FJ
fjur
2023-02-12 00:43 UTC
#1
How absurdly ironic is the title of this film for Sentinels fans? XD
How absurdly ironic is the title of this film for Sentinels fans? XD
Ooohh, is this one of those analogy problems?
Superman: Legacy :: Aquaman: ________
(Don’t say Tempest, Mac deserves better than that.)
Inspired by All Star Superman? I am cautiously optimistic. Then again I’ll be surprised if any such year as 2025 ever dawns at the rate we’re going.
I mean, Superman is to Legacy as Aquaman is to Haka, as long as we’re talking about the ‘Batman: the Brave and the Bold’ version, as voiced by John DiMaggio.
I usually use Tempest: Storm as far as power set when giving newbies a character choice for DE. Imperfect comparison, but then again so is Haka: Hulk. Kinda like Maui from Moana - big bruiser Maori demigod, but also very wise and kind.
Wraith: Batman
Tachyon: Flash
Absolute Zero: Iceman wearing Mr. Freeze’s suit
Whatever gets us into the game faster. Choices take longer as more expansions release. It’s both a blessing and a curse.
Along the lines of this thread, how do you all explain Sentinel Comics to someone with only a cursory knowledge of Marvel/DC and get them excited to play as a superhero?
And to the point of the original post, who’s everyone’s pick for Supes now since Cavill is out? The community pretty well covered Legacy and other casting way back in an old Letters Page episode.
Which Aquaman? If we’re talking the Superfriends version? Sure. If we’re talking the Justice League and JLU version? That’s a different story. (“[character’s] grave has been disturbed.” “Find who is responsible, then dig more graves.”)
Joking aside, I would equate Aquaman with either Ra or Haka, leaning more on the “secondary bruiser” or “heir to ancient power” side.
I also use Haka = Hulk when introducing new players to him, especially if they ask to just punch stuff. It’s not fair (see C&A’s answer to the “Haka smash?” question), but the power sets line up… kinda.
I think describing Haka as a mix of Hulk, Highlander, and Maui from Moana is a succinct way of getting the point across.
Never seen Highlander, but that’s an interesting comparison. There can be only one… Per universe… And no more than two total. It’s also kind of similar to the Will Smith movie Hancock.
That’s actually not where I was going with the Highlander thing. I was thinking less of the movie, about Connor MacLeod and the Kurgan hunting each other in modern California, than of the TV show, where Duncan MacLeod continually re-encounters other immortals in the present day, has flashbacks to his previous history with them, and then ends up taking their heads in the episode climax. If there was a Haka TV show, I would want it to have similar period pieces as close to half of the scenes. I’m sure there are other shows that are set partially in the past like Highlander, but I couldn’t think of any.
I could see a TV show with Haka and the Scholar with that sort of format, showing how history affects the present day, even without the immortals in question. Maybe have a certain dragon and Biomancer show up as recurring villains.
And according to that episode, they wanted some guy named Travis Willingham to voice Legacy, who I’ve never heard of but has apparently voiced Marvel’s Thor several times. Anyone think he’d make a good Kal-El? I don’t have enough actor knowledge to hazard any candidates myself.
That would be awesome. Hermetic, Blood Countess, GloomWeaver, and Akash would also be possible villains, and they could also interact with the Legacies and Virtuosos of the past.
I think that Marvel’s Hercules is definitely a better comparison to Haka than the Hulk, as they’re both super-strong immortal warriors, and Hercules is definitely wiser and kinder than Hulk (which isn’t much of an accomplishment, but still). Heck, even Thor is more Haka-esque than Hulk is, save for the hammer and weather bits. Of course, Ra = Thor is a stronger comparison than Haka = Thor, though.
Tempest definitely doesn’t share many traits with Aquaman. Instead, I think M’kk = the Martian Manhunter with Storm’s powers.
Aquaman’s tough, because his defining qualities to me are his leadership and responsibility. So, actually, I think the closest match would be Tempest, not for the aquatic reasons, but for both being leaders of small superpowered societies. (Atlantis for Aquaman, Plavu’Col for Tempest.)
Sky-Scraper = Ant Man / Giant Man / Goliath if he was a Skrull
Tachyon = Mr. Fantastic with the Flash’s powers
I could see Absolute Zero also being compared to Iron Man, 'cause didn’t he need his suit to stay alive in the '60s? Of course Mr. Freeze is the better match, though.
Bunker = Steel + Captain Atom. I know, there are probably some closer characters, but those were the only power suit and soldier heroes that I could think of (save Iron Man).
The Scholar = Green Lantern (Alan Scott) and/or the Phantom Stranger
The Argent Adept = Doctor Fate and/or Doctor Strange
NightMist = Constantine
Mainstay = Lobo + the Thing, but nicer than them both
I think 1960s Iron Man only made the suit to get away from the vague Asian communists who had captured him (it was a little early for Vietnam but far too late for Korea, so they were either proto VC at the very beginning of tensions in that area, or they were just generic “yellow devil” adversaries, I forget the exact setup). Him needing the suit to stay alive was a much later development, I’m almost certain.
It’s hard to even remember a pre-2008 Iron Man, isn’t it? It’s like trying to think about Batman before the Tim Burton movie.
Personally, I think Brandon Routh is still young enough to do it. Though could also do later stories with a more experienced Supes, too. CW’s take on Crisis showed that whatever hate Superman Returns deserves, he’s not part of it.
War Machine: Bunker, for the active military soldier angle?
Interesting that you didn’t go with the obvious Captain Cosmic: Green Lantern, especially since Hugh and Nigel are just color swapped GL and Sinestro.
I would equate Scholar more with Dr. Fate, especially the mentorly role in the Black Adam movie. Philosopher’s Stone = Helmet of Nabu, as the source of power
I don’t know where that leaves Argent Adept though.
I always equate Argent to early Scarlet Witch, where her “hex bolts” were just minor localized probability fluctuations which she couldn’t really control. The way Argent mostly tells other heroes to do a thing instead of doing a thing himself feels very similar imo.
Also if you examine the original Bunker deck from 2011 very closely while also being intimately familiar with the 2008 Iron Man movie, it’s extremely obvious that the Bunker suit is the mark 1 Iron Man suit. External Combustion really gives it away… it’s a one shot because it’s not something he can do regularly, but there’s the one scene in the film where Tony turns on the rocket boots and flies away from the giant fireball where the Ten Rings base used to be… it’s that. It’s just that in Sentinel Comics that much less sleek and futuristic Bunker suit stayed iconic, like Superman, so he never got the overhaul that Tony Stark did. If you imagine Tony having remained in the original gold Iron Man suit ever since the sixties, Bunker is basically that. He’s had upgraded looks, just as Superman has, but they never stuck.
My statement above was based on my memory of reading an issue of an Iron Man comic where I’m almost certain he needed the suit to stay alive… Yep, here it is: Tales of Suspense Vol. 1, #60 (1964). Quoth the issue’s synopsis from Marvel Database:
After his fight against the Black Knight, Tony Stark wakes up from a nightmare, and remembers that he can’t take his armor off, because he requires the extra power from its belt pods to keep his heart beating.
So, it appears that we are both somewhat correct; Stark didn’t need the suit all the time (unlike AZ), but did sometimes?
I’m also reminded of the fact that Iron Man was Tony Stark’s bodyguard during that time, somehow.
Good choice! Judging by his performances as the Atom in the CW’s Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow, I definitely think he could pull it off.
Well, yes, the reason I didn’t mention that was because it’s so incredibly apparent. I wonder if there’s a pair of brothers, one of whom is a super hero while the other is a villain, in another comic companies? I would imagine that there is, but I can’t think of any.
I haven’t seen Black Adam; my main experience with the character is the 1940s Justice Society of America book, in which he seemed about as inscrutable and standoffish as AA. My reason for comparing the Scholar to the Phantom Stranger is that they both show up in big crossovers to render aid, but rarely have their own solo stories. And my reasoning behind Alan Scott is that they’re both elderly heroes who act as mentors to younger ones, and gain their powers from mystic artefacts (Alan’s ring, the Scholar’s Philosopher’s Stone). Jay Garrick (The Flash) also fills that mentorly role, but his powers are less of a match than GL’s.
True, they are similar in effect, but not really conceptually. I’d say that the Scarlet Witch’s (and Quicksilver’s) closest thematic analogue would be Expatriette, just for the being-children-of-superhuman-supremacists reasons, although I’d say that the Scarlet Witch’s closest analogue powers-wise is of course Kismet. (And Quicksilver’s is Tachyon, but that goes without saying.)
Also, I just thought of another one:
Fanatic = the Spectre with a sword
Somewhat on topic, but while we’re discussing Shmetective Comics Comics, I just saw the trailer for the upcoming Flash movie…and I’m not impressed. Looks like they’re still trying to ride Man of Steel’s coattails, as if anything about that movie was good. C’mon, DC, where’s our damn Cyborg movie?
Haven’t seen the trailer, but I get the impression they’re pushing Keaton’s Batman hard to make us forget about all the trouble Ezra Miller has been in. Kind of a shame something like this will still come out just cause they know it’ll make money regardless, but they canned Batgirl when it was pretty much done and wouldn’t even give it a chance.
I’ll probably still watch The Flash, but don’t know that I’ll rush to the theater for it. I can wait for HBO Max like I did with Black Adam.
Was black Adam okay? I really wanted to go to it but there was like no fanfare when it came out.
I liked it. It was fun, and embraced the gonzo, over-the-top nature of a lot of DC stuff. Aquaman and Shazam did the same, to their benefit.
I think I can safely say it was okay. Not mind blowing by any means, but not like Morbius where I gave it a shot and abandoned partway through. Probably worth a watch for DC fans if you can catch it on streaming/ borrow a DVD from library. Don’t know that I’d pay any more money to watch it. Best character IMO was Brosnan’s Dr. Fate. Hawkman was a decent portrayal too.
Back to the new Superman casting, has someone already mentioned Tyler Hoechlin, the CW’s current Superman? He’s plays a really good Clark Kent, and pretty good Kal-El too. Probably not likely to make the jump from small screen to large though, even if Brandon Routh did the reverse.
Personally, I don’t think I’d be too excited for a film starring any of the Teen Titans. If no one minds me sharing, here are some DC films I’d like to see made:
And yes, I know that this is all just a bunch of wishful thinking.
Huh, I didn’t know that those characters were in that film. Is the Justice Society or other members of it mentioned or shown?
I haven’t seen Superman & Lois, but from his other appearances I totally agree that Hoechlin would make a good Superman.
Yeah, Atom Smasher and Cyclone too. Some relation to The Atom and Red Cyclone in the comics, but I don’t recall exactly how it’s addressed in the movie. The first part is basically their version of a JSA foursome vs. rampaging reawakened Black Adam.
I’m guessing you didn’t see the Justice League movie. Cyborg has long since transcended being a Teen Titans character, and is now considered core JLA. The movie has issues, but the actor portraying Cyborg did an absolutely excellent job, very much on par with Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman.
There is one very specific take on the Legion which I like… I really need to figure out how to unambiguously identify it, but I’m sure it’s not the one with Superboy involved, so let’s agree to disagree.
This could pretty much only be done justice to in some sort of cartoon, but it could work. In this case I can one hundred percent point to my preferred take on these characters: Final Crisis. It’s the only story in which the New Gods actually feel godlike…Darkseid is a legitimately Satanic figure, and the superheroes have no idea at first how to deal with this kind of spiritual or extraplanar force that’s conquering the world by possessing people and rewriting scientific laws. It’d be super hard to do a movie or TV show about this, but I’d be incredibly happy if they managed to pull it off.
I actually kinda like that film in spite of its many flaws, but I think if you were to get the people who did Arrow to include a very low-budget but very smartly written take on GL…as cool as the powers are, they’re obviously too expensive to be practical. So rather than blowing the whole budget to make him look cool, you really pull him back so that he and Ollie are on the same general level. The result might resemble the fourth and eighth Star Trek movies, with GL as Captain Kirk or Picard, stranded in the past but filled with the certain knowledge of a better and larger world being possible, while GA takes the role of the woman from the 20th or 21st century, very street savvy and grounded in the problems of the now. Hal has to make things work without most of the tools he’s used to relying on, but Ollie is trapped in his small scale perspective and can’t see the possibility that things can actually change. I definitely think there’s some good story templates here.
No, I did see Justice League, and yeah, I know that Cyborg’s one of the founders of the JLA in the New 52 continuity. I’m aware of his status, I just don’t really have any reason to like the character. (No offence intended to any who are fans of Cyborg, of course.) I don’t really dislike the character, even, I simply haven’t found any reason to like him. Also, this isn’t a criticism against his actor in Justice League by any means; I have no qualms with his performance.
Superboy is certainly not necessary for the Legion, in my opinion. I’ve read plenty of great stories without him present, and I think I’d enjoy a film about the LSH about equally regardless of his presence. I simply mentioned his involvement because he is traditionally a central character, although certainly not a required one.
I haven’t read Final Crisis, but I’ll take your word for it. The one thing that I’d definitely want in such a thing is a good fight betwixt Orion and Darkseid. (Of course, I’ve no idea whether Orion’s even in Final Crisis, but still.)
Me too! I thought it was average at worst.
Very much agreed. The two characters have a lot of cool dichotomies.
I found the version of LSH that I like: Legion of Super-Heroes TPB (2005-2006 DC) By Mark Waid comic books It’s by Mark Waid, he does a really good (not ideal, but extremely above-average) job of creating this self-contained world of a dystopian future where the superhero ideal is a teenage counterculture, encouraging not only individuality but an embrace of the unique abilities these people gain from their alien biologies. It’s quite well-presented, with a huge two-page spread at the opening of the volume that very efficiently tells you who and what all these characters are. My favorite character of course is Dream Girl, who could basically replace Bruce Wayne in the often-quoted exchange with Flash in Justice League: “What’s your superpower?” “I’m rich!”
He is in there, but I don’t think you get your wish: Final Crisis - Wikipedia
" Following the trail of a group of missing child prodigies, detective Dan Turpin discovers the dying body of Darkseid’s son, Orion. … The Silver Age Flash is resurrected from within the Speed Force by powers unknown and races back in time alongside Wally West in an attempt to outrun the Black Racer and stop the bullet that will kill Orion. … The two Flashes, having failed to prevent Orion’s death, emerge from the time stream one month after the equation’s release and discover that the minds of nearly the entire population have fallen under Darkseid’s control, with its super-human victims having been transformed into a military force of “Justifiers”."
(I swear I didn’t remember that last bit…)
I wouldn’t go that far…it was most definitely a poorly plotted, written and acted film, but the special effects were really good IMO, and while I think Ryan Reynolds was badly miscast in this role, he didn’t do too bad of a job. The real failures IMO were the reduction of Parallax to a fairly uninteresting kaiju-esque monster, instead of the psychological tormentor he should have been, and the thoroughly baffling decision to make Hector Hammond a villain who spends the entire film screaming in terror and pain. The interpretation of Hal Jordan as a much more flawed and crappy character is also not to my taste, but I can at least understand why they did it that way, as even today it’s very difficult to get audiences to accept a classically square-jawed superhero with no subversions or deconstructions.
Well, that’s disappointing. : ( I’m pretty sure that Kirby wanted the Fourth World’s final battle to be betwixt Darkseid and Orion, although I’m unsure if he got to do that with his original run of the books (as I’m in the middle of reading a reprint collection of them), but if not, I think it would be nice for his wish to be honoured. Of course, this being comics, there’s likely never going to be a “final battle” for a character as big as Darkseid.
Gasp! @The_Justifier has accidentally revealed his own secret identity as a minion of Darkseid!
True, the villain choices were somewhat odd. Yeah, I don’t know why they decided to have Parallax as the first movie’s villain, as it seems more like something you’d save for a later, more epic crossover-y one. Honestly, I think a better version of Hammond would just be an adaptation of (one of?) his first appearance in the Silver Age where he steals GL’s ring and Hal has to outsmart him to get it back.
Yeah, I agree on all points.
One year later and mostly due to some ad-bot using necromancy on the thread, I’d nominate the Fatal Five versus whatever mix of five Legion members you prefer for a first film/series, perhaps with a time travel plot that temporarily erases the rest of the Legion and needs fixing. If Superboy shows up at all it’s to get taken out of action by the Five to establish them as truly dangerous. There’s literally an old comic issue that uses that as a plot, although it’d need quite a bit of work for modern audiences. You could have the Time Trapper show up post-credits as the Bigger Big Bad behind the Five.
Really want to start with something relatively simple to introduce the Legion instead of throwing everything you can at the audience unless you’re trying for a cruel parody/deconstruction, which I’d just as soon not see happen.