Perry White for governor!

You may not know this if you don't live in Texas (and if the voting numbers here are anything to go by, maybe not even then), but the state recently had its primary elections for the governor's race. The winning Republican candidate was incumbent Gov. Rick Perry, and the Democratic nod went to former Houston mayor Bill White.

I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but some sharpie at the local TV station noticed something that went right over my head. Like, you might say, a speeding bullet.

Do you see it yet? White and Perry. Perry and White.

Perry.

White.

Holy crap!

Even more amazingly they decided to do a story about it, featuring both Dragon's Lair Comics and my own regular shop, Austin Books and Comics (where there's a party going on right now THAT I'M MISSING. See what I do for you? It's because I give and I give. I'm a giver.) They even interviewed Austin Books' own Brandon Zuern, raconteur, gadabout and the guy who introduced me to the wonder that is the film, A Boy and His Dog.

The news story is a little doofy and the definition of "slow news day," but I don't care because while it's ostensibly an election story, it's really all about Perry White. Check it out:



Honestly — and given the name for this blog, you might've guessed this by now — it's nice to see my favorite comic book newspaper editor get some much-deserved attention. And why shouldn't he? Perry White is a stalwart of the DCU, not to mention Metropolis. Tirelessly covering events in a town where it's always a good news day, often uncovering the scoops himself, and probably one of the few people to figure out Superman's secret identity (oh, c'mon, OF COURSE he knows), Perry is the consumate newsman and a bedrock of that great metropolitan newspaper known as the Daily Planet.

Yay for Perry White!

... and have a Super day.

Ugh

via io9

All right, everybody - suit up!

I don't know if this has made the rounds yet, but it's the first I've seen of it: the New York Daily News has a fun little compare-and-contrast photo feature up at their Web site comparing TV and movie depictions of superheroes to the original comic book designs.

They cheat a little bit by using multiple characters from the same movie (there's plenty of Watchmen and Spider-Man here), but the indie folks aren't left totally out in the cold, either. It's not complete (insert fanboy whine here), but it's still impressively in-depth, from the cool ...


to the omigodmakeitstop ...


What do you think? What are some of your favorite — or most hated — character costumes to hit the screen? Any love for the TV version of Flash? Let me know in the comments!

Superhero?: Could've been a contender

SPOILER!

This post contains details from the fifth episode
of Who Wants To Be A Superhero?

I realize this recap is later than usual, but it's taken me this long to get past the disappointment of the latest elimination, and ... and ...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WHY, GOD, WHY?!?!

... sorry ... let's carry on, OK?

So, early during the morning the heroes were alerted to Dr. Darks' latest plot - killing all electricity in Los Angeles and bringing the city to a standstill. To keep this from happening, the heroes had to go to a power station and individually remove the fuses powering Darks' device.

Of course it wasn't going to be easy, and our favorite cable network-supervillain had the foresight to make copies of the stolen secret files containing the heroes' personal information. Tipped off to the groups' phobias, Dr. Dark hid the fuses in a dark, cramped room at the end of a pipe filled with spiders, snakes and other creepy-crawlies.

Which briefly sends Whip-Snap over the edge, something she'd been showing a propensity for with distressing regularity. I understand people deal with frustration and stress in different ways, but no one wants to see their superhero freaking out.

Still, she got herself together and got her fuse, with everyone else eventually following and completing the challenge with just seconds to spare. This might've been dramatic, but d'you know what was even better? It's a tie, between the part where The Defuser got stuck in the pipe (briefly) and when Parthenon shrieked like a little girl during his part of the challenge.

Oh, who am I kidding? It was when Parthenon let loose with his coquettish scream - that ought to be a flashback scene in every episode from now on!

OK, let's sum up the rest of the episode: As a reward for saving the city, the heroes are sent to a restaurant for dinner. Unfortunately, while the group is talking to some kids The Defuser screws up by giving them one of his weapons; c'mon, does Batman give street urchins smoke bombs and Batarangs? (Robin doesn't count.)

Later, the heroes have to face Dr. Dark again when he breaks into Stan Lee's broadcast to reveal their foibles, quirks and - in the case of Whip-Snap - past, possibly criminal, behavior. Apparently she had some ex-boyfriend trouble once and as part of a night that ended with her causing a scene outside his house, she ... er ... stole a friends' car. Whip-Snap used the word "confiscated," but whatever you might want to call it, Stan was not impressed. He also didn't seem to be so hot on the idea that Parthenon has a "pirate room" in his house, that Hygena fantasizes about dancing burlesque, Hyper-Strike screwed up an act and was fired, or that The Defuser once got so drunk he clumsily (and accidentally) destroyed a public restroom.

I don't know what the problem was - it sounds like the basis of a typical Marvel team-book to me.

Finally, it was time for someone to go, and Hygena (neurotic slowpoke), Defuser (overbearing micro-manager), and Whip-Snap (breakdown artist) were on the chopping blocks. Sadly, and in spite of my high-hopes, Whip-Snap wasn't able to pull herself together enough to prove her potential and was eliminated!

It's too bad: Her heart was in the right place, but Whip-Snap just couldn't secure her own place on Superhero. I still think she had the potential to go all the way, or at least to the final two, but her obvious spirit couldn't overcome her weighty self-doubt in time. In spite of that, though, I would have liked to have seen her stay for one more round - you could almost see the hero emerging in Whip-Snap and of the entire group, she deserved a second chance.

Current favorites: The Defuser, Parthenon

Superhero?: Taken to the curb

SPOILER!

This post contains details from the fourth episode
of Who Wants To Be A Superhero?

This weeks' episode was like watching a KO punch in slow-motion; at the moment of impact you could see the eyes glazing, the mouth going slack and you knew that fighter was going down and wouldn't be getting back up. Once the simple - but fatal - mistake was made, it was obvious who would be booted off Who Wants to be a Superhero?

Picking up where last week's episode left off, the heroes went back to the lair to find the place ransacked and worse, the safe holding their secret identities emptied and the Pencil Stan Lee Started His Career With gone.

(Quick aside: Is it me, or does that pencil look an awful lot like a modern mechanical pencil? Wouldn't he have used a Ticonderoga or something?)

In typical fashion, Defuser took charge and started giving out orders. He's been warned about this before, but it looks like he can't help himself and that's going to end up hurting him if he can't rein it in. Then, Stan Lee popped up on his monitor and tells them Dr. Dark (is it wrong to root for the villain?) has had the stuff stolen and they need to intercept his courier to get it back.

Oh! Almost forgot! Whip-Snap cracked (pun alert) under the pressure and started crying, saying she isn't sure she can go on with the competition. From what I can tell Whip-Snap is estranged from her family and getting close to people only to see them sent away is taking a toll on her. She did manage to get mad at herself and shake it off, though. She needs to get mad more often because when she does she is both awesome and slightly scary.

While trying to nab the courier, the heroes got a message from a commercial that tried to sell the audience auto insurance. Which was pretty annoying. Product placement is a fact of film and television, but do we really need animated shills giving the heroes their assignments? Like I said - annoying.

To make the challenge more difficult, the heroes had to borrow clothes from strangers to create a disguise that would allow them to approach the courier, say the password and get the stuff back. And this is when the mistake was made.

Everyone was doing OK (Parthenon in particular is turning out to be focused, clever and fun; Hygena's getting a little annoying), and then there was a curve-ball. With time running out, a woman approached each hero and asked for help finding her daughter. All of them stopped what they were doing and started looking for the little girl - except for Basura.

Wham!

Maybe she was thrown by the criticism she got in a previous episode for stopping in the middle of a mission, but Basura looked lost. And before she could get herself together the woman was gone and her opportunity went with it.

Once the mission was completed (retrieving the files, but not Lee's pencil) everyone got a look at what their comic book covers will look like if they win, then headed back to the lair where Whip-Snap totally kicked Hyper-Strike's ass in an arm-wrestling contest! Later, Defuser was called on his criticism of his colleagues in his mission report which, again, earns him points for honesty but isn't really doing him any favors. Tact, Defuser, tact! They're supposed to be your teammates, not your sidekicks.

Finally, it was time for the chopping blocks. Lee had a little crow for everyone to chew on, but this week it was Defuser, Hygena and Basura in the bottom three. And while Defuser is risking things by failing to learn how to lead without bossing people around, and Hygena is seemingly on the verge of a breakdown most of the time, Basura made an obvious screw-up and was eliminated.

I liked Basura, but indecisiveness and a willingness to be overshadowed by stronger personalities caught up to her, and I really can't argue that she didn't deserve to get the ax. Rubbish!

Current favorites: The Defuser, Whip-Snap
Most improved: Parthenon

Superhero?: Doubling your pleasure

SPOILER!

This post contains details from the third episode
of Who Wants To Be A Superhero?

Not to be a jerk or anything, but ... FINALLY!

The third episode of Who Wants To Be A Superhero saw this season's first double-elimination, and it couldn't have been more deserved. After receiving a challenge from new supervillain Dr. Dark, the heroes had to split into teams of two at an amusement park, with one teammate riding a roller coaster to spot markers and the other running around looking for the numbers that will help unlock a door hiding the gleefully evil bad guy.

Everyone performed much as they had in past episodes, with certain heroes stepping up to the challenge while others slipped. Of course, I'm talking about Mr. Mitzvah and Ms. Limelight.

First, Mitzvah twists something and hurts his leg, and while he struggled through it he also made excuses and kvetched about it the whole time. And then Ms. Limelight got lost, got flustered, and then got even MORE LOST! This isn't to say that all of the heroes didn't make some boneheaded moves, but after the poor showing by these two in the past - well, it didn't look good.

Back at the lair, the heroes had to write up case reports and critique their own - and their colleagues' - performance. This was a little bit of a surprise because it seemed like something other reality shows would do to force conflict in the group (which this was, really), but at least it was all anonymous so it injected tension without it becoming about personalities. Of course, it didn't help that Dr. Dark left a note implying that one of the heroes might be a mole working for him. Dun dun DUN!!!

It wasn't true, and the heroes should have realized that the bad guy might, y'know, lie to them, but it did lead to them first talking about Mr. Mitzvah behind his back (shame!), and then confronting him directly. As usual, he was evasive and then combative, a combination that's been hurting him from the beginning.

Finally, it was on to the eliminations, with Mitzvah and Ms. Limelight on the red blocks once again. Do you realize they'd been in the bottom three in every episode? It's amazing they made it this far, but the ride was over for Mr. Mitzvah, who was eliminated. But wait! As the heroes begin to trudge back downstairs, Lee calls them back and puts Basura and Ms. Limelight back on the chopping blocks, and adds Hyper-Strike to make it three. After a little lecturing, Lee then told Ms. Limelight to hit the bricks because she was also eliminated! Ooh, a rare double-header!

And then everyone started crying. Seriously.

One more thing: Whip-Snap a sidekick? My ass! A little more confidence and she'll be a tough contender.

Current favorites: Whip-Snap, The Defuser, Basura

Superhero?: More Bee Sting, less Mindset

SPOILER!

This post contains details on the second episode
of Who Wants To Be A Superhero?

Man, can I call 'em or what? OK, maybe not so much, so let's say goodbye to Mindset, who pretty much a-holed himself right out of Who Wants To Be A Superhero? this week.

Caught in a supervillain trap so perfectly out of the Silver Age that it made me cackle, Mindset decided it was smart to either a) stay in character or, b) be a complete douche. Probably not the best idea, since the heroes were split up and stuck in two clear plastic boxes with a growing number of bees, forced to compete in a spelling bee administered by - who else - Bee Sting.

(Quick aside: How perfect was Bee Sting? Totally perfect. I demand more Bee Sting!)

So, every time a word was misspelled, Bee Sting would release more bees into the boxes (I remember hearing "Ten zousand bees!" at one point), and since they were all words with "be" somewhere in the word the heroes had to purposely misspell the words to include "bee." Makes sense, right?

It made sense to everyone except Mindset, apparently. After they figured out Bee Stings' game, Mindset still insisted on spelling a word without the extra "e," causing more bees to enter their box; his team eventually lost and Bee Sting even taunted them by saying they "might've duhn better if not for zeh bahld one." Ouch! Speaking of ouch, the heroes were actually being stung, something Stan Lee brought up later during the elimination process.

Which is where Mindset really blew it. Rather than apologize, or even acknowledge that he didn't really have his teams' best interests in mind, his swollen ego led him to keep saying, "I don't think I made a mistake - I did the right thing. I serve truth."

Oh, and earlier he made Ms. Limelight cry, which was a little unnecessary but not unforgivable.

Based on his backstory and the overall look of his character, I thought Mindset had a chance. Now, I'm actually happy to see him go.


Current favorites: The Defuser, Whip-Snap, Basura

Who DOESN'T Want to Be a Superhero?

What with everyone off at Nerd Prom, I'm not sure how many people were able to break away to watch last night's premiere of Who Wants to be a Superhero?, but I know I'm happy to see the return of ham-bone acting and unfortunate Spandex.

I was only able to catch the last half of the show yesterday, but I was on time to see the elimination of Braid, who I guess was some sort of Medusa-style idea. From what I saw, I can't say I'm sorry to see her go, but it did make me think of something I realized during the first season. Setting aside the fact that I'm a geek and a show like this is basically candy-coated crack, I enjoy Superhero not in spite of its silliness and corniness, but because of it.

It's nice to see a reality show where the contestants are encouraged to explore the better parts of human nature. Back-stabbing, ego and selfishness are a quick way to get yourself the boot. Say what you will about the Redenbacherian levels of corn dished out by host Stan Lee, but I love hearing someone say, "Look, we can be better; we can be heroes everyday. Why don't we give it a shot?"

Schmaltzy? Sure. But I'm always amazed how much the possibility of elimination affects the contestants - a lot of times they get upset because they disappointed Stan and themselves. All these powers but they'd still couldn't save him! And I'd be lying if I said this show didn't make me and my wife misty more than once before it was through. Damn you, Lee!!!

Here's a quick look at who slipped into a bodysock this time around:

• Braid: Eliminated!

• Mr. Mitzvah: Kind of a jerk, right? And he lays it on kinda thick - I keep thinking of the anteater from the "Ant and the Aardvark" cartoons. At least he's in character.

• Whip-snap: She's got a kind of Grace Jones vibe going, which I really dig. Hopefully she won't make any silly slip-ups that'll give her a too-early elimination like Monkey Woman (I was pulling for ya, MW!)
  

• The Defuser: Ladies and gentlemen, my current favorite. He's a little too gung-ho, but he's a cop from Austin (represent!) and he's got a neato back-story. But dude, ratchet down the intensity - it's just changing a tire. Pretend you're playing disc golf or something. If Defuser is eliminated, though, it's all about this guy:

• Mindset: He's chubby, bald and has a rubbery and expressive face, and it all adds up to awesome. Seriously, I can see him going all the way.
  

• Hyper-strike: Huh - I didn’t know wearing a headband was a super-power.

• Ms. Limelight: Well, she's cute, I guess. But mostly, there's a Limelight-shaped blank spot in my head. We'll see if she makes more of an impact in later episodes.
  

• Basura: She’s gotta know her name is Spanish for "garbage," right? Let's see ... "turns trash into treasure and reshapes rubbish into robots." OK, creo que si.
  

• Hygena: Maybe she can team up with Basura, a Fire and Ice sort of thing.

• Parthenon: Seems like a decent enough guy, but just kinda bland. And you gotta be able to carry the skirt, and I'm not sure he can.

So, who ya got?