Why I wish Wolverine--and only Wolverine--would appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

I've been meaning to write this post for a while, and recent news spurred me to action. Hugh Jackman posted this image to his Instagram today:

WOLVERINE ...ONE LAST TIME. HJ

A photo posted by Hugh Jackman (@thehughjackman) on Mar 28, 2015 at 10:40am PDT

It sounds like Hugh Jackman will only play Wolverine one more time, and I have to say, I hope it ain't so. Nobody else could ever play Wolverine like Hugh Jackman, and I dearly hope Wolverine can someday join the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

When did we become too cool for Batman?

Evolution of Batman, from Comic Book Movie

I like Batman. I like reading Batman comics, watching Batman movies and cartoons, and playing Batman video games. Yes, he dresses like a bat. Yes, he fights criminals who all have some sort of gimmick. And, yes, his parents are dead, and he will brood about it.

And I love it.

But lately I've noticed a backlash against Batman. People seem to think either that Batman is a silly children's character, or that he's a joyless sociopath. What happened?

The Wolverine: A Wolverine film worth watching

Though the first three X-Men movies were pretty hit and miss, the best decision the people behind those movies made was to cast Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. No matter what else was going on in those movies, Jackman as Wolverine was always worth watching. He walked the fine line between being likable and being badass, and between being a superhero and being believable. I liked the character, so naturally I looked forward to the first Wolverine movie. I was completely disappointed with it. For weeks afterward I found myself wondering when I would finally get to see the Wolverine movie, because my mind had not yet processed that, yes, I had seen it, and yes, it really was that bad.

If I had known at the time, I would have skipped over the first Wolverine movie and seen the second one in theaters instead. The second Wolverine movie isn't perfect, but it is good, and it gets my recommendation.

There are some spoilers under the cut.

I watched the Teen Titans Go! TV series and it was better than expected

DC Comics have always made good cartoons: Batman the Animated Series, Justice League, and the first season of Young Justice are all excellent. These shows have exciting action, fun adventures, and interesting character arcs. A worthy entry in that lineup is the 2003 Teen Titans animated series, which ran for six seasons. This is not a review for that series.

Instead, this is a review for the current series that re-imagines the Teen Titans as a bunch of slapstick, self-absorbed slackers. The new show makes no attempts at character development, plot arcs, or an underlying message.

And yet, I still kinda like it.

Thoughts on Thor 2: Would I rather be Thor or Iron Man?

A week ago, my lovely wife and I saw Thor: The Dark World. We also saw Iron Man 3 back when it was in theaters, and seeing both films brought back a question I have asked myself from time to time: who would I rather be, Thor or Tony Stark?

Both films are similar: the main character has grown as a person since we first met him, has established a romantic relationship with the other main character, and, perhaps most significantly, has recently saved the Earth from an alien invasion. I also find the differences between the characters fascinating. I can compare the two of them, but it's hard to pick a favorite, except for in one definite area where the leader clearly emerges.

Let me explain.

(Contains spoilers for both movies)

Thoughts on the upcoming Superman and Batman movie

Apparently a new movie featuring both Superman and Batman is in the works, according to an announcement made at Comic-Con. When I first heard the news, I had a brief moment of excitement, and then boredom set in almost immediately. I thought the recent Dark Knight trilogy was okay but seriously overrated, Superman Returns was just bad, and I haven't bothered to see Man of Steel yet. But I've had some time to think about it, and I think that a crossover movie might actually be pretty cool, depending on what direction they take it.

This post contains spoilers for the Dark Knight trilogy. Coming right up, in fact.

Iron Man 3: More of What We Love

** Contains spoilers for Iron Man 3, the previous Iron Man movies, and The Avengers **

If you're anything like me, then the main reason you went and saw Iron Man 3 was to see Robert Downey, Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow return to their roles as Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. It helps that there was plenty of action, a brisk pace, and humor, but that was just an added bonus. As the third film in the series, and the fourth to feature these characters, the characters we see in Iron Man 3 have grown and changed since we first met them. Tony Stark became a hero in the past movies, but now his decisions are catching up to him and he has to deal with the consequences.

Young Justice Season Two goes wrong where Season One went right

** This post contains spoilers. Also, it turned out quite long. I guess I needed to rant. **

The first season of Young Justice may not have been perfect, but it made for a satisfying, consistently entertaining superhero cartoon. Earlier, I wrote about why I preferred Young Justice to Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Based on the strength of the first season, I bought an iTunes season pass for the second season. This means that I committed to paying for the entire second season before watching a single episode of that season. That turned out to be a mistake.

Why the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the best superhero setting

You already know that Joss Whedon's Avengers movie has been one of the most successful superhero films, both among fans and critics. Of course, the Avengers is the latest in a series of  films introducing each of the main Avengers, which were all at least fairly popular, and some blockbusters in their own right. My fellow superhero nerds can't help comparing the characters in the films with their comic forebears, wondering why certain things were left out and speculating about whether certain characters and plots from decades of comics will appear in the films' sequels. The feeling seems to be that the films are dumbed-down versions of the "true" stories as told in the comics, but I'm having trouble agreeing with that. Lately I have begun to make my peace with the fact that the films are exactly the sort of superhero entertainment I want to see. Here's why.

Why You Really Should Give Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes a Watch

 There are some spoilers ahead, but I'll try to keep them to the first part of the show.

One of my cohorts recently threw down the gauntlet (or possibly spandex glove) by comparing Young Justice to Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. As he pointed out, they are for different age groups, so it might not be entirely fair to compare them. While YJ gets to have complex storylines full of brooding and woe (and veiled references to drug use, with Red Arrow's latest story arc), A:EMH is much more about fighting bad guys and stopping cartoonishly evil schemes that usually consist of "taking over ____," revenge, and theft. This isn't to say that it's completely silly: Captain America still mourns over the loss of his entire world, Hawkeye and Black Widow have tension while going back and forth on just how evil Widow is, and at one point the Hulk is rejected and goes off to be alone. These moments are great, but they're fairly rare, because the show is about something else: it's about saving the world, and being mighty while doing it.

 The Hulk must go / So you cannot see the depth / Of his loneliness.

The Avengers Spoilers: Oh, Internet, you DO love me!

At the end of the Avengers, once the main credits roll, there is a little Easter egg scene to set up the sequel, as there always is at the end of these superhero movies. But then, at the very end of the credits, there is another Easter egg scene that is absolutely brilliant. I'm hiding it under the jump, because you don't want it spoiled if you haven't seen it yet, but I realize most of you are probably reading this using a blog reader and you can see the whole post already, so sorry if I spoiled it for you.

Planet Hulk: Sword and Planet and Hulk

Stop me if this plot sounds familiar. An Earthling finds himself on an alien planet that is ruled by a cruel despot who oppresses his own people. The level of technology on the planet is a mixture between ancient and futuristic, combining flying ships with swords and shields. The Earthling finds himself on the wrong end of that despot's regime and winds up in a fight for his life. During that fight, he ends up crossing paths with a resistance against that ruler. The people of the planet who turn to the Earthling as the prophesied savior who will overthrow their leader and restore peace to their planet.

Oh, and the Earthling is the Hulk.

 "Hulk crush puny planet in giant hand!"

Why Young Justice is better than Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

This show is better...

...than this show

Having just finished watching the first season of Young Justice, and having previously watched the first season of Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, I think now is a good time to pause and consider what makes Young Justice a better show.

Film Review: The Avengers

In comics, I have a feeling that for a while Loki was the villain in most of the schemes the Avengers had to foil. When the Avengers caught on, they'd just send the Hulk to punch Loki whenever a scheme went down, because they knew sooner or later they'd connect him to it anyway, because Loki was just about always involved. After a while of getting his face rearranged by a giant green fist, Loki thought, "Screw it, if they think I'm always involved and punish me for it anyway, I will be always involved." After that, whenever any Avengers-related crime happened, Loki would haul ass as soon as he heard about it to join in. HYDRA attacks New York? Loki flew one of their ships. Crimson Dynamo? Loki gave him a magical power source. Some local hoods knocking over a 7/11? Loki held the door. If you're gonna do the time, you might as well do the crime.

Of course, that's only a theory, and as you can tell this isn't exactly a serious review of The Avengers. My serious review would be very brief: it's a great movie; go see it. It's some great action peppered with plenty of humor, and a theater filled with people laughing is the perfect environment for it. It's loud, wild, and full of the kind of huge emotional turns only a movie with killer aliens, Norse gods, and super soldiers can provide. In one tense moment that led to a huge moment of shining heroic glory, a kid in a row in front of me jumped up with one fist in the air. In another scene, the kid sitting directly in front of me hunkered down in fear covering his ears. It was just that kind of movie. Or maybe the speakers were just turned up too high. Deep down, this film speaks to what we love about superheroes. Yes, the weight of the world is on their shoulders. Yes, they are flawed and deeply human, despite being superhuman. And yet, at the very bottom of it, we all know that being a superhero would be fun.

 Superhero carnage, just like mom used to make.

Followup: You can safely avoid Gladstone's School for World Conquerors

Note: It's been a while since I finished Gladstone's School for World Conquerors, so this review is going to be more about my impressions of the series and the way I remember things playing out.

El Campeon is wondering why he's in this comic

How long should you wait before having a completely unnecessary crossover with a character from another comic series? I don't know, but you should probably wait until after the second issue. Give your own characters a chance to find their feet and grow on your readers before you throw in someone else's character for that "Hey kids, look who's here!" moment. But Gladstone's School for World Conquerors has a completely unnecessary appearance from El Campeon, from The Amazing Joy Buzzards. El Campeon adds nothing to the plot, and ends up taking up time that could have been better spent establishing the characters from Gladstone's School for World Conquerors. In fact, El Campeon's cameo gets almost as much character development as any of the main characters in the series.

Thor: This movie, I like it! ANOTHER!

Thor is more than just the latest Marvel superhero movie. It may not be X-Men or Spider-Man or Iron Man, but it doesn't waste its time trying to be. Instead, it focuses on a likable hero, an engaging plot, a compelling villain, and of course setting up The Avengers, but more on that later.

I didn't know much about Thor when I went into the theater. I knew that he was an Avenger, and that he wielded Mjolnir and had storm-based powers, but I was mostly familiar with other incarnations of him: Ultimate Thor, Thor in 1602, Thor in the Ultimate Alliance video game. I had never actually read a "regular" Thor comic. I hadn't even planned on seeing it in theaters, but I heard a lot of good things, both from friends and from Rotten Tomatoes, so I thought, why not?

Gladstone's School for World Conquerors, Issue 1

Click here for a followup to this post covering the first arc of the series

The new comic book series "Gladstone's School for World Conquerors" is about a school for superpowered kids, and I'm a sucker for stories like that. The X-Men, with Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, is the most well-known example. There was also the live-action Disney movie "Sky High," the comic book series PS-238 by Aaron Williams (the guy behind Nodwick), and no doubt countless others. I even wrote a superhero school novel for my first National Novel Writing Month novel. I'm also a big fan of the Teen Titans cartoon, which is not about a school, but it has the same wild energy of "Gladstone's School."

Young Justice Looks Like it's Going to Rock

I would sum up Young Justice as being somewhere between Teen Titans and Justice League/Justice League Unlimited. That's high praise indeed, as I am a huge fan of both shows.

Batman: Arkham Asylum Game Review

People of Gotham! Joker here, bringing you a review of a game starring a man dressed like a bat.