The film is set twenty years after the events of the first film. Since then, the United Nations have collaborated on the Earth Space Defense (ESD), an international military defense and research organization, and developed hybrid technology reverse-engineered from the invaders' in anticipation that they would return. When the returning aliens again attack Earth with an advanced and unprecedented force during the twentieth anniversary of humanity's victory against them on July 4, a new generation of defenders from the ESD joins forces with the surviving protagonists from the first film to participate in a battle to save the world from annihilation. In addition, humanity begins to explore their extraterrestrial adversary's history and motives.
Twenty years after a devastating alien invasion, the United Nations has set up the Earth Space Defense (ESD), a global defense and research program to reverse-engineer alien technology and serve as Earth's early warning system against extraterrestrial threats. The main defense force utilizes equipment salvaged from the remains of the alien forces and operates military bases built on the Moon, Mars, and Rhea. The Area 51 base in Nevada has become the ESD Headquarters.
On July 2, 2016, the world is preparing to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of their survival after the invasion. In the provincial African state Republique Nationale d'Umbutu, ESD Director David Levinson meets with Dr. Catherine Marceaux and warlord Dikembe Umbutu, who leads him to an intact alien destroyer. Aboard the ship, they discover that the alien occupants sent a distress call to their home planet before being defeated. Furthermore, Umbutu, former U.S. President Thomas Whitmore, and Dr. Brackish Okun (who awakens at Area 51 after a twenty-year coma) - all of them once telepathically linked with the aliens ever since their personal encounters with them - have of late been receiving strange visions of an unidentifiable spherical object.
It kills me that they made the ESD fighters and alien pods almost completely the same in these dogfights.
On July 3, a spherical ship with technology different from the aliens' emerges from a wormhole near the ESD's Moon defense headquarters. Levinson believes that it belongs to another extraterrestrial race that might be benevolent and urges the world's Security Council not to attack, but they vote to shoot it down regardless.
On July 4, against ESD's orders, pilots Jake Morrison and Charlie Miller pick up Levinson, Marceaux, Umbutu, and Levinson's accountant Floyd Rosenberg on a space tug and they head for the wreckage, where they recover a container. An alien mothership 3,000 miles (4,800 km) in diameter suddenly emerges and destroys Earth's planetary defenses before approaching the planet. The space tug is caught in the mothership's gravitational pull, which lifts objects from across Asia. The debris falls all over Europe, where the tug manages to escape before heading on to Area 51. The mothership lands over the north of the Atlantic Ocean, destroying cities on the Eastern Seaboard, and begins drilling a hole through the bottom of it to harvest the heat of the core for fuel, which will destroy Earth's magnetic field in the process.
Whitmore interrogates one of the aliens held in captivity from the war. The ESD learns that the aliens exist in eusociality, and that one of their colossal Queens is commanding the invasion. Levinson concludes that, if they kill the supervising Queen, her forces will cease drilling and retreat. An ESD aerial fleet, led by Captain Dylan Dubrow-Hiller, stages a counterattack on the Queen's chamber, but they are caught in a trap within the mothership, which nearly wipes out the entire unit.
In Area 51, Okun opens the container and releases a giant white sphere of virtual intelligence; indeed benevolent, it reveals that its mission is to evacuate survivors from worlds targeted by the aliens, whom it calls "Harvesters", and that it has gathered a viable resistance force against the Harvesters. In the mothership, Dylan, Jake, and other survivors manage to escape by hijacking enemy attack crafts and pursue the Queen's personal ship, which is heading to Area 51 with its convoy.
Knowing the Queen has become aware of the sphere's presence; the ESD forces hide it in an isolation chamber and use a decoy to lure the Queen's ship to a trap filled with fusion weapons. Against his daughter Patricia's wishes, Whitmore volunteers to pilot the space tug on the suicide mission, leading the warship to the trap and detonating the bombs, thus sacrificing himself and destroying the ship. However, the Queen survives using an energy shield on her biomechanical suit. Patricia personally flies a hybrid fighter that neutralizes the Queen's shield, allowing Dylan's arriving party to kill the Queen before she can take the sphere. With the Queen dead, the mothership stops drilling and retreats to space. Okun reveals that the sphere has asked humanity to lead its resistance and that the sphere offers new technology in preparation for a counterattack to assault their enemy's home world.
The Verdict:
This is would be a pretty straight-forward review as this film is the perfect example of how to revitalize an aging film franchise. Right off the bat, it was cool to see a lot of the original ID4 cast members make appearances in this film, especially Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum. Vivica Fox was there to get her paycheck too even though she got killed off after roughly of five minutes (if that…) of screen time. The new cast members were hit or miss for the most part, but I warmed up to them by the film’s finale. I just couldn’t stand that they made them into the common archetypes and character tropes – the nervous, unsure leader, the loose cannon, the nerd who just happens to be the tech expert, the female bad ass, and oh wait, the hot Asian chick who just happens to be good at everything.
You could tell that the writers of this sequel were obviously fans of the original film as there’s a lot of homages and tributes scattered throughout of this film of the noteworthy and memorable moments from the original film, but at the same time, you could tell that the team that worked on this film were anime fans as well. By the film’s last half, I honestly felt like I was watching an episode of Robotech/Macross from the dynamic that was brought up and the threat of scale given their alien adversaries. I’m not saying that was a bad thing as Robotech/Macross still is one of my all-time favorite anime action-dramas.
I’m glad that the special effects and visuals have improved coming into this sequel. I guess they didn’t have enough of a budget this time around to fund making puppets of all of the aliens required to show off their terrifying numbers this time around. For that I don’t blame them as I remember watching the “making of” videos for the original ID4 and it’s was a lot of effort and work to for several puppeteers to move around those aliens for the few scenes that they were in the original film.
I guess no one was thinking about how much damage that alone would have done to the planet long-term...
Fans of the original should definitely give this a shot. Everyone else would be better off with a rental when it hits your local Redbox. This film depends on too much knowledge from the original to get what’s going on in this film, especially with all of the references and subtle nods to its predecessor. That being said, you're either going to absolutely hate this film or flat out laugh your ass off and actually have a good time watching it out of nostalgia. Either way, I suggest not going out of your way to see it. This will more likely be on cable TV for free in no time.
Justice League vs. Teen Titans is a 2016 direct-to-video animated superhero film, directed by Sam Liu from a screenplay by Alan Burnett and Bryan Q. Miller. It is part of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies. The film features the voices of Jon Bernthal, Taissa Farmiga, and Jason O'Mara. The film had its world premiere at WonderCon on March 26, 2016. It was released through digital download on March 29, 2016, and through home media on April 12, 2016 by Warner Home Video.
The Justice League battle the Legion of Doom (consisting of Lex Luthor, Solomon Grundy, Cheetah, Weather Wizard, and Toymaster). After the Legion is defeated and captured, Weather Wizard runs away, but is possessed by a shadow-like creature that teleports through darkness, revealed to be the demon Trigon, whose supernatural nature allows him to physically harm Superman. Robin disobeys his father's orders to get civilians to safety, thinking he can help the Justice League fight Trigon. Robin sets the Batwing to crash into Trigon and explode, forcing Trigon's shade to leave Weather Wizard. Upset that there's no answer to this occurrence, and in order for his son to learn teamwork, Batman sends Robin to join the Teen Titans. Meanwhile, Trigon's shade possesses Superman, plaguing him with visions of demonic shadows.
Robin meets the Titans' leader Starfire and members Raven, Beast Boy, and Blue Beetle, but his lack of respect for the others causes friction. Blue Beetle and Robin fight until Blue Beetle's suit instinctively uses an energy blast to severely burn Robin. Raven heals him, but during the process her empathic powers link their minds, tapping into each other's memories. Later, Robin thanks Raven for saving him, but confronts her about an entity he saw in her mind. With Raven unwilling to answer, Damian tries to search up Raven's background, but no information is kept about her in the Titans' files. When he confronts Starfire about this, she replies the team isn't just for fighting crime, but also a surrogate family, as they are all lost souls in a world with no place for them.
Superman finds and brutally beats down Atomic Skull, alerting Wonder Woman and Batman. The latter uses kryptonite to drive Superman back, revealing his possession before Superman flies off. Cyborg tries to locate Superman and a "female with supernatural powers", whom Trigon is searching for. He and Batman analyse footage of both a transformed Superman and the shadow demon that possessed Weather Wizard, concluding that if the host is damaged or overwhelmed, they will be freed from it. In the meantime, in order to loosen Damian up, Starfire takes the group to a carnival, where Raven encounters demon emissaries and Trigon, in a spirit form, who wants to find her so they can be together. With the help of the other Titans, Raven resists and fights the emissaries until they cannot maintain their presence on the Earthly plane and dissipate.
Afterward, the Titans demand answers from Raven. She reveals that her mother was a member of a cult who married her off to Trigon, who took a human form. Her mother fled after discovering his true nature and was saved by the Azarathians, a people from another dimension, where Raven grew up. After unwittingly summoning her father and thus causing the obliteration of Azarath and her mother, Raven was taken by him so he could conquer Earth, but she trapped him inside a crystal. The Titans offer their support to Raven in defeating Trigon, but the Justice League arrives in order to take Raven away. However, before they can act, Flash, Cyborg, and Wonder Woman are taken over by Trigon's shadow and turned into demon emissaries. Batman prevents his own possession by injecting himself with a nerve toxin designed for Bane, putting himself in a comatose state and thus causing the shade to abandon him.
Of course the Bat family have ways to beat Superman...
The Titans battle the League without success, causing Raven to surrender herself. Just before the League and Raven use a portal to leave, Blue Beetle brings back Cyborg from Trigon's control. Robin locates Raven in the Middle East, revealing he put a tracer on the Titans after meeting them. Cyborg and the Titans portal to the Middle East, to discover that Superman had unearthed a mystical shrine that Raven uses her powers on so that Trigon can pass though the shrine as a gate. Robin stabs Superman with kryptonite to free him from Trigon, and back to his own self, Superman defeats Flash and Wonder Woman, which frees them both. The Titans save Raven, but not before Trigon returns to his physical form.
Following Raven's plan, the Titans and Cyborg portal to Hell to retrieve the crystal to lock away her father, while the Justice League attempt to prevent Trigon from reaching innocent civilians. Beast Boy's biology reacts oddly to the dimension, initially forcing him to take the form of demonic beasts. The Titans battle hordes of guardian demons while Raven gets the crystal, but an undead Ra's al Ghul shatters it; he was made Trigon's vassal following his death, since the Lazarus pits were created by him. Ra's tries to persuade Robin to join him and Trigon so that he may return to life, but Robin, deciding that he is no longer an 'al Ghul' but a Titan, refuses, engages his grandfather in combat, and ultimately defeats and kills him. Overcoming her inner doubts and Trigon's telepathic attempts to dissuade her, Raven uses her powers and her link to Trigon to re-imprison him in a shard of the broken crystal.
Raven informs the Titans that the shard must stay in Hell and be watched always, in case Trigon tries once again to break free. She puts herself forward as Trigon's keeper, but the Titans assure that her home is with them. Back at Titans Tower, the group – now joined by Robin and Cyborg – are lauded by the Justice League for saving Earth, and Raven wears her father's crystal prison on her forehead, even as he is angrily demanding his release.
Welp... we know what the next Teen Titans related DC Direct is going
to be about then...
In a post-credits scene, Terra is seen approaching Titans Tower, riding a boulder across the sea.
The Verdict:
This film has been out for a few months now, but I have been putting off this review for a while now just out of laziness to be quite honest.
Definitely the funniest moment from Raven's origin story...
It's cool to see that DC has kept the narrative introduced in Justice League: WAR and Son of Batman and throughout their sequels/follow-ups - Batman vs. Robin, Batman: Bad Blood, and Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, to bring them all together into one coherent continuity with this film. There was that assumption until now that all of these events have been taking place in the same universe, but now we have the proper confirmation outside of the voice acting talents being the same.
After the diversions from the Batman-oriented films, this was a nice change of pace with the introduction of the Teen Titans into this continuity. In this continuity, Starfire is acting leader while Beast Boy, Raven, Blue Beetle, and Robin are her younger proteges. It's vaguely hinted at that Starfire and Nightwing were, or rather still are, an item at some point or Starfire is completely oblivious to his flirting from their hilarious phone call. The "Thanks, Dick!" line made me laugh so hard that I almost fell out of my chair. I'm sure that's going to go over most people's heads but it's cool to see that DC still has a strong foothold in dominating the animated market compared to Marvel's modern attempts.
There's so much to love about this feature. From the fact that they are going with what looks like a Young Justice-inspired version of the Titans or the fact that both this team and the Justice League are actually working together to setup future team-ups and crossovers. I think most comic book nerds like myself were excited to see the Justice League vs. Titans match-ups which saw the Titans take on the League's best members. Even though it was a losing effort for the most part, it was still cool to see nonetheless. I'm still not crazy about them making Robin (Damien) the most overpowered kid I have ever seen in combat to say that he has no superpowers (except his assassination training and what little Batman's taught him) to say that they were fighting so many supernatural and powered beings in this film.
My only problem is how is Cyborg going to juggle his duties from the League and the Titans? That should feel like a demotion, right? Like why would you give up a seat in the big leagues to hang with the kids on the reserves? I'm anxious to see how they are going to handle Terra's introduction into this continuity though.
If this is going to be the new DCAU version of the Titans, then I can definitely live with this roster. Fuck bringing back Young Justice...
Watch It, Rent It, or Don't Bother?
Definitely take the time to watch this one. This is by far my personal favorite DC Direct animated movie set in the same universe as the Justice League: WAR and Son of Batman movies along with their sequels (Throne of Atlantis, Batman vs. Robin, Batman: Bad Blood). As much as people are starting petitions and protests for a revival of the original Teen Titans (that's not Teen Titans, GO!!) or Young Justice, I would be happy with an animated series based on this version of the Titans setup in this continuity. It seems like they are using the same Blue Beetle from the Young Justice continuity and a similar design for Beast Boy from that series as well. Only time will tell if they have the same origins in this continuity.
Kara Zor-El (Melissa Benoist) was sent to Earth from the doomed planet Krypton as a 12-year-old by her parents Zor-El (Robert Gant) and Alura (Laura Benanti). Alura gave her instructions to protect her infant cousin Kal-El, and informed her that she, like her cousin, would have extraordinary powers under Earth's yellow sun.
En route to Earth, Kara's spacecraft was diverted by a shock wave from Krypton's explosion and forced into the Phantom Zone, where it stayed for 24 years. During this period, time stopped for Kara so, when the spacecraft eventually escaped the Phantom Zone, she still appeared to be a 13-year-old girl. By the time the spacecraft crash landed on Earth, Kal-El had grown up and becomeSuperman. After helping her out of the craft, Superman took Kara to be adopted by his friends, the Danvers family. The main series begins more than a decade later when the now 24-year-old Kara is learning to embrace her powers after previously hiding them.[2]
Kara hid her powers for more than a decade, believing that Earth didn't need another hero. However, she has to reveal her powers to thwart an unexpected disaster, setting her on her own journey of heroism as National City's protector.[3] Kara discovers that hundreds of the criminals her mother prosecuted as a judge on Krypton are hiding on Earth, including her mother's twin sister Astra (also played by Benanti) and Astra's husband Non (Chris Vance), who seek to rule the world. After briefly becoming suspicious of the true agenda of her boss, Hank Henshaw (David Harewood), she and her adoptive sister, Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh), secretly discover that Henshaw is actually a benevolent alien refugee, J'onn J'onzz, who has resided on Earth for over fifty years after escaping a holocaust on his homeworld of Mars. J'onn infiltrated the DEO to reform the organization as well as to watch over both Alex and Kara in addition to guiding the latter in the use of her powers due to his experience with his own abilities. Kara is also being targeted by Earth's criminals as the result of her being related to Superman, and later on encounters an emerging community ofmetahumans and individuals from parallel universes. In the process, Kara accumulates her own rogues gallery who seeks to defeat and destroy her. She is aided by a few close friends and family who guard her secrets—most notably her cousin's longtime friend,James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks)—which also serves as a major plot in high tech mogul Maxwell Lord's (Peter Facinelli) scheme to expose Kara's identity.
Episode List
Episode 1 - "Pilot"
A young girl named Kara Zor-El is sent to Earth by her mother Alura to protect her cousin, Kal-El, as their planet, Krypton, destructs. The planet's explosion forces her ship off course and into the Phantom Zone for 24 years, before landing on Earth. Kal-El, now an adult and going by the name Superman, puts Kara in the care of the Danvers. Twelve years later, Kara reveals herself to the world when her adoptive sister's plane is sabotaged. Her sister, Alex, works at the Department of Extra-Normal Operations, under the leadership of Hank Henshaw, investigating alien activity. Kara learns that there are hundreds of aliens on the planet in hiding, most whom came from a prison that crashed on Earth, and that her mother was the one responsible for imprisoning them. Her actions attract the attention of Vartox (Owain Yeoman), and she is able to defeat him. New art director James Olsen reveals he was sent to look after her and presents Kara with a new cape. Vartox's superior is revealed to be Astra In-Ze, Alura's identical twin sister, who wants to conquer Earth.
Episode 2 - "Stronger Together"
In an effort to put a positive image on Supergirl in the wake of a serious mishap, Kara asks Winn and James to help her perfect her skills, while Hank and Alex put Kara through extensive physical training. Kara learns that an alien (Justice Leak) of the Hellgrammite species who escaped from Fort Rozz is on Earth searching for chlorine-based food. The DEO prepares an ambush for the Hellgrammite, but it escapes, kidnaps Alex, and takes her to Astra. Astra uses Alex as a trap for Kara. As Kara and Astra fight, Hank injures Astra with a Kryptonite knife and Alex kills the Hellgrammite. Learning that Kara has become more powerful than she had imagined and that humanity has a means of weakening Kryptonians, Astra muses that her "plans" may need to be postponed. Cat pressures James to get her an interview with Supergirl. James has reservations about being used as a go-between to his superpowered friends, while Kara is worried about being recognized. In the end, Kara agrees to the interview and prevents James from getting fired. It is also revealed that Hank might have a secret of his own when his eyes begin to glow red.
Cat Grant is out of town and Kara, James, and Winn struggle to take care of CatCo, Cat's son Carter, and a bomber targeting Maxwell Lord's company. The DEO, claiming to be the FBI, goes to Lord and attempts to convince him to postpone the bullet train's opening, but to no avail. On the opening night of Lord's new bullet train, Supergirl and the DEO must deal with two bomb threats simultaneously, one at the airport and one on the train. James and the DEO go to the airport, where Hank Henshaw secretly uses his hidden strength to deactivate the bomb. Supergirl goes to the train, on which Carter and the bomber are both riding. As Supergirl confronts the bomber, he claims that he is doing it for his daughter. The bomber requests Supergirl save the people on the train after he starts the timer. At DEO headquarters, Alex finds a fail-safe in the "dud" bomb, causing Supergirl to realize that Lord was the one behind the bomber's actions. Lord concedes that the threats could have been used to test Supergirl's skills.
Episode 5 - "Livewire"
After fighting an alien escapee, Kara meets Alex at the apartment to greet their mother, Eliza Danvers, for Thanksgiving, inviting Winn due to his lack of plans. CatCo's shock jock, Leslie Willis (Brit Morgan) is demoted by Cat to traffic reporting after a controversial bashing of Supergirl. During a severe thunderstorm, Supergirl tries to save Leslie, but lightning strikes them both, imbuing Leslie with electromagnetic powers. Leslie takes the name "Livewire" and tries to take revenge on Cat, but eventually Supergirl stops her and she is imprisoned at DEO. After Alex tells Eliza in a fit of rage at the dinner table that she's actually DEO, Eliza reveals to her daughters that, years ago, their father, Dr. Jeremiah Danvers, offered himself up to work for Hank Henshaw in exchange for Kara's safety and then died mysteriously, leading the girls to become suspicious of Henshaw.
Episode 6 - "Red Faced"
Anger issues surface for multiple characters, including Kara. Cat's mother, Katherine Grant, arrives. Lucy's father, Sam Lane (Glenn Morshower), arrives. The military's rogue combat android Red Tornado (Iddo Goldberg) challenges Kara. She and Alex eventually defeat both the robot and its creator T.O. Morrow (also portrayed by Goldberg), but the fight leaves the former weakened. It is discovered that Hank Henshaw was the last to see Jeremiah Danvers alive. At the end of the episode, Kara drops some glass and, when she picks it up, she starts bleeding.
Episode 7 - "Human for a Day"
The fight with Red Tornado leaves Kara helpless without her powers. During an earthquake, she attempts to help James and Winn, while the events allow the alien prisonerJemm (Charles Halford) to break out of his DEO cell and face off against Alex and Hank, who is later revealed to be a benevolent alien refugee, J'onn J'onzz. Hank explains to Alex that her father saved him from the real Henshaw, who tried to kill him and that he made him a promise to watch over his daughter. Kara is later attacked by Astra and her assistants.
Episode 8 - "Hostile Takeover"
Kara's battle against Astra is muddied when Astra explains how Alura captured her, but Kara refuses to believe her story until she discovers the truth that her mother was trying to keep from her. It is also revealed that Astra used her fight against Supergirl as part of a plan to take over Lord Technologies, led by her husband Non (Chris Vance) and his army of Kryptonians, prompting Alex and Hank to stop them. The Kryptonians are employing kryptonite-shielding armor to protect themselves from the substance, but Hank still manages to take out one after he revealed to him his true identity. Meanwhile Kara, James, Winn, and Lucy help Cat track down a hacker responsible for releasing Cat's e-mails, leading them to a CatCo executive who wants to oust Cat from the company. Cat reveals to Kara that she has a son that she has not seen in 24 years and later tells Kara that she knows that she is Supergirl. Kara then races over to Lord Technologies to face off against Non.
Episode 9 - "Blood Bonds"
Non defeats Supergirl and leaves with Hank/J'onn. Lord sends the DEO away from his facility, vowing to defend it himself, and returns to a secret experiment he is conducting. Non offers to trade Hank for Astra, but General Lane (placed in charge of the DEO during the emergency though Hank left Alex as acting director) refuses, tortures Astra for Non's location, and walks into a trap placed by Non. Kara is distraught over both this defeat and the fact that Cat will fire her unless she is convinced that Kara is not Supergirl. Kara goes to the DEO and talks with Astra who tells her that Alura believed her (correct) claim that Krypton was doomed, but sentenced her for her illegal methods while promising to work for her cause. Alex and Supergirl make the trade over Lane's objections and Astra orders Non to withdraw despite his numerical advantage. Later, J'onn uses his shape-shifting power to present Cat with Kara and Supergirl simultaneously, casting doubt on her initial deduction of their identities.
Episode 10 - "Childish Things"
When Winn learns that his father the Toyman (Henry Czerny) has escaped, Kara wants to help him find his father, but he's concerned it is his cross to bear. Alex convinces a reluctant Hank to use his powers to infiltrate Lord Technologies and find out what Maxwell is hiding. Cat hires Lucy as her general counsel, but James is unenthusiastic. Maxwell uses a hidden camera to spy on Kara and Alex, discovering that the two are sisters and learning Kara's secret identity. Also, Kara learns Winn is in love with her after he kisses her and runs off. Kara feels guilty for possibly ruining their friendship and tells Alex, who already knew how he felt.
Episode 11 - "Strange Visitor From Another Planet"
Kara saves an anti-alien senator named Miranda Crane (Tawny Cypress) after a mysterious creature attacks only to discover that Hank knows of the creature and wants vengeance against it for killing his family and race back on Mars. The deception takes on a new twist when the alien poses as Senator Crane in order to bait Hank into revealing the DEO's Green Martian and Kara has to intervene before Hank goes through with his vengeance. Meanwhile, Kara helps Cat meet with her son Adam who later asks Kara out for a date. An identical Supergirl suddenly shows up in National City and is already the lead story on television after she tosses a dangling car off a bridge.
Episode 12 - "Bizarro"
Kara comes face-to-face with a doppelgänger of herself (Hope Lauren) who was brought to life by Maxwell through a combination of genetics from her DNA and a comatose victim. The double is mentally programmed to destroy Supergirl. Kara, on the other hand, believes that Maxwell is the one the DEO should go after when he reveals he knows her secret by sending Bizarro out to kill her while she is Kara. Alex and Hank come up with a plan to keep Maxwell from exposing Kara while countering Bizarro with a synthetic blue kryptonite. Meanwhile, Kara starts to get to know Adam, but is not sure whether to take the next step. A mysterious plant attacks Kara.
Episode 13 - "For the Girl Who Has Everything"
A mysterious plant known as the Black Mercy places Kara in a dreamlike state that has her imagining she is back on Krypton. The plant is part of a plot by Non, who is using Earth's technology to launch Myriad, which he and Astra are planning to use to wipe out humanity. Alex, Hank, Winn, Maxwell, and James race against time to save Kara, with Alex entering Kara's mind to pull Kara out and bring her back to reality. When Kara comes back, she seeks revenge on Non and stops him, but Astra, who wanted Kara unharmed and is upset with Non, is killed by Alex before she could kill Hank, who fought her off as the Martian Manhunter. Hank tells Kara that he killed Astra instead of Alex, who starts to feel guilty over whether she should tell Kara the truth. Non vows revenge on Kara in the wake of Astra's death.
Episode 14 - "Truth, Justice, and the American Way"
Kara, Alex, and J'onn track down an armored alien known as the Master Jailer (Jeff Branson), whom they discover was a prison guard at Fort Rozz. He has become a vigilante who kills the alien fugitives, including those convicted of non-violent crimes such as a professor sentenced for drug smuggling. Kara confronts the Master Jailer, but he takes her prisoner and plans to execute her for not joining him. Alex pinpoints his location and Kara is able to save the professor and defeat the Jailer. Cat assigns James and Lucy to investigate Maxwell Lord's disappearance. Tensions between James and Lucy develop after he reveals his knowledge of the DEO, prompting James to urge Kara to release Maxwell. Kara finds competition in Cat's new "first assistant" Siobhan Smythe (Italia Ricci), who vows to become the next Cat Grant. As Kara and Non pay their final respects to Astra, Non warns her that she will be next. Kara attempts to seek out the truth about Myriad and realizes she cannot forgive J'onn for killing her aunt.
Episode 15 - "Solitude"
A hacker steals information from a cheating website and asks Cat to release it. When Cat refuses, the hacker disrupts the city's infrastructure by interfering with its computer system. The hacker is revealed to be Indigo (Laura Vandervoort), who was in Fort Rozz and enabled Kara to escape the Phantom Zone. Her true plan is to destroy National City with a nuclear missile, but her attempt is foiled by Supergirl. Meanwhile, Kara is still mad at Hank and refuses to return to the DEO. Upon realizing they are stronger together, she eventually does, only to be told by Alex that it was she who killed her aunt.
Episode 16 - "Falling"
Supergirl inadvertently comes into contact with Red Kryptonite which destroys her inhibitions. It turns out that Maxwell created it in the hopes of stopping Non's next attack. Instead, it gradually turns Supergirl evil. The DEO is able to subdue her, but at the price of Hank revealing himself as the Martian Manhunter.
Episode 17 - "Manhunter"
While Kara is trying to win back National City's trust, Marine Colonel James Harper (Eddie McClintock) begins an investigation into the J'onn affair with Lucy, having re-enlisted into the Army at her previous rank of Major, as his legal assistant. After learning that Hank and Alex are on their way to Project Cadmus, Kara tells Lucy that she is Supergirl and convinces her to help rescue Hank and Alex. Hank learns that Jeremiah is still alive, so he and Alex go on the run to find him, but not before manipulating Harper into resigning from the Marines and appointing Lucy as the acting director of the DEO. Meanwhile, Siobhan tries to get revenge on Kara for getting her fired, but gets caught and discovers that she has the power to sonic scream.
Episode 18 - "Worlds Finest"
Siobhan discovers that the women in her family are cursed with the spirit of a banshee, which can only be quieted by killing whomever wronged them. Deciding to kill Kara, Siobhan frees Livewire from captivity at the DEO and suggests they team up. Siobhan—now calling herself Silver Banshee—and Livewire kidnap Cat and wreak havoc on National City Park. With the help of The Flash (Grant Gustin), a superhero from an alternate universe (see Arrowverse), Kara is able to subdue them and win back National City's trust. Later on, Kara discovers that everyone in National City has fallen under some kind of spell, revealed by Non to be the result of Myriad.
Episode 19 - "Myriad"
The Myriad effect has taken over National City and even Superman is under control, leaving Kara, Cat, and Maxwell as the only ones immune. Now, Kara must find a way to stop Non, but Maxwell is looking at destroying the Kryptonians with a bomb at the risk of killing humans. Cat objects and prompts Kara to find an alternative. The effect brings fugitives Alex and J'onn back before Alex can tell Eliza the truth about Jeremiah and Henshaw. When Indigo senses the two returning, she defeats J'onn, but takes Alex and places her under mind control as Non's payback for Astra's death.
Episode 20 - "Better Angels"
Kara fights with Alex, who is controlled by Non. When Alex is about to kill Kara with the same sword used to kill Astra, their mother pleads with her to stop, breaking Non's control over Alex. The team learns that hope is the key to stopping Myriad. Supergirl inspires the citizens of National City, waking them from the Myriad trance. However, Non is convinced by Indigo to kill all the humans on Earth by increasing Myriad's frequency. Back at the DEO, Max warns Kara that she might not survive a solo fight with Non and Indigo; J'onn later insists on helping her. Kara and J'onn confront Non and Indigo at Fort Rozz, which is powering Myriad. Kara defeats Non in a heat vision battle and J'onn rips Indigo's body apart. As Indigo dies, she gloats that Myriad cannot be shut down. Kara flies Fort Rozz into space, rendering Myriad harmless; Alex rescues her using Kara's pod. Afterward, J'onn is reinstated as the Director of the DEO and Cat gives Kara a promotion. While Kara celebrates at her house, another pod similar to the one in which Kara came to Earth crashes near National City. Kara opens the pod and is shocked by what is inside it.
The Verdict
Boy, did this show go through some ups and downs over the course of it’s premiere season. At it’s core, it’s just like the other shows from the CW based in the “Arrowverse”, even though ironically it doesn’t take place in that same universe. I’m sure that is going to change after the change from CBS to the CW for Season 2, but geez that made things awkward for this first season.
That being said, if there’s anything this show does right despite anything negative I will bring up in this review it’s that this show embodies and symbolizes what it means to be a figure of hope like Supergirl better than Man of Steel and Batman vs. Superman have done to date. There are many moments throughout the course of this season where it wasn’t Kara’s awesome array of powers didn’t save the day, but it was her compassion, heart, and courageousness that won the day. The show focuses on the importance of her as a symbolic figure more than that focusing on just the powers or just the fact that she’s Superman’s cousin. In that aspect, Supergirl truly shines on her own in this show.
Speaking of negatives, can we talk about how bad the villains in this show looked in costume and how they were mishandled in the narrative?
One of my all-time favorite Superman: The Animated Series villains, Livewire was made into a random shock jock who was obsessed with Cat Grant while Silver Banshee was just disgruntled former Catco employee with issues. They completely wasted Red Tornado, then made Reactron and even Maxima (played by former WWE Diva Eve Torres) throwaway villains, despite their significance to Superman's lore. If I could slap the writers of this show, I would give them several backhands. The obsession with this seasons' main antagonist(s) being from Krypton screamed Superman II so much that it seemed like a minor inconvenience...
As much as I have frowned upon this show throughout this first season on social media yet continue to watch it just to see where it goes, I have to admit there are a few noteworthy episodes that made me glad I stuck around watching it.
Episode 7 - "Human for a Day" - One could point out of the importance that this show went out of its way to establish that Supergirl shares the same "new power" that was revealed in the comics continuity as what New 52 Superman has dubbed as the after-effects of using the Super Flare, but the biggest takeaway from this episode is the importance of Supergirl as a symbol - with or without her powers. What Kara is willing to do to drive that point home, even without her powers, is one of the best moments of this entire season.
Episode 11 - "Strange Visitor from Another Planet" - This entire episode was dedicated to exploring Manhunter's backstory and making the villain of the week feature one of his adversaries, notably a White Martian.
Kara and Barry were awesome together on this episode.
Episode 18 - "Worlds Finest" - This was the best episode all season, not because of the villains featured (Livewire again and the debuting Silver Banshee) - both villains they fucked up on a colossal scale in terms of origins and costume designs, but because of The Flash guest-starring on this episode. This episode was shown on the CBS network completely out of order as it was supposed to take place during Barry's disappearance from his own continuity alongside the airing of Season Two of his own series' parallel dimensions plot. I could've cared less about the actual superhero team-up of this episode but I couldn't get enough of how well Kara Danvers (Melissa Benoist) and Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) play off each other. It got to the point of me asking myself why they didn't do this team-up sooner? It's definitely one of the best moments all season and I hope we get more team-ups like this now that Supergirl has officially moved to the CW Network.
The Absence of Superman
For those expecting to see Superman in this show, this is the best you get. I'm not even kidding.
Right off the bat, this is the biggest critique that weighs this show down and holds it back in a sense. For a show that references and mentions Superman so much, it's mind-boggling that he would be absent from the bulk of the show and limited to communicating to Kara via instant messaging, text messages, or through Jimmy Olsen. The first few "cameos" I let them slide on but as it became an ongoing thing where Superman wasn't going to ever show up for real, I shook my head at why would they omit something so important to Kara's growth as a hero. I'm sure the feminists will argue that Superman would have brought this show down if she could call on her cousin for help in every situation, but he's her family and that was needed as she struggled to cope with this new duality of being a super-powered heroine and attempting to fit in her "normal" life.
The lack of Superman ends up being the ultimate cop out as it's painfully obvious that CBS were too cheap to pay for the Superman license to go along with having a Supergirl narrative. Given how the DC Extended Universe is going right now, I'm pretty sure that that's a pretty pricey license to try to get a hold of anyway. They probably ran into the same situation as Gotham on the Fox Network, where you have a Batman-themed TV show without having Batman in it.
Fortunately, Superman will make his official debut in Season Two on the CW Network, played by Tyler Hoechlin. That is, if fans will be willing to give this show another go after it's move to the new network.
Not really crazy about this ordinary looking dude playing Supes after we've been all
spoiled by Henry Cavill looking like he stepped off a comic book panel...
The Importance of Martian Manhunter
Spoiler Alert: Hank Henshaw is Martian Manhunter in this series.
Since they couldn't get Superman as a series regular, the writers went and did the next best thing - Martian Manhunter. J'onn isn't revealed until roughly a few episodes into the series, but his inclusion was huge for this show. He marks one of the few key pivotal members of the Justice League as part of this universe, but it's more important that Kara has someone to lean onto as support as another orphaned alien on this planet that isn't her home. Manhunter acts as the one person that Kara can identify with in terms of being a "gifted" individual in world that is strange to them, yet under their unique circumstances, has become their home that they must protect.
For those wondering... Kara's going to have even more people to identify with in the next season as Mon-El was the one in the pod that she found at the end of the Season One finale, which was confirmed a few months ago at Comic-Con.
My only complaint about Manhunter was that he looked like CGI-model ripped right out of Injustice: Gods Among Us and just conveniently placed into this show.
WTF is this shit?
Seriously... LOOK AT THIS SHIT.
I'm not even going to sugar-coat it... the action sequences in this show were fucking awful. You're going to hear me say it again in my review of Legends of Tomorrow Season 1, but Jesus Christ, don't make these superhero TV dramas when your fight sequences look worse and more campy than Batman '66 and the original seasons of Power Rangers combined. Plus, you can tell they were trying too hard to sprinkle a little of Snyder's Man of Steel action sequences into this show subtly between the lines.
I'm begging for DC to find someone better to do the fight choreography for these TV shows. Even Power Rangers has better fight scenes than this in their newer seasons, so I know there has to be a way to get something better visually here.
Cat Grant Steals the Show... Literally
When this show first aired... or rather when the pilot leaked online on various outlets, I thought Cat Grant's character was going to be a mock J. Jonah Jameson as a lot of these DC Comics-based superhero TV dramas tend to borrow a lot of themes from Spider-Man to hit home with the teen viewing audience that they are made for, but over the course of this season, she really grew on me as the best character in this show. The fanboys and fangirls will say that Melissa Benoist makes the show, but it's more Calista Flockhart's performance as Cat Grant on how she's turned into a firm believer of Supergirl after being one of her hardest critics when she first made her debut.
Throughout the season, Cat Grant ironically plays the part of the audience watching this show. She starts off as Supergirl's biggest critic in terms of who she is and what she stands for, but by the end of the season, she is Supergirl's biggest supporter, even when she doesn't have faith in herself. It's hard to support this show, even for the most hardcore of fans when it has so many negatives going for it than positives, such as it's primetime television slot during the height of Monday nights' sports - football, basketball, and WWE, how it clearly has a lower budget than most of the other CW-produced DC Comics-based shows, and some mediocre writing that fails to hook in new viewers.
If it wasn't for Cat Grant's character growth throughout this season, I seriously doubt I would have gone out of my way to bother watching this show for the complete season.
Watch It or Don't Bother
If you're not crazy about the other CW-based DC Comics superhero TV dramas, then don't bother with this. You're not missing out on anything groundbreaking. If you're willing to endure through the entire season, there's some minor rewards in terms of the reveal of Martian Manhunter and the crossover team-up with Grant Gustin as Barry Allen/The Flash from his own series, but even those standout points are asking a lot from the casual viewer to invest into watching this season in its entirety.
Supergirl tries it's best to put it's best foot forward to pay homage to this iconic heroine being the first female DC Comics character to star in her own solo superhero TV drama, but ultimately ends up falling short a few steps from truly making a lasting impact. Hopefully, fans will be willing to come back for the next season to give it another chance after the creators have time to digest what they did well and how to improve for the better.
Transformers: Devastation is an action hack and slash video game based on the Transformers franchise developed by Platinum Games and published by Activision. It was released on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One in October 2015.
The Plot:
In New York City, a swarm of Insecticons and giant metal claws emerge from below, wreaking havoc. The Autobots arrive to investigate, battling Megatron and the Constructicons, who form Devastator. Megatron escapes into a hatch leading underground and reveals the attacks are the automatic defenses of the Proudstar, an Autobot ship which crashed on Earth millions of years ago that Megatron now controls, and announces his plans to use the Insecticons to cyberform the Earth, turning it into metal and creating a new Cybertron.
Optimus Prime explains that the Proudstar, captained by Nova Prime, was a ship meant to convert uninhabited planets into ones suitable to support Cybertronian life, and that its Ferrotaxis supercomputer contains a record of Cybertron's history and culture which had been lost during the Great War. Entering the ship, the Autobots fight off Soundwave and attempt to access the plasma core powering the Proudstar and the Insecticons, but the security system ejects the core from the ship. Emerging, the Autobots learn the core's location from Thundercracker and follow the trail. While they are distracted by fighting Blitzwing, Starscream arrives to take the core back to the Decepticons, but loses control of it due to a storm and crash-lands. The Autobots beat Motormaster to the core, but find it damaged and at risk of explosion. Before they can shut it down, the rest of the Stunticons arrive and form Menasor. The combiner throws the core to Megatron, who takes it to Cybertron to be properly repaired.
The Autobots follow the Decepticons through the Space Bridge, but are delayed by Starscream and Shockwave, arriving too late to catch Megatron. Conversing with Shockwave, Optimus discovers that during the Proudstar's voyage, Nova Prime and the crew were corrupted by Unicron and had begun to cyberform inhabited planets as well, planning to do the same to Earth before they crashed. Returning to the Proudstar, the Autobots try once again to disable the core, but it ruptures and becomes inaccessible, leaving the Ferrotaxis, now in Megatron's possession, as the only way to stop the cyberforming process. The group head for the Proudstar's control room, fighting off the Decepticon forces as they ascend. Megatron escapes, ordering Devastator and Menasor to finish them, but the Autobots defeat them and follow Megatron, fighting him for the computer.
As he is defeated, Megatron fires the Ferrotaxis from his cannon into orbit, and Optimus rides an Insecticon into space after it, with Megatron in pursuit. The two engage in a final battle above the Earth, with Optimus emerging victorious, but cannot shut down the Insecticons due to Megatron's tampering. Left with no choice, Optimus destroys the Ferrotaxis, stopping the cyberforming and preventing the plasma core's detonation. As he falls back to Earth, Optimus declares Earth is now their true home, and they must protect it at all costs. Later, with Defensor andSuperion's support, Optimus commissions plans for the Optimus Maximus project.
In a post-credits scene, aboard the Proudstar, Nova Prime is seen awakening from stasis.
The Verdict:
I felt like a kid again playing this game. From the second it started to the ending credits, I felt like I was back in the 80's eating a bowl of cereal and enjoying watching my favorite Transformers foil the recent plot cooked up by the Decepticons. A lot of the original voice acting talent return to reprise their roles from the animated series from the 1980s and it really adds to the nostalgia. Platinum Games went with a detailed cell-shaded look for the game that captures the look of the original cartoon perfectly, even though it looks as good as the Blu-Ray copies of Transformers: The Movie if I'm perfectly honest.
Autobots, transform and roll out!
In terms of gameplay, this is a Platinum Games title so you should know what to expect for the most part. The action is best described as the original Bayonetta reskinned as Transformers. You have weak and heavy attacks, with different combinations of those buttons will yield combos of various results. Most players could simply mash weak attacks to victory with very minor resistance on Normal difficulty. The thing that makes the combat system a tad different than Bayonetta's is the fact that during combos, each of the Transformers can transform into their vehicle or dinosaur (if you're playing as Grimlock) and do an additional follow-up (or two if you're really sick with your combos) that does massive damage compared to your normal attacks. Another feature that is carried over from the Bayonetta series is Witch Time or "Focus" as how it's referred to as in this game, where if you evade an incoming attack with precise timing, everything slows down around you to allow your Autobot(s) to unleash a devastating counterattack. This is where the combat truly shines as you're taking all of these concepts and putting them together as every enemy encounter becomes a creative experiment to see what ways can you utilize your Autobot's combos, ranged weapons, vehicular attacks, and even each of their unique abilities in combat.
This definitely keeps combat interesting for the most part, despite the game recycles a lot of the same enemy types throughout the game before adding more periodically over the course of the narrative. For example, you will fight Devastator twice, then each of the Constructicons that he consists of as mini-bosses before reaching the finale of the game where you face Devastator and Menasor (the Stunticons' combiner led by Motormaster). I was kinda surprised that PredaKing wasn't in this but I guess Platinum Games are saving them, along with appearances by Metroplex, Protector, and Tripicon, for an inevitable sequel down the road.
During the last portion of the game, ALL of the Autobots work together against multiple
waves of enemies and bosses. This results in a lot of craziness as seen above.
Unfortunately, this game has the same problem Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance had in terms of dealing with airborne foes. The Autobots are only playable in this game (so far in terms of DLC content) and you are left to rely on your ranged weapons, all of which that have limited usage, to force airborne foes to come down to ground level for you can take them out. It's not as annoying to deal with like in Revengeance, but becomes easier to deal with after gaining more powerful firearms and weapons throughout the course of the story. At least with this game, you have MUCH better firearms and subweapons integrated into the combat system so you don't feel awkward switching to them when needed.
Between levels and at specific checkpoints throughout the game, players can teleport the Autobots back to the Ark, where they can purchase new weapons or even create new ones via synthezation. Synthezation is something that is worth experimenting with as two weapons are combined together to create a stronger one, oftentimes carrying the abilities and attributes of the discarded weapon. Everything in the Autobots' arsenal is customizable in combat to suit any players' particular playstyle. I highly suggest investing credits into purchasing the extra skill moves in the shop as well as they allow you to acquire the ability to break enemy shields without moving, the ability to parry enemy attacks (sorry but it's nowhere as flawless and borderline overpowered from the original Bayonetta) or more means to utilize the Focus ability.
Rent it, Buy it or Don't Bother?
At this point, this title is easily $20-30 brand new, but back when it originally released at retail it was $59.99 full price. Back at launch, I would have said rent it as it's an easy weekend rental to breeze through on a weekend, but at the current price, you might as well buy it. The amount of nostalgia for Generation 1 Transformers fans is uncanny with a lot of the original cast on board to voice the Autobots and Decepticons. Platinum Games made this game a blast to play, despite getting a little repetitive by the end of the campaign but that just comes with the territory in these types of games.
I don't know why this game and TMNT: MiM got low reviews but you should know what to expect from these types of games by now, especially from what you're getting from a Platinum Games-made style beat 'em up, action game.
After the AMAZING finale of season two, I'm anxious to see where Star Wars Rebels goes next. First things first, there's a LOT to digest from this trailer. Holy shit, they teased a lot here. I'm digging the time skip as that's needed and appreciated if they want to continue Ezra's path of a Jedi and make it a little more believable following the events at the end of Season Two. I think the biggest shocker in this trailer was the debut of Grand Admiral Thrawn. I'm no Star Wars buff, but I thought the word that was going around was that they were saving his debut for the live action films after George Lucas put it out there that the graphic novels weren't canon going forward?
Even though that this show was supposed to be a kid-friendly show, I love that this series is taken a much more darker tone as was hinted along the end of Season Two. It seems like Ezra is walking down a darker path than even the one Anakin Skywalker went down to the Dark Side and there's no coming back. I really wanted to write a review on all of the great things going on in Season Two of Rebels, but it totally escaped my mind over the last few months. I was honestly ready to write the show off as a poor follow-up to the lackluster conclusion to Clone Wars, but the finale of Season One and just about everything moving forward has been great. I dare to say that Rebels have surpassed Clone Wars in sheer brilliance and with much better storytelling.
I definitely can't wait for Star Wars Rebels Season Three.
