Crisis on Infinite Earths Review

So the mother lode of all Television Crossovers has finally come to pass. And what a treat for DC and ARROWVERSE fans, to finally get to see all of their beloved live (and animated?) action DC Universe TV (and Movies?) superheroes together in a Five hour epic on the small screen worthy for a big screen release.  While I have to admit that I never really faithfully followed all of the Arrowverse TV series, I never missed any of the annual crossover events since Invasion. And CRISIS on Infinite Earths is definitely one that I wouldn’t miss. CRISIS on Infinite Earths (COIE) was the ARROWVERSE’s producers’ attempt to adapt a highly successful Comic Book mega event that totally reshaped the world of DC Comics for the Modern Age of comics. And I could say it was indeed a very ambitious attempt to do that given that the producers will have to work around on a limited budget that is fit for the small screen. But despite what limited budget that they have, I could fairly say that their attempt was not bad at all. In fact, it totally exceeded my expectations for a TV crossover event. Though I wouldn’t exactly say it was perfect (because I feel as a Superman fan, Brandon Routh’s Superman was underused), but it was pretty damned near perfect especially when that cameo in episode four happened. So I will be breaking down my thoughts below on a per episode basis, and will cap it off with my final thoughts as a Superman fan.

Episode 1: Supergirl

The first episode of the crossover packed so many Easter Eggs as the producers quickly caught the attention of longtime DC Superheroes TV and movie fans by referencing multiple Earths destroyed by the Anti-Matter wave as inhabited by the 1989 Michael Keaton Batman, the campy Batman and Robin Earth of Adam West and Burt Ward, the Earth of the recently released Titans TV series, the Earth X of the Nazi Supergirl the Arrowverse crossover from two years ago, plus the Earth of Supergirl (which is a different Earth from that of Arrow and the Flash). And since this is a Supergirl episode, we get to have Superman and Lois plus their baby having prominent roles in this episode. Lois even had to team up with Canary and Brainiac to visit an alternate future where the Green Arrow operated by his lonesome. This episode established the heroes’ futile attempt to save Supergirl’s Earth, and at the cost of the Green Arrow’s life. For me, Episode 1 felt like your traditional annual Arrowverse crossover but packed in one Episode. It was an epic moment to see the Superheroes making their last stand on Supergirl’s Earth. The episode succeeded in making us fans ask for more as we are treated to an opening bang of an episode filled with great action and character moments. The Death of Green Arrow in just the first episode of the crossover was shocking.

Episode 2: Batwoman

The funny thing about episode two is that while this is a Batwoman episode, Superman was being prominently featured in this episode. I actually thought that Brandon Routh’s Kingdom Come Superman and Tom Welling’s Smallville would be featured in the Supergirl episode, but both of these come backing Supermen were the highlight of this episode. Even the scene stealing Kevin Conroy (the voice of the Batman animated series) as a depressed, hopeless, and a dark take of Bruce Wayne could not totally shift the focus of this episode in favor of the Batman family because Conroy’s Batman eventually became the villain in the decades old Batman v.s. Superman debate by killing his Earth’s Superman. The epic Superman v.s. Superman showdown of Tyler Hoechlin and Brandon Routh’s Supermen is probably the best sequence in this entire crossover for Superman fans like me. And if you are a longtime Smallville fan, then the poignant Tom Welling’s depowered Clark Kent smacking an annoying Lex Luthor of Supergirl’s Earth with a single depowered punch should serve as a very satisfying ending to a version of Superman who for all his existence yearned to be just being normal. And that Brandon Routh Clark Kent and Brandon Routh Ray Palmer meeting? That was just so priceless. The episode also revealed to us four of the Paragons, namely, Supergirl the Paragon of Hope, Superman the Paragon of Truth, White Canary the Paragon of Destiny, and Batwoman (in lieu of Batman) the Paragon of Courage, who shall serve as the best chance in stopping the Anti-Monitor’s plan to erase all of existence. And oh, the Anti-Monitor is finally shown in all its full glory when he revealed himself to Harbinger. I personally pick Episode 2 as the best of all the episodes, and it is quite obvious why. The only thing that’s keeping me from giving it a perfect score is the absence of Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher. They would have been the perfect choice for that Earth-75 Newsflash where Lex manages to kill that Earth’s Superman, and recreating a panel from the comic book where Lois is crying over a dead Superman.   

Episode 3: The Flash

Too much awesome scenes in the previous two episodes that I easily forgot Oliver Queen A.K.A The Green Arrow. Amidst all of those universe shattering, Oliver Queen is resurrected via the Lazarus Pit, this time with an appearance of Jonah Hex as the Pit’s watchman. Though the body is resurrected, Queen’s soul was nowhere to be found. Constantine, Mia, and Diggle seeks the help of Lucifer in trying to find a way to regain Queen’s soul. Which, they could possibly find in the purgatory.  But this is a Flash episode so naturally this is going to give focus on the Flash. This episode finally wrapped up the adventures of the 90’s TV series Flash of John Wesley Shipp in a short but sweet moment. Like in the comic books, a Flash would die in this CRISIS, and it was long been prophesied since the first episode of The Arrowverse Flash that he would die in a CRISIS. But the 90’s Flash took his place, sacrificing his life to destroy the cosmic treadmill that was powering the Anti-Matter cannon. This episode also formally brought Black Lightning to the Arrowverse when his Earth was destroyed by the Anti-Matter wave. We are also treated to a short inspiring speech by Brandon Routh’s Superman, though the adventures done by him and the other heroes happened off-screen. The opening scene of this Episode also brought back the short lived 2000s Birds of Prey T.V. series as headlined by Ashley Scott as the Huntress, as one of the Earths destroyed. The final three Paragons are also revealed in this episode namely, Martian Manhunter as the Paragon of Honor, Ryan Choi as the Paragon of Humanity, and The Flash as the Paragon of Love. When Pariah transported the seven Paragons to the Vanishing Point amidst the destruction of their Earth and the entire heroes with it, I was giddy and excited that Brandon Routh’s Superman would be a part of the Seven Paragons who would make the last stand against the Anti-Monitor. But alas, not all good things would last as the treacherous Lex Luthor erases Superman from existence and put himself in place by putting his name on the book of destiny. I was left disappointed as the Christmas Holiday break came. I was hoping Routh’s Superman would have a bigger role to play in this crossover. But I was still hoping he’d come back by the fourth and fifth episode come New Year 2020.

Episode 4: Arrow

The long holiday break kind of slowed down the hype of this crossover and slowly lost its luster. The cliffhanger for Episode 3 provided a very intriguing ending, and Episode four finally told the tale of Mar Novu, The Monitor, and how the Anti-Monitor came to existence. If it took us almost a month to wait for the next episode to come, the heroes’ even took a longer month to be stranded in the vanishing point. The fates would somehow change however when Oliver Queen met Jim Corrigan in the Purgatory. Corrigan, the former vessel of the spiritual being the Spectre, transfers his powers to Oliver Queen, transforming him to become the new Spectre. Oliver with his new powers saves the superheroes from the Vanishing Point, setting up the final showdown with the Monitor at the dawn of time. I think the Episode was saved by the surprise appearance of the DCEU’s Flash. Ezra Miller’s top secret appearance proved to be the highlight of this whole crossover as the TV Universe finally found a way to interact with Zack Snyder’s DCEU movie universe. I didn’t quite enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed Episode 2 and 3. Maybe it’s because Brandon Routh’s Superman never came back to reclaim his place as the Paragon of Truth.  And also, being just a T.V. series, of course it is too much to ask for an Epic final battle that could rival a big screen Superhero movie. But for its standard as a T.V. series episode, the quality of the final battle is still epic in its own way considering the monetary budget concerns.

Episode 5: DC Legends of Tomorrow

So while the heroes won their battle in the dawn of time, it cost them the life of Oliver Queen. The sacrifice of Oliver Queen’s life to restore what is left of the universe showed us the merging of the Arrowverse worlds. Supergirl, The Flash, DC Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow, Black Lightning, and Batwoman now shares the same universe. And though the heroes thought that their fight is over, the Anti-Monitor struck again to make his final stand. But the united heroes of Earth Prime were just too strong for the Anti-Monitor to beat. And the aftermath of the battle would birth the Arrowverse’s version of the Justice League (or is it the Superfriends?) in honor of The Green Arrow. Superman, Supergirl, Flash, White Canary, Black Lightning, Batwoman, Martian Manhunter, and Black Lightning is Arrowverse’s big seven. And as a final gift to the DC Comics Live Action Universe fans, we are given a glimpse of the old and new worlds that lived and restored by Oliver’s Death. Namely, the upcoming adventures of Earth 2 Stargirl and the Justice Society of America, Earth 12 the Green Lantern Universe, Earth 19 from the short lived Swamp Thing series, Earth 9 Titans which was restored after being wiped out by the Anti-Matter wave in Episode 1, Earth 21 from the surprisingly successful Doom Patrol TV series, and Earth 96 Brandon Routh Superman which paid homage to the Christopher Reeve movies by reenacting its flying on the Earth’s orbit scene. This particular scene means that Routh’s Superman has finally found his happy ending, with his S Shield restored to its traditional colors in lieu of the Red Black Kingdom Come S Shield. The Reeve/Routh Superman has finally bowed out from the audiences. A fitting scene that reminds us of the Superman movie of both actors.

Final Thoughts:

Overall I think the COIE crossover was a success. It was truly a great fan service to all the fans who love the various DC Universe iterations in both live action and animated form. As a Superman fan, I found the Superman scenes very good, too good in fact to leave me wanting for more. Of course Dean Cain’s appearance would have made everything perfect, but it is not that huge of an issue for me. Also in the midst of the crossover, it was announced that CW has given a go signal for Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman to have his own TV series. This is not a good sign for Henry Cavill fans as this probably means that we won’t be getting any Superman in the big screen. Will Hoechlin’s version do? Well I would have preferred if they instead gave the show to Brandon Routh’s version of Superman. After all, Routh has not been renewed as the Atom in the DC Legends of Tomorrow series. And with the kind of ending his Superman was given in the crossover, for sure there definitely are more stories to tell. But then again I guess one has to move on from a certain iteration of the character if indeed as a fan we want these characters to expand and be more relevant to the times. If I can’t move on from the Brandon/Chris Reeve Superman, then I’m no different from those who didn’t like Henry Cavill’s take on the Man of Steel. But will Hoechlin do? His Superman had always taken a backseat to Melissa Benoist’s Supergirl because it is Supergirl’s show. Now that he has been given his own series, will Hoechlin step up to the plate? Only time will tell.    

The New Maven Collectibles TITAN Blank Body is now available at Kickstarter!

Fresh off the heels of the success of their female blank bodies, MAVEN Collectibles returns with a monstrous offering. The 1:12th Scale TITAN action figure blank body that will surely knock you off your socks. After seeing the prototype figure in the video of their Kickstarter page, I'm shocked to see that MAVEN collectibles is going BIG time, with a special emphasis on BIG for their next offering. This time, enhanced by their new President and Sculptor Victor Hugo Sousa (does that name ring a bell?), these TITAN blank bodies features highly detailed sculpts and articulations that makes these babies look menacing in every pose.

There's going to be a lot of potential for these TITAN blank bodies for customizers to play with. And right now, I could pretty much name two characters that could be perfect subjects for these TITAN blank bodies. In the video, these TITAN blank bodies features over 30 points of articulation and also features Highly Articulated hands and fingers that reminds us of the old TOYBIZ Marvel Legends days. MAVEN Collectibles, in every offering, just keeps getting better and better!

You can check out their Kickstarter page for more infos about this product, as well as by backing this project by placing your orders in the link below:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mavencollectibles/1-12th-scale-titan-body-9-inch-action-figure-blank/

You can also check my review of the Female Blank Bodies if you want to get to know more about their previous product in this link:

https://actionfigureplanet.blogspot.com/2019/07/maven-collectibles-blank-body-review.html

And oh, about that guy? Their new President and Lead Sculptor Victor Hugo Sousa? Well apart from his works with XM Studios, Iron Studios, and Kotobukiya Studios, well he was the one responsible for this......

Visit https://mavencollectibles.com/ to get up to date infos and details of all their offerings.

The Return of Superman Returns (Part 1 of a 2 Part Series)

With the recent news about the recasting of Brandon Routh as (Kingdom Come) Superman in the highly successful DC TV Universe, I thought of digging out an old article I found in the net about the rumored sequel to Superman Returns. Though Superman Returns enjoyed mild success, it never was given a chance to push the story forward when Warner Bros. decided to pull the plug and rebooted Superman. The resulting reboot was the Zack Snyder film Man of Steel headlined by Henry Cavill as Superman. But the totally messed up Justice League movie has forced WB to totally abandon Snyder's vision for their DC Extended Universe, in effect, putting Cavill in limbo. Now, we are left with one Live Action Superman in the form of Tyler Hoechlin, who plays Superman in the Supergirl TV Series, which is a part of the DC TV Universe (or Arrowverse to be correct).While Hoechlin played a decent Superman, it cannot be denied that by the turn of the Millennium, the three most popular live action Superman came down to Routh, Cavill, and Tom Welling. While Arrowverse fans were rooting for Tom Welling to don the Superman costume (which he disappointedly never did during his 10 season run as Clark Kent in the Smallville TV Series), it was Routh who was given the opportunity to revisit the character that made him a household name. This two part entry will focus on Brandon Routh as Superman, and what we could probably expect for his upcoming role as the Kingdom Come Superman. But before that, let us look back and try to breakdown the Superman Returns sequel that never was. I dug back and scoured the net for that long lost rumored synopsis of the sequel and found them at a now defunct webpage. Below is the long lost "rumored synopsis" to the sequel of Superman Returns.

Visit DC Universe Philippines on Facebook, the Philippines best source for DC Universe related news and stuffs 

Probably one of the best scenes of Superman Returns

DISCLAIMER: Synopsis text not mine, this was taken entirely from the defunct IESB.NET page

Superman: The Man of Steel

Superman: The Man of Steel started just a few years after the incidents that we saw in Superman Returns. Kal-El is doing what Superman does best, Lois Lane is raising her kid Jason, who of course is Superman's child and the world is getting use to having Superman back.

Now there are storyline threads that go back to Superman Returns, one is the on going plot of Superman's original reason of going back to Krypton. He has always wondered if he truly is the last Son of Krypton.

Remember new Krypton that Lex created with crystals he stole from the Fortress of Solitude and Kryptonite that Supes launched into to space that nearly killed him?

Superman visits and inspects New Krypton, the island created by Lex Luthor which Superman launched into space

So new Krypton continues to grow in space and has become an almost perfect sphere. It is now the size of a small moon.

Besides giving Humans something to admire at night, Earth's new satellite has also brought some unexpected attention from a galaxy far, far away.

A massive spaceship arrives Earth's orbit, Superman flies up to meet the spacecraft and we are introduced to our out of this world visitor.

Superman quickly finds out that our visitor is also a Kryptonian survivor who has been traveling the known galaxies and was able to detect Kryptonian technology thanks to our new green/black satellite that has started to orbit the Earth.

Superman and his Kryptonian Buddy?

Superman finally has found a Kryptonian buddy and starts showing him around the planet, a planet full of problems, disease, famine, crime and nations at war with each other.

Our new Kryptonian friend asks Superman why, with all his power, is he not changing the world for the better. Why is he not getting rid of famine, disease and war? Of course fans know that Superman has always been told, or better said instructed, not to interfere with Earth's development.

Superman explains that he is not allowed to interfere but his Krypto buddy tells him that with their powers they are required to "interfere," Superman disagrees.

Krypto buddy decides to take charge and starts "interfering" from day one. One of the first things that he does is get involved in a political mess that is heating up between two third world nations.

War breaks out between these two nations but before any real battle breaks, our Krypto buddy interferes and lays waste to these two Armies.

He declares to the world that he will not allow anymore wars and/or the destruction of our planet. He is declaring a "War Free" planet and for those who disagree, he will have to deal with them.

No more war? Superman aides his Kryptonian buddy to stop the war

The major nations of the planet applaud his actions and all agree to an immediate worldwide peace. In return he promises to share technology, fight hunger, famine and disease.

The population of the world rejoices and any small pockets of resistance is quickly squashed by Krypto buddy or even the world governments.

Superman has now become a pariah, the way the world sees it, he has been here for years and had kept technology that could have saved many of the worlds problems.


Superman starts getting a bit suspicious of Krypto buddy and decides to go talk to him. He goes to his spaceship and has a revelation. This massive ship is full of hundreds if not thousands of identical bodies aboard, yep, clones of Krypto buddy, in stasis.

Kryptonian buddy no more, BRAINIAC is revealed! 

So Superman digs a bit more inside the "computer" system, which is familiar to him since it's Kryptonian technology just like the Fortress of Solitude.

Superman finds out that Krypto buddy is actually an artificial intelligence from Krypton that has evolved since the destruction of their world.

He escaped Krypton just like Kal-El did and his real name is Brainiac. He has been going from planet to planet, taking their technology, helping these worlds reach a relative perfection and then he destroys them and moves on.

Superman also finds out that he was actually responsible for the destruction of Krypton and tries to warn the leaders of the world but is confronted by Brainiac. A massive battle ensues and Superman is about to defeat his foe but right just before, Brainiac downloads his conscience into one of his other clones.

Jason White runs for his life as BRAINIAC tries to capture him

Superman realizes that he must destroy this massive ship along with all the clones aboard. After another massive battle he is able to disable the ship, destroy the clones and the new Brainiac but right before the ship is destroyed the Brainiac main frame does a local search for another body that he could download in to, it has to be Kryptonian, and he finds another one on Earth, Superman's kid Jason White.


So Brainiac uses Kryptonian technology and beams/download itself into Jason's body and this causes causes him to age and grow into a full adult but with Brainiac in complete control.

Superman realizes what just happened and rushes to confront his very own son who is now possessed by Brainiac.

Is Jason still there or is it all Brainiac? It's all Brainiac and Superman knows what he has to do, he must defeat Brainiac at all costs or the planet and its inhabitants will be doomed.

Can Superman save both his son and his adopted planet Earth?

It's a battle between two gods but Superman has already been run ragged and beat down pretty bad in his previous battles of the day. Brainiac has the upper hand and Superman is trying to not to do any permanent damage to Jason's body.

Every time Brainiac is defeated in the past he simply tries to download to another clone and leaves that body completely brain dead but with no other bodies left, will Jason survive? The answer is no.

There is a Christ like metaphor here. Superman has to sacrifice his own son to save humanity.

There are still plenty of holes left in this story, we were not privy to all the details but this is the bulk of the info we received.

While the Bryan Singer sequel was axed, it didn't stop Mattel from releasing a Toyline based on the Sequel as shown here. 

So what do you guys think? Could the planned sequel for Superman Returns would have worked? Remember, Bryan Singer's take on the first X-Men film was a slow build up, as he first tried to establish the status quo of the X-Men. But his sequel, X-Men 2, totally blew everyone away as the high adrenaline action packed sequences and tight plot delivered what I believe is arguably the best Live Action X-Men movie to date! Now basing on the rumored synopsis, the Death of Superman's son is a perfect lead up to how Routh's Superman became the Kingdom Come version. I will be writing my thoughts on the connection to this sequel and the Arrowverse Kingdom Come Superman in part two of this article in my next entry. Hold on. The fun is just getting started!

Superman Returns: A Retrospective

Whether we accept it or not, there are a lot of Critics and Superman Fans who are still hung over from Christopher Reeve's take on Superman. Don't get me wrong, it is a great Superman movie, perhaps even the greatest, but that Superman Classic looks so outdated now by current standards. Singer's Superman Returns was exactly an attempt to hold on to that nostalgia while trying to push the Superman story in the big screen forward. In fact, most critics love Superman Returns more than Man of Steel. And many Superman fans are still pinning on the good old days of the joyful, charming, and brighter Superman as portrayed by Reeve. Nothing wrong with that really. But Warner Brother's meddling and lack of patience has continually hi-jacked any efforts to put Superman back in the big screen as a respectable figure. If they would have been patient enough with Singer, maybe the sequel to Superman Returns would have been bigger and more exciting after establishing the status quo of the present Superman via Superman Returns. If one could remember, Singer's first X-Men wasn't that much of a big movie, but it laid down the groundwork for the sequel X-Men 2 to be a bigger and more exciting movie.

Brandon Routh as Superman

Before the Snyderverse these were who WB was banking on

I personally blame the success of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy for steering Superman into the "Dark, Serious, and Grounded" territory. While the Reeve and Routh Supermen were more on the wonder and the amazing, Snyder's take (with Nolan's blessing if you could remember) grounded Superman in the real world scenario of a post 911 world. I have expounded on that here. WB thought that the massive success of The Dark Knight Trilogy is something that they should build on in contrast to Marvel's more GP friendly movies. But is that really how to do Superman movies? For those who have been following my posts about the DCEU, I'm a staunch defender of Snyder's vision. I was heavily invested in what his idea was and how he would present his mythology. But the grand scale that he tried to convey with the limited screen time given to him to utilize just couldn't make his vision work. And the Josstice League mangled movie burned Snyder's vision to the ground. But if there's one thing that WB learned from this experience, it is that now they are beginning to treat their Comic Book movies in accordance to the Character's characteristics. And so far, we have Aquaman (Action-Adventure), Shazam!(Comedy-Adventure) and the upcoming Joker (Rated R) movie as our examples.

Marlon Brando and Christopher Reeve

Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor

Now as for Superman, Singer's Superman after all should have been the right treatment for Superman. Superman Returns generally retained most of the Christopher Reeve Superman's mythology as a quasi-sequel. Part action, part adventure, part romance, and part drama, it had all the elements that made the Reeve Superman a well love classic. But too much reverence and nostalgia for the past Superman film rendered the movie to a fault. The plot basically was a retread of the first Superman movie plus some extras that Singer was building on. Marlon Brando (Jor EL) made a cameo by using old footage and combining it with CGI technology. The Villain (Lex Luthor) was the same, the motivations (Real Estate) of the villain was the same, Superman's action scenes were basically the same showcase of what Superman can do. Even the Superman romance with Lois in flight was a rehash of the Superman and Lois "Can you read my mind" date. Superman drowning in the sea because of Kryptonite was also a rehash of Superman drowning in Luthor's mini-pool because of a Kryptonite necklace. In fact there were a lot more in the film that looked like a scene by scene reconstruction of the old Reeve Superman. But then, Singer's love letter to the old Christopher Reeve movie was his attempt at re-establishing the Superman mythology that most people remembered. And most of it generally worked for those who continue to love the Reeve Superman. But for the new generation of Superman fans, it felt lacking. The advent of technology should have made Superman's adventures bigger and grander. Fans were looking for a Superman that punches (in Superman Returns I don't remember Superman land a single punch, but these fans were overwhelmed by the punching that Cavill's Superman landed though).     

Only Lex Luthor did the punching and kicking

The ending shot to Superman Returns was very similar to Christopher Reeve's Superman ending shot.

Superman Returns had its share of problems. And the 5 year absence of Superman that was established after Superman 2 made him an absentee dad when it was surprisingly revealed that Superman had a son with Lois. Superman Returns wasn't really a bad movie if it was given a chance to continue its story. Singer had established some surprising plot threads that he could have used for the next movie. And in my next entry, I've managed to dig up the rumored synopsis to Singer's Superman Returns sequel.

Maven Collectibles Blank Body Review

Surprisingly, last year I got an e-mail from the guys at Maven Collectibles, asking me if I could feature their product. I gladly said yes, because at one glance of their prototype bodies, I find the company's creations very promising. With that, I did an interview with them to know more about their company and product offerings. Last month, I finally received a package from them, a sampler of their 1:12th Scale Superheroine Blank Body Female Action Figure. This entry will be a review of that product.

The 1:12th Scale Superheroine Blank Body Female Action Figure set consists of 6 interchangeable heads as shown above plus the one attached on the figure above. The 6 heads comes in varying expressions including a mouthless one. 

The set also comes with 6 pair of hands, 2 pairs of feet, 1 knife, and 1 gun. The hands varies in different types of orientation including a couple of hands that can hold the gun and knife. 

6 varying kind of hairdos are also included to help make the figure's hairstyles more dynamic that would suit a customizer's taste.  

The figure features an insane amount of articulation. Over 30 in fact which consists of the following: 

Ball Jointed neck, Hinged Swivel arms, Swivel Biceps, Double Hinged Elbows, Hinged and Swivel wrists, Ball Jointed Torso, Ball Jointed Hips, Swivel Thigh, Double Hinged Knees, Hinged and Ball Jointed Ankle, and lastly, Hinged Toes. That articulation rivals those of Hasbro's Marvel Legends and DC Collectibles recent toy line DC Essentials.  

Speaking of Marvel Legends and DC Collectibles, for my scale comparison, I used a Marvel Legends Thundra and a DC Essentials Superman figures. Thundra is one of the tallest female figures in the Marvel Legends toy line so it was inevitable that I chose her as comparison. I used a DC Essentials Superman on the other hand because I wanted to see how the figure's scale is when compared to Superman because I have plans of customizing this Blank Female body as a Lois Lane figure to pair her up with Superman because there seems to be a lack of Lois Lane figures released. So the figure stands approximately 7 inches tall, probably too big for Hasbro and Mattel's toylines but could really work well with Marvel Select and DC Essentials.

A closer comparison with the DC Essentials Superman shows that the Blank Female Body is slightly taller compared to Superman. Could be a perfect She-Hulk custom, but I would rather stick to my original Lois Lane figure plan.

The figure's plastic material is very sturdy and actually quite heavy for its' joints. That after a few plays and poses, the joints started to loosen up. Something that is in common with the DC Essentials toyline like the Superman above who has flimsy ankles, making him hard to stand. But its sturdiness is a big plus to consider, especially after the general knowledge that DC Collectibles seems to be bad when it comes to the sturdiness of their products.  The figure is still awesome overall and is a customizer's dream blank body considering that the only other blank bodies available in the market are those from Figma, which is built more for the anime types. Below are some more shots of the figure.

I think Maven Collectibles deserves to bag a licensing deal with any of the more popular characters. I think after this, Maven should explore licensing deals. They've got great action figure bodies and just imagine them handling Marvel or DC characters. The possibilities are quite endless with their dynamic figures.

So would I recommend the product? Absolutely! Because the durability and the awesome articulations is very well worth your money. Customizers no longer need to disassemble those other action figures when customizing, they could go on straight ahead with their customizing projects by purchasing the readily available Blank Bodies by Maven Collectibles. I myself is not that good when it comes to customizing and painting but with this blank body readily available, I think I'll give customizing a try. I'd probably post my finished product in the near future. And I'm sticking with Lois Lane by the way. To purchase your figure and to get to know more about Maven Collectibles, visit their website at www.mavencollectibles.com I hope you guys could share your customized Maven blank bodies for me to see.

SHAZAM! Film Review

DC's second post Snyderverse movie has finally hit the Cinemas, and no surprise there, SHAZAM! Has put the "FUN" in Superhero Movies like there never has been before. Or has it? SHAZAM! pretty much felt like a "MARVEL" movie but with tons of steroids. In fact, SHAZAM! pretty much harkens back to the PRE-MARVEL Cinematic Universe superhero movies of the 90's. In case you've forgotten about those films, let me refresh you by throwing some names out here. Does Sky High ring a bell? How about My Super Ex-Girlfriend?, Meteor Man?, still doesn't ring a bell? Mystery Men anyone? Well probably it's because those movies despite being "FUN" and "ENJOYABLE" are just FORGETTABLE. These type of movies were created as stereotypical depictions of the mainstream audience's opinion about comic books (or as they would call it funny books) being childish and juvenile reading/movie materials suited for kids and those who never grew up from these types of fancy. These movies were watched but never analyzed, digested on its merits to bring fun and excitement to audiences and then just be forgotten at the deep recesses of their mind. NO, SHAZAM! never pretended to be anything more than just a fun romp Superhero movie. You won't see any Snyder craziness here to deconstruct a superhero. And this probably is the best decision Warner Bros. has ever made for their DC Cinematic Universe, in spite of what I have said above.    

SHAZAM! basically is one kid's (Billy Batson) quest to find his missing family despite being adopted by a foster home full of adopted kids who are sincerely trying their best to accept Billy as a part of their family. While on the side, dealing with his new found powers like a normal 15 year old would do. The craziness of the superhero part is mixed in with strong performances by the goofy Zachary Levi as SHAZAM! and Mark Strong as his arch nemesis Dr. Sivana. SHAZAM! could have also worked as a drama comedy minus the superhero part but hey, we are after the Superhero part after all right? And SHAZAM! does not fail in the superhero department too. What makes the movie quite enjoyable for me was the tons of easter eggs that director David Sandberg has put into it. The "is Shazam! part of the Snyderverse?" question is vaguely answered as there are tons of easter eggs paying homage to the previous DCEU movies (even Superman made an appearance wearing the exact Snyder Superman suit). And if the Justice League failed you, then probably the SHAZAM! Family can pretty much take its place as surprise appearances by a roster of SHAZAM's extended family graced us in the movie. There's nothing really deep presented in the movie, but the touching running theme about "FAMILY" is the big take away in this movie as not only mortal Billy is supported by his mortal family, but their transformation as superhero themselves would put them in full circle as Billy/Shazam! would no longer have to deal with the real life troubles of the world alone, but he can face them with a renewed strength with his family by his side.      

Did I enjoy the movie? Yes! Am I happy and agreeable with Warner Bros. new direction? Not so fast. BUT! Doing the movie SHAZAM! this way is actually the only way to do it. Not everyone may agree, but I always faulted the SNYDERVERSE VISION to the success of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy. The crazy execs at Warner Bros. fell so romantically in love with Nolan's "Dark", "Serious" , and "Cerebral" take on Batman's mythology that they surmised that HEY! Let's all make our superhero movies "Dark", "Serious", and "Cerebral". Failing to match the tone and theme to a particular Superhero. While I do get Snyder's vision of a more deconstructed superhero, and his effort to make these comic book characters more than a child's fantasy, I also understood the sentiments of those who were violently against Man of Steel and Snyder's succeeding DC Films. Superman should have been done on a more grander and majestic scale. Not Dark and Brooding, but a cheerful and hope filled superhero. Warner Bros. should have taken that route in the first place. But I guess not everything is too late, judging by the slate of films that are said to be released. Warner probably has learned their lesson by now because as seen in the Joaquin Phoenix starred Joker movie trailer, Joker won't be anywhere near Aquaman and SHAZAM! in tone and direction. Joker will be dark, violent, and probably thought provoking. I'm happy for SHAZAM! I'm genuinely happy for those who thoroughly enjoyed it, especially to the kids who finally have the opportunity to enjoy a DC movie. But, I still haven't moved on from the hangover of the Snyderverse. Waiting for the Snyder Cut of Justice League to be released by now is just pointless. Every DC Movie released starting from Aquaman has started to distance itself from the Snyderverse. But I'm still not losing hope that one day, the mythical Justice League will return to the big screen one day. And when Warner Bros. finally rakes in the money and profits they need to finance this whole damn DC Universe, it still wouldn't be a bad idea to revisit a MOVIE UNIVERSE that will continue to be debatable and an undying topic in forums and discussions in the years to come. The Snyderverse deserves to have its tale told and finished. Then we can all move on from that.          

Aquaman Movie Review

China and some parts of the world (including the Philippines) for this time around got first dibs on the new Warner/DC Movie Aquaman. And so far, Aquaman has been killing it in the international film market on the first weekend of release. First weekend international projections are going as high as $200 Million Dollars or more, with pundits going as high as predicting a $1 Billion Dollars worldwide finish at the box office going by the strength of the international numbers and the strong word of mouth from audiences. So, has Aquaman finally saved the fate of the DC Movie Universe? Now before I make my review, allow me to refresh you guys with regards to where I stand when it comes to DC's Movie Universe. I staunchly defended Man of Steel when critics roasted it which can be read here. I enjoyed Batman V. Superman despite it's flaws. And I even gave the critics a piece of my thoughts (not that they care). But gave a huge pause on Justice League, which was a frankenstein of a movie that I did not even bothered to review but wrote an extensive article about the DCEU's course so far which can be read here. I skipped reviewing or writing about the Suicide Squad movie and the Wonder Woman movie because for one while Suicide Squad was an enjoyable movie, I just felt that something was definitely off about the chosen antagonists, and I was right when just recently it was revealed that Steppenwolf and the Parademons were supposed to be the villains of the movie before the people at Warner Brothers started meddling on the direction of the movie. Wonder Woman on the other hand was a total system shock for me, because it didn't felt like a DC movie to me. It was done in the manner of the "MCU" formula which explains why spoiled critics and general audiences gave it such a huge rating. But to give credit where credit is due, Wonder Woman totally proved to the Hollywood Execs that a female led Superhero movie can equally or even surpass the traditionally Male dominated superhero franchise. Something that MCU's Captain Marvel should be thankful for. To make the long story short, I was totally invested with the world building that Zack Snyder has initiated. And I was totally devastated when he had to leave the DC Extended Universe without getting the chance to finish what he had started. And now that I have gotten these things out of the way, here's what I think of Aquaman.        

Aquaman finally blew the lid on what Warner/DC's next big direction for their movie universe would be. Nabbing director James Wan (from the horror flick Conjuring and its ilk) to helm the movie, Aquaman was a total shock to those who were expecting the demise of the DC Superhero Movie Universe. Critics loved the movie because they crowed about DC finally coming to senses to borrow a page from the early "Marvel" movie making formula by not taking its heroes too seriously and just let them have some fun. Critics are even comparing it to Iron Man (while the achingly stupid ones are saying that Aquaman heavily copied from Black Panther, to which I could only rebut by saying that Black Panther plagiarized LION KING!). James Wan didn't pull any punches as he delivered high octane action from the get go, which I never really expected because I never saw his Fast and the Furious work (was more familiar with him through his horror movie). The lush cinematography of the world of Atlantis is a page taken right out of Zack Snyder's books when it comes to spoiling the audiences with grandiose set pieces and visually stunning worlds. Perhaps the biggest question on everyone's minds was how would a two hour and a half Aquaman movie work when the titular character is more popularly remembered as "that" superhero who talks to fish. A line that Batman from the Justice League movie kept on repeating. But James had a trick up on his sleeves, and the surprisingly charismatic Jason Momoa (Aquaman) and the equally stunning Amber Heard (Mera) along with a talented cast of veteran actors, were the right team to bring Aquaman to the big screen. Combining big action elements, romance, mystery, and some light thriller, Aquaman delivered the right set of emotions to entertain the audience. Momoa's portrayal of Aquaman was strong, loud, and rowdy, yet maintaining the right amount of gentleness when it came to the dramatic scenes. Heard on the other hand was no slouch in the action department as she went toe to toe with Momoa's energetic performance.

Aquaman Postcard I have for James Wan's Autograph

The movie is vaguely set several years after the events of the Justice League movie. By saying vaguely, it means that there really is no clarity as to where the movie really stands in the greater whole of the DC Extended Universe because Director James Wan was caught saying that Aquaman is set entirely on its own without any entanglement to previous movies. Though in the movie, Mera's shout out to Aquaman's involvement with Steppenwolf is a huge confirmation that the movie Justice League did happen. James Wan favorite Patrick Wilson as Aquaman's half brother King Orm is on a mission to make the surface world suffer the ocean world's wrath. He has set his sight to become the Ocean Master so that he could lead the rest of the Ocean World to take its revenge on the Surface World for all the pollution and destruction that it has brought on the Ocean Floor. To prevent this from happening, Mera seeks out Arthur Curry/Aquaman and convinces him to take his rightful place as the King of Atlantis to thwart King Orm's plans. Snappy flashbacks of Arthur Curry's past is peppered throughout the whole movie, saving the movie from traditional cliched origin stories, and just keeps the movie moving forward without boring the audience. Willem Dafoe as Vulko evokes a sensei like presence during Aquaman's training scenes, which pretty much homages the Karate Kid's training sequences. Nicole Kidman's Queen Atlanna, Aquaman's mother, was also a showstopper, and while she started the movie on a very strong note, her whereabouts as the movie wore on is one that was kept hidden in mystery until the end. Momoa and Heards electrifying chemistry is heavily seen as Aquaman and Mera takes on a journey recovering the lost trident of King Atlan. And it was this part that threw a huge wrench on my expectations as we are taken to the dry lands (and the air) with stunning action sequences evoking that of Indiana Jones' adventures, away from the expected ocean battles. Aquaman on dry land and air? Go figure that out. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta steals the show as his story totally sets up an even more higher stakes in the surefire sequel to this movie. And of course it wouldn't be James Wan if there's no horror involved. And the Horrors of the Trench, the dark recesses of the Ocean would make our hearts beat faster as the dangers surrounding Aquaman is driven to the hilt. And when Aquaman finally retrieves the trident, and his comic book accurate costume is finally revealed in all its grandeur, the DC Geek in me couldn't contain my excitement. Throughout the whole movie, we are introduced to the wonders of Atlantis and its citizens and neighboring cities. Chief of them all is King Nereus (Mera's father) portrayed by Dolph Lundgren, who brought the kind of swagger to his portrayal of Nereus that harkens back to his He-Man days in the cult classic Masters of the Universe movie. The majestic climax to the movie was well played and the stakes are eventually lowered when it came to the final one on one showdown. No villain dies, no snapping of neck, no killing happens. Just one big emotional piece to finally tie the loose ends.  

James Wan affixed signature

Overall, Aquaman is an enjoyable film and a very much welcome entry to DC's growing movie universe. But while I did enjoy the movie very much, I left the theater with a heavy heart. The whole experience was a far cry compared to the movie experiences that I had from Man of Steel and Batman V Superman.  Being a die-hard DC Fan, there's two sides to what I'm feeling right now. One, I am extremely happy that in general, the movie is being embraced and lauded all over, plus the dollars are finally raking in which could only mean that DC/Warner would even be more motivated to bring our favorite DC Superheroes to the big screen. On the other hand, I am extremely sad that the final nail to the coffin of the so called "Snyderverse" has finally been inserted and has totally closed the door shut of any Snyder related DC Superhero movie project. As where it stands right now, the so called "Snyderverse" was just a bad dream that we all had to experience, and the sooner we wake up from it, the better we all would be for us to be able to appreciate the new phase of Warner/DC's new movie universe. Shazam will be up next, and from the looks of it, it is going to be way even more drastically different from the Nolan years of The Dark Knight Trilogy, and the Snyderverse. Good thing though that Joaquin Phoenix's Joker is just around the corner, and DC/Warner will just have their cake and eat it too.