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Post by umbralwalker on Mar 19, 2015 17:46:46 GMT
There is no argument that Marvel trounces DC in the movie theater, and rightly so, but in the animated series/film front, the DC Animated Universe deserves every accolade it receives. If you know me at all, you know my favorite animated series of the past 10 years are Justice League Unlimited, Avatar: TLA/Legend of Korra, Wolverine and the X-Men, and the yet-to-be-beat Young Justice. I would go into detail about why Young Justice is incredible from a plotting, writing, and character development standpoint, but you can just read my review of season 1 here: richatthemovies.blogspot.com/2012/08/young-justice.htmlLuckily for everyone, Season 1 is on Netflix. Unfortunately, Season 2 is not yet. On the animated movie front, my top list (in no particular order) are: Green Lantern: Emerald Knights Justice League: Flashpoint Paradox Batman: Under the Red Hood Batman: Son of Batman Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths Justice League: Doom
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Post by umbralwalker on Mar 19, 2015 17:53:28 GMT
I literally learned to read on Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes and have never stopped loving that series. Every time I was sick my mom would grab a stack of comics from the spin-rack at the local drug store for me to read (comic stores were rare in the 70s). It was typically a mix of Spider-man, Batman, and Superman comics, but my love of them came actually from my older brother. He was a huge fan of DC's non-superhero lines, like Warlord, Weird War Tales, and GI Combat (plus Marvel's classic Conan). The only superhero comic he loved, though, was Legion, and I remember the day he go so tired of me just flipping through his collection that he locked me in our bedroom and wouldn't let me out until I could tell him the plot of the Legion comic I was looking at.
I wasn't a big reader back in the day. I always thought I was slow so didn't bother. Turns out I'm actually quite fast, but my father reads full novels in 24 hours so I just thought I was defective. It took a few times of me lying to my brother before I actually sat down and read it. I was hooked (and he let me out of the room).
I asked this on the Marvel thread and I'll ask it here as well:
What is your first DC comics moment?
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Post by joatmoniac on Mar 19, 2015 20:47:43 GMT
For me it was super dark Batman comic (sadly I don't have it or remember which it was now) that really hooked me on the character. It was able to showcase who Batman was and what he was willing, and not willing to do to get the job done. I was into some Superman comics for a time as well. I stay current on the Batman title currently running. I think the fact that DC has yet to truly meet Marvel on the movie battefield is very frustrating. While I'm a Marvel die hard I would LOVE to see DC come out with some amazing movies that could compete. The new Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice: Jam Packed Jamboree seems like it will pull a Spiderman 3 at some point.
However I wholeheartedly agree that DC owns the small screen in a very big way that Marvel will be hard pressed to compete with for years. I don't know that there has been an animated DC product that I haven't like, and would say my favorite is Batman - The Dark Knight Returns.
I'm totally going to watch Batman Beyond now, or maybe Batman TAS, or Teen Titans ... not again Rich! Too many good ideas, haha.
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Post by umbralwalker on Mar 19, 2015 23:59:25 GMT
I'm totally going to watch Batman Beyond now, or maybe Batman TAS, or Teen Titans ... not again Rich! Too many good ideas, haha. Young Justice should be first on your list. Don't wait. Ask DM Chris. Once you watch it once, you'll want to watch it a second time to catch all the stuff you missed. It's a tight storyline that drops hints in early episodes about what's upcoming, but you don't realize until the second time through (or the 12th). The Justice League Unlimited Season 1 should be next (technically the 3rd season of Justice League, but they changed the title and shortened the stories to 30 minutes). Great story about the JL's interaction with the US government.
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Post by umbralwalker on Mar 20, 2015 0:00:45 GMT
I think Marvel has a great chance of putting some incredible small-screen stuff together with their Hell's Kitchen crew on Netflix. WB/DC is dropping the ball again not tying their TV universe to the movies, but all I can do is sit an shake my head at them.
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Post by joatmoniac on Mar 20, 2015 0:06:18 GMT
I know! It's crazy that they very specifically have stated to not tie the tv shows and movies, and to not have "silly" or "funny" movies. It can only be all dark for so long before people just get sad and don't want to watch the movies. I love the Arrow/Flash crossover episodes, and maybe the crazy spinoff that is rumored will do well too. Gotham is ok, but has way too much wink wink nod nod we are in Gotham before Batman, and not enough of just showing Gordon and Bullock. Constantine was pretty solid, and I hope it gets picked up again.
I will watch Young Justice next instead, haha. I agree that the Justice League is really good. If I remember correctly the early episodes (before the name change) the episodes were somewhat tropey in that they would just get a few of the main stays plus the guy with the perfect powers to stop the problem, haha.
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Samuel Wise
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Post by Samuel Wise on Mar 20, 2015 0:50:40 GMT
I know! It's crazy that they very specifically have stated to not tie the tv shows and movies, and to not have "silly" or "funny" movies. It can only be all dark for so long before people just get sad and don't want to watch the movies. It does seem rather counterintuitive. How can you pull BATman (man + bat just think of how corny that sounds) out of the sixties and not pull a few jokes? One of the reasons I never really cared for the new batman is because the old one (1966) was much lighter (albeit cornier). But, you know, some days you just can't get rid of a bomb!
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Post by friartook on Mar 20, 2015 13:26:00 GMT
I think Batman should be dark. He's a spoiled rich kid who was traumatized by his parents' death. He dedicates his entire life to fighting and defeating criminals, but its all based on kicking @$$. Its all about revenge at its core, and that is dark. All the honor stuff is just dressing up vengeance to make it morally palatable. The Frank Miller Batman: Year One graphic novel was the first comic I picked up based on story rather than art (I avoided The Watchmen until I was in my late 20's just because I didn't like the art style, boy was I missing out!). Oh, and for the record, Batman and The Watchmen are the only DC comics I ever cared about
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Post by umbralwalker on Mar 20, 2015 15:59:21 GMT
I will watch Young Justice next instead, haha. I agree that the Justice League is really good. If I remember correctly the early episodes (before the name change) the episodes were somewhat tropey in that they would just get a few of the main stays plus the guy with the perfect powers to stop the problem, haha. There were definitely some gems in those first 2 seasons, but it was after the name change when the plot got awesome. The scenes with Batman facing off with Waller are priceless.
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Post by umbralwalker on Mar 20, 2015 16:03:14 GMT
I know! It's crazy that they very specifically have stated to not tie the tv shows and movies, and to not have "silly" or "funny" movies. It can only be all dark for so long before people just get sad and don't want to watch the movies. It does seem rather counterintuitive. How can you pull BATman (man + bat just think of how corny that sounds) out of the sixties and not pull a few jokes? One of the reasons I never really cared for the new batman is because the old one (1966) was much lighter (albeit cornier). But, you know, some days you just can't get rid of a bomb! They aren't pulling Batman out of the 60's, or they shouldn't be. Though extremely popular at the time, it was the epitome of the CCA censorship version of Bats and is one of the worst interpretations of the character. What I find interesting is that the reason most people like Marvel comics is because of their brooding, serious characters and plotlines, while DC fans enjoy more heroic, somewhat lighthearted heroes with seriousness to balance things out. Yet they flip those ideas in the movies. Actually, Marvel does a brilliant job of balancing drama with comedy and WB/DC hasn't figured that out yet; at least not in their movies. As I mentioned, the DCAU does this brilliantly and Young Justice is the TV eq of Marvel's films--a balance of tight storyline, impressive character arcs, team dynamics, a beautifully realized world full of DC heroes (the League plays an integral part in both seasons).
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Post by umbralwalker on Mar 20, 2015 16:05:04 GMT
Oh, and for the record, Batman and The Watchmen are the only DC comics I ever cared about This is pretty common for folks who prefer Marvel over DC generally (I know DM Mitch is in the same boat). The reason is that Marvel comics tend to be darker, grittier, and more "realistic", and Bats fits that bill. As does Watchmen.
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Samuel Wise
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Post by Samuel Wise on Mar 21, 2015 0:33:02 GMT
What I find interesting is that the reason most people like Marvel comics is because of their brooding, serious characters and plotlines, while DC fans enjoy more heroic, somewhat lighthearted heroes with seriousness to balance things out. Yet they flip those ideas in the movies. Maybe that is true, like I've said in the Marvel page I am more of a purist. I raise my eyebrows at anything not written by Stan 'the man' Lee. And anyone who has read Stan Lee's comics knows where Marvel gets its lighthearted feeling. Since I (usually) only read Stan Lee's works I am partly surprised that Marvel has that reputation. It was certainly not in its origins... As for Batman, your right. He was a darker character before 1966. I guess I just loved the 1960 Batman comics too much!
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Post by joatmoniac on Mar 25, 2015 21:16:56 GMT
Well guess what you did Rich!? I'm hooked now, haha. I was hooked as soon as Danny Trejo was the voice of Bane. I knew from then on they could do no wrong! Now I just need to find the time to binge it out.
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Post by umbralwalker on Mar 25, 2015 21:44:30 GMT
Well guess what you did Rich!? I'm hooked now, haha. I was hooked as soon as Danny Trejo was the voice of Bane. I knew from then on they could do no wrong! Now I just need to find the time to binge it out. It's an awesome ride you can take again and again.
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Post by joatmoniac on Mar 25, 2015 23:57:50 GMT
It also feels like I'm playing Baldur's Gate, the narrator is Martian Man Hunter and Sarevok is Red Tornado. All around some amazing voice acting on the show. I am sad season 2 isn't on Netflix. I'm not there yet, but I am already looking at the best way to watch it soon.
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