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Saw that earlier on CBR. Feels like an odd choice for an animated series, but I've generally enjoyed what little I've seen and read of the character though she isn't a favorite. I read its going to be set in the Arrow/Flash universe.

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Been revisiting various animated X-Men properties. Watched all the X-eps of Spidey and his Amazing Friends, the first 8 or so eps of Saban and Evolution, and Pryde of the X-Men.

 

The 80s stuff has aged poorly (you're SHOCKED, I know) but for someone who didn't really read comics except Transformers and GI Joe in the 80s, they served as a first window into the X-verse. Pryde in particular felt like a huge missed opportunity, a pilot that had some rough edges but could easily have worked out if given 13 eps to tinker with the formula and find a groove. Much like the third season of Transformers, it feels like it's trying really hard to push the envelope of what kids' shows (and particularly Marvel/Hasbro kids' shows) did at the time, but foundering because they're trying to do a show that uses the 80s kids' show formula to tell stories for a slightly older audience, rather than building a new formula for that audience. (If nothing else, it's leaps and bounds ahead of the Robocop and Dino-Riders series it was designed to air with). I love how there is absolutely no consistency in any sense of the word (Cyclops has two different voices, one of which is the thoroughly inappropriate Stan Jones). Aussie Wolverine is always hilarious, and I love the story (I found it on Toon Zone long ago) that says the initial plan (and the "X-Men Adventure" ep, which was a backdoor pilot for a new NBC show) used Thunderbird instead of Wolverine because there was no way to make Logan's claws kids-show appropriate.

 

Man there is basically no way in hell I make it thru 5 seasons of Saban X-Men. "Night of the Sentinels", for all its clunky dialogue, still feels super ambitious by the standards of the day. The foster parents trying to do the right thing and accidentally setting the Sentinels on Jubilee, the X-Men breaking into the MRA facility, Morph's apparent death and Beast spending the whole first season in prison. That's some harsh shit there. And yet, the dialogue is appalling, the "don't say kill/die" rule is applied with no consistency whatsoever and I want to walk away from the TV every time Sabretooth or Gambit shows up. Also, nobody but Scott and Jean can have a real name (and Jean can't have a code name) and Gambit wears his costume while walking through the airport with street-clothed Storm and Jubilee and I know that when the kill/die rule DOES become consistent, it will be the wrong kind of consistent and Scott will yell "Stop! YOU'RE DESTROYING HIM!" in season 2.

 

Evolution is interesting. I remember hating the first season, loving the second, and never seeing 3-4. I had forgotten that in ep 1, Scott and Jean are basically the only 'students' at the Xavier Institute, and the first 5 eps bring in Kurt, Kitty, Rogue and Spike, as well as the Brotherhood kids. Kitty needs to be hooked up to a device that will shock her every time she says "like" more than once in a sentence. Scott McNeil is an underrated Wolverine. Not saying he's as good as Steve Blum, but he's totally acceptable. I kind of want to fast forward thru S1 and get to Beast and the New Mutants and Scarlet Witch and X-23, but I won't.

 

Not ignoring WatX, but I want to finish either one of these series or something else I've been bouncing around on Netflix or Hulu before I commit to a THIRD X-Men cartoon. Is the anime still on Crackle? Someday, I should watch more than just the first ep of that.

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You could go either way on the anime.

 

I love the Saban X-men series though I loath the horrible amount of censorship that was fostered upon it. Made no damn sense and brought down a generally good show. It and Spider-man are the series that actually got me into superheroes.

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So after finishing the first season of both Fox and Evo, I decided to stick with Evo exclusively until I get to the end, then double back and watch the rest of Fox X-Men. I'm up through "The Beast of Bayville" and I'm struck by just how many of these I didn't see on first airing.  Still don't really care for Evo Kitty though.

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I've been on this kick at work lately, doing the Sandman voice: "No war ... no fighting ... only dreams." Did it for the kid this weekend; she blamed Saturday's nightmare on me!

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SXlyEMp.gif

 

I know one or two of you watched the animated Batman: The Dark Knight Returns on the old board and I want to talk it up on the new one.

 

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1. Bruce Wayne, ten years after retiring as Batman returns to action as Batman in a crime filled Gotham City. The media and citizens debate Batman’s involvement, for and against. This is another quality addition to the DC Animated Universe, its high up on the list. I really enjoyed this film for the story, the animation, the voice cast with Peter Weller as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Ariel Winter as Carrie Kelly/Robin and the score, one of the best in a DC animated film. The film ends on a great cliffhanger. Actually one of the best endings to any film I’ve seen.

 

The Joker reacting to Batman's return. Darlin'.

 

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2. Batman has to deal with opposition to his return from The Joker reawaken from dormancy by Batman’s return, locally by the Gotham City police force under a new anti vigilante Commissioner and nationally by the US Government who Superman answers to. There are those who aren’t against Batman and are inspired by him.

 

The quality doesn't dip in the second and final part, its high up on the Best Animated DC Universe films for the story, the animation, the voice cast with Peter Weller as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Ariel Winter as Carrie Kelly/Robin, Mark Valley as Clark Kent/Superman, Michael Emerson as The Joker and the score. The score for this film is one of the best in a DC animated film.

 

The two sequences I was looking forward to more than delivered:

 

The final confrontation between Batman and The Joker.

 

Batman vs. Superman.

 

Which part did I prefer? I probably prefer the first for the smaller scale. Both are two of the best Batman films I’ve watched with Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, Batman: Under the Red Hood, Batman: Year One, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

 

After watching both parts, I’d like to go back and read The Dark Knight Returns again which I’ve only ever read once years ago. The film has certainly made me appreciate the book more. Actually I might prefer this to the original source material.

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I wrapped up Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated and wow, what a finish.  It brought everything back to where we first were introduced to the gang: four kids and a dog traveling the country in a funky van and meddling in others' affairs. One of the best examples of deconstructing a classic entity I've ever seen.  Well worth a watch, but do so quickly:  Netflix is taking it down on March 30.

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