Yeah, that's what I caught. There is a theory/timeline where the Joker is the one who pulled the gun and shot Bruce's parents, and TBH I actually find that to be an intriguing extra layer in the Batman vs. Joker battle.
[Movies] The DC Cinematic Universe - The David Zazlav Dumpster Fire.
I actually prefer the Joe Chill version; that it was literally just some random guy who needed cash that totally ruined Bruce's world. The idea that it was some kind of destiny at work kind of ruins the thing... Batman's story is supposed to be a tragedy, despite the heroic moments. That's sort of what the B:TBatB story "The Chill of the Night" was getting at; Batman can ether choose to get revenge on the nobody who killed his parents and be changed by the experience or he can bring him to justice and continue to reform the city that created the problem to begin with.
Making it the Joker makes it feel like there is some larger plan at work. If it was SUPPOSED to happen, then it's not tragic anymore.
I'm three episodes in and I've been enjoying Titans.
It is dark, but not GrimDark. More like the Vertigo version of Titans: the violence is more graphic (about the level of Daredevil--and that's about how dark it is, too) and people occasionally drop f-bombs. Being darker fits, though, considering two of the main characters are Batman's (ex-)sidekick and a girl possessed by a demon. And while we haven't delved as much into their TV backstories yet, Starfire's comic origin story isn't all rainbows and unicorns (enslaved, kidnapped, experimented on, etc.) and Beast Boy's isn't exactly a comedy either. This isn't Teen Titans Go! and the tone fits their origin stories.
I like Anna Diop's Starfire. She's smart, clever, kick-ass, and doesn't take shit from anyone. She's my favorite character so far. As for all the ZOMG TEH DRAMAS about her outfit - have ya'll seen what she's had to wear in the comics? Her clubbing outfit is downright puritanical compared to the straps that barely cover her nipples in the books. And she's not keeping it anyway.
Robin's "Fuck Batman"? He said that because when he showed up, the bad guys instantly started looking to the rooftops--"Where's Batman?!"--and completely ignored him, they didn't see him as a threat at all. Until he kicked their asses. The "Fuck Batman" was vaguely directed at the unconscious goons. It was a poor decision to put it into the trailer for shock value, because in context it's less "edgy" and more anger/frustration at being dismissed.
Raven is kind of the center of the show right now. Everything is revolving around figuring out what some very bad people (the people Kory was investigating) want with her. She's had a lot of bad things happen, on top of the usual teen angst. Teagan Croft does a good job at portraying a mix of "regular teen" and "possessed by murdery darkness".
Beast Boy we'll learn more about on Friday, in the Doom Patrol episode. (Besides the Doom Patrol, we've already had Hawk and Dove show up, glimpses of Bruce and Alfred, and some hints of Donna Troy).
It is dark, but not GrimDark. More like the Vertigo version of Titans: the violence is more graphic (about the level of Daredevil--and that's about how dark it is, too) and people occasionally drop f-bombs. Being darker fits, though, considering two of the main characters are Batman's (ex-)sidekick and a girl possessed by a demon. And while we haven't delved as much into their TV backstories yet, Starfire's comic origin story isn't all rainbows and unicorns (enslaved, kidnapped, experimented on, etc.) and Beast Boy's isn't exactly a comedy either. This isn't Teen Titans Go! and the tone fits their origin stories.
I like Anna Diop's Starfire. She's smart, clever, kick-ass, and doesn't take shit from anyone. She's my favorite character so far. As for all the ZOMG TEH DRAMAS about her outfit - have ya'll seen what she's had to wear in the comics? Her clubbing outfit is downright puritanical compared to the straps that barely cover her nipples in the books. And she's not keeping it anyway.
Robin's "Fuck Batman"? He said that because when he showed up, the bad guys instantly started looking to the rooftops--"Where's Batman?!"--and completely ignored him, they didn't see him as a threat at all. Until he kicked their asses. The "Fuck Batman" was vaguely directed at the unconscious goons. It was a poor decision to put it into the trailer for shock value, because in context it's less "edgy" and more anger/frustration at being dismissed.
Raven is kind of the center of the show right now. Everything is revolving around figuring out what some very bad people (the people Kory was investigating) want with her. She's had a lot of bad things happen, on top of the usual teen angst. Teagan Croft does a good job at portraying a mix of "regular teen" and "possessed by murdery darkness".
Beast Boy we'll learn more about on Friday, in the Doom Patrol episode. (Besides the Doom Patrol, we've already had Hawk and Dove show up, glimpses of Bruce and Alfred, and some hints of Donna Troy).
It was that the posters made her look like a cheap 'half and half' streetwalker. For promotional materials, that really wasn't the best choice.
I think that DC pulling the bait n' switch is probably the most aggravating part of Titans and at least for me, the biggest turn-off. They very purposefully edited their promotional materials to appeal to a certain viewership, with Robin's "edginess" and the over-sexualization of Starfire, something that they've been doing to her character the majority of her existence. I don't think there's a problem with a more adult version of the Titans, but using these tropes and then pulling the, "Oh, hey, since you're watching...LOLZ! Just kidding!" is just a waste of time.
Personally, I liked the casting, and would have preferred if they had been more up-front with their intended protrayal of the Titans. In fact, it sounds like the pilot has a lot of potential...Except for the Starfire's "we HAVE to dress her like a prostitute in over to save prostitutes" because that shit has been done to DEATH in movies and in tv, and it's just a bullshit excuse for male writers to sexualize the women characters.
Personally, I liked the casting, and would have preferred if they had been more up-front with their intended protrayal of the Titans. In fact, it sounds like the pilot has a lot of potential...Except for the Starfire's "we HAVE to dress her like a prostitute in over to save prostitutes" because that shit has been done to DEATH in movies and in tv, and it's just a bullshit excuse for male writers to sexualize the women characters.
She's not a prostitute. As far as we know, she has not even pretended to be a prostitute. There has been no mention of prostitutes in any of the episodes so far. In Episode 1, we learn that Kory was sleeping with a Russian club owner, Konstantin Kovar, apparently to get close to him to get info on Raven, and that's the only mention of her sexual activities. And why she's wearing a clubbing outfit. She's not trying to save prostitutes, she's trying to find Raven. The human trafficking mentioned in Episode 3 was in reference to Kovar being a known human trafficker who moved the infant Raven and her mother and gave them new identities. There is a non-zero chance that Kovar's trafficking also includes prostitution (as it usually does in the real world), but that has not been mentioned. The only trafficking occurring in the context of the show was Kovar moving a half-demon baby and her mother for reasons we don't yet know.
Titans had the Doom Patrol on this week. A fun episode. Beast Boy might just be my favorite character now. Gar really lightens things up. Raven also had some really good moments in this one, showing her compassionate side. I'm really glad they didn't go with the 'angry/apathetic Goth girl' trope with her.
Robotman was the standout for the Doom Patrol. Lots of humor, but then moments of sadness at no longer having a human body. It really hit on the tragedy of the Doom Patrol--they are alive and gained powers...but at a price. Elasti-Woman, Negative Man, and the Chief were also in the episode. The Doom Patrol have their own show, which is supposed to start in the spring, so looking forward to that.
And Dick needs therapy.
Robotman was the standout for the Doom Patrol. Lots of humor, but then moments of sadness at no longer having a human body. It really hit on the tragedy of the Doom Patrol--they are alive and gained powers...but at a price. Elasti-Woman, Negative Man, and the Chief were also in the episode. The Doom Patrol have their own show, which is supposed to start in the spring, so looking forward to that.
And Dick needs therapy.
Ewan McGregor has been cast in Birds of Prey as Black Mask.
When I jokingly said that they'd be using Black Mask for this because that was about as much faith in DC as I had, I should have known better.
The reviews have started coming in for Aquaman:
The general consensus seems to be that the cast is good to great, the tone is much lighter than the DCEU baseline, the visuals are quite spectacular (albeit CG heavy), but the story suffers from having too much exposition and too many plot threads.
The general consensus seems to be that the cast is good to great, the tone is much lighter than the DCEU baseline, the visuals are quite spectacular (albeit CG heavy), but the story suffers from having too much exposition and too many plot threads.
Honestly, I gleamed that just from the trailer. It looked like they were trying to spin a LOT of plates.
They probably predicted they were only going to get one Aquaman movie.
This is exactly what bothered me when they
made Terry a Waller made clone/son of Bruce
GasBandit
Staff member
So that Jason doesn't have to get blood on his Tee, naturally.
I think my favorite take on this is someone wanting to be so buff that his bodyguards look like the guys you fight to get to the final boss.
My question is why. Haka is a Maori tradition. The movie was filmed in Australia, and Jason Mamoa is Hawaiian. It has no ties to New Zealand or Maori culture that I'm aware of.
Or is this just a case of people labelling any Polynesian war dance a haka?
figmentPez
Staff member
One of the stunt directors is Maori, and the character Arthur / Aquaman is, I think, Maori and uses moves from Maori fighting styles.
EDIT: Article from Stuff, Aquaman and Jason Momoa: What's with the Hawaiian hunk of a hero who does haka?
"right from Momoa's first scene you are hit with his 'Māori-ness'. He flaunts a pounamu pendant throughout the movie, and every time he picks up his trident, he assumes the Hawaiki Tū stance used in Māori weaponry as if holding a taiaha (staff). He even pulls off a few fancy weaponry moves that are undoubtedly Māori. "
The rest of the article is a confusing mess about how the author has mixed feelings, and is so worried that Momoa "relinquished his own Hawaiian culture for the haka." I'm all for respecting culture, and it may be that the author has a point that one of the Maori crew should have led the haka, but I find it a little ridiculous to come to the conclusion that Momoa has given up on his Hawaiian heritage, when he's very vocal in interviews about how much he loves being Hawaiian.
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I don't know enough about Polynesian cultures but is it possible they were Hawaiian ha'a moves? There does seem to be some similarities from what little I've read.
Yeah, he said as much on Graham Norton, that he didn't really know what to do, so he did a haka because it sounded so fierce and primal.
fade
Staff member
Okay, I watched MoS and BvS finally. Ready the torches and pitchforks: I didn't hate them. They were far better than I was led to believe. I know, I know. I'm a comic book fan and I'm supposed to be burning Snyder in effigy, but they weren't that bad. Especially MoS. Sure, the gritty dark take wasn't great for Superman. But on the other hand, there were some really nicely done scenes, and Snyder can paint a great picture. I particularly liked Zod's arrival. That was nice, though I think it would work better for Braniac. At least the oddball animated universe version of Brainiac. BvS was not as good, and yes, this Lex Luthor was just awful. There's no denying that. But the mutant fight from DKR was immediately recognizable in film form, even if it was repurposed for parademons. The death of Superman was suitably poignant. Alfred was...odd. The weakest point (other than Luthor) was Batman, who apparently gave up his no guns/no killing rule, which I get was because of the DKR influence again. I saw the Ultimate Edition, and the 3 hr runtime was a bit excessive. I did like how they immediately answered the property damage from MoS by having it be a motivator for Batman. Anyway, not terrible either, though not as good as MoS.
I just started JL, and I had to take a break. So far, weakest of the 3. The Flash is probably my #2 superhero behind Spider-Man, and I really dread seeing what they've done with him. There seems to be some casual racism in that Silas Stone apparently can't make a cyborg on his own. It had to be done accidentally with some Kryptonian tech that basically did everything for him. The other 2 geniuses, Luthor and Wayne, seem to have their skills intact by contrast. Maybe I'm overreacting, but I didn't like that.
I just started JL, and I had to take a break. So far, weakest of the 3. The Flash is probably my #2 superhero behind Spider-Man, and I really dread seeing what they've done with him. There seems to be some casual racism in that Silas Stone apparently can't make a cyborg on his own. It had to be done accidentally with some Kryptonian tech that basically did everything for him. The other 2 geniuses, Luthor and Wayne, seem to have their skills intact by contrast. Maybe I'm overreacting, but I didn't like that.
GasBandit
Staff member
Dammit Fade, you have one thing. ONE THING. That we expect from you. And THIS of all times you go against type!
I counter that he usually hates what others like so liking the Snyderverse is actually relishing in hate.
There's a scene in one of the Christian Bale movies that has Batman launching missiles at parked cars to get them out of his way as he rides on his Batcycle. Or something like that, where the chances of innocent casualties is pretty damn high. That Batman certainly didn't have such rules, either.