#Apparently I have more marvel comics lore in my head than I do DC | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

strong-with-the-sarcasm · 6 months

Text

Revenant!Jazz ideas:

Continuing from this DPxDC prompt of mine, I’ve had some more thoughts about Jasmine Fenton and Revenants, especially where it concerns DC lore and Jason Todd in particular.

———————-

In my original post, @starlightcat04 asked whether or not Jazz’s eyes would glow toxic green too. I propose that, no, they wouldn’t.

While it’s a common head canon that Ectoplasm is heavily influenced by emotions, Jazz’s Ecto-contamination is bone deep and pure, unlike Jason’s. So no, I don’t believe her eyes would glow green.

They turn from the teal she had in life to a smoldering green that reflects light just like a feline, with a heavily damaged sclera that is perceived as black in low lighting, with ash grey veins spreading from her eye sockets down to her jaw like tears.

Her once bright hair turns from a lively orange-ish red to the color of cooling embers.

That which caused her death, a punctured artery is half-way healed by the time Jazz reanimates in the crematorium, so not only is she supposed to be dead still, she also has to be very careful with her movements otherwise she could very well bleed out again before she is fully healed.

What else changes with Revenant!Jazz?

In exchange for a higher mental processing and the high damage absorption of Revenants, Jazz loses most (almost all) of her memories of her life. What she does remember is thankfully not her death, but rather Danny’s, his death scream and ghostly wail overlap in her mind, at times causing severe headaches and nausea.

(According to his wiki page, Jason spent a year in a coma and as an amnesiac vagrant, therefore it’s not entirely without precedent that Jazz wouldn’t keep hers.)

Her Ecto-contamination has to factor in a lot though.

Jason was revived by Superboy-Prime’s Reality Shattering Punch. Jazz was reanimated by her own willpower, aided by Ecto to allow her body to heal and regress the stages of rigor mortis.

———//:///////———-

What does Jazz need to accomplish as a Revenant?

In the original prompt I wrote that Jazz returned to keep Danny safe- broad enough for a prompt, but what exactly does “safe” for a halfa entail?

Let’s list the major threats to Danny’s health, beginning with the obvious: the Ghost Investigation Ward and The Fenton Parents.

The Fentons are capable of tracking Phantom by his Ecto-signature, creating and having created weaponry specifically designed to target the ghost in question, to which they pass that tech on to the GIW.

If Danny remains in Gotham, the ambient Ecto will scramble the tech over enough of a distance, but if Danny were in a line up of three people right next to a GIW agent he’d be clocked almost immediately.

So, the Fentons and the GIW have to go. How does this happen?

The greatest irony I could possibly inflict on these anti-ghosters- becoming ghosts themselves. I won’t go into detail about what my brain jumped to when I thought about that outcome, but let’s just say it was pretty dark.

(And karmically well-deserved.)

#3 on the list depends on where Danny is when Jazz is finished with numbers 1 & 2 on her list.

If Danny is is Gotham and staying there for the long haul, then I believe this girl would take one look at Batman’s rogue gallery and nope them so hard everyone in Gotham gets the sense of their world about to be rocked, but the ones she gunning for the most?

(Joker, Bane, Manbat, Firefly, Madhatter, Riddler…)

They get the sensation that someone just walked over their non-existent graves.

(I got a little gleeful demented imagining Jazz just straight up ripping Manbat’s wings clean off, burning Firefly alive and throwing a detoxed Bane into a crowd of vengeful Gothamites.)

(Jazz learns that Joker killed a young hero with a crowbar and a bomb. She’s fully onboard with turnabout being fair play when it comes to that Pennywise reject.)

(I can’t even begin to list every rogue Jazz cuts down, it she doesn’t kill all of them, just most of their number.)

(Gotham celebrates for weeks.)

(I’m not sure whether or not Jazz kills the four mentioned previously in a couple of nights, one night or over a a few months, but it doesn’t take as long as one might think.)

/://:///////:::/::::///////

What’s next for Revenant!Jazz?

I’m still writing The Regent series, so I doubt I’ll come back to this for a while, but I’ll still be posting ideas and whatnot about Revenant!Jazz. There’s still plenty to explore here, and I have a pretty angst/bittersweet ending for Jazz in mind I want to talk about later.

If you have any ideas to add, please feel free to comment! If anyone does write this, please let me know so I can read it!

#dp x dc #dp x dc au #dpxdc #dc x dp crossover #jazz fenton #dp x dc prompt #Revenant!Jazz #talking about Jason’s death like it wasn’t by fan request #did they choose his coffin by fan request too?#ramblings #ramblings of an insomniac Danny Phantom Phan #Apparently I have more marvel comics lore in my head than I do DC #I REALLY NEED TO STOP READING WIKIS #it’s a micro aggression against my need to sleep

107 notes · View notes

fandumbstuff · 3 years

Text

The DC Extended Universe, Ranked Best to Worst.

1. Wonder Woman Directed by Patty Jenkins

Wonder Woman might be the only good movie that DC has made. Patty Jenkins really hits the nail on the head and perfectly captures the voice of the character. For a character so old and so iconic, there are many versions of Diana’s story, but Patty Jenkins really manages to deliver a definitive version. Gal Gadot, like Christopher Reeve or Chadwick Boseman before her, is perfectly cast in a role that is so much more than just a movie character. Diana is as strong as she is compassionate. The character flaws she needs to overcome is her own naivete, rather than the misguided angst so many of DC’s other characters grapple with. While other action sequences in the franchise have been overly cluttered, Wonder Woman’s cinematography offers some of the slickest, most iconic action scenes in the genre. It’s an altogether incredible achievement and a milestone for cinema in general.

2. Wonder Woman 1984 Directed by Patty Jenkins

The greatest fault I could find with this movie is that it didn’t lean into the 80s setting more. It does tread the line of a rather schmaltzy central plot, but solid performances from cast members like Pedro Pascal make it believable. It’s an absolute joy to see Gadot and Pine return to their roles, and an even greater joy to see ther choice of outfits for every scene. Solid. While Kristen Wiig is expectedly brilliant like with everything she does, she’s handling a character arc that seems derivative and outdated. Like it’s predecessor, WW84 showcases some pretty stellar action sequences, with Jenkins once again showing a knowing eye for big, impressive set pieces paired with frenetically paced fight sequences.

3. Aquaman Directed by James Wan

After the convoluted mess of ensemble films like Suicide Squad and Justice League, and even some of Marvel’s recent fare, it was refreshing to see a more traditional origin story. This was ultimately what drew my interest to superheroes in general, and while this film doesn’t have the same elegance of a Superman (1978) or Batman Begins, it’s an origin story that modern audiences can sign on for easily. It’s strongest scenes are in the lore-expanding quest that Arthur and Mera go on, simultaneoulsy a National Treasure-esque adventure and a showcase for solid chemistry between Jason Momoa and Amber Heard. And while Ocean Master does seem like an exaggerated villain at times, It’s Patrick Wilson’s solid performance that manages to sell it and make him arguably the best villain DC’s had.

4. Shazam! Directed by David F. Sandberg

Obviously, an inordinate amount of fun. Shazam doesn’t try and be something it’s not. Ultimately, more than any other superhero film, Shazam understands that this genre was always intended for children. And while at times the plot might seem thin or the conflict inconsequential, Shazam never loses sight of it’s heart. A capable cast of child actors make this believable, and subverting the genre tropes makes the film charming and witty. While it seems overly simplistic in terms of it’s storytelling, in DC’s world of confusing plots, this is a welcome change.

5. Man of Steel Directed by Zack Snyder

Perhaps the strangest portrayal of Superman to date, Zack Snyder honed in on the mythos of the character and what makes him “super” Unfortunately, it seems to completely ignore what makes him a “man”. We’re left with a wholly alien representation of the character- a gross misunderstanding of who Superman is supposed to be. Horrible character choices for both Jor-El and Jonathan Kent leave Clark a shell of the hero he’s supposed to be. We’re left with a character more willing to grapple with moral dilemmas and his own inner angst than actually step up and do the right thing. Henry Cavill has an undeniably affective presence, and he certainly feels right for the role, but he’s never given a chance to actually play the part. Aesthetically pleasing to look at, and generally quite entertaining, it’s unfortunately the way Man of Steel fails its character that makes it so unbearable.

6. Birds of Prey (And the rest of the title) Directed by Cathy Yan

I mean, this is basically just a Harley Quinn movie with some other random characters thrown in. Considering Margot Robbie wrote the film, I find it particularly bothersome that the most work she does for character development is for her own character. We see brief intriguing glimpses of some of the other Birds and unfortunately never get more than a taste. Some of the fight scenes are handling quite capably, trading in the more grittier feel of the standard DC fare for more amusing prop and set work. However, much like Suicide Squad before it, I feel like the movie suffers from “soundtrack vomit”- a post Guardians of the Galaxy symptom in which a movie tries to assemble catchy songs and them slot them into the edit with no real motivation.

7. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Directed by Zack Snyder

An absolute misfire from DC in a sad attempt to make themselves relevant amidst Marvel’s runaway success. A focal point in the movie is the collateral damage caused by Superman in Man of Steel. And apparently the best way for the movie to deliberate on this is by exhibiting even more collateral damage. Showcasing the conflict between these two iconic characters seems like a good idea on paper, and it’s certainly been captivating in past comics. But the movie seems to devolve it into nothing more than a bar fight between two dumb jocks. We see Batman get cyber bullied by Lex Luthor, and Superman get coerced by a stupid plot hole. Then they beat each other up like idiots. A movie that spawned a thousand jokes, it’s really only worth watching to make fun of.

8. Joker Directed by Todd Philips

Apparently, this movie isn’t supposed to be counted as part of DC’s Film Universe. But I couldn’t resist the opportunity to remind you what a steaming pile of garbage it is. It would be inaccurate to even call this a movie. It’s really just a desperate actor trying to win an Oscar from an Academy that continues to be woefully out of touch. And an even more pathetic attempt by a incel director to stay relevant. The talented work from it’s cinematographer and composer force me to show some restraint from putting it at the bottom of this list, but rest assured- while there might be films I put below this, there are none I hate more.

9. Justice League Directed by Zack Snyder(?)

Painful to watch, I went into this movie with the lowest of expectations, and they were somehow not met at all. It feels altogether rushed, poorly constrcuted and boring all at the same time. They forego any need for world building and instead toss us headfirst into a horribly convoluted storyline. They rush through an origin for Cyborg and introduce Aquaman like he’s the douchebag you never invited who shows up to your houseparty. Batman over-compensates for his eye-rolling seriousness in the last movie by being overly witty in this one. And they solve Superman’s death by having a hilarious grave robbing scene that I guess is supposed to be funny but is so ridiculous to watch that it felt more at place in an Adam Sandler movie. And to top it all off, the movie in general is one big eyesore. It’s honestly painful to watch the shoddy CGI that constitutes the main antagonist and the waves of enemies we watch the JL plow through. And while the opening scene I think is supposed to be a last ditch effort for them to make Superman relevant, it would be promising if I could look past his god awful CGI lip.

10. Suicide Squad Directed by David Ayer

A hilarious comedy where the characters don’t actually have any dialogue and instead just speak in one-liners. A touching romantic drama where the Joker abuses Harley Quinn. A moving character study where Deadshot just wants to be a better father by killing Batman. A thrilling action movie where we hope the heroes can overcome Cara Delevigne’s dumb dancing and blow up the generic pillar of doom she’s summoned in the middle of Gotham. Suicide Squad is all of these things and more- so there’s my rousing endorsement.

16 notes · View notes

phantom-le6 · 3 years

Text

Film Review - Justice League vs The Fatal Five

Hello all, and welcome to my first review on Tumblr in the wake of Facebook scrapping its Notes functionality, thereby forcing me to shift platforms (a practice I hope I won’t have to keep repeating). To kick off my use of this new posting platform, I’m reviewing one of the two new films I got for Christmas, or rather the two films that are totally new to my collection; the other films I got were better copies of films I already own. Anyway, we’re taking another dip into the world of DC Comics direct-to-home release animation with a look at Justice League vs The Fatal Five.

Before we get in the review itself, however, quick bit of house-keeping for anyone who hasn’t read one of my reviews before. The structure of my reviews is intro paragraph or two, a plot summary for anyone who has seen the film before and wants to refresh their memory, then the review itself. The plot and the review are both clearly labelled, so to avoid spoilers just scroll past the section headed as ‘plot’ to the one labelled ‘review’. Got all that? Ok, then here we go…

Plot (adapted from Wikipedia):

In the 31st century, Mano, Tharok and Persuader of the Fatal Five attack the Legion of Super-Heroes' headquarters for their time sphere. Star Boy, Saturn Girl and Brainiac 5 try to keep them back but fail. Just as the villains activate the sphere, Star Boy leaps at them and is taken along. Arriving in the 21st century above Earth, Star Boy triggers a boobytrap Brainiac 5 programmed, trapping the villains inside the sphere in a stasis field. Star Boy comes down in Gotham City while the sphere ends up in Metropolis. Star Boy discovers his supply of medicine, needed to stabilize his mind, was destroyed in his rough landing. As his medicine doesn't exist yet, Star Boy's increasingly erratic behaviour gets him apprehended by Batman and taken to Arkham Asylum. The stasis-locked time machine is picked up by Superman and brought to the Justice League's headquarters for analysis.

Ten months later, Jessica Cruz is struggling with the trauma of her near-death by a murderer who killed her friends, making her afraid to leave her apartment. To add to her anxiety, she has been chosen by a Green Lantern power ring and Wonder Woman keeps trying to recruit her into the Justice League. In Gotham, Miss Martian is trying to prove herself to Batman for membership in the League, but her inexperience works against her good intentions. While trying to unlock the secret of the strange sphere, Mister Terrific accidentally brings down the stasis field, freeing its occupants. Superman and Mister Terrific fight them, but Superman is wounded by Persuader's axe and the villains escape.

Star Boy's memory is jogged by a news report of the fight, and he breaks out of Arkham. The Justice League members compare notes about these mysterious assailants and discover they are time travellers; and from Star Boy's words, Batman deduces that they are after Jessica. When the three villains attack Jessica, Star Boy comes to her rescue, followed by Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Mister Terrific, and Miss Martian, who force them into flight after a hard struggle. In the aftermath, Star Boy and Jessica form a close friendship based on the fact that both of them are struggling with their mental health.

To find out more about their guests from the future, Batman instructs Miss Martian to telepathically link them (Batman, Miss Martian and Jessica) with Star Boy's memories, thus learning about the Legion. They witness a battle between the Legion and the Fatal Five, which ended with the capture of Mano's lover Emerald Empress and Validus; as there was no prison that could hold them in the 31st century, the Legion took them to Oa in the 21st century. They also learn that if Star Boy misses more than two doses of his medication, it will cease to work and prevent him being in the Legion.

Upon their awakening, the League receives an ultimatum from Mano: Surrender Jessica or all American cities will be destroyed by bombs created by Tharok. The first bombings start in Metropolis, forcing the Justice League to move out. Left behind with Star Boy in the Watchtower, Jessica is contacted by Tharok through her ring, forcing her to surrender herself to the Five and enable them entry to Oa's prison cells. Despite interference by Kilowog and Salaak, Emerald Empress and Validus are freed, and when Jessica fights back, Persuader cleaves her ring in two. Afterwards, Emerald Empress has her Emerald Eye of Ekron steal the energy of the Central Power Battery, and the Five return to Earth to recover the time sphere.

In the meantime, Star Boy discovers Jessica's absence and informs the League. The heroes proceed to the time machine's location, a secret US military base, where the Fatal Five force them into battle. Emerald Empress subdues the Justice League and then initiates her master plan to use the Lantern's power to destroy Earth's sun, wipe out humanity, and thus prevent the formation of the Legion in their time. On Oa, Jessica recovers her faith and determination, and by reciting the Green Lantern oath, she reassembles her power ring. Brought back to her apartment by the ring, Jessica flies to the base and prevents the Fatal Five from escaping back to their own era by bringing the whole base down upon them, killing the supervillains.

Superman, Jessica and Star Boy race after the Eye, but are too late to prevent it from plunging into the sun. As the star cracks apart, Star Boy sacrifices himself by lowering himself into the sun's core and using his powers to reverse the fracturing. In the final scene as the Justice League members commemorate Star Boy's heroism, they are joined by the Legion who have come from the future to honour their fallen comrade. Batman also grants Miss Martian admission into the League for her bravery.

Review:

This film is basically an original story not adapted from anything in particular, and although it is done in the style of the DC Animated Universe that originally revolved around the Batman, Superman and Justice League animated shows of the 1990’s and 2000’s, it is apparently meant to be a stand-alone narrative. Cast-wise, we get back the like of Kevin Conroy, George Newbern and Susan Eisenberg to reprise their roles as the DC Trinity (Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman) from the Justice League animated series, and well-known voice actors like Kevin Michael Richardson and Tara Strong also feature in this production.

In terms of character, we’re certainly getting a bit of a different Justice League line-up while also getting DC’s future team the Legion of Superheroes worked into the mix, primarily through the character of Star Boy and the film’s antagonists the Fatal Five. In terms of the League itself, the customary League core that is the DC Trinity is in place, but then we have no Flash, Miss Martian in place of the better-known Martian Manhunter, and Mr Terrific to add to the team’s diversity in place of using Cyborg. Finally, we have Jessica Cruz as the team’s Green Lantern, and it’s the use of her and Star Boy in this film that makes this film stand out from any other DC films, because both of these heroes are neurodiverse.

As fans of more modern DC comics stories, or anyone who has looked into this film’s behind-the-scenes extras, will know, Star Boy is a schizophrenic, but by the 31st century there is medication to manage the behaviours that this form of neurodiversity can cause, so it’s not an uncommon idea among DC’s writers to show Star Boy getting trapped in our time without this medication. During the Justice League era between Infinity Crisis and Final Crisis (not long before DC did its new 52 reboot and decided to stick to buying pre-2000 Marvel lore), the comics did in fact do this as part of the Legion coming back in time to bring back Wally West, the then-Flash who had become stuck in the Speed Force with his wife and children during the Infinity Crisis.

By the same token, Jessica Cruz is a Green Lantern who has crippling anxiety following a traumatic event, so she’s having to use a lot of willpower to overcome that anxiety and function like anyone else. Given that Green Lanterns are chosen based on their ability to overcome great fear, not only does it make a lot of sense for someone battling anxiety to be chosen as a Green Lantern, but it also very effectively demonstrates a much more positive and healthier take on mental illness in the world of superheroes. Granted, DC isn’t being particularly original in this regard; Iron Man’s alcoholism in the comics and his PTSD in the MCU show that Marvel has at least one heroic character that they’ve been willing to showcase as a positive example of what people can do despite being mentally different to others. Sadly, neither company has yet done a good, positive, accurate take on autism yet, but then if they did, I’d have less fodder for my novel writing.

Putting two neurodiverse heroes at the core of this film really makes it a great one to watch just because for once it means the neurodiverse characters aren’t the stereotypical crazed villain types and the idiotic stereotypes that stem from such misuse of the mentally divergent in fiction get combatted a little. Granted, it would have been nicer if DC and WB could have demonstrated this kind of pro-mental health attitude in its live-action film wing by not making the Joker solo film and doing something more akin to this film in its place. There is no doubt in my mind that DC and WB need to put more of the staff behind their animated films on DCEU projects if it ever hopes to seriously compete with the MCU.

Otherwise, the film is largely just a good diversion; well-animated, well-performed, but not a huge level of plot depth despite putting two neurodiverse characters front and centre on the side of the heroes. Hopefully going forward DC and WB can address that on some future film, either animated or live-action. For now, I’m going to content myself by handing down a score of 9 out of 10.

3 notes · View notes

brevoorthistoryofcomics · 6 years

Photo

Back at the Drug Store, I was astonished and elated to find this issue of FANTASTIC FOUR in my latest dive through its big bin of somewhat-older comics. And the reason is that this issue pre-dated all four of the FANTASTIC FOUR issues that I’d previously found there. It was evidence that it was possible not only to fill in the gaps between those issues and the current ones, but also to delve back even further into the history of the series. So this was a pretty exciting turn of events.

This issue has become oft-reprinted in the years since, in that it’s both effectively a self-contained story and most of the action takes place in--well, let’s get to that in due time. That’s a beautiful splash page of the Thing by George Perez and Joe Sinnott. Perez would become my favorite contemporary artist for many years, and I still think Joe Sinnott is just about the best inker comic books have ever seen. I must confess that the Thing talking about having been just a guy in an armored suit confused me a little bit--did this mean that he’d been in a costume for the preceding 175 issues and had only just now been literally transformed into an actual monster? And how did that square with the MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS story I had read in which Ben was permanently cured? Had he been in an armored costume ever since then? It was all very mysterious and intriguing.

The story opens with the FF on their way back to Earth after a prior adventure in which they faced Galactus, who is responsible for this mysterious transformation on the part of the Thing. Apparently, the team were able to defeat Galactus only with the help of their passenger: the Impossible Man. I already knew all about Impy from the subsequent issues I had read--he could transform his body into any shape or form he desired, and he was childlike and a bit of a brat.

The Thing is so not used to his rocky form that he winds up accidentally destroying their ship’s braking system, leading to a brief action sequence in which the Human Torch exits the ship and creates thermal updrafts in order to slow its crash-landing in the lake near Central Park. It has to be said that writer Roy Thomas and George Perez fit in a ton of character and incident on these pages, mostly due to Perez’s facility at crafting 8 panels on a page or more. Anyway, everybody survives the crash, but now they’ve got to get across town and back to the Baxter Building.

The New York checkered cabs of this era will only pick up 4 passengers, and the there are five who need the lift, so Sue uses her power to remain invisible. Along the way, though, Impy gets bored and freaks out the cab driver by changing into a rear view mirror ornament among other things, and the FF wind up in the middle of traffic trying to soothe the poor cabbie. An unlucky motorist has the poor sense to lean on his horn in the Thing’s direction, causing his vehicle to suffer an enginedectomy at Ben’s bad-tempered hands.

As luck would have it, the team is right outside the 575 Madison Avenue offices of Marvel Comics--and when the Impossible Man hears of this, he makes a beeline inside to demand that Stan Lee make a comic book about him. And this whimsical look into the Marvel offices of 1976 is why this issue is so remembered and so often reprinted. Roy and George are in conference with Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the big two of FF lore, when the Impossible Man bursts in--Roy and George are stymied because with the FF away, they have no information with which to create their authorized comic book featuring the team. In a characterization that is perhaps retroactively too on-the-nose, Kirby tells them they should just invent their own stories.

The issue pauses here for the letters page, which this month is devoted not to the readers’ knocks and boosts but rather to writer Roy Thomas explaining the genesis of the story we’re in the midst of. Among other things, he mentions a similar story being in the works at the same time for NOVA, but it would be many years before I’d get the opportunity to have a peek at that one. Looking at it today, I find this page really indulgent (especially when Roy digresses to talk about an impending meeting with a fellow Elvis aficionado) but I have to say that it did its job perfectly. Already the various creators who made up the ranks of Marvel were better known to me as personalities than their DC counterparts whom I’d been following for many years.

Back at the story, Stan remembers the Impossible Man from years ago, and how the Marvel readers expressed that he was too silly for the Marvel books. This pisses Impy off, and he goes on a wild in-joke filled rampage through the Marvel offices, using his powers to mimic the powers and attributes of assorted Marvel characters. From what I can tell, George wasn’t using the actual Marvel offices as reference for this fight--he simply drew a generic set of offices designed however the story needed them to be. The Ff show up in the midst of Impy’s rampage and try to corral him, but to no good effect. Marvel Comics is being trashed.

Getting to the heart of the Impossible Man’s anger, Reed snaps up Stan Lee and explains to him that all it will take for the Impossible Man to go away is being featured in a single conic book issue. Stan’s not having it until the Thing stares him down. But there are more important issues for the FF to deal with: a classified ad informs them that the Frightful Four have taken over their Baxter Building headquarters and are holding tryouts for their fourth member that afternoon. Conveyed by Impy, the FF head out--and Stan immediately and two-facedly reverses his decision on doing an Impossible Man issue. Comedically standing in front of a huge personalized Howard the Duck poster, he proclaims that “Marvel Comics hasn’t got time to waste on silly-looking characters!” I’d already read the next issues in which the FF and their evil counterparts battled it out, so the wrap-up where the Frightfuls are confronted was just checking boxes to me. But this was another wild and fun issue by Roy and George.

#Fantastic Four #Roy Thomas #George Perez #Joe Sinnott #Stan Lee #Jack Kirby #Impossible Man #Galactus #Marvel Comics #Marvel

123 notes · View notes

dearyallfrommatt · 4 years

Text

I’d be off like a shot.

I love Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. Genuinely, like I love banana pudding & cat-head biscuits. I have to sometimes physically restrain myself from reading, watching or listening to it again. I am rarely successful.

I have owned some copy or another of the books since I was 12, which means going on 33 years. Someone made me copies of all the recently (ish) released audio dramas, from HHGTTG to Mostly Harmless which are different from the original radio broadcast as well as the LPs released in the ‘80s. I have digital copies of the BBC TV show from the ‘80s and own a copy of the audio transcripts. Somewhere I have copies of the three-issue comic book DC put out in the early ‘90s. Here’s a link to the fiendishly hard computer game that was stupid hard back in the days before bigger nerds had the internet to you how not to suck at fiendishly hard video games.

I’m not kidding, that thing’s a booger. It’s a text-based game that follows Adams’ squirrelly sense of logic and humor. Furthermore, if you’re very well versed in HHGTTG lore and, especially, the book, it’ll screw with your head. I’d say pound-for-pound the hardest free computer game.

The 2005 movie was... okay. I’ve never seen anything else Garth Jennings has directed nor, to cut the bull, can I with certainty tell you what makes for a good director and what doesn’t make for a good director. I just know it didn’t work on me. And, yes, I understand the concessions made in getting Hollywood to make the damn thing - like the romance subplot that doesn’t exist in other formats because that’s the joke - and I understand the changes in aesthetics that a modern movie required. I read somewhere that almost every glaring change in the movie - i.e., the romantic subplot - was done by Douglas Adams. The emphasis on the Ultimate Question, the Point-Of-View Gun gag that fell flat, that whole business with John Malkovich, all that was done by Adams.

So it didn’t fly with me, others enjoyed it, and on the whole, I don’t find it a disgrace like, say, Blues Brothers 2000 or how all these sad bastards claim the new Star Wars movies do them. By itself and on it’s own, it’s a perfectly fine movie, whereas Blues Brothers 2000 just sucks out loud.

Everyone was fine. I’ve grown to tire of Martin Freeman since, which is nobody’s fault but mine. And while I appreciate that Arthur Dent being the last person that should be travelling the Galaxy in search of excitement and adventure and really wild things is part of the joke, but he was a bit much. Mos Def was fine, Sam Rockwell was okay. Zoey Daschanel was adequate. Alan Rickman gave Marvin the best voice since Steve Moore. Along with Stephen Fry as The Book, the only ones that equaled the radio originals.

I’m probably one of the few fanboys who are less concerned with/entertained by the whole concept of The Ultimate Question than I am by how Probability or, for that matter, Improbability affects sentient beings. We move freely in three dimensions and in one direction in the fourth. However, the fifth dimension, Probability, moves around us and is beyond our control. It’s beyond anyone’s control. We’re constantly caught up in it and can’t get free.

That sort of outlook - plus a healthy dose of Marvel Comics - definitely influenced my future scientific interests. Don’t get it twisted, I do not have sufficient Latin to speak with authority on these matters and I could totally be getting it confused with fiction or, indeed, my own imagination.

Like String Theory. Depending on how you approach it, String Theory says there are at least 10 dimensions, all curled up into each other once you get past spacetime. Best I can tell, this is more a mathematical tool than something that could be considered a perfect representation of reality. Like the Holographic Principle or Loop Quantum Gravity, physicists use these as mathematical paths to try to figure out how to combine the Standard Model and Quantum Mechanics to where it makes sense. Otherwise, it’s dividing by Zero.

And again, it’s fun to think about. Since Many-Worlds Theory is gaining another look as of late, if Sean Carroll’s to be believed, it fits in with that, as well. But actually, it fits with the Copenhagen Interpretation as well, since Probability figures in to something not really existing until it’s observed and what that suggests on a philosophical level.

MWT is even more fun, since it argues that what it could have been before observation still exists anyway, just in a different dimension or universe or however in the hell they figure that works. It’s all a matter of Perception or, indeed, Probability that determines what “exists”. While it’s entirely possible I am completely misunderstanding modern arguments, all that “existence” is happening all the time. The Matrix, Maya, all that stuff is real. And not real. Or whatever.

The Ultimate Question does have its charm, don’t get me wrong, but I think the rest of the joke sort of gives the answer. Forty-two, that’s the Answer. That’s the joke. The Answer’s silly because the Question is meaningless. Life, The Universe and Everything just is.

It’s molded other aspects of my personality and beliefs, as well. An absurdist, borderline nihilist view of existence. The never-ending search for a good laugh in the face of all that’s absurd and nihilistic. The idea that there’s no one, really, in control of it All and, indeed, if there actually is, they’re if not incompetent and silly, they’re beyond comprehension. A galaxy and existence that’s more ridiculous than I can even imagine and simply beyond my ability to wrap my head around it. The emphasis on having fun and dealing with the moment because the future is malleable and the past is unreliable. The bizarre cruelty of life that is nevertheless extremely funny at times. And what the hell, might as well enjoy yourself because no one will do it for you.

Plus it’s colored my tastes in science fiction, particularly stuff that takes place IN SPACE. I have no truck with Star Trek’s order. The galaxy is an unruly, anarchic place and anyone who tries to put it in a a proper manifest is pissin’ in the wind. The Vogons ring more true than the Federation ever has. The guy just trying to get from point A to point B is more interesting than a Chosen Hero any day of the week.

Furthermore, since I read that first book back in 1987, I’ve longed for an actual Hitchhiker’s Guide. I forget what it was called, but when a dictionary-slash-encyclopedia cartridge came out for the GameBoy, I searched desperately for one. I’m not even sure it was released. Apparently you can do something similar with a 3DS but I don’t know.

I put off getting a cell phone for the longest time, but even the burner flip phone I had was like finding out Spider-Man was real. And a smartphone? Get out, son, I have a Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Earth and you can’t tell me otherwise. Why we as a culture don’t appreciate that we’re all carrying super computers in our pocket and what all that allows, and instead use it take pictures of our food and insult each on Twitter depresses me to no end.

That’s too bad, really, ‘cause I have a Hitchhiker’s Guide, buddy. The Big Trip proved that, as I would plan my days through whatever I was able to find whenever I stopped and looked it up on my smart phone. It gave me direction and answered my questions. Once or twice, it kept me from panicking. Plus, it played music.

And if someone made a Guide for the Galaxy, I would be off like a shot. I might leave Momma a note, but the rest I wouldn’t even look back. And I’d definitely love to be a roving researcher for them so, you know, give me a call.

youtube

#books #authors #reading #living in different worlds #these are a few of my favorite things #the movie is never as good as the book #The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy #Douglas Adams #The Eagles

0 notes