Is there really any surprise here? I think the minute that Superman wasn’t number 2 and Batman wasn’t number 1, everyone knew where this thing was going.

I am unashamedly a fan of Superman. I have been for years, even though I forgot that for a while. I said from the outset of my top ten list, and I have said several times on Geek Out Loud, that my favorite super heroes are the ones who are heroes. Superman epitomizes this. He is a hero at his very core. Every villain he’s ever faced, every evildoer to ever cross his path, even those who claim to fight for the same tenants of truth and justice have pointed out that Superman’s biggest weakness is not krypronite, rather it is his concern for the people he has chosen to protect.

I also think it’s important to point out that Superman has CHOSEN to protect the people of the world. Wonder Woman is a warrior. Batman is on a crusade. Superman would love to be able to live a normal life, but he realizes he can’t sit back with all of his power and do nothing to save mankind. It can be a bit cheesy at times, and Superman has for years suffered criticism because of his do-gooder nature. It is that nature that interests me about the Man of Steel.

A lot of people complain about how powerful Superman is, but that appeals to me as well. It is a strong individual that can wield the power of Superman and not abuse it. His immense power speaks volumes about the strength of his character.

I guess I was introduced to Superman on a bath towel in our home. Seriously. It’s a towel with an image of Superman in the pose from the famous Superman #1 cover. Only instead of the Metropolis skyline as a background, there’s space and some kind of domed city. As a kid, I watched Superfriends on Saturday mornings, and reruns on whatever channels would show them. I also watched the old Filmation cartoons thanks to Bozo the Clown every now and again. I also watched the classic George Reeves Superman show every now and again when it happened to be showing on a Saturday afternoon. Then, of course, there was Superman the Movie and Superman II. I vaguely remember when these movies were being shown on television and how my family scrambled for a blank video tape on which to record them when they aired. Superman II was recorded after a Little House on the Prairie reunion movie. I never watched that movie…except for the end, the littel town was destroyed and there were bunnies all over the place. I digress.

My point is, that Superman has been with me for as long as I can remember, in many different forms, and he has been my favorite super hero for a long time.

Over the years, there have been many criticisms leveled at the Man of Steel. Among those criticisms are that he’s too good, he’s too powerful, and the combination of these things makes Superman boring. Therefore, I think the best way to explain my enjoyment of the character is by answering those criticisms.

As I’ve already said, I like the fact that Superman is so powerful. Let’s face it, through the years, Superman has been given some of the coolest super powers of any super hero. Invulnerability, super strength, x-ray vision, heat vision, super speed, and of course flight. Some would argue that his super breath is kinda lame. I like the power, but I can’t argue with that particular opinion. The thing about Superman is that his powers do not define him. Rather, what defines him is the use of his power. Ask anyone what they would do with the power Superman possesses and the real world answer would be something that would benefit the wielder of the power nine times out of ten. Superman, is completely different. He chooses to use his power to help others rather than himself. He chooses to serve rather than to lead. He chooses to inspire rather than to enforce. The most interesting stories to read about Superman are the stories where he has to make the decision to continue to walk that line. Mark Waid and Alex Ross’s KINGDOM COME is an excellent example of this. Superman crosses the line just slightly and begins to force others to do things his way and the results are quite destructive.

The other main criticism that people level at the last son of Krypton is that he is too good.  Referring to Superman as a boy scout has become somewhat of a backhanded comment, a little bit of an insult.   I disagree with people who think that he’s too good and that makes him boring.   Quite frankly, the fact that Superman chooses right and tries never to skirt the line of darkness makes him more interesting than Batman, Wolverine, The Punisher, or any number of anti-heroes.   Why?  Because in a world as filled with darkness and people who choose moral ambiguity over moral fiber, it’s harder to be a light than ever.  Superman is not naive.  He is not ignorant of the way the world is, but he chooses to keep his light shining as brightly as he possibly can.  That’s something that few super heroes are seen doing anymore.   It’s easy to blend in to the shadows and be a Dark Knight, there are a lot of shadows.  It’s easy to allow rage and revenge to consume the soul and become a Punisher.  It’s easy to shut out the world and ferociously attack like a Wolverine.  What’s not easy is to never cross the line.   It’s not easy to choose the light.  It’s not easy to carry the burden of doing the right thing over and over again.  Superman does it though.  Even when it’s hard to know what is right, when everything seems to be shades of gray, Superman chooses right.  That’s intriguing to me.  That’s interesting.

Finally, I find it amazing that an alien would inspire humanity the way Superman has.  How is this possible?  I think it’s because within every child there is the desire to grow up and be great.  Every child dreams of doing something with his life.  No one ever plans to fail.  No one every plans on being stuck in a monotonous job.  No one every plans on being ordinary their entire life.  Superman appeals to the child that still resides in all of us saying, “You can take what you have and do great things with it.  Don’t abuse your talent, your abilities, you time.  Use them to do the greatest things you can do.”  Though, we often don’t, we always wish we did.  Superman uses what he has to it’s fullest for the best of reasons.  That’s inspirational.  That’s something to work for.  That’s why he’s my favorite.

You know, I just realized that for the past two or three paragraphs, I’ve been writing about Superman as if he were real.  That’s what talking about the character does to me, he gets me talking like a kid again.  So, that’s it, that’s my top ten.  Now, up, up, and away.

If you’ve been reading this blog or listening to the podcast for any length of time, you know that The Incredible Hulk is one of my favorite super heroes. In fact, he’s one of my top two all time favorite super heroes. So it was with great hopefulness and bated breath that I devoured every piece of news and every little spoiler that came about as this movie went through production for the past couple of years. I did my best to defend HULK, Ang Lee’s attempt at an Incredible Hulk movie, but I always knew that the movie wasn’t all that it should be. I just wanted it to be a great Hulk movie so bad, I hated that it wasn’t.

Flash forward a few years to today.

As I write this review I am a happy, happy man. I should warn you that this could potentially be a spoilery review. I will attempt to not be too spoiler heavy, but I make no promises.

What makes a good comic book adaptation? Respect for the source material? The right actors? A solid director? Amazing special effects? A good story?

I submit that it is the right combination of all of the above. In recent years, we’ve seen great actors in terrible comic book adaptations. We’ve seen great stories marred by terrible acting and mediocre special effects. We’ve seen directors who have a love for the material they are adapting fall flat in their delivery of the adaptation. We’ve seen movies where the characters are adapted in name only. We’ve seen special effects feasts for the eyes and been disheartened by a lack of attention to decent stories.

But there have been (more often than not since the first X-Men movie) some bright and shining moments in comic book to film adaptations. Studios have by and large actually learned that what has appealed to readers on the page for so many years actually can appeal to general audiences.

The Incredible Hulk had the daunting task of pulling off a good story coupled with great special effects along with moving past the first outing of The Hulk to the big screen and meeting the expectations of fans who only knew the Hulk from the television show of the seventies and eighties. I honestly believe that this movie had more stacked against it than any other movie in recent memory. BATMAN BEGINS may have had a similar task, but I think that most people enjoyed the character of Batman enough and Warner Brothers was able to (more so than Universal with THE INCREDIBLE HULK) market BATMAN BEGINS really well. I’ve gone to the point of rambling, now let me get to the point of THE INCREDIBLE HULK.

I was completely blown away by this movie. I thought I knew what to expect, but I had no idea. In fact, at this point, I’m not sure I really know where to start. So, let’s start with the story.

The plot of this movie moves quickly and if you blink you may miss something. This is good and bad. I’ve seen the movie twice today, and the first time, I missed a few little moments that were somewhat key. The biggest thing I missed was the naming of the Hulk. (Ironically enough, he was named by the same person who named him in the television show, more on that in a moment.) It happens in a newscast that if you worry too much about watching and not listening, you’ll miss the moment. However, the fast pace works to help mount the pressure that is on Bruce and Betty to avoid the army, and the intensity that Blonsky has when it comes to actually becoming what he needs to become to be able to face the Hulk one on one. However, I guess that’s due more in part to the editing than the actual plot.

The plot itself is a classic Hulk plot. Bruce Banner is on the lam avoiding the U.S. army as led by General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross. This time, he is in Brazil working at a soda bottling plant. He’s been doing menial day labor, and has been able to lay relatively low. He’s also been learning a bit of Brazilian Judo and techniques to control his anger and pulse. After cutting his finger, a drop of blood finds it’s way into a bottle of soda, Stan Lee drinks it in the US and dies of Gamma poisoning. (Yes, you read that right.) From that point on, it’s on. The story follows Bruce as he travels to America in hopes of meeting up with a mysterious accomplice known only to him as Mr. Blue. Mr. Blue has been trying to help Bruce, as Mr. Green, find a cure to his problem. His travels cause him to cross paths with the love of his life Betty Ross, and of course Blonsky and the army. Emil Blonsky is a soldier “on loan” from Britain and he has become so intrigued by the Hulk that his only desire is to be able to take him down. His quest to defeat the Hulk causes him to subject himself to some experiments that transform him into a bigger, stronger monster that can only be the Abomination. Banner realizes that he is the only one that can stop this monster and a battle between the two behemoths ensues. It is a great story with all of the comic booky goodness geeks love and all of the action and pathos that general audiences enjoy. It works, and it works very well.

The acting in this movie cannot be ignored. While 2003′s HULK had some of the big screen’s best actors, they apparently were all directed to whisper and emote as little as possible. Not so here. Edward Norton plays Bruce Banner as a man tormented by the monster that dwells within him, but not completely defeated by it. He has a nobility about him that leads him to do the right thing, even when he knows it could lead to trouble. He is scared of being captured, but driven into danger by the search for a cure. He is brilliant and clinical, but passionate at the same time. This is a Bruce Banner with a personality, and Norton plays it well.

Liv Tyler’s Betty is a woman who has been through a ton but hasn’t been defeated by it. She is deeply in love with Bruce and all it takes is a glimpse to turn her world upside down. But it is her love of Bruce that helps her see through the rage of the Hulk and befriend the jade giant. I have to admit I have a total crush on Liv Tyler, when she tears up, it hurts a little to watch. I just want to hug her, and not in a weird stalkery kind of way. So, I totally believe everything she does in this movie.

Tim Roth, William Hurt, Tim Blake Nelson and the whole cast do outstanding jobs of bringing these characters alive on screen.

Then there’s the special effects. Specifically, there’s the CGI work on the Hulk. I have to be honest and say (and you will hear this thought repeated on the podcast) I have never seen a digital character that did NOT look digital. EVEN GOLLUM. We’ve come a long way in the realm of what computers are able to do in movies, but no company has been able to make a completely convincing all-digital character to me. Yoda came as close as any character has in REVENGE OF THE SITH, but he’s still digital, and I can still tell he is. So the question becomes, how well does the digital character interact with the real environment, and how do the real life characters interact with the digital characters. THE INCREDIBLE HULK does a great job in the look of the digital characters and how well they fit into the environment. No matter how digital the characters look, they interact with the environment well enough and the movie is solid enough that you are never jarred out of the experience because of the way they look. In fact, when The Hulk is facing the army on the college campus, a handheld camera is used. It had to be utter heck for the animators to make The Hulk fit in to the somewhat shaky shots just right, but they did and adds an air of realism to that scene that is very cool.

Then, there are all the throwbacks. I knew we’d get the obligatory Stan Lee cameo, and I was glad to see that Lou Ferrigno’s cameo wasn’t just him walking past camera, he got to do a bit of acting and even kind of pass the torch to Ed Norton. What I was not expecting though, was a cameo by Bill Bixby. I’m not being crass or callous. Bill Bixby makes an appearance in the movie and if for nothing else but this, Louis Leterrier and the makers of this film deserve some adulation. Well done friends, well done.

There is so much more to talk about and so much more to be said, but I will talk about it all in depth on the podcast early in the week.

To sum it all up, this movie works. It works well. It’s fun, it’s intense, it’s action-packed, and it even tugs at the heart strings a bit. I give it a solid 5 smashes out of 5. Go see it and have fun.

When I started collecting comics, I never really paid much attention to who wrote a story, who drew a comic, who inked something. In fact, I only really knew who the editor of a book was because that was usually who responded to letters in the letters pages. (Remember those? I miss ‘em.) Then, as I was reading the Fantastic Four, there was a lot of hoopla being made about Walt Simonson coming to the title to write and draw. When he came onto the title I recognized two things. One, I enjoyed his writing. Two, I didn’t so much like his art. (Sacrilege I know…but it was never my favorite for the FF.) (I’ve learned to love it now, but that’s a different post.)

It was at that time I began to recognize writers and artists in comics. My taste began to develop beyond, “I buy this book because (insert character’s name here) makes an appearance. I genuinely became interested in this group of people who are individually responsible for bringing the stories and images together to give us comic books.

Having said all that, I don’t know that I’ve read anything written by Geoff Johns outside of Infinite Crisis. I enjoyed Infinite Crisis, but it was as all crossover event books are, bound to the whims of more than justthe primary writer of the series. I have also read a few of the Action Comics books by Geoff Johns and I really ended up enjoying his run with Richard Donner. The two told a story that they obviously had sat around and talked about the arc for a while. (Insert obligatory delay joke here.) However, I had been reading people rave about him online for a while, especially with the advent of The Sinestro Corps wars over in DC. Couple that with a curiosity as to how in the world Hal Jordan and the corps came back, and I had to go on eBay and pick up the Rebirth series. That’s right…I eBayed it. The individual issues. Not the trade. I’m one of those guys.

If I can sum up in one word what Geoff Johns did in Green Lantern: Rebirth, it would be “WOW!”

This was honestly a story like no other I’ve read in a while. Johns has a way of taking what has gone before (both pre- and post- crisis) and making all fit into what is now. I don’t know that Hal Jordan ever needed to come back from the grave. I don’t know that he ever needed to be a Green Lantern again. I think his fall from grace and his ultimate sacrifice were an interesting journey and end for a heroic character. I liked Kyle Rayner as The Green Lantern. I appreciated what his insecurities and fears of being the only one in the universe brought to his character. I would never have thought that Geoff Johns would be able to convince me that we needed Hal Jordan, and if he did that, I thought for sure that he would do it at the expense of Kyle Rayner. Well, I was wrong on both counts.

What Johns does in Rebirth is set up a world and a universe that needs Hal Jordan as a Green Lantern, and he takes all of the apparent flaws of Kyle Rayner and turns them into his greatest strengths. So much so, that he is a key player in what takes place.

Then there’s the old silly stuff from back when Hal Jordan was GL. The yellow imperfection. The fact that Green Lantern’s primary color (was not a primary color…heh) is green probably caused very few eyebrows to raise back in the days of the Silver Age when one read that his weakness was anything yellow. Heck, I was a child of eighties and totally bought that concept while watching Superfriends. Geoff Johns takes a fairly silly premise and turns it into something epic. Parallax IS the yellow impurity. He was a creature that fed off of fear and lived because of fear, he worked through the color yellow. The Guardians imprisoned him in the power battery on Oa and he “infected” the Corps’ rings causing the imperfection. Because the Corps knew no fear, he was able to creep in unnoticed. Then, he found Hal Jordan, and because Hal refused to know fear at all, he was able to “possess” him.

WHO IN THE WORLD WOULD HAVE EVER THOUGHT OF THAT?!?! Not only did Johns explain Hal’s actions in the aftermath of the destruction of Coast City, but he gave an awesome explanations to 4 or 5 decades worth of continuity that by and large we all thought was pretty silly.

The first half of Johns’ story sets up all of the turmoil and despair it can. We are introduced to a Spectre that is losing his grip because of Hal Jordan, we are introduced to a broken and battered Kyle who is scared to use his ring. Guy Gardner almost dies as his body rejects the Warrior power he possesses. Then, when it seems things can’t get any worse, Sinestro shows up. Hal can’t help because he’s fighting a battle within himself against The Spectre and Parallax. His spirit is finally released and launched into his remarkably well-preserved body. As hal Jordan officially returns, I found myself wishing that there had been a Green Lantern movie made with a kick butt theme because my mind was screaming for it as I watched Hal Jordan return and light up the blackest night.

Later, as the Lanterns are facing down Parallax, Johns writes each Lantern individually. We see how each Lanter uses his powers differently, and it is amazing reading.

In the end, Geoff Johns pulled of a Green Lantern story and managed to bring back a long lost character in a really good way without trampling on what has come before and what is in the here and now.

Rebirth only made me more excited to get my hands on The Sinestro Corps Wars and for Johns run throughout the next year on Action Comics in which he promises big things for the Man of Steel.

Green Lantern: Rebirth is highly recommended if you’re a GL fan or a DC fan, or just a comic book fan.

Here it is. I can’t believe they put this in TV Spot. Click HERE to see Tony Stark in The Incredible Hulk.

Jason from NCN joins Steve in this episode. The guys try to talk about getting back into comics and fly off on fifty different tangents. Marvel, DC, Heroes, and even the Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon gets talked about in this episode. Steve continues his work to bring more geeks into the fold. Don’t forget that this is the last episode to be posted on this feed. After this episode, all episodes of Geek Out Loud will be posted at geekoutpodcast.com. You can subscribe to the new feed via iTunes by clicking here.

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