"How to be a Super Missionary" by Dr. Benjamin Jeppsen

Last month I had the privilege of talking with Dr. Benjamin Jeppsen on our podcast about his experience as a Latter-day Saint geek and especially about his experience writing “How to be a Super Missionary”. I touched on the book’s content during our discussion, but to do the book justice I felt I needed to formally review it. If you want any specific background on Ben and his experience with missionary work, check out our podcast episode. Now for the book itself.

The basic premise of Dr. Jeppsen’s book is simple. It’s an anthology of superhero devotionals or parables, comparing DC and Marvel heroes to success in missionary work. Some of the lessons pull from superhero movies of recent decades, but some pull from the source material in the comics (some both). In the book, he teaches missionary lessons through the lens of Batman, Rogue, Hulk, the Flash, and many more popular heroes.

Like I told Ben on the podcast, one thing I loved about his book was that I didn’t have to read it all in one sitting (which is hard to do with two little kids begging for my attention). Each chapter took me about fifteen minutes to read and most of them were read by the proposed site of the McKinney Texas Temple when I needed a break from work. Even when I didn’t know the specific backstories of Batman or Rogue, he was able to summarize the important bits so that I could still learn what I needed from the analogy to become a better missionary. And actually a sign of how well he wrote them is that he made me want to grab some comics and explore some heroes I’ve never seen/watched before.

I’ve written before about my complicated history with formal missionary work and I addressed that on the podcast as well. The complexities aside, the book lifted me up and taught me lessons about being a “member missionary” in the church. On at least one occasion (the chapter about MCU’s Hulk) I was enlightened about my role as a father. And even though it took me months to read (again, because of kids begging for my attention) the bite-sized nature of the lessons and chapters made that doable in my stage of life. 

If you enjoy our gospel-centered blog posts, you’ll enjoy this book. Whether you lean towards Marvel comics or DC comics (like Ben), you’ll find a story and a lesson for yourself in this book. And as previously stated, these parables are written well enough to make me want to read the comics and see the movies that I’ve never experienced before. So go buy Dr. Jeppsen’s book for a wonderfully geeky Sunday afternoon (here it is on Amazon).

And don't forget to check out my discussion with Ben on the podcast, available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

LDS Geeks Podcast #36: Interview with a Super Missionary

I had the pleasure of reading "How to be a Super Missionary" by Dr Benjamin Jeppsen and I can't recommend it enough. I had Ben on the podcast to discuss geekiness and missionary work. 

--Spencer

The End of the Arrowverse

You may have seen the trailer for James Gunn’s Superman movie appear on social media in the last month or so. Coincidentally (or maybe on purpose) December also had the series finale for Superman & Lois, the last of the so-called Arrowverse shows. It’s a bit sad that the significance of this finale kind of went over my head until I saw Grant Gustin and other Arrowverse stars posted on Instagram. Only a few years ago, my TV watchlist included all five Arrowverse series of the time and I was invested in each show. But after some poor storylines, some cancellations, and the pandemic, I lost my enthusiasm for the shows. That being said, it is the end of an era (cue Friends reference) so I wanted to highlight the good, the bad, and the ugly for these shows that I spent so many hours watching. 

Arrow

It all began here with Oliver Queen and but I was definitely not drawn into Arrow at first. I think it wasn’t until I watched some of The Flash with TJ that I decided to give the franchise a try (but naturally I had to start with Arrow). While it didn’t pull me in initially, I think Arrow might be my favorite of the Arrowverse stories overall. It incorporated wonderful flashbacks (giving me flashbacks of my days watching new episodes of LOST), it took chances introducing characters that led wonderful years of The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow, and best of all it ended beautifully. Sure, Oliver’s sacrifice during "Crisis on Infinite Earths" was tragic, but the aftermath gave closure needed for the show to end (even if its final spinoff idea was never fully resolved). None of the other shows would have existed or have been successful without Arrow, so I can’t overstate the importance of Oliver’s journey. 

The Flash

First introduced during a two-part story on Arrow, Barry Allen sped onto the screen and became my favorite of the Arrowverse heroes. I know plenty of people got annoyed with Iris, but I loved their dynamic as the years went on (yes, even her “we are the Flash” comment). I really hoped for a satisfying ending to this series when the last season was announced. I’d grown tired of redeeming villain after villain in the series. Sure, that’s the ideal, but it felt like lazy writing to turn each big bad to a good guy. Even in the series finale event, the villain was redeemed. It became less of how fast Barry could run and more about how much he could talk people down.  

Constantine

It didn’t even last a full season before getting cancelled, but Constantine came around around the same time The Flash began. I watched this series once and I was bummed about how short lived it was—Constantine had some great characters. But at least some of the stories left hanging here got (kind of) resolved during Legends. I just wish Constantine’s friends would have come back too. 

Supergirl

Enter the multiverse! While initially separate from Arrow and The Flash, Supergirl quickly became an integral part of the Arrowverse. I wasn’t the father of girls when I grew to love this show, but it gave me an appreciation for Kara Danvers—especially in a time period when people will constantly criticize other female heroes (see Captain Marvel). I loved that Kara took the spotlight and Superman was a secondary character for once. But as much as I loved Supergirl, I grew frustrated with this series for the same reason as The Flash. Why do we have to redeem every character? At least with Supergirl, I felt like we had a somewhat satisfying-ish finale. Thank goodness they didn’t try to redeem Lex Luthor in the last season. That’s all I’m saying. 

Legends of Tomorrow

I love a good band of misfits. Add in a time travel aspect and it almost had a Doctor Who feel with superheroes. There were points that I enjoyed Legends more than the main shows, partly because the seasons were shorter and partly because they weren’t afraid to take risks. We got some wonderful original characters in this series and it was nice to not take the series too seriously. I hated that the series got abruptly cancelled on a cliffhanger. I wish they’d done a TV movie to wrap it up or at least resolve things verbally in The Flash, but no dice. It was never fully resolved and I’m still bitter. 

Black Lightning

At first I didn’t want to invest the time into Black Lightning, but it immediately went on my watchlist after it was announced that Jefferson would be on "Crisis on Infinite Earths". Only three seasons long, I think this series ended up a wonderfully self-contained story. Other than Jefferson appearing during "Crisis" and "Armaggedom", a singular underwhelming reference to STAR Labs kept this story unique in the universe. It was a story about a retired superhero, an educator, and his family. 

Batwoman

With a back door introduction to Batwoman, we got a new show during the "Elseworlds" crossover. I know there were lots of complicated issues with the cast that I won’t pretend to understand, but even with introducing a new Batwoman I think this show did well. Unfortunately, like Legends, this show was unceremoniously cancelled. At least some of the loose ends were taken care of during the other shows… except that Ryan’s Batwoman never met the other heroes during the course of her series… so that was weird. 

Superman & Lois

I was really looking forward to the idea of this show, as "Crisis" approached. But I was confused and disappointed that all of a sudden Clark and Lois had teenage sons that I was supposed to be invested in. I was willing to write that off with other post-"Crisis" changes… until they ended up making this series completely separate from the other shows. What was the point of making all the Arrowverse shows into one universe if they were gonna separate this Superman again? I’m pretty sure that was a post-pandemic decision. At least their new universe gave another great twist on Lex Luthor. Also, I think all of the shows should’ve had a ten-episode finale season like Superman & Lois did. 

Expanded Universe

One of the things I loved about the Arrowverse is that it didn’t stop with the CW shows. Throughout the eight series, we had legendary DC series and movies incorporated into the multiverse. CBS’s Flash was the most prominent, appearing a few times and clips during "Crisis" flashback. "Crisis on Infinite Earths" gave us insight into Bird of Prey, Lucifer, and Smallville. Other brief appearances and mentions included the 1989 Batman film, the 1966 Batman series, Ryan Reynolds’s Green Lantern, Superman Returns, the Flash from DCEU, and the series originally on the DC Universe streaming platform (Swamp Thing, Doom Patrol, Titans, and Stargirl). I would have loved for any and all of these to appear and reappear (I think Stargirl was supposed to crossover at one point), expanding the multiverse, but cancellations and COVID messed that up. Maybe we can get more multiverse expanding moments with James Gunn’s new DC movies. If the Arrowverse taught me anything it’s that anything is possible in a world of superheroes if you have the right writers. 

My Adventures With Superman: Hero For Everyone

I've said this before: Back in the day when we were all flocking to Marvel movies I was the guy everyone turned to and asked who half these people were, particularly in the post-credit scene where they teased some future story. It was a fine thing to keep people excited about the next movie, but it also sometimes lead to confusion as not everybody would get why there's a dog in a space suit and a cigarette smoking duck hanging out with the Collector, or who those space freaks were with Sylvester Stallone. 

Now cut to my dear friend Thompson, who is a huge super hero fan, particularly Superman. He loves anything Superman related and has taught his kids his love as well, which is beyond adorable and I love it forever. Thompson has always loved the movies and TV shows but isn't that interested in the Superman lore (And who could blame him since there's nearly 100 years worth of it to learn about). He loves the out-of-comic Superman. 

Meanwhile I am a comic book stan fan. I know about Superman, Lois, Jimmy Olsen, the Lois and Jimmy comics way back in the day, Lana Lang, the mermaid he dated briefly, the last dog, horse, monkey and cat of Krypton, him living in the 30th century Futurama style briefly while a teen to help out the Legion of Superheroes, his death, his rebirth, the version in New 52 that dated Wonder Woman, the version in Injustice that tried to police all of Earth, the version in Red Son that turned the Earth into a communist paradise, his different forms in the 90's including long mullet and the Red/Blue saga, and far more than is healthy for any human being to know about a fictional alien. 

We both love My Adventures with Superman. 

Reboot with Nods

My Adventures with Superman is a retelling of the classic Superman story, starting when Clark and Jimmy start as interns at the Daily Planet and meet forever intern Lois. Superman is still trying to figure out his powers while starting his new journalism career and falling for Lois. All of this is hampered by the fact that his space ship, which is usually the repository for his Kryptonian backstory, doesn't speak English, so he has no idea what the bearded man in the hologram is talking about. We see Clark trying to balance his life, usually failing, all while trying to uncover the mystery of a pile of alien weapons that have ended up on the streets of Metropolis. 

Here's why I had two whole paragraphs describing my friend and I's different involvements with this franchise: There's nothing anyone needs to know about Superman to enjoy My Adventures with Superman. They don't hammer the lore over your head like some versions (*cough* Superman Returns *cough*) they just let the characters play out naturally and give tiny nods here and there for the super fans. 

After each episode, Thompson and I would frantically text each other geeking out about the new villain they revealed, or how this person learned this thing or whatever happened. I guessed a couple things beforehand but they're was still so much that was fresh and fun to watch that I had no problems knowing one or two things. Thompson loved the down-to-earth depiction of Superman and how absolutely adorkably relatable he is, and while I'm not a fan of Lois Lane (or superhero girlfriends in general, Mary Jane Watson, you human shaped pile of useless) I actually found myself loving Lois and Clark's relationship more than I ever had. 

Animation

The animation style can be classified as "Wanname", meaning it looks like anime but isn't made in Japan (See also Legend of Korra, Avatar the Last Airbender, Legend of Vox Machina...) and frankly

THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN WANTING FOR DECADES!

Yes I love many of the live action movies, and I think it's astonishing how they can make them look and feel like the comic books themselves, but you want to know an easy way to also accomplish that without CG and a massive warehouse full of green screens? Animate everything. 

I seriously could watch walking animations and movement gifs from the show all day, just admiring how stunning the animation is. This is a feast for the eyes for anyone who want to see their Superman the way they've always pictured him. If they did any other superhero show with the same animation you can bet you'd be finding me right there watching transfixed like I was hypnotized by a mind control ray. 

The Gates Are Open

My Adventures with Superman is frankly what DC needs if they truly want to keep their heroes relevant. A show that respects all sides of the fandom and doesn't just cater to the Uber geeks. I don't need to make Thompson read all my comics Clockwork Orange style, or put a drill to my frontal lobe so I forget all the lore so we can enjoy this show together. We're both on a level playing field learning about these characters and going on adventures with them, as it should be. 

I should probably say that on the opposite end of the scale, besides my snide comments, would be the show Young Justice. Now I love Young Justice but they are constantly dropping in new characters, places and scenarios without explaining who they are, just expecting the audience to know who this character is and why they're so important. A show like this I probably couldn't enjoy with Thompson because the show clearly knows who it wants to appeal to: The hardcore fans and frankly I hate that. I want to be able to share my love for these characters without having to host a masters degree level training on how the DC universe works, and it's not fair to expect him to have to have it all explained to him just so the show makes any sense. If we want our beautiful fandoms to stay alive we need to embrace all fans no matter how much they've read, seen, played or cosplayed and the studios need to as well, and it looks like they have with at least one. 

-Joe

Sorting Team Flash into Hogwarts Houses

When Arrow was on its last few episodes, I did a fun post about sorting Team Arrow into Hogwarts houses. I’d planned to do the same when Supergirl ended (got busy with other posts and I got annoyed with Supergirl by the end of it all). with how long The Flash has been going, it seems only right to give Team Flash the Hogwarts treatment. So without further ado, Team Flash, as sorted into Hogwarts. And for simplicity, I’ll go with the season one team (they were my favorites anyway).

Barry Allen/The Flash - Gryffindor

I considered putting Barry in Hufflepuff for his unwavering loyalty to his team and Central City. However, his more prominent trait is how he runs into the line of fire without a delay, demonstrating bravery and nerve. Sometimes his Gryffindor-ness also shows up with how impulsively (note how his son went by the superhero name “Impulse”) he acts as the Flash. Kinda reminds me of a certain Harry Potter.

Iris West - Ravenclaw

The curious nature of a journalist really lends itself to Ravenclaw. When Iris really gets into being a writer, you see that come out. Not just with her curiosity, but her wisdom and wit when writing as well. She has a way with words, even if some of them (“We are the Flash”) have become subject to eye-rolling memes.

Cisco Ramon/Vibe - Hufflepuff 

Despite being a scientist, his true passion was people. Loyal to his best friend Barry or to his pseudo-sister Caitlin. Or fighting across the multiverse to help Gypsy. It was all about relationships and the best he could do for the human race (which eventually led him to ARGUS). Plus, who can say Cisco naming all the supervillains isn’t an incredibly stereotypical Hufflepuff thing to do.

Caitlin Snow - Ravenclaw

Now if I were to include Frost here, I think she’d be Slytherin. But it should be pretty obvious why I picked Ravenclaw for Caitlin. Driven by science and research, almost to a fault. Always looking for inventive ways to help the team with her knowledge of the human body and its physiological processes. Though, to be fair, I can’t say she’s too far off from some Slytherin-type behavior while obsessed with reviving Frost.

Joe West - Gryffindor

Papa Joe is all about action. As a police officer, especially when he was chief, he put leadership and bravery at the helm, doing whatever was needed to help someone. I’d say he’s the level-headed Gryffindor (like Dumbledore), instead of being the impulsive-driven Gryffindor (like Barry or Harry). But maybe some of that level-headedness just came with age.

Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash - Slytherin

How could the Reverse Flash not be Slytherin? He’s always about ambition and self-preservation (and not in a good way). He’s certainly resourceful and clever; it’s the only way he could pass as Dr. Wells. I just keep coming back to the word “ambition”... he always had to be the fastest. And then even when he was, it wasn't enough.

So now let’s see what the final season of The Flash will bring us. Maybe more Mia Queen to round out that storyline? Hopefully a resolution to whatever Diggle is doing. And maybe this is asking too much, but maybe mention if the Legends made it home? But I’m hoping they do a proper send-off, like they did with Arrow, Black Lightning, and Stargirl.  

Reaction to DC's Future Announcement

 In all my friend groups, I'm the superhero guy. I used to collect the comics religiously, I've seen all the movies, I know all the lore, I'm the guy that everyone turns to after the after-credits scene and asks to explain who the purple guy is with the glove. So naturally since James Gunn announced what the plans for DC is going to be in the future, multiple friends have turned to me asking my opinion on it. 

Well, let's go through the announcement and go over what they're talking about, shall we? 

Consistency

Okay I get the need to determine what's set in what universe. Marvel's been very clear about what is and isn't canon where DC has been all over the map with where everything is, so I like this. My worry would be that we get another Ezra Miller situation where a performer can't stay out of the tabloids and they have to recast across multiple platforms, but hopefully DC learned its lesson. 

Shazam and Flash

These have been slated for a while now so I'm glad they're going to use them as part of the reboot, though I wonder how much needed to be changed after the fact in the films to make this happen. But also: WHEN IS SHAZAM GOING TO FIGHT BLACK ADAM?!

Blue Beetle

They've been pushing the new Blue Beetle for years now, which gives me heavy Miles Morales/Spider-Man vibes but not in a good way. Where Miles was received well because he was a version of a popular superhero portrayed by a person of a minority, this is the same thing except: Can anyone whose not a hardcore DC fan tell me who the last Blue Beetle was? Young Justice tried to make the new Blue Beetle interesting but even they've stopped using him. 

Aquaman 2

Let's not even get into the train wrech that's been going on behind the scenes with this one, save to say that if Aquaman 2 is even the least bit coherent I'm going to die of shock. 

Creature Commandos

Are you people serious? We're going to do a comic book from the 80's that was basically Avengers meets Monster High? I guess we haven't learned our lesson from League of Extraordinary Gentlemen that this just doesn't work cinematically because these characters each have such a massive cultural footprint that watering them down for a team is an injustice to them and just creates a massive mess but here we are. 

Waller

Viola Davis has been one of the best things about the DC films, so yeah let's keep her rolling around. The Peacemaker franchise is not something I could see letting kids watch so if these guys end up teaming up with Superman down the road they're could be some awkward questions around who these people are and why we care. I'm glad to see Davis coming back though. 

Superman: Legacy

And of course during this part of the presentation they show an image from Superman: All-Stars, the only Superman comic to win any awards in decades. With all the media focused on Superman's kid out I'm betting anything it's going to be a Superman/Superman Jr situation. 

Lanterns 

True Detective but with Green Lanterns... I don't even want to imagine what the budget on this thing is, and if the special effects aren't James Cameron's Avatar level it is going to be roasted by every geek in this solar system. Never forget the Green Lantern movie starring Ryan Reynolds and the digital train wreck that thing was. 

The Authority

Hay you know what this franchise needs? Even more unrecognizable characters to clutter everything up! Yaaaay! Seriously though adding these fools in is going to be DC's version of the Eternals mark my words. 

Paradise Lost

Game of Thrones but on Paradise Island... Notice he said the birthplace of Wonder Woman but did not mention Wonder Woman. I'm envisioning Gotham where they kept hinting and foreshadowing at stuff we already know about but ended up becoming a giant teasing waste of time. 

Brave and the Bold

Of course it's about Damien Wayne. You can't do anything without having Damien Wayne crawl out and start talking about how he's an assassin. I'm convinced that the whole Superman's son thing only came about so that Damien could have a playmate. As a Robin he's always been.... A thing... I get why Gunn would love him but I'm not all that excited for yet more Damien Wayne stories. 

Booster Gold

I've got to admit this one actually looks fun since I like Booster Gold and loved the old Justice League: International comics where he hung out. This could be really funny depending on who they cast as Booster and who he has to bounce off of. 

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow

Who is this universe for exactly? Marvel succeeded by appealing to young and old alike, but this sounds like a space horror drama and I doubt the year it comes out many little girls are going to want to dress as PTSD riddled depressing Supergirl. 

Swamp Thing

And we round off with, of course, Swamp Thing. Haven't we tried this 2 or 3 times before and it didn't work? Every time there's talk of a new DC anything somebody always mentions bringing Swamp Thing into it and every time they do he's a bust. Put Swamp Thing back in the swamp and leave him alone. 

Obviously besides a couple small sparks I don't have a lot of hope for the DC cinematic future. I want to note though that none of this is from superhero fatigue. I've been binging the X-Men cartoons lately and played Marvel's Midnight Suns all the way through and am still hankering for more, what I'm saying though is that this announcment didn't light my superhero heart ablaze like it should have and I sincerely hope that the more that Gunn promised will do that or else this whole thing is going to be in more trouble than the Justice League can bail them out of. 

-JOE

The Best Batman

Let me be transparent here: On this platform I've called Batman a Mary-Sue, uninteresting, and an example of toxic masculinity. And I still defend each of these positions, but I do have a blind spot in my Batman critique: 

Kevin Conroy. 

Every complaint I've ever had about Batman disintegrate in Conroy's portrayal. His recent passing has called me to reflect on the times he's portrayed the Dark Knight and how his performances over the years has shaped the character into something that is still worth championing for and why despite my own opinions he is still, in my eyes, a hero. 

Spoilers for a whole mess of Batman stuff. 

Batman: The Animated Series (BTAS)

BTAS was the first introduction to Batman for 90's kids (Unless your parents were cool like mine and let you watch the Michael Keaton ones). Painted on a black background, fighting a Joker voiced by Mark Hamill, Conroy gave us a human portrayal of Batman that was ahead of its time for children's cartoons. Here we got a Batman who could also be the millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne, one who felt things more than righteous anger, including fear and mourning. 

Two pieces stand out here: One was when he was doused with Scarecrow gas and was in a hallucination that his parents survived, and that he was not Batman. There's fear echoing in his voice as he quickly realizes that it's not real and fights to escape back to reality, despite knowing he'd be giving up a dream life he always wanted and deserved. It echoed an episode in Justice League: United when under the influence of the Black Mercy Superman had to make a similar decision. We get an example of Batman being in a situation where he has to fight with his mind rather than his skills, and how much it hurts to see everything he's going to lose. 

The second is the official appearance of Two-Face. Harvey Dent, the district attorney destined to lose half his face, was friends with Bruce Wayne in multiple episodes before he became the villain, including nearly being killed by Poison Ivy (He's still not over that one). Here Batman has a dream about letting Harvey down, and his parents being disappointed in him for failing to save his friend like he failed to save them. There's a humanity in Batman's voice that we rarely get, a vulnerability that reveals more about why he does it than a thousand "I am the night!" quotes ever could. 

Justice League/Unlimited

In the Animated Series spin-offs, Justice League and Justice League: Unlimited, Batman wasn't alone as he teamed up with six other great heroes. Conroy did not let the others overshadow the Bat though as he held his own with the booming bombastic action the show offered. 

In the Justice League cartoons, Batman was frequently the butt of multiple jokes about his inability to fly, not have powers and that he was a millionaire, all of which he had to grimace at and move on. He would occasionally quip back though, giving us another side to Batman we rarely see: a sense of humor. This is demonstrated perfectly in the Injustice Gang episodes where Batman is captured by the gang of villains, secured in a metal straight jacket, and kept under constant guard. Batman manages to manipulate each of his captors into turning on the others, sometimes with an inflection of his voice showing sympathy, and even seducing Cheetah (What is with him and cat-themed villains? It's like Cyclops and psychics). Under Joker's watch though he decides to make his move, giving them the slip and catching Joker by surprise, saying that he could've gotten out at any time but that "Someone needed to keep an eye on them". He also gets what is probably the funniest gag in the episode when he reveals that he paid the Ultra-Humanite to switch sides, demonstrating that yes, being rich is a super power. 

Now I would love to go over the Ultimate episode where he sat with Ace until she passed away, but the other scene I want to talk about is from the aforementioned episode where Superman was entranced by the Black Mercy, an alien plant that shows you your greatest paradise while it slowly saps the life out of you. Superman manages to lose it only for it to entangle itself around Batman, where we see that his ultimate dream is simple: He's back in the alley with his parents but his dad is beating the crap out of the mugger. The sequence itself has no Conroy, but it's after where the real hit comes. After he gets freed from the plant with the help of Wonder Woman and its used to imprison the villain that brought the thing to earth in the first place, Superman wonders what visions the plant is showing him, to which Batman replies "Whatever it is, it's too good for him.". The line delivery there is everything. It's barely restrained rage, its pain at having just found and lost everything all over again, it's knowing that this is the person responsible. In an already emotional episode, it's the perfect encapsulation of everything that's happened in one sentence. 

Beyond

 

Batman Beyond brought us a different version of Bruce Wayne most audiences weren't familiar with: Old Bruce Wayne. Shown in comics like The Dark Knight Returns and Kingdom Come, this is a Batman who has lost his crusade. Because he's only human, the years of fighting took their toll on Batman and at one point, after a heart attack mid-battle, he had to retire. Crime continued to happen in his absence without him being able to lift a finger to do anything about it, and he became a sad old man in his mansion, not even having the energy to stay on the board of Wayne Enterprises. He finds purpose in the new Batman, Terry McGuinness, who he trains and mentors, thus accepting that while Bruce Wayne may die, his legacy will live on. 

The episode that exemplifies Conroy's chops best is one where Bruce is dipped into the legendary Lazarus pit, bringing him nearly back to his peak performance. Conroy goes from an older and jaded Bruce to a younger and hopeful one effortlessly, and you can hear the difficulty in his voice as he has to choose to return to being old again knowing what the cost of the pit would be if he wanted to keep using it. 

Arkham

The Arkham video game series gave audiences what they'd always wanted: A more serious, darker Batman voiced by Conroy with some of the same emotional beats he had in the show. Here Batman gets to swear as he beats up the villains of Gotham City, but his emotional moments are all the more highlighted as the games could bring across the true darkness of his past and present in all the horrifying detail they could. 

Highlights for me include Batman being gassed by Scarecrow (Common theme here, Batman should think about hiring Scarecrow as his therapist) and having to relive his parents murder. The emotion that Conroy pours into his voice as his adult self transforms into his childhood version shows that deep inside Batman is just a scared little boy trying to save his parents. The second big highlight is during the finale of Arkham City where he pleads with the Joker to let him help him cure the mutation he's dying from, but instead Joker being Joker fights Batman and breaks the cure, and Batman has to watch this man die. You'd think this would be a triumphant moment, but it means that the Joker will never be brought to justice for the people he's killed and can never be redeemed, emphasizing the futility of Batman's mission. Batman says goodbye to him with this sadness, not over losing a friend but from watching any hope for this person die with them. 

Loss of a Legend

While a lot of the things I loved above can be equally credited to writing staff, animators and video game designers, I argue that the voice actors don't get enough credit for the jobs they do. Conroy was a better Batman than any other because he could portray fear and sadness right along with the anger we usually see Batman express (it’s a shame we only got to see him in live action once, during a subpar Arrowverse crossover). We had over 30 years of time with Conroy as Batman, and we were blessed to see how Batman should be done: As a well rounded character with flaws that we can connect to. 

D&D Class Breakdown: Rogue

For new players, it can be hard to choose your first class. For veteran players, it can be hard to choose a class and not fall into stereotypes everyone's seen a thousand times. So now I'm going to deconstruct the 5E Player's Handbook classes (Sorry Artificer, you'll come later) and talk about what works, what doesn't, and some interesting ways to play the classes. 

I won't be going into game mechanics as much as I'll be going into roleplay. 

Let's talk about Rogues! 

What is a Rogue? 

We have yet another class based off basic pre-industrial jobs. I kind of love how what was an everyday job 500 years ago is now a fantasy aspiration, like having physical skill is only obtainable in fiction. 

Well that's a mood. 

Anyway, like the fighter and ranger, every culture has someone able to blend into the shadows for one reason for another. The need in criminal circles is obvious, since being able to sneak is handy for thieves and assassins, but the skill also comes in handy for those who need to spy, hunt animals silently, and even protect the innocent by infiltrating bad guy spaces.  

Professional criminals are of course commonly tied to rogues, with burglars being the most in need of the skills. This isn't the "Give up your GP or your HP" sort of thug that mugs people on the streets, but the one that slips into the governor's manor in the dark of the night, taking only the truly valuable jewels, and leaving before anyone even realizes he's there. That's the spirit of the rogue. 

Quick note: the X-Men Rogue, the southern belle mutant who steals people's memories and abilities with a touch, is obviously not the kind of rogue we're talking about. Her name is in reference to the more ambiguous rogue, someone who is on the outskirts of society or the group. Since Rogue can never have a physical relationship without causing harm, she took up the name to express that she will always be an outsider. 

In The Game

Always looking for the next take, the rogue is the unsavory element in society that everyone regrets to admit that they need. The rogue knows how to get into the most guarded dungeons, infiltrate the enemies bases, and deal the lethal blow quickly and effectively. 

Most other classes see the rogue as an unstable wild-card, never quite sure weather or not the rogue can stay loyal if the right about of gold is offered, or if the dangerous individual with the unsettling amount of knives may become the next big bad. 

Players generally play three types of rogues: the murder-hobo, the kleptomaniac and the edge-lord. The murder hobo is the immoral psychopath with a lust for blood and who takes any slight as an excuse to execute the countless NPCs who cross their path. The kleptomaniac will steal anything that's either not nailed down or on fire, sometimes regardless of their value or how much trouble it could cause. The edge-lord wants everyone at the table to know that their character is dark and mysterious, constantly talking about sulking alone in a dark corner and taking a no-nonsense attitude to the parties shannegains. 

Annoying, all of them. 

Breaking the Trope

People playing this class tend to focus only on the criminal aspect of the rogue, rarely exploring the possibilities the class truly has. The following ideas will break away from the basic criminal element and show what can be done with the rogue class. 

Thrillseeker: There's a certain thrill of being somewhere you're not supposed to and seeing things only certain people can see. The thrillseeker may take a trinket here or there, but their main goal is to see what they can find, see how far in they can get before they get caught, and see what dirty little secrets they can reveal. 

Scout: Having someone to scout ahead is an unappreciated strategy for parties. You're basically breaking the DM's game by taking a peek ahead and setting off traps, accessing enemy strengths and weaknesses, and taking out an annoying guard ahead of time. 

Master of Disguise: You can hide in the shadows, yes, but what if you blended into a crowd? What if you got close to the cultist leader by pretending to be one of his inner circle? Slip into the king's party, dance with the queen, taste some crudités, take out the corrupt duke, then slip out with the rest of the shocked party guests. 

Famous Rogues

Vax'ildan (Critical Role): The rangers twin from Vox Machina, Vax is prone to breaking and entering to find the bad guy's lair and getting into trouble, including being hypnotized by a vampire. He's handy in a fight, but don't put him up against a door. 

Catwoman (DC) Selina Kyle is a literal cat burglar, so much so that at one point she put on cat ears and started owning the nickname. She's robbed every bank, museum and penthouse in Gotham, broken into and out of Arkham Asylum, and robbed billionaires like Bruce Wayne and Lex Luthor. The only thing you find after one of Catwoman's burglaries are some shredded curtains and your valuables missing. 

Flynn Ryder (Tangled)

I'd put Aladdin on here to represent Disney, but honestly Aladdin's a shoplifter compared to Flynn, who we meet completing a successful heist to steal a crown. He's a charismatic thief who can talk his way into and out of most situations. Not content to steal everything of value, Flynn focuses on the high value targets to get what he really wants, though his biggest prize is when he stole Rapunzel's heart. 

-JOE

What is The Sandman?

 If you aren't already familiar with The Sandman comic book series by Neil Gaiman, find the person in your social circle who owns the most black clothing and they'll probably know what it is. With a TV series coming to Netflix and two full-cast Audible titles accompanying the legendary comic, I think it's time to explain what us goth kids are squeeing over. 

Once Upon a Time in the 90's....

Most comics in the late 80's to early 90's can be split into three camps: Classic stories that still resonate with audiences and gave us the characters we know and love (X-Force, Knightfall), weird examples of masculinity that would never fly today (Spawn, The Maxx), and the edgy fringe stuff. Sandman comics belong in the third category, being edgy dramas about beings beyond the comprehension of mortals dealing with massive existential problems. The comics rarely featured battles, such as audiences are used to in comics, meaning giant muscle men bashing into each other or shooting improbable guns at each other, instead being more about the inner battles around ones purpose in an endless everchanging universe. The comics do take place in the DC Universe, and a couple cameos have popped up on both sides (The titular Sandman requiring the assistance of Martian Manhunter and Death relinquishing her powers to Lex Luthor being two examples) but the higher ups in DC's comic team have chosen to use Gaiman's characters and works sparingly if at all, out of respect and honor for the source material. 

Okay, so that's the dry history lesson, but what is it? 

The Endless

Full disclosure: I only relatively recently got into the Sandman stories because as a kid A: I was broke and B: I had little to no access to the comics even if I had money. It doesn't help that the concept is a massive existential nightmare that takes some thinking about to wrap one's head around, so don't feel bad if trying to understand this is like following the logic of someone who recently suffered a brain injury and is now high on the Oxycodone they were prescribed for the pain. I will do my best to explain the plot but bare with me, it's a weird one. 

Okay so back at the beginning of sentient life in the universe seven beings came into existence which would be the personifications of seven aspects of said life. These beings, called the Endless, safeguard their respective circles to help keep the universe balanced. The easiest thing to compare them to would be mythological gods, but in cannon a lot of the gods are still held under the seven Endless's sway. These characters are: Destiny, Death, Dream, Desire, Despair, Delusion and Destruction. Each have separate personalities and responsibilities in respect to their realms. Our main character is Dream, AKA The Sandman, AKA Morpheus, AKA the dude in all the advertisements who looks like the lead singer of The Cure. Back in the 20's a cult manages a complex ritual to entrap Death, Dream's sister (Oh yeah, they're all siblings, but their parents are explained way down the line as like the universe's embodiment and some sort of... Thing... I don't know...) and end up catching Dream instead. Dream is imprisioned until the 80's when he escapes out of his pokeball and sets out on a quest to restore his neglected kingdom. 

The first story arch, and probably what we're going to see most of in season one of the Netflix adaptation, is him reclaiming three artifacts he used to help wield his power, namely a helmet that he built from the bones of two gods who tried to usurp his kingdom, a pouch of sand that he can use to put people to sleep and effect their dreams, and a ruby necklace that amplifies his powers. He also needs to wrangle a few escaped dreams and nightmares who have snuck into the human world and are causing general mayhem across the populace. Along the way it's confirmed that he will run into Constantine, the very same from the movie only this time a woman, various of his siblings including fan favorite Death (more on her later) and Lucifer Morningstar, a version of the devil based on Paradise Lost and who got his own show for several seasons. 

Yeah, that Lucifer. 

Quick Geekout on Death

Death of the series is, as I mentioned, a fan favorite. She even has a Funko Pop of her comic book version that's been out years before the masses were exposed to the full glory that is The Sandman. This Death, portrayed in the comics as a spunky 80's goth, is a fun happy-go-lucky person who sees her job as essential to the process of life. She keeps an upbeat attitude knowing that right after a person passes from mortality they will be confused and scared, so she shows them that things are going to be okay. Death is a refreshing take not only on the titular Grim Reaper character but on the concept of death itself, not being something scary and awful but something natural and leading to the next step in a person's progression. Think of the Angel of Death from Touched By An Angel only less tall blonde guy and more spunky goth girl. 

What is the Appeal? 

The appeal to this entire franchise to me, besides the dark urban fantasy setup, is the interesting concepts Gaiman explores. Dream is imprisoned for decades and yet the world, for the most part, went on without him. Does that mean that he's necessary? Part of his job is to influence imagination through dreams, and keep all the stories that are told, but is that as important as the job Death does? We also explore how the Endless influence people's lives, like what Death means to people, like the fairness of it or if a life is worth living if it's just going to end, or is it better to follow one's dreams or live strictly in the here and now? The series is a beautifully written drama about the elements that, while completely out of the control of man, are well within other's control and how mortals react to them. 

If you don't believe me, give it a watch. 

-Joe

The Magic of Memory

Amnesia is an old trope in fiction, all the way back when Fred Flintstone was clocked over the head with a frying pan and suffered a football player level concussion. While getting hit in the head and forgetting is usually done for a laugh, when magic is involved the amnesia trope takes a more serious tone. The exploration of memory loss turns from a well timed joke to a timeless message about loss and the space a person makes when they're no longer there. 

Trigger warning: Suicide

"Better if I was Never Born"

Modern fiction sees the first incident of magical amnesia in It's a Wonderful Life when Clarence shows a suicidal George Bailey what the world would be like if he was never born. Not exactly a memory spell but it may as well be. We see that without George Bailey, nobody is happy. His wife is an old maid (kinda sexist I know but this was 1946), his mother takes in boarders since her only son is now dead because nobody saved him from the ice when he was a kid. With nobody recognizing George he is lost, begging Clarence to let him live again so that he could be part of the world full of people he loves. The message is that no matter how hard life is the world is always better with you in it, which is a message that is still true today. The memory loss emphasizes the point in the most direct way it could come across. 

(Side note: I once had to write a 13 page dissertation about how Potter in It's a Wonderful Life was the good guy. It was fun to defend the villain but after watching that movie so many times over the course of a month I couldn't watch it for a couple years after, despite it being one of the few Christmas movies I actually like)

The Curse to End All Curses

If you haven't watched Once Upon A Time, frankly I don't blame you because it is a wild trip and may not be for everyone, but I liked it. Anyway, the first season centers around this curse the Evil Queen casts on the Enchanted Forest that's supposed to tear everyone away from their happily ever afters. What the curse does is transports everyone to a little town in Maine and makes them all forget their pasts, giving them fake identities and making them all shadows of their former selves. We go back and fourth between the little Maine town and the magical land before getting to know these characters in both states, watching how Snow White was a strong willed rebel and Prince Charming was a knight errant only to see Snow as a meek teacher afraid to voice her own opinion and Charming as a two-timing jerk. It's up to our main characters Emma and Henry to remind everyone who they really are. The interesting message here is just how close to the Gospel the entire affair is (Minus Rumpelstiltskin and the entire Disney vault being involved). It talks about being something before, something magnificent and beautiful, and remembering that person in the now, trying to identify with the parts that are magical and special. In this sense Emma and Henry are essentially missionaries without nametags. Obviously a powerful message if it's taught by missionaries all over the world, just without Snow White et al. 

Obliviate

No, I'm not talking about Gilderoy Lockheart. 

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows Part 1 starts with tears when we see Hermione casting the memory charm on her own parents, erasing her from their memories. We see the baby pictures on the mantle disappear and their eyes glazing over as the spell takes over. Hermione knows that the best way to keep her parents safe is to erase herself from their memories in case the Death Eaters show up and start asking questions. While the memory charms are touchy in the Harry Potter universe (the muggle guy in Crimes of Grindlewald just kind of shrugged it off with the help of his manipulative girlfriend), this scene is still heartbreaking to think that Hermione will probably never be able to see her family again, choosing their safety over her own needs. This theme will come up again later and while it's heartbreaking it does counteract the message from It's a Wonderful Life so it should be read cautiously. 

Tegrof

For the non-comic book readers let me give you a quick synopsis on the comic Identity Crisis. A murder mystery leads to the discovery that a small group within the Justice League has been going to villains who find out the identities of super heroes and erasing their minds with Zatanna's magic. Batman walked in on the heroes and tried to stop them only for Zatanna to freeze him and erase his memory of them being caught. The question behind this is if you have the power to erase memories to protect others, do you? And what if someone disagrees, do you have the right to erase their memories too? The implications of the memory wipes escalates in the comics to Batman becoming paranoid after finding out he's been manipulated, Catwoman finding out that Zatanna got to her to make her a good guy and questioning everything she believes about herself, and a dangerous villain trying to take vengeance on the league for not only altering his memories but partially lobotomizing him in the first place. The story brings up questions of accountability, manipulation and is a person who they are supposed to be if part of who they are is missing. 

Under Your Spell

Along with Zatanna messing with memories to protect heroes identities, we have Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer messing with memories to protect her relationship. By the later seasons Willow has become a full-fledged witch, and has started using her magic in unsafe ways. On one of her first dalliances she accidentally erases the entire Scooby gang's memories and we get a funny episode of nobody knowing who they are. We get the serious stuff when it's revealed that Willow's been erasing her girlfriend Tara's memories of them fighting, thus manipulating Tara into staying with her even though she's abusing magic. The theme here goes into gaslighting in relationships, lying and manipulation to keep a person with you. When Tara finds out she breaks up with Willow, making Willow's plan backfire in the end. 

Peter Who? 

More recent memory mishaps happen in Spider-Man: No Way Home where Dr. Strange agrees to help Spider-Man erase his secret identity from everyone's memories, thus letting his friends and family go back to having a normal life. After the spell fails and some multiverse shenanigans happen Dr. Strange casts the spell again, this time making it so everyone forgets who Peter Parker is. This plays out a lot like the It's a Wonderful Life lesson, except Peter decides that it's best if the world did forget about him and just know him as Spider-Man. He believes he can then let his friends have a normal life and that they can't be hurt by getting in the way of his heroism. The message here is that maybe it is better that they don't know Peter Parker is Spider-Man, which implies that it's better for Peter to disappear than be part of the world. See the issue here? 

The point of all the memory plotlines is that we are who we are because of our memories. When we lose parts of our memories we lose parts of who we are, so those parts, even if painful, are still worth having because they forge us to be better. Our relationships are made up of memories as well, when you see a friend on the street you're not excited to see them for no reason, it's because you remember how much you love them and how much fun they are to be around. When that person is gone, there's a hole left behind that can't be refilled without them. 

So when it comes to memory remember this: people would rather remember a life with you in it than without, and the only way to move forward is to make new memories both good and bad, because to not make new memories at all is just as bad as forgetting altogether. 

Also remember that really every mechanic in the Harry Potter universe is unstable and will never make sense. 

-JOE

10 Movie Moments that Live Rent Free In My Head

 I love movies. 

I went to school to be a film critic (Didn't pan out-turns out nobody was hiring) and if you get me on the topic of movies I will talk your ear off about actors, lighting, history, costumes, anecdotes from sets and anything else that is completely useless in a zombie apocalypse. 

I want to share with you now 10 movie moments that I think of often and love with all my heart. 

Spoilers, probably. 

10: The Posession (Beetlejuice) 

From the moment Catherine O'Hara opens her mouth and "Deo!" comes out I am laughing and invested. Honestly this entire movie is living in my head rent free, and the musical is moving in. No matter how many times I've seen this movie, the jump scare at the end with the weird shrimp cocktails always gets me jump. 

9: Cuban Pete (The Mask)

I promise this isn't just going to be a list of musical moments, but this one has to be mentioned. 

Back in the 90's Jim Carey was one of the biggest actors in Hollywood. I loved his movies, and my favorite to this day is The Mask. This scene is ripped right out of Looney Tunes, and frankly if I was a cop I would be dancing right along, spell or no. 

8: The T-Rex Appears (Jurassic Park)

I was about 7 when the OG Jurassic Park hit theaters. Already wanting to be a paleontologist, I was captivated by the idea to see real dinosaurs on the big screen. To this day I have nearly every shot memorized of the T-Rex emerging from her paddock and attacking the jeeps. 

Two fun facts about this scene: 

1: The glass on the jeep's skylight wasn't supposed to cave in but the animatronic broke through on the kids so their screams as they try to keep the glass between them and the Rex are real. 

2: When the Rex steps onto the road the paddock is level ground, allowing the Rex to walk through, but when she knocks the jeep into the paddock there's a cliff. Stephen Spielberg said to keep it in despite the discrepancy because the action was more important than keeping the shots consistent. 

7: Piggy and Joan Rivers (Muppets Take Manhattan) 

Muppet movies get big name guest appearances, all happy to play character roles with their favorite Muppets. One of my favorites (I could make a Muppet list all on its own) is Miss Piggy with the legendary Joan Rivers. The usual dirty talking Rivers tones it down for this scene, but is still happy to give Piggy relationship advice to lure back her frog. 

6: Nightcrawler vs Secret Service (X2: X-Men United)

Before we had the whole MCU and DCEU craze, we had the X-Men movies. On our second outing to the X-Men universe one of my favorites made a stunning cinematic debut by single-handedly taking out the entire Secret Service at the White House to assassinate the president. Luckily he got his mind back before he could, but the sequence is still one of the best superhero fight scenes in cinema-even including all the Marvels. 

Yeah, I said it. 

5: Ain't got no body! (Young Frankenstein)

A scene that always cracked me up as a kid, Dr. Frankenstein is exploring his grandfather's legendary labratory. Looking at replicated heads on a shelf, they come across the freshly dead sample being Igor, the doctor's assistant, who breaks out into song. You don't want to know how many times I've put my head on a shelf/counter/table and done the same thing. 

4: Duel of the Fates (Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace) 

Yeah come at me, but this scene rocks. 

3: Part of Your World reprise (The Little Mermaid) 

About time Disney made it on this list (Though I could also make a list of just Disney movies). Here we have this beautiful moment when Ariel just saved Eric and they're together on the beach. The sunlight shines through the storm clouds as Ariel sings the reprise, musing whether they'll ever be together forever. It's Disney animation at its finest, beautiful, mesmerizing and just a nice time. 

2: Spider-Man Returns (Avengers: Endgame)

I was not okay at the end of Avengers: Infinity War. In Endgame, Hulk uses the Infinity Stones to get everyone back, which is amazing in and of itself, but the real emotional blow comes when Spider-Man reunites with Tony Stark on the battlefield. Spider-Man is doing his normal adorkableness, while Stark stares at him in awe, realizing that after five years it worked. He's undone his greatest failure. The hug gets me every. Single. Time. 

1: You can call me... Joker (Batman)

This scene has defined my life. Ask anyone and they'll tell you I have an obsession with villains, bad guys and monsters and I can trace it all back to here: The introduction of the Joker. Jack Nicholsen starts out in silhouette giving us a hint of what's to come, playing it straight faced until he steps out into the light revealing that grin and that laugh... Heath Ledger was good but man... This scene tho...

I could honestly make the same list for Disney, horror, super heroes, TV, anime and musicals. All I need is a reason. 

-JOE