Op/Ed: DC's "Rebirth" Should Have Happened Sooner (SPOILERS)

"I love this world. But there's something missing."

- Wally West

Happy days may be ahead as DC's "Rebirth" initiative has begun. Having read the one-shot special, I can say that it was probably one of the best comics I've read, with emotional moments (one in particular that gave me goosebumps) and setting up a bright future but also teasing a looming threat. Compared to when the New 52 started, going into "Rebirth", I have a lot of enthusiasm for what DC has planned. I'm even considering buying the "Rebirth" omnibus that will eventually come out, and maybe future trades for some series depending how I feel about the initial issues in the collection.
From my own personal standpoint though, I have to ask: what took so long? Now I've actually been planning a write-up about my feeling toward DC for over a year now but was waiting until the conclusion of Justice League's "Darkseid War" storyline to put it all together. "Rebirth" here was just the cherry on top. Buckle in, because this is going to be a long post.

Let's start all the way back in May 2014. DC had just wrapped up the "Forever Evil" event, with the final page teasing the Anti-Monitor claiming that he will destroy Darkseid. At the same time, the weekly series "Futures End" had begun, telling the story of Terry McGinnis/Batman Beyond traveling back 30 years to what would be five years from the present DCU to prevent the artificial intelligence Brother Eye from taking over the Earth. One of the events mentioned in the series was how after Earth 2 had been destroyed (which would be detailed in the subsequent and concurrent weekly series "Earth 2: World's End") by Darkseid, the survivors of that world had came to the Prime Earth through a boomtube. This lead to an all out war with Apokolips against the heroes of two worlds, the aftermath resulting in a very dark future as seen in the "Futures End" weekly.
Considering the looming presence of the Anti-Monitor, Darkseid's threat to both worlds and the tease of a crossover between the two, it appeared that DC was planning a big event that would detail the war mentioned in "Futures End", but have a different outcome with the Anti-Monitor's involvement and the time travel aspects. And considering 2015 would be the 30th Anniversary of "Crisis on Infinite Earths", which also featured the heroes of the multiverse fighting a major threat to all existence, it just seemed right.
But there was more. "Futures End" had another major threat in Brainiac, who appeared to become just as dangerous as Darkseid and the Anti-Monitor. Take a look at some of these connecting covers from "Futures End".

Take a close look at the red energy coming from Brainiac's hand. It's characters from the DC Universe before it rebooted with the New 52. It seemed that whatever DC was planning, their old universe would actually play a part in it. Picture it: the heroes of the New 52's Prime Earth and Earth 2 and the pre-Flashpoint DC Universe against the powers of Darkseid, Anti-Monitor, and Brainiac. If anything, it would have been more of a proper send-off for the old universe than "Flashpoint" gave us, as well as make the main New 52 Earth feel like the old Earth. Unfortunately though, what we got was very different.

DC had announced two different events, "Convergence" and "Darkseid War".
"Convergence" would be a two month weekly series culminating from the end of "Futures End" and "Earth 2: World's End". As a result of "Futures End", the survivors of Earth 2 don't teleport to Prime Earth, drifting through space on multiple life-ships. In addition, a group of Earth 2 heroes (Val-Zod/Superman, Thomas Wayne/Batman, Jay Garrick/Flash, Alan Scott/Green Lantern, Wildcat, and Dick Grayson) are somehow transported to Telos, Brainiac's living planet that contains cities he collected from past timelines from DC's history, from pre-Crisis Earths 1 and 2 to the pre-Flashpoint DCU and everything in between. With Brainiac's capture in "Futures End", Telos decides to take charge and forces the heroes from the cities collected to battle each other to see who is the strongest.
"Darkseid War" would by contrast be contained to the main "Justice League" book.

My thoughts on "Convergence" are that it started out interesting, kind of had a lull during the middle, but had a satisfying conclusion. Though if there's one thing I can't forgive it for, it's not showing the conversation Earth 2 Thomas Wayne had with pre-Flashpoint Bruce Wayne. That could have been a tear-jerking moment, but it just got glossed over.
However, the real heart of the "Convergence" event were the 40 2-part miniseries tying into it. Each week during the two months were dedicated to a past era of DC's history, so whichever era you grew up, you had a chance to read your favorite heroes again as you were familiar with them. For me personally, it was the weeks that showed the pre-Flashpoint heroes. While DC had continuity altering events before, they never had the significance that the New 52 did. The pre-Flashpoint DCU was the culmination of everything that came before. It was a joy reading and looking into some of these stories, like seeing Stephanie Brown as Batgirl, Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon finally getting married, and Clark and Lois still together and having a child. It was definitely feeling like the last hurrah for the pre-Flashpoint DCU. So between this and the fact that I was rewatching the "Young Justice" animated series at the time, I had to ask, why did we have to lose all this history?

While I appreciate the New 52 for expanding my horizons and DC reading list, I couldn't help but wonder if DC still would have been able to create new jumping on points but not starting from scratch. I would say that probably half of the stories, at least in premise, told under the New 52 could have still happened in the old universe albeit with some changes, particularly the Batman and Green Lantern lines. There could have still been changes to the universe, whether they be costumes or origin stories, but only if necessary. For starters, there were many characters who had their history and relationships removed and restarted, including the pretty much every Teen Titan and former Batgirls Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain, who would be introduced years after the New 52's beginning. Yeah, there'd be none of that. "Superman and the Men of Steel" and "Batman: Zero Year" could still work since they took place in the past. "Justice League: Origin" though, I would set in the present, with the new League forming to face the returning Darkseid. As for costumes, Superman would retain his classic look (and still be with Lois to boot) and I actually liked Wonder Woman's "Odyssey" redesign (I don't know why it's a problem for her to have pants). Characters whose new designs could have worked were Batman, Nightwing, and Cyborg. Bruce was reestablished as the one and only Batman after sharing the role with Dick, who had been moving back to his Nightwing role. For Cyborg, he could have been be upgraded with Apokoliptic tech. I could go on, but that would warrant its own post, so I digress.

But back to what we actually got. Following "Convergence", DC began the DCYou era (a name I didn't really like; I would have gone with "Divergence"). Largely, a number of titles had very little to do with the aftermath of "Convergence" and continued to do what they were doing before, but with major shake-ups. Some examples include Superman slowly being depowered and his identity being revealed to the public and Bruce Wayne getting amnesia with Batman believed to be dead, leaving Jim Gordon to become the new city-sanctioned Batman. Aside from that, most other changes were just new costumes for Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Flash, etc.
The problem during this era though was DC's new stance of "creativity over continuity". Despite the changes going on in their solo books, the main Justice League book, which began "Darkseid War", seemed largely unaffected. It begged the question of when "Darkseid War" actually took place, before or after the events going on in other characters' books. I remained steadfast in my belief that "Darkseid War" happened before everything else. As it would turn out though, it happened after. There in lies the problem with "creativity over continuity". I like to have a sense of when stories take place in relation to each other as I'm reading them. Let me clarify with an example. After Bruce got his memory back and became Batman again, he was wearing a new costume. But as we see Bruce in "Darkseid War", he is clearly wearing his New 52 suit as he had been. In addition to that, Cyborg had also gotten a new design for DCYou, but he still had his previous look during "Darkseid War". However, there were some points where his DCYou look was used, only to go back to his old look later. But then you have the other characters who had gotten new suits for a little while, for seemingly no reason, only to go back to their previous original New 52 suits. It just seemed pointless.
In fact, a lot of aspects of the DC Universe between "Convergence" and "Rebirth" seemed pointless. Besides costume changes, any status quo shake-ups were undone in under a year. Superman losing his powers? Surprise, he got them back. Hal Jordan becoming a renegade and the rest of the Green Lantern Corps missing? Look, they're all back. Bruce getting amnesia and Gordon becoming Batman? Bruce is back and Gordon becomes Commissioner again. On top of that, Gordon got a hair cut and shaved his mustache while he was Batman, but he quickly and automatically looks like his old self by the end. Speaking for the stories themselves, powerless Superman was interesting at first but lasted a bit longer than it needed. And while Gordon as Batman was somewhat entertaining in the main Batman book, it wasn't as good in any other book he appeared in.
I mean, there were still some good times to be had in the DCYou era (some of those titles include Justice League, Grayson, and Robin: Son of Batman), but having shake-ups just for the sake of them and having them undone in a short period of time with seemingly no major impacts afterwards could really irk some readers. I was trying not to bring Marvel into this, but at least they're sticking with Sam Wilson as Captain America and Jane Foster as Thor for the foreseeable future.

In contrast to "Convergence" though, I really enjoyed the "Darkseid War" story in Justice League. It was very focused and its conclusion did a good job of setting up "Rebirth". It also dealt with characters from different worlds coming together, but in this case, it was the Justice League of Prime Earth and the remaining members of Earth 3's Crime Syndicate. So the multiverse aspect was still there.
That said, I still feel that "Convergence" and "Darkseid War" should have and somehow could have been merged into one event. Yes, "Convergence" was considered a "filler" event while DC was moving operations to the west coast, but it still had some ramifications, from the Telos planet becoming the new Earth 2 and the pre-Flashpoint Superman and his family secretly residing on Prime Earth.
To break it down, it would have been the New 52's heroes of Prime Earth and Earth 2, the Crime Syndicate of Earth 3, and the pre-Flashpoint heroes against Darkseid, Anti-Monitor, and Brainiac. Among the major ramifications would be the death of New 52 Superman, whose role would be filled by the pre-Flashpoint Superman, and the return of pre-Flashpoint Wally West. "Rebirth" could have been the aftermath of this event and set the next stage for the DC Universe.
Considering that people had a taste of the old DC universe again in the "Convergence" tie-ins and the goal of "Rebirth" being to re-establish legacy to the DC universe, it would have just made sense for one to lead into the other. I don't think we would have missed much if we just skipped over the DCYou era and jumped straight into "Rebirth" (especially since all the DCYou titles are being cancelled anyway).

Again, while I appreciate the New 52 for getting me more into DC, in some respects, I do agree with some of the criticisms it received. While there were still good stories, and many will attest to that, at times, the New 52 did feel dark and miserable, sometimes just for the sake of being new and different. To compare the past and the future, look at these two promo images from the pre-Flashpoint and Rebirth universes:

Do you know what I see in these images? Hope. Icons. Legacy. Heroes Together. And they actually look happy. Like they're waking up from a five year coma and ready to live again.

It's been a bumpy road since the New 52 began. There's been good and bad. But honestly, no era was perfect. It could just be a matter of opinion of what's best or maybe nostalgia clouds our minds and make us forget the bad moments. I'm sure the "Rebirth" era will have its misfires, but at the moment, the future looks bright. You just have to have hope. As the Blue Lanterns say "All will be well".

Movie Review: "X-Men: Apocalypse" - Third Ones Aren't Always the Worst (Minor Spoilers)

After "X-Men: Days of Future Past", many fans were filled with hope that with almost everything fair game again, we would get X-Men movies that would feel more like the comics and cartoons. Between the introduction of Apocalypse to the franchise and young actors cast to play Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm, Nightcrawler, and Angel, it seems like it was about to happen. And being set in the 80's, it looked to be the movie I expected we would get when "First Class" was still in early pre-production. As more and more info came out about the film, I believed it would be the X-Men film we've waited 16 years for. So does it live up to the hype? In some ways, very much so. In others, it may make you wanting more in the next one.

I'll start out by saying that it's a very special effects heavy movie. There's a lot of destruction, and like Jeff Goldblum says in the "Independence Day: Resurgence" trailer, "they like to hit the monuments." Within the X-Men franchise though, you could compare the major special effects to X3, but there's actually some heart behind it in "Apocalypse".
Like in DOFP, I feel "Apocalypse" pushes the limits of the PG-13 rating with some pretty cringe-worthy deaths and fight scenes, which I like. They aren't playing it safe like they used to, and they do some things I'm not sure even Marvel would do (although in comparison, the humor is about on the same level as Marvel).

Let's go over characters now, starting with the eponymous villain. Oscar Isaac delivers a pretty powerful performance as Apocalypse in both personality and actions. He reminds me somewhat of Ultron in that he wants to make the world what he views as a better place under his rule with only the strong surviving to serve him.
As mentioned before, we're introduced to younger versions of characters we saw in the original trilogy. It was really nice seeing a young Scott and Jean, from how they cope with their powers and how they meet. In my opinion, they finally get some shining moments that I felt were missing from the characters before. I won't spoil how, but I think it's probably obvious. I could really believe they grow up to be the older versions we've met before. I could say the same for Nightcrawler as well. He's kind of the comic relief much like in "X2" as well as retains his religious views, although he doesn't get as much focus this time around, despite still being entertaining. The younger Storm is interesting and understandable with her character arc, but I felt she was lacking when using her powers, at least compared to her older version. Let's just hope that this version doesn't inexplicably lose her accent like Halle Berry did.
However, the ones who truly suffer in this movie are Angel and Psylocke. More so with Angel though. While he certainly does more here than in X3, he was very underdeveloped in comparison. With X3, we saw he was conflicted about his mutant powers with what he and his father wanted for him. I don't know what Angel's deal is in "Apocalypse" though. And besides that, he kind of dies in a pretty sucky way. As for Psylocke, while it's nice to see her more prominent and actually more like her comic-self than in X3 (like actually using her powers), she too was underdeveloped. However, she may have a chance for redemption in a future movie.

Now let's talk about the main ensemble that started back in "First Class". I can't really say much about MacAvoy's Xavier or Hoult's Beast, because they're about what you expected from the previous movies, though it's nice to see Xavier finally bald.
Jennifer Lawrence has gotten a lot of flack from previews for this movie for hardly appearing in Mystique's blue form in any footage. Like, so much for "mutant and proud". It's no secret that behind the scenes, she doesn't like to go through the make-up process. I will say though that the film does give her a good reason to hide her true self. Since saving President Nixon in the previous film, Mystique has been deemed a hero by many young mutants. It is nice to see how she becomes more accepting of this role though. I know some people don't like how they've made Mystique more of a hero in these films since "First Class", but like a lot of things in this franchise, I try to accept how they do things and not worry about how they differed from the comics.
If anyone gets the most development though, it's Fassbender as Magneto. I wasn't as sympathetic toward him in DOFP, but with this film, I was feeling the same pain for him that I did back in "First Class". I really don't want to go full spoilers about why specifically, but I think you'll feel the same as I did. I had a friend compare Magneto and Apocalypse's relationship to that of Vader and Sidious, and I have to say it was pretty apt.
Overall, this film brings a good conclusion to all four of these character's arcs.

Two characters truly stood out though. The first of course is Quicksilver. Having one of the most entertaining moments back in DOFP, it was without question he would come back. Not bad for a character Fox added last minute just to screw with Marvel. This time around, he has an even more epic slow-mo scene than his kitchen scene in DOFP. I don't think anyone will be left disappointed. We also get a more personal aspect this time around with him wanting to connect with Magneto, who is indeed revealed to be his father. It's going to be interesting how their relationship plays out in future films.
And of course, Hugh Jackman returns as Wolverine. Yeah I know, it's the eighth freaking time in a row, but you can't deny the guy knows how to play the role. And while it's just a cameo, this is probably the best Wolverine moment out of the whole franchise. Remember how he fought the soldiers invading the mansion in X2? Well here, his berserker rage is amped up even further. Like I said before, the film pushes its PG-13 limits, and Wolverine in this film is no exception. People won't be complaining about bloodless Wolverine fight scenes after this.

One aspect I didn't like though was how Moira MacTaggert (reprised by Rose Bryne) was used in the film. Apparently Charles wiped her memories of him and the others completely, and it was really frustrating to watch. I mean, I thought all he did was wipe out her memories from before they headed to the mansion in "First Class". I didn't think he would go all "Superman II". And even in the end, he lets her remember what happened, so what was even the point?

In some ways, it kind of feels like Bryan Singer is still cleaning up some of the messes the franchise made while he was gone. X3 introduced so many characters just for the hell of it, and while I feel this film does bring in a lot of characters, they still feel important (well with the exception of Blob). And a lot like X2, Singer had a chance to do Wolverine's origin again, succeeding in about five minutes what his actual "Origins" film failed to do in about two hours.

As exciting as this film was, I feel that "Days of Future Past" is still the best film of the franchise. I mean, "Apocalypse" was pretty damn close, but it has its problems. And while I did feel "Apocalypse" succeeded in doing things the franchise hadn't done before and continuing to embrace it's comic book roots, I don't think we'll get a TRUE X-Men film until next time. The fact that they actually get their own unique suits (which I wish they would have kept out of previews so we could be surprised) in the end and training against Sentinels in the Danger Room was a pretty good indicator.

Overall, fans of the franchise will no doubt enjoy what this film delivers, both satisfying them and leaving them wanting more the next time around.

RATING: 9/10

My Personal X-Men Film Rankings:
1. X-Men: Days of Future Past
2. X-Men: Apocalypse
3. Deadpool
4. X-Men: First Class
5. X2
6. The Wolverine
7. X-Men
8. X-Men: The Last Stand
9. X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Movie Review: "Captain America: Civil War" - 'Glory and Gore Go Hand in Hand'

If you had told me two years ago after "Winter Soldier" that the third Captain America movie would be based on "Civil War", include a dozen heroes, AND feature Spider-Man, I would have said you were a crazy fanboy expecting too much from a character's solo movie. But here we are now, all those things happened, and as everyone expected, it's the best film yet to come from Marvel, being a culmination of everything that's come so far and setting up quite a bit for the future, having even more of an impact than the preceding Avengers film.

If I was going to put a ratio on it, I would say this film was 67% of a Captain America movie and 33% of an Avengers movie. It mostly builds itself off of Captain America's solo movies and could be seen as a true conclusion to the character's film trilogy (unless we get a fourth movie in the future). At the same time though, we have the inclusion of other heroes who do get some pretty good focus while not hindering Cap's.

Last year, I expected a bit much from "Age of Ultron" to directly set up "Civil War". It did, but in subtle ways. I've come to realize that with an Avengers movie, it needed to end on a positive note. Captain America's movies, however, are more of the darker political thrillers that appear to have the bigger impacts. In this movie, we get a closer examination of the consequences of events from other movies, as well as this one, showing the effects on the public and the casualties that resulted.
I went into this movie being on Team Cap, much like how I was in the comics, but this movie did a really good job of making us see things from Iron Man's side. They even base a scene right from the comics of a mother coming up to Stark and blaming him and the other heroes for the death of her son.
Considering this movie is about the government wanting more say in the Avengers' activities, the ironic thing is that the idea of the Avengers in the movies started out as a government initiative through SHIELD before going off on their own. Hell, even "The Ultimates", which initially and partially served as inspiration for the first Avengers film, were a government based team.

The character interactions are truly the heart of the film. Given we've had 12 movies building up to this movie, it really adds to the heartbreak of watching these characters who are friends going at each other. While there's the main conflict between Steve and Tony, another relationship focused on is Wanda/Scarlet Witch and Vision. As comic readers know, these characters marry, and said romance between them is prominent. They are quite likely the undisputed strongest members of the Avengers, and they know it. Something that was really hinted at with Wanda in "Age of Ultron" was her moments of losing control of her powers, such as when she briefly read Vision's mind while in the cradle and when she decimated a few Ultron bots while screaming in agony over her brother's death. This movie takes it further, considering her loss of control over powers results in a number of casualties and more incidents later. Vision, who seems to have more control over his powers despite not knowing the capabilities of his Infinity Stone (oh I feel that's gonna be an emotional moment when Thanos comes for it), is protective of Wanda, even when they're on oppostie sides, surprising himself how much he cares.

We get two new heroes introduced to the MCU in this film. The first is T'Challa, the Black Panther. I tell you, he is a character you don't want to mess with. His combat skills make him one of the best fighters we've seen in the MCU. Besides that, he goes through a good character arc from being set on revenge to letting it subside to do the right thing. I really look forward to his solo movie in a few years (though I bet he'll have a few guest stars based on the mid-credits scene).
But of course, there's one character everyone's been waiting for, and who I was most excited to see, in a Marvel movie: Spider-Man. Portrayed now by Tom Holland, we have the youngest Peter Parker we've seen yet in film and who I would say is the perfect mix of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. He's able to dish out the quips between some banter with both Stark and Rogers as well as annoying the other heroes with how much he talks (and he is hilarious by the way). At the same time though, he's about as awkward as you'd expect from a teenage hero who's moved up to the big leagues. In a way, he seems out of place among the other heroes, but it feels natural considering he sticks around New York and now he's thrust into a battle between heroes who have a global focus. As for the costume, much like the Amazing Spider-Man 2 suit, it's the closest adaptation we've had, but even more. The way the eyes move are great too (I do wonder how they work though). As much as me and many fans complained about not seeing enough Spidey in footage before the movie's release, I'm glad they kept him under wraps for as long as they did, because it made me appreciate him even more. Something I liked during his first meeting with Stark was when he was asked how he got his powers and replies "It's a long story". It's a good reference to how many times people have seen the origin while also keeping the promise that they'll just breeze over it. Even here, we do get a subtle way explaining why he's Spider-Man, but without referencing Uncle Ben or "With great power comes great responsibility". If there's one thing I'm not sure about, it's that he and Aunt May live in an apartment instead of a house. I know it's not a big deal, but it's just different from every other version of Spider-Man I've seen. Needless to say, I look forward to his solo movie next year.

While the main conflict of the film is between the heroes, the main villain of the movie is based on Baron Zemo. I say 'based on' because he's very different from his comics version. I really don't want to get into much detail without spoiling much, but he's a very unique villain for the MCU. Let's just say he's not motivated with world domination, and we may be seeing him again if anything with the Thunderbolts is planned.

The action in this movie is even better than in "Winter Soldier". The hand-to-hand combat is still top notch and we get the most amazing superhero melee that I think even the Infinity War films (or whatever they're going to be renamed) will have a hard time outdoing. But of course, there's the climactic battle with Tony against Steve and Bucky. It gets pretty damn brutal and if your heart wasn't breaking watching the movie before, it will at this point.

Like I mentioned before but won't go into detail about, this movie, much like the Civil War of the comics, has a major impact on the future of the MCU (but handled MUCH better here). The split between the heroes will continue on, and while I'm sure these effects will continue to be felt in characters' solo movies while including guest stars, it does make me wish we could get a few extra movies that focus on these separate Avengers teams before they undoubtedly reunite in Infinity War.
And as much as I loved "Batman v Superman", I will admit that "Civil War" was the better film. I still don't understand though how critics can hate one and love the other when they're almost exactly the same. You'd understand what I mean if you saw both films.
Overall, whether this if your first Marvel movie or you've been here since "Iron Man", you'll most likely come down with some major feels while watching.

RATING: 10/10

Updated Marvel Cinematic Universe Film Rankings:
1. Captain America: Civil War
2. Avengers: Age of Ultron
3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
4. The Avengers
5. Guardians of the Galaxy
6. Ant-Man
7. Iron Man 3
8. Thor
9. Captain America: The First Avenger
10. Iron Man
11. The Incredible Hulk
12. Iron Man 2
13. Thor: The Dark World

Top 10 WORST "Teen Titans Go!" Episodes

 
A revamp of the original series, "Teen Titans Go!" was billed as a more comedic take of the adolescent superhero team, and even got the original voice actors back to play the characters. While not a direct continuation of the original, it followed in the footsteps of animated shows like Family Guy and Futurama in series that were cancelled but brought back years later. Despite being flat out described as a comedy, the show still received criticism from fans for not being serious. I actually defended the show, saying that it shouldn't be taken seriously because it's a comedy, even comparing it to "Ultimate Spider-Man" which we were supposed to take seriously but acts more like a comedy. My how things change in time.
Where "Ultimate Spider-Man" got better season by season, "Teen Titans Go!" just got worse and worse, with good episodes becoming fewer and far between. It finally hit me just how disgraceful this show was to the legacy of the characters from both the comics and original series as well as the fans. To be blunt, the characters were turned into selfish assholes, complete idiots, or a combination of the two. It just depends on what the episode requires. Now to the show's credit, I do like that they reference other DC characters like Batman, show a more romantic connection between Beast Boy and Raven, and there's a lot of creativity when it comes to the songs and anthology episodes. But the stupidity just got the best of the show. And while I feel I shouldn't have to keep saying it at this point, just because something is made for kids doesn't make it okay to put in little effort into the eventual crappy result.
I finally stopped watching a few episodes into season three with "Hey You, Don't Forget About Me In Your Memory". I'm honestly surprised I lasted that long, so you can't say I didn't give it a chance. I haven't watched any new episode since and I'm all the better for it. I've wanted to write about this show before, but didn't want to do it in a way that would come off an an incessant rant, so I thought a top ten list of the worst episodes would give me focus. While I don't doubt there have probably been more bad episodes since then, for the sake of this list, I'm only analyzing episodes from before the point I stopped watching. If I could put a range on how episodes of the show can be, it would go from 'good' to 'passable' to 'bad' to 'forgettable' to 'not worth talking about'. The episodes I picked are what I feel are the worst for one reason or another and deserve to be torn down.
Making this list was hard, and not just because I had to rewatch these episodes and take notes. While thinking of what episodes to include, it's like the floodgates opened. I considered expanding the list to 20, but thought 10 was enough to get the point across. I would do a Dishonorable Mentions list, but there would just be too many.
And with that, let's begin the Top 10 Worst Episodes of "Teen Titans Go!". If I drank, this is where I would take a shot.

10. LEG DAY

PREMISE: Raven helps the other Titans build up their leg strength so they can save the city.

WHY IT MAKES THE LIST: The episode begins with the Titans working on building their muscles, except for Raven who is working on her legs. The other Titans are so obsessed with their muscles that they begin passionately kissing them, slobbering and moaning, and eventually get into an muscle kissing orgy pile. I just typed "muscle kissing orgy pile". Twice now. I also had to write that in my notes. That is not a phrase that should ever be said or written. Seriously, it's pretty disturbing. The city then gets attacked by an army of robot invaders, but the Titans, after once again making out with their muscles, are outmatched because they lack leg strength. So Raven helps them train their legs, leading them to getting over-muscular. I would make a Rob Liefeld joke, but we actually see their feet so the joke would be moot. In a previous good episode "Legs", Raven starts to use her legs more when fighting crime, eventually taking on the new identity of Lady Legasus. She takes on the name again, and once the other Titans get their more powerful legs, they get their own leg-based names, which I will not post because they're freaking stupid. In my opinion, this episode puts a stain on that good episode because they take the concept that legs are super powerful too far. Hell, they even start using their legs for things arms are for, like pointing, scratching, and taking a drink, despite the fact they are all wearing shoes. Something I didn't mention before is that the robot invaders don't have any arms and rely on their big legs. So it's a "fight fire with fire" situation. A very stupid fight fire with fire situation. Long story short, the Titans win, and begin kissing their leg muscles in celebration, but thankfully don't get into another orgy pile. Seriously, I shouldn't be talking about the Teen Titans and orgies in the same sentence.

In a paradoxical way, this is an episode that's really not worth talking about, but it's just stupid enough to make this list.

9. NO POWER

PREMISE: Robin challenges the other Titans to go 24 hours without using their powers, and whoever lasts the longest becomes the new leader of the team.

WHY IT MAKES THE LIST: Now this is an episode that could have worked, but it makes the Titans look so damn lazy and over-reliant on their powers, using them for stupid reasons. The episode starts with Robin developing an obstacle course, and while he runs it, the others teleport, fly, or blast their way through it. Throughout the series, Robin is the butt of everyone's jokes because he has no powers of his own. Annoyed that the others seem to get by so easy with their power, Robin issues the challenge. It's then we see the laziness of these characters. With Beast Boy and Cyborg, it's not so bad. However, Raven can barely walk because she always levitates, and ends up having to use a walker and segway over the course of the episode. But Starfire is the worst because she blasts holes in walls because the door is "too far away", despite being just a few extra goddamn steps (like in the picture above)! As the challenge begins, they each slightly use their powers but get called out by Robin, who I'm surprised just didn't disqualify them immediately. The HIVE attack the city, but instead of putting a time out on the challenge, Robin says they still can't use their powers to fight the villains. Watching Robin fight, they realize he gets by because of his gadgets, so the other Titans grab random objects like a stick, mailbox, and rabid cat to use to defeat the HIVE. With the team getting by easier now, Robin starts to get worried and sets up a ruse where he's tied up to explosives that will blow him up if the Titans don't reach him at the end of the obstacle course in time, hoping they'll give in and use their powers and lose the challenge. So with their friend in danger, the Titans...still try to make it to him without using their powers. You know, I get that they probably want to try and accomplish this with their own skills, but when you're failing to make it across the course and you're friend can potentially die, that's when you give it your all! However, they don't make it and Robin gets blown up, but of course he doesn't really and it was a robot tied up. Robin then gets sincere with them, wondering what makes him so special if the others can get by without their powers so easily. The others comfort him, telling him he is special and they look to him as leader for guidance (Ha ha! Remember that when we get further on the list). But that moment passes quickly as the 24 hours are over and the others start using their powers for stupid and lazy reasons again with Beast Boy declaring that all four of them are the leaders of the Titans, because four leaders on a team of five makes a lot of damn sense. So basically, nobody learned anything, which happens a whole lot on this show.

8. MULTIPLE TRICK PONY

PREMISE: Robin tries to prove he's better than Kid Flash, who wants to join the Titans.

WHY IT MAKES THE LIST: Now to give this episode a little credit, Kid Flash is pretty good in this episode. It's too bad they couldn't get Michael Rosenbaum to play him again like in the original show, but Will Friedle does a good job.

After helping the Titans defeat the HIVE, Kid Flash says he wants to try out for the team. While everyone is willing to accept him, Robin, being the overcompensating jealous prick that he is, says that he can run just as fast as Kid Flash and challenges him to a race in one week so he can train. Robin's training regiment? Believing in himself, which involves looking at himself in the mirror and telling himself that he can do it. Nothing physical at all. As expected, Robin loses the race, as well as all the multiple rematches he asks for. As part of the bet, Kid Flash becomes the new leader of the Titans. Robin becomes depressed until he realizes that the logic of just believing in yourself to accomplish your goals isn't enough as he had to work hard to hone his ninja skills and beat-boxing. However, Kid Flash is even better than Robin in these areas too. Finally, Robin challenges Kid Flash to one more race, claiming that he's believing more than he ever has before. Well, the results are different this time, because when the race begins, Robin whacks Kid Flash in the leg with his staff. Kid Flash keels over in pain allowing Robin to cross the finish line with no challenge. The other Titans then carry off Robin in victory, leaving Kid Flash to writhe in pain.

You know what kind of lessons the original show taught? The value of teamwork. That you're in control of your own destiny and no one else. That you shouldn't treat someone badly because they're a different race than you. What's the moral of this episode of "Teen Titans Go!"? When all else fails, CHEAT. That's right, kids. If you're physically outmatched by someone in a friendly sports competition, strike them with a blunt object to physically injure them so you can win, because everyone will cheer for you when you do. Don't worry, Robin the SUPERHERO says it's okay.

7. REAL MAGIC

PREMISE: Robin's magic tricks impress everyone except Raven, who practices real magic.

WHY IT MAKES THE LIST: The episode begins with the Titans going to a pie shop to find it being robbed by Mumbo the Magician. Everyone except Raven believes it's a real magic show, wanting to see more and end up getting robbed themselves. Raven puts a stop to Mumbo by teleporting him to prison, but ends up getting booed by the others for actually doing her damn job as a superhero. The next day, Robin begins doing his own magic tricks...that would only impress preschoolers, like pulling from quarters from ears, removing his thumb, and acting like he stole Beast Boy's nose (Ha! It's funny because Robin wears green gloves and Beast Boy has green skin! Ha ha ha! Ugh.). But of course, everyone but Raven eats it up, and even boo Raven when she does actual magic. Raven warns Robin not to anger the Magic God with his tricks, or it could lead to consequences. Now to Robin's credit, he actually does get better with his tricks, doing the "pick your card" and ring tricks, despite almost dying trying to escape the water torture chamber. The Magic God then teleports Raven and Robin to his dimension, and while he is angry, it's actually at Raven for heckling Robin for his tricks, more impressed with his magic than hers. He plans to punish Raven, but Robin asks him to give her one last chance. He does and to save herself, Raven removes her thumb, pleasing the Magic God who sends them back home.

Every once in awhile, the people who make this show usually do an episode that subtlety addresses the criticism the show gets through some kind of metaphor. This is one of those episodes. See, after Robin and Raven get teleported back home, Raven learns that "I can't hate things just because they're terrible." I'm still trying to wrap my head around that logic. I mean, I know there's the saying "so bad it's good", where you can find some entertainment value in something bad, but is it that bad if you can still enjoy it? Usually if you think something's terrible, you hate it. That's how opinions work. Now how does this work as a metaphor? Raven represents the fans, her real magic represents the original show, Robin's magic tricks are "Go!", and the lesson Raven learns is "don't hate this show just because it's terrible". Yeah, just because you know and admit you're making an inferior product doesn't make it any better.

6. BABY HANDS

PREMISE: Robin remolds the team after their memories are erased.

WHY IT MAKES THE LIST: As Robin is feeling unappreciated as leader, Brother Blood attacks the city and team jumps into action. Brother Blood complements the team on how well they work together, which makes them think that he's making fun of them. Actually, I'm with them. It was kind of in a mocking tone. Did the show become self-aware about how much they suck in this moment? As well as they do work together, it's probably all just been luck. As it turns out, Brother Blood plans to erase the Titans' memories so they won't have the shared experience or sense of teamwork. Robin leaps at Brother Blood and destroys the machine, but not before it blasts the others and erases their memories. Is Robin angered that his friends don't know who they are? Hell no! He's ecstatic that he can remake them into his legion of ass kissers (Brother Blood escapes as Robin celebrates). Robin takes the team back to the Tower and begins building himself up to them, making up stuff like Cyborg was just a head before Robin gave him his robot body, that he raised Beast Boy from an egg, that he used his magic to bring Raven to life from a blanket, as well as crap about his many powers and adventures. Brother Blood comes back and robs a weapons cache and the Titans go to stop him. However, the other Titans want to watch Robin do it by himself since he's apparently the greatest ever. Yeah, there's the downside of building yourself up to others so much. You can't cash the checks your mouth was writing. And when you're a superhero and you're that powerful, why would you need a team anyway? Brother Blood walks through the Titans, forcing Robin to come clean that he made everything up. However, he removes his gloves to reveal his freakishly tiny baby hands (hence the episode title), and it triggers everyone's memories to return, leading to them being able to defeat Brother Blood. Why does Robin have freakishly small baby hands? My best guess is for shock value. The stupid kind of shock value.

Now, when Cyborg first got his memory erased, he asked Robin why he was the leader. And you know, in the context of this show, that's a damn good question. They don't respect him and often find him irritating and too controlling. Even at the end of this episode, when Robin realizes that things will go back to the way they were before, it seems we'll get a sincere moment when they say "Just because we don't respect you and make fun of you...", but when Robin asks for the "but...?", Starfire replies "There is no 'but'. That's it." I mean, they don't even seem pissed that Robin took advantage of their mindlessness. Maybe it's some kind of co-dependent relationship. Robin needs people to boss around, and the others need someone to ignore. In any case, this episode is just one of many that pay a true disservice to the character of Robin.

5. REAL BOY ADVENTURES

PREMISE: Raven turns Cyborg back into a human.

WHY IT MAKES THE LIST: Remember that episode of the original series where Brother Blood offers Cyborg to join HIVE with the temptation that he could make him human again? Want to know how "Real Boy Adventures" completely shits all over that idea? No? Too bad. The episode starts with Robin unveiling their new hot tub. However, Cyborg laments that he can't enjoy it because he's part robot. As he pines to be human again, Raven speaks up and says she could make that happen. This makes the others question what else Raven can do, and it apparently it takes four days for her to list all over her powers. To iterate my question from before, if someone has that much power, why do they need a team, especially if they actually do have that much power like Raven. So Raven casts her spell and turns Cyborg back into a human. But since he's not part robot anymore, the other Titans decide to call him "Fleshy Guy". You know, instead of his real name, Victor Stone. The real problem with this episode though is that they treat Cyborg as if he was always a robot when that is so not the case. Unfortunately, Victor (I am NOT referring to him as Fleshy Guy) has a hard time living like a human again, not liking how fragile his body is now and even forgetting how to use a toilet. His breaking point comes when he gets a paper cut, leading him to cry and cuddle with his old robot parts, wishing he wasn't human.

The best word to go with this episode is "defilement". The episode absolutely defiles the character of Cyborg. There's a lot of episodes of this show where they defile who these characters are, but this is the absolute worst instance. While Cyborg makes the best of his situation, he would give anything to be a full-on human again.

Robin then goes to console Victor and helps him learn (through song) that being a real boy is great. The HIVE then arrive to try and steal their hot tub. Robin shows up wearing Cyborg's robot parts, saying he lied about how great being a real boy is just so he could salvage his parts for his own use. Unfortunately, Robin doesn't know how to use the parts and gets beaten, but Victor is able to defeat the HIVE as a real boy. And then the episode ends.

I'm not really sure, but I guess the message is that you should be comfortable in your own skin. While Robin technically lied to get what he wanted, Victor was still able to win the day without his robot parts. It just took a really stupid path to get there. Futurama handled this plot a lot better. Sure, Bender got carried away and died in the end, but it was still more entertaining.

4. CROISSANT

PREMISE: The Titans try to understand what it means to have inner beauty.

WHY IT MAKES THE LIST: The episode begins with Starfire showing up with a sloppy make-up job, freaking out Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg, who say that they're only her friends as long as she looks good. Oh we're off to a good start. Robin then interjects and says that looks don't matter, and that it's what's on the inside that counts (despite putting a bag over Starfire's head). He then tells the story about the Ugly Duckling, and in his version, the Duckling becomes a big success once he becomes a swan (remember this for later). This inspires Beast Boy, who says he's going to go through a metamorphosis. The next day, a cocoon appears in the living room and the Titans theorize that Beast Boy is in there and that he's changing due to the fact that he can turn into insects. Once the cocoon opens, a real ugly creature pops out. The Titans try to accept Beast Boy's new look, despite the fact that they gag and throw up constantly while they're with him. Spoiler alert: it gets old fast. Killer Moth begins attacking the city and the Titans spring into action. Killer Moth points out how different Beast Boy looks, so the Titans go through the Ugly Duckling story again with him. Killer Moth points out though that the Duckling is only accepted by the others after he becomes a beautiful swan. This leads the Titans to the logic that ugly things should be together, so they dump Beast Boy off on Killer Moth, who they also consider ugly, and leave in a hurry. Angry at the Titans, Killer Moth builds a ray that turns the Titans into ugly bug monsters, who once again begin to throw up and gag in reaction to their appearances. Absolutely fed up with them, Killer Moth gives them Beast Boy back and goes to bed. You know what though? The Titans deserve what happened to them! Rule of thumb: if you write your protagonists, who in this case are superheroes that are supposed to represent the ideals of good, in a way that makes your audience feel like they deserve some kind of hardship that has been placed on them, you have FAILED as a storyteller.

So the Titans return to the Tower and hide in the dark, when all of a sudden Beast Boy walks in wearing a cap, revealing that what they thought was Beast Boy was actually Chuck, a friend of the Titans' pet worm, Silkie. Beast Boy comforts the Titans saying that it doesn't matter what they look like as long as they act the same (which is especially sweet when he says he'll still hit on Raven however she looks). When they ask what his actual metamorphosis was, he takes off his cap and reveals he got frosted tips in his hair. The other Titans then express their disgust, start throwing up (AGAIN), and order him to get out. The only luxury here is that we only hear it this time as they pan outside to the tower as the episode ends.

OKAY, WHAT THE HELL IS THE LESSON OF THIS EPISODE? Should we or should we not exclude people by how they look and treat them badly? The characters preach one thing and do another. Kids watch this show and they're impressionable, and what's going to stick with them is how they actually treated characters considered ugly, the episode ending on that they should be viewed negatively. Maybe it's just best to say that these Teen Titans are shallow assholes. Our heroes, ladies and gentlemen.

3. CAT'S FANCY

PREMISE: Robin acts like a cat so Starfire will love him.

WHY IT MAKES THE LIST: This was the first episode of Season Three, and apparently they started following the Michael Bay philosophy that they can make something as bad as they want and know that people will still watch. Case in point, "Cat's Fancy."

The episode begins with the team dealing with a bomb placed by Doctor Light. Robin orders Cyborg to defuse it, but he says he doesn't know how. Not because the circuitry is too complex or something like that, it's because he doesn't know anything about technology. Yeah. The guy who is half robot doesn't know about technology. Unfortunately, this episode has much worse powers.

As the others bicker, Starfire actually does something by flying the bomb into the air so it doesn't hurt anyone. It explodes and Starfire crashes down. Robin rushes to her side, fearing that's she gone. Starfire begins to come too as a relieved Robin begins to profess her love to her. But then the show's ADD kicks in as Starfire shows more interest in a nearby cat than what Robin's saying.
One of the many differences between "Go!" and the original series is that the romantic connection between Robin and Starfire is one-sided, with Robin's love going unrequited. This may not have been a problem if they didn't take it to obsessive creepy stalker levels. This episode is the worst I saw it get though, because through Robin's insane logic, to earn Starfire's love, he must become a cat. So he dresses up and starts acting like one. And much to my and the other Titans' surprise, it actually freaking works. The down side of the plan though is that Starfire becomes a shut-in and gets more cats. Robin realizes what he's done and decides to make it right...by dressing up like a dog and chasing all the other cats away. Starfire cries that she lost her "babies" but quickly becomes her vibrant self again when she realizes that she has a new puppy.
And the moral of the episode is...dogs are better than cats? That's the takeaway I got anyway. Honestly, I don't really have to explain what makes this episode bad. It does a great job itself. I do have to wonder though if furries or women with multiple cats would take offense to this episode.

2. BOYS VS. GIRLS

PREMISE: The Titans try to prove who the better sex is.

WHY IT MAKES THE LIST: When it comes to my top two choices on the list, I have to wonder if the writers of this show know what the word "Teen" means, because I don't think it means what they think it does. "Boys vs. Girls" starts with the guys acting as obnoxious as possible, just because they're guys, annoying the girls. The boys reach the conclusion that the girls are annoyed just because they're girls and they wish they were boys, and begin to spout off the stereotypical and sexist bullcrap to explain that boys are stronger and smarter than girls. But apparently Robin's final argument is that girls have cooties. COOTIES. Seriously, how freaking old are these characters? This leads to challenges between them that ends in the girls winning 3-0, and Beast Boy and Cyborg declaring that they're now girls because they're better. They don't start cross-dressing or get surgery or anything. They just decide that they're girls now. An angry Robin then breaks into a government lab to steal actual cooties so he can infect the actual girls. I'm not sure what's worse: that Robin would purposely infect his friends with cooties or that the government was actually developing cooties. Beast Boy and Cyborg rejoin the boy side with Robin, who says he can cure the girls with an actual cootie catcher, but won't do it unless they admit boys are better. The girls then threaten to give the boys cooties if they don't cure them, which leads to the girls chasing the boys across the city. So yeah, the cliche of girls chasing boys because of cooties. Once again, HOW OLD ARE THESE PEOPLE? Never mind the fact that there are actual cooties, but this is a plot for grade-schoolers, not teenagers. "Cow and Chicken" handled this a lot better. As you'd expect though, the girls infect the boys and Robin uses the cootie catcher to cure them all. He then gives a speech admitting girls are better, but Beast Boy says that Robin gave such a good speech that it proves that boys are better. So once again, it's an episode where nobody learns anything.

And without further ado, in my opinion, the WORST episode of "Teen Titans Go!" is...

I'M THE SAUCE

PREMISE: The Titans participate in rainy day activities.

WHY IT MAKES THE LIST: This is actually the episode before the episode where I stopped watching this show. It is so insulting to one's intelligence that I felt dumber for having watched it. It pretty much represents most of what makes this show so bad. Let's dive in.

The episode begins with Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven peacefully reading. But then Robin, who apparently isn't over what happened in a previous episode "Books", barges in, uses a flamethrower to burn their books and forces them to go outside because it's so nice. But then it starts raining and Robin forces everyone back inside. The annoyed Titans ask if they can go back to reading, but control freak Robin says that they have to do rainy day activities and wants someone to ask why. Nobody asks because they don't care, which leads Robin to beat Beast Boy with his staff until he does.

Taking a timeout for a moment, I have to bring up Cyborg's question from "Baby Hands" again. Why is Robin the leader? Why do these characters put up with someone who is so controlling, so insecure, and constantly beats them so he can get his way, and even they themselves find him so irritating? I'm going to go back to my co-dependent relationship theory.

Back to the episode though, Robin asks them if any of them know why it rains. After Raven gives the scientific reason, Robin quickly dismisses it and gives the "real" reason. Apparently, it rains because clouds are sad, so people have to stay inside and do rainy day activities so that they can make the clouds happy again. And of course, all the Titans believe this and want to do their part.

HOW OLD ARE THESE CHARACTERS?! Better question: How old do the people making this show think their audience is?! This is a plot I would expect from Rugrats! Actually, Rugrats would actually do this plot better because there would actually be some sense of intelligence to it. The plot didn't even need to be this complicated. Just have it so the Titans are bored on a rainy day and try to find something to do, and they learn that they don't need to go outside to have fun. Both Arthur and Powerpuff Girls did well with this premise from what I remember.

So the Titans do stuff like playing Hangman and Hide and Seek and build popsicle stick houses and baking soda volcanoes, but it doesn't stop raining. Robin then says they have to play Heads-Up Seven-Up, but since they don't have enough people, he recruits all their villains to play, bribing them with chocolate milk (don't ask). The very idea of something like this is a complete mockery to the concept of superheroes vs. supervillains. It would be like Batman bringing in all his villains for an Easter Egg hunt.

So the game of Heads-Up Seven-Up succeeds in ending the rain, but the Titans want to keep doing rainy day activities, but control freak Robin chastises them and explains that they can only do rainy day activities on actual rainy days. This leads to the Titans going up to the roof to start insulting the clouds so that they'll get upset and start raining again. Unfortunately the cloud actually gets angry and tries to kill the Titans with lightning and hail. Did I mention it has a face too? Robin says they have to appease the cloud by doing the Spaghetti Dance, which he has been trying to get them to do the entire episode. They do it, the clouds are happy again, the end. What more needs to be said about this episode?

At the time of this writing, "Teen Titans Go!" is half-way through its third season and has yet to be renewed for a fourth, and I pray that it doesn't. The only reason I think this show has lasted this long is because of brand recognition. People know theses characters, and if it were something completely original with totally new characters, I doubt it would have made it past one season. Not only is it a disgrace to the name its based on but it also contributes to the dumbing down of young people. While Regular Show is the only show I regularly follow, practically any other show on Cartoon Network is better to watch than "Teen Titans Go!" (with the exception of Uncle Grandpa and Clarence). Then I wonder what if kids whose first experience with these characters are through this show want to read the comics. I don't want them going in thinking Dick Grayson, a man who has carried the mantle of the Bat on two separate occasions, would sink so low as to act like a cat for a girl's attention, not to mention all the other ways this show represents these characters. It is mind-boggling that this is the only DC animated series on TV right now and that it's lasted longer than Green Lantern, Young Justice, and Beware the Batman. There's a new Justice League cartoon coming out soon that will follow the same style as "Go!", and that's all I need to know to not watch that either. Kevin Conroy may be voicing Batman in that, but "Go!" proves that having the old voices alone doesn't make it good. At least we have the animated films for accurate depictions of these characters, and I hope that the "Justice League vs. Teen Titans" film leads to more Titans films like they're striving for.
Now, if you still watch this show and like it, good for you. I just simply couldn't handle it anymore. But if you want to see how the Teen Titans truly are, I recommend the following:
* Read the comics, anything pre-New 52.
* Watch the original animated series.
* Watch the new "Justice League vs. Teen Titans" animated movie.
* Check out the current miniseries "Titans Hunt" which will lead into the new "Titans" book this summer, starring Nightwing, Donna Troy, Arsenal, and Tempest.
* In addition, the "Teen Titans" book will also relaunch this year and star Damian Wayne/Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, and Wally West/Kid Flash.
If you agree, disagree, or would like to discuss more bad episodes of this show, feel free to comment on below.

And now to address the characters of this show. Not the people who make this show, but the actual CHARACTERS themselves: Robin, Raven, Beast Boy, Starfire, and Cyborg.

This was exhausting. This whole experience was absolutely exhausting. You people have ruined Teen Titans for me. You are absolutely the most insufferable group of jackasses I have ever had the misfortune of spending an extended period of time with. I hope you all fucking die.

Movie Review: Justice League vs. Teen Titans - A Return to Glory (SPOILERS)

The Teen Titans have had it rough the last five years. When DC rebooted their comics with the New 52, from what I heard and what little I read of the "Teen Titans" book written by Scott Lobdell, it left a lot to be desired. With DC's Rebirth initiative this year, here's hoping that both Titans and Teen Titans books fare better. And then you have the animated series "Teen Titans Go!". Ugh. Don't worry, I'll be writing something on that very soon. So when "Justice League vs. Teen Titans" was announced for 2016's animated film slate, I was somewhat concerned, considering the New 52 influence the films had been going with. The line-up I was expecting was Tim Drake as Red Robin, Bart Allen as Kid Flash, Cassie Sandsmark as Wonder Girl, and Conner Kent as Superboy (I would post a picture of the four of them in their New 52 looks, but it's hard to find a good one). But then they released a group shot from the film...

 
...and I was over the moon with excitement! I can almost forgive Tim Drake getting the shaft again. You had the main five from the show (with Dick as Nightwing), Blue Beetle there due to what I believe to be a combination of his popularity from the "Young Justice" series and somewhat filling Cyborg's tech-guy since he's part of the Justice League, and Raven had her classic look instead of her stupid New 52 one.

(what the f***ing godd*** s*** were they thinking with that?)
But back on point, I just knew that this movie would bring some respect back to the Titan brand. And it did, as well as being the best film yet in this shared animated universe, and one of the overall best animated films to come from DC.

First and foremost, despite the title, this isn't really a versus movie. It's more of a Teen Titans movie guest starring the Justice League. They do fight though, but it's due to the League being possessed by demons. The Titans get majority screen time and the film does a great job showing them interact and getting a feel of who they are, as we are introduced to them through the new member Damian/Robin. Probably the best dynamic from the movie is the potential romance between Robin and Raven, who have a lot in common with having harsh upbringings and trying to hold back their instincts to be good. Beast Boy is as funny as you'd expect and I assume he's the youngest, which shows. Blue Beetle's Scarab is of course sentient, and what's nice about this version is that it beeps and lights up when it says something so the others know, which is much nicer compared to how they just assumed he was talking to himself in "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" and "Young Justice". Starfire is pretty different from her animated series counterpart, less ignorant of Earth's ways and older, acting as the mentor for the team. Sometimes the Teen Titans are compared to the X-Men because of the aspect of young heroes trying to control their powers, and that aspect comes into play in the film. For fans of both the "Teen Titans" and "Young Justice" animated series, you'll be very happy with what you see in these characters. And while I wouldn't deny that the voice actors from the show are iconic, the voices they have in this film are pretty damn good. I won't go into each of them one by one, but I applaud the casting director for their choices.

Story wise, it's another adaptation of the Trigon storyline with Raven being used to open a portal that would allow him to attack Earth. If you watched the animated series, you're probably already familiar with it like I am. Watching the film, I wasn't comparing the two versions, and I don't think I should. They were both very well done in their own ways.
Getting into major spoiler territory, as Trigon used Slade in the series, he has a confidant in this film as well: Ra's al Ghul (what a twist!). For those who remember in "Son of Batman", Ra's was killed by Deathstroke. While I suspected him to reappear at some point in the future, I didn't expect it here. Apparently he made a deal in hell to work with Trigon to build the kind of world he wanted to while he was alive. He tries to recruit Damian to the cause and orders him to kill Raven, since she's the only one who can stop Trigon. Damian refuses, which helps build his character even further.

The action in the movie is top notch as expected, and while it can get intense, it doesn't get as bloody as the more recent previous films released. I guess it kind of helps when they're mostly fighting magic demons and the undead. It was just a nice change of pace.

Something to note about this movie is that to my knowledge, this if the first animated DC film to include actual songs with lyrics, and it's pretty damn good. The first one is played during when Starfire takes the Titans to a carnival to help them bond and have fun with each other and includes a kind of montage of everyone.

I was taken back at first, but you know, it works. I mean, with a movie about teen characters, it wouldn't hurt to include something someone their age might listen too. If this was live action teen drama (show or movie), it would be expected.
There's also another song used when the characters play a Dance, Dance, Revolution type game, which is another entertaining scene. First Beast Boy beats Blue Beetle, but then loses to Damian and ends up getting worn out from the experience. Having the team go to a carnival was a great thing for this film to do, because even though they're heroes, they're still kids, and they should do some kid things.

I guess I should talk a little about the Justice League, since it's their kind of their movie too. The line-up is a little smaller, only featuring Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Cyborg (who ends up helping the Titans more). The Superman/Wonder Woman relationship is played up a little more and really well done, even better than in "Throne of Atlantis". If there's anything else to talk about with the League, it's the subtle references the movie makes to some of their own comic storylines.

• When Clark gets possessed by a demon and trying to fight its influence while on a date with Diana, he ends up pushing her away as he starts to lose control. And when he shows up to fight Atomic Skull, he's becomes very violent and nearly kills him. This kind of reminds me of the "Doomed" storyline when Superman was infected with spores from Doomsday and started to become the monster, with Wonder Woman being very concerned for him and trying to save him.
• When Batman arrives to weaken Superman with Kryptonite, Wonder Woman is surprised that he would have a such a weakness and that Batman has it. In the comics, right before "Trinity War", Batman confronts Superman and Wonder Woman to let them know that the Kryptonite Ring he kept in the Batcave had been stolen. Wonder Woman gets mad that he would have such a thing while Superman knew about it, trusting Bruce to use it wisely.
• During the film's climax, Superman is able to use Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth to expel a demon from her body. At first, I was a little confused how Superman would be able to use the Lasso's powers, but then I remembered from "Forever Evil" that the Lasso can be used by someone who truly cares for Diana, which is why Batman was able to use it to free her and the rest of the League from the Firestorm Matrix.

While I do praise this film, there were a couple things I didn't like.

• The Justice League vs. the Legion of Doom in the film's beginning. It isn't so much the fight itself though; hell, the Flash taking on Weather Wizard was the most entertaining the speedster has been in these movies since "Flashpoint Paradox". For those who remember from "Throne of Atlantis", there was a post-credits scene of Lex Luthor approaching Ocean Master imprisoned at Belle Reve, recruiting him. This implied the next movie would be focused on the League vs. the Legion. It kind of feels like a waste though to relegate them to the opening scene of a film, even if something does happen to tie it to Trigon. Also, Ocean Master isn't even there. So yeah, that post-credits scene was a total waste.
• When Trigon's demons attack the carnival, some of the Titans go through some Power Rangers/Sailor Moon kind of changing sequence into their costumes (even including not one, but two gratuitous shots of Starfire's ass). It just seemed like a weird thing to do, especially when this could have been a perfect opportunity for a fight in civilian clothes (though Beetle gets a pass since he can armor up at any time).
• Despite Nightwing being part of the group announcement shot, he's only in it for two scenes. First he drops Damian off at the Tower, and then he's Skyping with Starfire later on. I guess Dick's spotlighting from "Batman: Bad Blood" didn't last too long.

So to wrap this up, "Justice League vs. Teen Titans" is a fine entry into the DC animated film library. I highly recommend it those who have been keeping up with these films, as well as to fans of "Teen Titans" and "Young Justice". After nearly three years of "Teen Titans Go!" being on the air, it's nice to see these heroes actually acting like heroes.
In some ways, I think this film could have worked if it focused solely on the Titans. The Teen Titans certainly have brand recognition. But it was probably a good idea for them to be introduced alongside the League because if it's successful enough, it could lead to more Teen Titans movies. In fact, one of the featurettes on the Blu-Ray said that it was their intention to put out more Teen Titans films alongside the Justice League and Batman ones. They even set up a tease with a mid-credits scene showing Terra riding on a rock and heading toward the tower. The first thing that would come to mind would probably be "The Judas Contract" (which was actually planned way back when DC first started putting out the movies). But wait, Deathstroke was killed at the end of "Son of Batman"...right? Well, you know what they say. No one stays dead in comics. Plus, he still has an axe to grind with Damian, and could use a little redemption from that movie.
As for what's next for the Justice League...no clue. I'm still on a Titan while writing this, so right now, they can go nuts with the League for all I care.

RATING: 9/10

Unfortunately, I'm not done looking at the Teen Titans just yet. I have to get off cloud nine and plunge into some filth, as I will soon be posting my personal analysis of the Top 10 WORST Episodes of "Teen Titans Go!". Wish me luck.

Movie Review: "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" - In Snyder We Trust (SPOILERS)

Three years ago, I just graduated from college earning my bachelor's degree in English. Per some advice, I decided to start a blog where I would write what I want and hopefully gain the attention of some potential employers. While my personal life hasn't really changed that much since then, I believe I've grown to be a more competent writer and reviewer compared to when I first started. I honestly found some inspiration in watching Nostalgia Critic and Linkara review videos, and trying to copy their style; an honest and sometimes funny or brutal approach.
My first ever review on my blog was "Man of Steel", a film that overall had mixed reviews from critics and fans alike. Now here we are, three years later, and I am once again having to defend another installment of what has been established as the DC Extended Universe: "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice". Only this time, there is a disconnect between how the critics and audiences feel about this film, but I'll get more into that later.

Nearly a month after "Man of Steel" first released, the sequel was announced and that it would be the first ever team-up film between Superman and Batman. A month after that, Ben Affleck was cast as the new Dark Knight, and boy was there a fit to say the least. Ever since then, more and more came out about plans to build a DC movie universe to compete with Marvel's, eventually announcing a film slate through 2020. While I was excited about the prospect, I was worried too that they were trying too hard or just playing catch-up with Marvel. But once trailers and footage started coming, a lot of fans' worries were laid to rest. Which brings us to the film itself.

First off, the film is visually stunning. Director Zack Snyder does a brilliant job bringing a comic book to life, evident by the opening scene of Thomas and Martha Wayne's murders. Watching the pearls falling, a significant detail about this moment, was well done. And yeah, if you're not a fan of Zack Snyder's slow motion moments like he used in "300" and "Watchmen", it's in this movie too. But honestly, if you know Zack Snyder's style by now, you should know what to expect. Combined with the visual elements are the fight scenes, which are very well done, especially in the special effects slugfests between Superman and the armored Batman and the Trinity against Doomsday. But even without special effects, one of the shining moments of this film is Batman's mission to rescue Martha Kent. If you've played the Arkham video game series or at least seen footage, it's that Batman's fighting style brought to life. Never before have we seen a live action Batman more agile or more brutal. In my opinion, that was the moment Affleck proved himself to be THE Batman.

In my opinion, the tone of this film compared to "Man of Steel" is actually a lot more light-hearted. And in some ways, I view "Dawn of Justice" to actually redeem "Man of Steel" for those who didn't like it (unless you were overly critical of it; otherwise, it's more of the same). Now don't get me wrong, I still like "Man of Steel", and while "Dawn of Justice" does take it self very seriously and can get pretty dark, despite what some critics say, it definitely knows when to have fun as well, between the action and its character interactions, and yes, it has its share of laughs. When I think back to "Man of Steel", it was just an overall serious tone about Clark growing up and adapting to his powers and the people coming to terms that a being with such power exists, along with major destruction of Metropolis. I think this could be attributed to Christopher Nolan, who was a producer on the film following his success directing the Dark Knight trilogy. He was trying to bring that same feel to Superman, but I think it rubbed people the wrong way. It was probably a good thing he's no longer involved with DC films (as far as I know). Also, there's definitely a lot more color in "Dawn of Justice". I can actually see yellow in Superman's "S", compared to a gray filter seemingly used in "Man of Steel".

Let's move on to the cast, starting with the man who's faced much scrutiny in his casting: Ben Affleck as Batman. Like many, I was flabbergasted when I saw this announcement. But considering Affleck took the role even after saying he would never do a comic book movie again after "Daredevil", there had to be something about this film for him to come on board. As more trailers and footage came out featuring him as both Bruce Wayne and Batman, it seemed more and more people were becoming believers in the "Batfleck".
As I said before, Ben Affleck is the definitive and most accurate cinematic Bruce Wayne and Batman we've seen. It's like the DC Animated Universe Batman come to life.
Bruce goes on a very unique journey in the film. During the World Engine attack in Metropolis seen in "Man of Steel", we see that Bruce goes out of his way to make it to the city and help evacuate his Wayne Enterprises building stationed there, driving there in a mad rush while watching all the destruction unfold. But as Bruce gets to the building, Superman and Zod's battle has begun, and the half the building comes down. Bruce sees firsthand the destruction of Kryptonians, from an employee whose legs are crushed under a beam, and a little girl whose mother was in the building when it came down. Bruce looks up in anger to see Superman and Zod falling to Earth along with satellite debris continuing to destroy the city. This was a brilliant thing to do, showing how much collateral damage occurred in "Man of Steel" (which many people complained about). Hell, even I would be pissed at Superman after everything that happened.
Considering that Bruce in his time as Batman has only fought ordinary criminals, knowing that someone with as much power as Superman exists deals a great blow to him. It makes him feel like what he does doesn't make a difference anymore, and it results in even more brutal treatment of criminals like branding them with a bat symbol, something Alfred is even surprised by. By the end of the film though, Bruce, inspired by Superman, seems to realize that he needs to be better than he has been.
Wherever you have Batman though, Alfred is close behind, played now by Jeremy Irons. Ever since he was cast, I thought Irons was perfect for the role. He delivers the same wit you'd expect from the character and offers guidance to Bruce. Not only that, but he has a much more hands-on approach in Bruce's crusade, helping develop upgrades to his tech and even taking control of the Batwing via drone. I just wish he was in the film more than he was.

Moving on the Superman characters. Back in "Man of Steel", many complained about Henry Cavill's "wooden" performance. Well this time, I could tell that Cavill was delivering a much more profound performance as both Clark and Superman. It wasn't until my second viewing that I realized there was a bit more of a difference in Clark and Superman's looks. Not only does Clark have glasses, but his hair is a little more messy compared to Superman's slicked back look. I was wondering before how they would handle Clark's dual identities, and I was pleased with what I saw, especially since he doesn't act like such a goof like in the Reeves films. Come to think of it, this is another case where it's a DC animated universe version of a character brought to life.
Clark's arc in this movie is him acting like the Superman we know and is loved by a majority of people, but is still facing scrutiny from the public and politicians about his actions and what results from them. In a way, this makes Clark feel inadequate to the ideal his father(s) believed he could represent, and I feel like he projects some of this onto Batman, another hero who apparently just does as he pleases. But I think near the end, he realizes he can't do everything on his own, and this is going to play out further in future movies.
Since the last film, Clark has moved in with Lois Lane, played again by Amy Adams. First off, I really enjoyed watching the two together in a real relationship. Actually makes me miss the relationship in the comics. I have one more comment on that subject, but I'm saving that for later. Her character is just as involved as before, doing what she can to get to the bottom of a story and usually getting into trouble and needing to be rescued by Superman. You know, the usual shtick. But she's not just a damsel in distress, actually getting involved and trying to help in both the Batman/Superman and Doomsday fights.
Laurence Fishburne returns again as Daily Planet editor Perry White, and delivers a good, if not better performance than before. This ties in to what I said about the overall seriousness of "Man of Steel". Perry in "Dawn of Justice" feels more like the guy in charge of a newspaper. He kind of reminded me of J. Jonah Jameson. Take that how you will, but I see it as a positive.
And now we move onto the main villain of the movie, Lex Luthor, played by Jesse Eisenberg. When he was first cast, I was pretty skeptical. He just seemed pretty young, but it turns out he's actually the same age as Henry Cavill. Plus, he already showed he could play the CEO type as Mark Zuckerburg in "The Social Network". Eisenberg's Lex is very different from what we're used to. He's definitely a lot more eccentric, and while I assumed from the trailers that this would be more of a public facade, much like how Bruce acts like a party boy, some of his eccentricities translate over to his private side. Trust me though, this Lex is just as sadistic as we can expect, even going so far as to plant a bomb in a wheelchair he provided to the Wayne employee whose legs were crushed and amputated from before and blowing up a senate hearing attended by Superman. And much like Lois knowing Clark's identity in the first movie, I really like that Lex is able to figure out both Superman and Batman's identities and is able to manipulate them into fighting each other. Eisenberg's performance may split people down the middle, but you can't deny his presence is felt in every scene he's in.

And then we have the show stealer: Gal Gadot as Diana Prince, aka Wonder Woman. Gadot's role is more of a glorified cameo similar to Black Widow in "Iron Man 2", but she's definitely interesting to watch both in and out of her armor. She first catches Bruce's eye at Lex's fundraiser, and the two meet up again later and have good interaction. My fingers are crossed that we saw the first signs of a "flirtationship" between two like in the Justice League animated series. When Wonder Woman arrives to the battle with Doomsday, my word does she make an impact, between her war cry and a smirk after taking a hit from the monster, it's very clear she's a born warrior. And people worried that Gal Gadot wouldn't be good in the role because she was "too skinny". It's got me even more pumped up for her solo movie next year.

But the Wonder Woman film isn't the only thing that's been built up here. The seeds have been laid out for the Justice League film, featuring cameos from Aquaman (in full costume), Cyborg, and Flash (who actually has two cameos). Now people are gonna be split on the necessity of these appearances. Personally, I don't think they were particularly necessary, but it was nice to get some teases. And while there may be some people who won't know who these characters are yet or what it's leading up to, I would like to think that if they're interested enough, they'll do their research.

Now I've been overwhelmingly praising this film, but I did however have some problems. Four to be exact.

1. Mercy Graves, played by Tao Okamoto (who some may recognize from "The Wolverine"), is a waste of a character. She had like three lines and was killed in the bomb that destroyed the Senate.
2. Bruce has some pretty weird dreams and hallucinations. It starts with him as a kid falling into a cave and he gets swarmed by bats, but it gets strange when the bats apparently lift him up. Later, he's visiting his parents in the mausoleum, but blood starts coming out his mother's crypt and then a giant bat bursts through a grabs him. And then we have the big "Knightmare" scene of a post-apocalyptic wasteland taken over by Superman. The strange thing about this dream is that it gets pretty prophetic, especially since we see Parademons, even though Bruce shouldn't know what they are yet. Oh, and these weird hallucinations even spill over to Clark, who after going off on his own after the Senate bombing, sees his father on the top of a mountain and even talks with him. It's actually a pretty good talk about how a special person can make help you through the bad things happening in your life, but the circumstances are still weird.
3. I've mentioned before how this is a more brutal Batman than we've seen before. Well I'll be honest, sometimes I did get a little uncomfortable, because in some cases, he is kind of killing criminals in this movie. After doing some thinking about this, I've come to the conclusion that while he may be responsible, he did not directly kill anyone. Think of the Arkham games. Some of the things he does while fighting and in the Batmobile look like they could kill people, but we're supposed to take it at face value that no one's dead. I can't really say the same thing about this Batman, but I don't believe that it's his intent to kill anyone. I mean, people cut the Michael Keaton Batman slack for straight up killing people (please try to justify the moment in "Batman Returns" where he gleefully straps a bomb to a guy). I'm willing to bet that the next time we see Affleck as Batman, he may be a little more restrained.
4. This is the big one. Much like in the comics, Superman and Doomsday do indeed die battling each other. While I admire they had the guys to do this, 1) Maybe it's a little too soon considering this is only the second movie of the franchise; and 2) it doesn't have much impact considering that not only does he come back in the comics, but we know he's coming back for the Justice League movie. But I think my biggest gripe about this move is that they're really kind of hammering in the Jesus metaphor. Think about it. We're introduced to this man with incredible power who will change the world ("Man of Steel") but is criticized because of this, and he ends up being killed, mourned by millions ("Dawn of Justice"), but he will soon rise again to save us from a coming evil ("Justice League"). (Wonder if it's a coincidence this came out on Easter weekend.) It was a little more subtle in "Man of Steel", but watching everything unfold in "Dawn of Justice", it did seem pretty obvious. And if Darkseid is the coming threat in "Justice League", Superman coming back to help defeat the God of Evil...well, I think I made my point. But on the positive front on this, we found out after his death that Clark was planning to propose to Lois (which is similar to the comics with the two being engaged before his death). In addition, director Zack Snyder says his reasoning for Superman's death was so that it would be Batman forming the Justice League, which would make it even more difficult, especially when they have to work together to defeat a powerful threat and that they'll need Superman. In my opinion, this is actually pretty damn brilliant.

Now I would like to address the critics who have viewed this film negatively. What the hell do you want? I mean, I don't want to sound like I'm attacking you for having your own opinion, but I really want to understand. Did you already have your minds up going in? Were you expecting a Marvel movie? Why can't the DC films have a different tone? And even if it does have a dark tone, why criticize this film for this but praise Daredevil and Jessica Jones for the same thing? Why praise Marvel for the references to the comics or setting up future movies but criticize DC doing this as well? And even if you didn't like the film, don't say it's boring or not fun; that's simply not true. Or maybe just like "Man of Steel", there are still preconceptions about these characters. I guess unlike the Marvel movie heroes, Batman and Superman have had plenty of exposure before this movie. But most of the time, characters aren't always the way we remember them growing up. They grow and change as well. And while a character like Superman can represent the ideals we strive for, he is not a perfect person. He makes mistakes and can be vulnerable in some ways. Even in this film, he tries to shake off what people say about him, but it shows to still have an affect on him.
Most of the fan reaction I've seen is very positive. Outside the internet, friends I've talked to who have seen the movie have said they loved it. Even one of my friends, who is more of a Marvel fan, has become a believer in Affleck's Batman and is excited for what DC has coming up.
My point is, it's crazy how polarizing this film is.
Now I address anyone at Warner Bros. who might read this: Stay the course. Don't let Zack Snyder go; he knows what he's doing. Don't postpone Justice League's filming start date in a few weeks. The characters you've given us and the actors cast to play them so far are perfect. Don't give in to the so called "critics" while the audiences these movies are made for are right behind you. $170 million in the U.S. $424 million worldwide. A 73% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. And Ben, stand tall. This isn't Daredevil again. You ARE the Batman.

To wrap this up, in my opinion, "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" is just short of a masterpiece and much like "The Avengers", this is a film I recommend everyone to see.

RATING: 9.5/10

TV Review: "Avengers: Ultron Revolution" Ep. 1 & 2 - Is This As Good As It's Gonna Get?

After the success of the first Avengers movie in 2012, Marvel was quick to capitalize. They cancelled their acclaimed current Avengers animated show "Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes" and replaced it with a show more in line with the movie, "Avengers Assemble", featuring the same roster plus new member Falcon. However, fans were uneasy about this new Avengers series, considering that at the same time, Marvel was producing "Ultimate Spider-Man", a show that at the time was criticized for it's immature characters and Family Guy-esque cutaway gags. In addition, Marvel was also getting ready to launch "Hulk and the Agents of SMASH", featuring Hulk leading a team of other gamma powered heroes, living together and having confessionals ala the Real World. That was a show that I had absolutely zero interest and has since been cancelled. As for "Avengers Assemble", while it still had similar problems like the other two shows, it was something I could still take seriously and was the best of the three shows and had some shining moments, but was still not as good as "Earth's Mightiest Heroes".
Jumping to present day, it appeared that a creative shift had happened in the Marvel Animation Department. "Ultimate Spider-Man" has greatly improved starting in season three and the current season four has been consistently good so far. "Guardians of the Galaxy" debuted (and I wrote up a review of its series premiere) and succeeded where "Avengers Assemble" didn't by retaining the spirit of the film and its characters.
Which brings us to season three of "Avengers Assemble", which is using the tagline "Ultron Revolution". At the end of the second season, Tony was working on an Avengers expansion plan to take the team global, similar to Jonathan Hickman's run on the comic series, after the current members had some down time. Now this has a lot of potential and considering how good the Spider-Man and Guardians shows have been, surely the Avengers can improve with such a concept right? Well, prepare to be disappointed.

In the season premiere, "Adapting to Change", we open on Captain America fighting the Masters of Evil. Now those who played the "Marvel: Ultimate Alliance" game may recognize that name as a large group of villains led by Dr. Doom, similar to the Legion of Doom from Superfriends. While "Earth's Mightiest Heroes" did a more comic accurate version of the team, the Masters of Evil we see here are C list villains Goliath, Beetle, and Screaming Mimi (I know, dumb name. But in the comics, she becomes the hero Songbird). But Cap is having trouble and calls in his Avengers teammates to successfully defeat them, and even Tony is kind of embarrassed that Cap called them in for this.
It's during this battle that we notice that some characters have undergone some design changes. Captain America, Black Widow, and Hulk now look similar to their appearances in "Avengers: Age of Ultron". And while I'm getting ahead of myself, when Ultron returns later on, he gets the same treatment. I actually liked that they did this, but I would have done it for the other members too. Tony's been rocking an Iron Man armor similar to the somewhat bulky MK III and IV since the beginning of the series while his armor in the movies has become sleeker and sleeker. It would have been nice for on the show get something like the Bleeding Edge. And then there's Falcon, who is still sporting his Gatchaman/G-Force look (anyone remember that show on Cartoon Network in the 90's?). I think it would have been cooler to see him in a suit similar to what he wore in "Age of Ultron" and "Ant-Man." He could still have energy wings that can be fired at enemies in lieu of guns.

After defeating the so-called Masters of Evil, the team convenes at Avengers Tower, where we learn through exposition that because things have been so quiet since defeating Thanos, they decided to hold off on the expansion plans and that Ant-Man has gone solo again. So much for that build up at the end of last season, huh? And Ant-Man had to leave too? Why?! Oh and not only that, but Tony has also replaced JARVIS with the FRIDAY AI that some will remember from "Age of Ultron". Question: WHY?! In "Age of Ultron", JARVIS had become the Vision, meaning Tony needed a new AI assistant with him, ala FRIDAY. In the show, it just happens. I know Vision is supposed to appear later in the season and will most likely be JARVIS, but right now these are unanswered questions. It's at this point it just seemed they were doing whatever they could to make this season feel like "Age of Ultron" to capitalize on that much like the first two seasons of this show did for the first movie.

Once the meeting's adjourned, Black Widow asks Cap and Falcon to join her on a secret mission to infiltrate an AIM facility. While there, they discover Hawkeye, Tony, and Thor have done the same thing. Oh, Bruce Banner was with them too, and he look A LOT like Mark Ruffalo compared to his first two appearances on the show. And this is another problem I've had with this series. Why is he Hulk all the time? In "Earth's Mightiest Heroes", we introduce Bruce as he was before, on the run and looking for a cure for the Hulk. Once breakouts occur at all the supervillain prisons, Bruce urges the Hulk to help Iron Man, Thor, Wasp, and Ant-Man defeat Graviton. Hulk agrees, but only if he can remain in control while Bruce takes a backseat in their mind. So while he's Hulk for most of the series, we still see Bruce quite a bit. In "Avengers Assemble", he's just Hulk all the time with no explanation. Would it be too much to have both Hulk and Bruce on the show, especially since the movie this show is based on does that too?
So while examining some AIM files, they discover that they acquired a piece of Ultron (even though they clearly should have seen it in a containment cylinder earlier). They wonder how they got such a thing, and I'm wondering the same thing, considering that the last time we saw Ultron on this show, he was THROWN INTO THE SUN!
Once the Avengers are found out, they battle upgraded versions of the Super Adaptoid, an android that can copy the moves and powers of their opponents, similar to the Amazo android that battles the Justice League. Honestly, the Super Adaptoid was overplayed back in season one and watching them battle it again, even if it is upgraded, is still kind of boring because we saw it too much in season one and we all know they figure out a way to outsmart and defeat it.

After the Adaptoids and AIM are defeated, the piece of Ultron they had appears, assimilates the Adaptoid tech and morphs into his movie form, which leads us into part two "The Ultimates". I'm not going into much detail on this episode like the other one. It opens with Ultron battling the Avengers, but getting away, and Tony starts to become obsessive about finding him (even though they never established that he was the one who created Ultron in this series). Ultron then unleashes android versions of the Avengers that he calls Ultimates, who repeatedly say "You are obsolete. You are to be replaced", and that gets old pretty quick. Ultron himself takes over some of Tony's armors, and says he plans to replace all of humanity with android copies. I'm sure it's coincidence, but this is pretty much Ultron's exact plan from the "Ultimates 3" series. If he decides to kill Scarlet Witch because he was in love with her and jealous of her incestuous relationship with Quicksilver, then we have a problem (and yes, that was in an actual comic). Actually there's still some problems. While the circumstances are different, Ultron did almost the exact same things last season. He took over Tony's armors in one episode, and in the final episode of his story arc, he unleashes a techno-virus that infects humans to become his servants.
The Avengers outsmart and defeat the Ultimates (much like they did to the Adaptoids previously), stop Ultron's plan to copy everyone in the world, even though he's still out there, and spout out some stuff about how you can't beat the originals. Blah, blah, blah. The end. And trust me, there's plenty of other problems I have with these episodes that I don't care to mention.

During the initial wave of this current Marvel animation era, I ranked the series "Avengers Assemble" first, "Ultimate Spider-Man" second, and "Hulk and the Agents of SMASH" last. At this point in this new wave, I rank them "Guardians of the Galaxy" first, "Ultimate Spider-Man" still second, and "Avengers: Ultron Revolution" last. I mean seriously, is this as good as this show is gonna get? It's still as mediocre as the first two seasons and the characters are still two dimension and/or immature. The worst part is it didn't have to be. Guardians and season four of "Ultimate Spider-Man" were a sign that things were improving, but these first two episodes of "Ultron Revolution" didn't seem any different from the first two Avengers seasons.
You know what would have improved it? Sure, have it so that Tony's expansion plans are still on hold but something happens that forces him to restart them. Have Ultron capture the Avengers except Tony, and he recruits heroes like Spider-Man, Black Panther, Ant-Man, and Captain Marvel to save his team. Or maybe something similar to the "New Avengers" episode of "Earth's Mightiest Heroes" where after the main team is defeated by Kang, JARVIS initiates Tony's New Avengers protocol to unite Spider-Man, Wolverine, War Machine, Thing, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist to, yes, avenge them. We were expecting something new, but got more of the same.

Maybe I'm being too harsh. I'm hoping this season gets better overtime, and I'm sure it'll still have some shining moments like the previous seasons, but it's not off to a good start.