The Man of Tomorrow – My New Fanfic

So, having finished writing Tales of the Caped Crusader, I’ve decided to move onto my next fanfic, also inspired by my talks of How Would I Rebuild The DC Universe From Scratch, as well as taking place in that same sort of ‘verse that I created with TotCC. The name of the fic: The Man of Tomorrow.

Here’s the basic premise: Superman has been an active superhero for some time now. Lois Lane is aware of his secret identity, and the two are currently in a relationship while also keeping up their friendly rivalry at the Daily Planet. Lex Luthor is in jail following an incident that also cost him his presidency over the United States. As a result, Metropolis is enjoying relative peace time. I mean, there’s still stuff like burning buildings, bank robbers, jumpers, the occasional criminal, but over-all, FAR less occasions that look like a job for Superman. Also, as was the case in TotCC, he has met Batman and Wonder Woman, but there is no Justice League yet.

One day, down-town Metropolis is attacked by Plasmus, and after a fight between the two, Superman quickly learns that someone is gunning for him, someone that’s created a liquidized version of Kryptonite and gave some to Plasmus. Problem: The #1 suspect is behind bars, and can’t be responsible…or can he? Worse yet, a young man named Victor Stone gets horribly burnt during the fight with Plasmus, with most of his body melting. So now the hunt is on to find the one responsible before anyone else gets hurt.

As with TotCC, this story takes a lot of plot elements from other established stories and continuities, and not just for Superman. For example, Victor will play a huge role, though parts of his back-story are actually inspired by the character Steel. Plasmus has elements to his character that are borrowed from the Teen Titans animated series. Lois knowing that Clark and Superman are the same person is inspired by Man of Steel and Superman: Unbound. Superman’s costume is based off of concept art for Injustice: Gods Among Us, as shown below (minus the face, although honestly, I gotta wonder why they didn’t use that look for Regime Superman). Also, Kara is mentioned on occasion in the story, currently in the process that will see her transform from Supergirl into Power Girl. And trust me, lots of other characters from Superman and the DC Universe will pop up in this story.

Anyway, that’s all I wanna tell for now. Thoughts? Opinions? Lemme know in the comments, and click the image below to read the fic. Ja né!

Related articles

• Villains of Steel (dietelcomics.com)
• Review: “Superman: Earth One” (comicsauthority.com)
• Tim Daly Interview (scifitalk.com)
• All Star Lois Lane: Superman, icons, personhood and love (womenwriteaboutcomics.com)
• Lois Lane Tries to Interview Batman in Animated Short (geektyrant.com)
• Evolution of the Superman Part 6: The Man of Tomorrow, Today (Graphic Novelties) (popmatters.com)
• The Man of Tomorrow (haidangit.wordpress.com)
• Review: Action Comics #23.3 – Lex Luthor (hopeburnsbright.wordpress.com)
• Ben Affleck’s Batman Will Be “Tired and Weary” (slashfilm.com)
• ‘Lois And Clark’ 20th Anniversary: Celebrating ‘The New Adventures Of Superman’ At 20 (PHOTOS) (huffingtonpost.com)

How Would I Rebuild The DC Universe From Scratch? – The Justice League, The Teen Titans, And More

Here I am, once again, talking about How Would I Rebuild The DC Universe From Scratch. ‘Cuz hey, you never know. I might decide to do a fanfic about one or more of these characters, or be a creative consultant for a web series, something like that. No way to know what the future might hold, y’know? So for this time around, I thought I’d talk about what I’d do with some of the landmark teams of the DC Universe. The Justice League, the Teen Titans, and so on. So, let’s start with…

Justice League

For the main team, I’d wanna take it back to being the Justice League of America, or the JLA. Of course, they would refer to it as the Justice League for short on occasion, but it’d be the JLA. As for what I’d do with it for a story, probably go back to Starro the Conqueror, except that it would be about Starro invading and the Big 3, the Trinity of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman not being enough to stop the invasion, and thus some of the new heroes (in this continuity, that is) would come to their aid, like The Flash, Green Lantern, or Cyborg. I’d probably include others, like Aquaman, Hawkgirl, Martian Manhunter, Black Canary, or Green Arrow, and have the book mostly focus on them stepping up to be on the same level as the Trinity while also fending off threats like The Legion of Doom, the Royal Flush Gang, the Black Lantern Corps, and Darkseid.

Teen Titans

Teen Titans would probably go back to its roots a little bit as a team of mostly teenage sidekicks who band together to form a superhero team that responds to calls from teens in need. Obviously, Robin would be a must, as would Donna Troy as Wonder Girl. As for the others, Bunker would be a nice choice for the international flavor, his optimism, and his position as an openly gay teenage superhero. I think I’d wanna change his costume from purple and red to purple and green, though. Just looks better in my head. Jesse Quick would be a neat option too, especially as someone brilliant enough to tap into the Speed Force on her own. Other choices would likely include Aqualad (either one, really), Danny Chase, Hotspot, Bumblebee, Beast Boy, Argent, Damage, Starfire, or Artemis. Also, to reference his time spent with the team in The New Teen Titans, Cyborg would be acting as a mentor to the team as they battle the likes of Doctor Light, The H.I.V.E., Deathstroke, Harvest (only done smarter than in The Culling), and the Brotherhood of Evil.

Justice League International

I’d probably go with the standard government-controlled Justice League here, but with some changes. Specifically, the JLA decides they don’t want the government to be afraid of them, so they elect one of their members to join. Of course, unlike the New 52 Justice League International, I think I’d want Wonder Woman on the team, representing Themyscira. Vixen would represent Africa, Congorilla would represent Scotland, Katana would represent Japan, Fire would represent Brazil, Ice would represent Norway, Booster Gold would represent Canada, Vibe would represent America, and Mera would represent Atlantis. They’d fight foes like the Injustice League (would have different members than The Legion of Doom).

Birds of Prey

With the Birds of Prey, I’d wanna combine them with the idea of the Justice League Dark. Basically, an all-female team that deals with supernatural threats. As such, members would be a combination of the two groups: Black Canary would be acting leader, Raven would join seeking to bring together a group to stop her father, Zatanna would become a member to try to track down her father, Batgirl and Spoiler would team up with them from time to time, and Pandora would join to try to find information leading back to her box…Not even close to what I mean, pervs. lol Their enemies would include Trigon’s Sons, Vandal Savage, and Morgaine le Fey.

Justice Society of America

Basically, the Justice Society of America, or JSA for short, would be the first superhero team, existing prior to Superman and the others. Their members act as inspirations for the current crop of heroes, and in some cases, direct predecessors. They would consist of characters from the original JSA, the All-Star Squadron, and some of the other Earth 2 characters to appear since. The original Flash, Jay Garrick, hence why Wally chooses that name for himself. The Atom, Al Pratt, would be the father of Damage, and would have his atomic punch, the ability to turn giant like Atom Smasher, and the ability to shrink like the modern Atoms like Ray Palmer. Liberty Belle, Libby Lawrence, would be Jesse Quick’s mother, and Jesse would get her increased strength and stamina through her mother’s genes. Batman, Thomas Wayne, would be Bruce Wayne’s father who was a member EXTREMELY briefly. Others could include Doctor Fate, Hippolyta, Zatara, Sandman, Hawkman, or Doctor Mid-Nite.

Anyway, that’s all for the superhero teams. Next up, the villains! Ja né!

Related articles

• Frustrations Boil Over: “Justice League of America #7” (Review) (popmatters.com)
• DC Histories: Justice League (ifanboy.com)
• Justice League 23 (retcon-punch.com)
• Justice League of Canada is Coming in 2014 (comicvine.com)
• Justice League Canada? (oscarbergeron.wordpress.com)
• Titans (capeflight.wordpress.com)
• Teen Titans, Mao! (bloodyourhands.wordpress.com)
• John Ostrander: Never Ending (comicmix.com)
• When Words Collide – The Best, The Worst, The Overrated – And Morrison’s Batman (comicbookresources.com)
• Justice League of America vs. Crime Syndicate of Amerika! Can anyone win? (confessionsofawednesdaywarrior.com)

Jyger’s Favourite 5 – 5 Misses of the DCAU

Y’know, I really LOVE the DC Animated Universe, most off all being Batman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited. It just feels it has some of the all-time best interpretations of certain characters from DC Comics. That said, not EVERYTHING they did was golden. And that’s not a check against it, either. It’s perfectly normal and understandable. They just kinda bug me a little. So I thought I’d go ahead and list 5 of the ones that bug me most. Just remember, this is not meant to diminish anyone’s thoughts on the DCAU.

#1 – Galatea

While I like the fact that they introduced a villain specifically for Supergirl, I don’t particularly like the one they went with. Not that there’s much wrong with Galatea from a character standpoint, but I don’t like that they basically took Power Girl, gave her the same backstory as Superboy (except that she’s Supergirl’s clone instead of Superman’s), and then made her unrepentantly evil.

#2 – Batman and Batgirl As A Couple

…Excuse me, I just had to vomit, as I do every time I think of these two as a couple. I’m sorry, but Batman and Batgirl should NEVER be romantic with each other. EVER. It’s icky as all hell. I can see a one way attraction from Babs for a short-term plot, but never as a couple, if for no other reason than HOW MUCH OLDER IS HE THAN HER, ANYWAY??? XP

#3 – TINO (Tim In Name Only)

Again, not a knock against the character, but I’m not sure why he’s named Tim Drake. He just feels WAY more like Jason Todd to me. Think about it: Second Robin, parents dead, kind of a snarky bastard, lack of control over his anger, violent/tragic end to his career as Robin due to the Joker, etc. I know, he has SOME detective and computer skills, but I don’t think it’s enough to justify calling him Tim Drake. Just my opinion.

#4 – The Teen Titans Who Never Were

I think there MAY have been a plan to involve the Titans in the DCAU, but the fact that they never showed up despite being mentioned twice in Static Shock is very odd to me. While I’ve never seen the original pilot for the Justice League animated series, which showed Robin, Impulse, and a female Cyborg with the League, I’m going to assume that they, Static Shock, Beast Boy (who was referenced once), Speedy (who cameod in JLU), and possibly Supergirl and a few other teenage superheroes would’ve formed the Titans in the DCAU. But unfortunately, it never came to be, thus resulting in it sadly becoming a major miss for the DCAU. I hear they might be looking to bring back the DCAU in a couple of years, and with any luck they might do this then…and hopefully, this next thing too…

#5 – Not Going Through With The Birds Of Prey

Okay, lemme explain this one: There was an episode of JLU entitled Double Date that was written by Gail Simone that featured Black Canary and Huntress together on a mission. Now the original script called for Barbara Gordon getting hurt and becoming Oracle, at which point she forms the two into the Birds of Prey. However, because of issues involving the rights to animate Batgirl (see “Bat-embargo”), this idea got vetoed in it instead became about Huntress and The Question going after Steven Mandragora and clashing with Green Arrow and Black Canary. It feels like they really missed out on a great opportunity here. I know Huntress and Black Canary got together for missions later on, but it woulda been even better with Barbara in the mix as well. Like I said, I’d like to see Birds of Prey done when they bring back the DCAU, possibly see them going against the Gotham City Sirens.

So yeah, those are the 5 misses that bug me most. But even with them, the DC Animated Universe was awesome, and I can’t wait for them to bring it back someday, and I will see you all when that marvellous day comes. Ja né!

Happy Birthday to ME! ^_^ + 10 Favourite DC Superheroes

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me! lol Okay, I’m not gonna do that the whole post, but I felt like bringing it up. And so, on this day that I turn 28, I decided to do two lists of my favourite superheroes, 10 from DC and 10 from Marvel. Let’s start with DC, since I’m honestly more of a DC guy than Marvel. I will elaborate on which interpretations of each character I prefer.

#1 – Bruce Wayne, AKA Batman

Yeah, be honest, you knew this was coming. In fact, I don’t know a single person who likes superheroes who doesn’t have Batman in their Top 10. I think it’s because there’s so many different interpretations of the character, thus allowing different people of different likes/dislikes to get into the character. Be it the comics, the 90’s cartoon, heck even the 60’s live action series, there’s plenty of interpretations of Batman to go around. Me personally, my favourite interpretations of the character are from Batman: The Animated Series and the Scott Snyder comics, neither of which should surprise anyone. lol

#2 – Clark Kent, AKA Superman

Ahh, the original template for the superhero in the 20th Century. Superman is the physical embodiment of hope, just as Batman is justice and Wonder Woman is truth. His feats are legendary, his abilities are unmatched, and his sheer power is only outdone by his sheer will and the strength of his heart. My favourite takes on the character are probably All-Star Superman and, again, the DCAU, although they perhaps showed him getting slapped around a bit too often there.

#3 – Stephanie Brown, AKA Batgirl

Hands down, my favourite super-heroine of all time. Sure, there are plenty who are faster, stronger, more intelligent, or more inventive, but Stephanie Brown is by far the most entertaining to read for her wit, her charm, and her never-say-die attitude. Obviously, my favourite take on the character is from Bryan Q. Miller‘s Batgirl title. But, to be fair, I have to pay homage to the original super-heroine…

#4 – Diana Prince, AKA Wonder Woman

As I said, Superman embodies hope, Batman upholds justice, and Wonder Woman is the spirit of truth. I get the feeling that perhaps one reason a lot of people tend to write poor Diana in such a botched up manner is because she is both the most compassionate super-heroine of all in DC while also the best fighter. However, my favourite interpretation of the character seemed to get the balance just write: Gail Simone‘s take on Wonder Woman.

#5 – Wally West, AKA The Flash

Yeah, I know I keep going on about this, but I seriously miss Wally West. Barry Allen is just not interesting as The Flash. The only comic strip I have ever read that has Barry written in a way that makes him fun to read is JL8, and that’s not even written by anyone in DC…for some bizarre reason. There’s actually a rumour going around that Wally is the new Reverse-Flash, with his memories of the pre-Flashpoint Earth intact and his sanity broken by how much the universe has changed and how his idol is responsible for it all. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I can conceivably see it working, provided it ends with Wally regaining his sanity, possibly even becoming a good guy version of Reverse-Flash. Anyway, my favourite interpretations of Wally are from the Justice League cartoon and The Titans, AKA Linkara’s favourite comic series. lol

#6 – Rachel Roth, AKA Raven

Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS! Yeah, no big surprise here, but my favourite interpretation of Raven is from the Teen Titans cartoon. The version of her from The Titans where she was just a golden ghostly form was pretty awesome too, but c’mon, Raven was awesome there. She was dark, powerful, sarcastic, and honestly could be more fun than Beast Boy most times. And the excellent voice acting of Tara Strong only made her even more awesome.

 

#7 – Tim Drake, AKA Red Robin

Noticing a pattern here: Everyone here is either JLA, Titans, and/or Batman Incorporated. And in Tim Drake’s case, he could easily qualify all three someday. The only other hero besides Batman to have earned the title of ‘Detective’ from Ra’s al Ghul, Tim Drake is my favourite Robin (and no, I don’t care if his time as Robin is retconned or not, even as Red Robin, he still counts toward the group). I can’t really pick out an individual take on the character that I prefer most, but probably one the best stories to involve him is the aforementioned confrontation with Ra’s, especially the crossover stuff with Steph in Batgirl.

#8 – Kara Zor-El, AKA Supergirl

I’ve only recently gotten into Supergirl’s storylines, but honestly, I find her very interesting. I think I might just like her more than Superman. Her stories in the New 52 are higher quality than Supes’ (seriously, I’m at the point where I’m ready to BEG Scott Snyder to write the best damned Superman book he possibly can), her disguise is better than Clark’s, and she’s even potentially stronger than him since her body absorbs yellow sun energy faster.

#9 – Barbara Gordon, AKA Batgirl

Yeah, I brought up my personal favourite Batgirl, but this one deserves a spot in my 10 Favourite DC Heroes as well: Barbara Gordon. Be she the badass super-heroine, Batgirl, or the techno wizard who served as the eyes and ears of the entire Justice League, Oracle, Barbara is straight up awesome. My favourite takes on the character? Well, there’s Gail Simone’s writing, regardless of pre or post Flashpoint, and then her appearances in Bryan Q. Miller’s Batgirl, where she basically served as the old Bruce to Stephanie’s Terry McGinnis.

#10 – Shayera, AKA Hawkgirl

Ahhh, yet another badass woman in DC, Hawkgirl is among the highest ranking of her field. You get in her way, expect to wake up in a hospital bed the next day. And once again, my favourite interpretation of her is from the Justice League cartoon, though I also really like Kendra Saunders in Earth 2. What’s odd about that is that, really, they’re not all that alike at all, possibly the most different of the Earth 2 counterparts.

Anyway, that’s it for my 10 Favourite DC Superheroes. And if yer wondering why Green Lantern isn’t on here, it’s mostly because I couldn’t decide on which one to put on here, be it Alan Scott of Earth 2 or John Stewart from the Justice League cartoon. As such, just consider them tied for #11. Anyway, next time I will check out my 10 favourite heroes from Marvel. Ja né!

What I’d Do With The New 52 – Part 04: My First 52 Titles (1 – 13)

So I’ve talked big on what I would do with the New 52 for some time now, so I think now’s a good enough time to talk about what I would do with the New 52 if I was in charge from the beginning. Now keep in mind, this is not me saying that my line-up is so superior to the current or anything like that. If you prefer the current line-up, that’s awesome. I’m simply voicing what I personally would have set-up for the initial 52 titles of DC’s relaunch. And if I feel that something worked better as it originally was, I’ll just say so and leave it as is. So, let’s start off with titles 1-13 (in no real solid order), and seeing as how it’s how I started this long-winded rant, let’s start off with…

You remember how I said that I didn’t take issue with Barry Allen? Yeah, that was a while ago, and since then, he has pretty much bored me to tears. In short, I’d either bring back Wally West as the one and only Flash, or have him and Barry work together as a team. Otherwise, as far as the actual plot is concerned, while I understand the need to build everything up for new readers, I think the story could’ve stood to be sped up.

Oh boy, where do I start? First off, I think I’d have the Daily Planet instead becoming an online newsletter type of company, instead of going out of business and being bought out because newspapers are dying. Second, if editorial mandate was responsible for Clark Kent and Lois Lane not being married or even in a relationship anymore, what I would’ve done is at least have her be his closest friend, know the truth of his identity, and be his supporter while he’s Superman. Also, I would try to have a few stories be less about smacking you about the face with the fact that Superman is an alien, and frankly just have Superman be a little more…nice, I guess? lol

Pretty much leave it as is. Really, the only thing I’d change is elements that were carried over from other books, so I’ll just address them there…which I might as well cover now.

PUT HIM BACK IN BLUE! No, I refuse to let this go! I am sick of all the frakking red these days. There was no reason to put Nightwing in red other than to make him seem edgy or some bullcrap like that. But other than that, I don’t really have much issue with the story, other than that the filler stuff we got in between Night of the Owls and Death of the Family seemed somewhat lacklustre, and while I like the character a lot, I still don’t think it’s a good idea to have Sonia Branch be his love interest.

I would’ve done more to make Batman and Robin feature equally in this book, and it would’ve been nice to see Dick Grayson and Damian have a sit-down talk before Damian teams with his father full-time, but otherwise, I’d leave Batman and Robin as is.

First off, not a fan that the canon of Teen Titans prior to this was completely and utterly erased. Alterations would of course need to be made, but otherwise the existence of the team did not need to be wiped away. Also, I would change the colour-scheme of this team. Maybe make Bunker purple and green instead of purple and red, put Wonder Girl back in her blue jeans, and I’d bring Jackson Hyde as Aqualad in, though maybe have him take on a more sea-green colour-scheme simply because THE TEAM NEEDS MORE COLOUR. Finally, The Culling? *makes throat-slit motion*

Oh, hell no, I ain’t changin’ nothin’. This was actually a situation where DC did the smart thing by not resetting Green Lantern, ‘cuz my goodness, could you imagine if they did after the last thing to happen before the relaunch? Fans would have risen up and slain them.

Again, I don’t really mind the story that was being told with Aquaman at all, but there is one thing that got kind of vexing. You know how people have made jokes for YEARS that Aquaman was useless and whatnot, leading to this book basically being the idiot’s guide to why that opinion was stupid? While I’m in favour of that, the joke kinda played itself out for WAY too long. Like, first issue of the Throne of Atlantis story arc in Justice League, and the people in the story are still making Aquaman jokes. But otherwise, the stories are just fine and work great for the character.

I’m sorry, I know I don’t shut up about this, but dammit, there is no reason Cyborg should be the only member of the Justice League who can’t get his own book. There’s plenty of ways to make it interesting, plenty of villains who could work as antagonists to him. Heck, they could even do build up toward Throne of Atlantis where we see Cyborg meeting with the heroes who form The Grid. As for what I’d replace, probably Deathstroke. Sorry guys, but there’s a reason Deathstroke is getting cancelled. Still, I suppose he could work as a great villain in this book.

Two words: Gail Simone. Even if the story of turning Wonder Woman into the daughter of Zeus and the horrific changes to the Amazons were forced and HAD to be done, Gail could make it work. I think the only bomb on her record is Fury of Firestorm, and she was only co-writing that book. Otherwise, while I don’t mind turning Wonder Woman into Zeus’ daughter all THAT much, the changes to the Amazons were too much and I would fight that to the death if I had to in order to keep it from changing.

Not much I’d change about the first arc, it’s okay. My main gripes with Justice League that I’d change are the Superman/Wonder Woman pairing, the Shazam back-up, and maybe some dialogue choices during The Villain’s Journey. In particular, one thing that annoys me to no end is how in Justice League #7, Batman tells Steve Trevor to shut down the Justice League International, that it was an embarrassment…even though he was one of the founding members of it, and respected the hell out of what Booster Gold was trying to do with his rag-tag team. Consistent continuity, please?

Okay, I get why the first arc focused on Superman’s early days, but after that, they didn’t really HAVE to have it continue to be a Superman solo book. Not that Superman couldn’t be in it or have stories in it, but I think from that point, they could’ve done stories with other characters in rotation. For example, since the first arc, has anyone seen Steel? Or heck, has Livewire even appeared since the reboot? You could do a whole arc focusing on the Supermen of America, and I would.

Pretty much the same thing here, though I’d replace the Batman part with whoever was highlighting the book at any given time. For example, there’s plenty they could do with Red Robin in a solo book. Or perhaps they could do a story where various members of Batman Incorporated have to work together WITHOUT Bruce to lead them because he’s otherwise occupied. Gates of Gotham did that, and it was pretty damned good.

So yeah, as you can see, I didn’t really change all that much with the first 13 books, though I did introduce a new one and axe an old one. Trust me, though, there’s plenty more I plan to change as time goes by, so I will see you all here next time when I look at the next 13 books I’d do for the New 52. Ja né!

Jyger’s Favourite 10?! – 10 Favourite Animated Women of All Time

Okay, same rules apply last time, only this time I’m looking at 10 of my all time favourite animated women. So let’s go ahead and kick this off with one I’m sure some were probably surprised wasn’t in the animated hotties list…

#1 – Wonder Woman from Justice League

Although I also count the 2009 movie version as tied with it, since they’re both different takes on the same character and are both AWESOME.

Wonder Woman from the 2009 Wonder Woman Movie

I don’t get why, given my love of dark-haired strong women, but I don’t feel physically attracted to Wonder Woman. Maybe it’s just because my love of the character in other ways just completely overwhelms that. She’s an inspiration among DC Superheroes, men and women, for her strength, honour, and compassion. What I don’t get is why that seems so hard for others to get. The worst example is the version that appeared in the pilot for the 2011 Wonder Woman series that, thank goodness, never came to fruition. Then again, as Lewis Lovhaug has brought up, she IS something of a walking contradiction at times, because while she IS the most compassionate and loving of the Justice League, if you wanna fight a war, you bring Wonder Woman. Still, if you want good examples of her, watch the 2009 movie or the Justice League cartoon.

#2 – Tish from The Weekenders

I know a lot of people really liked the show Recess, but I was always way more into The Weekenders, and Tish is easily my favourite part of the show. Intelligent, clever, witty, and also possessing the occasional hilarious quirk. I think my favourite is when she starts talking like cheesy old-school detectives for an entire weekend after having a marathon of detective movies…Just trust me, it’s funnier than I’m making it sound.

#3 – Yuki Nagato from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Yeah, kinda saw this coming, huh? What with the character N. Harmonik played on my show basically being Yuki. I really feel like they should’ve done a spin-off show that centres around her. I’ve already reviewed one of my favourite episodes of the show, which really helps to show just why Nagato is so awesome. In addition to that, while they technically aren’t in canon with either the show or the manga, I highly recommend watching the episodes of Haruhi-chan that centre around her. They are some of the funniest things I have EVER seen, and while she occasionally breaks out of her usual character, she mostly stays true to it just enough to make what she does in the show all the funnier.

#4 – Dawn from Pokémon

I’ve mentioned this before, but Dawn is easily my favourite of the female protagonists from the Pokémon anime. First off, she wasn’t really so much a tomboy like Misty or May were before her, which made her a bit more fresh a character to have around. She was also quite clever with her moves in Contests, and as I’ve brought up before, she acted as a bit of an inspiration for Ash, her Contest moves giving Ash ideas for tactics to use in battle. And when she was down in the dumps and on her losing streak, you genuinely felt bad for her. I think my favourite episodes of hers was when they went to Veilstone City and Dawn helped to bring Maylene out of her funk with a Gym Battle, then went on to cheer both Maylene and Ash in their battle the next episode.

#5 – Raven from Teen Titans

Like I said before, Raven was just pure awesomeness on Teen Titans. A lot of times she acted as a foil for Beast Boy and his repeated failed attempts at being funny, which honestly I found WAY funnier than anything Beast Boy ever did on his own. The dark nature of her powers and, in turn, her personality, made her unique on a team that was usually pretty bright and chipper. But as time went on, you really saw just how much her friends really mattered to her, to the point where her sort of heel turn was only done so that her friends would remain unharmed, and even then it was the love for her friends and their love for her that brought her back to good.

#6 – Cybersix from…well, Cybersix

Huh, I sense a number 6 theme. Anyway, Cybersix is just awesome in every way. I mean really, can you get much more badass than a super-heroine who leaps from building-tops, getting the drop on mutants in a kickass costume she stole from a prostitute?…Okay, that little bit wasn’t in the cartoon, just the comics. However, seeing as how they never addressed where it came from in the show, I therefore consider it to still be canon in the cartoon. Also, in a nice twist on the old-fashioned cunning disguise of a pair of hipster glasses, she also disguises herself as a man to hide her identity…so that she can spend more time with her love interest…Okay, suddenly this turned kinda stalkerish. lol

#7 – Rika Nonaka from Digimon

Rika played an interesting position on the Digimon Tamers team, as the one with all the attitude on previous teams (and every team since) was a boy. Yeah, she kind of had a more antagonistic relation to the team early on, but as time went by, she came to accept the fact that they were a team and that these were her friends. Also, she was the most adept at DigiModifying in battle, and unlike other female DigiDestined to come before her, her partner actually reached the Mega Level, though admittedly one other female DigiDestined has reached the same achievement, and two of Rika’s predecessors reached the Mega Level in the Digimon Adventure game for the PSP.

#8 – Sailor Mars from Sailor Moon

The most hot-tempered (and hot bodied, :3) of the Sailor Scouts, Sailor Mars is easily my favourite character of that show. Armed with the fire of Mars and the abilities of a Shinto priestess, Rei Hino served as the second-in-command of the team, and probably one of the more potent fighters of the group. As I mentioned before, she had a bit of an attitude problem early on in that she refused to acknowledge Serena as the leader, but put yourself in her shoes (which might be hard, considering I have NO idea how she runs and fights in those high heels, but whatever): You’re one of the strongest and most talented members of the team, and yet THIS klutz…

…is the leader. You don’t know why, you don’t know what she could’ve possibly done to deserve it, you’re just asked to accept it. Would YOU be okay with that? After the truth of Serena’s past as Princess of the Moon Kingdom was revealed, though, and more of Serena’s more compassionate side came out, Rei kinda chilled a little bit, and most of her issues with Serena afterwards was more friendly rivalry/teasing.

#9 – Akiza Izinski from Yugioh 5D’s

For me, Akiza is easily the greatest female character from the entirety of Yugioh. She has the sex appeal and raw Dueling talent of Mai Valentine and Alexis Rhodes, and when she realised that Yusei was trying to help her, she gained the appreciation for friendship of Téa Gardner without having to become a glorified cheerleader. She was also a Psychic Duelist, and could materialise Duel Monsters for real, an ability that saved their asses more than once. I do wish that she had gained an advanced Synchro Monster like Yusei and Jack did, but considering that by the end she was still able to kick some ass without one, she may not have needed it.

So yeah, yer thinking to yourself, “Go ahead, Jyger. We know who #10 is, so just get it over with”. Well, believe it or not, my last pick might just surprise you a bit…

#10 – Barbara Gordon from Batman: The Animated Series

Yes, I’ve gone on and on and on about how hot Poison Ivy is. However, the fact is, I find Barbara’s run throughout Batman: The Animated Series, as well as her role in Batman Beyond, to make her a bit more interesting character to follow. She started her run in the show as just Commissioner Gordon’s daughter and a love interest for Dick Grayson, which inevitably got her into trouble at times, but she eventually decided to don her own cape and cowl, becoming Batgirl. At first, Bruce and Dick weren’t all that pleased by her presence, but after a while, Bruce welcomed her onto the team, becoming Batman’s partner whenever Robin wasn’t available. At some point after the death of the Joker, she retired her position and became a cop, eventually rising to the same position her father had once held, which is admittedly very different from what became of her in the comics, but still makes sense from a storyline perspective. I like it. What I don’t like is the idea that her and Bruce were in a romantic relationship at some point…Ew…She was initially distrustful of Terry, AKA Batman Beyond, but after some time working together, they eventually came to have a similar relationship her father had once had with Batman in a sort of everything-old-is-new-again type of deal.

So that’s my 10 Favourite Animated Women of All Time. Now if you’re wondering why certain women aren’t on here, don’t worry, I plan to do a list of honourable mentions later, but for now, this is the list as it stands. Feel free to discuss below and also compile your own lists if you’d like. Ja né!

Jyger’s Favourite 5 – 5 Favourite Animated Hotties

…*sighs* Yes, I’m doing this, okay? And yes, I know I’m coming off as an objective pig here. Don’t worry, I plan to do my favourite animated women based on actual character later, but I DO gotta play to the male demographic here, so what can I do? Not to say that these women aren’t strong characters either, mind you, and most will likely end up on that list too…which will mean it’ll probably be more than 5. But before I get to this, I need to set some ground rules.

1. No hentai. So Reika Kitami is unfortunately out.
2. No anthropomorphics. Not because I personally have any kind of issue with it, I just don’t want to open the door to THAT little argument that never wants to frigging go away. lol
3. Only one entry per franchise. So if I pick someone from say Batman The Animated Series (and I did, lol), I can’t pick anyone else from it.
4. This is JUST MY LIST. I am not arguing with anyone else’s, it’s just my list. So don’t freak out if one of yours isn’t on here or if I don’t include any from other well-known lists, AKA Doug Walker’s.
5. For anyone who finds this particularly distasteful for any reason, TURN AWAY NOW. This is your only warning.

Anyway, with all that said, let’s go ahead and get the obvious one outta the way…

#1 – Poison Ivy from Batman: The Animated Series

I’m well aware that getting involved with this woman could be hazardous to my health, but I might just chance it, honestly. Now I should note that I’m referring to the version we saw before the big art change. I never really liked when they changed her skin green. And yeah, I know they did it in the comics, but I really liked how Ivy looked with normal looking skin (no racist jokes, you know what I mean, people).

#2 – Rei Hino, AKA Sailor Mars from Sailor Moon

As anyone who knows me personally can tell you, I have a MASSIVE weakness for women with dark hair. I also find myself hopelessly attracted to strong women. Put them together and you get Sailor Mars. OH MAN, do I love Sailor Mars. Yeah, she was kind of a dick in the early episodes, but to be fair, Serena was kind of a screw up and a ditz, and it must’ve been hard to accept her as a leader, but she eventually did and mellowed out a bit.

#3 – Raven from Teen Titans

Yeah, I know a lot of people prefer Starfire, but I was more a Raven kind of guy. Her sarcasm, her dark nature, and honestly, I found her to be kind of hot too. She also seemed kind of lonely at times, like no one really understood her, which on at least one occasion caused trouble for her. Oh, and I would just like to note that unlike the comics, Raven only turned heel one time in the show, and even then not really.

#4 – Akiza from Yugioh 5D’s

Beware the coming of the uber boob! XD Seriously, I suspect the real reason Bonds Beyond Time didn’t feature all three casts interacting was because they couldn’t risk putting Akiza and Mai Valentine in the same shot for fear it would cause the big screen to implode. I think probably my favourite episode of the show is when Akiza decides for herself that she wants to be a Turbo Duelist as well and really struggles to make it happen. It took a lot of guts…as well as a skin tight leather riding suit that made her cleavage look ginormous. Y’know, for kids. lol

#5 – Elisa Maza from Gargoyles

Like I said, I find myself hopelessly attracted to strong women… … …She’s a cop! And not just a cop in any ol’ city, she’s with the NYPD in a universe filled with all manners of terrifying threats. That requires some serious inner strength to deal with, and we see her get taken to the limits of that inner strength more than once.

So, that’s my list for my favourite animated hotties, but we’re not done yet my friends. Check in next time when I reveal my 10 Favourite Animated Women of All Time! Ja né!

20,000+ Views!!! + Raven’s New Clothes

So, two things I wanted to talk about. First, I have surpassed 20,000 views on my blog, which is AWESOME. 20,000 views in just a little under 2 years, I feel very good about that, and I’m hoping for 30,000 by Year 3 here. ^_^

Second, I was on Twitter earlier, when I noticed Linkara talking about Raven in the New 52. Now, the last time I saw Raven was in The Phantom Stranger #1 (Spoilers: IT SUCKED) wherein the Phantom Stranger actually DELIVERED Raven to Trigon in a move that royally pissed me off. Now I come to understand that since then, she’s been indoctrinated or whatever and is evil again. Great. Oh, and she’s wearing a new costume too, which apparently people are really pissed off about, though personally, I side more with Lewis in that I’m more irritated by her being evil for the millionth time. But since I know people might be interested and didn’t see the début of her new look in Teen Titans #16, here it is…

Raven in the New 52

…Okay, I will say a couple of things in this costume’s defence. The first is that it’s not really so much a horrible costume so much as it is horrible for Raven and her character, especially when compared to previous costumes she’s worn. The other thing I’ll say is, at least it’s not nearly as bad as a certain other costume change from a certain other heel turn of hers…

… … …Y’know, no matter how many times I look at that, I still slap myself in the forehead and go “What the fuck were they thinking with that?!” But you wanna know what the saddest part of the new costume she’s wearing? She still manages to look more dignified than certain other former Titans…

Starfire in the New 52

…I’m Jyger85, and I miss when the Titans were fun. Ja né.

What I’d Do With New 52 – Part 03: The Current Characters

Okay, these are just touching on a few characters already present in The New 52 that need some tweaking. And since I’ve already gone to great lengths talking about what’s wrong or what I’d change about them, no Red Hood, Starfire, Power Girl, or Superman here. So let’s begin with a character that has had some serious downs as of late, Wonder Woman.

Wonder Woman

Problem: Okay, as I mentioned before, I like how Wonder Woman’s new incarnation worked in Justice League: Origin. It’s not the greatest interpretation of Wonder Woman ever by far, I personally would suggest that honour goes to Gail Simone‘s. However, I should note that I don’t read her solo title, where her origins have been retconned so that she’s actually Zeus‘ bastard and the Amazons were made into pirates and rapists. I honestly didn’t think anything could ruin Diana‘s mythos anymore than Amazons Attack, but there ya go. Also, since Origin, Wonder Woman has gotten into a relationship with Superman. And honestly, I wouldn’t mind that so much, if not for the fact that they way they’re writing her now has her being just Superman’s girlfriend, and that is WRONG.

Solution: Well first off, I wouldn’t make the changes to Wonder Woman’s or the Amazons’ backstories. It just raises too many questions. However, even with the changes in place, one thing I’d do is that I’d put Gail Simone back on as writer for Wonder Woman, or at least co-writer. As for the relationship with Superman, I’m just gonna say this: They have to be EQUALS for this to work. And I’m sorry, you can make whatever argument you want, but they have not been written as equals in this relationship since it started.

Lincoln March

Problem: Okay, admittedly this isn’t so much a problem as it is me saying what needs to happen with Lincoln March for whenever he comes back…

Solution: Keep it ambiguous as to whether Lincoln March is really Bruce’s brother or not. Don’t answer the question. It works a lot better as a mystery, and plus it makes the antagonistic relationship between him and Batman all the more unique.

The Teen Titans (and The Ravagers)

Problem: The Titans of the New 52 just seem too dark and gritty. And maybe my opinion is coloured by having my first exposure to the group being the animated series, but I have have read Titans comics since, and I gotta say, this seems a bit too big of a change. I don’t so much mind the new members, but can we have some of the fun back please? Also, this bares repeating, while I haven’t read the Ravagers and might be way off here, every image I’ve seen of Beast Boy since the Ravagers started has depicted him as being really angry. Again, I prefer him as being green, but at least having him be red due to his powers coming from The Red makes sense. But the angry thing really needs to go.

Solution: Okay, I’ve mentioned this before, but the Titans and the Ravagers need to be made into a single group, or two sub-groups of the same faction with some members changed up. That way they can have a more upbeat and positive group of Titans and the dark and gritty group of Titans  that DC seems obsessed with having. Also, I’d have Beast Boy go back to being a bit more happy. Maybe through a series of events he finds himself being able to be more laid back. Oh, and one other thing, I’D BRING BACK TITANS TOWER!

Alfred Pennyworth

Problem: It looks like they’re gonna kill Alfred. If I had all day, I still wouldn’t be able to list the number of reasons that’s a bad idea.

Solution: Don’t kill Alfred…Either that, or have him return as a hologram in the Batcave. Because as silly as that would be, it would also be admittedly awesome. ^_^

Harper Row

Problem: Okay, this is kinda weird, since I actually like Harper Row as a character a lot, but I do have a single problem with what they’re doing with her, and that’s that the seem to be planning to make her Oracle.

Solution: Don’t make Harper Row Oracle. Oracle-like works, in fact it works a lot. But don’t make her Oracle.

Arsenal

Problem: Hey, I only said I wouldn’t talk about Red Hood or Starfire, I didn’t say anything about the other third of their group, and really, I haven’t talked much about Arsenal in the past, so I guess here’s my chance to. Put bluntly, Roy Harper is a character that has lost a LOT since even before the reboot. While I don’t necessarily mind the current version too much, minus that stupid fucking hat he wears, I feel that he has a lot more uniqueness as a character when he was someone who had conquered drug addictions and was caring for a child he’d fathered with a villainess, all the while being one of the Titans and later even the Justice League’s best. Cry For Justice and then Rise of Arsenal took that away from him, and now the reboot has made it so they never happened at all. Nowadays, he’s more the comic relief guy on the Outlaws that never shuts up, and while I don’t necessarily mind him all that much, it’s possible that’s just because Jason Todd and Kori being present make him seem not quite as bad as he should.

Solution: Obviously, because Roy apparently never had sex with Cheshire (in fact, I’m uncertain as to whether she even exists in the New 52), bringing back Lian would be problematic at best. However, I did think of a way to have the character appear for a short time: The Multiverse. Basically, do a storyline where Roy encounters a version of himself that’s loosely based on pre-Cry For Justice Red Arrow and have him interacting with him and Lian and change into a more positive character as a result, maybe even becoming Red Arrow. Also, lose the fucking hat, Roy. You look like a twit.

And those are my thoughts on the characters currently in the New 52, which I’m pretty sure covers all I had in mind for what I’d do so far, but if I come up with anything more, I’ll blog about it. Ja né!

What I’d Do With New 52 – Part 02: The Titles

So yeah, continuing on with what I would personally do with the New 52, here’s what I would change regarding the line-up of titles itself. And to start off, let’s go with something near and dear to my heart: The Batman titles.

They’re multiplying!!!

Problem: If I had one complaint about the Batman titles, it’s that Batman is frigging EVERYWHERE. Scott Snyder‘s Batman, Detective Comics, Batman: The Dark Knight, Batman & Robin, Batman Incorporated, Justice League and the now cancelled Justice League International. He also frequently cameos in Catwoman and Nightwing, and has on occasion cameoed in Batgirl, Batwoman, Red Hood and the Outlaws, Teen Titans, and Action Comics. Now the reason why this frustrates me is two-fold: 1) It creates a chronological mess. Basically, I have no idea which comics occur when. They can’t possibly all be happening at once, because Batman would need to be everywhere at the same time. 2) Having Batman be star in seven books (granted two are team books and he’s not THE star of those books) makes it hard for other characters to get a good run.

Solution: First off, cancel Batman: The Dark Knight. That comic kinda pisses me off for the insane, nonsensical, and on occasion even outright lying to the audience (I’m looking at you issue 9) stories that occur there, and frankly they can be told much better elsewhere. As far as Detective Comics and Scott Snyder’s Batman is concerned, I’d do one of two things: Either make Scott Snyder’s Batman into Detective Comics, OR give Detective Comics to a different character, possibly Tim Drake or The Question. Actually, regardless of that, Tim Drake DOES need a comic of his own.

Didn’t he used to be a lot more green?

Problem: Maybe it’s my imagination, but there seems to be a LOT of red on the superheroes lately. Nightwing turned red, Beast Boy turned red, the Red Lanterns have a book, and red seems to be the predominant colour for a lot of teams like the Justice League, Red Hood and the Outlaws, and the Teen Titans. Now admittedly, Beast Boy turning red makes SOME sense since he gets his powers from The Red, but I still miss when he was green.

Solution: Give Nightwing back his old blue costume and give the team books a more varied look as far as their colour schemes go. Like, for as many complaints as I’ve heard about JLI, at least the team had members of varying powers and colours.

…Why are they still their own team?

Problem: I haven’t really been reading Teen Titans or Ravagers, other than Issue 0 of Titans which I’ll get into at another time. So really, I can’t point out anything really wrong with the books, other than one thing: Why do they both exist as individual books? Why aren’t they the same title? Two members of the Ravagers were Titans prior to the relaunch, two are based on former Titans, and their story spawns from an incident in the Teen Titans book, why not just have them be one mega team?

Solution: Have a story arc where the Ravagers join the Titans, then cancel their book and just have them be in Titans. Also, can we please let BB chillax a bit? Again, haven’t read the books, but every image I see of him lately shows him being really pissed off and feral looking.

This comic SUCKS!!!

Problem: Again, read my former rants regarding Starfire, Red Hood, Arsenal, and this fucking book.

Solution: I WOULD say cancel it and pretend like it never happened, but I think I actually have a better idea, one that at least attempts to DO something with this. Wrap up this storyline involving the Untitled and have the inevitable confrontation between Jason, Kori, and Dick, THEN cancel the book, and then have the team either split with Starfire regaining her memories and rejoining Nightwing or the Titans, OR have the team become antagonists for the Teen Titans and Nightwing. Possibly even Green Arrow (‘cuz of Arsenal’s past with him). Either one works, just do one or the other ASAP.

Superman, Superman, does whatever a Kryptonian can…

Problem: Well really, I’ve got two problems. The first is similar to my issue with Batman in that Superman is in Action Comics, the Superman comics, Justice League, Scott Snyder’s upcoming Superman title, and has cameoed in Supergirl, Batman: Detective Comics, and Red Hood and the Outlaws (WHYYYYY?!?!). Now the cameos in Supergirl are fine, and I understand that Action Comics originally told Superman’s new origins while the Superman comics told what he’s doing now, but the origin’s been told, so why are there still the two books? I don’t get it. The other thing that bothers me a lot is the changes to his attitude, his personality, how they’ve retconned his marriage to Lois (which I’ll get to later), and how they’ve essentially turned Clark Kent into Peter Parker. It’s actually to the point that I’m concerned that even Snyder can’t save him.

Solution: Well, if anyone can save him, it’s Scott Snyder. However, more than that, they really need to re-establish Superman’s roots. What do I mean by that? Well, basically I mean what Linkara said about him once, that despite coming from another planet, which they’ve pretty much beat into our heads over and over lately that he’s an alien (like we didn’t know it already), at his core he is truly the most HUMAN superhero of all, that he embodies the best that humanity has to offer as was taught to him by his adoptive parents that raised him. Also, seeing as how Action Comics and the Superman comic are now telling stories around the same time period, either cancel Superman and just have the upcoming Snyder title and Action Comics, or give Action Comics to someone else. There must be SOMEONE that can carry their own title that they could give Action Comics to. Heck, the DCnU version of Steel appeared in Action Comics early on, let him give it a try.

Related articles

• NYCC 2012: Scott Snyder & Jim Lee to Launch a New SUPERMAN Series For 2013 (ifanboy.com)

Anyway, that’s all for now. Next time, I take a look at some of the characters already in the DCnU and what needs to possibly change about some of them. Ja né!