Thenerdsofcolor.org

Color Commentary: 45 and the New Regime

2017-03-04

Color Commentary returns and for this special installment, we’re taking on the new regime that is the Trump Administration and the corrupt society that made it a reality.

Because let’s be honest, these days reality requires more suspension of disbelief than fantasy does.

Warning: The following post contains explicit depictions of white hoods and white capes being snatched.

Viewer discretion is advised.

Onto the read. The library is now open, you can call me Rupert Giles.


https://twitter.com/the_real_chow/status/465688399991418880
Back in 2004, when the first drips and drabs of information from Christopher Nolan’s mysterious Batman movie started to leak, we had no idea what to expect. Though I was able to get my hands on a <a href="http://www.nolanfans.com/library/pdf/batmanbegins-screenplay.pdf" target="_blank">leaked pdf of the script</a> — which I subsequently read in one sitting — there were aspects of the film that were still open to interpretation. What would Batman sound like or look like? What the hell is a tumbler? What would Christian Bale look like in costume? Remember, like Snyder’s Batfleck photo, our first look at Bale in costume was similarly shrouded in shadow and mystery.
<a href=><img class="aligncenter" src= alt="" width="410" height="223" /></a>
Also like the Affleck reveal, when we first glimpsed the redesigned Nolan suit, you had the same detractors and supporters that you see today. Back then, though, there wasn’t that high a bar to jump to get the fans on your side. This was rebooting the franchise that Batman & Robin sunk, after all. Having the guy who directed Memento and Insomnia meant Warner Brothers was taking Batman back to basics, but no one knew how we were getting there. Then this teaser hit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ohiQ6cLRsE
That thing gives me chills to this day. <a href="https://thenerdsofcolor.wordpress.com/2014/05/07/is-a-world-without-batman-must-see-tv/" target="_blank">No trailer since</a> has nailed the tone and atmosphere in quite the same way. From Bale’s monologue to the haunting music to the rusted Bat logo emerging from the darkness, this trailer promised a cinematic Batman experience unlike any that had come before. We may take the Nolan trilogy for granted now, but these first images — and the anticipation behind seeing a bold, new take on Batman — were revelatory.
Anyway, here’s what I tweeted out while watching Batman Begins the other night. Hope this will hold you over until we get more info on the next incarnation of Batman. Until then, if you’re so inclined, you can follow me on twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/the_real_chow" target="_blank">@the_real_chow </a>(that is if you don’t mind occasional tweets about NBA games and other sundry nonsense).
<a href="http://www.metacafe.com/watch/an-1bLv2mn42hbmnu/batman_begins_2005_honest_cop/"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://www.bellazon.com/main/uploads/monthly_09_2012/post-40981-0-98485700-1347509930.png" alt="" width="720" height="304" /></a>
https://twitter.com/the_real_chow/status/465689453055709184
<img class="aligncenter" src="http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121008203006/batman/images/6/67/Bb_microwave_emitter.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="564" />
https://twitter.com/the_real_chow/status/465690177738772480
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tijtbm9qKgQ]
https://twitter.com/the_real_chow/status/465690673367117825
https://twitter.com/the_real_chow/status/465691991502635008
<img class="aligncenter" src="http://static.fjcdn.com/pictures/House+Wayne.+This+is+Joffrey+no+wonder+he+is+such_050fb1_3706152.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="600" />
https://twitter.com/the_real_chow/status/465692595562115072
For what it’s worth, I always thought it would make more sense for Batman to give him a batarang or something that, ya know, screams “Batman.” Because if li’l Joffrey brings that hi-tech scope to school, not only will kids not believe he met Batman, but he’s totally going to have some bully jack it from him.
No wonder Joffrey turns out to be such a jerk; it’s all Batman’s fault.
<img class="aligncenter" src="http://www.alicia-logic.com/capsimages01/bb_091RutgerHauer.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="302" />
https://twitter.com/the_real_chow/status/465694446164930562
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO1gYEPIghE
https://twitter.com/the_real_chow/status/465695133195710464
https://twitter.com/the_real_chow/status/465698744390803457
https://twitter.com/the_real_chow/status/465699380243472384
<img class="aligncenter" src="http://aswedetalksmovies.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/mv5bmje5mzkymju2of5bml5banbnxkftztcwmte5otiynw-_v1-_sx640_sy456_.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="456" />
https://twitter.com/the_real_chow/status/465699850722365440
https://twitter.com/the_real_chow/status/465700558066970624
https://twitter.com/the_real_chow/status/465704052420927491
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1280"]<img src="http://thewolfmancometh.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/the-dark-knight-rises-christian-bale-michael-caine-beard-cane.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="841" /> I’m retired.[/caption]
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In July, First Second Books will be releasing an original graphic novel called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Hero-Gene-Luen-Yang/dp/1596436972" target="_blank">The Shadow Hero</a> that revives the Green Turtle for a new generation. If you can’t wait until July, First Second has been releasing each chapter of the book <a href="http://www.firstsecondbooks.com/books/first-second-presents-gene-luen-yang-and-sonny-liews-the-shadow-hero-in-e-issue-form-starting-next-week/" target="_blank">every month as a series of digital comics</a>. I had the great fortune to read an advanced copy of the trade that collects these digital issues together, and I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s the best graphic novel of 2014. Who cares that there are still seven months left in the year? I can’t recommend this book enough.
<img class="aligncenter" src="http://www.geneyang.com/wpimages/shadow-dcg.jpg" alt="" width="576" height="245" />
Several months back, <a href="https://thenerdsofcolor.org/2014/02/21/secret-origin-of-the-shadow-hero-part-5/" target="_blank">we featured a series of posts by Gene</a> in which he revealed some behind-the-scenes details of the book’s creation<a href="#fn-7141-1" rel="footnote">1</a>. We even <a href="https://thenerdsofcolor.org/2013/11/08/hard-noc-life-bend-it-like-yang/" target="_blank">talked to Gene on Hard N.O.C. Life </a>about the origins of the Green Turtle and why he felt it was the right time to bring him back. A quick primer: when Gene discovered the long-forgotten Golden Age hero — who had been invented by a Chinese American artist named Chu Hing — he also learned of rumors that suggested Chu had intended for his hero to be a Chinese American one. But since this was the 1940s, a non-white hero just wasn’t going to fly (yes, pun intended).
Though the Green Turtle’s brief run in the comics were all set in Asia — his heroics involved defending the Chinese from the invading (and horribly stereotypical) Japanese, after all — it was simply assumed the hero was white. But even that is up for debate because Chu never really showed his hero’s face in any of the issues. And it wasn’t because the Green Turtle wears a cowl. In almost every panel, the hero’s face is, weirdly, obscured.
<img class="aligncenter" src="http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/comicsalliance.com/files/2014/05/SH02.jpg" alt="" width="630" height="589" />
Also, whenever he’s asked about his origins — usually by his sidekick Burma Boy — the scene is always interrupted before he can respond. It’s a running gag throughout the books. The printer even goes as far as coloring the Turtle an oddly bright pink to, I guess, further prove that he isn’t Asian. Gene elaborates on this tension between the book’s creator — who wanted to prominently feature a Chinese American hero — and its publisher — who didn’t — in the appendix of The Shadow Hero, which also includes Blazing Comics #1 in its entirety.
All of this history — the facts of Green Turtle’s creation blended with the speculation — informs Gene and Sonny’s exploration into the Green Turtle’s superhero origin. It might have taken 70 years, but Burma Boy will finally get an answer to his questions. Gene even gives the Turtle the secret identity of Hank Chu, a not so subtle callback to his creator Chu Hing. I especially love how they weave some of the oddities of the original comic — the pink hue of his skin, why he only wears a cowl and a cape, that weird shadowy figure in the background of every panel — into the story and provide believable explanations for all of them.
I also loved that it is a period piece through and through. The scenes set in a fictionalized West Coast Chinatown of the late ’30s/early ’40s are reminiscent of classic Chinese immigrant stories. Imagine Louis Chu’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Bowl-Of-Tea-Chinatown/dp/0818403950" target="_blank">Eat a Bowl of Tea </a>crossed with <a href="http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Action_Comics_Vol_1_1" target="_blank">Action Comics #1</a>. And though the story feels firmly grounded in the whiz bang wonder of the Golden Age of superheroes, it also retains a fairly modern sense of humor.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="479"]<img src="http://www.nerdist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/GT3.jpg" alt="" width="479" height="419" /> By the way, Hank’s mom is clearly the book’s breakout character for me.[/caption]
It also goes without saying that Sonny Liew’s artwork is absolutely gorgeous. Sonny rarely draws superheroes (but when he does, <a href="http://sonnyliew.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/spidey-nightmare-commute/" target="_blank">OH MY GOD</a>) so it’s just a treat to see him apply his dynamic style to the classic superhero tropes of The Shadow Hero, not to mention his detailed backgrounds and the fluid motion of his panels. There is a clear chemistry between Gene’s words (perfectly lettered by Janice Chiang<a href="#fn-7141-2" rel="footnote">2</a>) and Sonny’s art that you wonder why these two don’t collaborate more often.
Full disclosure: as one of the co-editors of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Identities-American-Superhero-Anthology/dp/159558398X/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y" target="_blank">Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology</a>, I will go ahead and take partial credit for teaming up Sonny and Gene since their first collaboration was on a story in that book called “The Blue Scorpion and Chung.” Check out a motion comic preview of the story (with voices provided by <a href="http://www.parryshen.com" target="_blank">Parry Shen</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/TakaHashtag" target="_blank">Aaron Takahashi</a>) down below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1xi4DYLwJM
Gene and Sonny re-teamed in 2012 when we published <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shattered-American-Comics-Anthology-Identities/dp/1595588248" target="_blank">Shattered</a>, the follow up to Secret Identities, and their first collaboration on the Green Turtle in a three-page story told in the style of classic newspaper strips. In anticipation of The Shadow Hero’s release, <a href="http://www.tor.com/blogs/2014/01/the-shadow-hero-comic-intro" target="_blank">Tor.com</a> reprinted those original strips in full color for the first time.
<img class="aligncenter" src="http://www.tor.com/images/stories/Comics/ShadowHeroPrequel/shadowherostrip1.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="408" />
I can’t speak for <a href="https://thenerdsofcolor.org/2013/10/04/hard-noc-life-secret-identities-revealed/" target="_blank">Jeff, Parry, or Jerry</a>, but I think it’s pretty safe to say that we knew we were in for something special when we saw those initial pages come through. Fast forward three or four years and to finally see the character fully realized is beyond amazing. Part of the impetus behind creating the <a href="http://siuniverse.org" target="_blank">SIUniverse</a> books was to have a place to showcase the potential for Asian American superheroes. You know how one of the go-to arguments against cross-racially casting traditionally white superheroes is always “why don’t you just create your own?” Well, we did.
That was five years ago. The thing about superheroes, though, is that these characters also have decades of history behind them as well. There’s a reason superhero stories are seen as uniquely American myths. And in order for characters to take their place among the pop culture icons I mentioned in the intro to this post, you must build those years of history and nostalgia. Sure the Green Turtle might have been lost or forgotten for a time, but to know that he existed, that he was a contemporary of those other icons, and that he was an Asian American hero — despite what the publisher might have wanted — is powerful stuff.
But maybe the Green Turtle wasn’t lost, after all. Maybe for all these decades, he was just waiting in the shadows for Gene Yang, Sonny Liew, and Janice Chiang to bring him back into the light.
<div class="footnotes">
<hr />
<ol>
<li id="fn-7141-1">
If you missed them, please go back and check them out. You’ll get to see how the book’s first five pages evolved from script to thumbnail sketches to final art. Those posts are a unique look into the creative process for two of the comic medium’s best talents. <a href="#fnref-7141-1" rev="footnote">↩</a>
</li>
<li id="fn-7141-2">
I think the SIUniverse will also take credit for Janice’s involvement since, I believe, she first met Sonny and Gene when they were signing at our booth during San Diego Comic-Con in 2009. <a href="#fnref-7141-2" rev="footnote">↩</a>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
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Still, the news of a Jim Gordon-focused television show got me to reflect on what I think are three of the best Batman stories to feature the moral compass of the Gotham PD. So Bruno Heller, I hope these three books (and a ton more) are part of the homework you’ve been doing on the show.
<img class="alignleft" src= alt="" width="152" height="229" /><a href="http://www.dccomics.com/graphic-novels/batman-year-one-deluxe-edition-0" target="_blank">BATMAN: YEAR ONE</a>
Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s seminal tale of Batman’s first year on the streets of Gotham is really as much Gordon’s origin as it is Batman’s. From the opening panels, Gordon’s arrival in Gotham mirrors Bruce Wayne’s return, and the book is told from both their points of view. While most people’s takeaway from the book is Bruce’s emergence as Batman, it also firmly established Jim Gordon as the “one good cop” in Gotham who is tired of always looking the other way. More than that, this book, more than any other, shows the foundation of the relationship between Gordon and Batman.
To that point, all I knew of Commissioner Gordon was that he was the hapless policeman who called Batman on a red phone whenever a villain threatened the city. It wasn’t until I read Year One that I saw the symbiotic nature of their relationship. Fortunately, Hollywood finally took notice in 2005 when Nolan cribbed heavily from the text to forge the relationship between Christian Bale’s Batman and Gary Oldman’s Gordon. It also didn’t hurt that Oldman was <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/ca/Batman_photos_oldman.jpg" target="_blank">the spitting image</a> of Mazzucchelli’s artwork.
<a href="http://www.dccomics.com/graphic-novels/batman-the-killing-joke-special-edition" target="_blank"><img class="alignleft" src="http://media.dcentertainment.com/sites/default/files/book-covers/8745_400x600.jpg" alt="" width="157" height="234" />BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE</a>
It’s difficult to do a list of “best Gordon stories” and ignore this book by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland. For one, the book has been all over the internet in recent months ever since <a href="http://sequart.org/magazine/29540/on-interpreting-the-killing-jokes-ending-and-authorial-intent/" target="_blank">Grant Morrison gave his take on how how the whole thing ends</a>. (Hint: not good, especially if you’re the Joker). Also, <a href="http://comicsalliance.com/mega-ran-batman-the-killing-joke-joker-origin-nes-batman-rap-video/" target="_blank">there are rap songs about it</a>. Still, Killing Joke seems to always be on a list of not just best Batman books, but best books period. And it’s well-deserved. It’s dark, disturbing, psychological… everything a Joker origin story should be. And what Joker does to Barbara Gordon and her father reverberated throughout every single Bat book for years.
Unlike Year One, though, Gordon is not a protagonist in the book. In actuality, he serves as more of the story’s MacGuffin. Still, the things that happen to Gordon — and more importantly, how he responds to them — paint a clear picture of the kind of character James Gordon is.
<a href="http://www.dccomics.com/graphic-novels/batman-the-black-mirror-0" target="_blank"><img class="alignleft" src="http://media.dcentertainment.com/sites/default/files/gn-covers/2012/07/BMBM_DJ_r2.jpg" alt="" width="148" height="219" />BATMAN: THE BLACK MIRROR</a>
My loyalty to Batman comics has wavered over the years, I won’t lie. As <a href="https://thenerdsofcolor.org/2013/09/20/searching-for-candy-and-comics-an-origin/" target="_blank">I mentioned previously</a>, I was late to the comics game. But once I started reading “Knightfall,” I was all in for a good decade of weekly Batman stories. Things fell off around one of the Crises of the early 2000s (Identity, Final, Infinite, they all kind of blur together for me) and I pretty much stopped reading altogether when Batman “died” in R.I.P. I was still aware of everything that was going on in the DC Universe, I just didn’t feel compelled to read the stories every week. Things changed when <a href="https://thenerdsofcolor.org/author/zhouweiwen/" target="_blank">my brother</a> gave me his copy of The Black Mirror. This was the first post-R.I.P./Dick-as-Batman story I devoured wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, it’s also the last Detective Comics story before the New 52 reboot erased all of what came before (why they’d “renumber” a book as old as Detective Comics, I’ll never know).
It tells the story of James Jr. (Gordon’s infant son Batman saves in Year One. Let’s just say, maybe Bats shouldn’t have saved him after all…) who has mysteriously returned to Gotham. Both Gordon and Grayson have to confront the ramifications of James Jr.’s presence in the city. As psychologically disturbing as Killing Joke while also direct linking back to Year One, The Black Mirror reflects the different and darker paths taken by the sons of Gordon and Batman.
<h6 class="zemanta-related-title" style="font-size:1em;">Related articles</h6>
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<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="https://thenerdsofcolor.org/2013/09/18/wednesday-comics-boxers-saints/" target="_blank">Wednesday Comics: Boxers, Saints, and the NBA</a> (thenerdsofcolor.org)</li>
<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="https://thenerdsofcolor.org/2013/09/11/wednesday-comics-the-art-of-juan-ortiz/" target="_blank">Wednesday Comics: The Art of Juan Ortiz</a> (thenerdsofcolor.org)</li>
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<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="https://thenerdsofcolor.org/2013/08/28/wednesday-comics-remembering-the-dream/" target="_blank">Wednesday Comics: Remembering the Dream</a> (thenerdsofcolor.org)</li>
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<blockquote>I have given that thought. I think one of the amazing things about Spider-Man is that you don’t see skin color when he’s in the suit. You don’t see any religious beliefs. You don’t see any denominations. Everyone can project themselves into that suit. It’s incredibly powerful in that way. So of course I think it’s important that the openness, the casting, in terms of who could be Spider-Man, could be absolutely anyone. A hero is a hero, whether you’re a man, woman, gay, lesbian, straight, black, white or red all over — it doesn’t matter.
Miles Morales was a huge moment in this character’s comic book life. And I do believe that we can do that. It’s something I’m really interested in figuring out; an eloquent way of coexisting, or passing on the torch. I don’t have an answer, but I think it’s actually a really important move. I think it’s a really beautiful and important move.</blockquote>
Awesome, right? Well, not so fast. When asked about the possibility of bringing Miles Morales into Sony’s Cinematic Universe, the architects of that universe — Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach — responded with a <a href="http://www.themarysue.com/amazing-spider-man-2-producer-miles-morales/" target="_blank">pretty emphatic “NO.”</a> Which is ironic considering that one of the initial concepts for the retweaked Spidey suit <a href="http://comicsalliance.com/amazing-spider-man-2-movie-concept-art-rhino-miles-morales-costume-jared-krichevsky/" target="_blank">bore a pretty unmistakable likeness to the Ultimate costume</a>.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
<img class="aligncenter" src="http://images.moviepilot-cdn.com/miles_morales_is_spider-man-guess-who-andrew-garfield-wants-to-see-as-the-next-spider-man.jpeg?&" alt="" width="1920" height="1733" />
Before we move on, let’s take a step back. If you are unfamiliar, Miles Morales refers to a character in Marvel Comics’ alternate “Ultimate Universe” line of titles. Created by Brian Michael Bendis in 2011, Morales — a mixed race African American/Latino teenager — assumes the mantle of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man after Peter Parker is killed by his archenemy, the Green Goblin. At the time, Morales’ debut in the comics was met with equal parts <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/miles-morales-and-me-why-the-new-biracial-spider-man-matters/2011/08/04/gIQABzlGuI_blog.html" target="_blank">celebration</a> and <a href="http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/08/01/the-power-of-a-black-spider-man/" target="_blank">consternation</a> in the fanboy community. In the three years since his debut, it’s safe to say that Morales has become a deeply ingrained part of the comics landscape, inspiring legions of <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=miles+morales+cosplay&client=firefox-a&hs=Yo4&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=sb&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=ZdpnU_XQFebLsATVvICgCA&ved=0CCgQsAQ&biw=1440&bih=796" target="_blank">cosplayers</a> and <a href="https://thenerdsofcolor.org/2013/08/27/the-comical-life-of-will-west-an-origin-tale/" target="_blank">Nerds of Color</a> alike.
What’s even cooler? Morales was created, in part, as a response to the <a href="http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/2010/06/01/donald-glover-for-spider-man/" target="_blank">Donald-Glover-for-Spider-Man</a> movement of 2010. You may recall that year, when Sony was in the process of rebooting their Spider-Man movie franchise after the critical failure of the Sam Raimi-directed/Tobey Maguire-starring Spider-Man 3, writer <a href="https://twitter.com/marcbernardin" target="_blank">Marc Bernardin</a> famously penned an opinion piece in io9 that questioned <a href="http://io9.com/5549613/the-last-thing-spider-man-should-be-is-another-white-guy" target="_blank">why Peter Parker had to be a white dude in the first place</a>. That article, in turn, inspired Community star Donald Glover to — half-jokingly and half-seriously — openly campaign for the role.
<img class="aligncenter" src="http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/community-spider-man.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="293" />
In a nod to the campaign, Dan Harmon even opened the second season of Community with a shot of Troy, Glover’s character, <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2010/09/community_pop_culture_referenc.html" target="_blank">wearing Spidey pajamas</a>. Needless to say, the mere idea of Don Glover as Spider-Man <a href="http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/imr/2011/08/03/im-not-racist-im-just-really-invested-continuity-casting-aside-donald-glover-spider-man" target="_blank">enraged many internet-dwelling fans</a>. Surely, if the NOC had existed back then, we would’ve likely <a href="https://thenerdsofcolor.org/2014/02/21/why-an-african-american-human-torch-is-important-or-comic-fans-are-racist-and-kinda-unimportant/" target="_blank">joined in on that debate</a> — as the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_O2n9Qp7OU" target="_blank">Adam WarRock lyric goes</a>, “when they said ‘Don Glover for Spider-Man, they didn’t mind.”
Despite the considerable amount of attention Glover’s internet campaign received, Arad and company ultimately went with Andrew Garfield, and the rest, as they say, is history.
<img class="aligncenter" src="http://www.themarysue.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/spiderman-donaldglover-andrewgarfield.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="337" />
Despite not getting the role in the movie, it was this campaign that inspired Bendis to create a person of color to fill Peter Parker’s shoes when the time came in the Ultimate comics. In an<a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/comics/2011-08-02-new-spider-man-inside_n.htm" target="_blank"> interview with USA Today</a> prior to the launch of Ultimate Spider-Man (Volume 2) #1 in 2011, Bendis confirmed Glover’s implicit involvement in the creation of Miles Morales. After watching the second season premiere of Community, Bendis saw what Glover looked like in Spider-Man’s duds:
<blockquote>
“He looked fantastic!” Bendis recalls. “I saw him in the costume and thought, ‘I would like to read that book.’ So I was glad I was writing that book.”
The writer gives Glover “mucho credit” for the way Miles Morales looks in Ultimate Fallout issue 4.</blockquote>
Three years later, the character has grown into one of Marvel’s signature heroes. More than that, Miles Morales has also become one of their most successful heroes in recent memory. Despite the controversial nature of his arrival, the character’s likability and popularity has led to a clamoring from fans — egged on by some strong hints from the publisher — to bring Miles into Marvel’s mainline (aka 616) universe of comics. Meanwhile, Ultimate Spider-Man books are consistent sellers and just last month, and to much fanfare, All-New Ultimates #1 launched with Morales at its center. To put into context how big a deal this is, the Ultimates are the Ultimate Universe’s version of the Avengers. You might have heard of them.
<img class="aligncenter" src="http://blacklikemoi.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/13/all-new-ultimates.jpg" alt="" width="638" height="426" />
<a href="http://www.vox.com/authors/alex-abad-santos" target="_blank">Alex Abad-Santos</a> of Vox.com recently called the All-New Ultimates possibly “<a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/5/2/5672328/marvel-tk" target="_blank">the most diverse group of heroes in the Marvel universe</a>.” Could you imagine an Avengers-like movie with these heroes front and center?
That brings me back to Avi Arad and Sony’s apparent refusal to ever use Miles Morales in their movies. Which is cool. I mean, those guys clearly have an agenda for their movies. I’m sure Spidey has plenty of rogues to fashion even more movies around. (Who’s up for a <a href="http://www.newsarama.com/15578-not-ock-the-10-least-superior-spider-man-villains.html" target="_blank">Big Wheel</a> movie?!) Even though Andrew Garfield has all but said he won’t be back for any more movies beyond part 3, I’m sure the suits at Sony have got contingency plans. Sure, <a href="http://www.mtv.com/news/1819778/andrew-garfield-saturday-night-live/" target="_blank">Garfield and Stone</a> are the only redeeming things about this new crop of movies, but who needs them?
But if Arad has no plans to ever use Ultimate Spider-Man in his franchise, what’s to keep Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios from using the character? Now, I’m no expert on the legalities and intellectual property rights involved in such a scenario, but when Marvel licensed Spider-Man and all related characters to Sony, did that deal include characters that had yet to be created? If not, I think Miles Morales could fit pretty well into any phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="548"]<img src="http://www.toptenz.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/nick-fury.jpg" alt="" width="548" height="350" /> The MCU movies are more aligned to the Ultimate Universe after all.[/caption]
It’s a pretty safe bet that Sony will never give up the proper Spider-Man license or even <a href="http://screenrant.com/no-spider-man-in-avengers-movies/" target="_blank">entertain the thought</a> about merging their movies with the Disney/Marvel ones, <a href="http://www.mtv.com/news/1818641/pat-kiernan-amazing-spider-man-2/" target="_blank">at least not on purpose</a>. But if Feige and company could somehow get access to Miles Morales, maybe we could finally kill two birds with one stone. Not only would we give Miles Morales the big screen recognition he deserves, but we could finally have Spider-Man — or, I guess it’d be The Spiderman without the hyphen, you know, for the lawyers — cross over with the Avengers. Everybody wins.
<a href="https://thenerdsofcolor.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/amazing-spider-man-avengers-slice.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7098" src="https://thenerdsofcolor.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/amazing-spider-man-avengers-slice.jpg" alt="amazing-spider-man-avengers-slice" width="474" height="158" /></a>
I’m sure the lawyers could navigate this better than I can, but it’s definitely worth thinking about.
' data-medium-file="" data-large-file="" class="wp-image-7100 aligncenter" src="https://dennisupkins.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/screenshot_2017-03-02-20-06-04.png" alt="screenshot_2017-03-02-20-06-04">


I’ll be honest, I’m of two minds about this. On the one hand, ERMAHGERD A BATMAN SHOW!!!! On the other, it isn’t really a Batman show since Batman isn’t, ya know, in it. Still, the scenes shown are appropriately moody and gritty (it is a DC property, after all) and the series’ star Ben Mackenzie is downright intense — if not quite mustachioed — as a young Jim Gordon. In fact, I kind of love the Gordon/Bullock scenes already.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]<img src= alt="" width="1200" height="900" /> PS, it’s awesome to finally get a live action Harvey Bullock and doubly awesomer that he’s being played by Donal Logue.[/caption]
I was actually cool when they <a href="https://thenerdsofcolor.org/2013/09/25/wednesday-comics-jim-gordon-dcs-next-multimedia-star/" target="_blank">originally announced that the show would be all about Gordon</a> and his adventures as a young cop. And I’ve long been a proponent of a TV show based on the Gotham Central comics. Where they lose me — at least a little — are the villains. The trailer makes a big deal of the inclusion of such iconic rogues as the Penguin, Catwoman, Riddler, and Poison Ivy (not to mention the main baddie — created for the show — played by Jada Pinkett Smith). Except they’re not those iconic villains yet. Which also means they’re probably not interesting yet either. The actors all look cast well enough, but I’m worried that each episode is going to be chock full of foreshadowing and constant callbacks to the comics with the subtlety of a sledgehammer.
Look! Oswald has an umbrella! Pamela is watering a plant! Edward sure does ask a lot of questions! 
One thing I will give them credit for is the casting of young Selina Kyle. Even though the Gotham continuity is its own thing and in no way related to either the Nolan or Burton movies, it’s kind of cool that Warner Brothers invented a time machine and cast a tweenage Michelle Pfeiffer to reprise her role as Selina Kyle.
[caption id="attachment_7102" align="aligncenter" width="474"]<a href="https://thenerdsofcolor.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/selina.png"><img class="wp-image-7102 size-full" src="https://thenerdsofcolor.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/selina.png" alt="selina" width="474" height="191" /></a> Camren Bicondova and Michelle Pfeiffer. Which is which? You decide![/caption]
I’m not sure at which point the show creators decided to shift from a Jim Gordon origin story to a Batman universe origin story. I’ll reserve judgement until the series actually airs and I’ve got a few eps under my utility belt. But the most interesting thing about this show coming to network in the first place is the fact that this isn’t the first time Bruce Wayne’s early years was to be televised.
Way back when in 1999, screenwriter Tim McCanlies pitched a series to producers <a class="mw-redirect" title="Mike Tollin" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Tollin" target="_blank">Mike Tollin</a> and <a title="Brian Robbins" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Robbins" target="_blank">Brian Robbins</a> about the “missing years” between the night Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered and the moment Bruce Wayne donned a cowl and cape. At the time, fans were buzzing about the prospect of a serious take on the origin of Batman, something that at the time had never been explored in depth. Remember, this was only two years after Batman & Robin and a full six years before Batman Begins.
While there was a lot of progress made on the creation of the show — its pilot script and series outline can be found <a href="http://www.kryptonsite.com/brucewayne/" target="_blank">online here</a> — it was ultimately derailed because even though WB is a giant conglomerate, it’s a giant conglomerate that doesn’t know how to communicate internally. Friction between Warner’s TV division, which was developing Bruce Wayne, and Warner’s film division, which was charged with rebooting the failed movie franchise, were at odds<a href="#fn-7094-1" rel="footnote">1</a>. Ultimately, the film division — which was developing Darren Aronofsky’s Batman Year One at the time — won and WBTV had to find another superhero’s origin to tell. That origin turned out to be Clark Kent’s and thus Smallville was born.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="490"]<img src="http://urbaneblog.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/smallville.jpg" alt="" width="490" height="306" /> Somebody saaaaaaaavvvvvveeeee meeeeeeeeee[/caption]
To be completely candid, I always thought that the “prequel” approach worked better for Superman than Batman anyway. There is something intriguing about watching Clark Kent come into his powers as a young person before the persona. It’s also safe to say that Superman is who he is because of Jonathan and Martha Kent, so to see that family dynamic play out is powerful. Sure, Smallville had a tendency to drop a pretty unsubtle Superman hammer once every five minutes, but that winking kind of works in a Superman tale. With Batman, though, I’m not sure it can work as well. Because unlike Clark, hinting at Bruce’s superhero destiny this early in the timeline will just ring false to me<a href="#fn-7094-2" rel="footnote">2</a>. This is why I hope they keep the show singularly focused on Jim Gordon. His character arc and how he evolves into the Gordon of the comics is the one that I’m most intrigued in. I just hope it doesn’t take him ten seasons to grow a mustache.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="560"]<img src="http://www.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/201418/rs_560x415-140208163845-1024.Ben-McKenzie-Gotham-2-jmd-020814_copy.jpg" alt="" width="560" height="415" /> I mean, it’s not like dude is incapable of growing facial hair![/caption]
All this said, I’m more than willing to give the show the benefit of the doubt. With no DC movie on the horizon for at least two years, the television has been the place to be for DC heroes. Marvel may have the movie game down, but DC has TV on lock. And even if none of their shows are related, it will be nice to see some kind of live action version of the Bat mythos on screen for Batman’s 75th anniversary year.
<div class="footnotes">
<hr />
<ol>
<li id="fn-7094-1">
This fragmented approach to their superhero properties continues at WB/DC to this day. This is why you have so many competing interpretations of DC characters. Next year alone, in addition to Gotham, there will be a Flash series, a third season of Arrow, and a Hellblazer show on NBC. Not to mention the Batman vs. Superman movie will be deep into production. And other than Flash and Arrow, none of these productions will be related to the other. <a href="#fnref-7094-1" rev="footnote">↩</a>
</li>
<li id="fn-7094-2">
Also, what are the odds that the writers will make Bruce talk about how much he “hates bats” at least once an episode? <a href="#fnref-7094-2" rev="footnote">↩</a>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
' data-medium-file="" data-large-file="" class="wp-image-7110 aligncenter" src="https://dennisupkins.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/screenshot_2017-03-02-20-26-10.png" alt="screenshot_2017-03-02-20-26-10">


I’ll be honest, I’m of two minds about this. On the one hand, ERMAHGERD A BATMAN SHOW!!!! On the other, it isn’t really a Batman show since Batman isn’t, ya know, in it. Still, the scenes shown are appropriately moody and gritty (it is a DC property, after all) and the series’ star Ben Mackenzie is downright intense — if not quite mustachioed — as a young Jim Gordon. In fact, I kind of love the Gordon/Bullock scenes already.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]<img src= alt="" width="1200" height="900" /> PS, it’s awesome to finally get a live action Harvey Bullock and doubly awesomer that he’s being played by Donal Logue.[/caption]
I was actually cool when they <a href="https://thenerdsofcolor.org/2013/09/25/wednesday-comics-jim-gordon-dcs-next-multimedia-star/" target="_blank">originally announced that the show would be all about Gordon</a> and his adventures as a young cop. And I’ve long been a proponent of a TV show based on the Gotham Central comics. Where they lose me — at least a little — are the villains. The trailer makes a big deal of the inclusion of such iconic rogues as the Penguin, Catwoman, Riddler, and Poison Ivy (not to mention the main baddie — created for the show — played by Jada Pinkett Smith). Except they’re not those iconic villains yet. Which also means they’re probably not interesting yet either.
The actors all look cast well enough, but I’m worried that each episode is going to be chock full of foreshadowing and constant callbacks to the comics with the subtlety of a sledgehammer.
Look! Oswald has an umbrella! Pamela is watering a plant! Edward sure does ask a lot of questions! 
One thing I will give them credit for is the casting of young Selina Kyle. Even though the Gotham continuity is its own thing and in no way related to either the Nolan or Burton movies, it’s kind of cool that Warner Brothers invented a time machine and cast a tweenage Michelle Pfeiffer to reprise her role as Selina Kyle.
[caption id="attachment_7102" align="aligncenter" width="474"]<a href="https://thenerdsofcolor.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/selina.png"><img class="wp-image-7102 size-full" src="https://thenerdsofcolor.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/selina.png" alt="selina" width="474" height="191" /></a> Camren Bicondova and Michelle Pfieffer. Which is which? You decide![/caption]
I’m not sure at which point the show creators decided to shift from a Jim Gordon origin story to a Batman universe origin story. I’ll reserve judgement until the series actually airs and I’ve got a few eps under my utility belt. But the most interesting thing about this show coming to network in the first place is the fact that this isn’t the first time Bruce Wayne’s early years was to be televised.
Way back when in 1999, screenwriter Tim McCanlies pitched a series to producers <a class="mw-redirect" title="Mike Tollin" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Tollin" target="_blank">Mike Tollin</a> and <a title="Brian Robbins" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Robbins" target="_blank">Brian Robbins</a> about the “missing years” between the night Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered and the moment Bruce Wayne donned a cowl and cape. At the time, fans were buzzing about the prospect of a serious take on the origin of Batman, something that at the time had never been explored in depth. Remember, this was only two years after Batman & Robin and a full six years before Batman Begins.
While there was a lot of progress made on the creation of the show — its pilot script and series outline can be found <a href="http://www.kryptonsite.com/brucewayne/" target="_blank">online here</a> — it was ultimately derailed because even though WB is a giant conglomerate, it’s a giant conglomerate that doesn’t know how to communicate internally. Friction between Warner’s TV division, which was developing Bruce Wayne, and Warner’s film division, which was charged with rebooting the failed movie franchise, were at odds<a href="#fn-7094-1" rel="footnote">1</a>. Ultimately, the film division — which was developing Darren Aronofsky’s Batman Year One at the time — won and WBTV had to find another superhero’s origin to tell. That origin turned out to be Clark Kent’s and thus Smallville was born.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="490"]<img src="http://urbaneblog.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/smallville.jpg" alt="" width="490" height="306" /> Somebody saaaaaaaavvvvvveeeee meeeeeeeeee[/caption]
To be completely candid, I always thought that the “prequel” approach worked better for Superman than Batman anyway. There is something intriguing about watching Clark Kent come into his powers as a young person before the persona. It’s also safe to say that Superman is who he is because of Jonathan and Martha Kent, so to see that family dynamic play out is powerful. Sure, Smallville had a tendency to drop a pretty unsubtle Superman hammer once every five minutes, but that winking kind of works in a Superman tale. With Batman, though, I’m not sure it can work as well. Because unlike Clark, hinting at Bruce’s superhero destiny this early in the timeline will just ring false to me<a href="#fn-7094-2" rel="footnote">2</a>. This is why I hope they keep the show singularly focused on Jim Gordon. His character arc and how he evolves into the Gordon of the comics is the one that I’m most intrigued in. I just hope it doesn’t take him ten seasons to grow a mustache.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="560"]<img src="http://www.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/201418/rs_560x415-140208163845-1024.Ben-McKenzie-Gotham-2-jmd-020814_copy.jpg" alt="" width="560" height="415" /> I mean, it’s not like dude is incapable of growing facial hair![/caption]
All this said, I’m more than willing to give the show the benefit of the doubt. With no DC movie on the horizon for at least two years, the television has been the place to be for DC heroes. Marvel may have the movie game down, but DC has TV on lock. And even if none of their shows are related, it will be nice to see some kind of live action version of the Bat mythos on screen for Batman’s 75th anniversary year.
<div class="footnotes">
<hr />
<ol>
<li id="fn-7094-1">
This fragmented approach to their superhero properties continues at WB/DC to this day. This is why you have so many competing interpretations of DC characters. Next year alone, in addition to Gotham, there will be a Flash series, a third season of Arrow, and a Hellblazer show on NBC. Not to mention the Batman vs. Superman movie will be deep into production. And other than Flash and Arrow, none of these productions will be related to the other. <a href="#fnref-7094-1" rev="footnote">↩</a>
</li>
<li id="fn-7094-2">
Also, what are the odds that the writers will make Bruce talk about how much he “hates bats” at least once an episode? <a href="#fnref-7094-2" rev="footnote">↩</a>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
' data-medium-file="" data-large-file="" class="wp-image-7109 aligncenter" src="https://dennisupkins.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/screenshot_2017-03-02-20-24-26.png" alt="screenshot_2017-03-02-20-24-26">


In the <a href="http://www.tor.com/blogs/2014/01/the-shadow-hero-comic-intro" target="_blank">introduction to the unveiling of the Shadow Hero strips</a>, Gene explores the intersection between superheroes and immigrants (a connection that, candidly, fueled th