Latest news with #Bat-villain
Geek Dad
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Dad
Review – Robin and Batman: Jason Todd #1 – Robin's Rage
Robin and Batman: Jason Todd #1 cover, via DC Comics. Ray: Jeff Lemire is making a big comeback at DC, and part of that is his return to the stories of Batman and Robin. In this second chapter, he turns the focus on the second Robin, Jason Todd – and to say it's a bumpy start would be putting it lightly. Lemire's Jason is an angry, haunted child – he lost his mother to illness and his father to Two-Face, and he's thirsting for revenge. When we first see him and Batman in the field, he breaks from Batman's orders, hunting down a D-list villain named the Cuckoo and trying to beat him severely. But his overconfidence sabotages him, the villain gets away, and he and Batman have a nasty falling-out back at the cave. Even Alfred starts to wonder if this is what Jason needs, but Bruce is confident he can reach the boy. A brilliant nightmare segment shows Jason's trauma from a new perspective, and is one of the best pieces of Nguyen art I've seen in a while. Ghosts. Via DC Comics. While Bruce was more of a stern taskmaster when it came to Dick, this issue shows he's trying to be more understanding of Jason – and ironically, that may be what he doesn't need. Jason's pushing the limits doesn't come from exuberance but from trauma, and his obsession with the villains makes him a danger. The ending of the issue is brilliantly tense, as Bruce chooses to trust Jason to track down the Cuckoo, who is drunk and currently harmless. And as Jason stalks him, we can tell this is going to go terribly wrong – and it does, but not the way many people thought. Instead, this issue brings in an obscure but very significant Bat-villain who makes a fantastic foil to Jason. With fantastic art and great characterization, this could be the reinvention of Jason's early years that DC has needed for a while. But I'm already excited for this creative team to work on Tim Drake's origin next. To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week. GeekDad received this comic for review purposes. Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
Los Angeles Times
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
2025 Emmy predictions: best limited series
This race is widely seen as a runaway for the two top contenders, and the panel agrees: 'Adolescence' and 'The Penguin' are the only two to appear on all ballots. 'Another year, another Netflix limited series from England that arrives seemingly out of nowhere to dazzle critics and push viewership numbers through the roof,' says Glenn Whipp of 'Adolescence.' Lorraine Ali calls 'Netflix's one-continuous-shot drama about a family's trauma around a teenage murder' 'the show to beat.' Matt Roush says it '[dominates] the field, making an instant star of the remarkable teenage newcomer Owen Cooper.' In the Bat-villain's corner, Tracy Brown writes, 'My favorite of the year remains 'The Penguin.' That's mostly for Cristin Milioti's scene-stealing turn as Gotham's forgotten mob-boss daughter who grows increasingly unhinged.' Trey Mangum, like several of his fellow Buzzards, likens the 'Adolescence' wave to the attention Netflix's 'Baby Reindeer' garnered and likes 'Penguin's' chances, but ponders, 'Maybe I'm one of the few who think 'Presumed Innocent' could take it as well.' 'Dope Thief' and 'Dying for Sex' get the next most praise in general from the panelists, including more enthusiastic recognition for their lead performers than for the series themselves. Perhaps the most surprising in the lukewarmness of its support is 'Disclaimer,' falling outside the top five despite the pedigree of Oscar-winning writer-director Alfonso Cuarón and actors Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline. And, ahem, Kristen Baldwin would like a word: '[Climbs up on soapbox, raises megaphone] 'La Máquina' … needs to be part of the Emmys conversation!' More predictions: Limited / TV movie actor | Limited / TV movie actress 1. 'Adolescence'2. 'The Penguin'3. 'Dope Thief'4. 'Say Nothing'5. 'Dying for Sex'6. 'Presumed Innocent'7. 'La Máquina'8. (tie) 'Disclaimer'8. (tie) 'Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story'
Geek Dad
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Dad
Review – Two-Face #6: Identity Crisis
Two-Face #6 cover, via DC Comics. Ray: Great comics usually have a strong antagonist, but it's rare to see a story where the hero and villain are essentially the same character. The battle of wills between Harvey Dent and his evil alter-ego Two-Face has been raging since the character was introduced, but in this story Harvey gained the upper hand – trapping Two-Face in a psychic prison and using his inner boogeyman as a way to take over the legal system of the criminal underworld. But a new protege unraveled his ruse, and soon he wound up in a tangled web of not just criminal affairs but his own psychic walls. A brief parlay with Batman this issue forges an uneasy truce, such as it is, out of the close ties between them, but as Harvey conducts a trial in the White Church for last issue's villains – one of whom claims to be Two-Face's daughter – an old foe makes a return and strikes where it hurts Harvey the most. Guns out. Via DC Comics. This issue has an interesting moral question that sort of plays on the inverse of Spider-man's classic question. Does Harvey have the responsibility to use all the resources at his disposal to protect what he cares about – even if that means letting Two-Face out of his cage? It's a fascinating question that delivers in a tight, tense battle with Mr. Zsasz, who has returned at the worst possible time to threaten Lake and everything Harvey has built. I can't help but think that this series had so much more to explore, so seeing it end after six is a shame, but while it does reset certain things to return Two-Face to the world of Bat-villains, it's added so much more fascinating context to the character that I won't be forgetting any time soon. Joker's solo series had to essentially make Jim Gordon the real lead, but this is the first story in a while that actually turned a Bat-villain into a full-on lead character. To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week. GeekDad received this comic for review purposes. Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
