Having recently
been diagnosed with a rather nasty airborne pathogen I was unable to attend
Comic-Con back in July where it was held in beautiful sunny San Diego. I
will no doubt regret this for the rest of my miserable and diseased life.
The new Mad Max movie looks surprisingly good and I would have savagely
murdered anyone – even my closest friends and family members – to be at the Hannibal panel. Undoubtedly, the
biggest news was all related to that mouthful of a movie Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice which included 2 new pictures
of Batman, the first actual footage ever screened for the flick which showed a
high tech suited up Dark Knight about to throw down with an angry red eyed Man
of Steel, and of course the unveiling via photo of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. I’ve
always had a great love of discussing things well after the buzz and hype has
passed and everything has been said as it makes my contributions completely
irrelevant. I’m not sure why but I take a kind of giddy excitement
in knowing how irrelevant I am.
I’ve spent the
better ¾ of the last 5 weeks examining this photograph and trying my damndest
to formulate my opinion that I may promptly put fingers to stained keyboard and
articulate exactly what my dark heart is feeling. Followers of The Cream
have been privy to my vocal skepticism of Gadot being cast as the Amazonian
princess and all my fans have been dying on the inside to know my thoughts on
this unveiling and if they have taken a dramatic reversal or have simply been
solidified harder than the glue that dries and hardens on the orange caps of
Elmer’s brand glue.
All right, I’ll
stop mincing words and spell it out real simple like: I love what I am seeing
in this photograph. Let me repeat that now with a playful use of capital
letters and exclamation marks for dramatic emphasis: I LOVE what I am seeing in
this photograph!!! I hate myself so much but that made me feel a little
better. Her costume is absolutely
identifiable as Wonder Woman while still modernized – though not in a negative
trendy way – and fitting in perfectly with the world Man of Steel established. I am not a massive fan of the muted
colors but if that is the biggest gripe I can find then I will be able to sleep
at night without issue. Also, Superman’s costume color scheme appeared
similarly muted in publicity photos for Man
of Steel and it was a complete non-issue in the actual movie so I have
faith something similar will happen here. All the classic elements of her
costume are present: the starred tiara, the eagle emblazoned bustier, the
bracelets, the lasso! All are present and accounted for and they look
bloodie spectacular! I have made the decision to respectfully
refrain from further commenting on Ms. Gadot’s acting or physicality until I
see the movie (or at least a trailer) as she deserves a chance to show what she
can bring to this role. How generous I am
since my opinion will likely determine the success or failure of this
film! At this point I am simply choosing
to be exceedingly excited at seeing a big screen Wonder Woman and this photo
indicates many good things to come.
It’s no secret
that I discovered the classic Wonder Woman television program starring Lynda
Carter at a very pivotal time in my life and the rich combination of stunning
beauty, Amazonian strength and intelligence, a lasso and of course hosiery stirred
something incredible inside my mind and body. I do not think it is
any exaggeration at all to say that this show and Ms. Carter’s portrayal is
easily the biggest thing – and the most often associated with the character –
in the eyes of the general public. Other things such the story arcs
in her own comic book(s), the costume changes in the 70’s and 90’s, her
appearances in animated movies and video games seem to be of interest only to
the already initiated, the folks who would normally buy that stuff anyway. To put another way: her co-leads Superman and
Batman are known to the general public for many things beyond who has played
them in the movies whereas almost everything those same people know about
Wonder Woman is from the TV show. That
is no slam against the show for it was and is spectacular entertainment and a
beautiful adaptation. It is very easy to
fall in love with that iteration of the character – as I did – and to develop a
highly inappropriate attachment because Ms. Carter was so impossibly perfect in
the role. However my hope is that this
upcoming flick and its spin-offs and sequels will further increase the
popularity and awareness and enrich the legacy of a truly excellent character. Some of my favorite arcs in all of comic
books are in her series and I would love for more attention and respect to be
granted in this area.
In other
related news the Brothers Warner wisely moved the release date of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
to the end of March 2016 rather than opening it the same day as Captain America
3 in that year’s first week of May. This makes gaggles of sense as
Marvel’s track record has been incredible as of late and I do believe Cap 3
could easily overtake DC’s gamble.
Despite my love for the characters I have almost no faith whatsoever in
Warner Bros slash DC’s ability to successfully launch and maintain a cohesive and
quality comic on film universe but I am eager to see the results.
Though
I am definitely excited to move past Nolan’s “realistic” (dull would probably
be a better adjective) bat-world and see a more physically capable and
intelligent dark knight on screen. At the same time I can see director
Zack Snyder and star Ben Affleck going too far in the opposite direction and
creating some horrific hybrid of the worst sensibilities of Snyder and comic
writer Frank Miller, whose work in part serves as the basis for Batman’s
characterization, in the film. Snyder already successfully adapted
Miller’s work in 300 though that
success is all relative as I have great disdain for that movie and Miller’s grumpy
“Dirty Harry” version of Batman has never much appealed to me. With that
aforementioned footage though (which kicked all kinds of loose booty) and the
photographs it is honestly getting harder and harder to let Affleck’s presence
bring down my excitement for this feature film. Harder but
definitely not impossible and I still wake up drenched in sweat, heart pounding
and certain this casting can’t be real. But know this, dear readers:
if Affleck knocks it out of the park I will be the first to sing his praises
and pretend that I supported and defended him all along!
One good thing
I can say Warners slash DC is slash are doing is their courting of one Dwayne
“The Rock” Johnson (or Dwayne “El Piedra” Johnson for all my Spanish speaking
fans) to play Shazam and/or his nemesis Teth Adam in one of their upcoming
slated films. I say “Shazam” because that is the magic word that
mild mannered Billy Batson says in order to be transformed into the muscular,
dashing and heroic Captain Marvel who has the power of 6 different mythological
figures. That is correct, there is a DC superhero named Captain
Marvel. This character’s history goes all the way back to 1939 where
he was first published under Fawcett Comics and became one of the most popular
characters around. The company eventually
expanded his line to include other members of this superhero family such as Mary
Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. These are
all great classic comics that have remained favorites of fans and creators
alike. The character eventually
languished in part due to a lawsuit by DC alleging that he was too similar to
Superman and the company would eventually acquire the rights to the character
though his comics were thereafter typically titled Shazam or The Power of
Shazam to avoid any infringement or confusion with the company Marvel Comics
(which incidentally also has a character named Captain Marvel, what a fucked up
world we live in). Fun fact: The King
himself Elvis Pressley was a massive fan of Captain Marvel Jr. – the youngest
and perhaps pluckiest member of the Marvel family – and took inspiration from
the young hero’s costume and hair for his own stage outfits and style. Man
I love knowing stuff like that! Point being it is a great character who
could easily be the subject of a successful and fantastic franchise if done
right and I do believe this new universe needs a popular face and name to give
people some faith in its content and The Rock can definitely provide that jolt. We shall see.
I’m off to eat
a blood Popsicle now.
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