Thursday, June 18, 2015

Mr. J Reviews Justice League Gods and Monsters Chronicles



Mr. J Reviews Justice League Gods and Monsters Chronicles

In this article I will be giving my thoughts on all 3 Justice League Gods and Monsters shorts. Each short focuses on a member of this world’s trinity.


Twisted

The first of the three shorts deals with the Batman of this universe. In this universe instead of Bruce Wayne being Batman Kirk Langstrom is the man behind the cowl. Not only is this version of Batman darker he is also a vampire who prays on the wicked. This episode uses silence to create a very eerie atmosphere. Batman tracks down Harley Quinn to her hideout and we learn very quickly that this Harley is much more psychotic and unhinged than the Harley we all know and love. She has body parts in her fridge and what appears to be stuffed bodies of what could either be her victims or her relatives in her living room. Batman makes quick work of Harley and she surrenders. Harley tells Batman that he can take her to jail now however, the short ends with Batman feeding on Harley. The story telling for this short was great the use of silence in the beginning really helped build up the tension. The short also did a good job of showing us the darker edge of this world has to offer. My only complaint is that Batman didn’t really have much personality.





Bomb

The second short is entitled Bomb. This short focuses on this world’s Superman. Unlike the main universe this Superman is not the son of Jor El he’s the son of General Zod. The main conflict in this short is that Brainiac is out of control and threatens to destroy what we assume to be this world’s Metropolis. We also see Amanda Waller who is president of the United States in this world. You know this world is fucked if Amanda Waller is president of the United States. President Waller is discussing the Brainiac situation with Dr. Sivana and we find out that the U.S. government originally created Brainiac as a means of keeping Superman in check. Their initial solution is the same tired cliché from pretty much any B action movie. Nuke it. Thankfully Superman arrives to save the day. He breaks through the epicenter of the disaster area and finds Brainiac. Here’s the shocker, in this world Brainiac is only a child that cannot control his powers. At first Superman attempts to calm him down and convince him to try and learn to control his powers. Unfortunately Brainiac says he can’t stop the poor boy is scared, out of control, and on the run from the government Superman decides that there is only one course of action. He puts young Brainiac out of his misery with his heat vision. The final scene of the short is Superman carrying Brainiac’s dead body letting out a heavy sigh, showing that he is upset that it had to come to this. I really enjoyed Bomb. Once again silence was used perfectly to help set the situation. The short also helped with world building by introducing us to President Waller and Dr. Sivana. Bomb also did a better job than Twisted when it came to showcasing the character’s personality. Sure this Superman is colder and more focused on the ends more than the means but he also maintains a couple classic Superman elements.



Big

Big is the third and final Justice League Gods and Monsters Chronicles short. It focuses on this world’s Wonder Woman. The difference between this Wonder Woman and the Wonder Woman we know is that instead of being an Amazon this Wonder Woman is a New God. The short begins with Steve Trevor infiltrating the base of the Cult of the Cobra. This version of Steve reminded me of Rambo meets Duke from G.I. Joe. He seems like a tough badass soldier ready to put his life on the line in a heartbeat. The Cult of the Cobra soldiers have Steve pinned down. Luckily a portal opens and Wonder Woman comes to his rescue. The two of them make quick work of the Cult of the Cobra henchmen. Then it is revealed that they have a new weapon that they plan to let loose during President Waller’s inauguration. This weapon is a giant robot codenamed Giganta. Wonder Woman uses a combination of her specialized sword and mother box technology to destroy Giganta. In the end Steve and Wonder Woman celebrate with some good old fashioned victory sex. I loved this short. It is probably my favorite out of all three shorts. Big gave us great action and a good taste for this Wonder Woman’s personality, which is something we didn’t really get in the other two shorts.





Final Thoughts

These shorts were great. I’ve always loved DC’s Eleseworlds stories and Justice League Gods and Monsters Chronicles has a great elseworld vibe. It established a solid foundation for this world, and it got me really excited for the movie next month.

Overall I give all 3 Justice League Gods and Monsters Chronicles shorts....


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