eldarwannabe

So, there's this character named Mon-El in DC Comics. His premise is a bit wonky, but to sum up the current situation: He's from a planet very similar to Krypton, except instead of being vulnerable to Kryptonite (a la Superman) he is extremely vulnerable to LEAD. Lead is very common on Earth, where he inevitably ends up, because that's where all superheroes end up eventually. To save him from the deadly dangers of lead, Superman sticks him in this "phantom zone," basically an empty alternate dimension.

Following? Good. A cure is discovered for lead-poisoning (doesn't matter how) and Mon-El comes out of the phantom zone. Great, right? Well, turns out Superman is gonna be off-planet for a while, so Mon-El is going to cover for him (protect Metropolis and everything. Remember, Mon-El has the same power set as Superman).

And now, here's the point. READ HERE IF YOU SKIPPED THE LAST PARAGRAPHS: We have an alien on Earth who is learning English as a second language. Rather than using the typical hand-waving of sci-fi, it is decided that Mon-El is going to pretend to be BRITISH to explain why he has an accent and talks with weird syntax.

WHAAAA?

Americans might not BE British, but we know what a real British accent sounds like! If someone has a random accent, I can give a pretty good guess if it's British (or from a British colony, like Australia) or not. There is NO WAY that cover story would work. Make him from some really random country with an unfamiliar accent, like an Indonesian Island or something. I see British people on TV, in the city. I have British friends, know random British slang...bad country choice, DC. Really.

For all those people who whine, "oh, when a character gets married to their love interest, the story is not longer interesting," need to just shut up.

Marriage is not the end of a relationship. It's another stage. Stop complaining that Superman got married to Lois Lane, all the interest is gone, blah blah blah. That doesn't need to be true, and it shouldn't have to be.

And yes, I'm looking at you, Marvel. I realize I'm a bit (WAAAAY) behind the ball, but I'm a DC girl, and last I checked, Peter Parker was unmasked, public ID, and jumping the fence in the Civil War event. Of course, I knew it ended and what not, but I really didn't follow the details (2008, remember?) so when I'm catching up on events now (Wikipedia and scans_daily, what do you want from me?) I find out that he pulled a Flash and had the universe mind-wiped of the memory of his face and altered the universe in other ways as a trade off? Wha, huh?

And of course, one of these universe-altering events is ending the marriage with M.J. WHY!? You're just reinforcing the Austinian stereotype of the chase being the whole story! Hysterically enough, this ideal in feminine literature seems to be shared among the testosterone-fueled male fantasies. The great relationship is in the chase, the foreplay. Once the deal is sealed, it seems like there is nothing left to say.

Lies! All of it! Read some Bujold! Miles gets married, and you know what? He is still awesome! Perhaps even more so! Even better, go out and meet some real married people. The ones with marriages that have lasted a while, that want to be in it for the long haul. Life is still happening to them! They have conflicts, they have romance, and yes, they are married. Why must this make you "aged" Quesada? I know lots of people married in their 20s, they're not old.

I'm going to go study for a bunch of midterms now, and possibly buy tickets to go to the circus. I need to see some people fly.

So, it looks like most standard newspapers are going out of print these days. With the Seattle Post-Intelligencer going to online-only, and many major cities going down to a single major newspaper (less then a hundred years ago, many cities could support multiple newspapers. New York alone at least five I can name off-hand) it looks like we are living through the end of an era. Seriously, this could be the fall of an actual medium.

Now, there's a ton of scary potential problems with this, and many can be read from the front page of the NY Times from yesterday, or even a quick google news search. But there is a topic no one seems to be addressing.

What will Superman do!? If newspaper go out of business, Superman will be JOBLESS. Which I suppose goes right along with the current financial climate, but could be potentially problematic later on. I mean, I can totally imagine his origin story when I buy my kids comic books: Superman, sent to Earth as a baby from a dying planet, raised in a wee little farm town out in Kansas. Then he travels to the big city and becomes a...blogger? I mean, what will be the equivelent of a reporter in the future?

And yes, yes, I know that he could be a TV reporter. All I can say to that is "been there, done that, it clearly didn't last very long."

Clark Kent makes a great newspaperman. I'm not sure a superhero with a public profile would be advised to be on TV. Also, TV reporters are many things (coughCanadiancough) but mild-mannered, they are not.

If I ever wanted to make a band, or write music, I would have such a hard time picking books to pay homage to. Ender's Game and the Outsiders would need songs, bare minimum. I might name something "Sodapop dies in 'Nam," I almost cried when I heard that. There's already a ton of stuff named "Do it for Johnny" or "Stay Gold, Ponyboy" so that's right out. I could write something REALLY angry titled "Sandy was a Slut" because she was. Guess what I just finished reading again?
The Wheel of Time has lots of stuff in it too. Besides the obvious, "Dragon Reborn", there's tons of other stuff. Something to tease Mat about when he was treated as the girl in the relationship (Mat cries! I died laughing, he turned into such a sissy when he couldn't be manly and junk) there's stuff about Lan, or "Wolf and Falcon" for Perrin and Faile. "All Magic Men Will One Day Go Insane" is a bit Panic! in the length of the title, but I think it could make a great song.
I'd probably write something about Understood Betsy, because it is hands down my favorite comfort book, and it may be my overall favorite book ever. "What Would Cousin Ann Do?" would be a brilliant song, if it had a strong beat to it.
And don't even get me started on comics! What is it with the TON of angsty Superman songs about how sad he is that he has freaking superpowers, and Batman has nothing? And Robin? Hell, any sidekick? I've heard ONE song about sidekicks ever.
I wrote one about a bunch of random DC heroes (avoided names, but the references are clear) and I'm going to pick out the tune on the piano one day if it's the last thing I do!
Oh oh! The Teen Titans! Teenage angst at its best! I'd have a blast. "Terra Incognito" is ripped straight from the title, but it's cool. I'd need something about Jericho, I love him. "Silent Son of a Deadly Killer" is waaay corny...I'll think about it. And Animal Man deserves a song, people!
I'm pulling books off my shelves now, as I constantly blink for lack of sleep. This thought will continue, it has to! Y'know, when I'm awake enough for coherency.

(Note to self: Commentary on Keeping Up with the Steins and Pay it Forward to be posted before I forget my initial thoughts)

So, I'm seeing West Side Story for the fist time. (shut up.) And I'm really enjoying it. Not just for the cheezy pseudo-fighting scenes, although I admit to a sense of nostalgia as I watch. This movie is old-school, in many, many ways. It would definetly not be done in the same way if it were filmed today (and I'm not only talking about the clothing and hairstyles. Bernardo makes me laugh EVERY SINGLE TIME he's on screen.)

I haven't finished the movie yet, but I need to comment on one thing:

"...he don't even need an atomic ray gun"
"Who don't?"
"Captain Marvel. Gee, I love him"
"So marry him!"


Now, for anyone who's in the know, it should be Superman, not Captain Marvel. I don't know when the movie was made, but it could make a huge difference. After all, DC sued Fawcet, claiming they stole their whole Superman idea to create C.M. (I call BS, but that's just me) and they won. It's a whole hidden statement! Does Captain Marvel = Superman?

Just a fannish moment. Oh, also? It may be disturbing to have a kid weirdly admire/love/obsess over Superman, who's roughly 20 or so, but C.M. is supposed to be, like, 8? Creeeeeeeepy.

Animated DC shows are taking a new turn, as displayed by The Batman, and Superman and the Legion of Super Heroes. The animation style of both is a sharp turn from the "classic" animaated style of the old Batman, Superman and Justice League, which mangaed to hold a cohesive plot line throughout all the seperate shows. Now, I thought that was awesome. And I really liked the animation style of these shows. I HATED The Batman when it first permeried and I watched a couple of episodes. I stopped watching, but I've heard it's gotten a lot better from what it was.

But I'm not here to talk about The Batman, or even the direction of the animated DCU, because I don't have the time. I'm really here to talk about the Legion of Super Heroes show.

Now, there was a precedent set for the Legion of Super Heroes in the animated DCU in both Superman and in Justice League Unlimited, where they show up and everyone goes to the future and Yay!. But in this new show, all of that continuity is erased. In fact, while it should have been Superboy and the Legion of Super Heroes, it becomes Superman and the Legion of Super Heroes. I hate lawsuits.

Anyway, the first episode was eh-eh. I noe of the characters were really fleshed out, Cosmic Boy was no where to be found. and the art style was a shock. The second episode was cool, but a bit odd considering Timber Wolf was in the opening animation from episode one. And Triplicate Girl disapeared. And Saturn Girl kept fainting. "Oh, I am the damsel. Watch me faint at the most inconvenient times!" But I did find the plot pretty deep considering the age group the show is aimed at, which made me happy.

The third episode was awesome. Alexis *coughLUTHORcough* was awesome! Her characterization was a teenage, girly version of Lex, her hair falling out was the most unsubtle hint ever and Brainy! Oh, Brainy! Even if you are a robot, I love you! And it only got better from there.

This show is chock full of happy little fannish moments. For instance, Garth Ranzz, aka Lightning Lad. First, his older brother (Mekt) shows up, and they act all snarky and jealous of each other. I can't wait until Mekt reappears as Lightning Lord and attempt to kick Legion butt, as subtly hinted at in the episode. But my favorite moment by far has to be the bit in episode five when we see Garth's room. There are TWO beds. A blue and a pink. Naturally, Garth claims the blue as his own. Now, we never see who sleeps in the other bed, but us fans know the truth-Ayla! Garth's twin sister. I had such a fan moment when I saw that second bed.

The art style has been growing on it, and I've become quite fond of it, actually. The stories have been showing progressive depth and wit, and the rotating cast gives each episode a fresh tone. (But where is Cosmic Boy, dammit!?)

"Perhaps if I think hard enough, Saturn Girl will notice my brain-waves"
-Brainiac 5

In conlusion, a snippet of a ( Harry Potter plot bunny (don't ask> )

It had issues., yeah. Especially in science. Bryan Singer, you fail at physics. And I understand it's a movie, based off comics, so, Brian Singer, you fail at pseudo-science because ( SPOILER )

But honestly?

I LOVED IT!!

GIMME A SEQUEL DAMMIT!

And in the sequel, can you have Lois and Clark ( SPOILER )

And I want the sequel to be filmed in my school. Because it's all glass, which is very convinient for glass-shattering. And we have this awesome atrium that Superman, ( SPOILER )could fly thorugh. Plus, Brandon Routh is hot. And I want to glomp Bryan Singer, I really really do.