Activation Click #14, "Holy HCRealms Hijinx, Batman!"

[AZS]

Activation Click #14, "Holy HCRealms Hijinx, Batman!"
By Frontman

I hear what they say. They say that Adam West’s Batman was a total waste, that I’m celebrating the demise of X3’s director, and that pro wrestling fans are far too violent.

But I say, wrong, wrong, WRONG! If they can’t fix my cable by Sunday’s Pay Per View, I’m busting someone’s head with a flaming baseball bat wrapped with barbed wire!!! E-C-Dub, E-C-Dub, E-C-Dub!!!

Welcome back to my ongoing argument with the whole wide world, I’m the Frontman; and this is Activation Click. In this week’s column, I’ll give a step by step guide to converting Huntress into that swanky new costume some guy named Jim Lee designed, I’ll put the 60’s “Batman” into proper perspective, and give some much needed thanks to some fellow Realmers.


FIRST TOPIC!!

[Frontman]

Vaughn Out

It was announced last week that Matthew Vaughn has bowed out of directing the next X-men movie just nine weeks before principal photography was to happen. Citing that he did not want to uproot his family from Europe and move them to LA for the year it would take to film X3, he withdrew as director. Now some would think I would be thrilled with this, as I wasn’t keen on Vaughn as the director to begin with.

This actually frustrates me more than anything. I’m of a mindset that if you sign a contract, you need to fulfill said contract. That being said, if the guy’s heart wasn’t into making a full commitment to make X3, then they don’t need him. The problem arises though that a director brings his or her own touch to a film, from costumes to lighting, the director’s influence can be felt in a piece. Some directors are so powerful, you can tell when they work on a particular scene in a film by possibly directing a 2nd or 3rd crew while the main director continues work on another portion.

What I actually find stupid about the whole thing is that Vaughn didn’t realize what kind of a commitment it would take to make X3? Did he miss EVERY “making of” of EVERY blockbuster film made in the past 10 years? Say what you will about directors and their talents or lack thereof, but all of them, if they are worth their salt, work a long grueling schedule to make films like any of the superhero films, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars; you name it. It takes months and months of working 6 and 7 days a week to bring FX laden films to the big screen.

I think this shows Marvel’s desperation to get X3 out around the same time Singer’s “Superman” will premiere. I think Marvel films is trying to show that it isn’t the director that is important, but the characters and story itself. While that might be true, you can’t say that Bryan Singer wasn’t good for the X-men franchise. I think Marvel is gambling that X3 can outdo Superman, with that stupid concept Joe Quesada and Avi Arad have once again brought to the table of “ours is better;” when all that accomplishes is dividing the paying customers attention. I hope that the guy that’s been rumored as signing on for X3 can scramble as well as Tiger Woods to keep X3 on track, and have it fit with what Singer set up in the first two films. It doesn’t have to be a Singer style film, but it shouldn’t jar the audience like Schumacher’s Bat-films did compared to Burton’s, for example.


Riddle me this, Caped Crusader

A few weeks ago, the world lost a very talented actor/impressionist in Frank Gorshin. Gorshin was of course one of the two men who portrayed The Riddler in the 60’s television version of “Batman.” His performance as the Riddler is one that most folks think of when they imagine the Riddler. His style was so effective, that it was natural for Jim Carrey to basically do his own impression of Gorshin when he took on the character for “Batman Forever.” (Does anyone find it ironic that Val Kilmer played Batman in a film entitled “Forever,” only to jump clear when he read the script for “Batman and Robin?”)

Gorshin’s passing got me thinking about the old TV show once again. Say what you will about it, but the Batman TV show was one of the most popular shows of its day. Everyone in Hollywood wanted to guest on the show. The production crew came up with the idea of whatever celebrity who wanted on to appear to be looking out the window as Batman and Robin “climbed” up the side of a building.

Sadly, many think it was the TV show that “ruined” Batman comics for the 60’s, as the publishers tried to make the comic resemble the TV show. However, camp was in during the 60’s, and the comics were goofy well before the TV show premiered. The 50’s had its share of “Golly, Batman,” which became “Holy fill-in-the-blank” dialogue in the 60’s. Batman was flying into outerspace and time traveling years before Bat shark repellant. He also was turned into a genie, made “Negative” where he would disappear when light was shown on him, Batman and Robin had a dog named “Ace” who became “Bat hound,” and a whole other slew of campy ideas. All before the show ever aired.

Keep in mind that TV of the 60’s was silly in various forms. Shows always ended with jokes, problems always solved within the one episode. No good guys ever died. Sure, there were exceptions like “Star Trek” and “The Prisioner,” but even Trek had tribbles. The only thing I can really fault “Batman” on is that it never took Batman’s origin seriously. If I recall correctly, it was only touched on in one or two episodes, and was in dialogue delivered as almost an afterthought.

I think the other thing we all forget 40 years later is that what makes a show popular is the acceptance of the public in whatever time it is. If 10 years ago I told you that a cartoon show would become popular where a kid gets killed every week, and another character talks to a piece of poo around the holidays; you’d think I was crazy. But I guess crazy didn’t enter into it when “South Park” became the show to watch every Wednesday.

I certainly would think a piece of poo would get over, but what they heck do I know anyway?

“Holy talking turds, Batman!”

How to make Huntress’ figure look like the new costume

Throwing caution to the wind (as well as any form of body armour,) Jim Lee redesigned a new costume for Huntress in the now famous “Hush” storyline. Since we’ve got Hush in click form, plus with this past week’s episode of Justice League Unlimited featuring the femme fatale, I thought it would be a great figure to convert for my “Month of the Bat.”

I was hoping to get at least one day off this week to not just convert the figure, but to paint her as well. Alas, that stupid oath of “neither rain, nor sleet, yadda, yadda, yadda,” kicked in and I have been working all week. So, I was able to start the conversion, and will give you the steps up to the point I’m at, and I’ll have her finished for next week’s “Activation Click,” which will be the day of the Bat, as “Batman Begins” hits theatres!

Step 1: Find a great picture of this version of Huntress

While the first choice would be the “Hush” series, I personally used the drawings of her in “The Outsiders” from last year. That’s not to take anything away from Jim Lee’s art, far from it, but Jim’s style is one of action, plus he adds a lot of motion lines that could confuse the viewer as to what is actually on the costume, versus lines of speed, motion, etc. The Outsiders also had her in both action and in some simple moments, i.e. talking to team members. (If you’re not reading the Outsiders, I highly recommend it. A fun book.)

Step 2: Get your supplies you need

Obviously, you get yourself one Huntress figure. One sharp exacto knife, some sculpting putty aka “Green Stuff,” and one plastic Rohan spearman from the Lord of the Rings miniature line (Gasp, heresy! Thou speaketh of anothereth gameth company! A pox upon yee!) If you don’t have a Rohan spearman (or can’t bring yourself to buy anything from a game company with the initials G W) I suggest any figure with a spear, or buy some brass rod from your local hobby shop. The plastic figures are very easy to cut up, hence why I use them.

Step 3: Cut away what you don’t need.

Before I start, a word of warning. One, be safe when cutting. Use small strokes, use a file when you can versus using a sharp blade, and used controlled “scraping/carving” to remove details. I don’t want any PM’s about missing digits from folks. Second, don’t go for removing huge amounts of an area if needed. Scrape detail away a bit at a time, and I’ll point out where I’m talking about once we get going.

First, I started by looking at where Huntress’ mask into her “bat ears” came up framing her face. I filed away her hair where the mask would be, as to have it appear her hair is pushed back by the mask. (this is where to use a file or scrape away the detail with your exacto knife.)

File away the “V” boot tops. (This is an optional step. Jim Lee’s version doesn’t have the “V,” the Outsiders does. I didn’t notice on the JLU episode, as I was too busy laughing at the dialogue to take notes.)

File away the “V” of her top, from the belt up to the cape. You can choose to file away the cross of you want.

If you are using a spearman figure for her bo staff, cut off her right hand at the wrist. For this, I use what they call a side cutter, which is a wire cutter with a perfectly flat edge. If you have one to use, cut the hand away with the flat side of the cutter facing her body. If you will be using the brass rod for her staff, cut away the details of her crossbow in her right hand, leaving her holding just the pistol grip.

Step 4: Now that we mangled the figure, how to we “fix” it

First step is to make up a small amount of putty. Where I started was at the feet and worked my way up. The first area needing attention was the uneven distribution of holsters/straps on her legs. I added two matching straps to her right leg by rolling my putty between two pieces of wax paper (or in a plastic baggie, your choice) the cutting the putty with a sharp knife into a very thin strip. I wrapped it around her leg, joining it in the back behind the cape. I repeated the strip a bit higher, to match her left leg.

I then went to work on the mask. The major mistake WK is making with their sculptors is that he sculptors are thinking 3D instead of 2D. In the real world, masks like the ones superheroes where would never fly, they’re paper thin and have starlight lenses, for cryin’ out loud! The comic book artist puts very little weight into one of the masks, as to give the character the ability to express emotions through the face. Look at Firestar from the comics and look at her figure. The mask is way too big to represent what she wears in the comics!

So, what to do is not build a full mask for Huntress. Rather, you are going to blend and literally give her bat ears. The ears should blend into her forehead and then down to her chin line. As she had her mask painted on before this, use it as a guide to your putty work. The putty should stop just above where her mask is painted on, with some blending down along the cheeks. Again, be subtle about it, less is more.

Finally, if you’ve got a handy spearman, maim that puppy at the wrist just as you did Huntress, then glue the hand with the spear to Huntress’ arm, after removing the spear point of course.

If you are using the brass rod, cut a length of rod no longer than 2”, then take what they call a pin vise, which is a very small hand powered drill, and drill a whole through the pistol grip, so the rod can pass through the hand. Glue in place. (Some will suggest a hot needle and spearing a whole through the hand, I HIGHLY recommend AGAINST doing that. That’s a very good way of hurting yourself.

And, Helena is ready for our painting next week!

Painting tips for the rest of the list

Ok, some of the list from last week. I wasn’t able to track down an extra Mr. Freeze send away figure yet, so that painting guide will have to wait for a future AC. After watching a JLU episode featuring Green Arrow and Black Canary, I did go about repainting Canary. What I did was painted her boots, shorts, and top (sans jacket) with the gloss black. I then painted her jacket a flat black, with gray highlights. Her face got some detail work, including a very dark red lipstick. Her hair I used a similar paint style as I did for Supergirl, which was a base coat of chesnut brown, wash it with watered down Dragon Yellow, then highlighted it with Sunlight Yellow. If you are feeling up to it, I’d recommend painting all her skin tones to match, including her legs, then “tightline” her fishnets with black paint. Painstakingly long to do, but it would make her look far, far, far better.

For Zatanna, the second part of my favorite “Power of Fishnets” team, I repainted her jacket and hat to black, gave her pants the gloss black treatment, and really went to work on painting a better face for her. I even went so far as to paint her one eye to look like she’s winking, by giving nothing but a line of dark brown at the base of her eye.

What happened over this last week

Ok, I did get some folks wondering why I never responded to last week’s comments in “Activation Click.” What happened was a processing snafu, which was only at a level that an admin could fix without loosing the whole thread and starting from scratch. At the time, azs was not our admin yet, so we had to go with what we had.

On that topic, thank you to all who were throwing out the suggestion for me to be a moderator here at HCRealms. Whether I become a moderator or not, I still am committed as always, to make HCRealms THE place to talk Heroclix, and Activation Click the column that is a must read every week. This site has got my 110% support, in whatever way it needs to be the very best it can be.

Congratulations to azs. You know I was all for you being admin once Webhead stepped down. Webhead, I’m glad to hear you’re still with us, and hope for all the best for you. Take care of the real world stuff, and us game geeks will still be here when life allows.

Next week is it folks, B-Day will be here! Batman Begins in theatres next week!

See you all in 7.

The Frontman

[rouge2]

I don't think Vaughn's stated reasons are anywhere near the whole story. The Beat and other sources have leaked insiders saying that this production is a mess (from the script, to the budget to the dates). Vaughn may have felt he was set up to fail and took the option to bow out before stuff hit the fan.

Of course, his wife is Claudia Schiffer, so claiming you want to spend more time at home is extremely justifiable as well. ;)

[DocSachiel]

It's definetly nice to see someone else who loved the old series as much as me and my girlfriend do.

As much as I enjoy Batman (which is a heckofalot!), I've always hated that people try to ignore all of the Bat history that comes pre-Denny O'Neil and Frank Miller in the 70s and 80s. I liked being able to read a comic and not feel really sad or letdown after I finished. I enjoyed every episode of the old show, and the movie certainly puts any of the modern ones to shame as far as enjoyment and quality go, at least in my opinion.

[Alex Lucard]

Just an eratta. Frank Gorshin is the only guy to have played The Riddler in the Batman TV Show. There's weren't two people to have played him. IMDB and Adam West's own biography back that up.

[The Werle]

Another important note: The most recent Justice League Unlimited episode, "Double Date", was penned by DC's own Gail Simone. If you loved what she did with the Huntress and Black Canary in that then you should definately start buying her regular monthly DC comic, Birds of Prey, which is about 1000 times better than Outsiders could ever be on its best day.

[Frontman]

Another important note: The most recent Justice League Unlimited episode, "Double Date", was penned by DC's own Gail Simone. If you loved what she did with the Huntress and Black Canary in that then you should definately start buying her regular monthly DC comic, Birds of Prey, which is about 1000 times better than Outsiders could ever be on its best day.

Already a huge fan of Birds.

As far as Gorshin, didn't someone else play Riddler for a few episodes? I could of sworn the actor who played Gomez Adams had a stint as the Riddler? Or did he play another villain on Batman?

The Frontman

[shieldthrower]

Kudos for your praise of the TV series. For me growing up, Adam West was Batman. Also, X3 is doomed. For the best results (in my opinion) X3 should be shelved until after Superman. Singer might actually return and helm it. We already have two great X-Men movies to enjoy why are we in such a big hurry? Patience...Luke...Patience.
Besides, (in my opinion) X3 should deal largely with Porfessor X, Scott, Logan, and Jean as Dark Phoenix. Too many characters to introduce into a major plot line will leave an unsatisfactory result.

[Frontman]

I don't think Vaughn's stated reasons are anywhere near the whole story. The Beat and other sources have leaked insiders saying that this production is a mess (from the script, to the budget to the dates). Vaughn may have felt he was set up to fail and took the option to bow out before stuff hit the fan.

Of course, his wife is Claudia Schiffer, so claiming you want to spend more time at home is extremely justifiable as well. ;)

Which was my concern all along. Vaughn was smart then to pull out (dumb on his reasoning, as it made him look like the fool. But only a fool would stay on a project that is in poor shape if he isn't allowed to fix it.)

I thought with the casting of Kesley Grammar as Hank McCoy that they were in trouble. Now its beginning to become even harder to have faith in this project.

The Frontman

[shieldthrower]

Someone else did play the Riddler for at least one episode - John Austin - Gomez from the Addams Family!

[Frontman]

Someone else did play the Riddler for at least one episode - John Austin - Gomez from the Addams Family!

That's his name! You know, you'd think with all the Lord of the Rings stuff these past years, I would of remembered Sean Austin's pappy was the Riddler, if only for one episode.

The Frontman

[AbeSapien]

Just an eratta. Frank Gorshin is the only guy to have played The Riddler in the Batman TV Show. There's weren't two people to have played him. IMDB and Adam West's own biography back that up.


Actually I remember John Astin (Gomez Adams) playing the Riddler for one episode.

[AbeSapien]

A little bit of proof.

http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/7537/riddler2.html

[echopryme]

It's definetly nice to see someone else who loved the old series as much as me and my girlfriend do.

As much as I enjoy Batman (which is a heckofalot!), I've always hated that people try to ignore all of the Bat history that comes pre-Denny O'Neil and Frank Miller in the 70s and 80s. I liked being able to read a comic and not feel really sad or letdown after I finished. I enjoyed every episode of the old show, and the movie certainly puts any of the modern ones to shame as far as enjoyment and quality go, at least in my opinion.

The old series definitely had it's moments (including the best Batman line of all times, used recently in fact "Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb") but overall, I gotta say that I like Bats in the "gloom and doom" mode.

I was thinking about this last night actually. I started thinking about what would happen if Marvel and DC decided to trade a C-List hero and a C-List villain, and which would go best in the other universe. Anyway, to make a long story short, I came up with a bunch of villains that would be great in DC (I settled on Taskmaster, just to see a Taskmaster/Deathstroke fight), but I had only one hero that worked well as a Marvel guy, and that was Bats. As far from C-List as humanly possible.

There was an article in Wizard that said something to the effect that Marvel's heroes are more cautionary. You shouldn't really want to be The Hulk, they said, and I agree with that thinking. But, by that criteria, you shouldn't want to be Batman either. For that matter, Batman doesn't really want to be Batman.

And that's what really makes him unique in DC. The fact that he really is just as crazy as his enemies, in his own way. But that crazy should never come off as Daffy Duck crazy. It should come off as right on the edge crazy. Batman is a man obsessed, and to me, he's always been more than a little embarassed about it. That's why he doesn't work well with others, that's why he has to always be in control of the information, and that's why he surrounds himself with other tragic figures... to make himself seem normal.

Batman, as a character and as a comic, has always been a thesis on the psychology of becoming that which you hate, be it your parents (which, although it has never been eluded to, Thomas and Martha Wayne must have REALLY screwed that kid up to make him automatically go bloodthirsty when they died, making them early Bruce Wayne pseudo-enemies in my book) or your enemies. Lightening the character up at times is fine, but it should be done the way Alan Moore did it at the end of Killing Joke, where Batman can't keep himself from laughing at The Joker's stupid joke. That way you humanize Bruce Wayne, and keep the focus where it belongs, on the psychology of the little boy who's parents were killed.

That being said, I actually do adore the old show. From the Bat-tusi to Batman in his board shorts taking on the Joker in a surfing competition, I know that show inside and out. And yes, Gorshin WAS the Riddler, Julie Newmar IS Catwoman, Burgess Merideth WAS Penguin, and Mark Hammill IS the Joker (see what I did there? :grin: Well, it's true...). I just don't even think of it as Batman. To me it seems more like The Blue Beetle Show, and if you keep that in mind while watching it, you'll love it too.

But as for Batman going back to that? Well just think of that slant angle camera in "Batman and Robin" and a giant Germanic-type playing a Nobel canidate bio-chemist named Victor Freise... Oh wait, that's why there's a new movie coming out to begin with.

:nervous:

[Sink74]

...including the best Batman line of all times, used recently in fact "Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb"...


Well, it certainly is nice to see greatness recognized as greatness.

[Frontman]

To me, I think the best version of Batman is where he remains human. I think showing him care about Tim Drake and Richard Grayson as they grow up makes him believable. I like how Morrison almost made Batman the outcast of the JLA by playing up him being the outcast. He's much more of a leader than even he will admit, as he's an inspiration to many. Batman is at his best in the DC universe when he has others to compare to. Batman/Superman comic is a great book, as it shows that these two are very much alike in their motivations, they just come at issues from completely different universes.

I also like the dicotomy that Batman TAS portrayed him with. It's very subtle, but you can see it in dialogue where while in costume, Batman says something like "Bruce Wayne knew him in Japan" to Robin. It establishes that even Bruce knows he's flawed. It almost shows that Bruce is a disguise just as much as Batman is.

I especially like when its a source of a sort of gallows humor, when he is talking to Wonder Woman in a JLU episode and refers to himself as "A rich kid with issues. Lots of issues."

I think though you'd be surprised on how many DC characters could translate into the Marvel universe. Hal Jordan, Oliver Queen, even Nightwing could jump and "fit" in the flawed universe approach that Marvel uses.

Captain America would be an easy fit in DC, too.

The Frontman

[echopryme]

I think though you'd be surprised on how many DC characters could translate into the Marvel universe. Hal Jordan, Oliver Queen, even Nightwing could jump and "fit" in the flawed universe approach that Marvel uses.

Captain America would be an easy fit in DC, too.

The Frontman

Yeah, but I was trying to come up with C-List'ers. I had nothing, really. I'd love to see Silver Surfer in DC if we're talking ANY character, by the way. The Silver Surfer next to the Lanterns would OWN.

And yeah, Cap and Stargirl would be a cool team-up for a minute.

[Hitman7000]

E-C-Dub! E-C-Dub! E-C-Dub!!!

Can't wait for Sunday either brother, you're definately not alone!!

[LeaLu]

Hmm, as far as C-Listers go, I could potentially see Hourman work in Marvel, or Arsenal.

[Frontman]

E-C-Dub! E-C-Dub! E-C-Dub!!!

Can't wait for Sunday either brother, you're definately not alone!!

I just hope they can figure out this cable snafu by then. Are you going to be running tape while watching it, Hitman?

[Hitman7000]

Certainly plan on it.

[Joe Kerr]

I wouldn't sweat missing the ECW PPV because it's going to blow. The stupid/failed in the past invasion angle will just make the PPV WWE ECW which is ####.

[Hitman7000]

Ah, but you forget my young padewan, THIS time Paul Heyman is running the ECW show. Where in the putrid invasion angle, it was Vince, Stephanie and Shane. Paul Heyman has even said publically, that this will be his swan song with WWE, as his contract will soon be up. So, this very well could be Paul Heyman's final bow in wrestling, and he will ensure that ECW will live this Sunday. Besides......................they've got Joey Styles to announce....can I get an "oh my God!!!"

[Frontman]

Oh My God!!!!

My favorite call from Styles though, and I'll avoid using the whole phrase here, but you'll get the idea.

Mike Awesome powerbomb of Spike Dudley from the ropes to a table set up ringside.

"I'll have to apologize to my Mother for this one, but HOLY ####!"

As far as Paul's swan song, he's not 100% either way. I think he'll stay, as Vince owns the ECW trademarks now, and I think Vince is all for giving Paul a stage to perform on.

Even with the involvment of WWE talent, I think this will be a great PPV. Just bugged as all hell that the cable company can't get my signal fixed in time this weekend for either the PPV OR Justice League tomorrow night.

[DocSachiel]

The old series definitely had it's moments (including the best Batman line of all times, used recently in fact "Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb") but overall, I gotta say that I like Bats in the "gloom and doom" mode.

(snip)

Batman, as a character and as a comic, has always been a thesis on the psychology of becoming that which you hate, be it your parents (which, although it has never been eluded to, Thomas and Martha Wayne must have REALLY screwed that kid up to make him automatically go bloodthirsty when they died, making them early Bruce Wayne pseudo-enemies in my book) or your enemies. Lightening the character up at times is fine, but it should be done the way Alan Moore did it at the end of Killing Joke, where Batman can't keep himself from laughing at The Joker's stupid joke. That way you humanize Bruce Wayne, and keep the focus where it belongs, on the psychology of the little boy who's parents were killed.

That being said, I actually do adore the old show. From the Bat-tusi to Batman in his board shorts taking on the Joker in a surfing competition, I know that show inside and out. And yes, Gorshin WAS the Riddler, Julie Newmar IS Catwoman, Burgess Merideth WAS Penguin, and Mark Hammill IS the Joker (see what I did there? :grin: Well, it's true...). I just don't even think of it as Batman. To me it seems more like The Blue Beetle Show, and if you keep that in mind while watching it, you'll love it too.


It's not so much the "doom and gloom" type stuff I have a problem with, it's more the lack of originality.

When you say something like "It worked for Loeb/Miller/O'Niel, so it'll work for me," then the comic is pretty much doomed. Take a really solid, older Bat book, say, "A Death in the Family," then compaire it to the rip-off "Robin's Dead!" story that came out a little while ago, "War Games."

Alot of the plot elements are the same (ie. Newer Robin works hard to find him/herself, ends up disobeying Batman and disappearing from his offical watch, ends up getting killed in a really stupid way that makes you feel sad, the Batman messes up the guy who did it), but the story just plain sucks. War Games was terrible, it was gimmiky, and it just plain didn't work due to it's unoriginality and poor "More Dark Than Thou" writing style.

It's different when you have a message behind it; Alan Moore's "The Killing Joke" (one of my favorite comics of all times hands down), for example, while being about as dark as a comic can get, works wonderfully because it uses it's darkness to counterpose Batman and the Joker as victims of, essentially, the one bad day that destroys your entire life. Maybe if Bruce had been poorer and in his 20s when his parents were gunned down before him, he might have snapped like the Joker did. It is a book where terrible things happen to people, no one ought to wish what Gordon has to live through in that book upon anyone, but it is there for a reason. It is well thought out darkness, rather than the seeming logic of some writers who simply say "Batman was best written by Frank Miller. Hence, I will rewrite his work, and because his work was dark, mine should be too." Daredevil, perhaps, was the worst sufferer of the "Good writer is imitated" phenominon, but Batman, too, is often hurt by it.

Yeah, The Dark Knight Returns is a fantastic book but it was supposed to be the last Batman story, the end. Why else would a work like "The Dark Knight Strikes Again" #### so hard?

So, I guess I like the older Batman better because there's none of the wading through #### that you have to do with the modern books. I don't like the Black Mask as a villian, because he lacks any of the modivation that so many of the other Bat villians have that makes them one of the best Rogues galleries around. He's a crazy Mob boss in a mask carved from his parent's coffin. He's the Red Skull if he wasn't a ####, and had a black head instead. He's boring, and trite, and frankly just not an original enough villian to keep me interested in what he's going. Yeah, great, he killed the Spoiler, who I liked. That doesn't mean that I want to see Batman thrash him, it means I wish that the whole story hadn't of happened in the first place. Jason Todd is back as the Red Hood, only he's maybe, maybe not a villian, and he's basically just laying about fighting Batman occasionally. Because the former dead ally returns as a villian thing hasn't been done enough times before. And Wynik's resurrection of the Red Hood as his identity just lends more creedence to my theory that all he and Geoff Johns do when strapped for ideas is go flip through some of the old Archives editions and say "hey, he's going to fight this guy now. "

Maybe I'm just being an old fart long before I ought to be, but I'm so sick of frowning and waiting for stories to be over in the hope that there will be a better one next arc.

[The_Wanderer]

Oh My God!!!!

My favorite call from Styles though, and I'll avoid using the whole phrase here, but you'll get the idea.

Mike Awesome powerbomb of Spike Dudley from the ropes to a table set up ringside.

"I'll have to apologize to my Mother for this one, but HOLY ####!"

As far as Paul's swan song, he's not 100% either way. I think he'll stay, as Vince owns the ECW trademarks now, and I think Vince is all for giving Paul a stage to perform on.

Even with the involvment of WWE talent, I think this will be a great PPV. Just bugged as all hell that the cable company can't get my signal fixed in time this weekend for either the PPV OR Justice League tomorrow night.


So I'm taking this as you will put an E-C-Dub review in here as well. Oh, Tazz is supposed to be working ringside with Joey Styles, but he wants to lay a Tazzmision on Angle if he is dumb enough to get close.
*teardrop Smiley* I miss Tazz in the ring.

[Frontman]

I totally miss Taz the wrestler, but as far as his intelligence and ring philosophy, he is an incredible color guy for announcing. I've been a huge Taz fan since ECW, and really started watching the WWE for Jericho and him once I heard he had jumped to the Federation.

I did set up a completely separate thread from this, as obviously, wrestling has zero relationship to superhero comics (ok, save two things. RVD's ability to pretty much peform Spiderman-like moves and Nova) so head on over to this thread, and all us ECW fans can share our thoughts on tonight's PPV, who was/is our favorite ECW alumni, favorite moments/matches, and the like.

http://hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1609180#post1609180

As Big Stevie Cool would put it

"We're taking over!!!"

E-C-Dub, E-C-Dub, E-C-Dub!!!

The Frontman

[Gumpold]

Just an eratta. Frank Gorshin is the only guy to have played The Riddler in the Batman TV Show. There's weren't two people to have played him. IMDB and Adam West's own biography back that up.

Actually, IMDb does list John Astin as appearing uncredited as the Riddler in two episodes.

"Batman's Anniversary" Episode: #2.45 - 8 February 1967
John Astin .... Riddler #2 (uncredited)
Jim Lefebvre .... Across
Deanna Lund .... Anna Gram


"A Riddling Controversy" Episode: #2.46 - 9 February 1967
John Astin .... Riddler #2 (uncredited)
Jim Lefebvre .... Across
Deanna Lund .... Anna Gram

Note: The way the cast lists were compiled, #2 does not mean a different character, it is the order of the actors portraying the character.