I Need a Hero

Batman: Knightfall Part 1

I love these Warner Home Video DC Animated movies. I have a large Steelbook and also a full set of Bluray/Graphic Novels in my collection. I’m a fan… although lately, the only recent one I purchased was the Death of Superman (and the sequel) and Crisis on Infinite Earths animation.

These Animation movies are based on famous comic book stories – such as Batman: Year One, Batman: The Killing Joke (I hated the new story before the Killing Joke), and The Dark Knight Returns. While most of the stories can fit into an hour or so self-contained movie, some are split in two or three. I hated when they split up the story, because you’re only getting part of the story. That’s my biggest criticism for Batman: Knightfall… because I know there will follow Knightquest, and KnightsEnd. If you want the entire storyline, I would just recommend waiting until all three is released and you can buy it at a discount set price.

Batman: Knightfall Part 1 comes out September 8th, 2026, and covers the origin of Bane, the villain who would famously break the Batman’s back. When I was reading the comic books, back in the day, we were coming off of Superman being killed by Doomsday, so seeing Batman falls under a then-unknown villain was both exciting and frustrating.

This is just my opinion, but I have never really found Bane that interesting. He’s like a really buff Lucha wrestler, that’s all there is to him (at least to my eyes). I think later they tried to give Bane an origin, but at that point, I was kind stopped collecting Batman and Detective Comics.

Watching the first part of Knightfall, it was all coming back from my memories of the 90s. It was cool to see Azrael (a Joe Quesada character) again, but I honestly don’t remember the comic book being so bloody violent. We’re talking cutting off faces here! Yikes! I guess the animation took some liberties when it comes to action and violence.

So, just interesting to note that the cover artwork to Part 1 is signed Kelley Jones. I didn’t even know Warner allows artists to sign their artwork for DVD covers. It was just nice to see this artist’s work on something new… since I’ve always associated Jones with horror comics, like Swamp and Sandman (yeah I know he did super-heroes stuff too like Micronauts and those Batman comics).

Speaking of art… I like the animation. I feel like they were going for that 90s Brian Bolland’s Batman look – with very pronounced cape that looks like horned wings. If you ever read Batman #400 with Bolland’s sequence, you’ll know what I’m talking about. And like the plot of #400, the villains of Gotham escaped and it’s up to Batman to catch them all like Pokemon. I want to say that the writer of that comic (Doug Moench) recycles his ideas and instead of Killer Croc breaking Batman’s back, he just gives that storyline to Bane.

So, what’s the verdict? It’s unfair to judge, because there is barely a story here. The whole thing is about an hour long and there’s just some origin of Bane and introduction of Azrael. The story ultimately leads up to Batman meeting Bane for the first time and Bane breaks his back. That’s the whole plot of part 1. For a full story, we need to see Batman recovery, and then Batman facing Bane and defeating Bane – that’s a complete story. I guess, I need to reserve judgement until all the Knightfall story is out.

Lanterns

The much-anticipated latest DC Comics’ television show Lanterns pilot has arrived on HBO. Although the show is based on the intergalactic Green Lantern Corps, it’s not as cheesy or space-cops as the comic book. Instead, the show is grounded on Earth, in Nebraska, and was inspired by True Detectives.

The show starts off introducing John Stewart as a child… and then we’re in present day as he is being trained by his idol, Hal Jordan (Green Lantern). Hal seemed disagreeable and paranoid that Stewart is taking over his ring as the new Green Lantern and that he’s going to be killed or forced to retired. At least that’s the impression I got in the pilot.

Like True Detectives (first season), Watchmen (television show), and West World (television show), this show, Lanterns is telling its story in two different time lines: 2016 and 2026 (a decade apart).

It’s nice to see Irish actress Kelly Macdonald, who plays the sheriff in this small town. The last time I saw her was in Dept. Q, but obviously I still love her from Trainspotting. I like Macdonald, but I never bought that she can play a tough cop.

The pilot doesn’t tell you much about what the show is about. If you watched the trailer, it sounds like Manhunters are the real threat of the series. If you know anything about the Green Lantern, you know that the Guardians created these robotic Manhunters to keep peace in the galaxy. The machine … malfunctioned, trying to eradicate all life, so they had to be put down. The Guardians then created the Green Lantern Corps.

So, I’m excited to see the mystery of this new Lanterns show. I think it’s weird that the superhero show is a hardboiled detective show… with very little Green Lantern usage (no costumes, very little ring action).

As a Crime Time fan, I like the crime and mystery. However, I also understand why it’s polarizing to fans – either you really love it, or you really hate it. People who hate it, they say it’s too slow and boring. I guess they’ve never read a Tom King comics.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day

If you saw Punisher: One Last Kill, then it nicely sets up Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the recent Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures film (with Columbia Pictures).

If you know anything about the mess that is Spider-Man and Marvel, it stems from when Marvel was auctioning off their properties – so Fox got all the X-Men stuff and Sony got Spider-Man and related Spider-verse. That is the reason(s) why mutants and Spider-Man was kept out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe… until they came to an agreement that Sony would lend Spider-Man back to Marvel, starting in 2014. However, Sony still had the Spider-license, so that’s why we got such stinkers as Morbius, Madame Web, and Kraven the Hunter.

As for the current Spider-Man films, I have to say that all the ‘home’ Spider-Man films (Homecoming, Far From Home, and No Way Home) have been pretty enjoyable… including the current film Brand New Day.

While I enjoying seeing the Punisher again, I felt that the Hulk’s appearance was unnecessary. The film could have been done without him, especially because the Scorpion as the villain was just fine. There is actually a secret villain, but I won’t talk about it, as it will spoil the film. Let’s just say that I liked the mysterious nature of the villain. If you do a search on the cast of Spider-Man, you’ll figure out who the main villain is.

As for preference, I don’t know why they introduce the organic web thing. I thought we were well pasted that organic web debate. I’m pro-web cartridges. I’m sorry if it doesn’t make any sense, but the cartridges are from the comic book, so let’s just stick with the comic book’s origin story.

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