Comics
“Batman and Harley Quinn” – A Speculative Pre-review from a Batman “Traditionalist”
On May 30, Warner Bros. released the cover art and announced the release date (August 15) of the upcoming animated movie “Batman and Harley Quinn.” The premise is that Poison Ivy and the Floronic Man undertake a plan to save the earth that involves destroying most of humankind. Batman and Nightwing learn of the duo’s plot and recruit Harley Quinn in order to foil their nefarious plans.
There are three things that I must state up-front in the spirit of full disclosure. The first is that I don’t like comic stories/characters that rely on campiness. The second is that I don’t like the Harley Quinn character. The third is that I lean towards a more traditional approach to the Batman (if such a thing is possible for someone who has read comics since the early ‘80s). I assume that you now understand my lackluster reaction to the movie announcement.
Mary Ellen Thomas, the Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Vice President of Family and Animation Marketing, said “In this all-new movie, we give Harley Quinn the starring role she deserves […].” There is only one reason that Harley deserves a starring role, and that is her inexplicable popularity. Granted, popularity is a fantastic reason for a starring role, since the definition of “popular” equates to quite a good metric for determining headliners and potential profit margin. However, the character is boring.
My use of “inexplicable” is the key word. I just don’t understand why Harley Quinn has such a following. The character lacks depth beyond her origin story. I see her as failed recipe: combine the Florence Nightingale effect with the Stockholm syndrome, shake violently, electrocute a handful of times, shake some more, burn, then pour. Voilà! Meet a one-dimensional character. Her job solely consists of eye-rolling dialogue and acting as Joker’s sidekick so that there can be a true dichotomous relationship with Batman and whoever his sidekick happens to be at the time.
My “traditionalist” view of the Batman makes it is hard for me to envision a scenario in which he would compromise his values and partner with a psychotic murderer, especially considering Harley’s relationship with Joker. An aspect of Batman’s appeal is that he refuses to compromise. He will take a different path, often more difficult, so that he doesn’t compromise his core values. Harley Quinn embodies everything that he hates. She willingly performs actions that are in direct contradiction to the Batman’s value system. Even the threat of humanity’s destruction doesn’t convince me that Batman would make such a choice.
The movie may be good. I hope that it’s good and many people enjoy it. Most likely, I won’t watch it, choosing instead to contemplate when Bruno will make her appearance in Batman’s regular continuity.
You can watch the trailer on DC’s website here.
Or, sit back in your hammock and just click “play” below:
Even though trophy support for older games on PS Plus Premium isn’t always great, you can always count on Sony’s first-party games to have it.If you like collecting these digital trinkets, you’re in luck, because today’s big PlayStation Plus update includes two classic games that can now be used to earn Trophies.
Each trophy list for Ape Academy 2 and Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror includes the platinum cherry on top. You can look at their respective listings here and here if you’re interested.
The list for Dark Mirror appears to be quite simple—you can basically earn them all by finishing the game. The trophies in Ape Academy 2 appear to be a little more complicated, requiring you to complete particular objectives in card battles and advance to specified rankings. Nonetheless, it doesn’t seem too difficult, so we’re looking at a couple of quite simple platinums.
Ridge Racer: Type 4 is this month’s other premium classic game; sadly, it does not offer trophies. But it makes up for it by being a complete banger.
However, will you be obtaining some of these trophies with a nostalgic flavor?
This year, Sony produced some truly outstanding work, releasing four high-profile games on the PS5 and PS4 (not to mention the numerous PC ports). The earliest of these, Horizon Forbidden West, arrived in February of 2022 and got the year off to a strong start. One of Aloy’s sophomore journey’s greatest strengths, among the many other things we like about it, is its excellent art direction. The Art of Horizon Forbidden West allows you to now delve deeply into the game’s visuals.
This coffee table book, which was published by Dark Horse Books, contains 200 pages of concept art and developer commentary. It provides an inside look at the process used to develop engaging characters and settings, and Forbidden West is certainly not lacking in either.
There will be two editions of the book: standard and deluxe. Both are hardback books, with the deluxe edition having pages with metallic edges and a unique slipcase. These are now up for pre-order and will go on sale on April 25, 2023.
Bloody hell, it took a while, but The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s long-awaited PS5 release date has been announced. The updated role-playing game will go on sale on December 14th, and CD Projekt Red reiterates that PS4 owners can get a free PS5 upgrade.
The “next-gen” game will have a physical edition at a later, as of yet unspecified time.
The next-gen update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is coming on December 14th, free for everyone who already owns the game.
For more details and gameplay reveal, tune in to REDstreams next week on https://t.co/IpFERTohi9. pic.twitter.com/fg3yfGeNih
— The Witcher (@witchergame) November 14, 2022
Though we still lack specific information about what the current-gen version will offer, don’t worry; it appears that all of our most pressing questions will be resolved soon. Next week, the developer says, will feature a livestream that will feature gameplay and more details. Hence, something to anticipate.
But in all honesty, we’re just relieved that this PS5 edition won’t be delayed any further. Will you play through The Witcher 3 again right before Christmas? Post your thoughts in the section below.
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