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The DC Comics TV & Movie Thread - A Thread for Talking about Detective Comics Comics Television Shows and Movies

WisteriaHysteria

WisteriaHysteria

Watching Poison Ivy casually murder Mark Zuckerberg and Peter Theil at a super villain conference on the moon was almost as wonderful as how much they're playing up Nightwing's ass this season.

I don't know how original this take on The Brain and Monsieur Mallah is but it's still delightful. Also, I really can't understate how nice it is that both Jimmy and Lois are smart and capable at their jobs.
 
BEAT

BEAT

LOUDSKULL
(DUDE/BRO)
WisteriaHysteria said:
The saddest thing of all is that you'd think this just an insult based on reputation alone, but it is literally the actual reason behind the rebrand. They didn't want people to get 'confused' by thinking Max was just HBO (e.g. GOOD) stuff, and to dilute/tarnish the HBO branding with all of the garbage brought over on the Discovery-side of things.
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My wife set up her mom with Discovery back before the two became one.

There were 3 shows called "Dr. Pimple Popper" on the fucking first screen.
 
BEAT

BEAT

LOUDSKULL
(DUDE/BRO)
I have also been watching My Adventures with Superman and I also enjoyed Jimmy going "Clark of course I knew you were superman what kind of idiot do you take me for."
 
Paul le Fou

Paul le Fou

24/7 lofi hip hop man to study/relax to
(He)
BEAT said:
My wife set up her mom with Discovery back before the two became one.

There were 3 shows called "Dr. Pimple Popper" on the fucking first screen.
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Don't you dare speak ill of Dr. Lee

*ahem* anyway.

I watched Peacemaker, and it was pretty OK. Pretty good, even? One thing I'm really appreciating about DC is that they're willing to go for a lot of weird side stuff that Marvel's careful curation would never allow for (seriously, even What If...? had to have a tenuous tie to the "main" universe). But Peacemaker was unapologetically R-rated and irreverent (in the sense of having little reverence for canon, not just in the general sense), and it was better than a show about Peacemaker had any right to be. I don't know how Gunn is going to handle having the overall reins, but I have faith that it's at least going to be interesting.

Which also leads me to Harley Quinn, the crude animated show full of graphic violence, sex jokes and killing off or screwing with well-known characters, and probably the single best piece of cinematic output from the whole DC comics universe. Seriously, it's just... it's good. I watched the first 3 episodes of the new season and really enjoyed it, an outcome I'd have called "predictable" based on my enjoyment of the previous seasons. Ivy and Harley continue to be just adorable, the Joker as mayor of Gotham and boring suburban dad is still an amazing gag. Good jokes, good characters, good writing.

How close are we to the end of the current animated Superman/Lois show? I figure we're close enough that I've been waiting to start it until it's finished, but I have no idea what's planned for it.
 
Rascally Badger

Rascally Badger

El Capitan de la outro espacio
(He/Him)
We're right around halfway through the 10 episode first season, with another 10 episodes confirmed for . . . sometime.
 
gogglebob

gogglebob

The Goggles Do Nothing
(he/him)
WisteriaHysteria said:
I don't know how original this take on The Brain and Monsieur Mallah is but it's still delightful.
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Hi! For reasons likely related to Grant Morrison, I have an unhealthy knowledge of those two characters. For further elaboration on their comics/media past:

Mallah and the Brain have basically had that same origin since the beginning when they first appeared in the 60's (intelligence enhanced gorilla, lab accident, some other big player being responsible for the accident, never an explanation for why an intelligence-enhanced gorilla comes out French). While they have always been partners, they were not outright lovers until 1987 during Morrison's Doom Patrol run (which includes a lovely bit where The Brain steals Robot Man's body, Brain and Mallah can finally kiss, and Robot Man's stolen body activates a self destruct explosion in response to gorilla kisses. Everyone survives. It is very Looney Tunes). Like a lot of "Vertigo characters" (officially pre-Vertigo at that time), Mallah and The Brain were ignored for regular continuity for a while, but they started returning in the aughts thanks to Salvation Run (trivia: a story concept pitched by that Song of Ice and Fire guy) which was a "villains crossover" tale that existed to come off of one epic event series (Infinite Crisis/52) and lead into another (Countdown/Final Crisis). In it, it set up the basic status quo for Mallah and the Brain that seems to have survived the last 20 years of DC reboots, which is that they are essentially star-crossed lovers looking for a way to make their unique relationship work, and they also bicker like an old married couple. It seems like a lot of their personality on today's show came from that basic premise.

They have appeared in a handful of DC TV shows since first being animated in Teen Titans. Usually they are a duo, but Brave and the Bold had an excellent adventure for Mallah "alone" and teaming up with G.A.S.P. (Gorillas and Apes Seizing Power). The Brain did appear with his main ape in a different episode that was more Doom Patrol related. Most of the "other media" representations of the characters don't seem to go into their relationship much, but the recent live action Doom Patrol show did lean on the "old married couple" concept more.

To my knowledge, this is their first and only appearance where they are helpful, and seemingly on the side of the good guys. Considering they are traditionally leading the Brotherhood of Evil, this is pretty significant.
 
Paul le Fou

Paul le Fou

24/7 lofi hip hop man to study/relax to
(He)
Oh no, I'm caught up on Harley Quinn AND My Adventures with Superman now and I have to wait for new episodes! Why did I do this to myself?!

Also, watching MAwS after HQ was a bit of a weird effect because I kept subconsciously expecting it to push it extra far into irreverent jokes (not necessarily R-Rated stuff, but that too), but it's not that kind of show. Not that I ever actually thought it was, but the adjustment period coming off Harley Quinn took me a little bit.
 
WisteriaHysteria

WisteriaHysteria

That shit is disgusting. I get the morbid curiosity angle, but I don't know how people can watch entire seasons of shows dedicated to those things. I am also just in general not into gross-out things, which I know many people enjoy. Meh. To each their own.

@Paul - I too watch those back-to-back. I usually start with Superman for those reasons you stated. Starting with the wholesome thing and then ending with the absurdity of HQ is usually an easier transition for me.
 
BEAT

BEAT

LOUDSKULL
(DUDE/BRO)
If you tell me a TV show about popping pimples is "Good" I'm going to assume you're a liar.
 
Paul le Fou

Paul le Fou

24/7 lofi hip hop man to study/relax to
(He)
can't believe I'm about to do this but It's more a show about dermatology and people with severe dermatological problems that she fixes. She doesn't pop any actual pimples on the show, they treat actual problems like cripplingly huge lipomas and cysts and weird growths and stuff.

Look, my ex was a popaholic and got me into the show, I used to think it was gross and then eventually started finding it compelling, don't even know why.

Anyway, because of which thread this is Dr. Lee is now officially part of the DC-verse.
 
Adrenaline

Adrenaline

Post Reader
(He/Him)
If they wanted people to take a show about a dermatologist seriously they wouldn't name it after a joke from a show that ended in the 90s
 
Paul le Fou

Paul le Fou

24/7 lofi hip hop man to study/relax to
(He)
Didn't expect My Adventures with Superman: Across the Super-verse this week. Is that league a thing from the comics at all, or was it fresh for the show? No complaints either way, just curious.

Also wondering, normally, how early Lois (and Jimmy?) usually find out that Clark is Superman, since I'm not familiar with much other Superman media, but in my limited experience/knowledge there's a lot more "secret" to the secret identity, and it barely lasts half a season this time around. Maybe this version is just really bad at maintaining the difference between his identities or something (he is pretty new at the whole thing, after all)?
 
Mr Bean

Mr Bean

Chief Detective
This happened in the Superman animated series at about the same point. This Lois is better at facial recognition?
 
Rascally Badger

Rascally Badger

El Capitan de la outro espacio
(He/Him)
The general idea is not new, but I think all the details from this episode originate in this episode. I cannot recall this concept ever being applied to Lois (or Lewis) Lane before.
 
WisteriaHysteria

WisteriaHysteria

I'm not the most knowledgeable about the comics as some of the other TTers here, but afaik, generally Lois finds out... eventually. One of the appeals of resetting the continuity is that writers can go redo the early phases of these (and other) characters relationships where the dynamic between characters are fresh/exciting, and the characters are first learning about each other. But historically it generally takes Lois quite a long time to figure out Clark's identity. That Superman clip from the 90s, she doesn't actually learn for quite some time IIRC. In older movies, she never learns. Or often times in the comics like in the Silver Age, she learns but something silly happens and she forgets or time gets rewound, etc. One of the things I liked a lot about Man of Steel was that Lois is actually as good at her job as she's made out to be and figures it all out fast. Lois doing the Mary Jane and never figuring it out just doesn't make a lot of sense for the best investigative journalist on the planet.
 
gogglebob

gogglebob

The Goggles Do Nothing
(he/him)
I would like to note...


1. From episode 1, this Lois Lane has been the "tech" on the ground that solves the problems of turning off the giant robots while Superman flies around and punches things. She consistently seems to fulfill this role in future action sequences: Superman does Superman stuff, Lois Lane does the highly capable human stuff.
2. Lois Lane is apparently a master detective that uncovered Superman's secret almost immediately.
3. Relatedly, she is positioned as "the smart one" in this group.
4. Lois Lane is noticeably paranoid and untrusting (with a distinct "origin story" blaming it on her dad).
5. Lois Lane now has reasons to both love and fear Superman.
6. Lois Lane now has a Chekhov's Gun chunk of kryptonite.


Now, I am not saying that this whole series is "Batman loves Superman" with Lois Lane subbing in for Batman because that would be palatable to the masses, but I could make the argument...

PS Lois Lane #24 had prominent zippers and a keyblade.
 
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Adrenaline

Adrenaline

Post Reader
(He/Him)
It's a retcon for sure. In the 80s she told him she had figured it out previously, a few years later there was a flashback story that showed her seeing him leave his house in costume after Uncle Ben died. Either way, she has known for a majority of her existence as a character.
 
WisteriaHysteria

WisteriaHysteria

A retcon likely necessitated because at some point the editors finally realized it's a really bad look for any character, let alone your main female lead, to appear to be that stupid lol.
 
Adrenaline

Adrenaline

Post Reader
(He/Him)
The problem is that writers/editors love to milk the same character dynamics long past the point where it would be reasonable for them to naturally change.
 
Felicia

Felicia

Power is fleeting, love is eternal
(She/Her)
WisteriaHysteria said:
A retcon likely necessitated because at some point the editors finally realized it's a really bad look for any character, let alone your main female lead, to appear to be that stupid lol.
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They did the same thing with Aunt May during the Clone Saga, where she told Peter that she had known for a very long time, presumably for similar editorial reasons. And then she died. And then she was resurrected*, and didn't know it anymore. And then she learned it again. I haven't been following the comics, so I don't know if she's un-learned it again.

* Or rather, it was retconned that the person who died was a "genetically modified actor" planted by the Green Goblin. Gotta love the Clone Saga!
 
Octopus Prime

Octopus Prime

Mysterious Contraption
(He/Him)
I’ve inferred that May knows Pete is Spider-Man, and Pete knows she knows but neither of them come out and say that for plausible deniability
 
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