Announcement: October Monster Month

Since we'll be entering the month of October the next day, I figured a bit of Halloween and horror-related posts would be a lot more fitting. There is quite a lot of subjects to talk about, though I'd rather close in on a couple of aspects that I enjoy about the season and genre: monsters.

Its amazing with all the different cultures in the world have stories passed down talking about dark creatures hiding out in the world ready to devour any unsuspecting souls. I want to cover a few of them over the next couple of weeks, going back to where they first appeared to the different interpretations they've manifested as across the mediums of entertainment.

I want to avoid the obvious talking about vampires, werewolves, zombies, and the like for at least this month. I may talk about different takes of them, but on the core they'll mostly be pushed aside. There is certainly a lot more to grab from the stories than just the obvious.

Come back this Friday for my first post for the theme: The Wendigo.

Thoughts on Upcoming 'Overwatch' Closed Beta

This isn't even the current roster

I've gotten tired with writing the past few weeks of 'doom and gloom' with DC's upcoming releases. Wanted to focus on more upbeat subjects instead and maybe lay off the comics for a little while (at least a week). 

Thankfully, we have 'Overwatch' to help with that.

For those unfamiliar with the game, it is Blizzard's latest release not based off of any prior IP (Starcraft, Warcraft or Diablo, to name a few). It is, however, developed after the cancellation of Blizzard's secret development 'Project Titan', which spun out into this game.

The story of the game is a future Earth has been in war with robots for a couple of decades. Overwatch was the group developed to fight the robots, even becoming a peace keeping organization after the war. However, corruption within the ranks caused the group to fall apart, though many of its members are still around to keep up the good fight as mercenaries. 

The gameplay itself is more First Person Shooter with games like 'Team Fortress 2'. Maps include objects like moving an object from point A to B or defending certain places to score points and whatnot. Locations vary from different parts of the world people would recognize, like England, Russia and Egypt, though with highly advanced technology and aesthetics.

The characters the player may play as? Incredible. They've only just  released 18 different characters that have different weapons and abilities to use in combat. Still, they can all be sorted in four different categories:

• Offense: High damage dealers that are plenty in number and will help you widdle down your opponents in a hurry.
• Tank: The 'big guys' who can take a lot of damage and dish it out at the same time.
• Defense: If you need to save and protect a point of interest, they are the characters for you.
• Support: They help buff your team with heals or status effects, as well as change the arena up a bit.

I've already got a short list of characters I'm liking so far. Lets see...

"Cheers, love. The cavalry's here!"

Tracer is a speedy Offense character that has quickly become the poster child for the 'Overwatch' game. Caught in a time displacement problem, her condition is now managed that allows her to dart quickly across the field and recall herself out of tight spots. Her bubbly personality keeps the game feeling quite upbeat, as opposed to the darker entries in Blizzard's catalog.

"Death walks among you."

Reaper is a guy who just likes to kill. While he sounds static in personality, his Offense combat style revolves around dual wielding shotguns and shadow abilities allow him to move fast and kill faster. He certainly bears a grudge against Overwatch since its dissolution, taking a personal pleasure in killing off former agents. Not somebody you'd want to encounter period.

"Justice will be done."

A cool old guy in powered knight armor wielding a giant rocket-propeled hammer? Awesome. Fits well as Tank character too. 

"Together, we are strong."

A female Tank who subverts the usual body type in games and goes for a muscular build to fit the role. On top of that is a gravity cannon that will wreck havoc on enemy positioning. All for the sake of protecting people rather than personal glory.

"Build'em up, break'em down!"

Yes, he looks so much like a dwarf and his Defense role fits in line with someone so dwarf-y. He's got the turret building of the Engineer, but can also overheat his personal forge to activate 'Molten Core', allowing him increased health, speed and attack power. Size matters not here.

"Come on, let's bring it together!"

A sound-based Support who can passively heal or speed up his teammates, as well as boost that power for a short time. He is a Brazillian who rebelled against a corporation who attempted to buy up much of the people's land for themselves. He even used their own technology against them with his sound blaster and skates. Still, he's a pretty chill guy after all that.

Its been a good long while since I've been excited for an online team shooter game. I could never get into stuff like 'Halo', 'Call of Duty' or even 'Team Fortress 2'. I like a cartoony style as much as the next person, but it doesn't hurt to have a little bit more. Plus, I feel better jumping into a game recently released (even in beta form) than joining in on something that has been going on for years.

Cross your fingers and hope for the best, yeah?

Until next time...

Batman V Superman: Launchpad for DCCU or Overhype Collapsing on Itself?

No surprise this was going to be a follow-up on the previous posts. Its not even out until next year and people are still debating whether or not it will pay of or flop harder than a blue whale breaching.

News and rumors keep popping up with each passing month, both drawing up interesting and angering people at the same time. Its expected at this point, but it can be confusing to those who don't seem to get why. Why do some people get so upset over it? Well, the answer is pretty obvious once you look at the movie making history of DC's Superheroes.

Between 1978 and 1997, Warner Bros have been releasing lice action movie series revolving around the seperate adventures of Batman and Superman. They never met on screen before, but did develop a following through their films outside of the comics. Superman was prominent during the late 70s and early 80s, as Batman took over through till the late 90s. Funny enough, both characters had four movies released around them, yet the last two would be critically panned and fallen out of favor. Add the release of the box office bomb of 'Steel' and Warner Bros laid off the movie superheroes for nearly a decade.

'Catwoman' came out in 2004, so the less said about that, the better.

It wasn't until 2005/2006 that both characters would be reintroduced to the audience on the silver screen. 'Batman Begins' came out in 2005 and turned into a rebooted trilogy for the caped crusader that won a few Oscars for itself. 'Superman Returns' came out in 2006 and was sort of a rehash/continuation of the old 80s Superman stories. The former gave the Batman even more popularity, while the latter dropped Superman live action movies off for nearly a decade.

Then came 'Green Lantern' in 2011 and that didn't survive much as well. The idea of 'light-hearted superheroics' seemed to dwindle in Warner Bros/DC's plans for their cinematic universe.

Two years later, the reboot of Superman, 'Man of Steel', hit theaters with a barrage of mixed reactions, both highly positive and negative. Some praised for its updated take on the Superman story. Others hated it for taking the character too dark and serious. Other praising and complaints (cause opinions are weird like that) include the cinematography and scripting.

And now we're fast approaching 2016, where not only we'll get 'Batman V Superman', but also 'Suicide Squad'. Why am I bringing up that movie in a post involving the two most iconic superheroes in the business? Cause the 'Suicide Squad' is becoming a part of the DC Cinematic Universe. As such, it is giving us a fair share of what to expect from the universe.

All I can see is dark, depressing, deranged and destructive imagery after seeing that trailer. I know BvS won't be anything like that but it doesn't exactly build a pleasant image of their Earth. Those possessing skills and abilities greater than any normal being are quickly feared and distrusted by the regular folk. In the trailers, we already see Superman either being worshiped by people as a savior or demonized. Its a bit of how Marvel tended to go about their stories in the comics.

To explain, many people (myself included) believe that DC and Marvel have a different ideology to writing their characters. DC is more of characters you look up to, while Marvel is characters that you can relate to. This isn't entirely true, as you can relate to someone in DC while look up to someone in Marvel. Another thing, something I picked up awhile ago, is how many of marvel's characters are subversions of 'power fantasy'. To make a long story short, power fantasy is the belief that when men get power, they can use it for good without consequences. While it may not seem intentional, Marvel has created characters whose abilities and skills have consequences for their lives, like Spider-Man ended up losing not only his uncle, but also his girlfriend in the early comics.

How does this relate to the current coming of 'Batman V Superman'? I believe that DC has been trying to go along the same lines as Marvel by trying to make their characters more relatable, but end up going the route of 'dark' and 'edgy' material. After all, this was the same company that had the Joker's face ripped off and stapled back to his face.

I'm certainly in the camp of people who have mixed feelings about Jared Leto's Joker portrayal.

Interviews for the movie certainly paint a positive picture from many of the cast and crew. Zack Snyder, director of the movie, has similar thoughts as well. Though, with remarks like how 'Ant-man' was simply flavor of the month of Marvel movies, shows he might be developing a grudge against the company. 'Ant-man' was a movie fraught with troubled production that released a product that was fine in general and not that much of a flop. An easy target to call out on compared to major hits like 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and 'Avengers'.

Snyder's own praise for his work seems pretty straight forward and expectable, like how Batman was going to need more screentime for audiences to learn where he fits in the universe. Digging a bit, I learned how Snyder brought up 'mythology' when describing the Batman and Superman universes. From what I know about mythology, it comes a lot from word of mouth written on marble, granite, or paper from ancient civilizations. It tends to change a bit from area to area, whether it be large or small alterations. Given the nature of comics, 'mythology' is a rather appropriate term, but one Snyder may run into the ground if he keeps referring to it like an easier answer than straightforward.

No offense to anyone in 'Batman V Superman', but they still need to tread water carefully with their work. A couple stinkers and negative reactions have lead to this movie being one watched carefully. Many things could go wrong (or go right) for this movie. It all comes back down to whether not people will be buying what Warner Bros/DC are trying to sell. Many certainly would go to see it, but depending on 'word of mouth' and online reactions, it may help or hinder the movie to become a success.

As always, it comes down to the public to decide if the movie truly succeeds or fails.

Superman: For Truth, Justice, and the Grim, Dark Way?

Superman. Pretty much the poster child of what it means to be a superhero. Clad in colorful spandex, possessing abilities and skills beyond that of any human being, and trying to do what's right not just for his adopted home of Earth, but also the universe.

And DC has been having trouble with that concept over the last decade or so.

Its been something ongoing (or at the very least, popping up every once in awhile) where DC tries to make Superman more acceptable and relatable to the readers. After all, you have a better chance of relating to someone who isn't invulnerable, can fly and lift objects in the range of several hundred tons. Certainly explains a lot of the popularity for street level heroes like Batman, Green Arrow and Black Canary.

Still, there is that love of sci-fi adventure and such, so Superman should still have a strong hold of fans with interplanetary menaces and whatnot. Wasn't exactly stopping DC from doing bold things to the character.

Like changing him up during the 'New 52' launch.

The idea was to change him from an adopted alien, growing up in humble roots of Midwest Kansas that saw the best in a lot of people to someone who ended up more of a jerk who did whatever he wanted. Kind of over simplifying that bit, though it isn't surprising to to find the sales plummeting even faster once this rendition came to stores.

It certainly didn't help much with the 'Man of Steel' movie that was released in 2013. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was, but not really good either. Looking back on it now, a lot of the movie was plagued by bad script writing, some stale acting and muted cinematography (real life had more colors than this movie did). Among some decisions were to make Superman a bit more 'apathetic' at times, more mopey and uninterested. Hardly someone who would become an icon of superheroes. While this was set up to be his start as Superman, it feels like a long trip just to reach that point.

Trailers for the upcoming 'Batman V Superman' don't exactly help either. True, it is at least addressing some actions that happened in 'Man of Steel' like the destruction of Metropolis and the battle with General Zod. It doesn't really shake up the color palette that much, not to mention the scene where Superman's own mother says something along the lines of 'you can help these people, but you don't have to since they owe nothing to you.' Seriously, when I heard that they got people who did 'Argo' to write this, I thought it was turning out for the better, not the worse.

The whole premise of turning established characters 'darker and grittier' could lead to numerous results. Could work, could lead to 'narm charm', could lead to a break down of the original character that makes people ask, "Why did you do it in the first place?"

Superman's problem in this day and age has come from creators, writers and artists trying to fix something that wasn't broken. Certain ideas have stuck around to make the character better, sure, but others where throw out in the open to test the waters and ending up sinking to the bottom.

Right now, the core of the character needs to be remembered:

His kindness, his humanity, his dedication to helping his planet, and the realization that even with all his power, he is not a god.

He is Superman.

Batman: An Overdose of Pop Culture

The Dark Knight. The Caped Crusader. The World's Greatest Detective.

He is Batman.

Created in 1939 by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, he debuted in Detective Comics #27.
75 years later, he would become one of the biggest icons of DC Comics alongside Superman and Wonder Woman.
He has appeared in his own tv shows, movies and video games about his adventures in the fictional city of Gotham.
His allies and enemies are recognizable and remembered, adding to the mythos of the Man who became the Bat.
In 2016, he would be alongside Superman for 'Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice', which would be Warner Bros and DC's launch pad for the DC Cinematic Universe.

And honestly...I'm tired of it.

Don't get me wrong, Batman has become an amazing hero and character. He's been a part of my life ever since I was a kid. I've seen the cartoon, read the comics, watched the movies and played the video games. I've enjoyed Batman.

That enjoyment has been left at the waysides.

There's a saying that having 'too much of a good thing'? That's was it feels like for me (and maybe a few others). I keep seeing the character popping up everywhere, hardly staying down as something to have money made off of. I know there are a lot who enjoy it and don't mind, but that's just the majority. I want to talk about the minority of people who are tired with the Batman mythos.

Its not the fact that he is popular. Hating something just cause of its popularity is a bit inane and stupid. However, the way his popularity has been used is certainly justifiable for dislike and boredom.

A lot of people realize that a the mythos of the character (supporting cast, geography, rogues gallery) has become something so ingrained into the DC universe that it isn't hard to pic out connections to that same mythos. There is so much attention to it by both artists and writers that different comics have spun out from it. Not just on adventures of Batman (which can be different series in of themselves), but also of his wards like Nightwing, Robin and Batgirl (each having at least a few comics of their own) and even some of his villains like The Joker and Harley Quinn (seriously).

With so much of the spotlight on Batman, the other major characters of the DC universe don't get even half that kind of attention. I'm not referring to B- to D-list superheroes and villains, that's pretty understandable. But what about some of the bigger names? 'Green Lantern', maybe. What about the other parts of the Trinity? I don't recall either 'Superman' or 'Wonder Woman' getting as many spinoffs like the Dark Knight with their own mythos.

I know some are saying, "But Superman and Wonder Woman are so much more powerful than Batman! He's more relatable than either of them since he is human! He's so dark and grim and it makes him awesome!"

A couple of things to that:
1. He's got a silly concept (being a guy who dresses up as a bat to fight crime). Throw in how much 'dark and grim' you want with the guy, it is still a silly superhero character.
2. Both Superman and Wonder Woman are capable of dark stories too, despite being rather primary colored with fantastical elements.
3. When a common way to end an argument of how Batman can win fights 'with enough prep time', it is a bit to try and relate to that character.

A lot of people say he's one of the only DC heroes people could relate to. Sort of, at least discounting his excessive wealth. There is a reason one of the jokes surrounding him is that he has the power of 'money'. Its amazing the kind of insane feats he has had to deal with over his career,despite being considered by many to be 'only human'.

In no specific order, Batman has:

• Had his back broken after several days of prolonged fighting,
• Suffered from the poisoned blood of the Joker  (see 'Batman: Arkham' series)
• Complete disintegration
• Out-paced the Omega-Beams by the god Darkseid (which have never missed before, even against Superman)
• Ended up time traveling through several past incarnations of himself (long story)

Apparently, 'only human' allows you to survive some crazy stuff. Superhero stories, people. Its amazing the kind of stuff Batman can pull off without people calling 'bull' on, but when it happens to others, the tune seems to change.

At this point, I'm dragging on. The big point is this: the longevity, along with the stellar talent that has pilled onto the stories over the years, of Batman helped expand its mythos incredibly far. He manages to fit in different styles so well, he might as well be known as the 'ChameleonMan'. Campy or brooding, joking or terrifying: the character has become so multifaceted, I doubt it would be years for the character to ever become stale.

Anyway, that's it for me. Hopefully, I can get out of this funk by next week.