Justice League: Unlimited #28

Justice League: Unlimited is, as far as I can tell, one of the most beloved superhero cartoons ever created, and for once I agree with the majority’s opinion.  The show aired from 2001 to 2006 and really, the only thing better than the show itself was the fact that it had the most epic theme song known to man.  So, naturally, quite a lot of merchandise—including comic books based on the show—was produced.  And, also naturally, the comic had a very special Christmas issue.  Well, sort of special.  Almost.  Very nearly.

"On Angel's Wing" - X-Men: Evolution

Well now that we’ve FINALLY got Thanksgiving out of the way, we can focus on dropping hints about what we want for Christmas and searching our relatives’ houses for any signs of our presents.  Honestly.  What were they thinking, creating a holiday that didn’t involve buying lots of stuff and couldn’t be commercialized from here to the Negative Zone?  So annoying.

Arsenal #3-#4

 

So far, we have seen:

Roy Harper being an awesome hero person.

Lian Harper being cute.
Kidnapping henchwomen being, uh, kidnappy?
Dinah Lance being kinda stupid.
Oliver Queen being dead.
Lian’s babysitter being… there.
Vandal Savage being evil.
Connor Hawke being ambiguously ethnic.

And now, we continue with our celebration of all things red-haired and arrow-related with the second half of Roy Harper Appreciation Month!

 

Arsenal #1-#2

 

Some characters are heroes.  Others are villains.  Still others are anti-heroes.  And some are life’s punching bags, eternally taking punishment enough to make anyone either go bananas or feel like they’re about to.  And yet, somehow—whether it be through their own determination or a well-timed reboot or both—they always manage to land on their feet and live to kick butt another day.

One such character is Roy William Harper Jr., a.k.a. Speedy, a.k.a. Arsenal, a.k.a. Red Arrow, a.k.a. Arsenal again.  He’s been one of my favorites for ages, but the fans and the comics (especially those bleeping comics) always seem to give him the short end of the stick (or the arrow).  So to give Roy a little positive press—and to give myself a chance to alternately gush and rampage about his various portrayals in various media—I hereby declare November ROY HARPER APPRECIATION MONTH.

"Thirst" - Smallville

For many shows, airing at least one holiday-themed episode is sort of a tradition.  Christmas seems to be the most popular subject, but appearances by Hanukkah, New Years’ Eve/Day, Thanksgiving, and others are certainly not unheard of.  Having lasted an impressive ten seasons, Smallville had plenty of time to air plenty of episodes about plenty of holidays, and in Season Five, they decided to go the spooky route with a tangentially Halloween-themed episode, complete with costume parties and hot lady vampires.  Boy, was that ever dumb.

The ONLY bright spot here is that this was made before Twilight, so they couldn’t rip it off or make “fun” references.  And that is the only Twilight reference I will make in this review.  I knew you’d be expecting it, so I got it out of the way early so that, like the later Hitchcock cameos, it won’t distract you from enjoying the rest of the show.  You’re welcome.

Spitballing - "Pilot" (Arrow)

This isn't my normal review of the week--that comes on Saturday.  But I (finally) got around to watching the Arrow pilot that debuted on CW last Wednesday and really, really, REALLY needed to get some things off my chest.  This is by no means a comprehensive review; this is just me typing up some general, half-baked opinions that came to mind when I was watching.  Or, if you prefer, spitballing.  So if I come across as rambly and non-sensical, welcome to my unedited brain.

So in case you hadn't guessed, SPOILERS LIVE HERE.

"Broken Stone"/"Getting the Story" - Sky Dancers

Apparently I thought it would be a good idea to keep reviewing Sky Dancers, even after I realized that they were not the great and glorious heroes that my nostalgia specs tried to convince me they were.  Apparently I’m a knucklehead.