Preparing for Batman V Superman: A Review of the DC Comic Kingdom Come

Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross was released 1996. In many ways, this comic was ahead of its time in questioning “do superheroes hurt or do they save?” The ideas and themes written and questioned in this comic are something that I can imagine becoming a DC Comics movie if the upcoming Batman V Superman and Wonder Woman films are successful.

Kingdom Come focuses on Batman, Wonder Woman, Norman McCay (I will tell you more about him shortly), and of course, Superman. The story begins with premonitions from a dying man are given to Norman McCay, a priest (with no powers other then these dreams and visions). The premonitions are of an apocalypse brought on by the destruction and power created and given by superheroes.

Superman is alone and in hiding after the death of his human loved ones. But Wonder Woman seeks him out to tell him about his son, Magog. Magog was fighting another person with powers (as we expect in comic books) but that fight lead to the death of many. A crime that is against everything Superman believes. No justice was given. Magog faced no consequences. This, and Wonder Woman’s urgings cause him to seek control over the ‘metahumans’ and to force them to live according to the dream he originally had when the Justice League was created. But many of the metahumans do not share this dream. They use their power without control and use it to their own ends; not justice or peace.

The humans, including Lex Luthor and Batman, have finally had enough. They see the lack of control metahumans have, and the power that they are inflicting upon humans. Lex Luthor claims to want to give humans control over their own lives without living in fear of metahumans. Lex Luthor’s motivations are very clear but I questioned Batman’s. They become clear throughout the story. Lex, as usual seeks a way to destroy the metahumans, including all those on Superman’s “good” side and even those against it.

This journey is seen through the eyes of Norman McCay. Norman has no control over his visions, and the Spectre leads him through the visions as the apocalypse begins.

Overall, I enjoyed the read. I have not personally read many, if any, comics that question superheroes’ effect on society and humans or the government, economy and policing. And when we do it is simply fear and lack of understanding (clear example from Marvel- all of the X-Men comics). Humans fear the power and try to control it but ultimately bow down to the superhero or metahuman with admiration (example: Batman and Ironman). This comic showed the aftermath of that original bowing down. Currently, Marvel is also attempting to discuss this type of aftermath with Captain America: Winter Soldier and Agents of SHIELD. Though, Marvel’s is very different and is focused on SHIELD and not just the superheroes themselves.

I recommend this comic to anyone who is a comic book fan but is in a midst of frustration with all the storylines, reboots, and ten year movie plans. Anyone who ponders this question and ponders the outcome of superheroes almost running the planet (and in many ways, the judicial system) will enjoy the way the comic unfolds. Also, the art is beautiful.  

My favorite character throughout the comic is the priest, Norman. I was surprised by the realism of Shazam. The development of his character is a very realistic outcome of his origin story. 

Overall, this comic deserves 9 out of 10. A point was withdrawn for a lack of women and the epilogue. The most prominent woman in the comic was, of course, Wonder Woman. Power Girl was also present but, as far as I remember, did not speak. Any other women floating around on the background of the gorgeous art barely spoke, if at all. But Wonder Woman herself was a very well developed character and her character design was not overtly misogynistic. None of the female drawings jumped out at me as overly sexualized which I found to be very refreshing for a comic. The epilogue, on the other hand, slightly undid my enjoyment of Wonder Woman (as I want to be spoiler free, I will not discuss this further). As a writer, I understand the want to give closure but epilogues always seem to disappoint. Like many other disappointing epilogues, it was very much focused on the cute and happy. For me personally, it was too neat and tied with a bow. 

Feel free to disagree in the comments.

Manic Monday: Dear Vampire Diaries, you know you aren’t Buffy right?

I’m going to start this rant off by saying The Vampire Diaries is a CW show. You know going in that the acting and writing aren’t going to be masterpieces like Breaking Bad was or even as engaging as Grey’s Anatomy. But at this point, I am ready to drop kick The Vampire Diaries off my “Must Watch Forever” list.

This season of the Vampire Diaries is way, way, way too similar to season 4 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer; a show that, in my opinion, is on the previously mentioned Must Watch Forever list and is a masterpiece like Breaking Bad. So if you haven’t been keeping up with Vampire Diaries or have never watched Buffy please stop reading because:

Spoilers are running wild

Here is the magical “Let’s rip off Buffy” recipe:

Step One: Let’s go to college but never go to class unless we are investigating.! Anything else necessary to say? 

Step Two: Mysterious deaths and occurrences surrounding a Sexy TA and a well loved Professor.

This step may need more explaining. In Buffy we had Riley, and Maggie Walsh. In Vampire Diaries we have Jesse (Caroline’s crush), and Wes (the biology professor). Riley, unlike Jesse has been perfectly aware of the strange occurrences. Jesse isn’t aware of Wes’s experiments until he is the test subject. 

Step Three: Evil organization experimenting on monsters

In Buffy we aren’t fully aware of the Initiative being evil until a little while on, but in Vampire Diaries we are already aware of the cruelty of Augustine. Both of these organizations experiment on monsters and both aim at the creation of a monster that will kill monsters. (At least, this seemed to be the goal of Augustine in the episode were Jesse dies. Now I’m thinking there is possibly more going on.) The Initiative is military funded, and Augustine is a secret research society but hey, the similarities are endless.

Step Four: Someone is captured by the evil organization.

As if the comparisons between Spike and Damon weren’t already there. Now we learn that Damon was experimented on in the past, and now he’s been captured again! What will they do to him? Put a chip in his brain making him unable to bite humans? Wait… that sounds familiar…

Step Five: ???

I’m not sure what’s next for this recipe. But I won’t be surprised if Caroline becomes a lesbian now that her werewolf boyfriend has left her. No joke, her WEREWOLF boyfriend has left. If Caroline falls in love with a woman (especially a witch) I will not watch this show anymore. There should be more LGBT relationships on this show, but that stealing from the Tara/Willow romance on Buffy will be more than I can handle.

One last thing to rant about is how didn’t I notice that Stefan is Angel and Spike is Damon sooner? I think I’ve joked about it due to the love triangle. But now that Stefan has been locked in a safe and left to drown for a few months (Season 3, Episode Tomorrow), I can’t stop thinking about how much like Angel is he. Angel is a good man, atoning for his mistakes and he does everything he can to help those he cares about. But he has a dark side that can be triggered. Stefan is also a good man, atoning for his mistakes and does everything he can to help those he cares about. And he has a dark side that can be triggered! Ugh. 

Please Vampire Diaries, I don’t expect you to win an Emmy but let’s stop this blatant stealing. 

Throwback Thursday: Beyond: Two Souls; Did it live up to the hype?

AND I'm back! After many hours of commuting and working too far from home, I found a new job that gives me more time. Hope you missed my rants, reviews, and recaps. 

Spoiling spoilers.

 

 The world of David Cage is a dark one, full of grief and heartache. After the intensity of Heavy Rain I expected a lot from Beyond Two Souls. Especially due to my excitement over the actors.

Heavy Rain was intriguing to me due to the way the story was broken up and how we experienced the story through the eyes of all the main characters. The choices made the game truly feel like they mattered at the end of the game. This really wasn’t the case with Beyond Two Souls.

But let’s be positive for a moment. The acting was awesome, and at the end of the game I felt a lot of emotion over the choices that we get to have Jodie make. As much as some of the moments felt cheesy, I couldn’t help but care.

My favorite character would have to be Cole whom I have deemed Jodie’s adoptive mother. You may laugh at me for saying that but if Cole was a woman you would be thinking the same thing. Jodie is his ‘little princess’ for life and he loves her even when she is an angry teenager and makes Aiden possess him. 

My least favorite character? Ryan Clayton. This man meets Jodie when she is forced to leave Mommy Cole and Daddy Dafoe, and my choices for that conversation have Jodie almost throwing a temper tantrum and Ryan yells at her! So my reaction to her wanting to sleep with him? Please destroy him, Aiden. I continuously denied Ryan’s advances, which leads me into the negative aspects of my review... I kept saying no to Ryan but in the end did she say she loves him and kiss him? You bet. I played the ending where you choose to be with Ryan and I felt very bothered by Jodie saying her and him never talk about it or any of the things they’ve been through. That isn’t healthy, in my opinion. You can’t pretend your life didn’t happen. Each ending proves that by the fact that she still has to face entities in the future. And is she with anyone in those endings? Only when you choose life with Zoe. 

My favorite is absolutely the Sarah Connor/terminator ending with Zoe. This is my favorite because she chooses love but not a romantic kind of love.

Least favorite, of course, is the one where everything is terrible and you basically fail. This ending frustrated me greatly because throughout the game there is no fail state. When I messed up holding buttons and moved the wrong way there wasn’t much of a change in the game that I could readily notice. You would have to react but it didn’t mean the end of the game. But all of the sudden it does mean a lot. I messed up buttons and it was game over. I ruined everything. Let’s compare this to other games. The Last of Us? A clicker bites you and then you start over from a saved point. Heavy Rain? People died when you messed up or lost opportunities for clues but you kept playing. You kept trying. The game wasn’t over. Even the worst ending wasn’t like Beyond Two Souls where you basically just fail. See my problem?

This leads me into the feminist discussion. How does this game compete in the market of games most feminists back? I say it depends on your opinions of what makes a ‘strong’ female character and if it matters to you how much the female character in question is like America’s idea of womanhood.

Jodie is emotional, she has feminine characteristics when it comes to how her romantic relationships, well at least when she is preparing for her date with Ryan. Jodie even helps deliver a baby. This is the part of the story I both love and question. Not all women want or care about having babies. Many would be very uncomfortable delivering a baby. There isn’t enough to say how Jodie feels about kids prior to this scene. As a woman who does love children, and wants to be a mother, this scene doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is the fact that pregnancy is used to show femininity, kindness, and caring so often in games/TV/movies about women who aren’t ‘traditional’.

But was this the point of that scene? If you don’t ever see or choose the epilogue with Zoë and the other people from the homeless chapters then this scene really just seems like a scene about the fact that Jodie is a woman. Even the stupid date preparation scene has more meaning than this because it shows Aiden’s feelings for Jodie. Aiden is normally told what to do by Jodie; this is a scene where Aiden is forcing Jodie to do what he wants. This scene shows us how even in ‘normal’ life circumstances Aiden changes everything for her. Side note: Ryan asked her to dinner in an EMAIL? Low, dude, that’s low.

Finally, let’s end in positivity. I loved this game in part because I got to play it co-op, I played Jodie and my boyfriend played Aiden. This really proved how the game was about two souls. Aiden is not Jodie and Jodie is not Aiden. But they are connected.

My review is 3.5 out of 5. I’m not sure if I would recommend to just anyone. I would suggest Heavy Rain over Beyond Two Souls. But I would recommend it to people who enjoy co-op and 3rd person games like I do.

Let me know what you think and whether you disagree or agree. Also if you played, what was your favorite ending? Which ending did you get first?

That's All, Bitch: The Series Finale of Breaking Bad

It's all over now, baby blue.

Granite Slate and Felina were, in my opinion, an epilogue to the real finale: Ozymandias. No episode of the show was as well acted, well shot, or as beautifully edited as that episode. But Felina was the ending that most of the audience wanted and needed for our own health. Americans need epilogues. For example, the epilogue of the Harry Potter series was added for Americans. It was added for those that needed to see Harry with his children in order to feel the series was complete. We need everything to be wrapped up all pretty with a bow. 

I would have been happy with Skyler being the one to kill him.

But this is where I seem to differ in opinion with most others. I don’t see “Heisenberg’s Last Stand” in this finale to be perfect or completely wrapped up. 

Many have stated, for example the IGN editors in this video,  that they felt they needed to suspend disbelief in order to be okay with how easily Walt’s plan was executed. I think those who believe that missed a few things. 

I don’t believe that Walt wanted to die the way he did. As much as he was able to die in peace, it wasn’t the death he imagined when his plan was created. Walt wanted to either be killed by Jesse, by the police, or by his cancer during a stay in prison. He was completely shocked by the bullet hitting him; it wasn’t a part of the plan. 

As much as Walt was successful in the end, that plan was not perfect and he did not get everything he wanted. Walt built his empire and was the one to destroy it but he lost his family. He even lost Jesse, though I was proud of Jesse for finally saying no and going his own way. 

Todd died like he lived, as a little bitch.

The audience didn’t even get to see every character to see that all was wrapped up. What happened to Huell and Kuby? Do they go down for being involved with Saul who was the lawyer for Mr.White? Does Lydia die or is she able to get to a hospital fast enough? Brock was able to live, but that was Lily of the Valley. Once the bodies of Hank and Gomez are found will Marie still be able to forgive Skyler? I know that she calls a truce with her in order to talk on the phone, but that could change once she sees her husband’s dead body. Is Skyler truly freed by giving the DEA the location of the bodies? Do the Gray Matter assholes give Walt Jr. the money? There’s so much we still don’t know. 

Overall, this was Walter White’s story and his story was wrapped up. But it was not pretty, nor wrapped up tightly with a bow. Breaking Bad was a wonderful story and the entirety of it should be used as examples in film schools for directing, acting, writing, editing, etc. This show rightfully deserves all the Emmys it has received and will receive and my humble little blog gives it a 5 out of 5.

Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions about mine and the series in the comments section.