The Raw Exposé: The Queens of the Night Edition (10-3-2016)

By: Keila Cash 

Hello everyone and welcome to another installment of The Raw Exposé. Tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw emanated from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. This would end up being a very special night as Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks for the Raw Women’s Championship was pushed to main event status.

Outside of a mix tag team match involving Eve Torres and AJ Lee back in 2012, this is the first time that two women have main evented the flagship show since Trish Stratus and Lita faced off for the WWE Women’s Title in December 2004.

One streak has already been broken this year as Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch delivered the best women’s match at a WrestleMania 2006. It’s only fair that another one bites the dust as the ladies are the marquee attraction on Raw for the first time in almost 12 years. There is no window dressing. There is no fluff to be found. It’s just two female wrestlers putting on a show for the world to see. Did it live up to expectations or did Charlotte and Sasha crumble under the pressure? The answer to this pressing question can be found throughout this blog. Without further ado, let’s dissect tonight’s episode of Raw in no particular order.

·         Raw got off to an interesting start with Roman Reigns showing love to his Samoan Family as he is the first member from the legendary dynasty to win the United States Championship.

·         Lana broke up the self-congratulatory party and talked about how Reigns had no respect for family as he ruined her wedding celebration a couple of months ago. They traded words with Lana having the final say by telling Reigns to go to hell.

·         Rusev came out and the brawl was on. Reigns and Rusev had a nice back and forth battle which resulted in The Bulgarian Brute kicking Reigns over the barricade and into the crowd.

·         Rusev grabbed the US Title and made his way up the entrance ramp with Lana. As they were making their getaway, Reigns nailed Rusev with a Superman Punch from out of nowhere. Reigns took back his title and told Rusev that he would see him and Lana in hell. As in Hell in a Cell at the eponymous PPV which takes place later this month.

·         Reigns vs. Rusev for the US Title inside HIAC sounds like the ideal place to blow off their feud. There’s enough heat to warrant the match taking place inside the demonic structure. If Rusev and Reigns can bring a sense of urgency and energy to the proceedings, their match has the potential to be memorable. Overall, this was a solid way to start the show.

·         The Redemption of Brian Kendrick continues as he made TJ Perkins tap out to the Captain’s Hook to put himself back in the Cruiserweight Title picture. WWE was wise enough to air this match during the first hour of the show while the crowd is at its hottest. Kendrick and Perkins had a good match, but they were holding back a bit because they want to save their best stuff for their championship bout which will presumably take place at HIAC.

·         The crowd response was split as both men hailed from California, but they were into the action for the most part. If TJP continues to show flashes of his personality in his matches, he should be able to engage an audience regardless of the geographic location. Kendrick is doing a great job portraying the Old Bitter Wrestler who is willing to do anything in order to win the big one. He is unlikable for all the right reasons. In terms of execution, the match and subsequent storyline clicked for the most part. Kudos to both men for a job well done.

·         Michael Cole’s sit down interview with Seth Rollins managed to humanize the man behind the wrestler in a positive way. Rollins spewed out talking points about how he plans to cancel The Kevin Owens Show, but he didn’t come off as a whiny brat for a change. It’s small progress, but progress nonetheless.

·         Chase Silver needs to move back to Idaho because he’s about to get destroyed Braun Strowman.

·         Strowman made quick work of Silver. On the Brightside, Silver would be the perfect film subject for Goldust’s Shattered Dreams Productions. From Potato Land to La La Land: The Chase Silver Story. It has a nice ring to it.

·         Strowman wants competition. I admire his determination to destroy men that can actually go in the ring. It would be nice to see him hold up his end of the bargain inside the squared circle, but I digress…

·         Chris Jericho is wearing a lovely scarf tonight. It’s very fashionable. This concludes the Fashion Police portion of The Raw Exposé. We now return to regularly scheduled blogging.

·         Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho, and The New Day had a fun segment that featured a nice dose of comedy with a hint of foreshadowing as Jericho jokingly suggested that he wanted a shot at the WWE Universal Championship. He gave the big red belt a longing glance before steering Owens on the Tag Team Title train. It might have been a hypothetical suggestion, but it’s something to pay attention to in the future as the bromance between Jericho and Owens continues to develop.

·         Xavier Woods had a great zinger as he took Owens’ Jump the Shark reference and flipped it around by asking Owens the following question: When was the last time he jumped over anything? That had me rolling and I loved how The New Day marked out for their own joke. It was a great line that caused Jericho to add Woods to The List twice.

·         The New Day accepted JERI-KO’s challenge and will face off in a nontitle match later tonight. Fun times!

·         Sami Zayn picked up a nice maintenance win against Titus O’Neil. The match was decent while it lasted, but it seems as if Zayn is left twisting in the wind once again without a viable feud to sink his teeth into. He’s too talented to be squandered like this. A win is a win, though.

·         Let me get this straight. After weeks of Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows being portrayed as low rent comedians, WWE decides to show a video package illustrating their badass ways after failing in their quest to win the Tag Team Titles from The New Day. Reverse synergy at work, ladies and gentleman!

·         Anderson and Gallows picked up their own maintenance win as they dropped R-Truth with The Magic Killer. Goldust suffered the same fate after the match was over. Where was this fire and aggression two months ago?

·         JERI-KO, Ashton Kutcher, and Danny Masterson had a fun backstage segment that featured some nice one-liners. This was a case where the celebrities were given good material to work with and came off as being completely likable and knowledgeable about professional wrestling. Things could go south with them on guest commentary, but I have faith that Kutcher and Masterson will hold their own. Fingers crossed!

·         Seth Rollins made his presence known during JERI-KO’s match against The New Day as he distracted Jericho while he had Woods locked in the Liontamer. This allowed Woods to tag Big E. in the match and drop Jericho with The Midnight Hour to pick up the win.

·         Rollins goaded Owens to get back in the ring to save his best friend, but the Universal Champ looked on from the ramp as Rollins nailed Jericho with the Pedigree to wrap up the segment.

·         The tag team bout featuring Jericho and Owens vs. The New Day was solid. It was slow in spots, but the pace quickened down the stretch. The match told a larger story as Owens bailed on Jericho which might play into his best buddy challenging him for the Universal Title in a not-so jokey way in the very near future. Better yet, Owens might make Jericho’s LIST! That would actually pop the crowd something fierce.

·         Seth Rollins has finally a backbone! He totally owned Stephanie McMahon during their backstage segment and came away with his balls firmly intact. We just witnessed a miracle!

·         Tony Nese defeated Rich Swann with a Pump Handler/Michinoku Driver. The match was nice while it lasted as Nese showed a little more personality in the ring. His insert promo prior to the match left a lot to be desired, but there is room for improvement. Swann held his own as he tried to get the crowd into the match. They were quiet, but respectful which is a step up from last week’s debacle in Cincinnati.

·         Week three of the Cruiserweight Experiment was pretty good. Fleshing out the wrestlers’ personalities will be key in order for the division to gain meaningful traction in the months to come. Every match can’t be a spot fest. There must be a sense of fluidity and storytelling between the moves in order for fans to care about what’s happening in the ring. Otherwise, it will come off like Cirque du Soleil minus the emotional investment. Here’s hoping that WWE works out the kinks because the potential is there for the Cruiserweights to succeed if they are given the proper resources to accentuate their strengths as performers.

·         It looks like Emma is on her way back. She should bring some much-needed freshness to the Women’s Division.

·         Cesaro and Sheamus scored another victory as they took care of the “scintillating” team of Raul White and Mark Kerrady. The highlight of the match was Cesaro jumping over Sheamus’ back to drop White with a DDT. That was followed by Sheamus nailing Kerrady with a Brogue Kick to pick up the win. Cesaro and Sheamus are still bickering, but I am sure they will sort out their issues by hugging it out. Or not…

·         Bayley just took out Dana Brooke. Bayley is tired of being treated like the dreaded third wheel in the Sasha Banks-Charlotte saga. I am glad she stood up for herself. Plus, Brooke won’t be at ringside to cause trouble during the main event. It will be a fair and square affair. Hopefully.

·         When it comes to big match moments, Sasha Banks and Charlotte manage to deliver the goods. They almost kill themselves in the process, but it’s truly captivating to watch. Their main event match for the Raw Women’s Championship was no exception as it featured thrills and spills that had fans standing on their feet inside the Staples Center.

·         There were a few wonky spots, but I thought both ladies did a great job conveying how much the Women’s Title means to them. It’s a symbol of being the best and they left it all in the ring tonight.

·         Charlotte’s insane top rope corkscrew moonsault from outside the ring was a spectacular spot that will be included in every video package related to this feud until the end of time. It was freeze frame moment.

·         Sasha did a great job selling her back throughout the match as Charlotte targeted her weak spot. Ultimately, Sasha made Charlotte tap out to the Bank Statement to become a two-time Women’s Champion.

·         Charlotte sold great emotion as she was in complete denial over losing the championship. A heel wallowing in self-pity and actually caring about wins and losses is very refreshing to see in 2016.

·         Once again, I question WWE for switching the title on Raw instead of a PPV. They missed an opportunity at SummerSlam and with Hell in a Cell taking place in Sasha’s hometown of Boston, it would have been the perfect time to make the switch. One can only assume that this feud will finally be blown off at HIAC so both ladies can move on to bigger and better things. 

·         Despite that small criticism, this match was very good and I am glad WWE allowed Sasha and Charlotte to main event the show. In the three-hour era, it’s a gamble worth taking. The ratings are hitting all-time lows, but that doesn’t mean you can’t try something different. It opens the door for the ladies to possibly main event PPVs down the road. It gives fans a reason to care and have hope that change is really afoot when it comes to the presentation of Women’s Wrestling. We have a long way to go, but the future looks bright. I tip my cap to both ladies for showing up and showing out in LA.

·         Overall, I thought tonight’s episode of Raw was solid. It was a show built around Sasha Banks and Charlotte headlining the show along with Seth Rollins finding his voice as a babyface. The in-ring action ranged from fair to very good and the show didn’t drag for the most part.

·         The third-hour lull did take hold prior to the main event, but the ladies brought it home to end the night on a high note.

·         WWE tends to put on a good show in Los Angeles. It would be nice to see the company put forth this much effort on a weekly basis, though.

·         With an overwhelming amount of original content hitting fans from all sides due to the brand extension, burnout is to be expected. However, delivering good shows minus the fluff can make things a bit more bearable to endure. If they can balance the scales in that respect, Raw can be a consistently good show. The third hour is still a pain in the ass, but if 3/4ths of the broadcast is not a complete bore to get through, that other 25% should cancel itself out.

·         With three more live shows before Hell in a Cell, it’s imperative that the red brand doesn’t go into cruise control. They don’t have to blow marquee matches on free television. It’s all about giving shine to wrestlers that need it and offering storylines that fans actually care about. It can be a winning formula if the Powers That Be can execute things properly. Let’s hope the Wrestling Gods are listening.

On that note, this wraps up another edition of The Raw Exposé. I hope you enjoyed it and I will be back tomorrow night with a brand new installment of The SmackDown Files. See you later, boys and girls! 

Everything to Know for Supergirl Season 2

Years ago, Kara Zor-El was sent with her cousin Kal-El to escape a destructive Krypton on a new world. However, her pod was knocked off course into the Phantom Zone where she spent twenty-four years in stasis. When she arrived on Earth, she found Kal-El to have grown to become Superman. He takes her to the Danvers, Jeremiah, Eliza, and Alex where she lives the next twelve years as an ordinary human. As Kara Danvers, she works as the assistant to Cat Grant of CatCo in National City where she works by her friend Winn Schott and former Daily Planet photographer James Olson.

After a plane carrying Alex threatens to crash, Kara ultimately reveals herself as the cousin of Superman by using her powers to save her sister. With her identity and abilities now public, Kara decides to take on the mantle as Supergirl, recruiting Winn and James to help develop her standing as a superhero. With Supergirl in the public, Alex reveals to her sister that she is, in fact, an agent of the Department of Extra-Normal Operations or DEO lead under Director Hank Henshaw. After learning about the organization, Kara decides to work with the DEO to stop alien outbreaks from the prison Fort Rozz, which also escaped from the Phantom Zone with Kara.

Over time, Kara develops Supergirl into the hero of National City under Cat Grant’s publicity, earning her the praise of ordinary citizens and the wrath of alien enemies.  More importantly, she finds herself forced to fight Kryptonian prisoners of Fort Rozz including her aunt Astra and her husband Non in their effort to conquer the planet, leading to the distrust of notable billionaire Maxwell Lord. Meanwhile, Alex begins to distrust Hank Henshaw after learning he was the last person to see her father alive after forcing him to join the DEO. In addition, Kara grows closer to James despite his growing reconciliation with his ex-girlfriend Lucy Lane.

Eventually, Alex discovers that the Hank Henshaw she knows is actually an alien survivor known as J’onn J’onzz who shapeshifted into Hank Henshaw after the director aimed to kill him. Jeremiah, prior to his death, saved the alien’s life. In the continuing struggle against the Kyrptonians, however, Alex is forced to kill Astra, despite her relation to Kara, leading Non to swear vengeance. The reveal of J’onn forces him and Alex on the run from their own organization, but, before they leave, they learn that Jeremiah has actually survived all these years and is being held by a secret organization known as Project Cadmus.

Non then activates a Krptonian program known as Myriad which implements mind control on everyone in National City save for Supergirl, Cat Grant, and Maxwell Lord thanks to his own technology. In the face of total defeat, Lord develops a plan to destroy the program and the Kryptonians by setting off an atomic bomb but at the expense of thousands of lives. Although Supergirl considers the plan, Cat encourages her to hold onto her hope for a better plan.

When Alex and J’onn return to help Supergirl, they are quickly apprehended and beaten by the Kryptonian forces who take Alex captive. Using the Myriad technology, Non forces Supergirl to fight her sister as revenge for Astra’s death. Just as Alex is about to kill Kara, J’onn returns with her mother Eliza who manages to pull her daughter out of the program. Inspired by this, Supergirl broadcasts a message of hope to the city which breaks the Myriad hold of the city.

However, Non activates another plan with Myriad program by increasing the frequency, which would effectively kill every human in National City. Supergirl and J’onn take to fight him directly at Fort Rozz. Although they ultimately win, the Myriad program cannot be stopped inside Fort Rozz. With no other choice, Supergirl flies the entire prison into space, effectively sacrificing herself to save the planet. Fortunately, Alex quickly uses Kara’s original pod to rescue Supergirl in space.

Things then return back to normal in National City. Despite being an alien, J’onn is reinstated as director of the DEO. In the meantime, Kara receives a promotion from Cat at CatCo, gaining a position in the company. Kara and her friends then celebrate their victory as Kara and James finally consummate their relationship by kissing. However, their celebration is interrupted by a pod crashing outside the city. Kara and J’onn leave to examine the crash, discovering the pod to match the Kryptonian one Kara used to fly to Earth. Kara opens the pod and is surprised by what she finds.

Season Two

To begin with, the figure in the pod turns out to be Mon-El, another superhero from the planet Daxam who has all of Supergirl’s powers. In his history, he befriends Superboy (in this case Supergirl) and initially believes himself to be a fellow Kryptonian. However, he eventually regains his memories upon discovering that he is not immune to Kryptonite and instead suffers from lead poisoning. With his arrival on a Kryptonian ship, it’s entirely possible for the show to follow this story as a new hero comes to National City.

In addition to Mon-El, season two includes a batch of new characters including Snapper Carr, Lena Luthor, Maggie Sawyer, and a mystery man named Nick Farrow. What’s more interesting is the majority of these additional characters seem to have deeper stories in the Superman mythology. In other words, not only will we likely see deeper stories with these characters, but we may also see an expansion of this universe as we know it. There can be so much more than just Supergirl and Superman in this Earth.

Speaking of which, this season will introduce the much-anticipated appearance of Superman as well as the first live-action version of Miss Martian. While Superman may only have a short appearance, Miss Martian will likely have her own arc with J’onn. As mentioned earlier, this could be used as a fine expansion of the universe, but this could have more specific goals. For one thing, the role of Miss Martian to J’onn could perfectly parallel the relationship that will develop between Kara and Mon-El, that of the heroes becoming mentors. In addition, while Legends of Tomorrow might have the Justice Society, Supergirl might get the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Of course, there is still the issue of Project Cadmus, represented by a new character known as the Doctor. Project Cadmus has a long history of less-than-good qualities, and a secret organization against the world’s most popular superhero can only spell trouble. In this show, Project Cadmus can also provide a healthy set of alien or mutant enemies who could fight against National City, especially the DNAliens. Most importantly, this is the last surviving location of Jeremiah Danvers. Be prepared to see him again.

Season two is sure to have a host of new characters and stories way behind what happened in season one. Hopefully, the show can balance both stories in a way that can do both Superman and Supergirl justice.   

Photo Credit: CW/DC

Review: Luke Cage "Moment of Truth"

 Before I dive in to “Moment Of Truth”, a word about how I will be reviewing Luke Cage. I am going to discuss each episode as a stand-alone episode and I will not be peeking at later episodes before I write my review. As a Netflix show, one could argue that Luke Cage shouldn't be judged episode-to-episode as that would be like judging each book’s chapter instead of a book as a whole. However, I’m going to be a traditional TV-watcher here and say that each episode should tell a story on its own with a clear purpose.

            All of this to say, that as excited as I was for the premiere of Luke Cage, I found this first episode extraordinarily underwhelming. “Moment Of Truth” did a good job of building the world of Harlem with the ambitions for this show on full display, but the execution is clunky and lackluster. Strap yourself in, this is going to be a very in-depth review. Let’s take it from the top.

            First off, I really enjoyed the Luke Cage credits. It’s a small thing, but it tells us right off the bat that this show isn’t just about Cage, but about Harlem and, by extension, black life. Themes of black power and masculinity are interwoven throughout the pilot, starting in the first scene, appropriately set in a barbershop. For upstart customer Shameek, black power is about quick money and violence. We later hear this idea echoed by crime lord Cottonmouth who calls himself the n-word and says it’s violent people like him that keep his Councilwoman cousin in office.

            On the other side of the fence, we have Cage and his belief in hard work and incremental change. After his temporary promotion to bartender, I love how Mike Colter makes sure to slide the lime all the way around the Cosmo before presenting it to love-interest and detective Misty Knight. This is a man who takes pride in doing a good job even if it’s as a hair sweeper or a dish washer. Pop and the amorous Patricia also support this view with Patricia saying “Nothing wrong with a black man working.”

            

            However, as much as I talked about black pride, black power and black masculinity, these themes are not really fleshed out in the pilot. They tie into the heist plot and Shameek’s violent death, but have no bearing on Cage himself or the ending of the episode. Instead, the pilot indulges in some very half-baked talk of responsibility and change.

            This conflict is also set up early on, with Pop telling Cage to get out there and help people with his super powers and Cage responding that he isn’t ready. This material essentially boils down to “With great power, comes great responsibility” and is not all that interesting despite Herculean acting efforts from both Frankie Faison and Mike Colter as Pop and Cage, respectively. We know that Cage is going to embrace his powers at some point, so the tension isn’t there. If there was a reason why Cage isn’t interested in being a superhero, it would be more understandable, but instead the scene gifts us with a bunch of clunky backstory about prison, his dead wife Reva, and an experimentation of some kind. This naked exposition undoubtedly could have waited for another episode and only serves to muddy the waters.

            Later, Cage has a chance to stop Shameek and his friend Chico from participating in a heist but chooses to do nothing instead. After again standing by when he could have saved Shameek, he justifies his inaction by telling Pop: “You live and die by your choices.” Pop disagrees, telling Cage that he tries to get kids off the streets and into the barbershop where they can be saved. Following this line of logic, doing nothing is almost as bad as participating.

            The thing is, the episode itself disproves this. Shameek was lured into the barbershop and still chose to kill quite a few people, including one of his partners, in cold blood. Here, there could be an interesting discussion about whether Shameek could be saved or whether he was worth saving. What is Luke Cage’s responsibility to young men like Shameek, lured by the siren song of money, power, and respect through violence?

            The episode chooses to not even touch these ideas. Instead, to get Luke Cage back into fighting form, it once again retreats to the confusing backstory of prison and Reva. After a, frankly terrible, speech from Reva about loneliness and prison convinces Cage not to run away, he suddenly decides to save his landlord from the Councilwoman’s group of extortionists.

            

             Adding to these under-cooked themes of blackness and responsibility are a mélange of random ideas and scenes. It feels a lot like this episode just threw a lot of things at the wall and saw what stuck for use in future episodes. First, the sex scene between Cage and Misty Knight was hot but didn’t really add much to our understanding of the two characters. Also, the introduction of Shades was ridiculous and added yet more unnecessary exposition about shadowy things we don’t know and/or care about. To make his presence doubly pointless, Cottonmouth’s underling later says that Chico told them who his conspirator was with his dying breath, so Shades’ entire reason for being there doesn’t make sense. It could be argued that the scene of Cottonmouth playing soulful keyboard was an indication of his closeness with Harlem through music, but I’m tempted to call it even more padding. Finally, the Councilwoman’s motives were too obscured, coming off as a little too hypocritical in needing the money but hating the business of getting it. The dialogue was also all over the map, and I groaned at several lines (I have a list, but the winner, or, more accurately, loser, was definitely “Everyone has a gun, no-one has a father”).

            I’m not saying all of these things to hate on the show, and I actually enjoyed “Moment Of Truth” more than it may seem from this review. It’s just that there is so much potential in this show. For one, the cast is fantastic all-around. Frankie Faison as Pop is a wonder, and Colter plays Cage with a marvelous world-weariness that can’t quite hide his innate pride. Mahershala Ali is a great scenery-chewing villain, and he is legitimately terrifying when he beats Shameek to death. We didn’t see too much of Simone Missick as Detective Misty Knight, but she has a ton of chemistry with Colter and I hope she turns up more.

            I’m just slightly disappointed here because Luke Cage has a real opportunity here to examine superheroes from a unique and unapologetically black perspective. All the pieces are in place, and the talent is there. But for now, the ambition is outstripping the focus and actual ground-level storytelling. With high expectations must come high execution. I truly believe this show can be something special and, despite my criticisms here, I know that I’m already itching to watch the next one.

Grade: C+  

MEMORABLE MOMENTS

•        The music was consistently fantastic throughout the episode. I’m still not sure about intercutting the Paradise concert and the heist, but nobody can deny that Raphael Saadiq kills it on stage.  

•        I liked Mike Colter’s casual lifting of the washing machine. His physicality and magnetism allow him to quietly dominate any scene he is a part of.

•        I really liked Shameek’s little dance after he murders the gunrunners. You can see all the terror and adrenaline and bravado he has in that two-step. Also liked Shameek’s little goodbye wave after Patricia leaves the barber shop. I can only hope that we will be seeing more of Jermel Howard in flashbacks.

•        A moment I didn’t like was Cage’s “Impossible. You stand out in any room you're in.” Indicative of the whole episode, saying too much. Should’ve just went with “Impossible.”

•        Cage is packing “The Invisible Man” by Ellison. Also, “Black Folktales”, “Attica” and “Outliers”.

•        “I’m not for hire” 

Photo Credit: Netflix/Marvel

Rebirth: Batgirl #3

By: Jerry Montgomery

October 2, 2016

Rebirth: Batgirl #3
“Beyond Burnside, Pt. 3”

Written by: Hope Larson
Art by: Raphael Albuquerque

Rebirth: Batgirl #3 continues the current storyline, “Beyond Burnside”. Barbara Gordon adventures through Asia looking  for new insights and skills as she backpacks through Japan, The Philippines and South Korea, all the while, searching for the mysterious Teacher.  With this new direction comes a new cast of characters as well, friends and foes alike.  Gone are the old stereotypes of exotic and mystic Asian characters that we all have seen before and are likely to see again. This story is fresh and up to date!

Pt. 3 picks up at the end of the match with a loopy Barbara (fighting under the alias, “Amy Beddoes”) struggling to regain consciousness after being knocked out with one punch by her opponent. After coming to with a little reinforcement and encouragement from her coach, Barbara departs and replays her defeat in her head. Upon doing this, she is able to remember a vital clue that throws up a danger flag for a childhood friend, also in Singapore with her. Donning her Batgirl costume, she races to her friend and encounters the same MMA opponent who had earlier defeated her, only this time, in her own costumed alter-ego, Moth. Batgirl’s earlier defeat helps her against Moth and Barbara is able to come to her friend’s aid. After a search of their hotel room, Barbara finds a hidden surveillance device which leads her adventure in a new direction and a new country. Bidding her friend farewell, she leaves and boards a flight for South Korea. Following clues, she is led to a construction site and is confronted by a new foe and a familiar one. Uh, oh!

The Verdict: Batgirl #3 is without a doubt a different comic for sure. Written by Hope Larson, who is best known for her graphic novels for and about young women, has thrown an interesting angle into the DC universe for Barbara Gordon. The artwork of Raphael Albuquerque is different to say the least, reminding me of pencils I’ve seen in some independent or alt titles but works well here. If you like stories about traveling and adventure with action, I think this would be a good read, especially now so early in the title and the fact that it’s writer is well established in her craft.

Rebirth: Titans #3

By: Jerry Montgomery
September 28, 2016
Rebirth: Titans # 3
“The Return of Wally West, Pt. 3”
“Face to Face”
Writer: Dan Arnett
Pencils: Bret Booth

In issue #3 of Titans, the battle rages on between the Titans and the villainous techno-magician, Kadabra. Also complicating matters is his manifestation of young doppelgangers of the Titans themselves to battle in addition in an effort to learn more about his foes and their weaknesses.  At the center of all this? Wally West, The Flash.

“The Return of Wally West, Pt. 3, is just that…Wally has returned to the Titans after an absence, courtesy of Kadabra, who had made him vanish into the Netherlands,  or wherever.  Kadabra, the old villain of The Flash and Kids Flash resembles an old school magician, complete with black cape, crazy long moustache and a magic wand. It also seems that he’s a time traveler for he had come to the present to be what else? Famous! But it seems that Flash and Kids Flash stole his thunder. Snatched the adoration and fame right from under him! So what is any self respecting tech wizard to do? Get revenge! And that is his reasoning for attacking the Titans. You get some fighting here, some recap and breakdown of just what has been transpiring in Keystone City during the downtime between the conflict. In the end, Wally tries to find the right words for his beloved Linda, but before he can get them out, Kadabra shows up to ruin the moment. The new crisis is that Linda is kidnapped, leaving Wally in a fog of self doubt, was it a mistake coming back and am I a danger to those I love?

The Verdict: A good comic with your basic plot elements. If you are new to the Titans, you better go back a few issues to completely understand the story. Bret Booths artwork is top notch and is reminiscent to me of his Marvel days. You’ve got it all in this comic, action, humor and drama. The villain and his motives may seem a little petty when compared to heavyweights like Darkseid, the Joker or Doomsday, but he is interesting almost to a comical point and well worth the read.

Rebels Recap: Star Wars Rebels “Steps into Shadow Part 1 & 2”

The wait was over and the new season has started, and it did not disappoint. The episode divulges straight into the characters and stories we have eagerly waited to see this season. The two-part episode introduces Grand Admiral Thrawn and the Bendu in such a way that keeps us wanting more.  This episode gives us but a taste of what is to come with new characters and the ongoing struggle between light and dark in the galaxy and within our main protagonist, Ezra Bridger. CAUTION readers SPOILERS are approaching ahead.

 

The episode begins with the ghost crew, Ezra, Sabine, Zeb, and Chopper breaking out an old friend and that friend being Hondo Ohnaka. Right away we can tell that Ezra is in command and seems to be stronger in the force, but a little reckless as well. His light saber technique is impressive but when he used the force to control a walker that causes it and Stormtroopers to jump into an abyss that was pretty dark for a Jedi.  Our protagonist is skating dangerously close to the dark side. While his mentor and master Kanan still not over losing his sight has become isolated and has left Ezra vulnerable and seeking advice from someone or something else. Ezra is seeking strength to protect his friends and is looking for them in the wrong places like the Sith Holocron.

 

 



 

 

The Sith Holocron is speaking to him and sounds a lot like Talzin, the leader of the Night Sisters. Time will tell if that theory rings true we will just have to wait and see. Thankfully Kanan found out that Ezra has been using the Sith Holocron and his dilemma with Ezra and himself leads him to the Bendu.  A creature that was in a deep slumber in the planet that is now rebel base and has awoken to help Kanan find balance.

 

 

 

 

The Bendu helps Kanan see not physically but emotionally by knowing himself to understand him and those around him.  Everything that the Bendu spoke on was so deep, especially when he mentions that objects cannot change you it’s your choice. I can’t wait to see more of this character I believe he has lots to teach Kanan and Ezra. The Bendu wasn’t the only one to make a grand entrance. Grand Admiral Thrawn came on the screen like a boss and seemed to rub particular character a certain way with his recent promoted rank. I just want to geek out over that dissolve with Grand Admiral Thrawn where his red eyes loom over the planet. This news antagonist promises to be the best in that he brings something new to this already great show.

 

 

 

 

The aftermath of this show brings us a new antagonist Grand Admiral Thrawn who allowed a small victory by letting the rebels escape with the y-wings which means he knows exactly where and how to hurt them and those losses will be serve just wait and see. Kanan gave the Bendu the Sith Holocron. Ezra nearly died by being utterly reckless and depending on anger to make him stronger. Ezra still has more to learn from Kanan and needs to leave the Sith Holocron alone. Hopefully, he realizes it before it’s too late.  Ezra and Kanan have seemed to reconcile and hopefully will remain together helping each other to heal and become stronger with the light side of the force. The next episode airs tonight and Darth Maul is back and will probably bring trouble to our beloved ghost crew, but I can’t wait to see what else unfolds. So watch tonight at 8:30 Star Wars Rebels, “The Holocrons Fate,” on Disney XD.

 

 

Photo Credit: Star Wars.com, Disney, Lucasfilm

 

Review: The Good Place "Jason Mendoza"

           Last week’s episode nominally focused around it’s eponymous character, Tahani Al-Jamil. And while we did get a little insight into Tahani’s feelings about The Good Place and her relationship with Jianyu, “Tahani Al-Jamil” mostly continued the story of Eleanor and her struggle to be good.

           I mention that because this week’s episode, “Jason Mendoza”, fully commits to its titular character and it comes off much the better for it. Jason Mendoza is the real name of Jianyu, the supposedly Buddhist monk whom we learned last week is not all that he seems. Well this week, we learn a whole lot more about Jason. Namely, that he is an amateur DJ, a lover of buffalo wings, and a huge, huge idiot.

           Jason is a great character, falling somewhere in the category of lovable moron. He loves EDM and decorates his “bud hole”, his private room in his dream mansion with Tahani, with pictures of cars, girls in bikinis, and video game memorabilia. His favorite meal he ever had was at a restaurant called Stupid Nick's Wing Dump where topless women ate for free. He wears a football jersey over his monk’s robes and, when threatened with possible expulsion from The Good Place, doesn’t understand why he can’t download all the porn off of Michael’s computer and then blackmail him into staying quiet. He also wonders aloud if Janet, the omniscient computer, is single. Just hilarious.

           But outside of all the jokes, Jason is also a fully realized character. I’ve said before that the flashbacks in this show were a detriment and didn’t contribute much, but “Jason Mendoza” is a case of flashbacks done correctly. Jason may have been a fool while he was alive, but he had dreams and a real desire to achieve them. The past also directly ties into the present, with his refusal to pretend to be AcidCat, even if it makes him popular, feeding into his growing refusal to be Jianyu. The easy joke would be to say that he is too dumb to stay silent, but it’s more than that. Jason Mendoza has actual pathos.

           Jason is also a very smart writing choice. As I’ve mentioned before, there are only so many times that Eleanor can learn her lesson before we either get bored or all her sharp edges are filed down. Jason’s ignorance and his inability to grasp how much trouble he may be if his Jianyu deception is uncovered, opens up a whole lot of plot options. It also allows Kristen Bell to play a wider range as she can be the straight women to his idiocy.

           There are going to be a few more quotes this week as this episode had a better-than-average hit ratio for me. I laughed out loud several times. So much credit needs to go to Manny Jacinto. In the flashbacks, he plays Jason with a certain combination of naiveté and wistfulness that makes him both pitiable and lovable at the same time. Bell had a stellar week as well, reacting with increasing alarm to Jacinto’s antics. Overall a great episode and my favorite so far.

Grade: B+  

MEMORABLE MOMENTS

•        “There's so much thoughts in my brain, it's like my head is filled with rocks.”

•        Jason on The Good Place: “It’s either an alien zoo or a prank show”

•         “You should listen to me. I came up with hundreds of plans in my life and only one of them got me killed.” - Jason’s rationale for why his plan to blackmail Michael will work.

•        “Eleanor, you broke Jianyu”

•        "I don't wanna DJ in Jacksonville all my life. I wanna DJ in Daytona!” - Jason on life dreams

•        “So dumb, so much dumber than belts” - a delighted Michael referencing his new suspenders

•        "You broke THE WORLD. That's not a compliment.” - Bell’s half-smile really makes this one.

•        “I am here to learn about ethnics.”

Photo Credit: NBC