And the Word Was Made Super-Flesh

Went to Greenbelt Saturday afternoon to watch Superman Returns with John and Benedict. We all enjoyed it, although we have some minor nitpicks. Spoilerish stuff, right about now: For me, it’s a mite long, and I wasn't too pleased with a few loose ends (that'll presumably spill over to the eventual sequel, maybe). It mostly focused on Superman re-establishing himself as a hero, after many years in space. He’s unaware that Lois is raising a Super-bastard (hey, I’m not judging), among other things. Yeah, Supermans 3 and 4 were retconned out of existence, but don’t bother making sense of the leaps in technological advancements between movies, or the dates shown. Anyway, it’s well-written and occasionally funny and goosebump-y. It pinned down the core concept and elements that made the character tick, and moved him (and his supporting cast) into newer, previously untouched territory. That’s done well here, and it makes the mythology fresh and interesting.

Messiah-offspring allegories, an anti-smoking message, Singer in top form, Routh, Spacey, Bosworth, Posey… this one’s got it all. Except, maybe, a really big, epic fight scene. But that’s what sequels are for. We see him mostly saving people from disasters and such all over the world here for most of the film (yeah, Manila was even mentioned), so we need to see him fight a big super-villain next time. Enough of Lex and his Kryptonite. Doomsday, maybe? That would just kick major ass.

Bespectacular

We went to Druid’s Keep after that and finally got new comics. Ran into nice guy-fellow comics and toy collector Tenzil/Allan at the parking lot. He just got his stash from the shop, and was heading home. That guy is all-smiles every time we see him (even in his blog and Friendster pics), and he seems to be one of the most cordial people from Comic Brook.

I got All-Star Superman # 4 (funny, big stuff from the same hot creative team), Astonishing X-Men (Hellfire attacks, cool cliffhanger!), New Avengers (okay issue, but the Magneto angle was confusing and the art was muddled), Marvel Westerns Outlaw Files (neat layout, but the dull sepia look doesn’t work), and Civil War: Front Line # 1 (great, character-driven stories that complement the big Civil War title). The popes and I just read, ate fast food and talked about all kinds of stuff after. Kinda weird but really worthwhile weekend, especially for me.

Titans Together Forever

I’ve read about twenty issues of Young Justice, so far. I like it; Peter David’s always been witty and unpredictable, but I’m just not into the art. The book is less serious than what I’ve seen of other, contemporary titles about sidekick heroes like Young Avengers, New X-Men:Academy X and even the current Teen Titans book. Oh, speaking of young heroes, in the Robin title (One Year Later), I’m not happy with what they’re doing with a former Bat-family member. Ugh. What a waste of a good character. Hope they retcon that one of these days.

Toy pic break! The Titans boxed set had four figures (Changeling, Cyborg, Starfire and Raven), which went on sale months back at Druid’s. Also more affordable are the Contemporary Teen Titans figures, sold at half-price since early this month (thanks for the tip, Nyek of Comic Brook!). The Kid Flash and Wonder Girl figs really look nice. I was also able to get a Deathstroke the Terminator (do they still call him that?). It’s nicely sculpted, but the limited articulation still makes him look stiff and lacking in oomph. Fellow toy fan Ian Orendain calls figures like that “walang libog”. How true.

Carmen Craps

Oh, before I forget… in Scary Movie 4, the most disturbing scene (yeah, well) for me was Carmen Electra taking a dump at the town hall. She played a blind woman (a parody of the lead character from The Village), who accidentally entered the hall during a quiet moment of a big meeting. She stripped down to her sexy lingerie, sat there at the wooden toilet seat that was strangely placed at the back of the room, and let it all go, complete with loud pooping and farting sound effects. So effing surreal.