Captain Marvel: How Marvel Dropped the Ball on its First Female Led Superhero Film

Welcome Back to Another edition of Comic Relief! where we talk about all the goings on in the world of nerd!

If you have been paying attention to the internet at all over the past few weeks, you would have without a doubt heard at least something on the controversy of the most recent entry into the MCU: Captain Marvel. Between Brie Larson's attempt to use the film's PR to push her own personal politics, and the media trying to protect the film from criticism, this film will probably go down as having one of the biggest PR fiasco's of the genre. That being said, this is not what I am here to talk about, instead, I am here to talk about the film itself as I watched it yesterday, so without further ado, let's talk Captain Marvel.

There is a big question I am going to get out of the way right now. First is Captain Marvel a dumpster fire of a film, no. Speaking objectively, Captain Marvel is another solid, C rated movie in the collection of Marvel, if you are a standard audience member, this film will be akin to movies like Antman where it was certainly fun for a watch, but you probably wouldn't be looking to watch it again. This has a lot to do with the film's very disjointed storytelling and AWFUL pacing. However,  the film successfully plays off its visuals and 90's nostalgia to distract the audience from all of the film's problems, so again, from an objective standpoint, I would give this film a 6.5 out of 10. That being said, this is not good enough. It's certainly interesting to see Marvel play the verbal punching bag in a contest to a DC film for once because, for all the same reasons Wonder Woman was great, this movie found itself lacking. Gal Gadot brought charm, charisma and a physical presence to her role as Diana, whereas Brie Larson's performance attempted to bring out those qualities of the character but instead is constantly finding herself falling short. They try to write her with a Tony Stark-like whit but it doesn't come off as being smart, she instead comes off as condescending, and all that I have to say about her physical presence was that watching her attempt to run was a very clear indication that this woman hasn't done a physical anything in her life. Frankly, we deserved better from Marvel's first female-led film, but this is only part of my disappointment.

When making a film based around comic stories, finding the middle ground between artistic license and source material is very important. As a comic book fan, that's something that I use to ground my expectations, and so long as the characters ring true to how they feel in the books, I am fine. However, watching this film and seeing what they took license with, and how they did, I have never felt more personally slapped in the face for investing my time in these stories. Now as a warning I am going to be writing some big SPOILERS here, so if you haven't seen the movie and don't like spoilers, you might want to stop here. That being said, I am going to move on forward. First, let's talk Captain Marvel, and in this, I don't actually mean Carol Danvers, the film's protagonist, but the original Captain, Mar-Vell, whose part in this film is a complete disservice to one of Marvel's most cherished characters for fans of the Silver and Bronze Age of books.

Created by Stan Lee in 67, Mar-Vell was initially sent to Earth as a spy for the Kree but instead turned his back on the Kree after being inspired by the heroes of Earth as a protector. During his tenure in the books, Mar-Vell has fought foes like the Kree, Skrulls, and even taken on the Mad Titan Thanos BY HIMSELF. I want to point this out because, Mar-Vell is in Captain Marvel, but despite his importance as a character in the books, the MCU treated him like garbage. The first slight to me was the gender swap. Rather than portray this character the way he was meant to be, they gender-swapped Mar-Vell because god forbid the first female to have any male role models, we absolutely can't have that! However, this isn't the greatest disservice. If they had gender bent the character, but at least made them have the presence and impact that Mar-Vell has in the books, I could forgive it. However, they didn't. Instead, the character of Mar-Vell was reduced to a damn easter egg. We find out she's Mar-Vell and then two seconds later she is shot and killed. She actively does NOTHING, and while I realize this is Carol's movie, Mar-Vell is an integral part of her taking up this mantle and deserved a good helluva lot more than what he got. Bad as this is though, Mar-Vell wasn't the only thing from the books they messed up horribly.

In the comics, there are two warring factions on the cosmic side of things. Two foes, that can never really put their differences aside, and both are treated as antagonizing forces in the books: The Kree, and the Skrull. The Kree people already had been introduced to through previous entries such as Guardians of the Galaxy, but Captain Marvel introduces the Skrull, and because of how Captain Marvel portrays the Skrull, they have completely disabled the MCU from ever using the Skrulls as villains, EVER. The Skrulls have been turned from the shape-shifting conquerors of the books to helpless refugees hunted by the Kree and in search for a home. If any comic book fans were hoping for an adaptation of Secret Invasion, sorry to disappoint, but that's NEVER going to happen. With Skrulls being turned into a commentary on the Syrian refugee crisis, they will never be used as villains again, and if they are it will be in the same way Ronan was used in Guardians: a group of extremist zealots, because again, god forbid we have a race of evil aliens without any good intent. Are we going to try and humanize the Chitauri next?

At the end of the day, Captain Marvel has no excuse to be anything less than the best this genre has to offer, and it just is not that. This movie does not even come close to my top 10 favorite Marvel films, in fact, it's in a fight with Thor: Dark World for my least favorite entry in the franchise. While it's by no means a bad film, the mixture of its mediocrity and the blatant disrespect to the source material make it one of the most difficult entries to watch, and if this is an indication for the future of this franchise, I might be hopping off the train after Endgame and Far From Home.

This has been another edition of Comic Relief! I hope you have enjoyed and we will see you again soon!

How 'My Hero Academia' Improved 'Death of Superman'

Welcome back to another edition of Comic Relief! where we talk about all the goings on in the world of Nerd!

They say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery, however, what would you call it when you take something and make it better? Last year, the hit anime My Hero Academia adapted the "All For One" arc from the manga that depicted the final stand of the World's Symbol of Peace: All Might, and while watching it I couldn't help but notice the similarities to the iconic '90s Superman story: Death of Superman. This is an article I have been meaning to write for quite some time, and honestly, that's in no small part due to the fact that I was struggling to find the proper words. However, having watched the set of episodes multiple times, and rereading the iconic storyline from the late 80s by Dan Jurgens, I think I finally have the ability to convey how My Hero Academia's Fall of All-Might takes Death of Superman and drastically improves upon it. (If you don't know much about All Might, check out this piece I wrote earlier about the unfair comparison to him and Superman)

For those who are not familiar, Death of Superman was the story where the Man of Steel finally met an opponent that was too much for him to handle in Doomsday. After Doomsday takes on the Justice League of America and beats each member within an inch of their lives, Superman steps in to take on the monstrocity. After a fight that tears through the city, Superman and Doomsday collide one more time for one final blow, each killing the other. With that, the world had lost Superman, and things looked bleak. That being said Superman would return eventually in the conclusion of the Reign of the Supermen storyline in the books to take down the villainous Cyborg Superman: Hank Henshaw, but even still, the weight of Superman's death was carried throughout the comic community as the pillar of the comic book community, the hero that really started it all, was laid lo and defeated.

As far as the base concept for the "All for One" storyline is concerned, it follows a similar dynamic. The League of Villains, an organization headed by All for One and the villain Togura Shiguraki, have a UA student, Katsuki Bakugo, in captivity. The heroes storm the two potential locations for the League simultaneously to rescue Bakugo and take down the villains' operation. While things initially go well, the second team goes up against the infamous All for One, and are soundly defeated. All Might goes to take on his ultimate adversary in another final showdown to bring the All for One to justice. All Might, again for those unfamiliar, is the world's symbol of peace and justice (essentially he's the Superman of his world) and he serves as the mentor to the main character of the series: Izuku Midorya or Deku. However, what is unbeknownst to most in this world is that All-Might's time as the number 1 hero is coming to a close as he has passed his quirk (superpower) onto a successor (Deku), and as such his power is rapidly fading. However, even before he passed this ability on, All Might had an even greater secret, that 5 years before this story began, he had been injured badly by a villain in a final showdown that All Might won at great cost: he could no longer limitlessly operate as the World's symbol of peace. His powers had a decreasing time limit due to the strain they put on the user's body. This villain's name was All for One, and he had been foreshadowed since the first episode, and the foreshadowing of these elements is just one of the things that make the story shine the way it does.

Since the beginning of the series, the audience has been teased with the eventual fall of All Might. It was never a question on if All Might would fall, it was a question of when. Knowing that All Might is actively a ticking clock to his own destruction added to the drama of the showdown much more than the fight between Superman and Doomsday. However, as great of a character as All Might is and while he definitely shines brightly in this arc, it would not have been possible without All For One. The thing that makes All For One that much more of an adversary than someone like Doomsday is that he's more than just a brute force villain, he has the cunning of a villain like Lex Luthor and unlike Doomsday who was just a character who came out of nowhere, All For One's story is tied directly to All-Might's. When the world was first introduced to Quirks, initially villains greatly outnumbered heroes, however, there was one villain who controlled it all and was the most powerful, and he went by the name of his quirk: All for One. All For One's abilities are that he can stockpile other people's quirks for himself, and simultaneously bestow quirks on other people. He used this ability to become the king of the underworld and sit upon an empire of crime. However, All for one had a younger brother, seemingly quirkless and with a profound sense of justice, they could not have been more different from one another. It is unclear All For One's motive in this decision, whether it was to force his brother to submit or to torture his brother due to the painful process of receiving a quirk from him, but All For one bestowed a Quirk to his brother, but the brother had a latent quirk of his own, the ability to pass on his quirk and stockpile power, it was called One For All. All Might is the 8th user of this quirk and had seemingly accomplished the mission of the One for All quirk in taking down All for One. However, All For One somehow survived their fight five years and has been making moves in the shadows all this time, plotting to destroy his enemy All Might, and in a way he does.

What ultimately sets these two stories apart, and places My Hero Academia on top is how they choose to end the story. The ending of Death of Superman is exactly what it sounds like. Superman dies. However, with All Might's last stand we get something far more unique. We get a different kind of death. All Might uses the last embers of One for all he has left to defeat All for One, and by the end of the story he's forced to retire as he can no longer be the symbol of peace, but where Death of Superman set up for the rebirth of the character at the end of the Reign of the Supermen arc mentioned earlier, My Hero Academia's end of All Might is permanent as he passes the reins on to his successor. Outside of some fan theories, this is the end of All Might. Truly his last battle, and this is ultimately the thing that makes this story stand above Death of Superman, that this is not something that All Might can come back from. The power of One for All has completely left him, All Might cannot be any more, the Symbol of Peace died, but in a different way. All Might may have stood victorious in their fight, but All for One took him away from the people as their symbol of Peace, and that may as well have the same effect.

All Might is still alive in My Hero Academia, he can muscle out for a few seconds, but his strength and the things that made him the number 1 hero have left him. Now his role is to prepare the next generation of heroes, namely Deku, to uphold the role that he held for so long and to maintain the peace All Might had created throughout the world. While the Death of Superman may have shaken the world of comics, it did not serve the purpose of preparing the world for a time where he was no longer there to defend it. At the end of the day, this should be one of the focuses of a story like that. There is a final chapter for us all, so it's important for a hero to ensure that there is someone to hold up what they built up in their time. 

This has been another edition of Comic Releif! I hope you have enjoyed and we will see you again soon! 

-Michael

What Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie Could Mean for the Future of DC Animation

Welcome Back to another edition of Comic Relief! where we talk about all the goings on in the world of nerd!

This article is coming a bit late, but a week or so ago, DC Animation made a pretty exciting announcement for one of their upcoming projects. It would appear that an adaptation of James Tinion IV's Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will be getting an animated feature.

The story-arc in question was the first of a series of crossovers with DC comic characters and was very well received by critics and fans alike. Having everyone's favorite pizza eating, ninja reptiles from the 90s go toe to toe with one of the greatest martial artists in comic books was beyond fulfilling, and with a master story crafter like Tinion, everything came together very well. I am glad to see such a fantastic story being brought to the small screen of animated features, and hopefully, DCAU will continue its track record from Death of Superman and Reign of the Superman and not fall back to their poor storytelling ways of the first New 52 films. However, as exciting news as this is, I for one am far more excited for what this crossover adaption means for the future of DC animation.

As I said before, Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was the first of a whole bunch of crossovers. With DC very clearly pushing their animated format of late (we currently have confirmed: Batman: Hush, Wonder Woman: Bloodlines, and a potential Darkseid War film teased), the promise that is brought with this adaptation is that DC is expanding from doing traditional stories tapping into their crossover books, and of the recent ones that have been done, there is one in particular that I would be absolutely euphoric to see made: Batman/The Shadow: Murder Geniuses.

Batman/ The Shadow's story was written by Scott Snyder, and it follows the Dark Knight as an investigation of a murder puts him in the path of the mysterious Shadow! However, it appears that The Shadow has had a far greater role in Bruce's life than he had ever known, as the legendary pulp hero from the '30s had been tailoring Batman to be his successor. Together they take on The Stag, a villain that The Shadow has killed again and again throughout the years, however, The Stag has found allies of his own as he enlists the aid of the Clown Prince of Crime himself: The Joker.

Batman/ The Shadow was easily one of my favorite books of 2017, and I would be through the roof if it got an animated adaptation, and with the Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film coming out, I would not be surprised if DC started doing other crossovers, and with the success of this particular run, I think Batman/ The Shadow has a pretty great shot at being one of the very next picks.

This has been another edition of Comic Relief! I hope you have enjoyed and we will see you next time!

Marv Wolfman Delivers the Humanity of the Man of Steel in 100 Page Spectacular!

Welcome Back to another edition of Comic Relief! where we talk about all the goings on in the world of nerd!

Life has a funny way of going about things. I grew up with two big brothers who are big Marvel fans, and so that's how I grew up, and don't get me wrong, I will always be one at heart. However, in recent years I have developed my own perspectives and began to appreciate things from the DC side of things, and probably the biggest of those things is Superman. Growing up, I had little to no appreciation for the Man of Steel. He was boring, too powerful, and so I didn't really bother to give the character a chance. In recent years, however, not only have I gained an appreciation for the character, but I have developed a fascination in him. I don't think there is a character that I have written more pieces about in my time writing. Hell, the story that got me invested in my own writing (which is sadly no longer available to read as the site it was on was shut down and I hadn't backed it up), was a review of the second issue of Superman: Rebirth back some 3 years ago during DC's Rebirth relaunch. So when I read the recently released "Super Spectacular" by Marv Wolfman: Man and Superman, I was floored to find a book that so beautifully depicted everything that makes this character what he is: a symbol of peace and hope.

Wolfman's Man and Superman acts as a zero year for Superman and is broken up into four chapters, starting with: In Which He Leaves Smallville as a Boy. As one can imagine by the title of that first chapter, this story starts off with Clark arriving in  Metropolis, trying to establish himself. However, what's very interesting is that this story focuses more on the pursuit of Clark's career as a journalist. Clark's love for writing in the story is probably the most human part depicted as he sees it as the only gift he has that he had to work for. No superpower he has could give him an edge as a writer. Clark was even drawn to Metropolis over other cities due to the prestige of the Daily Planet, which is his dream job. However, getting a job as a reporter is not easy, and so Clark has taken up a job as a reporter. Superman is not something that Clark feels he is ready for, and this is shown through the fact that despite having his suit packed away, he does not don the iconic costume until the last few pages of the panel.

The Superman side of this story is centered around a series of arsons occurring throughout Metropolis. In the pursuit of trying to investigate these arsons and help, Clark ends up making a mess of things and public opinion of him as "The Flying Man," starts off very negative. His constant blundering leads to Clark losing his confidence and even sending his costume back to the Kents. However, despite this, Clark is continually reminded of the Kents by the people he surrounds himself in his new life in Metropolis. It is ultimately these relationships he forms that spur him throughout the book to keep going, despite being labeled as a villain by the press, as they are a constant reminder of the family back in Smallville that shined with humanity's best qualities. Honestly, it's bits like this where this book shines it's best in my opinion. Moments like Clark going to a baseball game with his friends from work, and using his super breath to cause a home run and fly into the stands so his friend could take the flyaway ball home to his kid, or the Pa Kent expressing his excitement to see Clark do things no man could dream of doing to help while simultaneously showing his generous nature by donating money to Adopt-a-family despite being financially tight because: "We do what we do."

As much as this is a Zero year for Superman, it serves as a zero year for another iconic member of the Superman mythos, Lex Luthor. What I found very interesting is how Marv Wolfman writes Lex in this. The reason I want to make mention of it is that Marv's interpretation of Lex in this reminds me of the rise of Batman. He is Metropolis' golden son that has been gone for 5 years. Lex returns to the city during the height of the arsons, after both the newspaper he built up, and the corporate HQ of Lex Corp have been destroyed by the alleged "terrorist group." When Lex returns he holds a press conference, calling out the terrorist group, serving to provoke an attack. Lex is more than prepared and the missiles that have been responsible for the Arson are shot down by Lex's artillery weapons he manufactured, however, Clark has to intervene as those weapons aren't enough and so "The Flying Man," gets a bit of positive limelight for a change. However, something about this doesn't sit well with Clark and so he investigates.

After doing a little digging, Clark reaches out to the only real ally to "The flying man" in the city, Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane. Clark confides in Lois that Lex is the man behind the arsons and gives her a lead to pursue, meanwhile Clark pursues a lead of his own and finds the Lexcorps warehouse where all the missiles responsible for the arsons are being held. Lex tries to use this opportunity, activating all the missiles to detonate and kill "The Flying Man." However, this obviously does not do what it was intended. Clark makes a pit stop to Smallville to pick up his iconic costume and then it's off to Lex Corp where get by far my new favorite first encounter between Lex Luthor and Superman.

The book wraps up beautifully with Clark going to Lois with his expose on "The Flying Man," titled "What the Flying Man Wants From Us." The title is on the nose, and while we don't get a look at the entire thing, we clearly get the best bit:

"I can do many things, but I can't protect you from yourselves. You have to believe in the good. You have to make sure you don't surrender your freedoms for security. You can't only hope for a better tomorrow, you have to work for it. I'll be there to help, but the better world is up to you." 

Lois gives the piece to Perry White and threatens to quit if Perry doesn't hire Clark, in addition, she changes the title of the piece, and gives "The Flying Man" his iconic name: Superman. The final panel shows Superman flying above Metropolis, and Clark's friend from work holding up a Daily Planet newspaper with the front page headline: "What Superman Wants From Us" signed by Clark as promised earlier in the book and it signs off with a black page with a shining blue Superman crest with the words "The Beginning" at the bottom.

While I have given an overview of this book, I have barely touched the surface because I feel like there is no amount of words I can write that can do this story justice. I have many people in my life that believe there is no way to write a compelling Superman story, and if you know people like that, this is the story to prove them wrong. This book gives All-Star Superman a run for its money, and if you have been reading my work since my days at moviepilot, you know that All-Star is my favorite Superman story and the one I consider to be his best story ever.

This has been another edition of Comic Relief! I hope you have enjoyed and we will see you again soon!

-Michael

With Affleck Out What Can We Expect From Reeves' New Direction and Vision

Two days ago the fans of DC films were struck a hefty blow as Ben Affleck confirmed that he would not be donning the cowl again in the Matt Reeves solo film The Batman. While Affleck's casting may have initially sparked a great deal of controversy, he won over most people with his dynamic performance that brought the veteran Batman we saw in the Frank Miller classic: The Dark Knight Returns. While Ben Affleck's tenure in the cowl had been a topic of debate for some time (starting with his exit from the director's chair for the solo Batman project), there were many (myself included) that had hoped for him to stick around for his own solo outing and bring the character to a whole new level.

With Ben Affleck gone, the topic on the tip of everyone's tongues is obvious: "Who will play Batman now?" It is rumored that Reeves is looking for a younger, but not too young actor and that Warner Brothers wants a "familiar face" to carry the franchise. What this tells me is that, for starters, this film will NOT be an origin story, but instead will more likely focus on a Batman in his prime (i.e his late 20s early 30s). However, while everyone has their top fan picks for who they would like to take up the cowl next (I am personally hoping for either John Hamm, or Armie Hammer), I feel like the most interesting topic is that of just what exactly is this film looking to set up.

Matt Reeves has spoken many times in interviews on his direction for The Batman being a detective noir piece, focusing on elements of the Dark Knight that have sadly fallen by the wayside in his silver screen adaptations. However, in addition to this Reeves had also mentioned a desire for this to be the first of a trilogy of films, and considering both the age Reeves is looking for and the direction this standalone seems to be going I have a few guesses of my own, or at least I know what I would be building towards.

Reeves has recently given us some hints as to the scope of this film, that it will have several members of Batman's iconic Rogues Gallery. With that in mind, I feel like this movie will serve to humble The Batman with a particular purpose in mind, Batman taking in Robin. While it has certainly been done on the film before, it was no picnic as Joel Schumakers Batman: Forever and Batman & Robin are blights on both Batman and the comic book movie genre in general. Properly depicting the relationship of Batman and Robin are I feel the only route that Reeves could do with a trilogy given the age he is looking for with his Batman.

This doesn't count for much, and this is purely conjecture, so please DO NOT take this as gospel, I have no sources to back this up as fact, only my own deductions based off of Reeves' statements in interviews as well as how I would envision to do the film myself. That being said, I am going to take a stab at how I personally believe this film is going to or should go:

I feel that the film is going to start off with Batman being about 5 years or so into his carrer as Batman. This will give him ample time to have been established and have quite a few members of his Rogues gallery established as well. For the most part he has the criminal element of Gotham on the ropes and they are all terrified of him which has given way to Bruce become a bit more wreckless and arrogant. The members of his Rogues will more than likely be brought together by one of the big names in the gallery (if reports are correct I would bank on this being the Penguin). Throughout the film Alfred is going to be pressuring Bruce into either dialing back his nighttime activities or at the very least look into recruiting a partner to have his back, but Bruce pushes back, that what he does is needed and that he doesn't need someone slowing him down. However, throughout the film Batman is in a two way man hunt that puts all his abilities to the test. His villains have declared open season on bats in Gotham and with all his enemies working together on a unified front, Bruce has to find a way to dissolve this deadly alliance and bring down the head of the operation (again I would assume this would be Penguin). By the end of the film, Bruce will have barely been able to stop this threat and the experience will humble him and it would close with Bruce confiding in Alfred that he was right, Bruce can't do this alone forever and that he's going to keep an open mind to bringing in a partner. The end of the film should then be a post credit scene that shows the crime scene of the Death of the Flying Graysons and Bruce Wayne meeting Dick Grayson.

Matt Reeves has talked a lot about exploring avenues of Batman that have not been explored before, and probably the biggest of those avenues to be explored is the role of mentor and father to the Robins. While Robin has appeared in movies before, they really give this dynamic the short end of the stick as Robin in the Schumaker films already had the skill sets needed to be Batman's sidekick (which by the way is ridiculous). This is a golden opportunity to show both Bruce at his most empathetic as a man still stuck in a single moment in his childhood (the death of his own parents), while also showing his brutal side as a trainer. Bruce does not hold back on these kids at all. Most people would hold back when training a kid, but not Bruce. His logic is: "The thug in the alley isn't going to, so why would I. Train like you fight!" Given Reeves' statements a few months ago on the dual nature of the character, comparing him to Jekyll and Hyde, I really feel like Bruce's relationship with the Robins is the perfect example of this.

To reiterate again, this is not something I can prove, so I hope that this isn't blown out of proportion as a rumored report. I have no sources, I am just making my own deductions based off of what has been said, what has been done with this character in the past, and what fans would like to see from the character, and as such I feel like it's about damn time for a good Batman and Robin film.


This has been another edition of Comic Relief! I hope you have enjoyed and we will see you again next time!

-Michael

SHAZAM Second Trailer Promises The Superman Movie We Deserved

Welcome Back to Another edition of Comic Relief! where we talk about all the goings on in the world of nerd!

It's been a minute since I put anything up here, and I apologize for that, there has been a lot going on with the Government shut down, and it has affected a lot of my work, so again I am sorry. That being said there were some big trailers released in that time: Spider-Man Far From Home, Avengers Endgame, and yesterday they even released a 20-second teaser for Birds of Prey (which looks frankly god awful). However, of all the trailers dropped, the one that has me most excited is the second trailer for DC's upcoming film SHAZAM! which debuted a ton of new footage from the film and even gave us our first really good look at Billy's transformation and introduced his ability to fly. However, as great as the footage is in the trailer, the thing that has me most excited about it is that it appears that Shazam is being made to be the Superman film we deserved in the first place.

Now a little while ago I wrote a piece on how to make the perfect Superman film. That at its core it should be a story that focuses on the character's connections to humanity, his relationships, to show his own. If this trailer is anything to go by, it appears that this is the approach that DC has taken for the Big Red Cheese. SHAZAM! seems to focus not only on Billy's exploits of heroism but his connection to people. His friendship and bonds of family with the kids in his new foster home (predominantly Freddy Freeman) seem to be the driving factors of the film. The big question is, why use SHAZAM for this and not Superman?

When Superman was created back in 1939, it started a massive competition between a whole bunch of magazine companies. During this time it wasn't just Marvel and Dc, there were all sorts of magazines and publishing companies and all of them had their artists deliver their own version of Superman. Probably the most obvious was Whiz comics' Captain Marvel or SHAZAM. It was in fact so obvious that he was one of the first properties acquired by DC comics in its copyright infringement case that allowed for the acquisition of several heroes. SHAZAM's character design and powers are very similar to Superman's: Wisdom of Solomon, Strength of Hercules, Stamina of Atlas, Lightning of Zeus, Courage of Achilles, and Speed of Mercury, but the thing that separates them is their origin and it's because of this origin that SHAZAM shines brighter than Superman, and ultimately that's why SHAZAM! is being made. It has always been my opinion that SHAZAM is the perfected idea of the Man of steel, give all the power under the sun to an adult who has all his ducks in a row, and it has the risk of becoming monotonous; give it to a 10-year-old kid who's felt powerless his whole life, now that has almost limitless potential. So in a time where there is so much uncertainty with the future of these characters in these films (namely the uncertain future of Henry Cavill's tenure as Superman), SHAZAM! is set to become the new heart of the DC films, to shine bright the way Superman should have from the start.

Since the box office success of Aquaman, people have hailed it the fresh start for DC Films, well they are mistaken. Aquaman was instead the final chapter of Snyder's film universe. While Snyder had little to nothing to do with the film, it still exists in the world he created. While SHAZAM! does still take place in this Universe, it stands alone completely from the rest of those films, having no strings attached aside from a few easter eggs. SHAZAM! is the start of DC's new direction of films (all the more reason the new Birds of Prey teaser is so disappointing).  I fully expect SHAZAM to repair a lot of the brand damage done to DC over the past few years, and I am excited to see my favorite DC hero shine on screen.

This has been another edition of Comic Relief! I hope you have enjoyed and we will see you again soon!

-Michael

Why Gundam should matter to you...you filthy casual.

I love Gundam.  I don't know why you don't?

...actually, on a second of introspection, I realize why you might not.

after like 20 second things get really complicated. 

Let me show you my Gundams, My Gundams, Let me show you them...

Before I delve into my favorite Gundam Series and why you common plebs should all Hail ZION. 

I should explain.

Gundam launched in April 7, 1979, in Japan. Heralded by the godfather of anti-war, Nuvo mecha, psudo- LSD enthusiast  Yoshiyuki Tomino. He launched a brand under the collective pseudonym of Hajime Yatate. There where about  5 other artists involved in the pseudonym  I don't remember. 

What YOU need to know is Mobile Suit Gundam defined multiple generations.

Every mecha anime you see today is almost infallibly influenced by MSG. 

It also set the trend for being a story about war that was explicitly ANTI-war. 

confusing for American audiences but, deep and brilliant to date. 

Gundam is  best explained as being a story about a  {tank} using said {tank }as a plot device to focus the story on the drivers of said {tank}.

Gundam is endlessly reusable as a conveyance method as it's backdrop is war. Drivin by one side having a superior weapon, the Gundam {tank} and how this affects the lives of many people on both sides and sometimes people on neither side of the conflict. Exploring the political aspects of each side and the ramifications of individuals actions within each side. Let alone the other side. 

If that hasn't already garnered your interest you might think "I get it, its a anime about war"

You are only scratching the surface. 

I could explain Amuro Ray's story. The first Hero of Gundam but it's meaningless as ever hero in Gundam replays a similar scenario but with different and more nuanced conflicts.

The gist is a hero is thrust into a situation he is against, but forced to be part of {war} to protect someone he cares about {platoicly or non platoiclay} setting up a moral scenario where our hero must constantly evolve his concepts about good and evil  about protecting and saving the people he cares for over the lives of the enemy. Rationalizing ending the lives of someone to save the lives of other people. 

Gundam is full of these complex morality plays. Making sure your "hero" is no better than the villain. Creating a moral grey area where you sympathize with almost all members on a battlefield.  Questioning the morality of the hero at times in his actions to carry out his mission. LEaving a lingering question as to whether the "villains" of this story might, in fact, be correct? And our hero my, in fact, be wrong? This is the essence of Gundam.   They want you to question your own concepts of good and evil, just and unjust, Hero and villain. 

Gundam is the perfect anti-War propaganda. and in many ways the perfect Pro-war propaganda?

As it plays on the heartstrings of everyone involved.

It showcases the pain of the solder carrying out their mission.

The suffering the those caught on the battlefield.

The human aspect of the enemy following orders.

The nature of bureaucracy and its shortcomings when human life is on the line.

The nature of the military industrial complex in opposition to the value of human life.

Gundam is an ageless story. An "Endless Waltz" if you will. Retelling the history of war. 

And how if we don't learn from the past we will be indentured to repeated the failures in the future.

So if this interests you, I invite you to join me in dissecting the gundam series in a retrospective I will be posting monthly. {As there is a lot of gundam} looking at each series, Chronologically, in-depth discussing its meanings, references to our current culture and ascetical aspects. 

cause Gundam is awesome and if you dont agree you're just a bitter Linkin park fan that's probably mad that DBZ retconned brolly to not suck as hard as your wet dreams. 

Much to my chagrin, the first episode of this series will be my least favorite...

Mobile Suit Gundam. the first Gundam and probably...the best. 

I can't stand it's lead Amuro Rey, but I LOVE its antagonist Char Aznable. 

This will start next month, February, cause I love you.

I hope to see you then. Until then.  I hope all is well