Supergirl’s fourth episode (“Ahimsa”) had a lot of great lines (“Americans, man. No idea how to drink.”) and moments. Lena and Brainy leaning on each other to solve the Kryptonite air problem was fantastic. It was particularly fascinating to see Lena coolly express her rage, before teaching Brainy how to compartmentalize. They’re surprisingly great together, […]
The Flash’s fourth episode (“News Flash”) pits the Flash gang against Spencer (Spin), a rival of Iris, who seems to be solely focused on catastrophe and clickbait. While I’m fairly tired of Millennials being the punch line on everything (leave my avocado toast mortgage payment and get off my lawn), her character was interesting. I […]
Supergirl’s third episode (“Man of Steel”) gave us Agent Liberty’s origin story. Presumably, we’re supposed to understand, as the audience, how a seemingly reasonable, kind man can turn into a hateful, xenophobic bigot. It checks all the stereotypes: blue-collar racist dad (Xander Berkeley), well-educated and learned person, loving family, generally seems to try to do […]
I can’t lie… I missed you. I dipped away for a moment, but Blastoff’s modernist is back. My name is Pat Shand, and I’m here at Blastoff talking about comics new and old… though we’re focusing a bit more on the old this month. I’m diving into 1987’s Justice League run by J. M. DeMatteis, […]
The Flash’s third episode (“The Death of Vibe”) was so much fun and full of family drama. You know, a typical Tuesday night. First, we have a new Wells! Sure, he’s a bit of a swindler, a French version of Sherlock Holmes, named Sherloque. Cisco quips that he smells like poutine, and I just about […]
Supergirl’s second episode (“Fallout”) had so many powerful moments that it’s hard to know where to begin. The writing has been absolutely exquisite, and I love all of the girl power moments (Eve, Lena, and Kara teaming up and kicking ass? Yes, please.). But I was particularly touched and moved by Nia, both the strength […]
The Flash’s second episode (“Blocked”) introduces us to Cicada, and it’s the least intimidating name I’ve heard in a while—especially for a dude who looks like a super evil Subzero, with a slight Zeus obsession. I mean, the lightning bolt of doom is an interesting weapon. And Cicada, name aside, is menacing and formidable. I […]
Supergirl’s season 4 premiere (“American Alien”) was pretty excellent. There was more to cheer about than not, even though the show tackled some difficult, relevant social issues. I mean, Kara was forced to confront her privilege, since she can “pass” for human. That was no small deal, and I loved that Alex reminded her to […]
The Flash’s season five premiere (“Nora”) was equal parts funny and touching. Mad props have to be given to Jessica Parker Kennedy, for her wide-eyed turn as Nora, Iris and Barry’s daughter. (Confession: I loved her on The Secret Circle, and I’m still mad that show got canceled. Don’t judge me.) Earnest, self-depreciating (“I’m not […]
With this final installment of Ms. Marvel, Then and Now, we’re taking a look at the history and present of she who bears the name of the House of Ideas. We’ve covered Ms. Marvel’s lowest moments of writerly depravity, the character’s restoration to greatness under the pen of Chris Claremont, and finally Carol Danvers’ last […]
Spider-Man has some of the most infamously bad romantic luck of any character in fiction. His love interests have, to name a few, been thrown off bridges, been on-again-off-again supervillainesses, and been retconned out of a successful marriage (still pretty bitter about that one.) But one that often gets overlooked is the extremely brief fling […]
This month, we’re taking a look at the history and present of she who bears the name of the House of Ideas… Ms. Marvel. Last time, Chris Claremont sought to make recompense for the sins of other writers – and he did a pretty thorough job of it. Now, with Ms. Marvel back where she’s […]
This month, we’re taking a look at the history and present of she who bears the name of the House of Ideas… Ms. Marvel. Last time… yikes. Ms. Marvel was violated by a cosmic entity named Marcus that gave birth to itself through her, and then, because of reasons, Ms. Marvel figured she’d sort of […]
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