Superman Day

Posted 4:00 PM by Gerald So

Image by Gerald So

For the second year in a row, DC Comics is celebrating Superman today, the anniversary of Action Comics #1 in 1938.

I've dressed my avatar for the occasion. Note the curl, bit of cape, and eyes heating up.

Justice Society World War II

© by Gerald So | 2:00 PM

Speeding to save Superman from a kryptonite bullet, Flash Barry Allen (Matt Bomer) is swept into an alternate World War II and helps an American team of heroes assembled by Col. Steve Trevor, including Wonder Woman (Stana Katic), Flash Jay Garrick, Hawkman, Hourman, and Black Canary.

I bought this movie as a Wonder Woman fan, and this portrayal is clearly patterned after Gal Gadot's, which I also liked. However, I have to say I only enjoyed parts. What might have been a cohesive plot gets sidetracked when a mind-controlled Aquaman captures the heroes, watering down the statement the movie might've made about World War II. Because present-day Flash Barry Allen is viewers' touchstone, the plot follows him back to his rightful place and time, de-emphasizing all that happened on the alternate plane.

I've Finally Seen: WONDER WOMAN 1984

© by Gerald So | 6:30 AM

I liked the 2017 Wonder Woman movie very much, so I pre-ordered Wonder Woman 1984 on Blu-ray despite mixed-to-negative reviews.

Where the first movie effectively evoked the cost of war and what a superhero and an ordinary man could do to turn the tide, the sequel highlights what was overindulgent and illusory about the 1980s. However, because Wonder Woman 1984's premise is based on the world buying into a wish-granting stone, it lacks the original's impact. Because everything started by magic and could be and was taken back in the end, the adventure had no consequence, a recipe for forgettable.

I like Wonder Woman as a character and I like Gal Gadot's and Chris Pine's performances, so I was glad to see more of them, but I'd prefer an adventure not sandwiched between two others, whose outcome can't be inferred from the latest in story order.

SUPERMAN: MAN OF TOMORROW Animated Movie

© by Gerald So | 8:30 AM

Daily Planet intern Clark Kent (Darren Criss) learns more about his origins while encountering alien bounty hunter chaos agent Lobo (Ryan Hurst), Martian-in-hiding J'onn J'onzz (Ike Amadi), and the life-draining accidental mutant Parasite (Brett Dalton).

As a fan of the 1990s ABC series Lois & Clark, I appreciate similar themes explored here, yet well updated for 2020. All the voices are great fits, including Zachary Quinto as Lex Luthor, Alexandra Daddario as Lois Lane, Neil Flynn as Jonathan Kent, and Bellamy Young as Martha Kent. I hope this goes on as an arc. If not, though, Superman: Man of Tomorrow hits all the right notes itself.

JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. THE FATAL FIVE Animated Movie

© by Gerald So | 2:30 PM

Released on disc April 16, the latest DC animated movie reunites producer-artist Bruce Timm and voice actors Kevin Conroy, George Newbern, and Susan Eisenberg of Cartoon Network's Justice League fame as 31st-century villain team The Fatal Five plots to disrupt its past.

More than delivering nostalgia, by introducing Green Lantern Jessica Cruz (Diane Guerrero) and Star Boy Thomas Kallor (Elyes Gabel), who battle mental illness, the movie clearly speaks to our present. Well done by all involved.

REIGN OF THE SUPERMEN Animated Movie

© by Gerald So | 6:30 AM

Released January 29 on disc, Reign of the Supermen concludes the storyline started by last August's The Death of Superman. As in the comics that inspired it, in the wake of Superman's death after his battle with Doomsday, four figures emerge approximating the hero's powers, attempting to fill the void, as a grieving Lois Lane (Rebecca Romijn) looks into the whereabouts of the true Superman/Clark Kent (Jerry O'Connell).

Romijn carries the continuation movie as main protagonist in Superman's absence. Likewise, while not quite an antagonist here, Rainn Wilson's part in the continuation lifts his Lex Luthor performance from decent to distinctive.

The continuation departs from the comics in revealing Darkseid (the reliably menacing Tony Todd) sent Doomsday to Earth, the first stage of a conquest plan, followed by his resurrection and empowerment of Cyborg Superman Hank Henshaw (Patrick Fabian).

DC's live-action Justice League never gained momentum, but its animated projects remain second to none.

Marvel's The Punisher Season 2

© by Gerald So | 5:00 AM

At a Michigan roadhouse, Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal), alias Pete Castiglione, crosses paths with a girl (Giorgia Whigham) hunted by professional killers. Saving her, Castle takes her with him, staying one step ahead as he learns her story.

Free of the obligation to tell The Punisher's origin, Season 2 further humanizes him, thanks to Bernthal and Whigham's chemistry. Whigham pulls off an independent character who is also properly scared. Corbin Bernsen and Annette O'Toole add star power as the vicious mastermind power couple.

I also appreciate how this season bears out the impact of last season's events. While Billy Russo (Ben Barnes) was so broken he remembered less than I liked, Dinah Madani (Amber Rose Revah) clearly hadn't moved on.

Marvel's Netflix shows have never perfectly paced 13 episodes, but there are some gems worth jumping to, particularly "The Abyss", featuring Daredevil's Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll).

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

© by Gerald So | 7:30 PM

My brother has the day off, so we took in an economy-priced 10:20 AM showing of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. New York teenager Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), bitten by an Alchemax lab spider, has a brush with Spider-Man (Chris Pine) as the classic hero battles criminal kingpin Wilson Fisk (Liev Schreiber), who has funded a particle super-collider that threatens the city with annihilation by black hole.

Gravely injured, Peter entrusts Miles with a thumb drive that will destroy the collider, but Miles is unable to use the drive before an explosion paves the way for myriad realities to intersect.

It's taken Marvel ten years to grow its live-action cinematic universe, most notably bolstered by Avengers movies. More impressively, this one animated movie seamlessly introduces seven Spider-heroes in similar fashion, but rightly keeps the spotlight on Miles. Truly fresh in story and spectacle.

Marvel's Daredevil Season 3

© by Gerald So | 6:00 AM

The long-awaited third season of Daredevil premiered on Netflix yesterday. Here's my somewhat spoilery review.

When we last saw Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) at the end of Marvel's The Defenders, he had miraculously landed in the care of Sister Maggie after the Midland Circle tower collapsed on him. As Season 3 begins, Matt has cut himself off from Karan Page and Foggy Nelson as he recovers and decides if he can continue being Daredevil.

Meanwhile, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio) mysteriously agrees to inform on New York's underworld to FBI Special Agent Ray Nadeem (Jay Ali). After fisk is shanked, the FBI arranges to have him moved to a hotel where he is held under guard. Of course, for Fisk, this is virtual freedom and draws Matt out in attempt to kill the Kingpin.

Daredevil has the strongest supporting cast of any Netflix Marvel show. Season 3 sees standout performances by Joanne Whalley as Sister Maggie, Jay Ali, and Wilson Bethel as FBI Special Agent Ben "Bullseye" Poindexter. Meanwhile Deborah Ann Woll (Karen) and Elden Henson (Foggy) carry the show through their own storylines.

Season 3 nicely finishes an overall four-season arc (counting The Defenders), a fine place to end, which may happen with word that Netflix has canceled Iron Fist and Luke Cage.

THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN Animated Movie

© by Gerald So | 4:45 AM

A mindless monster's killing spree reaches Metropolis, mauling the Justice League in its path. Only Superman (Jerry O'Connell) is powerful enough to stop the beast, but his unprecedented effort leaves him bloodily beaten as well.

I remember the spike in interest when DC Comics announced it was killing Superman in 1992. I wasn't the fan I would become with the 1993 premiere of TV's Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. My brother, not much of a Superman fan himself, bought the complete trade paperback, and I flipped through it but didn't get into the story.

In the years since the event, I've pieced together why it didn't resonate with me. I like a good match: equally complex and powerful opponents. Doomsday had no mind, no motivation. He was as simple as the idea of killing Superman.

That said, I can't say it failed as a publicity stunt. Similarly, Superman: Doomsday launched Warner Bros. Animation's PG-13 direct-to-video line in 2007. I bought and enjoyed it along with most of the line. The Death of Superman animated movie, releasing tomorrow, attempts a more faithful reflection of the comics event. As always, though, what hooked me was the portrayal of Lois and Clark's relationship.

Many of Warner Bros. Animation's New 52 Justice League voice actors rejoin O'Connell, lending their characters' chemistry. O'Connell's wife Rebecca Romijn debuts as Lois, but their real chemistry is just as clear, bringing out the authority and down-to-earth quality that I want in Clark and Lois and that must come through to deliver the impact of this story.

The movie ends with the discovery that Superman's body is missing, and the closing credits tease the four main characters in next year's continuation, Reign of the Supermen.

The Incredibles 2

© by Gerald So | 9:00 AM

On a rare free Saturday for both of us, my brother Henry and I watched The Incredibles 2. Henry is more tired of superhero movies than I am, but he was eager to see this as a fan of the 2004 original.

Happily The Incredibles 2 isn't a victim of superhero fatigue given the wave of movies that followed the original. That said, I did find it odd going along with the sequel's conceit that only six months had passed.

If I had re-watched the original to prepare, I might have found the plot too similar. This time, Helen Parr/Elasti-Girl is recruited by siblings Winston and Evelyn Deavor, who propose fitting superheroes with body cams to show the good they do free of media spin and encourage the nations of the world to legalize them.

Unfortunately one of the Deavors actually has a sinister plan to frame superheroes and wipe them out permanently. If you have a decent vocabulary and a taste for puns, you'll guess which.

That aside, I most enjoyed the moments of Bob trying to adapt to being the stay-home parent.

To sum up, The Incredibles 2 doesn't disappoint but doesn't leave much of impression of its own, either. It's just fine.

Luke Cage Season 2

© by Gerald So | 7:00 AM

Season 2 of Marvel's Luke Cage premiered on Netflix two days ago, with Cage facing continued opposition from Mariah Dillard and Shades as well as new, herbally-enhanced Jamaican villain John McIver (Mustafa Shakir).

After The Defenders, I hoped to see more interaction among the characters on all four Marvel shows, and Luke Cage does a better job of that than Jessica Jones, featuring Colleen Wing, Foggy Nelson, and Danny Rand. Cage also may do the best job of showing villains' perspective as the events of Season 2 shake both Luke and Shades.

That said, for all their soul-searching, the characters don't change in the directions I thought they would. I understand the idea of showing Luke as flawed, but heroes are heroes because innate parts of their personalities are geared toward doing good. In The Defenders Luke seemed the most mature and practical, indeed a defender, not an attacker. Where did that go?

Looking back, I had the same issue with Luke Cage Season 1.

Lucifer Finale: "A Devil of My Word"

© by Gerald So | 7:00 AM

Last week FOX canceled Lucifer, which finished its third season last night. I've been a fan of the show all along. Its oddball premise that the Devil leaves hell for Los Angeles to help punish the guilty was really brought to life and made more fun by a cast led by Tom Ellis and Lauren German.

The show fired on all cylinders in Season 2, with Tricia Helfer coming aboard as the celestial being whose union with God gave birth to the angels. Like I said, oddball fun.

In Season 3 Smallville's Tom Welling joined the cast as Lt. Marcus Pierce, who was revealed to be the immortally cursed Cain, the world's first murderer. Cain sought out German's Chloe Decker, hearing she had made the Devil susceptible to death. In last night's finale, Lucifer and Chloe plot against Pierce after his killing defense attorney Charlotte Richards, the physical body also played by Helfer that was inhabited by the goddess.

The series' main twist for three seasons has been that Lucifer always tells the truth about who and what he is, but among the mortal characters, only his psychiatrist Linda Martin (Rachael Harris) believes him. In the finale, Cain resolves to kill Lucifer. Chloe intervenes, and Lucifer shields her with his wings. Flying Chloe to safety, Lucifer kills Cain, but when Chloe returns to the scene, she can finally recognize Lucifer as the Devil.

I hope the series goes on somehow, but if not the final reveal is a good place to end. It drives home without words that everything Lucifer told Chloe is true. I can't be sure what impact the writers intended the reveal to have on the fourth season, but here's how I like to read it: Lucifer has always wanted Chloe to see him for who he really is. Now she finally can. Maybe she's the only one who can see through his glamour by default, and if she can come to accept him in his demonic visage, they can grow closer than they ever been.

Whatever the future holds, my thanks to the entire Lucifer cast and crew. Crime-solving Devil. It makes sense. Don't overthink it.

Marvel's The Punisher

© by Gerald So | 11:00 p.m.

The Punisher is far from my favorite comics character, but after a long week, including a planned neighborhood power outage and three days deciding my 2018 healthcare package, I happily dived into the full first season, which premiered on Netflix today.

Introduced in Season 2 of Daredevil, this show of his own fleshes out and humanizes Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal). Building on the Daredevil arc of Frank discovering his former commanding officer was behind a heroin ring, the main plot concerns the cover-up of unsanctioned CIA Operation Cerberus, which tasked Frank and fellow Force Recon marines with capturing high-value targets in Afghanistan.

As we begin, Frank is doing a good job letting the world believe he is dead while carrying out personal missions of vengeance. Phone calls from a mystery man calling himself Micro (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) draw Frank into the plot, exposing him to pursuits by Homeland Security agent Dinah Madani (Amber Rose Revah) and former Cerberus operators.

The Punisher is tonally similar to Luke Cage in its street-level action, but more realistic because none of its characters have superpowers. Frank has only his considerable tactical prowess and incredible will to survive, the latter shown by imagery of Frank's thoughts, sometimes diverging far from what happens to his physical body.

As he comes to know and collaborate with Micro, Frank reveals the people he trusts, people then to whom he is inevitably vulnerable. As narratively sound and satisfying as the show is, be warned it also features violence, gore, and sex. Taste for any of these is up to you as viewer.

JUSTICE LEAGUE (2017)

© by Gerald So | 2:00 a.m.

Just back from watching with three fellow superfans.

Sometime after Batman vs. Superman, we find Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince recruiting Aquaman, The Flash, and Cyborg to team up against Jack Kirby's Steppenwolf and the Parademons of Apokolips, ancient enemies of the Amazons, Atlanteans, and humans.

Team-up movies face a number of challenges solo movies don't, most obviously to make the stakes high enough to warrant the team-up and to divvy screen time fairly among the heroes and villains. I'm glad to say the new League recruits left distinctive impressions true to their characters. This movie will make them new fans. I already liked Ben Affleck's older Batman and Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman, and they continued to deliver.

All that said, Superman is the reason I've watched Man of Steel, Batman vs. Superman, and Justice League. If and how he rejoined the battle were important to me, and I think someone (or someones) bobbled the ball. I'd read comments by Henry Cavill that moviegoers would see the classic champion we know and love, but his transition from death to that was too abrupt for my liking.

And finally, Steppenwolf and the Parademons are your standard, otherworldly (less realistic) army of manufactured evil, but they were adequately shown to be too powerful for any one hero to beat, quite possibly too powerful for a team without Superman to beat.

On the large scale, Justice League is more cohesive than Batman vs. Superman, but doesn't surpass Wonder Woman in any way. However, its smaller, character moments are well thought out and worth fans' time.

I've Finally Seen: WONDER WOMAN (2017)

© by Gerald So | 11:30 P.M.

The one bright spot in an otherwise dreary Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice was the appearance of Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot). Her solo movie, out on DVD tomorrow, tells an origin story I already knew, but particularly after Man of Steel's dubious attempt to darken Superman, Wonder Woman is to be praised for letting Diana's light shine through unfiltered.

After American spy Steve Trevor's plane crash-lands on the Amazons' island home, Diana decides to go back with him into the thick of World War I. She believes if she can find and kill the war god Ares, she will not only end the war but also settle a score on behalf of her people.

Chris Pine's roguish Trevor makes a fine sparring partner for earnest Diana. I believed their impact on each other, Steve quickly recognizing and respecting Diana's innocence and physical superiority, Diana gradually recognizing Steve's love for her, and hers for him, which helps her save the day.

Though its opening and closing scenes tie into Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Wonder Woman is a clear improvement on Man of Steel and Dawn of Justice, standing tall on its own.

Marvel's The Defenders

© by Gerald So | 10:00 a.m.

I binged all eight episodes of The Defenders, which premiered on Netflix yesterday. By way of spoiler warning, I'll assume those interested in this review have watched the shows setting up The Defenders, including both seasons of Daredevil.

In a nutshell, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Danny Rand, and Matt Murdock cross paths after each encounters a small part of The Hand's grand scheme. P.I. Jessica takes on the case of a missing husband and father whom she discovers is the architect of The Hand's Manhattan headquarters. Jessica is present when The Hand finds the architect, who kills himself rather than get killed by The Hand's secret weapon, The Black Sky, a resurrected Elektra Natchios.

The major revelation, which the previous shows hinted at well enough, is Madame Gao, Bakuto, and three other "fingers of The Hand" were banished from Iron Fist's extradimensional city of K'un-L'un. In using The Black Sky, they hope to gain control of Danny Rand's iron fist to open a portal to K'un-L'un, so they can retrieve the key to their immortality and return home.

Initially, Luke, like Jessica, just wants to help the person who got him involved, a boy unwittingly hired by The Hand. Matt Murdock, who has quit being Daredevil when we find him, has perhaps the strongest, most personal motivation, yet the most difficult task: trying to recover Elektra while working against her and her masters.

The Defenders didn't change my mind about any of the characters. Daredevil and Elektra are still my favorites. Jessica and Luke are cool, and Iron Fist is the weakest link, but I particularly enjoyed Matt and Jessica's chemistry.

I don't expect each Defender to pop up more often in the other's main shows, but it's pretty to think they know each other a lot better now.

I've Finally Seen: DOCTOR STRANGE (2016)

© by Gerald So | 9:00 a.m.

I'd been meaning to watch the Benedict Cumberbatch Doctor Strange movie since it premiered last November. One thing after another put it off until it fell into my lap on Netflix streaming this month.

I like the character of Strange from the comics, and I think the movie delivers him reasonably well. That's another way of saying there were no surprises. Cumberbatch was good, Ejiofor was good, Mikkelsen was good... The movie did the job of setting Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but like many movies hoping to be franchises, it pulled its best punches for later. (Batman Begins, Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes, Green Lantern...) This was Strange's training film, with Baron Mordo at his side. Maybe the sparks will really fly in Doctor Stranger.

Though it didn't affect my overall opinion of the movie, I did have a problem with Tilda Swinton cast as The Ancient One. I like Swinton's acting in general. My problem is the character was given a new backstory as a Celtic woman. I can't see the story advantage over keeping the character Asian and casting an Asian man or woman.

Marvel's Iron Fist

© by Gerald So | 5:30 P.M.

As with Marvel's Daredevil, I set premiere day aside to binge-watch Iron Fist on Netflix. Danny Rand (Finn Jones) returns to New York fifteen years after he was presumed to have died in a plane crash over the Himalayas along with his billionaire industrialist father Wendell and mother Heather.

Danny's reappearance dismays his childhood friends Joy and Ward Meachum (Jessica Stroup and Tom Pelphrey respectively), who run Rand Enterprises since the death of their father Harold (David Wenham), Wendell's partner. Disapproving of some of Rand's current practices, Danny makes a play for his rightful share of the company.

Oh, yes, the superhero part: Shortly after Danny's plane crashed, he was taken to the extradimensional city K'un-Lun, where he was raised and trained by its warrior monks, sworn enemies of Marvel's previously-depicted killer cult, The Hand.

Just as Danny takes a while to get his bearings, so does the season. Its similarity to other origin stories (Batman Begins, Iron Man, Arrow) is a quibble compared to its largely unsympathetic, super-wealthy characters. Ward is a self-admitted "asshole" drug addict, but then he has the stress of keeping secret that The Hand brought Harold back from the dead, and Harold's machinations, credited to Ward, have kept Rand profitable if more cutthroat than Danny would like. Joy has soft spots for Danny and Ward but is an otherwise cold, self-made businesswoman.

I most liked and rooted for Danny's chemistry with karate teacher Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick), but she also keeps a dark secret.

Iron Fist is fine, but clearly the least edgy of the four series setting up Marvel's The Defenders. Maybe we can hope for better now that the setup is done.

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK directed by Jay Oliva

© by Gerald So | 11:00 a.m.

In a Warner Bros. Animation adaptation of the DC Comics title, random people around the world go on killing sprees and later claim their victims appeared to be demons. When stalwarts like Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern prove ineffective against the threat, Batman calls on allies with occult expertise.

I skipped two recent DC animated movies, Batman: The Killing Joke and Justice vs. Teen Titans, but I remain a fan of the direct-to-video line overall. Justice League Dark particularly grabbed me as a fan of British cynic and working-class magician John Constantine.

As on his short-lived NBC show and guest appearance on The CW's Arrow, Constantine is portrayed here by Welsh actor Matt Ryan, which apparently led to an upcoming Constantine animated series on CW Seed. The highlight of the movie for me is Constantine's back-and-forth with fellow magician and ex-lover Zatanna Zatara (Camilla Luddington, playing an American accent).

I find all the featured JLD characters appealing (Deadman, Jason Blood/Etrigan, Swamp Thing), but being familiar with them, I feel the movie could have spent less time depicting their backstories and instead packed in more present-day action. That said, the twist is quite clever.