Batman has finally gotten another DC film. Contrary to popular opinion, it’s always good to see DC bringing out Batman and Superman films by the dozens. Superman’s have stopped for the time being so Batman really needs to pick up the slack. With at least 2 more films coming up in the near future (5 if you count BVS and the two Justice League films) he’s still doing well. The only problem is that Batman can be a harder character to portray accurately than Spiderman and Sonic. His films should always be masterpieces, but this has not always been the case. I have to say that this film was mildly disappointing, but I wasn’t expecting a whole lot since this wasn’t really a groundbreaking arc. Nontheless, we shall discuss why it did not rise to the occasion and what this means for future DC films. Of course, it’s still not a bad film, it just lacked a few things. (Spoilers will ensue, but I’ll try to keep them to a minimum)
The plot can mostly be guessed from the title, but here it goes. Batman actually had a kid a while back and based off of Damian’s origin it must have been around 8-10 years ago. (The comics may say that it happened later and I’ve heard about the accelerated growth, but I’m purely talking from the film’s perspective. It didn’t say anything so we can’t make that assumption…this time. The plot was a little dicey at that point, but we can discuss it more in the latter part of the review.) The League of Assassins are quickly defeated by hired thugs with guns and Talia (Mother of Damian) brings Damian to Batman for safekeeping. Batman decides to keep Damian safe while the kid wants to avenge his father. (His father was murdered by the villains, but I assume that you may have guessed that since this is classic origin story 101 mechanics) Batman is going to have to keep Damian in line before the kid strays onto the dark path. This could get ugly, but Batman has Alfred at the ready. Meanwhile, Slade Wilson, AKA Slade, AKA Deathstroke wants revenge on Damian for an injury that occurred during their first fight.
I’ll admit that I had a lot of fun writing the plot for the film. Time for things to get a little more serious as we discuss the pros and cons for the film. The cover is pretty uninspired, but then I look at the other recent DC films and I realize that it could have definitely been worse. This cover just won’t stand out at stores and it could hurt sales, but it doesn’t impact the overall rating at all. Just a little sidenote.
The first thing to mention is the fact that the opening fight scene is not interesting. See, the first scene in a film is typically about the Uncle Ben figure dying, The Parents of the main characters being awesome, The Big villain doing something like blowing up a city, or something else. This film goes the first route and we all know what to expect from the trailer so it’s supposed to be visually exciting. That’s not what happens I’m afraid. I felt like DC took a few cues from Marvel in this film and that’s Never a good thing, at least in the animated world.
The intro is exactly the same as the intro to Ultimate Avengers. Instead of aliens we have guys with guns, but it’s the same effect. Instead of focusing on making the hand to hand epic and dodging lots of bullets with acrobatics, we have the famed splash effect from bleach. Every stab is followed by a splash and a poor villain gets crushed by another villain. The violence isn’t that bad, but it is continuous. Every slash has more blood splashes and it’s more unnecessary than anything. What made it a little worse is the obligatory eye stab.
For me, that’s always been a no no. I wear glasses, which may help, but I’ve never enjoyed that kind of violence. I find it more grotesque than anything. It happened in JL War as well and it seems to be a new trend. Not necessarily that this will happen every time now, but the New 52 lineup of films seems to be going for this new blood effect. It would seem that these kind of fights will be present a lot more. I prefer seeing a lot of energy tossed around because blood everywhere unnecessary. This is likely not the most violent DC animated film so far, but it definitely contends and it’s at least in the top 3. It’s something to consider if you don’t care for it, but it’s nothing that will make you look at the rating again. It’s just a little unexpected for DC. (Something I’d expect more from the Marvel animated films pre current era)
Another thing that I didn’t care for in the intro is the guns vs swords scenes. I agree that the swordsmen should be doomed and the film got that right. Then we move on to Talia and Ra’s. You’ll likely need to stifle a grin or fill your mouth with popcorn quickly because it’s hard to believe what you are watching. 3 guys block the doorway to where Ra’s is and they start firing their bullets. After they’re already firing, Ra’s runs towards them. He deflects a few bullets and jumps into the air rather dramatically. Then he slices the first guy and slices the second guy. None of the bullets hit him and none of them hit Talia or Damian either. I know that humans dodging bullets with ease because they have a costume on is superhero 101, but they could have made it more believable. It was one of the most unconvincing scenes that I have ever experienced.
It was to give the three of them props of course since they’re the only League of Assassin members who can fight, but it was too much of a stretch. The film should have at least given them mech suits so they could just endure the bullets. My final problem with the intro would be Slade, but I’ll cover that in his section. As you can see, I had a lot of problems with the intro, but things always get better once Batman appears to save the day and remind us why he’s one of the best comic book characters. (Superman will always be the best of course)
Batman is the main character of course, but he basically gets the same amount of screentime as Damian. My main problem is that Batman is portrayed to be a very inexperienced crime fighter who talks a good game, but can’t really back it up. He’s also more of an Iron Man character in that he’s a bit of a romanticist in both hero and superhero forms. That’s not how Batman is supposed to be. I say that he looks very weak and inexperienced due to the Killer Croc fight scene that occurred at the beginning of the film. “I’m not done with you Croc” is Batman’s epic line as he tries some tricks. They don’t work and he quickly turns to run, but Killer Croc just knocks him to the ground. After that, Batman takes a pretty big beating and he’s saved by Talia. That was incredibly embarrassing. That’s Batman’s very first scene and he’s crushed by a villain that he has a lot of experience fighting. There’s really no excuse for this and especially not after Batman’s tough talk.
Things only got worse for the Caped Crusader as we find out that he was drugged and tricked into having Damian. He forgot about this affair of course, but then he admits that it was enjoyable or part of it was. No…..No way is this the Batman that I remember. That was terrible and I already couldn’t take the design that they used in this film seriously. Whoever wrote the script must have taken a nap during that part and then someone added it in. The rest of the film is Batman being outdone by Damian at every turn, but Batman does get to outshine Robin. He tries to redeem himself by beating up Slade, but it doesn’t really work considering the villain’s portrayal in this film. Batman did have some glimpses where he appeared to be a good character, but they were very short and far apart. Wrecking Batman isn’t an easy thing to do so the film can be proud of this…maybe.
Damian is a big focus in the film and it shows his change from Assassin to crimefighter. He’s pretty unbearable as Damian and his scenes can be pretty wince worthy. As you know, I don’t care for kids as protagonists in live action due to the bad acting, but also for animation when they are shown to be kids. (Shows like Naruto avoid this by having the character be kids in theory, but they are portrayed as adults and basically animated as such) Knocking down Wayne’s trees was pretty uncalled for since he must have known what he was doing and he constantly made things hard for Bruce. Batman has a secret identity to hide after all and that’s why I keep addressing him by different titles. Damian nearly blew Mr. Wayne’s identity and I’m sure that some people will put two and two together. (Rich guy + new kid and Batman suddenly has a kid sidekick….hmmmmmm) Luckily, Damian’s better one he becomes Robin. We don’t get a whole lot of that yet, but the sequel should show more of this. He does pretty well against Deathstroke and he’s certainly a tough fighter. I wouldn’t mind if he was a little less full of himself since he can’t back it up yet, but he’s getting there. He just needs to learn how to fight a clean and honorable battle, but Batman will teach him. I think the film went a little overboard on his rebellion faze and seeing him outsmart Batman at every turn was more insulting than cool. Nontheless, he has the potential to be a solid character. He’s no Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, or Tim Drake, but he upholds the Robin legacy.
Nightwing is what you’d call a filler character. He has no point in the story and he’s just there as a guest star. Naturally, this means that he doesn’t get to fight anybody off screen and he’s actually used to hype someone else up. He gets his hero moment at the end of course, but it could have been a lot better. Nightwing is a great character so he should have gotten a fight of his own or at least a better role. I’m all for quick guest star roles, but the guest star should look good. That’s really the whole point of having a guest star.
Slade is probably the biggest joke in the film. Getting beaten by a kid is disgraceful in itself, but he also ran away from a 400 year old man. That was his first scene by the way! I knew right then and there that Slade was going to look pretty bad and that’s basically what happened. The film shows that he’s not confident about his skills, which is why he had to turn and run. Batman managed to take him out in a few seconds when they fought so Slade realized that he only stood a chance against a kid. After that, he plunged towards a vat of acid and I had to wonder why this guy calls himself Deathstroke. Sure, he can threaten defenseless citizens, but he’s definitely not much of a fighter. I definitely did not like him in this movie.
Finally, a character who did look pretty good. Of course, one can argue that she was a little too perfect and the argument would have many valid points. That being said, I’ll take a character who’s too good than someone who’s not good enough. Talia is the resident hand to hand specialist and she saves Batman after she saved The League of Assassins. Remember that she did both of these things within the first 15 minutes of the film. The film essentially turned her into a DC version of Black Widow and she is already significantly tougher than the Avenger. She could have easily been one of the best characters…until we remember how Damian came to be. Then we remember the cringe worthy Batman scene where she reminded him of this and then she drops down the character ranks. So, she could have been a pretty epic character, but scenes like this don’t do her any favors.
Ra’s Al Ghul is only around for the beginning of the film, but he made for a decent villain. He doesn’t really have much of a personality and he’s just a generic tyrant who wants to rule the world, but at least he can fight. We even got some good afterimages for his character when he was fighting. Ra’s may have been a big threat to Batman back in the day, but he’s always getting defeated lately. It may be time for Batman to find a new villain.
Killer Croc is here to remind us that this is still Gotham City and the villains haven’t faded away just yet. He beats up Batman so he fulfilled his role as a villain. It’s a little sad for him in prison since it must be boring in there, but he’s gotta serve the time. It was just fun to see him be featured in a film since he doesn’t get quite as much screentime as the other big Batman villains.
Alfred doesn’t get a huge role here, but he makes sure to get most of the punchlines and quick jabs at Damian in the form of witty comebacks. It’s hard not to root for Alfred since Damian can be pretty obnoxious to him. His role is very small, but that’s how Alfred roles. It’s best to have him in small doses or they may wreck his character arc like in the Dark Knight Rises. Alfred’s a solid character and that’s all I can ask for.
Ubu is one of the only named villains in this film and he’s not very skilled. Every big villain has a few disposable minions and this guy fits the bill. He has a gun and he’s not afraid to use it. He’s also got a pair of claws that instantly propel him from generic grunt level to Master Assassin (Slade) level if the film is to be believed. He gave Damian a pretty close fight like Slade and while he was soundly defeated in the end, he gave it his all. Ubu is extremely unlikable though and the film makes sure to show this to us. It’s rather unnecessary as well. We know that Ubu is already a convict after all…do we need to know more?
The music for the film definitely inspired. It’s virtually nonexistent, but that is really the case for most superhero films. The animation is a little dicey. It definitely doesn’t scream 2014. It would have looked sharp around 8 years ago or so, but it just didn’t click. It actually reminds me a lot of Avatar The Last Airbender. The Gotham scenes at night are still good and night scenes are a very important part of the battle. The Daytime scenes were a little too unremarkable though. This could have played into why the fight scenes weren’t very interesting, but there are other reasons as well.
Now, the review has been pretty negative up til now. It was pretty unavoidable because the film had a multitude of mistakes. It wasn’t all bad though. The film still had a lot of action and Batman had some good moments. Damian can only improve from here and it’s always fun to see Nightwing’s real design. Alfred is a good supporting character and the sequel can afford to have a better plot since the introductions are out of the way. I do prefer this film to The Dark Knight Returns and Batman Year One. As least, I believe so. Technically, this one has a lower rating than those so it’s possible that I liked them more than I remember….it’s possible. It could also be like the MCU where the films are all so close to each other that I keep on switching them around. (Luckily, Avengers and Cap 2 are immune to this)
Overall, This was not the best Batman film. I didn’t have very high hopes for the film based on the storyline that it was adapting, but the trailer proved to be more exciting than the film. (Much like DBZ Battle of Gods) There wasn’t enough Batman in it. I don’t just mean the character, but the universe. The stakes just weren’t high in this film and parts of it didn’t feel like a superhero film. That’s not good since the film is only 70 minutes when it should have been longer to flesh out the characters and give Bruce more time to help Damian become a better person. Because of how short it was, Batman basically ditches Damian from the start, which makes it easy for the kid to do whatever he pleases. The film was a little overly violent and the villains were pretty terrible, which didn’t help matters. The whole plot with the Manbats didn’t add anything to the film and seeing them all get stuck in a tunnel and then eaten by Sharks wasn’t fun either. There was just no reason to add these creatures and it basically added a form of animal violence to the mix. They barely count as animals luckily so it’s not quite as bad as it could have been, but it still wasn’t fun to see. The animation could have been better and I’d like a solid soundtrack as well. That being said Batman fans may enjoy this film so I wouldn’t totally rule it out. Just know that this isn’t the Deathstroke that we are all used too. Watching the characters casually dodge bullets can also be fairly amusing. I’m not sure how I feel about this film getting a sequel, but it definitely has room for improvement and I could see several of my negatives being fixed for that one. Bringing Batman back to his current status if Master of all Trades will be a good start. If you want to see a really well done Batman film, check out the Batman Gotham City Racer video game and then rethink if you really want to see a Batman film.
Overall 5/10
I read this volume almost half a year ago, but the backlog of reviews doomed it to take a while as with the Essential X Men review. Luckily, I happen to be a little more of a DC fan and the comics didn’t have a huge plot back then so with the help of Comicvine, this review will be more thorough as it’s supposed to be. You really can’t go wrong with the Justice League and this collection was just as good as I could have hoped.
There are a whole lot of comics in this collection since it brings about 25 of them. Most of these comics contain different plots entirely, although there are some multi parters. The first two part comic is the one from the cover. Nazi’s have somehow won the war so everyone acknowledges that they need the real Justice League in order to win. Naturally, the Justice League and the Freedom Fighters are eventually forced to fight due to misunderstandings and one of the ultimate fights in comics is quickly started. We also get a comic where Hawkman decides to part ways with the Justice League and this isn’t pleasant news for the other members. They aren’t given much time to react as Eclipso strikes!
We get several more comics in the collection until we reach the saga where the Equalizer attacks. All of the heroes begin to equally share their powers so they are all as fast and strong as each other. This means that Superman is a pale shadow of who he once was and Batman can’t really think too well. He’s actually pretty scared and worried the whole time because he’s not used to being average. (I find this a little hard to believe) The League won’t be able to take on such a threat so they’re going to have to call in an ex Justice League member. Is this a good move or will it merely bring about their doom. It’s definitely a very risky gambit.
Now, I have to reference the Equalizer plot once again. That was the one comic where all of the portrayals were a little off. Batman shouldn’t really lose so much confidence even if he has been equalized and I would like to think that everyone would still be pretty strong since Superman’s strength is just that great. They also lost a lot of their abilities to the Equalizer himself so it’s a little arguable, but I like to think that they would still be pretty big threats in the long run.
There was a mini arc with Adam Strange, but it wasn’t very note worthy.
A fun comic was where Dr Light switched the civilian identities of each of the heroes. Now, they all had to live out a day as someone else and that was pretty fun. Will they be able to master their new abilities in time to stop this treacherous villain and will some secret identities finally become known to the public? This is an issue that’s a must read! One issue that was…interesting was when two real life DC employees find Flash’s treadmill and jump into the Comics world. One of them quickly gets corrupted and turns to evil while the other one must try to stop him. I can’t say that I cared for either character, but it was definitely a big change of pace from the typical issue.
Another comic finds Green Lantern in a dangerous position as he continues to charge his ring during the night without being aware of it. A villain seems to be controlling him so he quickly contacts the League. Hopefully the heroes can stop him before it’s too late! Wonder Woman finally rejoins the League during one issue, but finds out that they have all quit. The new villain is far too scary for them and she has to help them get their courage back. What kind of villain could intimidate the League so thoroughly? Those are just some of the plots, but you can see that we definitely have a lot of interesting ones in the mix.
From the characters, Green Arrow and Hawkman had most of the banter. They were constantly insulting each other and it made things interesting. They don’t actually want the League to fire the other person, but Green Arrow loves picking fights and Hawkman prefers to directly defend himself while the other Leaguers just ignore the archer. Batman and Superman are pretty great as always and any comic with them is usually fun to read…meaning that all of the comics in this collection are pretty great if I recall correctly. They usually make up some kind of reason as to why Superman would lose to a random giant monster each time. Wonder Woman gets a really small role since she is mainly with the Justice Society instead of the Justice League, but she looks pretty good in her guest star role. She ends up saving the team, which gives her some serious bragging rights. The Flash’s role wasn’t very big although he had a role in the issue where he and Hawkman merged with an alien and fought the League. His super speed ensures that he’s a good match for any opponent…assuming that he doesn’t get tripped up while running of course. Green Lantern is a solid character as well and at least he went to the JLA for help right away when he suspected that something was using his body for evil. Most heroes would just keep it to themselves and call it a day. He didn’t look too great when he allowed himself to be blindsided, which allowed Twoface to escape, but I suppose that he was really concentrating on flying at the time. Willpower is what runs the ring after all so it’s almost believable.
I definitely don’t buy the League all becoming cowards because of the fear that the villain emitted. Surely they have the strength of mind to resist such an attack and to become great heroes again right? Wonder Woman had to snap them out of it in the end and use her Lasso to get them into action. No wonder Earth gets worried sometimes….surprisingly the government doesn’t really appear much. It’s hard to believe that they used to wholeheartedly trust the League. Nowadays, there is always a shadow cabinet out to get them or even the President himself when the time is right.
Of course, it still makes for a fun plot. The collection has more continuity than you may have guessed given how long ago it came out. The Hawkman plot came several times and there are definitely a lot of references to the older comics. The cast is pretty large since the members are always rotating and we even got to see the Freedom Fighters and Justice Society. I felt bad for the Justice League when they met the Society because they got fooled by a villain into destroying the heroes. I’m not completely sure if it actually ended up that way or if there was a plot twist, but I do remember the Spectre intervening so I’m pretty sure that they actually died. As a result, the villains took advantage of this and used costumes of the Society so that the heroes would believe that their ghosts had come back to haunt them. Batman didn’t believe it of course, but he still couldn’t fight back since it was too emotional. The League definitely got pummeled once again, but we can definitely say that they are the strongest group. The Freedom Fighters certainly didn’t stand a chance against them.
The art is very easy to follow which is always a good thing. This collection is in black and white as per the norm so you can actually use it to try and draw the characters yourself. No colors to distract you after all. I still prefer color for the comics, but you can still follow the fight scenes and that’s what counts. The current DC art in the New 52 is amazing, but I’ve always loved the art from these days as well. It’s just crisp and easy to read.
Overall, These adventures really are timeless. It never gets old to see the witty banter between the heroes and the villains. Back in the day, a simple trick like an incoming box was enough to take out a Green Lantern and every villain worth his nickel had a chunk of Kryptonite up his sleeve. The heroes had to face some pretty tricky villains while also dealing with the occasional alien. All of the comics are pretty interesting and any big DC fan should definitely appreciate how fun the adventures can be. I would go as far as to say that any comic reader should get a kick out of this comic. The black and white style may turn off a few, but I’m sure that they would enjoy it if they only gave it a chance. Since this is volume 6 of the JLA Showcase series, the comics are a little more modern and you can tell by Superman’s design. (His is the most notable in my opinion) I definitely suggest checking it out!
Overall 8/10
We may have the Justice League and the Justice League Dark, but there’s always room for another group. The main difference is that this group is under government jurisdiction, which makes things intriguing. The cast can be a concern since the main members won’t be able to join, but I can safely say that it is still a good comic.
The plot involves Steve Trevor as Amanda Waller tells him that she’s forming a group. She wants him to lead it and Steve talks a good game, but he is basically forced into leading the group. Amanda has selected each member so that person can theoretically beat their Justice League counterpart. The members are kept in the dark about this of course and the team consists of Martian Manhunter, Stargirl, Catwoman, Green Lantern, (Not Hal of course) Vibe, Hawkman and Katana. The cover already shows Green Arrow so I may as well say that he joins up with them later as well.
The group doesn’t really do a whole lot at first, but they look into stopping the secret society. These guys mean business since even Green Arrow was powerless to stop them. The second half involves the real Justice League as the Trinity Wars kick into high gear as both groups are launched into the fighting. Only one team can walk away from this (maybe) and the stakes have never been higher…..in a while. Meanwhile, Pandora is still around so the adventure could get even more dangerous for the heroes.
Steve Trevor is the leader of the Justice League of America, but he’s definitely no Batman. Batman can fight in hand to hand combat when necessary and he has a lot of gadgets. All Steve has is a long list of witty comebacks at the ready and a good handgun. He gives Catwoman a decent fight, but I’m glad that she defeated him. If a regular guy can defeat a super villain, then there’s no real need for an Anti Justice League group now is there? Steve tries to be a good character, but almost all of his lines are really just bluffs in the end. He always ends up listening to the government at the expense of common sense and he needs to stand up for himself some more. As far as leading the group goes….Steve doesn’t actually give many orders. He mostly just stands around and tries to talk tough. Still, Steve is a good guy despite all of this and he just needs to have more courage to stand up for what he believes in. Once he embraces this, Steve can end up being one of the better GI Joes.
Martian Manhunter is the big hitter for this group. He does pretty well, but I can’t say that he looked like he was anywhere near Superman’s level. We get some flashbacks into his origin, which will likely serve as foreshadowing for a future arc. It was intriguing, but not much has changed from the original origin so it was pretty basic. We met a new villain who I’m sure will be back at some point. The Martian is pretty short and direct in his manner of speaking, which is always good to see. I still can’t say that I’m a huge fan of the fact that he signed up with this counter league to stop the original ones, but I guess that I could say that for all of the members. At least he tried to end things diplomatically.
Katana gets a really small role compared to the other members. It’s easy to forget that she’s even on the team because she only gets a handful of lines. I don’t have much of an opinion on her at this point, but I would say that she’s decent. She’s not really a hero so hopefully these good influences will help her turn over a new leaf. I can’t say that her sword is very impressive as a person either, but all of his lines were off screen so it can be hard to tell for sure how cool he is.
I’ve never really been a fan of Hawkman and I can’t say that he looks too great here either. He seems to be pretty delusional and he overrates his own ability. I don’t really see him standing up to Aquaman at all. Hopefully he comes back to reality soon because he definitely seems like someone that you wouldn’t trust as a fellow hero.
Stargirl seems to be one of the more powerful fighters, but Amanda Waller wants her to stay at the base and act as the team’s PR rep. That doesn’t really fly with Stargirl and she escapes, which is pretty cool. She’s easily one of the most likable members of the group and she even got her town to accept her as a real superhero. It’s a feat that only a few superheroes like Superman and Flash have been able to pull off. Hopefully she gets a good fight in the next volume so we can see what her abilities can really do.
Simon Baz only appears for the latter half of the volume so we don’t see that much of him. He’s definitely no Hal Jordan and he’s a little generic so far. I’m sure that he’ll improve as he gets more screentime and he beats most of the other members. He seems to be pretty experienced after his latest adventure so hopefully he will show this as he gets some action in the future.
Catwoman was definitely not one of my favorite members. Her unnecessary embrace with Steve to steal his wallet and find out about his past was pretty sad. We get her backstory once again so that we can sympathize with the character and also learn about the Martian Manhunter, but it doesn’t really change the fact that her current self isn’t really likable. Catwoman always has the potential to be a good character, but she typically squanders it.
Green Arrow is actually pretty likable and it’s good to see him blackmail the government since they’ve been blackmailing everyone else. He’s definitely a pretty shady hero and he only answers to himself, but it’s an interesting change of pace at this point. The New 52 Arrow is completely different from the Pre 52 one and that’s just fine with me. I may actually prefer this version of the green hero. He definitely doesn’t look very impressive in the fights, but he can’t really be expected to match up against these powerful foes on his own. I’ll admit that his villain costume was pretty simple so I can see why the villains saw through it. At least Green Arrow made for an interesting addition to the team.
Vibe has a lot of room to grow so he has the potential to turn into a good hero. Right now he’s just a little too inexperienced and he doesn’t make the hero calls when necessary. He blindly listens to his superiors when they tell him to blast the Flash even though he didn’t know how it would affect him. Why take the risk when it could have potentially blown him up as with the robots? Vibe just cracked under the pressure and some more experience under his belt should help with that…hopefully!
Batman doesn’t get a huge role in this collection, but it’s good to see him thinking of a way out of this. He tries to help Superman get out of his predicament, but it’s tough without any leads. I have no qualms with his portrayal here. Superman was more on the dicey side since he allowed himself to be locked up. Luckily, the Leaguers are still watching him so the government can’t try anything, but it’s a little too risky if you ask me. Superman’s taking it pretty hard, but he should know that something’s up as he continues to get weaker and weaker. Wonder Woman actually gets most of a comic to herself as she consults the gods, villains, and finally the Justice League Dark to see if she can help Superman. She does a pretty good job although I do agree with the Welder that she didn’t need to be so threatening since they were on good terms. Bringing in the Justice League Dark was a good call….except that they turned out to be a little too unprepared for the battle.
Lex Luther didn’t get a huge role in this one, but it was good to see his portrayal went. Going after the box just to irritate the Justice League was classic and I’ll admit that I was rooting for him. It may have just been a cameo, but it was still good to see. The Flash didn’t really do anything either, but tackling Martian Manhunter was pretty good since traitors needs to be taken out of the fight right away. He may have misread the situation, but he made the hero move. (Although I believe that phasing through people should be a last resort unless they’re super powerful)
Amanda Waller is still a woman who only cares to help the government. She threatens the heroes and makes sure to be as unlikable as she can be throughout the comic. I was rooting for Stargirl to arrest her or to completely ignore Waller’s commands after the threats started coming in. Lucily, Stargirl did rebel, but I would have liked a more direct approach. Amanda always makes for a decent villain, but she’s seriously misguided in her attempts to help humanity.
The plot does jump around a lot in this comic though and you may not be crazy about this if you want to see the whole story. It jumps right into the 2nd or third part of the Trinity War and then jumps to the after effects of the event. That’s because only one issue was really in this series, but it can make for an interesting read in trade paperback form. The Secret Society plot also kind of vanished as the volume went on. I suppose that it could have ended in a way, but it didn’t really feel like an ending.
I have to wonder if Amanda Waller really thought her plan would work since her members are not nearly as powerful as the real league. Hal Jordan is better than Simon Baz in just about every way. The Flash would beat Vibe in his sleep. Batman’s better at hand to hand combat than Catwoman. Wonder Woman vs Katana is a bit of a joke. (No offense to Katana fans of course, but I don’t see her trading blows with Superman) Superman has heat vision to take care of Martian Manhunter. I forgot who Stargirl is a rival of, but let’s say that she loses to Cyborg and Aquaman beats the rest. That sounds about right. Amanda’s plan would not work and I don’t see how she can get past this fact.
DC’s done a really good job with the artwork in just about all of their New 52 comics. This one is no exception and all of the characters are drawn really well and the fights are pretty dynamic. We don’t get a lot of action scenes unfortunately, but we can still see that the art is solid from all of the other scenes. It would be hard for the aer to be even better than this so I’m completely satisfied in this area.
Overall, This was a fun Justice League comic. It’s kind of like watching the B listers instead of the main members, which is always good as a change of pace. I’d say that the only thing that brings down the comic a little is the convoluted timeline and the fact that there are no likable villains. The League needs a serious threat if it wants to establish credibility with the world after all. Some of the members are decent while I don’t really care for the others so it’s a bit of a mixed bag in that area. This comic had the infamous Catwoman getting shot scene that made its rounds on the web a while back, but it’s not that bad. I suppose that direct gunshots aren’t typically shown that often which could be a while, but you should be okay as long as you remember the classic comic book rule about characters who die. If not, it’s easy to skim through that part since there are a lot of panels leading up to it. Personally, I found the Martian Manhunter story worse in that regard since we got classic animal/alien violence that is always sad to see. It’s part of what kept this one from getting an 8 like the classic Justice League stories, but also the fact that we’re missing most of the main members. I recommend checking out this story if you’re a Justice League fan or if you like to read comics with very good art. There’s a decent amount of action and a lot of plot lines are developed that should help you get introduced into the New 52. I just wish that Hal Jordan could have been around to participate in the fights and maybe the Forever Evil tie ins will occur in the next volume.
Overall 7/10
The Lego Movie quickly became a hit with the fans and like Frozen, its main song, “Everything is awesome!” became a pretty big hit. I always thought that a movie with legos could be interesting, but there are also a lot of ways that the film could turn out wrong. It could be a little too kiddish and some of the plots could be a little cheesy. Luckily, the film manages to hit a lot of the right notes and I can see why it is enjoyed by so many people.
The film starts off with a guy by the name of Emmet. He’s a likable fellow and he has a book, which tells him exactly how to live his life and be successful at the same time. He follows it word for words and most of the town seems to already know how to behave without such an object. One day, Emmet comes across a lady by the name of Wyldstyle who tells him that he is the chosen one. Emmet is now the most interesting and coolest person of all time because he found the legendary object to save them all. The heroes have to unite with the last Master Builders to foil the plans of Lord Business before Taco Tuesday. Will the heroes be able to stop such a diabolical threat and is Emmet’s group up to this task? It’s time to find out!
One thing that really made the film fun was how it points out a lot of things that happen in society through parodies and hard truths. We get to see the TV show that is the instant must watch program like anything on CBS or NBC, which you have to like or else you’re not with the times. This comes in the form of “Where’s my Pants” which is about as interesting as some of the current mainstream shows. In that show, the same thing happens every episode and we can also see how many shows just use the same plots over and over again. It was pretty great to see this.
Another parody I liked was the parody of the long fall cliche. We get a lot of trippy colors and things that don’t make any sense whatsoever as Emmet is falling because that’s what typically happens in these types of scenes. Instead of playing it straight, they add live action pictures and random swirls as he’s falling and the film makes everything go into a lot of detail. Whenever you catch one of the images that is going at super speed, you’ll likely grin. They did a very good job on that part. We also can’t forget the whole “most interesting and coolest person of all” trope that the film smirks at since it’s all a part of the (real or fake?) prophecy. It’s true that in most shows and films, the main character suddenly becomes the best at just about everything for no real reason other than being the main lead. It was nice to see the film acknowledge this because the trope definitely relates to Emmet at times. He does things that no other Lego could.
The Lego Movie also had a much more action packed beginning than I had figured. We get a pretty great chase scene at night where Wyldstyle takes on the cops and Emmet tries to stay alive. It’s partially a parody of such intense fight scenes, but it also manages to be pretty epic. There is a lot of high speed hand to hand combat that happens and you can’t help but imagine how cool it would look if they weren’t made out of legos. Critical blows are landed and the setting highlights how much fun the fight is. This was actually my favorite scene in the film and I’d say that the film never really reached that level of epicness and excitement after that. It was just impossible to match such a big fight scene. Of course, the rest of the film made up for this with humor and other action scenes.
Emmet is the main character and he’s a pretty good one. I’ll admit that he was a little too flustered when he met Wyldstyle for the first time and he should never let his emotions get in the way of the mission, but I still liked him. He made all of the tough calls and I like how he was essentially a parody of the average citizen. He was technically around and he made sure to agree with all of the current trends, he never took the time to become his own man. It was a fun character arc and I won’t be forgetting him anytime soon. I’m not saying that he was an amazing protagonist, but he was someone that you could root for. (Even if the Double Couch idea was pretty sad)
Wyldstyle is the main heroine of the story and she plays the role of the hardcore fighter. She’s experienced and she seems to be the best Master Builder that the world has yet. She makes quick work out of the police force and she can essentially build anything. We get a big plot twist in the film when we find out that she’s with Batman. It’s one of those twists that was pretty unnecessary and I can’t say that it helped her character. Still, she was one of the better players in this big adventure and the heroes definitely would have been doomed without her.
Princess Unikitty is intense although I believe that the film should have just went all the way and used Pinkie Pie. Either way, Unikitty saw the best in humanity and she was always ready to lend a helping hand. I’m sure that everyone saw her “Rage Mode” coming since she kept hinting at it throughout the film. It’s good to see that Unikitty’s bite is as big as her bark. Her portrayal was basically as good as it gets and I shall never forget this fighter! Hopefully she is back for the sequel since she was one of the more interesting characters as well.
Lord Business is the big villain of the film and his goal is pretty admirable. He just wants everyone to follow the rules and to never come up with original ideas. I would sympathize with him more if he didn’t randomly go around destroying people and zapping them for ideas. His true form is pretty intense and his plan is well thought out. I dare say that he would have won if not for circumstances that were really beyond his control. He keeps up appearances as a nice guy on the outside, but he’s as evil as they come. One also has to wonder what he will do once his plan is complete as there will seriously be nothing left to do. He’ll be doomed to being eternally bored for the rest of his days. I have a feeling that he didn’t really think his plan through, but maybe there’s an insider angle that I’m not aware of. He does have some good qualities though and he realizes that a surround sound speaker system is crucial in order to be taken seriously.
Batman naturally gets a pretty big role. I didn’t care for the romance between him and Wyldstyle, but he was still a solid character aside from that. It’s good to hear him say “To the Batmobile” and he had some pretty solid lines. Telling the cast that it’s every man for himself was a pretty solid idea at the time and he definitely did a number on the Star Wars crew. He may have been outshined by Emmet in the end, but he was still a good addition to the cast. He’s one of the only characters who can get away with messing with the Bad Cop. This is like a preview of how he would be like in Lego Justice League as he will need to learn how to work with a team.
Superman doesn’t get a huge role, but his personality is mostly accurate considering that he is a parody of himself. He’s always open to suggestions and he’s a nice guy except for when he’s not nice. He doesn’t look very powerful and he’s basically outranked by most of the villains, but he does get a cool moment where he takes down a few ships. I’m just glad to have him in the film and he talks tough until the very end. He never surrenders without putting up a good fight first! (I’m surprised that the film didn’t try a Batman vs Superman scene, but I suppose that they’ll do that in the Lego Batman films)
Bad Cop is one of the best characters in the film. He also has his Good Cop mode, which is great for mostly different reasons. The Bad Cop makes sure to do what needs to be done and it was great to see him bring on the pressure. To parody the heroic choice, he makes the ultimate call to truly join the side of evil. Likewise, the Good Cop takes a stand for what’s right and he may have to pay the ultimate price. This character is very deep and his plot could have been an emotional adventure all on its own. You can’t help but root for the Bad Cop for most of the film and the Good Cop seems heroic enough that he could be turned to the good side. This is another character that should be back for the sequel, but it can be a little dicey thanks to the ending. The Bad Cop needs to keep at least some of his character for the next film or it won’t be the same.
Metal Beard is one of the characters that I didn’t like. It can be argued that I’m a little biased since I have a thing against pirates, but he just wasn’t that entertaining. We’ve seen his kind of character so many times at this point so he doesn’t bring anything new to the table. He may have had some plans back in the day, but none of them really worked so he’s not as big a guy as he thinks. I wouldn’t have minded if he was cut out, but we do need a good pirate once in a while so I appreciate the attempt. Maybe they’ll make him cooler in the sequel.
Vitruvius stands for the smart wizard character who is typically around in just about all of the big fictional movies involving legends. He’s a complete parody, but I never really cared for those old wizards so he wasn’t my favorite character. He was all right though and I’m glad that he kept on trolling the heroes by hinting that he will say something and then not saying it for another 30 minutes. He isn’t as strong willed as some of the others though so he quickly turns away from heroics when the need arises.
Most of the characters who got cameos were pretty cool as well. Michelangelo doesn’t really get any lines, but he is around. Green Lantern and Wonder Woman appear, but both of them are taken care of with ease. Shaquille O’Neal appears and his scene is pretty awesome as he tries one of his ultimate moves on the villain. The Star Wars cameo was also intense as Han Solo and Chewy looked pretty good. I can’t say that Lando was a good character, but when is he a likable person? His ultimate fate is pretty dire and I guess he didn’t see that one coming!
The Man Upstairs is a pretty great character at first. Unfortunately, his character arc is very rushed because he only gets around 10 minutes of screentime or less so his 180 personality change has to happen in that short time span. I would have preferred that he not actually appear and stayed conceptual, but I shall go into that more in a moment. I did like him a lot at first and by the end he’s only all right to maybe a little sub par. I just didn’t like the change and I actually felt bad for him. He basically lost to the moral of the film, which is good in itself, but it could have been handled better.
Finn is one of my least favorite characters in the film. I can’t sympathize with him at all since it is evident that he has enough objects of his own to entertain himself. Instead, he prefers to mess up the locations that took hours or days to set up and he’s not very apologetic about it. He doesn’t only try to wreck everything, but he also mocks the objects as he states that they are for kids. He’s in no position to take those shots since he is playing with them as well. That was definitely a not cool moment and I hope that Finn doesn’t return. He only appears for a few minutes, but they were pretty wince worthy.
Now, there was one big twist that I did not care for. Notice how I used the word twist. I would call this next part a big spoiler so I’d advise skipping this paragraph if you don’t want to know it. I’m adding in a lot of extra words to give you time to skip this paragraph without seeing the spoiler. I think that’s enough words so it’s time for the spoilers. The humans should not have appeared at the end. It was disruptive and just not necessary. I don’t want to find out that my Lego dreams were just dreams. I actually thought that the Bad Cop was intense and that the heroes knew how to build things. Instead, we find out that a kid and his dad have been controlling the entire world from the start. It means that all of their actions are completely pointless and nothing that they did mattered. They can’t actually think as the creators think for them. It would help if the humans were more likable or if they had less control over the Legos, but that is not the case. Now, Emmet did manage to move a little in the human world so you can argue that he still thinks, but it could just be the kid thinking for him. Hopefully, the human angle is just ignored in the sequel.
The soundtrack for the film is pretty great. The “Everything is awesome” song is pretty catchy and it’s easy to see why everyone loves singing it. It’s not personally my type of music, but it is a good song and I don’t mind listening to it. The action theme towards the beginning of the film was very serious and while it may have seemed like a parody since they’re legos…it was pretty great. It’s climatic and I wouldn’t mind seeing this tune in something like Godzilla II or Avengers IV. Those were the two main themes that I really enjoyed, but who can forget the Basketball theme cameo or Star War’s quick blast? This soundtrack is definitely top tier and other theater films could take a few cues from this one.
Overall, this was a pretty fun film. It’s a Lego film so it’s mostly a lot of comedy and in jokes, but they do manage to squeeze in some epic action scenes. A lot of the plot lines are actually very serious, but the comedy helps to disguise this fact. If one were to make a serious adaption of this plot, we would have a very gritty action movie with an incredible cast and many fights. The parents vs the glue scene was pretty emotional and we also get a brief flashback into one of the world’s greatest tragedies. Nontheless, the film managed to keep its humor light and the cast was enjoyable. I’m not sure how well a sequel would do since they may start to rehash old plots and cliches, but I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt. I recommend checking out this film and you should definitely enjoy it or at least appreciate some of the thinly veiled social critiques.
Overall 7/10
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