Movie Talk - Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins

After over a decade and a small webseries, we’re finally getting a new Mortal Kombat movie. This is one I’ve been curious about for some time now. I almost forgot it was being released until I started to see promos for it. The trailer for the movie looked pretty cool, but I am noticing the lack of Cage, man. Maybe this Cole Young character will liven things up, I’m not sure. One thing the new movie brought to mind was a previous “gem” from the past. It would be Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins, an animated unofficial tie-in to the live-action movie that was also released in 1995. As YouTuber Phelous called it, “It’s the worst of 2D and 3D animation.”

I actually owned this thing back in the day. I talked my mom into getting it. She didn’t mind since I had already played some of the games at the time. You can thank my uncle for that. I vaguely remember seeing the video a few times. I also remember the trailer to the live action movie being included as well as a 20-minute behind-the-scenes look at the movie. Since then, I’ve seen the feature online as well as some hilarious reviews of it. I remember Phelous looked at it, and another reviewer from the old Channel Awesome days (Benzai?) reviewed it.

Favorites - 13 Favorite Alternate Versions of Superman

Before I get to my last two posts, a thought popped into my mind: “What are my favorite versions of Superman?” I actually began to ponder on that. I mean, there are plenty variations of the character out there. That doesn’t even included the myriad of versions in other media. Even though things may be different from story to story or era to era, Superman is still Superman. It doesn’t matter if he’s good, evil, black, straight, living in Amish country, looking like Geralt of Rivia, animated, drawn, or old. There’s almost a version of Superman out there for everyone.

So, here are my favorite versions of Superman from... everywhere. One caveat I did give myself is that I wouldn’t include main continuity versions of Superman. So, no Golden Age, no Post-Crisis, no Grant Morrison New 52 version, and no Rebirth. If I do say something from main continuity, it won’t be the main Superman.  I’m also not just looking at alternate stories from the comics either. There are a crapton of TV shows and movies that feature the character and his world. So, in saying all that, let’s get the dictators out of the way!

13. Red Son Superman – We’ve gotten a few “evil” versions of Superman over the years… heck,  they're mostly in this century. The best of the bunch in my opinion is the Red Son Superman, though I don’t think you could perceive him as straight-up evil. You definitely can say that about Overman (Nazi Superman) and Injustice Superman. Kal-L from Red Son had a completely different backstory in that he landed in Soviet Russia during the 1930s. After Stalin dies, he becomes the leader of the Soviet Union and does some messed up things. Even though he wasn’t too altruistic, you did see points where the regular Superman shined through. I still haven’t seen the animated movie, but I will soon.

12. Injustice Superman – Now, when it comes to the Superman from Injustice, he’s definitely evil. After suffering some tragic losses, Superman and most of the Earth’s heroes decide to take out villains permanently. Superman even takes it further though by basically becoming Earth’s dictator. It ends up taking other heroes led by that Earth’s Batman as well another heroic Superman to take that evil version down. While I’m not the biggest fan of what was done with this Superman, I gotta say that he is pretty good at being bad.

11. Superman from Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman – Yeah, Dean Cain has made it to the list. It’s quite an achievement. While he might actually be like the jackass he played in that episode of A Different World, his Superman was interesting. Actually, his Superman kinda sucked. He wasn’t bad in the role, but something felt lacking. The thing that made Cain stand out was his portrayal of Clark Kent. The show took quite a few cues from the original George Reeves show, and this was one of them. This show was the reason I like a more natural, down-to-earth version of Clark than the version who is just a klutz.

10. Earth-2 Superman (Val-Zod) – The new Earth-2 updated classic characters like Alan Scott and Jay Garrick to modern times. It also introduced some new variations of characters, and one of them was Val-Zod. Adopted by the El family and rocketed off to Earth with Kal-El and Kara, Val-Zod ended up being kept by the government for years. When Earth was in danger from the forces of Apokalips, Val-Zod decided to take on the mantle of Superman. Unlike most Supers, he really wasn’t keen on violence, but that doesn’t mean he’s a pushover. Him being black is even more icing on this cake.

9. Max Fleischer Superman – If you want to see the closest thing to a Golden Age Superman in action, then you can’t go wrong with the Max Fleischer Superman. It may have been short-lived, but it left an impression on a young boy. The cartoons are 8 to 10 minutes of fun action. You may not get Superman saying much, but actions speak louder than words. It also helps that the animation from that time looks beautiful.

8. Earth-23 President Superman – While it’s not the first time we’ve seen a President Superman, it definitely was the first we got of a black President Superman... I think. We haven't gotten much of him, but seeing him show up is always cool. Inspired by Barack Obama, this Superman (President Calvin Ellis) first showed up in Final Crisis. Even though the New 52 came, this Superman stuck around and even led the Multiverse’s Justice League Incarnate. If that’s not cool to you, I can’t help you.

7. DCEU Superman – What Superman Returns didn’t bring, Man of Steel brought. I was ready for a new take with Superman in live-action, and what we got was good. Henry Cavill felt right as Superman even though he’s more of the silent type. Hey, I like it since I’m a quiet dude myself, and as I said earlier, actions speak louder than words. Seeing him in a world that’s much more real and sometimes dour was interesting. It showed that even in the darkest times, he could still rise to the occasion and be the hero. Here’s hoping the Snyder Cut is decent and that we get more of Cavill’s Superman.

6. Superman: Secret Identity - Now, this was a fresh take on the character. One day, a young Clark Kent wakes up with the powers of Superman, who in this story is just a fictional character. Yeah, this Clark was never a Kryptonian immigrant, and his parents were apparently douches for naming him after Superman. We get to see Clark actually grow as a person through the miniseries. We see him rise, fall, get married, deal with the government, become a father, and grow old. Yeah, it doesn’t have the supervillains or the big theatrics, but it’s as valid as any Superman story.

5. All-Star Superman – I’m not the biggest fan of the Silver Age Superman, but All-Star Superman helped win me over if only a little. We have a character as close to a demigod in that story, and all he does is help people. Even when he’s klutzing it up as Clark Kent, he’s doing something to help folk. When he realizes that he’s about to die, he does all he can to help folk through his labors. Who does he think he is? Hercules? Anyway, it’s a good rendition. Grant Morrison can almost do no wrong. Just almost.

4. Donner Superman – Yeah, you know Christopher Reeve gotta be on here. He’s the first thing folk think of when someone says Superman. Reeve just sold the character. He was able to show all the best qualities of Superman. I’ve said this before, so I don’t need to say it again. Even though I’m not the biggest fan of his Clark Kent and some of the movies weren’t that good, Reeve was one of the reasons I became a fan.

3. Smallville Superman – Before anyone says that Tom Welling wasn’t Superman… shush! The dude had the role of Clark/Kal-El/Superman for ten years straight (over 200 episodes), wore some cool renditions of the suit, and did wear the suit in the end. He’s Superman in my book! Also, there’s Season 11 to consider if you want to get more technical. This was another thing that got me more invested in the character. We got to see Clark grow over 10 years. I liked that we got to see this Clark screw up and grow from those screw ups. This did what the Superboy comics did for folk back in the day. I also loved that the creators didn’t just stick to what was done before and did their own thing.

2. Kingdom Come Superman – Of all the alternate Supermen we’ve got over the years in comics, this is probably my favorite version. This Superman left the civilized world when humanity wanted a more brutal type of superhero. He only comes back when a tragedy strikes and he can’t take any more crap from vigilantes doing whatever they want. Kingdom Come takes this version as well as other heroes down a path where the right thing may not be the best thing, and even Kal-El (he abandoned his human name for a while) has to learn some tough lessons. There’s a reason why I think this is one of DC’s best. Also, that suit was the bomb!

1. DCAU Superman – Finally, we got what is, to me, the definitive Superman in other media. This beats all of the live-action series, movies, and other cartoons. While this version of Superman wasn’t the most powerful, he had everything that makes Superman work. He was earnest, bold, and had a nice solid uppercut. It also helped that Tim Daly and George Newburn did some dang good voice-acting over the various shows. It was always cool to see either of them return in other animated properties.

……………………………………………….

I know there are more versions out there, but I gotta stop somewhere. If any of your favorites didn’t make the list, let me know. Now, if you excuse me, I gotta put the finishing touches on this Truth storyline. Until then, Peace, God Bless, and be careful out there.

Favorites - 14 Favorite Force-Wielders from Star Wars

Well, we got a couple of weeks to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. It seems like I’ve been in a Star Wars frenzy lately. The Mandalorian is on Disney+, and yes, I am enjoying yet another streaming service. I played the retro game Star Wars: Jedi Knight 2 – Jedi Outcast and finally beat the dang thing. Seriously, what was up with those Nar Shaadaa levels? That Street level wanted to make me break the TV! Anyway, another game I just finished was the recent Star Wars: Jedi – Fallen Order. Thankfully, Respawn has finally given EA a pretty cool Star Wars game.

 I think I got a couple more posts about the franchise in me. While there may be more movies left to go, it looks like Episode 9 will be the last for the Skywalkers. One of the coolest things about the franchise was the Force and the Jedi/Sith conflict. You had a lot of cool characters on both sides of the conflict. This list will be about my favorite Force-wielders in the franchise. I didn’t want to split up the whole Jedi/Sith thing since I’m kinda lazy tonight. Besides, some of these Force-wielders have towed that light/dark side line. It’s also not in order, but I will put the favorites up top.

Favorites - 10 Favorite Superman Movies

Well, I’m at the end of the month, and I gotta admit I’m kinda beat. There were a couple of other things I wanted to talk about, but most of those will have to wait. I’ve needed to get some house work done. Also, I’ve had some personal stuff draining me a bit. I’m fine, but I’ll get better and do better too.

Anyway, since I finally got caught up on the recent Superman animated movies, I wanted to do a different list. I wanted to list off my favorite Superman movies, and I’m not stopping at live-action either. While Superman doesn’t have as many movies as that Dark Knight guy, there are at least 10 out there I can throw on a list. They may also involve that Dark Knight guy, but considering the villains in those movies are mostly Superman villains, they apply. This isn’t going to be in any order, but I’ll list some major favorites off in the beginning. First, I might as well mention a couple that didn’t make it. Whether they’re honorable is a matter for debate:

• Superman Returns – Yeah, it’s up here and you pretty much know why. While the cast (except for Kate Bosworth) was nice and that plane sequence was awesome, this was a subpar entry. The story homaged Superman: the Movie way too much. Also, it made some changes to Superman that felt kinda weird. Even Superman’s reason for leaving Earth in it was weird. Add that fact that it felt like it didn’t know what it wanted to be. Tying it to the Donnerverse wasn’t the best move.
• Superman 4: The Quest for Peace – Speaking of the Donnerverse, we have its worst entry. Yeah, some could say that Superman 3 is just as bad, but I can at least find some good things in that movie. Not so here. Yes, Christopher Reeve and Gene Hackman are in good form here. Also, the concept of Superman facing nuclear proliferation was good. Unfortunately, this was a Cannon Films production. The effects were lazy, the story had problems, and quite a bit got cut out of the film.
• Superman: Doomsday – I had to add DC’s first official animated movie to the list. While the movie did house some nice visuals, had an okay story, and a fine cast, it was just okay. The fact that’s a really loose adaptation doesn’t help matters. Also, what they replaced with that story wasn’t really up to snuff. By the way, what was up with Superman’s face??? Those lines… why? At least we finally got a better adaptation of that story years later.

TV Talk - Green Lantern: The Animated Series

(From TeamFourStar’s Dragon Ball Z Abridged)

Vegeta: What are you doing, Nappa?

Nappa: I’m cuddling it, Vegeta!

Vegeta: It’s Dead, Nappa!

Nappa: NOOOOOO!!!!!!

Well, it has come to this. When I started this little themed phase, I came up with the title of “The Yay, the Okay, and the Nay” of Green Lantern. If the live-action movie’s the “nay,” those two animated movies are the “okay”, then guess what gets the “yay?” It’s Green Lantern: The Animated Series, a show I completely missed out on when it was airing.

Green Lantern: The Animated Series (or GLTAS for short) aired on Cartoon Network as part of the network’s “DC Nation” hour. It aired along with stuff like Young Justice and Beware the Batman. 26 episodes ran between 2012 and 2013. While it was created because of the live-action movie, it didn’t tie into the movie and had its own continuity. It was heavily based off of Geoff Johns’ run on Green Lantern which was still going at the time. It was also completely done in CG which was a first for Bruce Timm, the producer. Unfortunately, due to the reception of the live-action movie and poor toy sales, the series was cancelled. Outside of Teen Titans Go!, all those shows that were a part of that DC Nation block got the ax… hrmmm.

I was never able to watch the show since I was working and we had no cable. Also, the animation made it seem that it was going to be aimed for the little ones. I think it was 2014 when I first ran over this show on Netflix. I decided to watch the first episode… and then was pretty much hooked until the end. I was also regretting not liking the animation now that I had seen it in action. The show was probably the thing that got me to check out Johns’ run on Green Lantern. Back in 2016, I threw it on a list of TV shows that got axed too soon and it was right at the top. I don’t know if you can tell, but I really liked this show.

Movie Talk - Green Lantern: First Flight and Green Lantern: Emerald Knights

Re-reading The Sinestro Corps War for my other blog (right here, if you’re interested) has gotten me looking at the Green Lantern Corps. While I’m not the biggest fan of Hal and his friends, they’re cool in my book. So, for the next few days, I’ll be talking about what I call “The Yay, the Okay, and the Nay” of Green Lantern in other media. First up are the two Green Lantern DCAU movies: First Flight and Emerald Knights.

Back in 2009, the WB released Green Lantern: First Flight direct-to-DVD. I think I either rented it or saw it on Cartoon Network. It features Christopher Meloni (Det. Stabler from Law and Order: SVU) as Hal Jordan, Victor Garber as Sinestro, Trica Helfer as Boodikka, and Michael Madsen as Kilawog. Green Lantern: Emerald Knights was released in 2011 and even though Emerald Knights uses the same designs from First Flight, it’s not a sequel which is kinda confusing. Even though I’ve had it in my Blu-ray collection for a bit, I just saw it this weekend. It features Nathan Fillion as Hal Jordan, Jason Issacs as Sinestro, Arnold Vosloo as Abin Sur, Kelly Hu as Laira, Henry Rollins as Kilawog, and Michael Jackson (… not that one) as Ganthet.

TV Talk - The Planet of the Apes TV Shows

Well, after some time away from the keyboard, I’m back. I was going to first do a post involving the Planet of the Apes movies, but I’ve decided to make a quick pit-stop. As I said in my look at the POTA short story collection, there were two Planet of the Apes TV shows in the 1970’s. After the last movie, the franchise was far from over. The first three movies were being aired on TV, so the Apes were still kicking in some form of fashion. The rights for the franchise were handed over to 20th Century Fox, so they tried to churn a lot of stuff out.

The first series was the live action show. Planet of the Apes aired between September and December of 1974. Only 14 episodes were produced. Instead of continuing the story from the movies, the series was pretty much a revamp of the concept. Two human astronauts, Alan Virdon (Ron Harper) and Peter Burke (James Naughton), somehow end up transported from 1980 to 3085. They land on Earth which has been taken over by apes with humans (speaking by the way) being slaves. Luckily, Virdon and Burke have help from a cool chimpanzee named Galen (Roddy McDowell). The series revolves around the three on the run from Doctor Zaius and General Urko (Mark Lenard).

The cartoon series, Return to the Planet of the Apes, aired between 1975 and 1976. 13 episodes were only done for the show. Like the live-action show, this show was pretty much a revamp of the concept. Unlike the other show and the movies, this show immediately went places where the others didn’t. It borrowed elements from the movies and the 1956 novel. On the show, three astronauts (Bill Hudson, Jeff Allen, and Judy Franklin) get transported from 1976 to 3979. The three then have to deal with threats coming from the apes and other forces in the world. Luckily, they have help from kind apes like Cornelius and Zira.

TV Talk - Superman: The Animated Series - "Feeding Time"

Next up for the month is one of the biggest leachers in the DC universe: The Parasite. The character first debuted in Action Comics #340 and has actually been different people. The person he’s probably most known as is Rudy Jones. Through some sort of accident, the character gains powers and turns into a purple beast. He has the ability to leach life energy from others. Not only can he leach energy, but he can also leach the powers and memories of people. Since the energy only last for so long, he's always searching for more power. He's basically an energy vampire and quite literally the “Purple People Eater.”

At some point during the Post-Crisis, he was a Firestorm villain but that changed later on when he got back under Superman’s trail. The character has shown up in a few places outside the comics. Today’s post is actually going to look at his first appearance on Superman: The Animated Series. The episode is called “Feeding Time” and it was the sixth episode of the series.

TV Talk - Superman: The Animated Series - "Fun and Games"

Next up for the month is Winslow Schott, aka Toyman. The character first appeared in comics in Action Comics #64 and has been a mainstay ever since. He’s also been revamped a number of times in the comics and even in other media. He even hasn’t been Schott. He’s usually been a disgruntled toy maker who wants revenge for losing his job or other things. Heck, Sherman Hemsley played a version of him on Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Sueprman, so this character has been places. There’s even a heroic version of Toyman out there.

One thing that’s been interesting is that people have tried to darken the character over the years. One of the biggest changes was to make him into a straight-up nutjob when he killed Cat Grant’s son, Adam. I’ve heard that folk weren’t a fan of that change in the mid-90’s. I haven’t gotten to those issues yet in my re-read, so I can’t say what I think about it. I did think about looking at those issues, but I’m going somewhere else with the character. The character was revamped on Superman: The Animated Series, so that’s where I’m going with this one. Today’s post looks at “Fun and Games,” the fourth episode of the series.

Superman Month - Bring on the Villains

So, what have I done to myself this time? I was trying to come up with a certain theme for Superman Month. I’ve looked at origins, random stories, weird stories, and homages/rip-offs, so it’s time to look at the most important aspect of a Superman story: the villains. This month, I’ll be looking at stories that feature a villain from Superman’s rogues’ gallery. If you think it’s just Lex Luthor and couple of other blokes, you haven’t been reading much, have you? I'll try to include a lot.

The plan is to look at a story from the franchise.  I won’t just be sticking to the comics either. You’ll see that with my next post. I’ll also give some information and my thoughts on said villain. So, come on by during the month. You might find something interesting. I’ll even have Peach Tea that’s provided by Lex Luthor’s Tea division at Lexcorp. It might have a bitter taste, but you’ll feel it kick in with a boom!

Favorites - Best Animated Versions of the X-Men Part 2

Here are the rest of list from a couple days of ago. Not only are there heroes, but there are some villains.

Cyclops

If you think I’m not a fan of ‘ole Slim, you’d be mistaken. Someone cool had to start this part of the list off! Cyclops is more or less accurate in all three shows. The 90’s show is probably the one is most comic accurate since he’s leading the X-Men, married to Jean, ticking off Logan, and being a little uptight at times. On X-Men Evolution (EVO), Scott led the team into battle and was pretty cool at times. As for the Cyclops of Wolverine and the X-Men (WATXM), he was a little off the rocker. Since Jean was presumed dead, he quit the team and only came back because Logan asked him to. Even though he’s not leading the group, he does get a few moments to shine in the season.

It’s kind of easy to throw Scott in the “overbearing good guy who never breaks the rules” group. To be fair, it’s not a bad thing for him since I’d follow him into battle. The problem is that he really doesn’t come off as cool to most folk. While I liked Cyclops from the 90’s show, he was a little lame at times. Also, his voice actor was okay. Then, we get to WATXM’s Cyclops who was pretty much depressed all the time. I know he’s been at that stage in the comics too, but the creators go overboard with it on the show.

This is why I choose Cyclops from EVO. When re-watching the show, I really thought he was a cool guy. He could even have a little fun from time to time. You can’t say that about the rest of the Scotts. While throwing him and some of the others into high school was a weird move, I think it helped me like the character a little bit more. We got to see him grow into one into being a good leader. Yeah, he’s not butting heads with Logan over Jean (that would have been creepy…), but everything else worked.

Favorites – Best Animated Versions of the X-Men Part 1

You know, there is something missing from TV these days: an X-Men cartoon. While I can’t call myself an uber-fan of the X-Men these days, I can still say that they’re one of my favorite superhero teams. A lot of that fandom mostly stems from the many animated shows. Heck, I think I could almost recite a lot of the dialogue from the 90’s show’s first season. If only I could put that type of power towards something truly worthwhile…

Anyway, ever since Wolverine and the X-Men ended, we’ve seen less and less of them on TV. While the movies are still coming out and there are live-action shows coming, even I’ll admit that they get it wrong at times. The animated shows were able to capture more of what the X-Men were all about. Plus, they knew how to have fun and that is something the movies still struggle with. The X-Men (Wolverine at least) will pop in every so often on some Marvel show but that’s it. I think even Deadpool is supposed to get his own animated show. I bet someone’s happy about that!

So, what are these posts all about? A while back, I was wondering about which X-characters from the cartoons were done the best. I considered everything from the stories to even the voice-acting. Since most characters don’t crossover to different shows, I’m keeping the list to only a few heroes and villains. I’m also only including X-Men (the 90's show), X-Men: Evolution (EVO), and Wolverine and the X-Men (WATXM). I know there’s an X-Men anime from 2011 out there, but I’ve never seen it. Besides, something tells me that those versions of the characters probably wouldn’t make it on here anyway. Also, this isn’t a competition in which show was the best. I felt that these three shows had some great strengths as well as some unfortunate weaknesses.

Movie Talk - Bruceploitation 4: The Spinoff to the Sequel of the Remake of That One Bruce Lee Movie

It's a fake Bruce Lee vs. a fake Muhammad Ali!

Well, if there’s one thing January is going to bring, it’s going to be another trip to the genre know as Bruceploitation (BP). If you don’t know what that is, Wikipedia can help you there. If you don’t like actual research (like me), then here is a quick summation of the genre. BP was a phenomenon where producers tried to make money off the death of martial arts actor, Bruce Lee. Basically, they’d make movies that involved the name of Lee and it was in name only. I don’t think many who actually knew Lee were involved with them. Different martial artists were getting thrown into that “Next Bruce Lee” title and even the movies involved Lee’s name even though he never appeared in them. Some stock footage from previous movies would be used but that’s it.

For the last few years, I’ve gone into this swamp of weirdness and yells. Sometimes, there is some good to be found. You might get a decent movie or two. Then, you might get something so ludicrous that it needs to be seen. These movies can bring laughter in a “so bad it’s good” way. Today’s movies can end up on a scale of decent to “What in God’s Name Did I Watch.” So, sit down and read about how I spent most of my weekend getting to know these “movies.”