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Game Corner [MK Month]: Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate (Xbox One)

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To celebrate the simultaneous worldwide release of Mortal Kombat (Midway, 1992) on home consoles, 13 September 1993 was dubbed “Mortal Monday”. Mortal Kombat’s move to home consoles impacted not only the ongoing “Console War” between SEGA and Nintendo but also videogames forever thanks to its controversial violence. Fittingly, to commemorate this game-changing event, I’ve been dedicating every Monday of September to celebrating the Mortal Kombat franchise.

Released: 17 November 2020
Originally Released: 23 April 2019
Developer: NetherRealm Studios
Also Available For: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Xbox Series X

The Background:
Mortal Kombat was a phenomenal success for Midway; thanks to its controversial violence and unique digitised graphics, the game stood out from the likes of Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (Capcom, 1991). While the franchise went from strength to strength during the 2D era of gaming, Mortal Kombat struggled to really stand out amidst a slew of revolutionary 3D fighters and, following the lacklustre release of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (Midway Games, 2008), the series looked to be in serious trouble after Midway went bankrupt in 2010. Thankfully, Warner Bros. Interactive stepped in and the Mortal Kombat team was rebranded as NetherRealm Studios. Their first order of business was to get their violent franchise back on track, which they did with Mortal Kombat (NetherRealm Studios, 2009), a particularly well-received reboot of the surprisingly convoluted lore. This gritty, violent reboot again stirred controversy but sales of the game alone were enough to cover the costs of Midway’s acquisition and work on a follow-up soon began.

After the disappointing Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Mortal Kombat made an impressive comeback.

Mortal Kombat X (ibid, 2015) instantly impressed and out-did its predecessor in every way, being both the most violent entry and having the biggest launch in the franchise’s long history at the time. Mortal Kombat X also scored very well and the success of the game earned it not just a host of additional downloadable content (DLC) but also an expanded version, Mortal Kombat XL, in 2016. Keen to capitalise on the good will they had earned back with these releases, NetherRealm announced the development of Mortal Kombat 11 at the Games Awards 2018, a game that saw the triumphant return of actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa to the role of Shang Tsung and sold over eight million copies by October 2020. Like its predecessors, Mortal Kombat 11 received an expanded addition that included all of its DLC fighters and even additional story mode content and was met with favourable reviews, though some criticised the randomisation of the game’s unlockables and the overreliance on grinding, mechanics that, for me, affected the appeal of Injustice 2 (ibid, 2017).

The Plot:
After the defeat of Shinnok at the conclusion of Mortal Kombat X, Raiden has become corrupted by the Elder God’s amulet and, angered at the Thunder God’s repeatedly meddling in the fabric of space and time, the keeper of time (and Shinnok’s mother), Kronika, plots to rewrite history to erase Raiden from existence. With past versions of classic Mortal Kombat characters showing up all over the place, and Earthrealm’s most dangerous and long-dead enemies forging an alliance to usher in Kronika’s “New Era”, Earthrealm’s Special Forces and allies face a battle against time itself to keep the realms from being torn asunder.

Gameplay:
As you might expect by now, Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate is a 2.5D fighting game in which players can pick from one of thirty-seven characters and battle through the game’s single-player story mode, fight one-on-one against another player or computer-controlled opponent, battle their way though a variety of arcade-style towers, or challenge other players to a variety on online battles. Battles take place in a best-of-three format and against a time limit, though you can alter these settings (and many others, including the difficulty of computer-controlled opponents) from the game’s comprehensive menu to speed up gameplay or make it more accessible.

One of the things I love about Mortal Kombat is that gameplay and combos are generally easy to pick up.

As in the other 3D Mortal Kombat fighters, fights in Mortal Kombat 11 are extremely accessible and easy to master. You can attack your opponent with punches with either X or Y, kicks with A or B, block with RT, throw (again, this is more like a grapple) with LB or X and Y and a directional input, and interact with the game’s environments when indicated with RB. You can also dash towards and away from your opponent, jump in or crouch down to attack or avoid projectiles, and string together combos by pressing the attack buttons and using directional inputs quickly. The game features a comprehensive tutorial mode that teaches you all of the basics and intricacies of the game’s combat, which gets deeper and more complex depending on your skill level and who you play as but is still extremely easy for even novice players to pick up and pull off a few simple combos.

In addition to trademark special moves, characters can also pull off gruesome Fatal Blows.

Each character also boasts a number of special moves, also pulled off by a few simple button and directional inputs (back, forward, X, for example, or forward, down, B); these can be stringed together with combos and augmented with a well-timed press of RB (this will, however, drain a meter at the bottom of the screen but this will quickly refill in time). Unlike in the last two games, though, you can no longer build your meter towards a gruesome X-Ray move; instead, when your health is sufficiently depleted, you’ll have the option of pulling off a “Fatal Blow” once per fight (not per round) to mash your opponent into mush. While these are suitably impressive, violent, and gory, I have to say that I miss being able to build up to and pull off a momentum-changing special move whenever I want rather than when I’m near death. While special moves are pretty easy to perform, you can review them at any time from the pause menu and even “tag” team so they appear onscreen for easy reference, but I would have liked the option to pick and choose which ones are displayed for quick reference.

Fatalities are more visceral and gory than ever and see you dismembering and eviscerating your opponent.

As horrific as the Fatal Blows can be, though, the real star of the show is, once again, the game’s Fatalities, the trademark of the franchise. At the end of the deciding round (usually round two), you’ll be told to “Finish Him!!” (or her…) and given a short period of time to stand in a specific spot and enter another button combination to tear your opponent to pieces, usually resulting in their guts, brains, and eyes bursting from their body or them being shredded and blown apart. Every character has three Fatalities available to them: one that is readily available, one that is locked and must be unlocked in the Krypt (or looked up online…), and one that is assigned to pulling off special Fatalities in certain stages (“Stage Fatalities”, like the classic uppercut into an acid pit) and you can also find (or purchase) “Easy Fatality Tokens” to pull them off more easily and practice them in the Fatality Tutorial.

There’s more than one way to finish your opponent, including a couple of non-lethal options.

Fatalities aren’t the only way to finish your opponent, though; by following a specific set of instructions during a fight (such as not blocking or hitting a certain number of moves and ending the decisive round with a specific attack), you can once again end your foe with a “Brutality” (although, as Factions are no longer included, Faction Kills are also not present this time). You can also pull off a non-lethal “Friendship” if you don’t wish to eviscerate your opponent and even replenish a small portion of their health by showing “Mercy” to allow the fight to continue a little longer. There are benefits to finishing off your opponent, though, as this will award you Hearts, one of four different forms of in-game currency, additional Koins (the primary form on in-game currency), and contribute to your player level and allow you to unlock additional bonuses.

Once again, it’s going to take a lot of grinding to earn enough to unlock everything in the game.

One of the biggest complaints I had about Injustice 2 was the sheer abundance of different in-game currencies and the unfortunate emphasis on grinding for levels and unlockables and the randomness of the game’s loot crates. Sadly, Mortal Kombat 11 carries a lot of this forward; there are numerous customisation options available to you, from backgrounds and icons for your gamer card to individual gear and skins for each character but pretty much all of them are locked behind the game’s time-consuming grinding system. You earn Koins, Soul Fragments, Hearts, and Time Crystals by playing every single one of the game’s modes; while each of these can be spent in the Krypt to unlock chests and release souls (which will net you additional currency, skins, gear, augments, and Konsumables), Time Crystals can be spent in the in-game shop but, as items in the shop at so expensive, you’re encouraged to spend real world money to unlock additional stuff.

Battle through Klassic and online towers to earn rewards, see character endings, and unlock gear.

Unfortunately, while each character has a whole load of gear and skins and customisation options available to them, these are locked behind grinding; you can find many of these in the Krypt but others are unlocked by playing story mode, completing the character tutorials, or besting the game’s many towers. As in the classic 2D games, you can once again pick between three different towers (Novice, Warrior, and Champion); which tower you pick determines the amount of fighters you’ll face and the degree of the rewards you’ll earn from completion. You can also take on the Endless tower to face and endless number of opponents until you quit or are defeated and the Survival tower in which the damage you receive from each fight carries over to the next. Similar to Mortal Kombat X and Injustice 2, you can also challenge a number of different online towers, the “Towers of Time”; these provide you with a variety of challenges but are only available for a set amount of time before they’re replaced with a fresh challenge. However, you even access this mode you first need to clear a number of tutorials first, which seemed a bit redundant, and you will need to pay and also perform certain tasks (such as a certain amount of attacks or specials) to complete each character’s specific tower and unlock more gear and skins for them.

Timelines collide in the story mode, which occassionally asks you to pick between two fighters.

A big part of the game is its story mode; once again, the story is broken down into twelve chapters, with each chapter assigned to at least one character but, every now and then, you’ll be given the option of picking between two characters. It doesn’t really matter which character you pick, though, as you don’t even need to tick off all of these options to 100% the story mode and it hardly affects the narrative at all. Despite the fact that you can’t finish off and kill your opponents, the story mode is a great way to earn Koins and gear and get to grips with each character; the story sees characters from the past return to life as Kronika attempts to rewrite history, which effectively undoes a lot of the development done to the series in Mortal Kombat X but it’s a good excuse to have classic characters return to the series. You can set the difficulty setting for the story mode whenever you like but there are no Achievements tied to beating it or any of the other mode son higher difficulties but you do generally earn better rewards for taking on more difficult challenges.

Graphics and Sound:
Mortal Kombat 11 looks fantastic; character faces still look a bit shiny and odd at times (particularly the females) but there’s even less distinction between the in-game graphics and the many cutscenes you’ll see as you play through the story. Every character is full of life and little quirks, such as Liu Kang constantly hopping from foot to foot in true Bruce Lee style, Kano nonchalantly spitting on the floor, and Skarlet cutting herself open. If the winning fighter is too close to their fallen foe when a round ends, they’ll back away with their own unique animation and voice clips and taunts can be heard throughout each fight as you pull of special moves, combos, and gain victories. Unfortunately, as always, the developers continue to render the character’s different endings using a motion comic aesthetic and voice over rather than utilise the full motion CGI cutscenes used to great effect in the game’s story, which continues to be a disappoint for me and I’ve never really understood this choice.

While environmental interactions seem limited, they’re still a great way to deal some damage.

Where Mortal Kombat 11 fails a little bit is in the stages; stages are a big part of any fighting game but especially Mortal Kombat and NetherRealm Studios’ recent efforts since they introduced the concept of interacting with various parts of the environment. This returns again, allowing you to skewer opponents with spears, throw bodies at them, wall run out of harms way, or toss or wield a variety of weapons (such as a chainsaw and a sledgehammer) to deal additional damage. These will often finally utilise the gruesome x-ray feature that was a big part of the last two games (which can also be triggered with certain special moves and augmented specials) but it feels as though there are a lot less opportunities to interact with the background and pull off Stage Fatalities than normal, making environments look and feel very alive but being disappointingly light on interactive elements despite all of the cameos and interesting elements at work in the background.

The game goes to great lengths to recreate iconic environments and locations from the first two games.

One thing I did like, though, was the return of some classic stages from past Mortal Kombat games, such as the courtyard and the dead pool; the best stage for this is, easily, the Retrocade stage, which randomly generates pixel-perfect recreations of classic Mortal Kombat stages complete with music. The game also goes above and beyond to recreate Shang Tsung’s island in immaculate detail in the Krypt; not only does it feature every stage from the first Mortal Kombat but it also recreates scenes and locations from the brilliant Mortal Kombat (Anderson, 1995) and cameos and references to numerous Mortal Kombat characters, which makes it a fantastic area to explore that is sadly let down by how confusing the Krypt’s map system is. Not only that but Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa lends his voice and likeness to Tsung once again, adding his unmatched gravitas to the character, and you can even buy a skin pack that adds skins for Sonya Blade, Johnny Blaze, and Raiden that adds three more likenesses and voices from the film.

As gruesome and visceral as the Fatalities are, the Fatal Blows are gloriously rendered in macabre detail.

While the game does excel in its many cutscenes and does a great job of telling its story with just the right level of cheese and seriousness, the main draw of the game is in its violence and gore and Mortal Kombat 11 certainly delivers in that respect. Skin is literally peeled from the bones, eyeballs fly in geysers of blood, bodies are dismembered, split into pieces, dissolved, and shredded, and limbs are torn apart in a variety of ghastly ways and it’s always a joy to see the horrifying ways characters are going to mutilate their opponents. The Fatal Blows are sometimes just as good, if not better, as any of the game’s Fatalities, with characters being stabbed, shot, and blasted in ways that would surely kill them only for the characters to hop right back up afterwards. While character’s clothes and accessories don’t rip or tear during the fights, they do seem to get stained by blood at times and skin can be seen baring wounds and scars from battle.

Enemies and Bosses:
As a fighting game, every single character in Mortal Kombat 11 is your enemy and you’ll be forced to do battle with all of them at least once, at some point, as you play through the story mode and arcade towers. Because every character controls and fights a little differently, with some focusing on ranged attacks or brawling while others emphasis slow but hard-hitting attacks, it’s best to sample each for yourself and to get an idea of your favourite character’s different abilities and variations in order to achieve success. Also crucial is mastering a handful of the game’s combos; many are as simple as X, X, Y or X, Y, X but others require directional inputs, longer button presses, and the co-ordinated stringing together of frame-perfect attacks and special moves. Luckily, though, every character usually has one or two simple combos for you to master so it’s simple enough for players of any skill level to pick up and play.

Your attack strategy may have to change depending on who you are fighting or playing as.

Some characters, though, play a little differently to others and this affects not only how you play but also how you fight them. Shang Tsung, for example, can not only steal the soul of his opponent, which not only drains their health but also has him assume their form and moveset for a short period, but can also morph into various masked ninjas from the franchise; Shao Kahn primarily attacks with his massive hammer, which can make his attacks slower; Jax Briggs can charge up his metal arms with punches and other attacks, which allows him to pull off his projectile attacks; and Erron Black can whip out a shotgun, which allows him to fire at and melee attack his opponent but also needs reloading and to be manually put away. Other opponents can be a lot cheaper than others; Noob Saibot, for example, is always a bit of a pain because of his vast array of teleporting attacks and the same applies to Mileena, who’s capable of quickly teleporting about the place and launching sais at you. There are also some returning favourites you’ll have to watch out for, such as Sub-Zero’s ice ball, Scorpion’s kunai spear, and Liu Kang’s lightning quick kicks and fireballs but the new characters have their own tricks to watch out for, too. Geras, for example, loves to spam his little sand pit trap and Certrion will spawn elemental hazards out of thin air to trap and hurt you.

Cyrax and Sektor can only be fought in the story and you’ll face tough boss battles in the Towers.

When playing through the game’s story mode, you’ll also have to fight a couple of familiar faces in the form of Cyrax and Sektor. These cybernetic ninjas sadly don’t make the cut this time around so they essentially fill the role of mini bosses, in a way, despite appearing quite early on in the story mode. In addition, there will also be time sin the story (and in certain towers) where you have to face two opponents in a handicap match very similar to the “Endurance” matches from the first game, which see your opponents automatically tag into battle once their comrade has fallen while you’re forced to continue with whatever health you have left. When taking on the Towers of Time, you’ll get to battle against a character that has been augmented to “boss” status; this means that you can’t use Konsumables and that your opponent will be super tough, requiring multiple players to take on the challenge while its active to help bring them down and earn rewards.

After Kronika is defeated you must choose between facing Fire God Liu Kang or Shang Tsung.

When you play the story mode or battle through one of the other towers, your final opponent will be Kronika, an unplayable boss character who presents a unique challenge compared to the likes of Shinnok and Shao Kahn. The battle against Kronika takes place in one round but is split between three fights against her and three different locations and time periods, with each phase seeing you having to battle a randomly generated opponent. Unlike other characters, Kronika cannot be thrown, staggered, or hit with a Fatal Blow; when you try any of these attacks and certain combos, she’ll take damage but you won’t see the usual animations play out, which can leave you open to one of her devastating attacks. Kronika likes to teleport around the arena and summon energy balls and projectiles but her most lethal attack is a time warp that renders you helpless and drains a massive chunk of your health bar, which basically means that it’s best to reach her final phase with as much health as possible or else you have to replay the entire fight from the beginning. At the conclusion of the Aftermath story mode, you have the choice of facing either Shang Tsung (who has usurped Kronika’s powers) or “Fire God” Liu Kang (a merged form of Liu Kang and Raiden) as your final opponent. Unlike Kronika, though, these are standard battles and subject to all the normal gameplay mechanics, meaning you’re free to hit your Fatal Blows and augmented special moves and combos without fear of being left vulnerable. Indeed, as long as you’re proficient enough with a few combos and special moves, these fights should be noticeably easier than the one against Kronika though be wary as Shang Tsung and Liu Kang are also much more versatile in their attacks than Kronika, who favours bursts of temporal energy over combo strings.

Power-Ups and Bonuses:
Like in Injustice 2, each character has a number of gear that can be equipped but, thankfully, unlike in that game, these do not affect the character’s stats or abilities and are merely cosmetic. As you battle with your character, their gear will level up and unlock up to three augment slots and you can then equip augments to their gear to increase their special attacks, defence, and other attributes to make them more efficient. Similar to Mortal Kombat X, each character has a number of variations available to them but, this time, it’s up to you to equip and assign these variations to each character; these are limited to three slots, which allow you to assign different special moves and abilities to each character to differentiate them (you can have Scorpion, for example, focus on flame or kunai attacks, or mix and match them). You can also assign different intros and outros for each variation (once you unlock these) and tweak their artificial intelligence (A.I.) stats to make them more focused on reversals or brawling, for example, or a more balanced fighter when taking part in A.I. Battles.

Equip Konsumables and augments to give you buffs and power-ups and make Towers a little easier.

To help you clear these modes, you can choose to have the computer battle through each tower on your behalf and also use up to four Konsumables to tip the odds in your favour. These allow you to flick the right analogue stick and call upon assistance from other characters or effects (such as a brief acid rain, missiles, or similar projectiles) and/or earn additional rewards from battle or performing finishers. Other times, especially in the Towers of Time, your opponents will have access to similar Konsumables and augments, which essentially recreates the Test Your Luck feature from Mortal Kombat (2009), and you’ll again have the option of teaming up with others to take on super tough boss battles.Each time you take on a tower, you’ll be asked to take on a number of “Dragon Challenges”; these appear at the bottom of the screen and ask you to do such tasks as switching stance, ducking, jumping, or performing (or not performing) a certain number of actions throughout the fight and the more you complete, the more additional Koins you can earn so I recommend drawing the fight out so that you can pull off as many as possible.

Additional Features:
There are fifty-eight Achievements on offer in Mortal Kombat 11 and, unlike most games, most of these are tied to repetitive actions rather than playing though the story mode. You’ll earn an Achievement for pulling off a certain number of Fatalities and Brutalities, one for performing two Fatalities with every character who isn’t a DLC fighter (which is a good way to test out each fighter), using a certain number of Konsumables, and opening a certain number of chests in the Krypt, for example. You’ll also earn Achievements for clearing the Klassic Tower with first one and then ten characters (why not all of them is beyond me), running five miles in the Krypt, and for taking part in A.I. and online battles and clearing half of (and all) of the main story mode.

All of the DLC is included as standard but, sadly, there are no additional Achievements tied to these.

Sadly, however, the Achievements do not extend to any of the DLC fighters or story content; there are no Achievements to be earned from clearing Aftermath or specifically tied to any of the DLC fighters, which is a real shame when you’ve got RoboCop and the Terminator in your game and when you consider that Mortal Kombat XL had sixty Achievements to earn, with an extra thirteen added with its DLC fighters. On the one hand, this does mean that it’s a lot easier to get Achievements in Mortal Kombat 11 since there are far less devoted to online play but, on the other, I was disappointed that the Achievements didn’t encourage more replayability and variety; instead, it’s all repetitive actions and nonstop grinding and I’d be pretty pissed off to have paid £40-odd for the Aftermath DLC and all those fighter packs only to find that they don’t come with any extra Achievements.

Some familiar faces and movie icons feature as guest fighters…and also the Joker, who I could live without.

Speaking of which, Aftermath and all of the DLC fighter packs and skins are included in Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate (…except for those released after the game) but you should be aware that your previous save data from the base Mortal Kombat 11 is not compatible with Ultimate. This means that you can play Aftermath right away, if you want, and thus complete the actual story since the main story just kind of ends unresolved. The additional fighters include the likes of Spawn, RoboCop, the Terminator, and even John Rambo (with Keith David, Peter Weller, and Sylvester Stallone all lending their voice talents (and likeness, in Rambo’s case) to the game. You can also play as returning characters such as Sindel, Fujin, and one of my favourites, Rain though I question the inclusion of the Joker as I really think Pennywise the Dancing Clown would have fit a lot better. There are also a number of cheeky DC Comics skins and gear to equip that turn Cassie Cage into Harley Quinn, Geras into Darkseid, Kitana into Catwoman, and Baraka into Killer Croc and you can even dress Jacqui Briggs up in Spawn’s costume.

The Krypt is full of Easter Eggs and references to both the 1995 movie and the franchise’s long histor.y

Aside from fighting, much your time is also spent exploring the Krypt and spending all of your hard-earned currency on skins, gear, augments, and the like. The Krypt is the biggest it has ever been, encompassing the entirety of Shang Tsung’s island and is full of treasure chests, death traps, and references to the videogames and movies. Unfortunately, though, as great as the Krypt is for Easter Eggs and such, it’s a bitch to navigate; you can create shortcuts by smashing through walls and pulling levers and such but the map is dreadful and it can be extremely difficult to get to where you need to be as it relies on an awkward coordinate system. It’s also ridiculously expensive to open the chests, which can lead to you spending over 10,000 Koins just for some useless icons and concept art and it’ll cost you 100 Soul Fragments and 250 Hearts every time you want to open one of those chests. There’s a lot to see and do, though, with new areas to stumble across and fun little Easter Eggs to find but, again, no Achievements really tied to this; when I find the statue of Reptile’s reptilian form from the movie or examine Drahmin’s mask or find Goro’s corpse, I’d expect at least a fun little 5G Achievement but…nope.

The Summary:
I knew that we would eventually be getting Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate and specifically held off from purchasing the base game or Aftermath while waiting for this release, which bundles 99% of the game’s content all onto one disc (well…technically it’s two…) for you to play at your leisure (after the lengthy download and installation process, of course). In many ways, I wasn’t disappointed; Mortal Kombat has never looked better, with blood and guts and gore being rendered in exquisitely visceral detail and the recreation of Shang Tsung’s island for the Krypt is stunning, full of little details and references that really reward my many years of fandom. Equally, the story mode and fights are brought to life fantastically and the scaled back approach to gear and customisation is appreciated since it means I don’t have to worry about my character being underpowered if they look how I want.

Mortal Kombat has arguably never looked better but the emphasis on grinding lets the game down.

Unfortunately, though, there are a few things that let it down. The Fatal Blow system is great but seems catered more to new players and a defensive playstyle; tying so much of the game to online servers results in a lot of dodgy slowdown and loading on the menus at times; locking everything behind the towers and such is fine but forcing players to grind for in-game currency to spend on even challenging those towers is not; the handful of Achievements might be pretty simple to get but there’s not a lot of variety or fun to them; and I question some of the choices made for the roster. First of all…why thirty-seven fighters? Why not go all-in and bring it up to a nice, even forty? Where are Takeda Takahasi and Kung Jin, the actual descendant of the Great Kung Lao? They weren’t exactly my favourite characters from Mortal Kombat X but they were just as important to the “new generation” of fighters as Cassie and Jacqui but they’re missing yet that lumbering oaf Kotal Kahn is still there. In the end, there’s a lot of fun to be had in Mortal Kombat 11 but it’s notably more finite and time-consuming than in the last two Mortal Kombat games; it’s not as bad with the randomness and loot boxes as Injustice 2 but some of the better skins and gear and such is still annoying locked away and will take a lot of time and effort to unlock, which is especially aggravating when the game uses four different types of in-game currency and yet your options for actually purchasing new stuff in-game are severely limited.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

What are your thoughts on Mortal Kombat 11: Ultimate? Did you wait for this version to come out or did you buy the base game and DLC separate? Either way, do you think there was enough value for your money or, like me, were you disappointed to find the DLC didn’t have any new Achievements to earn? Which fighter in the game (or the franchise) is your favourite and why? What did you think to the story mode and the use of competing timelines to bring back classic characters? Were there any characters or features missing from the game for you? What did you think to the online options and the different towers the game had to offer? Which Mortal Kombat game, movie, comic, or other piece of media is your favourite? Whatever your thoughts on Mortal Kombat 11, or Mortal Kombat in general, leave a comment down below.

Movie Night [Multiverse Madness]: Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths

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In September 1961, DC Comics published “Flash of Two Worlds” (Fox, et al), a landmark story that brought together the Golden Age Jay Garrick and the Silver Age Barry Allen. In the process, DC Comics created the multiverse, an infinite number of parallel universes that allowed all stories and characters to exist and I’ve been celebrating this ground-breaking concept every Sunday of this month!

Released: 23 February 2010
Director: Sam Liu and Lauren Montgomery
Distributor: Warner Home Video
Budget: Unknown
Stars: William Baldwin, Mark Harmon, Gina Torres, James Woods, Brian Bloom, and Chris Noth

The Plot:
In an alternate version of Earth, the Crime Syndicate (evil doppelgängers to the Justice League) rule with an iron fist. When the Lex Luthor (Noth) of this parallel world travels across the dimensions, the Justice League find themselves battling against their dark mirrors to decide the fate of all worlds.

The Background:
Following the much-lauded Batman: The Animated Series (1992 to 1999) and the conclusion of Batman Beyond (1999 to 2001), co-creator Bruce Timm spearheaded easily the biggest and most ambitious DC animated show of that era, Justice League (2001 to 2004), and then out did himself with the exhaustive roster of Justice League Unlimited (2004 to 2006). Both cartoons were incredibly well-received and helped contribute to the continued success and popularity of the DC Animated Universe. Originally, Timm intended to produce an animated feature named Justice League: Worlds Collide to bridge the gap between Justice League and Justice League Unlimited that would draw inspiration from the seminal story “Crisis on Earth-Three!” (Fox, et al, 1964). However, these plans were scrapped by Warner Brothers, who were in the middle of producing a series of direct-to-video animated films with no ties to any existing continuity, and the script was consequently rewritten to avoid directly referencing either show. Despite this, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths shared a very similar style to Timm’s earlier works and, considering the first issue of the ground-breaking Crisis on Infinite Earths (Wolfman, et al, 1986) was first publish in this month back in 1986 I figured this would be as good a time as any to look back at this often overlooked animated feature.

The Review:
The multiverse is quite a daunting and confusing concept, to be honest; even I, a self-confessed comic book enthusiast, struggle with the notion at times and I feel it only really works in comics, where readers are used to the idea after a few decades of dimensional-hopping antics, and television (especially cartoons), since long-running series’ just have more time to introduce and explore the concept. In that regard, Crisis of Two Earths eases viewers into the idea of parallel worlds by primarily focusing on the idea of two alternative worlds and also its opening sequence, in which we see our beloved heroes radically changed, monstrous even, and killing a heroic version of the Joker, the Jester (James Patrick Stuart), and being opposed by a far more virtuous incarnation of Lex Luthor. We then switch over to our Earth, where a more recognisable version of the Justice League are finishing up the construction of their Watchtower space station and their teleportation device; right away, we’re introduced to two concepts that form the basis of the film: the Flash (Josh Keaton) is the comic relief and Batman (Baldwin) is a bit of a grouch. Flash is full of the quips and amusing pop culture references but Batman is a stubborn pragmatist; even when clearly outmatched by Superwoman’s (Torres) power, he preserves through a broken rib and is able to subdue her with anaesthetic gas, proving his capability despite his lack of super powers.

An alternative Lex Luthor recruits the Justice League to help liberate his world.

When the alternative Luthor arrives, he is immediately apprehended and brought to the attention of the League; Superman (Harmon) confirms that the duplicate isn’t their Lex and the Luthor brings the League up to speed with the issue of the Crime Syndicate of his Earth. On this alternate world, Luthor was the leader of the Justice League but the Syndicate has rendered their world a virtual dictatorship thanks to their power and maliciousness, held in check only by the threat of a nuclear retaliation. Superman, naturally, doesn’t trust Luthor but J’onn (Jonathan Adams) confirms that the alternative refuge is telling the truth. The League debate the merits, logistics, and morals of assisting Luthor’s world and, though Green Lantern (Nolan North) is opposed to it, it is Batman who is most against the mission since they struggle to maintain order on their world. Regardless, the majority agree to assist.

Owlman and Superwoman exercise the Syndicate’s diabolical will with relish.

The Crime Syndicate, specifically Owlman (Woods), are interrupted in their search for the “Quantum Trigger” by the arrival of the Justice League and a fight breaks out. This gives the film a chance to showcase a variety of evil versions of classic heroes, “Made Men”, such as Black Lightning, Vixen, and Elongated Man. Though the League are able to get the upper hand, Luthor forces them to retreat to avoid facing even more of the Syndicate’s Made Men and, in the process, they end up in a battle with the Captain Super family (evil versions of the Shazam/Captain Marvel family). This takes the battle from inside to the cloudy skies of this parallel world as Wonder Woman (Vanessa Marshall) is able to commandeer Owlman’s ship and use its cloaking device to escape the fray. The Crime Syndicate are revealed to run their organisation like a super-powered crime family, with Ultraman (Bloom, using a bit of a stereotypical Italian mobster accent) acting as the head of the “family”, who have thousands of lieutenants working beneath them (the aforementioned Made Men) and dividing their territories between them. Thanks to their power, they are able to bribe and forcible coerce the world’s government and other officials into bowing to their every whim but Owlman takes this to the next level by constructing the Quantum Eigenstate Device (Q.E.D.), a bomb that will give them the ability to hold the entire world hostage. While the public largely wishes to simply acquiesce to the Syndicate’s demands to maintain some kind of peace, their dictatorship is openly challenged by Rose Wilson (Freddi Rogers), daughter of Slade Wilson (Brice Davison), who is the President of the United States in this world.

Owlman has plans of his own to destroy all life on every Earth.

Unlike the League, which is a largely unified team ruled by democracy, the Syndicate is a fragile alliance of egos and greed; Ultraman rules through sheer power and intimidation but Owlman and Superwoman conspire behind his back. Owlman plans to use the Q.E.D. to destroy all life without mercy or conscious since the discovery of an infinite number of parallel worlds has shattered his grasp on reality. Believing that no decision he, or anyone, makes has any meaning since whatever they accomplish means nothing elsewhere in the multiverse, he plans to find “Earth-Prime” in order to use the Q.E.D. to annihilate all life everywhere, which Superman, a self-confessed murdering psychopath, finds to be one hell of a turn on. Although Luthor recruits the League to help, he insists on taking on and defeating Ultraman himself since “if it’s going to mean anything after [the League] is gone, it has to be [Luthor]”. Luthor is able to match blows with Ultraman thanks to his armoured suit and having acquired a piece of Blue Kryptonite, the only substance that can hurt and weaken Ultraman. Because of this, Luthor is able to defeat and humiliate Ultraman in public and have him arrested for his crimes; however, as gallant as his actions are, he is chewed out by the President for risking further retaliations from the remaining members of the Syndicate and Ultraman is allowed to go free in a desperate attempt to keep a shaky truce with the Syndicate.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Many of the film’s action sequences, though exciting, are, understandably, all too lacking in context; thanks to the wildly different designs of the parallel worlds Made Men, it’s not always easy to tell who is cameoing when and most of them don’t have any speaking lines, making them little more than disposable grunts who exist simply to showcase the stranglehold the Syndicate have on their world and give the League someone to beat up without fighting the same handful of Syndicate members all the time. Because of the large roster and many different characters running around the film, there’s obviously not enough time for everyone to really get much to do; Green Lantern, for example, is a bit of a non-factor and, while J’onn does get an interesting side plot revolving a romantic attraction to Rose, the majority of the League exist simply to battle with the evil doppelgängers. This is exacerbated when Batman calls in heroes from his world to help fend off Superwoman and the Super family, resulting in yet more cameos and characters taking up the film’s run time; don’t get me wrong, it’s great to see so many heroes onscreen at once and all these villainous versions of normally heroic characters but I also feel like the focus should have been more on the League/Syndicate members since those are the only fights that really mean anything.

As you might expect, the film (eventually) degenerates into an all-out brawl.

Thankfully, the film does eventually focus up once Rose provides the League with the location of the Syndicate’s headquarters (spoilers: it’s on the Moon) and the two teams engage in an all-out brawl with their doppelgängers. Green Lantern’s evil counterpart, Power Ring (North), is about as useless as heroic double; Superman, for all her strength and aggression, lacks the finesse and combat acumen of Wonder Woman; and Ultraman’s sadistic focus on destruction means he not only destroys much of the environment but is easily outwitted by Superman. Of course, the battle between the Flash and Johnny Quick (Stuart) comes down to a test of their super speed but, amidst all the mindless brawling, Owlman is able to escape with the Q.E.D. to enact his insane plan to destroy all realities. Faced with the threat of mutually assured destruction, the League and the Syndicate form a shaky truce simply to save their own hides.

Batman ultimately sacrifices Johnny Quick and kills his counterpart to save the multiverse.

A side plot throughout the film is that the Flash believes Batman doesn’t like or respect him and the idea that Batman is this irritable, obstinate loner. However, when they need someone to power the Quantum Trigger, Batman has Johnny Quick take the Flash’s place as the conduit to spare his teammate’s life since he knows that the effort will kill the speedster. While this is a great way to show that Batman does truly care for the Flash and his teammates, it’s a little out of character since he knew that the effort would kill Johnny so he willingly sacrificed a life to confront Owlman and then, rather hypocritically, lectured his counterpart about his willingness to kill untold numbers of people with the Q.E.D. Somewhat unsurprisingly, given that Batman is generally the focus of all of DC’s animated endeavours, the film culminates in a battle of ideologies and skill between him and Owlman, with the depths of his doppelgänger’s psychosis revealed so completely that Batman has no choice but to doom Owlman to destruction on a desolate, barren alternate world, saving the multiverse in the process but at the cost of Johnny’s life.

The Summery:
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths is a pretty decent little animated film; it’s full of action and lots of big, explosive, and visually interesting fights but the main draw of the film, for me, is the philosophical and ideological differences between the Justice League and the Crime Syndicate, specifically between Batman and Owlman, this dichotomy is given the most focus throughout the film, which is probably the right choice but it does mean that we don’t really get to see just how different the Syndicate are to their heroic counterparts beyond them being super-powered mobsters and psychopaths. If you watched any of the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited episodes based around the Justice Lords, it’s arguable that you could say the film’s concept is somewhat redundant and has already been explored but I think there’s enough here to separate the film from those episodes, mostly thanks to the abundance of cameos and the iconography of the Crime Syndicate. While the film doesn’t complete align with those cartoons, I think you can easily suspend disbelief to see it as a bridge between Justice League and Justice League Unlimited since it ends with the League preparing for a massive recruitment drive but it also works pretty well as a standalone animated feature…as long as you’re already somewhat familiar with DC’s characters and some of their more complex concepts.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Have you ever seen Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths; if so, what did you think to it and where would you rank it against the other DC animated movies? Which character was your favourite and what did you think to the film’s voice cast? Which evil doppelgänger would have liked to see more of and what do you think about the concept of the Crime Syndicate and the DC multiverse? Did you ever watch the Justice League cartoons and, if so, what were some of your favourite characters and moments? How are you celebrating the publication of Crisis on Infinite Earths this month? Whatever your thoughts on DC’s animated ventures, the multiverse, and the Justice League, feel free to leave a comment below.

Movie Night [Batman Day]: Batman (1989)

Dr. K26 Comments

In the decades since his first dramatic appearance in the pages of Detective Comics, Bruce Wayne/Batman has become a mainstream, worldwide, pop culture icon. The brainchild of writer Bob Kane, Batman was brought to life by artist Bill Finger and has been a popular staple of DC Comics and countless movies, videogames, and cartoons over the years. Although “Batman Day” was a few days ago, any day is a perfect excuse to celebrate comic’s grim and broody vigilante.

Released: 23 June 1989
Director: Tim Burton
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Budget: $34 million
Stars: Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, and Michael Gough

The Plot:
Criminals of Gotham City are terrified by the armour-clad vigilante, the “Batman” (Keaton), secretly wealthy loner Bruce Wayne. Wayne’s vendetta against crime is confused when he falls for intrepid reporter Vicki Vale (Basinger) and mobster Jack Napier (Nicholson) transformers into the hideous Joker and begins terrorising Gotham with tainted beauty products.

The Background:
By the end of the eighties, Batman had undergone a long period of reinvention to transform him from a colourful, camp, family friendly figure and into a more serious, darker character. A lot of this can, of course, be attributed to the works of Frank Miller, which fully embraced the darker aspects of the character and it was this version of the character that producers Benjamin Melniker and Michael E. Uslan wanted to bring to life after they purchased the film rights to the character from DC Comics. The script underwent numerous drafts before Sam Hamm was brought in by director Tim Burton to produce the final screenplay. Burton, despite not being much of a comic book aficionado, related to the duality of the Bruce/Batman dynamic and the dark, gothic undertones of the character and was hired off the back of the financial success of Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (Burton, 1985) and Beetlejuice (ibid, 1988). While Jack Nicholson was the top choice for the Joker, Burton ultimately cast Keaton in the title role (despite many of Hollywood’s leading men being considered) after directing him in the aforementioned Beetlejuice and considering him perfect for his (as in Burton’s)  subdued, haunted, “Everyman” interpretation. The casting of “Mr. Mom” caused much controversy at the time, as did chaotic script rewrites during filming. Despite all this, Batman was a tremendous critical and commercial success; “Batmania” swept the nation, resulting in a mammoth gross of over $411 million and, despite some criticisms concerning its dark tone and Batman’s lack of screen time, Batman was met with largely favourable reviews, kick-starting a slew of sequels and forever setting the bar for live-action adaptations of the character going forward.

The Review:
Batman begins by immediately establishing its tone as a far darker take on the character thanks, largely, to Danny Elfman’s fantastic and unparalleled Batman theme; bombastic, operatic, and tinged with a gothic undertone, Elfman’s Batman theme was as much a part of Batman as the suit or the cinematography. There’s no messing about with Batman having to “earn” his theme or building towards some kind of heroic crescendo; it simply blasts at you alongside the film’s title to literally scream “Batman”. Following this, we’re introduced to Gotham City, a dark, dreary, and grimy city that has a timeless quality thanks to its mixed of thirties, fifties, and eighties clothing and architecture. The city is almost a character unto itself with its gothic trappings, dingy back alleyways, and looming, ominous presence that is only made more threatening by the abundance of street crime.

Batman has a reputation as an urban myth amongst the street thugs of Gotham City.

Thankfully, we’re quickly introduced to the titular vigilante but, while Batman makes an impression by slowly dropping into frame and then dispatching two thugs with ease and efficiency, what really adds to his mystique is horror stories of his presence that literally has criminals in fear of “The Bat”. Batman then adds to his mystique by taking two shots directly to the chest and rising again and threatening one of the thugs to spread the word about his presence. It’s a powerful, incredibly effectively introduction to the character, who speaks with a low, threatening whisper and is seen to actually strike fear into the hearts of the city’s criminals rather than simply targeting organised crime. This is something I feel is key to Batman’s character; he was, after all, born out of a random act of violence so it bothers me when it gets unduly distracted by corruption or supervillains. Indeed, Gotham’s biggest crime boss, Carl Grissom (Jack Palance), and his “number one guy” Jack Napier are more concerned with district attorney Harvey Dent (Billy Dee Williams) than they are with the Batman. Having operated for six months and earned a reputation as an urban vigilante, Batman is, instead, the dread of criminals everywhere, the ire of policemen like Lieutenant Max Eckhardt (William Hootkins) and Police Commissioner Jim Gordon (Pat Hingle), and the obsession of Gotham Globe reporter Alexander Knox (Wuhl). That’s not to say that corruption isn’t rife in Gotham, however, as Eckhardt is on Grissom’s take, and the city is slowly crumbling under Grissom’s influence and the state of their economy.

Vicki becomes besotted with Bruce but ends up little more than a damsel in distress.

Batman is also a fascination of news photographer Vicki Vale, who specifically comes to Gotham after reading Knox’s stories and “likes bats” (which is a…little weird, to be honest). Intrigued by Bruce upon first meeting him, she agrees to meet with him on a date (which is amusing in its awkwardness, with Bruce’s confusion at the dining room a particular highlight) and ends up in bed with him. She is then greatly perturbed when Bruce fails to show any interest in her or return her calls, slowly becoming as interested obsessed with Bruce as Knox is with Batman; she senses that the opulence of luxury doesn’t seem to fit with Bruce’s demeanour and is shocked to discover the trauma he experienced as a child. While an emotional catalyst and an interesting enough character in her own right, Vicki very quickly becomes little more than a screaming damsel-in-distress; the Joker becomes infatuated with her, turning his rivalry with Batman into more of a love triangle than a violent battle of wills and ideals, and Batman’s final confrontation with the Joker is as much about rescuing her as it is about revenge. It’s telling that Bruce Wayne doesn’t actually appear in the film until after Batman and Napier have been introduced; Bruce, a wealthy bachelor, is not as prominent a figure as you may expect. While he hosts a fundraiser at Wayne Manor, he’s like a ghost in his own home and is known more for his affluent wealth than his physical appearance (while I can understand Vicki not knowing who he is since she’s new in town, Knox doesn’t recognise him either). An awkward, distracted individual, he seems uncomfortable in his own skin but this may be because he’s (shock-of-shocks!) secretly the Batman! With cameras secretly hidden all over his mansion, Bruce monitors his guests from the cavernous Batcave and seems far more comfortable hiding behind the grim visage of the Batman. Haunted by his parents’ deaths and driven by an obsession to use his pain for good, Bruce has crafted a ferocious persona to dispense justice but is losing his grip on his humanity in the process.

Sadistic mobster Jack Napier is a turned into a maniacal lunatic by an acid bath.

Napier, who has a reputation for being a “nutball” even before he takes an acid bath, is Grissom’s right-hand man; egotistical and self-absorbed, Napier is so arrogant that he’s even sleeping with Grissom’s moll, Alicia (Jerry Hall), on the side and considers himself untouchable. Unfortunately for him, this isn’t the case as he is set up by Grissom and supposed to be killed by the police while cleaning out Axis Chemicals; while he gets a measure of payback by shooting Eckhardt in cold blood, he ends up taking a bullet to the face thanks to his shot ricocheting off Batman’s gauntlet and then plunging into an acid pit despite Batman’s best efforts. Although he survives the dip, he is horrifically scarred and mutilated by the injury, and the acid, which breaks his already fractured psyche and gives birth to a colourful, maniacal supervillain: The Joker! Sporting a wicked permanent smile and clearly off his rocker, the Joker is a flamboyant, sadistic villain who quickly executes his former boss and assumes control of his operation. Though initially a glorified gangster with a flair for the comedic, the Joker quickly becomes a charismatic and dangerous threat to the city when he plots to taint beauty supplies with the same concoction that transformed him. Obsessed with art, he believes himself to be a living work of art and wishes to turn all of Gotham into a pale-faced, permanently-smiling pile of bodies but quickly becomes jealous of Batman for stealing all of the headlines and “[getting] all of [his] press”. As random and weird as all this seems, it’s very similar to a lot of the Joker’s madcap plots from the comics and eventually culminates in him riding an elaborate parade through the city while his “Smilex” gas covers those in attendance.

Batman and his gear all look bad-ass, if incredibly impractical.

You might have noticed that I haven’t spoken about Batman all that much and there’s a reason for that; Nicholson’s energetic charisma and scene-stealing performance dominates the majority of the film, with scenes such as when he fries a mob boss with his lethal joy buzzer and executes another with a poison pen being notable highlights. Still, when Batman does appear, he immediately takes control of the screen; dressed head to toe in black armour, Batman cuts an intimidating (if restrictive) figure. However, while it is noticeable that Keaton cannot turn his head, the film does a commendable job of hiding the limitations of the suit and it is always perfectly shot, seeped in darkness and shadow and always shown in the most dynamic way possible. While Batman’s fight scenes are a bit clunky and awkward, he has a bevvy of gadgets at his disposal, the most impressive of which is his sleek, powerful Batmobile. Rather than a sports car or a tank, this is an aerodynamic and intimidating vehicle which bursts through the city streets with a burst of flame and sports such optional extras as machine guns and an impenetrable shield. However, if the Batmobile is, somehow, too blasé for you, Batman also pilots the Batwing for the finale! This, as you might expect, results in some very impressive and detailed model shots and miniatures as Batman glides gracefully through the dark night skies…only to be promptly shot down by the Joker’s comically oversized pistol!

The Nitty-Gritty:
While Batman remains a very impressive and engaging take on the character, it does over emphasise his “Everyman” qualities a little too much. There’s no suggestion that Bruce spent any time travelling the world or training to be the peak of human mental and physical perfection; instead, it seems like Bruce spent all his time, effort, and money in building his suit, cave, and many Bat-gadgets. Still, while the lack of any real physical presence on Bruce’s part is a little disappointing, he makes up for it with his intelligence; a common part of the character that is often downplayed is his status as the world’s greatest detective and, while this isn’t massively emphasised in Batman, it does get some exposure in Bruce’s ability to figure out how the Joker is poisoning the city. It’s easy to forget that Batman features some fantastic actors; Jack Palance was a big name in the eighties and, while his role is small, he’s perfectly cast as a cantankerous mob boss and it’s great to see Billy Dee Williams but he hardly factors into the film at all and it’s a real shame that he got shafted in the sequels as he’s a charismatic and magnetic presence even in his brief screen time. Similarly, Commissioner Gordon is barely in the film but Pat Hingle plays the character with a gruff weariness that helps him to stand out in his few scenes. The upside to this, though, is the exploration of Bruce’s psyche through Vicki’s investigation; while Batman doesn’t go into massive amounts of detail in exploring why Bruce does what he does, there’s enough here to give a sense of the character’s obsession and trauma and the film is more concerned with portraying Batman as an urban myth (which I absolutely love as I feel this is how the character should be portrayed most of the time) and his eventual acceptance as an ally of the city and its police department.

Batman’s suit might be restrictive but it looks absolutely amazing and cuts an imposing silhouette.

Bruce also makes up for his unimpressive physique and stature with a focused intensity; it’s all about the eyes with Keaton and he exudes a tortured demeanour, especially in private, where he lapses into a brooding countenance and pushes away all other distractions in favour of focusing purely on his investigation into the Joker. This is a version of Bruce Wayne who categorically needs the suit to become Batman; even now, the Batsuit is impressive and remains one of my favourites for the way it manages to balance being anatomically correct, somewhat impractical, and intimidating all at the same time. Yes, Keaton is a bit clumsy and awkward at times but, as I said, the film makes every effort to hide the suit’s limitations and it works fantastically; Keaton looks threatening and absolutely bad-ass in the suit and it played a large part in throwing off Batman’s reputation as a camp and colourful superhero.

Alfred’s concern for Bruce’s well-being sees him subtlety attempt to deter Bruce’s crusade.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this portrayal of Batman, though, is how unhinged the character appears to be; Vicki even tells Batman that many believe him to be as dangerous and psychotic as the Joker and Bruce definitely seems to be on the razor’s edge of sanity throughout the film. This is best seen in one of my favourite scenes in the film, which is the confrontation between Bruce and the Joker in Vicki’s apartment; here, Bruce’s façade slips noticeably, outrageously, and he flies into a maniac rage as he threatens the Joker. It’s intense and massively over the top and punctuated by the Joker’s ridiculous admonition: “Never rub another man’s rhubarb!” Bruce’s mental stability is of particular concern to his long-serving butler and father figure, Alfred Pennyworth (Gough), who dotes on Bruce like a grandfather and supports his endeavours but is continuously seen to be concerned for Bruce’s welfare and encourages him to leave his double life behind and settle down with Vicki, whom he sees as a positive influence on Bruce’s life and demeanour. This is explicitly stated at least twice in the film (once when Bruce is laboriously going over Napier’s criminal file and later when Alfred voices his wish to not have to grieve for Bruce as he does for his parents) and is precisely the reason why Alfred later allows Vicki into the Batcave. Unlike so many people, I never had a problem with this plot point as it makes perfect sense; Alfred wants Bruce to settle down, live a normal life, and to abandon his crusade and, when Bruce flounders in admitting his double life to Vicki, Alfred intercedes and forces him to reconcile his two lives.

The decision to tie the Joker to Batman’s origin has somewhat tarnished the film.

Of course, the real star of the show here is Jack Nicholson as the Joker; clearly revelling in the role, Nicholson looks to be having the time of his life and his Joker, despite being middle-aged and lacking the slim figure of his comic book counterpart. As colourful and iconic as his portrayal may be, however, it’s forever tarnished by the decision to have Napier be the man responsible for killing Bruce’s parents. As a kid, I didn’t really mind this all that much as this event hadn’t really been a major part of any of the Batman stories I’d read at the time and, even now, it doesn’t really enrage me that much and I can see why the change was made. It’s a quick and easy way to add a little more animosity to the Joker and Batman’s relationship and, without it, the love triangle aspect of the film would have been far more noticeable but I can’t say I’m a massive fan of the change, or the decision to give the Joker a name. Sadly, subsequent films learned very little from Batman’s few mistakes, with Spider-Man 3 (Raimi, 2007) making a similar bizarre retcon and Joker (Phillips, 2019) crafting an entire new alter ego for the character.

The Summary:
Batman remains an iconic and enduring film, for me at least; nostalgia plays a big part in this, of course, but I still maintain that this is one of the best adaptations of the character ever made. Keaton was fantastic in the title role and I had absolutely no problem with his Batman killing; he’s hardly a serial killer and subdues criminals far more often than killing them and, considering the Joker’s role in the death of his parents, it makes sense that he’d go out of his way to kill the Joker. It’s harder to explain the death of that random Joker thug in the bell tower but, as I’ve stressed on numerous occasions, Batman’s line of work is violent and dangerous and collateral damage is to be expected. With a fantastic and memorable soundtrack and absolutely spectacular sense of visual style, Batman is definitely more style over substance but there is a lot of nuance to the film; as a deconstruction of this version of the character, it works really well and Burton definitely explores the dark, tortured, lonely aspects of Bruce’s character in his own unique way. His interpretation of the character may be a little skewed but the spirit of Batman’s character is masterfully evoked and Batman definitely set the standard not just for subsequent adaptations of the character but for all superhero films by proving that superhero movies could be dark, serious adaptations while still being over the top, comedic, and entertaining.

My Rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Fantastic

What are your thoughts on Batman? How does it hold up for you today and where would you rank it against other Batman movies? What did you think to Michael Keaton’s portrayal of the character? Do you think he managed to embody Batman’s brooding nature or were you put off by his unimpressive physique? Were you a fan of Jack Nicholson’s turn as the Joker? What did you think to the reveal that he was responsible for the Wayne’s deaths and Alfred’s decision to let Vicki into the Batcave? Were you a fan of the Batsuit, the Batmobile, and the film’s visual style or do you think Burton maybe missed the point of Batman? How did you celebrate Batman Day and what are some of your favourite stories, characters, moments, and adaptations of the character’s long history? Whatever you think, share your comments down below.

Back Issues [Multiverse Madness]: Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man

Dr. K2 Comments

In September 1961, DC Comics published a little story called “Flash of Two Worlds” (Fox, et al), a landmark story that featured in The Flash #123 and brought together two generations of the Flash: the Golden Age Jay Garrick and the Silver Age Barry Allen. In the process, DC Comics created the concept of the multiverse, the idea that DC Comics continuity was comprised of an infinite number of parallel universes that allowed any and all stories and characters to exist and, more importantly, interact and I’ve been celebrating this ground-breaking concept every Sunday of September!

Story Title: “The Battle of the Century!” (Includes four chapters: “A Dual of Titans”, “When Heroes Clash!”, “The Call of Battle!”, and “The Doomsday Decision”)
Published: March 1976
Writer: Gerry Conway
Artists: Ross Andru and Dick Giordano

The Background:
Despite the fact that the two companies were both producing colourful, superpowered costumed heroes in a cut-throat industry, relations between DC Comics and Marvel Comics have been surprisingly collaborative and amicable over the years (they’ve certainly been more civil with each other than many of the toxic “fans” I see arguing on social media every day…) Sure, there’s been lawsuits and underhanded tactics from both companies, but not only were the legendary Stan Lee and the disreputable sham Bob Kane actually good friends but the two companies both borrowed from and inspired each other and they’ve even collaborated on numerous joint publications in the past. The idea of pitting Clark Kent/Superman against Peter Parker/Spider-Man was first suggested by author and literary agent David Obst, who pitched the idea to Marvel Comics publisher Stan Lee and DC Comics editorial director Carmine Infantino as a live-action feature film. Writer Gerry Conway and artist Ross Andru, two of the few who had worked on both characters in the past, were brought in to bring the concept to life, which was treated as more of a fantasy tale (despite the fact that DC had introduced the concept of the “Multiverse” over a decade previously). The comic, which generally sells for quite a high price these days, wouldn’t be the last time Superman and Spider-Man (or DC and Marvel, for that matter) crossed paths as the two would collaborate on a number of inter-company crossovers during the eighties and nineties.

The Review:
Our story begins with just another normal, boring day in Metropolis as a gigantic mechanical construct is tearing its way through the city. Even Superman laments the frequency of such events but is unable to see who is controlling the robot thanks to it being lined with lead and is equally unable to stop it thanks to its incredible strength, an “inertia ray”, and gravity beams being emitted from its mechanical feet that crush Superman with “ten times the gravity of Krypton”. All of this means that Superman is smashed through the nearby buildings (which are, we later learn, conveniently empty despite the fact that the robot is rampaging through downtown Metropolis with reckless abandon and Superman even has to save innocent civilians from falling debris) and is unable to keep the robot from stealing a computer console from Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Laboratories (S.T.A.R. Labs). Indeed, Superman is so distracted with trying to retrieve this from the robot’s head that he completely misses that the mastermind directing the machine’s attack was none other than Lex Luthor himself!

Superman tracks Luthor down, gets his ass kicked again, and rescues Luthor from certain death.

Superman returns to his civilian life as Clark Kent, reporter for the Daily Planet (owned by Galaxy Communications at the time), who avoids one of Steve Lombard’s mean and unprofessional pranks thanks to his super powers, gets chewed out by his boss, Morgan Edge, for not covering the attack (quite why Edge chooses to target Clark over Lois Lane or Lombard is beyond me), and realises from watching the footage back that he can track the robot’s obvious trail of destruction and gigantic footprints to Metropolis Bay There, beneath the water, he immediately discovers (and is attacked by) a walking undersea laboratory. Inside the lab, Superman confronts Luthor and after trying, and failing, to convince him to renounce his evil ways and rekindle heir former friendship, is attacked by a series of high-intensity laser beams. Though he’s able to dart through them, one blasts him into his eyes and, thanks to essentially being red sun radiation (which weakens Superman), dazes him and causes him to wreck Luthor’s lab. Luthor manages to spirit away the programming circuit he stole from S.T.A.R. Labs but ends up being apprehended by Superman after almost drowning to death.

Spider-Man almost immediately tracks Doc Ock down and puts him out for the count for the cops.

The story then switches to New York City right as Spider-Man is swinging in to take care of a handful of crooks who are in the middle of robbing the Metropolitan Museum. Of course Spidey easily trounces the crooks with his spider-powers but things quickly escalate when the mastermind behind the plan, Doctor Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus, suddenly attacks with his mechanical limbs and, thanks to the element of surprise (and a good old whack to the back of the head), is able to temporarily knock Spider-Man unconscious and escape in his ridiculous looking “Flying Octopus” craft with boxes and boxes of loot. After fleeing from the police (who naturally assume Spider-Man to have been involved in the robbery), Spidey (as Peter Parker, obviously) presents the photographs of the entire event to his boss, J. Jonah Jameson, but earns the cantankerous editor’s wrath when Jameson prints the shots unseen and is left with nothing but a blurry, instinct picture on page one of his newspaper, the Daily Bugle. When his spider-sense suddenly alerts him to a passing blimp overhead, Peter ditches Mary Jane Watson and heads off to investigate as Spider-Man only to discover (after having to think on the fly thanks to his web fluid having run dry) that the blimp was disguising Doc Ock and his flying machine. The ensuing fight wrecks the blimp, causing it (and them) to crash into the Central Park reservoir and, with one swift punch to the jaw, Spidey successfully apprehends Doc Ock and heads off to try and smooth things over with Mary Jane.

Mere hours after being locked in an escape proof prison, Luthor escapes and takes Doc Ock with him.

As luck (or fate, or simple plot convenience) would have it, both Lex Luthor and Doc Ock end up being shipped off to “Federal Maximum-X Security Penitentiary Number One, the most “escape proof” prison in the world” out in New Mexico and the two immediately bond over their respective losses and enemies and agree to join forces upon escape. Though Doc Ock is sceptical of their chances, Luthor quickly uses a number of small, high-tech devices hidden under a layer of fake skin to disrupt the prison’s security cameras and guards and allow Doc Ock to regain control of his mechanical limbs and literally carry them both to safety within just a few hours of Luthor’s arrival, The story proper begins with Clark, Lois, and other members of the Daily Planet staff attending the world news conference in New York; as you might expect, Peter is also there and, after being berated by Jameson, snaps at his boss and quits his job, shocking (but also impressing) Mary Jane with his sudden outburst. Meanwhile, Clark is stunned to hear that Edge doesn’t want him covering the news conference and, again, alludes to his temptation to replace Clark with a more well-known newscaster. Frustrated that Clark is happy to roll over and allow himself to be forced out of the “biggest story of his career”, Lois storms off in anger at his cowardice and her inability to truly hate him since he’s so charming and likeable. In true Lois Lane fashion, she risks her life climbing up a scaffold to get some better pictures (because Jimmy Olsen couldn’t make the trip, apparently) and nearly falls to her death when she’s saved by Peter. They bond over their respective professional accomplishments, much to Mary Jane’s displeasure, but Peter is left flabbergasted when Superman suddenly swoops in and seemingly vaporises them both right before his eyes!

When reason doesn’t work, Superman nearly kills Spider-Man before the web-slinger calms down.

Clark also witnesses this event and is equally stunned and changes to Superman to investigate while Peter frantically switches to Spider-Man using the staircase (because, in a cute moment, the convention doesn’t have traditional phone booths). The two superheroes instantly run into each other in the skies above the building and come to blows (Superman having assumed, as many often do, that Spidey is connected to his doppelgänger). Although Superman immediately begins to be the voice of reason, Luthor and Doc Ock (who were behind the fake Superman; Luthor’s even still wearing the costume and has the lifelike mask nearby!) decide to escalate their conflict by surreptitiously blasting Spider-Man with red sun radiation to power him up for the fight. Thanks to the red sun radiation, his anger at being pushed around, and believing the Superman has captured or killed the woman he loves, Spider-Man attacks relentlessly; his strength knocks Superman off balance and his fury causes him to stubbornly refuse to listen to reason, all of which makes Superman mad enough to throw a killing blow at Spidey’s head. At the very last second, Superman is able to pull his punch but the resulting “wind-blast” sends Spider-Man flying through buildings and across the city. Disgusted at having nearly killed a man, Superman tries one more time to get Spidey to listen to reason and, when the red sun radiation wears off and amusingly leads to Spidey simply hurting his fists on Superman’s steel-hard body, Spider-Man finally relents. After comparing notes, they quickly bury their issues and agree to work together to uncover the truth about what happened but the proof of the pudding is clear: Spider-Man dominated the fight between the two and had Superman reeling throughout.

Lex Luthor and Doc Ock appropriate the Injustice Gang’s satellite to hold the world to ransom.

Following the “energy residue” of the imposter to the Penn Central railroad yard, Superman shows that he hasn’t quite shaken off the dickish ways of his sixties incarnation by allowing Spider-Man to go in first and run a gauntlet of traps and hazards before he (as in Superman) just ploughs right in there and they both confront the combined might and intelligence of Luthor and Doc Ock. Revealing that Lois and Mary Jane have simply been taken captive to lure the two heroes into a trap, the villains quickly vanish, having been mere projections all along (which you’d think Superman and Spider-Man would be able to register with their enhanced sense but apparently not…), and nearly manage to kill Spidey with a booby trapped computer console before Superman intervenes. Superman then rebuilds the wrecked computer at super speed and down to the smallest detail, apparently somehow managing to repair and restore the destroyed files that would have been on it in the process, which leads the two to Mount Kilimanjaro. There, a local nomadic Masai tribe lead them to another of Luthor’s secret bases. After battling and defeating a superpowered tribesman (who also wields a sword charged with red sun radiation), the two discover that Luthor and Doc Ock have headed to the upper atmosphere and the abandoned satellite headquarters of the Injustice Gang. There, Lois and Mary Jane are held hostage and are privy to the supervillains’ mad scheme: using the programming circuit he stole from S.T.A.R. Labs, Luthor is able to disrupt and hijack Comlab (a massive, missile-like communications tower in orbit) and cause it to fire a “high-intensity laser probe” into the Earth’s atmosphere and hold the world to ransom or face untold death and destruction from the violent storms the laser causes.

Thanks to Spidey, Otto turns on Luthor, Superman stops a deadly tidal wave, and the heroes triumph.

Superman and Spider-Man (piloting a shuttle of his own with surprising efficiency) head up to stop them but are immediately overwhelmed by Luthor’s lasers and captured. Although they catch their foes off-guard by feigning helplessness, Superman and Spider-Man are thrown off balance when Luthor suddenly shuts off the satellite’s artificial gravity (quite how this would affect Superman is beyond me…), which allows the villains to topple the costumed heroes with a humiliating ease. Quickly recovering, the two turn the tide when Superman is able to get close enough to Doc Ock to…remove his glasses! Distracted by recovering his comrade’s glasses, Luthor is unable to defend himself against Spider-Man, and Spidey is able to turn Doc Ock against Luthor by appealing to his greed because, after all, what use is money if Luthor plans to decimate the world? Although this is enough to disable to destructive laser and cause the two villains to come to blows, Superman must still take care of a gigantic tidal wave that threatens to engulf the entire United States! Of course, Superman is able to dispel the wave by flying at it at super speed and, with the villains subdued and the threat ended, Superman and Spider-Man part as allies and return to their respective lives, with both men able to win over (and back) their employers with their exclusive insight into this one of a kind team up.

The Summary:
I grew up reading Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man stories from the 1970s so, for me, Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man feels like a very familiar and nostalgic little tale. The artwork and characterisations are representative of this era; both the main characters and their villains pop out nicely, with Luthor being more of the scheming supervillain rather than a manipulative businessman. While Spider-Man is just as troubled by his angst and anxieties and spouts the usual quips and puns that were “hip” at the time, Superman is far from an unstoppable demigod while still having one foot in the ridiculously overpowered nature of his Golden Age counterpart. If you’re a fan of Lois and Mary Jane then this isn’t the comic for you; the two barely factor into the plot at all and, arguably, could have been excised completely and the villains’ scheme would have carried on largely unchanged. Similarly, characters like Jameson, Morgan, and Lombard are mainly just there for comic relief or to flesh out and contrast the normal, everyday lives of our two heroes. This is a bit of a missed opportunity, in many ways, as we’re denied a meeting between Jameson and Clark’s usual boss, Perry White, or even a sub-plot where Lois and Mary Jane have to work together to either escape or help stop the villains. Maybe if the story hadn’t suddenly veered off to waste time on the Marais tribe or wasted pages recapping the origins and powers of the heroes and villains we could have seen more of these interactions or had Spider-Man visit Metropolis.

The fight between Superman and Spider-Man, brief as it is, is the main appeal of the comic.

Still, the comic is called Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man and we definitely do get that; the two fight for about twelve pages and it’s a fairly evenly matched affair thanks to Spidey being supped-up by Luthor’s special red sun ray. Superman, ever the Boy Scout, spends most of the fight reeling from Spidey’s surprising strength and trying to calm the web-slinger down and, every time he tries to fight back, Spider-Man is right there to shut him down and press the attack. In fact, Superman only throws one punch in the entire fight but it’s enough to send Spidey flying with “the force of a compact hurricane”. Interestingly, there’s a lot of subtext that can be gleaned from this bout; Spidey, representing Marvel Comics, is the young, hot-tempered upstart who hits first and asks questions later and Superman, representing DC Comics, is the older, more level-headed veteran who seeks to resolve conflict peacefully but will strike back if pushed too far. Naturally, the two pool their respective talents far more than they clash and, after resolving their issues, never come to blows or conflict again. I suppose it’s nice that there wasn’t a lame excuse for them to fight again, like hypnotism or whatever, but the actual inciting incident is pretty paper thin (even though he saw “Superman” vaporise Mary Jane and Lois, Peter knows Superman by reputation so you’d think he’d hesitate to suddenly think he’d gone rogue) and I would have liked to see a bit more of how their different approaches to situations clash. We only really got to see this once when they reached the rail yard and it seemed petty and mean on Superman’s part to send Spidey in alone when he (again, as in Superman) could just burst in there without issue. It’s a good job that the clash and interactions between the two heroes pays off as the supervillain team up is a bit lacklustre; Doc Ock is reduced to a mere common criminal and a henchman here, having no real agency and playing very little role in the story other than giving Luthor someone to talk and boast to and acting as Luthor’s muscle. It’s a shame as Doc Ock is one of Spidey’s most devious, intelligent, and imposing villains but he may as well not be in the story at all since everything (from the prison escape, to framing Superman, to the red sun ray, and the orbiting satellite/laser plot) is Luthor’s plan and Lex may as well have teamed up with Flint Marko/The Sandman for all the use Octavius’s arms and demented genius were.

Sadly, the potential of this team is never realised as Doc Ock is reduced to being Luthor’s henchman.

As a result, Luthor comes out of this looking like a scheming, diabolical madman who is happy to threaten and kill millions for a measly ten billion dollars; his genius allows him to create all kinds of fantastic technology and even duplicate red sun radiation to weaken Superman but, in the end, he’s undone because Spidey was able to manipulate Octavius to turn against him. Overall, it’s a decent enough story; well drawn and full of big, action-packed panels when the two heroes clash and take on their foes but the main appeal of Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man is, unsurprisingly, in seeing two of Marvel’s premier superheroes butting heads and joining forces. In that regard, the story works but just barely; it reads like a typical, run of the mill Superman story from the time just with a guest appearance by Spider-Man and some of his supporting characters. When the Marvel characters do appear, they’re written exactly as you’d expect from that era as well and no one side really looks better or dominates the other…unless you look at the subtext at work. Superman and Spider-Man appear to be evenly matched in their fight but Spider-Man is clearly the aggressor; Luthor outshines Doc Ock at every turn, relegating him to being a mere henchman, so I guess everything just about evens out on both sides but I can’t help but feel like the story was lacking a little. It would have been nice to see Spidey in Metropolis, more interactions between the two in and out of costume, and the two having to deal with their counterpart’s villains in a more interesting way than flailing around on a space station but there’s an appeal to Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man, if only because of the comic’s rarity and the chance to see these two heroes, and worlds, collide for a change so it’s probably worth seeking out for the sheer spectacle of it if nothing else.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Have you ever read Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man? If so, what did you think to it? Do you own a copy of the original comic or do you remember reading it when it was first published? Were you also disappointed that the comic didn’t make better use of its concept, supporting characters, and villains or were you happy with the story we got? Which of the two heroes, and publishers, was/is your preference? Do you enjoy all comic books and superheroes equally or are you one of those toxic fans who actively hates other characters and companies? Would you like to see DC and Marvel collaborate again in the future and, if so, what stories would you like to see? Whatever your thoughts on Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man, and comic book crossovers of this kind, drop a comment down below and check out my other multiverse reviews.

Movie Night: Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker: The Original, Uncut Version

Dr. K4 Comments

Released: 23 April 2002
Originally Released: 31 October 2000
Director: Curt Geda
Distributor: Warner Home Video
Budget: Unknown
Stars: Will Friedle, Mark Hamill, Kevin Conroy, Angie Harmon, and Dean Stockwell

The Plot:
When the Joker (Hamill) suddenly returns from his apparent death and begins terrorising Neo-Gotham, Terry McGinnis/Batman (Friedle) is forced to go against the advice of his mentor, Bruce Wayne (Conroy), and begin an investigation into the darkest chapter of the former Batman’s career.

The Background:
Although a Batman animated series had been in the works during 1990, the release, and relative success, of Batman (Burton, 1989) and Batman Returns (ibid, 1992) caused a wave of “Batmania” and renewed interest in the character. Consequently, quite by chance, the idea of a new animated series influenced by both films and the 1940s Superman cartoons by Fleisher Studios, was thought up Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and Eric Radomski, who spearheaded one of the most beloved and influential animated shows ever. Batman: The Animated Series aired eighty-five episodes between September 1992 and 1995 before being succeeded by twenty-four episodes of The New Batman Adventures (also known as The Adventures of Batman & Robin here in the United Kingdom) between 1997 and 1999. Once the show wrapped up, Warner Bros. brought many of the show’s creators back to continue the story in the then-futuristic world of 2019 with Batman Beyond (known as Batman of the Future in the U.K.) Batman Beyond introduced a younger Batman under the tutelage of an aged and long-retired Bruce Wayne and taking on all-new villains in a cyberpunk-style future. Though not quite as well-received and lauded as its predecessors or sister series, Batman Beyond was popular enough to warrant a direct-to-video feature film over other potential Batman concepts. Because the film’s production occurred in the wake of the 1999 Columbine High School shooting, numerous cuts and edits were made to the film upon its release, with an “uncut” version being released once the controversy had died down. Regardless, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker released to critical acclaim, winning (or being nominated for) a number of awards, and is frequently regarded as one of the finest pieces of Batman media to ever be produced.

The Review:
My exposure to Batman Beyond is, admittedly, very limited; I watched Batman: The Animated Series on and off back in the day, never seeming to be able to get into a proper routine with it, but saw very little of its futuristic follow-up. When I did catch the odd episode, I can’t say that it really bowled me over; it was too different, too far removed from what I expected from Batman, with virtually none of the recognisable cast or characters. Hell, even Gotham City looked and felt different, and the show had very bleak and depressing connotations for fans of Batman: The Animated Series in its portrayal of Bruce as a grouchy, lonely, recluse. Still, the idea of an older, infirm Bruce mentoring a young successor had a lot of appeal to me and is definitely something I would have liked to see the comics do (particularly during the character’s “death” between 2008 and 2010). Despite that, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker is well deserving of all the praise it gets; while I wouldn’t go as far as to say that it’s better than, or even on par with, the excellent Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (Radomski and Timm, 1993), very few of Batman’s animated features are able to reach that pinnacle and I’d say Return of the Joker does a decent job of coming pretty damn close.

Terry is a very different kind of Batman, sporting more futuristic tech and a more agile physique.

While I’m lacking a lot of context for many of the film’s newer rogues, it’s not much of an issue since the “Jokerz” are generally just minions and cannon fodder to do the Joker’s bidding and to oppose Batman, though I did appreciate how their designs harkened back to Batman foes of old (with Stewart Carter Winthrop III/Ghoul (Michael Rosenbaum) resembling Doctor Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow and Delia and Deidre Dennis/Dee Dee (Melissa Joan Hart) aping Doctor Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn). The feature opens with an exciting action sequence featuring lots of laser blasts, explosions, mid-air chases, and action as Batman tries, and fails, to stop the Jokerz from stealing some high-tech computer parts. Despite all the advantages of Terry’s advanced Batsuit (including rocket boots, invisibility, and augmentations to his speed and strength), and the fact that he’s been Batman for a while now, Terry is still in training in many ways; he’s more experienced and capable but he’s still fallible and capable of messing up or being hurt. At times, though, I find him to be very reliant on the suit and the strength and other benefits it provides; it often feels like he was playing into the cliché of the role rather than being his own man at times but he manages to stand out by being a far more agile and witty Batman and approaching situations slightly differently than Bruce would/advises.

Terry has a complex relationship with Bruce and pulls no punches when fighting with the Joker.

Despite Bruce commending his work and commitment to the role, Terry is insulted when his mentor requests that he return the Batsuit in the wake of the Joker’s return. Terry initially refuses to acquiesce, seeing the role as a chance to make up for his past sins and troubled youth and confirming his commitment to helping others as Batman, and pushes both Bruce and Commissioner Barbara Gordon (Angie Harmon) for the truth about the Joker. This becomes a recurring element in the film, with Terry disliking the comparisons to Bruce’s old partners and striving to prove his worth as Batman rather than a pale imitation or a failed apprentice. This comes to a head in his inevitable confrontation with the Joker, in which Terry fights dirty with a crotch shot and constantly taunts the Joker, laughing at him, criticising his methods, and mocking him to drive the Joker into an angered frenzy.

Bruce is visible stunned by the Joker’s sudden and dramatic return to Gotham.

Bruce, of course, is now a grouchy, crotchety, tough mentor figure who has an interesting relationship with Terry, one that he clearly prefers to keep professional and mutual but you can tell that he values Terry as a replacement/apprentice. Though he’s clearly carrying a lot of ghosts and pain from his past, Bruce is as committed to both Batman and reclaiming his business and has absorbed a lot of wisdom from the long-dead Alfred Pennyworth, showing concern for Terry’s health and well-being and advising against going out on the town after a rough night as Batman, but lacks Alfred’s tact or bedside manner. Bruce’s stoic resolve is shaken upon the Joker’s return; he is visibly horrified by the Clown Prince of Crime’s reappearance and lapses first into moody silence and then into overprotectiveness after verifying the Joker’s identity. Bruce is disgusted at Terry’s sentiment, believing he is as misguided as his other teen partners who never knew what they were getting into, and a rift briefly forms between them because of Bruce’s refusal to explain his troubled past with the Joker. They make amends, however, when Terry saves Bruce from a dose of the Joker’s laughing gas, which is a horrifying sight since Bruce is accosted in his most private abode and the Joker explicitly reveals that he knows Bruce was Batman. Disturbed by being attacked in his civilian identity, Terry races to Wayne Manor and discovers the ‘cave in disarray and Bruce a cackling, grinning corpse-like figure. Succumbing to the Joker’s deadly toxin, Bruce just about manages to direct Terry to the anti-venom, and he is saved from certain death.

The Joker plans to unleash an orbital laser on Gotham to commemorate his return.

The Joker is, perhaps obviously, the star of the show here; as always, Mark Hamill delivers a sinister, maniacal performance that perfectly encapsulates Batman’s most persistent of foes. The Joker immediately establishes himself as a menacing and cold-hearted villain by callously shooting Benjamin Knox/Bonk (Henry Rollins) through the heart with the old “fake gun” trick and brazenly attacks the gala welcoming Bruce back to Wayne Enterprises. Though the Joker is critical, but admiring, of the new Batman, he dismisses him at every turn (referring to him as “Bat-Fake”) in favour of Bruce and wastes little time in setting in motion his plot to take control of an orbiting satellite and use its laser-firing capabilities to deliver massive damage to Gotham and commemorate his return.

Terry’s deductive skills aren’t quite on par with Bruce’s but he brings a unique approach to the role.

Due to the unexpected and impossible nature of the Joker’s return, much of the film revolves around Terry trying to uncover the details of his last appearance and how and why the Joker has resurfaced, apparently from the grave. With Bruce and Barbara being tight-lipped on the matter, Terry pays a visit to the aged Tim Drake (Stockwell), formally Robin, believing him to be involved somehow. Though now happy, healthy, married, and long retied from the role, Drake is still able to detect Batman even with his fancy cloaking technology, but denies any involvement in the matter, expressing only regret and bitterness at the entire debacle and his gratitude at having left the life behind. When Terry’s next suspect, Jordan Pryce (Hamill), also turns out to be little more than a middle man, he briefly despairs at his inability to duplicate Bruce’s deductive skills and reasoning only to finally solve the mystery by observing the deliberate nature of the Joker’s attack on the Batcave and the common thread that links all the materials he’s stolen, proving again that Terry might not be quite on the same level as his predecessor but is still capable of solving mysteries in his own, unique way.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Of course, the true extent of the Joker’s villainy and viciousness isn’t exposed until Barbara reveals the tragic details of their last encounter with the Joker through a flashback to some thirty years ago when Batman, Barbara-as-Batgirl (Tara Strong), and Robin were acting as a crimefighting trio; one night, while out solo, Robin was kidnapped by Harley Quinn and held captive by the Joker for three weeks. After aggressively hounding the underworld, the duo was finally lured to the rundown, partially demolished Arkham Asylum by the Joker. There, they are horrified to find that Joker and Harley (Arleen Sorkin) have brainwashed and tortured Robin into being their surrogate son, Joker Jr/J.J. and that, despite Tim’s willpower and strength, he eventually cracked and told them everything about Batman and his operation, revealing his true identity (much to the Joker’s disappointment) and transforming Tim into a disfigured, cackling little Joker-boy

The Joker subjects Tim to endless torture and unwittingly seals his fate.

During the highly emotionally-charged fight that consequently breaks out, Harley appears to fall to her death (despite Batgirl’s attempt to save her) and Batman, overwhelmed by his anger, is baited by the Joker, who gleeful shows video footage of Tim’s torture, taunting Batman and his crusade/motivation and receiving a vicious beating as a result (Batman even threatens to “break [him] in two!” in a chilling moment). However, after being incapacitated by the Joker, Batman can only watch helplessly as Tim shockingly chooses to shoot the Joker through the heart rather than kill his mentor, breaking down into a cackling flood of tears afterwards. It’s a truly horrific and terrifying fate for poor little Tim Drake and which, clearly, has fundamentally soured Batman’s character ever since and led to him alienating all of his closest allies in his twilight years. Though Drake recovered from this horrendous experience, it turns out that the Joker has been “possessing” Tim’s body using a special chip he implanted during Robin’s capture and torture; Tim is completely unaware of the Joker’s influence and the Joker has been able to take over more and more often to the point where he can make the change at will and is on the verge of possessing Tim forever. When Batman confronts Drake about his involvement with the Joker, the former Robin grows confused and disorientated before becoming more and more agitated and crazed, incapacitating Batman’s suit and descending into maniacal laughter, literally transforming into the Joker before our eyes in a spine-chilling moment.

The Joker is destroyed and Bruce finally begins to reconcile with his former allies.

With the Joker’s destructive laser damaged and now heading directly towards their location, Batman and Joker engage in a surprisingly evenly-matched fist fight; it seems possessing Drake’s body as afforded Joker the means to go toe-to-toe with the much younger and more formidable Terry but, just as the Joker is about to throttle the life out of him, Batman uses the Joker’s own electrified joy buzzer to short out and destroy the chip on Tim’s neck, defeating the Joker once and for all and returning Tim to his body, sanity, and consciousness. In the end, Batman gets Tim to safety, allowing the former Robin to finally reconcile with Bruce, Harley is revealed to be alive (though a grouchy old woman), Tim (and, more importantly, Bruce) commends Terry’s abilities as Batman, and Terry flies off into the night to continue the never-ending fight as the Batman of the future.

The Summary:
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker is an action-packed adventure, to be sure, but also easily the darkest of Batman’s animated features; Batman Beyond was already quite a bitter and cynical end for Batman and his allies, with Bruce ending up a grouchy old man with none of his friends or family left, but Return of the Joker really hammers home how bleak Batman’s later years became. Using elements of the “Death in the Family” storyline (Starlin, et al, 1988), Return of the Joker really sticks it to any fans of Robin by having Tim relentlessly tortured and abused and even hinting that Dick Grayson is just as bitter and full of regret as Tim and Bruce. Thankfully, amidst all this bleakness, there is new hope in the form of Terry, a young and very capable but also very different Batman who helps to bring some of the fire and meaning back to an otherwise jaded Bruce. Return of the Joker is framed as Terry’s ultimate test, one that no one else believes he is ready for thanks to the danger and near-mythical threat of the Joker. Throughout it all, though, Terry remains resolute and confident and is able to defeat the Joker in a way that Bruce never could.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

What did you think of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker and where would you rank it against other animated Batman films? Which version of the film do you prefer? Were you a fan of Batman Beyond? Whatever your thoughts, leave a comment down below and check back in next Tuesday for Batman Day!

Movie Night [Multiverse Madness]: Superman: Red Son

Dr. K1 Comment

In September 1961, DC Comics published a little story called “Flash of Two Worlds” (Fox, et al), a landmark story that featured in The Flash #123 and brought together two generations of the Flash: the Golden Age Jay Garrick and the Silver Age Barry Allen. In the process, DC Comics created the concept of the multiverse, the idea that DC Comics continuity was comprised of an infinite number of parallel universes that allowed any and all stories and characters to exist and, more importantly, interact and I’ve been celebrating this ground-breaking concept every Sunday of this month!

Released: 25 February 2020
Director: Sam Liu
Distributor: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Budget: Unknown
Stars: Jason Isaacs, Amy Acker, Diedrich Bader, Vanessa Marshall, Roger Craig Smith, and Paul Williams

The Plot:
In an alternate timeline, Krypton’s last son crash-lands in Cold War-era Russia and Superman (Isaacs) is raised to be the figurehead of Joseph Stalin’s (William Salyers) Communist campaign. In response, Lex Luthor (Bader) devises a plan to neutralise and destroy the Soviet Superman while a renegade terrorist known as Batman (Smith) and the alien cyborg Brainiac (Williams) both plot to overthrow the superpowered tyrant.

The Background:
Having met with considerable success with their animated ventures, such as Batman: The Animated Series (1992 to 1999), Warner Bros. Animation began producing a number of direct-to-video animated features based upon existing and popular comic book storylines but Superman: Red Son was a bit of a change of pace as the last few animated features had been part of a shared universe. Red Son was based on the three-issue miniseries of the same name written by Mark Millar in 2003, a story that was part of DC’s “Elseworlds” imprint. A surprisingly dense text, it was a popular and poignant “What If” scenario published by DC Comics for its deconstruction of Superman’s ideals. Similarly, the adaptation received generally positive reviews and sold quite well on home media. Having never gotten around to reading the original comic and, although I’ve been aware of it and the premise for some time, this was actually my first time properly experiencing this alternate take on Superman.

The Review:
These days, the “Evil Superman” story has been pretty much done to death; it was a big part of the Injustice franchise (NetherRealm Studios/Various, 2013 to 2017), movies like Brightburn (Yarovesky, 2019) have explored the concept further, and even Henry Cavill’s version of the character has walked the line more than once, particularly in the questionable “Knightmare” scenario present in the DC Extended Universe films. Interestingly, Red Son takes Superman’s core values of “Truth, Justice, and the American Way” and simply transposes them into Soviet Russia; as a boy, Superman fears hurting others with his powers and hides them from the world as a result but, after showing them to Svetlana (Winter Ave Zoli), is encouraged to “give them to the State” in order to put them to the best use (i.e. for the betterment of their Communist superiors). As a result, the Soviet Superman isn’t initially evil in the way a lot of alternate versions of Superman are; he begins as a humble Communist patriot who is simply acting in the best interests of his country, which is basically what the mainstream Superman does more often than not.

Superman embarks on his own totalitarian regime predicated on peace through force.

At first, the Soviet Superman basically acts as a nuclear deterrent to the rest of the world, ensuring the strength, superiority, and prosperity of Soviet Russia in a similar way to how Jon Osterman/Doctor Manhattan acted for the United States in Watchmen (Moore, et al, 1986 to 1987). This Superman is uncomfortable in the spotlight and sees himself as a “servant of the State”, a man simply doing his part in ensuring Russia’s success, and is quick to attribute his feats to the betterment of the country rather than simply his actions. Similarly, he doesn’t hesitate to act to intervene when Metropolis is threatened by a falling satellite, expressing that the citizens of the United States aren’t his enemy or those of his government, and yet he is sceptical and distrustful of the press, such as Lois Lane-Luthor (Acker). In this version of the DC Universe, Lois is still a reporter but is married to Luthor; Lois’s ideals clash with those of Superman’s, with each of them disapproving of the actions and methods of each other’s governments. Clearly intrigued by Superman, it is Lois who opens his eyes to the horrendous actions of Stalin, which have left his beloved Svetlana dead after being imprisoned in a hellish gulag for knowing his true identity. Disgusted at the torture and treatment of the prisoners, and enraged at Svetlana’s death, Superman frees the inmates and brutally kills Stalin, usurping his authority in the process and beginning his own totalitarian regime. Just as she encouraged him to give his powers to the country, Svetlana’s dying words motivate Superman to be the strongest of the strong and to ensure that the Russian people are never again oppressed. Just as Luthor hoped, this causes Superman to become a significant threat as he easily ends the Korean War and demolishes the Berlin Wall, accepting collateral damage and loss of life to safeguard the majority and spreading a message of peace through aggressive intervention. Luthor’s machinations speed up his vendetta against Superman, which sees his him cloning a bizarre version of Superman using genetic material from this landing craft.

Luthor creates a clone of Superman that he purposely overloads to the point of death just to rattle Superman.

This “Superior Man” (Travis Willingham) resembles the traditional Superman in many ways, save for a “US” symbol on his chest, and has been programmed with complete subservience to his country (and to Luthor), however he’s little more than a blank slate. Luthor unveils Superior Man in a very public display and wastes no time in sending him to confront Superman, leading to a massive brawl between the two through the streets of Moscow. Horrified at the devastation and loss of life their conflict causes, Superman quickly diverts the battle away from innocent lives (interesting that the Soviet version of Superman is more concerned with safeguarding innocent lives than Snyder’s Superman in his debut film…), but the clone soon degenerates into a monstrosity and, finally, painfully dissolves when Luthor purposely overloads him with more power to test Superman’s limits and psychologically unnerve his superpowered opponent.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Superman: Red Son isn’t anything massively new when it comes to animation since it appears very similar to other DC animated movies and draws heavy aesthetic influence from Paul Dini and Bruce Timm’s animated works. The story continuously jumps through time, showing characters aging and noticeably changing (Luthor starts off quite athletic and with a full head of hair but soon grows pudgy and balding while Superman’s costume becomes darker and more adorned with military insignias and accessories as his campaign escalates), which covers a lot of ground very quickly in order to establish that these events take place over a long period of time and slowly shows the expansion of Superman’s Communist strength.

Superman and Wonder Woman forge an alliance in a world where Batman is a violent terrorist.

As with many alternate world stories and animated features, Red Son includes several cameos and additional characters, recast and changed by their place in this parallel world. This Superman forges a powerful alliance with Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (Marshall), who admires his accomplishments and his commitment to his ideals of unity through strength; their relationship is built out of a mutual desire to change the world for the better with their powers and resources rather than a romantic liaison since Diana is a lesbian in this world. In time, however, Diana comes to question Superman’s methods when he turns insurgents into little more than zombies. Similarly, Superman faces opposition from the Soviet Batman, here little more than a terrorist who openly opposes Superman’s regime after suffering in the same gulag as Svetlana and losing all faith the superpowered Premier. As with many alternate versions of Batman, the Soviet Batman is perfectly happy to kill, blowing up a museum dedicated to Superman’s accomplishments and killing numerous innocents in the process. Batman has also inspired several followers, who all wear his symbol and willingly follow his orders, which causes them to be subjected to brainwashing by Superman’s reprogrammed Brainiac technology. After many years of striking against Superman, Batman eventually overwhelms Wonder Woman and subdues her with her own Lasso of Truth in order to lure Superman into a trap. Using artificial red sunlight supplied by Luthor, Batman weakens Superman and mercilessly beats him into submission as payback for his part in the death of his parents and to liberate Russia from his oppressive rule. Ultimately, though, Wonder Woman breaks free from her binds and restores Superman’s powers, though Batman choose suicide over being subjected to Superman’s brainwashing and the whole ordeal causes Diana to walk away from man’s world.

Superman and Luthor team up to defeat Brainiac and Superman uses the opportunity to fake his death.

Finally, Luthor’s ongoing efforts to bring down Superman lead to him not only becoming President of the United States and repositioning the United States as a prosperous democracy, but also discovering Abin Sur’s crashed spaceship and bequeathing the power ring on his finger to Captain Hal Jordan (Sasha Roiz) to create an alternative version of the Green Lantern Corps. Although not wishing to go to war with the United States, or to simply remove Luthor from power, Superman is forced into action when the Green Lantern Corps attack; although saved by Diana, he refuses to listen to her pleas for peace and loses her trust and friendship forever when Themyscira closes its borders to the rest of the world. Although Brainiac’s invasion of the world is limited to a brief montage, its influence on the story is significant; defeated and reprogrammed by Superman, Brainiac not only subtly influences Superman’s methods and gives him the technology necessary to better enforce his rule, but has also been secretly plotting to take over the world through Superman’s increasingly aggressive methods. This comes to a head in the finale, where Brainiac’s machinations lead Superman to the White House and the world to the brink of all-out war. Thanks to Lois, Superman realises the error of his ways and even works alongside Luthor (in a version of his signature mech suit) to battle Brainiac on the White House lawn; Luthor’s technology even ends up playing a pivotal role in disabling Brainiac’s forcefields and allowing Superman to destroy the machine, faking his death in the process and retreating to a simple, unassuming life to allow humanity to make their own destiny…and their own mistakes.

The Summary:
Superman: Red Son is an entertaining glimpse into an alternate version of Superman, one whose ideals of patriotism and justice are skewed by his Communist beliefs and upbringing. Initially a propaganda tool used to showcase the might of the Soviets, Superman evolves into a surprisingly layered dictator, one who laments and avoids the taking of innocent lives but is willing to aggressively expand his empire through force, if necessary. In time, his regime enforces a notable peace through the expansion of Communist ideals, which makes him colder and more inhumane in his efforts as he subjects those who defy him to lobotomies and yet still believes that his methods are more humane than those of Stalin. Superman is positioned as the enemy of the free world, particularly Democratic nations such as the United States, which seeks to liberate the Soviet nations from his oppressive rule but, as with Superman’s methods, Luthor’s aren’t exactly benevolent. One thing I found particularly interesting was that Superman doesn’t have another name; renouncing whatever name he had as a boy and becoming a symbol of Communist power and ideology, he’s also far more separated from humanity because of the emphasis on his alien nature, which is skewed by Communist beliefs. It’s an interesting take on the character and helps to make the story stand out and showcase the surprising amount of depth to Superman, who retains his trademark desire to only do good and help others but this desire is distorted by his totalitarian ways.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

What did you think to Superman: Red Son? How would you rank it against the other DC animated features and how do you think it holds up against its source material? Are you a fan of the Soviet Superman concept? What other alternate scenario would you like to see Superman thrust into some day? What is your favourite alternative take on Superman and what are your thoughts on the “Evil Superman” trope in comic books and other media? Whatever your thoughts on Superman: Red Son and other parallel versions of iconic characters, go ahead and leave them down below.

Back Issues [Multiverse Madness]: The Flash #123

Dr. K15 Comments

In September 1961, DC Comics published a little story called “Flash of Two Worlds” (Fox, et al), a landmark story that featured in The Flash #123 and brought together two generations of the Flash: the Golden Age Jay Garrick and the Silver Age Barry Allen. In the process, DC Comics created the concept of the multiverse, the idea that DC Comics continuity was comprised of an infinite number of parallel universes that allowed any and all stories and characters to exist and, more importantly, interact and I’ll be celebrating this ground-breaking concept every Sunday of this month!

Story Title: “Flash of Two Worlds!”
Published: September 1961
Writer: Gardner Fox
Artist: Carmine Infantino

The Background:
In the pages of Showcase #4 (1956), writer Robert Kanigher and artist Carmine Infantino introduced readers to Barry Allen/The Flash, the Fastest Man Alive. However, Barry wasn’t the first character to carry the name of the Flash; back in the 1940s, Jay Garrick operated under the codename before superhero comics saw a decline in popularity due to World War Two. Interestingly, although Jay’s solo Flash title was cancelled in 1948, the character’s last appearance was in 1951, a mere five years before the character was dramatically reimagined for the “Silver Age” of comics. To Barry Allen, Jay Garrick wasn’t some long forgotten hero of a bygone era; he was a mere comic book character, a work of fiction, and, while the idea of parallel versions of DC’s heroes had been previously hinted at, it wasn’t until “Flash of Two Worlds” that DC began to really explore, and expand, the concept. The story led to the discovery of an infinite number of parallel worlds, regular crossovers between teams like the Justice Society of America and the Justice League of America and, of course, epic cosmic crossovers that gave DC the perfect excuse to shake up their continuity. So influential was “Flash of Two Worlds!” that it’s iconic cover art has been parodied and replicated numerous times, and it directly inspired not just one episode of The Flash (2014 to present) but directly led to that series, and the entire “Arrowverse”, exploring the vast complexities of the multiverse.

The Review:
“Flash of Two Worlds” begins innocently enough with Barry Allen once again characteristically late for a date with his long-term girlfriend, Iris West. I’ve always been more of a Wally West fan when it comes to the Flash since Barry was long dead by the time I started reading comics but there are a couple of things about Barry’s Flash I always liked and which make him unique, in my eyes, compared to other heroes and characters of the same name. For one thing, he might be the Fastest Man Alive but he was constantly late in his civilian guise, which was the perfect way to keep anyone suspecting his true identity; for another, Barry actually worked for the police department as a forensic scientist and there weren’t a great many superheroes who actually worked within the system.

Barry is stunned to find himself on another Earth where the fictional Jay Garrick was once the Flash!

Like all good superheroes, of course, Barry is currently keeping his dual identity a secret from Iris and is able to use his position with the Central City Police Department to explain that he is “friends” with the Flash. This allows him to arrange for the Scarlet Speedster to make an appearance at Iris’s show for local orphans and also gives the Flash an opportunity to show off the near limitless potential of his superhuman speed but, in the middle of vibrating a rope at super speed, the Flash suddenly vanishes from sight! Though momentarily disorientated, the Flash quickly surmises that he must have vibrated his molecules so fast that he passed through “some sort of space-warp” but, when he attempts to return to the community center, is shocked to discover he’s now in a strange, vaguely familiar place named Keystone City. Recognising the name, Barry confirms his suspicions by looking up Jay Garrick in a telephone book and paying him a visit (as an interesting side note, Garrick’s house number is 5252, which goes a long way to explaining DC’s later obsession with the number fifty-two). Rather than introduce himself and get Jay, and us, up to speed, Barry decides to regale us, and Jay, with Jay’s origin story: while a student at Midwestern University, Jay inhaled fumes of “hardwater” and, somehow, gained super speed and began a career as the Flash.

Barry explains his multiverse theory that, while ridiculous, also makes a crazy kind of sense.

Jay and his wife, Joan, are shocked at Barry’s expert knowledge of Jay’s history and even more awestruck when Barry explains that he is the Flash of a parallel world. Barry goes on to explain the basic fundamentals of DC’s multiverse: their two worlds exist in the same space and at the same time but are separated by different vibrational frequencies. He theorises that both Earths evolved almost exactly the same but that “destiny must have decreed there’d be a Flash — on each Earth!” It is only after explaining his multiverse theory that Barry brings Jay and Joan up to speed on his origin; during an experiment, he was struck by a errant lightning bolt (a common occurrence, as you well know…) and bathed in a mysterious chemical concoction. The result was the development of his own super speed but he was directly inspired to become the Flash after reading of Jay’s adventures in comic books on his world. Barry even further speculates, ridiculously so, that real-world writer Gardener Fox must have somehow been attuned to Jay’s world to dream up stories of the Golden Age Flash’s adventures. Jay is intrigued at the concept and in awe of Barry’s fourth dimensional Flash ring; he reveals that, despite no longer having the endurance of his prime years, he’s as fast as ever and in the midst of mounting a dramatic comeback thanks to a series of mysterious robberies that have been happening all over town. Ever the helpful chap, Barry offers to assist and the two solidify their partnership and newfound friendship with a hearty handshake. It’s then revealed to the reader that the perpetrators of these crimes are three of Jay’s most notorious rogues: Isaac Bowin/The Fiddler, Clifford DeVoe/The Thinker, and Richard Swift/The Shade. All three have a personal grudge against Jay for apprehending them “more than a dozen years” ago and, since their release (or escape, it’s not made entirely clear which), each has refined their abilities and gimmicks to take their revenge (the Thinker’s “thinking cap” allows him to cause anything he thinks of to happen within fifty yards of himself, the Fiddler’s Stradivarius violin allows him to generate destructive sound waves, and the Shade can conjure absolute darkness with his special cane).

Jay is outwitted by the Thinker’s mental images and collapses from exhaustion.

In the process of their revenge, the three villains are also indulging in elaborate crimes to bring themselves notoriety, fortune, and, presumably, to attract the attention of the Flash and the two Flashes immediately divide their efforts in order to uncover the culprits behind these crimes. The Thinker heads to the home of millionaire Edward Jarvis to steal the priceless Neptune Cup; he uses his thinking cap to persuade Jarvis’s guard dogs to lure the Flash into his trap and is easily able to manipulate Jarvis into handing the treasure over to him. When the Jay conveniently races by, the dogs literally follow the Thinker’s command by talking in English! Jay rushes into the house to confront the Thinker but is shocked to find that the villain continuously eludes his grasp; driving himself to near exhaustion in the effort, Jay laments what he believes to be a by-product of his advanced age but it turns out he’s only half right. The Thinker has been conjuring “mental mirages” to distract and tire out the Flash and, with Jay too weak to pursue him, is easily able to slip away with his prize as Jay blacks out from fatigue. Why the Thinker didn’t use his special cap to control Jay like he did Jarvis is beyond me, though…

The Flashes subdue the villains and Jay is left pondering the secret of dimensional travel.

Meanwhile, at the waterfront, Barry investigates a strange black fog surrounding a private yacht and is drawn into a confrontation with the Shade. Thanks to the Shade’s ability to summon thick, pitch blackness, Barry is unable to stop the villain from stealing especially rare and extortionately expensive “historical curios”. When he spots the Shade making his escape in a speedboat, Barry gives chase by running over water but is easily knocked off balance by the Shade’s darkness and returns to Garrick’s house humbled but no less disheartened. Galvanised by their individual failures, the two Flashes decide to team up to stop the villainous duo but, in the process, find the Fiddler (on his Fiddle Car, no less!) causing panic and destruction in downtown Keystone City. This finally provides context for the issue’s memorable front cover as the two Flashes race to save a man from being crushed from a falling girder. Thanks to the Fiddler’s outrageous vehicle, the Flashes are easily able to track him down to the Keystone City Museum, where the villain is in the process of stealing the “European crown jewels”. Despite the partnership of the two Flashes, the Fiddler is easily able to subdue them with his magical music, much to the shock of his fellow villains, who rushed over to assist as soon as they figured out that there were now two Flashes. The Fiddler rubs salt in the wound by compelling the Flashes to steal the jewels for him and plans to cover their escape by freezing the Flashes solid for twenty-four hours. Somehow, though, the spell doesn’t work and the Flashes break free; in the blink of an eye, Jay sends the Shade spinning like a top, Barry handcuffs the Fiddler, and the two Flashes disassemble the Thinker’s thinking cap to subdue and summarily defeat the three villains. The Flashes then reveal that they escaped the Fiddler’s spell through a convenient and obtuse loophole (he never specified that they shouldn’t try to escape and they placed tiny gems not their ears to distort the effects of his fiddle). With the villains defeated, Barry and Jay part ways amicably, with Jay admiring Barry’s ability to vibrate between dimensions and vowing to learn the secret of dimensional travel to visit Barry’s world in the near future. Barry is so ecstatic to return home that he doesn’t even mind getting an ear-bashing from Iris for leaving her, and the orphans, in the lurch and the issue ends with Barry breaking the fourth wall to encourage readers to write in with their appreciation of the story and the Golden Age Flash.

The Summary:
“Flash of Two Worlds” is a pretty fun, if incredibly random, little tale; the way that Barry just happens to slip between dimensions whilst performing the most minor of tasks is extremely convenient and underwhelming and it definitely feels like Barry could have been undertaking a better, more exciting physical feat. It’s also incredibly opportune that Barry, a forensic scientist, is apparently an expert in dimensional theory; I get that he’s smart and scientifically minded but I would argue that quantum mechanics and multiverse theory is a little outside of the training for a forensic scientist. Like many comics books at the time, the issue also suffers a little by stopping to catch readers up not just on Barry’s origins but Jay’s, too; I get recapping Jay’s origin since he had been absent from DC Comics for about five years but it seemed a bit unnecessary and a waste of time to recap Barry’s in such detail.

The issue’s three villains are largely portrayed as being quite formidable and competent.

Still, the selling point of the issue is the return (or introduction, depending on your experience) of Jay Garrick and the discovery of a parallel world. The logistics of the multiverse are a bit hokey but I can chalk this up to Barry’s conjecture and the concept being in its infancy and it’s still pretty cool to see Jay, now a bit older and more seasoned, teaming up with Barry. I find it interesting that Fox decided not to have to two come to blows or even engage in a race to find out who was better; he had the perfect opportunity to do this when Jay was defeated by the Thinker but declined, preferring to focus on the two Flashes co-operating amicably instead. The villains are an interesting dichotomy; technically, the combined abilities of the Thinker, the Fiddler, and the Shade are quite formidable and the three are shown to be more than a match for both Flashes, both separately and as a group. Indeed, any one of the villains seems capable of subduing the Flashes and this really helps to keep the stakes reasonably believable and high. Sadly, the Flashes are able to defeat all three in no time at all with a pretty laughable plot convenience; it might have been more interesting to have the Thinker control Jay and turn him against Barry and then have the two overcome this and turn the villains’ gimmicks against each other but I get it, the comic is more about the gimmick of the two Flashes meeting and the exploration and re/introduction of Jay and his world over anything else.

The Flash is a colourful, appealing character and seeing the two team up is pretty cool.

While I am a fan of the Flash, like I said I generally prefer Wally and his adventures in the mid-nineties to early 2000s so, as a result, I haven’t really read that much of Barry Allen, especially his early adventures. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed “Flash of Two Worlds”; the Flash is such a unique character, one that is, at times, more overpowered than even Clark Kent/Superman, and it’s interesting seeing him balance his dual identity and come up with new ways to use his powers. Flash stories also tend to be much more whimsical and wacky than other superheroes so it’s not too surprising that he was able to pass between dimensional barriers; I could definitely see the all-powerful Superman of the time being capable of such a feat as well but it’s somehow more charming when the Flash does it and seeing him be awestruck at meeting his hero and inspiration and the two generations of heroes immediately getting along is refreshing, despite my belief that the story may have been improved by them coming to blows at least once.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Have you ever read “Flash of Two Worlds”? If so, what did you think of it? Were you a fan of DC’s decision to introduce the multiverse or do you find the concept daunting and overwhelming? Which of the two Flashes is your favourite; perhaps you prefer a different Flash or speedster, if so who is it and why? What is your favourite Flash story? Which of DC’s infinite parallel worlds is your favourite? How are you celebrating the birth of the DC multiverse today? Whatever your thoughts, drop a comment below and be sure to check back in next Sunday as Multiverse Madness continues!

Movie Night: Constantine

Dr. K1 Comment

Released: 18 February 2005
Director: Francis Lawrence
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Budget: $70 to 100 million
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Tilda Swinton, Shia LaBeouf, and Djimon Hounsou

The Plot:
Cynical exorcist John Constantine (Reeves) spends his days smoking and “deporting” demons to Hell in a desperate attempt to earn salvation before he dies from lung cancer. However, in begrudgingly helping troubled police detective Angela Dodson (Weisz) learn the truth about her twin sister’s death, he stumbles upon a much larger and darker plot to bring about the apocalypse.

The Background:
Constantine is an adaptation of DC Comics’ popular cult comic series John Constantine, Hellblazer. Created by Alan Moore and Stephen R. Bissette and first appearing in the pages of The Saga of Swamp Thing #37 (Moore, et al, 1985) and visually inspired by British musician Sting, Constantine earned his own solo series in 1988 and became a popular anti-hero thanks to his grouchy demeanour and surreal occult misadventures and plans for a live-action adaptation of the character can be traced back as far as 1997. After passing through the hands of different directors and having a variety of actors attached to star, Constantine finally gained traction in 2002 but the title change wasn’t the only alteration the filmmakers made to the character: despite drawing inspiration from the “Dangerous Habits” storyline (Ennis, et al, 1991), the character was changed from a blond-haired, brown trenchcoat-wearing Liverpudlian conman to Keanu Reeves in a black coat with a cantankerous attitude. Despite this lack of fidelity to the source material, Constantine did relatively well at the box office, earning over $230 million; sadly, despite earning a well-deserved cult following over the years, the film was met with lukewarm reactions upon release, which has cast doubt over the chances for a sequel. As much as I enjoyed the later, unrelated Constantine series (2014 to 2015) and Matt Ryan’s remarkable turn in the role as part of the “Arrowverse”, I’ve always had a soft spot for Constantine and, considering that today is Keanu Reeves’ birthday, this seems like the perfect time to revisit this underrated gem.

The Review:
While not a snarky, Liverpudlian conman, Constantine is a moody, blunt, egotistical prick through and through; he’s thoroughly unlikeable in many ways with his demanding and condescending attitude but, while he acts like he has no interest in the welfare and interests of others, Constantine goes out of his way to help those in need and to exorcise any demons that are brought to his attention. Of course, he only does this out of his own self-interests; slowly and painfully dying of inoperable lung cancer, he is determined to buy his way into Heaven by “deporting” any demons and spirits that violate the rules and try to cross over. Yet, he doesn’t appear to take payment for his actions and tries, in his own grouchy and irritable way, to keep those around him safe (primarily by pushing them away to keep his conscience clean but still…) Though irritable and cantankerous, Constantine instantly recognises that something is amiss when a demon attempts to cross over to the living world and believes that something bigger and more threatening is coming as a result. He is disgusted when neither Good nor His God’s emissary, the Archangel Gabriel (Swinton), offer any assistance and resolves to sort the issue out by himself in his own sullen way.

Initially sceptical, Angela comes to warm to Constantine’s abrasive demeanour.

Constantine isn’t a man who suffers fools gladly and has no time for red tape, excuses, or time-wasters and, though he knows that he is destined to go to Hell for his sins, and to die from his habitual smoking, he nevertheless continues to oppose demons and angels alike as much as he continues to smoke. Constantine’s investigations into this larger threat eventually cause him to cross paths with Angela, a cop who is haunted by her uncanny ability to sense where her targets are without even seeing them and tormented by the sudden apparent suicide of her twin sister, Isabel (also Weisz). Raised as a Catholic, Angela repeatedly repents for her actions as a cop and her conviction that her sister would never had killed herself leads her to Constantine, with whom she initially has a frosty relationship due to his rude and bitter nature. As the audience surrogate, we learn alongside Angela as Constantine exposits the “rules” of the wager between God and the Devil, Lucifer Morningstar (Peter Stormare), and take a dive through the nightmarish landscape of Hell itself. Angela is a tough and capable character with a real vulnerability to her; Isabel’s death clearly rattles her and there’s a definite sense that she’s way out of her element with all the supernatural mumbo-jumbo that follows Constantine and, yet, she repeatedly calls out his shit and holds her own and she only ends up in need of rescue because of her latent psychic abilities.

Constantine’s allies have complete in faith in him despite their nasty tendancy to die.

Constantine’s investigation is aided by a variety of his old allies; his constant companion is Chas Kramer (LaBeouf), here interpreted as a young and enthusiastic cab driver who is eager to be more involved with Constantine’s work and continually annoyed at the way he keeps him at arm’s length. Two more of Constantine’s allies, Beeman (Max Baker) and Father Hennessy (Pruitt Taylor Vince) help him to piece together the puzzle of the looming threat because they genuinely believe in and care for Constantine. Papa Midnite (Hounsou), meanwhile, is a far more reluctant ally; operating a bar that is “neutral ground” for Heaven and Hell, he refuses to get involved or to favour one side or the other. As detestable as Constantine can be at times, it’s heart-breaking to see his friends and allies die purely by association with him and it really lends a sense of tragedy to the character as it’s easy to see why he keeps them at arm’s length and is the way he is as he “doesn’t need another ghost following [him] around”. One thing I also really like about Constantine is the suggestion that Constantine, Midnite, Beeman, and Hennessy were once this team of exorcists and demon hunters and I would have loved to see their past expanded upon more in a sequel or prequel.

Constantine battles many demons but his true antagonist remains elusive.

A slight downside to Constantine is the lack of a tangible primary antagonist; Manuel (Jesse Ramirez) fulfils this role to a degree as, after finding and being possessed by the Spear of Destiny, he ominously makes his way towards Los Angeles as a constant reminder of the looming threat but he’s not an actual villain of the film and is quickly discarded once the finale kicks in. Balthazar (Gavin Rossdale) somewhat fulfils this role as a scheming, devious puppet master but, again, he’s more of a lingering threat rather than a central one and, for the most part, Constantine battles against various demons and denizens from Hell, such as the decomposing soldier demons and bat-like scavengers. As a result, for most of the runtime, the mystery of the Spear of Destiny and the impending resurrection of Mammon, the son of the Devil, takes centre stage until the very end of the film, where it’s revealed that Gabriel has been conspiring with Mammon. It turns out that Gabriel is just as jaded and weary with humankind as Constantine is with Heaven and Hell; appalled that humanity is allowed the chance to repent, no matter what their sins, and believing that people should earn their place in Heaven through true suffering, Gabriel goes behind God’s back to bring Hell to Earth through Mammon. It’s definitely a twist, especially for Constantine, who would never have guessed that an angel and a demon would join forces, and renders all of his incantations and wit mute since Gabriel’s power is unmatched, forcing him to make the ultimate sacrifice to end their combined threat.

The Nitty-Gritty:
One thing Constantine definitely really has going for it is snark; Constantine has a dry, cynical wit and biting, abrasive tone at the best of times but it makes for some amusing moments, such as when he literally points Angela in the right direction and compares Chas to other famous sidekicks, and it seems he always has a snarky comment and sardonic  response to everything happening around him. Despite this, and his demanding and patronising personality, Constantine inspires a great deal of awe and loyalty in those around him; Hennessy willingly communes with the dead and puts himself at risk even though it gives him horrible nightmares and leads to his death simply out of loyalty to Constantine and Beeman sums it up nicely, and emotionally, when, right before his own death, he tells Constantine that, despite his lack of faith, his friends have faith in him. Such is Constantine’s allure that he is able to convince reluctant middleman Midnite to get off the fence and help him (commenting that he (as in Midnite) is the “only one following the rules”) and, despite their rough start and Constantine’s abrasive nature, he builds a natural chemistry and rapport with Angela. Initially, she detests him and his rudeness but, the more she becomes exposed to his world and his beliefs, the more she comes to relate to and warm towards him. Their clear and obvious attraction is handled well and the two have great chemistry despite their conflicting personalities; they never truly consummate on this attraction, which is both surprising and frustrating since I just wanted to see them break that sexual tension.

Constantine depicts a nightmarish, fire-strewn version of Hell based largely on Catholicism.

Constantine’s approach to religion is largely based on Catholicism; rather than explore other religions or consolidate them into one, the idea seems to be that Catholicism sets the rules for this world and, as a result, suicides are condemned to Hell and repentance is the road to salvation. This simplifies matters considerably, but it does make one question how other religions fit into this world since we clearly see that Heaven, Hell, demons, angels, God, and the Devil are all real. This is best seen in Constantine’s frequent trips to Hell within the film, which is a nightmarish, post-apocalyptic mirror of our world populated by demons, tormented souls, and full of fire and suffering and even home to an extended version of the Bible. It turns out that travelling to Hell is incredibly easy and that all one has to do is die under the right circumstances for even the shortest length of time or simply sit in a bowl of water with a cat on your lap (though, to be fair, this appears to be a trick that only Constantine can pull off).

Constantine is a much more action-orientated character in the film.

As far as I can tell, Keanu’s Constantine differs from his comic book counterpart in that he is one of the few born with the ability to see demons, angels, and the “half-breeds” that walk among the living; Angela and Isabel also have this ability but, while Angela suppressed it, Isabel was constantly haunted and driven to her death by it. The same thing happened to Constantine, forever damning him to Hell upon death and driving his mission to deport half-breeds from either side when they break the “rules”. Constantine’s sorcery and magicks are downplayed compared to the source material; while Constantine has various religious and spiritual tattoos to help ward off evil spirits and is able to bring Gabriel forth at the conclusion, he primarily relies on special weaponry and gadgets provided to him by Beeman. This makes him a far more action-orientated version of the character; whereas his comic book counterpart would trick his enemies into defeating themselves or con his way out of confrontations, Keanu’s Constantine beats Balthazar into submission with a Holy knuckle duster and loads up a shotgun that blasts dragon’s breath and Holy bullets.

In the end, Constantine gets the last laugh on Lucifer through his selfless sacrifice.

Still, this is only really for one scene and, for the most part, Constantine is still more of a detective than a superhero; his methods involve a degree of preparation but he’s also able to think on the fly and use whatever he has around or on him to ward off demons (such as when he amusingly threatens Balthazar not with being deported to Hell but by reading him his last rites!) In the finale, when faced with Gabriel’s Holy power and Mammon’s inevitable resurrection, he performs the ultimate con, however, by slitting his wrists and bringing Lucifer to Earth to personally collect his soul. In the process, he’s able to bargain for the release of Isabel’s soul and is fully prepared to die and take her place in Hell, only to be lifted towards the Golden Gates of Heaven because of his selfless act. This results in one of the greatest moments in the film when Constantine flips Lucifer the middle finger as he slowly ascends to Heaven, which I always find to be incredibly in-character and enjoyable. Ultimately, though, Lucifer heals Constantine of his cancer and allows him not only to live but also gives him the chance to earn his place in Heaven; while it’s clear that Lucifer believes that Constantine won’t be able to change his cynical ways or contemptible personality, the film ends with him swapping cigarettes for gum and sardonically commenting that, after dying twice, he has come to believe that God truly does have a plan for everyone.

The Summary:
Going into Constantine, I had pretty much no knowledge of the comic book, so this was my first introduction to the character. Instead, I went in as a fan of Keanu Reeves and supernatural films and, as a result, was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. Even now, as big a fan as I am of the character and Matt Ryan’s work, my experience with Hellblazer is pretty much limited to the character’s sporadic adaptations and the Original Sin (Delano, et al, 1993) graphic novel but, even so, it was this film that first made me aware of and spurred my interest in the character. As a result, if you’re unfamiliar with Constantine, I’d highly recommend this as your first exposure to the character; long-time fans of Hellblazer may have been disappointed by the many changes but, even as a Brit myself, I still really enjoy this movie for what it is: a supernatural action/horror film. There’s a lot to like here, from Keanu’s cynical portrayal of the character and his dry, bitter wit and cool, undeniable charisma to a striking and suitably terrifying interpretation of Hell and a pretty fantastic turn by Stormare as Lucifer. Obviously, Matt Ryan has delivered a far more faithful rendition of the character in the years since but, as an Americanised version of a notable British character, I think the film does really well at staying true to the spirit of Constantine and his comic books and I would definitely recommend this to anyone remotely interested in the concept.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

Are you a fan of Constantine? What did you think of the film’s concept and characters, especially Keanu’s performance? Have you ever read the Hellblazer comics? If so, what are some of your favourite stories and moments from Constantine’s history and how do you think Constantine holds up as an adaptation? Were you put off by the Americanisation of the character and, if so, do you prefer Matt Ryan’s portrayal? Would you have liked to see a sequel or Keanu return to the character in some way? How are you celebrating Keanu Reeves’ birthday today and what are some of your favourite roles of his? Whatever you think, go ahead and leave a comment down below.

Movie Night: The Suicide Squad

Dr. K5 Comments

Released: 30 July 2021
Director: James Gunn
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Budget: $34 million
Stars: Idris Elba, Margot Robbie, John Cena, Sylvester Stallone/Steve Agee, David Dastmalchian, Daniela Melchior, Joel Kinnaman, Peter Capaldi, and Viola Davis

The Plot:
After Colonel Rick Flag (Kinnaman) and Doctor Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn (Robbie) are captured and presumed killed during a mission into the war-torn nation of Corto Maltese, Amanda Waller (Davis) blackmails former mercenary and marksman Robert DuBois/Bloodsport (Elba) into leading a new Task Force X team on a suicide mission into the nation to acquire Gaius Grieves/The Thinker (Capaldi), who has vital information regarding the mysterious and potentially cataclysmic “Project: Starfish”.

The Background:
Task Force X, otherwise known by the more colourful sobriquet of “The Suicide Squad”, is a team of supervillains, anti-heroes, and convicts that first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #25 in September 1059. Created by Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru, the team’s initial six-issue run was later expanded upon exponentially by writer John Ostrander in 1987; Ostrander defined many of the elements that are now closely associated with the team, such as them being commanded by Amanda Waller and forced into behaving under threat of remote execution. Due to the very nature of the team (the clue’s in the name after all), the Suicide Squad has seen many different incarnations over the years and has featured in a number of adaptations outside of the comics. They made their live-action debut in Suicide Squad (Ayer, 2016), a film that arguably was the DC Extended Universe’s (DCEU) attempt to emulate the success of Guardians of the Galaxy (Gunn, 2014); despite heavyweights like Will Smith and Jared Leto attached and bringing in nearly $750 million against a $175 million budget, Suicide Squad was a critical disaster. However, Suicide Squad did give us Margot Robbie’s fantastic portrayal of Harley Quinn, which received significant praise (and her own spin-off), and there has been a major fan demand for Warner Bros. to release the director’s cut of the film. Still, Suicide Squad made money and had a bankable star so a sequel (and several other spin-offs) was put into development. Perhaps because of Ayer’s public lambasting of Warner Bros.’ interference with his film, a new director was courted for the follow-up, with James Gunn being hired after he was briefly fired from Disney and Marvel Studios. Given complete creative control of the project, Gunn decided to produce a standalone sequel that featured some of DC’s most ridiculous villains and mashed them into a team of losers, misfits, and combustible personalities. Delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Suicide Squad was eventually released to overwhelmingly positive reviews that praised its action, gore, and humour. As of this writing, the film has only grossed $7 million at the box office but is projected to bring in $35 to 60 million and Gunn has already completed a spin-off series for HBO Max starring Christopher Smith/Peacemaker (John Cena).

The Review:
My experience of the Suicide Squad is basically almost zero; they rarely appear as a team in the DC Comics I read and usually just kind of crop up as a team of misfits for DC’s superheroes to fight with. As a result, when I heard that Warner Bros. were going to be putting time, effort, and money into a big-screen version of the team, my first question was…why? Why are we getting that and not a standalone Batman movie for Ben Affleck, or a Flash movie, or a Cyborg one…anything but randomly tossing out a Suicide Squad film. To this day, I’ll never understand why Warner Bros. didn’t retool the script to have Batman battling against Waller’s team that acted as a prequel to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Snyder, 2014) and showed exactly how and why Batman has fallen so far into the dark by explicitly centring around the Joker (Jared Leto) killing Jason Todd/Robin. Instead, the film didn’t really add all that much to the DCEU; it completely wasted Will Smith on a nobody like Floyd Lawton/Deadshot (he really should have been Slade Wilson/Deathstroke) and was so cut up by the studio that it’s basically been swept under the carpet now, and that’s a shame as its cast and concepts could have been used to far greater effect in a Ben Affleck-led Batman film.

Blackmailed by Amanda Waller, Bloodsport is forced to lead the new team to spare his daughter.

Thankfully, The Suicide Squad doesn’t go out of its way to retcon or erase the original film form continuity; I never expected that it would since Flag, Quinn, Waller, and Digger Harkness/Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) all returned to the film but you wouldn’t believe the arguments I had online with people who insisted that this wasn’t a sequel…when it clearly is. Sure, Harley’s reasoning for being back on the team is kind of hand-waved away and they don’t explicitly refer to events of any prefers DCEU films, but there’s an obvious and oft-stated familiarity between these characters, which is enough for me. Of course, we have a slew of new characters here, many of whom I am completely unfamiliar with, such as Bloodsport and Peacemaker. Although Gunn stated that he wrote the script specifically with Elba in mind for Bloodsport rather than a replacement for Deadshot…he basically is Deadshot but with a fancier suit. Like Deadshot, Bloodsport has a strained relationship with his daughter and is an expert marksman but he’s made a character all his own through his disinterest in joining the team, working with others, doing good, and his high-tech, quasi-alien suit that allows him to generate and assemble a wide variety of weaponry.

Peacemaker loves peace so much that he’s willing to kill for it!

Bloodsport not only immediately clashes with Waller when she threatens his daughter to coerce him into leading her new Suicide Squad, he also forms a fast rivalry with Peacemaker; another character I’m not too familiar with, Peacemaker is a unit of man who is so obsessed with peace that he’s willing to kill anyone to attain it. A psychopath hiding behind patriotism, Peacemaker is adept with melee weapons and guns but his presence by no means makes Bloodsport redundant as their personalities and methods are entirely different. Garbed in a ludicrous comic-accurate costume and built like a brick shithouse, Peacemaker is seemingly willing to align with the team to achieve peace but continuously grates against his teammates. He and Bloodsport often engage in a silent, unstated competition to see who can kill the most people in the most flamboyant or impressive ways but he does find common ground with the team when they share a few drinks while staking out the Thinker’s favourite night club.

Flag is a far more amiable character this time, while Harley’s crazy has been dialled up a notch.

Returning from the last film are Rick Flag and Harley Quinn; unlike in the first film, Flag has, apparently, lost the rod up his ass and is a far more laid back and amiable character. Rather than seeing commanding Task Force X as his duty or a punishment of sorts, he treats them like friends or comrades and strikes up a camaraderie with most of them. While he also butts heads with Peacemaker, he has a former relationship with Bloodsport that allows the two to work as a more cohesive unit and, in turn, help galvanise the team of misfits into coming together in a workable strategy. Harley, by comparison, is largely the same character as before except her craziness has been dialled up somewhat. Still a bit of an odd choice for such a team, Harley proves that appearances are deceiving as her craziness makes her a formidable and unpredictable opponent who is just as likely to bust out a rocket launcher as she is to strangle a man to death with her legs during severe torture. Harley has a bit of a side story where she’s courted by President Silvio Luna (Juan Diego Botto) and provides much of the more explicit comedic moments thanks to her trademark mad-cap nature and her gunning down countless soldiers while animated flowers and birds fly around in the background.

The team is rounded about by some of DC’s most ridiculous characters.

The team is rounded out by a couple of new characters, most notably Cleo Cazo/Ratcatcher II (Melchior), Nanaue/King Shark (Stallone/Agee), and Abner Krill/Polka-Dot Man (Dastmalchian). While we learn a bit about Bloodsport and his relationship with his daughter and there’s a bit of character development for Quinn in her vow to not let men use her again, we don’t really learn too much about Peacemaker’s background and these three latter characters get quite a bit of play and have quite an impact on the film. We learn all about Ratcatcher II’s childhood, for example, and her fondness for rats (which Bloodsport is deathly afraid of); despite her lethargic attitude and borderline narcolepsy, she is also the only one of the team to actually befriend and treat King Shark like an actual person rather than a burden. King Shark looks absolutely fantastic and is characterised as a ravenous, child-like creature who is often the butt of the team’s mistreatment, though he is also responsible for some of the film’s most humorous moments. And then there’s Polka-Dot Man, a ridiculous character on paper who is given new life as a bat-shit insane psychopath who is constantly spawning and at threat from cosmic polka dots thanks to his mother’s experimentations. By the finale, his character arc becomes a tragic story of redemption, of sorts, since he begins the film literally hoping for them all to die and end sit ready to sacrifice himself to save Corto Maltese from a rampaging monster.

Waller is determined to use the Thinker to keep America’s role in Project: Starfish under wraps.

Behind the team, safe in the United States, is the ice-queen herself; Amanda Waller is just as impassive and manipulative as ever, fully prepared to use any means necessary to coerce the convicts into getting bombs implanted into their necks and heading out on a suicide mission in the hopes of shaving ten years off their sentences. Once they’re out in the field, Waller tells them only what they need to know and, the moment they go off-mission, doesn’t hesitate to remote detonate the bombs and blow their heads off. Similar to the last film, Waller’s motivations for the team’s excursion into Corto Maltese are shrouded in deception and revolve more around trying to cover up America’s part in Project Starfish rather than destroying the weapon but, this time around, her control staff are aghast at her extreme methods. Also similar to the first film is the fact that the team is battling against an army of foes rather than tackling a singular enemy head-on; the Thinker fills the roles of a secondary antagonist to a degree, being a maniacal scientist who has gleefully spent the last thirty years experimenting with Project: Starfish on humans in a variety of gruesome and reprehensible ways though, in the end, his role in the story is quite small beyond the team forcing him to get them into Jötunheim, the Nazi-era bunker where the project is based.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Like the first film, The Suicide Squad (terrible title, by the way; adding a “The” to a sequel’s title is always a red flag for me and smacks of laziness) uses music to punctuate many of its scenes. Unlike that film, though, it benefits from far better editing and pacing; where Suicide Squad was like a frenetic music video (especially in the first ten minutes or so, which bombard the viewer with so much sensory input that it’s nearly impossible to know what’s going on), The Suicide Squad is far more deliberate and conservative with its use of music and edits. The film begins in media res and then flashes back to show us how Waller’s two teams ended up being recruited and sent off to Jötunheim and, at various points, the film cuts off a dramatic reveal or moment to skip over to the other characters and show us what they’ve been up to. The film also contains a number of creative on-screen titles, presumably to make the film easier to watch when on HBO Max or simply to add to the zany nature of the film.

The Suicide Squad trumps its predecessor by upping the action, violence, and destruction.

Where The Suicide Squad really stands out from, and trumps, the last film is in its use of gore, copious swearing, violence, and explosive action. The first film felt like it was holding back by having the team battling glorified zombies but this one pulls absolutely no punches; the opening scene alone sets the tone by showing Flag lead a doomed beach-front assault that sees members of his team getting immolate, shot to pieces, and blown into bloody chunks. King Shark is responsible for many moments of bloody violent thanks to his ravenous hunger and the competition between Bloodsport and Peacemaker lead the two to murdering numerous members of the Corto Maltese rebellion. Hell, Harley gets an entire side plot where she fights, shoots, and kills her way out of Luna’s mansion and the film’s hard-hitting action scenes are punctuated by endlessly entertaining explosions, gore, and over the top violence that finally does what the first film so desperately tried to do (i.e. take what we saw in the first two Deadpool films (Miller, 2016; Leitch, 2018) and ramp it up a few notches).

Based on the team’s nature, not every character survives, especially when Starro goes on a rampage!

Gunn packs the film with all kinds of C- to G-tier characters from DC Comics’ vast library; given free reign to use, and kill, whichever characters he wanted, no character is safe no matter how powerful they are or how established they are from the first film. This is exemplified in the gory opening but continues throughout the film as the team are constantly against the odds, and themselves, and comes to a head in the finale. I don’t think it’s really a spoiler to say that the team end up battling against Starro the Conqueror since trailers and interviews have already shown this but seeing Starro, of all things, onscreen is just…exhilarating. Reminiscent of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, Starro goes on a rampage through Corto Maltese, spewing out tiny Facehugger extensions of itself to instantly create an army of brainless zombies to spread its influence and oppose the Suicide Squad. Even better, Starro is presented in full daylight and looks equal parts incredible and ludicrous, which is entirely the point, of course. Still, I am a little confused as to where these Suicide Squad films feel they have to pit the team against armies of zombie-like enemies and cosmic-level threats when they’re arguably better suited to black ops missions and such but seeing the remnants of the team come together as a unit to try and take Starro down is something that appeals to the comic book, action, and Kaiju fan in me and it was massively entertaining as a finale. It’s just a shame that we’ll probably never see these characters interacting with the Justice League given the state of the DCEU.

The Summary:
While I don’t agree with the state of the DCEU, or Warner Bros. decision to funnel funds and certain actors into projects like The Suicide Squad when they should be concentrating on bringing some of their more well-known heroes and properties to life, and while I had some problems with the film’s presentation (those titles, for example, were a little distracting at times), The Suicide Squad was an absolute blast. Clearly evoking the bombastic action movies of the eighties and nineties and embracing the most ridiculous aspects of the source material, it presents its over the top characters and premise without shame or embarrassment and goes all-in with the concept of a team of disposable misfits being in over their heads. Punctuated by some amusing moments and character beats, copious amounts of gratuitous gore and violence, and a surprising amount of poignant heart and characterisation (to say nothing of a few unexpected twists along the way), The Suicide Squad more than makes up for the failings of the last film. Again, it’s just a shame that it’s so unpredictable as to whether or not these characters will actually interact with their respective heroes in the wider DCEU as I’d love to see more of them and for the DCEU to actually, properly bring all these disparate threads together but if all you’re looking for is a kick-ass action film that isn’t shy about pulling its punches then The Suicide Squad has you well covered!

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

Have you seen The Suicide Squad? If so, what did you think to it and how would you rate it compared to the first film? Which of the new characters was your favourite? Who did you think was going to die and who were you surprised to see survive? Are you a fan of the Suicide Squad concept and comics? Would you have preferred to see the villains appear elsewhere, like in a solo Batman or Flash movie or do you think it’s a good thing that the DCEU is so sporadic? Are there any villains you’d like to see included in another Suicide Squad film and are you going to be watching the Peacemaker spin-off? Whatever your thoughts about The Suicide Squad, feel free to leave a comment below.

Movie Night [Brightest Day]: Green Lantern: Extended Cut

Dr. K8 Comments

In 2014, the 2nd of February was dubbed “Green Lantern Day” because, by the American calendar, the date read as “2814”, the space sector assigned to Earth in DC Comics. While the significance of this date has passed as the years have changed, it seems like a great excuse to celebrate DC Comics’ green-garbed intergalactic police corps but, sadly, the date clashes with another important anniversary so, this year, I’m switching it to today, the 2nd of August, instead since this would have been 2/8/14 back then as well.

Released: 14 October 2011
Originally Released: 17 June 2011
Director: Martin Campbell
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Budget: $200 million
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Mark Strong, Peter Sarsgaard, and Clancy Brown

The Plot:
When test pilot Hal Jordan (Reynolds) is bequeathed a powerful ring that can make his thoughts reality, he becomes a member of the Green Lantern Corps, a vast organisation of intergalactic lawmen. However, Hal’s will is tested when Parallax (Brown), a malevolent entity and the embodiment of fear, is awakened and threatens the safety of not just Earth but the entire universe!

The Background:
The Green Lantern character first appeared in All-American Publications’ (a precursor of DC Comics) All-American Comics #16 in July 1940. Then, the pseudonym was the alter-ego of Alan Scott but, in 1959, DC Comics editor Julius Schwartz enlisted writer John Broome and artist Gil Kane to reinvent the character as Hal Jordan and, in the process, create countless other Green Lanterns in the establishment of an intergalactic police force. Production of a live-action adaptation of the character can be traced back to 1997 and, at one point, Jack Black was set to start in what sounds like would have been an absolutely dreadful action/comedy take on the character. With the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) impressing at the box office with its first phase of movies, Warner Bros. made significant strides towards a Green Lantern film with a script heavily influenced by the seminal “Secret Origin” (Johns, et al, 2008) story arc, and director Martin Campbell and star Ryan Reynolds locked in to bring to life the daunting, effects-heavy superhero sci-fi. Unfortunately, Green Lantern proved to be a critical and commercial failure; the movie made just under $220 million at the box office and reviews were scathing, scuppering Warner’s hopes for a sequel and delaying the start of their own cinematic universe. As much as I am a fan of Reynolds, I can’t say that I was too impressed with how much he has bad-mouthed this film (which really isn’t as bad as people think) in the years since its release, especially after he was well into honouring the legacy and influence of the role during production.

The Review:
When we’re first introduced to Hal in the modern day, he’s a far cry from the straight-laced, serious space cop of the comic books; perhaps thanks to having Reynolds in the role, Hal is a womanising, snarky, and arrogant test pilot who drives a muscle car, frequently shows up late to work, and generally shirks responsibility at every opportunity. The only time he takes any situation serious is when he’s sat in a cockpit, where he’s all business and undeniably the best test pilot on the Ferris payroll but his attitude leaves a lot to be desired. It’s interesting that the filmmakers chose to make these changes and portray Hal as a far more immature and flawed character; it works for his overall story arc as he has to grow into his role as a superhero and learn the usual, cliché lessons about responsibility and duty and gives Hal a snarky edge that makes for the film’s more comedic moments but it’s difficult to believe that this version of Hall will ever grow into the Corps’ most revered soldier.

Hal’s cavalier attitude makes him a great test pilot but causes friction with those around him.

Hal’s attitude stems, largely, from the trauma of experiencing the death of his father, Martin (Jon Tenney), who died during a test flight right before Hal’s eyes when Hal was just a kid. Having witnessed the most distressing and harrowing event possible, Hal has grown up entirely fearless; he never worries about his safety, takes unnecessary risks, doesn’t let anything or anyone get to him, and doesn’t believe in a no-win situation. This, naturally, doesn’t sit well with his friends, family, co-workers, or superiors, who all believe that Hal has a death wish and is being unreasonably irresponsible with his life. Despite this, he has a close relationship with his nephew, Jason (Dylan James), and there are clearly unresolved issues between him and childhood friend, co-pilot, and boss Carol Ferris (Lively).

Carol believes in and is attracted to Hal but cannot sanction his lackadaisical attitude.

Hal believes that Carol has lost her way somewhat since she has, largely, traded the cockpit for a desk, though Carol asserts that she’s simply grown up and accepted her responsibilities. She cares for Hal and is clearly still attracted to him but despairs of his lackadaisical and cavalier attitude; she just wants him to grow up a bit and to be responsible for once in his life rather than coasting along on his admittedly impressive abilities. In a refreshing change of pace, she immediately sees through his rudimentary disguise as Green Lantern (even comment on the ridiculousness of such an ineffective mask) and accepts and supports his newfound superhero life. Indeed, she urges him that the power and responsibility of the ring isn’t something that he can just walk away from and encourages him to actually try and live up to his potential for a change. Far more than just an achingly gorgeous face, Carol actually helps Hal out when Parallax comes to Earth and isn’t afraid to speak her mind, making her more than a match for his trademark snark.

Hal is subjected to harsh training and criticism from the likes of Sinestro.

However, while Hal describes himself as a “screw up” and even his friend, Thomas Kalmaku (Taika Waititi) believes him to be an asshole, he doesn’t hesitate to pull Abin Sur (Temuera Morrison) from his crashed spacecraft, does everything he can to keep him alive, and is genuinely distraught when Abin dies in his arms (he even takes the time to bury Abin’s body after he dies). Confused and overwhelmed at the alien and the strange ring now in his possession, Hal is equally blown away when the ring transports him to Oa and garbs him in the uniform of the Green Lantern Corps; however, Hal adjusts to these alien sights and concepts with an awe-struck bewilderment and struggles to come to grips with his ring’s capabilities and the focusing of his willpower. On Oa, Hal is greeted by Tomar-Re (Geoffrey Rush), who introduces him to the planet and briefs him on the basics of the Green Lantern Corps. Hal’s training is very much a crash course and, honestly, should have taken up a greater deal of the film’s focus and screen time as Hal is put through a tough and uncompromising boot camp at the hands of Kilowog (Michael Clarke Duncan). Almost immediately, before Hal even has a chance to master the basics of ring-slinging, Thaal Sinestro (Strong) interrupts to put Hal through his paces; a being of immense pride and a much-respected member of the Corps, Sinestro was Abin’s friend and former protégé and regards Hal as a disappointment to his mentor’s legacy. Sinestro’s opinion is only fuelled by the fact that Hal is (somehow…) the first ever human being to become a Green Lantern but, truthfully, his focus and mentality comes more from his overwhelming militant mindset. Sinestro believes, to his very core, in the power and authority of the Guardians and the Corps and devotes himself entirely to their cause, rallying his fellow Green Lanterns in a unified, if futile, effort to oppose Parallax and maintain the sanctity of their intergalactic police force.

Hector, already a troubled scientist, is driven to maniacal insanity by Parallax’s influence.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Hal also faces significant threats at home in the form of his childhood friend Doctor Hector Hammond (Sarsgaard); sadly, Hector isn’t that threatening or impressive as a villain and is more like a quirky, disassociated, unhinged child in a man’s body. Hector resents Hal’s cocky attitude, rugged good looks, and relationship with Carol, harbours unrequited feelings of his own for Carol, and is constantly trying to please his father, Robert (Tim Robbins), a United States senator who Hector feels is constantly disappointed and embarrassed by him. Hector believes his genius and ability are finally being acknowledged when he is hand-picked by Doctor Amanda Waller (Angela Bassett) to perform the autopsy on Abin’s body and is enraged when he finds out that his father arranged it; having been possessed by exposure to Parallax’s yellow fear energy, Hammond slowly develops mental abilities and degenerates into a hideous, hunchback like creature, his inner bitterness and ugliness reflected in his warped and transformed exterior. However, given the larger threat of Parallax and the fact that we briefly see how big and limitless the universe is, Hector isn’t much of a threat and is easily bested by Hal with the simplest of deceptions. Not that Parallax himself fairs much better; rather than the giant, intergalactic space bug and the embodiment of fear, Parallax is, instead, a fallen Guardian as the filmmakers merged elements of Parallax and the dark Guardian Krona (which, to be fair, I feel does work in the context of the film and simplifies the story somewhat). Sadly, because the Guardians look so damn goofy, Parallax doesn’t look all that intimidating and just appears to be a big, angry-looking, cartoony head and that’s when we can actually see him since, for the most part, he takes the form of an ethereal, destructive cloud and, if there’s anything experience has told us, it’s that clouds are never scary or intimidating.

The Nitty-Gritty:
The extended version of the film only adds about ten minutes to the film’s run time but the majority of this is used to further develop Hal’s childhood and his relationship with his friends and family. Indeed, the extended version includes an entirely new opening sequence that shows more of Hal, Carol, and Hector’s childhood and the bond between Hal and his father, and his nephew. It’s not much extra footage but it does help to flesh Hal’s character out a little bit more and to build up an understanding of why he is the way he is.

Green Lantern‘s abundance of CGI makes the film resemble a cartoon more often than not.

Of course, one of the major problems with Green Lantern is the quality of the special effects; given the concept is quite unique and necessitates a great deal of work to render not just the Green Lantern’s constructs but also the various worlds and aliens that make up the Green Lantern Corps, and the universe, a great deal of special effects are necessary for a film such as this. Unfortunately, many of the film’s CGI just doesn’t work and is flawed; Parallax and the Guardians, especially, look pretty terrible, to say nothing of Kilowog, Tomar-Re, and, yes, the Green Lantern suits themselves. Personally, I think the idea to render them full in CGI was a really good idea (…on paper) given their otherworldly make up and the fact that they’re generated from the ring and the problem isn’t so much that the suits don’t look good (though they, like a lot of the CGI, do appear disturbingly cartoony) it’s that Hal’s mask looks so damn goofy. This is a shame because Green Lantern does a pretty decent job at adapting the concept and bringing to life such an abstract and near-limitless superhero. As I mentioned, the idea of the suit works really well and Oa, especially, looks pretty good; however, while I like that it’s teeming with life and various alien races, it’s very…busy and kind of looks like a mess of conflicting colours and dodgy CGI. Such shots are contrasted by how good the film’s more practical effects are; the scene where Hal and Carol out-pace automated aircraft is an exhilarating sequence and the make-up effects used to bring Sinestro and Abin Sur to life are top-notch (hell, even Hector looks suitably horrific when he mutates into little more than a hunchbacked man-monster). It’s almost as if the filmmakers should have veered more towards practical effects, maybe even employing the use of traditional puppets and animatronics for the Guardians and Kilowog, and use the CGI sparingly rather than rendering 90% of the film in a mess of computer effects.

Hal eventually comes to accept the responsibility of the ring and grows into his heroic role.

A central theme of the film is Hal’s inability to live up to the expectations placed upon him and to accept responsibility. On Earth, this makes him a highly skilled but unreliable test pilot; when on Oa, it leads to him walking away from the Green Lantern Corps after what feels like maybe an hour, tops, of training. He takes Sinestro’s criticisms regarding him (and the human race) to heart and uses his condemnation as the perfect excuse to reject the destiny placed upon him by Abin Sur; however, for some reason, he is allowed to retain possession of the ring and, reluctantly, becomes a superhero back on Earth. This is directly paralleled with Hector’s own arc as he struggles to live up to his father’s expectations and gives in to the hate, fear, and power of Parallax’s influence; fuelled by his negative emotions, he forces Hal into acting with the ring’s power and, thus, into a heroic role that he, eventually, willingly assumes in order to defend the Earth from Parallax.

Despite Hal’s victory, Sinestro switches to the yellow ring for an unresolved cliffhanger.

Parallax, while an unimposing and disappointing villain compared to both his comic book counterpart and other villains of superhero films, is certainly built up to be an intimidating threat. His ability to induce fear and then suck the life out of his victims is certainly unique and his power only grows as he absorbs the lifeforce of others. While the Green Lanterns are notoriously supposed to be entirely without fear, it’s clear that the Guardians fear Parallax’s power; indeed, they are reluctant to send their corps against Parallax out of fear for their lives and they only divulge Parallax’s true origins to Sinestro after he pleads with them for the knowledge to oppose his power. While Sinestro comes to believe that the only way to defeat Parallax is with fear itself (forging a yellow ring in the process), he eventually saves Hal after his battle and defeat of the creature in the finale and, despite having witnessed that the green light of willpower is powerful enough to overcome even the embodiment of fear, decides to switch to a yellow power ring in, perhaps, one of the most tantalising mid-credits scenes in all of cinema.

The Summary:
Green Lantern is a perfectly fine and action-packed science-fiction spectacle; it’s full of humour and big special effects and has a really strong cast, with Mark Strong, especially, standing out as a perfect choice for Hal’s mentor and rival, Sinestro. I think the main problem with Green Lantern, though, is that it isn’t really sure what it wants to be; it’s not a sci-fi epic as a disappointing amount of the film is set on Earth, and the time spent on Earth is nowhere near as interesting as the potential of space and the Green Lantern Corps. When I saw Green Lantern, it was a month or so after seeing Thor (Branagh, 2011), a film that did a much better job of balancing its cosmic, otherworldly elements in a grounded and relatable way and I think that’s the problem with Green Lantern: it’s too confused about its disparate elements and I can’t help but feel a more elaborate approach in the vein of Guardians of the Galaxy (Gunn, 2014) and Serenity (Whedon, 2005) would be a far more fitting direction if we ever see the Green Lantern Corps in live-action again. Personally, though, it’s not as bad as people make it out to be and there’s plenty here that’s worth keeping around (Mark Strong, for one) and it really wouldn’t have taken much to fold this film into the existing DC Extended Universe at one point but, ultimately, it’s just a shame that we never got a sequel to improve upon the film’s high (and low) points beyond the tie-in videogame and that the film failed to properly live up to the potential of the concept.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

What did you think to Green Lantern? Were you a fan of the movie when it first released or did you warm to it over time? What did you think to Reynolds in the title role and who would you prefer to see take up the mantle at some point? Were you a fan of the film’s overuse of CGI? What did you think to the animated suit and depiction of Parallax? Would you have liked to see where a sequel would have taken the story or do you think a full reboot is the way to go? Which Green Lantern character, villain, or story is your favourite and why? How are you celebrating this pseudo-Green Lantern day today? Whatever you think about Green Lantern, and the Green Lantern comics books, feel free to leave a comment below.