Three Wishes: LEGO Dream Sets

Welcome to Three Wishes, one of several new semi-regular features I intend to start putting in rotation here at AllNewShowcase.com. In Three Wishes, I’m going to choose a theme and then give a list of three things I’d like to see happen – products made, TV shows or movies produced, comic book dream teams, whatever. And I’m going to start with both one of my oldest and one of my newest obsessions: LEGO.

LEGOs

Like most of you reading this, I loved LEGO as a child. And, like most of you reading this, as I got older I wound up putting it aside in favor of other pursuits. In recent years, though, I’ve drifted back. There’s something about building a LEGO model that’s very cathartic. I think it scratches the same itch as those “adult coloring books” that are so popular now – it allows you to do something creative while at the same time (if you’re following instructions) not requiring you to put any really heavy mental effort into it. Plus, it’s just fun to watch a miniature version of something awesome come together through the effort of your own two hands.

I’m old enough that, when my halcyon days of LEGO ended, they had not yet started branching out beyond their own themes to licensed properties. In fact, many credit the licenses for taking LEGO from the brink of death to being the largest company in the world that specializes in only one kind of toy. They first began by licensing Star Wars and Harry Potter, and have spread out to licenses as diverse as Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, Scooby-Doo, The Simpsons, and Doctor Who. What’s more, with the LEGO Ideas program, anybody can design a LEGO model and submit it for consideration to be possibly manufactured as a LEGO set. So that in mind, any one of the sets I’m about to propose could theoretically be made real, if a talented designer submitted it. Sadly, I’m not that person. I’ve got no skill for design. I’m just a builder and a fan. Here, in no particular order, are the three sets I would most like to see created, if money and licensing issues were no factor.

DC Special Series 26Wish #1: Superman’s Fortress of Solitude.

LEGO has set a precedent for huge builds with their 3800-piece Death Star and 4600-piece Ghostbuster Firehouse. With the recent announcement of a gargantuan Batman ’66 Batcave, Superman’s Fortress seems the next logical step.

But which version, then, should it be? The Fortress has gone through many, many incarnations, from the original Earth-2 mountaintop retreat to the Silver Age arctic classic with the giant yellow key. Neither of those would be particularly challenging to build, however, so I propose the exterior be based on the crystalline look that originated in the 1978 Superman: The Movie, and which has informed many of the redesigns since then. It would look amazing, but with the crystals all at strange angles, it would take some clever engineering to make real. Ah heck. Throw in the giant key anyway.

Fortress Mortal KombatInside, we need all the best parts of the Fortress from the assorted varieties: the crystal control panel, the statues of Jor-El and Lara, and the cosmic zoo (complete with a few alien animals, like the metal-eater). But a LEGO set isn’t just about construction, it’s also about playability. We need some characters. Superman, of course, should be included, as well as the Fortress’s other part-time resident, Supergirl. We could also include Lois Lane in arctic gear, a Superman robot or two, and Kal-El’s robotic valet, Kelex. And you can’t have a superhero playset without villains, can you? Coincidentally, the two best battles ever to take place in the Fortress both come from stories by Alan Moore. I would throw in Brainiac and Lex Luthor from “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” (bonus points if they can make the figures combine), and a maxifigure of Mongul with the Black Mercy flower from “For the Man Who Has Everything.” Alan Moore would probably despite seeing a toy set inspired by his stories, which of course is the best argument to release it.

Money BinWish #2: Scrooge McDuck’s Money Bin

Although LEGO has had many Disney Licenses (including the Marvel Super-Heroes, Star Wars, the Lone Ranger, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Disney Princesses), as far as I know the classic Disney characters have never appeared in LEGO form, although I think a few of them have adorned LEGO’s line for younger builders, DUPLO. With a new DuckTales cartoon scheduled to premiere next year, it’s time for that to change. Although the mass-market version of Scrooge’s iconic money bin couldn’t be as detailed as the fan-made version that turned up online some time ago, there’s still plenty of room for play. Scrooge’s office should be a segment, along with a display for his number-one dime, as well as his famous worry room. The exterior should have a variety of hidden traps (which would be particularly fun to build) to ward off thieves. And of course, there’s the money vault itself: a large open section with a diving board and a bag of loose gold-colored one-peg flat pieces to pour in the center so that Scrooge can dive in and swim around.

Money Bin InteriorSpeaking of Scrooge, he wouldn’t be alone in minifig land. He’d be accompanied by his nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, as well as his ward Webigail. (Look, I know she’s not everyone’s favorite character, but there just weren’t enough females on that show, and we need her.) For villains, we’d have Ma Beagle and her Beagle Boys attempting to break in.

I’ll cheat a little on this wish and say that I’d love to see this expand to an entire line of DuckTales LEGO sets: Gyro Gearloose’s shop with Gyro, his helper, and whatever apocalyptic invention he’s whipping up that week; ace pilot Launchpad McQuack and his plane; and a Battle For Duckburg set with villains Flintheart Glomgold and Magica DeSpell vs. Scrooge’s accountant Fenton Crackshell and his buildable Gizmoduck armor.

Water TowerWish #3: The Warner Brothers’ (and the Warner Sister) Water Tower

If you don’t know that I loved the 90s cartoon show Animaniacs, you don’t really know me all that well. Perhaps the best animated series of the last two decades, I want to see a Water Tower set complete with Yakko, Wakko, and Dot. Although he’s not really an enemy, we also need Ralph the Guard trying to catch them, along with Dr. Scratchansniff and Hello Nurse. It would be easy to throw cameo Animaniacs characters in too – perch some Goodfeathers on the side of the tower, have Rita and Runt roaming on the ground, and so on.

But a Water Tower seems like a kind of simple, almost boring build. That ends when you open it up, to find one of the most ridiculously complicated LEGO builds ever to branch out from the Technic line. Inside the tower we’d find one of Wakko’s insane Rube Goldberg-style devices, with one feature activating the next over and over until it finally triggers a comically underblown finale, as in the episode where he did exactly that simply to make a fart noise with a whoopee cushion. Ah Wakko, you genius.

Some may notice that I neglected to mention two of the most popular characters from Animaniacs in this wish. I didn’t forget, guys. But come on – Pinky and the Brain and ACME Labs deserve their own separate build.

That’s it for Three Wishes. Please feel free to chime in with your own ideas for dream LEGO sets, or to suggest topics for future Three Wishes installments!

Gut Reaction: Supergirl Episode One

SupergirlLast year, Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg brought us The Flash, and immediately won me over with a show that fully captured of the joy of being a superhero, with fun characters and littered with enough DC Comics Easter Eggs to satisfy the nerd in me without being so overwhelming as to turn off a non-viewer. With the first episode of Supergirl, they appear to have done so again.

WARNING: Spoilers for the pilot episode ahead.

In a quick 60 minutes, we are introduced to Kara Zor-El (Melissa Benoist) and given enough backstory for newcomers to know who she is in relation to her more famous cousin, while at the same time leaving plenty enough space from him for the character to be her own person. We are introduced to a good-sized supporting cast, including some familiar faces from Superman lore (both the characters and the actors playing them) and a few new characters. We meet the villains of the piece and are given a solid introduction to what will apparently be the show’s major arc, at least for the first season (a station of Phantom Zone criminals — more than just Kryptonian — came to Earth along with Kara and it’s up to her and the DEO to stop them).

It checks all of the boxes it needed to in order to have an adequate pilot episode.

So why was it so much MORE than simply adequate?

I give the credit for that to Benoist, Berlanti, and Kreisberg.

The latter have already created a televised universe of superhero shows that are wonderfully engaging both for hardcore comic book fans and casual viewers alike. Although “Supergirl” is not technically part of that universe, they’ve brought that same sensibility over to this new series. And that’s a major part of why this first episode worked for me.

karaBut more importantly, I think, is Benoist’s performance. She plays Kara Danvers with utter sincerity. She’s a young woman who feels somewhat intimidated and overshadowed by her world-famous (male) relative, but she’s determined to make something of herself and choose her own path. The fact that she’s this world’s first female hero is of no minor consequence, either. We live in a time where both DC Comics and Disney’s Marvel and Star Wars franchises have come under constant fire for under-representing or poorly representing their female characters in merchandise and popular media. And more than once, the show comes a little too close to looking out at the viewer and saying, “See? We CAN give you a female superhero worth watching.”

But treading the line is not crossing it, and they manage to pull back each time and return to the point of having fun with the premise, including a nice montage of Kara looking for a costume that pokes a little fun at some of the stupider conventions of female costumes, plus what I can only assume is a minor dig at The Incredibles that was totally worth it.

heat-vision-53b1bIt wasn’t a perfect pilot episode. The final act in particular felt like it went WAY too fast — Allura’s message to Kara is too brief, Kara finds her resolve too easily, and Henshaw relents to let Kara fight Vartox without enough of an argument. If you told me there’s a 90-minute cut of this pilot that expands the ending, I would have to nod and say, “Yeah, that makes sense.” And while the Phantom Zone criminal thing is a good way to bring in a lot of different villains without having to come up with an origin story every time, they need to be very careful not to let it turn into the Freak of the Week formula that hurt the first few seasons of Smallville.

But all that said, it was a wonderful start.

And perhaps more importantly, my sister Heather watched it with her 5-year-old daughter, Maggie, who already loves superhero cartoons. If this show gives Maggie her first live-action hero to look up to, then literally none of the faults I mentioned above will matter in the slightest. This show will have more than done its job.

One-Shot #21: Louisiana Comic-Con Chatter

The first ever Louisiana Comic-Con was held this weekend, and Blake and Kenny took the trek to Lafayette to check it out. Blake gives his impressions on the new convention, and discusses the gang’s new game: Cosplay Bingo!

And what’s cool this week? It’s a triple pick, with Superman: Lois and Clark #1, Plutona #2, and Paper Girls #1.

Music provided by Music Alley from Mevio.

One-Shot #21 Louisiana Comic-Con Chatter

Superman and Spider-Man: How to Have it All

Superman Lois and Clark 1 TeaserOne of the books I’m most looking forward to in the coming months – and this will come as no surprise to anybody – is Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks’ Superman: Lois and Clark. At the end of Convergence (and consider this your spoiler warning) the pre-Flashpoint Superman went back in time to help stabilize the multiverse, taking with him his wife, Lois Lane, and their newborn son, Jonathan. When a comic about their continuing adventures was announced, I assumed it would be set on one of the other worlds of the multiverse. Last week week, though, Jurgens did an interview with Newsarama that showed me I was wrong. Lois, Clark and Jon have been in the Prime DC Universe, the one that we called the “New 52” until a few months ago, all this time. Hiding. Watching the exploits of this new Superman, trying to live their lives… but now they’re going to be forced out of complacency.

And I couldn’t be happier.

Oh, I was happy about the book before, even when I thought it would take place “elsewhere,” but this brings me to a whole new level of excitement. You see, the problem with any comic set on an “alternate” world is that it can be easily dismissed by readers as insignificant. True, DC managed to avoid that stigma with their Earth 2 series, but they did so by linking it to the New 52 Earth almost immediately.

Setting Lois and Clark in the Prime DCU gives it more weight. This Clark is a part of things, or can be. He can guest star in other titles. He can cross over during the next worldwide crisis. Hell, he could join the Justice League again, if the winds blew in that direction. And what’s more, this is my Superman. The one I grew up reading. The one who fought Doomsday and died, the one who turned electric blue for a while, the one who married Lois Lane and stayed with her. He’s back. They’re back.

Justice League V2 12The dissolution of the Lois/Clark relationship four years ago always stung. Ever since then I — and a lot of fans – have been waiting for the old status quo to resurface, but it hasn’t. Lois and Clark aren’t an item, and their story has taken such a turn that such a thing seems impossible. But that’s still what a lot of us wanted. So in a way, this new title even helps the current Superman. Those of us who never quite saw his romance with Wonder Woman as “real” may feel more charitable now that “our “Lois and Clark are back. For Superman fans, DC has found a way to have their cake and eat it too.

Which brings me to the point of all this. Although they would be loathe to admit it, Marvel Comics would be well-advised to take a page from DC when it comes to their own cosmic marriage annulment: Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson. With their own universe-restructuring story, Secret Wars, Marvel has shown us a lot of different worlds lately. One of the most commercially successful (and in my opinion, most entertaining) of the assorted spin-offs has been Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, which shows us a world where Pete and MJ are still married and have an elementary school-aged daughter, Annie. This isn’t the only difference in that world, mind you, but it’s certainly the crux against which that whole story turns. We’ve seen them as parents before, of course, in the former Spider-Girl series, but that was Mayday’s story. Pete and MJ were supporting characters. This is something totally different, something that we once thought we may even have a chance to taste.

Amazing Spider-Man 545As much as Lois and Clark’s separation hurt fans, at least it didn’t feel like a personal attack. Not so, Peter and MJ. Whereas Lois and Clark were victims of a line-wide restructuring, one where many characters underwent similar changes, Peter and MJ were targeted. They were placed in a ridiculously convoluted situation and behaved out-of-character to get them to a point where eradicating the marriage was possible. It always felt — to me and to a hell of a lot of others — that MJ and her marriage to Peter were being picked on by a certain vocal former Marvel Editor-In-Chief, one who made no bones about the fact that he wanted to gleefully wipe it out. (The same story that wiped out their marriage also cruelly teased the notion of their daughter that Dan Slott is playing with in Renew Your Vows.)

The official line, though, was that the marriage made Peter seem too old, and Marvel wanted a young Spider-Man. The problem with that argument, of course, was that they already had a younger Spider-Man over in the Ultimate Universe. That Peter Parker was having his own teen adventures, so the notion that fans had nowhere to turn for such a thing seemed pretty disingenuous. Of course, that could be chalked up to the whole “alternate universe” thing again. No matter how good the Ultimate comics were, they still weren’t the “real” Marvel Universe, the one that had existed since 1961, were they?

Well, here comes Secret Wars, changing all that. And here’s a chance for Marvel to give fans the best of both worlds.

Amazing Spider-Man-Renew Your Vows (Secret Wars) 1We already know Ultimate Peter’s successor, Miles Morales, will be part of the new Marvel Universe, whatever shape it eventually takes. And we know that both Peter and Miles will go by the name “Spider-Man.” So Marvel has their young Spider-Man in the mainstream Marvel Universe in Miles’s book. How awesome would it be, then, if we opened Dan Slott’s new(est) Amazing Spider-Man #1 this fall and discovered that the marriage and Annie Parker had survived the transition into the New Marvel Universe? Miles would still fill the role of classic teen Spider-Man, and there are dozens of single male superheroes out there. But with the Fantastic Four still AWOL, does Marvel have any title left that features parents and their children? (Well, okay, Spider-Woman, but that’s a whole different dynamic of its own.)

This is a chance to give everyone what they want. Marvel has Teen Spider-Man with Miles. They even have Teen Peter Parker in the recently-announced all-ages Spidey series. Elsewhere we have Spider-Girls and Spider-Women and Spider-Gwens and Spider-Pigs, all represented in one way or another. The only people who are still left out are fans of the Spider-Couple and Spider-Kid.

This is your Mulligan, Marvel. Your Get Out of Jail Free Card. Your chance to make it right. Secret Wars is already delaying pretty much the entire line, so take advantage of the time to make this happen. For all the talk of “diversity” in the new Marvel Universe, here’s your chance to give us the one thing that seems to be missing from every other title: family.

Your Turn to Pick Episode 4: Swamp Thing

It’s time for another Your Turn to Pick! This week, in memory of the late Wes Craven, Blake chooses his 1982 DC Comics movie Swamp Thing. We talk about the movie, Blake suffers a tragic misunderstanding about the nature of two of the characters, and then we discuss Craven’s legacy as a filmmaker and which Nightmare on Elm Street movie is actually best.

And what’s cool this week? Erin is in love with Ms. Marvel, while Blake dug the finale of Deadpool’s Secret Secret Wars and has found a new reason to anticipate the upcoming Superman: Lois and Clark.

Music provided by Music Alley from Mevio.

Your Turn to Pick Episode 4: Swamp Thing

Your Turn to Pick Episode 3: Dragonslayer

It’s time for a Your Turn to Pick movie episode! This week it’s Erin’s turn, and she’d pulling out a film from her childhood, the 1981 fantasy film Dragonslayer. How does it hold up to an adult pair of eyes? And will Blake (who’s never seen it before) enjoy it without the filter of nostalgia?

And what’s cool this week? Blake gives us a double dose of comic recommendations with Superman #42 and The Thrilling Adventure Hour Presents Sparks Nevada, Marshall on Mars #4!

Music provided by Music Alley from Mevio.

Your Turn to Pick Episode 3: Dragonslayer

Episode 316: San Diego 2015-We Weren’t There Either

Last weekend was the annual bacchanalia of nerddom known as Comic-Con International: San Diego. And just like every year, Blake and Erin… weren’t there. Instead, with the help of Showcasers on the Facebook Page, they spent the week gathering the coolest and most interesting info from the con to discuss on this week’s show. Their thoughts on the Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer. New directors announced for Star Wars. The return of some classic comics and the launch of some new ones. This week, we go through it all…

And what’s cool this week? Erin enjoyed the first two issues of Starfire, and Blake gives his endorsement to Archie #1 and Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #2.

Music provided by Music Alley from Mevio.

Episode 316: San Diego 2015-We Weren’t There Either

At the Movies Episode 47: Jurassic World

Over 20 years after the tragic incident at Isla Nublar, Jurassic World is open for business! Does Colin Trevorrow’s return to this legendary franchise do justice for the fans? Blake and Erin give you their thoughts on the summer’s biggest film to date.

And what’s cool this week? Blake wants you guys all to march on down to your local comic shop and pick up Action Comics #41 and Thom Zahler’s charming Long Distance #1.

Music provided by Music Alley from Mevio.

At the Movies Episode 47: Jurassic World

Episode 314: Free Comic Book Day 2015

Free Comic Book Day rolls around once again, and once again Blake and Kenny — joined for the first time by Erin — man a table at BSI Comics in Metairie. This time around the gang chats about recent events in the Flash and Gotham TV shows, give their thoughts on Divergence, All New All Different Avengers, Fight Club, Dark Circle and the other Free Comic Book Day titles, and then come back with a review of Avengers: Age of Ultron.

And what’s cool this week? Kenny is having a blast with LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, Erin is totally biased and chooses her husband’s new book Everything You Need to Know to Survive English Class but slightly less biased with a viewing of the classic Akira, and Blake is still reeling from Batman #40.

Music provided by Music Alley from Mevio.

Episode 314: Free Comic Book Day 2015

One-Shot #20: Free Comic Book Day 2015 Preview

After a bit of a rain delay, Blake is back with this year’s Free Comic Book Day preview! Which books is he looking forward to? Will Marvel’s wars remain a secret? Just how divergent can DC Comics get? And how can Archie Comics put out two books with no Archie?

And what’s cool this week? Blake’s having a blast with Scott Sigler’s Infected series!

Join the Showcase crew this Saturday at BSI Comics, and get an early copy of Blake’s new book, Everything You Need to Know to Survive English Class!

Music provided by Music Alley from Mevio.

One-Shot #20: Free Comic Book Day 2015 Preview