r/MauLer

A couple of days ago, I asked for the community's help in helping me compile the worst, most common defenses for bad movies/shows/games/etc. I've read every reply and this is what I was able to come up with. Feel free to screencap this for use when you're on the Internet. Maybe I can get a bingo while looking at the defenses for the ending of a certain superhero show...

EDIT: The board is complete!

Exactly what it says in the title! I wanna fill this board so I'm opening it up to the people. Ones that immediately come to mind:

• *Wanking about media literacy
• "Fuck you, I had fun."
• "Wait till the next episode/film/season!"
• "You just didn't get it."
• *Whataboutism to a different, unrelated thing
• "[X property] was always bad"

About to watch Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon for my Contemporary World Cinema class and I didn’t even realize Ang Lee directed it until like a week ago. Naturally, this made me think of Hulk since his name was predominantly attached to it, and it’s one of the first films I remember being enthralled by as a kid, so I decided to give it a little rewatch before my class.

For 2003, I think the film still holds up fairly well. It’s nice to see some inspired art direction in a piece of superhero media after years and years of their films looking mostly the exact same. And the CGI on Hulk isn’t too bad either. Sure, there are some shots that look quite weird and off-putting, but I’d argue there are others that look really good. Great even. The actors also do quite well. There isn’t a bad performance I can think of besides maybe Bana in a few instances. Even Josh Lucas was kind of funny (especially his death). Easily the best performance was Nick Nolte, though. Holy shit, can that guy put on one hell of a show. That last scene with him and Bruce prior to their fight it great on his part.

As for the story itself though…it’s whatever. I wouldn’t say it’s terrible or even broken, it’s just kind of there. There are a few points where it gets somewhat enticing, but much of it feels like it’s been done better in other things. The whole “discovering the monster inside you” angle is really nothing new, I don’t think the film did quite enough with it to make it stand out a little more. And there are a few contrivances. Like how does Bruce’s father manage to get back inside the lab when it was already stated to have been closed off and under surveillance. And how did his father even manage to escape? They show later he was being carted off to presumably some prison after the explosion and killing Bruce’s mother, but just exactly how did he get free? This motherfucker blew up a top secret military research base and killed his wife in front of his young son. I’m suprised they didn’t execute him on the spot

I did like Betty’s relationship with her father, though. I think it’s a little better than the one they portrayed in The Incredible Hulk. I also thought connecting Bruce’s alternate persona with his backstory was quite neat, especially during the final battle. I’m glad it was wasn’t something just appeared out of absolutely nowhere, and the film even took its time to sow seeds during the opening to imply Hulk was always there, just to a lesser extent. It’s something that the MCU didn’t quite right when it came to the character’s origin in that film, even though The Incredible Hulk was supposed to be a sequel to this movie at one point.

Overall, probably a 5/10 for me. Perhaps I’d have to give it a bit more of an in-depth look to give its story a better chance, which I might do honestly. Either way, this movie’s practically a diamond in the sludge of today’s superhero landscape, as least in my humble opinion.

Other quick thoughts: action sequences are fairly cool, the editing was a little jarring at times (the fucking zooms and boxes, holy), and the main theme is still Incredible (pun fully intended).

But what are your guys’ thoughts on the film? I would love to hear some differing takes from people on this sub, and maybe I’ll learn some new things. Either way, I always love the discussions that get started here. Even if it does turn a little messy sometimes.

I am still formulating my full thoughts on the series, but I unfortunately saw the shows writer (I think it was Tom King) talking about the reasons why the sheriff lady didn't get hauled off to jail and it just kinda upset me a little. There's so much to discuss when it comes to this show and I have no glue how the boys are cover this show in just one stream, but if they're gonna do so let's just hope it's a long one.

As someone who likes most of Tom King's work, liked Superman, and defended the first few episodes, Lanterns is awful and insulting.

Initial Post Here: https://www.reddit.com/r/MauLer/s/KEF5BOWxkn

I think I still stand by most of what that post was getting at. Creators should be willing to let a show take some risks/mystery and Hal Jordan's portrayal in the first few episodes isn't unfaithful to his original character. However, I understand anyone that wants to lampoon me for defending this show in the beginning. I want to go over my biggest problems with the show in a fun way.

In Brightest Day

The show presents Hal at the beginning as old, disheveled, and dead. This wouldn't be a problem if we ever saw Hal as the hero he was. We don't see what changed in 2006 that made him forego the Halogram updates. Nobody but a bitter Carol Ferris shows up to his funeral. Friends like Oliver Queen, Barry Allen, Kilowog, and so many other heroes, civilians, and Lanterns should mourn Hal Jordan, but in this universe no one does. The one time we actually get to see Hal Jordan's story, it is used as a vehicle to show that Hal Jordan is depressed and his family has a history of suicide. I don't even hate this change to Hal's lore in concept. In the comics, his father is incredibly underdeveloped, but they don't do anything with it in this show other than make you feel more bad for Hal. I can understand Gunn wanting to adapt the Hal that was around when Gunn himself was reading comics, but that veteran version still had the entire Silver, Bronze, and Copper Ages beneath his wings. He had the Silver Age fun sci-fi adventures, the Bronze Age grounded activist stories, the Copper Age space epics. Here he is nothing other than a charming old asshole. Even if Lanterns was as good as Logan, that movie wouldn't be that satisfying if it was the only Wolverine adaptation of that universe. It is insulting that Hal Jordan dies for no reason to an OC that he loves. From the first episode my mind was filled with theories as to how his death could perfectly adapt so many stories but the writers were not interested in reading them I guess. In the 90s, after turning evil, Hal is shot by his best friend Oliver Queen (Green Arrow). In death, his spirit becomes the Spectre, the agent of God's vengeance. Somehow this show's story was more interesting than that to the writers.

In Blackest Night

I was tempted to make this section about race for the meme but I actually don't have much to say about that. This phrase is the first part of the oath that is changed for John's oath in the last scene.

Here is the full old one:

>"In brightest day, in blackest night
No evil shall escape my sight.
Let those who worship evil's might,
Beware my power... Green Lantern's light!"

Here is the full new one:

>“In brightest day, in darkest night,
I'll embrace my fear, I'll do what's right.
I choose this ring, I choose this fight,
In service to this lantern's light.”

Blackest Night is one of the most beloved DC stories. The word "blackest" even evokes something different and more thematic to the Green Lanterns. Space and death aren't exactly dark, they are black (well actually Death is a goth white girl but you get the point). The idea that Green Lanterns don't embrace fear is incredibly weird. A lot of Green Lantern stories are about them accepting and overcoming their fears. It's only when they try to ignore their fears and let themselves be consumed by them, like with Sinestro or Hal in Emerald Twilight, that they become evil. Did John choose this? He was raised to be a Green Lantern then denied it after some trauma and then got the opportunity to actually become Green Lantern a decade later. This sounds like cope from him? What's the virtue in choosing to become a Lantern anyway? It's not like Superman or Batman exactly feel like they are choosing to do good every day. It's what Uncle Benjamin said to the Man of Spider. "If you could do good things for other people then you have a moral obligation to do those things." Why is he doing these things in service to a Lantern made by Sinestro? Is John Stewart evil?

No Evil Shall Escape My Sight

Everyone gets out of this show scot-free, except for Hal Jordan for some reason. John Stewart's abusive parents are never reprehended. The girl who extorts John Stewart gets the money. Kerry is never imprisoned for murder. The genocidal robot alien is allowed to roam free. The Guardians get away with ruining this family's lives. It's just ridiculous. Guy Gardner is chewed out by John for no reason. Guy's like the most heroic Green Lantern so far (lmao) and John is bitching at him. There is a Green Lantern comic story titled after this part of the oath where Hal deals with a corrupt landlord because "no evil shall escape his sight." This show would find some way to vindicate the landlord.

Let Those Who Worship Evil's Might

The Manhunters are a fleet of robot terminators made by the Guardians to instill order throughout the universe. They are alien Ultrons with an odd hierarchal fascination. They even have a signature phrase.

>"No Man Escapes the Manhunters."

This is all tossed away. Hector Hammond is tossed away. Black Hand is tossed away. Sinestro is in two scenes. Instead the show is preoccupied with making what should be a buddy cop dynamic between John and Hal into a murderous rivalry. The villains of this show are John, Hal, John's family, the Guardians, and even the Sheriff. The Manhunters are an afterthought. Sinestro is an afterthought. Tom King has even used many parts of Lantern lore correctly in his other work. A Manhunter is a main character in Danger Street and that story is great. Do these writers think that an HBO audience can't handle any of this? Should they have cut out the dragons from Game of Thrones and had lizards instead?

Beware My Power... Green Lantern's Light!

I have seen plenty of people online turn against this show. I fully turned against it with episode four. Grace Randolph turned against it with the finale. However, there are still plenty of shills who will defend this. This show is getting a season two. It did incredibly well unfortunately. We will have an evil John and a dead Hal for the foreseeable future. I don't regret giving the show a chance, but I lament any investment I had in this universe. I am going to look forward to Mister Miracle and then this universe can burn for all I care. I used the word apophenia in my initial post to describe my feeling that Mauler and other creators were misattributing Lanterns to a pattern of beating down legacy heroes for newer ones. I still don't think it matches that pattern. Hal Jordan isn't really a hero that has beloved big works like Indiana Jones. He's big in the comics and that is about it. I think this far more matches the pervasive phenomenon of creators adapting work and then not reading the source in favor of making something more "interesting" and "innovative." Nolan's Odyssey, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Marvel's Wolverine... all of these fit perfectly into the modern writers' aversion to reading.

Here is a short list of some actually good Green Lantern stories if you want to do something that modern writers can't do apparently:

• Hard-Traveling Heroes (Green Lantern/Green Arrow road trip while dealing with pressing issues of the 70s)
• Emerald Dawn (Hal's origin)
• Justice League International (comedic adventures starring Guy among others)
• Geoff Johns' Run (sprawling definitive epic)
• The New Frontier (Non-Canon story reinterpreting all of DC mythology with Hal as a main character)

If someone can let Mauler know, unfortunately the official EFAP YT playlist is now backwards :-/ so autoplay/autoadvance is completely screwed as it stands.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6A9eYEQJWqt_D5BUjrmKrOhWZE3aB9CL&si=TzoCJcoft-pPV4N9