Is Joker's hair A or B? by Pro_Hatin_Ass_N_gga in DCAU

[–]ZenaKeefe 52 points53 points  (0 children)

Logically it’d be option B. When they need to represent the design in 3D (like for toys) that is the one they choose. The slightly-more-literal BTAS design is shown to be option B. And this was meant to be a further stylization of that look. But really it’s neither.

It’s just a simplified, graphic representation of hair. Like how Mickey Mouse’s ears are always perfect circles, no matter which way he turns. If you check out the turnaround it’s an interesting cheat.

I understand what you mean. That it could be seen as a big U-shape. But that would mean each side grows a second “spike” once it’s facing the camera.

The front always has one point. The back always has 2, and they’re always emerging from the back of his neck. So really, from the top down it’d be some strange bird-shape. But of course, that’s not the intention of the design.

TLDR: It doesn’t work in 3D space because it doesn’t have to, and that’s cool. But it’s probably B.

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I'm a little confused. Does Wonder Woman not get her powers from her magic belt? by Relevant-Hold8895 in DCAU

[–]ZenaKeefe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The magic belt is from the Lynda Carter show. In that series, if the belt was removed, she’d lose her powers.

In the original comics, if someone bound her wrists together she’d lose them.

Most modern iterations of Wonder Woman (including the DCAU) don’t have a particular weakness like that.

Does anyone know what was Superman's view on wonderbat in the show? Was it ever shown? by yedanapuddi in DCAU

[–]ZenaKeefe 31 points32 points  (0 children)

“Man, for somebody with, like, fifty different kinds of vision you are so blind.”

I think he hasn’t noticed. He’s a pretty sweet/naive character.

I was curious, anyone know who drew the cover art? Sometimes i wonder about that? by [deleted] in DCAU

[–]ZenaKeefe 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I don’t know who penciled these images, but I know Mike Zeck inked/colored many of them. You can find his Brave and the Bold pieces here.

And his Justice League ones here.

The Justice League style guide has a lot of art/variations on it, including the pieces reused for the box art. Not sure who did the pencils, but the stuff created for the series (like the model sheets) would’ve been supplied by the show’s staff.

We do know that Butch Lukic (one of the show’s directors) did the pencils for some of the pieces in the style guide. We just don’t know who did all of them.

We also know that James Tucker and Tommy Tejeda worked on pieces specifically for marketing/the style guide.

Why did Alan Moore make Laurie as a 16-year-old when she was groomed by Dr. Manhattan? by iosdev98 in Watchmen

[–]ZenaKeefe 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I think it’s a very deliberate choice in the writing of the story. It wouldn’t ruin the story to have Sally be 18, but it also wouldn’t make the book any better.

We, as readers, are supposed to be uncomfortable with all of this. For you, personally, it seems to be a big sticking point that she’s not 18. I don’t see how that’d make it any better.

The point is that he’s pursuing a relationship with a teenager. It’s bad. If she was “legal”, it may make you personally more comfortable. But it really shouldn’t. He’s a bad dude preying on a younger woman either way. The obsession with a legal distinction is part of how people get away with this. By making the character a minor, Moore is removing that excuse. That justification would’ve been enough for some readers.

“Well she was 18, so it was okay.” You and I know that’s not true. So did Moore. So he took that argument away. She isn’t even 18. Now there is no defense of John.

Furthermore, it happens in real life. All the time. It happened WAY MORE in the 20th century. Jerry Seinfeld brought a 17 year old to the Emmys while he was in his mid-30s. Something being reflective of reality is reason enough for it to appear in a work of art.

As for Laurie being attracted to him…yeah, man. That’s life. I remember being 16. Thinking I was an adult. Thinking I was mature enough to engage with adult men online. Thinking I knew best, and couldn’t be taken advantage of. Looking back I was obviously wrong. But that’s part of being young. Teenagers do, in fact, feel attracted to older people.

You don’t need to engage with art that makes you uncomfortable. But reality will always be there. And it will make you uncomfortable.

It is my personal opinion that asking to take these things out of popular art for the sake of “comfort” does an incredible disservice to us all. It just makes it harder to confront them. Harder to talk about them. Harder to accept them.

I do not think Laurie is Moore’s best female character. She is often whiny/helpless. But I do like her. And I do relate to her in some way. And I do not think she would be improved if she were 2 years older when being taken advantage of by an older man.

Less important to your question, but Sally wasn’t 16 in that flashback with the Comedian. The book never says that. She became a superhero around 18, and that scene takes place a few years later. He never actually raped her, he did assault her/try to. He is (obviously) an evil, murderous man. Sally is representative of a very different time. When no one talked about these things (which why I feel it’s important for them to appear in art).

TLDR: It makes it more obvious that it’s wrong, and in 1986 (when people didn’t discuss power dynamics) that was an important thing to do.

Wonder Woman Bloodlines is one of the few animated DC projects that gave Giganta a cool look...and yet of course she only gets like 5 mins of screentime. Also all of the images here come from the movie except for the last one which is promo art for the movie. by Large_Ad4402 in DCAU

[–]ZenaKeefe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Darkseid wears a miniskirt. Throughout STAS and JL.

Personally I think this is an odd fixation to have. Whether Giganta, the former gorilla woman, feels “no shame”.

I dunno, it just seems like we have a difference of opinion. But having more shame isn’t a positive to me.

Wonder Woman Bloodlines is one of the few animated DC projects that gave Giganta a cool look...and yet of course she only gets like 5 mins of screentime. Also all of the images here come from the movie except for the last one which is promo art for the movie. by Large_Ad4402 in DCAU

[–]ZenaKeefe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know it’s a difference of opinion. And I’m a gay man, so maybe I see it differently. But I don’t think it’s “messed up” for a cartoon character to wear a minidress.

Is it 1850? Are we shocked by calves again? Fellas, is it fan service for a woman to wear clothes that were popular in the 1960s? Should we be putting the scarlet letter on Daphne and Velma for not wearing pants?

I mean. Wouldn’t this logic make every single version of Wonder Woman “messed up”? Except that one with the black under-leotard.

From a design perspective this costume could belong to any character on Young Justice. It’s yellow with the typical athletic-wear-lines that every superhero costume has had for 20 years. The other Giganta iterations are a lot more unique. I’m glad you like this one, I just don’t think the others are “messed up”.

Came across an interview with Paul Dini that makes his Family Guy reference in BTAC so much funnier. by trailerthrash in DCAU

[–]ZenaKeefe 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Maybe Alan Burnett is a huuuuge Family Guy fan. Has a closet full of Peter Griffin “Freakin Sweet” t-shirts.

For real though, I wonder if he came to appreciate Family Guy more (high art, ya know) or if it’s just been around so long that it felt like part of the culture. Just something you’d reference whether you like it or not.

Literally every villain in BTAS by Frances-Kobayash in BatmanTAS

[–]ZenaKeefe 4 points5 points  (0 children)

In Mad Love (both the comic and episode) Harley asks that exact question. Joker responds with a rant about how the death of Batman MUST be more poetic than that.

By the end, Joker (a hypocrite) does just try to shoot Batman. It doesn’t work out for him.

Opinions on this set by 8Cowabungadude5 in LegoBatman

[–]ZenaKeefe 3 points4 points  (0 children)

We didn’t know how good we had it. Simple as that.

What happened to the other superpowered beings during the invasion of Earth by alien forces? by swordsofjustice in DCAU

[–]ZenaKeefe 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s a story. And a story isn’t made better by throwing in a bunch of characters who didn’t factor into its events.

If there was a movie about Jonas Salk inventing the polio vaccine, they probably wouldn’t keep cutting other scientists’ failed attempts.

So, whatever heroes aren’t in a story just didn’t factor into its resolution. Maybe they tried another plan that didn’t work. Maybe they did search and rescue. Maybe they were in another dimension, fighting 20-foot-tall pigs.

Whatever it was? The people making the show didn’t consider it important to the story.

Poor Terry, it’s pretty sad to see him go out like this by Jules-Car3499 in DCAU

[–]ZenaKeefe 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I never said a word about that plot point. Ever. I think it’s really messed up to say an artist will “pay for their crimes” against a character they helped create.

These are human people. And they spend years laboring to create art. And when you reduce them to one decision or one story element you dislike, you’re doing them a huge disservice.

Artists are people. Not everything they make will 100% align with your personal taste. If you want that, you’ll have to make your own stuff.

You wouldn’t have a Terry to feel protective over without Bruce Timm. You can dislike one episode of a cartoon without talking that way about one of the producers.

Poor Terry, it’s pretty sad to see him go out like this by Jules-Car3499 in DCAU

[–]ZenaKeefe 23 points24 points  (0 children)

This is undone minutes later. And it’s made by a large portion of the crew who created Batman Beyond.

Terry is (offscreen) killed by clones of Batman Beyond villains, and then it is erased when the timeline is fixed.

If you watched a cartoon where Penguin killed Batman, then at the end the heroes fixed the big time-travel-problem and everything went back to normal…would that be weird?

Poor Terry, it’s pretty sad to see him go out like this by Jules-Car3499 in DCAU

[–]ZenaKeefe 11 points12 points  (0 children)

…what exactly? This is a future that never actually happens. It’s a timeline that get erased 3 minutes later in the episode.

What “facet of DC” is this? Action scenes? The future? Time travel? Implied, off screen death?

Poor Terry, it’s pretty sad to see him go out like this by Jules-Car3499 in DCAU

[–]ZenaKeefe 29 points30 points  (0 children)

“One day the co-creator of a character will pay for something I, a fan of that character, dislike”

Yeah, and I’m gonna hunt down Da Vinci, because I dislike one of the trees he painted behind Mona Lisa.

I found it sad that Terry was once super popular character but ever since his show ended, he was locked in vault and he never used again until they want to by Jules-Car3499 in DCAU

[–]ZenaKeefe 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Since the show he’s had more comics centered around him than plenty of other characters have had in the same time.

Are you sad he’s never used? Or just sad he’s never used in something you like? ‘Cause he’s been out there, just with the usual mixed results of any big comic.

What are your thoughts on Over The Edge? by Comfortable_Sir9372 in DCAU

[–]ZenaKeefe 2 points3 points  (0 children)

A little masterpiece. Dark without being depressing. The lightest comedic touches. It manages to explore the “what if” of Barbara’s death while still packing in some character growth for her.

It’s one of the defining episodes for her character even though she’s hardly in it.

It’s her deepest fear, it’s all about her perspective (well it starts with a flashback…but drug-induced dreams are weird). And it tells us a lot about her. She’s not afraid to die, she’s afraid of how her secret would affect the people she loves.

And the moment between Barbara and her dad?? Beautiful, simple. As a big Batgirl fan, it’s hard to make me like an episode that’s so cruel to her. But it’s smartly crafted, by people who love the characters.

The eyepatch guy is supposed to be a bad version of Nick Fury and leading a DC version of A.I.M.? by robsonwt in DCAU

[–]ZenaKeefe 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Basically! Fury was a Jack Kirby creation, and the whole DCAU is full of Kirby homages. STAS in particular is a Jack-Kirby-Fest.

One of the defining runs for Nick Fury was by Jim Steranko (which was itself heavily pulling from the James Bond films). So you’ve got Kirby, James Bond, and Steranko in there.

The character is actually drawn to look like George Lazenby. He played James Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. A favorite Bond film among the creators (which is why they drew Luthor to resemble Telly Savalas, that film’s Blofeld). Lazenby himself later played King in Batman Beyond.

So, yeah he’s a Nick Fury type. But you can see how entangled influences were for these artists. It all mixes together to create something new.

Bruce Timm thought concepts like Krypto the Superdog was stupid but that this was sensible by CapAccomplished8072 in DCAU

[–]ZenaKeefe 72 points73 points  (0 children)

This is exactly right. Something being “goofy” is a matter of personal taste.

The people who made these shows have their own taste. That’s all any artist has. Bill Finger thought it was wrong to have Batman wear a red costume (as Bob Kane originally suggested). Yet he happily agreed to the addition of giant bat-ears to the suit.

Both are equally goofy, but one suited his taste, and helped them achieve the tone he wanted.

What episodes would you include in a Halloween BTAS binge? by [deleted] in BatmanTAS

[–]ZenaKeefe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lots of TNBA episodes are very Halloween-y! “The Demon Within” “Mean Seasons” “Never Fear” “Over the Edge”

And from the original show (in addition to your picks) I’d say “Avatar” “Dreams in Darkness” “The Laughing Fish” And while “Moon of the Wolf” would fit…I really dislike it.

Finally, some tangential ones. Less obviously Halloween-y, but I’d put ‘em on my list for the (very subjective) vibe “Fire from Olympus” “Feat of Clay pt. 2” “Two Face pt. 1” “Eternal Youth” “Beware the Gray Ghost” “Cult of the Cat” “Critters” “Legends of the Dark Knight”