January 2020

Batman #87

Batman #87 comic reviewFollowing up on the events of Batman #86, the latest issue deals with the GCPD taking Deathstroke and the other assassins into custody and locking them up in the new secure prison known as the Black Block. Batman #87 reveals Deathstroke and his team always wanted to get captured (which makes you wonder why they fought so hard against Batman and what they may have done had they actually won the fight). While not that big of a surprise, it does make you wonder about the mind behind these plans.

We see Catwoman continuing to help out, and a cameo by Lucius Fox, but the rest of the Bat-Family, Outsiders, Justice League, etc. is nowhere to be found as Batman continues to struggle following the death of Alfred.

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Batwoman – An Un-Birthday Present

  • Title: Batwoman – An Un-Birthday Present
  • wiki: link

Batwoman - An Un-Birthday Present television review

Batwoman offers up one of the better episodes of the series by introducing a new Beth Kane (Rachel Skarsten), one that grew up on a parallel Earth who never went crazy and became Alice (Skarsten). While at first wary of another Alice trap, Kate (Ruby Rose) eventually comes to terms with a sane version of her twin sister arriving on their birthday. While she isn’t introduced to the the wider cast, Beth does make good impressions on both Mary and Luke. The final scene suggesting one of the two Beths must die for the other to live feels more like the show falling back into bad habits. While the death of Alice would certainly help the show drop dead weight and offer Batwoman room to grow and take on other villains, and still give Skarsten a role on the show, I’m not sure I see the courage in the show’s writers to be willing to make such a drastic shift (though I would be happy to be proved wrong).

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The Mandalorian – The Prisoner

  • Title: The Mandalorian – The Prisoner (Chapter 6)
  • wiki: link

The Mandalorian - The Prisoner television review

“Chapter 6” offers a fun heist episode that also introduces a few characters from Mandalorian‘s (Pedro Pascal) past. However, it’s not without some head-scratching problems. The Mandolorian answers a call from his old crew led by Ranzar Malk (Mark Boone Junior) that coincidentally comes at the exact moment when the Mandalorian is looking for some quick cash. Learning the job is breaking out a prisoner from a New Republic Prison Ship, that the crew want to use the Razor Crest for their getaway, and the job doesn’t even pay well enough to cover the gas are all reasons enough for the bounty hunter to walk away (plus, you know, not trusting any member of the crew from shooting him in the back or stealing his cargo). While the episode needs our protagonist to to accept the job, the writers don’t cover themselves by properly selling that job to either the Mandalorian or the audience.

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Superman #19

Superman #19 comic reviewSuperman #19 offers a follow-up to last month’s issue in which Superman revealed to the world that he and Clark Kent are the same person. There’s not much fallout here, other than Clark getting fired from The Daily Planet (for all of about 10 seconds before being re-hired) and some awkwardness of his co-workers getting used to the new normal. Superman still hits the streets to save the day and look to the stars to take on intergalactic threats.

The folks at the Planet, in Metropolis, and in the Hall of Justice seem totally onboard with the reveal suggesting it may be a bit before any possible negative consequences raise their heads.

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Legacies – This is Why We Don’t Entrust Plans to Muppet Babies

  • Title: Legacies – This is Why We Don’t Entrust Plans to Muppet Babies
  • wiki: link

Legacies - This is Why We Don't Entrust Plans to Muppet Babies TV review

It’s a pair of minor characters who take center stage in “This is Why We Don’t Entrust Plans to Muppet Babies” when an invisible Qareen is set loose on the grounds slowly stoking the insecurities of the students and feeding on their growing discord. The only one who can see the creature is the often-overlooked Wade (Elijah B. Moore) who, to the surprise of everyone in the school, is actually a faerie. The rising bitchiness between all concerned makes fighting the beast difficult but when Landon (Aria Shahghasemi) and the rest of the student body put their faith in Wade everything turns out sunshine and rainbows. Well… not everything.

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