What's Next On My DC List? (Cartoons) Justice League

We have one more DC list to go and my top 5 list of favorite DC heroes, but before that let us talk about the great team that is the:

Justice League

First up is the cartoon. This had a total of 5 season from 2001 to 2006.
Personally I did not like this cartoon very much. I do have to admit, that I stopped watching it after the first season. First of all, I love the Flash and even though I enjoyed most of his stories, the others did not make me curious. No offence or anything, but my favorite Lantern is of course Hal Jordan, so sorry John Stewart, but I couldn't care less. Same goes for Hawkgirl... where's Hawkman? I like the outfit and all, but it is He who makes it bad-ass. You? ... Not so much. And I know that this is about the whole League, but seriously, we need a lot more Batman and definitely more Superman! It is not enough to put them on the covers of the DVD! That said, if you are a fan of these characters from the comics you are set to love it! The drawings are actually great and the stories are very fascinating but this requires a proper audience. I'm unfortunately not part of that.

Justice League: New Frontier

This is the basic origin story of how the great crime fighting group of superheroes has come together for the first time: they are known as the Justice League of America.

We have met all these great heroes who protect their own cities, but can they work together? It seems that a great evil is upon them and they need to unite forces to protect their precious planet. They have worked together before, but the government has come to fear their powers instead of trusting them. The movie is set in the 1950's, with Batman considered as a fugitive and the emphasis put on Superman and Wonder Woman's friendship and at the same time the origin of Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern. Our heroes need to fight a great enemy known as The Centre, who wishes to eradicate the planet of the scum that the humans have become. This might be just too much for our heroes...

With an all celebrity casting: voices like Kyle MacLachlan, David Boreanez, Kyra Sedgwick, Neal Patrick Harris and Brooke Shields, get ready for one of the best origin stories ever released!
If DC wants a good Justice League live-action movie, then they should take this movie into consideration. You already know the main characters, you know their friendship. What raises questions is how some characters like Flash or Aquaman came to be part of their great group and here you receive an answer to all of your questions. It is a wonderful movie and really great if you care for these heroes.

Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths

Ever thought about the existence of parallel universes? Guess what, they exist in this movie!
Lex Luthor is a hero in his alternate universe and he has come to our planet to ask for help from our heroes. Their evil counterparts have fought and destroyed all of the heroes and there is need for fresh blood to get a chance to destroy these bad guys.

This movie was great for several reasons. Readers always wonder, what would it be like if these heroes would use their powers for evil? We finally get an answer. There is also a form of poetry for the way the bad guys act. The aren't just evil, they are incredibly smart about it too. They have plans for the future and they have a reason for acting the way they do. Not to mention that you have to wonder, what if Luthor used all of that money for good? Like Batman or Green Arrow does. This is a great opportunity to discover a whole new side of these characters. Their counterparts bring out great things in them. And I don't want to spoil it for you, but they have a great plan to take down their enemies... and trust me, during the movie, you seriously doubt whether or not they are going to succeed! Check it out!

Justice League: Doom

Can you trust your friends? You might be shocked... Vandal Savage is a freak of nature. He cannot be killed and he stayed alive ever since he was granted this power back in the Prehistoric era. He has stolen Batman's plans and this isn't good news as the Justice League was unaware that Batman had plans to defeat all of them if there ever was a need to. Savage had transformed these plans and made them lethal, making sure he would get rid of the Justice League once and for all. Of course they get to stop him just in time, but it seems that their trust in Batman has been destroyed forever.

This story is a great continuity to the previous movie. It isn't only readers who wonder if heroes will turn rogue. Batman was worried and took precautions, but only to be able to stop them if there is a need - Savage has taken it to another level. This movie I think is wonderful also because a lot of the bad guys from all the comics are here working together to defeat our heroes. So far the Justice League only had to defeat something big and very evil that needed all of them. In this case the story focuses on every individual and all of their fears and weaknesses. Again, you get to discover these heroes all over and it is just great fun to see them work together. It is definitely worth seeing it!

      Superman: "I only have one question. Do you have a plan in case you went rogue?"

         Batman: "I do. It's the Justice League."

What's Next On My DC List? (Cartoon Movies) Wonder Woman & Green Lantern

Before I talk about the Justice League movies, I decided to crack down the last of DC cartoon movies that I think are worth mentioning. We had Batman (click here!), and Superman (click here!) so let us have two other strong characters of JLA: Wonder Woman and Green Lantern.

Wonder Woman

As the movie begins, we get a sight into why Diana's mother has decided to barricade her people from "men". She has killed her own son in order to stop a war. Life goes on on their little island called Amazon, however her daughter Diana seems to be curious about what could be out there. One morning her mother makes their island visible for a couple of minutes and a pilot crash-lands there. He needs to get back and Diana is chosen to accompany him. She finds out what an ugly place Earth really is, however, this gives her strength to make things better and help out.

Here we have an origin story, and we needed one.
I really loved this movie seeing that so far I had only read about Diana's adventures and unfortunately, except for one Superman/Batman movie, there aren't many stories featured on the island. I like the Amazons and for some reason, even though DC and Marvel both ruin their female heroes in live-action adaptations, they get them pretty right in cartoons. There is always this cliché stories of people who don't know anything about the world and although it is a really played out and annoying way of approaching stories - here they make it cute. Not so much time is spent of Diana wondering about the world, but showing that she was trained for this her whole life. Also, you know the main love story among the two leads, but it is not forced and that helped a lot. It is a great origin story! You don't need a dumb live-action TV show to know about Diana's background if ever a Justice League movie comes out: watch this movie!

Green Lantern: First Flight

This is the origin story of how Hal Jordan came to be a part of the guardians of planet OA and a Green Lantern himself. His job is to protect the Earth, and he is also the first human to be ever granted this opportunity. His first mission takes him on a journey to discover what happened to the guardian who's ring he inherited. Toward the end, he discovers that his mentor Sinestro has betrayed the guardians and has taken the power ring of 'fear', the only thing that can defeat them. What will happen?

The only reason I don't want to spoil the ending for you is that the only chance the Ryan Reynolds movie had to be good, would've been to rip off this movie, scene by scene. It let's you discover what kind of person Hal is and why this responsibility was dumped on him. You also discover a bit the other guardians and you get to witness the friendship between Sinestro and Hal. Sinestro is a mentor to Hal and the conflicts among them make Hal weak. In the live-action movie (click here to read my review!), you only get an after-credit scene with Sinestro wearing his new suit, but no explanation to why he would do that or why we should care... Basically, this is a wonderful origin story, so if there is anything you want to know about Green Lantern this is the movie you need to see!

Green Lantern: Emerald Knights

Hal wasn't the only Lantern who ever doubted himself. He is now a mentor himself, and as darkness and a great evil is upon them, he needs to boost confidence into his student Arisia. He tells her five stories of five great Lanters before her who all questioned themselves. She finds the courage to speak up and realizes that she does have what it needs: it is all in the heart.

This movie is perfect for people who love Hal Jordan, but are also curious to get to know the other characters. After watching it, you don't think of Hal as the lonely type anymore. I mean that in the Justice League movie he is the only one to possess these powers and he uses them often. However, you get to discover that they aren't only soldiers but they are a family. Better yet, 'one for all and all for one'. It is a great movie with great stories. It is a real crowd pleaser for DC fans, trust me! Not to mention that Hal is voiced by the great Nathan Fillion!

Building With CsorEsz: Őszi Díszek

Szeptember vége felé mindenhol dísz tökök jelennek meg de sokan nem vásárolnak (pedig olcsók!) hiszen nem tudják, hogy mit kezdjenek velük. Igaz a híres Halloween ünnepnek már vége van, de ez nem ok arra, hogy szép őszi díszek díszítsék a lakásunk vagy házunk. Egy-két tipp és ötlet.

A pici dísz tököt (kb. 300Ft), ami kb. 8cm átmérőjü, például gyertya tartónak lehet használni. A tökben lévő nedvességnek köszönhetően szinte lehetetlen, hogy megégjen bármi is körülötte ezért sokkal biztonságosabb mint bármelyik másik gyertya tartó.

Miután levágtuk a tök tetejét, tisztítsuk ki a belsejét. Két verzió van, amennyiben vastag a húsa, lehet csak akkora lyukat vájni bele, amibe pontosan belefér a gyertya vagy pedig teljesen kitisztítani. A tetejét persze nem érdemes rátenni mert akkor se a fény nem jön ki, nem is beszélve arról, hogy el is fog aludni. Ezért érdemes mellé helyezni az összhang kedvéért.

Szép erős fénye van és egyedi hiszen nem ronda műanyagból van vagy rosszul festett kerámiából. Ez persze csak egy bizonyos dísz tökkel lehetséges. Nézzünk még egy példát.

Ez egy valamivel nagyobb darab, és nehezebb is, szóval nehéz lesz kibelezni, de mindenesetre ezt pedig ugyanúgy lehet faragni mint a nagy tököket.

Ha kitisztítottuk akkor nagyon vigyázzunk mert ezeknek a pici tököknek nagyon vastag a külseje. Szinte lehetetlen faragni, de a megfelelő késsel neki lehet esni. Még egy ötlet megsebezni a felületét köröm csipesszel és utána könnyebb belevájni a kést. Még arra figyeljünk, hogy nehéz vágni, de ha elkezd repedni akkor megy minden irányba a kés is... ebben az esetben nem segít ha erősen és gyorsan akarunk dolgozni, szóval nyugodtan haladjunk.

Én egy egyszerű kis arcot vágtam bele, de virág mintától kezdve bármit vághatunk bele. Ha valami szépet láttunk már vagy vannak minták a lakásban, akkor érdemes azokat rávarázsolni. Sima fekete filctollat vízzel egyszerűen le lehet mosni, szóval ha elsőre nem sikerül a rajz vagy a minta, akkor bármikor újra kezdhetjük, de legyünk biztosak benne mielőtt faragunk: nagyobb tököknél véletlenül kivágott darabokat fogpiszkálóval vissza illeszthetünk, de ilyen pici és vékony falú tököknél szinte lehetetlen megmenteni ha elrontjuk a faragást.

Asztali dísz, gyertya tartó, vagy csak a hangulat kedvéért is érdemes neki látni. Olcsó és egyszerű és mindenki, aki szereti a kis kézi munkákat az garantáltan élvezni fogja. A dísztököket, amúgy csokrokba, koszorúkba még bele lehet dolgozni és a gyümölcs tálak helyett pedig úgy mondott "őszi" tálat készíthetünk, ugyanis ezek hónapokig is elállnak szoba hőmérsékleten (de mindig ellenőrizzük, hogy nem penészednek-e). Remélem tudtam egy-két ötletet inspirálni!

Kellemes Novembert mindenkinek, és hamarosan jelentkezem a Karácsonyi ötletekkel.

What's Next On My DC List? (Cartoon Movies) Superman

All-Star Superman

Superman, in order to stop Luthor gets too close to the sun and ends up with a radiation that, although gives him immunity to kryptonite, it also makes him sick and slowly starts to kill him. He then decides to tell Lois the truth, as he wishes to spend his lasting time with her. He also gives her a serum that grants her his superpowers for 24 hours, so she can find out what it is like to be him. Luthor decides to give up his eternal fight, as it seems that outliving Superman is enough for him - but is it over yet? Superman sacrifices himself to save the planet just before his radiation takes him first. It seems though that Luthor has a chance to bring his nemesis back, as it seems he is bored without him.

This movie was based on a comic by the same name. It is very interesting to see how Lois isn't quite willing to believe Clark as she has tried several times to unmask him unsuccessfully. What I liked about it very much also is the relationship between Clark and Luthor. You never think of Clark as a good journalist because he is also a bit of loser to keep up his act. But if you think about it, he needs to be good in order to keep his job. Luthor gives him an exclusive interview before he is set on deathroe. I have also found it fun to discover that Lois, if she had the powers, she would probably be Superwoman as she cares for the people just as much as Clark does. This is also a classic for those who wished for Superman and Lois to finally be together and proclaim their love. This is a great movie, check it out!

Superman/Doomsday

Another comic adaptation. Superman meets the only one who is able to defeat him: Doomsday. It seems that he has indeed died, but nobody knows that his robot collected him and is trying to heal him at the Fortress of Solitude. Meanwhile, Luthor realises his new creation: a Superman clone. Luthor's only obsession being that he needs somebody to fight. With Superman's death, he creates his own little version, however this outsmarts him and gets lose. Fortunately, our real hero recovers in time to stop him before he gets completely out of hand.

This is a great story. Many people don't like it because the death of Superman meant that anybody could be killed and then brought back to life because this meant that heroes could be killed off and on anytime. The death of Superman really killed "death". That said, the thing I loved mostly about this story were three things: Lois almost immediately recognises that this new Superman might not be the person she has been reporting on so far. I also prefer stories in which Luthor gets defeated by his own plans instead of Superman. Second thing I enjoyed in this story is the background we get with Superman. Thirdly, I love all the stories that are done in the Fortress of Solitude. It is actually Superman's home as he has grown up because he doesn't really go back to Smallville anymore. You get a bit of closure I think, even with him being brought back to life.

Superman/Shazam: The Return Of The Black Atom

Superman encounters a young boy who is granted super powers once he utters the words "Shazam". At that moment lightening strikes and he becomes Captain Marvel, a hero with super strenght and the ability to fly. However, he isn't the only one who was granted this power, the Black Atom arrives, and he has to be stopped from using his powers for evil.

This story is really about a boy becoming a man and only then a hero. Superman's involvement is important as he helps him through this transition. Not to mention that Superman needs help too, as the Black Atom seems to be a bite off more than he can chew. Billy Batson is a boy in every sense of the word, however, his pure heart and sense of justice gives him the chance to have been granted these great powers. In this sense he is quite similar to Clark, but he had the chance to grow up and learn about responsability - unlike Billy, who had about 24 hours. He also encounters the typical problem of not understanding why is he the chosen one. This story is quite beautiful with very nice drawings and great fight scenes. This is only a short, of about 40 minutes, so check it out!


There are plenty of more Superman movies, among them the ones he shares with Batman (my favorites, you can read about them here!). However, these are my favorites and the best ones, so if you feel like having a great night with our very own Clark Kent, make sure you get a hold of these!

What's Next On My DC List? (Series) Live-Action DC Adaptations

Let us discuss these great (but somewhat awful) series that are based on DC characters and for some reason still fail to make them anything like the originals. Let us crack them down, with a bit of description of all of the characters, so you get a chance of where it all went wrong!

The Flash

Our first victim of the day is the one season lasting Flash. He is a DC superhero, part of the Justice League.

"Thus far, four different characters—each of whom somehow gained the power of "super-speed"—have assumed the identity of the Flash: Jay Garrick (1940–present), Barry Allen (1956–1985, 2008–present), Wally West (1986–2006, 2007–present), and Bart Allen (2006–2007, 2009–present). Before Wally and Bart's ascension to the mantle of the Flash, they were both Flash protégés under the same name Kid Flash."

In this series we have the second Flash: Barry Allen, played by John Wesley Shipp. Flash has always been a scientist who after a sort of explosion ends up with supervelocity and powers that sometimes break the laws of physics.
Now, the series itself was kind of awful. Yes, I was -1 year old, however my brother had a couple of episodes on tape. You see, they got the Flash completely wrong. Here, he was a charming, very buff and muscular, brown haired guy who looked everything but a scientist. Barry is actually a blonde, strong (but not particularly muscular in the beginning) and a sort of geek. He is one of the most annoying characters ever written, but he is charming for that quality. Yes, he is a sort of looker, but his costume never reveals it.
In the show we also had a love interest, but it was really boring. There was one main villain, Trickster played by Mark Hamill, I remember from an episode I saw like a hundred times and I hated him.

I am honestly surprised this got a full season! They didn't really get what the character is about, but this is still considered a classic. I won't tell you to check it out, however I am afraid that until somebody shows up with a decent Justice League live-action movie script, we won't see much of the Flash - and even then, who knows if they will want to include him? So, just in case, if you feel like having a good laugh at horrible effects and silly dialogues, do take a look! However, their were two extra movies released, The Flash II: Revenge Of The Trickster and Flash III: Deadly Nightshade. Now, these are simply compiled from the episodes of the series, so there aren't any new stories. In case you do want to see what these stories are about, perhaps it is easier if you check out these two as they really are the highlight of the whole series.

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman 

Oh, another 90's classic. Actually, this is the very series that introduced me to Superman. I didn't know him before this and I was about seven the first time I saw it. Everything I learned about Lois and Clark, I know from this show. And guess what? They got it pretty right.

After growing up a bit and learning about the characters more thoroughly I realized that this series was very accurate on Clark's side, rather then Superman's. Clark has a great relationship with his parents Martha and Jonathan Kent. He is also a bit of a loser at his workplace The Daily Planet. He pretends to be a bit of an idiot to not give away his secret identity. Unfortunately this results in him getting yelled at constantly by his boss Perry White and co-worker Lois Lane. But he has a dear friend, Jimmy Olsen, a photographer at the paper who gets yelled at just as often and he does. The cover seems to work as nobody realises who he is while Lois starts to fall for his secret identity too, not just his super side.

I literally loved this series! Dean Cain was probably my first love and ever since then Superman has been a favorite hero of mine. He has of course become more of a cliché, as people object to him being practicly unbeatable - therefore making him unineteresting. I don't know if you have seen any of the Justice League cartoon movies, but lately they keep giving you ways in which Superman would actually and literally die if it weren't for his friends.
Anyway, biggest problem with this series is that they never made the hard choices: one particular example would be Jonathan Kent being alive. One of the things that defined Clark's decision to use his powers for good was the fact that he couldn't bare to lose someone he loved. In the end the only reason this Clark has for becoming Superman is the fact that his parents raised him to be very nice and a gentleman... Cute, but why?
In the end, this was a great story, it stands up I believe in comparison to others. It ran for a total of 4 seasons with 87 episodes. Check it out if you get a chance!

Wonder Woman

Oh dear god... This is the classic case of having all the necessary items you need for a successful character adaptation and throwing it away!!!!! Keeping one thing: the sexy outfit. Guess what, there are certain pieces of shit that cannot be saved, not even by a sexy outfit - this is one of them. Diana of Themyscira, Wonder Woman, comes from the island of the Amazons, where no man is allowed (except for Batman and Superman who earn Diana's mother's trust over the years). She has super strenght, able to fly and has a special whip that makes people tell the truth if they come into contact with it. She is a real hero with the charm of a shy young girl who knows nothing about the world.
The show has nothing of the sort. In only the pilot, she beats up somebody, threatens to kill them... and we get to know her as the owner of a big company that sells toys based on HERSELF... yeah, see the problem? This should really fall into my "What The F*ck Is This S*it?" category, however, I decided to let the experts give you the scoop on this horrible misinterpretations of a great character. Click on the link below to see Nash, Film Brain and Linkara's review of the pilot that was cancelled.

http://blip.tv/radio-dead-air/wonder-woman-2011-a-review-5888251

Smallville

After only five years after Lois & Clark Warner Bros. decided to launch a new Superman TV series, however this one based on Clark's youth in his home Smallville, where his adoptive parents found him. We basically see his high school years and how he learns the responsability that goes with using his powers to save others: not everyone can be saved.

I am sure you know about this series, so I don't want to go into detail, what I do mean to talk about is the mistakes they've made and the reason why it should've been cancelled after the 5th season. For some reason, although the characters were allowed to be used, little things like, oh, I don't know, SUPERMAN'S COSTUME was not allowed to be used. Why? Beats me.
But let's go in order. First of all, Clark keeps wearing a red shirt with a blue jacket, or vice-versa... very subtle. Second, when his nemesis Bizzarro appears, he then wears a purple shirt with a blue jacket... You really went out of your way there with the costumes, didn't you? Second, we discover that Lex Luthor, his arch nemesis of always, is actually a neighbor in Smallville who Clark saves from certain death (several times actually...). How does he repay him? He steals Clark's blood to find out whether or not he really is special. He does this at least 300 times, each time ending up with become friends with Clark again, throwing the blood away and then getting some more from him (again). Fortunately, Clark is an idiot so they could use this story line over and over - and he even tells everybody "Lex is my friend", for a total amount of 3 billion times. It is very bothersome... But don't worry, if by any chance Lex decides to not want to steal Clark's blood, his dad comes to save the day and steals from him just the same.

I believe that the cherry on top however was how Lex showed his eternal devotion to his best friend Clark: marrying the girl he has been in love with for 20 years or so. Gee Lex, you're a really cool guy!
Imagine if Lois was split into two characters, you would then have Lana and Chloe, except that Chloe got all of the interesting features of Lois, while Lana... yeah. I believe that the happiest day of my life was when they killed her off. I am going to ignore the fact that she returned as a ninja. That did not happen. I am also not going to acknowlodge the fact that for some reason they end up in the hospital in every second episode... has anybode else noticed that?
The biggest advantage that the show has gained was adding Green Arrow to the cast. But I find that even that was a bit dumb, seeing that although they are good friends, Clark and Oliver were never really best friends. They are in a bit of contrast and that totally got lost in translation. Bringing Arrow in, meant adding other DC characters as well, for example a cameo by Hawkman, Martian Manhunter and epic enemies like Metallo, Doomsday and the above mentioned Bizzarro. But by transforming some of them into hip 21st centurian young heroes, like Black Canary, you ended up with something quite ugly to look at... Aquaman? I mean gross. And by the way, who the hell is protecting your city Green Arrow, while you're in Metropolis?

I will even forgive that instead of a black suit that Superman wears after his epic battle of with Doomsday, Clark only wears a black jacket or that the Watchtower looks nothing like the Watchtower and it isn't in... you know, like space...
In the end, the show held up, but there is one last thing that f*cking drove me crazy and I will NEVER EVER forgive them for being so-so goddamn careless! Unfortunately for Smallville, it came out at a time when glasses weren't in fashion... you heard me right, the ONLY thing that differentiates Clark from Superman was not a trend at that time so they decided to not use it. Oh wait, even worse, they sometimes give it to him, and sometimes don't. Not to mention that Clark meets Lois BEFORE getting glasses - and we are talking about a woman who is such a good journalist and detective that she practically figured out who Green Arrow was, even though he actually has a good costume and a device that distorts his voice. Yet we are set to believe she has no idea who Superman is? Aha, OK. No, wait, NNNNNNOOOOOOOO!!!!!! THIS MAKES NO SENSE!!!!
However... Erica Durance was a great Lois. Overall, I loved every casting choice they made (except for the Justice League!), and even though I said that it should've been cancelled after the 5th season, it is only after that that we finally get rid of stupid Lana and the story gets to have a Superman feel. But then, it should've been called Superman instead of Smallville - the two kind of cancel each other out. By moving to Metropolis you killed the main point of the series: Clark's youth.
It makes no difference whether you check it out or not, but if you are interested in a couple of episodes, try and get a hold of those that feature other DC characters!