Tag: Smallville

I can’t understand why comic book movies have gone downhill, but they really have sucked as of late

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Anyone who follows me know that I am a diehard comic book geek. I have been reading and collecting comic books since the 70s. I started with John Romita’s run on Spider-Man and Jim Lee’s Legion of Superheroes and graduated to Chris Claremont’s X-Men and John Byrne’s Alpha Flight and more. As a young man, I wanted to be a comic book artist and creator like Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, but sadly, my artistic talent wasn’t up to par. So, I took up the pen and typewriter to be a writer. So, my criticism of the recent string of comic book movies mainly comes from the writing.

First and foremost, they stray from the source material. I think everyone was excited to hear that The Flash movie was going to based on the Flashpoint comic series by Geoff Johns. However, what we got was hardly that. Yes, bringing back Michael Keaton as Batman for one last go around and then the cameo by George Clooney was fun, but it’s not enough. Flashpoint was gritty, unrelenting in its presentation, and we got none of that. We all wanted the Thomas Wayne Batman, filled with anger and regret, but all we got was more humor-filled “shtick” from two wise-cracking Barry’s.

Humor seems to be the driving factor behind these movies nowadays. It’s no longer a serious movie with bits of humor to move it along but instead a comedy movie with a few dramatic moments. Compare the first Thor movie to Thor: Love and Thunder. Jane Foster dying from cancer is a serious topic that the comics handled beautifully and yet we got this running joke about Thor being jealous of Mjolnir picking Jane over him.

I personally loved Black Adam with the introduction of my favorite superhero team, the Justice Society (the Smallville episode will always be my favorite). That was the best representation of Hawkman and Doctor Fate EVER on the screen, movie or TV, but it still lacked in the essential storytelling. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson could not carry this film. Then, you ruin it by setting up a Superman/Black Adam showdown before telling the world that Henry Cavil is OUT as Superman. Are you stupid or what?

At least Marvel has some continuity in the MCU. Yes, the Multiverse of Madness was disappointing, but then Spider-Man: No Way Home brought us the Spiderverse we wanted with Tobey, Andrew, and Tom and an “almost” Sinister Six. They have ways of doing something terribly wrong before auto-correcting itself into something right. Quantumania followed by GOTG Vol. 3 are good examples of how Marvel seems to get away with it.

But again, this could all be rectified with better attention to the writing. The Avengers movies had it all, from bits of comedy to serious gritty parts, scenes to cheer on, and scenes that brought us to tears. It can be done, and has been done, you just need to get back to the original formula. Stop trying to shove a hundred “Easter Eggs” into every film and just give us a good movie that we, as comic book fans, will enjoy with all the noobs.

Tell these directors and producers to STOP trying to improve on the original idea with their own. It doesn’t work. Can you imagine if Thor: Ragnarok was actually a prelude to World War Hulk and we got an actual badass arena match in true fashion to the comic? That could have been so much better.so

So please, before we get too deep into James Gunn’s new DCEU and Phase Six of the MCU, let’s sit down with a box of our favorite comic books and reread them. You’ll find the wisdom of Stan Lee bringing you back to nirvana once again.

Mark Piggott is an award-winning independent author of several fantasy/steampunk novels and short stories. A 23-year U.S. Navy veteran, his stories will take you from the shores of eternal Avalon to a dystopian steampunk future and other worlds.

The Forever Avalon fantasy book series—including Forever Avalon, The Dark Tides, and The Outlander War—are available online at Amazon and other booksellers. His fantasy steampunk novel, The Last Magus: A Clockwork Heart, is available through Lulu and other booksellers.

Cross over The River of Souls in a fantasy novella and the steampunk historical fiction, Corsair and the Sky Pirates from Curious Corvid Publishing. The Last Magus: Dragonfire and Steel and The Prometheus Engine: Book Four of the Forever Avalon Series, are coming soon. Stay tuned for more new fantastic stories from the imagination of Mark Piggott.

The Arrowverse has gone stale on the CW

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Image result for the arrowverse

I was so happy when the CW started the “Arrowverse” series. Since Smallville ended, there wasn’t any really good superhero TV series out there. Then came Arrow, followed by The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl. While most of these series have brought out a variety of great story arcs (especially the crossover events) lately, the stories have gone stale. Instead of dark, superhero stories, we’re getting reality show drama.

Arrow started out as a dark vigilante, out for revenge. Now, he’s worried about his son being gay and his relationship with Felicity. The Flash had more of an upbeat storyline with Barry learning to use his power while fighting off the foes of Central City, including the start of The Rogues. However, those villains went on to become “sometime” heroes in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and the Rogues never really came together. The storylines have gone on to try and cover every “politically correct” drama, twists, and story arcs with a lot of “B” villains and heroes filling out the cast.

Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl are supposed to be about the individual heroes, yet they are really teams of heroes instead, so all those background stories and plot holes get lost in the main character’s story. Meanwhile, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (the actual superhero team show) is a time travel romp that lost it’s focus after the first season. It seems to be more about comedy relief than actual superhero storylines. If you want comedy, they should add Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, and Guy Gardner into the mix. That would make it a better show.

The one bright spot in the CW’s shows has been the epic crossover events. The “Nazi-themed” Earth-X storyline was epic and the last one introduced Batwoman (who’ll be added to the mix with her own show next season). Unfortunately, they handled her with kid gloves. She barely saw any real action. She was mostly used for “Batman-esque” establishing shots with Batwoman standing atop a building, looking down on our heroes.

I realize that throughout this rant I haven’t mentioned Black Lightning. That’s because (a) I didn’t read a lot of his comics so I don’t really know the character or his villains; and (b) he’s not part of the Arrowverse. I grew up with “Black Vulcan” on Superfriends, and that’s a whole different character, so I don’t really watch his show. It might be more interesting if he was part of the Arrowverse, but DC and CW decided not to include him.

They keep bringing more drama and less action. We also get villains that many people, even avid comic book readers, don’t know for the main seasonal arc. I mean, Cicada? Seriously Team Flash? You haven’t even given us a proper Rogues storyline and you give us Cicada. At least Supergirl has gone the Legion route, since she played a big part in the future league, and they’ve handled it well, and I’m waiting to see Jon Cryer’s Lex Luthor. That should be fun.

The point of all this is that if you’re going to do a superhero TV show, then make it a damn superhero TV show. We want to see intrigue, action, and cliffhangers like we get when we read a comic book. I don’t mind the occasional love story (i.e. Cisco and Gypsy) but Barry and Iris dealing with their teenage daughter from the future is a bit much. Plus, the comedy is a bit overboard at times, especially on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. I’m getting tired of the pop culture references between Ray and Nathan in every single episode.

The Arrowverse is fading, and I hate that. Make it fresh again, like it was in the beginning. Otherwise, you risk losing your audience. It doesn’t matter how many “Crisis on Infinite Earths” events you do, it won’t save an entire season.

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon from Austin Macauley Publishing.