Justice League

Crowning Moments of Awesome: The DCAU

When it comes to comic adaptations, the DC Animated Universe (DCAU) is pretty much the cream of the crop. Running for over a decade, the shared universe included Batman: the Animated SeriesSuperman: the Animated SeriesBatman BeyondJustice LeagueJustice League Unlimited, and various tie-in movies and comics. Each series was full of awesome moments.

A good number of the scenes below come from Justice League Unlimited, which is my favorite of the DCAU series, but that’s not intended as a slight to the other shows. Suffice it to say that most everything associated with the DCAU was awesome, and the shows generally got better as they went on.

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Captain America vs Hitler

Captain America Punching Hitler was Once Controversial

In 1941, the people of the United States got their first taste of a superhero known as Captain America. This star-spangled soldier introduced himself to the world by punching Adolf Hitler in the face. Can’t get more American than that, right?

Too bad Cap’s creators Joe Simon and Jack Kirby got death threats over it.

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Death of Superman

The Original Death of Superman

The death of Superman is an iconic moment in comics that brought a new level of introspection and insight to comics. It should rightfully be regarded as a true classic.

Superman vs Doomsday

No, not that one. I’m talking about the original death of Superman, which was an “imaginary story” (basically DC’s version of Marvel’s “What-If” comics) that occurred in Superman #149.

Superman Kryptonite
All that plotting and the best line he could come up with was, “You’re in super-trouble?”

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Hulk Transformation

Crowning Moments of Awesome: The Incredible Hulk

The Incredible Hulk is not only my favorite comic book character, but he’s also my favorite fictional character in any media, outside of my own creations. He’s got pathos, tragedy, and even humor. Most importantly, he’s got a lot of awesome moments scattered through the decades. So, without further ado, let’s look at what makes the Hulk incredible.    Continue reading “Crowning Moments of Awesome: The Incredible Hulk”

ThunderCats, No! (Part 1 of 2)

I don’t know why, but many people really seem to want kids’ entertainment to get re-imagined in a dark and gritty way. That’s one of the main complaints people seem to have about the upcoming ThunderCats reboot, which looks sillier than the original. While adult clamor for a darker version of ThunderCats (often ignoring that the awesome 2011 reboot was more mature and didn’t last more than one season), it’s worth noting that there is danger in going dark just for the sake of getting grim and gritty.

The ThunderCats franchise serves as a good example of why “more mature” often isn’t and why dark and gritty doesn’t necessarily make for better storytelling. See, the early 2000s had a ThunderCats reboot of its own in comic form. The resulting miniseries, ThunderCats: The Return is probably one of the worst comics I’ve ever read.

I don’t like to suffer through bad comics alone. So let’s take a look at this train wreck together, shall we? Continue reading “ThunderCats, No! (Part 1 of 2)”

Golden Age Superman

The Golden Age Superman was a Badass Vigilante (Part 2 of 2)

Last time we covered Superman’s brand of vigilante justice in Action Comics #1. That was the first of a two-part story, which continued in Action Comics #2. Part Two really highlights the wish fulfillment aspect of Superman standing up to corruption both in the United States and abroad. Continue reading “The Golden Age Superman was a Badass Vigilante (Part 2 of 2)”

Action Comics #1

The Golden Age Superman was a Badass Vigilante (Part 1 of 2)

I had the good fortune of picking up Superman: The Golden Age, Vol. 1 while it was on sale at Comixology.com a few weeks ago. I like the Golden/Silver Age stuff as a historical artifact of how comics shaped pop culture. In the case of Golden Age Superman, the results were really eye opening.

I knew that Superman’s early days were very different from the Man of Steel we know today. He didn’t have heat vision, couldn’t fly, and kryptonite wasn’t a thing yet. However, I didn’t realize how fully early Superman embraced his role as a man of the people – or how well the stories serve as middle-class wish fulfillment.

Continue reading “The Golden Age Superman was a Badass Vigilante (Part 1 of 2)”