Comics Review: Superman Unchained - A New Classic

When it was announced in late 2012 that Scott Snyder and Jim Lee would be working on a new Superman book to coincide with "Man of Steel"'s 2013 Summer release, I was really excited. I've loved Lee's work since "Batman: Hush" and Snyder's run on "Batman" has earned him a place alongside Dennis O'Neil, Paul Dini, and so many others as one of the best writers of the character. Since I only just started reading Superman, I was eager to see what these creators would do with the character. Instead of collecting it issue by issue though, I decided to trade wait. I'm glad I did that too, because due to art delays, the nine issue series ran from June 2013 to November 2014. So for a story that was meant to commemorate Superman's 75th anniversary, it took nearly a year and a half to finish, but thankfully the series more or less stood on its own. So now that I've read the whole series in one setting, since jumping on to Superman at the start of the New 52, I can say that this is the best story I've read for the character of this or any era.

It's needless to say that Jim Lee delivers on the art like always, though I think this is probably his best work in a long time as well. When he was working on "Justice League", I couldn't help but feel that being on a monthly schedule for a flagship book kind of made him rush. But with "Unchained", I could tell that he took his time, and though I've complained about art delays hurting books' momentum, it was probably worth the wait. Then again, I read the whole story in one setting, so I might have complained if I was reading one issue at a time and having to wait months for each. Whatever the case though, Lee proves again why he's one of the industries' best artists.

But while Lee brings the story to life visually, it's really Scott Snyder's writing that makes this book so good. Reading his work on "Batman", you can tell that he likes to take a cinematic approach to his comics, that he even though you're reading words and looking at pictures, he wants you to feel you're watching a movie. Going from the more grounded Batman to the powerhouse of Superman, Snyder writes a story on a global scale and shows he has a handle on the Man of Steel as much as he does the Dark Knight.
Snyder does a good job writing all the characters in this story. With Superman, we get a look into his thought process, like how he needs to use his powers and whether or not his action or inaction will put others in harm's way. That's been done before in other recent Superman stories, but it keeps getting hammered in too much in my opinion. Snyder's able to do that in a way that feels natural. I won't spoil how, but something that really stood out to me was a very creative way Superman was able to a building from falling over. We even get some flashback scenes to when Clark was a boy in Smallville that's chilling but almost made me cry by the end.
Snyder also does well writing Lois Lane. Like many Superman stories, she isn't just there to serve as a damsel in distress to be saved (hell, I doubt I'd even consider her that here), but she actually helps contribute to discovering villains' plans and helping Superman overcome them. The interaction between the two is also the best I've seen written out of all the New 52. I read before that Snyder was working on this story for years, so he may have had to change some things to fit the new timeline since Clark and Lois were married prior to the reboot. But despite that, you can really see the connection between the two, and part of me was hoping one of them would say "I love you". It actually kind of feels that was supposed to happen, but then again, the changes for the New 52 probably brought about changes to the original story. I'll just blame that on the Superman/Wonder Woman relationship.

I mentioned before how Snyder takes a cinematic approach to his writing, and that said, this is one story that I hope is adapted into a new Superman film set in DC's upcoming film universe. Reading this, I could definitely see the actors of the films playing out the scenes. Henry Cavill as Superman, Amy Adams as Lois, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Ben Affleck as Batman, and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. Sure Batman and Wonder Woman are part of the story, but they don't take away focus from Superman (to clear something up, even though all three are part of the "Dawn of Justice" movie, it really has become more than a "Man of Steel" sequel at this point, so that criticism is moot). I mean, you have Iron Man and Black Panther in the next Captain America movie, but it's still going to be Cap's movie. Affleck and Gadot can make appearances in that vain as well should "Unchained" be adapted.
Another thing that I think would make this a good film adaptation is how different it is from other Superman stories. While there is another alien powerhouse to fight and a potential alien invasion near the end, a good majority of the antagonists in this story are human based, between a branch of the US Army led by General Lane, Lois' father, and the cyberterrorist group Ascension that wants to give the human race a fresh start, and since I'm really trying to go full spoiler mode during this review, I won't say how they try to do it.

Overall, Snyder and Lee have produced the definitive Superman story for the New 52 as well as a new classic to stand alongside other great Superman epics throughout the years and will certainly be part of future recommended reading lists for new readers. It really makes me wish Scott Snyder would have continued this book in some way, even without Jim Lee. Maybe he'll return to Superman someday, and I'll be there waiting.

So if you're a fan of Superman or Snyder's work on "Batman", this is a story you definitely don't want to miss out on as another classic character is given some new life.

STORY RATING: 10/10
RECOMMENDATION RATING: 10/10

Comics Review: "Avengers and X-Men: AXIS" - A Hidden Gem (SPOILERS)

I haven't had a strong opinion about a Marvel event since "Age of Ultron." Since then, we had "Infinity" and "Original Sin". I did enjoy "Infinity" but did not review it because I didn't really have much to say. With "Original Sin", considering Marvel was already prepping for the next event, any impact I thought would come from the event, no matter how significant, would fall to the way side since there wouldn't be much room to explore it. That brings us to the recently concluded Marvel event, "AXIS", and considering this is my first Marvel event review since "Age of Ultron", that certainly means something about how I felt about it. Now I wasn't sure what to expect with the event since Marvel has been going from event to event without much breather, and wondered if I should even care. I was half worried because I haven't liked a Marvel event since "Avengers vs. X-Men" ("AVX"), but half excited because I've been enjoying Rick Remender's run on "Uncanny Avengers", which was leading up to this event, not to mention I could see "AXIS" as being part of an unofficial trilogy following "House of M" and "AVX". I ended up being surprised.

First some backstory: after "AVX" and the death of Charles Xavier, the Uncanny Avengers were formed to help bridge the gap between the team. Around the same time, the Red Skull stole Xavier's body, taking part of his brain and placing it as part of his own, and acquiring Charles' telepathic powers, using them to spread anti-mutant riots where he went. Though the Uncanny Avengers stopped him, the Skull got away, which led to the final arc in the series that lead directly to "AXIS". The Red Skull had kidnapped the mutant members of the team, Havok, Rogue, and Scarlet Witch, and placed them in a mutant concentration camp he set up on Genosha. Magneto had uncovered Skull's plan and was hell-bent on killing Skull for what he's done. We also learn during that arc that a small part of Charles' mind was still alive and was doing what he could from keeping Skull from accessing his full power. However, when Magneto smashed Skull's head in, believing to have killed him, it only allowed Skull to become the even more powerful Red Onslaught (Thanks a lot, Erik). That's where "AXIS" began.

Now the way Marvel did this event was in three acts, three issues each, over three months. For this review, I'm going to go through each act, discussing my thoughts. Let's get started.

ACT ONE: THE RED SUPREMACY

So when this event started, I wasn't that impressed. It was basically Avengers and X-Men against Red Onslaught. Eventually the two teams were aided by a group of villains recruited by Magneto, who escaped the battle to do so, helping because they don't want the world to be destroyed either. As you'd expect, it's pretty much a big overcrowded battle, but there are some good moments. For one, we find out that Skull used his telepathy to make Tony Stark build Iron Sentinels without him even knowing, planning to use them in his goal of eradicating mutants.

The other shining moment from this act comes from something we see a lot of in this event: great character moments. The first one coming from, believe it or not, Deadpool. After Tony's armor gets knocked out, Deadpool drags him to an area to help him recharge, and all the while, he keeps asking "Can I be an Avenger?" It's quite hilarious. Later on, apparently Tony begrudgingly allowed it, because Deadpool then pops up to attack Sabertooth singing "Then I saw her face, Now I'm an Avenger!", in the tone of the Monkee's "I'm a Believer." By that point, I think I was won over just for that moment.

We then get to a pivotal moment. A plan is devised to invert the personalities of Red Skull and Charles Xavier, placing Xavier in charge as the dominant personality, with Scarlet Witch and Dr. Doom using their powers of Chaos and Order to cast the spell. It works and it reverts Skull back to his human form and unconscious. The Avengers and X-Men argue over what to do with him, the Avengers wanting to lock him up and the X-Men wanting to find out if Xavier is back. It all comes down to Steve Rogers' decision, and as you'd expect he sides with the Avengers, which doesn't set well with the X-Men. Now this is a moment that makes me think back to "Avengers vs. X-Men" with the debate on who was in the right. While during that story I was on the Avengers side, in this instance, I was with the X-Men. Even though it was Skull's body, there was still a chance Xavier was in control. Honestly, I think it's discussions like this about characters' actions that make the best events rather than them saying "You should feel this way" about something. It's those feelings about characters that plays well into the next act of the event.

ACT TWO: INVERSION

With Red Skull defeated, it left many wondering what's left to this event. Well as the second act began, we started to see the heroes and villains behaving very differently. Carnage saves a family without killing anyone, Tony Stark is selling Extremis to people and drinking again, the X-Men have sided with Apocalypse (who is Evan Sabahnur/Genesis rapidly aged into his true form), and the Avengers plans to kill Red Skull so the X-Men can't get to him. As it turns out, the inversion spell not only affected Red Skull, but everyone that was on the island. That means the heroes will be acting more like villains and vice versa. There's even a moment where Jarvis tries to stop the Avengers from getting to Skull, only to be knocked away so callously. I have to say that when I was reading this, it was very disheartening to see these characters act like they are. Again, if you're this invested in a story, then the writer is doing a good job. On another note, seeing these inversion kind of makes me think this is how it would be if Marvel had their own Crime Syndicate world like DC does.

There's one moment that I think is a bit ridiculous though: apparently the inversion's affect on Hulk is that when he's sad, he becomes Kluh. That's all I'll mention about that before moving on.

As it turns out though, Red Skull has gone missing, and it causes the inverted Avengers to suspect everyone at this point. This leads to a meeting being called for all Avengers, but it turns out to be a trap, with everyone being shrunk down into an ant farm using Pym technology. Only Spider-Man and Nova escape.

Speaking of Spider-Man though, even though he doesn't really bring much in terms of story, he is just so damn entertaining to read in this event. Rick Remender certainly knows how to write the character, especially in the quips area. Before the inverted Avengers set their trap, Spidey has a good conversation with Nova, who he's kind of hazing since he's the new kid. He also knocks on Hawkeye for changing his costume every few years while his "bright red leotard", as Hawkeye put it, is timeless. Then there's when Spidey and Nova are being pursued by the Avengers; Fal-Cap threatens to snap Spidey's neck and he replies "Literally the least 'Captain America' line of dialogue ever." I don't know what Marvel plans to do with Spidey after "Secret Wars", whether they reboot "New 52" style or not, but I certainly hope they consider putting Remender on a Spidey book at some point in the future.

Spidey and Nova are eventually saved by an inverted Magneto, who takes them to Steve Rogers, who explains what's happened. Eventually, Apocalypse and the X-Men attack the Avengers in New York and threaten to kill every human in Manhattan with a gene bomb and this leads to an all out battle. While this happens, Rogers recruits the other inverted villains to help stop the warring teams and find a way to undo. The last one they recruit is Loki, who narrowly escapes a drunk and gambling Thor. I must say that even though Thor isn't technically a viking, it's kind of cool to see him act like one since vikings did believe in Norse Mythology. Of all people, it's Sabertooth who explains the big problem to Loki, and in a pretty damn good speech you'd probably expect from Wolverine. This is another character moment that is great to me. I never really liked Sabertooth and usually just saw him as a more savage and evil Wolverine but with finger claws. To see him act in a way that actually makes me like him, I give credit once again to Rick Remender for his writing.

For the most part of this act, it's exploration of the characters and how they've changed. It's similar to what was done in "House of M" for an issue before getting back to the main story.

ACT THREE: NEW WORLD DISORDER

As the third act begins, the inverted villains, referred to as the Astonishing Avengers, enter the fray of battle between the inverted Avengers and X-Men, acting as a distraction so Spidey and Deadpool (inverted into Zenpool) can stop Apocalypse and the gene bomb. While Deadpool tries to talk sense into Apocalypse (because Deadpool was a parental figure to Evan), Spidey works to defuse the gene bomb. This is another good moment for Deadpool, because I feel that even if he wasn't inverted, he still would have done what he could to bring the Evan side back out of Apocalypse. While that's going on though, Spider-Man is unable to defuse the bomb with only minutes left. Then enters Carnage to bring another great character moment out of this event. Carnage tells Spidey to clear out while he uses his symbiote to cover and contain the bomb so it doesn't hurt anyone. You guys get that: CARNAGE, of all people, is willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. It actually tug at my heart strings, but at the same time we got a laugh because Carnage wants Spidey to build him a statue in his honor that plays "Free Bird" nonstop. But in all seriousness, bravo Remender! You actually made me feel for Carnage. CARNAGE! That's a guy who's character is nothing but "Kill! Kill! Kill!" and like Sabertooth, you actually made him something interesting. So the gene bomb is stopped, but the battle continues.

There's another significant moment that needs mentioned. During a battle between Scarlet Witch against Quicksilver, Magneto, and Dr. Doom, she casts a spell to strike down anyone who shares her blood. It affects her brother Quicksilver, but not Magneto, her father (?). That leads to the revelation that Magneto is not the father of the Maximoff twins. Now this ties into the theory that in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch will be Inhumans, since Fox owns the rights to mutants and Magneto. It's another instance of Marvel trying to change things in the comics to fit the movies, and right now I'm not sure how I feel about that. I can see it from both sides, because this isn't the first time comics and movies have worked off another, but I can see how people would be upset about such a big retcon to one format just to fit the other. That said, I'll just wait and see how this plays out.

Eventually, an inverted Red Skull is found and has to be gotten to Dr. Doom and Scarlet Witch, possessed by Brother Voodoo's brother, so they can cast another spell to get everyone back to normal, and he's being attacked on all sides by Avengers and X-Men alike. Out of everyone, it's Tony Stark that most doesn't want to change back. While we've only been shown glimpses of the inverted Stark in the event, it's during these moments where we see just how vicious he's become. There's even one moment where he grabs Skull and speaks to the Xavier side still possibly in there, saying he's going to build and sell more Iron Sentinels and mock that that's what his legacy will bring. That's just really cold, even for Stark. I will say that when it comes to the inverted Tony Stark, reading him in these moment does make me interested in his new "Superior Iron Man" book, but I do have this thing about not getting books that start out as tie-ins to an event, so...yeah.

There's one last character moment that needs to be talked about though. Through all this melee, Thor and Loki are fighting again, and get this: Loki is actually able to pick up Mjolnir. Loki is worthy! It doesn't last long, but it is quite exciting to see a character that is constantly seen as a failure and outcast finally have a moment of greatness.

As you'd expect, the new spell is cast and everyone is reverted back to normal. Well, almost. Stark actually had a contingency plan where he activated a barrier to not be affected by the spell, and not only that, but Sabertooth and Havok are caught in the barrier as well. Because of that, those three character remain inverted. Stark's still an asshole, Sabertooth is still actually interesting, and Havok...eh, I don't care that much where he goes from here.

A week goes by and we find out that the formerly inverted villains prerecorded a message to take credit for the destruction caused by the Avengers and X-Men, claiming they took control of them, in order for them to retain their good names in the end. While it's a smart plan, I do think it lessens the impact this event has already had. Part of me thought this event would have been the main thing that lead to the events being shown in the "Time Runs Out" storyline running through "Avengers" and "New Avengers", but not now.

If there's one thing I think that's lacking in this event, it's the lack of exploring fallout. We get short views of characters during the last few pages that are being narrated by Sabertooth, but not much else. I think it would have been interesting to see how some of the heroes would have dealt with their actions while inverted, or if any of the villains may have truly wanted to become good. It would have also been nice to see how the new Uncanny Avengers team forms before the new volume starts; I don't plan to read it, but I still would have liked more than just one panel. I remember the last issue of "House of M", and we saw that the mutant population was decimated down to nearly 200 and that some heroes were reeling from the memories they have from the alternate timeline, like Spider-Man wanting them erased because of knowing the life he could have had with Gwen. I think I've complained about how Marvel events are drawn out and should be shorter, but I think this is a case where I think they should have made it longer; make the two prelude issues of "Uncanny Avengers" part of the series and have one last issue exploring the fallout, and it would have been twelve issues. That would have sufficed for me.

So with this event, I think others may have overlooked it for a number of reasons. For one, they were probably tired of seeing heroes vs. heroes again, but like "Trinity War", I think it's handled well. Also, Marvel already announced "Secret Wars" for their Summer event next year, and everyone's probably more hyped for that that "AXIS" is probably viewed as filler until then. But really, "AXIS" was very entertaining in my opinion. The art's hit and miss, but the writing is dead on, aside from a few doors still left open.

To close out, if you enjoyed previous Avengers/X-Men crossover stories like "House of M" and "Avengers vs. X-Men", I don't think you'll be disappointed in "AXIS".

STORY RATING: 7.5/10

RECOMMENDATION RATING: 8/10

Album Review: "Angels and Airwaves: The Dream Walker" - Different But Beautiful

Aside from ranking Linkin Park's albums awhile back, I've never done a music review for my blog because I can find some listen-ability in almost everything I listen to. However, this is a special case.

When Blink-182 went on hiatus, Tom DeLonge formed the new band "Angels and Airwaves", sometimes shortened to AVA. They released their first single "The Adventure" in 2006 and I really enjoyed that and the other singles that came after it, "Do It For Me Now" and "The War". But it wasn't until their second album "I-Empire" that I really became a huge fan of them. I got that album and then their first one, "We Don't Need to Whisper", and then later their "Love" double album. In my opinion, with the combination of epic melodies and beautiful lyrics, AVA epitomizes the feelings of love, compassion, and peace. Whenever I listen to them, it always brings up a positive feeling from in me. Now we're at the end of 2014 and they've just released their fifth album, "The Dream Walker", and it's break from the norm for this band.

I'll be honest, while listening to it for the first time, I was planning for this review to be quite negative. Let me explain. When it came to their previous work, the best way to describe it was "space rock" because it really was out of this world, and yeah, I know that's an overused expression. On the new album though, while the "space rock" elements are there, you can noticeably hear more of a rock vibe, like something you'd expect from Tom and Blink-182. With some of the songs, you could probably tell someone it was Blink-182 and they'd might believe you. Now I'm not against trying out with different sounds; Linkin Park does that every album. But that brings me to my second point. During the first listen-through, for the most part, I found Tom's vocals being drowned out by the music. It got to the point where I just found myself trying to get through the whole album. But I'm glad I did, because my feelings changed by the last two songs on the album. With "Tremors", while it still had the mix of Blink and AVA styles, it was the first song of the album that I found an AVA song trying to break through. Then there was the final song, "Anamoly". Usually the last song of an AVA album is like an epic grand finale. While that's not there with "Anamoly", it still does something more special. Unless I'm mistaken, it's the first use of an acoustic guitar in an AVA song, and it's just beautiful. Have a listen:

After that, I decided to listen to the album again from the start and all of a sudden, Tom's lyrics started coming in much clearer, almost like my senses finally tuned in to the right frequency to get the full experience of the album. I would say I can't explain it, but I might have a theory. With "Anamoly" probably the most unique song from their library, I think it made me realize that even though their sound may be different sometimes, it's the lyrics and message of the song that truly matter when it comes to AVA's music. After that, it became so much easier to listen to "The Dream Walker." Kind of makes me wish that "Tremors" and "Anamoly" were the first songs on the album to help realize it quicker, but maybe I needed that learning curve.
Starting with my third listen-through, I was beginning to pick up on the lyrics better and sing along. Along with the two songs I've mentioned, the others ones that really stand out to me are "Tunnels" and "Bullets in the Wind."

While some people will probably need time to get their head around this album, it's worth it in the end. I can't really say where I'd rank this with the other AVA albums, because they're all great in their own way. "The Dream Walker" may be different, but it's a nice new addition to AVA's discography. And if you're more of a fan of Tom's work with Blink-182, I'd say you'd enjoy this album too.

This is one of those rare moments where I don't give a score in a review, but I'll just say that this would make a great holiday present for your significant other.

The Loophole: Spider-Man CAN Be a Part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe WITHOUT Sony's Involvement

If you read my last Marvel Cinematic Universe speculation thread, you know I'm one of those fans that hopes Sony and Marvel can reach a deal to share Spider-Man's film rights, making the Amazing Spider-Man series part of the larger universe and include the character in future Avengers films. Just imagine Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man interacting with Chris Evans' Captain America or Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man. At this point though, any talk of a deal is just rumor. While I could see this as still a possibility, I have recently discovered something that could avoid the legal process of such a task.

In doing some research for a possible blog post, I came across this article from late 2009 of the new that Sony had sold back Spider-Man's television rights back to Marvel and Disney for an extension on the film rights, announcing the intent to reboot in early 2010:
http://collider.com/disney-and-marvel-web-up-spider-man-tv-rights/
Now many would assume this only talks of animation, considering the only thing Marvel has done with the rights is the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon. But then there's this bit:

"Sony has relinquished all television rights for the web slinger in favor of some more favorable film options for the property. Not only does this open up the future for animated projects, but could possibly give us the opportunity for a Smallville-esque live action Spider-series."

At that time, the Marvel Cinematic Universe had only just begun, and the thought of television tie-ins was far from anyone's minds. Today, Marvel has Agents of SHIELD in its second season and an Agent Carter miniseries planned on ABC, and a deal with Netflix for four shows based on Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, all leading to a Defenders miniseries. Since most people still see the movies as the important thing, and for the most part they are, they forget that the universe continues to expand on the small screen. All that said, that bring me to my main point: whether it be on ABC or a future wave of Netflix series, and while he wouldn't be able to appear in any of their films, Marvel is well within their rights to produce a live action Spider-Man television series and have it set within their cinematic universe. Essentially, this places Spider-Man, and all his related characters, within the same gray area that allows Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch to be used by both Fox's X-Men franchise and Marvel.

Now while I'd still be in favor of making the Amazing Spider-Man series part of the MCU, since it's still up in the air, why waste time waiting? Spider-Man is perfect to base a live action television series on, and it could give Marvel an answer to DC's success with the Flash series on the CW.
Besides that, currently, Sony's plans for the franchise have been all over the place since the shortcomings of the second film. Instead of focusing on the main series, they foolishly believe that spin-offs are the way to go. Characters like the Sinister Six and Venom have yet to appear, but Sony still wants to make films based on them before they're even introduced in the main series. I'm not sure they understand what a spin-off is. But the real problem though is that Sony is trying to use the shared universe model for Spider-Man like Marvel and DC are. But when you have a franchise that focuses on only one superhero, there's only so far you can go. At least with the original trilogy, they focused on one film at a time, although a long-term plan wouldn't be out of the question. While I love the new series, Sony has to realize that they can't compete on the same level with other studios and that they shouldn't treat the films as a product they're trying to market for the current craze. It's that meddling that lead to the mixed reactions of not only Amazing Spider-Man 2, but also Spider-Man 3 when they pushed for Sam Raimi to include Venom, and we all know that led to the reboot in the first place. I really want to have faith in this new series, but I can't help but worry about my favorite character on the film front. But there's still bold ground to be made for the character on television, and by Marvel no less.

So even though Marvel is still getting the ball rolling on multiple television series for their cinematic universe, you would have to wonder why they haven't announced any plans for the wall-crawler. While Marvel's proven they don't need Spider-Man or X-Men to be a success, they still have at least one of those within some reach to use. It could be they already have something in the works, but I also more likely believe that they haven't even considered it. It's possible that given the good relationship between Marvel and Sony, there's seems to be some trust with them. But considering Sony's current predicament, unless Marvel can give Sony's Spidey an Avengers-boost, they can just as easily make their own version for television and worry about a movie when/if they get the rights back. That's the same possibility the heroes starring in the Netflix series have. They may also not want to confuse viewers with two different versions between Sony's movies and their own possible television show. Well not only should they give people more credit, they need to realize that the confusion ship has already sailed. Consider the following:

1. Between Marvel and Fox, we have two versions of Quicksilver in different franchises.
2. DC has decided to keep their TV and film universes separate, becoming clear with the casting of Ezra Miller as the Flash for the cinematic universe while Grant Gustin plays the character on television.
3. To the best of my knowledge, nobody was confused when Superman Returns came out during Smallville's run on TV.

A big part of why people want Spider-Man in the MCU is to interact with other Marvel characters, and some may worry that wouldn't happen if he's restricted to TV. That's not necessarily true. There's many possibilities for Spider-Man to interact with the larger universe. Like Arrow and Flash, Spidey could have a crossover with Agents of SHIELD. And considering the New York backdrop, there's always the chance of seeing meetings with other vigilantes from the Netflix shows. Just imagine good old fashioned team-up of Spidey and Daredevil against the Kingpin. But then you have the bigger stars from the movies. That's not truly out of the question either. Not only have Samuel L. Jackson and Colby Smulders reprised their roles of Nick Fury and Maria Hill for guest appearances on Agents of SHIELD, but both Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Pratt have expressed interest in appearing as Iron Man and Star Lord on the show. Finally, it seems Marvel is building the "Infinity War" 2 part film as a major event across the whole universe, and that definitely means any TV shows running at the time would have tie-ins to the film. It would be just like a regular comic book event with a main story and multiple side stories.
But connecting everything aside, it would be Spider-Man's show after all. The character and his history is rich and ripe with source material to adapt. Also take in the fact that's the everyman out of all superheroes. There's needs to be a good balance between the action as well as the drama occurring in Peter Parker's life that viewers can relate to. While "The Spectacular Spider-Man" animated series is considered by many to be the character's best interpretation outside of the comics and "Ultimate Spider-Man" forgoes the personal life and focuses mainly on superhero team-ups, the example to look at to pull this off is the 90's animated series. Not only does it show the balance of action and drama Spider-Man brings, but it occasionally featured team-ups with other Marvel heroes at least twice a season, not relying on them like "Ultimate" does. This included Nick Fury, Iron Man, Dr. Strange, Daredevil, Punisher, and Blade. They also did it in a way that not only showed how badass the guest hero was but also manage to keep the focus on Spidey. If there's anything that Marvel can channel when creating a live action Spidey series, it would be the 90's series.

So what say my readers? Would you be down with Marvel making their own live action Spidey show? Do you think they even realize they're able to? If you're a Spidey fan and would love to see this, then help spread this message around and share this around, especially to other Spidey fans. It's possible we can get Marvel's attention with this and they'll take action.

So let's get to work, people. Spidey is home. He just needs a wake-up call.

'Til We Meet Again, Rangers: A Retrospective

Given the general thought that Power Rangers is merely just for kids, it's the reason why I'm not as upfront about being a fan of the franchise as I am with other things geeky. Allow me to tell the history of my relationship with the show.

Like most fans, I was there at the start with Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. I loved the show. The characters, the fights, and especially the megazords. Tommy was definitely my favorite, especially when he was the White Ranger. As the years went on, I continued to watch as the show transitioned from Zeo and then to Turbo. While I don't remember too clearly since I was young, I remember feeling a little bored once pretty much the whole cast had been replaced halfway through Turbo. The only things that got me through the rest of that season were the Phantom Rangers and the Rescue Zords. Looking back at that season now, you can tell there were problems going on behind the scenes. I kept watching, and when the finale came with the destruction of the zords, Power Chamber, and Turbo powers, it got me pumped for the next season, Power Rangers in Space. As many fans would say, that series really gave the franchise new life with its darker and more mature storylines, especially with the character arc of main villain Astronema, who was revealed to be the long lost sister of Andros, the Red Space Ranger, along with great villains like Darkonda and the Psycho Rangers. Even the new Turbo Rangers who I didn't like from the previous season I liked them much better with their new powers. When that season came to an end with "Countdown to Destruction", I thought the series was totally over. All the villains were either dead or purged of their evil because of Zordon's sacrifice, and the Rangers saved the whole universe. While it was intended to be the finale, it ended up saving the series.

I didn't realize another Power Rangers series was coming until I saw the toys for "Lost Galaxy". Before that season started, I remember thinking that the Space Rangers were getting new powers. Imagine my surprise when it turned out they were totally new characters. However, there were still elements from the past series in there. Bulk and Professor Phenomenous were there (to little degree however), and the Galaxy Rangers resided in the Astro Megaship from the previous season and had Alpha 6 helping them. Those elements kept me around, but I ended up caring for the new characters as well. As that season ended, I thought "Okay, it's done. I can move on." But then I learned about "Lightspeed Rescue" coming. I tuned in and once again found new characters. I held in there for awhile, but eventually I stopped watching and fell out of the series for years.

Jump to 2005 and I find out that the original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers series was being shown on Toon Disney's Jetix block, and I started watching those again for nostalgia. As it would turn out, all the previous series by that point were airing on that channel. And while I was originally only watching for the older seasons I watched as a kid, I was eventually sucked into watching the rest. Thanks to those reruns I was able to rewatch the old ones I loved and catch up between Lightspeed Rescue and Dino Thunder and jump into SPD in the middle of that season, and I ended getting new favorites seasons and characters. I continued to watch after that. I enjoyed Mystic Force, hated Operation Overdrive with a passion, got renewed hope in the franchise with Jungle Fury, and loved the darkness and originality of RPM. By that point, it was announced that RPM would be the final season produced, and after the finale, I thought the series ended on a good note.

A year later, imagine my excitement when it was later announced that Saban had bought back the Power Rangers rights from Disney and would be producing "Samurai", their first new season since Wild Force. As I watched "Samurai", I was a little conflicted. While the storyline and characters were interesting, the acting was very poor, which made it hard to really enjoy it compared to all the past seasons. I just chalked that up to the fact that it was Saban's first season since Wild Force.

That brings us to Megaforce. With this season, Saban decided to forgo all the progress and maturity the franchise has gone through in the past twenty years in favor of trying to nostalgia trap older fans, resulting in uninteresting characters all around, plot points that make absolutely no sense, and essentially an insult to the older fans. The series began with a similar premise to the original series: an ancient guardian recruits five teenagers with attitude to defend the Earth from alien attackers. While I applaud them for that kind of throwback, apparently that's all the thought that was put into it. Then again, the theme songs for Samurai and Megaforce were only remixes of the original theme, which probably shows how much they're out of ideas. Aside from the little stupid things, let me just list out what's wrong with this season's characters and plot points:

1. If the Armada was such a big threat to the universe, where the hell have they been the whole time? I mean, sure, you had alien villains who operated on their own like Scorpius and Lothor, but were they a part of the United Alliance of Evil from the Zordon era (MMPR-In Space)? Besides that, they're just not memorable or complex as other villains. Frax from Time Force was a human whose mind was planted in a robot, Mesogog from Dino Thunder was the Hyde to Anton Mercer's Jekyll, Emperor Grumm from SPD talked to a voice inside his head that would later turn out to be his master, Omni, and Jarrod from Jungle Fury was possessed by the evil spirit of Dai Shi. The villains of Megaforce are pretty much evil just for the sake of being evil. At least in Samurai, we had tragic back-stories for Dekker and Daiyu. For the most part, I couldn't even remember the names of villains in Megaforce because they were so generic.
2. None of the Rangers are interesting or have any real character growth, not to mention had the worst dialogue. Troy is just a generic leader with a "never give up" attitude and nothing else. Noah's the stereotypical nerd. Jake is the jock that is also the main source of comic relief. Gia's the hot blonde and that's it. And Emma, I guess you could call her the hippie of the group. But hell, the way they all kept talking about how much they love the Earth, this team would probably be better known as Power Rangers Hippie Force. When it came to their Samurai predecessors, at least those Rangers had some interesting personalities and backgrounds, even if they were hidden behind some wooden acting. Back to the Megaforce though, in pretty much every battle, they always had to say some kind of annoying line. I'm pretty sure no other Ranger team did that before; just shutting up and fighting has always been the norm. It's almost like they thought they couldn't keep kids' attention unless people were talking, like the fights weren't exciting enough to. And I thought the overuse of explosions during battles in Operation Overdrive was bad. I mean, even when they morphed into past Rangers, I kept thinking to myself "You aren't worthy to wear that suit!" or "You're insulting so-and-so's legacy!" For a season that relied on nostalgia, I couldn't even enjoy seeing the old suits because of who was in them.
3. Considering Gosei was Zordon's student, like the Armada, where has he been this whole time? And from that, exactly how was he able to draw energy from past Rangers into the keys? Not only that, but how was he able to get the SPD and RPM powers when chronologically, those powers exist in the future and in a parallel dimension, respectively.

But honestly, I could have forgiven all that, if it wasn't for the "bait-and-switch" tactic they used to promote this season. While the Megaforce Rangers could morph into Legendary Rangers from the past seasons, they also said that actual former actors who played Rangers before would make appearances throughout the season. We saw guest appearances from Jayden of "Samurai" and Casey of "Jungle Fury"...and that was it. Hell, we were even teased by an RPM Ranger appearance when the Megaforce traveled to Corinth to stop a rampaging zord (because the RPM Rangers were busy apparently). Then later on, Mia and Antonio from "Samurai" make an appearance with their band, but that was only stock footage from their own series. So that makes three episodes with appearances from former Rangers, and only two were new footage.

Even that I could have forgiven, because throughout all of Megaforce, they were building up to the big finale which would involve every Power Ranger ever in a climactic battle to save the Earth. It seems like Ranger fan's dream, right? It was that moment that kept me going through the whole season. Through all the stupid moments, the bad acting, and the shit that made no sense, I thought it would have all been worth it for the Legendary Battle. Well guess what: SABAN EVEN FOUND A WAY TO FUCK THAT UP!
Let me break down the episode. It picks up from the previous one and the people of the city are trying to help each other after another Armada attack. Only this time, they receive help from past Rangers, who only have at best 20 second cameos. This includes Tommy, TJ, and Cassie from the Zordon era, Leo from Lost Galaxy, and Carter and Dana from Lightspeed Rescue. They all probably bring the best acting I've seen from Power Rangers since RPM, thought it feels like such a waste when they're barely there.. Later on, after the Megaforce kills the Emperor, another huge army of X-Borgs show up from out of nowhere and for no reason. That's when all the past teams show up to help. Out of all those, only the ones I mention before take off their helmets and greet the Megaforce. Also, Damon and Karone from Lost Galaxy and Mike and Emily from Samurai are actually there, but don't say anything at all. Must have been an easy pay day for them; "Stand there. Look pretty. Say nothing. Get paid. Go home." So then the Megaforce morphs up again and all the Rangers charge at the X-Borgs for one final epic battle to save the Earth! The result: A POORLY EDITED TWO MINUTE FIGHT THAT MAINLY FOCUSES ON THE MEGAFORCE AND THEIR STUPID ONE-LINERS RATHER THAN SHOWCASING ALL THE PAST RANGERS. I mean, we never even see Tommy fight! All we hear are his trademark yells. I'm sorry, but for every anniversary special or team-up, all the Rangers were given some time to shine. I don't care that in this case there were around a hundred Rangers, this was the 20th anniversary! You know an anniversary special is bad when Tommy can't save it.
I also need to bring up the fact that while it is nice to see old Rangers, it doesn't make sense why they're there. Gosei didn't call them, so what brought them there? Why did the Lost Galaxy come all the way to Mirinoi just to help, SPD from the future, or the RPM team from Corinth? Is there a Power Ranger Phone Tree we don't know about? And why do they decide to show up now? Again, if the Armada was this big of a threat, why weren't the old Rangers around the whole time they were attacking Earth and help end the threat quicker? I mean, sure, there were continuity issues like this in the "Forever Red" 10th Anniversary episode, but at least that episode took the time to introduce the threat and show the Red Rangers gathering to fight it. There's also the fact that Robo Knight, who died a few episodes earlier, shows up with no explanation. He even has a brief conversation with Troy, and like the robot and wooden actor they are, there's no emotion. It doesn't go exactly like this but it's basically, "Hey, I thought you were dead." "Nope.". After a whole season of plot points that make no sense, I just couldn't take anymore! JUST EXPLAIN!

So after they defeat the final X-Borg army and the past Rangers teleport back to whence they came, the last moment of the episode is just the Megaforce going home, and that's it. There's no sense of finality here like past season finales. There's no goodbye to Gosei and Tensou or giving up their powers to return to their normal lives, it's just "Let's go home." You know what I take that as? It's basically Saban saying "we don't really care anymore."

I know a lot of you are thinking "What do you expect? It's a kid's show." No. Even through the ridiculous moments that still happened, as far as Power Rangers has come and the mature themes its taken, that argument is invalid, because the show grew as well as its fans. I mean, characters have actually died in this franchise, and I'm talking actual human characters. In Wild Force, when Cole was a baby, his parents were murdered by their best friend, who would later become the main villain of the season, Master Org. In RPM, Scott's brother was killed when his jet was shot down when Venjix was taking over the planet. And in Mystic Force, the corpses of Leanbow and Daggeron were thrown straight at the Mystic Rangers. Corpses! On what's supposed to be a kid's show! There's plenty more examples of death that happened in Power Ranger history too.

Besides, when you think about it, the best kids programming are the ones that older audiences can enjoy as well. Why do you think Batman: The Animated Series, Green Lantern, Young Justice, and The Spectacular Spider-Man were so popular? Because they were made in a way so that anyone can enjoy them. Goddamn, even Animaniacs had so many raunchy jokes. Finger Prince, anyone? Even modern cartoons like Adventure Time and Regular Show can appeal to older viewers. When you dumb down your shows just to appeal to younger audiences, you ostracize everyone else. That's the reason current Marvel animated shows like Ultimate Spider-Man and Avengers Assemble aren't as beloved as their predecessors.

It's sad really. After every bad season, I gave the franchise a chance to win me back, and they usually did. But now, given the mediocrity of Samurai and Megaforce, and a huge F-U to fans with the latter's finale when the whole season had so much potential, it's making me wish the franchise just ended with RPM. Disney may have wanted to bring the series to an end, but at least they actually put effort into going out with a bang. When it was announced Saban got the rights back, they said in a "read between the lines" kind of way that Disney's seasons sucked and that they would do as good a job with the franchise as they did with Mighty Morphin' to Wild Force, and a lot of fans prefer those seasons to Disney's. While the Disney era from Ninja Storm to RPM may have had their problems, they were still a lot more epic than what Saban has come out with over the last four years. Hell, I once considered Operation Overdrive the worst season of the series, but now I feel like I owe it an apology after what was done in Megaforce. I'm just going to say it: You did it Saban. You finally killed Power Rangers. I may have just fallen out during Lightspeed Rescue, but I came back, I caught up, and kept watching, but Megaforce finally killed the series for me. I'm not even giving Dino Charge a chance next year. I don't even care that it's a dinosaur based team again. Though if by some chance they're able to pull off a major team-up with the Mighty Morphin' and Dino Thunder teams and give them proper respect, I would probably at least tune in to that. I won't be holding my breath though.

At least this isn't like "How I Met Your Mother" when the finale made me hate the series as a whole. Between Mighty Morphin' and RPM, I still have fond memories from this franchise. Right now, I'm even in the process of collecting every season between them on DVD, currently up to "in Space."

But maybe there's a way the Rangers can bring me back. In 2016, a new Power Rangers film is set to be released. Not a lot of details are known, but it appears that the movie will still be set in continuity with the series while also acting as a reboot. It seems like it would be something along the lines of "X-Men: Days of Future Past" and the Mortal Kombat game of 2011. When you think about it though, if Saban is intentionally making bad seasons that would lead to the franchise's cancellation after Dino Charge, it would make sense for them to close shop on the TV series and make a fresh start through film. Honestly though, I think this would be a good chance to show that Power Rangers can be taken seriously. Look what the Star Trek reboot did. It took a cheesy series and made it something epic. I had this idea awhile back that Power Rangers could do this in a film trilogy. The first one would be mostly based on "Day of the Dumpster", the second would be a mix of "Green With Evil" and "Island of Illusion", and the finale would be a mix of "The Green Candle" and "Doomsday", but unlike the original series, it would feature Tommy's death and Rita and her gang being sealed back into the dumpster. Fun fact: before anyone knew Power Rangers would become a phenomenon, the "Doomsday" two-parter was originally going to be the series finale and feature Rita's defeat. If the new film can pull off something like I'm hoping for, maybe they'll be able to bring me into the theater.

For now though, I say goodbye to Power Rangers. Will I come back? At this point, it seems unlikely. But if they're able to do something big to bring back not just me, but other fans also jilted after Megaforce...well, I guess time will tell.

If you need me, I'll be getting the bad taste out of my mouth with highly superior fanmade version.

Comics Review: "Superman: Doomed" - Super Fuster Cluck (SPOILERS)

While I am familiar with well known moments from Superman's comic book history like "The Death of Superman" and Geoff Johns' 2008 "Brainiac" storyline, it wasn't until the New 52 began that I decided to add a Superman title to my pulllist. Instead of the main "Superman" title, I decided to go with "Action Comics", which began with Grant Morrison telling a new version of Superman's early days. Eventually, "Action" jumped to the present and found a steady new writer in Greg Pak. Since some Superman "events" were happening the main book and written by Scott Lobdell, I missed things like "H'El on Earth" and "Psi-War", though from what I've heard, they weren't that good. But then the "Doomed" event was announced, and with "Action Comics" involved, it looks like I was along for the ride for my first Superman event.

Let me start by saying that this event had a lot of build-up across almost the whole Superman line: Action Comics, Superman, Superman/Wonder Woman, and to less extant, Batman/Superman and Supergirl. For the most part with events, you can follow along but not have to worry about doing research. This is one of those cases where you pretty much needed to be following along the whole time. Since I was only reading "Action", I was somewhat lost when the actual event started in certain areas. The main Doomsday build-up was happening in "Superman/Wonder Woman" while "Superman" dealt with a storyline involving Lois Lane developing psi-powers and the citizens of Smallville inflicted by a disease putting them in comas. In addition, Cyborg Superman, who plays a part in the event later, was appearing in "Supergirl", but I wasn't covering that, and if it wasn't for the Cyborg Superman one-shot from DC's Villains Month, I wouldn't have known that it was Zor-El, Supergirl's father and Superman's uncle, experimented on by Brainiac and acting as a herald to find worlds to collect. The point is, there's a lot going on, and if you were only reading just one of these books, you won't get a full grasp of the event.

But I think that is only half the problem with this event. The main premise of "Doomed" wasn't going to be a rehash of "Death of Superman" for the New 52, but after Part One of the event depicts Superman defeating Doomsday, he is infected by a virus that causes him to actually transform into a Doomsday creature, being triggered by stress or anger, similar to Bruce Banner turning into Hulk. Now when the event began with that premise, I thought it was pretty good. We would see Superman dealing with something he couldn't control and his friends would have to find a way to save him. There's even a really good issue of "Superman/Wonder Woman" where she finds him in his Doomsday state and its causing him to vent his frustrations about her and their relationship.

If that was going to be the main focus of the event, maybe I would feel differently about this event. But once Brainiac attacks Earth again, using the psi-powered Lois we find out is under his control to lead his forces, and is also behind the comas in Smallville as the beginning of collecting all the minds of everyone on Earth, it just goes all over the place. I believe there's some attempt to explain that Brainiac was somehow responsible for infecting Superman with the Doomsday virus, but I didn't really understand it. Honestly, it feels like there were two very different stories occurring in the event that were poorly connected. If it wasn't for the personal moments between the characters throughout this events, I don't think I would have made it through.

The best way to describe the ending of this event is "Deus Ex Machina". Eventually, Superman confronts Brainiac, who reveals his plan to collect psionic energy of people across the universe to rewrite it to his own whim, particularly to revive his wife and son. Let me explain why I have a hard time following that. I know comic book science can be totally out there, but I have never heard of the idea of people's consciousnesses or minds could actually manipulate reality. Even the anime "Code Geass" worked with the idea that all people's consciousnesses were part of a system that makes up God, but even that idea didn't deal with changing things as drastically as Brainiac wanted here. Besides that, the way people have seen Brainiac is that she's this emotionless being who does things on an intellectual or preservationist level. I know the New 52 can makes changes to characters as they want, but don't try to make me feel emotion for someone like Brainiac. Lex Luthor, sure, make him a member of the Justice League and give him a sad story about his sister, but I really don't think Brainiac can be done that way either.
To defeat Brainiac, Lois uses her own powers to transfer his psionic energy into Superman, which creates what I'd like to call a "SuperDoomBrain" creature. If anyone has a better name, I'd like to hear it, cause I honestly feel dumb typing and referring to him as that, and I hope whoever came up with that idea did. Superman then uses that energy to free the minds Brainiac had collected, which apparently burns out that power but also the Doomsday virus, reverting Superman to his normal state. Like I said, "Deus Ex Machina." It just seems like a quick resolution to the whole event, which lasted way longer than it should have in my opinion.

Now the finale of this event was supposed to be out at the end of August but ended up delayed to the end of September. Usually when that happens, it's due to an art delay, but upon reading it, I think it was to tie-in more with the "Futures End" Five Years Later event DC has all its titles involved in that month. The final moments of the finale have Superman forcing Brainiac's ship into a black hole, trapping them both. They are separated, and Brainac ends up in a place where he views visions of the classic DC universe before "Flashpoint" occurred. A week later in the "Futures End" weekly series, we find Brainiac, apparently unheard of since "Doomed", with a new giant robotic body and residing on what he calls the "Blood Moon". In addition to that, in these connecting "Futures End" covers, a wave of energy is coming from Brainiac's hand, and if you look closely, you can see DC characters in their classic depictions.

Obviously, this is all building up to DC's "Blood Moon" event occurring next April. I have my own thoughts on what could happen there, but that would get us off topic. I'll just say that when I saw the last page of Brainiac looking at the old DC universe, I was a little frustrated that this event once again threw in another plotpoint we have to go elsewhere to find out what's happening.

Since this event actually ended in September, you're probably wondering why it took so long to get a review up. Well, I had to wait for Action Comics #35, which acted as an aftermath issue, to find out what happened to Superman and everyone else. There were also aftermath issues in "Superman/Wonder Woman" and "Supergirl", but as I feel they aren't necessary, I didn't read them. So apparently the aftermath of the event has the same problem as the build-up, where you can't get the whole story from the main portion, and need bookends to prop it up. So eventually, Superman finds his way home after two months and the issue deals with him exploring how the worlds has fared since Brainiac's defeat, and through a convoluted plan that would take awhile to explain, he realizes that even with the damaged caused through his battles, he still serves as an inspiration to the people of Earth.
The one drawback of this issue though is that Lois, who had discovered Clark was Superman in the main story, has forgotten his identity due to the loss of her psi-powers. In my opinion, that's a loss of a potentially good story. Apparently DC wants to keep pushing the Superman/Wonder Woman relationship, but would it have really hurt to have Lois know the secret? We all know that Superman and Wonder Woman's relationship will end at some point, DC even said so, so why not make it interesting and have a sort of love triangle? Sure Clark has more in common with Diana, but everyone's so familiar with his relationship with Lois. It could have left the door open for Lois and Clark to reignite things. But I guess DC wants to see how long they can keep the powerhouse couple afloat.

So to wrap things up, I wouldn't say it's a bad event. I mean, I gave it a fair shot and tried my best to like it and it did do some interesting things. The personal moments between characters got me through it though some plotpoints were confusing and probably played out too long. Maybe if I had been reading the other books involved, it would have been clearer and I may have enjoyed it more. I'm really just glad it's over and that "Action Comics" can get back to its own thing for awhile.

I usually give number scores for these comic reviews, one for story and one for recommendation, but I honestly can't really place numbers on this event. I'll just say that if you want to give it a try, go for it. I heard the trade collection will include the prelude and aftermath issues along with the main story, so you'd be lucky there.