Superman & Lois - Haywire

A late post because I decided to let "Justice League" live in my head for a week. Spoilers ahead!

Justice Fatigue: An Exhaustive (and Exhausting) Discussion of Zack Snyder's "Justice League"

So, Zack Snyder's "Justice League." 

Superman & Lois - The Perks of Not Being a Wallflower

I was almost ready to comment on how this series is using single-word episode titles, just like "Smallville" did, but now we've got this mouthful playing on a book that was roughly contemporary with that show. It's pretty clunky, but whatever. 

It's nice that this episode gave us a break from the Luthor story, choosing instead to focus on Lois's investigation and some good character moments for the Kents and Lana's family. The mantra that "life is simpler in Smallville" gets an explicit repudiation, some fences are mended, and some new mysterious antagonists are introduced.

Spoilers ahoy! 

Superman & Lois - Heritage

I think I've figured it out. If "Lois & Clark" was "Moonlighting" with super-powers, "Smallville" was "Dawson's Creek" with superpowers, and "Supergirl" started as "The Devil Wears Prada" with superpowers, then "Superman & Lois" is "This Is Us" with superpowers. 

Spoilers ahead!

Superman & Lois - Pilot

Spoilers Ahead! 

Two Girls, a Guy, and a Pastoral Place

Whoopsie, went a whole year without posting.

I very much enjoy the Arrowverse shows, even though the only episodes of Arrow I've seen are the crossover tie-ins. Legends of Tomorrow is a constant delight, Black Lightning is incredible, The Flash is good superhero melodrama, and Supergirl is fine. It's fine. It's generally mostly fine. 

Look, Supergirl started out strong on CBS, but since it moved to CW, it's been plagued by recurring problems. The cast is stellar. I love every actor and character on that show. Dreamer is a revelation, and I want to see her ongoing comic series (where maybe her powers will be slightly more clearly developed). 

But the politics? The recent episode dealing with violence against trans women (and trans women of color in particular) was a welcome and refreshing shift in the show's usual tone of Peak Liberal White Feminism. For a show that has its heart so clearly in the right place, tackling real-world issues like internment camps for immigrants and the radicalization of cishet white men into fascist paramilitary organizations, it has also featured a hero who, up until last season, was consistently working with a government organization and adopting center-left approaches that openly demonized actual leftists and ignored intersectionality in favor of a lily-white worldview. 

Buckle in, comrades. This is an anarchist blog now. 

There are other problems as well. The way they derailed the Kara-Jimmy relationship to pair her with Mon-El for a season, then fumbled around to find something to do with his character until he left the show, feels more than a little casually racist. I think there are legitimate queerbaiting complaints to be had about how they've handled the Kara/Lena relationship. Alex's shifting desires and priorities have felt less like character development and more like trying to figure out where she fits in the show now.

There's a lot of good, too, especially with some of this most recent season's course corrections. Killing Dean Cain's character offscreen was a hilarious solution to that unfortunate problem. I appreciated Brainiac-5's evolution that gave him a more comics-accurate Coluan appearance and removed some of the played-out "smart guy doesn't understand emotions" character type. I like that every time Lena says "Non Nocere" it makes me think of standing in a Buffalo Stance.

And I've liked Tyler Hoechlin and Bitsie Tulloch as Superman and Lois Lane, on the occasions where they've appeared. Tulloch isn't my favorite Lois, and I wish Hoechlin's costume had the trunks, but they've been quite good when they've shown up. And, you know, this is the first live-action Superman show with tights and flights and the word "Superman" in the title since 1997. I am, unexepctedly, excited for that. 

Besides that, it's a different take on the characters. Lois gets second billing, but rather than being a will-they/won't-they romantic dramedy, it's centered on Clark and Lois as an established couple and experienced parents of teenagers. Personally, I'd prefer the kids to be younger—Crisis changed their single infant into two teenage boys—but I suppose there are some story and tone reasons to prefer teenage kids. Overall, I think a lot of the choices are really savvy: setting the story in Smallville immediately sets this show apart from urban Supergirl, and the teens who cut their sci-fi melodrama teeth on Clark and Lois and Lex in Smallville are now in their thirties, settling down and having kids of their own. This show has the potential of tapping into that 20-year nostalgia cycle for the mid-2000s.

But...well, my excitement has been dampened somewhat in the lead-up to the premiere. Naturally, there's the stories Nadria Tucker has told about experiences in the writers' room, how they dismissed concerns about racism and sexism, about "#metoo jokes" and the like. There's also the optics; Supergirl is coming to an end next season, and it's hard not to feel weird about the diverse, female-dominated show about found family being more-or-less replaced with the nuclear family show whose principal cast is four white people, three of them dudes. I never really watched the trailer, but the response to it on my social media feed was largely negative (though for whatever reason, my social media feed is heavy on people who apparently aren't happy if Superman's not snapping necks in a rubber suit). On the other hand, I've seen really positive responses from two of the Superman fans I respect the most, Charlotte Finn and David Mann. And that clip of Hoechlin in the Fleischer suit and the Action #1 pose? Yeah, that's pretty cool. 

So I'm not sure what to expect as I finally hit up the ol' TiVo and watch the two-hour Pilot. But I'm about to find out. 

"Both Grunting": A Detailed Look at "Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice"

In preparation for my viewing of Justice League, I decided to revisit Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice. I've been dithering with this post on and off for a month, and while I don't think it's gotten any shorter, at least I feel like it says all I'm going to need to say on the subject. Also, I added some pictures.

Anyway, you may recall that I did not care for the movie the first time around. I'm approaching this like I did with my Man of Steel rewatch that I did in preparation for that viewing: trying to focus on the positive, to find the movie that I've seen fans posting gifs of on Tumblr for a year and a half. To that end, I'm watching the Ultimate Edition, which I've heard is better than the theatrical cut.

Without further ado...

Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Hot Garbage

Let the record show that I didn't irrationally hate Man of Steel, that I consistently had a lot of positive things to say about it, despite having serious problems with the last part of the film.

I cannot say the same for Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice. If you're looking for positivity and charity, look elsewhere. Spoilers, snark, and bile ahead.

Man of Steel Liveblogging

It’s been three years since I watched this movie, but let’s be honest, it’s not like I’ve stopped thinking or talking about it for more than a few weeks at a time. For better or for worse, Man of Steel has had a major impact on how I think about Superman these last few years, even if it’s just because it crystallized the kinds of problems that make a Superman story go off the rails.

But I’m trying to be more positive here. I said in my original review that I mostly liked the movie, and while that didn’t hold as true on the second viewing in the theater, it still does a lot of things really well. So I’m going to focus on that. In addition, and possibly in conflict with that idea, a conversation I had some months ago has me wondering what people think of Superman in this universe. If you’re the average person on the street in Metropolis, how would you feel about Superman after all this?

With that out of the way, let’s fire it up.

Walking with Superman: Day 257

Spring Break is coming to a close, and it's time for the members of the Superman Family to head back to their respective routines. But as they pass over Groom Lake in Nevada--location of the government base known as Area 51--the whole group plummets, unconscious, from the sky. Waking to find themselves trapped in an empty, twisted Metropolis, they discover that they are armorless, weaponless, and powerless! Clark, Lois, Conner, Karen, Linda, John Henry, and Natasha stand against their manifested nightmares, and it soon becomes clear that a forgotten malevolence has awakened in the place called Dreamland. Trapped as they are, with no hope for escape and no way to fight against the darkness, it turns out that the very last thing that the Superman Family needs...is a Savior.

Walking with Superman: Day 256

It's a super-sized installment of Walking with Superman when Superboy returns to his old stomping grounds in Honolulu, Hawai'i--and he's brought the whole Superman Family with him! A lot has changed in the Tomorrow Teen's life since he left the Aloha State, and while he tries to recapture his youth, it seems like every rogue he ever faced is trying to recapture him! The Family of Steel has their hands full keeping the islands safe--Power Girl and Supergirl take on the DNAngels, with the help of Honolulu SCU's Inspector Sam Makoa and Det. Roxy Leech! Steel and Starlight help stop Kossak the Slaver's extradimensional attack on S.T.A.R. Labs, assisted by Mickey "The Mechanic" Cannon, the Technician, Tekka the Gadgeteer, Director Serling Roquette--and the Guardian?! Superman and Lois Lane check in on Rex Leech, recently-appointed Chairman of the reformed Superman Foundation, and find themselves up against Kekona the Demolishor--the miniature Menahune menace who nearly ended their Hawaiian Honeymoon! Meanwhile, Conner tries to reconnect with the people and places that made him who he is today, and remembers his friends and lovers he's left behind. If only Sidearm, the Silver Sword, and King Shark were willing to leave him to his quiet reminiscence! And if the Boy of Steel hopes to uncover the shadowy figure pulling the strings behind his rogues' convenient resurgence, he's going to need help from one of his oldest friends, who disappeared during the DNA diaspora, and is believed dead--the DNAlien called Dubbilex!

Walking with Superman: Day 255

Team Superman is headed toward Hawaii, but as they approach the island, Superman and Power Girl pick up a distress call on an old JLI communicator frequency! Descending to an uninhabited volcanic island just east of the state, the heroes discover a fortress, stacked floor to ceiling with mystical artifacts, futuristic technology, and discarded equipment from heroes and villains alike. Superboy recognizes the collection almost immediately--though it's no longer on the moon, this fortress is clearly the home of one of his oldest foes: the Scavenger! Despite the Teen of Tomorrow's trepidation, the only one trapped is the Scavenger himself! The aging cyborg has become a victim of his own collection, pinned beneath some collapsed pile of discarded deathtraps and doomsday devices! The Family of Steel may be able to save him from his collapsed collection, but to really help him, they need to cure his compulsion--and that task may be too much even for them!

Walking with Superman: Day 254

The Superman Family was heading west, planning on a short stop in Galveston Island along the Texas Gulf coast, but something went wrong along the way. Only Steel and Lois Lane awake to find themselves on the island--and under glass! Galveston has been transported to some strange new world, and these two displaced Metropolitans must find a way to restore it to its proper place! Meanwhile, Supergirl, Superboy, and Starlight find themselves forced to live out stereotypical roles on the set of a sinister teen sitcom, and there's no stopping this laugh track! Elsewhere, Superman and Power Girl are trapped in a deadly pinball machine, and one wrong move spells game over! It's all part of the Prankster's deadliest trick yet, but when the suckered superheroes learn the truth, their problems will suddenly seem a whole lot smaller...

Walking with Superman: Day 250

"It'll be fun!"

"It's just...not my kind of fun, Conner."

"Come on, Clark! Linda's already packed, Kara's put together an itinerary, John Henry and Natasha are on-board, and I bet even Lois would be up for it. Besides, we've all had so much drama recently, I think we'd all benefit from a little break. Blue skies, yellow sunshine--"

"'Tanned bodies, polka-dot bikinis.'"

"Okay, maybe some of that, too."

"Like I said, Conner, it's just not my idea of a good time."

"Can't you just picture it, though? 'The Superman Family Vacation'! 'Super-Team Saves Spring Break'! 'S-Shield Swimwear Sweeps Nation'!"

"..."

"See, I knew you'd warm up to it. Look, I even got us matching sunglasses!"

---

The Superman Family is on Spring Break, and their first stop is Fort Lauderdale, Florida! But it's not all sun and fun for the Family of Steel, when Conner and Natasha Irons learn that someone's selling a snake oil super-power serum to unsuspecting students! Now, Lois Lane and the Teens of Tomorrow investigate the source of the elixir, while Superman, Steel, and Power Girl try to protect hundreds of intoxicated teens who think they're invincible!

Walking with Superman: Day 157

Ho ho ho, it's a special jolly-sized 64-page issue of Walking with Superman! As the country sleeps through the night of Christmas Eve, the Man of Steel receives an alert on the Justice League communicator system, from a long-time JLA reservist. He may not spend much time at the Watchtower, but this hero has clocked more hours of monitor duty than the rest of the DCU combined--it's Kris Kringle, aka Santa Claus! He's watched Superman's journey, and since he's making a cross-country trip of his own tonight, he's decided to ask little Clark Kent along for the ride! Superman accompanies Santa to each of the fifty states in fifty pages, but it's not all sugarplums and candy canes--there are dark forces who would do anything to stop Santa's annual journey! It all ends in the early morning hours on Christmas Day, as Santa returns Superman to Metropolis, DE. After all, he's been awfully nice this year.

But that's not all! Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen take the spotlight in a shocking second feature: The Terror of Toyland! When the intrepid reporters investigate strange happenings at one of Toyman's old hideouts, they fall into a trap meant for Superman! How can this dynamic duo survive a snare meant for a Man of Steel?