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What the Hell is this thing? I see some sort of black shape. Is this some kind of Rorschach test? It's the Batmobile from Batman Beyond. Louis

As much as I love the Burton and Adam West batmobiles, my favorite is definitely the one used in the comics starting in 1996: http://www.batmobilehistory.com/1998-batmobile.php I think it was the most realistic one they ever made. Louis

My only problem with it taking so many months to play out is that continuity-wise I have real trouble placing it inside of the events of the rest of the DCU. To try and fit it in, it takes a great deal of logic stretching, such as: Nekron and Black Hand take Batman's head from his grave and briefly make him into a Black Lantern. After the crisis is over, the head is recovered, reattached to the body and put into his costume, and placed into the Bat Bunker, where Dick takes it and tries to reanimate it in the Lazarus Pit. That makes no sense considering everyone was positive that the body didn't belong to Bruce Wayne by the end of Blackest Night, so why would Dick even try resurrecting it? If you try to put Blackest Night after Dick's resurrection attempt, it makes even less sense because Dick would have had to bury the body of clone after realizing it isn't Bruce. Burying the body at all makes no sense due to the fact it was placed in an unmarked grave because Hush is running around as Bruce. Wouldn't you just keep the body somewhere safe instead of burying it in a public place? The other major storyline that I have trouble reconciling is Cry for Justice. I was assuming that it occurred before Blackest Night because I would assume that Hal has better things to do after Blackest Night than spend his time tracking down villians. However, in later issues/tie-ins they make reference to Green Arrow becoming a Black Lantern meaning it takes place after. How does that make sense? It just feels to me that the DCU has too many big stories going on right now and I tire of all the resurrections, cities being destroyed, etc. Having a major crossover event once a year is too much as far as I'm concerned, never mind having several of them going on at once. Louis

Am I the only one convinced this game was meant to be based on the Christopher Nolan movies? I mean, it starts out with Batman bringing the Joker to Arkham, a logical place to pick up where the movie leaves off. Batman is wearing serious armor, much like his movie counterpart. I just figure once Ledger died they had no choice but to redesign the characters because you couldn't use his face as the Joker anymore (I mean, I guess you could have, but a lot of people would have been upset.) Never mind the fact that there was no actual movie game, odd in itself. What does everyone think? Louis

I too was a daily show fan until Obama became president. I assumed that they just made fun of everyone. Little did I know that the bashing Bush got was because the Daily Show has a liberal lean. Now the show is half as funny as it used to be because the administration is off-limits to ridicule. Their job is to make fun of politicians and the news, not defend them. I find the show boring now. Politically, I'd throw myself in the independent group. I don't have an ax to grind either way. I just feel that if you ripped Bush on a nightly basis, then Obama deserves it too. Louis

G.I. Joe represents the part of me that wants to hold onto my childhood. The first toys I ever asked specifically for were Joes. I was 8 years old and didn't really know enough to ask for specific ones. I got Roadblock, Lady Jaye, and Tomax & Xamot for Christmas. One month later on my birthday, I got the Mauler tank. Those are some of my most prized possessions. I remember how excited I was when I got them. I would watch the cartoon every afternoon like it was religion. For the next 6 years, G.I. Joe was a major part of my life. Once I was an adult, I started to go back and fill my collection in. When my boys are old enough, they will definately be Joe fans too. Louis

Episodes 9 & 10: Duke and Scarlett drop into a room full of Cobras who are firing machine guns at them. They pick off all of the Cobras with hand guns while doing nothing to avoid the hundreds of bullets coming at them. So realistic. Cobra needs to invest in an eye care plan for their blind troops. Zartan was so horrible that I was glad he got shot in the back. I love how he just stood there rambling on and sounding like a child molester while leaving a live combatant behind him. "Leave me, Scarlett! Let me die!" "I love you, Duke!" Cue Celine Dion song from Titanic. Is it wrong to have hoped they would have died in the explosion too? Destro and the Baroness do more threatening to kill people, yet kill no one. Destro is a total wimp and an imbecile. Tunnel Rat takes out all of the satellites by himself. Tunnel Rat. The ordinance expert. Yeah, that guy. I'm sorry, this whole cartoon is a major fail. They built it up as something it is not. It is violent? Sure. Realistic? Not even close. It's a giant turd sandwich. And I'm tired of hearing that the critics need to point out a better version of Joe or that this is better than the movie. Judge it on it's own. This is the 80's cartoon with death. If they wanted to do a final chapter of the 80's toon so bad, they should have done that in the same style. I wouldn't have minded that. Anything would be better than this jumbled mess. Obviously, I hate it. It reminds me of VvV and Sigma 6. Killing a lot of people doesn't make it better or more realistic, it makes it violent. Why is it so hard to make a good Joe toon? Louis

As much as I love the more adult take on Joe, I find little else to love in the series. Cobra's plot might as well have been lifted from a Sunbow cartoon for it's level of over-the-top silliness. Also, in an effort to jam in as many characters as possible, the lazy writers decided to have a bunch of side stories with tenuous connections to the main story. At the end of the day, what was the purpose of Snake Eyes fighting Storm Shadow? It had so little to do with the plot that it made Stormy's death that much more hollow. They could have put their origin OR their fight to the death in the story somewhere, but not both. The only characters with backstories in the entire show and one kills the other in record time. Very very bad writing. They could have had Snake fight Stormy in the course of solving the main plot and it would have made a hell of a lot more sense. The brief watered down backstory was hard to watch. Destro and the Baroness are doing what now? Holding people prisoner. Really. And if Baroness threatens to kill them one more time without actually shooting them, I'm gonna cry. Cobra troopers are even more inept than in the old cartoons. They can't hit anything, act moronically, and get wiped out by the Joes in record numbers. Let me get this straight. The Joes take a balloon up into space wearing diving suits and attack a completely unprotected satellite. Who thought that makes sense? Couldn't they at least be in space suits? No one else is bothered by the fact that the more realistic Joes are being led by Duke? Even Hawk is in the new movie. Speaking of which, this thing is way closer to the new movie than people give it credit for. Snake's and Stormy's origin, black Ripcord, Joe team as James Bond, high tech stuff everywhere, etc. And what is up with the spats? Does every character have to be wearing them? What exactly was Major Bludd's crime? And why dump his body in the Lincoln memorial? Outside of looking cool, it make zero sense. It was a message sent to the rest of Cobra, not to the US. Dumping him a public place would cause undue attention. Don't get me wrong, it's not all bad. But it is a massive missed opportunity. This was a gift to the adult fans and they still couldn't get it right. They focused on making it more violent and completely ignored good story telling to do it. I was so jazzed to see it and now I'm not even sure if I care how it ends. Louis

As much as I love the more adult take on Joe, I find little else to love in the series. Cobra's plot might as well have been lifted from a Sunbow cartoon for it's level of over-the-top silliness. Also, in an effort to jam in as many characters as possible, the lazy writers decided to have a bunch of side stories with tenuous connections to the main story. At the end of the day, what was the purpose of Snake Eyes fighting Storm Shadow? It had so little to do with the plot that it made Stormy's death that much more hollow. They could have put their origin OR their fight to the death in the story somewhere, but not both. The only characters with backstories in the entire show and one kills the other in record time. Very very bad writing. They could have had Snake fight Stormy in the course of solving the main plot and it would have made a hell of a lot more sense. The brief watered down backstory was hard to watch. Destro and the Baroness are doing what now? Holding people prisoner. Really. And if Baroness threatens to kill them one more time without actually shooting them, I'm gonna cry. Cobra troopers are even more inept than in the old cartoons. They can't hit anything, act moronically, and get wiped out by the Joes in record numbers. Let me get this straight. The Joes take a balloon up into space wearing diving suits and attack a completely unprotected satellite. Who thought that makes sense? Couldn't they at least be in space suits? No one else is bothered by the fact that the more realistic Joes are being led by Duke? Even Hawk is in the new movie. Speaking of which, this thing is way closer to the new movie than people give it credit for. Snake's and Stormy's origin, black Ripcord, Joe team as James Bond, high tech stuff everywhere, etc. And what is up with the spats? Does every character have to be wearing them? What exactly was Major Bludd's crime? And why dump his body in the Lincoln memorial? Outside of looking cool, it make zero sense. It was a message sent to the rest of Cobra, not to the US. Dumping him a public place would cause undue attention. Don't get me wrong, it's not all bad. But it is a massive missed opportunity. This was a gift to the adult fans and they still couldn't get it right. They focused on making it more violent and completely ignored good story telling to do it. I was so jazzed to see it and now I'm not even sure if I care how it ends. Louis

Shockingly, the only regular figures I have never seen in a store are the 2nd Zartan and the Python Crimson Guard. However, the repainted Torch and Ripper are clogging up the shelves. Louis

Fairly sure the guys jumping into the train and doing the matrix moves in the street are Destro's troops. I didn't see the Joes doing all that much of anything in the trailer outside of Snake Eyes. Still don't get why they didn't color code the Joes uniforms. Would it have been so awful to put a little yellow and green on Scarlett? Or green on Duke? Hell, I would have taken all of the Joes in camo. Why are 75% of the movies characters wearing black? I get the feeling that this is going to look like transformers, in the fight scenes you'll have trouble telling the good guys from the bad. Louis

I know these threads are old hat, but there is a point here that people seem to disregard. Sure, it is nobody's business what some dope is willing to drop on a toy they want to get. However, lets say you want the target exclusives and can't find them. If you still want them, you are down to buying them from a scalper. And yes, in this case BBTS IS a scalper. $70 is almost 200% profit. If people actually pay this outrageous price, it sets the bar at that level. Now that becomes the "low" price. The reality is obvious. If people only paid a reasonable price and said, "I'll wait for the prices to come down," they would come down. Pay a ridiculous price and you are hurting everyone else who needs to buy something on the secondary market. And don't even get me started on the people who spend that outrageous price because they need to have something first. It's a sad cry for attention. "Look at me! I got it a week ahead of you! Go me!" Very sad. Want to impress me? Get to a hot girl before I do. Then I'll be jealous. Louis

Don't feel bad, most of us Americans will never see them either @grumpy@ Seriously, what is the point of exclusives? They piss off collectors who can't get or find them. I'd rather they either make them full releases or don't make them at all. Store exclusives are just ways for scalpers to make more money. I bought the first Target exclusives off e-bay because I never saw any of them in a store. Never saw the 2nd wave (Rattler and Conquest) either. Great, here comes more stuff I'll never see! @hmmm@ Louis

Isn't having a museum, superman days, and a huge statue honoring a fictional character the very definition of a publicity stunt? Granted, it's a long term one, but getting publicity for being the adopted hometown of a fictional character sounds like a stunt to me. No real heroes to honor? OMG, please read this article about Metropolis, Illinois: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2090 @loll@ Louis

I think this logic is extremely flawed. Metropolis has always been portrayed as an eastern coastal town, and last time I checked, Illinois is certainly not on the east coast. Smallville is been clearly identified as in Kansas. And again, Gotham also always shown being on the east coast. Regardless of a 1972 resolution, reading any issue of the comic or any other media would show that no creator has actually ever thought it was in Illinois. Even in the movies, Metropolis is clearly sitting on the Atlantic Ocean. I think the whole naming it the "Hometown of Superman" in Ill is nothing more than a nice publicity stunt. It is the same with the Simpsons. Even if they came out and said one of the Springfields in the country is the one, watching the show would debunk that. Hell, that's even more confusing than the whole Metropolis/Gotham issue as they have never been consistant with what part of the country it is in. At least we can say that Gotham and Metropolis have always been shown to be on the east coast. Louis

Different writers over the years put it in different places, but the consensus would be New Jersey. In several comics, it is said that New York and Gotham are little more than a bridge apart. In the Spiderman/Batman crossover a while back, they literally seemed connected by a bridge, but I think that was just that writer's vision. Overall, Gotham would be where Jersey City is, slightly south of NYC on the coast of Jersey, a short drive from NYC. Jersey City, like Gotham, is an island. Gotham has been directly identified as being in Jersey several times. Check out Wikipedia for this example from Batman: Shadow of the Bat annual #1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Gothamlicencesmall.jpg Bludhaven, then, would be Newark. An even more crime ridden city than Jersey City (Gotham). Metropolis is currently viewed as much farther down the east coast, slightly below Washington, D.C. Possibly in Virginia. Certainly, it is shown as a more southern town where Gotham has a more northern mentality. Just because they filmed in Chicago for the Dark Knight doesn't mean that Gotham, in general, is meant to represent Chicago. Gotham was clearly based on NYC by the original writers, not Chicago. Neal Adams thought it should be based on Chicago because it is more crime ridden than NYC and has back alleys, and that thinking has carried over with various writers over the years. Nolan follows that idea and therefore used the Chicago skyline and architecture as his framework for Gotham City. So clearly, the film makers intended you to believe that Gotham is indeed a stand-in for Chicago. In the comics, not so much. Louis

Hurricane McClain, No, it wasn't promised, but the pic was of the classic version. And I can't trade it because the one I got had serious quality control issues (the face was scratched something horrible). Best just to return it. Still kinda peeved. I have no luck at all.

Toys R Us screwed me over on this one. I ordered Aquaman and got the long hair version. I returned it. I have never seen the classic Aquaman anywhere, only the long hair version. Thanks for the assist TRU! Louis

Oh good, I was afraid it would end up like that turd Smallville.......wait a cotton pickin' minute! Some of you want that? @loll@ Why is god's name would anyone want another Smallville? One show about a teenage superhero that never officially become a superhero and takes a big dump on continuity isn't enough? You really want a show about Robin who never actually becomes Robin? Um, why?

Not really. It is noted in almost every review of the film and mocked constantly. Instead of sounding cold and confident, Batman sounds like Bob Seger singing. Kind of ridiculous. I know there are more skills on display in TDK, but Batman is still mostly reactionary instead of proactive. He should be on par with a Sherlock Holmes, but Batman doesn't possess that kind of skill in the movies. He acts more like James Bond. Wow, nice one. Why bother reading what I wrote when it is better to just react to it? I said, in my opinion, the movies handle several characters better than the series. Batman isn't one of them. And I am saying take the first episode of the cartoon and put it's interpretation of Batman against the movie. It is better, hands down. Using your argument, the movie Batman is automatically worse because he's not as flushed out as the cartoon. I never said that. I am taking them on what they are, how they act, etc. Cartoon Batman is better. Ridiculous. The essense of the Batman character is that he is one of the most skilled people in the world. He attacks from the shadows. Villians aren't supposed to get a shot at him. He would have them disarmed before they ever saw him. He wears some kevlar in the comics, but not enough to limit his martial art skills. Movie Batman is wearing pounds of rubber. He couldn't even move his head in the first movie. That is what people are arguing about his use of tech. A lot of the stuff we see him using in the movies he just wouldn't need in the comics because he is far more skilled physically.

I love love love the Nolan movies. But to say that those are the best depiction of Batman is kind of silly. Those are the best depictions of the Joker, Two-Face, the Scarecrow, Gordon, and maybe even Alfred. But Batman and Ras Al Guhl where both handled better in BTAS. The cartoon Batman was everything he was supposed to be. Big, strong, expert in martial arts, world's greatest detective. He even presented a good Bruce Wayne. Ras Al Guhl was also far more epic in the cartoon. And the voices of both were superior. I even think the second Batmobile in the cartoon is the best one ever. Here's why the Batman in the Nolan movies fails: Batman is always yelling. He is not a very good detective. He is way too reliant on high-tech gadgets instead of skills (yes, maybe that is more realistic, but why train all those years if you are going to put on armor that takes all of your mobility away?). Louis

Blantantly knocking the "big changes" stories in comics is kind of short-sighted. Face it, in the last 20 years, what were the memorable DC stories? The Death of Superman, Knightfall, Paralax, etc. All involved major changes to the characters, who were all eventually returned to normal. The other stories told are not as memorable, because they are not fundamental changes to anything. How many Joker stories have been told? Not all of them reach the status of Killing Joke. Most are forgotten rather quickly. But having life changing events in the life of the hero, those are instantly memorable. You may not like them, but you remember when Superman died or turned into electricity, Batman broke his back, Robin blew up, GL turned bad, or Spiderman started wearing black. If every writer was told they could only work "within the premise", you couldn't change anything. Hell, adding Robin to Batman was an effort to change the "premise" of Batman because he was too dark.

Reading between the lines.....I'm assuming that for some reason they couldn't use the name "Roadblock" in the movie and the character is basically Roadblock, but using the name "Heavy Duty." Hama said the comic's team will match the movie. So, maybe in both Roadblock has become Heavy Duty? If so, that's still not cool. That basically means that from now on the name "Roadblock" will not exist @grumpy@

Don't forget that in Batman Begins, Fox tells Bruce that TWO Tumblers were made. He could simply use the other one in the next movie. As much as I wish there will be a full blown Batman 3, I keep hearing that Christian Bale only signed on to do a "tie-in" movie as the third one. In other words, something where he isn't the main character, like a JLA or World's Finest, maybe. I wouldn't mind a World's Finest movie to come out after "The Man of Steel".

Honestly, I thought the whole Cobra-La concept sucked. However, as an attempt to explain why Cobra Commander was so ugly (Destro couldn't even watch him eat!) and why Mindbender dreamed Serpentor, I thought it did a decent job of it. I really think the movie's downfall is Falcon. As a main character, he sucked. He's a Lt. and should be outranking almost the whole team, and yet he's treated like a private. Making him Duke's brother makes it even worse. I have no idea why Hasbro had such a hard-on for replacing their old characters with new ones that year, I have no idea. Still, I liked Hot Rod better than Falcon. And I can't see how a 3rd season focusing on Falcon and his crew would have turned out any better than Rodimus Prime and his crew. The season of Transformers after the movie is largely crap because the premise of replacing all of the old characters is such a bad one.