Batman

Batman, my favorite superhero by far, is going to get a 2-part blog. Not just because he is my favorite character, but also because there is so much to him that it can't all be fit into one blog post. Batman has been in many comics, shows and movies. The most recent movie, The Dark Knight, has been by far the most popular. This is partially due to actor Heath Ledger's unfortunate death and partially due to the widespread opinion that the movie itself is spectacular.

Batman first appeared in the year 1939, in the twenty-seventh issue of Detective Comics. Batman appears strange in his first appearance when compared to modern incarnations. His bat-ears were longer and curved, and he often killed the criminals he went after. Batman is actually Bruce Wayne, a rich businessman of Gotham City. Bruce Wayne decided to become Batman after his parents were killed right in front of him. Wayne vowed to stop crime in Gotham, and eventually became the vigilante known as Batman. Dressed in a body suit with a bat emblem on his chest, a cape, and a cowl, Batman set out to stop crime in Gotham City. Batman is unlike Superman in the aspect that Batman does not have a strict moral code. Batman will harm the criminals he meets; in Batman's first few appearances, he goes as far as killing criminals. Eventually, Batman's morals were tightened and he merely harms those who he catches committing crimes. Batman's loose moral code is seen throughout many of his movie incarnations, most notabley The Dark Knight. In The Dark Knight, Batman is seen breaking limbs of those he fights with no regards to what he is doing. His limit, however, is murder. Batman will not commit murders, even if it seems like it would stop crime.

Batman has been in multiple television shows. The first show was titled Batman, and it first aired in 1966 on ABC. This television show was full of camp humor and has been criticized for not being dark enough. Batman was played by Adam West. The next show featuring Batman was Batman: The Animated Series, which is a fan favorite. The show ran for 85 episodes, spanning from 1992 to 1995. Batman TAS, as it is called by fans, used a style called Dark Deco. This style was created by putting everything against a black background. Dark Deco made all of the colors seem more realistic and added to the effect that most of Batman's adventures took place during the night time. The show reinvented the costume and look of Robin, Batman's helper. The new look made Robin seem more like an adult; the addition of pant legs made Robin look much less awkward. The villains Batman and Robin faced included some newly invented characters, as well as smaller and less important characters. The Joker was given an iconic look, one that has been noted as a classic look. Other villains, such as the Scarecrow, were brought out and made more known. One villain created by the show and has since been inducted into the DC Universe is Harley Quinn, the Joker's helper and on-and-off girlfriend. After the show ended in 1995, it seemed that the use of the character designs in Batman TAS would never be seen again.
To be continued...

Superman

This week, I'm going to talk about Superman. Superman is the classic American comic book hero. He was born on a planet called Krypton and sent to Earth when Krypton was destroyed. Raised by two Kansas farmers, he grew up as Clark Kent. He realizes he has powers as he gets older, and decides to use his powers for good. Superman's birth name is Kal-El. The Man of Steel is a hero with a strict moral code; he is called a "Boy Scout" by other heroes. His main weakness is Kryptonite, which is usually shown as a green rock.

Superman is not only a comic book hero, but a pop culture symbol representing the United States of America. Superman's role in pop culture has been huge ever since he was first shown in his red-and-blue costume. Shirts, hats, mugs, watches and even shoes have featured the iconic "S" symbol Superman wears on his chest. Children wear Superman costumes on Halloween, when they go trick-or-treating. Multiple feature films about Superman have been made, as well as a number of television shows. Videogames and action figures have been made using Superman; the most recent game to feature Superman as a playable character is Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. Superman movies generally do well in the box office and recieve positive reviews from critics and fans alike. The television shows also generally do well; Smallville is currently in it's eighth season. One of the most popular television series featuring Superman, however, is the cartoon Superman: The Animated Series. Superman: The Animated Series was produced by Bruce Timm, the same producer of Batman: The Animated Series.

Superman is a character with a very complex storyline and background. His main weakness is radioactive Kryptonite, and the most commonly shown Kryptonite is green Kryptonite. Green Kryptonite will take away his powers and cause physical pain and nausea. After an extended period of exposure to green Kryptonite, Superman will die. Gold Kryptonite is one of the most dangerous kinds of Kryptonite, as it permanently removes Superman's powers. There are many other kinds of Kryptonite, but most of them are unimportant and uncommon. One major plot twist in Superman's story is presented in Infinite Crisis, a graphic novel in which the universe once existed as a multiverse with many variations on the same character. The main Earths are Earth-One and Earth-Two. The Superman of Earth-One is Kal-El, the most common Superman and Clark Kent. The Superman of Earth-Two is Kal-L, who appears as an aged Superman. In Infinite Crisis, the multiverse is restored so one of Lex Luthor's alternate-reality sons can find the "perfect Earth". Lex Luthor is Superman's main enemy, shown as the classic evil businessman. Luthor is a rich man who is constantly trying to kill Superman.

Continuation of my last blog.

My last blog was cut short because I had to leave. Sorry. Anyways, back to Resident Evil 4. The game is pretty fun, despite being gory. It's going to take a while before I get anywhere near being done, but that's okay. Occasionally, I play on the PlayStation 3. I only play once in a while because I have so much homework, and my brother and I can't seem to agree on what to play. The only game we really play often anymore is Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. Normally, my brother wants to play a racing game, and I want to play NBA Live '08. Once we get off for a three-day weekend or Spring Break, however, my brother and I play the PS3 a bit more.
So I decided I would do opinionated reviews of comic book characters each week. Not just from Marvel or just DC, but miscellaneous heroes as well. I'm sure there are many heroes most people haven't heard of. Theres a ton of stuff that anybody can find out about just one superhero on Wikipedia. After reading a bit on Wikipedia, I learned that there's almost an army of Green Lanterns. And then there's some guy in the DC universe named "Captain Marvel". That guy annoys me; he seems totally useless and boring. My brother is fascinated by The Flash. To me, The Flash is alright. He's funny, which makes him a pretty interesting guy. Iron Man is kind of blah, too. He can be funny, but he turns into a very serious person after a while, destroying his sense of humor. Iron Man and Captain America of the Avengers both portray some part of Superman: Iron Man brings the lack of humor, and Captain America brings the patriotism.
So, next week I will be doing overviews of comic book characters. I'll probably be doing a lot of DC characters because they are my favorite. I used to like Marvel characters a lot because they were simpler and less "boring" to me as a kid, but the DC Universe is so much more complex and interesting. The stories behind the characters of DC are so much more believable than Marvel, mainly because Marvel is mostly mutants who are either bent on world domination or determined to be a hero.

Good afternoon.

This is my very first blog. Well, I think it is. Anyways, a little bit about me. I think I'm a pretty normal kid. I like playing basketball, playing videogames, watching superhero movies, reading comic books, and making small paper models. I got really interested in playing basketball about four years ago after playing some games on my PSP. The first basketball game I played was the NBA game for 2005, which taught me the basic rules of basketball. The next game that got me into the flashy side of basketball was NBA Street: Showdown. Much of the things that happend in the NBA Street game were impossible, but highly entertaining to watch.
Now, on to comic books and superhero movies. I read a lot of Spider-Man comics during the summer of three years ago. At that time, Marvel comics seemed more interesting to me. The best superhero movies of that time were the Spider-Man movies. This past summer, however, the Iron Man and Batman movies were very interesting. The Iron Man film, starring Robert Downey, Jr., is the first Iron Man film. The recent Batman movies, however, are not the first of their kind. The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan, regenerated an interest in Batman that was hidden ever since the end of the old cartoons. As a child, I was very interested in Batman. I always watched the animated series with Batman and Robin in which Batman, voiced by Kevin Conroy, had a square jaw. Christopher Nolan has changed the Batman storyline a bit to make it more realistic. The Batman and Iron Man movies have proven to me that not all superhero movies have to be corny and CGI-happy. The Dark Knight proved that not every superhero movie must have a happy ending, and Iron Man proved that science fiction does not have to be completely fantastic.
I have always like videogames. I used to be really into racing games, but I have since lost my interest. Fighting, shooting and sports games draw my interest much more, as do games about superheroes. Recently, I've been playing Resident Evil 4. It's a pretty fun game. A bit of blood, but not enough to be entirely cliched and boring. The plot is interesting, to say the least, and gameplay is pretty suspenseful. Each turn of the corner may yield some insane zombie ready to rip your head off, but it also may lead to a treasure or a salesman. About the salesman: he's kind of creepy. The first time I saw him, I...... disposed of him. Then I found out he was the guy who sold weapons and health things. Well, I guess I have to just wait and see how the game turns out.