Travelling the Multiverse
So I mean honestly what else was there to talk about this week but the long awaited Snyder Cut! Join Jim, Rob and Michael as they pick it apart and give you their honest opinions on how the original vision of the film came out!
Also there is some Earth9 news, things are changing a little, take a listen to find out what!
For this animated movie we head to the seas and meet Arthur Curry who is down and out while mourning the loss of his Dad. This film should be used as a template for origin films. It was so much fun, so entertaining and what I appreciated the most is that as someone who hasn’t ever really been that interested in Aquaman as a character, it changed my perspective.
Throne of Atlantis takes place after the affects of Justice League: War and there’s commotion in the ocean as Prince Orm (Ocean Master) believes they have been attacked by land dwellers. He teams up with Black Manta to over throw Queen Atlantis but perhaps takes things a little too far. One thing I always appreciate about these DC animated films is how the animation, story telling and actors come together so well and once again there’s some perfect casting with Sam Witwer and Henry Lennix as Orm and Manta. The two of them together make a great double act.
As soon as Arthur meets Mera you can feel the spark. Their connection is instantaneous and this film does a brilliant job in conveying this really subtly. Matt Lanter and Sumalee Montano inject these characters with loads of personality and allow them to become people you connect with and care about. Arthur’s journey is pretty similar to Jason Mamoa’s live action version but the biggest difference is that both his parents are dead. The fact that he was minutes away from meeting his Mum properly for the first time really saddened me. Portraying just how strong and powerful he is and how awesome his trident is, makes you take him seriously which may not have always been the case and now I’m on a mission to read more about him.
As always, I love having the other Justice League members along for the ride. They’re just finding their feet as a team, avoiding bad team name choices and making connections with each other. Superman and Wonder Woman particularly make a strong connection which again follows on from what we saw at the end of Justice League: War. I loved the scene with Lois crashing their date and the under tones of jealousy both these women have towards each other. The other stand out character for me was Green Lantern and Nathan Fillion wonderfully breathes so much fun and humour into him.
Throne of Atlantis really is a superb DC film which brings Aquaman to the forefront and shows him off fabulously. I genuinely can’t think of a reason why anyone wouldn’t love this.
Based on the Justice League Origin comic, this film introduces us to The Justice League in quite a spectacular way. This is 79 mins of non stop action as we see some of our favourite DC heroes meet each other for the very first time, take on a huge villain and eventually come together as a team.
As the film starts we discover that this is set in a period of time where heroes are just surfacing and the general public are not keen on them at all. After a few sightings in public they think Batman is an evil vampire and as Wonder Woman takes a more public stance, she’s labelled a whore and bimbo. What I enjoyed most about this was the interactions between all of these great characters. Most of them do not like each other to start with and they don’t realise that they shouldn’t be fighting each other as they actually have a common goal. Each character’s skill set is really shown off which serves as a great introduction to viewers who aren’t so familiar with them.
I really felt like I was watching a comic brought to life as the animation style is visually pleasing. Add this to some really great talent from actors like Sean Astin, Jason O’Mara, Michelle Monoghan and Shemar Moore, it s a winning combination. Shemar does a great job in portraying Cyborg’s origin story and the complexity of Victor’s relationship with his Dad gives the film some heart. Darkseid acts as the big bad in this and whilst he looks completely grimacing and indestructible, Steve Blum’s vocals make him appear even more threatening.
You instantly feel the connection between Superman and Batman and tracks are laid for a more interesting relationship between Superman and Wonder Woman (much to the upset of Steve Trevor). Whilst Cyborg is quite intense, The Flash, Shazam and Green Lantern provide some humour and light relief. Justin Kirk gives us a Green Lantern comparable with what we saw from Ryan Reynolds. It was also interesting to have some pop culture thrown in for laughs with references to things like True Blood and World of Warcraft.
Overall, Justice League: War is a really enjoyable animated movie which made me want to watch the next one straight away. It uses a fantastic villain to bring together a group of superheroes who figure out a way to use their awesome powers together and save the world. I loved it.
A decade has nearly passed since the New52 (eventual Rebirth) initiative kicked off, and for a universal reboot has experienced quite a few more downs than ups in the ten years since its inception. It is perhaps a tad poetic that Justice League, as a then flagship title, perhaps represents a microcosm of the successes, failures and the impact that this slate wiping produced.
In many ways this series can be seen as a natural successor to the 1990s JLA run under Grant Morrison and Howard Porter. Like that famous duo of creators, Geoff Johns and Jim Lee knock right out of the park, the feel for what a Justice League book should be; high stakes, perhaps a bit high drama, and high octane. The Justice League should be tackling the planetary and universal threats. Let Superman save kittens from trees in his own titles; when you appear in the Justice League, it is because you are expected to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Darkseid. It is no surprise that the likes of Johns and Lee give us exactly that in the opening arc.
It is perhaps why this type of Justice League story becomes the classic or archetypal interpretation. There is a time for many different approaches to the source material, but it is not too unreasonable that if you are going to kickstart a new universe with this as a core title, that more relaxed, oddball interpretations, are perhaps not the natural first choice. While the general plot of this collection is fairly by the numbers, it does reveal early flaws in the whole reboot. Those flaws can loosely be grouped into three areas: plot, characters and continuity, with considerable overlap between.
In terms of characters, the Justice League depicted is the classic line-up. Kinda, mostly. In a daring move, Martian Manhunter is not only erased as a core member, but shuffled off to another corner of the DCU (bad idea). With mixed results, Cyborg is promoted to both JLA member and founding member (not a bad idea, just not a great one, and for alternatives see below).
Cyborg is written as a very convincing member of the Justice League… but most readers associate him as a member of the Teen Titans, especially with prominent animated adaptations depicting the character in the last two decades. Charter member of the Justice League? No. First new recruit? Absolutely should have been, and with minor tweaking might have still worked within the storyline. These two largely cover issues over continuity as well.
Previous continuities presented either Wonder Woman (Silver Age & Post Infinite Crisis) or Black Canary (Post Crisis) as a founding member. This would have been a perfect opportunity to establish both female characters as founding members, especially on a team that can honestly be described as a sausage-fest for most of its history.
The only other issue character wise are the wildly out of sync character representations of both Batman and Green Lantern in this arc. Fans of Hal will likely start fuming at references to how incredibly obnoxious their favourite emerald ring-slinger was, and Batman does one thing so glaringly uncharacteristic that it defies logic. In terms of writing, the Batman moment is a bit unforgivable when one takes into consideration the first issue of Justice League takes place five years into their new timeline; Bruce is simply too long into his crimefighting game to make the naïve decision he did. This one can be filed under continuity issues as well.
Finally in terms of plot, this is fairly paint by numbers in terms of storytelling; hero meets hero, misunderstand each other, fight, come to their senses, meet another hero and repeat a few times until the writer is ready to introduce the universal level threat that the characters will all have to overcome their differences to defeat.
In the end, there is no denying the overall impact this opening arc has had; from influence in the DCEU movie franchise, the promotion of a strong person of colour in the character of Cyborg to the upper echelons of super-heroics (one, who already had a rich history to begin with) and even a direct adaptation as an animated film. Big impact, entertainment value and Jim Lee at some of his best artistically; if you can forgive a somewhat thin plot.
Collects: Justice League (Vol. 2) 1-6
In this episode we try to talk Fandome 2, but get wildly off-topic talking Batwoman, the CW Universe, how industries need to adapt, and one of us gushes about the new Robin hardcover, but we do kinda cover most of it at the same time, so put it in your ears and enjoy!! (we do have some audio difficulties this week, the trials of recording across continents!)
DCs Earth-9 