Tag Archives: Kryptonite

TOP 20 BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES EPISODES!

Posted by ErikSlader on

With another new animated Batman series in the works (Batman: The Caped Crusader), we figured it would be a great time to revisit the classic that has stood the test of time and remains to this day one of the absolute best superhero cartoons to date!

Created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, “Batman: The Animated Series” first premiered in 1992 and lasted 4 seasons (including “The New Batman Adventures”), spinning off into several other animated series throughout the 90’s and early 2000’s – Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Static Shock, Justice League, Justice League: Unlimited, and Young Justice! Inspired by the style of the 1941 Fleischer Superman cartoons, the 90’s Batman series was a dark and faithful adaptation.

Batman: The Animated Series is, in my humble opinion, the absolute best version of Batman to date. Sure, the Tim Burton movies are great, Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy is a masterpiece of cinema, and the Arkham games are a lot of fun, but nothing has really captured the magic of the old school Batman comics quite the way that this show did. Not only did Bruce Timm and Paul Dini draw heavily from the source material, in some cases they streamlined and improved on some of the classic storylines and characters from the comics!

Unlike the campy Adam West series from the 60’s, this one took a darker and grittier look at Gotham, while still retaining the fun elements. Further, the voice talent on this series is incredible, including but not limited to Kevin Conroy as Batman / Bruce Wayne and of course, Mark Hamill as The Joker! And to top it off, the show was actually geared towards adults, while still being appropriate for kids, which is not an easy task.

The following list is 100% up for debate, so feel free to yell at me on Twitter @ErikSlader!

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The Superman Movies! (part one)

Posted by ErikSlader on

Superman 1978

The first, and greatest, super hero, Superman has had a rather mixed bag when it comes to adaptations of his comic book adventures. There have been numerous television shows, radio serials, animated series, animated movies, video games, and live action movies, more of which were either just ok or straight up bad than good.

Superman actorsWhat is it about the big, blue boy scout that leads to so much crap?

You would think the elements that have been in place for 75 years now would be easy to adapt to the big screen, or the small screen. It’s not like there aren’t literally hundreds of pre-made stories in his publication history that are begging to be filmed and thrown on the screen, yet time and time again people think they can ‘improve’ upon the man of steel and his epically large library of awesomeness, and time and time again they fail miserably.

That’s not to say there haven’t been some success stories… “Superman: The Movie” was a high point, as were the Bruce Timm animated series and his representation in that same universe’s “Justice League” and “Justice League Unlimited”, as well as a handful of direct to DVD animated movies that did well. Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel” may have divided some fans on its quality, but both Erik and I will go to our graves defending it.

Man of Steel

But for each of those, there are Superman 3, Superman Returns, Lois and Clark, most seasons of Smallville and the dreaded Superman 64! It’s curious. And as bad as those are, you wouldn’t believe some of the utter shit that almost got made. (6 Terrible Superman movies, you won’t believe almost happened!)

For now, just to keep things relatively simple Erik and I are skipping 1951’s “Superman vs the Mole Men” and are only going to discuss the live action feature films, starting with…

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The Not-So Great Debate vol 3- Lex Luthor v Dr. Doom

Posted by comiczombie on

Here we go again…

Dr. Doom vs Lex Luthor

Both Marvel and DC Comics are chock-full of twisted, evil, monstrous villains. Some are unbeatable killing machines, some are twisted serial killers, some are mad scientists, some freaks of nature, and some are cosmic level baddasses. But each company has one dude that is kind of all of those things, and then some. For DC Comics it is undoubtedly Lex Luthor; Superman’s greatest foe, one of the richest and smartest men in the world, completely ruthless, and utterly brilliant, he routinely goes up against Superman AND the Justice League and still lives to tell about it. For Marvel, it has to be Victor Von Doom; one of the smartest men on the planet, has his own kingdom, and has the 2nd most badass suit of armor in the world (behind Iron Man) and is the 2nd most powerful sorcerer in the world (behind Dr. Strange), he routinely goes up against the likes of the Avengers, Iron Man, Dr. Strange, and of course the Fantastic Four, and the dude is still standing strong.

Both are total, unquestionable badasses, but which one is better? Is it Luthor, with his chrome dome head, xenophobia, and suit of armor with the Simon (from Milton Bradley!) chest plate? Or is it Dr. Doom, with his gross face and his penchant for being beaten up by a walking, talking pile of rocks? Let’s begin!

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