That One Time Legend of Korra Got a Little....Awkward.

So, I recently wrote an article for Black Nerd Problems defending Avatar: Legend of Korra which receives as much shade as it does praise. The first few episodes of Book Three premiered yesterday before even the dvd did. And, without giving anything away, it looked very impressive, improving on minor issues in the past two seasons. In fact, it caused me to go back and take a closer look at Book Two for one issue in particular. And then something occurred to me.

SN: I'm breaking my spoiler protocol to tell you that if you haven't seen Book Two...which aired almost a year ago, there are spoilers after the jump.

Stuff I Read This Week 6/25/14

My reviews for the week are now available on Black Nerd Problems for your enjoyment or to alleviate boredom during your work day. Unless you work at a sushi joint....then you should probably concentrate on not cooking your fingers on those hibachi grills. This week, I took a look at.....

Batman Eternal: Okay, so, I think last week's artwork went over a lot of people's head. And with a cash grab franchise like Batman, you probably don't want the visuals going over people's heads. Now, sometimes, it's okay for the writing to do so (I'm looking at you, Grant Morrison), but definitely not the pencils. Anyway, this week's episode (I call Eternal issues episodes because this is like my weekly Batman tv show) finally moved the "Jim Gordon, Murderer" story along with some delightful results. The point of any good "Trial of..." plotline should be for the prosecution to be so hardcore on your hero, it makes you squirm a little bit. The opening statement against Jim Gordon had absolutely no chill. The one thing I left out of my review is that maybe James Tynion tried just a little too hard to hammer home the point that Tim Drake is the detective among the sidekick family. We get it. He's Sherlock Holmes.

Batman: My editor said it better than I could in his description of my review when he said that Scott Snyder's Zero Year run is going to go down in the books as one of the greatest Batman stories ever told. Ever. Anyone else who does a Riddler story after Snyder has their work cut out for them. Months later, I still marvel at the fact that Edward Nygma hasn't been this deliciously diabolical in years. The best scene is seeing him face to face with Batman who has had to employ every one of his skills just to keep up with Nygma's scheming. I mean, he's been shot at, beaten and literally attacked by lions. I am on pins and needles waiting to see what else Snyder has in store for the finale.

All New Ghost Rider: Now, THAT is a delightfully wacky comic book. Felipe Smith makes no apologies for making an unbelievably ridiculous plotline. If professional wrestling had a James Cameron level budget for makeup and special effects, I suspect this is storyboard for what they would come up with.

Stuff I Read This Week 6/18/14

My reviews for the week are available for you internet adventuring/critiquing/trolling pleasure on Black Nerd Problems. Visit, comment, say hello, pass it around at your leisure. This week, I looked at....

Batman Eternal: I realized that my review for this book has basically become my weekly column for BNP. When you look closely enough, a weekly comic can be like a master class in everything that can go right AND wrong. As much as I love this book, it's been something of a balancing act. A lot of the reason what bring you to this book is Scott Snyder's basic plot. What's got to find some normality is the visuals. Don't get me wrong: Ian Bertram's artwork was fucking awesome and you can never go wrong when your primary influences are Frank Quitely and Robert Crumb. But last week's artwork was such a travesty, it's going to take at LEAST three weeks of strong visuals to make up for it. For the most part, the story/script is strong enough (even when it's cramming a lot of material into one issue) that it keeps things going. Even good television shows have episodes that aren't as strong as others, but don't take away from the overall quality of the series.

Uncanny X-Men: Okay, it's no secret that Brian Bendis is probably one of my favorite writers. His voice for a lot of characters is very distinct and entertaining. Having said that, he dropped the ball this week. The "big reveal" of the villain was an utter fail. First of all, it was as if they spun a game show wheel at the Marvel office and THAT'S what they came up with. Second of all, if that's who he came up with, there was so much potential for symbolism and dialog about the duality and Beast having to face the fact that he's the center of so much going awry in the X-family lately (being that he's the one who brought the Original X-Men from the past and now, for some reason, he doesn't know how to send them back). Instead, all this got swept under the rug in favor of a satisfying but rushed quick fix resolution.

Something I Loved About Watchers On The Wall

So, last week's Game of Thrones was particularly awesome. It might be one of the most well made episodes of the show. I would put it as a close second to Blackwater. I mean, this is evidence of why any one episode of this show stands toe to toe with virtually any feature length film of its genre.

Spoilers after the jump....

Stuff I Read This Week 6/11/14

My comic reviews for this week on Black Nerd Problems are now up and available for public consumption.

Batman Eternal: Okay, I think I'm developing a crush on this book. I mentioned this in the review, but it's sort of addictive in the same way a weekly television show is. One problem is that there are issues where it feels like it crams an hour worth a material into a half hour format. This can be disorienting depending on who's handling script duties that week, but it's sort of a minor problem so far. I can see that the REAL issue with this book from week to week is going to be artwork. Different artists trying to maintain the same aesthetic has has mixed results at best. The visuals have been mainly fantastic lately, but this week's character designs were unforgivable. This is still a solid book, but being a weekly title sort of subjects it to having more issues than a conventional monthly or biweekly book.


All New X-Men: This has been a strong book from the start but this particular run is stellar. It's a really great balance of action and exposition. As much as I love Brian Bendis, he has a habit of leaning heavy one way or the other. He did a great job of keeping things exciting while giving some real gravitas to Charles Xavier Jr (they've REALLY got to come up with some kind of codename for that guy).

Uncanny X-Men Special: Look, I'm not bashing this book, per se. You'll know when I'm bashing a book. It's very apparent. So, no, I don't hate this book. It's really funny and it's a good example of maintaining elements of another writer's aesthetic. But the first issue of any good comic should be the one that justifies the book's existence. It should say right away, "This is why I've gathered you all here today." This book didn't. I hope it at least tries to not seem like a cash grab and an excuse to put Iron Man in stuff (since his own book was a very well put-together "meh" the last time I read it).

The Lois Lane Problem and a Superman Trilogy

So, I was talking to a couple of regular readers about Man of Steel (which I REALLY try not to do because Man of Steel is SO insanely divisive among fans, that I have talked about Man of Steel for long enough to last a lifetime) and one of the elements that seems to garner the biggest love/hate relationship with the audience is Lois Lane. I would argue that Zack Snyder introduces one of the better incarnations of the character. Granted, this one probably gets into twice the trouble of the previous one, but she tells off military officials and shoots evil Kryptonians in the face. That's pretty goddamned fun if you ask me.

But the fundamental flaw in her storyline was finding out that Clark Kent was Superman so quickly. Granted, on one hand, she did pretty much figure out who he was via common fucking sense. ("Maybe if I backtrack through all the times/places someone lifted a steel beam with their bare hands, I might just find this guy.") On the other hand, the dynamic between Clark, Lois and Superman is one of the fundamental elements of the Superman mythology. Lois' relationship to the Clark Kent persona is a reflection of how humanity views the "everyman" in comparison to Superman. People joke all the time about how a Pulitzer Award winning journalist couldn't see past a pair of bifocals, but the joke is one that I believe writers have been more conscious of than most are willing to believe. In the context of this fictional universe, Superman is considered the best, the archetype for what a superhero is. He can move planetary bodies and block bullets. Who would EVER believe that he'd want to pretend he was one of us? The thought is so ridiculous that it eludes Lex Luthor, one of the smartest men in the world. So, it's not unbelievable that it might go over Lois Lane's head.

Honestly, I think it could have been a primary element of a trilogy of movies:

Man of Steel: No forced kissing at the end. My ex and I felt weird cuddling when we found out Amy Winehouse died. I have a hard time believing there's enough adrenaline fueled hornyness between the two of them to have that spark after an entire city has been completely leveled. Keep the Zod plotline (though maybe just a little less Jor-El) except when Lois is searching for the "mystery hero" and ends up in Smallville, have the townspeople (who have blatantly seen Clark's childhood super feats) be comically unhelpful. Give two minute flashbacks for a few people she interviews where they remember that time when "someone" pulled them out of the water, or "that blur" that moved them out of the way of that incoming train. Of course, they kinda know it was Clark, but they'd never betray one of their own. Then show how they're a intricate part of the town's infrastructure and they wouldn't have been able to if it weren't for this well-meaning kid. It's stereotypically midwestern, but it manages to show off one of the things that makes him the hero he is: Superman inspires other people to be their better selves. Even when you're a jerk (maybe Pete Ross or Whitney Fordman in this case). Keep the "welcome to the Planet" ending except show more of Metropolis being rebuilt thanks to Lexcorp. Include a shadowy figure staring out the window at the restoration of the city.

Man of Steel 2 (maybe Man of Tomorrow...I dunno): Clark comes to adore Lois in the traditional way we know, but she is either oblivious or just plain not interested. Eventually, keeping the secret becomes tiresome (include some mildly comic moments of Clark using his power without being noticed) and he starts to wonder if it's time to come clean. Meanwhile, Batman comes into town for a team-up (whether he likes it or not) because Lex Luthor is up to something (a smear campaign about how we can't entrust humanity to "them"....which of course means aliens). Batman will have no doubt deduced that Clark is Superman by the end of the first act and sees him pining for Lois. There's an exchange between them where Bruce tells him that men like himself and Clark, who answer to a "higher purpose", don't have time for distractions like love and that keeping his identity a secret is for the better. Meanwhile, have Lex secretly working alongside Solaris, The Tyrant Sun (it's a good nod to All Star Superman, gives the writers an excuse to use red sun radiation against Superman AND shuts up the fan whining about wanting to see a new villain) to create some kind of "faux" machine that will solve the world's energy problem. At the end, once the day is saved, Clark tries to reveal his identity, but Lois, still oblivious, confesses an epiphany that she's doubtful about Superman being "one of us." Upon hearing this, he keeps his secret. This explores the question of whether or not people knowing who he really is would hurt his ability to inspire humanity to its true greatness.

Man of Steel 3 (I don't have another title for this one): Have Lois try to set Clark up on a date with her sister, Lucy, a slightly wilder soul who is a little more perceptive than she is as far as Clark's "convenient" disappearances go. This would make for a hilarious awkward moment where Clark is trying to explain his way out of having to go save someone. Lucy would see through all the excuses that normally work on Lois. Eventually, Lucy turns away Lois' attempts to get them together because she sees that Clark has loved Lois all this time and is too polite to say so "for some reason."

There's a few good choices for a Big Bad here. Despero, Brainiac, Darkseid (except I would honestly save Darkseid for the first Justice League movie), but I would run with Mongul, bringing his colosseum space station/planetoid, War World, to Earth in search of Earth's Greatest Champion. Superman must fight a gauntlet of alien champions or risk Mongul's superior invasion forces destroying the Earth. During his time on War World, Supes notices that the while the arena itself is a beautifully kept technological advancement like he's never seen before, the citizens outside live in terrible poverty with streets in disrepair (thus highlighting the contrast between Superman, a powerful being of human morals that never lets down the little guy versus Mongul, a powerful despot that ignores the little guy "for the good of the realm" who sees himself alone as "the realm") but looks past it at first because he doesn't want to risk the Earth in a slugfest. Of course, upon Big Blue's victory, Mongul later goes back on his word and attacks the Earth anyway. Fearing he may not come back from this fight, Superman finally tells Lois he's Superman and that he loves her "until the end of time" (another All Star reference) before flying off for a ridiculously epic fistfight with Mongul himself. The battle itself should probably reenact some parts of the Doomsday fight in the comics (without actually using Doomsday because he's the most overused element of Superman mythos except maybe kryptonite). Meanwhile, maybe there can be a scene where we see the military reports detail that there are other costumed heroes fighting Mongul's invasion forces in different parts of the world. Don't show them in full view but allude to the usages of the powers. Show Wonder Woman's lasso pulling a spaceship down into the water, the Bat-plane dogfighting in the sky or green arrows taking out troops on the ground. At the end, give us a post credits scene where Batman beams himself and Superman up to the Watchtower and then shows the Justice League in full view and introduces the Martian Manhunter who says something to the effect of "My name is J'onn J'onzz of Mars and I come with a warning. 'He' is coming."

"He" can be Darkseid. Anyway, this is just a basic outline of one way to makes Superman's identity an ongoing theme, but how to incorporate the Justice League for future movies. I threw a good amount of All Star Superman elements because I feel that, honestly, it's one of the best Superman stories that encompasses everything that makes him who he is. Feel free to discuss, approve and/or reject amongst yourselves. Just saying....the shit could work. Then again, I could be wrong.