Never been to Just for Fun, since I don’t have a car. I don’t like the atmosphere of the Fortress for the most part.
Lex Luthor: Man of Steel
Spoiler
If you reread the dialogue between Bruce and Lex when they start eating, Luthor mentions something about how Thomas Labs has made “a breakthrough” with Alzheimer’s. I think we can infer that Luthor wanted to use Thomas Labs’ research to help with his Hope project.
A big part of their conversation centers on Superman, and how Luthor doesn’t want Superman to represent the future.
So, to me, the reason why Batman and Superman fight is symbolic of Luthor’s distrust of Superman. I mean, if we got Batman and Superman, aka THE WORLD’S FINEST TEAM, fighting with each other, then nothing is sacred. I think part of the reason Azz wrote that scene in there is to show why Batman might think Luthor has a small point. (Oh, and it’s also a reason to have Bermejo draw some kickass action.)
There’s this panel during the fight, when Superman is floating over Batman, who is clearly at the disadvantage after falling into a dumpster. Luthor’s narration says “When faced with a myth? We can’t win.” So that’s sort of showing that Luthor has a point there, and to remind us that Superman can’t really be stopped if he doesn’t want to be stopped. (See how easily he dispatched of the Kryptonite Batman was holding right before they “fight?”)
As to why Superman and Batman begin fighting in the first place: (other than the symbolic, pretentious English major asshole analysis reason) I think it’s because Superman’s not an idiot and keeps tabs on his enemy, and probably doesn’t like it when his enemy tries to make an alliance with Superman’s friend.
Either that, or Luthor’s right, and Superman is an asshole who must be crushed.
Yeah, I wasn’t a fan. Too nerdy, even for me. They do have original single issues of DKR though.
I checked out Superman: Doomsday from the video store today. My reaction is, it’s pretty “meh.” It pares down a lot of the crap from the comics, but there still isn’t much of a story there. Aside from Luthor, who gets a little bit of attention, there isn’t a lot of good characterization. The Doomsday fight is even directed without the typical flair you see from Bruce Timm and his guys.
It’s not a total dud. I have to give them credit towards improving on one of the most abysmal storylines ever. It’s just not… super. I’m glad I rented first.
Here’s hoping that New Frontier delivers on the promising aspects of this film.
Dammit, I was hoping that would’ve been a good buy.
…
I spend hours arguing with my brother over which was better, Superman Returns or Spiderman 3.
My angle: I hated how Spidermans plot was mixed and mashed with 4 different twists-Harry, Sandman, Suit, Brock.
I hated how my brother said the story had a strong moral message:
“Fight the Demons within,” or some such nonsense.
I hate how I had to watch that garbage for nearly 3 hours.
I had how Parker with the suit on in badguy mode acted like an emo punk instead of a badass.
I hate how he had to take the suit off then put it back on–why the fuck couldn’t the leave it as is from the comics?
The final battle sucked the big one.
–
For Superman
I am not sure I like who they cast as Lois, but aside from that yeah I think the character matched everything about her we all love–arrogant, witty, smart, yet can’t tell that Kent’s Superman.
I like how Luthor treked to the Fortress at the beginning while he believed Supes was away to steal the goodies, and I liked Kevin Spacey’s portrayal as a pissed off Luthor.
I don’t think there was enough Kent in the film, so that’s a negative I guess.
-----Thought the kid getting an attack when he saw Kent’s profile next to a tv image of Supes was funny though.
I liked how it attempted to stay true to form with the first two flicks, and liked seeing Marlon Brando’s likeness and voice even though he’s gone (RIP Brando)
My brother cited as a negative the one scene where Kent reminisces running through the fields. He thinks the movie was copying Spiderman I when Parker was experimenting with his powers.
I liked the “oh shit” feeling you get when you realize that the whole continent’s laced with Kryptonite—though I really had to turn off my suspension of disbelief for that to work. Kryptonian tech is truly amazing. Him burning a hole beneath it though and lifting it into space was cool… Not too sure I understand how he was able to resist the kryptonite though. I just write it off as he drove so far beneath the forming continental mass and lifted up as much of the earth as he could to minimize exposure.
shrug
Dunno considering that there’s nothing but humans and Supes and his technology in this film (oh yeah and kid too) I thought it went well.
Bro says I just liked the movie 'cause Superman was in it.
Well, yeah, the movies rep a hero with some strong values, who wouldn’t?
I liked Spiderman 1 and 2 very much, but 3 just blew that’s all.
I really like Spider-Man 3. It’s an overblown Hollywood blockbuster, but it still entertained the hell out of me. I don’t really care for either Sandman or Venom, so I didn’t care that the movie brushed over their development as characters (Venom in particular). It had all the proper (or perhaps “formulaic” or “predictable” would be better terms) story beats for a melodrama, but I think that is why I enjoyed it. And I still like it more than the first two Spidey movies, both of which I liked quite a bit.
I think that’s what Spider-Man is to me: a melodrama on a stage so grand that Stan Lee’s words cannot contain it.
Also, 'cause you mentioned it, Helly, but I think Spider-Man is the most emo superhero there is. It’s just a part of his heritage. Every other story back in the day was something like, “Spider-Man no more!” or “This is my blessing, this is my curse” or “If ONLY I didn’t fail Uncle Ben…” He’s a self-pitying machine who still gets the job done… and then pities himself some more.
But Superman Returns has got to be my favorite superhero movie. I don’t think many other superhero movies can match up to its vision. It’s one of my favorite comics movies in general. There was just something classy about the presentation. It was more about who Superman is and what he means to us. More thoughtful, or thought-provoking.
I guess the masses didn’t buy into it, though. They probably just wanted to see Superman punch out some robots, or fight Doomsday or some shit.
Some comics pros weren’t too down with it, either. I believe Morrison and Millar didn’t like its interpretation of Superman. Part of it was because he was too mopey, and part of it was 'cause of the entire story and how they feel a Superman movie should be about grand ideas.
Anyway, that’s why we read All-Star. Movies, television, film - it’s all small potatoes compared to comics (aka The Preferred Artistic and Entertainment Medium of the Intellectually Elite).
i wanna read the supes story drawn by yu. is it any good? not a big fan of supes but yu is amazing. so i’ll give it a try
My take on Spider-Man 3 is that it gets shat on a little too much. It doesn’t deserve the browbeating it gets. That said, it is a significant step down from the previous films, which were pretty decent superhero movies. SM3 just bit off a little more than it could chew, particularly by attempting to wedge Venom in at the end of an already crowded storyline.
Superman Returns, on the other hand, was a superb take on the big guy. I’m not sure I’d say it’s better than Superman: The Movie, which is the benchmark for superhero films, but I’m sure it would depend on which day you ask me.
I find it interesting that Morrison didn’t like it. I think his Superman has a lot in common with the Brandon Routh/Bryan Singer Superman. The style of storytelling might be completely different, but the characterization itself is similar.
EDIT:
Birthright? It’s okay. The kind of thing you read and put on the shelf for the next few months. Yu’s artwork is kind of inconsistent. Sometimes it’s great, and sometimes, it’s like he did it while he was half asleep. (You’ll notice, when the characters start looking a little… mongo.)
I think Morrison said he didn’t like Superman Returns because Superman didn’t perform many actions and spent too much time being introspective. Morrison said this was also a problem in Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, although he forgave how Moore treated Superman and still acknowledges it as one of the greats because because the plotting was so intense and perfect.
“Sooperrmahn. He shouldnae cray. I mean, I jus’ cahnno have that hahpen! Sooperrmahn does no’h cray.”
-Morrison’s exact words (or close enough, 'cause I don’t know the proper phonetics for a good Scottish accent)
Yeah, I think that’s a little more Irish. Though I’m not sure I’d know the difference if I were put to the test.
It’s weird. Alan Moore and Grant Morrison have so much in common with the way they write Superman (or Supreme, as the case may be). It’s odd that either would have issues with the other.
Unfortunately I am inclined to agree, I wish it wasn’t so.
I hope they stick to their guns and don’t let the next one get too “comical” like X3 or SM3.
If only more comics today would have great covers like that. Those old-school covers really knew how to motivate you into checking out the contents.
So I read that Maggin story about the Guardians planting seeds of doubt into Superman’s mind. That is a pretty nice story. The ending seemed kind of abrupt but, as a whole, the story was ahead of its time and has aged well. Also, I didn’t want to say that it sucked because I fear goody’s elitist wrath. BEST SUPERMAN STORY EVAH
It was kind of abrupt, but it was a simpler time, when stories had to be short. I guess people figured they got more value from their comic if it had more than one story in it.
Obviously, they saw the error of their ways, since today’s method of stretching one story over a year’s worth of issues is way better.
So I’ve started reading Kirby’s Jimmy Olsen run and I think I gained some insight into goody’s secret identity. Check this out:
http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/asimov/20/compar14.html
goodm0urning = Don Rickles
Broken pic.
And if I were Don Rickles, I’d probably get more ass.
All right, fixed it.
Perhaps you’re onto something. But perhaps, like Kal-El’s twin alter-egos of Superman and Clark Kent, Goody and Don Rickles are two false identities that I’ve constructed in order to hide who I truly am from the world. Who would have thought that a one-dimensional crank like me could be so complex?
Superman and Big Barda were in a porn together. Mr. Miracle is one of my favorite dudes, too. I hate Superman… That small-minded fool is always getting his ass mindcontrolled.
http://community.livejournal.com/scans_daily/3018039.html#cutid1
I can’t tell if John Byrne was trying to be funny or if he genuinely thought this would be a good story. But to me, this ranks very highly on the Unintentional Comedy Meter. I’d give it at least an 8 out of 10. It’s an automatic 10 if I discover for a fact that Byrne actually thought this would be a good piece of work.
Oh, come on, you know Byrne was dead serious when he came up with this crap.