Superman Rebirth!

[thecolorsblend]

They're still killing characters, but in a slow, painful way. They take treasured memories and distort them into ugly scars that you begin to wish never existed. If you love something strongly, you can also hate it with equal strength.

That's becoming my benchmark for gauging someone else's fandom these days. You want to prove to me that you love comic books? Then tell me how much you hate them.

[Silver Nemesis]

Strange how old school Trek is fanboy comfort food these days. A time when the IDEA mattered a lot more than frivolous nonsense.

"Let them die" indeed, Captain.

I'm currently up to season 5 of my re-watch of the entire Next Generation series, and earlier this week I got the Stardate Collection of movies I-X on Blu-ray for my birthday. I've already got those films on DVD, but I can't wait to revisit them all in HD during those dark evenings that lie between now and the end of the year. Classic Trek credits the viewer with intelligence, offering them interesting characters, well written scripts, strong imaginative stories and thought-provoking ideas. I doubt we'll be seeing such sophisticated sci-fi on TV again anytime soon.

They're still killing characters, but in a slow, painful way. They take treasured memories and distort them into ugly scars that you begin to wish never existed. If you love something strongly, you can also hate it with equal strength.

True. My hatred of modern Doctor Who, Star Wars, Star Trek, etc, is directly proportionate to how intensely I love the classic instalments of those franchises. I recently re-watched the classic Indiana Jones trilogy and damn, those films are amazing. If the rumours I've heard about Indy 5 turn out to be true, then I know I'll probably hate it with a passion; and the source of that passion will be my love for the original three films.

Sometimes being a fan means walking away from a franchise you love because it's too painful to share in its degradation. That way you can still enjoy the classics without having them tainted by all the modern rubbish.

[thecolorsblend]

If the rumours I've heard about Indy 5 turn out to be true, then I know I'll probably hate it with a passion; and the source of that passion will be my love for the original three films.

Y'know, if nothing else good comes out of all this (and it's starting to look like nothing else will), at least George Lucas will have had one hell of a redemption tour.

Fans bashed the prequels. Then they bashed Crystal Skull. And while I tend to say that those are lesser works compared to their respective originals, I also maintain that they're actually pretty decent little movies. Not bad at all, I must say.

And the prequels have already benefited from comparisons to the sequels. People have taken another look at those movies with the stink of The Last Jedi still wafting around and they seem to be deciding that Hayden Christensen, midichlorians and Palpatine's Gollum moment in ROTS weren't so bad after all.

Methinks Crystal Skull will be similarly reevaluated when Indy 5 inevitably comes along and burns it all to the ground. Maybe Crystal Skull doesn't hold a candle to Raiders. But Indy 5 won't hold a candle to Crystal Skull.

If Lucas at least gets a reappraisal... well, it won't have been worth it. But that would still be something positive.

[Silver Nemesis]

I can't say I'm a fan of Crystal Skull, but at least Spielberg and Lucas were still the creative driving force behind it. As far as I'm aware, they've both washed their hands of Indy 5. That should tell us something. I only wish Ford had been similarly discerning when deciding whether or not to do the film.

[thecolorsblend]

I can't say I'm a fan of Crystal Skull, but at least Spielberg and Lucas were still the creative driving force behind it. As far as I'm aware, they've both washed their hands of Indy 5. That should tell us something. I only wish Ford had been similarly discerning when deciding whether or not to do the film.

My sense of Ford is that he's gone down the road of Bruce Willis and Robert DeNiro. He's mentally checked out of his own career. He'll do whatever you want, he dgaf as long as you pay him enough. There was a time when he was a very picky, script-focused actor. But then somewhere around the time of Ender's Game, he just gave up.

Considering how protective he used to be of Indy, this is a real shame.

[The Joker]

The corporate endgame for DC, is to phase out or "sideline" the classic depiction of Superman (the guy who typically represents traditional values and who generally harkens back to more simpler times), in favor for a more, in DC's view, "Modern" Superman with a lot less baggage and designed for more liberal Present-Day values. That's it. It's undeniable at this point. It's kinda like DC stating that Wally West wasn't going to be "sidelined" following Barry Allen's reintroduction in "Final Crisis", and wouldn't you know it? That's exactly what happened in the years following. Despite issued DC/WB statements to the contrary. So why would it be different this time? It's not. Only this time, DC is flat out telling you you're a bigot if you prefer the classic old boring straight white male Clark Kent Superman. Because, again, their worldview of being a straight white male is now seen as inherently bad (so how can a straight white Clark Kent Superman truly represent "everyone"), and of course, there's "Too many straight white dudes." per the writer himself. Take that statement for exactly what it is.

It's more about back pats than securing a strong foundation these days. Pure and simple.

[thecolorsblend]

EVS has a different take on the "Truth, justice and a better tomorrow" bit. And he shows his work. Bottom line, the phrase "Truth, justice and the American way" is public domain now.

[The Dark Knight]

Another knife to the heart of the Superman brand regardless of the reason given. As far as I am concerned the new motto is 'Everything Woke Turns To Sh*t'. If SuperWoke is concerned about ice caps melting (despite Antarctica's last 6 months being the coldest on record) why doesn't he use his freeze breathe to make more? Or inhale smoke, fly into space and exhale? And if none of that, why not protest in front of the Chinese embassy?

[thecolorsblend]

Another knife to the heart of the Superman brand regardless of the reason given. As far as I am concerned the new motto is 'Everything Woke Turns To Sh*t'. If SuperWoke is concerned about ice caps melting (despite Antarctica's last 6 months being the coldest on record) why doesn't he use his freeze breathe to make more? Or inhale smoke, fly into space and exhale? And if none of that, why not protest in front of the Chinese embassy?

There it is. That's my big problem with this kid Superman.

Actual Superman is supposed to use his Superman identity to do big and impressive stuff. It's Superman who fights supervillains, turns back alien invasions and rescues cats stuck in trees.

Superman uses his Clark identity to wage the day to day battles. It's Clark who's in the trenches writing articles that shed light on corruption (or whatever) and speaks truth to power. Because that's where real and lasting change begins. If either identity is to advocate for climate whatchamacallit (or anything political), it would be Clark. Because that stuff is too small and granular for Superman.

The lamest thing anyone can possibly draw is Superman holding up a sign at a protest. If someone wants to convince me they have zero understanding of Superman or the Clark/Superman dynamic, they'll show Superman participating in some idiotic climate rally.

[Travesty]

They destroy everything they get their hands on.

Every-single-thing.

And they take a lot of joy in doing it, too.