Gpoliceman
11-17-2001, 09:15 PM
Well, I just got done watching Secret Origins and I taped it as I have done for all the batman cartoons and series since 1992. I’m still missing one Batman Beyond episode, but I heard that one I’m missing sucked so I’m not too worried (lol). I was actually a little surprised on how the Cartoon Network scheduled the show. My tv listings said that Justice League was on from 7pm to 9pm yet the show ended at 8:10pm and I was left wondering what was going to happen then. I figured they just cut out most of the commercials then and now for 50 mins there’s going to be cartoon shorts. Kinda weird, but then again I don’t watch Cartoon Network until now so I don’t know about how they do their business.
Anyhow, enough background info. Justice League’s premiere Secret Origins on a scale from 0-5 (5 being best) was I’d say a 4. I think I will like it more once watching it again. The premiere for Justice League, I’d say, was better than that Sunday night when we all tuned in to watch Batman Beyond kick off. I really liked it. To me, it’s a better change for Batman than a “what if” series about his eventual demise and handing over of the cape and cowl. It’s a better mix and a fresh feel.
The Good points: I thought they almost flawlessly played off the characters in this first episode (interactions between each other), showing the writers of this show know their characters and the material. Already we can see that Batman and Martian Manhunter are going to work well together. I think their will be much respect between them. Green Lantern and Flash have to work out their kinks. Superman and Batman will always have some distrust between each other. Every character including the ones not mentioned above were very well developed for a first story. I don’t think they could do X-Men any better. When I first heard that not every Leaguer was going to be in every episode, being the bitter Batman fan I am, I was a little upset that I would have to have some of the other guys on some episodes without Bats, but after seeing Secret Origins I’m actually happy about it. The writers have convinced me their idea is better than mine. I actually would like to see Batman disappear on some missions. Not everything fits him anyway. I can’t wait though to see the reactions of the Leaguers besides Batman to the murderous Joker. I hope the other Leaguers gain respect for him once they see what kind of monsters Batman deals with in Gotham.
Next, the story worked out well. I liked how much destruction was brought to the earth, and I felt curious to know how this tied in to the episodes Legacy and others, but of course I don’t think the creators of this show want to dabble in continuums much. I liked how much the earth was destroyed though. It really gave you a sense of how much a Superhero team was needed and I’m glad the writers didn’t hold back and not show mass destruction. I like seeing real world locations too like Paris. There was SO MUCH destruction though it will be weird to see in the next episode Metropolis better again and back in shape. Whatever.
Okay, now let me delve deeper. The character interaction and individual development was top notch and for characters we already knew about from past series (Batman, Superman) they did a really good job connecting their personalities to the others. The story was above average. I like the alien invasion and the flashback explaining their history. Batman saving the day (while predictable) truly showed his abilities. I laughed at two of the Flash’s jokes too. That’s a great selling point. I was worried I wouldn’t find his cracks funny but they actually were.
Now since the show only gets a 4-5, let’s get to the constructive criticism. Secret Origins was a poor title. The only origin we got was that of Martian Manhunter. Secret Origins was a Martian Manhunter focused episode, whether you want to admit it or not. The show dealt with his origin, his fight, and his success at joining earth’s heroes together. The show told the story of the defeat of the creatures who murdered his people. With all that, the title Secret Origins should have been renamed to Secret Origin. No “s” was needed. While I hate to say this, if the show had been a four part episode it would have been better. The show basically assumes the audience WATCHED the Batman and Superman cartoons of the past. Now while that doesn’t bother me at all because I’m a fan, it could bother newcomers, and it definitely didn’t help the title of the particular episode. Wonder Woman is briefly seen, but little is still known. Hawk Girl has practically NO explanation. She just shows up. That I didn’t like even as a fan since I actually DO NOT know anything about Hawk Girl. Her personality was well described, but her ‘secret origin’ was not. The Flash and Green Lantern are born on earth so once again I guess the writers of the show assume we don’t care about their origin since their human. Despite the title, I just didn’t see the “Secret Origins” of these heroes.
Now don’t get me wrong, I didn’t want an episode detailing Ka-el coming down from the Meteor shower, and Bruce’s parents being murdered, John Stewart finding the green ring, and the Flash getting electrocuted (or however he became how he is). All I’m saying is it would have been nice if Martian Manhunter maybe within the episode (like with his flashback of the alien takeover of his planet) explained BRIEFLY the origins of the other heroes, and I guess why he CHOSE them to form his ideal team. It just would have made more sense with the title, you know? The characters’ personalities were developed and already in the first story their teammate and teamwork qualities and mishaps where detailed, but the ORIGINS were not developed.
So what’s the deal with the title of the episode. I don’t get it. Secret Origins was a Martian Manhunter episode, and it practically told no origins either.
Second with the constructive criticism was the music. The music at times was annoying to me. I don’t know why. I wish they would get Shirley Walker back or something cause not since TNAB, in my opinion, has any show containing Batman had good music. The Return of the Joker score had some good parts, but not entirely. The music here wasn’t all techno like in BB, but it was a little cheesy sometimes. I’m very picky with music, sorry. I wish every episode could be like the score to Mask of the Phantasm, but that’s just me.
Superman’s new voice will take some getting used to. Right now, Tim Daly did ten times better than this new guy. Sometimes I felt like the new voice actor didn’t put enough emotion into his voice. He sounded tired.
Just some thoughts: Do you think we’ll ever see Hawk Girl without her mask on? Will they reveal to each other their identities (I hope Batman doesn’t though)?
All in all, I’m tired of thinking. The episode was a GREAT start, but not perfect. The show is AWESOME so far, but this particular episode however was a little odd due to what I said above. However, I’m still extremely pleased.
Gpoliceman
PS: Hey, we don’t even have to wait a week to see the next ep. Cool stuff.
Anyhow, enough background info. Justice League’s premiere Secret Origins on a scale from 0-5 (5 being best) was I’d say a 4. I think I will like it more once watching it again. The premiere for Justice League, I’d say, was better than that Sunday night when we all tuned in to watch Batman Beyond kick off. I really liked it. To me, it’s a better change for Batman than a “what if” series about his eventual demise and handing over of the cape and cowl. It’s a better mix and a fresh feel.
The Good points: I thought they almost flawlessly played off the characters in this first episode (interactions between each other), showing the writers of this show know their characters and the material. Already we can see that Batman and Martian Manhunter are going to work well together. I think their will be much respect between them. Green Lantern and Flash have to work out their kinks. Superman and Batman will always have some distrust between each other. Every character including the ones not mentioned above were very well developed for a first story. I don’t think they could do X-Men any better. When I first heard that not every Leaguer was going to be in every episode, being the bitter Batman fan I am, I was a little upset that I would have to have some of the other guys on some episodes without Bats, but after seeing Secret Origins I’m actually happy about it. The writers have convinced me their idea is better than mine. I actually would like to see Batman disappear on some missions. Not everything fits him anyway. I can’t wait though to see the reactions of the Leaguers besides Batman to the murderous Joker. I hope the other Leaguers gain respect for him once they see what kind of monsters Batman deals with in Gotham.
Next, the story worked out well. I liked how much destruction was brought to the earth, and I felt curious to know how this tied in to the episodes Legacy and others, but of course I don’t think the creators of this show want to dabble in continuums much. I liked how much the earth was destroyed though. It really gave you a sense of how much a Superhero team was needed and I’m glad the writers didn’t hold back and not show mass destruction. I like seeing real world locations too like Paris. There was SO MUCH destruction though it will be weird to see in the next episode Metropolis better again and back in shape. Whatever.
Okay, now let me delve deeper. The character interaction and individual development was top notch and for characters we already knew about from past series (Batman, Superman) they did a really good job connecting their personalities to the others. The story was above average. I like the alien invasion and the flashback explaining their history. Batman saving the day (while predictable) truly showed his abilities. I laughed at two of the Flash’s jokes too. That’s a great selling point. I was worried I wouldn’t find his cracks funny but they actually were.
Now since the show only gets a 4-5, let’s get to the constructive criticism. Secret Origins was a poor title. The only origin we got was that of Martian Manhunter. Secret Origins was a Martian Manhunter focused episode, whether you want to admit it or not. The show dealt with his origin, his fight, and his success at joining earth’s heroes together. The show told the story of the defeat of the creatures who murdered his people. With all that, the title Secret Origins should have been renamed to Secret Origin. No “s” was needed. While I hate to say this, if the show had been a four part episode it would have been better. The show basically assumes the audience WATCHED the Batman and Superman cartoons of the past. Now while that doesn’t bother me at all because I’m a fan, it could bother newcomers, and it definitely didn’t help the title of the particular episode. Wonder Woman is briefly seen, but little is still known. Hawk Girl has practically NO explanation. She just shows up. That I didn’t like even as a fan since I actually DO NOT know anything about Hawk Girl. Her personality was well described, but her ‘secret origin’ was not. The Flash and Green Lantern are born on earth so once again I guess the writers of the show assume we don’t care about their origin since their human. Despite the title, I just didn’t see the “Secret Origins” of these heroes.
Now don’t get me wrong, I didn’t want an episode detailing Ka-el coming down from the Meteor shower, and Bruce’s parents being murdered, John Stewart finding the green ring, and the Flash getting electrocuted (or however he became how he is). All I’m saying is it would have been nice if Martian Manhunter maybe within the episode (like with his flashback of the alien takeover of his planet) explained BRIEFLY the origins of the other heroes, and I guess why he CHOSE them to form his ideal team. It just would have made more sense with the title, you know? The characters’ personalities were developed and already in the first story their teammate and teamwork qualities and mishaps where detailed, but the ORIGINS were not developed.
So what’s the deal with the title of the episode. I don’t get it. Secret Origins was a Martian Manhunter episode, and it practically told no origins either.
Second with the constructive criticism was the music. The music at times was annoying to me. I don’t know why. I wish they would get Shirley Walker back or something cause not since TNAB, in my opinion, has any show containing Batman had good music. The Return of the Joker score had some good parts, but not entirely. The music here wasn’t all techno like in BB, but it was a little cheesy sometimes. I’m very picky with music, sorry. I wish every episode could be like the score to Mask of the Phantasm, but that’s just me.
Superman’s new voice will take some getting used to. Right now, Tim Daly did ten times better than this new guy. Sometimes I felt like the new voice actor didn’t put enough emotion into his voice. He sounded tired.
Just some thoughts: Do you think we’ll ever see Hawk Girl without her mask on? Will they reveal to each other their identities (I hope Batman doesn’t though)?
All in all, I’m tired of thinking. The episode was a GREAT start, but not perfect. The show is AWESOME so far, but this particular episode however was a little odd due to what I said above. However, I’m still extremely pleased.
Gpoliceman
PS: Hey, we don’t even have to wait a week to see the next ep. Cool stuff.