Thursday, September 15, 2011

IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED...

My Brave and the Bold episode "Scorn of the Star Sapphire," which features Batman teamed with Green Lantern, was scheduled to air back in May—but, for reasons that remain mysterious, the show was yanked at the last minute and B & B vanished from the airwaves for months.  The good news is that it's back—and the GL episode airs tomorrow night at 6 pm on Cartoon Network.  (I've embedded a teaser clip below.)  It's a fun episode, and if you're a Hal Jordan fan I suspect you'll enjoy it, but the one I'm really looking forward to is next week's, which once again teams Batman with the Justice League International—as they go on a time-hopping mission with Rip Hunter.  I think it's one of the very best of all the episodes I've written for the show.   Be sure to let me know what you think.

32 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for the update, Marc! I'd looked high and low on CN's schedule for this series until you mentioned a few days ago that it was returning. Hal looks great here and I can't wait to see the animated DeMatteis JLI back in action!

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  2. I've only seen this show here and there, but when you say Bats is going to team up with the JLI, can we expect a Bwa-Ha-Ha or two?

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  3. As noted, Joseph, I think the GL episode is excellent -- and I was very excited to spotlight the Hal Jordan Green Lantern, one of my childhood favorites -- but it's the JLI one that I'm really pumped about. It's a big, time-spanning story...but, more important, it's the JLI!

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  4. Saw them both on iTunes a while back, JMD, and you're right--the JLI episode is classic fun in the best possible way. I also dug the big bad reveal.

    BTW, JMD, I really think you'd like this week's BATMAN AND ROBIN #1. There's a really nice moment about Bruce moving forward and embracing the positives of his parent's legacy. I don't want to say any more, but it struck me as being consonant with the kind of spiritual growth your work has emphasized so well.

    --David

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  5. There may not be an actual "Bwah-ha-ha" in the script, Jay -- although, honestly, it's been a while since I wrote it so I can't remember -- but the JLI tone is very much in line with the Giffen-DeMatteis model -- so there's lots of goofiness along with the straight-ahead superhero action.

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  6. Bruce embracing the positives in his parents' legacy is something explored some years back in the story "Going Sane," David -- so I'm glad that the current writers aren't just focusing on the borderline psycho aspect of Batman's character.

    Glad, too, that you enjoyed the B&B episodes!

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  7. I loved Bruce's realization that he can be and is a healer like his father in GOING SANE!

    There's an exchange in BAR1 that really made me think of your work and philosophy. Batman makes a paper boat out of a MARK OF ZORRO advertisement, and he sends it floating in the sewers below Crime Alley.

    Damian: Tt..You can't just build a boat and hope darkness magically sails away with it.

    Bruce: Why not? It's my boat.

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  8. That's a great piece of dialogue, David. Who's the writer?

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  9. Well, it sounds like Batman's in good hands, David.

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  10. I think so, JMD. It looks as though I'll be buying all four Batman titles for the foreseeable future, and just to drop a hint to DC, I'd buy a FIFTH if you wrote it.

    I can see it now--"DCnU, the New 53!"

    There's some great stuff coming out of his new relaunch. Etrigan even has his own team book out now, DEMON KNIGHTS.

    --David

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  11. Ah, the Demon: I love that character, David.

    It would be interesting to return to Batman after all this time, looking at the character with a new vision.

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  12. Batman's at an interesting place right now, and I'd love to see your take on his world these days.

    He found out a few years back that he has a ten year old son with Talia, who's been raised up to this point by the League of Assassins. So it's really fun seeing Bruce struggle to be a father to Damian, and trying to teach him compassion and responsibility.

    --David

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  13. Yes--though he didn't realize this until recently. The idea actually came from a late 1980s one-shot, SON OF THE DEMON, which ended with the relevation that Talia had given birth to their child. SOTD was considered non-canon until Grant Morrison revived the idea for his BATMAN run.

    I fear I'm not doing the idea justice here. It's obviously one of those concepts that could have gone horribly wrong in a million different ways, but it's worked really well in my opinion.

    Damian is the manifestation of the comic book violence mentality, more concerned with kicking butt than helping others, giving no thought to the consequences of his actions.

    Seeing Bruce play father to a misguided child is a great opportunity to focus on why he's not just a hero, he's a nice guy, and a healer like his father. :)

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  14. To be fair Superman had one first (okay, it was movie Superman, but still...)

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  15. You're correct, Jay -- but, really, aren't we all trying to forget that? (There were actually things about that movie I liked a lot, but the son wasn't one of them.)

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  16. The movie definitely had some positives; I thought Routh did a good job as Superman, and the plane crashing sequence was pretty awesome.

    Was I the only one who kept waiting for James Marsden's character, who was probably the most heroic character in the film, to Optic Blast Superman in the face though?

    Back onto the original topic, I will definitely try to see your JLI episode, I love that crew! If Marvel and DC ever get along well enought do crossovers again I'd love to see you guys do a JLI/Great Lakes Avengers crossover...!

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  17. I guess it all depends on how it's played, David, and from what you're saying, it's played well. Still, I know that the "new" DC very much wants to keep their heroes young, which makes it odd that they'd have Batman be a father; something that makes him seem more middle-aged.

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  18. I agree, Jay: Routh did a fine job as Superman. The biggest problem with the movie (aside from the son) was that it was trying TOO hard to evoke the Donner movies; it wasn't able to forge its own identity. That said, I was more than happy to see Routh return in a second film, one that I expect would have worked out the kinks of the first one. (In the same way that both Spider-Man and the X-Men transcended themselves in their second films.)

    But now we've got a new Superman on the way and I'm more than willing to give it a chance: I just hope it's not Dark Knight Superman, the grim and gritty hero of Metropolis.

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  19. Will you be working on Green Lantern: The Animated Series?

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  20. I'm not at the moment, Nelson -- but I'd certainly love to!

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  21. As far as deaging goes, well, you know how Batman is about reading those DC inter-office memos!- -David

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  22. Yeah, that Batman won't listen to ANYONE. He's such a rebel.

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  23. I'm already starting to have doubts about the news Superman movie, despite some excellent casting choices. For one thing, the costume, while actually more faithful to the traditional outfit than the one currently in the comics, just looks "off" to me--Superman NEEDS the red trunks, dammit! Another thing is that I'm not hearing much that's really NEW. General Zod, the origin retold, growing up in Smallville, etc. I hope I'm wrong--on the surface, THE DARK KNIGHT sounded like a retread of Burton's first Batman movie (Batman confronts the Joker for the first time), but it was far, far more than that.

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  24. Yeah, it's really impossible to tell, Glenn. As noted, my big fear is that it's Dark Knight Superman. And your point about the origin retread is well-taken, too. (Same with the upcoming Spider-Man movie.) Do we really need to see that again?

    In the end, of course, it's all in the execution. So here's hoping we get the Superman movie we've all been waiting for.

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  25. The first official pic from MAN OF STEEL made me feel pretty good about it, with Superman standing in front of the broken bank vault ready for action.

    As far as retread goes, I suspect we'll see Zod interpreted less through the cartoon supervillain lens, and more as the twisted Kryptonian patriot/zealot.

    For my money, I'll never get over my love of Terrence Stamp's Zod. In the history of over-the-top villains with sinister British accents, he's matched only by Alan Rickman's Hans Grueber. Still, I look forward to seeing a more fleshed out take on Zod.

    I'm a bit concerned about origin retreads, too. I love the efficieny of the BATMAN 89 origin. Less than two minutes to show us why he is who he is, and that in the third act!

    Grant Morrison put Superman's origin like this in ALL-STAR SUPERMAN:

    DESPERATE SCIENTISTS.
    DOOMED PLANET.
    LAST HOPE.
    KINDLY COUPLE.
    SUPERMAN!

    To my mind, a comic book origin should be a lot like a comic book cover: it's somehow deeper and more intriguing than anything that can be articulated. Or to quote a wise man, "The Spirit speaks with groans we cannot utter."

    In the age of decompression, we tend to forget that Stan Lee gave us the Peter Parker template in less than twenty pages!

    And I'm really liking the Superman redesign so far!

    --David

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  26. Love Morrison's Superman origin Haiku, David. Wonderful.

    The truth is we won't know anything till these movies come out. Let's hope for the best!

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  27. I am worried the new Superman movie is going to be too dark, since I read somewhere that Warner Brothers was going to go "grimmer and grittier" with the Green Lantern sequel, if there is one. Just because that formula worked for Batman doesn't mean it will work for every character.

    Superman should be a bright shining hope to everybody. I forget who said it (think it was on a message board), but if you can't take your kid to see a Superman movie, then it isn't Superman. Not to say you can't have a mature film, you can, but a Superman movie should see you leave the theatre feeling hope and optimism, not like you spent the night in a back alley somewhere.

    I generally try to to into all movies without high expectations so I can enjoy the film for what it is without pre-established biases, so I will give the new Superman film the benefit of the doubt until I see it.

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  28. I totally agree with everything you say, Jay. Superman should be the embodiment of hope. Not that you can't put the character in a dark story but, as you say, a Superman film should have you leaving the theater feeling radiant with hope and optimism.

    Let's see what the future brings!

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  29. In the scene when Taylor confronts Carol in her office...the second time someone enters the room, who was it, Taylor again? Zamarons? Or was it partially things going wonky in Carol's head?

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  30. From my POV it was things going wonky in Carol's head as Star Sapphire took over. As I recall, it didn't play that way in the script, so I'm just guessing here based on what the director/animators did.

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