Hi, everyone.<\/p>\n
We have a lot to discuss. I\u2019ve been writing my silly little articles and supporting games that I really love (Savage Rifts only<\/i> beat their Kickstarter goal by $430,000 over, so, let\u2019s all take a moment for how great that is) or what happens in the ending credits at a film that shot for; and attained; mediocrity, but that has been a means of avoiding the real issues that I want to approach (which is why I missed like five weeks of articles).<\/p>\n
So, in this article, I\u2019m going to touch on some important stuff I missed, then focus on some current things that I enjoy, and finally, talk about some stuff that\u2019s coming up.<\/p>\n
Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice<\/b><\/p>\n
As the incomparable Jordan Spencer was unloading tons of praise upon this film, I, the comic book historian with encyclopedic knowledge of Marvel and DC, failed to comment on my thoughts of this film. A great deal has been said in praise of BvS and a great deal more in condemnation of it. In fact, it could be argued that the internet hate of this film has altered the course of DC films, from this point forward.<\/p>\n
A couple weeks ago, comic book writer Geoff Johns (pronounced jee-OFF j\u2019ONZZ) has been asked to co-chief the DC Movies, taking the role of \u2018DC\u2019s Kevin Feige.\u2019 Now, it should be noted that Feige started his career in films and was made an associate producer on the first X-Men<\/b> film due to his knowledge of the Marvel Universe (which really makes me wish I had just gone to LA to work in film rather than try to write comics for years and years), and went on to hold the reigns on ALL the creative elements of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Meanwhile, although Johns\u2019 focus has been on comics, he does have some films and television credits to his name, including writing some episodes of Justice League Unlimited<\/i><\/b>, Blade: The Series<\/i><\/b>, Smallville<\/i><\/b>, Arrow<\/i><\/b>, and co-producing the Green Lantern<\/b> film which starred Ryan Reynolds.<\/p>\n
Which\u2026 well\u2026 you know.<\/p>\n
To be fair, Johns was also an executive produced on Batman V. Superman, so it would seem as though he, at the very least, shares some level of vision with Zach Snyder, which probably means less of a sea change than people are expecting from him. However, to comic book fans of DC Comics in the 1990s, Johns is best known for having been responsible for the return of Hal Jordan (after having turned evil, redeemed himself while sacrificing his life, and returned as the host of the Spectre) and Barry Allen (who had given his life to save the universe in Crisis on Infinite Earths<\/i><\/b>).<\/p>\n
My immediate concern with Johns brought in as a pinch-hitter on the newly-Christened DC Extended Universe (where they totally missed the boat, because if they had called it the \u2018DC Universe – Extended,\u2019 we internet personalities could go around holding our plastic wine glasses filled with box wine saying D-CUE, which would be amazing), is that he\u2019s generally brought in to fix things that are only broken to a certain segment of the population which management seems to believe is all of the population.<\/p>\n
I was enjoying Green Lantern comics before Hal Jordan returned and I haven\u2019t bought a single issue of the series since the last one of Green Lantern: Rebirth. I will always choose Wally West as the best Flash, with the many stories revolving around being in the shadow of his mentor being powerful and moving tales (and Mark Waid\u2019s talent shining through on every page). In fact, with the return of Barry, I ended up just quitting collecting comics for some time (and still haven’t returned, although my subscription to Marvel Unlimited and my occasional purchases on the Marvel Comics and DC Comics apps fill in the blank that comics once occupied). So, for me as a fan, Geoff Jones represents a return to course that concerns my continued enjoyment of these films.<\/p>\n
And, to be clear, I enjoyed Man of Steel<\/b> (it was my pick for movie of the year, 2013) a great deal and Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice a great deal more (it will probably be in my top five\u2026 2016 has been a great year for films, though). I thought Affleck gave an excellent performance as a grizzled, veteran Batman; a version we\u2019ve never seen in live action, before; Henry Cavill gave another excellent performance as the Last Son of Krypton, Gal Gadot stole the show as Wonder Woman, and Jesse Eisenberg gave an amazing performance as a twisted, obsessive Lex Luthor. I think that all these characters exist so firmly in the zeitgeist that the fact that they are owned by a comic book company, making them mercurial and evolving, is lost on the vast throngs of the populace who expect Bale\u2019s pursed-lipped brooding, Hackman\u2019s scene-chewing real estate scams, and Reeves\u2019 pablum-filled delivery of something he had read a few minutes prior.<\/p>\n
Plus, the released scene that is called ‘Communion’ explains a lot<\/em> of stuff that is going on with Luthor…<\/p>\n