archmagi1 |
"Winnzone" made his move! Benoist gave a really good emotional surprise performance in that moment. I think as the back half the season finishes, her unrequited #1 will further distance himself (I'm guessing a proposal to not-Lois), and she'll settle for her #2, who she actually does have romantic feelings for, albeit overshadowed by the mythological James Olson. My guess is that it will come to a head midseason 2, when James leaves not-Lois at the altar, and Winnzone will become a villain for the finale of 2. Especially now that we've seen his true emotional doomsday scenario (toyman).
Aberzombie |
This episode was pretty ok.
The Jimmy/Lucy subplot was annoying.
Good to see Martian Manhunter flying around and being awesome! I can understand his reluctance to use his powers, considering he was hunted for so long. Damn it, though, J’onn is a better telepath – there’s no way he would have wiped that dude’s mind unless he wanted to. And that just doesn’t fit the character.
On that note – from next week’s preview, it looks like some new alien might be coming after J’onn. Some other alien who can look human, but has eyes that can glow. Could it be? Maybe the other reason he didn’t want to use his powers is that he’s on the run from some white martians. That would be awesome.
Lastly, I continue to dislike Lex Lord. I’ll say again, if you’re going to have a science genius/wealthy business man/Machiavellian villain with a Super-person obsession, why not just have the real thing? I’m sure it’s just something about they wanted to reserve the real Lex as a Superman movie villain. If that’s the case, the least the writers could do is give the fans of the show the common f~+~ing courtesy of not have a Lex clone. Make him his own man, without practically every aspect of his characterization pulled from a far superior villain. They could have pulled lots of elements from the old characterizations of Max, back during his JLA days, and made a far more interesting opponent.
CBDunkerson |
'Lex Lord' rant in spoiler
I don't really agree with your take on this.
Yes, they added 'scientific genius' to the character... but otherwise I don't see anything Lex related and plenty that is Lord specific. For example, Lex never had the same kind of conspiracy theorist hatred of authority figures that Lord displays in this show AND various previous incarnations. Lord, all versions, also seems to have issues with 'powered individuals' in general rather than just Superman in particular like Lex.
At that... Lex Luthor started out as a pure 'mad scientist' type and only became a business tycoon in later incarnations. Maybe the modern take on him should be called 'Lex Lord'?
Aberzombie |
Evil genius scientist and ruthless/wealthy businessman?
Lex – check
Max – check
Obsessed with a Kryptonian?
Lex – check
Max – check
Creates a Bizzarro?
Lex – check
Max – Looks like they’re going in that direction
All he needs now is a bald head, some Kryptonite, green & purple power armor, and his journey to the Luthor Side will be complete.
Yes, they kept his distrust of authority, which he had until he became an authority, at which point they began to evolve it. First he became another manipulative figure of power, using superheroes for his own purposes (both under control of an alien computer and free of that control). Later he even became friendly with them, and sort of a genuine good guy in his own way, although still manipulating events with his mental powers. Much later, they evolved him into the full-blown, hates superheroes/metahumans and fights to protect normal humans even though he is a metahuman, villainous leader of Checkmate.
And that’s my problem. The character has a lot of stuff they could be doing with him. A history going back nearly 30 years. Controlled by an alien computer. Host to an other-dimensional magic-using villain. Cyborg. Psycho leader of checkmate. So far, he’s Lex with a bit of misogyny thrown in for good measure. An obvious antagonist with a genius-level intellect, vast scientific knowledge, and a mad-on for anyone with a red-cape and an “S” their chest, coupled with determination to win against that person. From the beginning, they should have made him more of a schmoozer: greasing palms, manipulating events, and using his charisma to get Supergirl on his side, under his control. We should have been left wondering – is he really a bad guy, or is he just drawn that way?
Aberzombie |
Well, that theory didn't wait long for confirmation....
First look at the White Martians on CBS’s Supergirl
And that look is...AWESOME!
MMCJawa |
Evil genius scientist and ruthless/wealthy businessman?
Lex – check
Max – checkObsessed with a Kryptonian?
Lex – check
Max – checkCreates a Bizzarro?
Lex – check
Max – Looks like they’re going in that directionAll he needs now is a bald head, some Kryptonite, green & purple power armor, and his journey to the Luthor Side will be complete.
Yes, they kept his distrust of authority, which he had until he became an authority, at which point they began to evolve it. First he became another manipulative figure of power, using superheroes for his own purposes (both under control of an alien computer and free of that control). Later he even became friendly with them, and sort of a genuine good guy in his own way, although still manipulating events with his mental powers. Much later, they evolved him into the full-blown, hates superheroes/metahumans and fights to protect normal humans even though he is a metahuman, villainous leader of Checkmate.
And that’s my problem. The character has a lot of stuff they could be doing with him. A history going back nearly 30 years. Controlled by an alien computer. Host to an other-dimensional magic-using villain. Cyborg. Psycho leader of checkmate. So far, he’s Lex with a bit of misogyny thrown in for good measure. An obvious antagonist with a genius-level intellect, vast scientific knowledge, and a mad-on for anyone with a red-cape and an “S” their chest, coupled with determination to win against that person. From the beginning, they should have made him more of a schmoozer: greasing palms, manipulating events, and using his charisma to get Supergirl on his side, under his control. We should have been left wondering – is he really a bad guy, or is he just drawn that way?
It's pretty par for the course with the CWverse shows, which are run by the same folks as Supergirl. Take a good plotline or iconic element from one character/series, and adapt it over to the one they can actually use. Arrow frequently borrows batman stuff, and rumors suggest that Felicity may become Oracle.
Flash is about the only one that avoids this for the most part, and that is because Flash is an A-list character with a lot of material to mine.
phantom1592 |
At that... Lex Luthor started out as a pure 'mad scientist' type and only became a business tycoon in later incarnations. Maybe the modern take on him should be called 'Lex Lord'?
This is my take as well. I have a hard time considering anything a rip off of lex luthor, when he's so very much a rip off of everything else.
The whole 'businessman with nefarious schemes but liked by the public so nobody believes he's evil...' and combined with 'Scientist' is so common it's basically a trope at this point. Max is certainly filling the 'lex' role... but honestly, if they HAD put lex there, then it would be even harder to explain away Superman. Supergirl can't get Kryptonians, Jimmy AND Lex without Superman doing SOMETHING else in the show.
Honestly, that's my biggest issue with the show. Too many Krytonians running around with Superman stepping in. DOES NOT MATTER that he wants Kara to develop on her own... We're talking KRYPTONIAN ARMY. He should be helping... and she should be grateful for that help. This threat is TOO big, and too personal to justify sitting on the sidelines.
Aberzombie |
The whole 'businessman with nefarious schemes but liked by the public so nobody believes he's evil...' and combined with 'Scientist' is so common it's basically a trope at this point.
Lex has been around so long, the argument could be made that he helped make this a trope.
Honestly, that's my biggest issue with the show. Too many Krytonians running around with Superman stepping in. DOES NOT MATTER that he wants Kara to develop on her own... We're talking KRYPTONIAN ARMY. He should be helping... and she should be grateful for that help. This threat is TOO big, and too personal to justify sitting on the sidelines.
Indeed, this is one of the other things about the show that annoys the hell out of me. They were content to have Superman show up briefly, saving Kara from Reactron. The implication was that because Reactron had nearly killed him, he was worried the villain was about to do the same to Kara. And yet, when a bunch of Kryptonians start flying around and attacking (and are far more likely to be able to kill Kara), Supes suddenly wants to give her space to grow into the woman and hero she can be?!?
That's just f$~#ing stupid.
Kalshane |
Right. If it was just Astra and Non, I could understand Clark staying out of it, because it's personal for Kara and 2-on-1 isn't too terrible, especially since she has J'onn backing her up. But them having a dozen Kryptonians, it makes zero sense that they 1) haven't already conquered the Earth or 2) Supes hasn't made stopping them his number one priority.
Norman Osborne |
uh I am okay with Lex Lord existing, since I have a sinking feeling he will be a more credible "Lex" than the one we are actually going to get in B vs S.
Undoubtably, if only because Lord has an entire series to grow and develop within.
If BvS Lex has ANOTHER real estate scheme, I'm giving up on the character ever having a theatrical adaptation that's worth a damn.
phantom1592 |
Lex has been around so long, the argument could be made that he helped make this a trope.
To a point... but the business man who covers his tracks was really more Kingpin then Lex till the 87 reboot. Silver Age Lex spent a LOT of time in jail for his mad scientist ways.
Right. If it was just Astra and Non, I could understand Clark staying out of it, because it's personal for Kara and 2-on-1 isn't too terrible, especially since she has J'onn backing her up. But them having a dozen Kryptonians, it makes zero sense that they 1) haven't already conquered the Earth or 2) Supes hasn't made stopping them his number one priority.
Y'know... if it gets revealed that Superman KNOWS that J'onn is involved and has her back... I'll retract a lot of my complaints about his absence. Because that actually WORKS...
Aberzombie |
If BvS Lex has ANOTHER real estate scheme, I'm giving up on the character ever having a theatrical adaptation that's worth a damn.
I'm pretty sure by now they're going less in the dumb f@## land scheme and more along the lines of "uses science and Zod's corpse to genetically engineer Doomsday". Like they seem to show in the trailer.
Norman Osborne |
To a point... but the business man who covers his tracks was really more Kingpin then Lex till the 87 reboot. Silver Age Lex spent a LOT of time in jail for his mad scientist ways.
Yeah, Norman Osborne (ME!!!) seems as if he was one of the first corrupt business man types in comic books. It was obvious (at least to the reader) well before the reveal that he was the Green Goblin that Osborne had his fingers in some bad business.
Norman Osborne |
Y'know... if it gets revealed that Superman KNOWS that J'onn is involved and has her back... I'll retract a lot of my complaints about his absence. Because that actually WORKS...
Well, from the way J'onn has talked, I assume that Superman at least knows that he is "Hank Henshaw" and is in the area.
I still think that they could have avoided all of this mess by using the old Superman chestnut that he's flown into space for some unspecified time and isn't on Earth.
...even if only to quiet the people who seem to insist that he should show up in every episode and kick Kara into a supporting character role on her own show.
phantom1592 |
phantom1592 wrote:Y'know... if it gets revealed that Superman KNOWS that J'onn is involved and has her back... I'll retract a lot of my complaints about his absence. Because that actually WORKS...Well, from the way J'onn has talked, I assume that Superman at least knows that he is "Hank Henshaw" and is in the area.
I still think that they could have avoided all of this mess by using the old Superman chestnut that he's flown into space for some unspecified time and isn't on Earth.
Ehhhh I find 'abandoning the earth to it's own problems' to be just as bad as 'left the planet'.
Aberzombie |
Well, from the way J'onn has talked, I assume that Superman at least knows that he is "Hank Henshaw" and is in the area.
Yeah, as I recall, when J'onn revealed his true identity to the sister, he said another or others (can't remember which) already knew. it makes sense that one of them is Superman. They've always had a good bond in the comics.
Aberzombie |
Aberzombie wrote:
Lex has been around so long, the argument could be made that he helped make this a trope.
To a point... but the business man who covers his tracks was really more Kingpin then Lex till the 87 reboot. Silver Age Lex spent a LOT of time in jail for his mad scientist ways.
Indeed, and that was 30 years ago. It's weird, sometimes, to think just how old some of the villain characters are. How come they never celebrate Lex's anniversary, huh? I'll tell you why! It's a conspiracy headed up by that damned alien, Superman! He's got it in for Lex! Always has! It's jealousy, really. Superman knows he could never pull off the bald look as well as Lex.
Aberzombie |
Woot! Awesome Martian on Martian action!
I also liked the backstory on J'onn and the death of the other Green Martians. It....worked. Better than anything short of the old 4-issue miniseries from back in the 80's. I wasn't sure why they added a seconded daughter, until the end - the parallel with Kara and her sister was a nice touch.
And that knock down fight was pretty f&ing cool. Wish we could have seen some Martian vision. Maybe next time they could do something more telepathic.....
The stuff with Adam and Cat was pretty cool. If nothing else, it gave Calista Flockhart some time to shine. She's a pretty damned decent actress. And still kind of a hot chick.
Damon Griffin |
One thing I did note from Cat's conversation with Adam. Cat knows full well what Kara's name is, and is deliberately getting it wrong. I find that a nice window into her and Kara's relationship
Hard to imagine her not knowing it, so I've been assuming she routinely mispronounced it on purpose, but didn't notice correct usage when she was talking with Adam.
Damon Griffin |
One thing I did note from Cat's conversation with Adam. Cat knows full well what Kara's name is, and is deliberately getting it wrong. I find that a nice window into her and Kara's relationship
Went back and rewatched, and still didn't spot Cat using Kara's name correctly. Which of her three scenes with Adam was it supposed to be in?
Greylurker |
Greylurker wrote:One thing I did note from Cat's conversation with Adam. Cat knows full well what Kara's name is, and is deliberately getting it wrong. I find that a nice window into her and Kara's relationshipWent back and rewatched, and still didn't spot Cat using Kara's name correctly. Which of her three scenes with Adam was it supposed to be in?
Cat didn't but Adam did and Cat didn't even flinch at it. She is one of the few people she would give her full attention to so there is no way she missed it, but she is still calling her Kyra seconds later.
Aberzombie |
Tonight's episode was....meh.
Bizzaro was...ok. The acting for the villain was a bit off, I thought. The opposite powers were pretty cool though, and the Kryptonite/anti-Kryptonite effects were good. The fight scenes were a bit mixed - some good stuff, lots of ok stuff.
And the scenes with Lord and Bizzaro were just kind of down right f&*#ing creepy. Dude came across as more of a perv than a super villain. The parts where he threatened the sisters was just more douchebag-ness.
The Adam thing was over way too quickly. And I cannot believe I just typed that.
Actually, it was mostly just badly written, I think. Who gets abandoned by their date the first time, then watches her get kidnapped by Bizzaro Supergirl the second time, then just lets said girl break up with you and walk away?!?
The little scene between Jimmy, Winnzone, and the whiskey was good.
Bizzaro Cat was awesome. As was seeing her return to normal.
Damon Griffin |
So, what's the DEO's viable option with Max Lord? They can't detain him indefinitely; they can't afford to release him outright, since he not only knows about Kara but can now make a legitimate claim against the DEO for abducting him; and J'onn has demonstrated that his mind wipe isn't a good precision tool.
Aberzombie |
He'll end up being a 3rd act enemy of my enemy ally, who sees the errors of his former human-supremacist mad scientist ways. He'll still be a mad scientist, but he'll be a morally gray instead of dark one, that makes us not feel so bad when he and Alex get back together for reals.
And then it'll be revealed that he was being controlled by an evil, alien computer built by this mysterious guy named Metron.....
Damon Griffin |
And then it'll be revealed that he was being controlled by an evil, alien computer built by this mysterious guy named Metron.....
This actually seems more likely than Max reforming his ways, unless it's the precursor to the change. Say he was always distrustful of aliens/superheroes, which allowed the alien influence to subtly corrupt him into the total dick he's been on the show so far. Remove the influence and you gain a reluctant occasional ally instead of a constant threat.
Feros |
I just wish they would give a good reason for his supergirl hate.
Yeah, my problem with Max is that his motivation behind his behaviour hasn't been well defined by the series thus far. They really need to get a good bead on his character or it will not stand up over time.
On the other hand, Winn is rapidly becoming one of my favorites on the show. His growing maturity and what appears to be genuine love for Kara are impressive as well as his self-depricating humour.
Ross Byers RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32 |
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Dragon78 wrote:I just wish they would give a good reason for his supergirl hate.Yeah, my problem with Max is that his motivation behind his behaviour hasn't been well defined by the series thus far. They really need to get a good bead on his character or it will not stand up over time.
I understood it to be the same motivation that drives Lex Luthor in Superman-focused narratives.
Ross Byers RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32 |
JoelF847 RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16 |