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Man of Steel Day – Everything Wrong With Superman Returns In 6 Minutes Or Less
So, we are reaching the grand finale! Instead of posting something more about the “Man of Steel,” why don’t I torture you with “Superman Returns?” I am that evil. Yup, you are so going to enjoy this!!!! It’s Everything Wrong With Superman Returns In 6 Minutes Or Less.
Now you should know that I HATE this movie – A LOT!!! But I did actually buy the audiobook. It was out of morbid fascination, but hey I did do it. Which told me what I wanted to know: The Audiobook is better than the movie, but only in the part before you get the movie stuff. Don’t believe me? Well, just take my word for it:
Superman Returns is better than the movie that it follows. I thought this novel started quite strong but petered out to a dull roar. I will provably listen again to Kal-Els journey to Earth and his journey back to Krypton. These are the only, truly original parts of the novel and they truly shine. The rest of it is a slightly-improved version of what you saw on the Silver Screen. It is sad, because I had hoped for a different ending over what happened in the movie. That is not what happened.
The novel improves to the movie in three ways: First, baby Kal-Els journey to Earth. Followed by Supermans Return to Krypton. Which explain what happened. Finally, you get right inside the heads of the major characters and can understand why things happened the way they did. They are nice additions to the story and make it more approachable for people who are not well versed in what happened in the Superman Movies.
However, there are some major flaws with this novel. These flaws are the same flaws that plagued the movie. First, Lex Luthor has all the knowledge of the known universes and all he thinks of to do with it is make land? This is not the Lex Luthor I love to hate. Was it necessary to bring him back like this? Why did Superman leave in the first place? The novel attempts to explain why, but just seems like a plot device over a true reason for him to leave. And why is Lois Lane NOT with Superman? It has become an integral part of the story of Superman. Its like not having Mary Jane end up with Peter Parker; it just leaves a bad taste in your mouth. If he loved her so much, why didnt he stay?
It is a shame that this novel is not better than it is. It is still worth a listen, but it will not be something you will cherish forever.
Source: My review of Superman Returns on Audible.com
Videos That Make You Smile: Man of Steel special
So, it’s almost time for “Man of Steel” and I am really excited!!! I can’t wait, but unfortunately we all have to wait to see it. So, until then – why don’t you watch this special?
Thanks to Fuck Yeah: Lois Lane for posting this video!
I guess Women Aren’t Important To DC
Today’s essay comes from Escher Girls, recently DC made a book called the “Essential Graphic Novels And Chronology 2013″ which gave Wonder Woman & all other female superheroes two pages to share. And while I am not the biggest Wonder Woman Fan, I do like her and I love what she stands for. I just wish DC thought the same way:
DC’s “Essential” Graphic Novels List Short on Women
By dcwomenkickingass
Posted May 9th, 20013
From: http://eschergirls.tumblr.com/post/49994110190/dcs-essential-graphic-novels-list-short-on-women
In April DC announced that they would be distributing a free 121 page guide to their Graphic Novels. The guide will included DC’s backlist and will be distributed to fans, shop owners and libraries. Here’s a look at the cover via Publishers Weekly.
I got an early look last week and its an impressive piece. The upfront part has 25 “essential” graphic novels and there are a few surprises on the list. The guide is broken down into groupings – Vertigo gets it own list, MAD does and even All-Ages. There’s a long reading list in the back that includes the chronological reader for each title within its subgroup.
In other words this is going to be popular. And used to make a lot of buying decisions. And that’s why I was both surprised and saddened by the character sections. Here’s the characters who get their own multi page spreads on their backlists:
Batman
Superman
Green Lantern
Flash
and
Green Arrow.
But what about Wonder Woman? You know – member of the Trinity? The top female superhero?
Well, despite this guide being 121 pages and despite Green Arrow getting a two page spread via Bleeding Cool, this is what Wonder Woman got:
A two-page spread called “Women of DC” that also includes Batwoman, Batgirl, Catwoman and Huntress. The intro verbiage name checks the male superheroes as “icons” and then describes the women as just as powerful. They are called “dangerous” as well and the section picture is the cover of Batgirl Annual where Batgirl and Batwoman are fighting.
And the backlist recommendations were in the spread were puzzling The first volume of Wonder Woman from the new 52 (which I love) and then two volumes of the JMS reboot. It’s not like there aren’t more titles – Wonder Woman does get her own section in the back that has five titles. The exact number that Green Arrow has in his two page spread.
As you can imagine as someone who pretty much devotes a lot of time to promoting the female superheroes of DC Comics, this was a bit of kick in the ass.
How hard would it be in a 121 page guide to give Wonder Woman her own section? Why jam her in with the other female characters? Why couldn’t Wonder Woman get the same real estate in the guide than say, MAD Magazine?
But the real reason I’m upset is this guide is going to be used by stores and libraries to order books. So if Wonder Woman and the other ladies of the DCU downplayed the orders of the backlist will be impacted. I have visited many libraries and when I check out their Graphic Novel sections (usually in the Teen rooms) the number of books with female heroes is usually very small.
This guide isn’t going to improve that.
Getting people into female heroes and getting female readers isn’t going to get better when the female characters are marginalized and awkwardly bundled together. Catwoman and Wonder Woman don’t have anything in common except their gender no matter if the “dangerous” is dropped into a description.
It’s a cliche but it’s true – actions speak louder than words. A publisher can say it cares about its female heroes but if it doesn’t expend the level of promotion on them they way they do male characters the words don’t matter.
Escher Girls’ Comment:
*sigh* So the female characters got lumped into one spread with a short summary, even major characters like Catwoman and Wonder Woman, while the major male characters each got their own spread. This seems like part of how “people aren’t interested in female heroes” can become a self-fulfilling prophecy where they get promoted less, and the results of the difference in promotion leads to less sales, and justification for less promotion.
What do you think of this? Does DC care about it’s Women Characters? Should they do something more? Answer in the comments below:
Is “Injustice: Gods Among Us” Worth It?
This is what now, my third video game review post in the last three months? (Excluding any Classic Game Room posts). Frankly, I am surprised at how many games released within the last couple of months have gotten my attention. That doesn’t happen too often. So, I guess that means that this game is as good as the ones mentioned before. But if you haven’t seen the others, follow these links: SimCity Reviews & Lego City Undercover Reviews. Otherwise, let’s move on to today’s topic: “Injustice: Gods Among Us.”
Now, you know that I am fan of DC comics and an avid fan of Superman. So, I am sure the fact that I am even interested in this game is obvious. I LOVE SUPERMAN!!!!!!! So, duh this was going to happen. Still, the fact that I am even interested in a fighting game speaks volumes about the concept & the story of the game. There are countless DC fighting games that I can’t tell you a thing about. Yet, I could tell you the basic story of Injustice and even say that I am interested. So, good work guys! You have peeked my interest.
But is it worth it? Should you spend 60 bucks on a DC fighter? Well, I think I have some videos that can help you with that. So let’s get going!
First, I wanna present the opening cinematic of Injustice:
Now that you watched the opening, are you still interested? Would you consider buying Injustice? If you are, keep watching!
Injustice: Gods Among Us Reviews:
IGN’s Review:
Gamespot’s Review:
Rev3Games Review:
So, that’s all the mainstream review’s that I care about. And all of them pretty much say the same thing – Injustice is good but not great. Which kinda leads me to think about waiting to purchase. As is, for me I think 60 bucks is too high of a price tag for a fighter – even a good one. But that’s because I generally suck at Fighter’s and don’t really care for them very much. So, I am not the core audience that would purchase this game. They provably already have a copy. I don’t. Still, I am interested in the game and that says a lot. I am just not certain yet if I want to buy – even at 20 bucks.
That’s what brings me to the final part of this post – the unusual reviews. These are reviews of Injustice from sources that I normally don’t look at. Hell, I might have never even heard of many of them. However, they are all worth watching because they are good and interesting reviews. I am not going to claim that they are glowing reviews of the game, but they good game reviews. And who knows, they might help you decide whether to buy or not. Or they will just entertain – either way that’s cool!
Unusual Game Reviews
Smosh’s Review:
The GameStation’s Review:
DMJared’s Review:
So, that’s it. All the cool reviews of Injustice that I could find. But now comes the most interesting and difficult part – your opinion. Do are interested in Injustice? Would you buy it? Let me know in the comments below.
Why You Can’t Divorce Lois Lane From Superman
therearecertainshadesoflimelight:
It’s so ironic (and amusing) to me when men who identify themselves as Superman fans engage in sexist, “putting women in their place” type behavior in regards to Lois Lane that is so far removed from the core of who Clark Kent is supposed to be that if he actually were a real person…you’d be on his shit list.
I mean he’s Clark….so he’d try to solve the problem with words and would forgive you for your behavior. That’s just who he is. (Or worse yet, he’d sick Lois on you and then you’d have no chance in hell cause she’d humiliate you far worse.)
But you’d be on his shit list. He wouldn’t like you.
SUPER-MAN. The meaning is literal. He’s supposed to be a man who is better than the average man in a world of patriarchy which means while you still live in a culture that encourages you to go on to your little tumblr and shit all over the efforts of women because it “bothered” you….he would be standing there totally and utterly embarrassed for you. The whole concept of a “SUPER-MAN” means he’s going to be more sensitive and more understanding and more enlightened about the meaning of true equality, worth and oppression than many men who great up in a culture that encouraged patriarchy. Particularly now in the year 2013.
And then you get some of these men who worship this character—-who idolize the very idea of a Super-man who truly understands oppression and equality and justice and love and then act in such a gross way about the very existence of human, flawed woman like Lois Lane that so misses the f***ing point that it’s incredible.
You sit there and you make these ignorant little arguments where you downplay her importance and career achievements in an unjust professional context, downplay what she means to women, call her plain, judge her age, judge her body, judge if she’s “hot” enough for him, judge his choice to not want to sleep around, judge if her vagina can be pounded hard enough for your male gaze liking during sex, judge her aggressive personality, call her a bitch, go on about how unworthy she is for this great male hero, wax about how she’ll get old first or die first, judge everything about her which usually boils down to a bunch of sexist, misogynist bullshit….and the irony of your behavior as you worship this “Super” man is so severe, so poignant that it smashes through like a sledgehammer.
You want to love the “SUPER-MAN” but you don’t even know what the f*** that means. Which is, I guess, why you aren’t him.
Source: Fuck Yeah! Lois Lane
ALLEY’S COMMENT:
Couldn’t say it much better myself. Although I feel compelled to try. Maybe there is a little Lois Lane inside me.
My Superman Fanfics
So, I recently created 3 Superman Fanfics. All of them are one shots and all of them are available right now on Fanfiction.net. I do plan to make more, but for now, this is what I have. So please, enjoy my Superman Fanfics:
The Day we first met
It’s been like what, ten years? Yes, I think it has. It’s been ten years since I first met you. You rescued me from that plane. Our eyes met. You smiled. I fell deeply in love.
I felt like a schoolgirl, did you know? Knowing you, you probably did. How did I make you feel? You’ve never told me. Then again, I never asked. Maybe I should. Maybe I shouldn’t. Maybe it doesn’t matter. After all, you’re in my arms tonight.
Oh! Did you feel that? I think it’s kicking! Our baby is kicking! I smile as I place your hand on my stomach. Can you feel her? She wants to meet you. She’ll be coming real soon. It’s not long afterwards that I feel my water break. I see you panic and I can’t help but smile. Because that’s the real you, Clark Kent, and I love you for it.
No matter what comes our way I will always be by your side. As you will be by mine. I chose you Clark Kent. And that says something. I just wonder if I am worthy of your love. Of course, I don’t have time to ponder why you fell in love with me. Perhaps another night. Because this baby is coming and I have a job to do.
Just give me a favor world, okay? No disasters tonight. Please, let my husband stay by my side. I need him tonight. I need to feel safe. I need him now. As he needs me.
Hours pass and finally my daughter is born. Martha Lara Kent. I like it. After all it honors the women who made it possible for him to be here today, to be with me. And he is with me, holding me, smiling. Of course he’s smiling, it is his little girl’s birthday.
Great Fanfics
So, a few days ago I posted a bunch of good Superman Fanfics to take a look at. Of course, I know that it went long, but it is still worth your time. Take a few days and read them, k? You will be glad you did.
Now, I that’s not quite why I am posting this. I have found some new fanfics (thanks to Fuck Yeah! Lois Lane) and I want you to check them out. They are extremely well written and I think they could be used by DC if they wanted to. So, without further ado, please allow me to present a collection of Superman Fanfics by saavikam77′. (Who wasn’t in the last one at all . . . )
II. Heaven – Warrant (Clark)
When I come home late at night
And you’re in bed asleep
I wrap my arms around you
So I can feel you breathe
I don’t need to be a superman
As long as you will always be my biggest fan
~*~*~*~
Coming in the door after a long shift that might’ve stretched three days—he wasn’t quite sure at this point—Clark couldn’t help the bone-tired ache that permeated him. He still wasn’t used to all this, not at the levels he’d been running lately, and it showed, he knew. There would be a long sunbath in the morning to work out the kinks and recharge his batteries, but until then, something better and much more inviting waited for him.
Lois.
A long trudge upstairs, and he shed his clothes and slipped into the bed next to his soon-to-be wife.
“Love you, Lois,” he whispered close as he dropped a kiss on her forehead.
She stirred slightly, a little smile pulling at her lips, and Clark settled in eagerly, so grateful for her that he thought his heart might burst.
No matter what else the world might have in store for him on any given day, as long as he could come back here, to the safety of her arms, everything would be perfect.
III. Starlight – Muse (Lois)
The Starlight
I will be chasing your starlight
Until the end of my life
I don’t know if it’s worth it anymore
Hold you in my arms
I just wanted to hold you in my arms
My life
You electrify my life
Let’s conspire to ignite
All the souls that would die just to feel alive
~*~*~*~
Some days, Lois could swear there was starlight in Clark’s eyes, some remnant of his birthplace, an otherworldly echo of the world that sent him to Earth, to her. Days like those, she could stare for hours if it wouldn’t get her in trouble.
Ah, who was she kidding? She’d do it anyway, and damn the consequences.
“You’re doing it again.”
Startled by her fiancé’s sudden intrusion on her reverie, Lois straightened at her desk, huffed, and lifted her chin in defiance as she set back to work on the day’s article. “Like you don’t do the same thing all the time,” she countered.
Clark chuckled, “Touché.”
Lois would swear then she could even hear the starlight, and it was the most beautiful astral symphony ever.
~*~*~*~
IV. Pick U Up – Adam Lambert (Clark)
Jumpin’ out the window
Movin’ on, groovin’ on
Which way will the wind blow?
We can’t be wrong, so say “So long”
[…]
Imma pick u up, Imma pick u up
We’re gonna see where we can go
This is how I live, this is what I give
And you’re the one I want to know
~*~*~*~
“Are you cold?”
Pulling back just enough to give Clark a snarky look, Lois snorted. “You ask me that every time we do this, and what do I always tell you?”
He couldn’t help the flush that crept up his cheeks at that. “That you’re fine.”
“Exactly!” she said, swatting his backside. “Clark, you’re a furnace. We could be passing through a snow storm, and I’d be fine,” she finished with a chuckle.
Holding her just a little tighter in his embrace as he flew them higher above the city, his cape wrapped around them both, Clark dipped his head to kiss her, thinking that she’d never know how she did the same for him, every part of his body on fire for her. Lightning couldn’t come close to comparing with the woman in his arms.
~*~*~*~V. Tonight, Tonight – The Smashing Pumpkins (Lois)
Time is never time at all
You can never ever leave, without leaving a piece of youth
And our lives are forever changed
We will never be the same
[…]
And you know you’re never sure
But you’re sure you could be right
If you held yourself up to the light
And the embers never fade, in your city by the lake
The place where you were born
~*~*~*~
Lois couldn’t believe there was a time that she wasn’t part of this, the whole nine yards, the Watchtower, the inner circle of the League. Oh, she’d pitched a fit when she found out what had been going on, that so many of their friends—even Tess, of all people—were a part of the team, but it just seemed so long ago now. Nothing but a dream.
But then, she couldn’t believe there was a time that she was completely in the dark about Clark, too.
So many things had changed since that time.
“You coming up after you’re done here?” Clark asked her from across their desks as he gathered his things at the end of the workday.
“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss pizza night for the world,” Lois answered, sitting back in her chair and trying to look innocent.
She couldn’t wait to see his face when he found out the League was throwing him a birthday party.
And later, when she told him that he wouldn’t be the last of his line, after all.
~*~*~*~
VI. Born to Be My Baby – Bon Jovi (Clark)
I don’t need nothing when I’m by your side
We got something that’ll never die
Our dreams, our pride
[…]
And I’ll never let go cause
There’s something I know deep inside
You were born to be my baby
And baby, I was made to be your man
~*~*~*~
Seeing her like this, eyes on fire with Lane wrath as she held a hand over her softly rounded belly, Clark knew without a doubt that there was no one else in the entire universe, on this or any other world or plane, that he’d rather be building a future with. She was a force to be reckoned with, a storm waiting to strike at just the slightest provocation, and she was by his side, working with him, forging her own path, no fear.
Woe be to the fool that stood in her path. Especially on a disastrous day like today, with the Steelworkers Union strike turning violent, and news to be reported.
Mister White stood no chance.
“—and if you think for a second that I’m not covering this thing myself, you’re sadly mistaken,” she went on, seething, nostrils flared as she tore into their editor.
At that, the older man just threw up his hands in surrender. “Fine, fine, but if you get killed out there, I’m not responsible.”
“Uh, don’t worry, sir,” Clark cut in then, a hand on Lois’s elbow to stay her continued tirade, “I’ll make sure she gets there and back in one piece.”
Hazel eyes turned on him at that, glinting with hard warning, and Clark swallowed audibly.
Woe be to the fool, indeed.
Luckily, he was the one man in the universe that could take it, and was glad for the privilege to do so; he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but right here with her.
~*~*~*~
VII. In This Together – Apoptygma Berzerk (Clark & Lois)
And in your troubled eyes I see
Someone who carried me somehow
Like footprints in the sand
You’ve been behind me all along
[…]
Don’t you see it’s you and me against the world
‘Cause we’re in this together
You and me
One on one forever
~*~*~*~
“Can you hear me?” Clark, please hear me, Lois silently prayed. “Just hold on, okay? I’ll get us out of here.”
Working her wrists, she tried the cuffs again, felt the bones of her left hand grind painfully against each other as she finally gained some ground. She’d probably have to break her hand to get free, but that was small potatoes right now. With those monsters out there sure to return at any time, it was either a broken hand or their captors’ promised torture, each minute they stayed here bringing the very real possibility of never going home again, never getting to see their child open his eyes for the first time, or hear his first cries.
And she couldn’t allow it, flat out refused to lose her baby to these madmen, or let Clark endure the pain they’d already inflicted upon him for another minute.
As it was, he was probably unconscious behind her, handcuffed to the other side of the column in the underground garage.
“Tried to tell you it was a trap,” she muttered under her breath, wincing at the crunch when the bone of her thumb finally gave way. “Tried to tell you they weren’t really steelworkers, but nooooo… you just had to crash in and try to get me out, no plan, no—” A pained gasp tore from her throat as she finally slipped the cuff, and she scrambled up and around the column quickly, holding her broken hand close over her belly. “Come on,” she urged her husband, pulling the green glowing razor wire from around him, oblivious to the damage to her good hand. “I’ve got you. Wake up!”
~*~*~*~
From the burning darkness, Clark felt the world tilt around him, nausea bubbling up and subsiding in rapid succession as the inferno suddenly lessened. Lois, he tried to cry out plaintively, swimming toward the surface of his mind.
“Wake up!”
Her voice was so far away, but… getting closer.
Lois!
The pain eased again, and his world started to clear.
“Come on, gotta get you out of here. You have to wake up,” his wife ordered. “Your family needs you to wake up now.”
A groan filled his ears. His own voice. Then, light, his vision returning, the world coming slowly into focus as he blinked awake.
“There you are,” Lois said, prodding him further aware with a gentle slap on the cheek. “Let’s go.”
And he saw the way she was cradling her left hand, her thumb at an odd angle and the skin of both hands torn, bruised, bleeding.
The cuffs on his own wrists snapped like paper ribbons, determination and renewed strength coursing through him as the poison left his system and he heard—finally—the still strong heartbeat nestled in Lois’s womb.
“Yeah,” he nodded, “Let’s go.”
And together, they did.
~*~*~*~
VIII. Clear Skies – Rooster (Clark & Lois)
I’ll catch you if you fall
I’ll give you shelter from it all
So when you feel alone…
Look in my direction
When you think we’ve disappeared
Close your eyes and you will see it, you can feel it
The sky’s about to clear
~*~*~*~
Sliding open the curtains, Clark drank in the morning sun. Days like this didn’t come often, so much darkness permeating the world lately, but when they did… well, how could he not take advantage? Besides, the League had a handle on things for now, and it was a weekend, no breaking news to rush off to at the moment. He could enjoy it while he had the chance.
And what better way to start enjoying it than a home-cooked breakfast in bed? Lois would certainly appreciate the fresh coffee, he knew.
A look back at the bed then, at his beautiful sleeping wife, the sun falling across her face, shining in her hair, and Clark decided that breakfast could maybe wait a little longer. They had the time, surely.
That was, until he heard the uneasy whimper from the next room.
~*~*~*~
Blinking against the light assaulting her from the open window, Lois woke with a slight groan, tossed an arm over her eyes. It was definitely too early to be up on a Sunday. She was gonna need coffee, and pronto, or else—
“Hey, hey, it’s all right,” Clark’s soothing voice came to her, gentle and unhurried, and she realized he wasn’t in the bed next to her. Where—?
Then she heard the baby gurgle, start making those adorable slurping noises, and the little bit of panic she’d never admit to allowing herself subsided.
Slowly uncovering her eyes, she found Clark standing by the window, cradling their son in one arm and feeding him a fresh bottle with the other, sunlight surrounding them, a brilliant halo of life.
To think, six months ago she and Clark were being held by psychotic alien-hunters disguised as steelworkers, wounded and unsure of their future, of this future. It amazed her just how bad times always seemed to pass, how things always seemed to come back to this, to them.
“Morning, handsome,” she said after a while, smiling at her boys.
Clark turned to give her a soft smile, that starlight in his eyes again. “Morning, yourself.”
Lois raised an eyebrow. “Who said I was talking to you?”
The grinning laugh she got in return was pure, perfect love, and worth every dark day that would inevitably come and go. No matter how dark things got, the sun would always come out, the sky would always clear again.
~*~*~*~













