Superhero Shows

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - New Teen Titans: Kidz Korner 4 Kidz

2013-05-18T11:00:00.000-04:00

This was the Titans version of a Sesame Street style "kidz" show. Although it was not the most successful effort from the shorts series, it was fun seeing a ton of cameos including one by the ever coy Wonder Girl.
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Crisis of Infinite Episodes - The Crime Costume Caper

2013-05-17T11:00:00.000-04:00

Greta Grim's crime costume essentially turned her into Inspector Gadget, almost a match for Plastic Man. She actually wanted Plas to try to stop her so she could advertise and sell her costumes after successful getaways. This was another action packed adventure with a much better pace than a lot of the previous adventures. Based on an alternate credit sequence for the final three episodes on the DVD, I am guessing these last episodes were part of a later development cycle which wisely upped the action and the plastic-antics for the better.

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Episode Count: 0371
Series Count: (34 of 35)

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Plastic Man Meets Plastic Ape

2013-05-16T11:00:00.000-04:00

A giant plastic ape? Sold! The plastic ape element was also fun as it allowed a stretch off between the simian and Plas. In fact this episode seemed to have more stretching than usual with Plastic Man assuming shapes from a bed to a jack hammer to a torpedo to a phone booth. Even Hula got in on the act after accidental exposure to plastic gas. One thing I didn't like was that the ape was really just regular size. Being giant was a result of his plasticity. Why didn't Plas just make himself giant? In the end, this was another fun but frivolous romp.

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Episode Count: 0370
Series Count: (33 of 35)

Super History of Superman: Superman (1988)

2013-05-15T14:16:00.000-04:00

The 1988 Superman show is an oft forgotten animated series produced by Ruby-Spears Productions which ran for just 13 episodes. Developed as a 50th anniversary tribute to the Man of Steel, the series also incorporated music from Superman: The Movie and opening narration from the 1950s Adventures of Superman television series. While it may not have been the classic series fans were hoping for, it was a huge course correction from the abysmal Superman IV the year previous.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - City of Ice

2013-05-15T11:00:00.000-04:00

When the screeching old hag, Miss Frost (oh so clever), discovered some youth gas, she turned into a Christmas elf. Her plan? To reverse the gas to make all the world old. Speaking of old people and gas this was a bit of a stinker. At least it included baby yetis in diapers.

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Episode Count: 0369
Series Count: (32 of 35)

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Plastic Mummy Meets Disco Mummy

2013-05-14T11:00:00.000-04:00

After much waiting its the long anticipated Disco Mummy! The Disco Mummy was quite a character, driving a Mummy-mobile with a mummy dog and falling in love with Plas. Of course, real love doesn't make people change and Disco Mummy insisted on making Plas into a Mummy, so perhaps it was just infatuation.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Sale of the Century

2013-05-13T11:00:00.000-04:00

I think I am beginning to see the light at the end of the long plastic tunnel. I just completed the 3rd of 4 DVDs of the series and its looks like disc 4 is a short one. Oh Plas, I feel like we have been through a lot together but I am ready to move on. Anyways, this one focused on a car salesman that Hula found hilarious because he joked about sitting on a hot fudge sundae. Quite a sense of humor Hula. Things got complicated when the salesman Gearshift Swift sold Earth to an alien for an exploding ball. Then the alien towed Earth away making wild weather. This was exceptionally stupid.

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Episode Count: 0367
Series Count: (30 of 35)

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - New Teen Titans: Titanimal Kingdom

2013-05-11T11:00:00.000-04:00

This short debuted during a dark period for DC Nation. The block was unceremoniously removed from Saturday mornings and after substantial fan grumbling, New Teen Titans shorts were given weekly online releases with the hope of holding fans over until the block returned. That put a lot of pressure on the fab 5 to deliver.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Count Graffiti Meets Plastic Man

2013-05-10T11:00:00.000-04:00

With a name like Count Graffiti I set my expectations low. Baron Von Graffiti would have started me with slightly higher expectations. In either case,the final product exceeded my expectations. Turns out the Count was a little bald guy with a cape and monocle, that rode around on giant chalk hands that he drew and also had a redheaded assistant (the little mermaid?) to give him needed boosts - this guy is a serious threat.

Surprise, Marvel Sets Another Movie for 2014 with Big Hero 6

2013-05-09T13:30:00.001-04:00

As if Marvel has not already claimed dominance at the box office, an computer animated adaptation of Big Hero 6 has been confirmed for November 2014. Big Hero 6 joins the line-up of films including Marvel Studios' Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy as well as Marvel based movies The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and X-Men: Days of Future Past. Meanwhile crickets from DC. But the real thing to get excited about is this first look at the fictional city of San Fransokyo. If it were real, I would be moving there tomorrow. This looks amazing, I can't hardly wait!

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Thunderman

2013-05-09T11:00:00.000-04:00

Now Thunderman is a villain I can get behind. Not only could he control weather, but he could make "thundernados," super powerful tornadoes - and he dressed with style. I may have misunderstood, but it sounded like Thunderman was from Czarnia, which just so happens to be the name of Lobo's planet. Pretty sure there is no relation, but even still, thats another reason to fear the Man of Thunder... Actually, I guess Thunderman hails from Zarina, so never mind. Thunderman used his thundernado to steal New York which he then put up for auction. What would the winning bidder do with a whole city anyways? I have to admit, this was a fun one in the vein of earlier episodes - ridiculously absurd, but entertaining. Misty is also a clever name for Thunderman's sidekick... get it? Misty? Har har.

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Episode Count: 0365
Series Count: (28 of 35)

Super History of Superman: Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (1987)

2013-05-08T14:16:00.000-04:00

You know how I said that Superman III deserved props for trying? Superman IV: The Quest For Peace deserves no such benefit.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Dr. Duplicator Strikes Again

2013-05-08T11:00:00.000-04:00

Among the things I learned this episode are that gravity beams only work on metal, not plastic. Also, if you want to make a duplicate of someone, you need a giant Venus flytrap (and a photograph no less) - which if memory serves was also a plot point in a Poison Ivy themed episode of Batman: The Animated Series - but done here first. Doc Duplicator also commanded moss men. I am not sure why this guy who looks more like Mr. Freeze has such a command over plant life. As for "Bad Luck" Hula, I think the guy is more an idiot than anything. It has nothing to do with luck. I do like doppelgangers, but this one lands somewhere in the middle of the road.

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Episode Count: 0364
Series Count: (27 of 35)

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Joggernaut

2013-05-07T11:00:00.000-04:00

He's the Joggernaut B!*$% , oh wait, that's the Juggernaut. This guy is a wannabe Tarzan that lives in a the Swiss Family Robinson's tree house - and he also really likes to exercise. Joggernaut was a really lame villain and this episode was a real dud with a nonsensical plot about turning Amazon mud into endless energy, a perfect way to rob the city of gold... ?

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Episode Count: 0363
Series Count: (26 of 35)

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Terrible 5 + 1

2013-05-06T11:00:00.000-04:00

When I realized what was happening, that a team of supervillains was forming, I got pretty excited. Its probably not the team I would have chosen, but at least they brought back the Clam. The other returning villains were the Weed, Half-Ape, Computerhead, and Disco Mummy. Apparently my viewing order is wrong because the Disco Mummy episode is later on, and boy am I in for a treat. Solex, a new baddie, was also along as the ringleader. But when the other villains refused to cooperate, Solex busted their crimes forcing them to team with Plastic Man... don't worry, it doesn't really make sense. I have to give high praise to the series for finally bringing back a villain, and extra praise for the team-up I have been clamoring for. Those aspects made this a standout episode in a series that is growing awfully stale.

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Episode Count: 0362
Series Count: (25 of 35)

Watch Shade the Changing Man

2013-05-04T20:03:00.002-04:00

I admit, I know next to nothing about the Vertigo character Shade the Changing Man, who made his onscreen debut today with a self titled short during DC Nation. Not knowing much about Shade, I was lost by the plot, but I really am glad to see some variety in the shorts presented. Like the Bat Man of Shanghai series, Shade favors style over humor and this short definitely had a unique flavor of animation. I hope this isn't the last we see of the changing man. By the way, you can watch a low quality version of the short now:

Super Pets are Headed to DC Nation

2013-05-04T14:14:00.000-04:00

Not to be confused with the mostly terrible DC Nation's Farm League, the Super Pets are coming to DC Nation in short order. Just this morning the first Super Pets short, Joke's on You was listed on Cartoon Network's official schedule for a May 18 debut. And as part of today's free Comic Book Day, the DC Nation preview offered a glimpse at what to expect. The likes of Aquacow, Bat-Cow and Flaming Head Cow are all there along with Krypto, Ace, and Streaky. Should be a veritable Hoot.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - New Teen Titans: Titans in Love

2013-05-04T11:00:00.000-04:00

Donde esta Silkie? One of the fun things about the New Teen Titans shorts has been trying to spy the Silkie Easter egg in each short. I enjoyed this short for its juxtaposition of romances as it cut between Raven's low key love affair to Robin's jealousy and desperation for Starfire. Cuter than cool, this was one of the better Teen Titans shorts and a big step up from Gamma Rays and You. Legend has it the two sub shorts were titled Language Lesson and Raven's Date.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - The Colossal Crime of Commodore Peril

2013-05-03T11:00:00.000-04:00

I've never been huge on the episodes that prominently feature seamen, so this review may be kinda hard. Call me crazy, but I would have liked this a lot better if the Clam had returned. In fact, one of the best things going for this show is the colorful villains so when all they come up with is a sea captain, its a bit disappointing. At least he had an eye patch. As for the billionaire, Howard "Huge," that's about as double entendrific as my opening line of this post.

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Episode Count: 0361
Series Count: (24 of 35)

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - The Kitty Kat Kaper

2013-05-02T11:00:00.000-04:00

The first thing that must be said is that the triple K title is unfortunate and ridiculous and hopefully was an accident. I noticed that the DVD packaging spells Caper correctly, but the animated title card is clearly spelled "Kaper."

Super History of Superman: Supergirl (1984)

2013-05-01T14:15:00.000-04:00

Just a year after the disappointment that was Superman III, producers hoped to launch a spin-off franchise with Supergirl. The Supergirl movie is worthy of its own whole series of posts, but since this series is focused on Superman's onscreen history, I will simply say that despite it being a huge mess of a movie it was set in the same continuity as the Superman films. At one point Kara AKA Linda Lee saw a poster of her cousin on the wall of Lucy Lane's dorm room.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Highbrow

2013-05-01T11:00:00.000-04:00

Highbrow was basically just a dude with a top hat to cover his long head and apparently, changing his hat was enough to keep himself disguised . His gimmick? He stole trains including the "Disorient" Express. This was pretty lackluster. The other strange thing was that I detected a faint laugh track. I am pretty sure that was not in the previous episodes... or did I really just not notice for the previous 21? In any case its always helpful to be told when you are supposed to laugh, even if only faintly.

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Episode Count: 0359
Series Count: (22 of 35)

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Ghostfinger

2013-04-30T11:00:00.000-04:00

Adding to the romantic "tension"this episode had the bumbling Sally, one of Plas' old flames, calling on the team to help foil Ghostfinger. Between the Chief and Sally, Plas has really bad taste in women. With an evil apparition and a Velma-esque character along for the adventure, this had a serious Scooby vibe about it, though Ghostfinger upped the ante by introducing a time machine. Can ghosts time travel? Who knows because all the time machine was used for was to summon a wolfman and a yeti. I suppose monsters were a lot more common in the past... even though they were also called ghosts sometimes. I don't know, this one was just a bit crazy.

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Episode Count: 0358
Series Count: (21 of 35)

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Toyman

2013-04-29T11:00:00.000-04:00

Although I doubt this was THE Toyman (since he was an actual toy), this villain was certainly memorable. With his jester outfit coupled with his shrink ray, cackle, and ice cream cart, Toyman had all the makings of a nemesis. Shrinking episodes are always fun even though you would think Plas could just stretch back to normal size easily enough.

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Episode Count: 0357
Series Count: (20 of 35)

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Super Best Friends Forever: Don't Fight Girls

2013-04-27T11:00:00.000-04:00

I love the SBFFs and I love Solomon Grundy. The combination was not quite successful but I did muster a chuckle at Grundy's line after being mocked and beaten by the girls when he said he was reconsidering fighting girls after all. As of its airing, this was the last of the SBFF batch but I sure hope this charming series gets a much deserved follow up adding Starfire, and Harley Quinn to the mix.