Young Justice and Trump Luthor

Note: Yet again, lost track of the days and haven’t been posting regularly for the past two weeks.

Part of this was due to my birthday late in the month. The day and the weekend were great, but hitting 28 has made me take time to re-evaluate my goals. I have been focusing more on the job hunt and a rewrite of Elseworld. I’ve also written an opening scene for a rewrite of Hazard and am actively pursuing publication for my short stories. I hope to have a new full-time job by the end of the year and have a short story published by my 29th birthday. 

I remember starting Young Justice‘s first season and hating a lot of things, especially the character of Megan. “Hello Megan” was annoying and Megan didn’t have much character development besides drooling over Superboy. I felt like I was watching a Wattpad story come to life.

However, I grew to like the series more as it went on. The first season can always be rough since the writers might still be figuring out their characters, and voice actors might be going through the same growing pains.A smaller detail, but I also liked that “Hello Megan” was explained to be the title and catchphrase of an old TV show. Megan became obsessed with it and used the actress as a model for her human appearance. This helped me to forgive one of the most annoying quirks of season one Megan.

The second season was much stronger, and this third is my favourite so far.

It’s interesting to see a more violent version of the show, since the removal from Cartoon Network allows the creators more freedom. Of course, that’s not the only thing that makes it better. I am liking the villains, the cast, the new characters, the writing, but I also love how the media is omnipresent this season.

Aside from just wanting to defeat their enemies via combat, the team realizes the importance of controlling or shaping the media’s narrative. They have to create a positive, public image and actively work to fight misinformation that can turn the public against them. They even go into murky territory of creating fake news to help their cause. This isn’t just a subplot; the media is a defining piece of the puzzle.

I also love the direct jabs at Trump, with Lex Luthor using terms like “sad” and “both sides” when defending his actions.

I am excited to see where the story ends, especially with the Judas Contract subplot of Terra infiltrating the group. I am also hoping we see more of Megan’s brother before the season ends, if a segue back to him can be done organically. I think his appearance brought up a great discussion of self-image and prejudice, which I will likely elaborate on in another piece.

The Boys

Note: Been slacking with the blogging again. Getting back to three posts a week.

Spoilers for The Boys TV show and comic

I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about Amazon Video’s The Boys. I remember a few years back there was news of a potential film, but I didn’t pay too much attention since I’ve seen many films hit the “talks” stage before being cancelled or ending up in development hell (looking at you Halo).

I don’t read comics as much as I used to, but there was a period when I probably went through 100+ issues a month. I remember starting my binge with The Walking Dead, and then moving on to series like Kill or be Killed, Punisher: Max and Preacher. My interest in Garth Ennis’s work then led to The Boys. Ennis aimed to “outpreacher Preacher,” by portraying even more sex and violence than his previous work. The sex and violence were gratuitous as times but overall, I thought the series was a well-written and interesting look at what could happen if people really became superheroes. The same corruption, lack of empathy etc. we see in some politicians and celebrities would only be magnified with people who are physically superior to us.

I generally avoid watching shows or films based on source material I’ve already read. There are so many shows out there and I want to prioritize the stories that are brand new to me. I looked up some clips of The Boys and the acting didn’t seem that great, outside of Homelander and Elisabeth Shue. Karl Urban sounds closer to Australian than British half the time. Jessie T. Usher is horrible as A-Train etc.

The clips also made it clear that there were some pretty big chances from the comics e.g. Hughie and the team don’t know about Compound V at the start. Looking up a plot synopsis also revealed other changes, such as Butcher’s wife being alive. For me, this ruins the reason for Butcher’s crusade against the Supes. In the comics he is a Machiavellian figure willing to use anyone to get revenge for the murder of his wife at the hands of Homelander. What direction will the show go in season two? Since Becca Butcher is looking after Homelander’s kid, will that fuel more conflict between Homelander and Butcher. Or will they become allies?

At this point, the show seems like a property inspired by the comic. It may not make sense, but I am actually less inclined to check out an adaptation when it makes glaring changes from the source material. Instead of getting a faithful adaptation, you end up with a Frankenstein monster of stories you love and others you’re lukewarm on or hate.

Additionally, adding in a bunch of subplots and twists that don’t exist in the comics (like Homelander’s son) just come across as filler. It’s as if the show is padding its length out in order to get more seasons before it reaches its conclusion.

X:Men Dark Phoenix, Author Intentions, SJWs and Guns

The early X-Men films are some of my favourite comic book films, especially X2 and Days of Future Past. While Logan was a great send-off for Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, Apocalypse left a bad taste in my mouth. Oscar Isaac was tragically wasted as the villain, due in large part to poor writing. Sophie Turner’s acting chops were suspect and many of the supporting villains were dull.

For those reasons, I am cautiously optimistic about Dark Phoenix. While the comic storyline has great potential, I am not sure if Turner has the range to pull this role off. Yes, I watch Game of Thrones, and I generally find her to be one of the weaker links on that show. I am also not a fan of Jennifer Lawrence so her presence as Mystique (which is overdone  due to her starpower) is another reason I have thought of skipping Dark Phoenix in theaters.

Now, I am not defending the writing or the acting in this clip. Lawrence sounds like she’s bored, and the writing is heavy-handed. However, complaints about “SJW” content do not concern the way messages are presented: People who complain about SJW content hate the message, or images, themselves.

Any image of strong women or POC can trigger the SJW detractors. I have seen someone call a scene with homosexuality “forced” because it involves a two-minute exchange with two women flirting with one another. For some people, ANY inclusion or mention of ANY ideas that are left of centre, is SJW.

I believe the above poster is one of these people. There is a tendency among people who cry “SJW” at everything to believe SJW content comes from a new generation of Hollywood execs. These right-wing zealots don’t realize that, sometimes, media just incorporates the messages from the original media. I remember people complaining about “liberal talking points” in The Punisher, even though those “liberal talking points” have been a part of the character for decades.

Likewise, the X-Men — a group of people hated by society because they were born different — have always been viewed as an allegory for discriminated groups, ranging from POC to LGBTQ+.

I never thought I’d see this but someone is actually arguing that the X-Men represent gun owners in America…you know, since they are persecuted and routinely threatened with deportation, extermination, violence etc.

I can agree that sometimes an author’s take on their material doesn’t have to be the only take. Sometimes, people can pick up on additional messages or allegories the author might not have intended. However, I don’t think an author’s take should be ignored, and replaced with a more asinine one (as is the case here). If this person thinks choosing to own a an assault rifle (remember, most gun control recommendations aren’t trying to outlaw all guns) and getting some skepticism for that, is the same as being discriminated against for genetic traits, then he has no idea what real discrimination is.

Deadpool 2 Review

Needless to say, this film carried a lot of hype and a lot of expectations. The first film was a profane, 4th wall-breaking breath of fresh air. Sometimes it is tough to follow up on a film like that, since part of its appeal is the novelty. Can it really be as entertaining the second time around? While I think I prefer the first film over this one, I will say that Deadpool 2 is a worthy sequel.

Deadpool follows the Merc With A Mouth as he tries to save Russell Collins a.k.a Firefirst (Julian Dennison) from time-travelling Cable. As you may be able to guess from the trailer, Cable is on the hunt for the teenaged mutant due to something that Firefist does in the future. It is tough to describe this film’s plot well without spoiling too much, since there is an important inciting incident early on that shapes Wade’s character for the rest of the film. You may have heard that Deadpool 2 has more heart than the previous one, and I have to agree.

I had some worries going into this film due to the director switch, and chatter from some friends worried about the film possibly trying to do too much with its addition of X-Force and Cable. However, I tried to cut out all the chatter from other people and go into this film with an blank slate. I will say that this film is darker than the first. While the first film undoubtedly has dark moments, such as Wade’s transformation scene, the darker moments are more prevalent in this one. That was no problem for me though. Hating on anything dark is fashionable nowadays (Wade takes a stab at the DC Universe) but darkness is fine if it fits the story. Deadpool isn’t always happy-go-lucky in the comics and I am glad to see that the creative team behind this film realize that. Deadpool 2 still does a better job balancing its serious moments and humour than most of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films do. Humour is always more rewarding when it isn’t overused.

The performances are great all-around. Ryan Reynolds continues to embody Deadpool, whether in an irreverent moment or a serious one. Dennison is a newcomer to Hollywood but his previous experience in New Zealand’s film scene is evident. His character is probably the most interesting one in the film: A young mutant whose powers make him a danger to himself and those around him. Dennison’s story also brings up the theme of abuse, which actually becomes important to the plot instead of being something tacked on. Zazie Beetz got plenty of hate online since fans didn’t want a black actress playing Domino. Some of the hate came from just from the announcement of her casting, while some criticism came after the look was revealed. Sorry but I am unsympathetic to the people who complained simply about a black actress since I bet some of them belong to the same horde who vehemently defend whitewashing. The double standard in people’s reactions to whitewashing vs blackwashing annoys me to no end.

Anyways, Beetz is arguably the film’s breakout star and I think there may be a lot of new Domino fans after the film. Brolin puts in a great performance as Cable, but I almost feel like his character could have had a bit more development or screen time. The writers also did a good job of getting some humour out of Cable’s interactions with other characters, without neutering his character like the MCU films consistently do with theirs. Cable’s motivations are clear and tragic, but maybe Brolin’s performance just left me wanting a bigger role. Nevertheless, I’m excited to see where they go with the character from here. The supporting cast also returns, with Karan Soni’s Dopinder having one of the best moments in the film.

For those worried that all the members of X-Force would drag the plot down too much, let’s just say the writers did a good job of handling the characters’ screen time. Leading up to the third act, Wade Wilson is seeking a sense of purpose and belonging, or more importantly a family. Through Russell, Domino, Colossus etc. he begins to find that and evolves as a character. The main conflict arises between Deadpool and Cable since Deadpool wishes to try and save Russell, while Cable wants to kill him. This conflict is handled well throughout but there is another villain introduced just prior to the third act. For the nerds (like me) who follow the online chatter, you may already have an idea who the villain is. The villain comes across as an entity introduced just so that Colossus and the other heroes have something to fight, while Wade and Cable try to deal with Firefist. The villain’s lines are sparse, and if you don’t know his background in the comics you’re left in the dark here. Additionally the villain sports some of the weakest CGI in the film.

Speaking of CGI, the villain isn’t the only person to feature some bad work at times. Colossus and Cable’s effects, from the arm to his weapons, seemed to get the lion’s share of the budget. Meanwhile, a lot of other scenes, from car crashes and so on looked very cartoonish in comparison. The budget was nearly doubled for this film and I can’t help but think some more practical effects could have worked wonders, if possible. Then again, director Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead, Don’t Breathe) has said CGI is faster and cheaper. However, I feel like some of the effects in the film were not worthy of a $110 million budget, regardless of how resources got divided. Then again, the budget displayed might include some costs for actors, marketing etc.

Leitch may not have balanced all of the film’s pieces as well as Tim Miller, but I will say that the John -Wick-esque choreography is a welcome addition. While Deadpool 2 might sport a weaker third act, due to a tacked-on villain, the third act also has some of the film’s best moments. Deadpool 2 manages to fit in another 80’s tribute that is actually more touching than half the moments I’ve been forced to watch in sappy rom-coms. The film can make you laugh but also provides a lot more. I’ll see it again in theatres if I can, but until then I highly recommend it. If it wasn’t for the addition of the tacked-on third act villain I could probably say I liked this film more than the original.

Venom Trailer Thoughts

Tom Hardy is one of my favourite actors, and Venom is one of my favourite comic book villains. So you might be wondering why I’m a little late giving my thoughts on the latest trailer.

Despite the lead and the character, the film never interested me much because it is a solo film on a villain (or anti-hero in this case) that works better when paired with a hero. Venom was interesting to me because of his link to Spider-Man. The symbiote (judging by the trailer I have been pronouncing it wrong or the director insisted on pronouncing it wrong) felt rejected by Spider-Man and found another host. In many adaptations, Eddie Brock has his own reasons to hate Spider-Man, creating an interesting scenario where he and the symbiote have a mutual enemy. Once Venom’s origin is stripped of his connection to Peter Parker/Spider-Man, a big part of what made the character interesting to me is gone. Therefore, the film doesn’t hold as much appeal, regardless of who plays Eddie. Although people may feel like The Joker overshadowed Batman in The Dark Knight, The Joker needed Batman as a foil in order to truly shine. The below scene is the perfect example.

The trailer itself generated some more excitement from me, after a very lacklustre teaser. I understand that teasers don’t show much but there have definitely been better teasers than whatever Venom gave us. Off the top of my head, The Raid 2 comes to mind. Great images that get our attention with only a cursory look at the plot.

So first, the plot seems somewhat generic in comparison to what we could get if Venom was simply in a Spider-Man film. Reporter goes against evil businessman… we can see where this will go. I’ve never been into car or motorcycle chases much so most of the action that this trailer focused on didn’t interest me that much. The most visually appealing scenes were actually the simplest ones, when the symbiote defends Brock against the intruders in his apartment. The big reveal at the end is a moneyshot of course, but the effects look like they need to be cleaned up. According to some articles, a full-suited Venom isn’t even in the film for that long but Tom Hardy has debunked these rumours according to IMDB trivia.

The symbiote voice is done by Hardy as well, and actually reminded me a lot of Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget. Not too much to say otherwise. I doubt I’ll check this movie out in theaters, probably save it for online. Sorry Hardy.

The Walking Dead and “Forced” Diversity

I gave up on The Walking Dead TV show about a year ago. While I used to love the show for its post-apocalyptic plot, (some of the) performances and the zombie action, I lost interest once the show became bogged down with filler. Once Mad Men and Breaking Bad finished it seemed like AMC became more desperate to keep one guaranteed cash cow in live syndication. Plot lines from the comics were introduced and dragged out far longer than necessary, whether it was through the addition of unnecessary characters or entire episodes that focused on minor characters and exploits that could have been condensed to half the time. I was in denial about the filler until Negan’s introduction, when his dragged out intro was used for the sake of “suspense”.

Now, I am over the show but still continue to read the comic, which is currently on issue #178. This post will have spoilers for the comic so stop reading if you want to avoid those.

By this point, the comic is far beyond the Negan storyline. Rick is the leader of Alexandria and the latest arc, The New World Order, involves his people finding a new community, The Commonwealth. This discovery is mainly the result of Eugene’s radio conversations with Stephanie, a resident of the Commonwealth. Although it is against Commonwealth procedure she begins talking to Eugene and the two both speak to their respective communities to organize a meeting.

Eugene and a small group of Alexandria residents head to a designated meeting point, where they meet with The Commonwealth’s party and head back to the new community. Once in The Commonwealth, we see Stephanie for the first time, who almost looks like Velma from Scooby-Doo.

We see Stephanie again two issues later, and she is now a black woman. As expected, when I scrolled down to the comments ( I was reading this online) I came across one comment after another complaining about the usual, “political correctness” and of course, “forced diversity”.

Firstly, The Walking Dead does not have many black characters, especially main ones. Michonne and her newly introduced daughter are the main ones at the moment. The Commonwealth has one other member we’ve met so far, Father Gabriel is dead, we haven’t seen Heath in a while in the comics…

So to start, it’s not like minorities are already over-represented or “forced” on the reader. So, black characters are already underrepresented.

Next, if a white character got switched to a black one, would people complain about “forced whiteness”? I don’t think so. For many people, white is viewed as natural, universal, or a default. They then become more sensitive to any mention or inclusion of minorities e.g. this guy who complained about “heavy handed” homosexuality in Batman: Bad Blood. The heavyhanded homosexuality he complained about is a five minute scene of a female character (who is lesbian in the comics) flirting with another female. For some people, any minority inclusion becomes too much or “heavy handed”. Don’t let semantic maneuvers like “I only mind diversity when it’s forced” make you think they are being reasonable.

Next thing, the white Stephanie we saw first could possibly have been an artist mistake. That happens in comics.

Edit: Kirkman confirms it was an artist mistake (read page 25).

If not, maybe Kirkman decided that another black character couldn’t hurt. If we continue to take the mentality that consciously thinking of diversity is forcing it, we will continue to get artistic works that are mostly white. Most white creators write mostly white main characters. Also, white characters are still considered more marketable (although Black Panther is helping to combat that) so properties with white characters are more favourable to studios when they want to adapt something. So if there is no conscious effort to create characters of colour, we will continue to end up with characters who are mostly white, at a rate that far outstrips the percentage of whiteness in America. Like I mentioned in another article, this is the reason you might assume a character is white when you read a book, unless you get some explicit indication that they are not (e.g. nationality, description of skin colour) or if you know that the author typically writes about minorities. If you think that mostly white characters are fine as long as the story’s good, then you shouldn’t have an issue with one character being switched to black, as long as the story is good.

Stephanie’s race change does not impact the story in any negative way, or create any plot holes or inconsistencies. It doesn’t impact the story, and people with the “colour-blind” approach view this as an affront since the colour-blind approach just leads to white being viewed as a default.

Deadpool 2 Trailer Reaction

 

I know I’m tardy to the party on this one. Recently, I have been trying to watch fewer trailers so that I spoil less of the movie for myself, and also avoid the inevitable YouTube black hole of trailer reaction videos. With that said, Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool is one of the best castings in comic book film history and I couldn’t resist seeing some more of this film. If the first film is any indication, the trailers don’t actually spoil all of the funniest moments.

The first “trailer” we got for Deadpool was the “Wet on Wet” teaser, a glorious Bob Ross tribute that revealed very little about the plot, like a good teaser. I avoided looking up plot details but this trailer makes it clear Cable (Josh Brolin) serves a role as a villain in this film (or at least part of it), trying to capture a mutant child (Julian Dennison) who Wade wants to protect. Cable is likely trying to capture the mutant because of something he will do in the future, thus offering a moral conundrum for this film. The mutant’s character name doesn’t appear to have been revealed yet, although a shot in this trailer and a brief glimpse in the teaser makes it look like he has some sort of pyrokinetic power.

Cable’s face is less metallic than I am used to seeing from animated adaptations and the comics. However, I believe his arm is the result of a disease so it might progress during the film or over the four-film contract that Brolin signed. Brolin really only has two lines here and I guess I’m hoping the “I’m Cable” part sounds less hokey in context when watching the film. He is a great actor, judging by other performances, so I won’t worry too much. Unless he takes the Paul Giamatti mentality that he can “be as over-the-top hammy as possible” because he’s in a comic book movie. Let’s not have a repeat of the rhino in Amazing Spider Man 2. 

I have to say this trailer takes breaking the fourth wall to another level, with its irrelevant “From the Studio That Brought You 27 Dresses and The Devil Wears Prada” title. I always hated this trend in marketing films and it looks like Deadpool 2 was the right film to finally poke some fun at it. I also love the slow-motion shot, followed by Wade asking if they got that in slo-mo. Obviously this is probably just a result of editing, but it is clear that at some point Wade references slo-mo. That scene also looks like we might possibly see Deadpool’s black X-Force suit.

The shot in the trailer doesn’t make it clear if Wade actually has a black or grey suit, or if something might just be covering his regular one. Either way, we now know X-Force will officially be referenced in the film, with Wade bringing his own team together. Since Wolverine was a part of this team in the comics at one point, I wonder if we’ll see Wade poking more fun at his Aussie friend again. We can only hope.

Speaking of X-Men, looks like the studio might be able to afford more characters this time. Negasonic and Colossus are back but we also see Wade swivelling in Professor X’s chair, not to mention the return of the X-Jet. Maybe we get to see some other mutants this time.

With a co-director of John Wick in the chair for this film, I’m sure the action won’t disappoint. The bigger worry for me has been the plot, the humour and the characters. They weren’t poor the first time around, but a sequel always brings the worry that it won’t live up to the first.

Deadpool 2 gives us a lot of new talent in the X-Men universe, including Atlanta’s Zazie Beetz as Domino. Before the first pic of Domino was debuted people were already complaining about a black actress in the role, which is just more proof that people only use the “best actor regardless of race” argument when roles get whitewashed. Anyway, if her performance in Atlanta is any indication, she should be good here. We only get two short lines here and not much footage so we’ll likely just have to see the movie to judge most of the new cast members.

However, there is plenty to love with Reynolds getting the biggest share of screen time and lines and I can’t wait to see his derivative team on screen.