Retro Review: "Spider-Man: Venomous"

I definitely meant to get to this one sooner, but January was a busy month for me (which is weird since it's usually a slow one). Without further ado though, it's finally time to look again at Mark Millar's "Marvel Knights Spider-Man" run.

PREVIOUSLY IN MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN: After Aunt May is taken by a mysterious kidnapper who knows his secret identity, Spider-Man's quest to find her lead him to being played by the Owl and hospitalized after a battle with Electro. Vulture would then steal Peter from his hospital room, only to be thwarted by the Black Cat, who returns Peter to his apartment afterwards. While at the hospital though, someone got a photo of Peter in the hospital unmasked, and it's now in the hands of J. Jonah Jameson.

"Venomous" begins in issue five with Eddie Brock being picked up at the airport, with the guy waiting for him holding up a sign that says "VENOM", which Eddie gives him crap for. Brock tells him to tell his boss (who I assume is later revealed to be the Tinkerer) to set up a bunch of extravagancies at his hotel room, saying he doesn't want his "last few days on Earth to be any more unpleasant than they have to be". At this point in the comics, Eddie had been battling cancer, and the symbiote was the only thing keeping him alive. However, the two had been on the outs, with the symbiote growing tired of a diseased host and Eddie of its bloodlust.
We then cut to Peter's apartment, where he awakes after being incapacitated for two and a half days. Mary Jane and Felicia tell him there's been no word from the kidnapper in that time and no new leads to go off of. To make matters worse, they show Peter a Daily Bugle with his hospital picture as the headline, and here's where the cliffhanger from the previous story makes no sense. It's not a picture of Peter unmasked, rather it shows Peter with a damaged Spider-Man mask on, with his bloody mouth shown and the lens over his right eye shattered. Considering Peter's actual face is barely visible, why did Jameson think he saw a familiar face? There definitely must have been a miscommunication between writer and artist. Anyway, Peter's freaking out that his identity may be out, but Felicia assures him his face is too busted up for anyone to tell who it is (not that the picture in the paper gives anything away to begin with). In addition, the paper is also offering five million dollars to anyone who can bring forth Spider-Man's identity.
After Felicia leaves to track down more leads, Mary Jane informs Peter that Nick Fury finally got back to him, saying he set up a meeting between him and one of the X-Men's psychics. Other messages include Daredevil saying he'll try to help and that Doctor Strange has tried everything he can but is unable to find a trace on Aunt May. You know, it's amazing how useless Doctor Strange is made out to be in stories that aren't his own. I know he's not a god, but he can't track down a little old lady? Mary Jane suggests maybe they should involve the police and have Peter go public, but Peter points out that May's kidnapping is what happens when one psychopath figures out his identity, so just imagine when everyone knows. Man, the more I reread pre-Civil War Spider-Man comics, the more I remember how out of character it was for him to reveal his identity.
The two start to think about everyone who knows Peter is Spider-Man when a phone call interrupts them. Peter answers and its their credit card company telling them they're three months behind in payments due to insufficient funds in their bank accounts. Peter is irate saying they have an automatic payment plan. This forces Mary Jane to come clean, saying that she had been using her own money to help keep production on a movie she's acting in afloat after they lost funding. Adding in them buying May's new apartment and it kind of spiraled, with Mary Jane hiding all this from Peter since she didn't want him to worry any more than he had to in addition to all the villains he deals with constantly. Peter takes all this pretty well considering, though I guess since he's been constantly broke before, it's nothing he can't deal with. Still, he decides to get his camera out to take some Spider-Man pictures to sell to the Bugle to get some extra cash.
Peter suits up and goes on patrol, but all he finds so far is a guy who flags him down to help him change a tire. Spidey begrudgingly holds up the car, but then he sees Doctor Octopus' tentacles go by. Spidey tells the guy he has to go, but the guys tells him that he's almost done. A frustrated Spidey then just flips the car over, leaving the scene and the guy angry. And honestly, I don't blame him. They imply Doc Ock is in another area, meaning Spidey didn't have to flip the car over. What would have helped this scene is if Ock attacked Spidey and that he had to use the car as a shield. Spidey would then get the guy to safety, and while he still would have been mad about his car getting trashed, it would have made Spidey look less like a dick.
So Ock is tearing things up for apparently no reason, which is very unlike him, making Spidey think he's having some kind of mental breakdown. Spidey pounds on Ock until he finally goes down, but his tentacles crash down on a bus. While nobody is hurt, Peter chastises himself that someone could have been if he had strategized better. Spidey checks out Ock and gets some pictures when he notices tranquilizers on his back. The two are then surrounded by a large SWAT team, revealing that they had been transferring Ock somewhere secret. He broke free and got shot with tranquilizers, which lead to his rampage. The cops also make it look like they want to take Spidey in for the property damage, but it's obvious to Spidey they just want to unmask him for the five million from the Bugle. The issue ends with the cops piling up on Spidey.

Issue six picks right back up with Spidey's thought boxes saying that even with his current injuries, he's still able to fight off a group of cops that big. He also questions why Ock was being transported around midnight, but that makes my head tilt. Not about what they were doing with Ock, but that the art makes it clear the sun is still out, so it's at least sunset when all this is going down. Spidey is able to fight his way out of the crowd and flings himself away from the area.
The next day, Peter (whose facial injuries have already seemed to heal) tells MJ about what happened, feeling that the Bugle reward is going to cause a lot of trouble. MJ then tells Peter that Felicia called her to let her know that a supervillain gathering is happening with Eddie Brock auctioning something off. This makes Peter worry and wish MJ had remained out of New York, but Mary Jane tells him that while he wishes their life was less complicated, that she loves him more than she's ever loved anyone and that he's not doing this on his own. That line was a bit of a gut punch for me considering how "One More Day" devalued their relationship. Again, Nick Spencer seems to be rectifying this in his current run, but getting reminded of how strong their relationship was pre-One More Day just makes me hate that story more and more.
Mary Jane then shows Peter her gun, saying she doesn't want to end up like Gwen. Peter wants to comfort her, but realizes she has every reason to defend herself.
Later on, Peter meets with Jameson about both the reward, where we learn an anonymous billionaire put up the money, and about the pictures he sent from the Doc Ock fight. Jameson tells Peter the photos were amateurish, but still gives him five hundred dollars since his and Mary Jane's money troubles are making the news, given her celebrity status as a model and actress.
After that, Spidey infiltrates the prison to talk with Osborn again, asking for any help he can give him. Osborn then tells him a story about how recently, a security guard buddied up to him and wanted help for his wife, who had been dealing with a serious illness for years. Osborn gives him the recipe for a homemade concoction that initially works, but soon enough, she was even worse than before, now in a coma and needing a machine to breathe. The point Osborn is making is if he'll do this to someone he barely knew, what made Peter think he would get help from his worst enemy? While that's definitely some dark stuff and shows how evil Osborn is, it's didn't really accomplish anything and felt like padding.
Spidey then heads to the X-Mansion to meet up with Rachel Summers, the alternate timeline daughter of Cyclops and Jean Grey. I've mentioned comics are weird, right? Anyway, Spidey gives May's engagement ring to Rachel so she can use her psychic powers to try and track down May. She receives flashes of May's violent abduction, saying how the person who took her is someone both her and Peter knew, but that he was different from how he was before. While she doesn't get an exact answer, her thought process leaves her to believe May is dead as she sees a vision of a tombstone. Dang, and no Mephisto to make a deal with in sight. In all seriousness though, even when this story was first coming out, I don't think anybody really believed May was dead. Without spoiling anything yet for the last act of the run, it's nothing more than a red herring; admittedly it's a clever one, but we'll get there.
The final scene of the issue is the underground auction talked about before, being hosted by the Tinkerer with some of the attendees including Sandman, Hydro-Man, Shocker, Mysterio, and Owl. It's revealed that the item Eddie is auctioning off is the Venom symbiote itself. Apparently, Eddie had been inspired by "The Passion of the Christ", wanting to face the consequences of his actions as Venom by letting his illness run its course. To balance out giving away a dangerous symbiote, Eddie also plans to donate all the money to charity. In terms of a character exit, this isn't a bad method in theory. Using the Passion as a catalyst is another instance of this run being dated, but given the impact the film had on people, it works. Eddie wants to leave the darkness behind in hopes of some sort of redemption. This also left the Venom character open to returning to his villainous roots, which is what Marvel seemed to be going for.

As issue seven begins with Spider-Man operating like it's been business as usual (including fighting Lizard, Rhino, Hydro-Man, the Enforcers and Sandman in separate circumstances), and it's apparently been over a month since May has been kidnapped, with no word from the kidnapper and no new leads. The only intel Black Cat has been able to gather is the Venom symbiote was auctioned off to mob boss Don Fortunato, who spent one hundred million so that his wimp of a son Angelo can make something of himself. I guess this time skip was something I missed or forgot about, but jeez, a month?! I think that kind of hurts the ticking clock I thought they were going for. I mean, what's the kidnapper been doing all this time? What's he waiting for? Furthermore, Peter and MJ concocted the story they sent May on a vacation so her friends wouldn't be suspicious. Are they still going with that story? I guess people do go on vacation for that long, but I doubt they'd go that long without contacting someone.
One night on patrol, Spidey uses the bathroom at a diner, but the waitress on duty, named Ramona, says he needs to buy something since the bathroom's for paying customers only. Spidey orders a coffee and the two get to talking. In what seems like astronomical odds, the waitress turns out to be the mother of Vulture's grandson. Ramona then puts Spidey through a major guilt trip talking about what a good grandfather Adrian was and how he said he'd get the money for the boy's leukemia treatment, but hadn't heard from him in nearly a month. Those who remember the last review know that Vulture's attempt to get the money had been thwarted by Spider-Man and he was then taken captive by the Owl for revenge in stealing from him.
Spidey's then saved by the siren as the police go by the diner, and Ramona lets him have the coffee on the house. Spidey follows the police to the scene of a man in a Spider-Man costume had fallen to his death. This is part of the reward subplot, where people tried to pretend to be and convince Jameson they were the real Spider-Man in hopes of getting the five million.
Later on, Mary Jane convinces Peter to attend his high school reunion in hopes of taking his mind off things and have some fun. While Peter laments that high school wasn't his favorite time, he does take some joy in showing off his supermodel wife to the guys who bullied him. Said bullies are of course jealous of Peter and lure him away from the main party with the intent of reliving the old days by humiliating Peter and taking pictures. Let's be honest, I think we all know someone in our lives who never really left high school, so this should be relatable to some degree. Hell, even Peter berates them for how immature they're being.
The party is cut short though when Angelo Fortunato, now using the symbiote as the new Venom and its knowledge of Spider-Man's identity, crashes into the building. This knocks out most of the men present and Venom goes on to murder one of them. The story later confirms only one of them died, but based on the art, that's very surprising. Some guys have large puddles of blood under them, and there's a guy whose eyes are wide open as he lays on the ground, and it isn't the one he apparently killed.
It's also in this scene where we are given a new look for Venom, with the major change being that he has human eye slits in the middle of the white sections of the mask that obviously functioned as eyes before. It gives him an appearance similar to Spawn or the Batman villain Orca.

This was a change I really thought was unnecessary. I guess it gave him a more monstrous appearance, but the white sections without eye slits really worked more for the whole dark reflection of Spider-Man. Nonetheless, it was a look that lasted around five years, so I guess someone enjoyed it.

Issue eight picks up from where seven left off with Venom fighting Peter, who transitions into his Spidey outfit. As the two battle through the school and eventually make it to the reunion room, Mary Jane helps evacuate everyone, knowing the drill when it comes to these things. Eventually, the two take their battle outside. There's a cool shot of Venom throwing a delivery van at Spidey, who then crashes through the windshield to save the driver, leaving out the backdoor before it crashes into a building. As Spidey lays the driver on the ground, the crowd around them includes a surprising cameo by Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons. Unfortunately they don't take advantage of this by having him say something snarky.
Spidey then chases Venom between and atop the buildings, only to lose him when he uses the symbiote's camouflage ability. Venom then sneaks up behind Spider-Man and punches him through the chest Dragon Ball Z style. As it turns out though, this was another impostor trying to get the Bugle reward as we see the victim's friend holding a camera nearby, saying that no one was supposed to get hurt. The real Spidey then pounces on Venom, not holding anything back. Up until this point, Peter sympathized with Angelo, who had been bullied like Peter used to be. He knew Angelo wanted to make his father proud as well as make a name for himself, but Peter still tried to bring him to the side of angels. With two people dead now, Peter's run out of patience. As the beating continues, Angelo and the symbiote begin arguing. Angelo decides to run while the symbiote says they should stay and fight. Disgusted with his performance, the symbiote abandons Angelo in midair, sneaking away to find a better host. As Angelo falls, Spidey tries to catch with a webline, but misses. Unfortunately, that was the last of his webfluid and Angelo dies on impact with the ground.
In the aftermath, Don Fortunato and his men clean up the scene of his son's death, and in a sick way, takes solace that his son finally made him proud of him. Elsewhere, hearing about what happened with Angelo and the symbiote, a guilt-ridden Eddie Brock slits his wrists. I'm guessing this moment didn't sit well with readers as Eddie would return a few years later, and by 2017, he would eventually return to the Venom identity.
Seeing another person die because of the Bugle reward pushes Peter to put an end to it once and for all. He convinces Jameson with pictures that his son John is and always has been Spider-Man, and that any instance of the two seen together was John using a stand-in. While Peter technically won the competition, Jameson only gives him $500,000 since he doesn't plan to publish the pictures and "out" his son. As far as I can tell, I don't believe this "Jameson believes his son is Spider-Man" thing is ever brought up again outside this run before Peter reveals himself in Civil War.
Peter contemplates using the money to pay off his and Mary Jane's debts, but he doesn't feel he earned it, not to mention he's figured out that it was Aunt May's kidnapper that put up the money to begin with. So Peter does the responsible thing and leaves the money for Ramona to use for her son's leukemia treatment. It's another instance of how much of a good guy Peter is. As he says in the comic, he was just too well raised.
The issue and story end with Peter finally receiving a call from May's kidnapper, who confirms that he gave Jameson the money and that he's still been watching him, knowing he gave his share to Ramona. The kidnapper tells Peter there's more going on than just May's kidnapping, and that it ties in with Osborn and what the cops were doing with Doc Ock, offering to meet Peter for lunch the next day and tell him the whole story. The final panel shows the kidnapper sticking to the top of a skyscraper antennae. I guess he got tired of hanging upside down and wanted to stick to higher places. Seriously though, back when this was originally coming out, this seemed like a genuine clue to the kidnapper's identity.

While "Down Among the Dead Men" was a decent first act to this overall story, "Venomous" really seems to drag its feet. The central problem of Aunt May's kidnapping doesn't really go anywhere, as the kidnapper doesn't appear until the very end, Spidey's meeting with Osborn seemed there just to kill time, and the fact she's been gone for over a month somewhat lessens the tension. Even the money given to the Bugle for the competition seemed to serve more as a distraction than being part of the masterplan. And unlike the first act, "Venomous" brings about more questions, specifically what's going on with Doc Ock. The story may be ongoing, but if it's going to be split up into separate stories/trades, they should be contained to some degree like the first volume was.
The story also includes elements that seem to go nowhere. The debt subplot doesn't add anything to the overall story, only for one more problem for Peter to have. If it was for him to have some internal conflict between using the Bugle reward money for himself or giving it to Ramona, it was unnecessary. Even if Peter wasn't having money problems (but let's be honest, that's a perpetual problem for the character), he wouldn't have hesitated giving the money away.
It's worth noting that issues five and eight are drawn by Frank Cho rather than Terry Dodson. It's possible Dodson may have needed more time to get issues done and so the book can meet its monthly schedule. And while Cho's art is similar to Dodson's and he's good in his own right, there does seem to be a disconnect present. I already touched upon the "unmasked" photo of Peter in the hospital and how his facial injuries cleared up between issues five and six, but there's also some difference in character models present; the notable example is Eddie Brock, who Cho drew with a buzzcut while Dodson drew him with slightly longer slicked back hair. Lastly and honestly, Dodson's style is a lot more dynamic to me while Cho's seems a little stiff.
What I do give this story credit for is the Venom storyline. It was an interesting direction to go with both Eddie and the symbiote, and I'm at least glad they backpedaled on Eddie's attempted suicide. It would have been an unceremonious end to one of Spidey's top three villains. And don't worry, we'll see where the symbiote ends up next time.
Admittedly, reading this run one trade at a time may not be the best way to enjoy the overall story. Nonetheless, maybe everything will come together and some of these plot points will make sense next month (and I really do plan for it to come next month) when we wrap up this look back at Mark Millar's Spider-Man run with the third and final act, "The Last Stand."

TV Review: Punisher Season 2 - A Farewell to Arms

Before I begin the review proper, I'd like to say we are nearing the end of an era. Despite its high praise and my hopes it wouldn't be, Daredevil was indeed cancelled after season three, meaning all the Marvel Netflix shows are nearing the end. While I theorized this was Marvel's doing since Disney was beginning their own streaming service, another plausible reasoning is Netflix being petty about the coming competition. With everything that's come out about the subject, I myself lean towards Netflix being at fault. Even though things are winding down, it doesn't mean we can't enjoy what we have while we can. That being said, let's talk about season two of the Punisher.
The first season of Punisher for me ranks among the best of the Marvel/Netflix shows alongside Daredevil and Jessica Jones. Season two continues what makes the show unique with some new elements added in, though it doesn't quite leave the same impact as before.

I'll start by saying that Jon Bernthal continues to kill it as Frank Castle (pun intended), with the most human portrayal character yet. The range of emotion he shows and the amount of damage he goes through will make you care for what happens to him on different levels.
When we last left Frank, he was given a new identity by the government after helping capture Billy Russo, Frank's former friend and the one ultimately responsible for his family's death. Season two begins with Frank on the road travelling the country, as he attempts to let the past go and find some peace. But in true "just when I think I'm out" fashion, Frank finds himself back in the fight, yet he finds it liberating. Part of Frank's journey this season is accepting who he truly is and what he needs to go on.

Ben Barnes returns as Billy Russo this season to fulfill his villainous destiny as the villain Jigsaw, though it is quite different than one would expect. For one thing, he isn't technically called Jigsaw, though the way things go with the MCU, many villains don't get their comic book name, so it's not a big deal. But the most notable difference from the comics is that his face isn't that cut up despite what Frank did to him in the season one finale. He does still have scars, and while it's not horrific, your eyes are still drawn toward them. Instead, the real damage done to Billy is psychological. After the beating Frank gave him, he suffers from PTSD and apparent memory loss. To me, this makes him even scarier than last season. You never know when he'll go off the rails. It's similar to how I felt about Bullseye in Daredevil. What makes him a deadlier adversary though is that he knows his opponent, Frank, well, and one of his goals is to make him feel as he does and bring him down his level. He also wears a mask he designs to reflect how broken he feels on the inside, which is a real therapy technique some soldiers use to deal with their traumas. A lot of people will be upset that this isn't the Jigsaw they were expecting, but considering the overall theme of PTSD and how a majority of the characters on the show suffer from it, I see it as a clever twist on the character.

Of the new characters this season, the breakout star for me was Giorgia Whigham as Amy Bendix. A teenager caught up in a conspiracy that got her friends killed and now being hunted, Amy is able to find protection with Frank. I love the relationship between the two and how it grows throughout the season, from trying to trust each other to forming a surrogate father-daughter relationship. I also kind of find it similar to the Batman-Robin dynamic. Like Frank, Amy lost everyone she cared about, and while it's not like he's molding a sidekick, he wants to teach her how to defend herself when needed, as well as making sure she can have a more peaceful life in the end compared to him. As a character in her own right, she acts like a teenager would, being impetuous and making stupid decisions, but you can tell she's good at heart.

Besides Russo, we have another main villain in John Pilgrim, a hired gun for a far right church group run by corporate parents of a US senator. On one hand, I like how Punisher is the only other Marvel property besides Captain America to include political conspiracies and corruption, and the nature of the church is almost cultish, which is something new for the MCU. And while I do like Pilgrim's character from his complexities to where his journey ends up and the fact he is able to combat Frank in hand to hand combat, I fear he suffers from the same issues that were present from "Thor: The Dark World." Much like how Loki overshadowed Malekith, I found myself much more interested in the Russo storyline compared to Pilgrim's. Yet between the two, I felt Pilgrim's storyline had a much more satisfying conclusion than Russo's, and I feel like that's a disservice since Jigsaw is considered Punisher's biggest villain. This is my biggest problem with this season; when you mix two different storylines, your audience will be more invested in one than the other. I think what would have helped is if they gave each their own half of the season; have Frank protect Amy against Pilgrim in the first half while building up to Jigsaw for the second half.

It's hard to top the violence that was present last season, but the show creators found new and creative ways to keep things interesting. Episode three features a siege by Pilgrim and his followers on a police station Frank and Amy are being held at, with Frank having to help the officers make it through alive. Episode ten shows Russo trying to make Frank experience the nightmares he did, mixing a physical onslaught with a psychological one. And the finale has a shootout between Frank and Pilgrim through the walls in a hotel; they can't see each other at all but it's almost like they can with how they're able to avoid each other's close shots.

While the first season is definitely better, I don't see season two as a major drop in quality. The direction may get a little zig-zaggy, but I still consider Punisher to be one of the best things to come from the MCU. And for what's most likely the series finale, the show does end on a positive, albeit ironic note that Frank's crusade will continue. If we're lucky, maybe we'll see Jon Bernthal's Punisher return one way or another.

5 down, 1 to go. The last Marvel/Netflix series remaining is Jessica Jones with its third season. Here's hoping this line will go out with a bang as much as it began.

Movie Review: Death of Superman/Reign of the Supermen - A Superior Adaptation

When the DC Universe Original Animated Movie line began in 2007, the inaugural film was "Superman: Doomsday", an adaptation of the classic Death and Return of Superman storyline from the 90's. Now we have come full circle with yet another adaptation, though this time it was given the two-part treatment, with "Death of Superman" and "Reign of the Supermen". While the "Doomsday" version was more condensed, the new version allowed for the story to be more faithful to the comics and include various characters that originated from the storyline. When this was announced, I wasn't too keen on DC redoing an animated film they already produced; if it wasn't for it being part of the DC Animated Movie Universe that began with "War", I may not have been interested. "Death" had come out at the end of last summer, but I wanted to wait until "Reign" came out to get the full story at once. Then special double feature screenings of both films were announced, which meant I could get the most out of it by seeing it for the first time on the big screen. The wait was definitely worth it as I had an epic time viewing these films, as they succeed on many different levels.

If anyone is going to get the most out of these movies, it's fans of Superman. I know that probably goes without saying, but these are the first animated Superman centered movies since "Unbound" in 2013. After so many Justice League and Batman movies, it's honestly nice to see DC branching out like they have recently with Teen Titans and Suicide Squad and finally giving Superman the spotlight again. And while Superman has been present in the DC Animated Movie Universe, he hasn't actually had much focus having to share the screen with others in the Justice League movies. The most we've gotten out of him is his romance with Wonder Woman. Though other Justice League heroes are present here, this story is all about Superman. Being a two-parter gives them plenty of time to flesh out Superman's world than ever before in this universe, as we're given proper introductions to characters like Lois Lane and Lex Luthor, who are voiced fairly well by Rebecca Romijn and Rainn Wilson, respectively. It was also nice for them to include both Jonathan and Martha Kent. In my opinion, it's the best dynamic when it comes to the Kents. I enjoy seeing Clark have two parental figures to look to for guidance, instead of just his mother or both of them being dead. All these factors tie in to what is the most important theme of the movie: Superman himself. We see how vital Superman is to Metropolis, the world, and the Justice League. When the moment of his death occurs, it's a real emotional moment, with Lois, Jimmy, and the League at the scene while the rest of the world watches on their TVs and devices. In my view, this adaptation succeeds in capturing what made the original storyline so memorable to people.

While this is a closer adaptation of the original storyline compared to "Doomsday", much like "Judas Contract", there are several changes made to have it fit within the DC Animated Movie Universe, though it is mostly faithful. Though being part of this animated universe lends itself to one of the elements I loved about this film: the callbacks to continuity. The films build upon and refer to several events and characters from the previous films in this universe, going all the way back to "War". It's like "Infinity War" and "Endgame" in a way that it's pay off for following the universe since the beginning. Coupling that with watching "Death" and "Reign" as one long story really helps with the epic scale they set up here.

The action is top notch and some of the best to come from the DC animated movies. When it comes to Doomsday, it gets downright brutal. It's definitely a lot more bloody compared to the original animated adaptation, but it helps build up how deadly Doomsday is. When the League attempts to fight him, there's a real sense of dread. From breaking through Green Lantern's force field to shattering Wonder Woman's sword with a punch, even though you know they'll make it, you're still scared for them. Then of course, it's the showdown between Doomsday and Superman. This is a fight for the ages, outdoing every adaptation of their fight that came before, both animated and live action. The fights between all the various Supermen are also entertaining as well with how destructive they can be.

Of all the new characters introduced, the breakout star to me was Superboy, a clone created by Lex Luthor. Steel is always a fun character, Cyborg Superman was an interesting villain with a good motivation, while Eradicator was kind of meh to me. Compared to all of them though, Superboy really stands out. While he's trying to be his own Superman, he's still just a teenager who wants to find his place among the heroes and be liked by the public. It's clear he needs proper guidance, and he's sure to find it with Superman and his family. I hope to see him more in future films, especially if he joins up with the Titans; just imagine the interaction between him and Damian.

Much like my "Spider-Man: Homecoming" review, I'm including a spoiler section that you can skip if you don't want to read it.

**********BEGIN SPOILERS**********

Bringing Darkseid back and being the mastermind behind both Doomsday and Cyborg Superman was a stroke of genius. Not only does it help tie everything back to "War" like I've been saying, but they do his character a lot more justice, since I had a bit of a problem with him in that first movie. He shows a lot more personality and the ability to plan things, rather than just "I'm evil and taking over your planet just because". It also helps that he's now being voiced by Candyman himself, Tony Todd (who also did Zoom's voice on the Flash TV series). Darkseid should have a booming dark voice, and Todd is a good choice. The post credits scene of "Reign" also hints that we may be getting an adaptation of the "Darkseid War" storyline soon, especially with Lex Luthor asserting himself onto the Justice League like he did in the comics prior to that. Though they may have to call it something else so people won't get it confused with "War".

I had a feeling it would happen beforehand, but they finally retired the New 52 look Superman has had since this universe began. Now he's wearing his second Rebirth suit.

->

Considering they went back to the classic suit in the comics, I figured the movies would follow suit. It doesn't have the red underwear, but honestly, this is a better fit. And comic wise, I wish they stuck with this look, since it still looks like classic Superman sans the underwear and works as a modern take. I know people make a big deal about the underwear, but I can take it or leave it.

********** END SPOILERS **********

Overall, "Death of Superman" and "Reign of the Supermen" not only creates an epic story on par with its source material, but also plays to the strengths of being part of a larger universe between having build-up from the past and good set-up for the future. It's a must see for current Superman fans and I see it as a way to make new Superman fans out of people.

Video Game Review: Spider-Man - The Best Spider-Man Movie That Never Was

I've been playing Spider-Man games since I was 10 years old, starting with Activision's first game on PC. After that, I got every major Spider-Man game released on Xbox and Xbox 360, enjoying them all to some degree; even the bad ones had positive elements. Then came the announcement of a new game being exclusive to the PlayStation 4. Considering Spider-Man's my favorite superhero, you're damn right I'd cross gaming platforms to experience not just the best Spider-Man game of all time, but the best superhero game period.

If the trailers weren't any indication, from the very start of the game, there's a real cinematic quality to it. While there's clear influence from the Batman: Arkham games, what places Spider-Man above those is that you deal also with Peter Parker and his personal problems, and that it happens over a longer period of time rather than one night. It gives you time to breathe and really get invested in the characters and their relationships. And it's that investment that delivers the powerhouse of emotion that comes from the ending, both in the final boss battle and what happens afterwards. No other superhero game ending has brought me close to tears as this one.
Going back to the cinematic approach, a keen observer can notice elements that homage or were inspired by all the live action films. We have Spidey stopping a train like in "Spider-Man 2", as well as the more tech-savviness of the MCU. And without spoiling anything, I can't help but think they reworked ideas used in the Marc Webb "Amazing" films, and actually did them a lot better. Also, even the score to the game rivals those from the films.
I once considered that "The Spectacular Spider-Man" animated series was the best adaptation of the character. Now I believe this game has usurped that position (though "Spectacular is still the best animated series). As stated before, there's real investment to be had in the characters, and that's due to the great writing on display as well as the voice actors. Even the minor villains have some entertainment value. But it's the main villains that are greatly approved upon: Mr. Negative and Dr. Octopus.
In the comics, Mr. Negative was just a guy who had a split personality, with the dark side having the powers. Here, the character of Martin Li is given a more sympathetic backstory, proper motivation, and more complexity. He's a man who does a lot of good, but just can't let go of his quest for vengeance on those who wronged him.
And of course, you have perhaps the best version of Dr. Octopus yet. It mixes the best elements of "Spider-Man 2" and "Spectacular Spider-Man"; he's a man that only wanted to do good, but was pushed too far by those hindering his work and driven to do terrible things. It's certainly more dramatic than his arms telling him to rob a bank. The fact that he's Peter's mentor in the game even adds that extra punch in the final battle. I also have to give props to his voice actor, William Salyers (Reverend Putty on "Moral Orel" and Rigby on "Regular Show"). He has great range from an inspiring mentor to vengeful supervillain. Finally, there's hints that "Superior Spider-Man" situation will occur in a future sequel (hence why we didn't get that skin in the game).
The last thing that helps give this game a more realistic cinematic quality is that it isn't afraid to get serious. Spider-Man games are usually rated T, like this one is, but they've always stuck to being kid-friendly. There are actual terrorist attacks from bombs and epidemics, and clear acts of murder. Of course, some of these elements have appeared in Spider-Man games before, but the fact that these are the best and most realistic graphics than any of the previous ones gives it that extra oomph.

On to the gameplay. The most fun part one can have is the web-swinging. It's probably the most realistic the mechanic has ever been, and you can just swing on and on and not get bored, especially with all the momentum you build up as you go. It's quite comparable to the Amazing Spider-Man films, which I still think had the best web-swinging of all the live action films.
The combat, to me at least, was quite a bit of a learning curve. Honestly, the hardest part was remembering the X button is placed different than an Xbox controller. But even then, it took me quite awhile and dying over and over to realize that I couldn't just dive in headfirst. Batman may be a skilled combatant, but despite operating for years, Spider-Man isn't. He's a thinking man, and that's how you need to operate when it comes to the fight. I'll just say that dodging is your best friend (especially when you fight Taskmaster), and throwing objects will help as well; both will help build your focus bar you can use to heal or perform finishers.
There are times in the game that allow you to play as Mary Jane Watson and Miles Morales, allowing players to think on their feet (since they're basically stealth missions) and see these characters can do just as much good as Spider-Man and not just need to be saved.
While this isn't the first open world Spider-Man game, this is the first one that really feels like a living, vibrant New York City. There's a real sense of community and the idea that Spidey's a true New Yorker. Along with hearing citizens praise or heckle you, Spidey can even walk down the street and interact with people, who you can give high fives to and take selfies with.

As a staple of most Spider-Man games, there's a variety of different costumes one can wear, and it's probably the most than any game before. In addition to adapting the movie suits, I give props to the game designers for taking fan-favorite comic suits and reworking them just enough to help them fit the aesthetic of the game's universe. The detail in them shows with reflection showing in the eye pieces, and suits with glowing aspects (like the Stealth suit) will shine on other objects. My favorites to use were the MK IV Spider-Armor and the Resilient suit; both were very pleasing to the eye when using them during story missions. The game even added on the original movie trilogy suit, and while I didn't care if it was included or not, using it did bring back some memories of the old movie game days. In addition, almost every suit came with its own special ability, which can be usable for all the other suits. My favorites were the Iron Spider legs, getting assisted by "Droney" from "Homecoming", and a special move that allows you to blanket the area in webbing, trapping any thug in the vicinity.

There is one thing that does bug me about the game. You know how J. Jonah Jameson always goes on about Spider-Man being a menace? Well, he may have some merit to that claim in this universe. In a number of instances, whether by his fault or not, Spider-Man causes A LOT of collateral damage via planes, trains, and automobiles (though technically it's a helicopter and not a plane, but you get the idea). Hell, Spidey can't even rip the door or trunk off a car to free a trapped civilian without throwing said parts into a crowd on the street, who are thankfully quick enough to move out of the way.

Part of the reason this review is way past the high point everyone would be talking about this game is because I wanted to play all "The City That Never Sleeps" DLC missions (then there were the holidays, and I had to watch and review "Runaways" and "Titans"). What I really liked about this DLC is that it wasn't just additional missions for a quick buck. They actually included new types of foot soldiers to up the difficulty during combat, and story wise, it furthers certain characters that will most likely play major roles in future sequels. It's just a shame that the new suits included didn't have their own special abilities; it would have been cool to have Spider-Stingers for the Kaine/Scarlet Spider II suit. Lastly, the DLC came with challenges involving the villain Screwball, and my word is she the most annoying villain ever. If we do get a "Superior" storyline in a sequel, I wouldn't mind reliving a certain moment from issue 6 of that series.

Overall, the new Spider-Man game was well worth buying a PlayStation 4 for, giving both Spidey fans and gamers an extravagant experience on par of the various film series. I greatly look forward to the sequel and the villains set up in the post-credits scene and DLC.

TV Review: Titans - Teen Titans So-So

Teen Titans has been a recurring topic on my blog for the last few years, from top tens lists of the worst episodes of "Go!", animated movie and comic reviews, and my thoughts about how they should be brought into the DCEU. In regards to that last part, because of the TV show, a movie doesn't seem likely. DC has this thing about not wanting different depictions of characters happening at the same time, thinking it will cause confusion. It's crap reasoning, but it's something fans have to begrudgingly accept. But that brings us to "Titans", the first live action original show of the DC Universe streaming service. Even before the show's debut, it got a lot of flack, ranging from stupid things like racists complaining about Starfire's casting, to legit concerns like set photos revealing character looks. Then the trailer hit, and many were taken aback by the dark tone, from harsh violence and the infamous "Fuck Batman" line coming from Robin. Considering most adaptations of the Titans have been kid friendly, it is a surprise this is the route DC decided to go with their first live action depiction. Despite everything though, "Titans" has won over critics and fans. So now that I've finally gotten around to watching the whole first season, what do I think? Well, it has a lot of positives, but quite a few negatives that can be seen to hurt it overall.

Right off the bat, I will say that the story is good, albeit the pace is slow at the start, with Beast Boy not really factoring into the story until episode 4 and Dick not telling them he's Robin until episode 5. It's basically a combination of the team origin story and the Trigon storyline. While the latter has been done before in animation, the realistic setting of the live action series gives us a unique take on it. And despite the seriousness, they do give us time to breathe so that we could enjoy the characters getting to know each other, as well as get some laughs in.
When the series begins, Robin is the only established hero of the team, with Dick Grayson trying to make it on his own after leaving Batman and Gotham. Therefore, this is also the origin story for Rachel/Raven, Kory/Starfire, and Gar/Beast Boy, meaning they don't have legit super suits yet. Nonetheless, the costume designers did a good job creating looks for the characters that still have some semblance of the classic depictions. You have direct homages like Gar's jacket being red and white and Rachel wearing her hood at times (you know she has to have the hood), but you also have minor details one may not notice, like Raven's forehead gem on a necklace and orange make-up on Kory's eyes. People will probably complain about Starfire and Beast Boy not actually being orange and green, but not all TV shows get the same budget as movies.

Brenton Thwaites does a really good job as Dick Grayson/Robin. As Dick, we see this guy wanting to leave his past behind for a normal life, but still feeling pulled to his old ways. As Robin, we see the legit protégé to Batman who can kick a ton of ass. On that note, there's a lot of brutality to his fighting style; while this isn't part of the DCEU, I kept picturing Ben Affleck's Batman as the one he worked with considering how similar they fight. And going off of that, what's really interesting is that we learn about Bruce/Batman through Dick's eyes and how he feels about him. In many versions, Bruce and Dick's relationship is strained, especially after Dick leaves, but we usually see it from both sides. Here, it's all Dick, and I can actually agree with the problems he has with Batman, like taking on young sidekicks like him and Jason Todd, or even putting trackers in their arms. A lot of Dick's struggle in this series is trying not to be like Bruce, even though at times he goes as far as Bruce would. While Dick can blame Bruce for his problems, it was in episode 6 where I started to see it as about half and half. Without spoiling too much, Dick goes too far in a certain situation, and while that's on Dick's head, I can't help but feel Bruce failed Dick in a way; Dick was going through a tough time and Bruce should have done more to help him.
Two characters give a good contrast to Dick in different extremes. The first is the aforementioned Jason Todd, the new Robin. He basically embodies all the negative aspects Dick believes happens when being a sidekick to Batman. While I wasn't around during the time Jason was Robin in the comics, if he was anything like he was in this series, I see why fans at the time voted for Joker to bash his head in with a crowbar. Of course, it's obvious that was the intent with what Curran Walters brings to his portrayal as the character, and he does well making Jason so unlikeable. It also does well showing his potential future as the Red Hood should that ever happen in this series.
The other extreme is Donna Troy. As kids, she was Wonder Girl to Wonder Woman and was a friend to Dick. Now grown up, Donna has left behind the superhero life but still seeks to do good as an investigative journalist. Basically, she's the more well-adjusted former sidekick between the two. Of course, having Wonder Woman as a mentor is probably less stressful compared to Batman. She and Dick have a good back-and-forth with each other, showing a strong friendship, and she plays a big role in the last few episodes of the season, and I hope that continues to be so in season two.

Despite Dick getting A LOT of focus, I think the show tends to forget Rachel/Raven is the most important player here. She's the target most of the show's villains are after, all working in some way for her father Trigon, and the reason the Titans come together to begin with. Unlike the animated depictions, this is the youngest we've ever seen Raven and she's just discovering her powers. It's interesting to see her in a vulnerable state as she's realizing where she came from and trying to remain good despite the darkness inside her, along with the nice moments where she finds comfort in the other Titans; in Dick's case, it reminds him of when he lost his parents and how Bruce took him in. I've said before how Raven's powers would do well in live action with a horror flare to it, and man, they do not disappoint on that. There were times where her visions, powers, or outbursts really did scare me.

This depiction of Starfire is quite different and I'm not sure how I feel about it. She's still an alien from Tamaran, though it's unclear if she's a princess. Considering in this version she was sent to prevent Trigon's rise, I'm going to have to say "maybe", as it's possible either her sister Blackfire sent her or she felt the need to go herself. I'm guessing this is something that will be explored next season. As for what we know now, Anna Diop does a good job of showing her caring attitude and her warrior nature; she's a partner to Dick (helping reign him in at times), a big sister to Gar, and a mother figure to Rachel.

Besides Dick, if anyone is closest to their traditional depiction, it's Gar/Beast Boy. Ryan Potter brings a cheerful attitude that helps bring levity to a serious show. He likes to have fun, make jokes, and has a lot of geeky tendencies, which I think a lot of us can relate to. It's his relationship with Rachel that I enjoy the most though and how far the both of them will go to protect each other. The one complaint I have though is that he can only turn into a tiger. Granted, he's still new to his powers and maybe it's a budget thing, but I little more variety would have been nice. Prior to this, Potter was lobbying to play Tim Drake/Robin in the DCEU, and while I think he would have done well there, it's still nice to have him part of the DC universe.

Besides our main heroes, we have two other groups introduced this season.
* Doom Patrol: Gar at first lives in a mansion with a few other odd individuals, whose lives were saved but appearances drastically changed by scientist Niles Caulder. This includes Robotman, Negative Man, and Elasti-Woman. The episode they appear in was a lot of fun, making me think of an amalgamation of X-Men and Fantastic Four with how they interact with each other. There's a good mix of practical make-up and CGI, and I give a lot of props to them having a full-on Robotman suit instead of being computer generated. The Doom Patrol are getting their own series this year, and after seeing them here, I'm definitely looking forward to it a lot more.
* Hawk and Dove: Old friends of Dick, Hank Hall and Dawn Granger are partners in crime fighting and in real life. Hank's a hot head (which is very faithful to the source) while Dawn's this sweet girl, and it made me wonder how these two could have ever become a couple. Then there was a flashback episode showing how they got together, and it was one of the best of the season, showing how something beautiful can come from tragedy. On that note, like in the comics, Hank's brother Don is the original Dove who dies. But unlike the comics, his death here is just a freak accident having nothing to do with superheroes and villains. It's a nice subversion of expectations considering how superhero death in comics nowadays has lost the impact it used to have.

I figured I'd get all my positive thoughts and character analyses out before I dive into the negative.
I guess the biggest issues I had with the series is how far they took with the dark tone. When the first trailer hit, I said that this was DC's answer to Marvel's Netflix series. While that is the case, much like "Suicide Squad", this is another instance of DC trying too hard to be like Marvel. In this instance, they take more advantage of the TV-MA rating, and it gets to immature levels. "Hey, we're using the "F" word a lot! Robin just stabbed that guy in the crotch! We're so edgy!"
My other major issue is how the season ends. See, the season was originally set for 12 episodes, but ended at 11, with episode 12 going to act as the season two premiere. The problem there is that the final episode is a fantasy episode that is so clearly fantasy that there's no investment to be had in it. Even then, there's no proper conclusion to this season's storyline, plot threads were set up that won't go anywhere until next season, and I'm left with many other questions about characters' pasts. While there's nothing wrong with ending on a cliffhanger, there still has to be some resolution. It's just a crappy way to close things out, and it boggles my mind why DC would do it this way.

Overall, despite the difference in tone, I feel "Titans" is a worthwhile adaptation of the superhero team. The positive traits outweigh the negative, but the few negatives it does have are hard to ignore, and that's not including the lack of proper ending.

TV Review: Runaways Season Two - The Kids Are Alright

I started out this year with "Runaways", and it seems I'm ending the year on it too. I praised the first season of the show and how it made me invested in a Marvel property I generally had no knowledge or interest in before. As usual, I always wonder whether the second outing of something will be able to catch lightning in a bottle as the first did. Season two is quite different than the first, in ways that help it stand out, but also in ways that make it inferior to the first.
Unlike my season one review, I won't be vague this time around. Since it's been almost a year since season one and hopefully the show has gathered an audience, I will be going into more detail this time around.

Picking up from the end of the last season, the Runaways live up to their namesake after confronting their parents about their murderous nature, but their plans to leave town are hindered when their parents put out a news report making them look like the killers of one of their victims. So right off the bat, we leave behind the traditional tropes of teenage home and school life as our main characters adjust to their new normal.
While this is a dramatic show with many big moments and development, the parts I enjoyed the most were the small ones. Despite leaving their old lives behind, we still have teenagers dealing with teenage things. We have relationships that develop and have their ups and downs, such as Nico with Carolina and Gert with Chase. You'll become quite invested where you'll enjoy the sweet times and feel sad when things seem to start breaking down for them. Besides that, you see the characters making the best of their situation and still have fun, like when they throw a quinceanera for Molly. There's a clear message here that even through the dark times, you have to stop enjoy the brief moments of joy and the ones you share it with.

After two seasons, I have to say my favorite characters of the series are Nico and Molly.
While Alex may be the tactician of the group, Nico is very much the field leader. She's able to take charge and get the others to listen to her, showing much strength in her character. Through all this though, she struggles by keeping her relationship with Karolina in a good place as well as trying not to be as domineering as her mother is in her own group. On another note, I just love her fashion sense. From a Black Parade style jacket to some Victorian style dresses, her goth attire helps her stand out as the best dressed of the group.
As for Molly, she has really grown over these two seasons. Being the youngest of the group, she always feels like the outsider with the most to prove; even in season one, no one would even listen to her when she tried to tell them about her super strength until she finally displayed it. This season, it finally occurred to me that she has suffered the most out of the whole group. Her parents were killed when she was young and she was taken in by Gert's family, so unlike the others, she has no blood relatives left. This motivates her to make sure no one suffers like she has, saying that they should use their abilities to do good outside their own problems, as well as put her on a journey to realize that the Runaways are the family she needs (her and Gert also grow closer as sisters this season as well). I've much enjoyed watching her go from this insecure kid to one of the strongest characters on the show.
I do have to give props to Alex's character this season too. He's kind of the odd man out of the group since he doesn't have any super technology, alien genes, or even a dinosaur. He's essentially the normal one, and at the beginning of the season, he's still tempted by some semblance of a normal life. He grows close with his father's old friend Darius, as well as strike up a relationship with his young sister-in-law Livvie; he wants to fill the void left from last season in terms of family and romance. It just makes it all the more crushing when he's forcibly snapped back to the reality of his situation, fueling his desire to see his parents brought to justice even more. You could say it conflicts with his role as team leader, with his own vendetta getting in the way of what's good for the team. It makes for good character complexity, showing he's not perfect but you still hope he realizes the right thing to do.

As for the PRIDE parents, while there were definitely shades of gray last season, I found there was a lot more black and white this season. I liked only a few of them since they seemed to genuinely have good intentions even until the end, some of them are still in that gray area, but many of them act so reprehensibly that I can't see them as anything but villains. While I guess some could still feel some sympathy for the ones in the last group, I just didn't feel the same about these characters like last time where I could still see a hint of reluctance in their actions.
Speaking of villains though, Julian McMahon returns as Jonah, the leader of PRIDE, who we later learn also goes by "The Magistrate". McMahon continues to provide a great villainous and at times creepy performance, and we get to learn a lot more about his past, nature, and goals. Though perhaps we learn too much; not to go into spoilers, but let's just say he has something in common with Jacob from "Twilight", and it's not a good quality. Unfortunately, McMahon is out of the show two-thirds of the way into the season. While the character is still around in some way, losing McMahon means the show losing its most charismatic villain.

McMahon's departure brings me to another point that this season reminds me a lot of Luke Cage's first season. It feels like the overall season is comprised of two smaller seasons, with one episode at the half-way point feeling a lot like a finale, and the second half not being as strong as the first with characters making some really dumb decisions. That said, the second half still has some interesting and entertaining plot lines, going into the season's true finale, which promises a third season even more different than before.

Special effect wise, it's about half and half. A lot of the effects are still on par with the first season, like Old Lace and the powers of the characters. Other times though, the fakeness is glaring with scenes that are clearly set in front of a green/blue screen. This is just a minor problem I had though since it's the characters that are the driving force of the show.

It's worth mentioning that this season appears to have more connections to the broader Marvel Cinematic Universe. There's a brief mention of Wakanda, but perhaps the biggest connection is to "Doctor Strange" during the last third of the season. I won't go into details, but it appears to have to do with the Dark Dimension.
And while not necessarily a connection, there's one thing that happens that really bugs me. In episode eight, the PRIDE parents talk about Jonah as if he's the first real proof of alien life. I know it's harder to place the TV shows in terms of where they happen in relation to the films of the MCU, but I feel like it should be safe to assume that the first Avengers film happened already. That said, did they all just forget the Chitauri invasion in New York? You can't even say that Runaways happens before that since much of the technology and references are very modern. I know it's a minor detail, but it's just baffling that the Chitauri invasion was such a huge event to the world that it gets referenced in almost literally every MCU TV show, and yet it seems to be ignored here.

Overall, season two of Runaways isn't as groundbreaking as its first. But in terms of the second chapter of a larger story, I'm still enjoying these characters, the journey they're on, and the trials they'll all continue to face. The cliffhanger this season ended on has me itching to see what happens next even more than the previous season's finale. Unlike the Netflix shows though, I don't think we'll have to worry about this series being cut short and a third season announcement should be soon.

Movie Review: Aquaman - 20,000 Leagues of His Own

The last time we looked at the DC Extended Universe, it was with "Justice League", which while not terrible was met with some disappointment. This may have meant the end for the franchise had it not been for multiple films already in production, including "Aquaman", with Jason Momoa reprising his role from "Justice League". After the debacle of the previous film, I felt that as long as DC focused on making good movies and not worry about crossovers and future sequels, things should get back on track. "Aquaman" is the first film with that mindset. After seeing it at a special Amazon Prime member screening, I have to say that it was even better than I thought it'd be, and dare I say, it may have been even better than "Wonder Woman."

That being said, there are quite a few similarities between the two films. We're exploring a realm widely regarded as myth, with a protagonist whose journey is aided by a parental figure, mentor, and love interest, and facing two adversaries, one being a pawn and the other being of relation to the hero. Despite all that though, "Aquaman" does enough to help the film stand out on its own, making some twists and subverting expectations in ways I didn't expect.
Like "Wonder Woman", we have the "fish out of water" scenario (pun intended), but there are actually two in this film. Between Arthur and Mera, they're both exploring the other's world. Mera spends an extended amount of time on the surface world and grows a deeper appreciation for it despite its faults. As for Arthur, this is his first time actually seeing Atlantis and learning of its ways.
Much like Arthur, this is the audience's first time seeing Atlantis of the DCEU, and I found it absolutely gorgeous and it's a shame the screening wasn't in 3D. Like I said in my "Justice League" review, I really wish "Aquaman" had come out beforehand so we can really appreciate the side of Arthur where his powers come from. Granted Arthur is in a much different place by the end of the movie compared to how we see him in "Justice League", but I feel it would have been altered easily without effecting the overall narrative of both films.
Aside from the city of Atlantis, there are plenty of other visual treats to entice people. The scenes set in the sea are so well done that you'll actually feel like you're under water, from the waviness of the screen, the distortion of the actors' voices, right down to dust floating around. There are also a variety of different creatures besides the Atlanteans, from the sea creatures they use to fight and travel (including giant seahorses), tribes like the Fishermen and the Brine, and the giant Karathen. The most terrifying creatures though are the Trench, savage creatures that allow director James Wan to make use of his horror roots in a scene where they're chasing after Arthur and Mera on their boat and in the water; even though you know they'll make it, you're still scared for them. And while it's a minor effect, I was just so happy to see the telepathic ring that appears when Arthur uses his telepathy to communicate with sea life just like in the cartoons. Combining all of this makes for one of the most visually stunning action climaxes I've seen in film.
The fight scenes aren't just limited to the underwater scenes though, as there's plenty of action to be had on land as well. The opening fight scene with Arthur making his way through pirates hijacking a submarine is brutally fun, and I find it comparable to Batman's warehouse fight in "Batman v Superman" and Diana's No Man's Land scene in "Wonder Woman"; just a brilliant showcase of the hero's abilities. Much like Arthur, both Mera and his mother Atlanna are shown to be capable fighters themselves, proving them to be certified badasses.

While Jason Momoa was entertaining in "Justice League", a lot of people weren't too keen on his performance as the so called "Aquabro." I feel like this film will help him win some people over though, as we view Arthur's journey to becoming the hero and king comic fans know him to be, and I definitely see why Momoa was picked for the role way back for when it was just a cameo in "Batman v Superman". Also, I felt a lot of joy seeing him wear the classic Aquaman suit and him riding a seahorse.
As I said, Mera is just as capable a hero as Arthur, and it's helped by Amber Heard's portrayal of the character. Her development is much like Arthur's as we watch her drop the armor of her Atlantean ways and her views broadening. Watching the two progress together helps add to their chemistry, making for a literal king and queen powerhouse couple for the DCEU.
Momoa's chemistry also expands to his father Thomas, play by Temuera Morrison (who played Jango Fett in "Attack of the Clones"), and his Atlantean mentor Vulko, played by Willem Dafoe (who played Norman Osborn in the original Spider-Man trilogy). Seeing them act with Momoa's Arthur really made me believe the history they shared together, whether it be father and son drinking together, or a mentor trying to help his pupil reach their full potential. Also, I give props to the people who worked on their digital de-aging to make them look younger for flashback scenes; it's amazing how far special effects technology has come.
King Orm/Ocean Master, played by Patrick Wilson isn't really a standout villain to me, but he offers a good foil to Arthur. Besides their appearances and tolerance to accept others, while Arthur knows how to have some fun and has never really had much obligation to anything, Orm is very serious in his role as king and nothing is off the table in his goal to see his people flourish. Their differences are best exemplified in the interaction the two have just before their duel surrounded by a ring of underwater lava. Without spoiling much, the film does seem to imply potential redemption for Orm in future films.
When it comes to villains though, that show is stolen by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta. His motivation for revenge against Aquaman is established from the submarine hijacking scene mentioned before that ends with his father being killed. Already working for Orm, he forgoes any monetary payment, only wanting revenge for his father. He's given Atlantean technology, which he fashions into the costume he's well known for. This leads to their battle in Sicily, and he looks spectacular in action. I look forward to him appearing in future Aquaman films, and maybe even part of the Legion of Doom if we ever get a Justice League sequel.

Overall, "Aquaman" is a fun ride with great visual effects and amazing chemistry between actors, boding a promising direction for the future of the DCEU and proving how much success can be had when filmmakers' visions aren't interfered with by the studio. If you see one more movie before the year is out, make it worthwhile with the king of the sea.

My DC Extended Universe Film Rankings:
1. Aquaman
2. Wonder Woman
3. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
4. Man of Steel
5. Justice League
6. Suicide Squad