I’m a fan of Green Lantern: The Animated Series. I said as much when I wrote about the Cartoon Network series several times here on CliqueClack during it’s painfully short run (two big space epic storylines in just 26 episodes). And it took over a year since it was canceled, but the complete series Blu-ray finally came out this past spring. I had been slowly rewatching the series through the Blu-ray and with the Independence Day weekend, I sat down watched through to the end. Turns out that I’m still very much a fan of this show.

The main cast’s whole dynamic is great, but the shining stars of the story are the two new characters of Aya and Razer. Both have character growth that develops slowly; you really see it when you watch the episodes one after the other. While the Star Sapphires frustrate me to no end (mostly for the same reasons their whole origin frustrates me), Carol Ferris herself is very well-written. Also it’s so rare for Carol’s Star Sapphire costume to not look male-gazey and I appreciate that her costume in GL:TAS doesn’t make me cringe.

Watching through it again reminded me of how much potential and set-up they had for another season, from Sinestro’s introduction to the mention of John Stewart to that very last heartbreaking shot of the finale. Green Lantern: The Animated Series is a prime example of a show that got some great storytelling done but had so much more to do. Even if you watched the series when it aired, I highly recommend giving the whole series a watch through — the Blu-ray is as good a way to do it as any.

[easyazon_image add_to_cart=”default” align=”left” asin=”B00ISDJUYI” cloaking=”default” height=”160″ localization=”default” locale=”US” nofollow=”default” new_window=”default” src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Fnh9H3jZL._SL160_.jpg” tag=”cliqueclack-20″ width=”160″]

I miss Damian Wayne. The biological son of Bruce Wayne, Damian started off as a cocky, elitist and blood thirsty kid raised by ninjas until coming to Gotham to take over the title of Robin alongside his father. Despite being what I can only really describe as “a little shit,” there’s something endearing about the kid. The more he worked with other members under his father’s symbol, the more he saw the positives to his father’s idea of justice. Arguably the best moments of Damian in the comics come from his partnership with Dick Grayson once Dick became Batman, but I also love the family-friendly comic Li’l Gotham. Unfortunately, that comic ended in December and Damian was killed off over a year ago in the current comic canon. Personally I don’t think it was handled very well (Robin deaths rarely are) and it’s telling that there are already rumors of him being brought back to life one way or the other in the next year. Until then, we have his origin in Son of Batman, the newest Warner Bros. Animation feature.

Son of Batman starts off a bit fast. Actually, that’s an understatement. In the first scene, Ra’s al Ghul is giving his grandson Damian a Circle of Life-esque speech about how the League of Assassins is the legacy of their family and one day it will all be his. And immediately after, Damian’s uncle is shot out of nowhere. Less than three minutes into the movie and it’s just absolute bloodshed. It’s kind of abrupt. It probably doesn’t help that the bloodshed has some anime styling — lots of extreme blood spurts but no blood on the blade and little to no blood on the ground. And there’s a lot of violence. If you think because this movie focuses on a child character that it’s appropriate for kids, realize that we see a man burning alive and later got several shots of his charred body as he’s slowly dying. This is not a family-friendly Batman cartoon. Of course, the comic it was based on, Grant Morrison’s Batman and Son, isn’t family-friendly, either.

The animated feature plays loose with the comic’s story, particularly in changing the antagonist from Damian’s mother Talia to Deathstroke, who has killed Ra’s before we can even get to the title screen. With Deathstroke taking control of the League of Assassins’ assets, including a scientist working on a dangerous mutagen formula, Talia al Ghul must send her son stay with his father (three guesses who that is) while she figures out how to take back control. Talia is a character that I enjoyed immensely when I first saw her in Batman: The Animated Series as a woman who commands respect and feels deep loyalty for both Bruce and her father. The comic version of Talia (especially Morrison’s version of her) is not nearly so sympathetic, especially in Batman and Son. She’s still not the most ethical of characters — it’s still her League that commissioned the mutagen Deathstroke is pursuing after all, and the movie brings up the at best dubious consent issues that led to Damian being born. In fact, Talia’s relationship with Bruce is ten kinds of messed up and unfortunately the movie glosses over that to get to the plot. That being said, Morena Baccarin’s Talia manages to be a morally gray character that you can at least root for as she fights to take back what’s hers and her son’s. Some fans of Batman and Son won’t like the change, but I do.

The plot isn’t exactly captivating — it’s standard bad guy wants to use super science to create a super army — but the character interaction is a lot of fun. While Damian’s American accent is irritating and illogical considering where he grew up, he grew on me just in his commitment to superiority. This works best when he’s playing off other characters, like Bruce or Alfred. Alfred, voiced by David McCallum is so delightful in his sarcasm towards the elitism of Damian. His sarcasm might be the best part of this movie. I also enjoyed blue-suited Nightwing (Baccarin’s fellow Firefly alum Sean Mayer) dealing with Damian’s put downs and his skill with sharp objects. One of the best lines is when Alfred is stitching Dick up after his fight with the little devil and Dick complains about what a hypocrite Bruce was for giving him the riot act about safe sex during his teenage years. I actually paused the movie to laugh at that.

I’m still not sure how well Bruce works here, but I’m of the opinion that Batman always works better as a character when he has someone to work with. So here, Bruce’s best moments are when he’s trying to explain to Damian why revenge will hurt him ultimately more than it could hurt Deathstroke. It would have benefited from another scene of them working together.

(This post contains 2 pages. Please visit the website to continue reading. Thank you.)

This weekend I made my yearly travel to the mysterious land of Toronto, Canada, to see quite a few of my Canadian friends and those international friends who could make the trip. And because many of these friends are superhero nerds, I made sure to bring JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time, the straight-to-DVD WB release only made available in the US as of last month. Sitting down and rewatching the kid-friendly adventure with my buddies, I got to appreciate just how good the movie is

I was worried about the superteens from the future Karate Kid and Dawnstar simply because they were the only characters I didn’t know much about going into the movie, but truth be told, I like them. Even when they were doing the “I’m from the future and don’t understand how taxis work” schtick, it was pretty charming. More than that, the story did a decent job of setting up their personal flaws as young heroes and how they had to deal with it. They’re also the ones to come up with solutions the two times things get really bad for the heroes. And they happen to be two non-white characters whose costumes are appropriate for their age (I looked up Dawnstar’s comic costume and this is a vast improvement, especially considering she’s a teenager here).

One of the smartest things JLA Adventures did was not specifically say which Flash this was — Barry Allen or Wally West. For fans of Wally West desperate to see him in more stories, it was very easy to see this Flash as Wally. Truth be told I would have loved a few more quips from him, but the Flash has a cute moment with Martha and John Kent that felt very Wally along with some good food jokes that work for the character. And as I mentioned in my original post about the DVD coming out, Young Justice’s Jason Spisak voiced him, so yes I’m calling him Wally.

But something else I noticed was that Robin was also only named Robin in the credits, which means there are four different Robins he could be (not including Stephanie Brown because this Robin wasn’t wearing eggplant purple … obviously this rules her out). This Robin is too belligerent to be Dick Grayson, too reckless to be Tim Drake and is too much of a normal kid to be Damian Wayne. I am absolutely convinced that the Robin in JLA Adventures is Jason Todd. That makes this only the second DC animated feature with Jason Todd and he didn’t die this time! So if you’re a fan of both goofy teenage Jason Todd and goofy teenage Jason Todd not getting beaten to death with a crowbar, do I have a DVD for you!

Besides the characters, the animation on the fight scenes in particular is gorgeous. Easily my favorite bit of animation was the two-on-one fight between Robin and the new kids. And sure, the dialogue was silly at times, but the tone of the whole movie fit that silliness because it’s aimed for kids. It is, however, still clever enough for adults who like these characters. The worst thing I can say about it is that at 52-minutes long, it’s very short. Expanding the villainous plot to include messing with the various Justice League members’ pasts (or at least Diana and Bruce as the big trio) would have given the story the depth it needed to feel like a full movie. As it is, JLA Adventures works much better if you think of it as a one hour TV pilot … which just makes me wish we were getting a JLA Adventures TV show. Why aren’t we getting a JLA Adventures TV show?

When I picked it up, it was $12.99 at Target (it’s being sold exclusively at Target as of now). I really don’t see any reason why you wouldn’t want to get this if you at all a fan of these characters.

[easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B009OAWMK8″ locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51co6tkpyAL._SL160_.jpg” width=”132″][easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B000CSTK3S” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/6151FXN5ZWL._SL160_.jpg” width=”145″][easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B00GT8E698″ locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/513sffhtfHL._SL160_.jpg” width=”113″]

This was not something I expected from this week!

Through his twitter account, Green Lantern: The Animated Series producer Giancarlo Volpe has been teasing for a while about a special super-secret project, including letting people know he was working again with Green Lantern composer Freddie Wiedman and posting pictures with some of the cast of GLTAS in the recording booth. Because he was quick to explain that the project was not Green Lantern related, and because I know he’s been working on some video game projects since GLTAS ended last March, I didn’t even think the project was going to be a cartoon.

Welp, turns out I was wrong. Announced on Wednesday, JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time is the actual secret project that Volpe directed. It’s a DC cartoon. And it has a ton of my favorite voice actors in it. And Jason Spisak is voicing the Flash.

And this was around the point where I started flailing at my desk like the nerd that I am.

So here are some things we know about the 52 minute cartoon thanks from the mouth of Volpe — several of the Green Lantern cast members (Spisak, Grey DeLisle, Kevin Michael Richardson, Diedrich Baker) are indeed lending their voices to the cartoon. GLTAS writer Mike Ryan helmed the script and like I said earlier, they got the very talented Freddie Wiedman for the soundtrack. I’m also looking forward to DeLisle’s Avatar: The Last Airbender cast members Dante Basco and Jack DeSena joining the others. The choice for DeSena as Robin is particularly inspired. Almost all of these actors have worked with each other before and that can breed such great performances. I can’t wait to hear all of these particular voices in one production. Oh, and the character designs were headed by Lynell Forestall, who created the excellent Black Lightning shorts from last year. From the look of the DVD art, the designs are really classic and promising. I’m looking forward to see if the animation holds up.

What’s really outstanding about this announcement is that JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time is a kid-friendly story of the Justice League fighting head-to-head with the Legion of Doom. So many of the made-for-DVD DC features are clearly written for adult audiences (last year’s Flashpoint Paradox, for example); it’s refreshing to know we’re getting a more lighthearted adventure story with these characters. Knowing they’re going for that tone, it makes sense that they chose Bader to once again voice Batman since he was outstanding as the Silver Age-esque Dark Knight in Batman: Brave and the Bold.

The big question that almost immediately went though my brain is if Spisak (who voiced Wally West as Kid Flash in Young Justice until that show broke my heart and ended in March along with GLTAS) would be voicing Barry Allen Flash or Wally West Flash. Even though DC announced recently that Wally will finally be back in the comics, we haven’t seen him in the animated features for years now. I posed the question to Volpe, who was gracious enough to answer. Basically, they’ve intentionally not mentioned in the story which Flash it is so the audience can decide which Flash it is. While this doesn’t guarantee that this Flash will seem like the Wally we love, this is certainly better than when Justice League: Doom had JL/JLU’s Michael Rosenbaum cast as the Flash but had him be Barry. But yes … in my mind, Spisak will be voicing Wally again and you can’t convince me otherwise. Let me have this.

JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time is coming out this upcoming Tuesday, January 21st, but it has a very limited release — only in the US and only at Target stores. It’s frustrating, but just another reason it’s important for American fans of these actors, animators and characters to go and support this DVD.

[easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B0081BEZXS” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51yJDcGHBFL._SL160_.jpg” width=”132″][easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B00BTJV9RO” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51hwAjHNw9L._SL160_.jpg” width=”132″][easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B0088CP6YM” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61LrannyFLL._SL160_.jpg” width=”160″][easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B000CSTK3S” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/6151FXN5ZWL._SL160_.jpg” width=”145″][easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B003M8NGLC” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/611VrdciPwL._SL160_.jpg” width=”138″]

If we’re being quite honest, I was expecting this to go very, very poorly. An hour-long special written by Steven Moffat (whose time as showrunner on Doctor Who has produced some of my least favorite story arcs) focusing almost entirely on the “new Who” Doctors and throwing in John Hurt as the not-Doctor-who-screws-up-the-numbering-system — it could have gone ridiculously bad. I was bracing myself for Moffat to screw it up royally, is what I’m saying. I was prepared to sigh and go, “Well, that was … something.”  I was prepared for disaster, but hoping for something decent.

And what did we get? We got pretty freaking good … and that might be the most surprising thing about this special full of surprises.

I can appreciate just how restrained Moffat was with the plots. He tends to write convoluted twists and turns in his regular episodes that sometimes work but often just kind of fall apart (remember the Statue of Liberty in “Angels in Manhattan”?). Even with balancing the Queen Elizabeth I’s alien clone, the present day painting mystery and the Time War, the special slowly but surely connected them together well. That in itself was a relief as someone who has been watching the last couple seasons.

Even now I wonder if removing that great sin of the Doctor was a mistake, but it doesn’t change the Doctor’s past guilt — both Warrior-Doctor and 10 don’t remember any of this, so everything he’s felt in past seasons is still how he felt and part of his legacy. I’m a stickler when it comes to time travel paradox stuff (I know, ironic considering I love a show that plays loose with paradoxes all the time) but I was relieved they didn’t just erase the Doctor’s past guilt over l, which has been such a huge motivator for so many past storylines. At the same time, I’m also trying to figure out if this ties in with “The End of Time” or retcons it.

It’s not a perfect special — while I’m glad we finally got some details on 10’s disastrous romance with Elizabeth, they played the Queen as a bit ridiculous and 10 not super interested in her. I’m also on the fence about Billie Piper’s appearance — on one hand, it would have been far too easy for them just to shove Rose Tyler right into the story just for the heck of it and kudos to them for not doing that. I enjoyed how the entity tried to take on a figure the Warrior-Doctor would remember and accidentally pulled from his future — she actually reminded me of the TARDIS in “The Doctor’s Wife” in that regard. Still, there’s a part of my fan heart that wishes 1o could have seen the Bad Wolf entity. It works fine without that moment, but I kept waiting for it and it didn’t happen.

The special was never going to be perfect. The show started  50 years ago this weekend — even taking away the years the show was on hiatus/sort of cancelled, Doctor Who has decades of story that the special celebrated in just an hour. They couldn’t fit in everything, but there was a surprising balance of old and new — perhaps that’s best represented by the Brigadier’s daughter Kate Stewart, who was introduced in the show last year and is one of the key players in the museum mystery storyline during the special.

Most fans I’ve talked to (both those who started with the older series and the ones who found it through Eccleson’s or Tennant’s or Smith’s runs) were seriously worried that this was Moffat celebrating Moffat. Everything considered, The Day of the Doctor was about the Doctor, in all his personifications. It was about where he’s been and where he’s going and why five decades of fans have come to embrace him.

[easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B00FAVRHBE” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51yr%2Bh-5jBL._SL160_.jpg” width=”124″][easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B00C6ACVD6″ locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51U0mnumw%2BL._SL160_.jpg” width=”118″][easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B00C6ACVWM” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51wedyBPYmL._SL160_.jpg” width=”113″][easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B0049S1NYG” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51tMtdTjhiL._SL160_.jpg” width=”113″][easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B00AATGDXO” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514jxSL2BYL._SL160_.jpg” width=”112″]

I went into the screening for About Time after a pretty rough day of work, just feeling physically and mentally exhausted with a nasty headache to boot. The movie’s premise had me interested, to be sure — Tim (played by Domhnall Gleesonaka Bill Weasley from the Harry Potter series) learns on his 21st birthday that all the men in his family can travel back in their own timeline. British magic and time travel stories is kind of a favorite of mine, but I just was not in the mood to sit in a full theater that night. As the opening narration began to set up the film, I immediately started to relax. By the time the end credits were rolling, I was genuinely moved and enjoyed the whole experience. I basically have About Time to thank for salvaging my evening.

I had been dreading a Click-esque plot where the protagonist uses his power constantly for selfish, borderline unethical purposes. But then, oh no, he accidentally erased all the truly good parts of his life away and it’s a race to fix everything and learn a lesson. That’s the kind of hack work About Time thankfully avoids in spades. When he’s explaining the time travel (which is less paradox-y than other stories I’ve seen and sticks to the rules relatively well), Tim’s father (Bill Nighy) is adamant that his son not go for wealth or power because those goals are extremely overrated. He needs to use his gift for the important things like reading and making the world a little better — which could have come off as trite and obtusely sentimental but luckily Bill Nighy’s saying it. Thank goodness Tim isn’t a dumbed down or unlikable protagonist. He still makes mistakes but even at the start of the movie he’s a mature and intelligent 21 year old. The few times things get erased that he desperately needs, it’s because he was using his power to help someone else. Yes, a movie that shows good intentions can still cause damage. The restraint he uses with his powers is a refreshing surprise. Because while he decides early on to use time travel to find his true love, there is far less manipulation of women and much more “redoing moments where he made an ass of himself.” Turns out it’s insanely relaxing having those cringe-worthy moments of social awkwardness erased in front of your eyes — anyone who hates Meet the Parents-style comedy will find the time travel in this therapeutic.

The movie probably wouldn’t have worked if not for the charm and general likability of Domhnall Gleeson. He pulls you into the story with the opening narration (set nicely to the instrumental of Ben Folds’ “The Luckiest”, which repeats throughout the movie). I sat in the theater thinking throughout the movie, “God, the Deathly Hallows films did not give him enough to do” because the guy balances both the funny and serious moments in this film so well. Oh, and you can look forward to one Harry Potter reference as a not so subtle nod to the three HP actors in the film (well, two references if you count the maroon Weasley-eqsue sweater Tim wears in an early scene).

Bill Nighy is his usual delightful self, but watching him with Gleeson is something special. About Time has been advertised as a love story and it is — Rachel McAdams is sweet and I believed the chemistry between her and our protagonist — but so much of the film is devoted to the relationship between this father and son. It was strong to start off but grows stronger as Tim moves through adulthood with this strange secret he shares with his father. The only complaint I have about the film is the childhood best friend character. He becomes an important plot point later in the film but just wasn’t developed enough for us to really believe he conveniently changed in the way he does. It’s a small complaint, but something that bothered me after the film was over.

The special thing about About Time that you figure out as the movie progresses is that it isn’t really about getting the girl. It’s not even really about time travel. It’s a sweet, often poignant story about a man learning what matters to him. Everyone I’ve talked to who went to one of the early screenings left the theater with a big smile. So did I and I bet you will too.

[easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B00EIBO8UK” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51i7u1DueaL._SL160_.jpg” width=”128″] [easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B008UZA8FY” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51s-3UYGFtL._SL160_.jpg” width=”132″] [easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B001BGS17Q” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Js3mHnnpL._SL160_.jpg” width=”131″] [easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B00004W46I” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51TGY7MNSQL._SL160_.jpg” width=”110″]

Last week, ABC premiered the first ever episode-long short from Pixar. Aptly named Toy Story of Terror, the Halloween special followed a few of the Toy Story characters (Hamm, Mrs. Potato Head and most of the newer toys were mentioned but absent) as they and their owner were forced to stay the night at a creepy and possibly haunted motel. And surprise — it turned out to be one of the better executed holiday specials I’ve seen in a long time.

Sure, some of it has to do with the fact that it’s Toy Story and Pixar just has that world and it’s characters down pat. I heard Pixar was doing a Toy Story TV special and I was sold … way before hearing the premise, actually. They also managed to get the voice actors back for their roles, including Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Wallace Shawn and Kristen Schaal (who now voices Louise on Bob’s Burgers and Mabel on Gravity Falls and I just adore her). And then we have silk voiced Timothy Dalton as toy thespian Mr. Pricklepants (introduced in Toy Story 3), who is also a horror film enthusiast and gleefully points out the classic scary movie tropes happening around them — flat tire during a storm, impromptu stay at ominous lodgings, friends disappearing one by one and of course, the gang splitting up to cover more ground.

Oh, did I mention we also get to meet Combat Carl and he’s played by Carl Weathers? If you need any reason to check out this special, do it for Carl Weathers’ melodramatic, behind enemy lines speeches … all spoken in third person.

[easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B000V1Y44G” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51u3SYTPGTL._SL160_.jpg” width=”114″][easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B0091NWBK4″ locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/414H-z7539L._SL160_.jpg” width=”113″][easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B00004U9WQ” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518G5RSWQBL._SL160_.jpg” width=”111″][easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B00275EHJG” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61euyU4feZL._SL160_.jpg” width=”113″]

I’m always a little weary of sequels, especially sequels to kids’ movies. It’s way too easy for ideas to be rehashed because there’re no more stories to tell with the characters. But after catching the first Despicable Me movie on TV over Christmas, I was optimistic about its chances for a decent sequel. For a 4th of July kid release, you can do much worse.

The best thing I can say about the sequel is that they avoid rehashing completely. Steve Carrell’s Gru doesn’t turn evil again and he doesn’t lose his daughters’ trust when it comes to evil schemes. They took the relationships established in the first film and expanded on them. The movie actually starts with Gru being a loving, protective dad orchestrating the youngest girl’s birthday party. The whole scene is very sweet and actually quite funny and sets the tone of the whole movie. In fact, because the relationship between Gru and his girls is established quickly (along with the premise that he is an ex-villain), you can easily go into this movie without seeing the first one.

While I like the concept of the sequel’s plot (secret organization recruits him to be a spy and take down villains), the actual storyline could have been stronger. It wasn’t terrible, it just kind of fizzled. I did like that the minions were incorporated into the mystery nicely. Speaking of the minions, these are some of the most successful comic relief sidekicks in modern kids’ movies. The majority of the time they manage to be very funny. There were a few scenes with them that could have been cut (a whole chase scene towards the beginning was pointless). They also resorted to some really stupid fart jokes — if they spent that time on the story instead it could have been a stronger movie. While my eyes strained early, the 3D used for the in-your-face gags was actually kind of fun … make sure to stay during the credits.

The new love interest (played by Kristen Wiig) is charming, eccentric and a nice compliment to our hero. Again, it would have been better to take out the few bad jokes and use that time to build more of a relationship between the two, but I’ve certainly seen this sideplot done worse in kid movies. It would have been nice if they didn’t resort to her being put into the damsel role towards the end. The real strength of the movie is the relationship between Gru and his daughters. It’s genuine and sweet and a lot of the best jokes comes from the dialogue between those four characters. If you need to find a movie this holiday weekend for the kids that the adults can stomach, I’d highly suggest Despicable Me 2.

[easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B0042U94UQ” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51u9V1%2BIHNL._SL160_.jpg” width=”115″] [easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B00BUKZ4O6″ locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61EV8wrTALL._SL160_.jpg” width=”128″] [easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B007UY9N4S” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51zFERoVQ8L._SL160_.jpg” width=”114″] [easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B008JFUQ3O” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51hgVc3Kh9L._SL160_.jpg” width=”127″]

Man, did I miss this show. Besides the Halloween special last year, it’s been two and a half years since we’ve had a Venture Bros. episode. The third episode of season five premiered on Sunday (with a small but cheeky performance from Gillian Jacobs) and between that and the hour-long premiere the other weekend, this show continues to surprise me with big changes for the Venture clan.

Show creators Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick have never been shy about making story choices that greatly change the characters. I mean, in the last moments of the season three finale they killed off 24 right after Brock quit — two fan-favorites gone from the series, at least as regulars. But that fearlessness and willing to shake things up is how the show went from a straight-forward Johnny Quest satire to the eclectic, often bizarre and even touching show that it is today. The one aspect of the show that has ultimately changed the least is the boys.

That’s not to say Hank and Dean haven’t grown up at all during the first four seasons. Both boys have been disillusioned about their father’s success as a scientist and have an overall better idea of the world around them. But while the show has had the boys change in previous seasons, their naivety seems to snap them back over and over. In the last couple weeks (on top of the Halloween special), I’ve started to think the brothers are really changing.

Hank’s personality hasn’t changed nearly as much, but he is stretching his wings. Hank Co. is back at the compound  and as much as Rusty has belittled him for not being the ideal future super scientist like Dean, Hank is showing initiative. Then in this past episode, we see Hank with highly focused Dark Knight-esque survival and combat skills that save the day. Granted, he was hyped up on coffee at the time, but the only thing that went wrong in his plan was the iPad didn’t go off. That’s pretty impressive considering how many times he died previously due to his own incompetence (including via rooftop umbrella drop trying to be Batman).

But as Hammer and Publick have said before, the show is really about failure. And while the boys are becoming their own people, I doubt their lives are going to be any less disturbing. I mean, in the premiere Dean gets a girlfriend who slowly mutates thanks to Rusty’s new radioactive project, then beats the mutant’s leader in hand-to-hand combat to please his mutant girlfriend, which he then discovers will doom the world to a mutant apocalypse.

The boys might change, but some things stay the same. And I’m looking forward to watching it all.

[easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B003VVBZ7W” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510m-deQWmL._SL160_.jpg” width=”139″][easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B00466HOR6″ locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Pl3lJhSiL._SL160_.jpg” width=”139″][easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B001NOMO38″ locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51My7e2fUsL._SL160_.jpg” width=”126″][easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B001NOMO2Y” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511%2BWGWqJbL._SL160_.jpg” width=”145″]

This Saturday morning marks the season finales of both Young Justice and Green Lantern: The Animated Series. Since neither show has been renewed as of now, there’s a good chance they will also be the series finales for both shows. Now, there is a strong renewal campaign being led by both fandoms together, so all hope is not lost; but, for this week, I’ve been thinking about how special the shows are. In particular, how special the shows are for featuring several fantastic female characters. These are just a few of the badass women that have made my Saturdays a little brighter.

Carol Ferris
Carol has not always been written well throughout her history in the comics, but this might be one of the better versions of the character overall. She’s the first person to have the power of the Star Sapphire ring and be able to give it up. Carol is also the one to revolutionize the concept of love for the Star Sapphires. When Hal is sent back to Earth with no memory of being a Green Lantern, it’s Carol who helps him regain his memory and urges him to go save the universe. More than that, she breaks up with him only when she knows it’s not the right time for them to be together.

Probably best of all is when she’s called back to the Star Sapphires to be their champion for love — one minute she’s in the middle of a business buffet and the next she’s in outer space, called upon to fight Atrocious. And considering the situation, she takes it in stride. What’s great about Carol is that whether she has the ring or doesn’t, she always seems to be a huge part of why the day is saved.

Artemis Crock
Artemis Crock is kind of an anomaly. In comic book canon, she’s an antagonist. In Young Justice, she was brought onto the team out of nowhere with a secret. Since there was a supposed mole on the team, viewers were supposed to wonder if that was Artemis. After all, Artemis came from a family of criminals and assassins, but she wanted to be something better.

She grew stronger as she learned to trust her teammates, but she was always brave. Even when her dad told her that she couldn’t run from her family — that being a villain was in her blood — Artemis just wanted to be a hero. It would have been easy to have Artemis go back and forth between good and evil, self doubt and self confidence; these tropes are used so often and it can get frustrating to see them overused. So it was refreshing to see her go “No, this is what I want. This is who I want to be. I make my own destiny.” It’s a real shame the writers took her out of the hero life in season two, but the sacrifices she made while undercover just shows how strong a person she is. I just wish we could see more of her beyond the season finale.

Iolande
Iolande is one of the recurring GLTAS characters taken from established Lantern Corp canon. A princess on her home planet, we get to know Iolande over the course of her introductory episode “Heir Apparent” and while some in her court challenge her role as the singular ruler of her people, Hal and the Green Lantern of her sector have confidence in her. And when the lantern ring comes to her, she decides to take on both the responsibilities of the Queen of her people as well as the new Green Lantern for her sector.

Barbara Gordon

Some other Batgirl highlights? Well, she was a huge part of stopping the war world from destroying Earth. When Blue Beetle attacked the team later that episode, Barbara’s first instinct was to push Robin out of harm’s way while she felt the full force of the blast. Her detective work back in “Beneath” was the start of them figuring out the ancient Scarab technology. And if you count the tie-in comic (which I do), she also went toe-to-toe with Match AKA the Superman clone. Even Superboy had a tough time with Match and Barbara still fought him for an hour!

She’s smart, brave and as seen last episode, can knock four ninjas unconscious in a matter of seconds — all without superpowers. As much as I wish they would have given her more character focus, she’s still very badass on the show and I’m so glad she was included.

Aya
What better way to round off this list than with Aya. I’ve written about this complex original character earlier this year — how she went from being a bodyless nav computer to a robot who wants to be a Green Lantern to one of the bravest members of the crew. Of course, right after I wrote that piece was when things started going back for Aya. But what’s beautiful about her character is how human she really is; when her heart is broken, all she wants to know from Hal is how she can make the pain go away — how much more human can you get?

And she made the ultimate sacrifice twice. First she put herself in harm’s way to save Razer from the Anti-Monitor. Then she sacrificed her emotions and (with her emotions, everything that’s the fans love about her) so she could save her team. Sure, removing her emotions meant she didn’t have to feel the crippling heartache, but it was still the only way to save her family. And now that she is this cold, cruel mistress of the Manhunters, it only hurts more because the viewers love Aya so much and will make the finale that much harder to watch.

Over the last year, I’ve just been so impressed by both of these shows and how great all their characters are. But the truth is, there are plenty of other great female characters in Green Lantern: The Animated Series and Young Justice — who are your favorites?

[easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B004Z6N7UA” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51PME3RZ6QL._SL160_.jpg” width=”133″][easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B005I4HNUI” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51PlnmvC8CL._SL160_.jpg” width=”133″][easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B007RG8ZF2″ locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51661DWUdDL._SL160_.jpg” width=”133″][easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B0081BEZXS” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51yJDcGHBFL._SL160_.jpg” width=”132″]