Jerry Siegel Archives | Otaku No Culture

Going Beyond the Brick with LEGO Batman

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

I very rarely get excited about all the toys released along with an animated film. With How to Train Your Dragon, the variety of reptiles seen on-screen only salivated my appetite for owning a model of each because I love the designs. In the movie, LEGO Batman, I got giddy over the garage full of vehicles the caped crusader uses in his fight against crime and if only I had a couple of thousand dollars. Buying the bricks is not cheap because a lot of the money goes towards name brand recognition and licensing rights than manufacture. All reason went out the window when I saw Scutter, Batman’s mech change from robot mode to airplane.

Can I hope the model does the same? I’ll have to look at YouTube videos to find out, or just buy it. I caved and bought the set, not only because I liked the personality given to it, and enjoyed how the film gave to fans a perfect examination of two properties. Not only did it examine why the man behind the cowl is what he is but also it stayed true to what the brick represents. It’s become more than a kid’s construction toy and it helps creates a foundation to spur creativity.

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The Setup for Batman v Superman and Beyond, A Review and Commentary

This planet has a tough time of avoiding pending apocalypses in Batman v Superman.

Spoiler Alert!

The DC Cinematic Snyderverse (officially known as DC Expanded Universe) is very dark and grim. This director’s vision for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice spells out what’s to come, and in what these heroes—Batman (Ben Affleck), Superman (Henry Cavill) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot)—are facing is a look in the mirror darkly over what tyranny can look if the heroes are not put into check. That is, can they be allowed to do anything they want because they are super powered? One tease can be found in the trailer for this film, where soldiers are bowing down to the boy in blue and he looks quite angry.

Just how this scene fits in requires watching this movie. Bruce Wayne aka Batman has much to fear about this Kryptonian after the events from Zack Snyder’s last movie, Man of Steel (movie review). He criticizes Clark Kent about all the fluff pieces The Daily Planet published showing the good he is doing. However, Wayne sees the world differently. He lost his parents to a random crime and he saw one of his office buildings get annihilated during the fight between Supes and General Zod. The grudge he holds may never go away.

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Superman Celebrates 75 Years With Special Treats This Month

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Geek)

I have to say this, but Superman is a partially Canadian invention, and he’s being honoured with several 75th anniversary commemorative coins by the Royal Canadian Mint this year.

Cleveland born Jerry Siegel and Toronto born Joe Shuster created this iconic character, and their simple ideals were at the forefront of what the Golden Age character was like. Superman’s ideals hardly ever changed in comic-book land. While the films took on a different front, that’s hardly the point of what I found great about this superhero. He’ll always be the ideal boy scout. This hero is supposed to represent the best of what the United States of America should be like. And I’ll leave the commentary about current political climate out of this exposition.

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