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Why The Light Is Better Than The Legion of Doom

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So recently I've been seeing a lot of scans from Snyder's run on Justice League, mainly in regards to the "iconic" super villain team, The Legion of Doom. Internally I roll my eyes at the very concept of the Legion of Doom. Some of you may be asking yourself "why do you do that?". On paper, the concept of the DC heroes biggest baddies forming a team to take them down sounds pretty good. Well reader... you're wrong, but that's okay, I'm going to explain to you why that is.

Why Do I Hate The Legion

To put it simple, I just don't get the appeal to them. Now, I haven't read every story there is (although I'm sure it's few), but I just don't get it. I think where I started to question the functionality of this team make up, is when I saw the Bruce Timm Justice League episode, where Wally and Lex switch places. On it one character stuck out like a soar thumb, Sinestro (in a plot that involves robbing gold no less). To be fair to the show, this was before the Green Lanterns went through a huge shake up, and Sinestro became this layered villain we all love. But that's kind of my point. The Legion of Doom is supposed to be made up of the biggest villains, but when you look at the pieces that make up the puzzle, it just doesn't seem to come together well. Outside of maybe a one shot story, where they wanna take out the Justice League, they just don't mesh well. They all have differing goals and motivations. The only real reason for a Legion story is to show why they don't work when compared to the Justice League.

Look at the story of Salvation Run. In that you have the warring faction of villains, and Vandal Savage just goes off with his harem.

Can It Work Though? I mean... maybe (?). I've always held a belief that any story can work, it just depends on the writer. And let me be clear, I'm specifically talking about a team of villain composed of the biggest bad guys of each hero.

Where The Light Succeeds

Besides some hiccups at first and some stinker plot lines this season, conceptually I think The Light works much better. They don't put these parameters of using a villain from across the isle of each hero. They went with a much more simple approach, and made their version of an evil Illuminati composed of intelligent super villains who have world conquering aspirations. They are much more unified and their plans are much more interesting than just seeing them rob a train of gold. They also remove the hurdle of the classic "Clash of Egos". It worked on Legends, because they used it as a way to unify them.

Just to pad this thing, since honestly there isn't much more I can say, since I'm really just tackling the broad strokes, I guess I'll list some of the things that The Light has done that are really cool this season.

SPOILERS FROM HEREON DOWN!

1- The wide influence net.

2- Usage of dummy groups. Like that makeshift Legion of Doom in Season 1

3- How they screwed over the Reach so they can get what they want.

4- The Whole Nuclear Option in S3

What Are Your Thoughts On The Light vs the Legion?

8 Comments

Ranking The Arrowverse Crossovers (Update)

So recently I went back and rewatched every single crossover episode in the CWverse of heroes. It was fun marathon and now I'd like to break down and review them while also ranking them.... cus wynaut? The only rule for these crossovers is that for it to be considered a crossover

1- it has to be the main hero coming over, not some supporting character (like how Diggle shows up on Flash)

2- The character actually has to do a lot, and not just make a brief appearance. Like how Oliver showed up for the Flash finale and vice versa.

3- The character crossing over has to have a show at the time of crossing over. This means that the first appearance of Barry on Arrow doesn't count, and nor does the Constantine episodes even though I really want them too. Vixen is also not allowed.

Simple "no duh" rules to some, but I thought I'd lay down the ground rules. Each one will have a mini review, a grade and they'll go from worst to best. So let's do this!

Elseworlds

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Link- https://comicvine.gamespot.com/forums/gen-discussion-1/elseworld-review-the-real-crisis-is-the-story-1991572/

Already wrote a big review, but I'll post a short version here. This event was a total mess and easily the worst of the bunch. The LoT backdoor pilot episode felt less out of place than this schlock. It's the DCTV equivalent of Age of Ultron, nothing but a bunch of self promotion and repetitive story lines. Only episode that is even close to salvageable is the middle one, since it's basically a backdoor pilot for Batwoman, and that's really the only reason to watch it. You could watch it and not have to watch the episode prior or after, that's how self contained it feels. Even then, prepare yourself for a season's worth of easter eggs.

Rating- 3/10

Legends Of Tomorrow Backdoor Pilot

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I do wanna clarify that despite how low this is, it doesn't mean I hate it. I actually don't hate any of the crossovers, and at best I just find them to be cringe worthy at times. This event should have been a warning that Vandal was going to drag down the Legends of Tomorrow first season. It showed how much they had to go out of their way to make Vandal a threat, even though Barry should have been able to easily kick his ass. Also, despite that the Hawks are supposed to be the center of the thing, the kind of just become the least interesting story. It's actually kinda weird how this garnered a spin-off about them joining a Time Traveling Crew of heroes.

Rating- 5/10

Supergirl Meets Flash

This was a huge surprise when it happened (or should I say announced), because it wasn't really sure if Supergirl would ever crossover cus at the time she was on a different network. The premise for this entire thing happening gauges on no one asking questions and just accepting it. Barry has never shown the ability to travel through worlds and hasn't since. But... whatever, lets just let that slide and judge it as it's own thing. At the time of this episode, Barry was still a likable character and he did his best to make this episode work. The writing on Supergirl has always felt so cheesy that it makes the Superman 1 and 2 look like The Dark Knight. From jealous love triangles with the awful Jimmy/Kara romance and to the over the top villains, this episode was a hard sit... and yet it was probably it's best episode of the season.

Rating- 6/10

Musical Episode

This is this high up almost entirely by default, but it does have a really great aspect to it that the others don't. I think this episode more than the last one understands what it is and the ridiculous nature of it's musical aspirations. I think it's a fine enough episode, even though I don't do musicals, but what makes it really stand out is its "villain". It's supposed to be Music Meister, but in my head canon he's Mr. Mxy and a better one than one we got. I still don't like the notion of a hot Mxy, but I think this one has a more enjoyable personality than the one we saw in Supergirl. If I ever got a chance to write a Mr. Mxy story, it would be similar, in the sense that he's not just pulling random pranks but has a clear goal and wants to be entertained by the hero and will only leave when they complete the task, here it was a musical.

Rating- 7/10

Invasion Event

So Invasion was the first big event for the CW. All their heroes together, fighting an alien invasion. Some might whine that it's rip off of Avengers, but there's a history of the heroes all coming together for an Alien Invasion. Justice League did it in several times, both in the Animated Series and in JL:War. All that hubbub aside, this was a huge undertaking an what I have to assume is thw CW pulling off on the small screen what Avengers pulled off on the big screen. IT"S A FREAKING BIG DEAL... but why o why does it have to be so underwhelming at times? Don't get me wrong, the event isn't total garbage and some parts are really good... but there are some parts that are either repetitive or confusing. There are three times where a character is dismissive of a character, only for them to change their mind a few minutes later. Wild Dog didn't trust Flash and Kara, Oliver didn't want Kara fighting on the team (for a dumb reason) and the LEgends didn't want Cisco and Felicity coming with them. Then you also have the Government not wanting the heroes to fight, not trusting them, but end up celebrating them. This rinse and repeat made it really annoying to watch. There's no denying it's a spectacle that even if you're a lapsed fan of the CW, you just gotta watch it.

Rating- 8/10

Arrow V Flash

So technically speaking, this was actually two episodes. Unlike previous ones, it wasn't one story but rather two completely different episodes but I'm just going to count them in one block and break down which is better here. As a whole, while the premise of Flash vs Arrow seems absurd (mainly cus of how OP FLash is and Arrow isn't really known for being a prepper), but it happens early off enough in the franchise where I can buy it and Oliver has been established as calculative. There is a lot right with this episode and it's got a lot going for it. If I had to complain about something, it;s mainly how wacky Flash acts when he's In Rage Mode. He almost looks as if he's on drugs and his persona feels more like that of an angry mean girl.

Part 2 of this was the Boomerang episode on the Arrow side of the crossover. I think as a whole this episode (while not as epic in concept) was a tighter episode. Can't say I'm a fan of Arrow's take on the personalities of SS members, and Boomerang is no exception. That has more to do with me being used to the comedic relief Boomerang we've seen in the movies.

Rating- 8/10

Crisis On Earth X

Crisis on Earth X is hands down my favorite event of the them all. What makes it better than Invasion, is that right away they wrote this thing as a long story, as opposed to having each episode feel like a part and the episodes don't focus on the set of heroes in the part they take place in (like Team Arrow being the focus of the Arrow part and the Legends only showing up in the final Part). The humor is much more palatable and the CW-isms aren't as bad (still pretty bad at times) as usual. The Action was also an improvement. They actually spend some time giving their villains a purpose and personalities. Both Overgirl and Dark Arrow are great alternate takes and I would love it if they actually made Dark Arrow a thing in the comics where he is a high ranking. The weakest link is without a doubt Reverse Flash. You could have just had Nazi Flash look like Wells. You didn't need to go the extra step and say he's the actual RF. They also weren't afraid to show us the dark reality of the Nazi world, they didn't shy away from it. The teams are used much better and the Legends do seem to have a larger role this time around which I'm always a fan of. I'm excited for the next Event, and I hope they bring on Black Lightning.

Rating- 9/10

So what did you think of my list? Did you agree or disagree? How would you rank them?

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Legends Of Tomorrow Season 4 Wishlist

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So with Legends of Tomorrow being renewed for a Season 4, I thought I'd make a list compiling some things I'd like to see happen in Season 4. Normally I'd write a Season Map/Reboot Style blog but those have died in comments lately. Unless I reboot something terrible like BvS of Suicide Squad (hmmm, may do one on Justice League), no one gives a shit. So I'll be doing a wishlist instead of things I'd like to see happen in S4, with some plot points that I think would be cool to see.

10) Giant Ray/Robot Monster Fight

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So they kinda did a giant monster fight already, but I think it'd be cool to see Ray have to turn into a giant to fight a robot or something. Maybe even have an old school miniature set where they fight, ala Power Rangers style.

9) A Better Time Bureau

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I think one of the weakest aspects of Season 3 was how the Time Bureau was handled. They were supposed to be the Posh Frat house to the Legends Animal House antics. They ended up becoming fodder who sucked at their jobs. That plot line has been ruined, so I don't know what they could do next, but whatever it is make it interesting. Make the Time Bureau feel like they matter. Make them get infiltrated by a Demon in disguise, or just kill them all except the main two.

8) Vixen Makeover

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I... freaking... hate Vixen. I want her off the show and I'm tired of her. She was good in Season 2, but something about Season 3 Vixen is just a reminder of the Hawk/Ray romance of Season 1... never do a thing that Season 1 did and failed at doing. They spent this entire season building up to her leaving and going back, so freaking stick to it! I'll loose such respect for the writers if flat out bring her back. I've heard whispers that she may end up playing a different character. Considering that the Vixen they hired to play Modern Day Vixen is unavailable, maybe that's who she'll be playing in which case I may be fine with it.

7) Wally West Time Travel

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Now I don't particularly have a specific idea for this, outside of just having a Wally West centric episode, but I think they should do something with the fact that Wally could potentially time Travel. Have some fun with this ability as opposed to it being a miserable experience as it is on Flash.

6) Evil Legends Episode

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I couldn't find a good image of that, so I had to use this. Point is, I think Legends could pull off a really bonkers Evil Reality episode. They've done a body switch, time loop and an alternate evil time line episode, don't tell me the can't do an evil mirror universe episode. GET OUTTA HERE WITH THAT NOISE!

5) Zatanna/Swamp Thing/ Possible JL Dark Episode

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Didn't want to create a point on the list naming a different special appearance, so I'm just giving the JLD it's own spot together. With a huge possibility of most of these characters making an appearance, it'd be cool if was saw a mini Justice League Dark on the small screen. Zatanna having a bad past (laced with a bit of sexual tension) with Constantine. It's up in the air if we'll ever get this since the studio keeps hinting at a JLD movie, but I think the CW is growing more in power as the DCEU continues to fail to get its shit together. It doesn't have to be a backdoor pilot into anything, it can just be a self contained thing within the season.

4) A Blend of Constantine and Legends

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For the most part, I have to imagine that Season 4 will be a pretty heavy Constantine season. With his addition and the season revolving around Demons, it's hard not to imagine that's the mentality of them going into Season 4. I think the general consensus for Season 3 was that it was a bit joke heavy. Still a great season, but they could have pull back a bit. Now with Constantine joining the team, it's almost a requirement. However they work it out, they have to meet each other halfway. Have the horror/darker aspects that make Constantine mixed with the Justice League International dynamic that the team has grown accustomed to.

3) Teen Constantine

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Legends has done such a good job at visiting past selves and having hilarious interactions with them. This however won't be a laid back one like it was with Ray. We'll get some chuckles but we'll see Constantine on the verge of screwing up the timeline in order to save the girl he failed. This will either end in some deep dark depression for Constantine or turmoil between him and Sara. This one has a high chance of happening and I'd be flabbergasted if they haven't already written the episode for it.

2) Etrigan Is Tied To The Main Threat

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So I don't know much about the origin for Etrigan outside of the JLTAS episode, but I think that it'll most likely be tied to the demons that came out of the prison. I think either Jason Blood is someone who is part of some evil Demon Cult or he was just possessed. All the demons are very much like Mallus, in that they possess someone and they slowly gain power and burst out of their shell into a fully formed demon. Jason Blood is a rare case of one that gets fused with his human. He could either be a villain or a hero, either or is cool.

1) Future Constantine Is Dr. Fate

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This is kind of a retread of the Chronos plot line of Season 1, but it would be cool to see that Future Constantine has to don the helmet at some point. Like throughout the series we see other Dr. Fate's at different time periods, and we get thrown off to the possibility that the main one we see is from the future. We come to find out that Constantine as Dr. Fate produces the strongest version of Dr. Fate ever and he stopped a giant threat in the future. But the Legends muck up with Mollus had infected time with dark Magic and has made this plausible future on the brink of not happening.

That'll do for my list. What are some things you'd like to see them do in Legends Season 4?

9 Comments

Legends of Tomorrow Review

Legends of Tomorrow is the 3rd CW produced DC hero show, and probably it's more underrated one as well. I want to throw a bit of love it's way by giving it a review praising what is a show that is way better than it had any right of being.

The History of Why

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So a long time ago rumors were circulating around that the Suicide Squad episode on Arrow was meant as a backdoor pilot for a potential Suicide Squad show. They had done this with the Barry Allen appearance episode, so it wasn't that much a leap. Sadly (or gladly depending on your point of view), the show got axed with the movie version being announced. With that off the table and the growing success of Arrow and Flash as their biggest shows, they desperately wanted an other Superhero show and quickly.

Cue the Legends! Unlike what happened with Suicide Squad (which I believe was backed up by the show runners) this is purely my speculation. After the death of Suicide Squad, the quickly scrambled to make an other show. They knew they had to use B or C list characters because WB wouldn't allow them to use any bigger characters. Only reason Flash happened is because he quickly he got in before they closed the doors on any potential movie character. Essentially the looked at all the characters they had that would just end up collecting dust and put them on their own show. This was a rushed product that feels like it lacked any clear vision.... and they made it work!

How It Stacks Up

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Legends has become easily my favorite DCTV show and probably in my personal top 5 CBTV show. It's a show that is way better than it has any right of being. The cast bounce really well of each other and any romance (outside of the Hawks) feel believable. That being said, the main draw for this show is just how bonkers and funny it can be. It's on the opposite side of shows like Black Lightning and Arrow, but it does it's cheesy aspects much better than the Flash.

The show isn't by no means perfect. Most of the problems however do stem from Season One's rough start, the Hawks and Vandal Savage. The show even acknowledges how bland and not scary he was in the George Lucas episode. As with anything that focuses on time travel to much, it can also become a bit chaotic since their will always be inconsistencies. Personally I don't mind, and it's not as bad as with Flash.

Once season 2 hits, it almost becomes a totally different shows. The series is more self aware and goes all out. It'll have episodes where they have to take on Zombies during the Civil War or where they take on Vikings who think a talking doll is a god of war.

The show has a way of making you care about characters you didn't think you would. Heatwave is a comedic MVP, since he acts almost as their aloof uncle who loves to drink. Ray Palmer's unwavering optimism is a great assert to the team. The one that I'm personally surprised I care about is Citizen Steel. The way he came to be on the group is a bit clunky, but for the most part he's a witty addition to the team. While they may be my favorites, everyone on the crew have their stand out moments and are used to their full potential.... unless you have budgetary issues which Firestorm seems to run into.

This show makes no qualms about showing their characters screw up and that certain changes to the time line have to be made. Either because it's necessary or because it's a patch to a screw up. It gives the show character by having their adventures not be so clean cut.

After Vandal Savage, the villains became much better written. In season 2 they were using Merlin, Reverse Flash and Past Darhk. I loved their dynamic and their goal, but then again I'm a sucker for anything that involves the Spear of Destiny.

Legends Never Die

Or at least I hope not. I have a nagging feeling in my stomach that this show may soon see the axe but I'm going to enjoy it till the end. I can't recommend this show enough, and I think if you're wanting to get into it, it's on Netflix and you should start on Season 2. Then one day if you're ready, go back and watch season 1. I think you'll fall in love with this group of lovable rogues by watching them get into all kinds of wacky time travel adventures.

Rating After Season One- 8.5/10

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Top 10 Western Animated TV Villains

Villains are what make many stories work and are arguably at times more important than the heroes themselves. The come in different shapes and sizes, all with a wide aray of goals. They can either be mirror versions of the character or big bads who loom over the story until the hero is ready to face them. I'll be looking at some villains which I consider the best of Western Animated TV Villains. No anime but adult series are okay.

Disclaimer: I tried to stay away from DC or Marvel villains, since their either in all lists. Personally, the ones that are all on lists (Joker or Lex) really wouldn't be on my list anyway, but maybe there are others that would be.

10) Bill Cipher

Gravity Falls was a series that was layered with potential and had me hooked on episode one. It's only fitting that a show with such a weird vibe and occult concepts would have a villain like Bill Cipher. Much like almost every Reality Warping character, Bill is an other nutty villain who seems to have fun screwing with his victims. So much potential was set up with Bill... but there's a reason he's on number 10 on this list. Every appearance after his first was worse than the last, with the finale being a huge mess. I suppose that's what happens when you are told to wrap up your 3 season story in season 2.

9) Aku

Now, Samurai Jack wasn't a series I watched that much growing up. Outside of the theme song and a few episodes, I couldn't tell you much about the series... but Aku was a pretty entertaining but scary villain. I will say, he's almost on here by default. I think with the origin special and the final season (as boring as it ended), there is enough for him to qualify on this list.

8) Professor Strickler

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Couldn't find a decent image. This is Strickler from the Netflix series Trollhunters. Now, I discualified Zuko for eventually turning good, but his route seemed more obvious and fitting. Besides, Strickler only became an ally to the hero to save his own skin, so I'm gonna let it slide. I liked the Mentor relationship they both formed, and how Strickler kept trying to keep it up. He was willing to let all humanity get destroyed in order to get the respect of the true villain of the show, but he showed multiple sides to him. He was cunning, petty, pathetic and cocky. His character bounced well of the more stubborn and violent troll pictured in the gif. Honestly, he was probably the best villain so far, but the show is doing a good job of building up to the actual big bad of the series.

7) Azula

Why is she on here and not Zuko or her Father? I think everyone can agree that Zuko never felt like a villain, but he was a great character nonetheless. As for why her father isn't on it.... he was just meh. There really isn't all that much that's interesting about Ozai, he's probably the least interesting character in the whole show. He's not meant to be anything more, but he doesn't even stand out in terms of one dimensional villains.

But back to Azula. Honestly, I wasn't thinking of putting her on here since in my heart she's not in the top 10, but objectively it's hard to deny it. The brilliantly craft her entire character and add a layer of tragedy while at the same time never deny she's a bitch.

6) General Modula

A villain who left us wanting more... and still does close to 10 years later. What happened to him?Why did he turn on his people? Is that creature on his head destroying him? Sadly we'll never get the answer to these questions. All we're left with is these few moments of him being a total badass and showing some Faora level moves. Bonus points to the voice actor (Don Leslie), for making him both intimidating and terrifying.

5) Norman Osborn(Spectacular)

Spectacular Spider-Man is probably one of the most underrated animated series ever. It can be a hard rewatch at times, but overall it still has a good standing. As I state in the opening statement, I don't have Lex or Joker, but I guess this is like having both on here. It's hard to say which persona is worse, Norman or Green Goblin? The moment when he purposely breaks his own son's leg just to throw off Spider-Man is a total dick move and he earns a spot automatically.

4) The Lich

Easily one of the most terrifying villains on the list. Now, I'm not the biggest Adventure Time fan, but anytime I see The Lich , I'm just impressed by the effort they put into his character. It's hard to do characters who just personify evil and make them resonate, but this show makes him have an impact on the viewer. Both the dialogue and Ron Pearlman's voice acting make for a killer combo.

3) Slade

An other villain voiced by the great Ron Pearlman. There's a bit of bias, since Slade was one of my favorite villains growing up. He stuck with me more than Lex or Joker. Not as terrifying as Ron's Lich performance but probably way more intimidating. Where I think he also fairs better, is in his interactions with Robin. Typically a great villain will have great chemistry (in this chase, volatile chemistry) with their hero, which Slade does in spades.

2) Evil Morty

How does a character whose had the least amount of screen time out of anyone on the list end up in the top 3? With tension, mystery and build up. There's a great joke by Dave Chappelle, where he points out that a white guy in a group of gangster black guys is the scariest guy in the group. That same mentality applies here. In the world of Rick and Morty, Mortys are nothing more than cloaking devices for a Ricks brilliance. No Morty is meant to be smarter than a Rick... but Evil Morty somehow manages to be smarter than every Rick. In the end, it's hard to say if Morty is even the bad guy, since Ricks are known assholes and maybe he's doing the Multiverse a service. Theories abound on what Evil Morty's role is, but we're all dying to find out. I'm hoping my Original Morty Theory is correct, but the creators have a tendency to mess with peoples fan theories.

1) Toffee

Star vs The Forces of Evil has become hands down my favorite current cartoon. I was offput at first by Star's personality and other characters, but the show has done a total 180 in terms of my enjoyment. Toffee is one of two characters who this show would just loose everything that makes it special.

Voice by Dexter star Micheal C Hall, he does a great performance as this emotionless lizard with the master plan. What sets off his journey to his eventual demise is so damn poetic. His entire demeanor and the way he handles himself is what makes him such a cool villain to see operate. He's not meant to be kick ass bad ass like some of the others on this list, despite that he is more than capable of doing so. His special skill is strategist mind, and he knows how to use it.

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Hire Saint Wildcard Campaign

Ready To Serve
Ready To Serve

It's no secret that Comic Vine is going the way of Anime Vice day by day. They shut down the CV Twitter and Youtube. They also fused the Facebook page into the Gamespot page. Articles are posted with a month long break in between them (if lucky), and they keep letting Comic Book Movie reviews slip through their fingers. It's time to get some new blood in here, and I'd like to put in my application.

My Application

Education: I'm an English Major. I'd like to put my education to good use or I'm going to end up having to eat my degree.

Experience: I've written a review here and there, but what I lack in experience I make up for with raging tenacity. I can also be an overly critical asshole like any other Comic Book Nerd.

Dedication: I have nothing else going on, my social life is pretty much dead so you won't have to worry about me needing time off.

Special Skills: I may not write as eloquently as some people here, but I make up for it with pizzazz. Some people, including those that have worked here, lacked that. Boring articles with very lame jokes, snooze! You need to keep your readers engaged, and I can do that.

Innovation: I'm always willing to try something new and push the boundaries. As someone who used this site when it was actually maintained, the people here love to be interacted with and that'll be a big part of my reign.

Social Media: I don't like using Twitter, but I will adapt. I'll also put out quality podcasts.

Reviews: I'll also review mainly CBMs and CBTV. That seems to be where the real money is. Occasionally I'll review big event titles, like Rebirth. Which if you knew me, you'd know I'm forcing myself to do that.

Diversity: I'm Mexican, which means I'm a hard worker. Also good to get some diversity into this corporate world.

MAKE COMIC VINE GREAT AGAIN!

HIRE ME! PLEASE! I HAVE NOTHING ELSE GOING ON AND YOU NEED SOMEONE TO KEEP THIS SITE ALIVE! I'll DO IT SUPER CHEAP AND I HAVE A MOVIE PASS SO I CAN GO SEE ANY MOVIE WITHOUT IT COSTING YOU A THING!

Feel free to ask me about how I'd run this site?

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Saint Reviews- Coco

Coco is the newest animated movie by Pixar that revolves around the Day of the Dead. What I find so hilarious is the irony around this movie and it's timing with Justice League. Justice League is all about hope and a character being reborn, but it's going to get killed in the box office by a movie about Dead People. That's some spicy irony. But I digress. Gotta come clean, I may seem that I may be bias since I'm Mexican, but... that's kinda cus I am, or at least there is a small possibility. There are times that I wonder if I love the movie as much as I do because of it, but I'm going to try and be as objective as I possibly can. I'll point out the pros and cons like with any other review. Lets get started

Anything that's slightly spoilerish, will be blacked out.

The Review

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The amount of detail and research that went into this movie to make it as true to Mexican culture must have made for a daunting task. And from what I can see it paid enough. In fact, at several times in the theater, I would turn to my cousin and say "This movie is Mexican as f***". Considering that it's now Mexico's highest grossing movie, I think it paid off. It's good because after the whole controversy of trying to trade mark "Day of the Dead", they had to give this movie their all to repent for that sin. Now, it being too Mexican may be a problem that I'll get into later.

All the characters in this movie are lovable. The dynamics between all the characters are aces. Miguel's VA really sells the movie and his comedic timing is bound to get a chuckle or two. That being said, comedy isn't the movies strong point, nor do I think it has to be. It's more about the message and the culture. With that being strong and the characters being so likable, the movie does well enough without having to add a joke every few minutes.

This movie is probably one of Pixar's best yet in terms of animation. They keep getting better and better. Their human characters also keep improving and IMO it's much better than something like Moana, in which all I saw was a doll for a toy line. The Land of the Dead is a fusion of all Mexican culture and the traditions of the holiday.

The movie is surprisingly dark for a kids movie. Although I think Pixar has always pushed the boundaries (movies like UP and Incredible for reference). I think what sets this movie apart is that we get to see the deaths play out. Because the movie takes place in a reality where The Land of the Dead is a thing, the movie has to create a set of rules to establish a threat for both Miguel (human character) and Hector (dead character), which I think the movie does wonderfully. They change it up to keep things both interesting and meaningful. I've become so jaded by self sacrificing deaths, but the way they tease the aspect in the movie makes for a more satisfying and tragic way to go.

At it's core the movie is about Music, Mexican Culture and most importantly Family. I gotta say, I'm a sucker for a movie about family. I almost never cry when it comes to the death of a character, but I break down whenever I see strong moments of friendship or family. I also like how the movie isn't about one character having to learn a lesson, but everyone has to change their mentality and meet each other halfway.

The Bad

While I'm always willing to forgive a movie for having a cliche if earn it, that doesn't change the fact that it's a cliche. It got spoiled for me, but I think I would have figured it out anyway. It does get kinda predictable with it's story.

One thing I fear is that the movie may be too Mexican for the general audience. Mainly when it comes to the music. It's unapologetic in the music choices, which obviously work for the setting but some people may come to expect the same Pop Hit Song you see in most of these movies. I think he main song "Remember Me" will meet people half way, but almost every other song is leaning way more into that Banda type music. The references may also go over a lot of peoples heads and the abundance of Spanglish.

In The End

This was a delightful look at the importance of family through the lens of a family home. It has a timeless feel to it that I think will give this movie less and appreciated for years to come. The colors, humor, culture and music are all so dedicated and true to it's world. A perfect movie to watch this holiday weekend, since it's about the unity of family.

Rating- 8/10

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Saint Reviews: Justice League

I know I know, It's a total shock that I paid to go see it and on opening weekend no less. "I thought you were done with the DC Movies Saint" you may be think to yourself. I thought so too guys... but then the reviews started coming out and the RT/MC scores were posted. The petty asshole in me just laughed and all the anger and resentment just left me. I still don't forgive them for BvS, but seeing them fail again just makes me feel bad for them. How can the screw up such a simple and straight forward plot? Is it truly as bad as they say it is?

The Review

Please tell me the ride is over already
Please tell me the ride is over already

*Some Spoiler*

I have a history of bashing BvS and this entire movie before it even came out, but believe me when I say I'm being as objective as I possibly can. With that out of the way

*clear throat*

This movie was not horrible, but it was very underwhelming and felt like a slog to get through. People keep praising the chemistry and the humor, but it was too far and few between. It's a string of decent joke moments, trying to hold up this very boring story line. I will say, the humor and delivery isn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it's not exactly making me crack a laugh.

As for the new characters.... they were find I guess. Cyborg in my opinion was amazing casting. I think that him and Barry can end up having amazing chemistry. Aquaman is an interesting take, but he's got no screen presence to him. He just sorta... move along without really adding anything. Ezra walks a fine line of Comedic relief and a character out of The Big Bang Theory.

Some people are making the argument that you can tell which scene are Whedon's and which are Snyder's by the jokes. I can tell by how pointless the scene feels in the large scope of things. The first scene in the movie feels like a pointless retcon. It inserts a moment into BvS, in hopes of making Superman more likable, but it just feels like a pointless moment that adds nothing to the movie. The resurrection scene I think was also confirmed to be Whedon, which you can tell by how little it matters.

Steppenwolf.... yeah, he was boring. He has an amazing voice actor, but outside of that he was just so... blah. It's never entirely clear why he's so fascinated on Earth, nor is it hinted at having something special. You could argue that stuff like this happens in the comics all the time, but I think they should at least try and assign some special value to Earth. Without that and with the ways things ended, you're not entirely sure why Darkseid would even bother with Earth. I may post a Reboot Blog about it sometime in the near future, with some suggestions about what it could have been.

It swings so hard in the other direction in times, trying to remove the stench of BvS, that it ignores it's own cannon. Ma Kent is talking about how the world is so negative after Superman died, but it was already super negative in BvS, with the added bonus of people having it out for him. Now, we know that some scenes were cut, so maybe it'll be better in the UC, but Superman's entire character just feels like he's missing a huge chunk to him. Him and Batman just feel like completely different characters from the last movie, and the movie doesn't really seem interested in justifying the changes.

Nothing in this movie seems to matter. The threat of Steppenwolf seems to only really be noticed by the League and no one else. We never get to see the outsiders perspective of how people view Steppenwolf's actions. All people seem to know is that people are being abducted. Even Superman's resurrection happens and no one really cared. TAS got it right when he said that Superman never really felt like a symbol of hope. Gal Gadot talked about how much Superman's actions motivated her character... total horse shit, not in the movie at all. The movie does go out of it's way to show people mourning him, and how it's sorta made the world a big crazy, but it's dropped entirely after the first first 15 minutes (Leaving no impact on the movie at all). After that like I said, when he comes back it doesn't really show up on anyone's radar.

Okay, my last complaint, and it's a spoiler.

The movie states that the Mother Boxes are only reacting because Superman is dead... but that makes like no sense. Why didn't they show up during any other time in history? The damn things have been around for 5000 years, Superman has only been on Earth for 35.

Conclusion

Justice League was an uneventful movie that I think got neutered after the negative reaction to BvS. it went from being 2 movies, to only one. It went from being 2.75 hours to a little under 2. Maybe the Ultimate Cut will be better, but the BvS UC didn't do anything for me, in fact it made it worse. In the end, it's not as bad as BvS (but honestly, that's not a high bar to jump), but it's worse than Suicide Squad. T

Rating- 4/10

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