DVD Review : Superman VS The Elite (DC Animated)

(Click to Enlarge)

Directed by : Michael ChangWritten by : Joe KelleyFeaturing the voice talents of : George Newbern, Pauley Perrette and others.

The folks at DC animation seem to be back in form after a lacklustre adaptation of All Star Superman and JLA : Doom (which wasn’t as good as it should have been). Superman v/s the Elite is an adaptation of a critically acclaimed story called What’s So Funny about Truth, Justice and the American Way which I have to confess I haven’t read. I’m sure it pales in comparison to the source material, but Superman v/s The Elite is a really good film.
What I love about this film is that the story it tells is immensely personal, yet affecting on a very grand scale. Also, it’s quite relevant. The Elite are a group of Super-powered youngsters with a warped sense of morality and they don’t hesitate when it comes to killing criminals. And know what? The people bloody LOVE it. They want their criminals tortured, butchered, made to suffer. The people want their criminals killed. Superman, who stands by his no-kill ideologies comes under fire for not resorting to Elite-like tactics. But he knows their methods are wrong, and it’s up to him to prove why.

DCAnimatedU Movie Review - Justice League: Doom

Director - Lauren Montgomery  

Writer - Dwayne McDuffie

Featuring the voice talents of - Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly, Nathan Fillion and others. 

Based on - Justice League: Tower of Babel by Mark Waid 

"Tower of Babel" is one of the greatest Justice League books ever written. And if you haven’t read it yet, take a step back and punch yourself in the face. 

You deserve it. Now go buy it and read it. 

Now, Justice League:Doom takes quite a few liberties with its source material. It isn’t just a Batman story anymore. And there’s more than just one villain. 

Is it a good movie? Of course it is. It’s a DC animated film. I’ll be damned if they ever go wrong. 

But how is it compared to the rest of the DC animated films? Not that great. I’d place it somewhere between Superman/Batman : Apocalypse and Justice League : Crisis On Two Earths. Heck, this is director Lauren Montgomery’s worst DC animated film yet. But it is good. It’s helluva lot of fun and very enjoyable.

This week in comics: What's New :

Lord of the Jungle #1

Writer : Arvid Nelson

Artist : Roberto Castro

Review : Anubhav Das Gupta

I thought I’d give some #1’s a try this week. So, here goes.

I love Tarzan. Everyone does. But only a few have actually read Edgar Rice Burroughs’ amazing novels. And these novels, they are very different from any of the movies or the TV shows. The comicbooks, however, were always pretty close to the source material.  And this one stays close too.

Lord of the Jungle, infact, stays very close to the book. It’s primarily a comicbook adaptation of the first chapter of the book. But is it a good adaptation? 

Anime Review Presents – SAMURAI CHAMPLOO

Konnichiwa minna!

Has everyone been indulging liberally in anime while I was gone? Your oujo sama spends a lot of time watching anime and reading manga, and tends to get lost in those worlds – all for you! All so that I have recommendations that people will enjoy. Ready for what I have this week?
Samurai Champloo is an old anime, originally aired in 2004, and ever since it’s debut continues to remain one of the classics in the field. Set in the 'Edo' period, the story is centered around Fuu, a 15-year-old girl who works in her uncle’s teahouse. A random series of encounters bring her together with two ronin – Jin and Mugen – whose lives she saves, only to insist they help her find ‘the samurai who smells of sunflowers’. Though vague initially, the antics of the characters keep you sufficiently entertained, until just enough of the central plot is revealed to make you wonder what’s going on.

Exploring the X-Men: Season Two

After a long hiatus, Marvel’s favourite mutants returned to syndicated television for a season of another 13 episodes.

The Episodes here have better production values, the animation is improved significantly while the cohesiveness and integrity of the episodes - for some time - hits a low. Plenty of new characters are introduced here; practically every one except the ones featured in the theme song are first appearances. Also, old characters are brought back from the dead. Enough hints for everybody, and for those who didn’t quite get it, or jumped on right now, read on.

Til Death Do Us Part, Parts 1 & 2

As seen in the end of the previous Season (see review here), Scott Summers and Jean Grey tie the knot. Anti mutant hysteria still prevails, aided by an organization calling themselves the ‘Friends Of Humanity’, led by Graydon Creed. Wolverine is in a bad mood, aggravated further by the wedding. Mysteriously, Morph who was supposed to have died in Episode 1, Night Of The Sentinels, Parts 1 & 2 is back amongst the living. But he hates the X-Men and blames them for leaving him behind. While Scott & Jean are on their honeymoon, Morph, using his powers creates havoc at the mansion, leaving Beast trapped in the Danger Room against a particularly nasty program, Jubilee alone in a branch of the Friends of Humanity; and Storm and Gambit injured, with Rogue having Gambit’s powers. And finally the mastermind behind it all, and the architect of Morph’s return is revealed to be a nasty being called Mr Sinister. Mr Sinister and his ‘Nasty Boys’ reach Scott & Jean and plan to use their child to further their evil ways. And for Professor X and Magneto, the troubles are just beginning. Their trek through the Savage Land beginning here would last the length of the season. In the Savage Land, both mutants lose their powers while Professor X regains the use of his legs, suggesting this has something to do with his powers.

The Itch You Can't Scratch - A Re-review

After the Comic Con 2010 ended, we were all on a high. My cousin had won a bundle of free comic as the 2nd prize, and he had left the entire thing at my place for me to consume. For all you foreign readers – It is an age old custom in India that whatever a younger brother wins, he has to share it with his elder brother. For reference, read the wiki about Draupadi. Yes. It is true. That is what we still do in India :P. For the non-American foreign readers, well, it’s just this arrangement between my cousin and I. He is the keeper, so I read and then he takes them, reads them and archives them. I am a mess and nothing stays safe with me.

Anyway, I digress. Among the lot, the first book I started reading The Itch You Can't Scratch by Sumit Kumar (one of the writers for Savita Bhabhi, which was ONE of the reasons I picked this one up first) and I must say, it turned out to be a pretty interesting read, contrary to all my apprehension.

Main Cover: The itch you can't scratch



Animated Reviews : Young Justice (Episodes 1 & 2)

Young Justice – Independence Day
Episodes 1 & 2
Cartoon Network
-Review By Manks

Synopsis:
Teen sidekicks (Robin/Speedy/Kid Flash/Aqua lad) are invited to the hall of justice thinking they would officially become part of the big league! But soon they realize they still aren’t trusted by the league completely yet. Once the League is away, the teenage sidekicks find a mission of their own rebelling against the orders of the JLA and start investigating the fire that broke out at Cadmus, where they find more than they bargained for - mind controlling Genomorphs and a clone of Superman calling himself Superboy.

Comments:-

This series is in Dc comics continuity, based on a parallel earth - Earth 16 (if you are a reader of DC comics , you would understand what this means, else just let it go.), where superheroes are still a recent phenomenon.

PAD's Young Justice

If you thought that this is going to mirror Teen Titans that came out a few years ago on a similar premise you are wrong. Unlike Teen Titans this series has a serious tone to it from the get go. Needless to say the cast of characters is quite different. Its more current Teen Titans cast (which itself started out as the excellent comic series Young Justice by PAD)






What I liked?

- The animation and voice work is top notch. I couldn’t find anything to complain about here
- Characters stayed true to their established demeanor. Robin is witty, Kid flash is chirpy and Speedy sulks

- Aqualad: Has to be the breakout character for me. This is a new avatar of aqualad created especially for the show ( which Goeff Johns liked so much that he introduced the new aqualad in DC universe proper in one of his issues of Brightest Day).

- I am one of those who liked the entire Superman death and return saga. Superboy was my favourite character during that period. So reference to Cadmus and seeing Superboy breakout again (although not quite in the same cavalier manner) was great fun. I wanted Superboy to shout his signature "Don't ever call me Superboy", but this Kon-El is a little serious for that.

-Gaurdian! They used the Gaurdian. About time for Mr. Harper to get into the animated action scene

- There is going to be an over-arching plot to the entire series. This will keep the mystery alive and make me want to come back, even if to see whether my suspicions were correct

- Finally , they are using the name Young Justice, which is one of my all time favourite comic series. I only wish it was an adaptation of the same comic, but alas, you cant have everything!


What I did not like?

- You could see the story beats from miles away, hence it wouldnt be amiss to say it was a little predictable.

- I couldn’t exactly fathom the reaction of Superman when he meets superboy for the first time. Maybe it’s just me, but I would expect Supes to react a little more warmly.

- No Speedy when it came to action time! I Kept expecting speedy to jump in any moment.So I guess in a way, Young Justice did surprise me. I think he just might turn up as Arsenal. We will see..

- I personally would have liked a little more humor in this animated show. Its Young Justice not JLA. Fun and humor should come naturally to teens.

- I found it a little weird that there weren't many people in Cadmus. There were 52 sublevels but hardly any people..

Final word:
I say that the premiere episodes were a little predictable , but there are only a few ways a team can start, so I can let go of the unpredictability factor for this episode. What I am excited about is how speedy would return? I personally think he would come back as Arsenal., but then it wouldnt surprise me if he showed up turned to the darker side especially since the promo doesn't show speedy but arrowette. If that happens I would be a little dissapointed.

Despite its minor faults , its a worthy successor to DC animated Legacy. Time to follow the young guns of Dc universe once again.

Rating 8/10