|
Lurdiak posted:Superman was by far the blandest of all the DCU shows and was often exactly what it was supposed to be: a saturday morning cartoon for kids. It sometimes rose above that, but much more rarely than Batman or JLU did. It just barely ekes out Batman Beyond for bland to memorable episode ratio, and McGuinness only gets out of that one because the show was stylish as hell. Batman Beyond was loving awesome and you take that back right now 
|
#
?
Jul 28, 2013 17:17
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 6, 2024 13:59 |
|
|
Batman Beyond was definitely bogged down by the corporate mandates to make it hip, modern and tubular. Some episodes reeked of "lets appeal to the gnarly 90s audience!" and didn't offer anything new or memorable. The show also definitely suffered from being a followup to Batman TAS, considering there was no way it could build a world and rogues gallery that would be as beloved and iconic. It had a tough starting position from the getgo, what with all the expectations and such. However, when Batman Beyond shined, it still really drat nicely shined. The good qualities of Batman TAS carried over into Beyond, mostly at least, and some episodes were just as strongly directed, written and acted. While most of the new villains were more on the "meh" side for me, others like Inque or Shriek were compelling and unique. The highest points of the show came, in my opinion, whenever Terry wasn't stricken with "cool 90s kid" disease and was instead portrayed as a sympathetic guy with believable problems and conflicts. This also lead to some really great moments with old Bruce, who was also just generally cool as hell and a great example of the "badass old guy" stereotype. Batman Beyond also brought us Return of the Joker, still my second favorite DC animated special of all time. Your mileage may vary, of course, but I hold it in high regard for being intense, suspenseful and doing its villain 100% justice in both writing and acting.
|
|
#
?
Jul 28, 2013 18:13
|
|
|
McSpanky posted:The first two Metallo episodes are great, but after that he got ran into the ground real hard. Wait this was an original movie? I've seen that dvd cover for years and always assumed it was just a bunch of the old episodes tossed into a set. It also came out after Justice League, how did I not hear about it?
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2013 00:37
|
|
|
JT Smiley posted:Wait this was an original movie? I've seen that dvd cover for years and always assumed it was just a bunch of the old episodes tossed into a set. It also came out after Justice League, how did I not hear about it? Because it was really, really bad.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2013 00:43
|
|
|
JT Smiley posted:Wait this was an original movie? I've seen that dvd cover for years and always assumed it was just a bunch of the old episodes tossed into a set. It also came out after Justice League, how did I not hear about it? Behold, the viewing globe! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_IIYKt1Aqs
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2013 00:49
|
|
|
Fuego Fish posted:Because it was really, really bad. It was loving awful in the weirdest way. They used the original Timm/Dini designs for all the characters, but were going for a Donner vibe, so Luthor acts goofy as poo poo but looks like cold, calculating Luthor from the animated series.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2013 01:12
|
|
|
Wait, it's all coming back to me. I did see that poo poo! Wow, I honestly must have blocked it out for years. What a terrible movie.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2013 01:17
|
|
|
McSpanky posted:The first two Metallo episodes are great, but after that he got ran into the ground real hard. As far as championing Superman: The Animated Series, I think that it did a great job with Toyman. He's not too spectacular in terms of story as he's coming from the revenge well that many of Batman's villains did, but he's so spectacularly creepy. I will also say that Superman: The Animated Series is the best looking of any of the DCAU shows. Once again, Batman: The Animated Series could be gorgeous. There is stuff like Clayface's transformation that is breathtaking. Still, the animation could be horribly inconsistent and the designs were sadly too detailed for many of the studios that they were dealing with. While I'd argue TNBA was equal in terms of animation, there were really some major missteps in terms of design. Superman: The Animated Series on the other hand was a beautifully deigned show with really kinetic action that I think was lost in Batman Beyond and the Justice Leagues that often felt too stiff. I think there is this great fluidity and softness to their Superman design that really allowed the animators to exaggerate his actions to create great sense of impact to his punches. Their Metropolis was also beautiful. It's one of the few depictions that really looks like the City of Tomorrow. While I think Gotham had a great atmosphere, Metropolis seemed like a more concrete and defined place. The memorable skyline definitely helped with that. It's a really pretty show.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2013 01:21
|
|
|
E the Shaggy posted:It was loving awful in the weirdest way. It was one of the earliest DTV efforts by WB, wasn't it? Explains maybe why they were trying to hook people into the purchase with the DiniTimm models.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2013 02:07
|
|
Sockser posted:Batman Beyond was loving awesome and you take that back right now Man, I love Batman Beyond dearly, the dynamic of the central characters is really good, the aesthetic and score are amazing, but a vast majority of the episodes are extremely unengaging Smallville type "freak of the week with almost no pathos or redeeming qualities" episodes, or even more Smallville style badly disguised preachiness. "Don't do drugs kids, here's an EVIL SUPERDRUG to show you how drugs are bad! And here's another episode that's basically the exact same thing. And another one." If I remember, some of of the BB team went on to actually work on Smallville, so that's probably not a coincidence. Of course, the few great episodes and Return of the Joker do a lot to redeem the show's inability to live up to its predecessor. Basically: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0stp0Z81oE Starsnostars posted:Hey now, Superman was nowhere near as bland as The Zeta Project! I seriously keep forgetting Zeta Project and Static Shock counted as part of the DCAU. Lurdiak fucked around with this message at 02:48 on Jul 29, 2013 |
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2013 02:46
|
|
|
Lurdiak posted:Man, I love Batman Beyond dearly, the dynamic of the central characters is really good, the aesthetic and score are amazing, but a vast majority of the episodes are extremely unengaging Smallville type "freak of the week with almost no pathos or redeeming qualities" episodes, or even more Smallville style badly disguised preachiness. "Don't do drugs kids, here's an EVIL SUPERDRUG to show you how drugs are bad! And here's another episode that's basically the exact same thing. And another one." "The Last Resort" was also a pretty good episode in terms of trying to be relevant as it seems to have the subtext of "Calm the gently caress down" to all of the Columbine craziness that was going on at the time. Also, updated the OP a bit.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2013 02:57
|
|
|
The slappers episode of Batman beyond is awesome. Everything about it. The atrophied bane, Terry's mom thinking he's on drugs and Bruce covering for him, everything is awesome.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2013 02:58
|
|
|
I can only echo the praise for the slappers episode. It dealt with the topic surprisingly open without insulting the audience's intelligence or getting too preachy. Including old Bane was really clever and showed how you do a callback right - His appearance was brief, but served a purpose in the story and surprised the viewer. I for one was genuinely grossed out by how he looked and felt that for those few seconds he was on screen, the anti-drug message got across just right. Spellbinder is another villain in Batman Beyond that I overall enjoyed. His variety of mind control was different enough from other baddies of this kind to keep him interesting. He could have benefit from more personality and some stronger storylines, but I remember great moments with him.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2013 04:23
|
|
|
Was shriek the villain who made Bruce hear things "in his head"? I always liked that episode for the ending, where Bruce goes "I knew I wasn't crazy because the voice kept calling me Bruce. In my head, that's not what I call myself." Also echoing praise for the Return of the Joker movie. But I think you have to watch the unrated version for the best effect.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2013 04:52
|
|
|
I enjoyed Batman Beyond when I marathoned it a few years ago more than I did when it aired. I don't know why it took so long to click. I think I couldn't get over that it wasn't just more of the original animated series. Not based on a comic, but I'm watching Tron: Uprising right now and am getting serious Batman Beyond vibes from it. Check it out if you liked BB.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2013 05:54
|
|
|
Uprising is incredible. It's a loving crime that it's over.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2013 06:00
|
|
|
Kingtheninja posted:Was shriek the villain who made Bruce hear things "in his head"? I always liked that episode for the ending, where Bruce goes "I knew I wasn't crazy because the voice kept calling me Bruce. In my head, that's not what I call myself." Yup, that was Shriek. He is one of my favorite Beyond villains by far. His motivation and gimmick were pretty drat great. I've done some sound engineering stuff as a hobby (recording local bands, simple mixing, that kinda thing) and the way they used actual sound engineering concepts as a basis for Shriek's powers impressed me. The typical superhero story bullshitting aside, Shriek relied on some pretty graspable stuff, and that made him work for me. On his selftitled introduction episode, they went all the way to establish that. My favorite moment was easily the completely silent scene that resulted from a device cancelled all soundwaves in the area out. I adore it when showmakers go that extra mile to get the audience sucked in. Also, the fact that Shriek grows vengeful and bitter after Terry inflicts permanent tinitus upon him is great and relatable. Shriek's professional career had already been screwed over once by Powers, Batman just had to come in and add insult to injury. For anyone working in the sound department, the fear of potential hearing loss is very real. From Shriek's point of view, Batman utterly crippled him. And that line from Bruce you quoted is just one of the many great little moments with him. Kevin Conroy's performance conveyed a lot of his bottled up issues and bitterness without going into full-on angst territory. Kingtheninja posted:Also echoing praise for the Return of the Joker movie. But I think you have to watch the unrated version for the best effect. Oh, definitely. The movie has some really haunting scenes, and the infamous one that got censored for TV is the best among those. You know a scene is harsh and gutwrenching when Mark Hamill calls it too extreme. Supposedly it took some time and good words to get him to do it. I'm very glad he came around, because I think it's one of his very best performances ever as the Joker. Pennypunch fucked around with this message at 13:11 on Jul 29, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2013 13:08
|
|
|
Lurdiak posted:I seriously keep forgetting Zeta Project and Static Shock counted as part of the DCAU. Apart from a couple of really bad episodes I enjoyed Static Shock, but I have no idea what the Zeta project is.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2013 17:27
|
|
|
Imagine The Incredible Hulk but starring Data. It had a nested pilot in Batman Beyond. And also another crossover episode that ruled because it starred MAD STAN.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2013 17:35
|
|
|
Has anyone taken the trouble to watch the Injustice: Gods Among Us videos on Youtube? Someone strung all of the FMVs (and QTEs) together. The surprising thing is that there is probably in excess of 100 minutes of video in that game. The basic storyline of the game (without spoiling too much) is that alternate universe Superman goes insane after Lois and his unborn child die, and some of the "normal universe" characters get sucked in and have to deal with it. I was sufficiently amused to watch the entire thing, which goes on without almost any gameplay footage besides the QTEs (all of which look awful). The character designs are at times pretty whack (both versions of Superman are wearing armor, for instance), but it was obviously a game where they wanted the story to take a front seat. The Joker was great the entire time he was involved, for example. Name Change fucked around with this message at 17:54 on Jul 29, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2013 17:51
|
|
|
OneThousandMonkeys posted:Has anyone taken the trouble to watch the Injustice: Gods Among Us videos on Youtube? Someone strung all of the FMVs (and QTEs) together. The surprising thing is that there is probably in excess of 100 minutes of video in that game.  I wouldn't ever be surprised by that much time spent in cutscenes, at least not in this era of games.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2013 18:08
|
|
|
SRM posted:Somebody a couple pages ago said something along the lines of "Have you guys heard of this Injustice animated movie!? It's really good!" I guess in my brain it feels like a lot, even compared to AAA titles with seemingly unlimited budget, like Halo 4 or Arkham City.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2013 18:17
|
|
|
OneThousandMonkeys posted:Has anyone taken the trouble to watch the Injustice: Gods Among Us videos on Youtube? Someone strung all of the FMVs (and QTEs) together. The surprising thing is that there is probably in excess of 100 minutes of video in that game. There's an Injustice ongoing comics as well, maybe you will enjoy that more
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2013 19:45
|
|
|
Don't read the Injustice comics, it's more dumb than the actual game's story and that's saying quite a bit.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2013 21:48
|
|
|
MrFlibble posted:Apart from a couple of really bad episodes I enjoyed Static Shock, but I have no idea what the Zeta project is. I honestly think that Static would be a really good film property, but with McDuffie gone, I feel like the character no longer has anyone to see his value.
|
|
#
?
Jul 30, 2013 00:12
|
|
|
Sex_Ferguson posted:Don't read the Injustice comics, it's more dumb than the actual game's story and that's saying quite a bit. But that's exactly why you should read the Injustice comics.
|
|
#
?
Jul 30, 2013 02:52
|
|
|
Timeless Appeal posted:Static Shock is the mostly explicitly for children which is fine. It can be a pretty corny show, but it's a corny show with a good heart which presented a strong African American superhero. It's too bad that DC really couldn't do anything with the ball that McDuffie had tossed them. To be fair, DC really hasn't been able to do much with the good ideas that animation has tossed their way outside of Harley and Mr. Freeze. The lack of recognition that there is a whole generation of people who grew up with a much more well defined and much less offensive Starfire than what's currently in the New 52 is probably the best evidence of that. I loving loved Static Shock as a kid, mainly just because he quipped more than all the other heroes in the DCAU. Also, electricity was a cool power. Somehow I did not realize this until 11. There was a lot of dumb poo poo in there though. Karl Malone had power armor, for Christ's sake.
|
|
#
?
Jul 30, 2013 03:14
|
|
|
To me, the Injustice storyline showcases everything I loathe about the superhero genre. Awfully handled angst, clunky story that only serves to cram in as many characters as possible, plotholes up the wazoo and OOC idiocy just to crank up the drama. I really tried to like it, but I just couldn't ignore all of the glaring issues. It also doesn't help that I didn't care for some of the VAs involved. At least Kevin Conroy did his job well as usual, but the script bogged him down for sure. Gameplaywise, I still think Injustice is a decent game if you can get past some of the offensively bad New 52 designs. The fights are a blast, the graphics are competent, the movesets enjoyable. Just ignore that it tries to have a story and you'll have plenty of fun. ... Except if you have some bile fascination, of course. The Injustice comics are downright hilarious in that really bad, unintentional way. The art gets to comedy gold levels sometimes with its messed up faces and weird anatomy.
|
|
#
?
Jul 30, 2013 03:26
|
|
|
The thing that bugged me about Injusice's story was that they had this whole brand new alternate universe and decided to keep the stakes super low. I think in the entire game only one character dies on screen and another is announced as having died in the past.
|
|
#
?
Jul 30, 2013 03:29
|
|
|
TwoPair posted:I loving loved Static Shock as a kid, mainly just because he quipped more than all the other heroes in the DCAU. Also, electricity was a cool power. Somehow I did not realize this until 11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PETk8eBbfN0
|
|
#
?
Jul 30, 2013 03:51
|
|
|
achillesforever6 posted:I remember the dumb school shooting episode and the time travel episodes which reminds me of that JLU Time Travel episode that was awesome. Poor Stewart Carter Winthrop III (Yes that is Ghoul's real name)) he had no chance. MonsterEnvy fucked around with this message at 04:23 on Jul 30, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jul 30, 2013 04:20
|
|
|
Pennypunch posted:Oh, definitely. The movie has some really haunting scenes, and the infamous one that got censored for TV is the best among those. You know a scene is harsh and gutwrenching when Mark Hamill calls it too extreme. Supposedly it took some time and good words to get him to do it. I'm very glad he came around, because I think it's one of his very best performances ever as the Joker. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LikMS5gDDI
|
|
#
?
Jul 30, 2013 04:30
|
|
|
One of the most hosed up episodes of Batman Beyond Disappearing Inque. In it William H. Macy is obsessed with Inque, who after her last battle with Batman is frozen but aware. She gets William H. Macy to free her and at the end of the episode he has the most hosed up fate.
|
|
#
?
Jul 30, 2013 08:14
|
|
muscles like this? posted:The thing that bugged me about Injusice's story was that they had this whole brand new alternate universe and decided to keep the stakes super low. I think in the entire game only one character dies on screen and another is announced as having died in the past. I just think having the story be "the heroes are visiting a world where Superman's a jackass and Good Superman punches him and wins because he's the good guy" is significantly less interesting than what the story was marketed as being: Batman and a team of heroes and villains resisting a dictatorship run by Superman. It just completely sucked all the drama and possible character development out of the story, since most interactions were just "How can you be a bad guy? You're supposed to be a good guy!!! DOING BAD THINGS IS WRONG" or "How can Superman be working with you? You're a bad guy!!!  " instead of focusing at all on character motivations.It's really disappointing, since I thought MK9, despite some missteps, was probably the best story mode a fighting game's ever had, but Injustice is basically the Justice Lords two-parter from JLU if it sucked. (Note that in that episode, evil Superman actually has the edge when fighting good Superman, because he fights ruthlessly and is equal in power. But in this game, every time a hero faces their evil twin, they win easily, because they're the good guys.  )I happen to think the tie-in comic is infinitely more interesting. Not just because it actually tells the story people want to read, of Batman opposing Superman's regime, but it's actually really good for the most part and I think it has some great and clever character moments. I think a lot of people hate it just because it has Superman going around being a murderous rear end in a top hat, but it's miles ahead of the game's writing.
|
|
|
#
?
Jul 30, 2013 16:32
|
|
|
The only decent Superman Dictator story I can think of is Tangent: Superman's Reign, that's due to the Tangent Superman being such an interesting character in itself, I like how they didn't make him appear a lot, whenever he did appear, his presence chewed up every scene that he was in.
|
|
#
?
Jul 30, 2013 20:21
|
|
|
Realism posted:The only decent Superman Dictator story I can think of is Tangent: Superman's Reign, that's due to the Tangent Superman being such an interesting character in itself, I like how they didn't make him appear a lot, whenever he did appear, his presence chewed up every scene that he was in. Red Son is an excellent Super-tator story.
|
|
#
?
Jul 30, 2013 22:54
|
|
|
jscolon2.0 posted:Red Son is an excellent Super-tator story. Kind of fizzles out in the last half of the book really.
|
|
#
?
Jul 30, 2013 22:57
|
|
|
jscolon2.0 posted:Red Son is an excellent Super-tator story. He needs his Super-pope hat 
|
|
#
?
Jul 30, 2013 23:13
|
|
|
CharlestheHammer posted:Kind of fizzles out in the last half of the book really. The back half has Luthor being altruistic but for entirely dickish reasons, the Green Lantern Marine Corps, Superman being beaten by a postcard, and a high-concept predestination paradox for an epilogue. It's amazing, and I wish it'd get a conventional animation instead of a motion comic. Then again, the animation of Flashpoint is one of the most hideous things I've ever seen, so perhaps its for the best.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2013 00:51
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 6, 2024 13:59 |
|
|
MonsterEnvy posted:Poor Stewart Carter Winthrop III (Yes that is Ghoul's real name)) he had no chance.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2013 05:14
|
|
