07 May 2010

Evolution of the Batman (and Robin) - Batman: Gotham Knight


In 2008, Batman Gotham Knight unnecessarily (and not really) bridged the gap between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight via animated anime shorts. Here is a highlight from my review. "From start to finish, Batman: Gotham Knight is sheer eye candy and just like when you fill up on candy without a real meal, you will go to bed with an upset stomach." The best part of this movie was seeing all of the varying deigns of the Batsy. It was also a treat to hear Kevin Conroy from the animated series reprise his role as Batman.

There were 6 delightful tales:

Have I Got A Story For You

The opening tale had three kids each giving their account of an encounter with The Batman (think BTAS "Legends of the Dark Knight"). It was cool to see these interpretations of Elseworlds Batmen, even if the idea itself wasn't too original.

The first described a monster that could melt into shadows.

The second kid described Batman as a Man-bat with fangs wings and claws.

The third described him as a robot.

The real shock is that after these three fantastical versions of Batman we see the real deal who turned out to be kind of a fat guy.

Crossfire

Next up, the story shifted from the perspective of kids to that of the Gotham PD. Who got caught in the crossfire between two rival mafia organizations. I guess these guys were in The Dark Knight, but I can mainly guess that from their dogs, not their faces.


Field Test

This tale included Lucious Fox inventing a bullet diverting pulse that Batman could fit into his suit. But fearing that ricocheted bullets could hurt his assailants, Batman opted out of the device. The Caped Crusader looked more like Chickenman than Batman. Wayne didn't look much better.

In Darkness Dwells

In this segment, Batman tangled with Killer Croc of all people (reptiles?), and dodged a couple of scythes thrown by Scarecrow. It was nice to get some action even if the idea of Scarecrow from Batman Begins leading an underground cult seems a little odd. This Batman looked the most like that in Batman Begins.

Working Through Pain

In this segment, a wounded Batman had a number of flashbacks to his days learning to manage pain.

Oh, and we also got to see Batman through the eyes of a fear toxined thug. Cool.

Deadshot

The final segment offered a great looking Batman taking on Deadshot, who, though not a super well known villain, fit into the tone of this segment brilliantly. Sure, it didn't tie into a bigger arc either, but at least there is a self contained plot which some of the others seemed to lack.


Overall, it seemed like someone had an ambitious idea for a Batman movie, but in order to get it ready in time to release with the new theatrical film, they had to slice and dice it and farm it out to 6 companies. Some did better than others.

Up Next: The Dark Knight

Batman Serial * Batman and Robin Serial * Batman '66 TV * Batman '66 Movie * Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder * Batman on Scooby Doo * Batman the Super Friend * The New Adventures of Batman * Batman '89 * Batman Returns * Batman: The Animated Series * Batman: Mask of the Phantasm * Batman Forever * Batman and Robin * The New Batman Adventures * Boo Wonder * Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero * Batman Beyond * Gotham Girls * Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker * Batman on Justice League * DCAU Crossovers * Birds of Prey * Teen Titans * Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman * Chase Me * The Batman * Batman Begins * Batman Vs. Dracula * Justice League: The New Frontier * Batman: Gotham Knight *

* Special Musical Edition * Special Christmas Edition *
Special OnStar Edition * Special Never Happened Edition * Special Canine Edition *

Summer is Here Iron Man vs Hex

Not too much of a contest this year... Marvel once again will take the crown.

05 May 2010

Airbender Marketing Heats Up

A couple of new posters and a trailer have arrived for The Last Airbender. At this point I am confident that this movie will look phenomenal. I am still on the fence that the story will come anywhere near to doing justice to the first season of the animated series. I am hoping this movie finds enough success to greenlight parts 2 and 3. The potential visuals alone from those moves are enough to get me drooling. On top of that the story exists as a three part tale, each with a distinct setting. Here is a franchise that sequels would not be completely redundant.



04 May 2010

Summer 2011 Mutates With a New Announcement

Under pressure of short deadlines and studio meddling, director Matthew Vaughn bailed on X3 (after casting Beast) at the last minute to go and make Stardust instead. X3 got Ratnered and fans were not happy. Today it was announced that Vaughn and Fox would reunite under a short deadline to bring us an X prequel AKA X0 next summer, beating Wolverine 2, Deadpool and other rumored X-Spinoffs out of the gate. The June 3 release date squeezes the mutants in between Thor and Green Lantern with Transformers 3 and Captain America also coming in July. 2011 looks epic for superheroes. With this quick release date, there is surely more news to come soon. Here is a snippet:

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, following the classic Marvel mythology, charts the epic beginning of the X-Men saga. Before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Before they were archenemies, they were closest of friends, working together, with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop the greatest threat the world has ever known.

Will the Movie Green Lantern Do the Electric Slide?

Another leaked concept image from the Green Lantern movie. Not bad, though I hope the final CG costume isn't quite so sparkly.

Green Lantern's Brightest Days #13


#13 Justice League : The Savage Time

The true measure of a hero shouldn't be his powers, but how he acts without them. In the Justice League episode, The Savage Time, John Stewart and company go back in time to prevent meddling that allowed the Axis powers to win WWII. During the course of events, the green lantern ring ran out of juice.

Lack of powers wouldn't stop the ex-Marine from keeping on fighting. John joined up with Sergeant Rock's Easy Company where he continued to play a critical role in defeating Vandal Savage's army.



#25 - Justice League Unlimited: Initiation - John Stewart's new look
#24 - Batman: The Brave and the Bold: Death Race to Oblivion! - Guy Gardner's Lanternmobile
#23 - Justice League of America: Pilot - Doesn't air
#22 - Justice League Unlimited: The Once and Future Thing: Time Warped - Hal Jordan joins the league
#21 - Legends of the Superheroes - Lantern goes live-action
#20 - Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths - Darker shade of green
#19 - Batman Beyond: The Call - Lantern of the future
#18 - Static Shock: Fallen Hero
- Hero Worshiped
#17 - Batman: The Brave and the Bold: The Revenge of the Reach! - Loads of Lanterns
#16 - The Batman: Ring Toss - Gotham by Greenlight
#15 - Justice League: Hearts and Minds - More to the Corps
#14 - Justice League Unlimited: The Return - The Corps is Greener Yet
#13 - Justice League: The Savage Time - Ringless

03 May 2010

Iron Whiplash Unveiled

It wouldn't be an Iron Man movie without a brawl between two iran clad warriors. Mecha-suit is afterall the ultimate weapon. Up until now I had assumed Whiplash was going to face off against Iron Man without full body protection as seen in the movie trailers.

Turns out Whippy realized he was a bit vulnerable and Mongered up. Voila.