"There's Nothing Funny About a Clown in the Moonlight..." A Look a Pennywise

Let’s talk about it.  I mean…”It”.  “It” was a best-selling novel by horror guru Stephen King which hit the shelves in 1986 and was spun into a very well-known miniseries in 1990 on ABC, and this is where the concept of “It” became ingrained in the consciousness of American horror fans.  I remember watching "It" air back in 1990 and it quickly became a Halloween staple for the station for years to come.  The miniseries explored the interpersonal relationships amongst preteens as they dealt with a supernatural nightmare that was threatening their hometown.  The story is actually split into two parts, with one half told as flashback to the time when the main characters were children fighting off the monster, and into their adult lives as the monster comes back once again to threaten them.

Already I can tell my grammar checking software is going to hate this piece.

I’m explaining all this to you because in 2017 we are due to get a remake of “It”.  This of course will include a brand new version of the central character of the film, Pennywise the Dancing Clown.  Even the most casual horror fans will recognize this infamous nightmare, originally brought to life by Tim Curry for the miniseries, and the knee jerk reaction will be that there is no way anyone could compare to Curry’s performance. 

 

 

This isn’t without precedence because Curry has always been an A list performer, a living legend in cult classics, and he’s going to naturally be very difficult to top.  What compounds the problem is that most people saw “It” originally when they were very young.  The show came out 26 years ago and the people who grew up watching Curry’s Pennywise will have that performance firmly implanted in their brain boarded up with only the most impenetrable of nostalgic feelings.

Now, as of this writing I have not found an actual trailer for the upcoming 2017 version.  I’ve only seen the promotional material circulated by Entertainment Weekly of Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise.

Judge for yourself

 

Both the original television series and the book state that It has been terrorizing the citizens of Derry, Maine for generations, arriving on earth in that spot prior to colonists coming over from Europe.  Somewhere along the way, It decided that its prey of choice would be children and somewhere along its time on earth adopted the form of Pennywise the Clown, among numerous other disguises.  Now I did some digging to see if there was some historical significance to the form of the clown, even reaching out to my best friend and Stephen King expert, William Dilbeck.  Is there some in-story historical significance to the clown?

“No, not really, but the clown is memorable.  Mike Hanlon never left Derry, and he collects stories from the old people in town.  In one of these stories, this old man talks about how this gang gets shot to death in the middle of town, and he remembers seeing this clown floating just outside a window, taking pot shots at the gang with a rifle.”

He went on to point out “The clown might represent It’s sinister intent, and well, it never hurts to have an iconic look.  It mostly hunts children, though, and I believe that it uses this as his camouflage.”

Thanks Will.

So it seems Stephen King may have had the famous quote from Lon Chaney in mind when writing Pennywise "There's nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight."

That kind of brings us back around to the design of Pennywise for both the television series and the film.  I’ll do a side by side.

 

Designers discussed that the look of the costume is very much inspired by the renaissance period, indicating that It’s knowledge of human events extends far outside Derry, Maine even if It can’t influence those events.  One would think that if It could extend its influential reach beyond the confines of Derry, It would be far more powerful.

The overall weathered, otherworldly appearance of the 2017 Pennywise costume also makes it stand out apart from characters like Jared Leto’s and Heath Ledger’s respective Jokers, as well as the multitude of clowns featured in Rob Zombie’s horror films.  No, this Pennywise definitely stands out, even against his 1990’s counterpart.

Curry’s rendition of the character was far more in keeping with modern interpretations of clowns, with a baggy, brightly colored full body suit, white fluffy ruffles, and outwardly pleasant demeanor, which would later give way to It’s predatory nature.  The 2017 version on the other hand immediately comes across as threatening and unsettling and I can’t imagine this being an effective lure for anyone.  Even people without a crippling fear of clowns would be sent screaming into the hills if they saw that coming at them.

But on the flip side, Tim Curry’s Pennywise can be equally unsettling not strictly by how he looks but more about where you see him.  You see him in the drainage gutters, in the woods, in boiler rooms, outside windows, in places that you aren't supposed to see clowns.  If you saw a clown at a circus or a birthday party, that’s one thing.  You’re technically supposed to see clowns there.  If you see a clown standing across the street, no matter how nice he looks, he’s not supposed to be there and that makes him automatically threatening,  more so if he starts beckoning you over.

So does the 2017 version work?  Well that greatly depends on what they do with him.  Are there going to be scenes where he looks more cleaned up, less threatening, or is he always going to look like he hitchhiked across state lines?  The reason I ask is because if there is a dichotomy in his look, clean giving way to sinister, then that allows a lot more freedom in how effective he can be as a horror icon.  If he’s always going to look like that, then he’s going to lose his effectiveness very quickly.

Either way “It” is going to hit theatres in September of 2017 so let’s hope it lives up to the legacy set down by the original.

Thank you for reading and thank you Will for your input in today’s post.  Please check out his book series, and have a great day.

https://www.amazon.com/Better-Off-Dead-Lakehaven-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B00JLPG8HE#nav-subnav

Have We Seen Affleck's Batman Before?

Over the Christmas holiday I was lucky enough to have some old friends over to my house.  Inevitably we delved into discussions about comic book based movies.  Now whether you love it or hate it, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” did in fact happen and it was a game changer.

One of the things it did was offer us introductions to characters that did not cover their origins stories.  Obviously Henry Cavill’s Superman got his introduction in the previous film “Man of Steel”, however we meet both Batman and Wonder Woman without the usual tacked on exposition about how they got their superhero starts.  During the opening sequence we are treated to a flash back of Batman’s basic origins, the death of his parents, but that wasn’t so much to explain his origin, but rather set up a character arch later in the film.  What it left out was the years of training he did to become the Dark Knight.  For that matter, the film left out the greater majority of his superhero/vigilante career.  Dialog in the film indicates that this is twenty years after Bruce dawned the iconic cape and cowl.  Twenty years.  That’s a heck of a place to jump off from.

Admittedly we have more than enough film, and a television series, to cover Batman’s formative years, but as we were discussing the topic we started speculating that maybe we’d seen this version of Batman before.  Maybe, just maybe, we did get to see his origins.

My friend Will (see the shameless plug below) postulated that this was the very same Batman we were introduced to in 1989’s “Batman”.  He cited that the psychologies, methodologies, and in some cases the weapons he used were very similar.  The Michael Keaton Batman, for instance, did not shy away from killing henchmen, and certainly didn’t shed any tears over the death of supervillains.  For that matter, his vehicles are dripping with machine guns, another strong similarity between the two.

But there is a major problem, and that is how old Bruce Wayne looks in the film.  Granted they did try to “age up” Ben Affleck, but he still looks very much the 44 years old he actually is.  If anything they made him a believable 44 years old.  That would have made him 17 during the events of 1989’s “Batman”.  Michael Keaton, while a great actor, does not look 17.

A second hiccup is how the public perceives Bruce Wayne.  In the Burton Era films, “Batman” and “Batman Returns” Bruce is not a public figure.  In the first film Alexander Knox, a seasoned reporter who apparently has lived most of his life in Gotham doesn’t recognize him at his own fund raiser, in his own mansion.  The “file” on Bruce Wayne at the Gotham Gazette, apparently the premier newspaper for the city, is barely a few pages deep.  There isn’t any indication that this has changed much by the time “Batman Returns” rolls around.  He’s still a mover and shaker in Gotham, but nobody is surprised when he doesn’t show up for major events.

The third and final nail in the coffin is that the first film firmly roots itself in 1989.  I'll be honest, I wanted this theory to be true, I really did, but I kept coming back to the Joker blasting the musical stylings of Prince through the museum as he and his henchmen destroy priceless pieces of art.  Again, that would make Ben/Bruce 17 during the events of the film.

However I did notice something very important, and that is that the follow up films “Batman Forever” and “Batman and Robin” do a complete tonal shift.  They are almost the exact opposite, thematically speaking, than those of the two previous films, almost as if they took place in a separate universe.

I’d long held that had it not been for the performances of Pat Hingle’s Commissioner Gordon and Michael Gough’s Alfred, there would be nothing to connect the series at all.  But even there, we can see a deviation.  In “Batman” and “Batman Returns” Commissioner Gordon is a competent policeman.  He knows what he’s doing and is good at his job.  Suddenly in “Batman Forever” he’s more bumbling, less sure of himself, and this gets worse in “Batman and Robin”.  Again, almost like it’s not the same character.

My theory is that “Batman Forever” and “Batman and Robin” take place in a universe apart from the Tim Burton films.  Call it the Schumacher universe, and the Schumacher universe began approximately twenty years ago prior to the events of “Batman v Superman”.

This places Ben/Bruce being in his early twenties when he becomes Batman, which is far more reasonable.  Further, the Schumacher universe Bruce attends public functions and is well known to the populace of Gotham, just like our current Bruce Wayne.  Now let’s look at some facts surrounding this universe:

Batman in “B v S” and “Suicide Squad” has knowledge, if not direct interaction with meta-humans like Killer Croc.  This was established in “Batman and Robin” where the first proper meta-humans, people with actual powers, first appear in the form of Poison Ivy, Bane, and to an extent Mr. Freeze.

More importantly there is a Robin established by both sets of films.  Chris O’Donnell plays Robin in both “Batman Forever” and “Batman and Robin”, and we see a heavily, if not fatally damaged Robin suit in a glass case in the Batcave in “B v S”. 

 

The suits look remarkably similar, as if one is the more advanced version of the other.  But this isn’t Chris O’Donnell’s Robin.

 

This is.  By the time “Batman and Robin” rolls around we see Dick moving closer to his Nightwing identity, adopting a costume more closely suited to that role.  That leaves his old costume open for a new Robin to take, a new Robin like…Jason Todd.

We’re never told in “B v S” which Robin wore that damaged suit, but we are pretty clearly told that it was damaged by the Joker himself.  I mean, look at it.  However if we follow that this is the Schumacher version of Batman then it’s probably not Dick’s suit, as he wasn’t last seen wearing anything like that.

But that brings up another good question: Who is the Joker in “Suicide Squad”?  If we follow that this is the Schumacher universe, and that Tim Burton’s films took place along a different timeline, then it’s safe to assume that this universe just has a different Joker.  One thing that was pretty good about Schumacher’s films is that, with the exception of Bane, his origin stories for his villains were pretty comic book accurate.  Like, scarily accurate.  He had Two Face actually scarred during a trial with acid, Riddler being an insane lunatic with an OCD, Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze the victims of accidents…all ripped from the pages of the comics.  So for this universe to have a Joker changed by a vat of chemicals, as alluded to in “Suicide Squad” it makes perfect sense.

There are a few hiccups in this theory.  For one there is the ages and performance styles of Alfred and Commissioner Gordon.  Played beautifully by Jeremy Irons, Alfred is very young compared to his Schumacher Universe counterpart, and J.K. Simmons who is set to take over the Gordon role in the upcoming Justice League film couldn’t play Gordon as incompetent if he tried, and he shouldn’t because it would deviate too far from the theme of the film.  But these are side characters and can afford to be reinterpreted from film to film to film.

The real hiccup is one single line from “Batman and Robin.”

 

You thought I was going to say “bat credit card” didn’t you.  Admit it, you did.  That’s fine.  I could imagine 23 year old Ben Affleck Batman whipping out a Bat Credit Card.  It works.

No, this line comes after a dust up between the titular characters of the film and Batman is lamenting for his solo days.  It’s a problem since “Superman” would have been 14 when this line was spoken, certainly not running around in a cape and tights.

However he was probably running around.  We establish in “Man of Steel” that Clark goes on a soul searching quest, one to find his place in the world.  Its implied that he starts this journey as a grown man, after the death of John Kent, but this is Superman we are talking about.  As a teenager he could have wandered the United States as easily as the average 14 year old could walk down the block to his friend’s house.  Further, its established that he has saved people as a kid.  He wouldn’t be doing this with a side kick in tow, and he’d probably be doing his good deeds as far from Smallville as he could reasonably get to avoid people connecting him to the Kent farm.  He’s superfast, roughly the size of a man, and never sticks around for thanks when he does something good.  The legend of a “Superman” would certainly crop up and become part of modern folk lore, like Bigfoot.  “…Superman works alone.”

This could be hinted at during Lois’ conversation with the in-custody Superman.  At this point she’s already figured out who he is and what he did around the world incognito, and now she’s face to face with him with a big “s” on his chest.  It would finally click with her that he’s this modern mythical figure, and why out of the blue the word “Superman” escapes her lips.  That would be how Batman knows the name “Superman” but then reacts badly to the presence of an actual “Superman”, because it’s solidified in his jaded, 20 year crime fighting veteran that people aren’t doing good things and disappearing into the shadows, that they are so self-serving that they had to be rescued by an alien.

At least that’s my theory and like every film theory it relies on circumstantial evidence and some mental gymnastics, but that's part of the fun of film theories.  They are intended to get you thinking deeper about the films you watch, and hopefully this one does that job as well.

 

Thanks for reading.  Please check out Will's book at:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Better-Off-Dead-Lakehaven-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B00JLPG8HE#nav-subnav

 

What is Krypton Actually Made Of?

 

Ever wonder where 1978’s “Superman: The Movie” got its iconic imagery of planet Krypton?  Fans of the Christopher Reeve helmed series can see it in their heads, the white rocky surface of the planet.  This is translated directly in the film when Kal-El erects the Fortress of Solitude on Earth.  This iconic vision of the Fortress is carried over into multiple other series, including “Superman: The Animated Series”, “Justice League”, “Smallville”, and “Supergirl”.

Growing up a fan I just figured the Fortress looked that way to blend in with its arctic environment, which is probably true but then I ran across a thing about Batman, and how much it would cost to become the Dark Knight.  It listed the price of Kryptonite as $25,000.  Obviously a fictional substance, you can’t really purchase this radioactive rock from beyond the stars, however I was bored and had the internet at my disposal and started looking up shopping for kryptonite.  Then I got to thinking about the actual element krypton, and looked up how much it would  cost to purchase the very earthly substance. 

Krypton is a rare noble gas, and is colorless, tasteless, and will asphyxiate you if you try to breath it raw.  So, don’t do that.  But I also found out what it looks like in it’s solid form…

 

Yeah, exactly.  It’s a white crystal.  Know what also is a white crystal?

Yeah, all of Krypton, including their technology.  I couldn’t find anything that definitively said the production team used the element of krypton as inspiration for their design of the planet itself, but is sure seems like they were at least influence by it.

This crystalline structure was probably used so they could better translate kryptonite onto the big screen.  It makes more sense, thematically if not scientifically, to have kryptonite be a glowing green crystalline substance if the planet that it came from is made from a white crystalline substance.  The fact that krypton itself is a white crystal may have been intentional or a happy coincidence.

Either way, if you follow the logic that the planet Krypton was made from solid krypton, then you can purchase a non-radioactive piece of Superman's home world on eBay for somewhere between $10 to $40, depending on what form you are looking for.  Probably best not to try and  make it radioactive yourself, because radiation is bad.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

 

8 Tips to a Successful Job Interview

Hey gang.  So tomorrow I am conducting interviews for an open clerk position at the law enforcement agency where I am a supervisor.  That said, I got to thinking and I want to share with you some tips on having a successful job interview.  Hopefully you'll find this advice useful in furthering your own careers or getting your first job.

1) Respect the job you are applying for.  A lot of times I've heard the phrase "stepping stone" in reference to the job they are interviewing for.  This turns interviewers off immediately.  They understand that on the entry level no one plans on staying there, but they are interviewing you for that position right now.  You want to go higher, prove yourself on level 1 first.

2) Be honest, but use common sense in your answers.  If you don't know one of the job skills, tell us, but tell us you are willing to learn.  Don't shrug and say you don't know and leave it like that.

3) In fact, don't shrug at all.  Remember part of your communication is non verbal, and a lot can be said in body language.  If you come across as unprofessional in your mannerisms, then you are coming across as unprofessional period.

4) Answer like an adult.  It doesn't matter if you've been out of high school 2 days or 20 years, if you use slang and swear, they will ask you to leave.

5) Dress like an adult.  T shirts and jeans are for the mall, not a job interview.

6) Stretch before you go in.  It sounds weird but if you are relaxed physically you will come across more confident.  Even if you don't know half the answers, confidence alone can get you a long way.

7)  Know what the job is you are applying for.  If the interviewer has to read the job description to you to jog your memory, the interview is effectively over.  If they ask "Are you able to do shift work?" and your answer is anything but an unequivocal yes, you probably won't get picked.  They are looking for people to fill the position they advertised for, not fill some of it.

8) Be prepared to earn your stripes.  Should you get the entry level job, understand that promotion will likely be a long way off and you are not entitled to a promotion just because you passed probation.  That means pulling long nights, overtime, weekend, and holidays.  Don't get snippy when you don't get the days off you want right away.

I really hope this helps someone out there.  Please share it as much as you can with people you think it will help.

Star Trek: Fixing Plot Holes

Growing up I loved Star Trek.  I mean not to the point where I’d consider myself a trekkie, that was for my sister, but I loved the show and a lot of the intricate details about it.  For instance, while I did not own the blue prints for the USS Enterprise, I had seen them, studied them, and understood them.

So when “Star Trek Into Darkness” the title that needs a colon, came out, I was obviously interested in how this sequel to a pretty bang up reboot to the series was going to do.  Then came the big reveal that Benedict Cummerbatch, who up to this point had been billed as “John Harrison” was in fact the famous Star Trek villain “Khan”!

 

This reveal came out of the blue, and felt so, so out of place.  In the original string of movies, “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” pulled material out of the original series episode “Space Seed”, which established not only Khan as a villain, but established his relationship with Captain Kirk.  When Khan Noonien Singh, played by the scenery chewing Ricardo Montalbán, showed up, the audience familiar with the backstory felt the thematic weight of the moment.  When they name dropped him in “Into Darkness”, it felt phoned in and like they were pulling from material they didn’t earn.  Frankly it pissed me off and I’ve never really forgiven the franchise for this move, especially since while I love Benedict as an actor, he looks nothing like Ricardo.  Seriously…

 

 

Nothing like him.

Then I found this.

 

This is from a tie in comic called “Star Trek: Khan” which actually explains what the hell was going on here.  The episode “Space Seed” takes place centuries after the eugenics war, where Khan and his crew were created as super soldiers.  That’s the rough cut and about as deep as I’m willing to go.  So when Spock and Nero jumped back in time and re-routed history, the ripple effect was felt far and wide.  Rather than leave the super soldiers floating in space, the evil admiral Robo-Cop…I mean Admiral Marcus thaws out Khan, alters his memories and gives him extensive plastic surgery so people would see him walking around and think “Oh hey, that’s a famous criminal from history!”  Because in Star Trek, the average man on the street passed Earth History 101.

Now this makes perfect sense.  This is why Khan hates Marcus, why he suddenly dropped the John Harrision identity, went off the reservation, and revealed his identity with such conviction.  It makes you kind of root for him a bit more too, knowing what he had been put through, which actually brings us back to OG Khan…

The original Khan just wanted his people to live happy, peaceful lives.  That’s what Kirk promised in the original series and almost delivered…until everything went sideways.  The neighboring planet blew up, shifted their planet’s orbit and turned their world into a wasteland.  Which Starfleet would have known if Kirk had ever done follow up missions to check on their status.  Because of this, Khan’s wife was killed and, being a warrior who’s had the most important thing taken from him, Khan swore vengeance on Kirk.  Which again makes sense because it is kind of Kirk’s fault.

So this new information helps me forgive the character of Khan from “Into Darkness”, however it doesn’t help the movie overall because this information should have been given to the audience during the actual film.  That would have smoothed over a major plot hole.

 

As always, thanks for reading.

DC Extended Universe: Its Smarter than you Think.

Some friends of mine and I were discussing the state of the DC Extended Universe, the film franchise, and frankly, the films are a lot smarter than people give them credit for.

So far there are three theatrically released films for this creative endeavor, “Man of Steel”, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”, and “Suicide Squad”.  These films have become financial titans, but met with mixed reviews from both critics and fans alike.

I won’t go on record in saying that everything was done right in the movies.  There are pretty significant plot holes here and there, especially in BvS, but those occurred because they were trying to do so much in such a small amount of time.  The extended version does fill in a lot of those gaps, but if you read between lines in the film, you can actually grasp why characters make the choices they do. 

Part of what Zack Snyder, Warner Bros, and DC have been trying to do with the films is bring an element of realism to the characters, and that is a very difficult task, especially when you consider your main story elements include an alien from a distant star with god-like powers, a billionaire who dresses as a bat, and a team of semi-super powered criminals fighting an archeologist possessed by a witch.  Trying to ground those stories is a tall order, but it’s something they need to do.  They need to alter their formula from that of Marvel, because naturally that is who they are going to be compared to.

Let’s hit a few of the major notes that have been debated in the fan base since “Man of Steel” and the neck-snap heard round the world.  Myth #1 “Superman and Batman don’t kill.”

Fact:  Going back to the early days of the characters, back in 1938 and 1939, Superman and Batman most certainly did kill.  They killed a lot.  This got thinned out over the decades, but it still crops up from time to time in the modern comics.  Superman feels bad about when having to kill, he tries to avoid it, but it does happen from time to time.  In the films we have two confirmed kills from Superman: that of the lunatic Kryptonian Zod in “Man of Steel” and the African warlord holding a gun to Lois’ head in “BvS”.  In the former, Superman is distraught by killing Zod, realizing that he’s just killed the last of his kind to save the planet.  In the latter, we really don’t get much aftermath on Superman’s view of the incident, but given the man’s track record as being a warlord, he probably didn’t feel that much of an emotional punch.  That’s it for Superman.

But, I hear you say “But Batman doesn’t kill.”  Who said that?  Where is that written?  For that matter, how has that been established in the film universe, as BvS is the debut of this version of Batman, and he’s been Batman for 20 years.  This is “Dark Knight Returns” style Batman, who left dead bodies all over town.

Myth 2 “Batman doesn’t use guns.”  Yes, yes he does.  He has them mounted in just about every bat-themed vehicle in his inventory.  Further Batman has been established as a master marksman.  You don’t get there unless you know how to use them.  Further, again, this is “Dark Knight Returns” style Batman, who is featured using a rifle in the comic.  Again, 20 years.  He’s going to use whatever gets the job done at this point.

The thing most people gloss over, however, it the attitude change Batman has at the end of “BvS”, because of Superman’s sacrifice.  Superman had been persecuted throughout the film, and could have easily just left when Doomsday showed up, but he stayed and fought to protect the people who fear and hate him, and Batman had been one of those people.  A lot of critics slam the “Martha” scene, because it felt too easy, but don’t look at it from Batman’s point of view: look at it from Bruce Wayne’s point of view.

Bruce’s defining moment, something that we were reminded of in the start of the film, was the death of his parents, the ultimate moment of chaos in his life.  He had no control over it.  Bruce spends his entire career as Batman fighting for control.  He needs to be the guy running everything, and that’s where this Batman is born from.  So for him to meet something like Superman, the guy no one can control, an alien from another planet with afore mentioned god-like powers, he needs to dominate that.  He has to have some control over it because otherwise the world is chaos and chaos leads to innocent people dying.  When Superman, even as he’s about to die, asks Batman to save “Martha”, that gives Batman two major whammies at once.  1) Superman has a human mother figure, meaning he is tied to humanity, and that his mom is also named Martha, which strikes a major cord with him and 2) He is about to die, and all he can do is think about saving someone else.  Superman has in that one request reminded Batman of who he’s intended to be, not who he has become.

Batman has a major heel turn in attitude at this point because he’s been basically reset.  Without any additional scenes, this event makes perfect sense in the film.  You just have to think about what is going on.

That…that is the major problem a lot of people have with the DCEU.  Marvel doesn’t demand you think about what is going on.  Both studios pump out hugely entertaining movies, but they do so on very different levels. 

Jump over to “Suicide Squad”.  The film has been criticized for being disjointed, giving too much exposition in some areas, not enough in others, being jumbled and a little crazy…but that’s the Suicide Squad.  The team is a bunch of supervillains, which is just a fancy term for career criminals with powers, teaming up.  That kind of thing is not going to be a well-oiled machine and the film displays this all the way through.  Personally I thought the movie was a huge amount of fun.  Yeah it had some story telling issues, but those issues made sense when you look at the Squad itself.  You don’t have a “point of view” character because everyone is already immersed in this world.  It’s actually really daring that you DON’T have the audience avatar in the film.

For those of you who are unfamiliar, the audience avatar or point of view character, is a central character in the film who has minimal effect on the plot, but spends the first act of the film pointing at stuff saying “What’s that?” so the film has to explain to them, and by proxy the audience, the universe they live in.  Most comic book film fans will note that Wolverine in the first X-Men film was this character…for almost the entire franchise.  Suicide Squad, however, lacks this character.  We, the audience, get bits and pieces through the first act, but the bulk of the exposition (and trailer fodder) comes when the characters themselves are dragged into Task Force X and given the mission briefing. 

Doing it that way for “Suicide Squad” helps establish this as a singular world.  There is no realistic reason for any of these characters to serve as our proxy because they all live in this world, and should already be aware of the way this world works.  You can’t justify having someone asking the audience’s questions because that would mark them as being incredibly stupid.  “Suicide Squad” demands the audience be smarter than that.  The movie is unorthodox because the situation is unorthodox and is probably about as real as a depiction as you can get for that kind of set up.

These three films have set the tone for the franchise and I really hope they stay the course, and I’m pretty excited to see where the next step goes.

What DC CW Should Try Next

So not too long ago I did a piece on the DC CW massive crossover called “Invasion” where they fought evil aliens to fair to mixed results.

So what should they do next?  Well, Legends of Tomorrow is ramping up the “Legion of Doom” story arch and that’s all well and good but that doesn’t feel very “all encompassing”.  Yes we’re getting villains that have appeared in all three shows, but it doesn’t feel like a major threat.  But “Invasion” did give us something to work with.

A.R.G.U.S. sets the stage for a shadowy government agency involved with the dark dealing of the world, with director Lyla Michaels overseeing its operations.  They make an appearance throughout “Invasion”, but they also come into conflict with Agent Smith (noted as “Glasses) who knew of the aliens in the 1950’s and tried to make deals with them in the modern era.  The end of “Invasion” saw the president reassigning Agent Smith to possibly run a “Department of Extra-Normal Operations”, maybe even being relocated to the artic as suggested by Kara.  However Supergirl, in making this suggestion to the president, may have given new life to the Suicide Squad for the CW.

Under Waller’s watch, A.R.G.U.S. ran Task Force X (aka the Suicide Squad) as a means to handle “off the books” operations.  If you gave a guy like Agent Smith an organization like the DEO, after an alien invasion crisis, he would not hesitate to build his own force of bodies to combat what he deemed potential threats.  Since he was thwarted by the heroes during invasion, I can guarantee they would be the top of his “potential problems” list.  He already knows their secret identities, and he knows about Barry’s time manipulation.  He knows Barry can cross into alternate dimension and pull even more powerful beings into “our world”, and that there are more and more powerful meta-humans appearing every day.

In the films it’s established that Task Force X was designed to combat super-human threats, and in a previous post I commented on what they were really designed to take out, so to alter its focus from “black ops” to “anti-meta-human” isn’t that big of a leap story wise.  Plus you could actually make use of all these amazing characters that the CW doesn’t really do anything with.  Its established already in “The Flash” that the cells at STAR Labs aren’t the only place they are housing metas, and since Team Flash is working so closely with the CCPD, they can’t be holding them there indefinitely due to the Constitution of the United States.  They have to go somewhere, and after that, the new DEO could get their grubby hands on them.  You could even bring back Deadshot and Captain Boomerang for grins and giggles.

That said: Who would be on my short list for the CW Suicide Squad if it was designed to combat the CW heroes?

Deadshot, Cupid, Boomerang, Chemo, Bronze Tiger, Knock Out, Mirror Master and Top.  Give them a wider color pallet and watch the magic.

Thanks for reading.

The Threat the Suicide Squad was Meant to Face

Amanda Waller is a bad, bad woman, and the casting of Viola Davis was spot on perfect.  I’m pretty sure they used the first season of “How to Get Away with Murder” as her job application for the role, and she plays the character beautifully, and that actually brings us to the character of Amanda Waller in the context of the film “Suicide Squad”.  In the film, Amanda Waller sells the U.S. government on a team of “meta-humans” that could possibly address problems that arise from the existence of beings like Superman, Zod, and Doomsday.

However, looking at the team, I can’t help but notice that none of these characters alone, and certainly not combined, could really address any of those problems.  Amanda Waller is a sales woman, and a very good one.  So good, that she manages to sell the government on this team to such a degree of efficiency that they don’t ever bother to look under the hood of the proverbial car.  This team is designed to take out a known threat, that’s for sure, but that threat isn’t Superman.  Looking at the team for what they are, not just face value like the film does, we see villains with very specific skill sets and psychologies.

Deadshot, in the film, is in prison after his capture by Batman.  He is an expert marksman, Olympic level athlete, and professional killer, and ostensibly has the most to lose as he has a family he wants to get back to, making him more susceptible to Waller’s manipulation.  Captain Boomerang is in prison after his capture by the Flash, and is an above average athlete, brawler, expert at hand projectiles, more than a little crazy, and very willing to kill.  Killer Croc is a mutant lizard man with rage issues who kills and eats people, and is a long established foe of Batman.  He has significant strength and is very tough to physically injure.  Rick Flagg and Katana actively work for Waller and have very specific skill sets that allow them to challenge even the most well trained superheroes.  Note what I said: well trained.  Diablo has pyro-kinesis and a huge guilt complex where in he wants to make amends for past wrongs.  He’s here to offer a bit more “meta” to a meta-human team.  And then you have Harley Quinn, who is in prison after her capture by Batman, is an Olympic level gymnast, certifiably insane, homicidal and a lightning rod for one very particular villain.

Enchantress’ inclusion on the team was as a wild card and a hail-Mary on Waller’s part to lend more credibility to the idea that this team has some real power behind it.  However there is one problem; when you take a look at the team as a whole, they can’t hold their own against Superman.  They couldn’t hold their own against Zod, who would wipe them out in short order.  They certainly couldn’t stand against Doomsday.  Now I hear you saying “But Enchantress uses magic, and all three you just named are vulnerable against magic.” Yes, however nobody knows that yet and it hasn’t been established in the films.  I also hear “Everyone you just listed is already dead.” But those are the kinds of threats she’s trying to sell the government on.  You don’t sell a weapon telling the buyer that it will stop something less impressive than the beings that almost wiped out two cities.  You tell the buyer it will stop the worst thing they’ve ever seen.

That’s exactly what she does, she sell them on that the team could take out Superman, or a Superman-like event.  But the math will not add up.

Unless it’s not Superman she’s preparing for.   The conclusion of the film makes it clear that Waller either knows Batman personally or she knows of him.  The team, their skill sets, their personalities, and what they bring to the table, especially with Harley being a draw for the Joker, are all about fighting Batman.  She is assembling an anti-Batman squad because she sees him as a bigger threat than Superman.

That might be counter intuitive to what we see in that end credits scene, where Waller provides information on meta-humans in exchange for Wayne’s “protection”, however she offers some interesting lines in that scene: “You believe in friends, I believe in leverage.”  That line is spoken in weakness.  She is seeking his assistance, and knows she’s at the disadvantage in that deal.  She’s not proud to be dealing with Bruce Wayne and whatever his protection is.  The second line is “You look tired…you should stop working nights.”  That is a hint that, like every other incarnation of Waller, she knows Bruce is secretly Batman.  She hasn’t been able to use that leverage yet, because he has resources and abilities that she finds useful.  Her Suicide Squad is actually her leverage against Batman, a “break glass when he’s no longer convenient” contingency.  Their “frenemy” relationship is further expounded on when Bruce lays out for her that she should disband the Suicide Squad or that his “friends” will do it for her.  That too is a very important line in establishing why Batman is such a threat to Waller.

Batman inflicts his will upon those he sees as enemies.  I could quote scenes in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” to support that idea, but countless comics, and 77 years of publication history already supports that: Batman does not care about personal freedoms.  For Batman, life is one big control issue, and he has to be the one in control, and that is scary for Waller because clearly he’s better at it than she is.  Remember she has to go to Bruce to make a problem disappear, which means he has experience in handling these kinds of things, because he doesn’t flinch when she brings it up.  With the knowledge that Batman is assembling his own team, we won’t see her disband the Squad, but rather beef it up with more powerful meta-humans, because to her Batman is a much greater threat…and she’s right.

 

Thanks for reading.


Goes without saying that all character mentioned above are owned by Warner Bros. and DC Comics, with Batman created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger.  Mentioning them in this article is in fair use.
Go see Suicide Squad and Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Heck watch "How to Get Away with Murder" while your at it.

 

The Flash: The Present, a quick review.

Okay, so we’ve gotten our mid-season/winter finale for the Flash in “The Present”.  I was actually really impressed with this episode, and I can’t say that I’ve been terribly impressed with a lot that has gone on this season.  For the greater part of the last nine episodes it feels like Barry has been doing a lot of apologizing, which is fair.  When he re-wrote time with Flashpoint, he screwed up pretty big.  Not with the actual Flashpoint event itself, but in un-doing that event…that’s really where he screwed up.  He keeps apologizing for making Flashpoint, but it’s really him trying to reset the timeline that caused the problems.  Anyway, he’s done a lot of apologizing.  

But you know what; I’m not going to recap everything that’s happened to this point because this is about “The Present” not the past.  See what I did there?  WAIT DON’T GO!  I promise no more puns.

Well, I’ll try anyway.

The episode opens with a flashback to Julian before his days in Central City, where he discovers some ancient artifact and ends with him screaming.  The scene opens with voice over narration from Tom Felton, and I have to say that I like hearing the man do narration.  That’s not an easy thing to pull off, so hats off to him.  We then jump to a quick jaunt to Earth 3 where Barry assists Jay Garrick in apprehending the Trickster, played beautifully by Mark Hamill.  Mark really channels a cross between his classic Trickster and his time as the Joker for this bit.  It’s very brief but so welcomed.  Mark Hamill and John Wesley Shipp returning as “The Flash vs the Trickster” is certainly a call back to the 1990’s Flash TV series, and Shipp even said in interviews that in his mind this Flash and Trickster are the same as from the 1990’s, just so many years later.

Flash enlists Jay’s assistance with Savitar, with Jay offering some exposition about the myth that surrounds the god of speed.  Barry soon learns that Julian, who forced him to resign as a CSI, is tied to research around this problem and confronts him, getting a small amount of explanation. Deeper digging reveals that Julian is more closely tied to the enemy as his research team was apparently wiped out when they discovered the artifact, leaving him the sole survivor.  Dr. Alchemy uses the Philosopher’s Stone to try and create a massive amount of meta humans, but is interrupted by the Flashes.  Savitar appears and takes Jay on a stomp around the city while Barry apprehends Alchemy and captures the stone, only to find that Julian is in fact Dr. Alchemy.

Closing the case around the stone apparently cuts Savitar’s physical form out and Jay is taken back to S.T.A.R. Labs.  Cisco works on understanding the stone and is freaked out by it because all the tests he runs on it say that it doesn’t exist.  At the same time he is also seeing phantom visions of his dead brother Dante, whom he’d just come to grips with loosing.  Julian, while in custody, claims no knowledge of being Alchemy and accuses Barry of being out to get him.  Cisco, meanwhile, opens the stone’s case and unleashes Savitar who attacks the Flash.  Wally launches to assist, and the two managed to distract Savitar enough (by getting mercilessly pummeled by him) long enough for Caitlin to convince Cisco to close the case, sending Savitar away.  Julian is then brought in to serve as means to talk to Savitar directly and the ancient being makes several prophecies that spell the end of the team.  Jay and Barry agree to launch the stones into the Speed Force so it can’t harm anyone.  While caught in the Speed Force, Barry finds himself five months into the future and witnesses Savitar killing Iris.  Jay pulls him out, and explains that what he saw was one possible future, not set in stone, and that he needed to spend time with the people he loves.  The team decides to take a Christmas break since there are no ancient gods, monsters, aliens, or villains to deal with.

Julian takes Caitlin up on an offer to join the West household for Christmas (do we see another potential romance?) and we see H.R., who’s a pretty loose guy get drunk.  Joe brings a date and the team seems oddly at peace.  Carolers come and H.R. makes an off handed comment about singing in the rain being kind of sad.  Caitlin, much to Cisco’s surprise and concern, removes one of her power inhibitors and turns the rain into snow, pointing out that they can bring some joy to the world.  Barry and Iris sneak off to see his present to her, which is an apartment for them to share.

Overall this has been my favorite episode of the year, and a strong stopping point for a series that probably won’t be back until late January.  Everyone brought their A-game, and it didn’t feel like there were any phoned in performances.  H.R. and Joe’s character arcs felt natural, with H.R. getting some really solid “real world” truth to dealing with Wally’s abilities.  Julian has kind of become the new Wells, in respect that you still aren’t sure what side of the good vs evil line he sits on, though he did get Barry his job back.  Julian, I think, is starting to get a good understanding of what it’s like on Team Flash, racing around the city trying to stop disasters, and that I think worked a lot to soften his hard heart.  Julian’s backstory also comes better into view, and Tom Felton brings a great, subtle performance to the character.

Jay’s inclusion in the roster was also fun, I love John Wesley Shipp and I’m really glad to see him back on the series, with promises of more Jay in the future.  The do a nice bit after the first battle with Savitar where Jay comments that Barry’s father would have been proud of him with Barry quickly excusing him, indicating that he’s still dealing with the fact that Jay is his father’s duplicate.

I know we aren’t done with Savitar by a long shot, but it still felt a little phoned in, story wise that he appeared twice in the episode and was beaten both times rather easily.  There aren’t any closeout stingers or bait for the next episode with is both refreshing and a little disappointing at the same time.  It’s refreshing since you pretty much expect that kind of thing now, but also disappointing because I personally wanted something sinister looming on the horizon to make me interested in coming back after the break.

But that was the episode.  Check it out on the CW app, On Demand, or any of the streaming devices that allow you to view CW shows.

Until next time, thanks for reading.

DC CW Invasion! My Biggest Review for the CW Heroe's Biggest Storyline.

Hey folks.  Well, I wanted to wait until all four episodes had actually aired and everyone had plenty of time to see them on either television, On Demand, or the CW app (which is where I saw them).  So lets dig into “Invasion”!

Calling it a 4 part storyline is kind of generous since Supergirl: Medusa didn’t have actually anything to do with the aliens at all.  Medusa chronicled Supergirl’s struggle with a virus that threatened all alien life except Kryptonians…and apparently humans.  That was one plot hole I never felt was suitably dealt with, why did the virus not register humans as aliens.  If its origins are from Krypton, then humans are by default aliens.  Not that it mattered because through the efforts of the team and Lena Luthor, the virus was stopped and J’onn’s white-Martian transformation was reversed through explanations that felt kind of phoned in.  We got some development between Mon’El and Kara, but that’s was about the extent.  Throughout the episode we did see the multiverse warps open up, but close in unexpected places, leading to Cisco and Barry arriving in Kara’s apartment and their recruiting her.

Supergirl: Medusa seemed to be an exercise of convenient timing, and like I said, calling it a part of Invasion is a generous thing at best.

That leads us to The Flash: Invasion, where in we meet the aliens properly as they land in Central City.  This episode leads us in with a brief recap of where everyone is emotional after the events of Killer Frost, where in it was revealed that Barry’s meddling with the timeline indirectly lead to Dante’s (Cisco’s brother) death.  Facing the alien invasion, he teams with Oliver Queen and company and calls in the aid of the Legends of Tomorrow to mount a counter offensive.  He then works with a very standoffish Cisco to warp to Earth 38 (picking up where Supergirl Medusa left off).  Tracking the kidnapped president, they find the aliens who mind attack most of the team and turn them against Oliver and Barry.  Wally unleashes his full speed (which there is a sub plot of Team Flash not wanting to encourage him to use his powers out of fear he will get hurt) and lends an assist before getting knocked out.  Barry leads Kara on a “catch me if you can” run using her to destroy the alien device causing the mind warp.

The episode ends with everyone regrouping and a handful of the non-powered characters getting taken by the aliens, including Oliver.

              

  This leads us into Arrow: Invasion, where we find the minds of our heroes trapped in an alien hallucination where they are leading their ideal lives.  The heroes soon start having flashes of their real lives and see holes in the hallucination.  When they combat the hallucination they are met with versions of their enemies.  In the meantime the heroes outside the alien abduction plot are trying to track them down and learn as much as they can, with Cisco working with Team Arrow, the Flash and Supergirl assisting Wild Dog.  Wild Dog as a bit of a moment but it feels completely forced and anything but organic where-in he has this “I don’t trust you because you have powers…” attitude and seconds later is “Okay, I trust you.” I get that they are trying to give everyone their due, but with four hours to fill they don’t have to rush these little moments.

Oliver and company (nice Disney reference from Cisco there) break out of the mental prison to find themselves on a space ship, and they are promptly rescued by the Waverider.  The team then decides they need to return the abduction favor and locate an alien.

               

Hey folks.  Well, I wanted to wait until all four episodes had actually aired and everyone had plenty of time to see them on either television, On Demand, or the CW app (which is where I saw them).  So lets dig into “Invasion”!

Calling it a 4 part storyline is kind of generous since Supergirl: Medusa didn’t have actually anything to do with the aliens at all.  Medusa chronicled Supergirl’s struggle with a virus that threatened all alien life except Kryptonians…and apparently humans.  That was one plot hole I never felt was suitably dealt with, why did the virus not register humans as aliens.  If its origins are from Krypton, then humans are by default aliens.  Not that it mattered because through the efforts of the team and Lena Luthor, the virus was stopped and J’onn’s white-Martian transformation was reversed through explanations that felt kind of phoned in.  We got some development between Mon’El and Kara, but that’s was about the extent.  Throughout the episode we did see the multiverse warps open up, but close in unexpected places, leading to Cisco and Barry arriving in Kara’s apartment and their recruiting her.

Supergirl: Medusa seemed to be an exercise of convenient timing, and like I said, calling it a part of Invasion is a generous thing at best.

That leads us to The Flash: Invasion, where in we meet the aliens properly as they land in Central City.  This episode leads us in with a brief recap of where everyone is emotional after the events of Killer Frost, where in it was revealed that Barry’s meddling with the timeline indirectly lead to Dante’s (Cisco’s brother) death.  Facing the alien invasion, he teams with Oliver Queen and company and calls in the aid of the Legends of Tomorrow to mount a counter offensive.  He then works with a very standoffish Cisco to warp to Earth 38 (picking up where Supergirl Medusa left off).  Tracking the kidnapped president, they find the aliens who mind attack most of the team and turn them against Oliver and Barry.  Wally unleashes his full speed (which there is a sub plot of Team Flash not wanting to encourage him to use his powers out of fear he will get hurt) and lends an assist before getting knocked out.  Barry leads Kara on a “catch me if you can” run using her to destroy the alien device causing the mind warp.

The episode ends with everyone regrouping and a handful of the non-powered characters getting taken by the aliens, including Oliver.

                This leads us into Arrow: Invasion, where we find the minds of our heroes trapped in an alien hallucination where they are leading their ideal lives.  The heroes soon start having flashes of their real lives and see holes in the hallucination.  When they combat the hallucination they are met with versions of their enemies.  In the meantime the heroes outside the alien abduction plot are trying to track them down and learn as much as they can, with Cisco working with Team Arrow, the Flash and Supergirl assisting Wild Dog.  Wild Dog as a bit of a moment but it feels completely forced and anything but organic where-in he has this “I don’t trust you because you have powers…” attitude and seconds later is “Okay, I trust you.” I get that they are trying to give everyone their due, but with four hours to fill they don’t have to rush these little moments.

Oliver and company (nice Disney reference from Cisco there) break out of the mental prison to find themselves on a space ship, and they are promptly rescued by the Waverider.  The team then decides they need to return the abduction favor and locate an alien.

                Which brings us to Legends of Tomorrow: Invasion where Team Legend splits up and takes Cisco and Felicity into the past to capture an alien.  Leaving the tech support on the ship, the rest go after the alien, which they capture, only for them all to be captured by the men in black.  This leads us back around to the origin of the presidential advisor who was seen all the way back in “The Flash” as he, in the future, sets up Oliver, Barry, and friends to be captured and given over to the aliens.  A couple of things here.  Oliver sidelines Supergirl because he “just wants some normal”…which is stupid because he’s fighting aliens with powers.  You can have normal after Supergirl knocks them out.  Second, we discover that the aliens want Barry surrendered to them because of his time screwery back in Flashpoint which they say proves he’s too dangerous.

The past team is rescued by Cisco and Felicity, and Cisco convinces the team to rescue the alien who is being tortured.  E.T. takes off and leaves behind a transponder in case they need to talk later.  They go back to the future and meet the rest of the team only to learn that Cisco’s tampering with the past (the government was supposed to keep the captured alien) has screwed with the future.  Here, folks, is what organic character development looks like.  Cisco is remorseful for what he did, citing that his good intentions had bad effects and starts seeing the situation from Barry’s perspective.  Barry is prepared to surrender himself to the alien menace and is stopped by literally everyone else.  Oliver calls back on Supergirl, realizing that he was stupid and the team prepare to meet the aliens head on.

Here is where Professor Stein’s story arc comes in, as when he meddled with the timeline, he inadvertently made a daughter he doesn’t remember.  She comes in handy as she coincidentally has a background in the nanotechnology they need to fight the aliens.  He struggles with accepting her because everything thing he’s learned thus far about time aberrations I that they are bad.  Over the course of the three episodes he comes to accept her and they in turn develop a weapon they need to fight the aliens.  Through Barry and Kara’s work, they fit the aliens with devices that, when triggered cause them immense pain, driving them off.  There’s a big party and the president reassigns the agent to the Arctic, because Supergirl told her it would be a good idea…and somehow that mattered.  Barry and Oliver find themselves at a bar, two world weary heroes dealing with the consequences of their choices.

So that’s Invasion:  Final Thoughts?

                As cool as the overall idea was, there was some stuff that just didn’t work.  Character arcs, especially in the Arrow segment, fell flat.  Wild Dog had such a fast heel turn it made me dizzy, and in the hallucination Thea wanted to stay in their paradise but then one scene later shows up to escape with everyone else.  There didn’t feel like there was anything in between.  Again, four hours to tell this story.  Well, three, but still there was plenty of time to give us one or two more moments to develop characters.

During the Flash segment everyone finds out about Flashpoint, which okay, that’s all well and good, but some of the characters act completely offended that Barry would travel back in time to save his mother who was murdered in front of him.  Shouldn’t some of them be a little more understanding?  Further, the Waverider crew track time aberations; Why didn’t they find out about Flashpoint earlier?  Seems like Gideon should have shot out a mass text message “Barry Allen altered twenty years of Earth history!”  Something like that.

As for the Cisco/Barry conflict, I thought this was covered earlier in the season when Barry admitted about Flashpoint to Team Flash and Cisco was pissed because he wouldn’t go back and save his brother, but later forgave him.  Admittedly the progression of Cisco’s character felt more organic here, but it felt like closure to a wound that should have already been closed.

Then there are the aliens.  The show calls them “The Dominators” but they don’t feel unique enough to be called anything other than “the aliens”.  There is no history or individuality to the characters, they feel weak by comparison and look very generic.  Their CGI isn’t the best either, especially from what we’ve seen out of these shows within the last few seasons.

I think ultimately the whole thing would have felt better if they were facing more individual foes and villains with actual powers, maybe do something along the lines of the Hyperclan from the JLA books, where white martians took the guise of earth heroes.

                I did have a few favorite lines from the final episode, such as Ray pointing out that Kara looks like his cousin, and Mick and Sara commenting on how the new president was kind of hot.

Chemistry wise, everyone played off each other really well.  It’s clear that these are ensemble casts who are used to working in large groups and know how to give everyone their chance to shine.  If I had to grade it, I’d give it a solid B.  The project was very ambitious but I don’t think they achieved all their goals and had to rush some spots.  It does offer a proof of concept that these kinds of massive crossovers do work and hopefully we’ll see them refine their craft down the road.

Which brings us to Legends of Tomorrow: Invasion where Team Legend splits up and takes Cisco and Felicity into the past to capture an alien.  Leaving the tech support on the ship, the rest go after the alien, which they capture, only for them all to be captured by the men in black.  This leads us back around to the origin of the presidential advisor who was seen all the way back in “The Flash” as he, in the future, sets up Oliver, Barry, and friends to be captured and given over to the aliens.  A couple of things here.  Oliver sidelines Supergirl because he “just wants some normal”…which is stupid because he’s fighting aliens with powers.  You can have normal after Supergirl knocks them out.  Second, we discover that the aliens want Barry surrendered to them because of his time screwery back in Flashpoint which they say proves he’s too dangerous.

The past team is rescued by Cisco and Felicity, and Cisco convinces the team to rescue the alien who is being tortured.  E.T. takes off and leaves behind a transponder in case they need to talk later.  They go back to the future and meet the rest of the team only to learn that Cisco’s tampering with the past (the government was supposed to keep the captured alien) has screwed with the future.  Here, folks, is what organic character development looks like.  Cisco is remorseful for what he did, citing that his good intentions had bad effects and starts seeing the situation from Barry’s perspective.  Barry is prepared to surrender himself to the alien menace and is stopped by literally everyone else.  Oliver calls back on Supergirl, realizing that he was stupid and the team prepare to meet the aliens head on.

Here is where Professor Stein’s story arc comes in, as when he meddled with the timeline, he inadvertently made a daughter he doesn’t remember.  She comes in handy as she coincidentally has a background in the nanotechnology they need to fight the aliens.  He struggles with accepting her because everything thing he’s learned thus far about time aberrations I that they are bad.  Over the course of the three episodes he comes to accept her and they in turn develop a weapon they need to fight the aliens.  Through Barry and Kara’s work, they fit the aliens with devices that, when triggered cause them immense pain, driving them off.  There’s a big party and the president reassigns the agent to the Arctic, because Supergirl told her it would be a good idea…and somehow that mattered.  Barry and Oliver find themselves at a bar, two world weary heroes dealing with the consequences of their choices.

So that’s Invasion:  Final Thoughts?

                As cool as the overall idea was, there was some stuff that just didn’t work.  Character arcs, especially in the Arrow segment, fell flat.  Wild Dog had such a fast heel turn it made me dizzy, and in the hallucination Thea wanted to stay in their paradise but then one scene later shows up to escape with everyone else.  There didn’t feel like there was anything in between.  Again, four hours to tell this story.  Well, three, but still there was plenty of time to give us one or two more moments to develop characters.

During the Flash segment everyone finds out about Flashpoint, which okay, that’s all well and good, but some of the characters act completely offended that Barry would travel back in time to save his mother who was murdered in front of him.  Shouldn’t some of them be a little more understanding?  Further, the Waverider crew track time aberations; Why didn’t they find out about Flashpoint earlier?  Seems like Gideon should have shot out a mass text message “Barry Allen altered twenty years of Earth history!”  Something like that.

As for the Cisco/Barry conflict, I thought this was covered earlier in the season when Barry admitted about Flashpoint to Team Flash and Cisco was pissed because he wouldn’t go back and save his brother, but later forgave him.  Admittedly the progression of Cisco’s character felt more organic here, but it felt like closure to a wound that should have already been closed.

Then there are the aliens.  The show calls them “The Dominators” but they don’t feel unique enough to be called anything other than “the aliens”.  There is no history or individuality to the characters, they feel weak by comparison and look very generic.  Their CGI isn’t the best either, especially from what we’ve seen out of these shows within the last few seasons.

I think ultimately the whole thing would have felt better if they were facing more individual foes and villains with actual powers, maybe do something along the lines of the Hyperclan from the JLA books, where white martians took the guise of earth heroes.

                I did have a few favorite lines from the final episode, such as Ray pointing out that Kara looks like his cousin, and Mick and Sara commenting on how the new president was kind of hot.

Chemistry wise, everyone played off each other really well.  It’s clear that these are ensemble casts who are used to working in large groups and know how to give everyone their chance to shine.  If I had to grade it, I’d give it a solid B.  The project was very ambitious but I don’t think they achieved all their goals and had to rush some spots.  It does offer a proof of concept that these kinds of massive crossovers do work and hopefully we’ll see them refine their craft down the road.