I'm going to start this one out with stating that I don't like Superman, but I did enjoy Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? Alan Moore was right on target with that one. It was a good tribute to the Man of Steel.
But, as much as I love Neil Gaiman (and I'm sure this was his intent), I didn't really understand Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?
It started out in Gotham, as usual, and people are talking, but we don't see who. I mean, you assume that one of them is Batman, but whatever. Anyway, we follow Selina Kyle at first. She goes to a bar, talks with a dead man, and gets a bunch of cats to watch her car for her.
Then we see Alfred. Then we see Batman's dead body in a casket.
Depressing much?
So, the theory that it is Batman's disembodied voice we have been reading is confirmed when he is surprised to see himself in a coffin.
Two-Face, The Joker, Dick...all are at this "funeral".
People begin to speak. We start with Selina Kyle, who mentions her rooftop romance with the Caped Crusader.
Then we head on over to Alfred, who decides to explain that he was the Joker in the beginning, to keep "Master Bruce" alive.
a) when did it become alright for him to mention Bruce's name in front of his most hated enemies?
b) what the hell? Alfred is not the effing Joker!
That's when we stopped reading.
I'm sorry to everyone who wanted a full review, but I was utterly perplexed. I read a bit more, honestly, about the Penguin and the Joker, but I was just far too confused. So, instead, I watches eight seasons of Smallvilleand the pilot of Aquaman (with Justin Hartley aka Green Arrow as Arthur "A.C." Curry, also known as Orin. Whewww) that wasn't picked up by the CW. Good times.
I give it a 3/5.
I was confused as all get out, but the artwork was amazing.
Just picked this up yesterday (it said it was new... and it said "Gotham City"... how could I resist?) and it's alright.
This is the oddest series I have read in a while, and that's really saying something.
It starts with Selena going on about how she still feels crappy and basically tells everything that's been going on. She was beaten up by like a mugger or something, and, strangely, Poison Ivy comes to her rescue. Do they have some kind of villainous understanding or something? So, Harley is living with Ivy (which is kinda crazy) and Ivy is like "wth?" when it comes to Selena, who is still shaken about the whole "had-heart-taken-out-of-body-by-Hush" thing.
And somehow the Riddler's in it...
Anyway, then Ivy drugs Selena to ask what Batman's secret identity is (not so nice after all).
That's when the issue ends, with a hair-splitting cliffhanger. I really wonder how they managed to pitch this. I mean, it's not bad, just weird. I guess because it goes well with the whole Batman: Reborn thing.
So, in issue 2...
I like the little trick Selena uses to not have to tell the identity of Batman. Thanks Talia al Ghul! It felt like Harley and Ivy were just going through the motions, not really feeling it, because it just seemed mechanical in the writing. Most of the story is that way, actually, making it seem superficial, as if nothing important is going on in the story for the entire issue(s?). It's a bit forgettable. It could be a pretty good series, but the writer needs to step up.
I'm trusting Paul Dini to keep this good, because DC has been really weak lately. The art I didn't like too much. Too...exaggerated? It's got that thing where women wearing almost nothing pose in impossible ways thing. It's weird. Maybe I'll grow to like it.
The Dark Knight was a blockbuster hit, raking in millions of dollars for Christian Bale, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart, and Christopher Nolan. Now, rumors about a third Batman movie are surfacing.
Villains in the Batman movies are always highly anticipated. Ever since the horrendous Riddler (Jim Carrey) and the idiotic Two-Face (Val Kilmer), fans of Batman, both the shows and the comics, have been waiting for true villains to be in a Bat-flick. Well, so far we've had the amazing Ra's Al Ghul (Liam Neeson), the Joker (Heath Ledger), and the Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy); all of which were played perfectly. Now, the third Batman movie (rumors, remember?) have suspected villains. Many believe that Angelina Jolie will be playing the feline fatale Catwoman (previously played by Michelle Pfeiffer), but Hollywood Newsroom is claiming that these rumors are exactly that...rumors. They say that Maggie Gyllenhaal, who was killed off during The Dark Knight is going to be playing Batman's long time love interest in the comic books. Says Hollywood Newsroom,
"Our source close to Maggie Gyllenhaal confirmed that she’s excited about the next movie, why else would she, or Katie Holmes for that matter, take on the thankless roll of Rachel Dawson? After Katie left the roll, they could’ve create a new character. But that wasn’t part of Nolan’s plan. This is the trajectory he’s planned for Rachel since the first movie. Not only is Maggie contractually obligated, but she’s already getting in shape for Batman 3.”
Yes, we know that Rachel Dawes is DEAD, but there are some ways around that (Lazarus Pits, she never really died, etc.), but Nolan has been very careful about keeping away from the unbelievable.
According to The Mirror, though, Catwoman is to be played by 62-year old singer Cher, who is said to be Nolan's first choice if her were to use Catwoman. He wants her like a "vamp in her twilight years", according to the same source, and Nolan wants her to be "the complete opposite" of the previous incarnations of Catwoman. If this is true, though, then Nolan is going way off character by not sticking to the comics like he previously has.
Another villain considered by many is the Riddler, whom people believe would be played by Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd, Pirates of the Caribbean, Edward Sissorhands, the upcoming Alice in Wonderland). Hecklerspray.com is saying that these rumors are completely true.
"That’s a stone cold fact. Why are we so sure that Johnny Depp will play The Riddler in Batman 3? Because Johnny Depp recently briefly mumbled something desperately ambiguous about it possibly being quite fun to maybe play The Riddler during a local radio interview with his band."
David Goyer, the screenwriter of the Batman movies, has said this in response to the Catwoman and Riddler rumors:
"Batman has been published for 70 years. In the first movie, we used Ra's Al Ghul and the Scarecrow, who had not been in the movies before, and had not been in the '60s TV show before... There are dozens if not hundreds of other characters that fit that bill. Everyone says it's got to be the Penguin or Catwoman [in the next film]... well I completely disagree."
Next, it is said that the Penguin, rumored to be played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, will be in the Batman 3 move. Apparently, when Michael Caine (Alfred) was interviewed on MTV News, he was asked who he would like to be in the next installment of the saga. He said, and I quote:
"It’s Johnny Depp as The Riddler. And The Penguin is Philip Seymour Hoffman. I read it in the paper."
You may not believe this, but he also said, "
“When Christopher [Nolan] said we were going to do ‘The Dark Knight’ next, I didn’t know what that meant in Batman terms. I said, ‘What’s the story?’ and he said 'The Joker'. I said, ‘Oh, s–t! How are you going to top Jack [Nicholson]?’ He said, ‘Well, I’ve cast Heath Ledger. And I went ‘Ha! I couldn’t top Jack, but if anyone could, maybe Heath could.’ And he did. “I was with [a Warner Bros.] executive and I said, ‘Are we going to make another one?’ They said yeah. I said, ‘How the hell are we going to top Heath? And he says ‘I’ll tell you how you top Heath — Johnny Depp as The Riddler and Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Penguin.’ I said, ‘S–t, they’ve done it again!’” [Laughs]
The Warner Brother execs could have been joking, or changed their minds, but I find it unlikely that Nolan will let them bring back anyone who has been previously used (Joker is a special case as he is the Caped Crusader's biggest nemesis).
A final rumor is that Aaron Eckhart (who played the DA gone bad, Harvey Dent) will be coming back, but Eckhart confirmed it himself that his character (Dent) is dead.
"He is dead as a door nail. He ain’t coming back baby! I asked Chris [Nolan] that question and he goes, “You’re dead” before I could even get the question out of my mouth. “Hey Chris, am I...?” “You’re dead!” Alright, cool."
As there are so many rumors, Warner Brothers must have a lot of difficulty squashing untrue facts. But that isn't their biggest problem. Christian Bale, who plays the titular Dark Knight, and only reluctantly signed onto another movie, is reportedly bailing on the third movie. He said in an interview that he "didn't even want to think about it [the movie]."
The release schedule for the third Bat-flick is unknown, but several of the crew are saying that winter 2009 is the time to look for it. This is unlikely, as that is only two movie seasons away and it took Nolan two years to make The Dark Knight.
Oh, and Gary Oldman (Harry Potter, Batman Begins) had better be in this one, because he was just made Commissioner and he's my favorite character.
Who knows what the next movie will hold, but no matter what it is, I'm sure it will be another stunning production from Christopher Nolan.
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