The Real Origin of Batman

Been going through the "fun" process that is applying to teach in a new country... PLEASE smash my head in with a rock or other hard object!!!... When my friend Mike sent me this.

It is too funny!

Source here, be sure to check it out.

Bruce Timm's Batman Gotham Knight

Among my favourite TV shows of all time, and definitely on the short of best comic adaptations in my book is Bruce Timm's DC animated series (Batman, Batman Beyond, Superman, and Justice League). Of course sadly after the fourth season of Justice League this line of shows came to an end, and Bruce Timm moved on to make direct to DVD animated movies for DC.


I'd been meaning to check these out earlier, but due to their very delayed release in New Zealand it hasn't been till this month I started to track them down. Finding Superman Doomsday in the bargin bin, and than Batman Gotham Knight at the rental shop I've suddenly got more than I can effective watch in my busy schedule.


Since it had to go back Gotham Knight got the first viewing, and I have to say if its the norm than I'm regretting the $8 on Superman (hopefully that's not the case, but that'll have to wait till another day).


So the very brief review is of course I'm very very glad I rented this, and didn't buy it.


In a style similar to the Animatrix a bunch of independent animation teams did some shorts on Batman which were than combined to make a movie. To call it a movie is frankly a stretch, and this product is in essence is 6 shorts that barely tie together.


If there is one thing this "movie" has its style. So much of it you feel it being shoved down your throat the whole time the DVD is playing.


Sadly they over crammed it so much with style they forgot to put in anything else. There are some impressive drawings of Gotham, Batman, other characters from the comics that appear on screen for huge chunks of time, but forget this supposed to be an animated show. Rather in some of these sketches (the second in particular) feel more like a slide show of the artist's sketch book.

The majority of this style derives from anime, and sadly in most cases from the type of anime I don't enjoy. Story, dialogue, and action take a back seat to establishing a setting or a mood as characters just sit there blankly starring into space, at each other, or where ever and shots of locations of things go on for tens of seconds.


Making for some really dull view frankly. This shot being a key example. The only difference between this still shot and the movie is that, after the crook holding the hostage threats to kill her, the fire moves and we get to watch that for about 10 seconds.

Making it especially boring is that to establish the effect of Batman, most of the creators feel that Batman should appear as little as possible. Sort of like the shark in Jaws. So instead we spend 90% of sketches with kids, COPs, or Bruce Wayne flash backs.

The opening short was certainly the worse. Which I thought was stupid. Opening on the weakest just seems silly to me.

In a classic cliche a bunch of street kids sit around telling their tales of run ins with the Dark Knight. Only these are truly from a kids point of view which portray Batman as everything from a giant bat, a robot, and a living shadow (ALL terribly drawn I'll add!) with Batman showing up for 5 seconds in the end of the short. In the actual Bruce Timm there is a brilliant episode with this concept only the kid's tales are all adaptations of different eras of Batman meaning you get lots of Batman rather than none...

From here on the sketches tried to feel interconnected, and be in the Batman Begins universe. Note I did say try to. The sketches that were good were those that really tried to stick to this format.

However due to the 6 different styles it jarred you out of this illusion quickly. If not for Kevin Conroy being the constant voice of Bruce Wayne and Batman there were some sketches I wouldn't have caught on to who was supposed to be Bruce Wayne (though one of them once you catch it was a GREAT anime-ized Christian Bale)

So out of the 6 shorts, 2 were amazing/awesome, 2 were meh, 1 was just too boring to be anything above meh, and the first was just awful.

The success of the 2 good shorts was the fact they had some story to them. Overall these shorts had no build of any sort other than again mood/style. Most of them just putter storytelling wise with some dialogue about a gang war, and nothing more than that until suddenly for no reason gangsters show up and shot at things till Batman shows up to beat them up.

Sketch 3 really broke this mould with a great little story of Luscious Fox designing a belt gizmo that deflects bullets for Batman. The problem with it is that it works too well rather than not at all a repelled bullet critically injuries one of the gunmen leading Batman to realize with such a device its not just his life he is putting on the line.

Sketch 6 works due to the great adaptation of the villain Deadshot to the Batman Begins universe. I'll take my quick moment to state I've been saying we'll see Deadshot in Batman 3 since immediately after viewing Dark Knight. Forget those stupid Penguin and Riddler rumours, how would they work in the ubber real Nolan movies? Deadshot does, and I really think we'll see him.

Sadly short 4's attempt at adapting Killer Croc was just lame. Between him being a big thug who sharpened his teeth and wearing a crocodile skin and his in the end being a lackey of Scarecrow's this short's story was all over the place. If it had more than 10 minutes it might have been a mediocre story, but crammed in like it was it was just all over the place and lacked any suspense.
So to sum up. Gotham Knight had style to spare, but not much else. The 3rd and 6th shorts are definitely worth a watching if you get your hands on the DVD, but overall its not worth more than a $1-3 rental that alone buying.

Hero-Clix I MUST own!

So for those of you out there who don't know I DO have one real addiction problem. Games.

Now in recent years I've managed to bring this problem mostly in check. Back in my late teens and early 20's collectible card games were one of my big socializing past times. However as I learned when a card game goes belly up (as they all eventually do... it's only a matter of time for you Magic players!) all you have left is a bunch of worthless coloured pieces of cardboard. So it was easy enough not to allow myself into that trap after most of my major games went under in the early 2000's (Star Trek, Star Wars, and Babylon 5).

I was clean for a good 2-3 years until a new game was launched to PERFECTLY coincide with my new comic obsession, and that game was Heroclix. What made this "dangerous" was that unlike a card game (of which many had been made around comic characters) this game left you with little superhero figurines, and if there is something I can't resist is toys!

Heroclix has been around for 5 years now, and as a result they've finally made nearly every comic character I could want or ever hope for. In fact the last few sets have been easy to avoid, minus 2-4 figs out of a set of 50+, due to the lack of characters I want...

Till the latest set which has ONE character I thought I'd never see ever. That is till about 3 weeks ago when Mike sent me an email with this attached...



They're making a freaking Batman Beyond fig!!!

Even better he is a common figure so though I still have to buy him, he'll only be a buck!

Comics Again

Probably the closest I've had to an addiction problem (which wasn't CLOSE to a problem at all) was my 4 year stint as a full time comic geek. I gave up my "geek cigarettes" in time for the move to New Zealand, and apart from 4 issues of Warren Ellis Ultimate Human and 1 issue (of 3) of the horrible Serenity sequel series Better Days, I haven't bought any since.

On this latest trip to Canada (this past August) one my big to do things was to clear as much of my stuff out of the parents' place as possible. As my comic collection took up a LOT of room it sadly hit the cutting block.

Naturally I was not pleased at the prospect or the inevitable outcome. Fortunately I found a great two prong approach to make this sacrifice a little less painful. It turns out my comic collection (and I'm sure most other people's) can be broken down into two categories:

Comics of experimentation or short term interest or those that are keepers. Turns out about a quarter of my comics were those that I thought I'd try out and pick up anywhere between 1 to 6 issues. Than there were series I bought at the time due to moderate interest, but now I could care less for. All these books, nearly 1/2 of what I was holding on to, went to a used book shop and fetched me a mighty $25. So if you're holding onto all your comics as your retirement fund maybe time for a different plan.

As for the books I really enjoyed and still re-read I didn't wish to get rid of them so heavy handily. The night before I was going to lug the last half of my comics to the used book store I was fortunate enough to have a coffee with a friend who hearing I had the first 60 issues of Ultimate X-Men insisted she'd take them. I made the terms be she take ALL my keeper comics. This was better solution for me. It meant my collection would be definitely enjoyed more, won't sit on a self collecting dust in the used book store, or worst of all just be thrown out.

At the same time this left me comic-less (minus my trade paper backs). Till my friend Mike hooked me up with digital backups. Now I point out here that if I were to have digital copies of books I didn't owe this would be piracy, but 90% of the stuff on my removable harddrive are issues I legitimately bought. The remaining 10% are those issues of things I couldn't track down (mostly old back issues).

So I have comics again! For the first time in nearly two years! I'm loving it frankly. Even if on the computer their a little more tricky to read.

Figured I'd run you through a few of my favourite titles.

Warren Ellis' Planetary the series that started me reading comics. The funny thing was back than I didn't get the referencing to other comics that this series was based on. It was just a compelling conspiracy story. The other funny part is this series has been running for nearly a decade with a whooping 25 issues... The last issue of the whole series has supposed to be coming out my whole time in New Zealand. Meaning the instant I move back to Canada the last issue will finally come out! Hopefully I move back than...

Frank Millar's The Ultimates (avoid Jeph Loeb's current run like the plague!) the title that got me buying comics in the first place. The first 6 issues of both series are among the most realistic and believable superheroes in comic history. Hard to believe their based on the regular main stream Marvel Avengers, one of my least favourite groups of comic characters ever.

The Birds of Prey, specifically the Gail Simone run but I really like Chuck Dixon's as well, was the ongoing book I looked forward too more than any other. Well written female characters are rare in comics so this book was a treat, and to be written by a good female writer made it all the better! I also loved that the main hero of the book is superhero of information who doesn't actually fight bad guys in person.

One of the biggest surprises when I really delved in comics. Sean Mckeever's Sentinel. On paper it sounds like a rehash of the Iron Giant. A geeky kid finds a broken Sentinel (X-Men killing robot) fixes it to fill in the void of his life. I ignored it till Mike insisted I pick it up.

Holy crow! It was one of the most character driven books I've read. The Sentinel turns out to be "fun" substitute for a gun in a kid friendly but yet dark examination of school shootings. Of course the main character doesn't go that route, and after the first 6 issues the book delves into all sorts of other teenage issues. Trust me its is worth picking up the two nice little complete Marvel published digests of this series!

Since I'm on the topic of comics I can't suggest stuff without a cross-over. Typically these involve a central cross over book with tie ins in the other normal books. My pick for best cross over doesn't have the tie ins (both fortunately and sadly). The Ultimate Galactus Trilogy by Warren Ellis. Made up of 3 "different" series that all lead into each other as the Ultimate world learns of the most dangerous threat to the planet it'll ever face!

Though the first story Nightmare is quite forgettable (other than the last few pages which set up the main point of the series) Secret and Extinction are amazing. Not only for the pacing and delivery of the story, but the direct tie-in and referencing of established Ultimate continuity (especially Ultimate FF). Something modern Ultimate books don't do anymore.

Since all the comics I'm suggesting are of the new millennium I figured I toss in a retro comic. Classic Suicide Squad by John Ostrander is more fun than you can shake a Manhunter at. The premise being that with the huge cost of containing super villains in prison the US government decides to get some worth out of the investment, and starts bribing or forcing these captured super people into the most dangerous of missions for the state. The book lives up to its name. Lots of team members die, and thus its a real diverse book as the line up changes arch to arch. Yet at the same time the regulars who manage to survive (even just for a few storylines) became some of DC's best villains in the pages of this book.

So it's good to have comics again. I do sort of miss not getting new ones, but most of my favourite aforementioned books are either gone or headed up by different writers (in the case of The Ultimates, Jeph Loeb has managed to turn my favourite book into an outright joke!) so I'm safe from getting back into the habit anytime soon.

The Dark Knight... Pure Batman!

(I don't give too many spoilers... that's for you Peter so read this!)

Well just saw The Dark Knight (stupid late release in New Zealand!), and it was simply awesome! Definitely in the best superhero movies of all time, and my favourite movie of this year (though Kung Fu Panda put up a fight against both this and Iron Man).

First off I'll say Heath Ledger's Joker is indeed the awesome, and is everything I could want in a non-Mark Hamil Joker (the Bruce Timm cartoons still being my favourite super hero thing ever. better than the comics and any movies... though this movie nearly does it in parts!). Even if not for Ledgers death I'm sure his take on part would be getting a lot of praise... Just maybe not the over the top oscar talk it has been getting.

This emphasises the only problem with the movie. It has been over hyped. ALOT!

Yet unlike the Star Wars prequels it didn't leave a bad taste though, and in fact had me really into it for the most part. It just wasn't a surprise like Batman Begins was.

So if you haven't seen Dark Knight don't go in expecting the greatest movie ever when you do. It has flaws. Batman Begins was a much better product overall, and could be argued as being better than its sequel due to this. However when The Dark Knight was hitting its stride it was way cooler and more fun!

What I enjoyed the most is that unlike most Superhero movies that start strong and than kind of putter out towards the end, The Dark Knight started weak and got better all the way to the end. I LOVE where the third movie is heading... Though I will admit using just Batman mythos characters I'm not sure who the bad guys will be (in a way. I have my suspicions but that'll have to wait).

Rather than give a bunch of spoilers or ramble about stuff I'm sure is being talked about everywhere, I wanted to say my favourite part was not actually the Joker. Which is "funny" (pun intended) as he is my favourite comic book villain, and Ledger's version is great. Given all the hoopla going on everywhere else I wanted to emphasis the other thing that worked in this film, and that was...

The Dark Knight himself!

In Batman Begins we got a very select sampling of the character of Batman. For the Dark Knight they pulled out all the stops and give us tons of the classic essential moments in live action.

There's the night club confrontation, jumping on a moving car, using normal materials around him to turn an impossible situation around, and many more I won't spoil. When you watch it though pay attention to how every time Batman appears in this movie he is covering a lot more of the classic Batman spread than the first film.

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I'm sure one of the most underrated scenes by most people is the detective work that he does early in the film. Something I felt was sorely lacking in the first film.

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Perhaps the only aspect they didn't do enough of was gadgetry. My buddy I went with didn't like how he didn't adapt to a few things despite hitting them ALOT through the movie. Also the one big gizmo towards the end, though cool, was kinda a let down). I add I hated how *spoiler* he didn't use a SINGLE batrang in the whole film BOO! I love those things!

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At the same time in the first movie it was a VERY gadgety Batman, and it was cool to see in this film him not having to rely entirely on high tech stuff to be a hero.

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So yeah definitely go see the Dark Knight, and pay attention to all the cool Batman moments in addition to the Ledger stuff you've no doubt being hearing about non stop. Just remember it isn't perfect!

Hulking Out...

Well given my recent problems with New Zealand Immigration (mostly solved now thankfully!) I've had a lot of rage and anger.

Now if there's one thing I tend to do is bottle these up and release it when there's a lot more of it stored up. Due to this tendency I've had a soft spot for the Hulk ever since I got in comics earlier this decade.

In fact it was this issue of the Ultimates, the one where the Hulk comes out in style to do battle with the Ultimates, that was my first comic purchase. Until than I'd been borrowing my friends copies of things to read. It is still among my favourite single issues of any book, and definitely my favourite Ultimates issue.

So great was my love of this issue, and Ultimate Hulk that I did something I've never done for any other Marvel character. I actually picked up regular Marvel Hulk for a while... Even more surprising I enjoyed it for that while (till the last few issues).

So how did The Incredible Hulk pan up to my expectations

Well in one word it SMASHED all my doubts.

This movie was so much better than the last Hulk movie.

At the same time it had a few things I wasn't crazy about. To be honest I liked Eric Banna as Bruce Banner a lot more than Ed Norton. Don't get me wrong Norton does fine in the role, and is watchable. I just liked Banna more (partially because he can act and be different in movies unlike Norton).

Otherwise the movie was spot on what it needed to be!

The part I enjoyed the most was how his origin mixed elements from most of the Hulk's incarnations. They had bits from the 60's comic, 80's TV show (actually there was a TON of hat tips to the show throughout the movie if you missed them), and most important the mission statement of the Ultimate verse.

In the Ultimate universe of Marvel 90% of heroes (and many villains) owe their creation and origin causing events to a Super-Human research and development. I'm really digging the way these new Marvel Studio movies are grabbing key Ultimate concepts, and building their Avengers along the same lines as the Ultimates (who are of course the Ultimate Avengers, just Mark Miller thought Avengers was a dumb name for the team as their not "avenging" anything).

Liv Tyler as Betty Ross was much better than I expected. In fact she comes across as rather intelligent which I didn't think she could do.

William Hurt as General Ross was the number one human highlight of the movie. He struck the balance that made Ross a great villain, but one we couldn't quite hate.

The Hulk though takes the cake as the best thing about the movie. Which is the way it should be. Sadly in the last Hulk motion picture the Hulk took a background role. This movie he has plenty of fights, and their extremely satisfying!

The end fight is everything I love in a fight. It also has the my favourite use of a Comic characters catch phrase in a movie for "HULK SMASH!". I won't ruin it for you, just go see it!

Tony Stark coming to General Ross at the end about the Avengers wrapped it up nicely, and definitely has me excited for Avengers, as I think it'll start off with the Avengers trying to take down the Hulk just like Ultimates #5.

Stark's appearance does require one to quickly compare his movie to Hulk's. Sadly I have to say that Iron Man was still a bit better. I'd say the key reason is that Bruce Banner just isn't as fun to watch as Stark. Especially given the casting difference too. Ed Norton is Ed Norton (sadly in 2005 I was forced to watch EVERY Norton movie made up until that point by my roommates) you're not getting anything too interesting. Downey on the other hand was too much fun to watch.


My finally thought is related to the future Hulk villain they set up in the Abomination's creation. The funny part was Mr. Blue was taken directly from the regular Hulk I was reading in 2003 so this movie was tailored very heavily from ALL the Hulk I'd read. However as clearly their setting up the Leader, the next Hulk movie enters territory of the character I hardly know (the only Leader story I read was so bad that it caused me to dump reading regular Hulk).