Brightburn

BRIGHTBURN

** SPOILERS **

Stranger Visitor From Another Planet

James Gunn and David Yarovesky's Brightburn sticks to that old adage of stage and screen: If you introduce a rifle in Act I, that rifle will be fired at the head of a 12-year-old alien lunatic by his adoptive father in Act III - and do no harm at all. But the same can't be said for what the boy does to him in retaliation.

Like a Marvel "What If?" tale, Brightburn retells the oldest story in superhero fiction from a horror point of view. Stop me if you've heard this one: a Kansas couple, Tori (Elizabeth Banks) and Kyle (David Denman) Breyer, want to have a child and their wish is granted when a spaceship carrying a baby crashes outside their farm. The couple hides the spaceship and raises the child, whom they name Brandon Breyer (Jackson A. Dunn) as their own. They love him, care for him, but he's different and he's bullied by kids at school. Then, on this 12th birthday, the alien ship they hid in their barn glows red and calls out for Brandon in an alien language, ordering him to "take the world!" Brandon, who has never been hurt or sick in his life, gains even more powers: now, he can fly, is super strong, super fast, invulnerable, affect nearby electrical devices, and he can fire Heat Vision from his eyes.

The obvious conclusion is that with these awesome powers, Brandon dedicates his life to truth, justice, and the American way goes completely apeshit and starts murdering people and destroying things. He massacres the chickens in his family farm. He stalks and injures the prettiest girl in school, Caitlyn Conner (Emmie Hunter) - which isn't too far from what Brandon Routh's Man of Steel did to Kate Bosworth's Lois Lane in Superman Returns, to be honest, although Superman had the courtesy not to be seen or break her hand. When his parents or his school tries to discipline him, he boasts that he's "something superior" and makes veiled threats. And he murders, boy howdy, does he murder! Brandon likes to learn about human anatomy and doodles grosteque drawings about what he's gonna do to people - and then he does them. Brandon murders Caitlyn's mom Erika (not unlike how Henry Cavill's Man of Steel murdered the African warlord at the start of Batman V Superman) and opens her up from the inside out. She also gets a shard of glass in her eye in a funhouse mirror homage to when a bullet bounced off of Superman's eye in Superman Returns.

As Brandon keeps on murdering, donning a scary red hood and cape that accentuates his horrible red, glowing eyes, his mom Tori goes out of her way to defend him, despite his transparent lies. Meanwhile, his dad Kyle is not so sure about him anymore and the guilt they have of never telling Brandon about being from outer space bears down on them. When Tori finally confesses to Brandon that he's not really their son, his violent, incensed reaction is the polar opposite of how Clark Kent always took the news that he's from Krypton. And the creepy alien voice from his spaceship is no Marlon Brando or Russell Crowe. There are themes of nature vs. nurture in Brightburn and Brandon occasionally expresses he wants to be good, but they get swept aside every time he loses his temper and the urge to kill rises - which is constant. Brandon also understands branding; he draws up his own logo and leaves it in blood at his murder scenes.

Eventually, there's just no talking to Brandon anymore and Kyle decides there's only one course of action left: take his son hunting and then shoot him in the back of the head. It doesn't go well. One of the clever bits of Brightburn is the casting; Dunn is suitably creepy and vicious as Brandon and Banks is excellent in the Martha Kent role, but casting David Denman is a masterstroke because of how much he evokes a bearded Ben Affleck. When Brandon realizes Kyle tries to kill him, Brightburn pushes the Knightmare scene in Batman V Superman where the Dark Knight is held prisoner by a fascist Superman to its most horrible conclusion. In a lot of ways, Brightburn is the Superman horror story Zack Snyder was always teetering on making (and reportedly wanted to go all-in on in his aborted concept for Justice League) before saner heads prevailed.

Finally, Brandon stalks and destroys his Kansas farmhouse and the sheriffs who have come to arrest him. Tori realizes Brandon is a super killer and goes for the one thing proven to hurt him, a shard of metal from his spaceship, but she fails to pull a Jon Snow on Brandon's Daenerys Targaryen and, like Robin Arryn, Brandon makes his mother fly. There's also a concluding bit involving an airplane that's reminscient of something similar that happened at the end of Chronicle, another tale of a teenage superpowered maniac. 

Brightburn does feel a bit slight when it comes to answers and it holds back from going deeper and fully exploring the menace that is Brandon Breyer, but for the Superman-derived horror it's trying to accomplish, it's efficient, effective, and very well done. There's also amusing set up for a sequel by talk show host Michael Rooker screaming about Brightburn, as this new super villain is called, as well as other menaces like a "half-human, half-sea creature" and a "woman who chokes people with a rope", so good, there's gonna be an evil Justice League. And, ironically, there's far more likely to be a Brightburn 2 than a Man of Steel 2 or a Justice League 2.

Justice League

JUSTICE LEAGUE

** SPOILERS **

"Children," Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) says with a bit of disbelief. "I'm working with children." Of course, Superman (Henry Cavill) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) giggling on the ground after they managed to save the world together earned a little bit of child-like goofy revelry. Child-like goofy revelry is the theme and provides the high points of Justice League, a superhero movie designed to please the Super Friends-loving children inside us first and foremost (and no one else). Director Zack Snyder (and Joss Whedon who directed reshoots but only shares screenplay credit Chris Terrio) finally unite the seven six World's Greatest Superheroes - Superman, Batman (Ben Affleck), Wonder Woman, Aquaman (Jason Momoa), The Flash (Ezra Miller), and Cyborg - together in one superhero smash-em-up movie. The Justice League comes together to face - what else? - an invader from another world, the CGI conqueror Steppenwolf (voiced by Ciaran Hinds), and his army horde big group of flying space insects called Parademons from the planet Apokolips. But first, the Justice League has to learn to work together (i.e. learn to work with Batman). 

Justice League follows up the events of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Superman died saving the world. Batman, who was consumed by hatred of the Man of Steel in the previous movie, is now consumed by guilt over his death and fear about the coming alien invasion he's powerless to stop. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman go hunting for new super friends, which takes up half of the movie. In Newfoundland, Batman finds Arthur Curry, the Aquaman, a local legend who is not-so-secretly the disgruntled King of the Seven Seas. Bruce Wayne has really gotten sloppy in his old age; he didn't seem remotely concerned that by publicly chatting with Curry, an entire town in Newfoundland now knows he's the Batman. Wayne also recruits Barry Allen, a gee whiz wunderkind who also happens to be the Fastest Man Alive. Allen instinctively understands he's the comic relief of this group and plays his role with (too much) aplomb. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman and Cyborg find each other - Cyborg was a college athlete named Victor Stone who was caught in some kind of explosion. His scientist father rebuilt him into a Cyborg using technology from what he calls the Change Engine, but is actually one of the three alien Mother Boxes Steppenwolf has returned to Earth to collect.

Steppenwolf is the boring alien lynchpin of Justice League's mythology - he came to Earth five thousand years ago with three Mother Boxes and way more Parademons than he brings in 2017. In DC Comics, Mother Boxes are all-purpose super computers, but in Justice League, they're just alien power sources which, when combined into 'The Unity', will terraform the Earth and turn it into the planet Apokolips, Steppenwolf's other dimensional home world. (Terraforming Earth is the exact same plan the Kryptonians had when they invaded Earth in Man of Steel. Don't any aliens want Earth as it is? It's a nice planet!) The film barely explains the mythology of the New Gods (or anything else), expecting the audience to have seen the other DC movies and the comic book nerds in the know to fill the newbies in afterwards. So Steppenwolf tried to turn the Earth all fiery and horrible, and turn humans into Parademons, but an alliance between the Amazons (Wonder Woman's people), the Atlanteans (Aquaman's people), the tribes of man, and even the Greek gods and a Green Lantern (who got his green ass whooped real fast) stood against Steppenwolf and banished him. The Atlanteans, Amazons, and men each took a Mother Box (in this universe, shouldn't it really be called a Martha Box?) to keep them separated. Like geniuses, the Atlanteans and Amazons put their Mother Boxes on display. The humans (for once) had the good sense to bury their Mother Box. How it ended up in the lab of Cyborg's father is one of Justice League's many plot holes that go unexplained.

So where the hell is Superman? Well, he is dead, but not forgotten. Justice League retcons the mistrust and ambiguity the world felt about the Man of Steel's existence. Now he was a beacon of hope whose banner is flown at all points around the globe in a state of perpetual mourning. The man Superman really was, Clark Kent, is missed terribly by his mother Martha (Diane Lane) and his fiance Lois Lane (Amy Adams), but no one on Earth misses him more than Batman. In his private moments with his butler Alfred (Jeremy Irons), Batman bemoans his own inadequacies at length (he's right about all of them). He's convinced that Superman is who the world needs (he's right about that too.) When the League minus Superman faces Steppenwolf for the first time and get their united asses handed to them, Batman decides it's time to really go dark - Pet Cemetary dark - and bring Superman back to life with the power of the Mother Box. This leads to the moment no one ever expected to see in a superhero movie: The Flash and Cyborg in a Smallville graveyard digging up Clark Kent's coffin.

Gal Gadot thankfully returns as the Wonder Woman we fell in love with last summer. Wonder Woman is unequivocably the best character in the movie and perpetually the only adult in the room. The best scene in Justice League is the argument when Batman goes full-on asshole and accuses Wonder Woman of failing the world by not being the beacon of hope Superman is. The other best scene is when Aquaman doesn't realize he's sitting on Wonder Woman's magic Lasso of Truth and start spilling his guts about his true feelings (Wonder Woman is gorgeous, he doesn't want to die, etc.) These character interactions between the League are terrific and savvy, full of knowing wit and a pleasing understanding of the characters and how they bounce off each other. The movie really picks up momentum when Superman comes back to life - complete, of course, with the obligatory fan service of Superman fighting the Justice League (and racing The Flash) - before Lois Lane's appearance calms him down and puts the human back in control of the Kryptonian. Superman is worth waiting for, and it's wonderful to see Henry Cavill smiling, relaxed and cracking jokes for the first time (no matter how weird his CGI'd face looks after the mustache he grew for Mission: Impossible 6 was digitally erased).

With so many superheroes and their disparate corners of the DC Universe (Gotham, Atlantis, Themyscira, Central City) being serviced - the Atlanteans and their Queen Mera (Amber Heard) really got short shafted; wait until the Aquaman movie next year to find out what all that Atlantis business was all about - Justice League takes on multiple tones not unlike what Stephen Soderbergh did with Traffic. The movie literally looks and feels different depending on what location they're at - Gotham looks like a cartoon city, then all of a sudden we cut to London and it looks like the real world - and the effect can be jarring. Imagine if Star Wars: Attack of the Clones was jammed together with A New Hope mixed with huge chunks of The LEGO Batman Movie and you get the idea. The first half of the movie leaps around like two dogs fighting over a stick, and the action scenes are mostly frenetic and unmemorable eyesores, with deafeningly loud and abrasive sound design that drowns out composer Danny Elfman's weaving of his classic Batman and John Williams' classic Superman scores into the music. Five years ago, The Avengers assembled for a crowd-pleasing and multi-layered 30 minute battle against aliens to defend New York City, showcasing each Avenger's powers, abilities, and strategies. The Justice League's final showdown with Steppenwolf is a rush job in a tiny town in the middle of Russia where they just keep punching Parademons and Steppenwolf until they win. The League may have been All In, according to the marketing, but in terms of everything it could be, the movie is Not All There.

After so many years of dreaming about this movie, the Justice League finally united but it only barely rises above the level of live action cartoon. However, the small, human moments: Bruce Wayne admitting to Wonder Woman that he's barely physically capable of being Batman anymore; Aquaman mocking Bruce Wayne dressing up "just like a bat" in response to wisecracks about "talking to fish"; Wonder Woman using her compassion to try to make Cyborg feel human and wanted; the look on Batman's face when his crazy plan worked and Superman came back to life; Batman: "Oh yeah, something's definitely bleeding..."; and Clark Kent and Lois Lane reuniting in a Smallville cornfield - the love story holding together the fate of the entire DC Universe - are worth celebrating. These are the moments that make Justice League almost worth it. Almost, but not really. Still, there's potentially nowhere to go but up from here; a wise choice by DC Films as to who will helm the sequel now that Zack Snyder is reportedly stepping aside will hopefully deliver an even better version of the part 2 teased in the rebuilding of Stately Wayne Manor into the Hall of Justice ("room for more") and in the post-credits scene. After a lifetime of dreaming about a Justice League movie, it's finally here and... well, it's here. Now with that fulfilled, we can share a new dream: one of a coherent Justice League movie. For that, I will be All In.

Justice League on Screen Rant

JUSTICE LEAGUE ON SCREEN RANT

My Justice League Feature articles for Screen Rant collected:

THE PUNISHER'S NEW RELEASE DATE WON'T HURT JUSTICE LEAGUE

DREAM SEQUENCES MADE THE DCEU FILMS MORE EPIC

WHY BATMAN IS STILL OBSESSED WITH SUPERMAN

IS LOIS LANE THE KEY TO SUPERMAN'S RETURN?

WHERE IS THE DCEU'S GREEN LANTERN DURING JUSTICE LEAGUE?

WILL WONDER WOMAN AND AQUAMAN FIGHT IN THE FLASHPOINT MOVIE?

WHAT WONDER WOMAN'S MODERN SCENES MEAN FOR JUSTICE LEAGUE

HOW JUSTICE LEAGUE'S FATE DEPENDS ON AQUAMAN, CYBORG AND THE FLASH

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

** SPOILERS **

"Bruce Wayne meets Clark Kent! I love bringing people together!"

"Must there be a Superman?" asks Jim Lehrer, one of the many real life talking heads debating what's to be done about the presence of the Man of Steel on Earth. "Is it really surprising that the most powerful man in the world is a figure of controversy?" Controversy about Superman, his intentions, his actions, and how to stop him if he ever decides to "burn the whole place down" forms the crux of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, director Zack Snyder's grand operatic follow up to his controversial re-introduction of Superman, Man of Steel. Working from a robust, sly, bursting at the seams screenplay by Oscar winner Chris Terrio and David Goyer that ponders the history, fear and worship of gods and pulls key moments from Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" and Dan Jurgens' "The Death of Superman," Batman v Superman works overtime to fulfill its aggressive agenda: establishing the greater DC Comics cinematic universe as a muscular powder keg of hard choices, numerous threats at home and from worlds beyond, and burgeoning hope -- but only after our heroes get slugging each other out of their systems. We find the Batman v Superman universe is one simply unprepared and at heart terrified of the aliens, gods and monsters suddenly thrust upon them, but really, no more than we would be in real life. Just like the Batman, if something like Superman came to our real world, rather than embrace him as a savior, we'd probably also be looking for a fight.

Two years have passed since the destruction of Metropolis at the conclusion of Man of Steel. The city has been rebuilt and has publicly embraced Superman as a hero, a sentiment spearheaded by the Daily Planet, which just happens to have Superman's girlfriend Lois Lane (Amy Adams) and Superman himself, in his daily guise as Clark Kent (Henry Cavill), writing "puff pieces" about Superman. However, numerous people in Metropolis and around the world don't feel quite so cuddly about the Man of Steel. The primary voice of dissent is Senator Finch (Holly Hunter), a junior senator from Kentucky hell-bent on holding hearings on Superman and bringing him in front of their committee to account for his actions. Though Superman continues to perform heroic feats and rescues around the world, all of his acts come under fire, and then literally when Superman finally relents to appear at the Capitol in Washington, DC, only to be framed in a terrorist bombing that kills Finch and hundreds of innocents. Poor Superman. Not only is his reputation repeatedly called into question, but Terrio and Goyer's screenplay gives him no opportunity to publicly defend himself. This Superman isn't like Christopher Reeve's smiling, media friendly Man of Steel who gave a revealing interview to Lois that would bring the public onto his side. "Superman was never real. He's just a dream of a farmer from Kansas," Clark confides to Lois at his lowest point of self-pity. Trying to be an old fashioned do-gooder in a world that suspects his every action ("It's not 1938 anymore!"), Cavill's beleaguered Superman must resort to having to contort his handsome face into every frown and scowl he can muster.

Speaking of frowns and scowls, we learn that billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck), who secretly spends his dark nights terrorizing Gotham City's criminals as the Batman, was in Metropolis on "The Day The World Met The Superman." Wayne had a ground's eye view of Superman and General Zod (Michael Shannon) wrecking Metropolis in their epic encounter, feeling an unfamiliar and disquieting utter helplessness as two alien gods demolished Wayne Tower and left a trail of death and destruction in their wake. Meanwhile, the DC Universe's other most famous billionaire, Lex Luthor (a malevolently unhinged Jesse Eisenberg), has his own machinations, involving an elaborate, unwieldy scheme to frame Superman for an international incident, a mysterious green meteorite, Kryptonite, that can kill Kryptonians, and files in his hard drive that both Bruce Wayne and the mysterious Diana Prince (Gal Gadot), the Amazon princess the world will soon come to know as Wonder Woman, want to abscond with. But first and foremost, the Batman, depicted in this latest cinematic incarnation as older, more world-wearily cynical, and more brutally violent than ever ("Twenty years in Gotham, Alfred. How many good guys are left? How many stayed that way?"), wants to pick a fight with Superman.

"That's how it starts. The fever. The rage. The feeling of powerlessness that turns good men cruel," warns Alfred (Jeremy Irons), Wayne's acid-tongued faithful butler. But Wayne, driven by mysterious dreams of a dark future where Superman rules the world and brings winged alien demon armies from the skies, is set upon his course to take down the Kryptonian, training like Rocky Balboa for a big fight he desperately wants to win. Clark Kent himself is just as interested in the Batman, the fearsome vigilante across the bay in Gotham City who now brands criminals with the mark of the bat. Their super fight, manipulated by Luthor, who kidnapped Superman's adoptive human mother Martha Kent (Diane Lane) and threatens to have her killed if Superman doesn't sanction the Batman, is indeed epic and entertaining. The fight precisely follows the comic book tropes that the Batman, clad in his bulky battle armor, would set numerous traps and use Superman's overconfidence in his powers against him, including doses of Kryptonite gas to weaken Superman so that Batman, the superior fighter, can deliver the smackdown. #WhoWillWin? asked the social media marketing for weeks. Well, this fight is purely for the comic book fans and not the layman who would naturally assume Superman would wipe the floor with Batman. One of the most clever bits of Terrio and Goyer's screenplay is what ends the fight, the name "Martha," acknowledging and playing into one of the weird coincidences that Superman and Batman share -- both their mothers are named Martha.

Once Superman and Batman have made their peace, Batman v Superman goes for broke, turning giddily, unapologetically comic book and never looking back. Luthor unleashes his worst creation, the "Kryptonian deformity" called Doomsday, a giant, unstoppable monster genetically engineered from General Zod's corpse and Luthor's own DNA. In the same way the presence of Bane in The Dark Knight Rises signaled to comic book fans in the know that Batman's back would be broken, Doomsday means only one, inevitable thing to Superman fans. But first, Superman and a rather outmatched Batman must team up to fight Doomsday, and they're joined by Wonder Woman, who utterly steals the show in a long awaited, sensational cinematic debut for the most famous female superhero in the world. The few moments of Wonder Woman thrusting herself into battle against Doomday, blocking his heat vision with her bracelets, hacking his limbs off with her sword, and unleashing her magic lasso are worth the price of admission and ensured an eager opening weekend audience for her upcoming solo feature film in 2017. The battle sees Superman rocket Doomsday into outer space, only to be nuked by the US Military (a moment also borrowed from "The Dark Knight Returns"), while Batman and Lois Lane scramble to recover a Kryptonite spear, Batman's coup de grace weapon intended for Superman before cooler heads prevailed. By the time Superman makes the ultimate sacrifice to stop Doomsday, we're spent, the dreams of millions of comic book fans fulfilled.

"I failed him in life. I won't fail him in death," mourns Wayne, who finally comes to see he was wrong about the alien he's hated for the last couple of years. Both Wayne and Diana Prince attend Superman's funeral in Smallville, Kansas (actually Clark Kent's funeral, who was mysteriously killed during the super fight with Doomsday in what no one sees as a hilarious coincidence -- Superman's official funeral is a public military burial in Washington, DC.)  Setting up next year's superhero team up, Justice League, Batman v Superman literally stops the show by unleashing the files Batman stole from Luthor, giving the audience glimpses of Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ray Fisher as Cyborg (his father, the scientist Silas Stone is played by a cleverly cast Joe Morton), and Ezra Miller as The Flash. As Batman, Affleck creates an ideal, grim, weary Dark Knight, arguably even the best cinematic Batman ever, silencing the millions who took umbrage over his casting on social media. (Incidentally, Batman reassuring Martha Kent "I'm a friend of your son's" is the best line in the whole movie. "I figured," she retorts. "The cape.") Gadot is a stunning revelation as Wonder Woman, regal, beautiful, and ferocious in battle. Both now own their superhero roles. Even without Cavill's Superman, the upcoming Justice League movie is in good hands with Affleck and Gadot leading the charge. But who are we kidding? Superman will return, of course, as subtly teased in the final shot of Batman v Superman. There is and will be no world without a Superman. Maybe when the Man of Steel does return, the world will be a lot nicer to him. But for now, let Superman rest in peace. He's earned it. After all, as quoted in Man of Steel, a good death is its own reward.

Supergirl: The Importance of Being Kara

SUPERGIRL

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING KARA

Kara Danvers isn't meant to fetch coffee. She isn't meant to blend in. She isn't meant to be anything less than excellent. Because Kara Danvers was born Kara Zor-El on the planet Krypton, and our world has come to know her as Supergirl. Supergirl debuted last night on CBS as everything it was meant to be: the first network television show about a comic book female superhero since Lynda Carter wore Wonder Woman's satin tights nearly 40 years ago. More importantly, Supergirl inherited and proudly wore on her sleeve the legacy of her older cousin Superman, specifically the legacy of Superman's most revered and beloved popular incarnation: Richard Donner's Superman starring the late Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel. Supergirl did this while forging her own path through the skies, all while remaining charmingly and winningly Supergirl, thanks to the effervescent, character-defining performance of Melissa Benoist. She is Supergirl, now and forever.

In many ways, Supergirl is the fusion and fruition of the sum lessons in recent years executive producer Greg Berlanti has learned from his runaway hit superhero shows Arrow and The Flash. Berlanti and his Supergirl team, executive producers Ali Adler, Sarah Schechter, AJ Kreisberg, and Geoff Johns, with the biggest assist ever from David Rappaport Casting for finding the perfect Supergirl in Melissa Benoist to wear the red cape and coat of arms of the House of El, are blending a frothy super cocktail, mixing equal parts homage to Superman's classic tropes, their modern sensibilities of how to do a superhero show, and a healthy and welcome dose of girl power feminism. Supergirl isn't just for girls, Supergirl is a hero for everyone, but how timely and important is her presence as someone girls can look up to? In a pop culture usually reveling in dark, tormented anti-heroes (the Arrow is even one of them, though he's looking to lighten up after going Green), Supergirl is a shining beacon of optimism. She's a nice person and she's fun -- even moreso than The Flash -- and while the superhero life she chose will bring with it bleak, terrible moments and heartache, Supergirl promises to meet it all with a gee whiz sense of fun and adventure. And, most importantly, with the Hope the S on her chest represents.

What's more, Supergirl isn't alone. Her cousin may be off doing his own thing -- hey, it's a big world, even for flying cousins from Krypton -- but in tried and true Berlanti fashion, Supergirl is a superhero with an all-important support system. Her work life as Kara Danvers may put her in the crosshairs of her tough as nails boss Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart), CatCo CEO and the second most powerful woman in National City, but she has Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer James (not "Jimmy") Olsen (Mehcad Brooks), sent by her cousin Clark Kent himself, to watch her back. Plus she has Winn Schott (Jeremy Jordan) for extra support, though Winn is already quickly learning that being in Supergirl's Friend Zone may be worse than being trapped in the Phantom Zone. James and Winn, two smart, good looking guys at work who are into her -- poor Kara? CatCo is the 21st century update of the Daily Planet from Superman: The Movie mixed with a winking dose of The Devil Wears Prada, but Supergirl captures the goofy rhythms and comedy of Christopher Reeve knowingly prat falling across the Daily Planet in ways the heavy handed Superman Returns largely missed. Plus if Kara ever wants to go home for advice from her adoptive Earth parents, she need only visit the Danvers played by former Supergirl Helen Slater and former Superman Dean Cain. The classic Krypton connections run deep on Supergirl, all wonderful nods to the past that Berlanti and his team, superfans themselves, embrace wholeheartedly.

Meanwhile, Supergirl introduced the DEO, the Departmartment of Extranormal Operations, an alien-fighting strike force headed by Hank Henshaw (David Harewood) that counts Kara's adoptive sister Alex (Chyler Leigh) as an agent. The DEO is an interesting spin on the established backup squads Arrow and The Flash enjoy; unlike Team Arrow and the techies at STAR Labs, who are all ride or die loyal to their superheroes, the DEO isn't necessarily Team Supergirl. Alex Danvers may do anything to protect her Super sister, but the DEO intriguingly blames Kara for inadvertently bringing scores of alien criminals to Earth. The Camp Rozz concept not only brings with it an untold number of baddies for Kara to fight, but it cleverly and immediately gives her a mission and raison d'etre to indulge in superheroics. Kara will have to prove herself, not just to the world, but to the DEO. But the overarching lesson of all this support is one of the hallmarks of the Greg Berlanti superhero shows: no matter how super they are -- and it doesn't get more super than Supergirl -- they (nor we) can't do it alone. We need our family, we need our friends, we need loved ones to watch our backs, to pick us up when we're knocked down, to straighten us up when we're off our path. Just as Alex does to Kara when she doubts herself in the pilot episode. We are the sum total of who we have in our lives. We're super together.

To me, the most important and telling line of dialogue Kara utters is the reason why she confided who she really is to Winn on the CatCo roof: "I really want someone to be excited for me." This is who Kara is: she's extraordinary and she not only wants to be what and who she is, she wants an attagirl. And why not? She caught an airplane falling from the sky, she saved hundreds of lives. She did an unbelievably courageous and heroic thing. Why would she want to hide herself now? In Supergirl, we're about to watch Kara Zor-El become the hero she was always meant to be, not as a shadow or reflection of her famous cousin, but on her own merits. Kara is going into the family business of crimefighting and world-saving, and she really wants us to be excited for her. Her optimism is infectuous, Kara choosing to wear the S on her chest is a meaningful, life-affirming act on her part. It is an awesome thing, to embrace who you are, to take the steps to become everything you're meant to be. Supergirl is here for a reason, to be a new light to show us the way. We're so lucky to have her. 

#Smallville waited 8 seasons to give us this moment. #Supergirl delivered in 40 minutes. pic.twitter.com/DN4Gr4MAvY

— John Orquiola (@BackoftheHead) October 27, 2015

Justice League: Gods and Monsters

JUSTICE LEAGUE: GODS AND MONSTERS

** SPOILERS **

The DC Comics Multiverse more often than not allows for alternate realities that can be more interesting than the mainstream "core" DC Universe. Justice League: Gods and Monsters, a brand new tale created for DC Animation (with spin off comics based on this universe, naturally), introduces us to one such alternate reality, and it's got a lot of potential. In Gods and Monsters, the Justice League is boiled down to the so-called Trinity: Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, in a wholly original, violent, and fascinating take on the three icons unlike any we've seen before. Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Princess Diana, where for art thou? Apparently, in this reality, nowhere, that's where. It's not a bad thing at all.

Superman (voiced by Benjamin Bratt) is the son of Lara and General Zod(!), who imbued his DNA into the Kryptonian birthing matrix instead of Jor-El just before the Last Son of Krypton was rocketed to Earth. The baby Superman was found not by the Kents but by a Mexican migrant couple and was raised with the name Hernan Guerra. Dios mio! The Batman (voiced by Michael C. Hall) is Kirk Langstrom, who is a half-man/half-bat villain named Man-Bat (naturally) in the main DC Universe, but here, he is our Dark Knight -- and he's a vampire, to boot! Wonder Woman (voiced by Tamara Taylor) is a princess of sorts, but she's no Amazon. She is Bekka from New Genesis, a power sword-wielding granddaughter of Highfather of the New Gods (voiced by Richard Chamberlain!). Best of all, this Wonder Woman's history is a cracking good Game of Thrones-style spin on the New Gods: She was engaged to Darkseid's son Orion as a consummation of a peace treaty between Apokolips and New Genesis, but it was all a sinister plot by a surprisingly sinister Highfather to "Red Wedding" Darkseid and his forces -- and it worked! 

Gods and Monsters limits the superheroes to the Trinity and doesn't explain how they came together as the Justice League, but all three get plenty of exploration of their origins. We literally watch Superman born from a zygote into an infant child on his journey to Earth. Batman's origin plays an integral part in the main plot: Langstrom went to college with Will Magnus, the robotics genius who creates the Metal Men in the main DC Universe. In Gods and Monsters, Magnus is a nanotech expert (with deep seeded feelings of jealousy and inadequacy). Magnus' nanotech seemed to hold the key to Langstrom's life's work, but ingesting his own bat serum transformed Langstrom into a vampire. How this vampire became the crimefighting Batman is a tale for another day. 

If you're a DC nerd really into the various brilliant and mad scientists of the DC Universe (guilty), God and Monsters is a veritable Who's Who: Victor Fries, Ray Palmer, John Henry Irons, Thaddeus Sivana, Kimiyo Hoshi, T.O. Morrow, Michael Holt, Silas Stone, and more -- they're all here, but not in their superheroic or villainous guises. Something called "Project Fair Play" is the impetus for the main plot, in which the Justice League is framed for the systematic murders of these scientists by robot assassins, all of whom were proteges of the mysterious Lex Luthor (voiced by Jason Isaacs). There are greater issues at play as well: the ultra violent nature of the Justice League is constantly under public scrutiny in the media, mainly by fearless reporter Lois Lane (voiced by Paget Brewster), who is far from Superman's biggest fan. The League's official status as government operatives turns sour with these murders, and they become public enemies under orders from President Amanda Waller (Penny Johnson Jerald). 

Justice League: Gods and Monsters takes DC Animation's "not necessarily, if at all, for kids" style and pushes it even further. With the League basically remorseless killing machines, the violence level is higher than ever. Wholesale slaughter is the League's M.O., but their mysterious enemies are even worse. Gods and Monsters doesn't shy away from depicting animals and even children gruesomely massacred. And yet, when all is said and done, Gods and Monsters takes on a surprisingly hopeful tone as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, the most powerful and feared beings on Earth, choose to take up a position against killing in the future. It turns out gods and monsters can learn, grow, and change in Gods and Monsters. Maybe that S on Superman's belt buckle does mean "hope" after all.

The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened?

THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN LIVES: WHAT HAPPENED?

** SPOILERS **

In 1998, no one at Warner Brothers Pictures really believed a man could fly. Writer-director Jon Schnepp's documentary The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened? investigates the events that lead to the kiboshing of one of superhero cinema's most intriguing and legendary movies that was never made: Superman Lives, which was to be directed by Tim Burton and star Nicolas Cage as the Man of Steel. On a personal note, as someone who dreaded an idiosyncratic Tim Burton interpretation of Superman and was always glad Superman Lives never got off the ground, I went into watching The Death of Superman Lives under the impression this would be a mockumentary celebrating the folly of the creative types who were en route to making a Super debacle that ultimately was foiled by the wise executives at Warner Bros. This was the impression I held of this failed project for over a decade. Instead, Schnepp's documentary earnestly explores the creative vision behind Superman Lives (Schnepp announces on the outset he'd been honestly intrigued by Superman Lives from the minute he'd heard about it) and argues effectively that Superman Lives' demise, however the movie might have turned out, was ultimately everyone's loss.

The Death of Superman Lives takes us on the Way Back Machine to the go-go '90's: following the failure of the final Christopher Reeve Superman movie in 1987 and the blockbuster successes of Tim Burton's 1989 Batman and the best-selling 1992 DC Comics series "The Death of Superman," Warner Bros. sought to use the comics' story to revitalize the Superman movie franchise. Enter controversial Batman producer Jon Peters, who rather brilliantly acquired the rights to produce a Superman movie, and writer-director-fanboy Kevin Smith. Smith would go on to a very successful public speaking career reiterating the stories of his involvement in Superman Lives: how he crafted a comic geek's dream "fan fiction"-like screenplay with cameos from Batman and the appearance of a "Thanagarian snare beast" (nee a giant spider) to appease the creative demands of Peters. When director Burton came on board to helm the project, Smith and his screenplay were the first to go, as Burton brought in his own people, including writer Wesley Strick and later writer Dan Gilroy, to execute his uniquely personal vision for Superman: that the Man of Steel was an alien outsider riddled by anxiety and questions about his abilities and his place in the world. All the creatives involved seemed to be excited that Nicolas Cage, then a recent Best Actor Oscar-winner for Leaving Las Vegas, was the unlikely choice cast as Superman, citing that the controversial casting of Michael Keaton as Batman in 1988 worked wonders, hence lightning would strike twice again with weary audiences. (All are also glad that the Internet and today's culture of instant online hating was nascent or non-existent at the time.)

Schnepp manages to interview all the major players involved with Superman Lives, save Cage, who appears in archival interviews and fascinating footage of costume fittings where he wears the various Super suits as he and Burton verbally work out their takes on the Superman and Clark Kent characters. Schnepp secured plenty of quality time interviewing producer Peters and director Burton, who are both eccentric in their own unique ways. Whatever fault one finds with their visions for Superman, Burton and Peters, however, were both passionate champions of this project and both were ultimately hurt and terribly disappointed when the movie didn't go forward after millions were spent on pre-production. Talks of casting lead to some interesting discrepancies: Chris Rock was a unanimous choice to play Jimmy Olsen, Burton favored Christopher Walken over Jim Carrey as Brainiac, and Burton openly scoffed at Peters' preference of Sandra Bullock as Lois Lane. Some terrific animation gives us the sense of what key scenes might have looked like, including a Lois and Clark date and a confrontation between Superman and the villain Brainiac's rather cool-looking Skull Ship in space. 

With no actors to interview, Schnepp instead spends a great deal of time speaking to the visual effects artists and wizards who came on board early in the process to design the look, props, and costumes of Superman Lives. The running time of the documentary is padded with a terrific amount of detail regarding how the various Superman suits were designed and constructed, what Krypton would have looked like visually, and an intriguing character called "K," which would have served as a major character in the movie: a guardian of sorts for Cage's Superman that would become his new, very 90's-style, sleek black Superman suit after Superman is resurrected. Late in the documentary come the money visuals: concept art of Superman battling Doomsday. It's fascinating to see the multiple versions of Doomsday and also Brainiac the various artists designed, taking their cues from Burton's "crude," in his own words, early drawings. For some reason, spiders were simply vitally, vitally important in Superman Lives. (Later, to Kevin Smith's chagrin, Peters would indeed get his giant spider in the box office failure Wild Wild West.) 

What killed Superman Lives? Ultimately, the conclusion reached, it was money and fear. Warner Bros. was mired in a disastrous slate of bombs at that point in the late 90s (including expensive stinkers like Sphere). Tim Burton's Superman Lives, with its way, way out there visual aesthetics and a ballooning $300-million price tag, was a frightening proposition to the executives at Warner Bros. To their credit, Burton and Peters seemed to have fought hard to keep their green light. (This dispels another personal belief I held for some reason, that Burton didn't really want to make Superman Lives. Turns out he still, to this day, desires to see his Superman vision on the big screen, even if he never has quite figured Superman out.) One could argue that the team Peters and Burton assembled didn't really understand Superman; unlike today, where verisimilitude to the comic book source material has proven to reap dividends of money and public acclaim, in the late 1990's, it was a source of pride to not be associated with comic books and to try to "reinvent" comic book superheroes for the big screen. However, by spending quality time with the talented and ultimately well-meaning filmmakers who spent months designing Superman Lives, The Death of Superman Lives' greatest superpower turns out to be changing the mind of someone like me, who was long glad Superman Lives never saw the light of day. Now, I wish Superman Lives got made. As many in the documentary said, it might have been an epic failure, but it could have been an interesting failure. It could also have been a Superman for all seasons.

Justice League: Throne of Atlantis

JUSTICE LEAGUE: THRONE OF ATLANTIS

** SPOILERS **

The Justice League meets Game of Thrones in Justice League: Throne of Atlantis and it isn't all wet. Following up last year's Justice League: War, which introduced a younger, rawer The New 52 Animated Universe version of the World's Greatest Superheroes, this time Superman (voiced by Jerry O'Connell), Batman (Jason O'Mara), Wonder Woman (Rosario Dawson), and their super friends encounter a challenge from beneath the deep blue seas. Throne of Atlantis plunges us into the origin of Aquaman (Matt Lanter), a boozing, orphaned, superpowered lighthouse keeper who has no idea he is destined to become the King of the Seven Seas. Aquaman finds out in rapid-fire fashion who he is and how he came to be heir to the throne of the undersea kingdom of Atlantis when he and the League are swept up in the nefarious schemes of Aquaman's ruthless, pure-blooded half brother Orm (Sam Witwer), the self-styled Ocean Master, who wants to rule Atlantis and destroy the surface world. 

Adapted from the comic series penned by Geoff Johns and also incorporating elements from Johns' "Aquaman" comic series, Throne of Atlantis reveals that Aquaman is the "son of two worlds." He was born to Atlanna (Sirena Irwin), the princess of Atlantis, who came to Mercy Reef, Maine when "she was very young," and fell in love with Thomas Curry, a guy who owned a lighthouse. After their son Arthur was born, Atlanna bailed on her surface family to take her place as Queen of Atlantis and speak all of her dialogue in loud, haughty royal exposition. Arthur never seemed to realize he has gills and can breathe underwater and didn't bother to find out why he has super strength and endurance until, as an adult, he started getting attacked by armored soldiers from the sea and humanoid fish monsters from "the Trench." Arthur also never questioned why his best friend was a lobster whom he could communicate with. Yes, Aquaman can talk to and command fish, and it's an awesome power, shut up. Aquaman is aided by his new hot redheaded Atlantean bodyguard Mera (Sumalee Montano), who is destined to be his bride, and boy, did those two not waste any time seeking that destiny.

Meanwhile, the Justice League is a team in name only, not having officially assembled since they repelled the invasion by Darkseid in the previous movie. Superman and Wonder Woman start to get romantic, commiserating as only two lonely demigods can, going on dates in Greek diners while incognito wearing glasses. ("I can't believe this works!" Wonder Woman gasps. Neither can logic.) Cyborg (Shemar Moore) also has sparks flying with his STAR Labs assistant. The more juvenile members of the League like Shazam (Sean Astin) and Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion) find all this mushy stuff kinda icky pants. There's a retread of one of the most unwelcome aspects of Justice League: War where Green Lantern again makes an ass out of himself interfering in one of Batman's Gotham investigations, but it is kept to a minimum this time around. The Flash (Christopher Gorham) is in this movie too, by the way, but he doesn't contribute much to this mission besides some cool super speed action. Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen also get in some screen time and for some extra fan service, there's a cameo by John Henry Irons, setting up his inspiration to becoming the armored, sledgehammer swinging Steel. Superman and Batman also set aside some time to do a team up detective side mission where Superman bristles at Batman's condescension. "I am an investigative reporter, you know," Superman reminds Batman, who bizarrely retorts, "Journalism's dead."

When the Justice League does hit the water with Aquaman, they find themselves immersed in Game of Thrones-lite Atlantean family politics, complete with the alien, the space cop, the robot, the boy who says the magic word, etc. scoffing at how "impossible" it is Atlantis exists. Orm, with help from armored pirate Black Manta (Harry Lennix), who somehow is assumed to have the ability to open diplomatic negotiations -- with the Justice League, mind you, not with any government or the UN -- decides to stab his mother in the back, literally, and take the throne of Atlantis for himself. Orm immediately leads an invasion of the surface world, Metropolis, specifically. (The invasion is considerably scaled down from how multiple cities, including Metropolis, Gotham, and Boston were attacked by Atlantis in the comics, and the mighty tidal wave Orm raises is purely for show. Orm hardly brings a massive army with him either; just a few dozen soldiers and some vehicles.) What ultimately drowns Orm's short, eventful reign as king of Atlantis is his big blabber mouth. Cyborg recorded him bragging about killing his mother and seeing that footage is enough to make the Atlantean forces lay down their arms and turn on their new king. What's utterly bizarre is Aquaman's speech about how they should all accept him as their king, because he's their "beacon of hope." Mind you, these Atlanteans had no idea who Aquaman was or that he even existed before that moment. Plus Aquaman immediately starts making out with Mera in front of the troops. But sure, he's the king, now, whatever, let's go home. No punishment for attacking Metropolis!

And yet, Throne of Atlantis marks an improvement over the previous Justice League installment. The superhero action is entertaining and at its best can be summed up in five words: Superman. Fights. Giant. Sea. Monster. When unleashed against the cannibalistic creatures from the Trench, the Justice League gives no quarter, not even Batman, whose "no killing" rule apparently doesn't apply to sea monsters, judging from how he explodes them with missiles from his Batplane. While Wonder Woman and Mera engage in sword-to-trident combat with the Atlantean soldiers, Green Lantern uses his Power Ring to whip up a nifty giant robot to vacuum up those pesky fish folk. Cyborg's famed white noise cannon works wonders against Atlanteans, but if one has questions about just how much white noise would affect the equilibrium of people who are aquatic -- move along, there's more punching to be done. The single best moment of Throne of Atlantis validates how great Aquaman's power to talk to fish is via how he uses it to end Black Manta (Samuel L. Jackson in Deep Blue Sea can relate.) The infuriating characterizations and interplay between the Leaguers is toned down; all of the superheroes come off as reasonably more competent and less insufferable than they did in Justice League: War. In the end, Aquaman is both installed as King of Atlantis and joins the Justice League, as he must. He certainly boasts the necessary trapezius muscles to be in this Justice League. The heroes decide to make being the world's greatest super team a more permanent thing, and for the best reasons possible, because they - and we - don't want to miss "whatever weird thing" happens next.

Justice League: War

JUSTICE LEAGUE: WAR

** SPOILERS **

War is Bad

Justice League for Dummies might as well be what Justice League: War is titled, though perhaps Justice League as Dummies is even more appropriate. Justice League: War launches the rebooted New 52 era of DC Animation, as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, et al meet each other for the first time and band together to fight off an alien invasion. Adapted from the best selling comic book series "Origin," by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee, itself no bastion of sophisticated storytelling, War follows the mandate of making the Justice League younger and raw, as prone to fighting amongst themselves as they are battling the Parademon hordes of the evil Darkseid. They're the World's Greatest Superheroes in potential only; Batman is the sole hero presented as competent as ever, the only relative adult in the group. Everyone else seems like they fell off the back of the short bus.

Justice League: War follows the basic plot of the comic book: Batman (voiced by Jason O'Mara) and the staggeringly arrogant and idiotic Green Lantern (Justin Kirk) hunt down a Parademon in Gotham City, quickly determining it's an alien invader, which leads them to Metropolis and the most famous alien in the world, Superman (Alan Tudyk). More following the tradition of Marvel Comics where the superheroes first fight and then team up (the overall story is similar to the final act of Marvel's The Avengers, though "Origins'" publication does predate the Joss Whedon blockbuster), the Justice Leaguers gradually come together as Darkseid launches his full invasion of Earth. Wonder Woman (Michelle Monaghan), the Flash (Christopher Gorham), Shazam (Sean Astin), and Cyborg (Shemar Moore) join the fray in short order, bickering with each other as they rip Parademons to shreds and combine their powers to battle Darkseid (Steve Blum).

The screenplay is embarrassing, with its dubious efforts to make the Justice League "edgy" and "cool." Within seconds of introducing Wonder Woman, a character says she dresses like "a whore." When she confronts her accuser, her Lasso of Truth reveals he secretly cross dresses like Wonder Woman because it's empowering. Wonder Woman agrees that her uniform is indeed empowering. The very next scene Wonder Woman appears, someone hollers at her calling her a "bimbo." Not that Wonder Woman is depicted as particularly admirable; in War, she is a sword-swinging, bloodthirsty simpleton who has never tried ice cream before. Cyborg is a self-pitying whiner with serious daddy issues. Superman is hardly an inspirational champion of inherent goodness; he's a Heat Vision-first, punch-second bruiser with no brains who tries to carve Batman in half with his laser beams the first time they meet. (Superman also chokes Desaad to death later in the movie in a forehead-slapping ode to Man of Steel.) Shazam is probably the worst of them all; his childish alter ego Billy Batson is a lying, obnoxious thief, and when he magically transforms into The World's Mightiest Mortal, he sounds and acts like a drunken college kid at the local sports tavern. But no, Green Lantern is still the bottom of the barrel, by far the most insipid and infuriating of these "heroes," hardly worthy of the responsibility of being a police man who "protects the entire universe."

Action is the viewer's reward for wading through the extent of Justice League: War. With countless Parademons Boom Tubing their way to Earth, there are ample opponents for the Justice Leaguers to tear asunder, incinerate and eviscerate. The full range of the superheroes' superpowers are on display, and when Darkseid (grotesquely redesigned and sporting a Mohawk that makes him resemble a stone-faced Mr. T) arrives on Earth to do battle with the League, no one holds back in the savagery department. The Justice League's master plan to defeat Darkseid is, I shit you not, poke his eyes out with Wonder Woman's sword so he can't shoot Omega beams from his eyes anymore. When the Justice League stops talking, i.e. behaving like 8 year olds playing with their action figures, and starts fighting (like 8 year olds playing with their action figures), the action has entertaining moments. (Though for a more satisfying fight on all levels against Darkseid, see his smackdown with Superman and Supergirl in 2010's Superman/Batman: Apocalypse.) Watching the Justice League fight is the only passable enjoyment gleaned from Justice League: War. Best to watch the Justice League wage war with the sound off.

Zack Snyder, David Goyer, and Warner Bros. Pictures, whatever you do when you make your Justice League feature film, please don't do this.

Untold History of the New 52

Superman Unchained is the number one blockbuster mega-series by writer Scott Snyder and artist Jim Lee. Only in its 3rd issue, it's become clear Snyder and Lee are currently crafting what has to go down as the one of the finest Superman tales in recent years and most certainly of the two year old rebooted DC Comics New 52 era. 

Depicting the current interpretation of Superman, younger, raw, impulsive, only five years into his career as the World's Greatest Superhero and not yet fully comfortable or, to be honest, completely deserving of that title, Unchained sees the Man of Steel encounter a circumstance he's entirely unprepared for: his role in the world as a hero questioned outright. For There Is Another in the world with powers beyond those of mortal men who has been serving the betterment of the world for decades in ways Superman never imagined.

But what's most interesting to me about this uber-tale Snyder is telling isn't the moral and ethical questioning of Superman's modus operandi or even the outrageous super action between Superman and his new alien rival, a being called Wraith. It's the revelation that Wraith has been covertly serving the United States government and directly impacting the course of history in the 20th century into today without anyone being aware of it. Touring a hidden bunker called The Machine beneath the Salt Flats of Utah, Superman learns of the course of human events changed by Wraith via one of Superman's greatest detractors (inconveniently the father of Lois Lane), General Sam Lane:

While the primary focus of Snyder's story is assessing Superman's greater responsibility to the world as a hero (Lane accuses him of being "a coward" and "the greatest mass murderer in human history" - quite a bit out there - for Superman's "need" for applause and wasting his powers "saving kittens from trees"), Snyder has struck a goldmine of story here, perhaps without fully realizing it. 

One of the most intriguing but underappreciated aspects of Watchmen, and a major contributing factor to why it holds the lofty and unchallenged title of Greatest Comic Series Ever, is that Alan Moore addressed how a superhuman being like Dr. Manhattan would actually change the world. Not just by saving it from alien invaders, super villains, or natural disasters - the more comic booky threats to humanity. Dr. Manhattan's presence in the world altered technology, culture, elections, and America's standing as a global superpower. 

Snyder is lobbing the same compelling ideas about Wraith. Wraith landed on Earth in 1938 (the same year Superman's first appearance in Action Comics #1 was published) and served the United States government covertly since that time. Snyder overtly states Wraith has directly participated in every major conflict of the 20th century, sliding the scales and balancing the peace on the side of the United States of America. The very first pages of the first issue of Superman Unchained reveal Wraith himself was "the bomb" that was dropped on Nagasaki, which finally ended World War II.

This is fascinating stuff!

Akin to Oliver Stone's recent documentary series Untold History of the United States (which any fan of 20th century history really should watch whether or not Stone's point of view suits yours), Snyder has found the promised land of story potential. The New 52 version of the DC Universe is a clean slate, with superheroes like Superman and the Justice League only emerging 5-6 years ago, and very little is known about what the New 52's history was like before then. By rebooting the universe, The New 52 wiped clean the previous "history" of DC Comics where superheroes have existed since the 1930s and 1940s. 

Snyder has now blown the doors open, establishing the first glimpse of the history of the last century in The New 52. Snyder is telling us that everything we assume happened in history, which is a reflection of our own history, was affected and even molded by the actions of Wraith and The Machine. World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the fall of Communism, etc. all presumably happened and Wraith had a hand in it all. Did 9/11 happen? Or maybe it didn't; did Wraith stop it? Or if it did, why didn't Wraith prevent it? There is story here! 

There's a golden opportunity for DC Comics to pounce on to one day tell the Untold History of The New 52 and reveal to us just how and in what ways Wraith altered the course of human events. It could be an amazing funhouse mirror of our own real-world history. For Snyder, this could be a chance to deliver something akin to his own Watchmen; to be the architect of the New 52's Untold History. Snyder, a disciplined storyteller who does his research, has ample skill dabbling in historical settings in his marvelous creator-owned series American Vampire and Severed. 

I sincerely hope one day Snyder and DC Comics do finally tell the Untold History of the New 52. It's a history worth revealing.

Although, "Wraith", it turns out, is a pretty silly acronym.

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox

JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE FLASHPOINT PARADOX

** SPOILERS **

Flash! Ah-ha! Savior of the Universe!

To be fair, the Flash (Barry Allen, voiced by Justin Chambers) is also the destroyer of the universe. Or rather, the "old" DC Universe. Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (a mouthful of a title) adapts the 2011 mega-event "Flashpoint" written by Geoff Johns, in which the DC Universe is completely remade and obliterated to make room for the current rebooted "New 52" DC Universe. Story wise, it involves the Flash using his superspeed to time travel and prevent the rather ghastly murder of his mother in her own home, unwittingly upending the universe in strange, significant ways:

The rocket that carried baby Kal-El to Earth landed not in Smallville but in Metropolis, causing a catastrophe that killed thousands and ended with the infant Kryptonian held in captivity for 30 years by the US Government. In Gotham City, the Waynes are mugged by a gunman, but it is 10 year old Bruce Wayne who dies in Crime Alley, leaving behind his grieving father Thomas Wayne. Meanwhile, a peace accord between Diana, Queen of the Amazons and Arthur, King of Atlantis leads to a sexual tryst discovered by Arthur's wife Mera. Which leads to Mera trying to murder Diana, Diana killing her instead in self defense, igniting war between Atlantis and Themyscria that engulfs Europe. Also, Barry Allen discovers he no longer has superspeed and that all of this is his fault. All because he used his powers to save his mommy.

Allen recruits the ultra violent Batman of Gotham City to help him regain his powers (in hilarious fashion: strap Allen and a bunch of chemicals to a lightning rod so he can get struck by lightning). Expecting to find his friend Bruce Wayne in the Batcave, Allen instead finds the Batman is now Thomas Wayne (ably voiced by Kevin McKidd), an alcoholic living like the Unabomber in the caverns beneath the demolished Wayne Manor. Still, they form an uneasy alliance with each other, and with the government superheroes lead by Cyborg (Michael B. Jordan), who works for President Barack Obama (not voiced by Barack Obama)! Aquaman (Cary Elwes) and Wonder Woman (Vanessa Marshall) are about to plunge the world to its imminent end with their war. Meanwhile, Allen discovers the real culprit behind this bizarre DC Universe is his arch enemy Professor Zoom, the Reverse Flash (voiced with menace by C. Thomas Howell).

The Flashpoint Paradox is a grim exercise in "what if?" alternate reality storytelling. It's not for young viewers: sex and adultery are key plot points, Batman and the rest of the superheroes swear like sailors, and boy, are these superheroes bloodthirsty. By the end, millions of people are dead, including most of the superheroes, who brutally use their powers to kill each other in cold blood. It's exciting to see such unapologetic bloodletting to a degree, but it also makes for depressing viewing. No one is actually "heroic", no one learns anything of value. The kicker of course is the Flash manages to run at superspeed back in time to reverse all of this so that none of it ever happened, but to do so means he lets his mother get murdered in her kitchen. So yeah. It's also strange that, like in the comics, The Flashpoint Paradox is designed to transition from the previous DC Animated Universe to an animated New 52 Universe, but the previous DC Animated films mostly did not share continuity. Does this mean all future DC Animated films will solely be based on the New 52 comics? That seems unnecessary. Ultimately, so does The Flashpoint Paradox.

Man of Steel

MAN OF STEEL

** SPOILERS **

"This man is not our enemy."

If you need a city demolished, Kal-El is your man. Why stop at a city? How about a small town in Kansas too? And part of the Indian subcontinent. To be fair, Kal-El can't do it alone. He wouldn't demolish anything at all, in fact, without unwanted help from his long lost brethren from the planet Krypton. But when those Kryptonians get together and start whaling on each other, hoo boy, can they smash our planet to smithereens. The Avengers caused billions of dollars in property damage defending New York City from aliens last summer, and they kept the devastation contained to a couple dozen blocks. The Man of Steel is a man of action, and he's here to show those Marvel heroes how wanton destruction is done.

Man of Steel, brought to us by screenwriter David S. Goyer and producer Christopher Nolan of The Dark Knight Trilogy and directed by Watchmen's Zack Snyder, is a massive escalation of the summer superhero movie crossed with an alien invasion space opera. In Man of Steel, things from the doomed planet Krypton keep crashing on Earth and most of those things mean to do us harm. All except one man, the earnest, cleft-chinned super hunk Kal-El (Henry Cavill), who was rocketed to Earth as an infant by his scientist action hero father Jor-El (Russell Crowe) with the destiny to grow into a god powered by the light of Earth's yellow sun and become an action hero himself. Adopted by kindly Midwestern farmers Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner) and Martha Kent (Diane Lane) and raised with the American values of Smallville, Kansas, young Clark Kent, as Kal-El was named, was a misunderstood, bullied child with special abilities and a deeply held desire to do good and help people. 

All of Clark's troubles, however, really start on Krypton, re-imagined in Man of Steel as a brown palate cross between the planets in Avatar, John Carter of Mars, and Dune, complete with flying creatures and denizens in bulky armor wielding high tech etch-a-sketches. Krypton was a great spacefaring civilization that exhausted their natural resources. Their planet will explode. Their military leader General Zod (Michael Shannon) attempts to stage a coup; he and his minions are sentenced to eternal imprisonment in a black hole called the Phantom Zone. Turns out that was a fate better than death as Krypton explodes, killing everyone but Zod and his soldiers, who are freed from the Phantom Zone. Intriguing new ideas introduced into Superman movie lore include Kryptonians being birthed artificially for specific purposes (scientists, warriors, laborers, etc.). Zod was bred to protect Krypton. It's in his very nature to do anything to maintain the Kryptonian race. As for Kal-El, he was a natural birth, the first in centuries, and Jor-El encoded the codex of Kryptonian DNA in his cells. Kal-El is literally and unwittingly the future of Krypton, until the rest of Krypton's survivors come calling.

After an unabashedly sci-fi opening, Man of Steel leaps around in a single bound with the trials of Kal-El's life on Earth as Clark Kent. Structured similarly to the Goyer-penned Batman Begins, we meet Clark immediately as an adult, a mysterious bearded drifter laboring odd jobs under false identities who uses his powers and abilities to save people from tragedies and calamities. Whenever Clark is knocked unconscious, he dreams of his childhood in Smallville, when he first learned he had super senses, first started saving his fellow school chums who in turn mocked and bullied him, and sought solace from his adoptive father, whom he watched die in a tornado in honor of his wishes to not reveal himself to a frightened world not ready to accept him. The bullying doesn't exactly stop when Clark's a jacked up man in his 30's, but he's less likely to abide assholes without some (hilarious) retribution. The Smallville sequences are efficient and emotional, yet feel slight, especially in light of the television series Smallville recently spending ten seasons covering the ground of Clark Kent coming of age to become a hero.

Clark Kent does his best to cover his tracks but he's not so careful that he doesn't find a bloodhound on his trail in the form of the fetching Lois Lane (Amy Adams), a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter with no fears or compulsions about, say, following a mysterious stranger into an ice cave and walking right into a Kryptonian space ship buried for thousands of years in the Northern Canadian ice. Lois and Clark more or less discover Clark's alien nature together, though she can't get such a wild story past her stern but fair editor Perry White (Laurence Fishburne) at the Daily Planet. Soon Clark meets the avatar of his true father Jor-El, who rather briskly explains all the details of the first act of the movie to Clark. Clark barely has time to download all this information before Jor-El presents him with the blue and red-caped space long johns which will become his superhero suit. Somewhere between meeting his dad and putting on the cape, Clark got it in his head he can fly. Boy, can he. Anywhere in the world, and above it. Faster than a speeding bullet. (Though his first flight ends with crash landings reminiscent of the indignities suffered by The Greatest American Hero, believe it or not.)

Clark activating the space craft to meet his birth father turned out to be the very thing that General Zod needed to locate the son of Jor-El. In his time away, Zod learned a thing or two about 1950's sci-fi B movies on Earth because his approach to first contact with the human race is right out of The Day The Earth Stood Still playbook. Zod scares and blackmails humanity into turning over Kal-El, and humanity barely has time to process the very idea of aliens before, after some soul searching, Kal-El turns himself over to the US Military to be turned over to the custody of Zod. Soon Kal-El learns Zod's true plan is to terraform the Earth and turn it into another Krypton (this plan is spelled out deliberately to the Army's dimmest female captain, the one who thinks Superman is hot). Oh yeah, they're calling the alien "Superman" now. Lois coined it when she asked Kal-El about the S on his chest (it means "hope" on Krypton). She never got to actually say "Superman", but she must have mentioned it later on and the name stuck.

Violent and relentless action is the audience's reward for sticking though Man of Steel's creaky storytelling. The final thirty minutes of Man of Steel is a superpowered conflagration the likes of which humanity has never before witnessed in a movie. Once he pops the cap off the action bottle, director Snyder goes for broke, unleashing the full capabilities of a bunch of beings who have Superman's powers as they annihilate anything in their path while doing battle with one another. Buildings topple across the great city of Metropolis and shout outs to the absent Lex Luthor (a Lexcorp oil tanker) and a certain Dark Knight (a Wayne Tech satellite) are dropped in for the sharp-eyed as Superman tries to save the world from Zod's terraforming machine, all the while fighting off Zod and his soldiers who have all of his powers and none of his morality or concern for others. The scope of Man of Steel's action is staggering, and indeed, it all seems too much even for Superman, especially this young Superman who just put on the suit a little while ago and never even had time to wow the world with heroic do-goodery like saving Air Force One or fetching a cat stuck in a tree to get people to love him before the evil Kryptonians descended to destroy everything and everyone. 

Trust is a key issue in Man of Steel. Humanity, represented primarily by Army General Harry Lennix and Colonel Christopher Meloni, aren't ready to trust this handsome space man in blue who flat out says he grew up in Kansas. Intriguingly, Superman doesn't have a whole lot of faith in the human race either. Nor does this neophyte Man of Steel always know exactly what to do. And yet, when nothing the human soldiers shoot at the Kryptonians phase them and the only guy trying his damnedest to stop the invaders is Superman, Lennix and Meloni can't help but grudgingly admit Superman is on our side. Everyone else on the humans' side, including cast members from Battlestar Galactica (one of whom, Alessando Juliani, played Dr. Emil Hamilton in Smallville and appeared in a scene with Man of Steel's Dr. Emil Hamilton) also fly the flag for Team Superman.

The Man of Steel's biggest cheerleader, Lois Lane, believed in Superman the whole time. From their meet-cute on the Kryptonian ship where Clark cauterizes her injury with Heat Vision, their scenes together crackle with sly sexual chemistry, though with Man of Steel's breakneck pace, there's no time to explore anything beyond a well-earned climactic liplock. Lois goes above and beyond in helping Superman stop Zod. Lois even meets Jor-El's avatar aboard Zod's ship and gets the rundown straight from Superman's dad about how to save the Earth. One thing about this Lois Lane, she takes instruction from a Kryptonian incredibly well. She's very good. Lois is also fortunate, as the Kryptonian shit kept hitting the fan, the Army didn't think twice about making that day Take Lois Lane to Work Day. Man of Steel also boasts my absolute favorite line of dialogue ever uttered by any Lois Lane: "Now, if we're done measuring each others' dicks..." Adams is wonderful as Lois Lane, but the show stealing female is German actress Antje Traue as Faora, Zod's steely cool second in command, a lethal soldier-philosopher and the bane of human soldiers and Superman alike. Faora was phenomenal.

As the most heroically proportioned cinematic Superman ever, Cavill rises to the occasion, gradually becoming ever more awesome as the Man of Steel throughout. Screenwriter Goyer peppers in bits of soul searching and uncertainty in Clark's journey to become Superman, and he doesn't miss a beat in contrasting Superman's inexperience to Zod's superiority as a warrior. Shannon is a malevolently unhinged Zod, a creature in his own way doing what he thinks is best for his people because it was what he was bred from birth to do. When Zod ditches his bulky armor to reveal his own dark skintight body stocking, his status as the dark mirror to Superman is clear. (There's an amusing bit of dialogue late in Man of Steel between Zod and the Jor-El avatar where Zod expresses his meta-frustration that somehow Russell Crowe managed to stay in the movie this long. If Zod were Michael Bluth in season 4 of Arrested Development, he'd have bellowed "YOU'RE OUT OF THE MOVIE!!" after deleting Jor-El.)

Zod's rivalry with the father easily transfers to the son, and the final choice Superman has to make to stop Zod once and for all in order to save some innocent people from Zod maliciously roasting them with Heat Vision is truly shocking. (It's bound to be controversial to nerds, but the precedent for Superman sanctioning Zod was established in the comics, and Christopher Reeve's Superman sort of killed Terence Stamp's world-ruling Zod in Superman II, so there you go.) Me, I loved it, everything about it, especially Superman's scream of anguish. In my eyes, Superman had no choice; he crossed the line but grew up in the process, leaving behind childish notions.

Untold trillions upon trillions of dollars in property damage later, Man of Steel concludes with a quickie head scratcher establishing the classic status quo of Clark Kent joining Lois Lane as a reporter for the Daily Planet, but how does the secret identity make any sense? After everything that happened, Superman is the most famous man in the world. Then again, when did that secret identity ever make sense? What's next for the Man of Steel? Superman's immediate cinematic destiny is assured with a sequel already green-lit. More pressing is what the future holds for the long rumored Justice League motion picture. Jury's out on that. For now, we can take heart that the Man of Steel is indeed back. He's not perfect, he's still learning, but he's definitely Superman. The Man of Steel is our man of tomorrow.