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Comics

A Look at Poison Ivy’s First Comic Series

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A big criticism of the modern comic book industry is that nothing seems to really change. Or when they tease change, it never truly sticks. But there have been a number of times where companies and creatives have really tried to do something new. Most of the time, these changes occur with the lesser known characters from their roster. One curious and interesting case of a comic book company trying to change the perception of a character is Poison Ivy. While originally created and presented as a supervillain for Batman, DC has recently been trying to push her as an anti-hero. Personally, I think that’s the right idea and is something worth pursuing. One of the biggest results of this push is the character’s own mini-series named “Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death” released in 2016.

Published towards the very end of the New 52/ right at the beginning of Rebirth, this story was meant to have the character reconnect with her human side. The character is often portrayed as an ecoterrorist that values plant life over humans, gaining her powers after years of abuse and as the result of scientific experimentation. But there have been times where she finds herself at odds with what she feels she must do for the natural world vs what she wants for herself. This 6 issue story does explore that to a certain extent. She relocates to Gotham with a new identity and at a research facility. But her main goal while there is to experiment and create plant-human offsprings as surrogate children.

While she is successful at that, there isn’t conflict. The head of the research facility is murdered and she is in danger of being discovered by authorities. But the person believed to be dead turns out evil and now wants to use the cells used to create Ivy’s offspring to unlock immortality. Also, Ivy herself does struggle trying to determine the best way to provide and raise her surrogate daughters. The story ends with the bad guy being defeated with her offspring leaving Gotham to try being on their own. Even Swamp Thing – my favorite character of all time – shows up to try and give Ivy direction for what she should do now. And yes, I have a lot of idea of what DC should do with a Swamp Thing & Poison Ivy collaboration, but that’s a discussion for another day.

Overall, this is a solid story. Nothing truly memorable. But a fine read if you are a bit curious about it. I think the biggest problem with this story is that it tries to be something of a superhero story. Mainly when it comes to utilizing some of the story tropes of the genre to tell Ivy’s story. Like mentioned earlier, I love the idea of exploring her as an anti-hero. Someone with a more complex ethical code that’s connected to two very different worlds. DC hasn’t always shown the full strength of what she can do. But when they do, she is truly a formidable force. She could very well take over the world and wipe out humanity if she truly cuts off herself from her human side. But because she chooses to remain connected – mainly through her romantic relationship with Harley Quinn – that does set-up the potential for a lot of interesting character exploration. But telling it using superhero tropes isn’t really the best way to do that.

I like the idea of Ivy creating offspring that also share the same duality as hers. But since this is only a 6 issue story, they don’t have the chance to fully delve into anything meaningful. The offspring themselves are flat as a result. And when they leave Gotham to be on their own…I have no choice but to assume they are dead since they haven’t shown up since. Which based on what had been established about their biology, is the most likely scenario for them. If this series ran for a little longer, maybe they could have really tapped into something. But instead, it just sort of simmers. And underwhelming conclusion with a vague tease that will never be paid off.

At the end of the day, I don’t regret reading this. I feel like in the long run this might actually help convince DC to do more stories focused on her. Hell, maybe even an ongoing series. Because this story does start off on the right track and does present a couple of interesting ideas. But the stories will have to ditch the superhero clothing so to speak. That’s not to say there can’t be fights and villains, but it will need to be more experimental and creative with how the story is told. But I still stand by the fact that Poison Ivy has a lot of potential to truly be a powerhouse if given the chance.

Comics

The Journey of Renee Montoya

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The 1990s has become a surprisingly important decade for Batman. This decade saw the publication of two major Batman comic events – Knightfall & No Man’s Land. Both of them would have major influences on the character and mythos for years to come. Speaking of Knightfall, this decade would see the introduction of Jean-Paul Valley AKA Azrael who would take up the Batman name during that event. No Man’s Land saw the introduction of Cassandra Cain, the second woman to take up the Batgirl mantle. And the character who would star in the first Batgirl solo title. Tim Drake would be the star in the first solo Robin title which started during Knightfall. Let’s not forget Batman in other media. The film “Batman Returns” would become a fan favorite in the years following its initial release. The animated film “Batman: Mask of the Phantasm” was sorely overlooked but has become known as one of the best – if not the best – Batman movie. And of course, the show “Batman: The Animated Series” was highly popular and has become known as one of the greatest cartoon shows of all time.

The animated show is relevant to what this article is taking a look at. While the show’s biggest influence on the comics was creating Harley Quinn, there was another character that the show created that would make the jump to the medium. A character that when it comes to the regular citizens of Gotham, is probably the best representation of the best the city has to offer. That character is the cop, the vigilante, the badass known as…Renee Montoya.

As mentioned, she was a character that was created by the animated show, as a cop (and later detective) of the GCPD. But she actually was preemptively introduced Batman #475. Kind of similar to how the Adam West Batman show asked DC Comics to create a female character – Barbara Gordon as Batgirl – to see how people would react before introducing her on the show. It would later be established that she is the daughter of immigrants from the Dominican Republic, along with her brother. When she was later promoted to detective, her partner was Harvey Bullock. While he was a grouchy character, and someone who didn’t mind bending the rules to solve a case, Montoya was a sort of counter-balance. She’s someone who was supportive of Batman. In fact, she would later admit she became a cop partly because she was inspired by him.

During the events of No Man’s Land, Montoya was one of the cops who remained in the abandoned city of Gotham along with Commissioner Gordon. It was during this era should would act as the middle man between the remaining GCPD and Two-Face’s gang. Maintaining an uneasy alliance to help keep the peace in what has become Gotham. There were moments of genuine partnership, especially in the early days when Two-Face found himself helping out the people in the aftermath of the earthquake and Renee would lend a hand. Things were more tense as No Man’s Land went on however. Even reaching the point where Two-Face would capture Gordon and put him on trial for what her perceived as wrongdoing. Renee would convince Two-Face to actually execute a fair trial where the Harvey Dent persona of Two-Face would defend Gordon. The situation ended with Gordon being released.

Despite Gordon doing some morally questionable things during No Man’s Land and even refusing Batman’s help in the beginning, Renee would stick by his side and offer support. Which is why later on, after Gotham rejoined the US, she found herself on the brink of the abyss. Gordon had been shot, seriously injured. Renee went out to try and track down the shooter and seek vengeance. Thankfully she was stopped by Bullock before she could do anything. But it turned out that Harvey had leaked the shooter’s identity to the mafia when it was discovered the assailant was a part of the Witness Protection Program. This would result in him no longer being a cop. Some hated Bullock for doing what he did, others stuck by his decision. Renee was stuck in the middle. She was angry at what her partner did. But she can’t ignore the fact that she shared his anger at the man who shot one of their closest friends. Anger that would be fed as danger began moving in her direction.

Renee would be assigned a new partner, Detective Crispus Allen. He had more in common with Renee personality-wise compared to Bullock. All though he considered Batman a necessary evil, one that he wants to help the GCPD move away from. So he’s a little more by the books than Renee in certain areas of the job. But that won’t be a factor until later one. In the comic title “Gotham Central”, Renee found herself harassed by a rapist that ended up walking. It started with him suing her. Nothing that she probably couldn’t fight off herself. But then he and a private investigator discovered her big secret. Renee Montoya is gay and has been secretly seeing a woman named Daria. When he followed the two of them, Renee would confront him and make a threat to him if he ever went near Daria. The next morning, two major things happened. Renee’s stalker was found dead. But more importantly – a picture had been hung up in the GCPD showing her and Daria kissing. She had just been outed to the entire police force.

These two events combined and some more finer details made her the primary suspect and was put on trial for murder. Her brother – who had already known but still struggled with the knowledge – couldn’t convince their parents that Renee being gay wasn’t true. Disowned by her parents and several officers from the GCPD against her and throwing slurs at her, her only ally was Crispus Allen who was struggling to prove she was framed. But thankfully, the mastermind revealed himself as Two-Face. It turns out that he had fallen in love with Renee due to their working relationship during No Man’s Land. He orchestrated everything so that she would have nothing in her life except for him. Leaving her no option but to love him. In his delusion, he believed that her love for him during her darkest hour would be enough to “overcome” her sexuality. He had captured her during her transit from the courthouse to reveal this information to her. At first she played into it to try and lower his defenses. But then she fought back, the gun in his hand dropping to the floor. Both made a move for it, but Batman finally intervened. A part of her became angry at him because she was almost at the gun. But he told her that one of them being shot and killed was not an option. Still, her anger grew despite being rescued and her name being cleared.

Renee Montoya was someone who would still help the people of her community. Someone who worked hard to do the right thing and find justice. But ever since she was outed and her parents turned their backs on her, she began to spiral. At night, she was out at bars looking for fights. She began drinking just like her former partner Bullock. One night she found herself holding a gun and crying in her home, her girlfriend Daria trying to comfort her. A slightly more productive way of exercising her anger was going after a cop from the crime investigation department, Jim Corrigan. He is c op who sells crime scene evidence on the side for some money but the GCPD could never firmly prove his illegal activities. When his side hustle put her partner Cirpus Allen in danger of losing his job, she beat the information she wanted out of him. While he was cleared, Allen was angry that now the GCPD didn’t have a case against Corrigan. Renee would discover that since then, Allen had been doing his own investigation to try and create a solid case. However, he ended up being shot and killed by the man he tried to take down.

The GCPD went all in to try and finally nail Corrigan. But he manipulated the evidence and once again walked. So during the night, after taking a few more drinks, Renee broke into Corrigan’s home. She held the gun up to him until he dropped to the ground, crying and begging her to not kill him. Despite all her anger building up all this time, through everything that had been thrown at her – she couldn’t pull the trigger. She left him to cry on the floor. The next day, she turned in her gun and badge and quit the force.

Months went by. Daria ended up leaving Renee, unable to watch her spiral any longer. That only pushed her to drink more, seek out more women for sex meaningless sex. But at least it distracted her. She no longer knew who she was or what she stood for. Her inability to become a killer also made her view herself as a pathetic version of Batman. What’s next for someone who has lost everything and everyone that she considered important? Now that’s the question. And it’s also where the faceless vigilante Charles Victor Szasz AKA The Question enters the story.

The faceless vigilante recruits Montoya as he investigates a bizarre case that touches on various aspects of the DC world. During this time, it is revealed that The Question is dying from lung cancer. And the reason he reached out to her is because he wants her to take his mantle. But in order to do that, he must go through the same kind of training he did. Which includes her looking deep into herself and confronting all of her flaws. Finding some sense of inner peace. It at first seems like a nigh impossible thing for her to do. How can someone who has gone through so much hardship – including being disowned by her own parents – find a way to move past that? But Renee found what she was looking for. And so when Charles Victor finally dies, he feels at peace knowing that he did manage to help someone he called a friend in his final days.

The woman formerly known as Detective Renee Montoya is no more. She is now The Question. Taking on the corruption of the larger world in a way she never has before. Reuniting with an old flame, Kate Kane the Batwoman, and even briefly working together to take on the Religion of Crime. The faceless woman fights for those that have been exploited and abused by those in power, feeling whole for the first time in her life.

And then DC Comics decided to shoot itself in the foot and started the New 52 initiative. The purpose of the New 52 being was to reboot the entire DC universe and start all their characters from the beginning. We don’t have time to go over the entire New 52, but here is what is relevant. Despite there being no communication on what was or wasn’t canon anymore, referencing characters or events or stories that shouldn’t exist yet, Renee was back to being a detective at the GCPD. And yet, as DC moved past the New 52, they seemed to be unsure of where they wanted Renee in her story. In some appearances she was a detective on the force. In others she was The Question, even though I’m not sure if Charles Victor is supposed to be dead. And more recently, she is shown as the being the commissioner of the GCPD. It is all very confusing. But on the bright side, no matter what role she’s occupying, she is continuing the fight against evil.

At the time this is being posted, the character is celebrating her 30th year anniversary. But the real reason I decided to write and publish this piece is to show the true strength of what DC has to offer. We often stay focused on the superheroes like Batman or Superman or Wonder Woman. Those that put on a costume and fight against unfathomable forces. But there is a plethora of characters who are much more regular citizens that have some of the more inspiring journeys that the medium has to offer. A woman struggling with her identity, dealing with everyday crime, then losing everything that once defined her only to become more confident in who she is and what she feels compelled to do. The story of Renee Montoya is one that inspires and gives hope for all of us that we can be heroic. We have the capability of fighting back against the corruption and obstacles around us. And she shows us how we can improve on ourselves.

Renee Montoya – detective, vigilante, fighter, hero.

Comics

What the Future of Spawn Should Include

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Spawn is a pretty good representation of what the 1990s were in terms of look and atmosphere. The title has represented both the best and worst of what the era had to offer comics. But it was smart enough to recognize the bad stuff in the early days and phase them out. Regardless, the 90s style of the character and series is a big part of what made the character to so popular. What I’m referring to is action, dark atmosphere, violence, brooding, that sort of thing. But this book knew how to properly utilize and present it for the most part. These are all elements that connect to the heart of Spawn and what his stories are about.

But now that so much time has passed – achieving major milestones and now expanding with new books – it’s time to make some changes. I’m not talking anything major. The last thing I want is for this series and universe to become like DC and Marvel in terms of tone and approach simply because it’s trying to copy their success. Todd McFarlane knows how to handle his creation and make it distinct from everything else. And let’s face it, Marvel & DC have made more than fair share of mistakes in terms of creating content and guiding their characters. The one major change I’m suggesting is more about adding to the universe than taking anything away. Spend more time letting the characters…just live.

That admittedly sounds confusing, so allow me to explain. One of the new Spawn titles is focused on Gunslinger Spawn and his solo adventures. Brought into the present due to events in issues 300 & 301, this Hellspawn’s journey is about finding his way back to his own time while dealing with characters and events in the present. There is of course action and mystery laying out future potential storylines and enemies. But there have been several moments in this series that have taken me by surprise. There is a bit where Gunslinger is genuinely confused and curious about the existence of an indoor toilet. And he is perplexed about the existence of plumbing. This was a funny joke, but made funnier and more surprising by how logical it is. He does come from a time where something like this doesn’t exist. It makes sense why he would ask questions about something like this. Also, despite knowing how to study a map he admits he can’t read. Makes sense and is pretty humorous.

In a separate issue, it opens up with him learning from a woman how to properly hitchhike. She shows him how to properly hold out his arm and how to use his thumb. And when he gets picked up, he isn’t mean to the driver or just giving him the bare minimum of courtesy. It seems like the two of them had a decent time in each other’s company during the short trip to Gunslinger’s destination. He even shows some level of affection for a couple of the wolves guarding his stuff. Long story short, these are moments that help create a personality for the character that doesn’t advance the story. It creates small humorous, and sort of wholesome, moments that make it more fun and engaging to read.

The major thing I think the Spawn universe should do moving forward is to have more moments like these. Show what the characters are like, have them interact in ways that aren’t focused on missions and show them create friendships. Up until this point, we haven’t seen a lot of that. There was Nyx before she was killed in issue 300 – and yes, I’m still angry about that and want her resurrected. Right now in the King Spawn title. Al and Terry are working together, but Terry for sure doesn’t like being in that situation and their relationship is fractured at best due to their history. The new characters that are being introduced and focused on should be the main focus moving forward. Obviously we can’t get rid of Al, that would be going too far. But have more stories with Gunslinger Spawn and Jessica Priest and the rest where they have moments of them just being themselves. Bonding in ways that Al seemingly lost the luxury to have with his newfound mission to wage war on the supernatural forces trapped on Earth.

The best existing example I can use for comparison is the JSA from DC Comics. There were issues were the team members weren’t on missions and just spent time with each other dealing with the day to day stuff. Some of that if properly translated to the Spawn universe and breathe some new life and creativity that can help it evolve. I’m suggesting this because I don’t want Spawn to end. Hopefully we do get some of that down the road once the new titles have been around for a little longer. Here’s to 30 more – if not more – years of the Spawn universe!

Comics

The Third Standalone Sequel to Watchmen

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Who at DC Comics signed off on creating 3 separate sequels to Watchmen? I’m all for different people adding to this world, but they all came it in a pretty short span of each other. Doomsday Clock took a few years to complete, the HBO show started running before Doomsday Clock got its last issue out, and I think this comic started publishing only a year after the show ended. There is a thing called oversaturation you know. Some people might assume that two or all three are connected and might end up disappointed to learn otherwise. But none of this is actually speaking to the quality of this comic, so let’s dive into that.

Rorschach is a 12 issue mini-series that is a standalone sequel to Watchmen published under the DC Black Label, an imprint of DC Comics for more mature stories. It starts off with two people who are about to assassinate a presidential candidate being killed by security. An investigator is hired by the candidate – Governor Turley, the conservative opponent to sitting President Redford – to find out who these people were and why they tried to kill him. Things are made stranger since one of the people is an elderly man wearing a Rorschach mask but the other is a twenty year old woman. And the journey through their lives complicates the investigation every step of the way.

We should talk a little bit of the writer of this comic, Tom King. He has made several well known stories in career. A few have been highly praised. But a few are highly despised among critics and and comic fans, so there was concern and backlash when it was announced he was the one writing the story. We don’t have time to go over his writing style, but I will identify one trait that shows up across his work. Tom King likes to write dialogue in a sort of poetic style. Even if sometimes that results in his characters not talking like real people or just has them keep going on and on about something completely unrelated to the situation at hand. Some of his books do it better than others. Luckily, that does seem pretty restrained in this book. Since most of the people in the story are government workers and even investigators, they talk like they should. It does feel like these people are more grounded and realistic.

Throughout the story there is focus on a couple of different conspiracy theories. One is that Doctor Manhattan, knowing that the squids – like the one that “attacked” New York – and devised a plan where the bodies of the heroes are destroyed but their souls will reappear in other bodies. That connects to the dead attackers, the young woman who was raised by her extremist father has convinced several people they were Rorschach reincarnated so to speak. And for a while, I thought this story would end up speaking on the topic of isolation and connection. Which would have been a relevant thing to discuss especially in the midst of a real world pandemic. How ideas can be powerful and bring people together, no matter how dangerous their influence might be. But that you should always identify the people behind the idea and see their true motivations. I thought that was where this story was going.

However, that went away when a different conspiracy turned out to be true. That the attack on Governor Turley’s life was orchestrated. But unlike it being manipulated by President Redford like he is trying to prove, it was of his own doing. Setting events up in a way where the only connections would go back to Redford and help him win the election. However, the investigator we have been following through the story has constantly been at odds about what he thinks & feels, trying to figure out what he should do once he discovers this information. This ultimately leads him to kill Turley himself, essentially identifying himself as a new Rorschach, but not in the way the the dead criminals would define him as. But rather a new vigilante that follows Rorschach’s ideals.

So this story ends up being one that talks about the cyclical nature of violence and politics in society. And the investigator’s story is sort of a living Rorschach test where his viewpoint is constantly changing until he sees what he wants to see. Depicting his rise – or fall, depending on how you look at it – into vigilantism. And this story is completely serviceable for the Watchmen mythos. But I’ll admit that I think it lacks a special quality, something that prevents it from having as full an impact as it should. You can say what you want about Doomsday Clock and the HBO show. But both of those stories had reveals or surprises that really touched on the overall message of their respective stories. Those revelations helped leave as large an impact as possible. I don’t think I’m going to remember this comic the same way I look back on the show or Doomsday Clock. But that doesn’t mean I think this is bad. If you are looking for something that is more of a detective story, this is that story. And you’ll like it for sure. This just didn’t engage me in the way that I hoped.

TV

The One Failure of the HBO Show Watchmen

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I need a mini rant about something before we actually get to the topic at hand. Why is this show simply titled “Watchmen”? That’s the name of the original story. How come every sequel rebooting a franchise has to have the same name as the original? Blumhouse did it for their first Halloween film, the 5th installment of the “Scream” franchise did it, the Netflix Texas Chainsaw Massacre film did it. If your story is following up on events from previous films or installments, then you have to do better to identify it as a separate entity! Why is Hollywood’s lack of creativity progressing to project titles?! All right…I’m sorry, just needed to get that out there. let’s actually get to the problem regarding this specific show.

Before you get mad, I should say I think HBO overall did a great job with this show. I definitely would recommend it for fans of the graphic novel. Especially if you are someone who is looking for a sequel that’s more like Alan Moore’s writing style and the grounded take he approached. The world has progressed in an organic way from the graphic novel’s ending, we explore fascinating aspects of this world’s past and are introduced to a whole set of engaging new characters. The show deals with the nature of power, Racism, and explores many similar themes and ideas that Alan Moore once did. But having said that, there is one part of this show that I feel it ultimately failed to do justice. And it comes back to our favorite superhero advocating for nudity – Doctor Manhattan.

They do a few things with this character in the show. Manhattan seems to possess the ability to transfer his powers to someone else. And that’s hinted at in the final episode where Angela eats an egg that might have been imbued by Manhattan with his powers. But we don’t actually see if she inherited them, leaving it open to interpretation. This I’m actually good with. It is completely logical that this would be in his power and he did do something like this in Doomsday Clock. The second thing the show does with him is apparently show he has a weakness. The bad guys apparently use this special kind of battery to power a machine that has the ability to permanently kill Doctor Manhattan. I…look, Adrian was able to hide his real plan from Manhattan during the events of the graphic novel. It had to with a certain type of particle that could shield themselves from how Manhattan viewed time. But Adrian thought he could also kill him, only to see him reappear as a giant right in front of him. Resurrection is literally the first ability that Manhattan learned how to master. You MIGHT be able to find a way, but you have to come up with something really convincing. And I don’t think the show did that to explain how they were able to kill the blue man.

But the real issue is his motivation. The reason why Manhattan is in this show, the reason why he is interacting with these characters. We are shown that he did leave Earth for a while and did experiment in creating intelligent life. But then one day he turned his attention back to Earth and saw Angela. He came back and met her because he had fallen in love with her. Let me repeat that. Doctor Manhattan – the man whose whole story in the original was related to how he felt himself disconnecting with his emotions and fell out of love with two women – had fallen in love and that’s why he returns to Earth. I…no. Just a simple no. I can’t accept that as a believable motivation for this character.

Let me better clarify Manhattan’s story. To say he had fallen out of love might be interpreted as he no longer has feelings. But that would be inaccurate. He does return with Laurie to confront Adrian about his manipulative plan about creating world peace. Even though he felt like life had no meaning throughout most of the story, the talk he and Laurie has on Mars did remind him about how spectacular it is. And the graphic novel does show he still cares for Laurie and Dan. But the intensity of emotions he feels isn’t the same as it was before his transformation. It’s more like he cares about them the same way some people might care for a family pet. He’s fond of them, recognizes that he does have an emotional connection to them. But he still sees himself as superior and doesn’t believe he actually needs them like they might need him. And keep in mind, he ultimately decided that Adrian’s plan was the way to go. Whether or not he agrees with it is irrelevant. Manhattan is fundamentally a scientist and has a different set of principals than his former teammates.

Look, Doomsday Clock is not a perfect story. I actually made a post going into further details about that Watchmen sequel, including going over some flaws. But Manhattan’s role and purpose in that story was more faithful. The way we are introduced to him in that comic matches up where we left him in the original and we actually see in that comic how he changes by the end. But we don’t really get that in the HBO show. We don’t really get why Manhattan suddenly finds himself in love again. But he is important to the themes the show wants to explore so they needed to find a way to bring him in. And don’t get me wrong, having Manhattan in this show is the right decision. The show is still overall great. But their handling of the character prevents me from fully realizing this as a faithful follow up to the original story.

Comics

Why Doomsday Clock is Important

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NOTE: My thoughts on this comic were originally posted on the Community site within the DC Universe service. Some minor edits have been made, most notably a new introduction paragraph. Otherwise, my original thoughts on the comic remain unchanged.

DC Comics has made several mistakes over the years. One of their most infamous is the New 52. It was their attempt to restart their universe and continuity from scratch, as if it was brand new. I’m not the first to tell you it was a massive failure. The vast majority of issue can be connected to a lack of commitment to actually start over, seemingly referencing events and characters that shouldn’t have happened or exist yet, as well as the dark and sour tone of a lot of the title being published at the time. This started in 2011 but came to an end in 2016 with the soft reboot one shot, DC Rebirth. This would help change the tone of all title and characters and actually help improve the creative direction the company was leading towards. One thing to note in the one shot that the in universe reason for why the New 52 happened, while at the time still unknown, was caused by someone. And the ending pages made it clear that the being responsible is Doctor Manhattan. Thus setting the stage for the characters of the Watchmen universe to finally meet the heroes of the main DC Universe.

First things first – if you are an Alan Moore purist or if you have an unbreakable love for the original Watchmen story, chances are you are not going to be interested in this story. You might even be someone who just really prefers grounded and realistic stories like Watchmen, preferring to read stories that deconstruct the genre much like how Alan Moore did. If any of this sounds like you, chances are you aren’t going to be interested in this. But maybe there is a small chance what I have to say might make you curious enough to check it out. With that said, let’s dive in.

When it comes to Watchmen, I will be one of many people to say it as an epic story. It is a graphic novel I still very much love today,. However, I will admit, especially looking back on it recently, there are a few flaws. Because it does explore complex philosophies and mature themes, Watchmen is a cold story, one that presents a dark deconstruction of the superhero genre. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. It could come off as a touch pretentious at times, but it is still an important and relevant story even to this day. But this has inspired the Dark Age of comics, a lot of new anti-heroes and dark stories that have really turned the genre itself into a depressing landscape. Characters and titles that are dark, violent, and “edgy” just because they can be or the people behind them thought they would be cool and popular. But those stories and characters that came afterword, despite how popular they became or how laughably bad they ended up becoming, did serve as a reminder about Watchmen’s legacy. One that is dark, cold, and pessimistic to its core.

In hindsight, it should come as no surprise that one of the characters that story created ended up being the one responsible for the New 52. That era of DC did seem like something that would come out of the 1990s.

But let’s get back to the present. When we return to the world of Watchmen in the first issue of Doomsday Clock, it is living in a state of anger and conflict that feels eerily similar to our real world. New characters Mime and Marionette bring a dark glee to the world, similar to Joker and Harley Quinn, but the new Rorschach (Reggie Long) is a reminder of how grim their world is. Whether it is how Ozymandias talks to Saturn Girl or how Doctor Manhattan explains what he has been up to all these years, the pessimistic tone and cold logic from the original story is still alive.

I wanted to start this off by talking about the grim tone of Watchmen because it plays a hugely significant role in Doomsday Clock. Look, I am never going to say that we should never have realistic and grounded stories like Watchmen. They are needed, important even in this day when it feels like everything related to the superhero genre has over-flooded pop culture. Not only do these stories bring variety, but they do help some people get a better understanding of why people like superheroes to begin with.

But we also need the fantastical. The bright and optimistic stories. The stories that embrace everything that comes with the genre. Because those stories show even more why people continue to love and look up to superheroes well past childhood.

Doomsday Clock is both a tribute to Watchmen but also a critique. It respects Alan Moore’s story, reminds us that it is something that should still be talked about. But this sequel also shows the danger of what a dark philosophy and viewpoint of the world can bring, how it affects people. Doctor Manhattan is passive because for years he has been under the belief that he can’t change what is to come. He believes that there is no difference between a dead body and a live one. He has drifted away from what makes him human. Ozymandias sees himself as a hero, but is more like the madman Lex Luthor that he seeks help from in the beginning. The new Rorschach gives up for a period of time in the story because he believes that we should let the world burn in hopes of bringing all the pain and suffering to an end. But the heroes of the main DC Universe, and the writers of Doomsday Clock, have the perfect counter-argument:

You need hope. People can’t live, can’t truly live, without having hope that they can make the world better. That they can change things.

Doomsday Clock takes a look at both Watchmen and the Dark Age it had inspired and reminds us that heroes like Alan Scott and Clark Kent are what truly make the superhero genre timeless. They are the light that brings people to them like moths. A dark deconstruction every once in a while is fine, even eagerly welcomed. But to have that dark thinking become the dominant force will simply bring more despair to the world. When Alan Moore wrote his story, his world wasn’t a bright place. Just do a little research about his political beliefs and the things he’s said about former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. This is not a critique, I still love many of his stories and characters today. His beliefs helped create great stories like V for Vendetta. Now, you can make an argument that political/social climate of 2016 isn’t too different from how it was back when Alan Moore released Watchmen and you would most likely be right. But we don’t need another Watchmen. We need stories like Doomsday Clock to inspire and bring meaning to the genre we love, so that way we can be inspired to bring the same hope to the real world.

Watchmen is cold, dark, and ultimately pessimistic. Doomsday Clock pays tribute to everything that made its predecessor great. But this is a story of warmth, light, and optimism. And that is why this story is more than worthy to be known as a sequel to Watchmen. It respects it by keeping true to what that world was about, but it also brings something new by helping the characters naturally progress towards something brighter so that they can help shape their world for the better.

Due to how iconic Watchmen has become, I don’t think even the strongest supporters of Doomsday Clock will say it is as good as Alan Moore’s story. Partly because it suffered multiple delays, causing some interest to wane and for it to temporarily be disconnected from the main universe it is supposed to impact. But maybe in time, popularity for Doomsday Clock will grow and people can make the argument.

There are a few small flaws that I just want to briefly mention. I would have liked it explicitly stated that Mime actually had invisible weapons. That’s what I ended up assuming, but it would be nice to have it stated in story. Manhattan’s predictions for what he sees in the future of the DC Universe, predictions meant to set up potential stories, can very likely end up not passing, which is mildly distracting in the back of my mind. Perhaps if those stories end up not passing, we can say that they ended up playing out in a different universe that is separate, but created by, the metaverse. Like mentioned earlier, the multiple delays have complicated just how connected Doomsday Clock was to the rest of the regular DCU as it was being published. That has seemingly been rectified and the company can now be more organized moving forward.

In conclusion, Doomsday Clock is still a very important story. It is a welcomed sequel to Watchmen that pays tribute to its predecessor yet very much has its own story and opinions to share that make it different. I am very happy that I got to read it and I can only see my opinion for this story strengthen over time.

Comics

Justice League vs Suicide Squad

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Thank you DC Rebirth! For half a decade, DC Comics tried their New 52 initiative where they restart their entire universe over in an effort to get new readers. It ultimately failed and was recently reversed in full. I don’t want to get into the details of why New 52 sucked because that would take too much time. While there were good stories and titles, it’s for the best they ditched it and published the DC Rebirth One-Shot comic as a soft reboot. But one thing the New 52 did do that some people are probably grateful for is to shine a light on the Suicide Squad. And with that newfound attention, they charged into a challenge that surprisingly hasn’t been written about before. The group fight the Justice League!

One of the first major stories to come out of the Rebirth era. It begins with Batman informing the rest of the League about the existence of Amanda Waller’s task force, thanks to some snooping in his own book at the time. They raise up some valid points about the flaws of such a team, especially in regards to actually rehabilitating criminals. But they then detect the team currently active on mission and go confront them. That’s where their first battle occurs. But later on, it appears this has been orchestrated and that a secret villain is making moves behind the scenes. Forced to team-up, heroes and villains alike take down a power that threatens the entire world.

Obviously some characters in a story like this aren’t going to get as much attention as others. But the ones that do get the most solo attention work well for the story. There are the obvious choices – Waller, Batman, Maxwell Lord. But one focus that surprisingly works well is Killer Frost. She is the newest member of the Squad and her ice powers are fueled by draining the life force of other people. Not sure if they always worked liked that or if that’s something the New 52 introduced. In the first issue she seems to have the same willingness to just kill and do the kind of things she probably did before being recruited. But when given the chance to kill Superman an issue later, she hesitates. And that starts an arc where at the final issue where Eclipso fails to gain control of her and she fights back – yet refusing to kill Maxwell Lord for Amanda Waller. Batman himself is willing to start a new JL team and Frost is his first choice.

But her arc does tie into the major theme of the story. What kind of role or purpose does a program like Task Force X serve? The heroes point out this isn’t the right way to rehabilitate criminals. And since they are rewarded with shorter sentences after each successful mission, they could just end up being freed again thanks to the government the heroes are trusting to contain them. But perhaps the repetition can do some good for these villains. Frost was willing to let herself die instead of taking Maxwell Lord’s life force, despite him being the reason the world almost ended. And if we look at this from a longterm perspective, Harley’s time with the Squad definitely had some influence of pushing her to be more heroic. And taking on missions that the League might not even know about is another strong reason for their existence.

Now let’s look at the larger story. We get to see a look at Waller’s first Suicide Squad as they are being manipulated by Maxwell Lord. And there are some cool picks, but a couple of ones that I can’t help but question. How did she manage to control Johnny Sorrow and Lobo – the alien who has a healing factor that pretty much makes him invincible? Once that bomb goes off in his head, just give him a few minutes and then he’s alive and free. But it does lead to some neat action and fights. The League & Squad do fight a couple of times. Once at the beginning and later on when most of the League is controlled by Eclipso. Oh and by the way, while Maxwell Lord is the villain for most of the story, this was a cool way of reintroducing Eclipso to the DCU. Or maybe he already was? The New 52 is confusing. But thanks to him we get an extra JL vs SS fight. ANd if we had just that one in the beginning, I would probably argue the story didn’t live up to the title.

The entire story is well paced. And everyone seems to be portrayed accurately. I do like how Superman and Frost do have this talk that gets her to talk about how seeing him just fly once inspired her to try and do good. Before being turned into an ice-based villain, but that’s not important. There actually is this sort of arc between Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn. Harley saves Wonder Woman from one of the bad guys and that seems to get her on Diana’s good side and Harley seems really happy and giddy about it. I thought that was cute and nice. Now give me a Brave & Bold series starring the two! And I like how even thought Eclipso was the main threat and Maxwell Lord worked to set him free and try to control him, the story does show that Waller still somehow comes out as the worst one. This story is a good reminder at how manipulative she can be and why she is well known among the super community. She is that big of a threat if she decides to go after you and this story is a solid reminder of that fact.

Let’s see what else I can talk about…The art is good. Some of the fights had specific Squad & League members go up against each other and I thought the pairings were mostly clever. A few that didn’t have much connection, but that just happens in big fights. Not all of them have to have some clever connection to each other. There are a couple of teases at the end of the story where they would end up developing or being resolved in later stories or books. Lobo & Frost joining a version of the Justice League of America with Batman gets a series for a while. There are a couple of teases of the back then still missing OG JSA, which didn’t get resolved until very recently. But that kind of stuff just comes with reading comics.

Overall, this was a fun read that still had some thought and a touch of dramatic weight.

Movie Reviews, Movies

Review – Doctor Strange

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The Marvel Cinematic Universe is both impressive and frustrating. When you look back on what it’s accomplished – in terms of story-telling, making unknown characters/actors household names, and box office – there’s no denying it’s a huge achievement and should be praised. But when you have a franchise that lists this long with so many films )and now TV shows), a formula is created. One to help ensure their future installments become successful. And while the MCU should stray further from the formula and expand, it can still be executed well and enhanced by direction and acting. “Doctor Strange”, one of their installments from 2016, is a great example of that.

Dr. Stephen Strange is a neurosurgeon who loses the use of his hands to perform surgery in an accident. He ends up coming across Kamar-Taj in Nepal and meets the Sorcerer Supreme known as The Ancient One. There he learns the mystic arts and becomes involved in a conflict where one of the Ancient One’s former students attacks their Sanctums so that a being known as Dormammu can conquer Earth. Dr. Strange manages to defeat the being from the Dark Dimension, but with the iplication that the way he did it will have repercussions down the road.

This movie shares several traits that can be seen in other MCU origin stories. Several people have pointed out how Strange’s personality is similar to Tony Stark. There is truth in that. But I would argue that it takes Strange longer to move away from his more narcissistic thinking in the movie and that in future appearances he still struggles with his more arrogant nature. But he is still very like-able in this film, thanks to the casting of Benedict Cumberbatch. He also has an ally/kind of love interest, Dr. Christine Palmer. But they don’t go all the way with their romance. The closest we get is that they were once lovers before the events in the film and she gives him a kiss on the cheek before the climax. They could have changed that to just a hug, but I appreciate that the movie doesn’t have them end up together like most other MCU movies.

And that actually connects to one thing that makes this movie a little more unique. There is a supporting character named Mordo, one of Strange’s teachers in the film and allies. But by the end, he becomes disillusioned by the world of Sorcery. He is a strong believer in maintaining the natural order. But when he learns that the Ancient One uses power from the Dark Dimension to extend her life and watching Strange tamper with Time to save the planet, he ends up leaving Strange and the other sorcerers. Him leaving with the implication that he and Strange will go up against each other down the road is a little dark but in a good way. It does show some of the complexities or different philosophies when it comes to how people like Mordo or Strange should use their power. Most of the MCU films have the villains more clear-cut evil and easy to hate. It’s only in more recent films that we are getting more complex antagonists. And while Mordo wasn’t a villain or antagonist in this film, I completely get why he thinks the way he does and I understand his fears. And when he and Strange do go up against each other later on, I can’t really hate his reasoning or motivation.

But going back to Strange manipulating Time, that’s another thing that makes this film unique. When it comes to the final battle of Strange vs Dormammu, you would expect a big battle with great visuals. And while CGI is used to depict the Dark Dimension and there is action, it doesn’t play out like you think it would. The trick Strange uses is that he puts Dormammu in a time loop. So even though he is killing Strange, Dormammu is in actuality Strange’s prisoner. Eventually, he agrees to make a bargain with Strange to leave Earth and escape the loop. It’s actually a clever way to handle the final climax of a Marvel movie and I have to give credit for that.

But honestly, I just really like this film in general. I’ve always found myself more drawn to the supernatural characters of comic books. And some of the dialogue in this film reminds me why I like reading the comics I do, as well as just the types of stories I gravitate to the most. Exploring ideas and themes not usually talked about, or familiar ones from a unique perspective. And this film has some of the best visuals of any MCU film. There are several scenes that do look similar to “Inception”. But there are so many other visuals that are truly awe-inspiring. At the end of the day, this is one of my personal favorite films from this long running franchise.

Film Editorials, Movies

Can Sony’s Cinematic Universe Work?

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It’s no secret that Sony has been trying to create their own cinematic universe. Their most infamous attempt was using “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” as a launching pad. When they began working on Venom, many just assumed it would crash and burn like Tom Cruise’s “The Mummy” being used as the start of Universal’s Dark Universe. But despite getting mixed to negative reactions from critics, “Venom” made a lot of money and seemed to be liked by general audiences. This lead to a sequel, a Morbius film, and 2 more connected films in active development at the time this is being written. I want to explore 3 questions in this post. How has Sony’s universe changed since inception? What are the criticisms of this universe? And what can be done to improve it?

It’s been said that when they began pre-production on “Venom”, it was going to be a legit Horror film. One that took after John Carpenter & David Cronenberg that would have been a true Body Horror, psychological experience. But when “Spider-Man: Homecoming” made a lot of money in 2017, Sony wanted the option of a crossover and altered the film that was more action focused with some Horror inspired moments. I can’t say with 100% certainty if that’s what happened, but that’s the rumor and it does sound on brand for the studio. Every film released so far still has several scenes where it does still have that Horror inspiration. Moments with a dark atmosphere that show the potential of what they could have been if allowed to fully embrace it.

And that leads us to looking at the criticisms of Sony’s universe. So these films ended up focusing on more action than expected. Not a big deal. The movie “Underworld” did that but it still had a unique feel. But unlike that movie, all of the movies from this universe are PG-13. Look, you can have good PG-13 films that lean in a more dark direction. “The Batman” was PG-13 and it had a lot of dark and psychologically interesting material in it. But Sony’s films have an issue of using general plots and outlines that were used by comic book movies from the 1990s and 2000s. In “Venom”, it was executed in a way where it can be seen as an enjoyable throwback. I can’t say it’s an authentic portrayal of the character, but people looking to have fun could say they found it. It worked a bit in “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” but it doesn’t seem to be helping “Morbius”.

If you combine this with the fact that Sony won’t let them be true Horror films, that makes them look kind of stupid. Sure, from a business perspective it makes sense. You have comic book characters you want to adapt, some of them not very familiar with general audiences. The PG-13 rating has worked for a lot of comic book movies and you want to try and make your money back. But this also makes them seem behind the times. The tropes used in Sony’s films feel dated when you compare it to what is being put out today. Hell, movies like “Deadpool” & “Joker” show that R rated comic book movies can be very profitable. And that’s actually one of the main reasons there are so many Horror movies in the first place. They tend to not have very big budgets and it’s almost guaranteed you’ll make a profit. I look at “Venom” & “Morbius” and I see how they can take notes from some of the old Universal Monster films. Sony’s Spider-Man Universe could fill the hole that people wanting more mature content from Marvel are missing.

And speaking of which, let’s actually focus on the Spider-Man part of their cinematic universe. For a while, it seemed like Sony was working on a way to bring Tom Holland’s version from the MCU to their own for crossover. That makes sense from a business perspective as well as pleasing the fans of that version of the character. It seemed like we were going to get that based on what “Spider-Man: No Way Home” was marketing and the when Venom was pulled into the MCU in a post credits scene of his second film. But no, that’s not what happened. Tom Holland’s version is still in the MCU, Venom ended up being pulled back into his universe just as quickly as he was pulled out, leaving behind a sample of the symbiote. The marketing for “Morbius” showed that somehow Michael Keaton’s Vulture from “Spider-Man: Homecoming” ended up in Sony’s universe. The way he ended up in that universe was fine if a bit confusing. But the after credits scene of him meeting Morbius not only doesn’t match how it was shown in trailers, but you can clearly tell it was done at the very last minute. With neither actor actually being on stage together, and their reactions not matching what the other was saying.

Look, we knew their Sinister Six build-up was coming. But it has no real weight in this universe. The Venom movies don’t address the existence of Spider-Man until the post credits scene of the second film, and even then it was for the one outside their universe. And since he wasn’t mentioned until the post credits of “Morbius”, we don’t really know what that character feels about the hero. We don’t know if they have any history together. Sony hasn’t decided on who is playing Spider-Man or even which version of the character their using. How can you call this the Spider-Man Universe when we are 3 movies in and we’ve had only two clear references to the character who hasn’t interacted with either of these two characters? It seemed like they were preparing for Tom Holland to interact with them. But “Spider-Man: No Way Home” made clear that wasn’t happening, even though one of the villains from that franchise is now in Sony’s universe. It’s clear the executives at that studio have no clear idea of what they want to do or what they want to build up.

And finally, we have to ask…what can be done to improve this situation? Right now, Sony has two more films in development for this universe. Kraven, which I believe is filming right now, and Madame Web. I don’t know much about her, but she might be a character that can do some multiverse abilities. Both of these films need to reference Spider-Man, during the main story and not just in a post credits scene. We need to establish there is a web slinger in this universe. We also need to determine which version of the hero we are dealing with. Peter Parker, Miles Morales, Gwen Stacey, Cindy Moon, doesn’t matter. We just need to establish which one and try and shine a light on what kind of history this hero has in this cinematic universe. It would be ideal for Spider-Man to actually show up in one of these upcoming films. Sony needs to make an actual commitment to something that will give audiences one of the things they have been saying exists for a while now.

And there is some work that needs to be done before we jump into a Sinister Six film. We’ll most likely get a Venom 3, meaning we need to use that film to actually address Spider-Man. Maybe a one-on-one fight, maybe build-up so that he can join other character to be a part of the Sinister Six. But we need to show they know he exists, how he views the web slinger, establish tension between them – at the very least. I’ll even go as far as to say we need a similar situation for “Morbius 2”. Yes, I’m advocating for a sequel to that film. The previous film showed he knows about Spider-Man in the post credits scene. For this sequel, we for sure need to have Spider-Man involved in the main plot to establish what kind of relationship the two of them have. If Sony does this – as well as actually address Spider-Man to a significant enough capacity in Kraven & Madam Web – the Sinister Six movie will have some actual weight to it.

Finally, Sony needs better writing for their films. So far, all 3 have just been all right. And they are relying on tropes from over a decade ago. Better writing and stories will get us more involved with these characters and actually get us looking forward to seeing them on screen. Fully embrace the dark atmosphere these characters – these super-villains – are known for. I also would like for them to include R rated movies, but I’ll settle for actually pushing the boundaries of what PG-13 can show. Make bold moves that leave some kind of impact, even if they don’t fully work. Because at least then I will remember these movies and start to actually care for them.

That should be everything. These are all of my thoughts on this cinematic universe, it’s problems but also the potential changes they can make. Hopefully something similar to what I outlined will actually happen.

Movie Reviews, Movies

Review – Morbius

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Marketing is very important for a movie. They can help ensure how many people are going to see a movie once it premieres. Back in the day, “Batman: Mask of the Phantasm” didn’t make a lot of money when it opened in theaters despite how great of a movie it is. But that can be blamed on the lack of marketing there was for the movie. Both in terms of how much there was and in the low quality of the film’s marketing. And the marketing for “Morbius” wasn’t exactly stellar. Of course the numerous delays didn’t help. But now it’s out and people are already tearing it apart. And now it’s time for me to see how well the movie ended up being and it it matched how I expected it to turn out.

Overall, this movie is…all right. I know that all the trailers and TV spots probably make this movie seem lame. And there is stuff to not like about it. If you were to read the script for this movie, it’s clearly underwhelming and bland. But the main reason this movie is elevated to it being fine is thanks to the performances. While Jared Leto tends to play eccentric characters, he is more restrained and actually gives a good performance. Nothing amazing, but he does what any actor should do and get us invested in the title character. All the actors in this film give the performances they should and end up being good or good enough. Of course, Matt Smith is a stand out as he is clearly having fun. His character, Milo, grew up with Michael Morbius and they shared the same blood disease. And early on it clearly establishes their connection and you do enjoy how they interact with each other before they eventually turn on the other.

So performances all around are good. The effects are hit or miss, with admittedly more misses. Morbius has this echolocation ability that does look kind of interesting when used. The effects used to show his more monstrous form is okay. Nothing particularly memorable but I’ve seen worse. And it does have a vague vampire-like quality to it. But whenever he moves fast or jumps/glides through the air, he creates this smoke around him. Or I guess you can call it mist, I’m not sure what it should be called. There’s really no reason in-universe why it’s happening, but I think it’s used to cover the bad effects used for the action scenes. But the action overall is also okay. I’ve seen far worse when it comes to action so this didn’t really bug me. The story outline is very similar to other comic book movies from the 2000s, but it again executes it fine.

And that’s ultimately the film’s biggest failure. That it’s only fine. If this truly was as bad as most people saying it is, I would have a lot more to talk about. If this movie had tried more to add something unique or even eccentric – regardless if it worked or not – I would have something more to talk about. But I really don’t. Outside of the post credits scene – which is a clear example of how Sony has the poorest organization skills when it comes to mapping out their cinematic universe – I just don’t have much to say. There are small moments and scenes that do show the potential it could have been. But it really plays it safe all things considered. Take that for what’s it worth. Maybe not good enough to buy a ticket, but good enough to rent it or check it out on streaming.