Superheroes

So there it is: the worst BATMAN animated story I've seen (and I've seen BATMAN UNLIMITED: MECHS VS MUTANTS, so that's saying something).

There's so many things wrong with this movie, but let me start out on the high note: the animation isn't one of them. The imagery -- inconsistent in style as it is -- is gorgeous. Watch it with the sound off, and only glance at it now and then, and you'll always see something awesome.

But if you actually expose yourself to the story, your fascination will quickly dwindle away.

Jerome was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that.

Well, sorry, Mr. Dickens, but there does indeed seem to be a doubt, at least in the mind of Jerome's twin brother, Jeremiah Valeska (CAMERON MONAGHAN). True, Jerome fell from a building, was pronounced dead when brought into the coroner's office and was even more dead after he was autopsied. But that doesn't stop Jeremiah from severe anxiety as he shows off his new free-energy invention to Bruce Wayne (DAVID MAZOUZ). Bruce does hs best to convince Jeremiah that Jerome is truly gone, and suggests they go see his grave to confirm it to Jeremiah, to beat the insanity gas Jeremiah was subjected to at the end of last episode.

Paralleling and mirroring the structure of episode 407, "Therefore I Am," this episode, "Therefore She Is," tells the story of The Thinker's wife, Marlize (KIM ENGELBRECHT) -- aka The Mechanic, although we've never really heard her referenced as such in the series. Through flashbacks we see how she met Clifford DeVoe (NEIL SANDILANDS), fell in love with him, found him to be a sociopath with an agenda, and came around to his way of thinking -- a Luddite view of technology that sees it as killing mankind.

With Marvel's AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR tearing up the box office, the timing couldn't be more perfect for Marvel Studios to release the trailer for ANT-MAN AND THE WASP, a new chapter featuring heroes with the astonishing ability to shrink. In the aftermath of “Captain America: Civil War,” Scott Lang grapples with the consequences of his choices as both a Super Hero and a father. As he struggles to rebalance his home life with his responsibilities as Ant-Man, he’s confronted by Hope van Dyne and Dr. Hank Pym with an urgent new mission. Scott must once again put on the suit and learn to fight alongside The Wasp as the team works together to uncover secrets from the past.

Too often in comic book stories, the villain is motivated by greed or power. They not only are evil, but they know they are evil, and you will submit to them or fork over all your cash, depending on the depth of their megalomania.

The best villains, however, see themselves as the heroes of their own story, and act accordingly. Thus it is with Thanos, in a lifetime achievement role for actor JOSH BROLIN. All Thanos wants to do is eliminate poverty, make sure there are plenty of resources for people to live on, and see the universe at peace. And to do this, the only thing he needs to do is simply cut the existing population in half.

Admittedly, after the emotional blows dealt in last episode ("Lose Yourself"), I thought "Fury Rogue" was going to be more of a coast. I mean, they just killed Ralph Dibny (HARTLEY SAWYER) and effectively eliminated Killer Frost (DANIELLE PANABAKER) from Caitlin Snow's persona. Since this episode dealt with the final bus meta being safely transferred to a secure facility, how much excitement could it really generate?

While the episode didn't have quite the level of action as others, the drama was tense throughout. Caitlin still finds notes from her alter ego, Harrison Wells (TOM CAVANAGH) has to admit to Cisco (CARLOS VALDES) that the Thinking Cap has begun the process of eroding his intelligence, and Barry (GRANT GUSTIN) refuses to deal with the emotions of Ralph's death.

Thanos. The name alone strikes a chord with Marvel comic aficionados. It’s like sitting at a WWE event when the lights all go out, a lone, deep bell peals, and the arena is bathed in eerie blue light and theatrical fog, signaling the arrival of The  Undertaker. When Thanos shows up in a comic book, someone is going to die. If Thanos had his way, everyone would die.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a bit different than the Marvel Comic Universe, but Thanos is still the ultimate cosmic antagonist. Up until know he’s been relegated to talking head spots, chiding Loki in Marvel’s The Avengers, putting Ronan the Accuser in his place in Guardians of the Galaxy, and so forth. With The Avengers: Infinity War Thanos finally takes center stage against the entire host of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s expansive cast. And if Thanos had his way, nearly everyone would die.

The Riddler (CORY MICHAEL SMITH) teaches a lesson in betrayal with this episode of GOTHAM. Having agreed to perform a series of bank robberies for Lee Thompkins (MORENA BACCARIN), the proceeds of which are distributed among the impoverished of The Narrows, GCPD Captain James Gordon (BEN MCKENZIE) and Harvey Bullock (DONAL LOGUE) suspect Nygma's cleverness behind the thefts.

They're not the only one. Oswald Cobblepot (ROBIN LORD TAYLOR) and Butch Gilzean (DREW POWELL) are also on the trail of The Riddler. They want in -- by force -- and they want half of the take. When Oswald sees that Nygma is lending his brilliant mind in the service of Thompkins, he plants doubts in The Riddler's mind about Lee using him, doubts which fester when the mirrors are turned on Riddler, who is now taunted by his alter ego, Nygma (where it used to be the other way around).

"The Gift" leads up to the wedding of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle by taking us, after the events of METAL and all the various universes to -- you guessed it -- another alternate universe. In this case, it's an alternate timeline -- a BoosterPoint universe.

Gotham City is unrecognizable. Jokers -- plural, and way more than just three -- run amok in the streets. Tim Drake has a cubicle job, Jason Todd sells tires, and Duke Thomas is a mental invalid. And where is the Batman?

He's armed to the teeth and killing superheroes who come to Gotham so they don't get "Jokered." Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne is at a party, dancing with his mother on her anniversary.

That's right. Bruce Wayne and Batman are different people, all because Booster Gold time-travelled in an attempt to recreate "For the Man Who Has Everything" as a gift to Batman for his upcoming wedding.

It's here! Action Comics #1000 is available today and we're covering yet another previously released story right out of the pages of the landmark issue!

"Five Minutes" is written by Louise Simonson with art by Jerry Ordway. Listen in as I discuss my thoughts about this self-contained story as well as share in my excitement for Action Comics #1000. Wednesday, April 18th will forever be a holiday for Superman fans, as it's the 80th anniversary of Action Comics #1.

The first season of BLACK LIGHTNING wraps things up after a 13-episode run -- and, honestly, it's none too soon.

There were so many different things going badly for this series after its debut, but the acting wasn't one of them. CRESS WILLIAMS turned in a fine portrayal of high school principal Jefferson Pierce, but he's simply not action hero material when it came to being Black Lightning. Or perhaps it was just that the hero suit was so bulky and inflexible that made the fight scenes look stilted and awkward. The suit itself was never really fully explained, as far as having a reason other than disguise and identification. The best I can guess is that Pierce could funnel his natural electrical charge into it to make it do other things, but he still could perform electrical stunts without the uniform.

I've known that this episode of THE FLASH was likely coming, given the track record of the bus metas that The Thinker (NEIL SANDILANDS) had been tracking. But that doesn't mean I had given up hope, and it certainly didn't mean I was prepared for the event when it got here.

Last night, it got here.

Barry Allen (GRANT GUSTIN) and Ralph Dibny (HARTLEY SAWYER) are examining the actual bus that was hit by the wave of dark matter, scanning it for dark matter signatures in order to help the find anything on Edwin Gauss (ARTURO DEL PUERTO), a man who is completely off the grid, and lived that way even before the bus incident. As Harry (TOM CAVANAGH) gets further addicted to using the "thinking cap," the rest of Team Flash investigates a commune to find the extremely laid back Gauss to bring him in for protection. They're intercepted by one of The Thinker's Samuroids, but ultimately get Gauss into the Pipeline.

Not sure if you've heard by now but Action Comics #1000 comes out tomorrow. On the same day that Action Comics #1 debuted.

In AC1K Tom King (Batman, Grayson) tells a tale about the end of days for the planet Earth, and how Superman is visiting for one final goodbye to his parents. It's a beautiful homage to Ma and Pa Kent who took in an alien immigrant and raised him as their own. Loved him like he was born from them.

Then King ruined it with one panel. Give a listen to the latest "Superman Talk" and I'll explain why. If you haven't read his story yet and can't wait for tomorrow, you can read it for free here.

Steve talks (Bizarro) Superman as he goes over the latest issue of Superman by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason.

Some of the topics covered:

• Is Bizzaro truly Superman's opposite? 
• How much effort goes into editing Bizarro language?
• Why is there so much emphasis on characters being attracted to Superman?

Did you read Superman #44? Leave your comments below!

The hunt continues for the escaped Arkham inmates, including Jervis Tetch (BENEDICT SAMUEL), Jonathan Crane (DAVID W. THOMPSON), and their ringleader, Jerome Valeska (CAMERON MONAGHAN). And Jerome's own hunt also continues, as he seeks out a reclusive building engineer named Xander Wilde for reasons unknown.

Until now.

Leaving a trail of bodies in his wake, Jerome finds the proxy used by Xander to communicate to his clients. But she turns out to be too much for him to handle, and he finds himself knocked out and transported to Wilde's underground home where he's locked away in a concrete prison.

The countdown continues to the wedding of the century between Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. With BATMAN 44, "Bride or Burglar," things slow down just a bit in order for Selina to do some woolgathering while trying on dresses.

But it can't be as simple as that.

In the DC Universe, there is an afterlife. That's not a philosophical debate, it's an actual thing, and it presents a number of sticky problems that the players have to deal with, not always in a fashion consistent with the ramifications of there being a Heaven and a Hell. It's the focal point of this latest DC Animated Universe release, SUICIDE SQUAD: HELL TO PAY.

From the "Oh Yeah, They're Still Doing That" Department: DC Comics DOOMSDAY CLOCK #4 continues the story that brings the universe of WATCHMEN into that of the DCU proper, as the hunt for Dr. Manhattan continues. Slowly.

I appreciate that Geoff Johns is going for the "slow burn" in storytelling, but the slow burn only works well when the story overall is fast paced in terms of overall delivery and production. Having to wait two months between issues lets the burn fizzle out. 

What we do get this issue is the origin of the new Rorschach, as he muddles his way through life in Arkham Asylum. And no, I still haven't processed the fact that Batman has admitting privilieges to Arkham to the point that he can commit an inmate there without trial or even a psychological exam from a licensed psychiatrist. That's probably his scariest non-super power to date!