Superman: The Animated Series - Episodes 17-20 Reviews

Onto a strong selection of episodes as a speedster shows up for a race, Lois gets a blast from the past and Superman faces two other entertaining enemies.

Episode 17: Livewire

Livewire is a pretty decent baddie and I was looking forward to seeing how this series handled the character as she popped up here before appearing in The New Batman Adventures. Here we get to see shock jock Leslie Willis (Lori Petty) revel in being controversial and generally anti-Superman, even more so when a lightning accident at a media event transforms her into Livewire and Leslie takes to being a new villain rather quickly by trying to blackout Metropolis and control it's media. Her defeat and eventual incarceration by Lex Luthor though is a rather dark way of ending this episode. 7/10

Episode 18: Speed Demons

Having an episode with The Flash was not something I was expecting seeing as Batman: The Animated Series seemed to keep the big heroes out of Gotham but we've got a race between Superman and the Flash (Charlie Schlatter) for charity that gets interrupted by Weather Wizard (Miguel Ferrer). I love the use of Weather Wizard here and his relationship with his brother, not to mention the snarky rivalry between Superman and the Flash, nicely played for laughs too. 8/10

Episode 19: Identity Crisis

I have a bit of a soft spot for Bizarro and this episode had me actively rooting for the poor guy too. He starts the episode genuinely believing that he's actually Superman and is shocked when the real Superman points out he's a fake. It also doesn't help the poor guy that Lex Luthor has a batch of Superman clones waiting to go and that Mercy takes pleasure in ridiculing his looks and giving him the name of Bizarro. At least Lois is kind to him and his heroic sacrifice, while predictable is pretty affecting to watch though. A fantastic episode, easily one of the series best. 9/10

Episode 20: Target

After three incredibly strong episodes, this one was rather weak by comparison. Basically Lois wins a journalist award and we learn that a former mentor of hers hates her guts while at the same time, someone is terrorising Lois and trying to kill her at different times. The person responsible also become a new baddie, Luminous and there's an okay enough fight scene between him and Superman but after the previous three episodes, this one wasn't as impressive. 6/10

Next blog I'll delve into Action Figures, Mxyzpixilated, Double Dose and Solar Power.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Yes, The Worst Is Happening, We're Getting A Reboot (Well, maybe not)

Well, this was annoyingly inevitable, wasn't it, folks? Following the likes of Sabrina, Charmed and Roswell all being primed for reboots airing in the next few months, it seems that in keeping with nothing being sacred, Buffy The Vampire Slayer too is getting one. Oh joy.

Monica Owusa-Breen, best known for her work on the original Charmed series as well as Alias, Lost and Midnight, Texas will spearhead the new version of Buffy The Vampire Slayer with Joss Whedon also involved in the project. This version will apparently see a black actress cast in the title role but as of yet, a script has not been written, nor a network actually confirmed to take on the potential reboot. Whedon will also have a Victorian female led series called The Nevers airing on HBO as well in the next year.

I'm going to be blunt here - my respect for Whedon has been on a downward spiral for a while, what with his own real life behaviour coming to the surface, his crass social media virtue signalling and his botching of Justice League but this really makes him look like a massive sellout. Whedon has lost his woke points with a certain following for quite a while and this attempt of diversifying his most beloved of shows just smacks of desperation. Aside from the fact that there are three better options worth exploring (a revival with the original cast, a Giles spin-off or even a show with a brand new slayer in the same universe), there seems to be this growing arrogance with Hollywood types who think that rebooting everything with a diversity tag will automatically guarantee them an audience. Given how the forthcoming Charmed reboot is rightfully getting slated online and might possibly tank when it airs on the CW, I just cannot see this possible reboot resonating with audiences like the original series did. Seriously, let's hope no network pick this reboot up and let HBO have Whedon's other feminist themed show.

Actually I might have jumped the gun a tad. Yesterday, Monica Owusa-Breen seemed to confirm on her Twitter account that it might be a new slayer we're meeting instead of a reboot. If that's the case, then this series will have my support. A reboot is still a bad idea though.

More Info: https://eu.azcentral.com/story/life/tv/2018/07/20/buffy-vampire-slayer-getting-reboot/811005002/
Monica's Tweet: https://twitter.com/monicabreen/status/1022507356964278272

Thoughts on the possibility of a Buffy reboot? Am I being too harsh or is it really just a bad idea for everyone involved?

SDCC 2018 - DC TV & Movie Universe Spoilers

It was certainly busy at SDCC over the weekend and for DC fans, there was certainly a lot to enjoy with various spoilers for the TV and movies to savour. However, I'll start with the movies first.

Aquaman: The movie made a splash with stars Jason Momoa (Aquaman), Amber Heard (Mera), Nicole Kidman (Atlanna), Patrick Wilson (Ocean Master), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Black Manta) and director James Wan showing up to promote the movie at long last. Apparently there was two trailers unveiled but only one released and it did a pretty solid job in promoting the underwater epic as Arthur and Mera work together to stop the former's half brother from bringing war to the surface by uniting the Seven Kingdoms. The movie is due for release on December 21st 2018.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDkg3h8PCVU

Shazam: Also getting it's debut at SDCC was of course, Shazam with stars Zachary Levi (playing the title character), Asher Angel (Billy Batson), Jack Dylan Grazer (Freddy Freeman) and director David F. Sandberg in attendance. The trailer released definitely revealed the fun of the DCEU (now being called Worlds of DC) with Billy getting to be superhero and having fun with his new powers while at the same time, having to go against Dr Sivana (Mark Strong). Think a superhero version of Big and you're pretty much there with what this movie is attempting to do. The movie will be released April 5th 2019.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go6GEIrcvFY

Wonder Woman 1984: Despite filming only beginning last month, SDCC still managed to bag an exclusive as stars Gal Gadot and Chris Pine (Steve Trevor) rocked up to the event with director Patty Jenkins as audiences got a little taster of what's to come with this movie. Sadly the footage hasn't been released online but it did involve Diana kicking some ass with people talking about how undeniably 80s the movie feels. The movie itself is being treated as another standalone adventure rather than a sequel and while we don't know why or how Steve Trevor is back, we do know that it's really him and he plays a big role in this movie. We also know that Kristin Wiig will be playing the main antagonist, Cheetah/Dr Barbara Ann Minerva and that Pedro Pascal has an undisclosed role. The film will be released on November 1st 2019 and it won't be the only movie with Diana to come out next year as an animated movie called Wonder Woman: Bloodlines will also be out too.

Birds Of Prey: For now this seems to be the title of that infamous Harley Quinn Girl Gang movie that's being bandied about for a while. Directed by Cathy Yan, the movie will see Margot Robbie reprise her role of former Joker henchwoman/current anti-heroine, Harley Quinn and if the rumours are correct, the movie will feature live action versions of Black Canary, Huntress, Cassandra Cain and Renee Montoya as well as a Batman antagonist who hasn't been on the big screen yet. Filming for the movie is due to start in January 2019 with a likely early 2020 release date.

Joker: Not connected to the franchise formerly known as the DCEU, this standalone movie starring Joaquin Phoenix as the titular Clown Prince Of Crime will begin filming in September with an October 2019 release earmarked. Yeah, I like Phoenix as an actor and the Joker is one of my favourite villains but I cannot muster any enthusiasm for this one at all. It just feels absolutely pointless. Anyways, there's rumours that Deadpool 2's Zazie Beetz might be joining the movie as well.

Other DC movies to look out for in 2019 but on the animated front are Batman: Hush, Reign Of The Supermen, Justice League vs. The Fatal Five as well as Wonder Woman: Bloodlines.

And now let's have a look at the TV and streaming gods have to offer DC fans ....

Titans: Well, the trailer for this one generated some controversy on Thursday when Brenton Thwaites not so retired Robin uttered the meme inspiring words "Fuck Batman". Aside from that, there's clearly a gritty approach going on with this show as we saw not only the former Boy Wonder but also Raven (Teagan Croft), Starfire (Anna Diop), Beast Boy (Ryan Potter), Hawk (Alan Ritchson) and Dove (Minka Kelly) in action. I'll admit that going for the Netflix Marvel series approach might generate mixed results but for the debut show to be launched from the DC Universe streaming service later this year, I still want to give this one a go.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIYzdBAxcM8

- Arrow's seventh season (October 15th) will feature the returns of characters such as Brick and Bronze Tiger as well as the introduction of the Longbow Hunters. We're also getting a new gay character named Daniel Porter and a few mercenary characters as well as a returned Roy Harper.
- The Flash (October 9th) has cast Chris Klein as season antagonist Cicada for it's fifth season. Nora will have a difficult relationship with Iris while Tom Cavanagh will direct the 100th episode and Barry will get his Flash ring this season.
- Supergirl (October 14th) will have Nia Nal/Dreamer (Nicole Maines), Agent Liberty (Sam Witwer), Colonel Haley (April Parker Jones) as regulars along with Manchester Black (David Ajala) as recurring threat. Journalism will play a bigger role and the show will do it's own version of the Red Son storyline.
- Legends Of Tomorrow (October 22nd) will have Maisie Richardson Sellers play magical fugitive Charlie this season as well as new regular Alaska Yu (Ramona Young) and recurring Hank Heywood (Tom Wilson). Oh and expect a Beebo return.
- The crossover focusing on Batwoman will exclude the Waverider team but a series for Kate Kane is in development for the CW.
- Black Lightning (October 9th) will have 16 episodes this season with Jordan Calloway's Painkiller promoted to a regular this season. Anissa will have a new love interest too.
- Krypton's second season will introduce Lobo and some of Adam Strange's people. UK viewers will be able to see the first season soon on E4.
- DC Universe streaming service will also have live action series of Swamp Thing, Doom Patrol and Stargirl.

That's all the best gossip from SDCC in relation to the television and movie universe from DC. Some exciting stuff ahead.

Doctor Who - Series 11 Spoilers (SDCC 2018 & More)

Okay, first of all, it's not just stuff from San Diego Comic Con 2018 that I will be covering in relation to the upcoming eleventh series of Doctor Who but loads of stuff that's been hinted at and revealed over the last several months in relation to Jodie Whittaker's debut series.

Yesterday, the show attended SDCC with Jodie Whittaker, Mandip Gill, Tosin Cole, Bradley Walsh (not actually there but he made an appearance nonetheless), Chris Chibnall and Matt Strevens and after several months of not revealing too much, yesterday decided to give us a little bit more. First of all though, let's talk about that leaked clip from the first episode of Series 11 from last month. It didn't get an outing at SDCC yesterday and heads are rolling over whoever leaked it but it did give us a bit of insight into the personality of Jodie's Doctor as we saw her interact with new companions Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill) and Ryan Sinclair (Tosin Cole) on an abandoned train. We also got a sneak peek of the new sonic screwdriver before it's proper outing yesterday as demonstrated in the above picture.

Meanwhile in the space of five days, we've had two trailers released for the eleventh series. The first trailer saw the new Doctor making her presence known to new companions, Ryan, Yasmin and Graham O'Brien (Bradley Walsh) while the second trailer showed us some clips of the new series but managed not to reveal a single monster. Instead we have the new Doctor dealing with post regeneration headaches and asking for some new friends. These trailer might seem a tad restrained compared to past ones and you could argue that Chris Chibnall might be hiding too much at this rate but both certainly succeeded in tempting casual viewers back in the fold though.

In terms of spoilers/rumours, here is what has been confirmed over the last few months, especially as of yesterday.

- There are ten episodes for Series 11, with the first episode being 65 minutes long and the remaining nine being 50 minutes long. There will be no two parters this season and each episode will be standalone.
- Segun Akinola has replaced Murray Gold as the show's new composer.
- Guest stars confirmed so far for episodes are Lee Mack, Alan Cumming and Shaun Dooley.
- There will be a Christmas special this year, set to be directed by Wayne Yip who directed the episodes The Lie Of The Land and Empress Of Mars as well as two episodes of cancelled spin-off series, Class.
- There are rumoured to be no returning monsters though there have been some set reports that indicate this isn't entirely true. Most of the monsters will be new though.
- Sharon D. Clarke's recurring character is called Mary and she's meant to be Graham's wife. Yasmin will be a police officer.
- Jodie has described her Doctor as being egalitarian with a gang of mates.
- A writers room was seemingly confirmed by Chibnall at the SDCC panel yesterday as well. None of the new writers have been revealed though. It's been confirmed there will be POC writers this series as well as a 50/50 male/female director split.
- One episode may be focusing on Rosa Parks while another could be looking into witch trials.
- Chibnall and Jodie have described the series as a good jumping on point for new viewers as well.

Well, that seems to be everything for now but given that we've had two trailers over the last few days and several promotional pictures and interviews, it seems like we're getting closer and closer to seeing the new era for ourselves. As someone who wasn't keen on the idea of a female Doctor, I can't help but admit that this looks very exciting. As the tagline for this series emphasising - the universe is calling.

Series 11 Trailer 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNy2kz-F0KQ
Series 11 Trailer 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEc-OQ_oqDk
SDCC Highlights: https://twitter.com/DoctorWho_BBCA
Press Release: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/entries/b06dcdff-2d81-4b63-bdb0-5b4e84bc1035

Series 11 will air on BBC1 and BBCAmerica in the Autumn. Date to be confirmed. Meanwhile for some of the Classic Series, scoot on over to Twitch.

Superman: The Animated Series - Episodes 13-16 Reviews

Capping off the first season finale with the first three episodes of the second season as Superman faces another encounter with the Parasite, people from Krypton's past and a monster.

Episode 13: Two's A Crowd

I liked Parasite's debut earlier in the season so having him back for a second episode where he's actually more of a grudging ally/slight pawn for another baddie was an interesting enough move. The baddie in question being Earl Garver (Brian Cox) who has hidden a bomb and tried to use Parasite for his own motives before the latter had a change of heart. Also despite the lack of Lois in this episode, I did enjoy the team up with Superman and Maggie Sawyer here. 8/10

Episode 14: Blast From The Past Part 1

Kicking off the second season, it was time to delve into something a little Krypton related and having Superman release former criminal Mala (Leslie Easterbrook) take her under his wing was always going to be a disaster. It didn't really take Mala long from wanting to be Superman's partner in crime to deciding to take over the Earth when he spurned her advances for Lois. This one then ended with Jax Ur (Ron Perlman) being released from the Phantom Zone and ready to cause havoc. 8/10

Episode 15: Blast From The Past Part 2

Ah, the second part of this story and the momentum is maintained pretty well with a brief trip to the Phantom Zone for Superman and a near victory for both Mala and Jax Ur. Of course, both are shortlived and the villainous duo are sent back to the Phantom Zone for their own good while Superman considers the name Fortress of Solitude for his sanctuary. Lois has some good one liners in this episode but ultimately there should be better stuff ahead for her. 8/10

Episode 16: The Prometheon

Aside from the fact that this episode set up a future problem for Superman with the character of the General (Charles Napier), I really didn't care for this one. Don't get me wrong, the humanoid creature thingy looked decent enough, there was some fun action scenes and the last bit was a little sinister but other than that, I just didn't really find the episode that engaging to be honest. Very much a filler one. 5/10.

Next blog I'll delve into Livewire, Speed Demons, Identity Crisis and Target.

Batman 66 - Episodes 53-56 Reviews

Time for another chilling story with a different actor and while we're at it, some practical jokes too. Ah, sure why not?

2x19: Green Ice

To this show's credit, they've never overused a character like Mr Freeze but it has been interesting that each time he's appeared, it's been with a different actor in the role (Gotham will later have this dilemma with Ivy and others too). George Sanders debuted in the role and did a good job and here, it's Otto Preminger assuming the mantle of the chilliest villain going. In this episode alone, Freeze kidnaps Miss Iceland with the intention of making her his bride, turns the media against the Dynamic Duo, hijacks an Emerald themed party at Wayne Manor and tries to turn Batman and Robin into slushies. As you do. Not to mention henchmen faking it up as Batman and Robin too for good measure. 7/10

2x20: Deep Freeze

Keeping with the chills, there's something rather amusing in Freeze's attempts of changing Miss Iceland's feelings towards being an absolute disaster for him. Less amusing was him then turning her into an ice sculpture while being convinced that Batman and Robin were dead for a couple of moments. It's a strong second part to an overall decent second offering from Freeze. Watching the character in this series does serve as a reminder than he didn't always have a tragic origin story. Oh and there's the fact that the series responsible for his definitive story also had an episode with the same title as this one. 7/10

2x21: The Impractical Joker

Not one of my favourite stories involving the Joker to be honest. I think there was a case of the show needed to have him every so often, almost as though viewers wouldn't forget him but sometimes the story didn't always justify it. This one just isn't his best one, even if it does give him a nifty device that allows him to slow the Dynamic Duo down for a bit, even if they're quickly able to counteract the box's purpose before we even get into the second part. I did like the reference to The Green Hornet though in this one. 6/10

2x22: The Joker's Provokers

And it gets a bit dafter in this one. Much as I love the campness of this show, the idea of time travel does seem like a stretch even for this one. Here though, we've got Alfred in the guise of a security guard in order to help the Dynamic Duo thwart the Joker and minions. Sidenote: it's refreshing to see the moll, Cornelia not want to become good or fancy Batman too. It does make a nice change. Alfred's great fun in this episode and the Joker doesn't seem too concerned with another one of his schemes actually failing. Fortunately there's better stories for him on the horizons with these reviews but this one wasn't it. 6/10

Next blog I'll delve into Marsha, Queen of Diamonds/Marsha's Scheme of Diamonds and Come Back, Shame/It's How You Play the Game.

Superman: The Animated Series - Episodes 9-12 Reviews

Into my third venture of episodes and we've got the debut of an intergalactic bounty hunter, the return of a childhood sweetheart and the hint of something darker on a rather aptly titled planet.

Episode 9: The Main Man, Part 1

With this series opening with a three part story, I was a little surprised that they'd launch in with a two parter early again but here we are. In this one we've got intergalactic bounty hunter, Lobo (Brad Garrett) capturing his latest bounty, Sqweek for his latest client, only to be snatched by the Preserver and given the job of capturing Superman for the latter's collection of sole survivors. This first part is a fun set up, giving us a great take on Lobo and it gets even better when after the latter succeeds in snaring Superman, he winds up being added to the collection as well. 8/10

Episode 10: The Main Man, Part 2

Keeping with the fun of the first part, this second part certainly adds to proceedings as both Superman and Lobo are inevitably forced to work with one another in order to defeat the Presever. It's a fun team up with both of them putting their differences aside to make for a solid pairing. There's also a great reveal of what the Preserver really looks like Lobo gets to keep his freedom, give Sqweek to his client and even laments about Superman's solution for the other captives. Definitely a fun story to watch. 8/10

Episode 11: My Girl

Briefly seen in the opening three parter, it was time to catch up with Lana Lang and a fair bit has changed since then. She now seems to be a successful fashion designer and is romantically involved with Lex Luthor. However this episode didn't waste time in having her realise that Clark and Superman are the same person and having her help her friend against an arms dealer associate of Lex as well for good measure, even when it put her in serious danger. There was a nice bit of foreshadowing with Clark and Lois towards the end of this one too. 7/10

Episode 12: Tools Of The Trade

The end reveal with Mannheim arriving on Apokolips and meeting Darkseid is the highlight in an episode that otherwise, I found something of a chore to watch. I didn't really care all that much for the rivalry between Mannheim and the Metropolis PD or even the rivalry between Maggie Sawyer (I think this episode marked her debut) and her fellow detective and even Superman didn't feel as well utilised in this one as well. A misfire for me. 6/10

Next blog I'll delve into Two's A Crowd, Blast From The Past Parts 1 and 2 and The Prometheon.

My Review of Superman Returns (2006)

Written by Bryan Singer & Michael Dougherty & Dan Harris
Directed by Bryan Singer

Superman: "Listen; what do you hear?"
Lois: "Nothing."
Superman: "I hear everything. You wrote that the world doesn't need a savior, but every day I hear people crying for one."

Before he'd win us all over as Ray Palmer/The Atom on both Arrow and Legends Of Tomorrow, there was a brief time in which Brandon Routh was Superman. It's not often as talked about, probably due to both Christopher Reeve and Henry Cavill's versions of the character being more prominent within the media but for one movie only, Routh more or less made us all believe that a man could fly again.

Oddly set within the continuity (or at least inspired by it) of the Reeve movies, Superman Returns has the titular hero returning to Earth after being absent for five years and catching up with a world that has changed around him. The biggest change being that Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) is now married to Perry White's (Frank Langella) nephew Richard White (James Marsden) and has a little boy named, Jason (Tristan Lake Lebeau), who is heavily implied to be Superman's kid throughout the movie.

I'm not going to lie. In terms of chemistry, both Routh and Bosworth don't really radiate much chemistry, even though they're believable enough in their dynamic as Lois and Clark and Lois and Superman. Heck, in Superman's absence, Lois even wrote a scathing article on why the world didn't need Superman even though this movie proved otherwise of course.

Of course while things have dramatically changed for Lois, things somewhat remain the same for Lex Luthor. This time around played with a slightly darker tone in Kevin Spacey, the bald billionaire still wants to cause chaos and kill Superman and yet again nearly succeeds in both before getting his respective comeuppance.

Spacey's take on Luthor isn't quite as beguiling as Hackman's was in the way but it's still preferable to what Eisenberg would do with the role a decade after this movie's release. Lex gets to have some decent scenes with both Lois and Superman and also has another ditzy female assistant with Parker Posey turning in a charming enough performance as Kitty Kowolski and character wise, she's better utilised that either Richard White or Jimmy Olsen (Sam Huntington) are in this movie.

In terms of movies, it's not actually a bad one as such. All the leads are fine in the role and Routh's near resemblance to Reeve is actually striking enough to make you believe this movie could exist in the continuity of the latter's. Saying that though, Lex's plot is a bit too run of the mill at times but the movie does succeed in giving the character a decent return.

- Noel Neill appears at the start of the movie as Lex's elderly wife who dies while Jack Larson is the bartender in a scene with Clark and Jimmy. We also got some Jor El, courtesy of this movie being allowed to use recording of Marlon Brando in the role.
- Amy Adams who would play the role of Lois after Bosworth, actually auditioned for this movie. Then again, she was also in Smallville, which Brandon Routh auditioned for.
- Zod was meant to appear in the movie, but the role got scrapped at the last minute.
- Even though this film was a box office failure, it actually out performed Batman Begins, which was considered a success.

Superman Returns isn't quite the triumph for the Man of Steel that everyone was hoping for at the time. While it's a movie that could've lost about half an hour and maybe gone for a different antagonist other than Lex Luthor, it's a decent enough take on the character with Routh being charming enough in the role.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Batman 66 - Episodes 49-52 Reviews

And it's now time for some Liberace (no really) and someone vying for Mayor. I bet you can guess who though.

2x15: The Devil's Fingers

Of all the people to guest star in this show, I have to admit to being genuinely floored with Liberace being brought in as a guest baddie. Even more impressive was the fact that the show decided to give us double the fun with him too. On one hand, we got to see him as concert pianist, Chandell, who had set his sights on Aunt Harriet and not for love while on the other hand, he was also the gangster twin brother, Harry. Both roles are fabulously played, there's a lot of Aunt Harriet for good measure (this two parter is her best in the whole series) and you got that moment where the Dynamic Duo were about to become sheet music as well. Delightful. 9/10

2x16: The Dead Ringers

The second part of this story really upped the ante. Having both Bruce and Dick fake their deaths to smoke out both Chandell and Harry's scheming was interesting along with the brothers inevitably betraying each other. However the best moment of this episode was Harriet just showing us all what a total badass she could be when she realised that Harry was posing as Chandell and she pointed a gun at him, quickly realising that he was scheming to marry her to get the Wayne inheritance. Seriously, this was a side to Harriet that the show really should've delved into more often. There is a bit of redemption story for Chandell as he and his brother have gone on a long tour. The fact that this two parter was the highest rated episodes for the series isn't too much of a surprise though. 9/10

2x17: Hizzoner The Penguin

Penguin running for Mayor? Oh, go on, then. This won't be the first time Oswald will go for the job and it won't be the last either. In this episode alone, he does a lot to curry public favour and with Batman lacking the pizzazz in his own attempts to run against Oswald, it's a little easy to see why Oswald was wooing people left, right and centre in this one. I even love the devious bit where some voters decide to put Batman and Robin in a trap and Oswald chooses not to get involved. He really is a politician is that Cobblepot fella. 8/10

2x18: Dizzoner The Penguin

Okay, failed attempts to get rid of the competition to one side, at least the Penguin upped the entertainment stakes when trying to be Mayor, even if he later had to resort to a little kidnapping in order to get a recount that didn't work out for him. Still though, Batman got the job, gave it back to Linseed (who can look forward to getting it snatched away from him in a year's time) and even found himself getting other offers to run for different offices. I think for now, we're probably better for with Batman as a crime fighter than aspiring politician. 8/10

Next blog I'll delve into Green Ice/Deep Freeze and The Impractical Joker/The Joker's Provokers.

Superman: The Animated Series - Episodes 5-8 Reviews

Second blog for this particular animated show and within these episodes, Lex makes his hatred towards Superman known while Parasite, Metallo and Brainiac come out to play.

Episode 5: A Little Piece Of Home

Two big things in this episode. Okay three if you count the giant robotic dinosaur that Lex uses to try (and fail) to kill both Superman and Lois Lane in this episode. Anyways, the two other big things include the introduction of Lex's right hand woman, Mercy Graves (Lisa Edelstein), who wastes no time in proving her willingness to do anything her boss asks of her while the second thing was the introduction of Kryptonite, which Lex quickly realises can be used to weaken Superman and does so before the latter manages to get rid of it for now. 7/10

Episode 6: Feeding Time

Parasite isn't one of my favourite Superman villains but for an introduction episode, this was actually pretty good to be honest. We got to see the lowly Rudy constantly being trampled on by everyone before his transformation into Parasite and you could sort of get why he'd enjoy lording his new abilities, especially when he had the power to subdue Superman himself and keep him prisoner. This was also a great episode for Jimmy, who stepped in and helped Superman against Parasite while the ending nicely hinted that he hadn't forgotten everything. 8/10

Episode 7: The Way Of All Flesh

It didn't take long for Corben to be brought back into the show and I'm a little surprised (though not by much) that they went down the Metallo route so quickly with him. Lex was certainly at his most ruthless with the way in which he tricked John in agreeing to become Metallo and the fights between the latter and Superman, especially on Luthor's yacht were nicely done though. Of course Metallo meets a tragic end of sorts with the hint he'll resurface again while Lex has the upper hand on Superman, which he revels in pointing out. 7/10

Episode 8: Stolen Memories

Keeping with moving things along in a nice pace, Brainiac actually made his way to Earth and didn't waste time in forming an alliance and trying to tempt Superman into letting him take over the planet as well as destroying it. Of course Brainiac's great plan doesn't work out and while Lex might be seething at being duped by the intelligence, Superman found a good way to deal with him while at the same time, we got see the Fortress of Solitude for the first time. 8/10

Next blog I'll look into The Main Man Parts 1 & 2, My Girl and Tools Of The Trade.