Beware the Batman (also "Super Best Friends Forever")

[jalford]

BTW, Batman: Brave & The Bold's final episode runs tonight at 7:00 PM.

[VGPlayer202]

So, yeah, Equestria Daily is a bit behind, and apparently, this whole development is news to them:

http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/02/l ... oject.html

[ThatCriticalJew]

BTW, Batman: Brave & The Bold's final episode runs tonight at 7:00 PM.

I felt so sad that it ended.

[VGPlayer202]

Super Best Friends Forever's first short was shown today! Who saw it?

[Movie-Brat]

Just it online, I don't know; was it supposed to be a parody?

[CapitalRadioTwo]

I did, and as a fan of the great women of DC, I'm offended.

[VGPlayer202]

Usually, when I think of DC women, I think of ladies with big busts constantly handled by men who don't know what to do with them other than make them look sexy for the overwhelmingly huge demographic of male shut-ins.

Honestly, though, this is obviously meant to be cute and funny, and besides, it's written BY a woman, so... yeah, what's the problem?

I mean, obviously, they're nothing like the actualy characters from the comics, but then again, neither was the characters in that Aardman shorts, but I don't hear anyone complaining about how they ruined Batman, Superman, Catwoman, or the Joker's character in those. I'm also willing to bet Plastic Man wasn't quite as much of a joker as he was in the short I saw, and don't even get me STARTED on Superman of Tokyo...

Also, I've never read any of their comics, but just how close was the Teen Titans cartoon show to the actual comics... given Starfire's outfit in them, I'm willing to bet they changed quite a few things.

So really, don't be so freaking up tight about keeping characters consistent with their source material. As long as it's fun and entertaining, there shouldn't be a problem.

[CapitalRadioTwo]

Usually, when I think of DC women, I think of ladies with big busts constantly handled by men who don't know what to do with them other than make them look sexy for the overwhelmingly huge demographic of male shut-ins.

Honestly, though, this is obviously meant to be cute and funny, and besides, it's written BY a woman, so... yeah, what's the problem?

Having men who can't figure out what to do with women in DC "other than make them sexy for the huge demographic of male shut-ins" is bad, sure, and the extent of just how offensive that can get is shown in the Starfire reboot for the New 52 (Which is still utterly vile) but you can't just say "This is written by a woman", so it's automatically better. Good writing is good writing. Some of Wonder Woman's best stuff doesn't inherently come out of Gail Simone because she's a woman, it's because she's a great writer. But Greg Rucka (who last I checked is male) could write for her too. Really really well. So just having the excuse of being written by a woman so it's inherently a step up from "Men who just want to make them look sexy for the huge demographic of male shut-ins" doesn't fly solely on merits of being female, because since 1941 I'm sure there are some WOMEN that wrote for her character that are pretty lousy (She has A LOT of lousy periods), and I'd rather read Greg Rucka than any of those women. Heck, Jimmy Palmotti and Justin Gray managed to make a great run on POWER GIRL. Ya know, Power Girl, the Earth-2 Supergirl variant who is mostly known for having a giant chest? They did a wonderful run on her that not only turned her into a really neat, very funny young woman who makes tons of meta jokes, but an absolute badass that almost totally makes you forget about the boobs at all if they didn't make occasional puns about it here and there.

Long story short, it's not about the gender, it's about a person who knows and respects the characters at the helm. It can be "Cute and funny" all it likes. I didn't particularly find it funny. I found the humor very juvenile. But I'm not going to give Faust a pass because of her past work or because she's a woman.

I mean, obviously, they're nothing like the actualy characters from the comics, but then again, neither was the characters in that Aardman shorts, but I don't hear anyone complaining about how they ruined Batman, Superman, Catwoman, or the Joker's character in those. I'm also willing to bet Plastic Man wasn't quite as much of a joker as he was in the short I saw, and don't even get me STARTED on Superman of Tokyo...

I had no idea what you were talking about til I looked it up. Quite honestly, as much as I generally love Aardman, those definitely aren't for me. I don't really get it, but okay, sure, watever

Also, I've never read any of their comics, but just how close was the Teen Titans cartoon show to the actual comics... given Starfire's outfit in them, I'm willing to bet they changed quite a few things.

So really, don't be so freaking up tight about keeping characters consistent with their source material. As long as it's fun and entertaining, there shouldn't be a problem.

I've never read Teen Titans, but here's the thing. And this is more what I'm getting at. The DTV DC stuff, Teen Titans, that earlier Power Girl series I mentioned, all of that stuff has a terrific sense of humor about itself. The writing in that Power Girl series pretty much is constantly winking at you saying (Sometimes even in the voice of the character herself) "Yes, this is a comic book that is trying to give reputability to a character with no real discernable origin with a GIANT RACK that no one takes seriously. You got a problem with that?" Read the stuff with Barbara Gordon from the recent Simone Batgirl run or as Oracle from Birds of Prey, or check out a lot of the stuff DC has been doing in their animated universe recently. It's EXTREMELY funny when the humor is called for. You could make a HILARIOUS series of shorts with these 3 characters in a context in which they are recognizable outside of just being in the costumes. I think they're missing an opportunity to make them more faithful AND be funny too because that would be REALLY REALLY awesome and there isn't really an outlet to showcase the cool women of DC right now in theaters or tv or even in the DTV market because the Wonder Woman animated film didn't sell well so Warner Bros isn't bothering with her or any of the girl characters being showcased front and center.

Why not take these cool characters, do them right, and be funny too and have these cool characters on television in a recognizable way? I'm just asking, why not?

[VGPlayer202]

I see you're point, and I guess it WOULD have been better to have Supergirl, Batgirl, and Wonder Girl treated with the respect and dignity they deserve. But as it stands, I think it's funny and cute, and the fact that it introduces people to the characters it may make them more inclined to look them up and see what they're really like. Hell, I didn't even know about Wonder Girl until this short, so there's that.

I'm almost reminded of Derpy, and how I can't for the life of me, see ANYTHING offensive about her, or anything that might offend people. And yet people were offended, so I can't pretend to fully understand people's pain.

Of course, perhaps if these WEREN'T just shorts and if Lauren Faust was given the chance to make an actual series about these three, she probably would have taken a different approach to characterizing them. But honestly, from where I sit, I really enjoyed the short. The original characters are still there, and thanks to this short, maybe people who don't know about them will look into them more, so... yeah.

Edit: There's also the fact that this is a short, and as a short, you only have a certain amount of time to get "something" out there. I think that if they used the actual characters, it would have taken too long to set things up or make something interesting that can be condensed into 1-minute. So yeah, constrictions, they play a factor in this, too. I doubt that Lauren Faust had ANY intention to degrade characters like this, in fact, it's been one of the driving points of her career to make a show starring female characters that are enjoyable for everyone. And as I see this, it IS enjoyable for everyone. Maybe not nit-picky comic book geeks who can't bear to see their precious perfect story and characters touched or tainted by these stupid Cartoon Network phonies, but to the general public, it's good enough.

Not calling YOU one of those comic book geeks, but you know, pick your battles.

[CapitalRadioTwo]

I see you're point, and I guess it WOULD have been better to have Supergirl, Batgirl, and Wonder Girl treated with the respect and dignity they deserve. But as it stands, I think it's funny and cute, and the fact that it introduces people to the characters it may make them more inclined to look them up and see what they're really like. Hell, I didn't even know about Wonder Girl until this short, so there's that.

You should check Donna out, she's really cool and she's got a lot of neat history besides just being Diana's sis. She has a lasso of PERSUASION and can also project a 3-D version of people's memories, among sharing her Amazon abilities with Diana.

Of course, perhaps if these WEREN'T just shorts and if Lauren Faust was given the chance to make an actual series about these three, she probably would have taken a different approach to characterizing them. But honestly, from where I sit, I really enjoyed the short. The original characters are still there, and thanks to this short, maybe people who don't know about them will look into them more, so... yeah.

And if that's what happens, cool.

Edit: There's also the fact that this is a short, and as a short, you only have a certain amount of time to get "something" out there. I think that if they used the actual characters, it would have taken too long to set things up or make something interesting that can be condensed into 1-minute. So yeah, constrictions, they play a factor in this, too. I doubt that Lauren Faust had ANY intention to degrade characters like this, in fact, it's been one of the driving points of her career to make a show starring female characters that are enjoyable for everyone. And as I see this, it IS enjoyable for everyone. Maybe not nit-picky comic book geeks who can't bear to see their precious perfect story and characters touched or tainted by these stupid Cartoon Network phonies, but to the general public, it's good enough.

Not calling YOU one of those comic book geeks, but you know, pick your battles.

And I also respect that it's a short. I mean, doing a long form series you'd have more opportunity to make them more accurate and develop them better. I get that. Like I said in the other place, perhaps it was ME wanting to see a Lauren Faust DC heroine team up series and then being disappointed that it's THIS instead.

[ThatCriticalJew]

Super Best Friends Forever's first short was shown today! Who saw it?

wait, that's what that was. then I have no hope for that show. at least aardman will be returning for next week.

[Fluffyman]

I didn't mind the short that much. It's not meant to be a serious short, so I didn't take it that much seriously and I thought it was a bit entertaining.

[Dsneybuf]

I don't plan to form a definite opinion on Super Best Friends Forever until they show the next part (Lauren Faust promised us action, after all) , but for now, Batgirl reminds me too much of Twilight Sparkle in one of her crazy periods (specifically "Look Before You Sleep" and "Swarm of the Century", but fortunately not "Lesson Zero"). I don't feel as grouchy about Friendship is Magic as I did this past January, but it still slightly distracts me from the humor.

[Dsneybuf]

I've decided to judge Super Best Friends Forever with the same standards used for Justice Friends. After watching the Super BFF short two more times, it feels like it got off to a better start, though I can also think of at least three other Justice Friends shorts that best it. They might do so partly because they end less abruptly.

[ThatCriticalJew]

I don't plan to form a definite opinion on Super Best Friends Forever until they show the next part (Lauren Faust promised us action, after all) , but for now, Batgirl reminds me too much of Twilight Sparkle in one of her crazy periods (specifically "Look Before You Sleep" and "Swarm of the Century", but fortunately not "Lesson Zero"). I don't feel as grouchy about Friendship is Magic as I did this past January, but it still slightly distracts me from the humor.

again it is Lauren Faust, so I guess all hope is not lost.

[bluenowait]

And now, whether CRT likes it or not, it's Super Best Friends Forever #2!

[Movie-Brat]

Amusing but still, something feels off.

[CapitalRadioTwo]

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better. This type she's not a hyperactive spaz (or at least LESS of a hyperactive spaz). Still not perfect, but we're getting warmer. Now as long as episode 3 doesn't go 2 steps back, I call it progress.

[legato]

That was the ugliest, dumbest, worst acted trash I've seen in a dog's age. I feel offended for the characters.

[CapitalRadioTwo]

You should see Episode 1. It was worse.