Young Justice to continue

I'm way behind on my cartoon-watching, and I take my cartoon seriously.  I finally caught up with the last episode of Young Justice which aired in March.

Though Cartoon Network has a screwy kind of schedule (shows just seem to come and go at random times of the year), it looks like Young Justice has been picked up for a second season.  Who-hoo!  It took me a little while to warm up to the show, but I've since started to enjoy it.

The last installment didn't feel like an end to the series, and a check on Wikipedia shows that one episode still has yet to air.  (Though when, it does not say.)  Which is unfortunate.

But the latest episode, "Bereft," was cute and fun like most of the other episodes this season.  Due to the magical plot wonders of amnesia, we finally got to hear Artemis make fun of her own outfit.  (Which I personally find rather ugly.)  All of the action took place in Bialya, and I love it when obscure fictional places are used.  On top of all that there was a "Seinfeld" reference.  (Which is really all I need to make me happy.)

Also refreshing (and maybe becuase it's for the younger set,) the show does a good job of explaining potential plotholes by having the characters ask questions of each other or narrate explanations.  (Though they did not explain why they would take Aqualad, a character dependent on water, into the middle of the desert, where of course he got dehydrated.)

Each of these characters has come into their own quite well.  Artemis is the cool, sarcastic foil to M'gann's bubbly air-headed cuteness.  Robin is the waifish, precocious imp.  Wally the hormonal, wise-cracking wannabe-lady's man, Aqualad the distant and noble leader, and Superboy is the angst-ridden awkward outsider.  It's not an easy job to create that many personalities in a group and have them work together and off of each other and still leave the audience with the ability to get to know each one.  So I applaud the writers for that.  (Plus the voice acting is pretty darn good.)  A lot of the dynamics come from who has a crush on each other and who can't stand so-and-so, but with a show aimed at tweens and teens, it's to be expected.

All in all, I like the show, which is saying a lot, because I really don't like sidekicks.

(Which of course means it's going to get cancelled sometime soon.)

But they are running re-runs every Friday night at 6 p.m., so if you haven't had a chance to watch the show or need some catching up, summer is a great time for it!

Oh, and this episode's best line:

"Artemis, to Wally: Stop touching yourself!"

The comics doldrums

I've been neglecting my poor blog lately.  I didn't get any comics last week, and only two this week, including the last issue of R.E.B.E.L.S.  My pull list has really dwindled and there seems less and less to be excited about in the comics world.  I wasn't that thrilled with how Brightest Day panned out, so color me less than excited for Flashpoint.  (Even though the promise of seeing DC's superheroes through time and especially, the past is somewhat tempting.)  But the idea of trying to get a handle on a massive storyline spanning dozens (?) of books seems daunting and stressful, not fun, to me.

Even more fitting is that Smallville wrapped up with a rather lukewarm finale.  I tried really hard to like that show, and there were a handful of episodes that did truly send me into a comic-induced giddy-fest, but the finale (and its preceding two episodes) just didn't do it for me.  It was written more as a love letter to long-time fans, so most of the sentiment sailed farther over my head than Clark Kent finally figuring out how to fly higher than a 747.  Lame simile, I know.

Also, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, which was I show I initially disliked but now have come around to, has been cancelled.  I do not know the fate of Young Justice (is it coming back for a second season?) and the Wonder Woman pilot has been passed over.

So it seems as though I am about to embark on a journal into a comics desert for the foreseeable future.

Does anyone have any giddy-fyingly good comics prospects that you're excited to hear about?

Wonder Woman: not a class act?

Of course I can't find the link that I was going to comment on.  There was another item about the Wonder Woman pilot in the news recently regarding the costume.  There were some words from David E. Kelley about a scene in the pilot where Diana is driving and gets cut off by some guy, then gets pissed off and chases him down and yells at him.  And I remember thinking, "That just doesn't seem like something Wonder Woman should do."

I have yet to read an actual solo Wonder Woman comic, so maybe I'm off the mark, but I always thought she was something of a dignified class act.

Or maybe she really is a little uncouth and I never noticed?

Click to en-biggen.

Wonder Woman shows up every now and then on "Hark, a Vagrant," a web comic of delightful randomness.

Booster Gold on Smallville: A Review!

I don't post reviews here often enough.  But over the weekend was the event that was "Booster Gold Shows Up On Smallville."  There was much rejoicing.  My non-comics best friend came over.  I wore my Booster Gold t-shirt.  We made a night of it.  Becuase how else are we ever going to see B-list (okay, C-list) superheroes in live action, if not for Smallville?

I've always taken Smallville for what it is: a coming-of-age soap opera with all its trappings.  I never really was a fan of it until I got roped into it by my friend, who faithfully watched the show from its beginning.  I just couldn't reconcile the differences with continuity (the first example being how young Clark's parents are, the second being all these random superheroes originating in Smallville.)  Anyway, when Smallville became the C-List Cameo Show a few seasons ago, and I heard the name "Maxwell Lord" uttered by my friend, I got drafted in.  After giving her a DC Universe education, that is.

Geoff Johns wrote last week's Booster Gold episode, which instilled a little bit of confidence in me that one of my all-time favorite characters would be handled well.  He did, after all, write a great run on Booster's solo book, which I rank as some of my favorite comic stories.

Well, I can't say I was overwhelmed by this episode, but I was just happy to see Booster Gold in live action.

The Visuals:  I'm a nitpicker, and though the costume was shiny in the right places, it was lacking in others.  This being Smallville, it was of course, leather, so I can forgive that, becuase every superhero costume on Smallville is leather.  But I don't like fake abs.  And no shiny gold pants = sadness.  But it was a design I could live with.

Except for the awkward hanging crotch protector thingy.  I honestly can't live with that.

I'm a big nitpicker for hair, I will admit to that.  And Booster's hair was all wrong: it was just frosted blonde on the top, not all blonde, so the back of his head was brown.  And his hair was just too short.  For one of the DCU's most amazingest hair-dos, you've got to try harder to do it justice.

The Acting: Eric Martsolf played Booster more like his "52" incarnation: cocky, brash, self-promoting, and kind of a jerk.  But a jerk with a heart of gold!  I kind of prefer the screws-up-all-the-time-despite-hist-best-efforts Booster, but Martsolf played the ham quite well, and both my friend and I were entertained.  And thanks to Geoff Johns, in the end of the episode we got to hear Booster talk about his insecurities, which I think is a big part of the character.

The Writing: Okay, I'm not a big Jaime Reyes fan.  Not only did he start out as the replacement to Ted Kord, but I don't like the whole prisoner-of-the-scarab schtick.  That's just too angsty for me, and it always seems like Jaime would fit better in the Marvel universe than the DC one.  I prefer the plucky, industrious, corporate inventor Ted Kord Blue Beetle.  Sorry, I just ain't letting go of Ted.

That being said, I actually liked Jaime Reyes here, which is saying a lot.  He worked in the context of the Smallville universe: Geoff Johns, proving he is a master of things that make you go "awww, poor kid," (or known by the high-falutin' term, "character identification") shows Jaime being picked on by his peers involving a can of shaken soda, and just when you think things are looking up, a lovely girl comes over and hands him her can.  Which then explodes in his face, proving the girl was in on it.  Ouch.

Then the scarab escapes from Kord Industries and bonds with him, and things go downhill from there.  Jaime comes to Booster for help, and in typical Booster fashion he brushes him off.  Jaime (this time fully enclosed within the scarab armor and unable to control it) comes back to assassinate Booster.  The resulting climax highlights both Jaime's need to control the scarab, and Booster's realization that he's a failure of a superhero.  All of this plays out under the watchful eye of Clark Kent, who previously gave Booster his pearls of wisdom about a suit not making you a superhero, and Booster tells this to Jaime, and Jaime regains control of the suit.  He then decides he'll keep the scarab and go on to fight evil with it.  (Leading right into the Blue Beetle solo TV series...perhaps...)  They seemed to depower Booster a bit, and though I kept yelling at the TV to "Use your force field, Booster!  Use your force field!" he never did, so all he had on hand were his wrist blasters and Legion flight ring.

Right before the climax, my mother wandered into the room and after the usual questions, "Who's that guy?" which of course prompted the most cogent explanation of Booster Gold to date from myself: "It's Booster Gold, Ma.  I like him because he's shiny!  Look, I have his shirt!"  And then we had to field all the Smallville-related questions about why there's the S-symbol but no one calls Clark Kent "Superman" and how come he's wearing a red leather jacket instead of a cape, and is that blonde girl supposed to be Lois Lane?  Momma Liss = John Q. Public's view of superheroes.  And kind of a vocal one.  Anyway, she liked Jaime.  "Oh, that poor kid!" was the verdict on Jaime.

There's also the typical intrigue of "is Booster good or isn't he?!  Is he trying to take Clark's place?!" that is another staple of Smallville cameo episodes.  The same was true of Ted Kord: "who is this guy working for?"

By the way.

I forgot to mention Ted Kord was in this episode.

EXCITEMENT!

I think I was more excited to see Ted Kord than I was Booster Gold.  For one, the casting was dead on.  Tell me this guy doesn't look like Ted:

Go ahead: tell me this guy doesn't look like Ted Kord and I will HIT you.

Not only that, but he seemed EXACTLY like the Ted Kord from Batman: The Brave and the Bold.  Which made me insanely happy for some reason, to see that B:TB&TB is having an influence on someone as mighty as Geoff Johns.  Hopes that it might be renewed anyone?  Maybe?  Please?  For those not familiar with Blue Beetle's appearances on B:TB&TB, he's quite a bit more serious than the Ted of the Bwa-ha-ha JLI days, and he's intelligent, dedicated, competent, and shown as the genius industrialist that he is.  Which is one aspect of his character that often falls by the wayside: people forget he invented a whole ton of gadgets.  Just like Batman.  Only better.  Like a gravity-defying airship that'll beat out a pansy Bat-Plane anyday.

There were no silly bwa-ha-ha moments here at all, becuase not only is Smallville is a pretty dark universe, but in this incarnation, Ted and Booster don't know each other.

I know, right?!  It's like...sacrilege!  But if they had known each other, then Ted would've vouched for Booster's reputation, and the plot would've flown right out the window.  But Ted was here, he had a sizable role, and that made me happy, and he was onscreen enough for me to annoy my friend by shouting, "OMG IT'S TED KORD!" about every thirty seconds or so.  And the best part is: Ted didn't die.  No one did.  See?  Good stories can be written where all the characters live!

Everything tied up rather nicely, with Booster taking on a mentorship role to Jaime (much like in the comics) and Ted and Booster had a chance to meet each other.  Diehard Smallville fans (like my friend) were excited becuase it was the first episode where Clark used a telephone booth to change into his "costume," such as it is.  I can't say I was that excited about that, only becuase I can't believe that there are phone booths in big cities anymore, but I like the nostalgia it evinces.

The verdict: It made me happy.  It made my friend happy.  We ended the night watching the Booster Gold episode from Justice League Unlimited to make up for the lack of Skeets in the episode.  Skeet's voice could be heard on Booster's little earpiece, but we didn't see him, and he wasn't sarcastic enough.  No problem, though: JLU cartoon to the rescue!

Momma Liss's verdict: "This isn't Superman!"  Truer words were never said.

Three costumes for Wonder Woman

Or so the president of NBC says.  So she'll have the ugly light blue pleather thing, the rodeo queen star-bedazzled redesign, and the Lynda Carter original.

Also, he says that the redesigned costume wasn't becuase of fan feedback.

“There was an initial outcry about the long pants – you know, skintight pants as opposed to those little shorts [worn by Lynda Carter in the original TV series],” Greenblatt concedes to TVLine.com. “But the shorts were always planned. They are actually used in the final confrontation when she beats Veronica Cale (played by Elizabeth Hurley).”

Why are TV executives (or movie executives, for that matter) so cocksure about the changes you've made to an idea you don't own, and which has been around for seventy-plus years?

“We haven’t made any changes from what was planned,” the NBC boss reiterates. “But it’s always good to hear the feedback. I’d rather have people really passionately engaged in conversation, even if they hate something, than be kind of bored.”

Sure...I welcome your feedback, John Q. Public, but I'm not going to listen to you!  Get angry about what we're doing!  That means you'll TUNE IN!  Muahahahahaha!

No, I'm not jaded at all.  Not in the least.

You can read a more professional run-down of the latest Wonder Woman news here.

The NEW new Wonder Woman Costume?

Okay, so I got my computer up and running...just in time for me to get the flu!  I swear, someone doesn't want me blogging.  Maybe it's a conspiracy on the part of DC for all my complaining?

Well, anyway, here's a short post about the new new Wonder Woman costume.  Yes, they revamped it after all of our complaining.  But is it really good enough?

I don't know...it looks too similiar to the JMS revamp for my taste, and they kept the ugly plastic belt.  And c'mon, jeans?  That's a little too casual for a superheroine who happens to be an Amazon Princess.  I know, I know, I'm just one of those people who complains no matter what.  But there's so many other designs out there that I'd take over this one, including the original, several fan designs that I've featured here before (thanks for bringing that to my attention 1TrueGL), and one of my favorite, the Darwyn Cooke design.

(Which of course I can't find...but here's a Darwyn Cooke rendering of the traditional Wonder Woman outfit.)

Wow...looking at the Darwyn Cooke drawing makes me think Adrienne Palicki looks too thin for the role.  She doesn't have to be a body-builder, but I like to think of Wonder Woman as a bit heftier and womanly: Marilyn Monroe instead of Kate Moss.

Oh, and here's some footage shot during filming, in case you want to see the costume in action:

First glimpse at the new Wonder Woman...

I really have no faith in the entertainment industry at all anymore, which is why I take solace in watching old movies on TCM.  Here's a picture of the new Wonder Woman costume:

I can't stand the costume at ALL, but I'm guessing maybe it's a promo picture, and/or this show is going to rely heavily on CGI. Or it's going to be constantly be nighttime on the show, a lá Smallville, so we can't tell that her tiara is plastic. I can forgive the fabric and plastic (somewhat) if they do something in CGI to fix it. Then again, I'm getting sick of CGI.

That being said, the blue boots are CRAP.  Why would you want to get rid of Wonder Woman's red boots?  They're iconic!  The costume's fabric is cheap-looking, especially the red fabric, which looks like it came from a 1950's bar stool. And how does this girl move, let alone breathe? I feel sorry for her if she loses a contact lens and has to bend over with that pointy plastic thing sitting right on her abdomen. Goddesses don't need underwires, either, and that's the icing on this crappy Halloween costume's cake for me.

And the pipe cleaner lasso?  Sigh.

For some reason Adrienne Palicki just doesn't look at fierce as she has in other pictures I've seen of her.  There's a softness in her face that doesn't work for Wonder Woman.  Hopefully they can play up those cheekbones somehow.

What do you guys think?  Any fans of this new ensemble?  (Don't be afraid to speak up!)

More thoughts on Young Justice

After a week off, Young Justice returned to the air with a new episode.  Last night's episode, "Downtime," focused mainly on Aqualad while he spent some time in...am I getting this right: Poseidinus?  I guess that's the Atlantean capital city, from the looks of it.

While I'm not much of an Aqua-fan, I have to say that first off I was pretty disappointed by Mera's character design.

The cool thing about Mera is her scaled bodysuit, no?  The halter bikini top/pareo and random bits of chiffonn thingy just isn't regal enough for me.  Besides, she has such pretty hair!  Why pull that back into a ponytail?  Oh, and her crown was ugly, too.  Sorry, Mera, don't take it personally.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it, I says.

Aqualad noodles around with Tula, Garth (the original Aqualad, I think), and some Atlantean sorcery.  Retcons abound, but I'm getting so immune to retcons I barely notice them anymore.  The retconning bothered me a lot less than the animator's choice of underwater mechanics: when Aquaman looks awkward swimming, you know you've got a problem.

Highlight of the episode: Superboy can't figure out how to use a satellite TV.  Even someone with superpowers has trouble with that.  Now I don't feel so bad.

Oh, and Miss Martian is quite the cook.  An awkward, ditzy cook, but cute nonetheless.

Young Justice: First Impressions

I finally got around to watching the episodes of Young Justice I had saved on my DVR.  Has anyone had a chance to watch this show?

While it's a shame Batman: The Brave and the Bold had to go away to make room for Young Justice, I find myself enjoying it nonetheless.  And that's even in spite of tweaks to character and continuity, too.  So, here's some random impressions:

Overall: It's a quality show, and the voice acting is quite good.  I'm liking the realistic style of the charcters, too.  Seeing some normally-proportioned bodies makes me realize how tiring the giant shoulder/tiny legs Bruce Timm JLU character designs were getting.

Care was taken to make sure each of the characters is unique, which is always refreshing.  Superboy is the brooding, tempermental outsider.  Robin is a plucky technie nerd.  Aqualad is very different from his Brightest Day incarnation: he's regal, exotic, and calm under pressure.  I guess he's like a future version of the Brightest Day Aqualad?  Kid Flash (Wally West) steals the show and is pretty much like non-kid Flash Wally West from the JLU days: impulsive, funny, and a tad arrogant.  Why Wally is Kid Flash and Bart isn't I don't know...becuase Barry is Wally's uncle?

I've got mixed feelings about Miss Martian.  She's cute and sweet but kind of clueless and talks to herself in the third person.  Judging by the number of Miss Martian-hating anti-tribute videos on YouTube ranting that J'onn should disown her, a lot of people don't like her, which makes me want to root for her a little more even though I'm not a big fan of the character in the comics.  I like how she's a more innocent female superheroine, albeit a bit ditzy, which I guess rubs some people the wrong way.  God forbid a female character isn't bad ass, I guess.  Apparently her dress is a point of contention, but I don't think these anti-fans realize it's pretty similar to a Japanese school uniform you would see on an anime series.

It's too bad that the writers had to take liberties with Miss Martian's continuity.  She's J'onn's niece and apparently she has ten brothers and sisters.  So that means she's a.) a Green Martian and b.) Mars isn't dead.  Which is going to be confusing to fans of the show who decide to pick up a few comics about her.  The other huge change?  She has telekinesis and she can move things with her mind.  So between reading minds and moving objects she's ridiculously powerful.  Oh, they kept the "fire" weakness but they changed it to "extreme heat."  And she can't ghost through solid objects like J'onn can.

What I do really like about Miss Martian is (I can't believe I'm saying this) is her clothing.  Like her ship, it's intuitive, so it changes shape with her.  Meaning that she doesn't have to manifest part of her body into a cape, which makes a lot of sense to me.  Wouldn't rendering part of your anatomy into cloth take a lot of concentration?  It was always something that bothered me a little.  Why I hate to admit it: the idea came from the Ostrander Martian Manhunter series, which I dislike greatly.  Except that Miss Martian's clothing isn't alive, nor is it called "Zo'ok" (or was it "Z'ook?") so I'm allowing myself to like that idea.

Oh, and Martian bonus points: I like the way they pronounce "J'onn" on the show.  It's not "Jean" like he's from Paris, nor is it "Juh-onn."  I can't really describe it.

Lastly: Artemis.  I can't stand this girl.  From her poofy early 90's pony tail to her impractical belly-exposing outfit with ugly mask with hair window* that makes her forehead look huge and a chest symbol that she stole from Jade, to her snotty I'm-better-than-you attitude.  Is this character in the comics?  Is she always this mean?  I'm a little rusty when it comes to the Arrow family.

A lot of the show is "teenagery" with who's got a crush on whom and all that, a lot of which is played for laughs.  Kid Flash is head-over-heels for Miss Martian, who's completely oblivious to Wally and who only has eyes for Superboy.  And Artemis likes Superboy, too.  Everybody likes Superboy, except Superman.  Yes, really.  He's quite mean to him.

So far the funniest bits have been Kid Flash freaking out over seeing Miss Martian grow extra arms to swat away robotic monkeys, and when Miss Martian telepathically links everyone up and Kid Flash forgets that everyone can hear him think.  Which is probably something I would do.  Thank God other drivers at least can't hear me when someone cuts me off, is all I have to say about that.

All in all, a good show.  I'm sad Brave and the Bold had to go away, but I'm enjoying Young Justice for now.

*Only Booster Gold is cool enough for a hair window.  Oh, and Animal Man.

Wonder Woman's identity revealed

Did anyone hear?

They cast Wonder Woman for the new TV show.

Adrianne Palicki is a 5'11" actress who has appeared regularly on Friday Night Lights, Smallville, and the never-aired Aquaman pilot.

Well, she looks the part, at least in this picture.  I haven't seen anything she's in, so I can't really comment.

Here's the official description of the Wonder Woman show, which has its share of red flags as far as I'm concerned:

The series pilot is a reinvention of the iconic DC Comics title in which Wonder Woman – a.k.a. Diana Prince – is a vigilante crime fighter in Los Angeles but also a successful corporate executive and a modern woman trying to balance all of the elements of her extraordinary life. Kelley and Bill D’Elia (“Boston Legal,” “The Practice”) are the executive producers. The pilot was written by Kelley and will be directed by Jeffrey Reiner (NBC’s “The Event”). “Wonder Woman” is from David E. Kelley Productions and Warner Bros. Television.

I'm a little wary of the words "corporate executive" and "modern woman trying to balance all the elements..."  All I can picture is a soccer mom in a power suit on her way to a board meeting with a latte in one hand and a cell phone in the other.  Meh.  Then again, I am a cynic and this could all turn out fine.

What do you all think?

If I got stranded on a desert island that didn't have a comic shop...?

Aaron at Continued on Second Page Following offered up one of his desert island comic picks.  So of course that got me thinking about mine!

Did anyone ever see Lost, where one of the survivors finds a comic book in the plane after it crashes?  The unnamed comic book has a polar bear in it and people pushing a world-ending (or saving) button on a computer and it's in Spanish.  I didn't read comics when I first watched Lost, so I thought they made it up for the show.  Had I known then what I know now, I would've recognized Alan Scott and Jay Garrick, would've known that comics get translated into other languages, and wouldn't have thought polar bears in a comic book seemed weird.  (It was a real comic: Green Lantern/Flash: Faster Friends.)

Well, that comic wouldn't be my desert island pick as much as I like the Green Lantern mythos.  I don't think I could pick ONE comic as my desert island pick.  But I think I can narrow it down to a few:

Any trade paperback of Justice League International.  If I were stranded with no hope of rescue I'd want a laugh, you know?

Martian Manhunter: American Secrets.  Not only is it noir, not only does it feature my favorite hero, but it's a period piece with such a distinct tone and setting that it's so easy for me to escape into and make me forget my current surroundings.  It is quite possibly my favorite graphic novel, period.  And when the island polar bears and smoke monsters are wreaking havoc, I'd want to feel as far away from that as possible.

I stole this pick from your blog, Frank!

Adam Strange Archives, any volume.  With no hope of rescue, I'd like some upbeat escapist science fiction stories to keep me company.  Besides, it would help foster the dream that maybe a Zeta Beam could manifest itself and transport me away from all my island troubles.  Not only that the art is beautiful and colorful, and there's tigers with horns on their heads and giant city-destroying magnifying lenses.  Need I say more?

Oh, and I'd need a soundtrack to go with all those comics.  Elton John's Greatest Hits, anyone?  What, no one?  Well, I guess that's why they call it the blues.

J'onn J'onzz is the Ideal Crimefighter, Because Michio Kaku Said So

My new favorite show is SciFi Science hosted by Michio Kaku on the Science Channel.  Basically the show consists of Michio, who is both an amusing guy and a physicist, trying to find ways to make science fiction a reality.  Tonight's episode was about creating a superhero suit.

Of course the show opens with clips of the old Superman TV show and references non-powered humans who have built crime-fighting suits like Batman and Ironman.  The standards for the suit are super strength, "super" vision (X-ray vision and the ability to see in low visibility), and telepathy.

Wait, telepathy?

Now, I wonder which superhero out there is super-strong, has X-ray vision, and can read minds?  (And who wasn't mentioned on the show, of course.)

Martian powers for the win.

Interestingly, Michio spoke with the police about how telepathy would be invaluable in revealing accurate witness testimony and/or getting information directly from the suspect.  I don't know how that last one holds up in court or if it's even ethical.  The one caveat is that the person needs to be thinking about what you want to read from their minds.  But the atomic magnetometor that Michio decided to use for the mind-reading part of his his suit was pretty darn cool: it's the size of a sesame seed, not the size of a room like an fMRI machine.

But, I digress.  I suppose all of these powers combined makes J'onn J'onzz the ideal crimefighter.  That just warms my heart.

Of course, the show decided to throw a wrench into the mix at the end by adding in mechanical arms attached directly to the crimefighter's spine controlled with the mind.  But that's not a good idea!!  That's what made Doc Ock go crazy in that Spiderman movie!!!

Wait a Second...! (Human Target Shoots the Shark)

I was psyched to learn that Fox started making this show, Human Target, which is based on a comic book. Sign me up.

So I started watching it.  The show has its moments: stuff gets blown up, people fall off of buildings, Chi McBride is sarcastic, what's-his-face shoots stuff.  All the kind of stuff that makes me happy.

And then I read the DC comic based on the show.  (...based on a comic...it's an infinite regress, I know.)  Whatever, it's fun.  Stuff blows up, people get saved, bad guys get shot.  In the head.

Wait a minute.  Something just clicked.

People get shot?  Oh, yeah.  That does happen on the show now that I think about it.

But what did whats-his-face say in the Pilot episode?

"Nobody deserves to die."  Except for bad guys, that is.

It logically follows that bad guys aren't nobody.  Hooray for them!  Syllogisms for the win!

Somewhere, Marlon Brando is smiling.  You are somebody, Marlon.