We have justified his most famous weaknesses. We have examined the downsides to his abilities. Now it's time to invent some new problems for the Man of Steel. Considering that the Silver Age Superman was a bastion for creativity, it only seems fitting to be creative here and come up with some of the wildest things. First, however, there's a weakness that has been in the running for a while but has long gone unmentioned, something that just might be his next Kryptonite if authors choose to g
One of the things that makes Superman so fun is that a science geek can dissect his abilities and ruined everyone's fun by bringing up all the technicalities. It's also fun to try and explain how his powers should work, and there's even an entire book dedicated to that. Back in the day, the only explanation for his powers was that he came from a planet with greater gravity, which was all that was necessary for explaining his initial set of powers, which were limited to merely strength and spee
While I am all for the godlike Superman common in books like All Star Superman and Kingdom Come, which manage to be masterpieces because of how they explore the implications of that sort of power, I recall the good old days when Spiderman was my favorite superhero and enjoyed him for how complex his powers were. Since the New 52 relaunch, Superman got downgraded considerably and now has more weaknesses. Of course, it won't change much about objections people have to him, since he's evolved to
I bought this the day after my great transminnesotan bike ride. So long as I'm working to be in shape, I'm going to aim to look like Superman, except my face won't look as ugly as Henry Cavill's. Also, I bought this shirt to work out in, since I don't like lifting while wearing sleeves and I also wanted something Superman-related to motivate me. I love it, and I'm going to wear it a lot. There's a similar Batman tanktop, for anyone who's interested. I work out pretty hard, but unfortunate
So I went biking on Saturday, and by now it's hardly news that I regularly bike 50 miles from Dordt College to South Sioux City, except this time I remembered something. Every time I had made this trip, I saw an old discarded spoon on the side of the road at about halfway to my destination. This time, as I saw it on the gravel shoulder of the road, I felt a compulsion to stop and pick it up, and I put it in my backpack. For some reason, I thought of a very specific friend when I turned it ove
Starting at 9:30 AM, June 29 in a small town just south of the Twin Cities, I began my long bike trip. I would have started sooner, but it was raining, and before I officially started I made sure to fill up my tires to the maximum suggested psi. I biked all the way to Rochester, where I turned onto Interstate 90. The blacktop was nice and smooth, and the road had plenty of shoulder. Basically, I was cruising, and it was an amazing ride. Simple, straight, uncomplicated. I put my MP3 player
Currently, I have all ten seasons of Smallville, the third season of Lois and Clark, the third season of Wonder Woman, and even though I am a comic book nerd the only actual comics I own are the original BIONICLE comics. I also own all or the Christopher Reeve Superman movies, plus the Richard Donner cut of I&II on blu-ray, and Superman Returns. I own all of the Batman films to date, including the Adam West movie. Then, of course, all the Spiderman movies and Marvel expanded universe movi
Faora has amazing potential as a villain, and up to date she has been defined purely as "Zod's Wife". Granted, spouses are a major part of a person's life, but she was always grouped with him when Superman was in need of distinct villains. She really needs some independence to become her own thing and a unique presence in the comics. Let's face it, she has always been been an orbit character and she's never listed as one of Superman's main enemies. The roster goes Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Paras
Fret not, those who feared that Pixar could not live up the the standard set by the Toy Story trilogy! Going in, it was difficult not to get anxious that the prequel to the now classic Monsters Inc. would be an unnecessary shoe-in with an arbitrary storyline. One he contrary, everything about this story completely lives up to the original, and adds depth and context to Mike and Sully that feels absolutely right. I watched it and realized "Yes, that's them! That's who they are." It really ma
When Goyer pitched Nolan the story for Man of Steel, Nolan stopped everything he was doing because he realized he had just stumbled upon the freshest idea since Marty McFly invented Rock'n'Roll. I had my doubts because I really didn't like having "Mr. Batman" connected to Superman, because I didn't want the Man of Steel to live in the shadow of the Dark Knight. However, I acknowledged that Mr. Nolan loves to play with characters, explore what their meaning, and play with the big moral question
There's this thing called the Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa, or RAGBRAI for short. It will start next July on the 21st, so last Wednesday I decided to prepare for it. So here's what I did: for fifty miles, I biked from my home to Sioux City. I was surprised to find myself getting sore the first few miles out. The bike also broke down at least half a dozen times for the first half of the ride alone. The bike wasn't the only technical problem. In my backpack, I had a bunch o
How to watch this: Wear a Starfleet shirt Wear Vulcan ears (or Shatner's old toupee) Watch The Wrath of Khan first Make sure you go to a theatre with a large silver screen Rinse and repeat Don't let the name fool you - this isn't a dark movie. In fact, though there is more emphasis on the villain's character this time around, I would consider 2009's Star Trek a darker film. I had several misconceptions going in that perhaps foiled my ability to fully appreciate this. For example, the tr
Watch 2001: A Space Odyssey before going to see this. Trust me. Just do. There's something surreal about this film that reminded me a lot of Tron: Legacy, and then I found out why. It shares the same director, Joseph Kosinski, and Legacy was his only feature film up until this point. I think a major part of it was the techno music. I might not have thought that such music would have fit into this type of film, but then I realized that Oblivion had a style to it that reminded me very much
How to watch an Iron Man movie: Go to the theatre wearing a superhero t-shirt In my case, a Superman t-shirt, since I feel he symbolizes the genre Avoid sitting by loud people who have to comment on everything Have fun Above all, Iron Man 3 is a fun movie. The trailers make it out to be darker than the others, but it's really no more serious than other Disney movies such as The Lion King. It's kid-friendly, filled with humor, and makes for a while ride. Is Tony Stark pushed like never be
If One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Juno had a baby, she would look something like this. It doesn't make a dramatic case for neurotic people and how they are abused by society, though it still makes them into underdogs who compel audiences to root for them. It breezes through the daily life of these individuals without earnest intensity, although that doesn't prevent it from being a sincere and serious story about these people. From the perspective of Silver Linings Playbook, social disabi
This movie makes me feel like a child again! A major part of this is due to this movie being released on the year of my birth, 1993, but I also have to give credit to Steven Spielberg. Somewhere in that bearded man is a kid that refused to go away, and he can capture this movie with not only spectacle but the rightful sense of wonder that children always wanted to see. Rich with cinematic vision and attention to detail, from the incredible realism of the larger-than-life attractions to the br
I truly can't believe that Lucus made those awful sequels to the first three Star Wars films. The first three were masterpieces, filled with political drama, fantastic special effects, and a great cast. The next three films really don't count. I'm so upset, I'm going to list why they sucked: 1. Luke's Actor Here I was at the end of Episode III thinking that Anakin's son was going to be as epic as ever. Yet, it turns out that he's actually as whiny as ever. "I was going to go to Toshi st
Wow. My expectations were pretty high when I entered into the theatre, because the trailers made this look like a pretty solid action film. I love it when my expectations are high and they are still beat. Where to start? This film is technically perfect. I am predicting that a year from now it's going to have a nomination for Best Picture. The whole package is good. It has great directing, great acting, great characterization, great writing, great music, great pacing, great editing, great
The Oscars have come and gone, and though it's been over a month, I thought I'd come back and make this entry to share my thoughts in the ceremony's highlights and moments that I personally found interesting. To start off, let's give a hand to James T. Kirk. He had never been nominated for anything and probably never will, since he's not that kind of actor. However, it seems that the Academy still has a sense of how to represent every aspect of the cinematic culture (outside of the vulgar, o
I had the opportunity watch Life of Pi or this. Since I don't like watching movies based off of books that I want to read, I went with this. At first glance, this looked to be a B-Movie. It turned out to be not even that. And no, it's not so bad it's good. It simply falls flat and has nothing to offer. There's some good action here, and some of these people are legitimately good actors. However, why is Josh Peck still playing a teenager? I really want to give him a chance at older and m
This controversial film is something that people seem to either love or hate. I have encountered people who think that it's not a Bond film, while I, with my limited experience with Bond films, feel that it's a Bondier film than any ever made. Certainly, it has a new feel, and it definitely stands out, because there's something different about this one. There's something special and unique. Since I don't know where to start, I might as well begin at the beginning. It sets the tone with a u
This is the first year I've ever bothered to watch the Academy Awards Ceremony. Part of this is because I have been following Spielberg's Lincoln for quite some time. I have a great reverence for Spielberg, and to anticipate him doing a biopic of one of the greatest presidents with Daniel Day-Lewis was a worthy wait. Then I saw the advertisements, and I instantly knew that it was going to be a powerhouse performance. I watched the movie, and it was the first time in a while that I have been
FOR YEARS I HAVE BEEN HAUNTED BY THE PHANTOM OF MY BEST FRIEND. She is a woman, and very much like an older sister to me. She is, in a sense, my ultimate peer. She is the person who never gives up on me, always has faith in me, and knows that I will pick myself back up again when I fall. She doesn’t coach me, but she holds me in her confidence, knowing that if she can get things right, then I will, too. We are, after all, peers. This perpetual specter has never left me and has be
From the way fans describe this movie, you could almost swear the director was a Wal*Mart greeter. Fans of Star Trek love to rant about which movies they hate, and this is usually near the top of the list. I don't know: from what I remember of The Journey Home, I actually prefer this. It has its charm, and something to fall in love with, although it's definitely not one of the best ones out there. It's primary fault is that it feels more like an extended episode with a high budget. Chief a
I was really excited for the movie and it made for a wonderful way of celebrating Christmas. When I walked into the theatre, it was packed, and that was saying something considering that it was a big theatre. It was a good thing I claimed my seats early. Regardless of this film's quality, I formed some opinions beforehand. First, any Les Miserables film is better than no Les Miserables at all. It's a story that needs to constantly be retold, and I can live without seeing my dream version r
