Category: Features

Marvel Studios ‘HAWKEYE’: Who is Madame Masque?

Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series Hawkeye is set to begin production soon and, as we draw nearer to cameras starting to roll, we’re learning more and more about the project. The recent report that one of Marvel Comics classic female villains, Madame Masque, is going to feature in the project has a lot of folks asking the same question: who is Madame Masque. Murphy’s Multiverse is here to help…in 400 words or less!

The woman who would become Madame Masque was born Giuletta Kristina Nefaria, the daughter of Avengers foe and made Maggia man Count Luchino Nefario. The Count sent her away and she spent her early years living with a foster family where she was known as Whitney Frost; however, when she discovered her true heritage, she came back to work for her father and eventually took control of the Maggia. A nasty little accident left her face permanently scarred so she had a fancy golden mask constructed for her, popped it on and became known as Madame Masque. For much of her early years in the comics, she found herself at odds with Tony Stark and while there are some great stories there, they’re not really significant in this context.

Madame Masque made a major resurgence in the 2000s, finding her way into several of the line-wide events such as Civil War, Secret Invasion, Dark Reign and Siege and then, beginning in November of 2012, she became a recurring figure in Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye run. MM caused quite a problem for Barton when she acquired and subsequently auctioned off a recording of Hawkeye assassinating a world leader (don’t worry, he didn’t actually do it). Both Barton and his protege Kate Bishop went to great lengths to prevent the video from going public and eventually stumbled their way into foiling MM’s plan, stoking her rage and making Kate the focal point of her vengeful plot. Madame Masque then became a constant thorn in Kate’s side even following her to Los Angeles and putting her through the ringer on more than one occasion.

Given that Hawkeye is rumored to deal with the fallout of Clint’s time as Ronin, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that Madame Masque finds her way into the series much in the same way she did in the comics: by having the dirt on the Avenging Archer! We’ll all find out together in 2021!

September 28, 2020
‘AVENGERS: EMH’ 10th Anniversary: 10 Characters We Wanted for Season 3

Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes did a lot right but what it did right with almost no exceptions was nail the characterization of dozens of heroes and villains. While the core group of Avengers stayed the same, the series introduced the likes of Ms. Marvel, Balder the Brave, Heroes for Hire and Wolverine without a hitch and had the group take on threats on Earth and all over the Nine Realms. Unfortunately the series was cancelled after just two seasons but on the tenth anniversary of its debut, here are 10 characters we’d like to have see on Season 3.

Note: We are aware that series writer Christopher Yost published his own Season 3 pitches; fortunately, not many of our ideas overlapped with his!

Other note: I assume some of these characters were used in Avengers: Assemble. I never watched that, so let me dream. These would be used in the continuity built by the first two seasons of Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

Blue Marvel

An absolute must have character for me, Adam Brashear would put the cherry on top of Season 3. I’m all in favor of an older Brashear who has become reclusive in his undersea base, Kadesh, being a key player in helping the Avengers take on one of its greater challenges: the Sentry! EMH does a great job of zeroing in on the science genius of several of these characters and Blue Marvel would fit right in with Reed, Hank, Tony and the rest.

Hercules

Of all the characters on this list, this is the one whose classic comic book personality would ensure a great fit. One of the greatest things about Avengers: EMH was the pivotal role that Asgard and the Nine Realms played in the series; with that in mind, an appearance by Herc, possibly used as a tool by Amora, would have made for a killer episode and introduced the Prince of Power to the younger generation of fans.

The Inhumans

The Inhumans didn’t work out in their first foray into live-action but they are made for animation. Avengers: EMH handled the Cosmic corner of the Marvel Universe incredibly well and often made references to Kree experimentation and expansion (Michael Korvac, for one). Being a product of Kree experimentation, the Inhumans would have fit right in whether they were discovered by the Fantastic Four or had to team up with the Avengers to rescue the Earth from one of Maximus’ crazy plans. This would also allow for Lockjaw, Karnak, Gorgon and Triton to look the way their maker intended.

Jack of Hearts

Jack belongs here. The amount of reimagining and redesigning that would have to go into making him work in a live-action project might be better spent just creating a new character; however, as is, Jack of Hearts is a perfect fit for Avengers: EMH. His origins as an accident of science fit right in with one of the show’s ongoing themes as would his redemptive arc from the comics. An Avenger who can pull the nostalgia strings of the older audience, Jack deserves his chance at stardom by getting an intro episode and then joining the team as they move through Season 3.

Jacques Duquesne

An Avenger from a time in comic history mostly overlooked by the creative team of EMH, Jaques Duquesne, aka the Swordsman, would have made a fine addition to the series both for his connection to Hawkeye (it would be good to see the archer’s origin get a little attention) and for his role in the Celestial Messiah story. Given the importance of the Kree-Skrull conflict to the series, it would be interesting to see its beginnings and bring in the Cotati. Swordsman is a pretty cheesy character that would have to be heavily adapted to fit in a live-action property, but if Hawkeye can look good wearing his classic costume in this series, Duquesne would work out, too.

Mangog

As mentioned earlier in the article, the series maintained a heavy focus on Thor, Asgard and the Nine Realms over its two seasons (and did so brilliantly). Over the 52 episodes we got more of Thor’s supporting cast than we’ll probably ever get in the MCU along with villains like Loki, Hela, Skurge, Surtur, Ulik and, of course, Amora. Basically the last one left on the list and the one that would fit right in with where things left off is Mangog. A creature of pure rage bent on the destruction of all things Asgardian, Mangog could make for an incredible one-episode baddie.

Norman Osborn

Spidey didn’t have a ton of screen time in Season 2 of Avengers: EMH and making one of his big bads the centerpiece of an episode doesn’t really make a ton of sense for Season 3, which is why this would be the Thunderbolts/Siege/Dark Reign version of Norman. As mentioned just above, Mangog could lay waste to what’s left of Asgard (let’s assume Ragnarok happens early on is Season 3) creating an opening for Asgardia to come to Broxton. From here it’s not much of a stretch to introduce Norman as a character primed to cause a lot of trouble over the next 1.5 seasons.

The Sentry

One of the greatest parts about the Sentry’s comic book origin is how his existence has been wiped from the memories of everyone who has known him. Obviously the character’s origins would need a retcon, but the story of a forgotten hero would be fun to tell and the Void would be just the type of ominous threat that would test the Avengers and force them to turn to the Blue Marvel for help.

Shi’ar

This portion of the article is brought to you by the letter “S.” We’ve seen some of the Shi’ar in other animated series by Marvel and they look great because, much like the Inhumans, are made for animation. The first 2 seasons focused heavily on two of the great Marvel alien empires (the Kree and the Skrulls), so Season 3 would be the perfect time to introduce the Shi’ar, possibly the most impressive and powerful of them all. I’d be all for a full on Kree-Shi’ar War (the Supreme Intelligence did drop their name when listing the enemies of the Kree Empire) that introduced us to the Imperial Guard led by Kallark and got the attention of Ms. Marvel and S.W.O.R.D. and, most importantly, Thor. A Thor vs Kallark showdown would be most excellent!

Squadron Sinister

One of the great teams of baddies introduced in the pages of Avengers comics, the Squadron Sinister would present a huge challenge for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. It’s often referenced that Earth has gotten the attention of the rest of the universe and, as such, it would make a lot of sense for the Elders of the Universe to take note of Earth and its heroes. Like a lot of the ideas on this list, the Elders are a concept that would work better in animation than live-action (no offense to Jeff Goldblum and Benicio del Toro, both of whom are wonderful in the MCU) because their true nature and true powers are so off the charts. Seeing the Grandmaster step and and pit the Avengers against the Squadron in a Cosmic Contest of Champions would be amazing.

September 27, 2020
Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of ‘AVENGERS: EARTH’S MIGHTIEST HEROES’ with the Top 10 Episodes

It’s hard to believe that it has now been a decade since the animated Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes debuted on Disney XD. The series, which was developed by Christopher Yost, Joshua Fine and Ciro Nieli, hit just after the dawn of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and served to introduce a new generation of kids to the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe. It was a brilliant move by Marvel but the all-too-short 2 year run of arguably the companies best animated series left a void that, to some, has never been filled by any of subsequent series. To celebrate its 10 year anniversary, to relive the all the fun moments and in hopes that if we keep talking about it there will be a Season 3 on Disney Plus, we bring you the 10 best episodes of Avengers: EMH!

Episode 1.10-“Everything is Wonderful”

This episode resonated with me so deeply that, a decade after it aired, it became the foundation for my Iron Man 4 pitch. The rivalry between Simon Williams and Tony Stark worked perfectly from jump street and the episode does a nice job of setting up Tony to be the bad guy before delivering some redemption.

One of the great things about EMH in general was the way it fearlessly introduced characters that many fans who hadn’t read the comics might be entirely unaware of. This episode tripled up on that with Wonder Man, his brother, the Grim Reaper, and MODOK. Though he’s technically MODOC here and more memorable for being beaten and belittled by Thor than anything else, it’s always good to see that giant, flying head.

The Easter Egg game was strong in this episode as well. We got Wonder Man’s original suit, the setup for his time on the Masters of Evil, a Jack Fury mention and a peek at the Cosmic Cube. This one also set up quite a bit for season one while being a great standalone episode.

Episode 1.17-“The Man Who Stole Tomorrow”

The recent news that Jonathan Majors will portray the live-action version of Kang in Ant-Man 3 makes this episode all the more relevant as for many 2000’s kids, this served as their introduction to the Lord of Limbo. This kicks off a 3-episode run that’s as memorable to me as any; even before my recent rewatch, much of this one stuck with me.

The episode does a great job of building on the relationship between Tony and Steve, showing us how useful they are as foils to one another. While Cap takes Tony to school during PT time, Tony’s explanation of what it means to be a “futurist” is something that Cap can’t quite wrap his head around but puts a bug in the viewer’s ear for later. The episode also sets up a couple of MAJOR elements for the future of the show: the Negative Zone prison known as 42 and Pym’s army of Ultrons.

Kang’s arrival from the 41st Century to kill Captain America is pretty big divergence from the character’s comic book roots, but it’s well-developed and well-executed and plants a seed whose fruit wouldn’t be enjoyed until Season 2. But from the first appearance of Damocles to the incredible display of his tech-based abilities, the episode makes Kang every bit the threat he should be and sets up one of the most enjoyable mini-arcs of the entire show.

Episode 1.21-“Hail, Hydra!”

An episode that both pays off many of Season 1’s ongoing arcs and introduces some arcs that carry all the way into Season 2, “Hail, Hydra!” is the exemplar episode of how this series was outlined, planned and executed from the very beginning.

While this episode is all about BIG action with A.I.M, Hydra, S.H.I.E.L.D and the Avengers all taking swings at each other in New York City, it’s the character moments that put this episode on the list. Chief among those moments is the exchange between Cap and Hulk that ends with Cap telling the big guy that he’s been watching him and that his actions define him as a hero. It’s the kind of speech that only Cap could deliver and, even in animated form, it gives me goose bumps. This one is really Cap’s episode all around between his Hulk pep talk, his one-on-one with Strucker and the fact that he inadvertently alters reality and creates the Winter Soldier.

Hawkeye is the other standout Avenger in this one, delivering some classic Hawkeye quips, coming to terms with Nat’s apparent betrayal before finally helping her get away in an effort to find Nick Fury, the one man who COULD bring some clarity to the current situation.

A pivot point for the series as a whole, this one checks a lot of boxes and deserves to make the list.

Episode 1.23-“The Ultron Imperative”

“Humanity has failed as a species.” While every episode is ostensibly the same thing as the one before, i.e. the Avengers teaming up to fight a big threat, they’re all a little different thematically and this one takes a turn handling one of the classic sci-fi themes: humanity vs. technology. Dipping its toes into the sci-fi horror pool of man having reached too far and creating something he can no longer control, we see Ultron turn into Pym and Stark’s Frankenstein’s monster.

In many ways, this animated Ultron proves superior to the live-action version we got in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron even though the two have a lot in common. Much like the film we see Ultron take over Tony’s suits, build himself a new body and get the idea that he’ll ultimately never be able to be destroyed because he’s capable of uploading his A.I. anywhere at anytime, so what’s the difference? It’s all in the setup. We’ve had time to see Ultron introduced and grow and, terrifyingly, we’ve seen him learn enough to know how to rewrite his own programming to remove blocks put in place by Pym. Fortunately, Pym saves the day by coding Ultron to realize he’s part of his own problem, shutting him down, but the shadow of his failure will continue to loom over Pym’s shoulder into season 2 and we haven’t seen the last of Ultron just yet.

Episode 1:26-”A Day Unlike Any Other”

The most cinematic episode of season one comes out swinging, hits hard in the middle and ends with one helluva cliffhanger. The final episode of 3-episode arc, “A Day Unlike Any Other” is the cherry on top of not only that arc but the season. It’s a good Avengers story on steroids, hitting the highest notes when it teams the Avengers up with Asgardians and other supporting characters from the Nine Realms in an effort to stop Loki’s conquest. Tony’s uru armor is the best of several upgrades the Avengers get as assists in taking ‘on the Prince of Lies and its forging is a scene that’s stuck in my memory for a decade.

Of course the Avengers and their new allies find a way to stop Loki and earn the respect of a well-rested Odin and head back to Earth finally putting an end to the guy who stirred the drink for all of Season 1s mischief. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, however, a despondent Captain America, haunted by his broken shield and bargain with Hela, gets zapped by a doppleganger, kicking off the Skrull Secret Invasion. Watching the series 10 years ago, this final scene absolutely blew my mind because the Secret Invasion comic event was only about 2 years old when the show was made. It was a brilliant choice that paid off in a big way in Season 2, but for now here’s to the mightiest heroes in the Nine Realms.

Episode 2.3-“Acts of Vengeance”

One great thing about Avengers: EMH is the ongoing Masters of Evil arc. It had to be mentioned at some point, but the decision to make Amora one of the series ongoing antagonists is one of the things that works the best over the two season run. Taking her revenge on the Zemo’s Masters, Amora takes it up a notch forcing Zemo to turn to the Avengers for help. The double-crosses don’t stop (Skrull Cap!) and ultimately it’s Simon Williams whose redemption comes when he sacrifices himself to stop Amora from using the last Norn stone.

It’s that Norn stone that ties to the interesting side mission taken on by Thor, Balder and Odin on Nidavellir. There the trio find that in meddling with the Norn stones, Surtur himself has been released and regained his Twilight Sword which means Ragnarok must be right around the corner. The backgrounds drawn in Nidavellir and the design of Surtur are visual highlights for the entire series. This episode is a great example of how well the series routinely balanced multiple storylines in one episode without one taking away from the other.

Episode 2.4-“Welcome to the Kree Empire”

If you’ve followed me for any amount of time, you know I amA a huge fan of the Cosmic corner of the Marvel Universe. As such, this entire second season is a treat for me, but this episode stands out in the pack because my first love on that side of things was always the Kree Empire and here they’re done right! It is without hesitation that I say that 22 minutes of EMH pays more tribute to Yon-Rogg, Ronan and the Empire than has been done to date in the MCU. Add to that the introduction of S.W.O.R.D. and Abigail Brand who are cleverly inhabiting Kang’s Damocles as their base and you’ve done enough to make me happy for 22 minutes story aside.

Fortunately, this one has a great story and Carol Danvers is the heart of it. In her first outing as Ms. Marvel, Carol kicks ass while representing Earth. She stands toe-to-toe with Ronan, stands with the Avengers and, at the end of the day, joins the team. This version of Carol stands apart from both the comics and film versions and is maybe the best of the three.

Points to the creative team for having Skrull Cap’s hatred for the Kree force him to act out of character. And, as the episode ends, we get to see Skrull Cap put out a call making Earth the next battleground for the Kree-Skrull war.

Episode 2.11-“Infiltration”

The setup for the Skrull invasion of Earth began early in Season 1 but this episode tees up the payoff and does it so well, that I enjoy it more than the following episode, “Secret Invasion.” The episode establishes a tone of mystery and paranoia through the eyes of Ms. Marvel and by the time we get to the standoff in Wakanda, we truly have no idea who is who and are all just as confused as Carol. As the battle in Wakanda rages on, Carol and the audience only get more confused, especially when the second wave of Avengers arrive but by the time we figure out who’s who when Mjolnir cracks and Thor turns green, we realize it’s too late, but it’s still great to watch Carol and crew clean house.

For me the big pay off is getting to see Doom’s plan come to fruition. Victor is one of my favorite Marvel characters and has been poorly represented in live-action but the creators of this series get him. Doom is not a villain and he’s always the hero of his own story and he’s not going to let a group of aliens come and take over his birthright (ruling the world!), so he’s here to help clean up this mess.

I love the subtle things Skrull Cap has been doing throughout this season and him taking Hulk off the board by convincing him to turn himself in as Banner is another nod to the well-planned and well-executed Skrull strategy to take Earth by taking the strongest there is off the board. Of course there’s someone out there whose always keeping one eye open: Nick Fury is on to Skrull Cap and is about to make his play from the shadows. However, the final twist is discovering that Veranke was one step ahead of both Fury and Stark, leaving nobody in the way of her invasion. I love that the writers sprinkled in references to the Skrull prophecy promising Earth to them, a route I hope to see the MCU take when they deal with the invasion.

Episode 2.23-“The New Avengers”

There are so many good episodes in Season 2, including another half dozen or so great ones between “Infiltration” and “New Avengers” that it’s hard to skip all the way here, but this one outdoes them all, is probably the 2nd best episode of the entire series and I gave myself a limit of 10 episodes so here we are…

This episode follows through on so many threads that have been left hanging since Season 1, primarily the arc of one of the series’ great antagonists, Kang. The Council of Kangs (I couldn’t believe they went there!!!) step in to free Kang, enabling him to wipe out what they perceive to be the greatest threat to all possible timelines. Kang uses the arc reactor as a time machine and takes the Avengers off the board entirely, leaving Earth defenseless…or is it? Always the futurist, Stark has a backup plan which he activates via Jarvis. Meet the New Avengers!

It’s a wild episode as ninjas and dinosaurs and Martian machines (I’m 99% sure that we have a Killraven Easter Egg here, which is INSANE) invade NYC but the dynamic of the new team is really centerstage here. The Spidey/Wolverine interchanges are solid gold (as are all the shots of Spidey swinging through town) and it’s awesome to watch the new team quickly come together to take on and take down Kang, especially with Spidey taking the lead and an impromptu Fastball Special. This one was just one nod to comic fans after another and as much fun as any episode over the 52 episode run. Of course Spidey brings back the team, but it’s a good thing Stark expanded the roster of Avengers because as he says, the world needs heroes, and the biggest threat they’ve ever faced is just a few episodes away.

Episode 2.26-Avengers Assemble

Hands down the best episode and potentially the biggest undertaking in all of Marvel’s onscreen entertainment (yes, I think this is bigger deal than Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame), “Avengers: Assemble” is what always made Marvel Comics great to me as a kid: over the top crossover issues/events that gave us character pairings we didn’t know we loved and non-stop action. The action starts just over 1 minute into the episode when Terrax heralds the arrival of Galactus and continues on for 20 more minutes. During that 20 minutes of chaos, almost every hero the show introduced over two years appears (notably absent are the Guardians and Mockingbird), several of Galactus’ heralds show up as the Devourer finally reaches Earth!

The story of Galactus and his heralds has fascinated me since I first read about his history in Thor #168 and #169 and I’ve tracked down every trace of that story over the years: seeing them all here (well, not all of them) and seeing Galan given the reverence he deserves had me smiling when it first aired in 2012 and again recently when I rewatched it.

This episode delivers time after time: from watching the heralds work, to the Code White montage to perhaps one of the greatest Cap speeches of all time as he overlooks the entirety of Earth’s Mighties Heroes. Watching the awesome power of Galactus hold up against all of the Avengers’ heaviest hitters is a spectacle I hope to see matched on the big screen someday, but until then it stands out in my mind as one of the great big action scenes in all of comic book entertainment. If you’ve never watched a single episode of this series, you could jump straight to this one and realize the full potential of what can be done when a creative team has as much knowledge, passion and love for the source material as what this crew had. But my goodness, do I wish I knew what happened next…

With all the love for the show and the recent push to renew other animated series such as Young Justice and the X-Men, I’ll continue to hold out hope that Christopher Yost (who recently gave a look at what a potential third season might be like) gets a chance to bring this treasure back to life.

September 26, 2020
Other Sega Franchises That Deserve a Cinematic Adaptation

Sega has started realizing the potential of adapting their franchises. Sonic the Hedgehog pleasantly surprised cinema-goers before the lockdown happened. Now, they even announced they plan on a live-action adaptation of the Yakuza franchise. It looks like they are going to start going through their library of games to find more potential film franchises. My mind then thought about what Sega games I would like to see adapted in the future. There are some franchises that haven’t really returned since the Sega Dreamcast and Nintendo Gamecube era. Perhaps they have a chance to return in an entirely new format.

Skies of Arcadia

Skies of Arcadia: Legends is one of my favorite RPG games. It takes place in a world filled with pirates and adventurers. Unlike classic pirate stories, there are no oceans in Arcadia. Somehow the gravity of this world keeps various islands floating in the sky. So, the fittingly titled sky pirates travel from island to island. The game follows a young member of the Blue Rogues named Vyse. He ends up getting trapped in a story filled with pirate wars, a secret governmental plot, and exploring the history of mythological beasts. It’s a fantastic world that would be a waste not to continue exploring.

It is made for a film adaptation. The character designs are mostly realistic. It’s could work as a unique take on the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Yes, it would be quite effects-heavy with flying ships but it would be a unique visual to capture the audience’s attention. They also aren’t restricted to focusing on Vyse’s story. It could be a continuation of a new generation of pirates that explore the unknown. I’m a big fan of mythology which this game is rich in. Would love to see a flying pirate battle with a Gigas towering over them. It could also work as a great television series with the right budget. Who doesn’t want to see ships fly alongside whales in the sky?

Jet Grind Radio

Who doesn’t love a game with style? Jet Grind Radio, also known as Jet Set Radio, is a cult classic. The story takes place in Tokyo-to where gangs of youths are roaming the streets. It’s a story filled with Turf Wars between graffiti-tagging gans. The game follows Beat’s GGs, which is short for Graffiti Gang. All of this is narrated through the pirate radio station Jet Set Radio. It then becomes a battle between teenagers facing unlikely odds, as the company Rokkaku gets involved. At some point, it even turns into a variation of Faust with Rokkaku’s CEO trying to make a deal with the devil.

The premise alone has quite a promise. It’s an important story to tell especially right now. While a live-action adaptation could be fun, I do believe that this should stick to its cartoon-inspired look. It would work much better as an animated film or series. Plus, it could give them more creative freedom when implementing the wide variety of tracks that range from J-pop, hip hop to acid jazz. Hopefully, they could even get original composer Hideki Naganuma back to continue his work.

Valkyrie Chronicles

I won’t lie, this isn’t an easy franchise to get into. The concept is actually really interesting. It’s a turn-based game where you control various units in an ongoing war. You only have a limited amount of time to move each character around. The story is quite compelling and doesn’t shy away from the sacrifices of war. The only drawback is the gameplay. It can drag out as you move every single unit manually. It still is an interesting game to tackle for fans of turn-based games. Still, there is a lot here that would lend itself to being adapted in live-action.

At its core, this is a story about war. The weapons are strongly inspired by steampunk with some fantasy elements. It lends itself to a Game of Thrones-style story that spans an ongoing conflict throughout Europa. We follow a group of a small brigade that is trying to make their way towards the capital. This militia uncovers the true plans of the East Europan Imperial Alliance and tries to stop it before more lives are lost in this neverending conflict.

Many More Options

Of course, Sega has so many more franchises they could adapt. Golden Axe as a Conan-inspired epic. They could embrace science-fiction fantasy with Phantasy Star. Hell, they could even make a cartoon based on NiGHTS. The three I mentioned above are franchises that I hold dear. I still have hopes that Skies of Arcadia or Jet Set Radio will finally make a return in some form. It will be interesting to see what other franchises they may already have planned to adapt to the silver screen. We will see if Sega will continue to expand, or if they will first wait to see how Yakuza and the Sonic the Hedgehog film perform.

Source: Digital Spy

September 25, 2020
‘WANDAVISION’: Meet the Hearts

When the WandaVision trailer dropped last Sunday, some of the biggest teases came from the black & white portion of the show.

As I stated in another theory post, by the time we hit the 1950s portion of the show, we know Wanda and Vision just got married and have moved to the town of WestView. They want to fit in with the rest and they’re living their perfect suburban lives. At some point during the show, they will invite Mr. & Mrs. Heart over for Dinner. Played by Fred Melamed and Debra Jo Rupp, the Hearts will ask them all sorts of questions like; “When did they get married? Where did they move from? Why don’t they have children yet?”. Wanda stuttered when asked these questions and she wasn’t able to answer them because she didn’t know how to answer them. None of it was real. Vision tried to answer as well, but he didn’t know either. And that’s when all of their reality started to slowly fall apart as the aspect ratio started to expand. Now, something that really puts us at unease is when Mr. Heart slams the table and says “Dammit. Why?”, with Mrs. Heart telling him playfully to “Stop it.”, all while Wanda and Vision give each other looks of concern. Such weird things to say.

Now, when I asked you guys about how you thought Mr. & Mrs. Heart could be, many of you have stated that they’re actually demons sent by either Mephisto or Nightmare or people manipulated by the nosy neighbor Agnes aka Agatha Harkness:

https://twitter.com/GodEmperorBoss/status/1308603394840498184?s=20

mephisto and nightmare / mephisto’s demons https://t.co/i7bwTT4xIL

— Jaye (@MCUXMEN) September 22, 2020

I kinda feel like they were normal but somehow got manipulated by Agatha to be negative and then get sent out/destroyed from Wanda’s world because they’re “negative” and all negativity doesn’t exist in Wanda’s world. I also see some people say they’re demons which makes sense too https://t.co/Kinlcxq7Ub

— mars 🜃 (@MarsBarBelle) September 22, 2020

Now, these are all completely valid theories, considering how much Mephisto influences Wanda’s story and the birth of her children as a whole. Not only that, but we’ve also heard rumors regarding Nightmare possibly joining the MCU in this show and potentially manipulating Wanda to alter reality. But I propose another theory, and ONE of you actually got really close to what I was thinking:

https://twitter.com/adambarnhardt/status/1308523318388166657

And in that tweet was a reply from fellow Murphy’s Multiverse Contributor: Lizzie Hill, which pretty much consolidates exactly what I’m proposing today.

https://twitter.com/MsLizzieHill/status/1308548233661214725

And because Lizzie and I had a bit of back-and-forth regarding our theories, we managed to consolidate both our theories into this one theory.

THEORY: MR. & MRS. HEART ARE THE MANIFESTATIONS OF WANDA’S SUBCONSCIOUS

Something we need to understand is that during this show, a lot of the things we see in these homages to the sitcoms are actually the manifestations made by Wanda as part of her alternate reality. Meaning, the whole world around her is made up by her (except for some exceptions like Monica and Agnes, who are “intruders”). What if when Mr. & Mrs. Heart are asking these questions, it’s actually Wanda asking herself these questions, to quote Lizzie, “like a writer trying to work out details of this story, getting angry/frustrated on one side(Mr. Heart), combined with the denial and trying to stay in the moment (Mrs. Heart), combined with the trauma of losing Vision & not being able to have this ideal life with him.” What if they are the life Wanda wants for her and Vision? And with the way Wanda looks at Mr. Heart when he slams the table, it looks as if he struck a nerve in Wanda. Another possibility for Mr. Heart asking “Damn it why?’ could be her manifestation of Vision asking Wanda “Why did you do this? Why did you bring me back?” since we know that Vision is probably the only manifestation of Wanda that has any sort of control and when Mr. Heart asks the question and slams the table over and over, it keeps cutting back to Vision looking at Wanda, with Mrs. Heart saying “Stop it.” over and over in the background with Wanda looking concerned at Vision. Either way, it always just comes back to the same principle that this is all in Wanda’s head and it’s her ideas and subconscious questioning herself.

September 24, 2020
‘WANDAVISION’: “Welcome to WestView”

After months of radio silence from Marvel Studios, this past week, Marvel Studios started to ramp up on news once again, with reports of Jonathan Majors being cast as Kang the Conqueror, She-Hulk finding it’s the lead actress in Tatiana Maslany, with Kat Coiro set to direct multiple episodes, Olivia Wilde discussing Kevin Feige’s involvement in the upcoming Spider-Woman film, & Ms. Marvel finding its team of directors. & the news didn’t stop there as fans were treated this past Sunday to the first official trailer for the upcoming Disney+ show, WandaVision. Now, the trailer gave us a look at Wanda Maximoff & The Vision’s life after they’ve become newly-weds and are living the best of their lives in the humble little town of WestView until everything begins to fall apart.

For this Theory Thursday, I wanted to discuss a plot mechanism that I thought could play out in the show, and when I saw the trailer, I found that my theory could actually be plausible. So let’s delve right into it.

THEORY: EACH SITCOM ERA IS A “RESET”.

Okay, let me explain because it can get kind of confusing. We know that the series is a “blend of classic television and the Marvel Cinematic Universe”, paying homage to multiple sitcoms over decades of television, like “I Love Lucy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched, The Brady Bunch, Roseanne, and many more”. And the biggest tease we got in the trailer was from the 50’s portion of the show, which was filmed in black & white and in front of a live studio audience. In my opinion, this is the first era the show will touch upon.

Wanda and Vision just got married and moved to the little suburban town of WestView. They want to fit in with the rest and they’re living their perfect suburban lives…until “Mr. & Mrs. Heart” (played by Fred Nelamed and Debra Jo Rupp) come over to visit them and ask them all sorts of questions like; “When did they get married? Where did they move from? Why don’t they have children yet?”. This causes Wanda to stutter because she didn’t know how to answer them. When Vision tries to answer, he doesn’t know either. Mr. Heart slams the table and asks Wanda “Dammit. Why?”, & Mrs. Heart tells him to “Stop it.” over and over, all while Wanda and Vision give each other looks of concern.

Immediately before the scene can go on, it starts to rewind. This is where “the first reset” begins. Unable to answer the questions about how/when she and Vision got married, where they came from, or why they don’t have children, Wanda loses her concentration and her 1950’s reality starts to unravel and rewind like a VHS tape until it eventually kicks her out of that made-up reality back into our own. And I believe it will go a little something like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvfaSOcO_zI&feature=youtu.be

Now that we understand the concept of what “the reset” is, I propose that during WandaVision, Wanda will encase herself (and the town of WestView) in an alternate pocket reality, where she will try to live her life with Vision as if it were a sitcom with a happy ending, but every single time, she finds a mistake that can unravel her reality, causing her to reset the reality she is in and move to another era where she can start over, having learned from the mistakes of her previous era. But as she keeps resetting her pocket universe, or changing between eras more and more, she’ll eventually garner the attention of the likes of her nosy neighbor Agnes, S.W.O.R.D. (and possibly even a Master of the Mystic Arts). And the reason for this is that maybe, every time Wanda resets her reality, she alters the fabric of reality in all of the MCU little by little until eventually causing a rupture in that reality, which is what could kickstart the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

But we’ll only know for sure when WandaVision drops this 2020.

September 24, 2020
Welcome Back, ‘FARGO’

Movies that get turned into TV shows tend to be a mixed bag. More often than not, they fail to live up to the glory of their cinematic counterparts and end up being forgotten in the bargain bin like The Exorcist and Minority Report series. Occasionally, you get shows like Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and From Dusk Till Dawn; shows that decently live up to their cinematic predecessors but somehow fall short from the impact their films made. Rare is when a TV show actually stands up on its own and lives up to the film it’s based on. Fargo is one of those rarities.

Released in 1996, the film the series is based on introduced the Coen brothers’ distinct eccentric style of storytelling to a mainstream audience and immortalized Frances McDormand as one of the greatest performers of her generation and her character Marge Gunderson as one of cinema’s best protagonists. Its absurdist yet deeply dark take on a kidnapping-gone-wrong set in the blinding winter of the Midwest was wildly original, turning genre conventions on its head at every step of the way. Almost 30 years later, the film is now widely regarded as one of the greatest crime films of all time. So when it announced that they were adapting the film for television, eyebrows were understandably raised.

Season one, which premiered in 2014, was about the woeful tale of the meek Lester Nygaard’s descent into corruption and the trail of bodies left behind by his Faustian deal with the devilish Lorne Malvo. At the heart of all the violence was the steadfast yet gentle pairing of Molly Solverson and Gus Grimly, two unlikely officers who take it upon themselves to make sense of all the chaos. The show was funny, dark, well-acted, and most important, really well-written. The series premiered to critical acclaim and ended up amassing more than 200 nominations from awarding bodies all over the world. With so many duds out there, no one ever expected one more TV adaptation of a beloved film to be any good. But Fargo surpassed all expectations and for a while, its success seemed like lightning in a bottle.

The second season proved that its success wasn’t a fluke. It expanded the Fargo formula as it explored more themes, introduced a more varied ensemble of characters, and got bolder and weirder with its storytelling choices. Set in the twilight of the seventies, this time it was about the Gerhardt family and their crime empire at war with itself and a ragtag couple who, as fate would have it, would cross paths with the family in the most unfortunate way possible. Season 2 was hilarious as it was Shakespearean. It had a lot of killing, a lot of betrayals, a lot of laughs, and a lot of heart. It was a masterclass on how to ingeniously push the boundaries of something that was already close to perfection. When Stephen King describes one of the episodes of Season 2 as “the best thing on TV in the last three years,” you know Season 2 means business. And you betcha, it meant business.

A deadbeat parole officer’s plot to steal a childhood stamp from his more successful business-owning twin brother goes sideways, his swindling ex-con girlfriend gets entangled with a sinister international criminal empire and a technologically illiterate officer at the heels of it all. Fargo’s third season may seem like business as usual but it was anything but. The plot was more complex and philosophical. Themes and symbolism were more abstract. Its social commentary was darker than ever. There was a heightened degree of surrealism to the narrative which made the season’s tone more eccentric than usual; the season opens with a wholly unrelated interrogation scene in Berlin, animated vignettes about a lost robot make up half of an episode, and a mythic Jewish apparition played appears throughout. The season didn’t get as much love as its predecessors but in an era of countless cookie-cutter crime shows, Fargo Season 3 still stood out from the pack.

I love Fargo for a lot of reasons. The comic nerd in me loves the worldbuilding in the show; how each season builds on one another and how these decade-spanning midwestern crime stories all connect in some way. I love the cautionary nature it posits; Fargo. in many ways. reminds me of the fables I grew up hearing. Fantastical anecdotes on life, morality, and values with cute animals to represent each and every one of us. With Fargo, it’s the same albeit with lots of violence and crime. I love the simple anthological nature of the show; the accessibility and digestibility it provides audiences with each new season. I love how the show is something me and my grandmother can bond over. Never in a million years did I imagine a show as bloody and hilarious as Fargo would be something to enjoy with a 78-year old woman. Ultimately, I love the show because it’s simply a great show. And like the film before it, what truly makes Fargo a fantastic piece of fiction are the creatives and talent behind it. Showrunner Noah Hawley and his band of like-minded writers have crafted a show that unapologetically carries the spirit of the film. The show proudly wears its namesake on its sleeve, compounding every quirky strand of the film’s DNA to tell Fargo’s story in a new way for a new generation of media.

The characters the actors bring to life feel like worthy extensions of those characters in the film: Marge Gunderson, Jerry Lundegaard, Carl Showalter, and Gaear Grimsrud. Cast members like Billy Bob Thorton, Martin Freeman, Kirsten Dunst, Patrick Wilson, Ewan McGregor, Mary Elizabeth Winstead imbue so much life to the eccentric characters they inhabit and all perform at a level on par with McDormand’s Oscar-winning performance. And that’s not to mention the supporting characters that help realize this world. Nick Offerman’s role as the verbal-jousting drunk lawyer stole the show in Season 2. Season 1 had Bob Odenkirk playing a dim-witted police chief. And of course, Ray Wise as the Wandering Jew of Season 3 was a highlight for Season 3.

For this upcoming fourth season, I’m not quite sure what to expect. I haven’t seen any trailer save for the first one they put out in the pandemic nor have I fully been caught up with the who, what, and where of Season 4’s premise. It’s easy to set one’s self up with immensely high expectations especially with Fargo, a show that has been consistently good throughout the years so with Season 4, I’m keeping an open eye and mind. It’s always a pleasure to revisit the wild midwest the Coen brothers and Noah Hawley created. I cannot wait to see it return this Sunday.

September 23, 2020
Ten Years Later ‘The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ Is Still Among the Best

How has it already been ten years? In 2010, Disney XD released the series The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. At the time, I only had a passing knowledge of comics. It was 2008’s Iron Man that made me interested in catching up on almost 70 years of history at the time. I thought I managed to get a good look at the mythology this franchise has set up. Man, I was so wrong. EMH dives into every single facet that Marvel has to offer. The show interweaves so many different storylines based on unique properties and makes it feel cohesive. Every member of the team is given an arc throughout the show that also ties into the overarching plot. It is still tough to chew that this show was canceled after its second season. As today is its tenth anniversary, It seems like the perfect time to revisit this iconic Marvel series.

And There Came a Day Unlike Any Other

I binged the entire show on Disney+ to return to that feeling when I first saw it. It is amazing to think about how well this show holds up after ten years. While the Marvel Cinematic Universe built up its various Avengers members, this show just throws you straight in. The first two episodes are quite the rush now that I rewatched it. There isn’t any hand-holding here, they throw you into this show without any warning. If you have no idea who any of these characters are, you are going to have to do some research. We get introduced to the Absorbing Man, Blizzard, Mad Thinker, King Cobra, the Wrecking Crew and so many more. Just thinking back, I had no idea who most of these characters were. It’s an incredible balance this show does throughout its run by understanding what characters need an introduction. Do we really need an origin story for the Wrecking Crew? No, let’s focus more on Graviton who serves as the main threat.

Speaking of, this show made me a huge fan of the character. He may be a minor villain but something about his powers was the perfect choice to bring the Avengers together. It was the reason I wanted Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to follow through with their tease of the character. His connection to S.H.I.E.L.D. added a great deal of intrigue that would perpetuate throughout the series. Earth’s Mightiest Heroes doesn’t try to shove every single upcoming plotline in this two-parter. Its focus is on introducing people to the diversity of villains, setting up the jailbreak, and the Avengers coming together. Small hints are set but they are only really built on throughout the seasons.

When Earth’s Mightiest Heroes

After a fantastic opening, it kind of goes a strange direction. We get the Avengers together and quickly rush through their characters. Instead of continuing from that point, it takes a step back. We return to the time before the events of ‘The Breakout’. This was my first time experiencing an out-of-order airing on television. Chronologically, ‘Iron Man is Born’ is the first episode of the show. At the time, this was one hell of whiplash because the events didn’t match up. Even Disney+ still has it in the wrong airing order. As you noticed though, the opening two-parter still works on its own. It’s such a strange aspect that Disney XD at the time aired it this way. It actually is even crazier that Disney+ still does not include it in chronological order. Somehow that just became an aspect of the show to this day.

The actual continuation is the episode ‘A Little Assembly Required’ that shows that these Avengers don’t get along instantly. It seems a tradition at this point that heroes always get into fights when they start teams. this episodes kind of highlights the advantage and disadvantage of having so many characters. This version of the Hulk is my favorite interpretation. He isn’t just a rage monster but actually is quite intelligent but still loves fighting. As they introduce him as this walking time bomb he tends to disappear for some time during specific arcs. They do this with a lot of recurring characters. It’s even showcased in the intro as it only shows the members relevant to the episode. Of course, this is great to keep an overview of the arcs but it forces them into making up excuses for others to “disappear”. A revolving door of characters works for the show, just sometimes it feels like the confrontations are forced to make sure to even the odds.

Found Themselves United Against a Common Threat

Still, this is a show about Avengers. We get so many fantastic adaptations of classic storylines. They are all interwoven throughout episodes that have a completely different focus. It all feels natural and is the advantage of long-form storytelling. An experiment creates Wonder Man that also introduces us to M.O.D.O.K. He briefly mentions they are working on a weapon for HYDRA. Ant-Man gets attacked by Klaue, who is helping Man-Ape that took over Wakanda. We also have Enchantress manipulating iconic villains to do her bidding that ends up forming the Masters of Evil. We briefly get introduced to Carol Danvers and Mar-Vell before the second season builds up the Kree-Skrull War. In just two seasons, we probably explore every aspect the Marvel universe has to offer.

Sadly, no matter how great the show was, it didn’t get renewed for a third season. It was replaced by a show called Avengers Assemble. The goal was that this show connected to Ultimate Spider-Man but it was nowhere near the same quality. Alongside Spectacular Spider-Man, this is one of Marvel’s best adaptations of their comics. It is a waste it was canceled in its prime but it did have a great ending. Every hero unites against a common threat like no other. Galactus has come to devour the world and it is up to all our favorite heroes to take them down. It is the perfect finale for this show even if there was so much more potential. Funny enough, Disney+ once again includes it out of order, as the 15th episode ‘Powerless’ is listed after the finale ‘Avengers Assemble!’ Even out of order, this show is an absolute gem. I believe it taught the Marvel Cinematic Universe a few lessons as it continued after the show aired its final episode.

September 22, 2020
‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Journal: Barebones Endgame, or a True Initative?

Anyone who follows me on Twitter might have noticed that I’ve been rather vocal about Square-Enix’s Marvel’s Avengers. In general, the game has some major flaws. There is no way to deny that. Games as a Service tend to have rough starts. There are different levels of issues, but it has been there since even before Destiny. Some of these games needed a year or even longer before they hit their true stride. So, I tried to spend some time after finishing the campaign to see what more is there to this game. You can check out my thoughts on the campaign by clicking here. It’s a heartfelt story that offers a unique perspective on our favorite heroes. I probably played around 14 hours to finish it. It’s the same campaign length I had with Batman: Arkham Origins back in the day. Now, it was time for the endgame content. Here we can see if the game truly holds up for the long-time commitment.

An Enjoyable Aftermath

One thing the game handled well is that the story continues. While cutscenes are now more sparse than before, I was surprised to get small moments throughout the hero-specific missions. Thor’s mission with a fake was quite the highlight as A.I.M. soldiers were defecting. Sadly, they didn’t have any unique designs but that could still come once we return to the Woken storyline. I was a bit surprised that Kamala and Iron Man didn’t have any unique mission types. Still, my main focus was to fulfill the various fraction missions to get my hands on the Darkhold. Yes, the evil book that was featured in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a big reward once you finish a major mission chain focused on A.I.M.s cloning technology teased at the end of the campaign.

I think this part is done well. You have missions that grant you additional gear which lets you level up accordingly. I was having fun as I unlocked a variety of new missions that weren’t available before. After some time you do start to notice a trend. These missions start to reuse assets frequently. Plus, the Hive mission becomes the main focus. The 1.3 patch just added a new mission type that I will get to later. The issue is that with their strong focus on A.I.M. there aren’t any surprises after you finish the story. There’s no bonus villain here. You’ll revisit a lot of the same places as you try to grind for gear.

A Questionable Grind

The grind is a selling point of looter games. You receive gear with unique perks. At first, you’ll focus mainly on the power level. It isn’t until you hit 130 that you start caring about stats. This aspect is a lot of fun. It made me think about my character customization. Yes, gears don’t change anything visually but they can have their perks. So, why not grind for gear that lets Thor freeze his enemies as he hits them. You can even add a Jotunheim ability to his heroics, so you can create your custom version of Thor. I am still building up the character but am excited to play around with his abilities and gear. There is a sense of accomplishment that makes the character your version. Some have even started giving their builds unique names.

The issue is that the best gear is not easy to get. It does make sense. You don’t want players to finish the game too fast. The problem is that most of the perks aren’t that unique. The new Mega Hive adds a single-player experience to grind for them. It’s a “Last Man Standing” mission. Originally, it was just going to be one ongoing level. They split it up so you can spread it out throughout the week. Now, you aren’t forced to finish it in one sitting. The only issue is, it doesn’t change anything. It’s the same assets as before. Crystal Dynamics focused on the challenge of it. That is fine but the reward doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get the best gear. Of course, this created more friction with players. There is a lack of reward. It also doesn’t include the multiplayer aspect that many play it for. The game has to walk this tightrope. As such, it should’ve at least offered a multiplayer variation. We are going to receive A.I.M. Secret Base missions that will be multiplayer-focused. I like that they are adding single-player options in the endgame. Just think they should’ve focused on multiplayer first.

A Barebones Endgame

Does this break the game? No, not at all. It just hampers the experience as you wait for the next real content drop. I think a general issue is the bugs that the developers are actively working on. Yes, they shouldn’t have been around when it launched. In reality, this is the GaaS standard that sadly perpetuates throughout this industry. No one is defending it but we also can’t change it now. I do believe that Crystal Dynamics has been hard at work. They have moments of more active conversation but they do show that they care. People mocked their reveal of 1,000 bugs being fixed but I appreciate the honesty. Most games have bugs that are hidden and get patched out throughout their life cycle. World of Warcraft, Destiny, Final Fantasy XIV Online, and many more repeat these issues. It wasn’t until the A Realm Reborn update that FF XIV was truly playable and got where it is now. It’s due to their dependence on having an active online connection that creates unique bugs that sadly pop up after launch. I wouldn’t want to be in the shoes of these developers.

I still firmly believe in the game’s potential. Yes, it’s a rough start but it sadly is kind of the norm with GaaS. The gameplay is a lot of fun. Each character offers something unique. I love that the game is also offering alternatives for single-player. It was the gear aspect that was handled wrong and should be fixed. I’ve probably put in well over 100 hours so I got my money’s worth from the base game. I would still recommend it to anyone interested. If you’re not in a rush to play it just wait until more content is added and bugs are fixed. Right now, it is just very minimal once you reach a certain threshold. It is okay to play it and take breaks between sessions. The reason I started this as a journal is that more is on the way. It keeps evolving and that is an exciting prospect. Now, I just cannot wait to try out the new Secret Base and Kate Bishop once she arrives next month.

September 20, 2020
Revisiting a Forgotten Gem: The Original ‘The Batman’

Batman is probably one of the most consistent pop culture icons in the industry. Every reboot of the franchise is an exciting prospect. Each incarnation has such a unique take but remains true to what made Batman so iconic. Now, we are all anxiously awaiting the release of Robert Pattinson‘s version with the simple title The Batman. Some animation fans might know that this isn’t the first incarnation we got with that title. Most of us fondly remember the iconic 90s Batman: The Animated Series when we think of an animated Batman. Yet, 2004 gave us another iconic incarnation that is one of my personal favorite animated shows from the early 2000s. The team behind Jackie Chan Adventures got together to give us their spin on the iconic bat and rogues’ gallery. Now that the title will be taken over by a new generation, it might be a perfect time to revisit this forgotten gem on Batman Day.

Batman Beginnings

So, the story focuses on a young Bruce Wayne just starting. This might be among my favorite versions of the character, as even with his nightly obsessions, they show him as a kind and caring individual. His relationship with Alfred Pennyworth is fantastic, as he constantly gets berated by his surrogate father. I don’t think it would work as well without Rino Romano and Alastair Duncan‘s chemistry throughout the five-season run. Batman has an interesting arc throughout the show. In the beginning, we get the usual obsession with working alone before he starts letting others into his life. It starts with his hopes of including his close friend before tragedy pushes them apart. He does end up joining forces with detective Ellen Yin, voiced by Ming-Na Wen. It isn’t until the third season that we get his first sidekick in the form of Batgirl.

Yes, the show skips Robin who doesn’t show up until the fourth season. The reason was mainly due to the character’s prominent role in the Teen Titans series. It was a great turn of events as it gave us more time with Barbara Gordon as a self-made Batgirl, who had a fun rivalry with Robin throughout the show. Batman letting more people into his life also leads into the final season that expands the entire world. Now, Batman is faced with a new challenge beyond his city with the introduction of the Justice League. It was such a great development seeing this world expand as the show continued. We get the interactions with the other members of the team from Bruce’s perspective. It offers some rather quirky moments where these different personalities clash. My favorite episode focuses on these two characters, as they try to keep this show’s version of Black Mask in prison. Every season builds upon the previous which just adds to the joy of revisiting after all these years.

Similar Yet Different Rogue’s Gallery

Artist Jeff Matsuda‘s art style translated these iconic characters perfectly into this new incarnation. Interestingly enough, while Batman is pretty much a direct adaptation, his rogue’s gallery got some rather unique adaptations. To give an example, let’s look at the most iconic Batman villain out there. The Joker still wears his iconic purple suit but left his shoes at home throughout the series. This version leans more into his manic personality. He even manages to keep up with Batman in a fight while still sticking to his usual schemes. I love this version and Kevin Michael Richardson’s voice really brings the character to life.

Each character stays true to the original but adds their own twists. Mr. Freeze is less a tragic figure but a cold-hearted thief voiced by Clancy Brown. They completely revamped Clayface, as he starts off as a friend of Bruce. Yes, the friend I mentioned previously. Ethan Bennett turns into the iconic villain due to Joker’s meddling with hypnosis. The first season tries to introduce a variety of minor villains from the comics to flesh them out like the Firefly, Ventriloquist, and even Cluemaster. Still, a major focus was on the well-known villains like Joker, Penguin, Mr. Freeze, and Catwoman. Funny enough, we never got a version of Two-Face in this series, which was rectified in Beware the Batman‘s second season.

Later seasons added a lot more classic villains. Riddler doesn’t appear until the second season and is voiced by Freddy Krueger, Robert Englund. His design is strangely gothic but works incredibly well. This was probably my favorite version of the character until I read Scott Snyder‘s Batman: Zero Year run. We even get a revamped origin story for Harley Quinn, who is a pop-psychology host rather than an actual psychiatrist. Ron Perlman voices a very southern incarnation of Killer Croc that is quite intimidating. We even get other minor villains like Spellbinder, Rag Doll, Solomon Grundy, Prank, and even Maxie Zeus. Once the Justice League joins this world we also get to meet some of their rogue’s gallery. We see a variety of characters like Metallo, Sinestro, or the Mirror Master. The series has a fantastic list of voice actors that brings these characters to life.

A Forgotten Cult Classic

This series is a perfect blend of old and new. One of my favorite aspects was the unique soundtrack that used guitars in a way that created a dark ambiance. I still have the soundtrack in the back of my head. As iconic as the intro is to the ’90s animated show, I wish they used this one got more love with recent adaptations. It is probably one of my favorite cartoon intros that are just edged out by Spectacular Spider-Man‘s iconic theme. Adding to the darker tone of the show’s first few seasons, it just was such a unique take. It knew it couldn’t compete directly with the original so it did something unique while staying true to the comics. Its successor Beware the Batman tried to go even a step further by completely reinventing the mythos. This show not only embraced the Batman mythos but also that of the entire DC Universe once it expanded.

The Batman had a perfect balance in the way it handled the original mythology. It embraced the wackiness of these characters while not ignoring the psychology of them. For example, the Ventriloquist is such an interesting character in this show. Arnold Wesker is a kind person whose attachment to Scarface is his downfall. Every character arc is continued at a later time letting these characters develop. It also knows what characters simply need to be intimidating. This show introduced me to what became one of my favorite villains, the before-mentioned Black Mask. This version is calculating in a way that made him intimidating. These are just some examples of why I believe this is one of the best adaptations of the iconic Batman. Sadly, it just seems no one talks about it as much. Batman: The Animated Series is so iconic that it dominates the conversation around animated adaptations. Even trying to find a picture for this article, I mostly end up finding something for the upcoming The Batman film or the 90s animated version. To me, it just wouldn’t be Batman Day if we didn’t talk about this forgotten gem.

September 19, 2020