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Post by Hugh Beaumont on May 8, 2007 19:21:42 GMT -5
If you're hungering for more Tony Stark action, here's a really hi-res version of the picture of Iron Man's armor, as well as a nice clear picture of Downey in full-on Stark overdrive. Looks great, blah blah, yada yada yada...
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Post by Hugh Beaumont on May 8, 2007 19:36:28 GMT -5
Honestly, I consider Batman: The Animated Series to be more "official" than any other format, be it the comics or the movies or whatever. I just adore the cartoon so much. Superman: TAS was also decent, but Justice League is just incredible. My problem with Superman TAS was it was a bit too kiddy appeal, I guess. It was missing that hardcoreness of Batman, Beyond, and JL/JLU. But Batman TAS also lost something in the move to Kids WB for the New Batman Adventures, even though there were a few great episodes here and there (Over the Edge and Old Wounds were easily on par with the best of the Fox series), so I assume it might have been just trying to adjust to it's new home. I agree. I liked a few of the WB character redesigns, including Batman's. Otherwise, it was too short-lived and silly to make a lasting impact, though. Cold Comfort was another good episode, I thought. I liked Superman, but yes, it was Batman: TAS's happier sibling. Not as gripping.
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Post by Don Quixote on May 8, 2007 19:50:41 GMT -5
Well, Superman TAS was supposed to be. First off, it's in Metropolis, which is A LOT nicer than Gotham (at least, not as run down), secondly, Superman conducts a lot of his business in the daytime (as opposed to Batman's nighttime escapades), and it's frickin' Superman! If something bad happens, chances are, he's got it covered! That's why it's so much happier. It makes sense, because people in Metropolis have so much more hope than people in Gotham.
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Torgo
Moderator Emeritus
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Post by Torgo on May 8, 2007 22:07:44 GMT -5
It's true, Superman himself is a much lighter character than Batman. Superman's show just might not have been my cup of tea, especially since it was playing opposite of Batman, it seemed a bit too...yawn.
And Supes did some pretty badass stuff in Justice League too (the way he laid into Darkside in the series finale was sweet), so I know the character can be used for, and most of the Superman episodes I've seen aren't even close to that. I'll probably buy the DVDs anyway, to compete my Bruce Timm DCAU collection, and I know I haven't seen that many of them. So maybe there was one that truly lives up to that.
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Post by Don Quixote on May 8, 2007 22:26:27 GMT -5
Well, the DCAU is great, because Adults can enjoy the subtleties that kids don't get, like that one episode of Superman where they hint that one of the characters on the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit is a lesbian. I watched the show sporadically as I grew up, and this was one of the episodes I caught when it originally aired. When my buddy let me borrow his Superman DVD collection for a while, it finally dawned on me. That's the thing that DCAU is good at. If you pay attention and know enough about the comics, you do notice stuff, really subtle stuff that makes them all the cooler. Like that one episode of Batman TAS with Killer Croc framing Harvey Bullock... man, that was cool... intrigue is sorta lost on you as a kid, but the DCAU stuff is chock full of it, if you're willing to give 'er a watch.
Damn, now I want to watch Superman. I should try to get my hands of the Fleisher (sp?) cartoons. They really are cool, and their style can't be topped. I think they're being sold in DVD format.
Actually, that's the thing that kinda ticks me off about Marvel. They made a bunch of TV shows, but they weren't too great. Don't get me wrong, I sat my butt down every day after school to check out X-Men, but they lacked some of the subtlety that Batman (and to an extent Superman) had. Plus, I never got to see the one episode of X-Men with the Phalanx Covenant... and it had Warlock in it... and I can't find it anywhere. Not on youtube, not on tv links, nowhere. If Marvel released the X-Men cartoon show, they'd make a killing. I'd buy it. But, I think there are rights issues with it. Oh, those damn rights issues.
Anyway, what is this thread about? I soapbox that makes me even less attractive to the opposite sex? I'm cool with that.
Anyway tot-g, I'd go with either season 1 or 3. 2 has some good ones, but if you're gonna buy them so you can watch the cool ones, 1 gives you the phenomenal premier episode, and Bizzaro's first appearance, three gives you the great series finale, the Supergirl episode (which, I have to admit, was kinda cool), et cetera, et cetera, et cetera...
One villain I never really liked in Superman TAS? Metallo. Don't ask me why, he just bothered me. Bothered me a lot.
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Torgo
Moderator Emeritus
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Post by Torgo on May 9, 2007 0:55:46 GMT -5
Damn, now I want to watch Superman. I should try to get my hands of the Fleisher (sp?) cartoons. They really are cool, and their style can't be topped. I think they're being sold in DVD format. They might be, I think I've heard something about that. I know for a fact you can also get half of them on the Four Disc Special Edition of Superman: The Movie, and the other half on the Two Disc Special Edition of Superman II (that's the theatrical cut, mind you). I own both, but haven't gotten around to watching these yet. And Superman: The Movie also features the original George Reeves movie/pilot Superman and the Mole Men, if you want to kick it live action old school. I watched the first two seasons of X-Men when I was a kid. I kind of got bored with it though. Their Spider-Man series held up better for me, even though it's breakneck storytelling is a bit annoying. One thing I liked about the Marvel shows of the 90s was that they always seemed a season or two ahead of themselves. Like they knew where the series was going from there with all them constant story arcs going about. If the animation was smoother and the storytelling more like DCAU, these would have been some incredible shows.
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Post by Hugh Beaumont on May 9, 2007 20:17:27 GMT -5
Well, the DCAU is great, because Adults can enjoy the subtleties that kids don't get, like that one episode of Superman where they hint that one of the characters on the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit is a lesbian. I watched the show sporadically as I grew up, and this was one of the episodes I caught when it originally aired. When my buddy let me borrow his Superman DVD collection for a while, it finally dawned on me. That's the thing that DCAU is good at. If you pay attention and know enough about the comics, you do notice stuff, really subtle stuff that makes them all the cooler. Like that one episode of Batman TAS with Killer Croc framing Harvey Bullock... man, that was cool... intrigue is sorta lost on you as a kid, but the DCAU stuff is chock full of it, if you're willing to give 'er a watch. That's why I love it. It's mature animated drama, without all the over-the-top sex-and-violence nonsense that the series that try to market themselves solely towards adults tend to drag themselves down with (in my opinion). There's a lot of subtle sexual innuendo between Hawkgirl, Huntress, and Green Lantern in JLU that surprised me. And Batman had some top-quality plotlines. Really? He was always a favorite of mine. I hope the rumors are true and he's in the next Superman movie.
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Post by Don Quixote on May 10, 2007 0:37:26 GMT -5
Really? He was always a favorite of mine. I hope the rumors are true and he's in the next Superman movie. I can't explain it, I really can't. Something about his voice, and the plots surrounding his appearances... it just annoyed me.
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Post by Hugh Beaumont on May 10, 2007 3:46:11 GMT -5
Really? He was always a favorite of mine. I hope the rumors are true and he's in the next Superman movie. I can't explain it, I really can't. Something about his voice, and the plots surrounding his appearances... it just annoyed me. Out of the entire Superman animated series, the one moment I remember best involves Metallo... Well, okay, I don't remember it that well, but it's the one moment that sticks in my mind. It's the moment where Metallo realizes that he can't feel anything - literally; no sense of touch. He looks at the woman by his side and then just goes berzerk. For me, it was the double-whammy of the cartoon making an obvious sexual reference, and just how chilling it would be to be in that situation of having your life saved but, in the process, being stripped of that humanity... I don't know, maybe it's just me. I felt it was well-played. *shrug* (His voice was Malcolm McDowell, by the way.)
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Post by Don Quixote on May 10, 2007 10:13:51 GMT -5
Oh, I know it's Malcolm McDowell, and I don't deny that his intro episode is well-written, but I just can't not be annoyed by it. I'm not really sure why.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on May 10, 2007 23:11:34 GMT -5
I'm not big on Toyman, myself. Although I found it hillarious that he was the one who supposedly killed Superman in that one Justice League episode.
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Post by Don Quixote on May 11, 2007 0:12:25 GMT -5
I mean, Toyman kinda sucks in general. They did a good job of making him menacing in the Superman TV show... but I mean yeah, he's frickin' Toyman. I liked it in that one episode of Justice League when Wonder Woman almost killed Toyman. It would've been even funnier.
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Post by siamesesin on May 11, 2007 15:13:29 GMT -5
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Post by Hugh Beaumont on May 11, 2007 21:36:49 GMT -5
Thanks for posting that, Sia. I suck at getting around to posting these things.
I can't help but feel that any Hulk villain is going to come across as being silly. I don't know why, but I just can't see it working, personally. I can barely see the Hulk himself working. It's just so hard to do right (unless you're Bill Bixby or Lou Ferrigno), even though Banner is a compelling character.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on May 11, 2007 22:06:42 GMT -5
I think the 70s series worked so well because it had that Dr. Jekell and Mr. Hyde thing going on. He wasn't a superhero, and he never fought supervillians.
When Ang Lee made his little Hulk movie, he just took a lot of things so seriously. Absorbing dad, Hulk dogs, it was just a bunch of odd things wrapped up in a straight face, kind of like a Leslie Neilson movie. Had the Hulk just taken on the army and not any villians, I think Lee's movie might have worked. Since this one has taken a lighter tone, I think I'll be able to swallow the absurd villians.
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