The anchor each week will be a key storytelling lesson I’ve gleaned from a movie, TV show, comic book, or novel. Rather than giving full reviews, I’ll often zero in on something that worked well or something that missed the mark. Even if I’m being critical, the aim is to learn from what went wrong—not to bash it or presume I would have done any better in those circumstances. I’m writing these as a perpetual student, not lecturing anyone as a teacher.

I still intend to continue my Deep Space Nine review series, and I’ve been meaning to start a similar series with The X-Files at some point. Review series of other great TV shows may follow. I’ve set up a new tab, simply called “Rewatch,” specifically for those comprehensive rewatch reviews. To opt out, go to your account settings and deselect “Rewatch” at any time.

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As for new original fiction … I don’t yet know. I’m always working on something, but I don’t have anything to serialize at the moment. I still intend to post the occasional standalone short story or play script in the “Other Fiction” tab, though.

That’s enough housekeeping for now. On with the main event …

What He-Man Can Learn from Batman

I watched the new Masters of the Universe movie earlier this summer, and I almost liked it. It was so close, and I wouldn’t call it bad overall. There’s some good stuff in there. With a handful of adjustments, it could have been tremendous fun for the whole family.

The main issue was that it leaned too heavily on goofy self-referential humor, and not in an effective way. The movie insists on directly acknowledging that the whole He-Man concept is rather silly. And yes, it is. But the characters aren’t supposed to know that!

We get jokes about how ridiculous the names are, even the name He-Man. We get lines like “I need every man, woman, and whatever that is …” We get Skeletor’s henchmen reacting to how hammy he is.

None of that is necessary. It’s not even necessary for comedy.

The audience shouldn’t take a He-Man movie too seriously, but a He-Man movie should take itself a bit more seriously. It can retain all the silly elements, but just play them straight and trust the audience to get it.

Take the classic Batman TV show from the 1960s. It was extremely silly, and far sillier than I’d want for anything Bat-related today. But to the characters within each episode, everything seemed perfectly natural. No one needed to comment on the ridiculous proceedings, because they weren’t ridiculous, not to anyone existing within that world. Every threat, no matter how colorful, was a gravely serious matter in the eyes of Adam West’s Batman. And that made it fun for viewers of all ages.

The 1966 Batman movie was especially funny, but once again, every character was oblivious to the comedy. When a rubber shark—I mean, when a vicious, bloodthirsty shark attacks Batman while he’s hanging from the Bat-copter, Batman stoically asks Robin to grab the shark repellent Bat-spray.

It’s all wonderfully matter of fact. The shark repellent Bat-spray is just there in the helicopter, right next to the manta-ray repellent and the whale repellent Bat-sprays.

Batman had the foresight to equip his helicopter with defensive measures against aquatic life because he’s Batman.

In a modern movie, Robin might quip about the absurd convenience, or it might be set up earlier to poke fun at Batman’s over-preparedness. But no. Matter-of-fact shark repellent is plenty funny on its own. The movie wisely lets the silliness speak for itself.

The original Masters of the Universe cartoon offers another way to go. Plenty of it is ripe for parody, such as the PSA that closes each episode. But they’re sincere PSAs that come at the conclusion of earnest adventures. Kids can enjoy the action and larger-than-life characters, and adults can chuckle at the inherent campiness. And the characters can just live their lives without the added burden of self-referential comedy.

Just be comfortable in your own skin, He-Man. Own the absurdity and don’t apologize for it. That’s all.

Of course, had this Masters of the Universe movie come out circa 1999, its style of humor might have seemed fresh and clever. Self-referential humor has its place and can work (such as in a Deadpool movie), but it wears out its welcome when it becomes the norm. This could just be a case of the right movie in the wrong year.

Perhaps that’s the secondary lesson: Timing is half the battle.

Until next time! Oh wait, we’re not done yet …

This Week’s Super Comic

Just for fun, I figured I’d start sharing a comic book from my collection each regular newsletter. Let’s begin with a classic: an original edition of X-Men #137, albeit a beaten-up copy that’s barely holding together.

Its poor condition is the only reason I own it. I found this at a local comic shop back in the mid-90s when I was maybe 11 or 12. A cleaner copy would have far exceeded my price range. Even today, it would cost more than I’d want to spend on any single issue. But this book, with all its damage, cost me only $2.50, which was about the same price as a new double-size comic at the time.

Its poor condition didn’t stop me from reading the book and savoring the experience—multiple times. Despite needing to handle with care, I loved every bit of this comic. It’s the conclusion of what remains one of the greatest comic book storylines of all time, superhero storytelling at its finest.

Its only major flaw is that an advertisement was allowed to mar the cover. But I suppose it is accurate that this comic is worth $2500 to me. And I got it for only 0.1% of that!

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If you’ll indulge me, I do have my own work to promote. So, I’ll carve out a little section for quick updates on that front.

The latest news is that I now have two audiobooks out. The second Terrific novel, The Silver Stranger, is available to listen to, narrated by Adrienne Stringfellow.

Listen to The Silver Stranger

The Faceless Man will follow with its own audiobook by the end of the year. But you can already read the complete Terrific series in paperback and ebook formats.

Read the Full Series

From the Archives

A while back, I wrote about the short-lived Police Squad! TV series that led into the Naked Gun movies. It fits what I was saying about 1960s Batman above, and indeed, I referred to Adam West while describing its comedic style.

Thank you for reading and for trying out this new format with me. I may come up with additional regular or semi-regular features along the way, and your feedback is welcome at any time.

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Star Trek is celebrating 60 years of gracing our screens, so let’s resume looking back at the seven years of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Now at the season four midpoint, we encounter a string of DS9 episodes that are solid but not highlights—each a good strong base hit or maybe even a double, but no homers, strikeouts, or walks this inning.

Previously:

Intro | Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3

Season 4: Part 1 | Part 2

And now the continuation …

SPOILERS ahead!

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12. Crossfire

Star Trek often gives us insightful science fiction to ponder, but occasionally they toss in a soap opera. And “Crossfire” is a soap opera on a space station, going all in on Odo and Kira’s will-they/won’t-they dynamic. At this point, we know that Odo is secretly in love with Kira, and Kira views Odo as one of her closest friends.

The opening scene showcases their friendly camaraderie. They have a weekly routine of reviewing security reports, and Odo clearly looks forward to these chats. He prepares everything just so, including Kira’s favorite tea, and though he himself doesn’t need to drink anything, he enjoys her enjoyment of the beverage.

But with this being a television show, a romantic rival must enter the picture. That rival is Bajor’s new first minister, Shakaar, who happens to be an old friend of Kira’s. The two former resistance fighters fall for each other, which drives Odo to uncharacteristic distraction. And this causes a bit of problem, given the threats against Shakaar’s life. A brokenhearted Odo is not a very effective Odo. After near-catastrophe, he decides to bottle up his feelings, cancel his and Kira’s regular get-togethers, and get over her.

The series is only halfway done, so this episode won’t be the last word on the Odo/Kira relationship. But for now, we’re in the “poor Odo!” phase of their multi-season will-they/won’t-they dance.

A Star Trek series benefits from the occasional soap opera interlude, as it gives the characters a chance to breathe. The important thing here is that it’s not just focused on Odo and Kira. The real highlight is the ever-entertaining Odo/Quark dynamic, which acquires a little more depth.

We learn at the beginning of the episode that Odo has moved his quarters right above Quark’s quarters just to mess with him. It’s an amusing escalation of their never-ending battle of wits and cunning, though it does bring their antagonism closer to cartoon territory, like the next stage would be for Odo to morph his arm into a sledgehammer and whack Quark on the head to the tune of comic sound effects. Fortunately, the script opts for some character development instead, showing us another side of Quark after the perceptive Ferengi figures out that Odo is in love with Kira.

When Odo hits rock bottom, Quark is the one who talks sense into him, almost like a friend. Of course, Quark assures his nemesis that his only interest is business. He runs a pool on how quickly Odo will catch his man (everyone assumes he will; the question is how long until he does so), so Odo’s heartbreak is eating into his profits. The Odo/Quark scenes are the real highlight here, stealing the show from the Odo/Kira material.

13. Return to Grace

This episode serves as the sequel to “Indiscretion” from earlier this season. Gul Dukat is paying the price for bringing his half-Bajoran daughter, Ziyal, back with him to Cardassia. For the grave offense of not killing his own kid, Dukat has been demoted to a mere freighter captain.

His latest assignment takes him, naturally, to Deep Space Nine. He needs to escort someone on a diplomatic mission, and that person is, naturally, Kira, whom Dukat is still smitten with, naturally. (It feels like every other man who steps foot on that station must fall in love with either Kira or Dax.)

Along the way, they encounter some threatening Klingons. Klingons and Cardassians are enemies at this point, so after Dukat and his crew seize control of a Klingon Bird of Prey, the fallen Gul sees an opportunity to reclaim his personal honor: He and his crew will become guerrilla resistance fighters, striking at Klingons without the usual legal or diplomatic constraints.

The episode fits nicely into a broader redemption arc for Gul Dukat. Unfortunately, later seasons never cemented the redemption, opting instead to regress Dukat to villainy. He indeed makes a great villain, so I understand the writers’ temptation even if I would have preferred a different outcome. Nevertheless, this episode at least points to an interesting what-if scenario, as Dukat’s new journey parallels Kira’s earlier experiences as a resistance fighter opposing Cardassians.

In another notable development, Kira gains a ward of sorts. She wants to spare Ziyal the resistance-fighter life. Having lived through it herself, Kira knows the young woman deserves better. So, she convinces Dukat to let Ziyal live on DS9 under her personal protection, which further solidifies the link between Kira and Dukat.

14. Sons of Mogh

Worf’s brother Kurn shows up at the station and has a special request: He wants Worf to kill him (ritually, but also literally). Worf’s previous defiance of the Klingon High Council has brought disgrace to his entire family, and Kurn believes this has ruined his life beyond repair.

Through Kurn, the episode explores the tension between Worf’s Klingon heritage and his human upbringing (and Starfleet career). But Worf still wants to be a good Klingon, so much so that he initially agrees to kill Kurn. Dax, who has her own long history with Klingons, figures out what’s going on and stops him. Sisko, pointing out the limits of cultural tolerance, chews out Worf for nearly killing his own brother. (This will not be the last time Sisko chews out Worf.)

Kurn survives, and Worf does everything he can to help his brother establish a fulfilling life, but Kurn retains his death wish, making him a danger to himself and others. Dax comes up with a way to kill Kurn without killing him, and Worf agrees. So, Bashir wipes Kurn’s memory and alters his features. Worf then sets him up with an old family friend to start a new life.

This poses the sort of tricky ethical conundrum that Star Trek excels at. Kurn himself did not consent to this procedure, but he would have gotten himself and maybe others killed without it. There is no tidy answer or lesson, just Worf’s pain as he meets a brother who no longer recognizes him and never will. And it all stems from Worf’s own previous actions, when he was just trying to do the right thing.

15. Bar Association

And now for something lighter. It’s another Ferengi episode, and this time, Rom leads Quark’s staff in that greatest of Ferengi sins: a labor strike.

The crew represents a nice mix of views on unions and striking. O’Brien encourages Rom, as an ancestor was a union hero in the early 20th century. Odo, however, shares Quark’s views for once—he sees unions as nothing more than a mob and source of disorder, but he’s required to let the strike proceed so long as it remains peaceful. Worf, fairly oblivious to the whole thing, unthinkingly crosses the picket line to get a drink, which leads to a brawl between him, O’Brien, and Bashir.

It’s a somewhat silly episode, as Ferengi episodes tend to be, but there’s some substance in the mix. Quark, similar to Worf in the previous episode, struggles to balance his duties as a Ferengi and his duties as a businessman operating on a Federation/Bajoran space station. Rom is doing the same in his own way. In the end, Rom finally establishes himself as his own man and steps out of his brother’s shadow, becoming a station technician (which suits his actual talents better anyway).

Meanwhile, the subplot focuses on Worf and his continuing difficulties in adapting to station life. His quarters get robbed, leading to an amusing exchange with Odo:

Odo: Unfortunately, these things happen.

Worf: They did not happen on the Enterprise.

Odo: Really? Now let me see … (grabs notes he conveniently has at the ready) Stardate 46235.7: Ferengi privateers led by DaiMon Lurin boarded and seized control of the Enterprise using two salvaged Klingon Birds-of-Prey. Stardate 45349.1: Berlinghoff Rasmussen, a petty criminal impersonating a scientist, committed numerous acts of theft against the crew of the Enterprise. Shall I continue?

Worf: That will not be necessary.

Always nice to hear a good Next Generation callback or two.

Ultimately, Worf moves into the Defiant, where he can enjoy some peace and quiet at last. It’s lonely and Spartan, and it’s just what he needs. Dax brings him a housewarming gift, songs from a Klingon opera, suggesting that perhaps Worf won’t be lonely for too long.

16. Accession

Sisko, the series’ leading man, played only supporting roles in the above episodes. So, we’re due for a proper Sisko-centric outing, and this one focuses on his involuntary side gig as the Bajoran Emissary.

When a previous Bajoran Emissary emerges from the Wormhole a couple of centuries after he entered it, Sisko finally has a legitimate way of relinquishing the position. But this old Emissary, Akorem, soon proves to be an extreme social conservative. He wants to bring back old traditions, such as reimposing a caste-based system in which people’s professions are decided for them.

The Bajorans don’t want to revert to the old ways, but their strong faith compels them to endure this trial despite their personal misgivings. Kira, too, is prepared to give up her position as the station’s major to take up pottery—never mind that she’s terrible with clay. This reversion would also jeopardize Bajor’s petition to join the Federation.

Fortunately, Sisko succeeds in helping Akorem return to his own time, and the captain resumes his role as Emissary—but now he’s developed a greater appreciation for the role and how it positions him to serve the Bajoran people. Altogether, it’s a nice character arc.

While that’s going on, the subplot focuses on the O’Briens and Bashir. Keiko returns to the station—pregnant. In another fun TNG callback, her pregnancy alarms Worf most of all, as he was the one who had to deliver Molly during a power outage.

With Keiko back, O’Brien wants to be a good husband and spend time with her, but she sees how much he misses his male bonding time with Bashir. Their bromance having fully blossomed, the guys miss each other, so Keiko concocts a couple of white lies to allow them to hang out in a guilt-free manner. It’s a little over the top but all in good fun.

The real development is the pregnancy. With this being a TV show, we can expect something other than a routine nine months.

Thanks for joining me for a look back at these episodes. We’ll check out some more in a future installment!

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I have completed my superhero prose series. All four books now exist in physical form. The Flying Woman. The Silver Stranger. The Faceless Man. And at last, The Green Shadow, which you can now find on Amazon (and soon, other platforms).

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I’ve been working toward this day since 2003, when I started writing a play about a young woman who develops telepathy and discovers that people she knows are secretly superheroes. That play, Super!, led to a pilot script for a nonexistent TV series I called Selfless, and that led to scripts for a comic book series I called Terrific, which inspired a prose series of the same name.

After a few failed novel drafts, I finally landed on the right story and published The Flying Woman in 2018. A second novel followed in 2022 with The Silver Stranger (the closest of the quartet to the original play, though still very different), and the third book struggled until I shifted from novels to shorter stories that build on each other, which I serialized here on Substack. Instead of a third and final novel, I ended up with two story collections: The Faceless Man and The Green Shadow.

Throughout all of that, the core premise remained constant: superhero identities as the cocoons in which people developed into their best selves.

In the superhero genre, at one end of spectrum you’ve got the purely benevolent, flawless superheroes of the Superfriends mold. At the other, the cynical non-heroes of The Boys and the like. To me, more interesting than either extreme is the question of how a flawed person becomes a true superhero. What’s it like for a fallible human being to try to live up to such an exceptional ideal?

That theme continues all the way through The Green Shadow, the basic synopsis of which reads as follows:

This is the end. Maybe the end of everything.

For two years, Miranda has tried to become the best Ultra Woman possible. She’s defeated many foes and rescued countless lives. But she hasn’t saved everyone.

Her failures haunt her in the form of the Green Shadow, an ominous specter that lingers in the corner of her eye, reminding Miranda that she isn’t built to be a perfect hero.

In other tales, Alyssa meets a man who can create paradise, but only at a tremendous cost. Ken experiences a bizarre metamorphosis. Carey struggles to adapt to a flawed world. And a deadly villain prepares to strike at last.

This final sequence of stories brings the TERRIFIC series to its thrilling conclusion, as imperfect people must strive to be the heroes their world needs … or there may not be a world much longer.

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I never would have made it to this conclusion without lots of help.

A good developmental editor is essential, and I’ve been fortunate to have worked with two excellent editors on this series. Matthew Limpede taught me much about novel writing during the development of the first two books, and provided insightful and invaluable feedback throughout the serialization of the second two books.

Throughout all four, Justin Burks created a consistent visual identity with his superb artwork and design skills. His covers have the caught the eye of many a reader at book festivals and conventions. And those eyes can read the books smoothly thanks to , whose formatting expertise has ensured that the interior layouts of the last two books look good.

The series is in the process of developing an audio identity, thanks to the voiceover talents of Adrienne Stringfellow. You can already listen to her narrate The Flying Woman, and The Silver Stranger’s audiobook should be out any day now.

I’ve also got to give special thanks to the serialized stories’ most frequent commenters and sharers/restackers: , , , and . I appreciate it more than they’ll ever know. They’re all writers too, so check out their work.

And thank you to everyone who has read and/or intends to read.

Of course, the biggest thanks must go to my family for supporting me in all ways throughout all of this.

And now I bid farewell to my three leads: Miranda, Alyssa, and Ken. We’ve spent a lot of time together over the past 23 years, and now I leave their futures to your imaginations. (We’ll always have marketing, though.)

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We’ve had a lot of Spider-Man movies now, and a surprising number of good Spider-Man movies. But the last time we had a good Spider-Man movie that captured the feel of classic Spider-Man comics was back in 2004 with Spider-Man 2… until now, with Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

I’ve enjoyed the previous three Spider-Man movies with Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, as well as his appearances in other MCU films. He was more of a Spider-Man in training, though, often coming across as a junior Avenger rather than a young man struggling with the weight of his various responsibilities.

The third one, No Way Home, managed to wrangle a blatant gimmick into a strong movie, teaming up three Spider-Man actors and several Spider-foes while still functioning as a coming-of-age story for the current Spider-Man. It was impressive and tremendously fun, but not exactly a traditional Spider-Man tale.

The animated Spider-Verse movies also shouldn’t work but somehow are wonderful, and this year’s Spider-Noir series delivered an unexpected treat. Nevertheless, after all this time with the Avengers and in multiverse stories, Spidey is overdue for some friendly neighborhood action.

Brand New Day is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, who co-created the surprisingly excellent Wonder Man series on Disney+. The new movie continues where No Way Home left off and swiftly fast-forwards through the intervening years. The world has forgotten Peter Parker, giving him a clean slate and a fresh start, which he uses to become a full-time Spider-Man.

And as Spider-Man, he’s thriving. He’s stopping bad guys left and right, and New York loves him. He’s got a good working relationship with the NYPD; he stays in regular contact with Captain Jean DeWolff (played by The Bear’s Liza Colón-Zayas), though it’s all business, despite her efforts to offer some maternal advice to the young man. There’s no Daily Bugle or J. Jonah Jameson condemning him as a menace, which is the main departure from the comics.

So, Spidey is doing great, and Peter Parker is not doing much of anything. His former girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) have no memory of him, so Peter can only observe their lives from afar and remember the human relationships he’s lost.

(I’m about to get into spoiler territory, including a major one later on.)

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Brand New Day is all about the balance between Spider and Man. As Peter embraces his superhero role to the exclusion of all else, the arachnid aspects of his DNA spike to toxic levels, throwing him dangerously out of whack.

It’s a solid metaphor for Peter’s emotional turmoil, and it gets at the core of the character—who he is, as well as why fans have followed his stories for decades. The Spider-Man action is great fun, but Peter Parker’s struggles anchor it all. Spider-Man is not Spider-Man without Peter Parker.

There’s more going on, of course; Spider-Man should never have only one problem to deal with. While his powers are mutating and he’s missing his friends, he also needs to stop an uncanny new antagonist who has busted the Scorpion (Michael Mando) out of the Damage Control facility. This mysterious foe then threatens MJ to warn Spider-Man against interfering further.

Along the way, Spider-Man comes into contact with multiple guest stars from different corners of the MCU: Frank Castle, the Punisher (Jon Bernthal); Bruce Banner, the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo); and Yelena Belova, the Black Widow (Florence Pugh). Yelena is the only who feels shoehorned in at all. She’s entertaining as always, but her cameo does feel like a token offering to broader MCU world-building.

Overall, the movie manages to capture the feel of a lived-in MCU without subordinating Spider-Man to any other character or larger story. Comic book Spider-Man has frequently engaged in all sorts of team-ups. The series Marvel Team-Up was dedicated mostly to pairing Spider-Man with a variety of other Marvel characters. Having these other characters pop up feels a lot more natural than pretending that Spider-Man is the world’s only costumed crimefighter.

The Punisher is the standout guest star, and I say this as someone who was never a fan of Punisher comics. Jon Bernthal’s portrayal is the only version of the character I like. He humanizes the Punisher, and he’s had a versatile run so far. He debuted in Netflix’s Daredevil, spun off into his own Netflix series, returned in Disney+’s Daredevil: Born Again, and even starred in a standalone, ultra-violent special, Punisher: One Last Kill. Each time, he manages to showcase a different side of Frank Castle while remaining fundamentally the same person.

And he does that again here, fitting the Punisher into a brighter comic book world. He’s still got that hard edge, which makes him a great foil for Spider-Man. Both have something to learn from the other. Spidey keeps reminding Frank not to kill the bad guys, and while Spider-Man is keeping everyone at arm’s length, Frank would give anything to have more time with the family he’s lost.

The movie quickly establishes that Spider-Man and the Punisher already have a history of running into each other. It all occurred off-screen, but that’s fine. It adds to that lived-in feel—yes, this Marvel world has been running for a while, but you don’t need to have seen dozens of movies and shows to understand what’s happening now. I still want a proper Spider-Man/Daredevil team-up, but this one works too. Watching Spider-Man and Punisher working together against a mind-controlled Hulk is pure popcorn fun.

To proceed any further, I need to discuss a major spoiler.

The antagonist brings in a whole different corner of the Marvel Universe. Sadie Sink of Strangers Things fame is playing none other than Jean Grey of the X-Men. But she’s not an X-Man here. There’s no indication that there is such a team. Thankfully, she’s not the Phoenix either; no cosmic stuff in this movie.

This Jean is just a young woman with a strange power who’s going to great lengths to rescue her sister, and she’s crossing some lines in the process. At first glance, she’s indistinguishable from a full-fledged villain. Controlling various innocent minds is not the behavior of a superhero, after all.

And yet, this pre-heroic Jean makes a great Spider-Man antagonist. I previously wrote about Spider-Man’s first comic book appearance and how he was written as a villain in the making, until tragedy snapped some sense into him.

This portrayal of Jean follows that tradition. At this point, she can go either way, and indeed, she seems poised to end up as a Magneto figure—understandable motivations, but clearly in the wrong. When Spider-Man figures out who the real villains are, he needs to save not only Jean’s life but her soul as well. Exactly right for a Spider-Man story. Some bad guys are straight-up evil, but some just need help getting back on track. Peter, who easily could have ended up as a bad guy himself, understands this.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a busy movie but not overstuffed. It just feels like a good run of comics—more specifically, a good run of Spider-Man comics.

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When DC slaps “Year One” onto a title, it’s usually worth a look. The DC pantheon features the quintessential iconic superheroes, and the Justice League in particular often showcases the best of the best.

But they weren’t always the best. Their heroic personas didn’t solidify on day one. The first year, by nature, is a dynamic one. Everyone has to start somewhere.

Batman had the inaugural “Year One” storyline in 1986-87, and that remains the pinnacle (and the reason the label keeps getting used). I’ll take Batman: Year One over The Dark Knight Returns any day.

A strong contender for my second favorite, though, is JLA: Year One, a 12-issue miniseries (or “maxiseries,” as they call minis of such length) that ran in 1998 and 1999. It easily ranks among my favorite Justice League comic book storylines of any era.

The Justice League of America debuted with a roster of seven characters in 1960: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and the Martian Manhunter. But Superman and Batman just cameoed then. The other five were the true founding members.

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DC revamped its continuity in 1986 after Crisis on Infinite Earths (another 12-issue miniseries dubbed as a maxiseries). In the revised timeline, Wonder Woman didn’t arrive on the scene until later, so editors and writers needed to find a replacement. Wisely, they selected Black Canary, another superheroine whose history got overhauled in the post-Crisis landscape.

(And the character did indeed benefit from the streamlining. I could fill an entire post describing how the pre-Crisis Black Canary migrated from Earth-2 to Earth-1 and turned out to be her own daughter, who grew up while kept in suspended animation. Sometimes you just need to clear the decks and start fresh.)

That gave JLA: Year One a main cast of Flash (Barry Allen), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Black Canary (Dinah Lance), Aquaman, and the Martian Manhunter. And the book truly is about these five people. The plot does its job, but the real joy is seeing early versions of great characters learning to work together as they develop into the superheroes we know and love.

Mark Waid, who co-wrote the book with Brian Augustyn, says in the introduction to the trade paperback:

And while I’m as much a fan of a good clockwork plot as the next writer, I will go to my grave insisting that characters and their struggles are far more important than plot. No one remembers plot.

He’s correct, and he does that with this series—but without shirking the plot. The first issue picks up right after the characters’ first team-up (which was presented in a Secret Origins #32 a decade earlier). A related threat gives the team a reason for sticking together, and it creates a through line for the series, giving it a solid structure. Still, I didn’t eagerly buy every single issue because of the plot. I bought and looked forward to each issue because of Flash, Green Lantern, Black Canary, Aquaman, and the Martian Manhunter.

This version of the Flash was dead in DC’s present-day continuity at the time. Waid was also writing (and Augustyn was editing) the Flash title that focused on Barry’s successor, Wally West, who was a more dynamic and interesting Flash overall. Barry served as a pristine example of stalwart heroism, and he was basically looked upon as a saint.

But Waid and Augustyn also managed to make Barry interesting in JLA: Year One. He’s a good guy through and through but still a little unsure of himself, and he lacks the charisma of Green Lantern and Black Canary. Ironically, he’s just a little slow figuring himself out, and that makes him all the more human.

Green Lantern, on the other hand, personifies confidence—to a fault, which causes him to struggle all the more with any setbacks. Like Barry, Hal had died in the present-day DC books. Unlike Barry, Hal was no saint, as editorial decisions sent his character flying off the rails. (Eventually, Hal and Barry both got better.) So, in 1998, it was a treat to see the more classic, heroic version of Hal Jordan in this series, where his mistakes stemmed from inexperience and the character’s organic flaws, not misguided efforts to push the envelope.

Black Canary provides the link to the world’s first super-team, the Justice Society of America. Her mother (Dinah Drake-Lance) served in JSA as the original Black Canary, albeit without the sonic-scream power. The younger Dinah, who’s only 19 here, frequently references her idols in the Justice Society. Despite continuing the Black Canary legacy, she resents her mother’s constant advice and yearns to be her own person. But she’s on track to repeat one of her mother’s worst mistakes, as an attraction develops between this new Black Canary and the engaged-to-be-married Flash.

Aquaman was new to the surface world at this point, so the writers lean into his understandable distrust of humanity. He wants to find a place to belong, but he also needs to work through plenty of doubts, which his experiences on the surface keep reinforcing. In a nice touch, Aquaman mumbles at first because he’s still adjusting to how sound travels outside of water. But he doesn’t mumble when he’s angry.

J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter, also has reasons to distrust humanity. He remains a stranger in a strange land, fully aware that he’s the sole alien on a team that was founded while defeating aliens. How J’onn’s paranoia plays out resembles a key element of Waid’s later run on the then-current JLA title, and it advances the overall plot of this book in a character-driven manner.

Barry Kitson’s artwork brings it all to life in each issue. He’s got a clean, clear style that’s ideally suited for this mix of dynamic action and expressive characters. Excellent artistic casting.

The chemistry among the five leads is top-notch. The lineup exudes that special magic that all the best super-teams have. I would have read an ongoing series of this specific Justice League.

The primary JLA title at the time was also great, but its chief drawback was that most of its A-list cast already starred in their own titles. Their main storylines needed to happen in their own respective books, and JLA needed to keep track of and reflect any developments. The big hook for a Justice League title is seeing great characters acting perfectly in character as they work together and bounce off each other. But everyone’s status quo needs to coordinate with various other titles.

That was less of a concern in JLA: Year One. The miniseries couldn’t conflict with established continuity, but no other title was featuring these characters at this specific point in their careers. The writers had more room to maneuver, which helped facilitate a classic team dynamic in the vein of the Teen Titans or X-Men. (The excellent Justice League animated series had a similar advantage.)

You know going in that these five characters will reach the upper echelon of super-heroism. They’ll set the example for others to follow. But they’re not there yet. Their heroic personas are still taking shape. This results in a best-of-both-worlds approach, blending the larger-than-life heroism of DC with the sort of character friction and human fallibility you’d expect more from a Marvel book.

I haven’t seen this miniseries make any “Best of” lists for Justice League stories, and subsequent continuity updates negate most of it. DC’s New 52 relaunch in 2011 restored Wonder Woman to founding status and kicked out Black Canary, and it also replaced J’onn J’onzz with Cyborg and cemented Superman and Batman as full-fledged founding members. I’m not sure where things stand today.

But the benefit of having multiple continuity options is that you get to pick your favorite and consider it definitive in your own mind and imagination.

So, in my mind, the JLA: Year One cast is the definitive roster of founders, and I’d absolutely place these 12 issues among the Justice League’s greatest hits.

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The Green Shadow, the fourth and final Terrific book, is in production and should be out in paperback and ebook this August. For now, I have a cover to share. Justin Burks has once again created the art and design, as he’s done for the previous three books, and I’m thankful he was available and willing to complete the series.

Here it is:

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And now for the official synopsis:

This is the end. Maybe the end of everything.

For two years, Miranda has tried to become the best Ultra Woman possible. She’s defeated many foes and rescued countless lives. But she hasn’t saved everyone.

Her failures haunt her in the form of the Green Shadow, an ominous specter that lingers in the corner of her eye, reminding Miranda that she isn’t built to be a perfect hero.

In other tales, Alyssa meets a man who can create paradise, but only at a tremendous cost. Ken experiences a bizarre metamorphosis. Carey struggles to adapt to a flawed world. And a deadly villain prepares to strike at last.

This final sequence of stories brings the TERRIFIC series to its thrilling conclusion, as imperfect people must strive to be the heroes their world needs … or there may not be a world much longer.

I haven’t set a specific publication date because I’m not doing preorders. Once it’s ready, it’s going live.

Until it’s published, the serialized versions of these stories will remain free to read, and then paywalls will start going up on most.

If you’d like, you can start here:

And if you missed last week’s finale, here it is:

I did need to cut one story from the final book to keep the length down, so both parts of “The Improbable Origin of Fantastic Man” will remain free and web-only. This is chronologically the earliest story of the whole series and doesn’t spoil later developments.

Special thanks to for the always-helpful editorial feedback throughout the serialization process. As with the previous volume, I couldn’t have done it without her. (And as usual, any remaining errors or oddities are my fault, not anyone else’s.)

Of course, you can also read the first three books (the first two of which were never serialized anywhere). I won’t stop you.

The Flying Woman

The Silver Stranger

The Faceless Man

The Second Audiobook

Meanwhile, the second audiobook is also in production. I’ve listened to the first half of The Silver Stranger, narrated by Adrienne Stringfellow, who voiced the audiobook of The Flying Woman as well. It’s sounding great so far, and it should be out within the next few months.

Here’s the synopsis for the second novel (which you can already read in paperback or ebook) …

Alyssa Henson hates that super-powers have become real.

She had once dreamed of exploring outer space but kept her feet on the ground and settled for a more conventional life. And now, people are soaring overhead, outracing sound, transforming into photons, and so much more.

It’s unnatural. It’s weird. It’s dangerous. And it needs to stop.

The villainous Doctor Hades agrees. When Alyssa acquires power of her own, she joins forces with the Terrific Trio’s archenemy to erase all superhuman abilities—even those of her heroic best friend—in order to save the world.

In this exciting sequel to The Flying Woman, a new vigilante emerges as The Silver Stranger, a mysterious mind-reader who would rather spy on the thoughts of others than examine her own.

More to come! Thank you!

Read the Original "Terrific" Novels

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(And yes, I’m sending this week’s post a few days early since it’s timely.)

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is not the epic poem, but it is an epic movie. It follows the basic structure and spirit of the original, reinterpreting where needed to fit a medium that didn’t even exist when Homer (or perhaps “Homer”) composed the 24-book poem in or around the 8th century B.C.

A different world gave birth to Homer’s Odyssey, and yet the epic has endured as a timeless classic. So much of it still resonates and sparks the imagination, despite all the epochal shifts of many centuries. Democracy, Christianity, the Magna Carta, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, numerous revolutionary movements, and various concepts of morality all came after, and The Odyssey survived it all. It’s one of the foundational stories, and we’ve all been building on it ever since.

(There will be some movie spoilers but not a full play-by-play.)

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A translation should stick as closely as possible to the original, but an adaptation has room for creative license. And some adaptations should find different angles to explore and new connections to draw. Public domain classics offer a great opportunity—they allow us to interpret them anew, combining our unique perspectives and creativity with the enduring wisdom of the past, thereby creating something familiar but new. Some interpretations will work and some will fall flat, but it’s often a worthwhile exercise.

Nolan’s movie is recognizably The Odyssey, but it’s The Odyssey as only he and his crew can do it. He mines the source material and finds a good spot to dig deeper: the character of Odysseus himself, as portrayed by Matt Damon.

Homer’s version of the character is archetypal, a cunning soldier trying to get home after a long war. Odysseus’s original claim to fame was that he devised the Trojan Horse ploy during the Trojan War. It was a clever deception, but it was indeed a deception.

Nolan’s script realizes and drills into the fact that Odysseus broke the rules. The cunning soldier played against conventions and social norms to trick the Trojans. They trusted a gift, and Odysseus violated that trust for the benefit of his own people. How can they trust anyone or anything after that? They can’t. Odysseus understands that after the betrayal of the Trojan Horse, people will trust each other less going forward. The fabric of civilization has frayed, and he shares a significant part of the blame.

This gives Odysseus stronger personal motivation. The gods intervened more directly in the poem, and while they clearly still exist in the world of the movie, Odysseus himself bears more responsibility for everything that happens.

In a smart bit of consolidation, the script combines two episodes: the memory-erasing lotus flowers and Calypso’s island. Here, Calypso feeds the lotus to Odysseus, initially so his body can heal without memories of the Trojan War and subsequent events tormenting him. But at some point, he’s choosing to forget, and that explains his long stay with Calypso. When he finally leaves, it’s not because the gods arranged it; it’s because he’s worked through his guilt and is at last ready to return home. That’s the right call for this movie.

Other nice touches abound, such as how Circe transforms Odysseus’s men into pigs. She physically molds their shapes, which is horrific, but the visible effort is much more effective than instant magic. Additionally, the characters speak in a fairly modern manner, but without much slang or quipping—a good happy medium.

The ending also diverges from the poem in a way that works for Nolan’s interpretation. All I’ll say here is that the movie does not end with Athena telling everyone to simmer down.

So, yes, I enjoyed The Odyssey. It’s a lengthy movie, but it earns its length. The script strikes the right balance of respecting the original while exploring new storytelling opportunities within it. It builds upon the enduring foundation of the ancient epic, just as other movies and books have done before. Before too long, someone else will create another version of The Odyssey that builds on the same foundation but works in a different way.

We’ve all got our own version of The Odyssey within us, and I’m glad Christopher Nolan got a chance to share his.

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Arrow debuted on the CW in 2012 with its feet firmly on the ground, eliminating any hint of sci-fi or fantasy throughout its first season. And yet this grounded series spun off an entire shared TV universe of DC superheroes (becoming much less grounded along the way).

Fans know the world of Arrow, Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, and more as the Arrowverse. For a while, it was tremendous fun. Not prestige TV or anything, but fun.

Marvel attempted a similar trick decades earlier, using a grounded take on the Hulk as the gateway to a shared TV universe of Marvel superheroes. They got as far as introducing Thor and Daredevil before the whole thing stalled out. Perhaps they were ahead of their time, but in other ways, these TV movies were very much of their time.

The Hulk had already achieved television success. The Incredible Hulk ran for five seasons, beginning in 1977. Of all the prominent Marvel characters, the Hulk was among the best suited for a TV adaptation. He never needed to fight supervillains, as he already carried his own worst enemy within him at all times, but he could aim his monstrous side in the right direction and help people in need.

Comic book Hulk was frequently looking for a place to belong. Hulk and/or Bruce Banner would find a peaceful setting where he might find acceptance or at least not hurt anyone. But then circumstances would inevitably ruin the tranquility, sending the Hulk raging into the next adventure.

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In the comics, the possible settings were limited only by the writers’ and artists’ imaginations. In issue #140, for example, the Hulk tumbled into a microscopic fantasy world that allowed him to be Bruce mentally and the Hulk physically, and he fell in love with this world’s princess. He had finally found happiness—until a foe ripped it all away.

That would have been a bit much for television budgets and special-effects technology in the 1970s. No tube TV could contain the full might of the Hulk. So, they cut out the most outlandish elements. They cut so hard that they even threw away Banner’s first name, changing him from Bruce to David for reasons that I’m sure made perfect sense to someone at the time.

Bill Bixby played David Banner. For the Hulk, they cast a muscular man and painted him green. (Lou Ferrigno’s physique required no CGI.) Banner, presumed dead by the world, sought a cure for his condition; he was always on the move from place to place and job to job while dogged reporter Jack McGee (Jack Colvin) pursued him. Those three men were the only series regulars, as Banner’s travels kept bringing him into contact with new characters and new situations. But each episode would end with him once again alone and moving on. Cue the “Lonely Man” theme.

That’s a good formula for episodic TV, and it’s what that era of TV needed. You could tune into any random episode and immediately know the score, but it left room for enough variety. That worked for a while.

To my knowledge, the Hulk himself was the series’ only significant sci-fi element. And he was much weaker than his comic book counterpart. TV Hulk vs. comic book Hulk would be like Spider-Man vs. Superman. But he was still plenty strong enough for the situations he faced.

The Hulk returned to the small screen with a TV movie in 1988. This time, he was no longer the strangest thing in his world, as The Incredible Hulk Returns introduced Thor. Or something resembling Thor.

As with the Hulk, the writers and producers reduced Thor to television proportions. The Marvel version of Asgard was out of the question. Most of his powers were, too. This Thor was basically a very strong man with a hammer, about equal to TV Hulk. They also tried to replicate the Bixby/Ferrigno magic, but with a different dynamic.

Marvel Comics had introduced Thor with a dual identity back in 1962. Don Blake, a frail doctor, discovered the hammer of Thor, which transformed him into the Norse god. Marvel eventually dispensed with this secret identity, retconning Blake as a means by which Odin taught humility to Thor. And then he was just Thor.

The TV movie brought back the Blake/Thor duality, but they put more of an Aladdin spin on it, crossed with a heavy dose of Captain Marvel (the Shazam version). This Don Blake (Steve Levitt) is a former colleague of David Banner. He’s discovered Thor’s tomb, as well as the mystical hammer (which anyone can pick up—worthiness not required!). Now, when Blake holds the hammer and says “Shazam!” “Odin!,” the ancient warrior Thor appears. And Blake can put Thor back in his “bottle” at any time (the script frequently acknowledges the genie parallel).

This Thor (Eric Kramer) is a formidable fighter and a man out of time, but also a jolly fellow who craves the pleasures of life. They were clearly setting up an Odd Couple dynamic, pairing gawky, smart Don Blake with the charming, tough, fish-out-of-water Thor.

It’s not exactly Thor as we know him, but Thor-adjacent perhaps. It might have worked as a TV show, or perhaps even a strange sitcom.

We did not get that series, but the following year saw the release of another Hulk TV movie, The Trial of the Incredible Hulk. You know if there’s any legal action in any Marvel Universe, Matt Murdock needs to show up. (You’d think Banner’s own attorney cousin, Jennifer Walters aka She-Hulk, might make an appearance, but no.)

Daredevil is a more natural fit for TV than Thor. For starters, you only need one guy to play both Matt and Daredevil (and here, that actor is Rex Smith). Even so, the TV movie plays it safe, fearful of looking too much like a comic book. These were more cautious times.

Instead of the familiar red costume, we get an all-black outfit with a black mask covering the top half of his head. The basic design resembles the look depicted in the Man Without Fear comic book miniseries, as well as the first season of the Netflix Daredevil series. You saw it here first! (If you were watching Hulk TV movies in 1989, that is.)

Apparently, Foggy Nelson and Karen Page weren’t good enough for a network TV Daredevil, so they gave him a new female legal partner and new male receptionist. Otherwise, this TV Daredevil fits a basic Daredevil shape. Blind attorney by day. Vigilante martial artist by night. His one true love: justice! He’s simply the budget version, complete with a radar sense that resembles 1980s computer graphics.

And at last, we even get a comic book villain, sort of, as John Rhys-Davies plays Wilson Fisk. (Can we call him the Kingpin? No, that sounds like it’s from a comic book. People might snicker.) This crime lord doesn’t look too much like the Kingpin, but he’s got a rich voice and a strong physical presence. He even dips his toes into campy villainy. Only very slightly, though.

This movie is another backdoor pilot (that led to no actual pilot), and yeah, it’s easy imagine this just-the-basics Daredevil carrying a case-of-the-week legal procedural that tosses in some vigilante action … in 1979. But this was 1989. One year later, DC would have a Flash TV show that had no qualms about showing a man in a distinctive red suit.

The Hulk had one more live-action TV outing, The Death of the Incredible Hulk. I haven’t see that movie, but as far as I know, it did not further expand this fledgling Marvel TV Universe.

And then that was it, leaving the previous two TV movies as a failed experiment and what-if curiosity. If nothing else, they represent a more innocent time. Remember when any live-action Marvel character seemed special? We received so little that we had to take whatever we could get.

Of course, a Daredevil TV series finally did arrive in 2015 and was excellent, so the real lesson here might be that patience is a virtue.

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Supergirl’s greatest nemesis may be film critics. They did not like her 1984 movie (which is not a good movie, but it’s not as abysmal as its reputation either). Many aren’t too taken with the new one, which opened last week. Rotten Tomatoes is sitting at 54% while IMDb is at 6.1. Sounds like a thoroughly mediocre movie, doesn’t it?

Not exactly. There are valid criticisms, absolutely, and it’s entirely fair to dislike this movie for a number of reasons. As much as I enjoyed it, I’d do some things differently myself. It is far from perfect. For example, film critics would indeed have made a more interesting nemesis than the villain we get here, which is the movie’s biggest flaw. But its greatest strength is Supergirl herself, as portrayed by Milly Alcock.

This Supergirl is not the wholesome kid of the Silver Age comics, nor is she as wholesome as the Superman we saw in last year’s movie. She can be rude and crude at times, which may be off-putting to anyone looking for the classic Supergirl of the ’70s and ’80s or even something like the CW version played by Melissa Benoist.

2026’s Supergirl features a modern reinterpretation of the character. But it’s a reinterpretation that makes sense, and one that distinguishes Supergirl from Superman.

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For Superman, Krypton is merely his point of origin. He’s lived on Earth for as long as he can remember. He may mourn his native planet and the countless lost lives, but it’s essentially a historical tragedy that’s removed from his direct experience.

Krypton is very tangible for Supergirl. Kara grew up on the last surviving Kryptonian city, and she watched it slowly die. She lost everyone. That’s obviously traumatic, and she’s still grieving. Earth is not yet home; it’s merely a lifeboat. Her dog, Krypto, is her last direct link to everything she’s lost.

However, despite her pain, despite her rough edges, she remains a heroic character overall. She represents the goodness that can survive the end of the world, and that cements the whole movie, despite some flaws.

This version of Supergirl, as well as the basic plot, is adapted from the 2021 comic book miniseries Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, written by Tom King with art by Bilquis Evely. The comic is excellent, and as is often the case, the book is better than the movie.

Early in the movie, Kara and Krypto have traveled to a planet with a red sun, where her powers don’t work, so she can get drunk and numb her pain. A young girl walks into the bar. Ruthye (Eve Ridley) has recently watched a horrible man kill her parents, and now she’s looking to hire someone to help her get revenge. Kara doesn’t want to get involved, but she also doesn’t want this girl to succumb to vengeance or put herself in danger.

When that same horrible man, Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts), shoots Krypto with a poison dart, Kara needs to pursue him across the galaxy to get the antidote. She has three days before the poison kills her dog. Ruthye, committed to revenge, tags along despite Kara’s objections, so now Supergirl needs to save the girl’s soul as well as Krypto’s life.

The save-the-dog trope is becoming perhaps too popular, but it works here, as Krypto is more than a beloved pet. This dog is truly all she has left of the life she once knew. These two survived the end of the world together. Superman may be her last blood relative, but he hasn’t gone through what they have.

David Corenswet reprises his role as Superman in a few scenes. The guy just wants his cousin to be happy, which is exactly right. You can see how much he cares, and how he wishes he could do more, but his great powers can’t fix Kara’s pain. The 1984 movie needed Christopher Reeve but didn’t get him, so thankfully the new movie rectifies that error with Corenswet, who again proves himself the right man for the role today.

Former Aquaman Jason Momoa returns to the DC Universe as Lobo, an irreverent, amoral intergalactic bounty hunter. I never had any interest in the comic book Lobo. He showed up a lot in ’90s comics. He was even a main contestant in the Marvel vs. DC crossover (where he lost to Wolverine). So, I’m familiar with him, but he’s not my sort of character. Nevertheless, Momoa is perfectly cast and clearly revels in the role. He brings a fresh energy to the screen whenever he shows up. I still wouldn’t watch a Lobo movie, but Lobo fans should be happy here.

Krem, however, is a barely functional villain. Evil, yes. Formidable, yes. But flat and forgettable. He’s almost interchangeable with his own subordinates.

Comic book Krem was more interesting. He starts as a tough but thin-skinned jerk who killed Ruthye’s father over a perceived insult to his honor. Then he ventures out into space for the first time, and circumstances allow his worst qualities to bloom. He becomes absolutely monstrous (while remaining a man with no innate powers). That’s far more interesting and dynamic than movie Krem, who’s basically a run-of-the-mill space pirate/slaver, albeit a physically powerful one.

The movie’s visuals also pale compared to the comic book. Evely’s art is inspired and distinctive. The movie looks fine, just lacks that special flair. When a movie involves an interstellar odyssey in a comic book universe, imagination should radiate from each new locale. We don’t get much of that here.

I watched this review by Dan Murrell, who’s far more critical of the movie, and he makes a good point: This is essentially the second act of Supergirl’s character arc.

It’s interesting to consider how this movie might have played if it was a sequel. Imagine a first movie focusing on Kara on Earth, having recently arrived and feeling out of place. Or we could have met her on Krypton and gotten to know the people she’s about to lose, and then see her adjust to this alien Earth for the first time, where she’s asked to adopt a variation of her cousin’s identity. How does she feel about playing this Supergirl role on Earth right after having lost everything?

There’s a whole other story before this one, and yes, it might have enhanced this movie.

Alternatively, a more faithful adaptation of the comic could have filled an eight-episode streaming/TV miniseries—one episode to cover each issue. The comic strikes a good balance between episodic and long-form storytelling, focusing on different chapters of Kara and Ruthye’s interstellar odyssey without losing sight of the overarching narrative.

On the other hand, the movie’s script provides enough context to stand alone. Whereas last year’s Superman was establishing a new DC Universe, this movie focuses on its own story without that additional pressure. Even Lobo’s guest appearance doesn’t feel like it’s trying to set up anything else. At under two hours, Supergirl is admirably efficient, concise, and self-contained, even if it does leave room for improvement.

For me, the pros outweigh the cons. They won’t for everyone, but I’m happy with what we got.

Older Super-Posts

I wrote about three different Super-movies last year, so if you’re still in a Super-mood, check out those posts below:

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We’ve got another 100th birthday to celebrate this Sunday, June 28. Joining Dick Van Dyke in the ranks of centenarians will be a younger man named Mel Brooks. You may have heard of him. He’s only the king of parody.

I wrote about Brooks a couple of years ago, focusing on his directorial debut, The Producers. Everything I said still applies, so let’s start here:

Of course, The Producers was the first of many movies, and even that wasn’t the beginning. Brooks co-created Get Smart a couple of years earlier, and he got his start writing for Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows back in the early 1950s.

But among his many works, only one is about to get a sequel 40 years after the original: Spaceballs, the 1987 classic that spoofs Star Wars—and pretty much everything else along the way.

You don’t need me to rehash the plot of Spaceballs. It’s not really about the plot. It’s about having fun. Not to ridicule, not to point and laugh at Star Wars or its fans, not to feel superior to anyone. Brooks laughs at tyrants, Nazis, and other totalitarians, but he laughs with the rest of us.

Spaceballs is a joyful send-up of the sci-fi/fantasy films we love even though some aspects can be kind of silly if we think about them too much. But we still love them anyway, because we’re all kind of silly if we think about ourselves too much.

Some of the jokes are low-hanging fruit. “In a galaxy very, very, very, very far away …” “Pizza the Hut.” “Snotty beamed me twice last night.” “What’s the matter, Colonel Sandurz? Chicken?” “I am your father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommate.” In isolation, any one might be a groaner, but Brooks achieves a special snowball effect. Absurd gags pile on top of each other, getting funnier and funnier as the movie builds momentum.

Spaceballs rolls along with a childhood sense of play. It is frequently juvenile, but adult concerns occasionally peek through. The villains’ master plan is to steal all the air from a planet, which is entirely ridiculous, but they need the air because they screwed up their own planet’s environment, which is more plausible. And how do the villains implement this ridiculous master plan? Their spaceship is basically a Transformer, and it transforms into a giant robot cleaning lady, which then proceeds to vacuum up the planet’s air. It’s downright whimsical.

There’s also a great running meta-gag about the movie’s own product placements. Spaceballs: The Breakfast Cereal! Spaceballs: The Flame Thrower! Spaceballs: The Towel! Spaceballs: The Placemat! It just keeps going, and it works every time, because product placements are inherently ridiculous, as if to say, If you like these characters, you’ll especially love them eating them for breakfast!

Gloriously absurd.

An excellent one-off joke involves giant combs, as Dark Helmet’s men comb the desert to hunt down the good guys.

Colonel Sandurz: Are we being too literal?

Dark Helmet: No, you fool, we’re following orders. We were told to comb the desert, so we’re combing it.

A kid-friendly visual gag leads to a clever swipe at dumb totalitarian stooges. Brilliant.

Mel Brooks offers himself up for laughter too. In addition to directing and co-writing, he plays two supporting roles: the inept, corrupt President Skroob, and Yogurt, the wise Schwartz sage and marketing guru. He injects much of himself into both roles (and all the letters of his last name into one) to the extent that nobody else could ever play these parts.

Spaceballs: The Search for More Money New One will come out in 2027, before Brooks turns 101. He’s not directing or writing this time. Once you reach the century mark, you should probably leave that kind of work to others. But hopefully he’s up for a Yogurt cameo. It wouldn’t be Spaceballs without him.

He did, at least, announce the sequel, and no one could have done it better.

Happy 100th birthday, Mr. Brooks. We’ll see you at the premiere!

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A good idea is nice and all, but it’s no guarantee of success. Lousy execution can kill a good idea outright.

But what about the inverse? What if you had a bad idea but executed it so well that, in defiance of all odds, it became good?

Spider-Noir is not a good idea. The new Amazon Prime series reimagines Spider-Man as an over-the-hill 1930s private investigator who quit being a superhero five years earlier after failing to save his fiancée. It’s noir, but with Spider-Man. Not Daredevil or Batman. Spider-Man. The quippy young teetotaler in red and blue, but as a hard-drinking old P.I. in a trench coat and fedora.

Into the Spider-Verse and Across the Spider-Verse were also not good ideas—Spider-Man is too grounded for a multiverse adventure, let alone two or three. But both movies were excellent.

And I enjoyed Spider-Noir as well. Technically, it spins out of the animated Spider-Verse movies. Nicolas Cage had voiced a noir version of Spider-Man in the first one, and now he’s reprising the role in live-action. You don’t need to have seen the Spider-Verse movies, though. You don’t need to have read the Spider-Man Noir comic books either. You don’t even need to know anything about Spider-Man. This entirely stands on its own, and that’s key. Strip away all the Spider-Man connections, and then suddenly this doesn’t seem like such a bad idea after all.

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The 1930s and 1940s work for superhero stories. That’s the era that birthed them, and it remains a comfortable fit. Plus, the low-tech environment keeps things from getting too out of hand. We’re less likely to encounter excessively powerful super-characters or cosmic stakes in the midst of the Great Depression.

Two years ago, Prime released the first season of Batman: Caped Crusader, which also seemed to be set in this era. I don’t think it was explicit, but the aesthetics, atmosphere, and technology were circa 1939. Maybe Prime is cornering the market on early- to mid-20th-century superhero shows rejected by Disney and Warner Bros.

Spider-Noir’s Spider-Man connection is ultimately a marketing strategy. It’s an effective one, as a noir take on Spider-Man will draw more curious eyes than an entirely new superhero noir. It also adds an extra layer of fun for Spider-Man fans as we recognize familiar characters in this reimagined setting.

Nicolas Cage’s character goes by Ben Reilly, not Peter Parker. If you read Spider-Man comics in the 1990s, you likely know that name from the infamously long-running clone storyline.

His superhero persona is simply the Spider. No “-Man” included, and no relation to the 1930s pulp vigilante of the same name.

Cat Hardy (Li Jun Li) fills the femme fatale role, and her name is clearly a nod to Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat. Of all Spider-Man’s romantic interests, she would be the one to adapt into this noir setting, even if Cat Hardy is an entirely new character with a similar name. Brendan Gleeson plays the crime boss Silvermane—again, very different from his comic book counterpart, other than being a crime boss, but he’s one of the better options for a noir villain. The three super-powered antagonists are molded from Sandman, Electro, and Tombstone (played by Jack Huston, Andrew Lewis Caldwell, and Abraham Popoola, respectively), though two are merely misguided while one is indeed a hammy, scenery-chewing maniac.

The reporter friend, Robbie Robertson (Lamorne Morris), is based on the friendly Daily Bugle editor of the same name. (There is a Bugle here, but no J. Jonah Jameson.) Karen Rodriguez plays the role of Ben’s secretary, Janet Ruiz. I’m not sure who her comic book counterpart is, so either she’s a new character or there are limits to my Spider-knowledge.

With a few minor adjustments, you could remove the Spider-Man elements from all of these characters and keep basically the same story. An aging superhero in the 1930s has lost his way, but a new threat pulls him back into action, forcing him to confront his personal demons so he can once again become the hero the city needs. That’s a good concept. It’s not a new concept, but it is a reliable one. That’s the real foundation that Spider-Noir stands on.

Spider-Noir mixes classic superhero and noir tropes, and most importantly for something called Spider-Noir, it has fun with them. Series creator Oren Uziel and crew take everything seriously enough to avoid parody, but they primarily aim to deliver quality entertainment. And they hit that target.

There’s humor, action, strong personal stakes, even some horror. And of course, there’s Nicolas Cage being Nicolas Cage as he does his best hardboiled Jimmy Stewart Spider-Man. Have you ever wondered, “How would Nic Cage portray an old-timey guy who’s been infused with a spider-like essence?” If so, you’re in luck! You can always count on Nic Cage to commit to the bit, no matter how bizarre.

Prime offers two viewing options: full color or black-and-white. The latter is the obvious choice, and it’s the only way an old-school private investigator can pull off a Spider-Man mask.

Also, appearing in a couple of episodes is Andrew Robinson, who Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fans will recognize as Garak. And I did recognize him fairly quickly, even thirty years older and without his Cardassian makeup. There’s no mistaking those eyes or that voice.

The show doesn’t elevate any genre it plays with, and it will not change your life. But if you’re looking for a fun series that’s a little offbeat, checking out Spider-Noir would not be a bad idea.

(And if you’ve watched it in full color, let me know what you thought of that version!)

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Welcome to Olympus City, where super-powers, physics-defying tech, and unearthly creatures are all possible now. Human nature, however, remains unchanged.

No one is born a perfect superhero, but a few strive to live up to the ideal anyway.

Announcement! The first Terrific novel, The Flying Woman, is now available as an audiobook. Check it out here, or read the full announcement. Plus, you can listen to the excerpt below, which the narrator, Adrienne Stringfellow, was nice enough to put together.

And now, the final Terrific story continues …

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This week will be a little different, however …

Please excuse me as I exercise some personal privilege this week and talk about my own work. I’ll be back with commentary next week (perhaps about Spider-Noir—I’m six episodes in, and it’s surprisingly fun so far).

Terrific, my superhero prose series, kicked off in 2018 with the novel The Flying Woman. At long last, I’ve added an audiobook version.

Listen to The Flying Woman

Here’s the basic blurb:

Superheroes are supposed to be perfect. They’re also not supposed to exist, but one has recently emerged, in defiance of all known laws of physics. Miranda Thomas is hardly concerned with any of that. She’s focused on little else but her lifelong ambition of becoming a movie star … until she discovers a fatally wounded woman who seems much more than human.

This encounter gives Miranda an opportunity to become only the second superhero her world has ever known. But how can she become a perfect superhero when, for all her power, she’s only human?

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The Terrific series features flawed but aspirational superheroes. The goal is to become a classic selfless superhero, but how does someone build themselves into that ideal? It’s not a quick or easy process. Miranda is no paragon on day one, but maybe she can get there. Maybe.

The Flying Woman is the very beginning. If you’ve been reading the serialized Terrific stories, you can think of it as a prequel.

It was fun to revisit a novel I wrote several years ago, and the timing worked out well; I was listening to the first book while writing and revising the final Terrific story. Full circle. While of course there are little bits and pieces I’d do differently in 2026 compared to 2018, I’m still happy with it. I enjoyed my own work, which I suppose is a good thing.

But with an audiobook, I can’t take all the credit. A talented narrator is key, and I was fortunate to find one.

These days, Amazon offers authors the option of adding a “virtual voice” to our books, but I never considered that for a second. I was a theatre major back in college, and I focused on playwriting. Listening to actors interpret and perform my scripts was a joy. It was never exactly what I envisioned, but it was usually better. Their creativity enhanced my own. Multiple heads are better than one head plus a robot.

I’ve experienced the same working with cover artists. Justin Burks has illustrated and designed each Terrific cover, including the Audible version of The Flying Woman shown above. Each time, I give him some basic ideas, and he comes back with far better ideas, and the final product far surpasses whatever I was picturing. At pretty much every convention or book festival, I receive compliments about his book covers.

And it’s the same idea here. Through the Audible audition process, I found Adrienne Stringfellow and quickly knew she was the right fit. Her performance brings each character to life, and the book is better off for her skill. I definitely needed to cast a real actor to voice this aspiring actor-turned-superhero. I’m glad I did.

Adrienne has narrated other audiobooks, so be sure to check those out as well.

Listen to The Flying Woman

Meanwhile, I’m polishing the final Terrific book, which will collect the current volume of serialized stories. It will be called The Green Shadow, and I hope to have it ready by the end of the summer. If you’ve been following along, the final storyline kicked off last Sunday. More to come!

Old Posts

But I know some of you are here for the commentary, so I’ll share a few old posts you may have missed.

In honor of Spider-Noir, here’s an old review of Across the Spider-Verse:

In honor of the upcoming Supergirl movie, here’s a look back at the 1984 original:

And Google seems to like this old post about Perfect Strangers, so let’s keep the momentum going:

I’ll be back next week with proper new commentary! Thank you for reading!

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