Catch more Professor Geek on his YouTube channel.
Last night the CW brought their version of Superman to his own show. Debuting in Supergirl, Tyler Hoechlin has already been Superman for a while in the CW DC Universe, usually referred to as the “Arrowverse” due to the Green Arrow series Arrow being the start, like how Batman: The Animated Series started the DC Animated Universe. This also brings in Elizabeth Tulloch as Lois, who has also played the character in prior shows in this continuity. That’s kind of where the problem starts however. The Arrowverse is a darker take on the DC Universe, something closer to what DiDio was doing with DC when Arrow began. It’s like building a TV universe around the 60’s Batman or the old Adventures Of Superman series. Any further show that might have come out of that would reflect those shows. Look what Batman‘s producers wanted to do with Wonder Woman.
To give the Kents the CW treatment they created a second kid, decided to move the family to Smallville, and give everything the same overcast day except when they want to emphasize something. While I can’t say the show is all bad I do have a lot of issues with it that I’ll be going more into. Suffice it to say that if the show wants to win me over they have some work to do and they’re not off to the best start. There’s a difference between being a good show and a good adaptation. One episode isn’t enough to gauge the former but you can tell the latter is all kinds of wrong. Spoilers to follow.
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Meanwhile SF Debris is celebrating Neelix’s apparent demise.
Star Trek: Voyager #4
Marvel/Paramount Comics (February, 1997)
“Homeostasis” part 1
WRITER: Howard Weinstein
PENCILER: Jesus Redondo
INKER: Sergio Melia
COLORIST: John Kalisz
LETTERER: Chris Eliopoulos
EDITOR: Bobbie Chase
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NOTE: Swearing takes place. It’s James Rolfe. You shouldn’t be surprised by now.
Catch more Cinemassacre movie discussions on their YouTube channel.
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I decided to wait a week on Power Rangers Dino Fury because we haven’t seen how the monster of the week part is going to come out. I’m not sure when the next two Rangers are supposed to be introduced. It could be the next episode or it could wait a while, like Ninja Storm did. So stay tuned for that.
However, it does give me a chance to talk about the heroes that inspired it. Ever since the internet gave us the ability to see what the shows that were turned into various Power Ranger series were like the “sentai” and other works of tokusatsu have gained a similar fan following to early anime. For those you who missed my primer years ago, and I’ve learned a few things since then, tokusatsu usually refers to any Japanese show that uses a lot of special effects. It can be, as I’m learning, as varied as Iron Man, Pacific Rim, and Bewitched, and I’m not even joking. It just needs to use special effects, but for the obvious reasons we focus on the superheroes and giant monsters like Ultraman, Power Rangers, and Godzilla. Whatever the case the fan following here in the United States and other parts of the world are gaining speed.
I can only speak for the US as this is the country I live in, so many of these options may not work for you, but there are places to LEGALLY stream these kinds of shows. I’ve brought them up individually in the past but tonight I’ll give you all the ones I currently know of. If you like some of the shows that have been popping up on Saturday Night Showcase these past few weeks or are already aware of the various franchises here’s where you can see Japanese live-action superheroes for yourself without the guilt of fansubs.
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Spidey chose the wrong heroes to play tag with.
Spider-Man Family: Amazing Friends
Marvel Comics (October, 2006)
Like the previous Spider-Man Family comic this features some original stories and reprints. I will again do the reprinted stories as separate reviews, except for the Petey story. (That’s the one where Peter is a kid before he became Spider-Man.) That’s also a reprint but too short for it’s own review since it was a back-up story.
COVER ART: Patrick Olliffe, Livesay, & Lee Loughridge
PRODUCTION: Brad Johansen
“Opposites Attack!”
(takes place before Web Of Spider-Man #75)
WRITER: Sean McKeever
PENCILERS: Patrick Olliffe, Casey Jones, Kano, and Nick Dragotta
INKERS: Livesay, Vince Russell, Kano, Alvaro Lopez, and Nick Dragotta
COLORIST: Lee Loughridge
LETTERER: Melanie Olsen
The Mini-Marvels: “Spidey & His Amazing Co-Workers”
WRITER: Sean McKeever
ARTIST: Chris Giarrusso
CONSULTING EDITOR: Mark Paniccia
EDITOR: Nathan Cosby
Petey: “Hydra & Go-Seek”
WRITER/ARTIST: Fred Hembeck
EDITOR: Tom Brevoort
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If you think this means the duo are calling it quits, that’s what their publcist says. While no reason was officially given I wonder if the video is giving us the answer. I could never tell you which one was Thomas Bangalter and which was Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (I’m admittedly not one of the die-hard fans but I’m a bit above casual), but I wonder if the one that blew up just got tired of the gig or even just the “one day we mysteriously transformed into robots” gimmick and wanted to move on to something new. I guess we’ll never find out what the reason was for their mecha-transformation. Now that I think of it the Gorillaz had a deeper back story, but I’d rather listen to Daft Punk any time.
I don’t know what their future holds but I hope it’s something amazing. Thanks for the awesome music, guys!
