Why Hancock Didn't Suck Like I Thought it Would (Hint: Charlize Theron)

Hancock should be taught in marketing classes as an example of how not to market a movie.

When the trailers were released, I basically thought it was going to be a knock-off superhero movie that had the "original" twists of 1) a black superhero and 2) a bum superhero turned good. I use "original" in quotes because, well, I read comics. Also I watched Superman 3. Remember Superman 3? I loved bum Superman. I don't know, there was something about him being all fake-five o'clock-shadowy and seeing Christopher Reeves play surly that I just was into. As a ten year old. Yeah I don't know.

By the way. Kryptonite laced with tobacco tar? You know the cigarette companies freaked when they found that out. Hilarious! Why confuse everyone with red kryptonite when you can demonize tobacco? (For the record, smoking is gross, and obviously Superman agrees. He seems to be a fan of the whiskey, though.) Remember back in the day when we admitted that everyone smoked by showing it on movies all the time? Way to take a stand, Supes. Way to take a stand.

So Hancock. I'll admit it, I giggle a little every time I say or write the word. I'm secretly a twelve year old.

Based on the trailers, I thought this movie would be fairly predictable. And in a lot of ways it was. But then Charlize Theron popped up. Now, I'd seen her in one of the trailers, walking next to Will Smith and Jason Bateman, and again in a dinner scene, and I was like "why is she not even billed in this"?

Except she is. Billed second.

Uh.

Obviously they were keeping a Big Secret under wraps.

Yeah, the big secret is that there's also a female superhero (or god or angel, more on that in a bit) and she's more powerful than the male superhero.

Also all she wants to do in life is have a family.

Uh.

Okay, so I know I said I liked the movie. And I did, because the existence of Charlize Theron's character was a pleasant surprise, and the ending was an even more pleasant one. I like the idea of immortals that understand that, while they may be fated for each other, they don't have to constantly be together every single lifetime. And sometimes, maybe, they shouldn't be.

Suck it, Stefanie Meyer. Stefenie? Whatever.

It made me wonder why they couldn't market this with Charlize Theron as the number two. And then I remember: oh yeah, the mass consumer doesn't buy female super heroes. There are no female Avengers in the upcoming movie, we'll be lucky if Black Widow doesn't fall in love with Iron Man in the upcoming sequel, and Wonder Woman will probably never be made.

Meanwhile Ryan Reynolds has been tapped to play every single wise-cracking superhero ever written.

Right now, there are some really really awesome women in comics. They're still sort of bumping up against the glass ceiling insofar as they wear the most ridiculous costumes ever, tend to use sex appeal more to get what they want, and have disproportional breast-to-body ratios, but they're still there kicking ass. I don't think I need to list them here.

But these women won't sell movies.

Why not?

I don't know. Lots of reasons, I'm sure. But male viewers appreciate female superheroes, and female viewers generate a lot of box office (hello, Twilight and every Sandra Bullock movie ever?), and I bet they'd be interested in female superheroes. There's this base assumption that women don't like action movies. I think women like intelligent action movies just fine. Listen, Iron Man and Lord of the Rings didn't make bajillions of dollars on male ticket sales alone.

Back to Hancock. So Mary was interesting (so was the name of Mary). I also liked the whole "we could be gods, angels, superheroes, the name changes" thing. It's an interesting idea, one which I recently bumped up against while playing Assassin's Creed 2 (play that game, the story is fantastic). According to imdb trivia, the eagle may represent that Hancock is Zeus, making Mary Hera. (Backed up by her brother/sister comment from the ridiculous Jiffy Pop scene. Jiffy Pop? Really?) That would explain her sudden bitchiness (for lack of better term), since Hera's generally not known for her pleasantness.

Would it explain her sudden heavy make-up and revealing all-black clothing, though? Yeah, no. That really got me. As much as I enjoyed the fight scene between the two of them, particularly where she was clearly much more powerful than he was, it seemed sort of random and weird.

She did look pretty awesome, though.

Ahem.

But the hospital stuff really won me over. If you've seen the movie, you know what I'm talking about. Predictable, but really well done from the actors and the director.

Now, I had my quibbles. The random revealing clothing, the female superhero who only wants to be a wife and mom, the fact that Jason Bateman's character axes a dude to death and apparently is okay with that (I hope he and the kid are in therapy, because... really). Will Smith pursing his lips when he's playing drunk/bad as an acting technique, and the calling of every comic superhero a "homo" (though of course Hancock ends up in a tight outfit that looks like an X-Men movie cast-off... at least they throw the joke in).

The funny thing was that in the end I enjoyed this movie. It was almost nothing like what the trailers promised, and it was a far better finished product than I expected. Even with my quibbles, this was a superhero movie about not just a superhero guy but a superhero woman, too. That's rare enough to get me interested and it was handled well enough, despite some missteps, to make me like it.

Whoa whoa whoa, back the Speedy truck up.

I don't really feel like writing about Blackest Night: Flash until it's over, and I can't find where I put my Blackest Night: Wonder Woman (so for now I'll pretend Manhunter is in it), and I enjoy Red Tornado for its randomness (what's he doing during the zombification of the DC verse?) but it was a pretty slow week as far as comics go. For me, anyway. I hear things were happening over in Marvel or something. Eh.

Right, so I find out form the internet that Speedy is back (making me suddenly interested in the Black Canary/GA books). I went and picked up issue 24 (her triumphant return) and then I got confused.

'Cause, like, Ms. Marvel was hanging out on a yellow crotch rocket asking if anyone missed her.

Okay, not really. Ms. Marvel doesn't cover her legs, wear a hood, or use a bow. But I submit to you the exhibits:




















I rest my case! They're really freakishly similar. Maybe I have Ms. Marvel on the brain lately (thanks, Anika), but... y'know?

The shop didn't have issue 25, so I'll get it at the other store next week. Looks like I've got another title on my pull list, because I love me some Speedy.

Even if she looks like Ms. Marvel Jr.

Heh.

I sort of want her and Steph Brown's Batgirl to hang out. (How excited am I for the next World's Finest, with Steph and Supergirl? WICKED EXCITED.) I think that would be awesome.

Someone get on that.

Don't Ask Me, I Won't Tell You

Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers and happy Thursday to everyone else.

So this week's Detective Comics was pretty awesome. More of Kate's history, especially her days at West Point (ah, knew that was coming), the stepmother thing, her meeting of Renee (classic!), and her run-in with the Bat (I hope there's more to that, because it didn't seem particularly "fateful"; like Batman hasn't saved a billion women that are being mugged?). Which means this was a highly political issue, natch. Had to be, because Kate was washed out (well, dishonorably discharged) for violations of... uh, something numerical. I'm a little unclear on whether this was pre-DADT or post (DADT being Don't Ask Don't Tell), since, well. She was asked. Though she was also sort of accused. It seemed to be pre-DADT, but I don't think Kate's that old.

Back in the halcyon days of 2002, when my friends and I were convinced that President Bush was going to 1) re-instate the draft and 2) start drafting women in order to bulk up the military for the upcoming wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, my favorite law was Don't Ask Don't Tell.

I know, I know, Bad Gay.

Listen, I'm all for equality, but if someone asks me to kill someone else for "freedom," (or most other reasons, as I tend to be anti-killing) I'm going to go out and get gay married as soon as possible. Or make out with a lady. Or something. And I knew plenty of legit straight people who felt the same. My patriotism (and I am patriotic in my way, thanks) does not extend to ending other peoples' lives or being, in any way, responsible for ending those lives (though my tax dollars are, sigh).

So anyway, DADT is a really stupid law, which pretty much everyone ever agrees with. And Kate got herself discharged for making out with her room mate (wtf, why does everyone have a "room mate" story?) and her dad thinks that's just great. So her dad's cool, in case we hadn't figured that out before.

And her stepmom is cool too, but Kate doesn't want to give her a chance (understandable, if unfair). I didn't give my stepmom a chance. Then again, I was eleven (and she didn't really become my stepmom until much later). And I guess Kate's money comes from her stepmom now, and not old money? Maybe I'm forgetting 52, or maybe it was a retcon. Either one is likely.

I loved her meeting with Renee initially. Totally classic. I was hoping for a "frisk me officer" moment, but oh well. At least we got some ladies making out and in bed together. Huge! This doesn't happen anywhere but Showtime! And Logo, I guess. And independent cinema. Oh, and sweeps week. It really doesn't happen as often as I make it seem, particularly in a positive, normalized way. Props to Rucka for it, props to JH3 for the way it was drawn (the same way heterosexual love scenes are drawn) and props to DC for letting it through.

Hey, you know that American Idol guy who caused a furor over being gayish on TV? At least he didn't show nipple. Woo boy.

Quasi-random, don't mind me.

I was a little underwhelmed by her meeting with Batman, like I said. Wow, she beat some dudes up and then Batman showed up. She was living in Gotham, was it really that much of a surprise? I mean, was it really intense enough that she decided to slap a bat on her chest and become a vigilante?

I imagine the next issue will get more into that. How many times can someone see Batman (not even in action this time) and decide to emulate him? There's got to be something else, right?

While I enjoy that the reason she becomes a Bat doesn't seem to be directly related to her trauma as a kid (btw, I don't think Alice is dead for a second, weird Crime Bible people aside), I'm waiting for something else. Plenty of people don't become a Bat just because they see The Bat. So what's the difference between those plenty of people and Kate Kane.

I really enjoyed this issue overall, though. The art continues to be awesome and the origin story is engaging. There may be some clichés (the room mate thing, the hating the stepmom thing) but they work in the context of the story because the story is led by a lesbian. I dig clichés when they're being used in a way they aren't normally (and therefore normalize things that aren't considered normal).

I'm using the word normal a lot, but I'm not sure if I'm conveying what I'm trying to convey.

The reason Detective Comics can still kick ass where a book led by, say, Dick would be boring is because it's not a cliché for a woman to do these things. And while there are certain lesbian clichés that she's falling into, I'm okay with it for the purpose of this book just existing and being well written, well drawn and, most importantly, well received.

Go read this book.

(I also picked up a bunch of other things this week, including the entire run of Cry for Justice, because Supergirl and Captain Marvel were making out and I want to know what's up with that. And a bunch of Marvel titles, one of which was funny, despite my hatred of Spider-Man, and one of which almost made me cry, because Sam Guthrie is a Big Damn Hero. I'll write more on those later.)

And as a bonus, here's me in the 1991 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I'm one of the three Jewish elves on Santa's float:

We interrupt your regularly scheduled comic post...

To gush about my new dog!

This is quasi-relevant. Her name is Ollie, and I named her after the Emerald Archer himself, Oliver Queen. (My sister has declared that her name is Olive, since Ollie is too much of a boy's name, but I don't really do that whole gender labeling thing anyway, and the dog likes it just fine).

This is Ollie:



She's guarding my apartment from unwanted attacks from the woods. Or something.

By the way, someone drew a version of a female Green Arrow, and this is how it came out:


Right. You know, maybe that's just one of those GA wannabes (like the ladies from Return of the Dark Knight). 'Cause even if gender-swapped (I am now getting fantastic ideas about a gender-swapped GA and her relationship with Dinah), I can't see "Olive" Queen going in for the midriff exposing, giganto-breast, green lipstick look. Maybe that's just me.

Actually, I enjoy the idea of gender swapping characters (or degendering, which is pretty much never done, since heaven forfend we not be either Man or Woman). When done right, it's really really interesting. It's not done right very often. The trick is to maintain the essence of the character while adapting him or her to a different gender, which of course affects the way he or she will interact with society, the kinds of experience s/he has had in his/her life, et cetera et cetera. It's not just about swapping around some parts of anatomy.

Wasn't I talking about my dog?

Anyway, she's awesome. I have the currently dorktastic plan of getting my photographer friend to take some shots of her in a Robin Hood dog costume. Because... why not?

The good "old" days.

You know, I've realized that the more I get into comics themselves, the less I'm into the movie adaptations of comics.

That's not what I was trying to say. I've been away from home for four days, about to be five (am missing Wednesday at the comic store to go pick up my newly-adopted-dog-named-Ollie, and was hoping because of Veterans day I wouldn't be missing much) so I've been reading through some trades of stories that I'd like to know more about but never read.

Like that Black Glove Batman story, which is apparently a prelude to Batman R.I.P. Okay. I bought it for JH3, let's all be honest. The first half was fantastic. I love the international, Batman-inspired heroes. And I loved the mystery (though I feel like things were missing, since it ended so quickly). The second half was decidedly less interesting, mainly because I don't care much about Bruce Wayne (which is why I'm a fan of the Batman titles now). Christian Bale sort of ruined me on him (sort of like he ruined John Connor for me, and sort of like Ryan Reynolds is about to ruin Green Lantern for me). Anyway, like I said: I loved the first half. Brilliant stuff. Who came up with that international team of Batmen? It reminded me of Watchmen, and Captain Metropolis trying to get everyone together in the 70s, before the Keene Act, and how it all fell apart. They didn't really have a uniting member like Batman, but I got the same sort of sad-hero feel from it. I like sad hero stories.

I also started (but didn't finish) reading Green Arrow: Moving Targets. I'm going to ask again: why does everyone hate Judd Winick? Legit question. I enjoy his Green Arrow stuff. A lot more than I enjoy some characterizations of characters written by other, more popular (or at least less polarizing) authors. I love seeing Ollie with his now-large family. I enjoy the single-guys-traveling-the-world thing he had going with Hal for awhile, but seeing Ollie as the patriarch of this messed up but heroic family of archers is pretty damn awesome, from a character development standpoint. The way he reacts after Mia kills That Guy is a really brilliant insight into the kind of guy Ollie has become.

Once I finish that, it's on to Trials of Shazam, because I loved the Marvel family as a kid, and then Green Lantern: Rebirth (no, I haven't read it).

A Couple of Origins

I left my comics at home this morning, so I can't do a real fitting review of my haul. That's okay, because this was a small haul week for me. I caught up on Red Tornado (there's just something about an android elemental that tickles the Piers Anthony funny bone in me), which is fine. I enjoy it enough, though I'm having trouble with Red Torpedo's penis head. It's a penis head, don't argue. Torpedo my butt. Actually, she's got a penis head. Please don't torpedo my butt.

So the rest of the titles I got, briefly because I want to focus on two of them (and give a third one its own entry):

Secret Six #whatever. I'm not actually current on SS, but I'm getting the issues because I'll catch up and want to have them. This is how I think.

Athena #2. Remember how I was excited that there was in independent press doing a Greek god story? And remember how I was disappointed by the end of issue one? Yeaaah.

Stumptown #1. Good good good good great. Pick of the week. It's getting its own entry, because I'm a Greg Rucka fangirl.

And then last, but not least, the two I'll talk about in this entry:

X-Men Origins: Iceman (one shot).

Black Widow: Unholy Origins #1.

First things first: Iceman. I'm an Iceman fangirl. Bobby Drake is pretty much my favorite X ever. Maybe it's because I met him before the other Xs, when he was hanging out with Spider-Man and Firestar on my Saturday morning cartoons. Maybe it's because I sort of like his personality and how a guy like that is one of the most powerful mutants on the planet. Maybe it's because I feel for his total and utter lack of ability to maintain a relationship.

For me, if you're going to do an origin comic (not to be confused with an origin movie), you should remain true to where the character ends up, while updating and changing things for the time you're writing. Also, maybe have some fun art. The art in this was fine. It was like a weird Norman Rockwell comic. I wasn't blown away. Also, I prefer Bobby as a brunette, but that's a personal thing.

Here's the deal: this retold Bobby's origins, but made his dad less of a bigot. What? The guy had to go back in time to work things out with his parents, and he still wasn't kosher with his dad until that whole Creed presidential thing. It also made him way more sure of himself. What? Bobby is not sure of himself in certain ways. This is why he'll date Mystique when she shows him attention: because he needs that sense of being wanted. I suppose we could still get that from what's-her-name's rejection of him after he freezes Rocky, but c'mon. His lack of self-confidence is why he needs Emma to unlock his most powerful abilities. His lack of self-confidence makes him interesting!

If you want to set up some origins universe that starts fresh, eh. But this seemed to be a one-shot trying to draw in fans of the movies. I can tell you that I wouldn't care about Iceman at all if I read this book. Considering he's already my favorite X, that means this book sort of failed. Immensely.

But Black Widow: Unholy Origins didn't disappoint. After I finished reading (and enjoying) it, I went back and looked at who the author was. Paul Cornell! I love Paul Cornell, because he wrote the best Doctor Who book ever, Human Nature, which was turned into a pretty decent episode (would have been better if it was the seventh Doctor still, but whatever). I also have met him a couple of times at the annual Gallifrey convention, and he is awesome. He's funny, witty, and loves the medium he's writing in, whether DW or comics. (I will also be bringing this issue for him to sign next year.)

So I know this is meant to stir up interest in ScarJo's Black Widow coming up in Iron Man 2. Whatever. She's not even going to get to be in the Avengers movie, so I'm still annoyed.

I've always had a passing interest in the character, but I started to get really interested when I started getting into Winter Soldier. I think I've spoken before about my love for the new Captain America, so when I saw this origins title, with a "also featuring Wolverine and Winter Soldier" I knew I had to pick it up. (I got the variation with Bucky on the cover, the one on the left.)

The artwork was good, but especially in the flashback scenes. Also, Bucky with that 50s-era chunky arm was priceless.

The story kept me going, and I think Cornell did a good job of finding the black humor in it, which is important. I like that it wasn't just straight origins, that it tied in the present with the past. Also that line about James Barnes being a good enough boyfriend to get to call her Natasha made me laugh out loud. Literally. I got funny looks from the people walking by me.

The reason this succeeded where Iceman failed is two-fold. First, it keeps the past linked with the present. I need that to enjoy an origin story. I like flashbacks that aren't heavy-handedly telling the story, while the present scenes create the framework. Second, the writing was stronger. The characters had good voices, voices that I'd associate with them anyway, and the plot moved forward towards an interesting climax (that was the first of many, since this is a miniseries).

Maybe Iceman didn't get the benefit of a miniseries, but I can't help but feeling it's more about what was told in the issue itself than having a chance to write a longer story. Iceman was schmaltzy, Black Widow was interesting. Iceman took a character I enjoyed immensely and made him less likeable. Black Widow took a character I enjoyed a bit and made me want to follow her more closely.

Success.

Casting the Batwoman Movie

After my post on adaptations, I got to thinking about a Batwoman movie. So I posited a question on Twitter: Who would I cast as Kate Kane? I already knew who my Montoya would be. Then I started thinking about the other roles in the series, and I had a lot of fun just clicking around the internet looking for good fits, so I decided to turn it into an entire blog post, with pictures, pros, cons, and various geekery.

Enjoy.

Hopefully. :)

Kate Kane/Batwoman - My friend Stewart suggested Amy Adams. At first I reacted "huh, Giselle?" and then I remembered her as Amelia Earhart in that movie about the museum with what's-his-face from Zoolander. I know Amy Adams can be adorable. I know she has red hair and very little skin pigmentation. But can she be Kate Kane? I think playing Kate Kane may be even harder than playing Batwoman. After all, with Batwoman you have the costume to get you into character. Once you put that symbol on your chest, I think it makes a huge difference (even with nipples, Clooney did better at Batman than Christian Bale does). But Kate is a non-stereotypical lesbian. She's neither completely butch nor completely femme, and Hollywood generally doesn't know what to do with that (that includes writers, directors, casting directors, and actors). And of course there's that whole spectrum of what it means to be butch and femme, blah blah blah.

I guess I wonder if Amy Adams can pull it off. I don't know. I maybe wouldn't mind seeing her try. She doesn't make any less sense than, say, Heath Ledger, and everyone thought he was a great Joker. Okay, she makes slightly less sense than Heath Ledger.

For a very different and competing opinion, I sort of like Christina Hendricks in the role. I know, I know the curvy Joan of Mad Men is ultra feminine, and Kate isn't, necessarily. But, well, Kate's drawn busty (like almost every other comic book heroine), and Christina Hendricks has done a good job at playing kick-ass, during her two episode stint as Saffron in Firefly. And, actually, Joan is sort of kick-ass herself, in that bound-by-the-sixties sort of way. (For any MM fan interested in a really interesting article about how Joan is a more interesting character than Peggy, read this.)

Here's the thing. I think Hendricks could pull of not only Batwoman (who has a tendency to be hyperfeminine and sexual) but also Kate Kane, whose femininity is a bit more restrained, but who is still a ballsy, alpha-type woman. And, again, the way Kate is drawn is actually very similar to Christina Hendrick's body type.

Yeah, I think I've found my Kate Kane.


Renee Montoya/The Question: Sarah Shahi. Hands down, no questions, absolutely Sarah Shahi. I know there are people that like Michelle Rodriguez for this role, but no.

This woman should play Renee:

Uh huh.

Now, there's more than just looks to back this one up. First, she's played a cop before. Dani Reese in Life, who was a hard-ass, wise-cracking, recovering-addict detective. Basically Renee Montoya. Second, she's played gay before. Carmen de la Pica Morales in The L Word, where she had weird toilet sex with Mia Kirshner. Once you act out weird toilet sex, playing a faceless, kick-ass lesbian PI who macks on Batwoman and gets involved in a Religion of Crime should be a cake walk.

Third, she's a brown belt in karate, which means she could at least be quasi-believable in some of the Question's martial arts-heavy fight scenes.

Fourth, she's Renee Montoya.

Case closed, appeals denied.

Maggie Sawyer - With the understanding that she's going to be somewhat important as the series develops, I figured "what the heck." I like Laura Harris from Dead Like Me and Women's Murder Club, but she definitely seems a bit young/soft for the job. Then again, if Amy Adams is Kate, well. We're skewing a bit younger than I think the characters actually are in the books anyway. So maybe she could work.

Stewart suggested Mariska Hargitay, and I can't say I disagree with him. Around seasons 3 and 4 of Special Victims Unit, she was perfect. But that was a lot of years ago, and I don't know if she could pull Maggie off right now.

So while Laura Harris might be too young, Mariska Hargitay might be too old. Not that I couldn't see having Maggie be a bit older than Kate. That could work, too. And since this is sort of a dream cast, I guess we could just take that Mariska Hargitay from back then and put her in. Hm.

I could go either way, really. I'd have to sit in on the audition and see who has the best chemistry with our lead, because Kate and Maggie already have some very nice chemistry in only a few panels of one issue of Detective Comics. I am, however, a Renee/Kate shipper, so I'm sticking fast with that. Still, definitely important that the actress be able to do well against our Batwoman, since Maggie's apparently going to be her version of Commissioner Gordon.

Edit: A reader, Nikki, has recommended Katee Sackhoff for the role of Maggie. DUH. Wow, great suggestion. She's a great balance of feminine and masculine, can kick ass, and can command a group of people. Also I wouldn't mind seeing her in a tux, either.



Alice - Mia Kirshner. I know I'm sort of double-dipping in the The L Word pot, but take a look:

Now imagine her white-blonde.

Yeah.

Mia Kirshner is a fantastic actress. If you're not familiar with her work, go rent more independent films (she also played Sarah in The Crow: City of Angels, so there's that comic link), and her character, Jenny, on The L Word was completely nuts by the last two seasons (check out this great compilation from S5 NSFW). She'd be perfect.


Colonel Kane - I'm going to go with JK Simmons on this. I just really like the guy and think he has great range (have you seen him in Oz or Law and Order: Special Victims Unit?). I think he could pull off a ex-military, sort-of-traumatized, loves-his-daughter-but-worries-about-her kind of dad. Kind of like a cross between the Juno dad and the SVU shrink. Totally. It's also occured to me that I don't know Colonel Kane's first name (besides "sir" or "dad"), so maybe I'm not particularly wed to the character just yet. Still, I think JK Simmons could pull it off, and be good in the roll. And I'm a fan of the guy.

Okay, there we go, my picks for the main roles of a Batwoman movie. I'd love to get input if you've got any. Or if there are any other roles out there you think I ought to cast (I've already cast Kate Spencer/Manhunter, and am daydreaming of a legal drama where she defends Wonder Woman and they smolder and spar together. Cough.) let me know that, too. This is a fun way to pass the time.