Lit Apropos of Nothing - ACKBAR IN CAPITALS - The Lit Forum Social Thread, v2.0.15

I'm looking forward to seeing the canonical size of our moon.

 

Batman Beyond was so much fun.

 

Although Justice League is what I'm looking forward to the most, I did Batman Beyond first because of production order. I was more inclined to JL because, if such a thing was possible, I thought I might be suffering Batman overload in the DCAU (or, at least, wanted to see some of the other characters). Batman Beyond is incredibly refreshing, though. One thing I absolutely love about the DCAU, at least as opposed to the Marvel cartoons, is that they feel so timeless; rather than being stuck in the 90s, they feel like they take place in an odd sort of cultural synthesis, with B:TAS being almost the 40s with computers. I think in this way Beyond avoids the pitfall of a lot of films/TV shows that take place in a proposed "future"; they don't feel in any way invalidated because they don't at all try to take the place of our future. Instead, it feels like a logical future to the established universe. Which is just a long way of saying I really love the world that Beyond builds, and fully intend to check out the comics whenever I finish the show.

I also love that it's not afraid to carry out Bruce Wayne's life, which is essentially a tragedy, to its logical conclusion: a really **** tragic conclusion. The show strikes a great balance between the idea that Batman is a real symbol for good, and that ultimately Bruce's efforts were futile and only ended up making things worse.

Also, obligatory music comment: I can't express how much I love that a Cartoon Network show could get away with having an Industrial Metal soundtrack. If an industrial remix of the BTAS theme doesn't count as the best thing ever, it certainly ranks up there

EDIT: Oh, and while I'm thinking of it, are Static Shock and The Zeta Project worth watching? I'm tempted to skip them just to get to Justice League...

I saw it at a young age, which might have something to do with my love for it. Though it borders on a traumatizing experience for a kid to watch, I'm glad I did. Had a lot of resonance with me, and still does. It's still my go to for people who say they hate anime, or animation in general. It's a perfect example that anime doesn't have to be about flying planet destroyers and fireball-spewing ninjas.

I think one could argue that Grave of the Fireflies is the best, or one of the best, animated films for the same reason one could argue that it's not. It's themes, it's direction, its cinematography could be just as powerful if it were shot as a live action film; that it's animated is only a detail. It shows beyond a shadow of doubt that animation can convey just as much emotion as a live action film. On the other, one could easily argue that because of this, it doesn't take full advantage of the animation medium. Part of what's so great about animation, after all, is that you can do things that could never be recreated in live action. Brilliant as Grave of the Fireflies is, it only happens to be an animated film, whereas stuff like Akira, any Pixar film, or I presume Frozen couldn't work any other way.

Whether or not its the best, it's still a must watch. If you don't mind feeling like utter **** for a few hours, at least.

 

IMO, you're doing it in the right order. I'm re-discovering Batman Beyond via Netflix, and I'm realizing afresh how awesomely out of the box the show is. It's Batman crossed with Spiderman and a smattering of cyberpunk anime influences, completely unlike any other show that's ever been made. And the fact that it's got the same DCAU hallmark of being both adult and kid friendly makes it that much better. No wonder there was talk of a live-action film before Batman Begins was kicked off.

And the music was the first thing I noticed upon re-watching. Industrial Metal is something that seems thoroughly 90s, yet fits with the tone and style of BB so well that it helps make the show create its own version of the future instead of dating it.

As for Batman overload, once you get to Justice League, that won't be much of a problem.

I haven't seen Static Shock or The Zeta Project myself, so I can't advise you there.

That actually explains a lot.

 

Don't forget Return of the Joker!

 

...and come to think of it, I'm sure a bunch of people screamed "Poochie" when it was announced, too.

 

Batman Beyond essentially was two years of my childhood, when I was roughly four and five years old. I owned the toys, I watched the show every time I got the chance, I probably watched my VHS tape of the pilot episodes until it was unworkable...I loved it like nobody's business. Near the end of those two years I discovered the Justice League movie and thus that became my new focus, but I've always had a soft spot for BB, especially because Terry is voiced by Eric from Boy Meets World! As for Static Shock, it was enjoyable to me as an eight-year-old but less so when I went back and watched it at fourteen or fifteen. That said, give it a try–it's definitely a fun show, just not as good as BB or JL.

 

Static Shock was pretty fun imo. Watched all of BB last year and that was so much fun. Max and Melanie are better than Dana. Need to watch the Batman:The Animated Series in its entirety. Seen a lot of episodes when I was younger but that was years ago. Justice League is a blast as well. The Epilogue episode though.....................................

 

Completely agreed.

I actually have to admit to being a bad DCAU fan, as even after all these years I've never actually gotten around to watching The Zeta Project. However, there's a lot of fun stuff in Static Shock, even if I don't think that, on the whole, it's quite as good as the other series that comprise the DCAU. Amusingly, it doesn't start as a DCAU show, with Virgil even commenting on Clark Kent being the secret identity of the apparently fictional Superman. The producers basically just apologized after the universal merge, and asked everyone to pretend they didn't hear that. There are also some cool cross-over episodes: one with Batman Beyond, a Justice League two-parter that takes place midway through JL's second season, and one specifically featuring Virgil and John Stewart teaming up. These do get referenced in Justice League and Unlimited, so if nothing else, you may want to check those out.

Ha, it almost traumatized me, and I only saw it a few years ago.

Definitely. It's an amazing movie, but just...emotionally devastating.

 

As I recall, there was also an episode that was a crossover with BTAS where Batman told Static about the Teen Titans. That unfortunately created a continuity quibble, because the Robin appearing in Teen Titans at the time was Dick Grayson, whereas the Robin that Static previously met was Tim Drake. Oh, and the Justice League episode was probably my favorite of the whole series. And anything with John Stewart is awesome.

Hard to believe that I'm a Marvel fan, isn't it?

 

There seems to be some Iron Man thrown in there, as well. Which actually solves a small yet nagging problem with some modern incarnations of the Batman character: if he's so brilliant, so resourceful, and has all the wacky science of the DC universe at his disposal, why would Batman never build something that would augment his strength, or let him fly? The real answer is, of course, because he's Batman, and Batman can't do that. But in the DCAU, it's simply that the technology isn't there yet, and once it is, Batman is the first to take advantage of it.

No kidding. It's pretty amazing what they managed to slip past the censors. I mean, with lines like this...

"I'm sick of the mall. Let's go for a ride."
"You like that car more than me."
"Who's talking about cars?"

And here's one I didn't even catch until TVtropes pointed it out.

While Terry and Dana are dancing, Dana suddenly backs up...

"Oh no!"
"Sorry!"
"No, look!"

But even aside from the hidden dirty jokes, the subject matter is often fairly grim as well. That virtual reality episode is a great, yet not-so-subtle heroin addiction episode.

It's definitely a 90s thing, though its such an interesting style to base a show around. I'm amazed that it hasn't gotten old yet. All the DCAU shows so far have been excellently scored.

Funny enough, if anything Batman Beyond has gotten rid of my Batman overload. Seeing how awesome ancient Bruce Wayne is has only made me want to see more of him in his prime

If there's one thing about the DCAU I'm looking forward to more than anything else, it's their adaptation of "For the Man Who Has Everything". I recently read that, along with Moore's "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" and its fantastic. Add to that it's apparently the only adaptation of his work that Moore actually likes (that is not a man to throw compliments around).


As for the other thing, am I the boards official cynic now or something? You've clearly been slacking.

Wouldn't miss it. How sadistic is it of me to hope that Barbara Gordon is crippled by the Joker in it? Of course, as far as BB pushes its censor, I doubt it will go that far.

 

I do want to shout out to the recent over-the-top Batman series that had one of the greatest moments ever - a recreation of the old "Scooby Doo Mysteries" with Batman and Robin, guest-starring Weird Al Yankovic, where Bat-Mite (the host) comments on how the original 70s show didn't allow fighting, then changes the show to allow Shaggy and Scooby to beat up the Joker and Penguin.

Nah. DC has its fragmented little "miniverses" amid the chaotic soup of its non-continuity. A good Batman story - or better yet, series of stories - always suckers me in. (Technically both Planetary and Sandman fall into the 'DC miniverse' category as well).

 

The Joker is such a nasty piece of work in it. You have to watch both versions. I honestly love the movie so much. It works.

 

Just promise us you'll be watching the PG-13 version.

 

"Both versions?"

 

Wait, is Teen Titans supposed to be part of the DCAU? I planned to rewatch it at some point, as its the only DC show I remember being young enough to watch as a kid (my childhood was a dark period, in that there were no Batman shows; I remember having to vicariously live that out through my crazy theories that Slade was Batman all along, for some reason).

I guess what I've wondered is if Static Shock feels like it should be part of the DCAU, or is just shoehorned in due to some board room deal. Unless it's vital, I'm probably going to watch Justice League first, as I've been looking forward to that and would probably just speed through Static Shock hoping to get to it. Would probably be able to enjoy it more if I viewed it as its own separate, yet still connected thing, rather than the bridge to get from BB to JL.

I honestly have no idea what The Zeta Project is even about. And as for the Clark Kent reference, that's hilarious. Knowing internet fans, I'm sure there's some very wacky, very convoluted retcons out there.

 

Double post, sorry about that.

 

One scene in the movie has two different versions to it.

 

Because of how ****ed up it is.

 

I'm not sure if it's part of the DCAU or not, but it aired at the same time as Static Shock so I figured the reference couldn't have been accidental. And Slade is awesome.

Can you either post the differences (in spoiler tags) or PM me? I'm curious which version I had.

 

Hearing that the movie has an "uncensored" version pleases me far more than it should.

 

I'm no Batman expert, but I'd like to think I have a general knowledge of the mythos without having read a lot of it, but are you guys saying the movie is pretty explicit in terms of what happened to Oracle?

 

Spoiler

2 versions of the same scene. Make up your minds which one is worse and if the other was necessary.

DigitalMessiah Tv series is different from comics.