This Whole Batman v. Superman Thing

So the new trailer dropped last weekend.

... and as much as I've whined and complained about this movie being GRIMDARK, I started feeling a bit better. They showed Robin's costume, for cryin' out loud! There was some (tiny little itty-bitty) scrap of respect being shown for the history! And it looked like they were going to acknowledge the weaknesses in Man of Steel and use them as a springboard for character growth!

I was cautiously optimistic.

But then you hear that bit from Ma Kent and it sorta all goes down the crapper. This editorial over at Topless Robot contains a good deal of profanity, but it explains the serious issues with her statement extremely well. Maybe in the context of the film it makes more sense; who knows. I just know that really want to get excited about DC's cinematic future, but every time I start to I see some other nasty, mean-spirited, let's-appeal-exclusively-to-middle-school-boys nonsense.

... not even gonna get started on the Suicide Squad today.

Our New Lex Luthor

I'll start this off right, with one of my (most likely) unpopular opinions: I thought Michael Rosenbaum was awesome as Lex Luthor on Smallville. Clany Brown was even better on Superman: The Animated Series. So those are my baselines for Lex Luthor on screens both small and large. Hackamn was great, but in a totally different way; Spacey was riffing on that. I think our new Lex Luthor will be more like the former two than the latter.

For those of you who haven't seen it, "our new Lex Luthor" was revealed by Entertainment Weekly last week: Mr. Jesse Eisenberg. There's not too much to see in that picture, other than he's at least bald... and annoyed... and black & white. I'm sure he'll be suitably grim & gritty.

I'm trying to get excited about these upcoming Justice League movies, since I've been a DC guy since I first saw that Super Powers Hall of Justice sitting under the Christmas tree... but they are NOT makin' it easy for me. Man of Steel almost completely missed the core of what makes Superman as a character, and little I've seen or heard recently makes me think Warner Bros. will learn any of the right lessons from Marvel.

... but when the first trailer drops, I'm sure I'll squeal with glee and change my tune. For a bit. In the meantime, I helped Entertainment Weekly out a bit with their Lex picture. Something was missing.

... or, if you prefer the aforementioned Super Powers (and who doesn't?):