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All the Doctors, All the Masters

March 3, 2015, 3:09 pm
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In 2013 the BBC released this image as part of the Doctor Who 50th anniversary celebrations.


They have yet to update it with Peter Capaldi, the Twelfth Doctor, and they have yet to do a similar image for The Masters. I got tired of waiting and made one myself.


If you're wondering why Julius from the Thick of It is in there, it's because Alex MacQueen plays The Master opposite Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor in Big Finish's Dark Eyes series, and he's bloody brilliant. Since McGann name dropped his Big Finish companions in Night of the Doctor (including Molly O'Sullivan, his companion in Dark Eyes) we know that Big Finish is canon, so MacQueen totally counts. 

So there.

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Morrison on Moore: Miracleman & The Killing Joke

April 8, 2015, 5:09 pm
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Alan Moore and Grant Morrison are two of my favourite comic creators. They've both got gigantic imaginations and have both found ways of looking at the superhero genre that have changed it forever. They also have a long running feud with each other, which is always good for a laugh.

Whenever Moore has commented on Morrison's work it's always in a dismissive, catty way that frankly is a bit beneath him. Morrison on the other hand is a big fan of Moore's work and always has something interesting to say about it.

Any excuse to trot out this image

I find Morrison's interpretation of Moore's The Killing Joke and Miracleman particularly interesting. I agree with his interpretation of the former 100%, but couldn't disagree more with his interpretation of the latter.

Morrison on Miracleman 
(WARNING: LOADS OF SPOILERS)

Based on the old 1950s Marvelman strips by Mick Anglo, Miracleman tells the story of a middle-aged man called Michael Moran who one day remembers that he can turn into a superhero. Like Moore's other '80s masterpiece Watchmen, Miracleman takes the superhero archetype to its logical and terrifying conclusion. Moore's run on the character ends with Miracleman and his superhero friends destroying London in a brutal battle with a supervillain and building a new worldwide Utopia out of the city's ashes. The heroes reign over a peaceful, happy planet from a new Mount Olympus, and human beings have absolutely no say in the matter.

In a 2011 article for the Guardian Morrison wrote:
By the end of the story the characters find out that they've been lied to all their lives, and they emerge into the real world. There are beautiful sequences where the superheroes are escorting Thatcher out of No 10 and she's sobbing helplessly: suddenly there's this new power that bombs can't stop, weapons can't stop. The whole last issue is this fabulous liberal fantasy of what the good guys would do if they got in charge and got rid of all the bastards! I like it much more than Watchmen; it was a real triumph for lefties everywhere!
I prefer it to Watchmen too, but the fact that Morrison interprets the ending as a joyful fantasy is frankly, a little disturbing.

For me, the ending to Moore's Miracleman is absolutely terrifying. Between them the heroes decide that they know what's best for the world. Humankind in it's entirety is reduced to the role of a naughty child who needs to be told what's good for it. The fact that the heroes effectively enslave mankind with such kindness and benevolence makes it even more creepy and disturbing. It never even occurs to them to ask what we want, and they're so far removed from us that they don't even realise what they're taking from us.



By the end of Moore's run there's no money and no crime, and humanity is marching towards a superhuman future through the sharing of alien technology and a programme of eugenics. The very last page depicts Miracleman looking down on his new world, baffled and bemused because his wife Liz turned down his offer of a place among the gods and wants nothing more to do with him and his "perfection". It's a brilliant and powerful ending that never fails to stay with me for days, no matter how many times I read it.

And Morrison apparently interprets it as, "Yay, the good guys won!"



The Margaret Thatcher scene that Morrison describes is perfect example of where he and I differ on our interpretation of Miracleman. I'm by no means a fan of Thatcher or her politics but this is a scene where one of the most influential and forceful world leaders of the 20th Century is reduced to a gibbering wreck by the realisation that humankind is no longer in control of its own destiny. To come away from it saying "Hurray, take that Maggie" seems a little childish to me.



Morrison on The Killing Joke
(WARNING: LOADS OF SPOILERS)

The Killing Joke chronicles the Joker's attempts to prove to Batman that one bad day can drive anyone insane. Joker sets out to drive Jim Gordon mad by crippling his daughter Barbara (AKA Batgirl) and forcing him to look at pictures of her wounded body. (Yeah, it's pretty grim). Running parallel to this story is a flashback to Joker's own "bad day", the events that bleached his face and broke his mind. Batman eventually rescues Gordon who implores him to bring Joker in "by the book." Batman has a final confrontation with his arch foe that ends, unexpectedly, with the Joker telling Batman a joke. The pair of them laugh together as the police arrive.



While Moore never intended the story to be "canon" the events of the story were nevertheless expanded on by subsequent writers. Barbara Gordon, for example, spent the next twenty or so years in a wheelchair. As a result it was always assumed by most people, including myself, that the story did indeed end with the Joker's arrest. Morrison had other ideas. As he told Kevin Smith in a 2013 interview:
That’s why it’s called ‘The Killing Joke.’ The Joker tells the ‘Killing Joke’ at the end, Batman reaches out and breaks his neck, and that’s why the laughter stops and the light goes out, ’cause that was the last chance at crossing that bridge. And Alan Moore wrote the ultimate Batman/Joker story — he finished it.
While this doesn't appear to have been Moore's intention this is now the only interpretation of the ending that makes sense to me. After hearing Morrison's take, The Killing Joke changed for me into something a hundred times more satisfying than it had previously been.

The story begins with Batman offering the Joker a chance to get off their path of mutually assured destruction. When the story actually ends with that prophesied destruction coming about then that first scene becomes so much more significant and poignant. Batman begins the story still trying to convince himself that there's a way out for both of them, but by the end he's realised there's no hope. The Joker tells a joke about two lunatics escaping from an insane asylum, and the Batman realises that they are the two lunatics. He realises that their dance towards the inevitable is going to hurt more and more people the longer it goes on. He realises there's only one way out and the realisation breaks him. The Joker is trying to prove to Batman that one "bad day" can drive a man insane. The Killing Joke is the story of Batman's "bad day". His "bad day" is not the day his parents were killed (as the Joker speculates at one point), it's the day the Joker wins and Batman breaks his oath never to kill.

Hey, I'm not saying it's the happiest interpretation, but it is I believe, the most satisfying.

Morrison's ending also changes the nature of the Joker's assault of Barbara Gordon. If the story is canon then Barbara's fate is needlessly vicious. We know Joker's a nasty bastard, we don't need a character as significant as Barbara to become collateral damage in order to prove that. It does very little to change Batman and Joker's relationship and does nothing at all for Barbara. (Indeed, it was John Ostrander who used her injury to develop her character in the pages of Suicide Squad.) But if this story is the last ever Batman/Joker story then the assault of Barbara Gordon becomes the worst thing the Joker has ever done, the thing that helps tip Batman over the edge. The nastiness is justified.

For me Morrison's interpretation turns a good story into a great story. And while it wasn't Moore's intention for Batman to kill the Joker, artist Brian Bolland has implied that it was his, so at least half of The Killing Joke's creative team agrees with Morrison.



Regardless of whether I agree with him or not it's always fascinating to read the opinion of a genius like Morrison on the work of a genius like Moore. It's a shame they don't get on because Morrison can enrich Moore's work just by discussing it, and I'm sure if he ever actually gave it a fair chance Moore could do the same for Morrison's work.

Having said that, if his opinion on Miracleman is anything to go by, I hope to god Grant Morrison never gets super-powers.
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It's a great time to be a Superhero fan!

April 12, 2015, 12:12 pm
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I was reflecting today while watching Marvel's AMAZING new Daredevil series, on the diversity of all the recent live action superhero stuff we've been getting. After Tim Burton's Batman in 1989 every live action superhero thing aped it to a certain extent. For example, the 1990 Flash TV series had a Danny Elfman score, even though it was massively inappropriate for that type of character and show. These days we have Arrow, Flash, Gotham, Constantine, the Marvel Cinematic Universe on the big screen & on TV, the X-Men franchise, the upcoming Fantastic Four movie, Man of Steel and it's upcoming spin offs, and everything is doing it's own thing & has its own style.

Daredevil and Avengers are set in the same universe and yet they couldn't be more different in tone. Arrow and Flash even crossover with each other and yet they both have their own distinct voices. It would be easy to lump Gotham, Arrow and Daredevil under the same, lazy "gritty" label, but they're all actually completely different. Arrow has more of an emphasis on soap opera than Daredevil. Both Gotham& Arrow are gloriously over the top, while Daredevil is much more grounded. They are all brilliant.

There really is something for everyone out there at the moment. It's a great time to be a superhero fan.

And now, apropos of nothing, here's Grant Gustin inserted into some classic Flash covers.



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Avengers Age of Ultron: A Mixed Bag (SPOILERS)

April 25, 2015, 12:54 pm
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WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Avengers Age of Ultron is a mixed bag. On the whole it's an enjoyable film but comparisons with other Marvel films are inevitable, and this film suffers in comparison with its predecessors. It's probably the weakest and least satisfying of all the movies set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but to be fair most of those films are exceptionally good, and there's still lots to admire in AoU.

THE GOOD

Ultron looks and sounds amazing. I could listen to James Spader's evil voice all day. Spader's obviously been motion captured and it works brilliantly. They've managed to make a CGI robot, with limited facial expressions, full of personality. Spader's performance is evident in every shrug of Ultron's shoulders.

The relationship between Banner and Black Widow serves to flesh out both characters nicely. In lesser hands it could feel tacked on but here it feels natural that these characters, both of whom are trying to deal with their darker natures in different ways, would be drawn to each other. Mark Ruffalo's performance is superb, conveying Banner's angst, humour and repressed emotion with considerable charisma. I usually find Scarlett Johansson wooden but she did an excellent job here and really helped us get into the Widow's head.

The increased focus on Hawkeye was very welcome since he spent most of the first Avengers movie hypnotised. I'm still a little disappointed that Jeremy Renner is playing a character who's closer to Ultimate Hawkeye than classic comics Hawkeye. But that's a personal bugbear on my part, the handling of the character here, by both the script and Renner, can't really be faulted.

Tony Stark continues to get a lot of attention, but that's fine with me, since as far as I'm concerned, out of all The Avengers he's the best and most complex character, and is also played by the best actor. Tony continues to struggle with the glimpse into infinity he experienced at the end of the first Avengers movie. The fact that this still affects and motivates Tony shows a level of maturity not usually present in a genre where ordinary people are usually able to process and accept the fantastic with no ill affects. Tony is a man with a big ego who's used to being in control and now he's scared by his (and the Earth's) vulnerability and insignificance. This is all conveyed beautifully by Downey Jr's performance. More than any other MCU character Stark is on a journey and I look forward to following it further in Captain America 3: Civil War.

I'm really hoping that the appearance of a supporting character called Dr. Helen Cho might lead to an appearance in the MCU at some point by Amadeus Cho. Amadeus is a teenaged boy who's also the seventh smartest person on Earth. He's one of my favourite Marvel characters. Anyone who's curious about him should check out Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente's Incredible Hercules.

THE BAD

Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and the Vision are played brilliantly by their respective actors and they look great, but there's just not enough time spent on them to give them the development that the plot requires. Scarlet Witch becomes a new member of the Avengers. Vision is a creation of Ultron who sees the worth in humanity and thus proves the villain wrong. Quicksilver (SPOILER) makes a heroic sacrifice at the end of the film. All of these things mean they're too significant to have such little attention given to them. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch hate Stark and so they ally themselves with Ultron. After realising that Ultron plans to destroy the world they switch sides. Fine, makes sense, but why is their hatred of Stark instantly forgotten? By the time Quicksilver dies we just don't know enough about him to care.

Vision sees the worth in humanity. Why? Because he's also Jarvis? Maybe, the film doesn't spend a lot of time on it. As it stands it feels like humanity has Vision's trust without earning it. Vision comes out of his little creation pod with his personality and motivation fully formed, and he even pulls his costume out of nowhere. Ultron also suffers from being rushed into existence. Just as the Vision has no clear reason for liking humanity, Ultron has no clear reason for hating it. Banner and Stark literally create him over three days. Ultron then scans the internet and decides the best way to fulfil the mission Stark has given him (protect the world) is to kill everyone. It makes no sense, he's a baddie just because. Also, why does he even need Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch?

In any other series of films all this might be forgiveable, but Marvel is notable for having fleshed out their characters over several films. With a hero as fully formed and complex as Tony Stark running around, the dodgy motivations of Ultron, Vision, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver stand out like a sore thumb.

The ending of the film also left me feeling dissatisfied. Ultron levitates a huge portion of a city into the air. He plans to drop it back to Earth like a meteorite, causing the extinction of the human race. Captain America is faced with an impossible decision. Destroy the floating city with people still on it or continue to try and rescue them and risk the extinction of mankind. Just as Black Widow is convincing him that they have to blow the whole thing (including themselves) to kingdom come, Nick Fury turns up in a helicarrier and saves them all. I found it extremely disappointing that a character like Cap, who sees right and wrong in simple terms, was posed a dilemma like that and then spared from having to make a decision by a big, fat cop out. Don't get me wrong, I don't think The Avengers should have blown themselves up, but if you're going to give your characters difficult ethical dilemmas I think the solutions should be a bit better than Nick Fury pulling a helicarrier out of his arse.

Oh noes! Teh end of the MCU?

At least as far as I'm concerned this film has fallen short of the high standard set by Marvel with their previous movies. If Marvel want to set up characters like Scarlet Witch and Vision as the next chapter in MCU history then they'll have to work harder than this to make us care about them. But I'm not especially worried. Avengers Age of Ultron has been getting good reviews everywhere else (what do I know?) and let's face it, Marvel have set the bar so high for themselves that they're bound to fall short now and again. If their other recent offering, the Daredevil TV series, is anything to go by the MCU still has plenty of life in it yet.

And of course, Amadeus Cho is still to come!



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Vlog: Superman Should Be Bisexual

May 11, 2015, 3:53 pm
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Here I revisit an old topic, but this time on camera!

 
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Arguing about Superman with a Comics Writer

May 14, 2015, 2:11 pm
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I had an interesting exchange with a comics creator on Twitter last night and it made me realise exactly why I can some times be over-sensitive when it comes to debates involving the greatest superhero ever, Superman.

(I've obscured the identity of the creator because I don't want this to come across like I'm attacking him or settling scores on my blog. I'm a great admirer of his work and I have a lot of respect for him. I'm really just writing this to discuss my own feelings as a Superman fan. It's pretty easy to figure out who he is though.)

The trailer for the new Supergirl series was released last night and it looked pretty amazing. My excitement turned to dismay however when I realised that people on Twitter were already comparing it to the last Superman movie, Man of Steel. I wanted to express my irritation at the fact that fans can't seem to celebrate one thing without simultaneously tearing something else down. The best example of such a tweet came from the aforementioned creator so I screengrabbed it but obscured his name as I wanted to ensure it came across as a general moan about fans rather than a specific attack against him.



His name was subsequently mentioned by a friend in a reply and the creator found our conversation, presumably by searching his own name.  The following exchange occurred:





As you can see, it's a good natured exchange, although I must confess I was left a little irritated by it. It did however help me to put into words why I'm usually left irritated by such exchanges.

I consider myself a pretty big Superman fan. I'm more than a little obsessed with the character. I also, as you may have guessed, loved Man of Steel and felt that it was a perfectly valid interpretation of the character. I'm not going to go into the reasons why I feel it's valid here as that's a discussion for another day but many of them can be found here and here.

Now you may not like Man of Steel and of course that's absolutely fine and dandy with me. After all, I didn't make it, what do I care? But I can't help but feel frustrated when other fans dismiss it as "not the real Superman" and "against the core of the character". It's doubly frustrating when they do so because of some narrow and arbitrary idea of "brightness" and "hopefulness". Personally I found plenty of brightness and hope in Man of Steel, but as I said, that's a discussion for another day.

If you don't like a particular interpretation of a character, fine, but please understand that it's frustrating as a fan to be told that a character interpretation that I'm very fond is "wrong". It's a condescending attitude for a fan to have. It turns fandom into some kind of pissing contest. "You'd realise this interpretation of Superman was wrong if you were only as big a fan as I am." Obviously it's not the worst problem in the world (we are just talking about comics and movies and superheroes here) but it's irritating to be constantly told that you don't understand what makes something you love great. To be constantly told you're getting 'being a fan' wrong. And it's particularly irritating when you want to celebrate something really cool involving that thing you love (in this case, Supergirl), but other fans can't seem to celebrate it without pissing on something else you love.

Let's face it, the "real" Superman has been many things. Let's not turn being a fan of him into a competition.
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Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (1940s Style)

May 30, 2015, 6:09 pm
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I made a 1940s style Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer starring Kirk Alyn & Lewis Wilson. The clips are from Columbia Pictures' 1943 Batman serial and their 1948 Superman serial. It was inspired by Bobby Burns' retro style Batman v Superman trailer.
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The Best of DC Comics' New 52

June 2, 2015, 4:50 pm
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Since the New 52 is officially over today here's a list of my favourite titles released under that banner. You should definitely read them all!

Grant Morrison's Action Comics

Just imagine Grant Morrison's mind-bending cosmic concepts done in the style of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's fast paced, kinda rushed, two-fisted, angry, joyful, passionate, early Superman strips. Well you don't have to imagine it 'cos it's all in the first 19 issues of the New 52 Action Comics!

Highlight:
The first 8 issues, Superman & the Men of Steel. Superman laughs at danger, dangles corruption of a roof and then takes a running jump into space to punch evil in the face.



Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo's Batman

Simply phenomenal comics. Snyder and Capullo find brand new things to say about a 75+ year old icon, and brand new ways of saying it too. Up there with Miller, O'Neil & Adams, Grant & Breyfogle, Englehart & Rogers, and all the legends of Bat-history.

Highlight:
Zero Year. Writing a new origin for the character was a brave move considering how beloved Frank Miller's Year One is, but Snyder and Capullo gave us an epic tale chock full of imagery that's destined to become just as iconic and revered as Miller's work.





Geoff Johns'Justice League

I can understand why the first year of this book wasn't everyone's cup of tea, even though I loved it. The first story arc, Origin,  is a big dumb punch-up, while the second arc, The Villain's Journey is quite dark. But in the second year artist Ivan Reis came on board, the Throne of Atlantis crossover began and Justice League became more of a place for the punch-the-air superheroics that made Geoff Johns famous. This book has made a Cyborg fan out of me and issues 28 & 29 will make the Metal Men your new favourite characters.

Highlight:
When a superhero comic crosses over with another title the results can often be messy and inconsistent. But Throne of Atlantis, a crossover with Aquaman, is exciting, consistent and coherent, and thanks to Ivan Reis and Paul Pelletier, it looks amazing. Trinity War, a crossover with Justice League Dark and Justice League of America isn't quite as successful, but it contains one of the greatest reveals of a spy in the heroes midst in the history of comics. The subsequent event that spun out of the events of Trinity War, Forever Evil, is one of the greatest Lex Luthor stories ever told.




Brian Buccellato and Francis Manapul's The Flash

Whenever people have bemoaned the darkness and lack of traditional superheroics in the New 52 my reaction has always been to tear my hair out and scream "BUT WHAT ABOUT FLASH!!?? READ FLASH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!" There's not a speck of grim or grit on Barry Allen, he's still a straight up, decent, honourable, super-goddamn-hero getting up to traditional super-heroics. If he's not vibrating a crashing plane safely through a bridge he's posing for photos for a grateful public. This book was also one of the most beautiful looking comics on the stands. Manapul was always finding inventive ways of showing Barry's powers that always enhanced the story and were never distracting or clever-for-the-sake-of-clever. Buccellato and Manapul's Flash was just pure fun.

Highlight:
The first arc, Move Forward, introduced Mob Rule, a new character with a really original power that made him a perfect Flash baddie. Later there came the Reverse arc which introduced a brand new Reverse Flash with a compelling new origin that tied him to Barry's sometimes love interest, Iris West.




Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang's Wonder Woman

Azzarello made great use of Wonder Woman's ties to Greek Mythology during his run. But rather than trot out the old beardy-men-on-clouds cliches, he and artist Cliff Chiang gave us inventive, modern twists on the Greek Pantheon, while at the same time really playing up the dysfunctional family aspect of the mythology. They also played up Wonder Woman's warrior side, while simultaneously keeping her compassion and capacity for love front and centre. Add to this some gorgeous art, a shocking new origin, and the funnest version of Orion of the New Gods ever, and you've got one great comic.

Highlight:
During the second arc, Guts,  Wonder Woman is shot with Eros' pistols and betrothed to Hades, god of the Underworld. The reason for her subsequent escape is one the greatest WW character moments ever.
"I love everyone."




China Miéville's Dial H

This title had a ton of mind-bending concepts and crazy, imaginative superhero parodies, but it was all grounded by two relatable and thoroughly likeable lead characters. The unlikely relationship between Nelson Jent and Roxie Hodder is as much fun to read about as the weird identities they dial up.

Highlight:
Cock-a-Hoop! Definitely Cock-a-Hoop!




Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino's Green Arrow

Oliver Queen is a character who has been portrayed at various times as a Batman rip-off, an angry hippie, and a middle aged activist. Perhaps as a result of the power and resonance of these versions of the character the title initially floundered a bit as writers struggled to find an appropriate voice for a youthful, New 52-ified Green Arrow. But then, starting with issue 17, Jeff Lemire began to establish a distinctive new status quo for the character as he introduced the mysterious Outsiders; several clans of warriors, each masters of a different weapon. He also began to explore Ollie's reasons for being on the island where he mastered the bow and arrow. There are undoubtedly nods to Mike Grell's famous Green Arrow run from the '80s, and the recent Arrow TV series, but Lemire has built a brand new mythology that fits the character like a glove. Andrea Sorrentino added to the distinctiveness by giving us some artwork that looked like no other superhero book on the shelves. Hopefully their work should serve as inspiration for subsequent writers for a long time to come.

Highlight:
Lemire's first arc is one of the most powerful opening storylines of any run. The status quo established in the previous 16 issues is torn apart piece by piece as Ollie is stripped of his money and gadgets and left with only his wits and a handful of arrows.




The New 52 offered a lot more great comics, including:

Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder's Action Comics
Geoff Johns'Aquaman
Greg Pak's Batman/Superman
Batman Eternal
Adam Glass'Suicide Squad
James Robinson and Nicola Scott's Earth 2
Jeff Lemire and Travel Foreman's Animal Man
Grant Morrison's Multiversity
Scott Snyder and Jim Lee's Superman Unchained
Geoff Johns and John Romita Jr's Superman.

The New 52 also had a lot of major flaws (see here). But Morrison's Action Comics, Snyder & Capullo's Batman, Johns'Justice League, Buccellato and Manapul's The Flash, Azzarello and Chiang's Wonder Woman, Miéville's Dial H, and Lemire and Sorrentino's Green Arrow are some of my favourite comics ever, so I'll always be grateful to the New 52 for them.

What were your favourite New 52 comics?
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Doctor Who and the Greatest Brian Blessed Anecdote Ever

June 16, 2015, 2:38 pm
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My great pal Madeley and I were reminiscing on Twitter yesterday about one of our favourite Doctor Who related anecdotes so I thought I'd dig it out and share it with the world. In 2002/2003 Doctor Who Magazine (issues #321-325) ran a huge Colin Baker interview in which the magnificent Sixth Doctor reminisced about his life, his career, and his time on Doctor Who. It's an extremely candid interview in which Colin Baker comes across as a warm and witty man with a great love for the programme. It's full of brilliant anecdotes but this one about the mighty Brian Blessed (who played King Yrcanos in Trial of a Timelord) is definitely one of the best.


If you're a Who fan I recommend tracking these issues down on ebay. It's a fantastic interview.

On a personal note, later in 2003 I met Colin Baker when some friends and I hung around in the bar of St David's Hall in Cardiff after watching him perform in a production of HMS Pinafore. We told him we enjoyed the performance and he asked if we were music students. We apologetically told him we were Doctor Who fans and he reassured us, "That's ok, you're allowed to exist." He then signed autographs for us and enthused about Doctor Who's return, which had just been announced a few months previously.

He remains my favourite Doctor.


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DC Comics' Kevin Dooley VS The W.E.T.R.A.T.S

June 21, 2015, 2:40 pm
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DC Comics and Marvel Comics are currently putting their characters through quite a few changes. Captain America is black, Thor is a girl and the Marvel Universe has been completely destroyed, save for a single "Battleworld" on which alternate versions of Marvel's Heroes & Villains battle for dominance. Meanwhile over at DC, Superman's secret identity has been revealed by Lois Lane, Commissioner Gordon is Batman and Wonder Woman has pointy bits on her bracelets! Online fans have been divided once again between those who cry "This character has changed too much, it's all ruined!" and those who cry "What's the point, it's just going to change back to the status quo?!"

For the most part I'm enjoying the ride, although I have had the odd fanboy moan over the cancellation of Fantastic Four. It's amusing to see fans, some of whom are older than me and should know better, acting as if this is the first time the Big Two have monkeyed around with their characters in order to shift a few extra comics.

In the early 90s Superman was killed and Batman had his back broken, and it all ended up being quite a money spinner for DC. DC sought to repeat this success in a number of ways, for example Green Lantern went evil and was replaced by a younger model, while Aquaman had his hand chewed off by piranhas. The editor in charge of the changes to GL and Aquaman was a man named Kevin Dooley. Dooley apparently got sick of the constant complaints he was receiving from hardcore fanboys and eventually, in the letter column of Aquaman #0 (Oct, 1994) he let rip. His infamous WETRATS rant is still bitched about on message boards to this day, but I have to say, I completely agree with him. Most of what he said can easily be applied to today's fans and today's comics. The only difference is that many of today's fans are moaning because comics aren't more like they were in the '90s!

Here for your enjoyment is Kevin Dooley's WETRATS rant (I've highlighted the bits I thought were particularly relevant today).

What do you think? Are you a WETRAT?


Intro to Letters Page - Part 1

Intro to Letters Page - Part 2

Reply to letter


Reply to letter

Reply to letter


Closing column - Part One 
Closing column - Part Two

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Doctor Who: Is Maisie Williams Playing Susan?

July 9, 2015, 4:51 pm
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The BBC have released the trailer for Doctor Who Series 9! It's already set me (and countless other fans) off on wild flights of fancy, trying to figure out what the series has in store for us. The biggest question posed by the trailer is, just who is Maisie Williams playing? The Doctor seems to know her and she seems to know him. They seem to have not seen each other for some time ("What took you so long, old man?"). Could this be The Doctor's granddaughter, Susan?

If this is the case, this is pretty huge!

As we saw in The Name of the Doctor (2013) Susan escaped from Gallifrey with her grandfather, The Doctor back when he first nicked his TARDIS. She was with him right at the start! Apart from The Name of The Doctor (where we only see the back of her head) she hasn't been seen properly in the TV series since she was abandoned by The First Doctor in future London following The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964). Well, technically she turned up in The Five Doctors during the '80s, but she didn't really do much except fall over for no reason, so that doesn't count.

There was one blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment in the trailer that backs up the theory that Maisie Williams is Susan. If you look carefully during the trailer you can glimpse a grey Dalek with smaller lights on it's head...
The Dalek is blurry but what we can see of him looks very much like the Daleks seen in Dalek Invasion of Earth, Susan's last appearance!



Am I right? Probably not. After all, my Missy theory was way off. But it's fun to speculate. Can't wait for the 19th of September!

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Josh Trank's Fantastic Four (Hanna-Barbera Style)

July 15, 2015, 2:27 pm
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When I was a kid the Hanna-Barbera Fantastic Four cartoon was on at six on a Saturday morning. I didn't have an alarm clock so I made myself get up really early and then just watched Ceefax until it came on. Needless to say I can't wait for Josh Trank's Fantastic Four, so I made this.



UPDATE: Look who shared (and loved) my video!!!! OH MY GOD!!!! :)
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A few thoughts on Ant-Man (SPOILER-FREE)

July 20, 2015, 3:38 pm
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Ant-Man is a fun film that I intend to rewatch a lot in the future. Having said that, there was something missing in the film for me. It's difficult to say this without sounding like I'm doing some tired 'small' joke, just like every other reviewer of this film, but Ant-Man is a lot more lightweight than the other Marvel films. I came out feeling like I'd just watched a particularly good TV pilot rather than a great movie. 
At first it was difficult to put my finger on what was missing from Ant-Man. I thought at first that it might be Paul Rudd's performance. It felt like he was going for Robert Downey Jr's laid back attitude but ended up coming across as flat and unengaging. 
But that wasn't it. 
Then I thought it might be the charmless, dull, bog-standard villain, played by that bald bloke out House of Cards. But let's be honest, there have been other Marvel films that have suffered from weak villains (Guardians of the Galaxy being the latest) and that usually doesn't spoil the film too much.
Then it hit me. Ant-Man really feels like the ghost of an Edgar Wright script. 
Ant-Man was originally to have been scripted by Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish, and directed by Wright. Somewhere along the line Rudd apparently rewrote the script with the new director, Peyton Reed. I must emphasise at this point that I had honestly forgotten all about this when I entered the cinema and while I'm a fan of Wright's work, I didn't enter the film with any prejudices about "the film we could have had". Despite this however, lines and scenes that should have been hilarious raised only a smile or a brief laugh. To me, these scenes felt like they'd been conceived by Wright but executed without his pace or wit. If you gave a Spaced script to a director who was unfamiliar with Wright's humour and timing I imagine you'd get a similar result.
This certainly isn't true of every scene. There's a lot that works. The ending, while predictable, is beautifully executed. Michael Douglas is fantastic, a joy to watch in every scene he's in. He's helped by the fact that Hank Pym's backstory and the way it fits into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of the most interesting parts of the film. Evangeline Lilly is for the most part great, but unfortunately has very little chemistry with Rudd.
Ant Man's not the strongest Marvel film ever, but it's still very entertaining. And come on! Edgar Wright or no Edgar Wright, bloody Ant-Man just made $58 million in its opening weekend! Ant-Man! That's awesome!!! Truly we are living in a golden age of cinema!
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Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is over, and so here is my ranking of every Marvel film so far from favourite to least favourite (although I must emphasise, I love them all). Feel free to shout at me in the comments.
1. Iron Man (2008)
2. The Avengers (2012)
3. Iron Man 3 (2013)
4. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
5. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
6. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
7. Iron Man 2 (2010)
8. Thor (2011)
9. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
10. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
11. Ant-Man (2015)
12. Thor: The Dark World (2013)
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I met the real life Hal Jordan & Barry Allen!

July 23, 2015, 5:27 pm
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Tonight I was lucky enough to meet some genuine, real life heroes!

On 14 October 2012, Felix Baumgartner flew approximately 24 miles into the stratosphere in a helium balloon before free falling then parachuting to Earth. While falling Baumgartner became the first person to break the sound barrier, becoming the Fastest Man Alive! Truly, a real life version of Barry Allen, The Flash!

Baumgartner also broke the record for the highest altitude jump. This record was originally set by Baumgartner's mentor, retired USAF Colonel Joseph Kittinger, who also jumped from a helium ballon, in 1960! Kittinger is a fearless test pilot who is basically a real life version of Hal Jordan, Green Lantern!

Here's me with Felix Baumgartner:



Here's me with Joseph Kittinger:


Here's Baumgartner's capsule and pressure suit:



I was also lucky enough to meet Helen Sharman, the first Briton in space! Sharman travelled to the Mir Space Station in 1991. Here's my astronaut selfie:


Very cool people! It was an honour to meet them.
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Josh Trank's Fantastic Four: Review (SPOILERS)

August 6, 2015, 6:20 pm
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THIS REVIEW CONTAINS LOADS OF SPOILERS



Since Fox's most recent Fantastic Four movie was announced the knives have been out. It feels like all over the internet fans have been desperate for this movie to fail. In some cases this desire has been motivated by racism. In other cases it's because idiots think that if this film flops then the movie rights to the characters will return to Marvel.  Every report of behind-the-scenes drama has been used to confirm this negativity. As a result of all this I went into this film willing it to be great. I love these characters and I loved director Josh Trank's last film, Chronicle, so I wanted this film to succeed.

So, does it?

No. Not quite.

That's not to say that this film is the disaster that many are painting it to be, there's lots to love about it. But it's also a very flawed film, and to my eyes it seems that much of the blame for these flaws can be pinned not on Trank, but on interference from the studio. This seems especially likely if the aforementioned rumours of reshoots and behind-the-scenes strife are true.

The first two-thirds of this film are brilliant. It's very much Reed Richards' story, which works well for me, since he's my favourite character out of the four. We see Reed grow up as an unappreciated boy genius, with only his best friend Ben Grimm to believe in him. Both characters are established as products of dysfunctional households who's only real family is each other. Their friendship is established so well by Miles Teller (Reed) and Jamie Bell (Ben), and the child actors who play their younger counterparts, that it almost seems a shame when Reed is whisked off to the Baxter Foundation to work on their interdimensional teleportation project.

At the Baxter Foundation, Reed finds a surrogate family in Sue Storm (Kate Mara), Johnny Storm (Michael B. Jordan), their dad, Franklin Storm (Reg E. Cathey), and arrogant computer genius, Victor Von Doom (Toby Kebbell). Their family bond is established in some lovely flirty-nerd scenes between Teller and Mara, and some great father-son conflict between Cathey and Jordan. There's also a fun 'working-on-the-project' montage. The film got me invested in the characters quite nicely and made me anticipate/dread the impending disaster all the more.

The cast really are excellent. Teller plays Reed Richards very well, with a nerdy, vulnerable charm, and Jordan's charisma prevents Johnny from coming across as too much of a brat. Bell is solid, stoic and loyal and Kebbell is beautifully arrogant. Mara comes across well with what little she has to work with, and that brings us to one of the film's major flaws.

In the comic Sue Storm, and her (perhaps misplaced) faith in Reed is one of the main reasons that the quartet steal their rocket and head off to the stars to get transformed by cosmic rays. She motivates the cautious Ben Grimm into accompanying them by accusing him of cowardice. The decision to face the journey and it's inherent risks is very much hers. In the movie she is robbed of this choice, as she is absent when the other four (including Doom) drunkenly decide to go on an unauthorised trip to the newly discovered dimension. Reed calls on his old pal Ben, who is not a member of the project, to accompany them, but none of them think to call Sue. She only appears after their journey has been made, and gains her powers in the explosion that ensues when she helps to retrieve them from the other dimension. It might be quite in character for these young, macho, and rash men to neglect to call Sue, but the slight is never addressed in the film.

It seems to me that it would have made far more sense in the context of the film for Sue to accompany them and Ben to be left behind to retrieve them, since he was not involved in the project but was familiar with Reed's early work. Ben's later resentment of Reed would have made a lot more sense if he had not actually agreed to accompany them on their mission. Sue is shown to view their powers not as a gift but as "aggressive abnormal physical conditions" so why doesn't she resent Reed more for what he did to her?

Sadly this is typical of how the film treats Sue. Her description of her pattern recognition abilities and their relation to music is pretty much the only good character moment she has. Her other character moments are all about how she relates to Reed and Johnny, and after she gets her powers the film seems to lose interest in her completely and she ends up being nothing more than the provider of a big, bubble-shaped taxi for Reed and Ben. A waste of Kate Mara and a waste of Sue Storm.

After the quartet gain their powers (Doom is abandoned, presumed dead, in the other dimension) the film turns into a pretty decent body-horror movie, made all the more effective by all the work the film has done in it's first half to invest us in the characters. Trank has said that he was inspired by the work of David Cronenberg. This is particularly evident in our first experience of Reed's stretchy powers. Reed seems to be in some pain and his naked limbs seem almost slimy. This emphasis on the creepier aspects of their powers is completely in keeping with the spirit of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's early Fantastic Four comics, where even Sue's relatively harmless power is shown to freak people out.




The film skips forward a year and Reed has run away to work alone on a way to get back to the other dimension (or Planet Zero, as it is now named) and find a cure. Ben has been used as a lethal weapon by the American government, with "43 confirmed kills". This may seem controversial to some, but I think it serves to add to the horror of Ben's situation. Johnny is revelling in his powers and is eager to join Ben on his missions. Sue and Franklin understand the nature of these missions a bit better and clash with Johnny as they attempt to dissuade him from going. The family that we grew to love in the first half of the film is in disarray. If the remainder of the film was the story of how this family found their way back to each other, overcoming their difficulties together, and finding the meaning to their failed project in each other, then we would have had ourselves a pretty decent film.

Sadly, somebody, I suspect Fox, had other ideas, and the remainder of the film ends up being a rushed, cack-handed attempt at a traditional super-hero movie.

A bunch of different scientists are sent back to Planet Zero to find a cure. Instead they find Doom. Doom has had his spacesuit molded to his body. He's also found a cape on this uninhabited, previously undiscovered planet. He's brought back to our world, where he suddenly decides that he's had a guts-full of humanity and that he's going to destroy our Universe and go and live on Planet Zero. Doom has a little speech at the start of the film about how he has no faith in humanity, but no further motive is given for his decision to destroy us other than he's mental and he fancies Sue. He's nothing more than a rampaging monster, and this seems like, once again, a waste of a good actor's talents and the waste of a good character.

The Four go to Planet Zero to fight him. They inexplicably don't need space suits any more. They have a bog standard super-hero battle, kill Doom, and then return to our world where they stand heroically over a giant crater, like it wasn't all their fault in the first place. The American government then decide for some crazy reason that the kids who unleashed all this horror on the world by getting pissed and stealing an interdimensional teleporter are actually superheroes and give them a big superhero headquarters. The Four share a cheesy joke in their new digs and the film ends. It really is that stupid. From the moment Doom was retrieved I felt like I was watching a completely different film. Other than my problems with how the film handled Sue I was thoroughly enjoying it and then suddenly this clever, well crafted film with an excellent cast has a complete lobotomy.

The problems with Fantastic Four can mostly be summed up in a sentence: it's a decent film about scientific exploration, family, & body horror that suddenly panics at the end & tries unsuccessfully to be The Avengers. It's not the travesty that many are making it out to be, and it deserves better than the hate it's received since day one. But it's very flawed and it's pretty heartbreaking to think that studio interference might be responsible for these flaws. Obviously I don't know the full story of what happened behind the scenes but I would be very interested in one day seeing a Special Edition/Director's Cut of this film. Maybe then we'll get the truly fantastic film I was hoping for.
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I went to Sheffield Comic Con!!! (2015 Edition)

August 16, 2015, 9:04 am
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I've just returned from Sheffield Film & Comic Con 2015, and just like last year I had an amazing time and met some lovely Doctor Who people! This year I met Colin Baker (my favourite Doctor), Nicola Bryant, and Peter Purves. I've met Colin and Peter before but it was no less of a thrill this time.





I attended a Q&A with Colin and Peter and was able to tell them how much I enjoy their work for Big Finish. I also asked Peter what he thought William Hartnell would have made of recent Doctor Who episodes. Peter said that he thought Hartnell would not have liked New Who as, like him, he would have found it hard to follow. Colin agreed that he often found New Who's plots hard to follow, despite being a fan of complex drama such as Twin Peaks. Peter added that he thought Hartnell would have liked Big Finish, and then both he and Colin spoke highly of the quality of the scripts and production of Big Finish's audio adventures. I'm inclined to agree with them on the quality of Big Finish, and although I love New Who I agree that Steven Moffat's "timey-wimey" plots can occasionally be a bit hard to swallow.

I was also lucky enough to meet one of my favourite artists, Lew Stringer, who draws for, among many other things, The Beano and Viz. We chatted for quite a while about the perils of internet blogging, and he was kind enough to draw one of my favourite Viz characters for me, Suicidal Syd.


All in all a fantastic weekend!
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Empire Magazine's Batman v Superman cover: 1930s style!

August 28, 2015, 6:34 pm
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Last month's Empire Magazine featured loads of new pics from the upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Of particular note was the brilliant cover, which featured Henry Cavill's Superman and Ben Affleck's Batman striding towards the reader. The cover also peeled back to show our heroes in their civilian guises. I loved it so much I decided to draw the cover in the style of Batman and Superman as they originally appeared in the '30s, when they were drawn by Bob Kane and Joe Shuster respectively.




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Fantastic Four in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

August 30, 2015, 1:22 pm
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Currently the movie rights to The Fantastic Four belong to Fox. They have so far made three films based on this property, but have yet to have a success on the level of certain other superhero movies, namely Marvel's Cinematic Universe, Warner's Dark Knight Trilogy and Man of Steel, and their own X-Men franchise. Many have argued that the only way for us to get a truly great Fantastic Four movie would be to give the rights back to Marvel and make the characters part of their cinematic Universe. I don't think this is likely to happen, but what if it did? How would these characters fit into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and who would play them?

The last Fantastic Four film was a massive flop, there's no denying it. I don't actually think it's as bad as people say it is (as I argue here) but it certainly fell short of my expectations. Rather than being disappointed (as I was), it seems many fans are actually pleased it flopped. Indeed, I think many fans were willing it to be a flop before it had even come out, mainly because they believed that if it flopped then Fox would wash their hands of the property and return it to Marvel. I think this is a foolish attitude. Why wish for a film to be bad because of the slim hope that you may get a better film somewhere down the line? It's crazy. And let's face it, are Fox really going to relinquish movie rights that allow them to use not only Mr Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and The Thing, but also, Dr Doom, Silver Surfer, Galactus, Mole Man, and presumably Annihilus, Diablo, Dragon man, the Mad Thinker, the Wizard, Psycho Man, Red Ghost and his Super Apes, Franklin Richards, Valeria Richards, Nathaniel Richards, Kristoff Vernard, the Future Foundation, etc etc? It's not going to happen.

But what if it did?

Many fans have argued that if Marvel Studios do gain the rights to the FF, then they should place the characters in the 1960s and make the movie a period film. I've always been against this in principle. Fantastic Four should be about looking forward, looking to the future, pushing the boundaries of science and the imagination. But recently I've started thinking, yes all this is true, a 1960s FF film would fly in the face of what the characters stand for, but what I have to take into account is the fact that a 1960s FF film would also be pretty bloody cool.

Just imagine, the year is 1961 and Reed Richards and his family are due to be the first people on the moon. But suddenly SHEILD announce that a different team are heading up instead, one led by a certain Victor Von Doom perhaps. The involvement of SHEILD allows for a cameo appearance by Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) and Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper/John Slattery). Reed and his girlfriend Sue, her brother Johnny, and Reed's best friend Ben, steal the rocket but of course, everything goes wrong. Maybe Reed's rocket could have been made by technology derived from the Tesseract (see Captain America: The First Avenger and Avengers). This alien technology could react badly with the cosmic rays it encounters in space and result in our heroes gaining their powers. Over the course of a trilogy that takes us up to the '70s our heroes could battle Dr Doom, Annihilus (leading an invasion from the Negative Zone), and of course Galactus. Along the way they could even take on an intern, a young genius named Hank Pym (see Ant Man).

The trilogy could end with the FF getting trapped in the Negative Zone, which would explain why they're not in the present day Marvel Universe. Of course, they could always escape the Zone and join the Avengers in the present day, giving us the potential for cool stuff like a Hulk/Thing battle. Or we could see Reed and Sue's kids, Franklin and Valeria, appear in the present day to form the Future Foundation.

Here's who I would cast in Fantastic Four: Dawn of the Marvels (or you know, a less crap title):

Reed Richards: Colin Salmon

Not only is Colin Salmon the best James Bond we never had, but I believe he has that sharp yet warm patriarchal vibe required to make a good Reed Richards. One of Arrow's few flaws is the way it's underused Salmon and his character.

Susan Storm: Jada Pinkett-Smith

Her gloriously OTT performance as Fish Mooney in Gotham has made Smith one of my favourite Hollywood actresses. I think she's adept at action, drama and comedy, and so I can't help but want her to play my favourite Marvel super-heroine.

Johnny Storm: Donald Glover

We need a good looking actor who's young, likeable and funny. Who better than Donald Glover? He famously campaigned to play Spider-Man. That ship has sailed, at least for the moment, so why not have him play the Human Torch instead?

Ben Grimm: Ving Rhames

Rhames would be perfect as Ben Grimm, a rough diamond who carries anger and warmth in equal measure. Ben is the rock that holds the team together, and I believe Rhames has the charisma to play that.

On a side note, a Fantastic Four played by black actors would give SHEILD's secret Hydra agents (see Captain America: Winter Soldier), a reason to try and stop them getting to the Moon. Hydra are, after all, based on Nazis.

The most important thing about any new FF film made by either Fox or Marvel is that it MUST NOT, under any circumstances be based on The Incredibles. I've written about this before, but I feel so strongly about it I'm going to say it again.

A lot of fans like to describe The Incredibles as "the Fantastic Four done right." Let's get something straight. The Incredibles is not "Fantastic Four done right". In fact, beyond a few superficial similarities, the Incredibles are nothing like the Fantastic Four.

They're both a family. They both have members who are strong, who can turn invisible, and who can stretch. THAT'S IT!!!

The Fantastic Four is a comic about an occasionally dysfunctional family of sci-fi explorers and adventurers who do what they do because of their love of adventure, their thirst for discovery, and their loyalty to each other. The Incredibles is an animated film about a family of superheroes who go into hiding because of the public's fear and distrust of them and find themselves struggling to deal with anonymity and a "normal" life. It is entertaining enough but, as my pal Madeley has observed many times, it is also a staggeringly right wing, Randian wank-fantasy where superior beings triumph over us ordinary slobs and our attempts to drag them down to our puny level. "If everybody's special, nobody is" etc. And, hey, if that's your politics, more power to ya, but it's not, in any way "the Fantastic Four done right."

I honestly don't think a MCU Fantastic Four film is going to happen any time soon. But on the other hand, stranger things have happened. Who would have though twenty years ago we'd even be in a position to talk about the FF joining a successful and growing Marvel Cinematic Universe? Here's hoping that the next FF film will be a success, whether it's made by Fox, Marvel, or whoever!

What do you think? And who would you have as Dr Doom?
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Why I love Superman: The Movie

September 5, 2015, 5:53 pm
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Some good friends and I occasionally meet up for a film club. We take it in turns to host a screening of a film that's important to us, and beforehand we'll do a little talk about the film and what it means to us. Afterwards we'll discuss it in depth. It's really nerdy and lots fun. Recently it was my turn, and I of course chose Richard Donner's Superman (1978). Here's the talk I did. 


Superman (1978)

Directed by Richard Donner
Starring Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, Marlon Brando

The first thing I’d like to make clear is that the fact that Superman is my favourite film is not a nostalgia thing. As a child I much preferred Batman to Superman, and it’s only as I’ve grown older I’ve come to think of Superman as my favourite superhero. Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) is the superhero film that evokes warm, nostalgic, childhood memories in me. Superman is simply a fantastic, well made film in its own right that I love because it’s so perfect in every way. I can watch it over and over again and it makes me ridiculously happy every time I do so. 


Richard Donner treats this film as if he’s telling a 20th Century myth that will sit alongside the legends of the Greek or Norse Gods, the Bible, the Mabinogion. John Williams’ iconic music plays a huge part in this, conveying the majesty of the film beautifully and letting you know right from the start that this isn’t some cartoon romp, but an epic adventure!


Superman, the character, is so many different things to so many people and this film manages to encapsulate and convey all of that in a way that’s coherent and entertaining. Within the framework of an epic this film manages to move between so many different genres and tones, and it does so effortlessly.


We begin on planet Krypton, as Jor-El (Brando) exiles General Zod (Terrence Stamp) and his cronies to the Phantom Zone. Not only does this scene set up the sequel (filmed back to back with this film) but it serves to establish the shape and tone of Kryptonian culture and Jor-El’s prominent role in it. It also demonstrates that Krypton is a rich, fascinating world with conflicts and dramas and stories of its own, separate from its impending destruction. Everything is taken completely seriously, which helps the audience buy into this world of ice, crystal and glowing tin-foil suits, and helps convey the mythic status of this story right from the start.

 
Next comes Jor-El’s unsuccessful attempt to convince the Kryptonian council of Krypton’s impending doom. Look out for Doctor Who’s William Russell as a member of the council. The destruction of Krypton feels huge, which is pretty impressive considering all this was pre-CGI. The shot of all those tiny figures tumbling into redness still looks amazing and really conveys the scale and horror of this catastrophe. During all this Brando is clearly on autopilot, but even Brando on autopilot is still Brando, and his nobility and dignity once again help sell the mythic status of the story.


As we see Kal-El grow up on Earth the story transforms into a different kind of myth. It becomes a piece of Americana, complete with a farm, a dog, cornfields, trains, high school football, rock and roll, and even a star from the Golden Era of Hollywood, Glenn Ford as Jonathan Kent. People like to bang on about how Superman “isn’t relatable” but this is the part of the film where he becomes one of us, at least in the eyes of the audience. Not only is he surrounded by recognisable pieces of American folklore (that strike a chord even with non-American audiences raised on such folklore) but he’s a lost, young underdog, looking for his place in the world. A tale as old as time, who wouldn’t feel a connection with him? Once again everything’s taken very seriously, as if we’re seeing a legend unfold before us.


Young Clark eventually finds, or rather creates, the Fortress of Solitude and we see the wonder of Krypton once again, except this time through Clark’s eyes. Clark spends 12 years in the Fortress, studying with Jor-El. This is something unique to the movie, but I’ve always wondered why it hasn’t been used in other adaptations. I love the idea that Superman went through this period of isolation and study to prepare him for his mission. Once again, it emphasises the mythic qualities of the story, and it tells us that perhaps the awkwardness and naivety that will later be displayed by Clark are not completely part of his act.


As soon as we get to Metropolis the tone of the film shifts once more. The legend has been firmly established on a solid foundation of serious space-opera and Americana, so now it’s time to have some fun. Ironically the modern day city of Metropolis is the most “comic-booky” part of the film. Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor is so much fun to watch. Funny, camp, charismatic, witty, and yet when he needs to be, genuinely nasty and cruel. Look at the way he delivers the line “This old diseased maniac would be your banker”. There’s real, cold malice in his delivery. He’s the perfect comic-book villain, complete with a weaponised, secret lair and bumbling henchmen.

 
In Metropolis the story also becomes an epic love story and Lois Lane becomes the character through which the audience views Superman. Margot Kidder’s Lois is one of the most important characters in the film. Her Lois is so human. She smokes, she’s mean to Clark, she misspells words, she changes clothes in the bog before her meeting with the President. Despite, or rather because of her humanity Superman, a godlike figure, falls in love with her, and she with him. It’s an iconic, legendary love story! Lois, whose job as a reporter is to question everything, throws all the cynicism of the audience at Superman and he answers it with a straight face – “I’m sure you don’t really mean that Lois.” Lois is such a real, authentic character, but she believes in this man and so we believe in him too. 


Towards the end of the film Lois plays an integral part in helping Superman to step out of the shadow of Jor-El – “The son becomes the father and the father the son.” Jor-El has emphasised to Superman the necessity of remaining separate from humanity, of not interfering in human destiny. This touches on one of the main contradictions of Superman’s existence. He wants to help but he doesn’t want to hold back humanity, or worse, dominate or control them. This is why Superman wears the costume, and also why he doesn’t fly around overthrowing dictators. He’s not an alien invader; he wants to inspire the best in humanity. Help us to help ourselves. As Jor-El puts it “They can be a great people, Kal-El; they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you, my only son.” But at the end of the film Superman deliberately disobeys his father; he turns back time to save Lois. This could be seen as a selfish act, but Superman is as much human as he is Kryptonian, he was raised as one of us after all. His actions at the end of the film are the actions of a human. A human man turning Heaven and Earth to save the woman he loves.


None of this would work at all if it wasn’t for Christopher Reeve. His amazing performance sells this myth more than anything else. He takes everything completely seriously and conveys the earnestness of the character beautifully. At the same time he’s not completely po-faced either and his performance is warm and full of charisma and humour. His transformation between Superman and Clark Kent is amazing. When he takes off his glasses he seems to grow a foot taller. Never mind “You will believe a man can fly”. Thanks to Reeve, you will believe a man can fool the world with a pair of glasses. 


Superman is often painted as an immature character, particularly when compared to grimmer characters like Batman. But for me Donner’s Superman demonstrates why this is complete twaddle. Batman is a fantasy about punching and frightening the world into being a better place. Superman is a fantasy about showing the world a better way. It’s the belief that when given absolute power a man won’t be corrupted by it, but rather he’ll do everything he can to make the world a better place. It’s the belief that maybe we human beings aren’t such a bunch of scumbags after all. That is what Superman is about, and that’s why it’s my favourite film of all time.


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Desperate Dredd

September 10, 2015, 4:53 pm
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I drew this ages ago and was quite pleased with it, but I don't think I ever shared it on this particular blog.

It's The Dandy's Desperate Dan as 2000AD's Judge Dredd.



There's some more of my artwork here and here.
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