine film legacy.

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Film Retrospective: The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight


The Joker wrecks havoc across Gotham, and his performance remains as chilling and scary as it did the first time around. TDK tries to handle a lot, which is does so mostly successfully. Nolan starts off by detailing the current mob situation in Gotham. The mob is trusting Lao to handle their money, and through inside contacts, realized that Gordon knows where their banks are. Lao takes the money into safekeeping before Gordon can get to it. And then, the Joker arrives, hitting the core of the issue: they need to kill Batman before they can get to business as usual. And so they trust him. Meanwhile, Bruce trusts Dent to be the new hero of Gotham, a public hero, not a vigilante. Lao and the mob are brought to justice, but the Joker starts causing random chaos, asking for Batman's identity, and then turning Harvey into a victim of madness through Rachel's death. In the end, Batman has to take the fall. Batman isn't the hero Gotham needs, because they need a white knight like Dent, someone to give them hope. But it's the hero the city deserves, a city that cannot move past corruption, a city that let a madman neatly bring it to ruin.

Nolan juggles these multiple storylines at the expense of the cohesiveness of the film. It lacks the sharpness of BB, and as a result, seems a little hard to grasp. For example, when Dent pretended to be Batman, how did they know it would lure the Joker out? W did Bruce let Harvey claim he was Batman? Little things like that are a bit above me in this film, and I think it's because Nolan tried to be a bit more complicated that necessary. Maybe part of it was to show the plans people had, and how they all just fall in on themselves.


Cinematographically, this film was beautiful. The chase in the middle of the film was so well done, as were much of the aerial scenes. This film was very good, but it may e overrated.... how TDKR completes the saga will help define how good TDK ultimately is, I think.


 

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Film Retrospective: "Batman Begins"

Batman Begins

As part of my preparation leading up to TDKR, I'm reading a few key comics, like the Knightfall arc, the recent NOTO crossover, and watching the two Nolan bat films so far. To me, Batman Begins remains the better of the two to date. We have a villain we can relate to, and even agree with. The storyline is crisp, solid, and cohesive. And, for once, we truly get into to mind and character of Bruce Wayne. Nolan probably got inspiration from the best batman stories out there, including Miller's Year One, but that doesn't trivialize the accomplishment he achieved with this film. Many credit TDKR with changing the superhero genre, but I think BB did more to further that. It took the tone of the character into account when crafting the film. The marvel films did that as well, but the don't get as much credit because they aren't as, I guess, oscary.

BB is such a well-made film. The dialogue is solid, and weaves the narrative together. Ducard's whole speech on facing your fear, doing justice, and so on manifest themselves well in the film. The opposing viewpoint of Wayne and Ducard paints the narrative in shades of gray, not black-and-white. And the little elements of the story, like the shipments of the poison, the mob backstory, and so on, are expertly teased throughout the story until we get the grand finale. Also, focusing heavily on Commissioner Gordon was a smart move.


I hope TDKR takes more notes from here than from TDK. TDK had a truly chilling performance from Ledger, and I think that carried the film more than the narrative itself. BB kept the plot relatively straightforward; TDK got a bit convoluted at times. That being said, it is the middle chapter of a trilogy, and can only properly be judged likely after TDKR closes the saga.


 

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Untitled

Big news at comic-con today! Iron Man's got a brand new, gold suit for IM3, and Ben Kingsley is apparently confirmed as the Mandarin! Then, we get a new title: "Thor: The Dark World." Not being well-versed in that character, I'm not sure what that alludes to. But we also get "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," definitely cool and I'm looking forward to that storyline. And best of all.... "Guardians of the Galaxy" is a go!! Marvel is taking a risk, focusing on some seriously B-list or C-list characters, but I hope it pays off. Drax particularly makes sense given his connection with Thanos. And Rocket Raccoon! It's really crazy how much geekdom has taken over Hollywood. A few years ago, I wouldn't have imagined watching The Avengers in movie theaters. Even when The Avengers was released, and rumors were circulating about a Guardians of the Galaxy film, I was skeptical. That's seriously strictly geek territory. There's others they could've chosen, like Ant-Man, Dr. Strange, and even Namor. The GOTG are less known that them. It'll be quite interesting to see how it's done, and how they plan on publicizing it. Then again, they sold "Thor." DC has a lot of catching up to do, although word is that the Man of Steel panel was pretty darned good, and chill-worthy.

I can't wait. Just when you think the best is over with Avengers, it seems like the best is yet to come. Let phase two begin! Here's the latest artwork from the convention:

 

 

 

 

 

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Comics Review: "Night of the Owls"

Night of the Owls

Batman #8


The night of the owls begins as the talons attack Wayne Manor. It seems that at least a dozen of them flew to the manor, and Bruce was able to hold off many while Alfred fled to the batcave. Bruce soon followed suit, but the owls were already there. Bruce and Alfred retreated to the armory, where Alfred picked up a list of owl targets from a microchip Bruce took from a fallen talon. The list included most prominent Gotham political members. While Bruce reduced the batcave temperature to thwart the regenerative capacity of the talons, he began to fight them in a super bat suit. Meanwhile, Alfred put a call out to all members of the bat family: Robin, Tim Drake, Red Hood, Nightwing, Batgirl, and the Birds of Prey. Let the crossover begin!

 

Nightwing #8

The call goes out to Nightwing, as he's investigating his own mysterious murder. Nightwing rushes to Mayor Hady's office, and is able to defeat some of the talons, although a few casualties are suffered. The best part is a recap of someone born in 1901, a poor child who through his juggling skill became a child of Gotham, eventually a talon.... and is now an ancestor of Dick, at the mayor's office, trying to kill him. Very well done, and an excellent start to the NOTO crossover!

 

Batwing #9

Batwing is not a character that I have heard of, so it was interesting reading a crossover NOTO story with him in. A very quick wiki skim told me that Batwing is a suit, worn by this guy from Africa. Lucius Fox and some other guy named Matu were also prominent in this story. Basically, Lucius was helping the other two work on improvements t the Batwing suit, as they are all part of Batman Inc., and afterwards they go to this fancy gala dinner. Unfortunately, the court decides to attack, and a talon is there to kill Lucius. A flashback at the start showed us the late 19th-century court deciding what to do with a particularly animalistic talon.... was this him? The talon was brutal, but after an extended fight, Nightwing was able to defeat him. Overall, this story didn't really add much to the general NOTO story thus far. But I think that's what NOTO is.... the story of how various members of the bat family attempt to fight the owl attack. I like that we actually get to see all these various attacks and who's actually fighting them. I am really looking forward to the next "Batman" book, though, as I think that's where the main storyline is going to develop, given that it set the groundwork for this whole crossover. I also like how snippets of Alfred's call for help are seen in the crossover books. Good stuff thus far.

 

Detective Comics #9

Arkham Asylum is the setting for the next chapter of NOTO. We hear the story told mostly from the viewpoint of Dr. Arkham, who feels pleasure and purpose in trying to rehabilitate criminals, including Clayface and Black Mask. This is, of course, why the court intends to kill him. While Arkham is taking to a rehabilitating Black Mask, the talons attack. Batman arrives in time to hold them off, but in despair, Arkham tells Black Mask to become his old self, and vows to follow him. The inmates of the asylum are let loose to fight the talons in a huge riot, while Batman attempts to flee, but is stopped by Black Mask in the process. Batman doesn't succumb to his mind control and easily defeats him, however. Then, Batman grabs Arkham and leaves in the batmobile, calling out to Nightwing in the meantime. Batman intends to drop Arkham off with Nightwing and track down Lincoln March, apparently to be continued in the next issues of "Batman" and "Birds of Prey." This was a nicely drawn story, and I liked that we not only got to see Arkham, but it's architect as well. Dr. Arkham seems to be an interesting character, so I hope we get to see more of him both in NOTO and afterwards. Cameos from some of the lesser known or the rogues gallery was also a plus.

 

Batman #9

The story continues in the batcave, as Batman fights off the talons, as the temperature in the cave continues to pop. Eventually, the temperature gets so low, the bats come out of their caves. Snyder gives us a nice aside about how the oldest Wayne's who lived in the mansion used owls to hunt down the bat infestations, but the bats only returned with a vengeance as the owls left. After the talons are defeated, with some help from the dinosaur, Batman gets an updated list from Alfred, showing the two targets left to save: Lincoln March and Dr. Arkham. Batman goes to Arkham first, which we saw already, and then he continues to look for March. Unfortunately, he's too late, but March h a parting gift for Bruce Wayne: a list of three likely members of the court. Batman now intends to hunt them down.

 

We also got a treat, part one of Jarvis's account of the fall of the house of Wayne. Odd name choice, given Stark's butler's name. Jarvis is Alfred's father, and served a young Bruce and his parents. Alfred was due to serve him next, but Jarvis learned that the Wayne grounds are cursed. The owls are seemingly after him. Martha, Bruce's mom, didn't like the corruption of Gotham, so decided to relocate. Somehow, Jarvis did something to mess something up, which I assume we will find out soon.

 

Batgirl #9

The batgirl portion of the story starts as a flashback to ancient Japan, as a girl writes to her family about making bomb balloons, and the great honor associated with it. Fast forward a few months, and the same girl is working in Haly's circus and adopted by the talons. In the present, a similar bomb goes off, and Batgirl goes to the scene to find a female talon, who she fights for a while before the talon flees. Meanwhile, the court finds Gordon, and tells him not to intervene, or Barbara dies. So, he doesn't intervene as various crossovers to come are reported to him, including fights with Robin and Red Hood. When he defies the court and tries to call Barbara, the court detonates a bunch of bombs in response. Barbara makes her way there, and then hears Alfred's call. She encounters the talon again, and sends her into one of the bombs, defeating her for now. Meanwhile, Gordon again defies the court and tries to turn on the bat signal, only to have a huge owl signal projected. The court figured the best way to have Gordon do their bidding was by telling him not to. Meanwhile, the talon, who's tongue has been cut out, writes something to Barbara when she asks why the talon didn't just kill her in their fist battle. She writes something like "I hav mask 2 I understand." Unfortunately, I don't quite understand what they meant. Overall, a solid entry into the NOTO story. I le how we get flashbacks for the talons, so they're not just bland enemies.

 

Batman & Robin #9

Robin answers the call of Alfred, and heads to save a military general who is conducting training exercises. The soldiers are very hesitant to follow Damien, but they eventually just do after realizing he knows what he's talking about. The threat? A talon who, many years ago, had to kill someone to get their land for the court. The general is a descendent, although he didn't know because he was adopted after his family was killed. The talon is here to kill him and obtain rights to that land. Thankfully, Robin eventually cuts his head off. This issue was perhaps the weakest of the NOTO crossovers thus far, because it didn't really highlight the personal story of the talon involved. Not a bad story, but nothing overly special either.

 

Birds of Prey #9

Next up are the Birds of Prey, consisting of Black Canary (with a voice that kills, although thankfully she can talk unlike Black Bolt), Sterling the spy, Katana with the magic sword, Batgirl, and Poison Ivy. The birds get the call, and attack the talon. It's not clear who this talons is (except that he's old) nor who his target is. So the issue really becomes a big fight a la AVX: VS, and the birds eventually send him into a train freezer cart to chill out. This was also a weaker issue compared to some others, for it's lack of any story to add to the NOTO crossover. Nice artwork, though.

 

Catwoman #9

Selina Kyle takes center stage as she and a partner, Spark, attempt to rob Penguin of A ancient knife. Turns out that knife belonged to a talon from the 17th century, whose focus on honor caused him to lose a knife, and be shamed by the court before being put to sleep. Newly awakened now, he was assigned to kill Penguin, and to his surprise, he found his knife there as he almost offed Cobblepot. Catwoman and Spark noticed, and fight off the talon. Eventually, Penguin is able to shoot the talon in the head and end the battle. Catwoman leaves the talon with the knife, saying that even villains deserve mercy, something she understands from her own life.

 

Nightwing #9

The story of the Grayson legacy continues as we get more flashbacks into this William Cobb's past. Turns out he continued to court Amelia and even got her pregnant,nut was rejected by her father. Rejected and sad, he joined the court, and after a tough hazing ritual involving months of starvation, he became the best talon of them all. To ensure his legacy, he went back to Amelia's home, stole his son, and had him raised in Haly's circus as a grey son of Gotham (get it?). And now, he is disappointed with his descendent, Dick. They continue to fight, with Dick nearly destroyed. However, he leads his great-grandfather into the sewers, where liquid nitrogen flows in the pipes, and uses the cold to defeat him. Outside of the "Batman" series, this remains the best of NOTO, really fleshing out this talon's story.

 

Red Hood and the Outlaws #9

Red Hood and his allies, a fire-wielding galactic princess and a Hawkeye clone, are next up in the fight against the court. They are hanging out in Chinatown when they receive the call, and decide to help save Mr. Freeze from being assassinated by a talon. Mr. Freeze doesn't want their help, but in the ensuing scuffle, the talon flees. While the two allies fight Freeze, Jason goes after the talon. The talon leads him to Haly's circus, and after realizing that the talon was likely an acrobat, Jason commiserates with him regarding being dead and brought back. The talon says he wants to end life on his terms, and allows Jason to kill him. Meanwhile, Mr. Freeze is apprehended by an electrical arrow, and Jason delivers him to the GCPD. We see what happened to Batgirl, as she dragged her talon to the rooftop as well, changed the owlsignal back to the batsignal, and patiently waits for Batman's safe return. She was about to go all feisty on Jason, but Jason said he did a good deed for once, and left. This was an excellent chapter of NOTO, showing a talon who actually regret and a change of heart, and also showcasing Mr. Freeze. Good stuff.

 

All-Star Western #9

Is Jonah Hex time, as we get a blast from the past, owl style. Or not. I felt completely lost in this book. I didn't really know any of the characters, and the book didn't give a good job of subtly introducing them to new readers. Which is fine, since it's issue 9, but it doesn't mesh well with the rest of the NOTO books. There was a talon attack, and Hex made the talon flee. There was also some battle against some gang, and some hullabaloo at the Wayne Casino in Gotham, but overall the story seemed sorta lame. A side story dealt with Cinnamon getting revenge for her father's death with the assistance of her partner and lover, Nighthawk. Overall, a weird part of NOTO, and probably would've been better if not included.

 

Batman: The Dark Knight #9

This issue picks up where "Batman" #9 left off, with the death of Lincoln March. It's told from the point of view of Alton, the talon who killed March. We learn that Alton was chosen as a talon through a trial by fire at the circus, and became one of the best talons. However, he got rusty with old age, and was told that he was being considered for retirement. So, he went to see his possible successor, none other than Dick Grayson. After another slip up, including an encounter with Batman, he was out to sleep, only to wake to kill March. Which he did, but March shot him, and he died, but reawaken to find Batman there. They fought, but Batman threw him it a window into the sewers, where he survived. There's a super brief cameo from Tim Drake as well.... odd considering he's gracing the cover. And if Batman encountered a talon in the past, wouldn't he remember? A bit weird. Overall, a pretty decent story, and I liked how they focused on Alton's backstory. Now, onto the last few issues of the arc, all from Snyder in "Batman."

 

Batman Annual #1

Mr. Freeze is now in Arkham, following his defeat at the hands of Red Hood. But he has a plan for escape, messing with the wiring and escaping to find Penguin to get his guns back. Next, he plans to go to Wayne Labs and pick up his wife and leave. Robin and Nighwing fail to stop him, but Batman is able to defeat him and send him back to Arkham, using the talon formula that heats up your body temperature. Freeze helped design the talon formula, the culmination of ongoing work since Wayne returned om abroad 6 years before. Through flashbacks, we learn that Wayne tried to stop Freeze's research, but Freeze was so dedicated to saving his wife, he tried to go against Wayne, and ended up in a cryogenic accident in the process, becoming Mr. Freeze. Why not Dr. Freeze, since he has a doctorate? We later learn that Nora isn't actually his wife, but one of the earliest cryogenic patients who Freeze wrote his thesis on, making him a bit deluded. We also get two flashbacks regarding his mother. She fell in the ice and was saved but injured, and some time later, Freeze inexplicably throws her back into the ice, seemingly to die. Odd. Many reviews online seem to be mixed on this issue, since it heavily changed key aspects of Freeze's origins for his new continuity. Regardless, it was a good issue. No direct involvement with the owls, but the elements already in play, such as the talon formula, play a role here, making it a nice aside story.

 

Batman #10

A huge revelation in the story finally arrives, as Bruce hunts down the court. Eventually finding his way back to the abandoned house he was trapped in as a child, Bruce sees that a large number of the court apparently killed themselves. But he knows there's something more behind this. Only after looking at a picture of his parents, and noticing a pin that the late Lincoln March mentioned in recounting his parent's death, did he realize the truth. So, he followed Lincoln's clues to an old children's hospital, where he encounters Lincoln. Lincoln reveals that he was left here as a child, before he was taken by the court to be molded into a political candidate. And, his real name is Thomas Wayne, Jr. Thomas then puts on a newly designed talon suit, and charges at his brother.

 

In the continuing story of Alfred's dad, we learn that while Mrs. Wayne was pregnant with Thomas Jr., the owls were on their case. Jarvis received a call asking him to bring Mrs. Wayne to an abandoned docking bay, but he refused. Instead, they were going to see the new grounds for a school Mrs. Wayne was building for the underprivileged, on the corner of Lincoln and March....

 

Batman #11

The court of owls reaches it's epic finale! Batman and Thomas duke it out, until Batman is captured, and Thomas gives him a flying tour of the city, the way he saw it as a child. A mirrored view from what Bruce had. Then, he tried to kill Bruce on an airplane, but Bruce blew Thomas up, and landed in his new tower in Gotham. Unfortunately, Thomas survived, and tried to kill Bruce again, but in the subsequent explosion, the entire tower fell to the ground. No body was found, by authorities or by Batman. Bruce then reflects with Dick, about how he looked into old records, and he did have a brother, but that baby died in less than a day. Was Lincoln March his brother? Or did he court use the existing evidence to make up a compelling lie? Either way, the court still lives, and March likely does as well. Batman vows to keep watching, to keep an eye out for the court and for his possibly real brother.

 

The last part of the fall of the house of Wayne details Jarvis's last days. Mrs. Wayne lost the baby, and Jarvis, for failing to comply with orders, had himself on the owl hit list. They came for him, and Jarvis sent a letter of warning to Alfred just in time. It's not clear if Alfred ever got it, though. Either way, the talon kills Jarvis. We then see Alfred and Bruce at Jarvis's grave. While Bruce says he needs answers as to Lincoln's claims, Alfred says he is content with leaving the past, as he knows it, undisturbed. Overall, a good conclusion. The ties to earlier things, like "Gotham is," and the old Wayne Tower, were excellent. The personal connection to Bruce was good. And the court still lives, so it not a end-all ending.

 

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Comics Review: Prelude to "Night of the Owls"

Batman #1

DC's new 52 initiative saw a rebirth of the classic "Batman" line of comics, with Snyder's new series in the forefront. From the first page, Snyder captures a specific style. This is a story of Gotham City as much as it is Batman, because the two are linked. We begin with Batman and Grayson (as Joker) stopping a breakout in Arkham. Then, Wayne publicly introduces plans to rebuild Gotham, to make it better. Wayne leaves his rafter early, however, to investigate a murder, of a man stabbed dozens of times by knives with an owl imprint. Analysis of tissue under the victim's fingernails, using his new eye chip connection to the bat cave computers, yields Grayson's name. The artwork by Capullo is beautiful to look at, and fitting for the style of Batman. And the framing of the issue, around the question of what Gotham is, is such a nice touch. This is my second time reading the issue, and it's a treat.

 

Batman #2

As issue two begins, Batman narrates the history of the century-old Wayne Tower. Snyder's focus on Gotham, almost as a character, really adds to this story, especially when Batman later says the city is perhaps his oldest friend. Gordon checks out the body of the stabbed man at the morgue, and while the coroner finds nothing, Batman notes he was likely a high-end trainer, and he also had an owl imprinted onto his tooth. Grayson visits, and says this man cornered him and warned him during a recent event, but Dick brushed it odd until now. That's likely where the DNA sample came from. Later, Wayne meets with mayoral candidate March on the top of Wayne Tower when they're both attacked by an owl. Wayne barely survives, using his knowledge of Wayne architecture to his advantage. As the issue closes, Wayne reinforces that, the city. Wing his oldest friend, he knows the court of owls, famous from a nursery rhyme, cannot exist in his city.

 

Batman #3

Ask the story begins, we see an old An Wayne,who built Wayne Tower,rambling about owls and nests before disappearing. In the present, Btman is beating up the last of five gangs, figuring that end of them let the owl in through the rail lines. Alas, it's to no avail. Alfred later tells Bruce of the story of Alan Wayne's death, how he died falling into a manhole, but was obsessed with owls, even thinking they were nested inside his home. Bruce leaves to talk to March, who says he was warned recently of evil in Gotham, and had an owl found in his own home recently. March said perhaps Bruce didn't know about the owls because they didn't want him to, but maybe the new Gotham initiative put him in their sight. Batman starts investigating architecture funded by a scholarship from Alan Wayne, and finds that in the small 13th floor, there are owls nests everywhere, spanning over a century of history. As Batman investigates, one apartment blows up.

There's some really nice artwork, especially the panel showing Alfred and Wayne talking from the viewpoint of the mask. This time, Snyder focuses on the superstition of immigrants to Gotham, and how that influenced Gotham's architecture.


 

Batman #4

This issue begins with Batman explaining the true nature of a tripwire. Is meant to fear and intimidate, but as Batman doesn't scare easily, he just escapes. Back in the cave, he starts analyzing the bones of Alan Wayne, when Dick drops by. Batman mentions to him that he knows the court doesn't exist, because he investigated it extensively shortly after his parents death. Bruce couldn't accept the randomness of their death, felt something more nefarious was behind it. It ultimately led him to what he felt was the court's base, but it was just a dusty old room. A room he accidentally trapped himself in for a week, before being found comatose by Alfred. Since then, Batman kept an eye out for the owls, but never let himself get emotionally involved in a case again. Batman deduces that Alan Wayne died by stabbing, and went on the sewers to find out more, when the Talon corners him, and pushes him into the owl's maze. The artwork here remains stellar, especially the flashbacks to young Bruce's investigations, with the Gotham map, notes, and more in the backdrop.

 

Batman #5

Batman is trapped in a maze, playing the same story over and over. A room with pictures. A room with coffins. A room with his dead parents. A big owl. A bowl of water. Over and over, room after room. Batman starts going insane, hallucinatory and delusional. Meanwhile, Gordon keeps the bat-signal on for days, as a symbol to the other members of the bat family, and as a statement to the criminals. When the signal burns out, Robin tells him to make a new one.

 

Batman #6

The Talon finds the Batman, and ultimately defeats him in combat. Talon then leaves it up to the court to decide what to do with him, and the littlest one, a child, decides to have him beat more. So Batman is beat near death, and about to give up, when he sees the final picture of Alan Wayne before his death, scared. This gives Batman the will to keep fighting, and he defeats Talon and escapes, burning part of the owl nest in the process. By then, too tired to swim, he starts drowning in the waters under Gotham. Meanwhile, the seeming leader of the owls, an elderly woman, decides to get rid of the defeated Talon, but wants to reawaken the remainders, who were sleeping in that room of coffins.

 

Batman #7

Batman starts by talking about what the ancients believed you saw before death. Your life as it really was. But then, Batman is shocked back into reality by a girl named Harper, and makes his way back to the batcave. There, he finds that Alfred found the body of the dead talon, and Bruce starts examining him. Dick comes down during the examination, and Bruce mentions that the corpse was infused with a metal that kept him alive until needed, and helped him regenerate. And he tells Dick that the man was Dick's great-grandfather, and that Dick himself was in line to become a talon, until his parents died and Bruce took him in. It looked like Dick even had an owl in his tooth, the owl that gave the person the chemical to keep them alive and healing. Meanwhile, back at owl HQ, many more talons are reactivated and sent into Gotham to defeat Batman and take back the city.

 

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Comics Review: "The Dark Knight Returns"

"The Dark Knight Returns" is a seminal graphic novel by Frank Miller, and along with "Watchmen," is one of the biggest graphic novels ever made. The story starts with a retired Batman, ten years later, as Two-Face is made whole by plastic surgery and released. Gordon, still Commissioner, is against it, but Wayne feels people need a another chance. Years before "Batman Begins," Miller paints Batman as the man, and Wayne as the costume. Batman keeps trying to break out of Wayne, but Wayne decided not to release him, not after Todd's death. However, after seeing news broadcasts of continued unrest in Gotham, the title rings true, and the dark knight returns. It seems that Two-Face is physically cured, but not mentally, as he still strikes havoc, causing a bomb to potentially explode if he doesn't get $5 million. Joker helped make the bomb, though he's in prison. Batman stops him, closing out book one. We are also introduced to Carrie, the next Robin. I hate the artwork, it's really a drawback and an eyesore, but the story is good, and I like Miller's style and characterization of Batman.

 

The bat mobile has a resemblance to the tumbler. This is the biggest thing I noticed in the second issue of TDKR, which showcases batman's takedown of the mutant gang, who caused ruckus in the first issue. The gang kills more people, and even tries to take out Gordon, so Batman goes and almost defeats them. Although the leader is captured, Batman is injured badly in the process, and is saved by the new Robin. Batman accepts her, despite Alfred's reservations. Meanwhile, the mayor tries to make peace with the mutant gang leader, and is killed by him in the process. Gordon is forced to retire, and a female commissioner takes his place. Batman has had enough, so once healed, he helps free the mutant leader out of prison, only to embarrass him in front of his gang, thereby defeating them. Without a leader for them to worship, they're powerless. Two asides show Superman speaking tied the president, being asked to help stop Batman, since there's a public backlash against his vigilante activities. This is a point the novel highlights well, showing the various viewpoints on Batman and his return. Another aside seems to show an effort to help give the Joker a public appearance. The artwork is beginning to grow on me, but it's still not nice to look at. At all. The story isn't bad, but I was expecting more by this point. Perhaps we will see more in the next issue, which promise a hunt for Batman.

 

As the next issue begins, Batman is hiding in a fat suit to fight some remnants of the mutant gang, with the assistance of Robin. Robin is a bit rebellious, not quite following orders. Meanwhile, Superman thwarts Batman's fight, stating that he needs to stop. It seems that there was a crackdown on heroes, and many of them either left, like Hal Jordan, or acquiesced, like Superman. Batman retired, but we get the feeling he was opposed to it from the beginning, and considered them all, himself included, to be criminals. Meanwhile, Joker is released to a talks show, but as expected, kills everyone there and escapes. Joker's goons, remnants of the mutant gang, are bombing certain areas as well. Meanwhile, nuclear struggles are going on, which forces Superman to leave for a bit. A final showdown takes place between Batman and the Joker at a carnival, where Batman stabs Joker in the spine to paralyze him. Unfortunately, Joker twists his neck purposefully to kill himself, and a severely injured Batman flees the scene. The artwork was better this time, I don't know if it's the more vibrant colors, or it's just growing on me. I like aspects of the storytelling style, like the TV excerpts showing us various viewpoints from politicians to news anchors to DC mainstays like Lana Lang. We also got a cameo from Selina Kyle, who's running an escort service, and who's escorts fall prey to Joker's mind control lipstick, causing various politicians to kill themselves.

 

As the final issue begins, the cops find out Joker's dead, but Batman has to fight them to escape. Robin thankfully get the copter in range, and gets Batman to Alfred in time to save him. Superman again comes to talk to Clark, but when news of Russia sending a coldbuster missile to the US surfaces, Clark rushes to stop it. The bomb is diverted but still explodes, temporarily de-powering Superman and causing Batman to rise back into action. As rioting runs the streets of Gotham, Batman rallies both the mutants and his own previously unauthorized gang of supporters to help quell the riots. Then, Superman comes to stop Batman. I had to read wiki a bit to understand why, and it seems Clark is a tool of the government, and Batman is am embarrassment to the government and thus they call Supes in to bring him to justice. Kind of a stretch, in my opinion. Anyway, they fight in Crime Alley, where Bruce's parents died, and after Oliver Queen shoots a kryptonite arrow, Batman defeats Superman. Unfortunately, he has a heart attack and seemingly dies. With his death, Alfred sets off bombs to destroy Wayne Manor. Batman's identity is made public, as 55-year-old Bruce Wayne, but his secrets are gone with the explosions. Alfred dies from a major stroke. At the end, it turns out Batman is alive, and gone unground to create an army to fight crime.

 

Overall, I found TDKR to be a bit odd. The storytelling style was good at times, in showing multiple viewpoints, but it also had some odd aspects to it. Why would the mutant gang suddenly follow their enemy? Why did Superman become such a lackey? I got the feeling that things happened between the panels that we weren't privy too, and that took away from the story, for me. Also, why did Batman accept Robin so readily? Why did she even become Robin? Certain things were just a bit odd. The focus on the struggle between Batman and Wayne was good, as was how an aging Batman was showcased. I wasn't a fan of Superman's involvement, though. I wish I got more insight into the characters and their motivations, instead of trying to piece some things together on my own. It was a decent story. But unlike with "Watchmen," I can't understand as much why this became a landmark in comics history. Maybe I need to reread it, or maybe the artwork was just a bad apple in an otherwise good work of art. Either way, decent but not mind-blowing, to me.

 

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Movie Review: "The Amazing Spider-Man"

There's a lesson to take from The Amazing Spider-Man. With great power comes great responsibility? Nope, not in this film. Be a hero and the media will vilify you? Nope, and no J. Jonah Jameson either. The lesson here is if you're rebooting a origin story last done less than a decade ago, don't retread the same ground with a few differences here and there to try to prove you're different. Being billed as the untold story of Peter Parker, the film was almost anything but. Instead, they opted to follow some of the classic origin, but not all.

That's where this film fails. In retreading the cliff notes of Peter's origins, without the detail and wonder of Sam Raimi's film, we lost focus on Kurt Conners. And as such, his motivations as a villain, especially at the end, was weak at best. I saw the film at midnight on opening day, and there was a good amount of people in the theater. Didn't make up for the lacklusteriness of the film.

Marc Webb directed the quaint "50 Days of Summer," a good film. That same love focus is brought here, and to be honest, it worked. That relationship between Peter and Gwen was good, if not exactly believable because it happened a bit fast from Gwen's end. Peter, however, seemed to pine on Gwen as a high schooler does, and when she showed interest in him, the awkwardness he portrayed was believable. But he also revealed his powers to her a bit too fast. It was a really big deal when Mary Jane found out Spidey’s powers in Spider-Man 2, but here, he just told her on their first real date. So, while the romance was staged right, some parts were a bit quick, and I didn’t get how Gwen fell for him so fast.

And why was the film so dark? I don't recall a single scene with spidey in the daytime, aside from the school fight. And we needed a montage. I don't have a clear grasp of how the public feels about Spidey. As soon as Parker became Spidey in Raimi’s films, we saw that the public started to support him. Here, we get some indication that a few people like him, like the guy who’s son Spidey rescued. And the media, I’m not sure what their opinion was. That what J. Jonah should be there for, for the media perspective and comic relief.  Not having him here was a missed opportunity. I was hoping he’d at least be in the end credits sequence, but no. That’s an essential part of Spidey. You shouldn’t have Superman without Olsen or the Daily Planet. And no Spidey story is complete without Jameson.

And what a bad end credits scene. Norman looks old, we saw most of that in the trailer, and I had the same feeling of meh that I had with Green Lantern’s scene with sinestro. Maybe that wasn’t Norman, but Peter’s dad? Someone else? I don’t care.

In the end, you need a director who gets the material. Nolan got the darkness and inner struggle of Batman. Favreau got the playboy nature and style of Stark. Singer, despite making the X-Men a bit more realistic, got the essence of the characters right. And of course Whedon, who made different elements come together as a cohesive whole, and made the whole shebang seemed ripped straight out of a comic. They get the material. Webb, ironically, doesn't seem to. Webb made a Spider-Man film for the masses, but not for the geeks. Take notes from Whedon for next time, Webb, because he made a mainstream movie that was geek candy.

But kudos to Garfield, fantastic Parker, and a good sold actor. I felt more emotion from him than McGuire, but he worked with significantly lesser quality material. Still, Parker felt like a teen, and Garfield played him with empathy. I wish we had more of him realizing the wonder of his new powers. For a film that retreaded so much, they focused so little on the wonder of his powers. Discovering his powers by unintentionally ripping off a girl’s shirt and beating some subway passengers? Very bad. But breaking his bathroom? Good. Spidey sense? Didn’t even know if he had it here. And Peter was stupid as Spidey. Keeping his mask off often, marking his camera while trying to fight the lizard. Not soo smart, Pete.

I don’t like to split superheroes into day and night. But some are just made for it. Spider-Man and Superman are lighter characters. They have dark moments and dark things that lead them on their journeys, but they overall represent a lighter, more promising, and hopeful side, and them fighting in the day helps signify that. Batman has psychological problems, fights more of an underground, sneaky fight, and thus fights more at night. Spider-Man in the nighttime, especially at the end with him against the backdrop of the moon, is just jarringly wrong.

The acting here was quite good, though, aside from Garfield. Sheen as Uncle Ben was really good, Field as May was surprisingly well done. I really liked Gwen's dad;in some ways he played a Jameson-type role. I think he would’ve made an excellent Osborn. Conners was good pre-lizard. But he was so against using human trials for his serum, and then he suddenly did…. and then he suddenly wanted to turn everyone into a lizard. When you can’t relate to a villain’s motives (regardless of whether you agree or not), the villain just becomes a plot device, not a character, and that’s what happened to Conners. Plus, the CGI for the Lizard wasn’t great, and the battles weren’t as geektastic and comic book like as the ones against Sandman and Doc Ock.

They should’ve followed the example of The Incredible Hulk. Quick origin recap, full story. Not half of both.

Horner’s music seemed non-epic, out of place at times (like during the romantic scenes, where silence would’ve been more apt), and just not memorable. A disappointment after Elfman’s memorable score for Spider-Man.

In the end, the trailers were right. It's the batman version of spidey. Brooding. Dark. Night. An AICN review said he becomes Spidey for revenge, not responsibility. That’s true, he decided to become Spidey to track down his uncle’s killer, and that’s basically who he targeted until Lizard became a threat. That’s the wrong starting point for the character, and further proof that Webb just didn’t get it. I’m hoping the sequel, probably inevitable at this point, will rectify these issues. This was a disappointment to the character, and will go into the growing stockpile of lesser comic book films. Let’s hope Nolan delivers and shows us, for the second time this year, what a good comic book movie really is.

Book Review: "Mockingjay"

The Hunger Games first introduced us to a dystopian society set many years after our current society destroyed ourselves. Run by the corrupt President Snow in the Capitol, most of the country of Panem was kept suppressed. A key factor in maintaining the districts' submission was the Hunger Games, which pitted children from each of the twelve districts in a fight to the death. The victor was granted riches, the losers given an often gruesome death. Katniss Everdeen, a strong-willed, independent, bread-earning young woman, enters the games to relieve her sister, Prim, and eventually wins, saving her co-district mate Peeta Mellark as well. As Catching Fire begins, we learn their success will be short-lived, as the Quarter Quell, a Hunger Games with a twist held every 25 years, puts them both back in the arena. But it was all a guise for the rebellion against the Capitol, and as Katniss escapes the arena, she's scooped up by a hovercraft from the long-thought-destroyed District 13. Unfortunately, Peeta was picked up by the Capitol.


And this is where Mockingjay begins. Katniss is underground in District 13, which is run by President Coin. Everything is run with calculated precision, from daily activities to food portions. The grand plan by Coin and the rebels is to use Katniss, already a symbol feared by Snow and adored by the masses for the berry incident after her first Hunger Games, as the symbol for their rebellion. As a mockinjay. She agrees, so long as Peeta and the other captured victors are pardoned, among some smaller requests. She is granted her wishes, and starts entering battles to film good propaganda footage, which former victor Beetee intercepts onto national airwaves. All is good, until it seems Peeta is being tortured badly, especially after warning District 13 of a pending attack. Needing their mockinjay intact, Coin orders the rescue of Peeta and the other victors. But Peeta's mind has been hijacked, and he's so deluded he wants to kill Katniss. Katniss, meanwhile, helps the rebels in various areas, and slowly the districts fall to the rebellion until only the Capitol is left. During a strike at the Capitol, former victor Finnick loses his life. Right when Katniss is near President Snow's mansion, she sees her sister Prim destroyed in a bomb, an attack very similar to one devised by her oldest friend and occasional love interest, Gale. She's given the chance to kill Snow, but before that, she has a private audience with him. Snow says he had no role in the death of Prim; it was a ploy by Coin to make it seem as if Snow did it, so he would lose support. Later, in a meeting among surviving victors, Coin makes them vote on what the public wants: either the execution of all Capitol citizens, or one last Hunger Games with tributes only from the Capitol. The majority, Katniss included, decide on another Hunger Games, but right when she's going to shoot Snow publicly, she shoots Coin. A military leader from District 8 is named president, and Katniss is eventually set free after a trial, on psychiatric terms. She goes back home to 12, alone, and eventually admits her love for Peeta, and they have children.


My synopsis above doesn't give justice to the darkness of the book. There's a lot of talk, from myself as well, about how dark the Harry Potter series became as it neared its end. The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and others have some serious dark moments as well. But aside from Watchmen, I can't think of a mainstream story as dark as this. It's reality, plain and simple. Even after the Capitol loses, the new government is no different, reinstating the Hunger Games. It showcased over and over the psychological trauma experiences by former victors: Annie Cresta, Finnick Odair, Peeta Mellark, and Katniss. And not to mentioned Haymitch, who escapes into alcohol to ease his psychological issues. People die left and right, and the death of Prim was particularly jarring and sad. Collins held nothing back, it seems, with her final installment. We don't get a happy ending. Sure, Katniss and Peeta have a family, but at what cost? Her children play on the ground under which her town, her friends, her entire life perished. She may never be the same psychologically again.


People critique Mockinjay for making Katniss a weaker character. But she went through so much, it's almost inevitable that she would succumb to the stress, and the realization of the horrors she's lived through and committed just to stay alive. It's really a strong ending and a strong book, I think, but not if you just focus on Katniss being a strong character. It's not a story about love, either, although that's present in the book. It's the story of rebellion, but unlike Star Wars, the rebels aren't really the good guys. They're just more of the same; they killed Prim along with dozens of other children, just to expedite the war's end. Absolute power corrupts, and human nature is inherently bad, at least that's what we get in this book. There are good people, but in the end, our nature makes life miserable. We kill each other, steal, torture, sometimes for no good reason. And the innocent suffer, like the tribues, or die, like Prim and the members of District 12.


I think this was a courageous way to end her series, not on a high note, but on an out-of-tune neutral note. Did things get better? Maybe in the short-term. It's no Harry Potter, where everything seems so happy at the end. It's a world I wouldn't want to live in, but a refreshingly realistic ending to a well-done, if rather simple story.