HBO Max: Could it unify the DC Fandome?

Hi Guys, 

This week's editorial will be on the newly launched HBO Max service offered by AT&T.

HBO Max which is meant to be one of the biggest players in the market, rivaling the likes of Netflix, Hulu and Disney+ has stumbled out of the gate when it was launched earlier this year. Why is that? 

A number of different factors went into this initial failure of the streaming service. First of all the service is currently only available in the US unlike Netflix and Disney+. The service costs almost as double as the aforementioned streaming services and upon launch it had no exclusive content like Disney's the Mandalorian which drew in a lot of subscribers. 

HBO Max however could be a power house if a few mistakes are corrected and if it expands its streaming power overseas and especially if it manages to reach a deal with Roku and Amazon which control 70% of the market domestically. 

The point of this editorial, however, is to suggest a new purpose for this streaming service. Unlike Marvel fans who get to or will get to enjoy all Marvel has to offer with one subscription, DC fans find themselves having to pay for multiple subscriptions and not even get all DC content that is available out there. 

For example, if you are a fan of the Arrowverse you will need to subscribe to Netflix and HBO Max to enjoy all 6 shows that make up the Arrowverse. If you are a fan of the old Superman and Lois, Krypton TV shows then you will need to subscribe to DC universe for that and if you are like me and cant' get enough of Smallville then you have to subscribe to Hulu to enjoy that show. When it comes to the movies however most of them are only available on demand and some of them are rotating between Netflix, Hulu and HBO Max. 

The disorganization of HBO Max is to be expected considering the studio behind them which is notoriously famous for its lack of a strategy when it comes to its DC properties. If you don't know what I am talking about then you can look at the fact that they have had close to 10 actors portraying Batman/Bruce Wayne over the last 2/3 years. 

The recipe for success is simple over at HBO Max. DC Fans are loyal to the brand and like to consume content, therefore making HBO Max the house of all DC Content, from movies to TV shows should not be that difficult. Their subscriptions would undoubtedly increase simply by putting everything under one roof. 

I've always been a big believer in the DC Universe platform had they actually unified all DC content under that platform and bumped up the price to 15$ they would have seen it thrive in no time. 

Hopefully HBO Max will rectify that mistake and as soon as WB's contracts with other streaming platforms are up, we will have to pay only one subscription to watch all our favorites DC content. 

What are your thoughts on this? 

-Theheroblogger

The Batman: 5 things about the movie I don't like

 Hi Guys, 

The Batman trailer came out at DC Fandome and I must admit I was positively impressed by the majority of the shots I saw. Ever since they announced that Ben Affleck would be stepping away from directing and starring in this movie I have started losing interest in the project and the casting of Robert Pattinson as Batman/ Bruce Wayne definitely did not help with increasing my enthusiasm for the 2021 release. 

There are 5 things about this movie that I am not particularly fond of.. 

Here's the list in no particular order.

1. Isolated universe
While having Batman be in his own isolated universe makes sense from a storytelling point of view (Superman, Flash or Green Lantern could easily take down most of the low level criminals in Gotham like Scarecrow, Bane, Penguin etc.) it does limit us from seeing Batman interact with all the other members of the DC Universe. I have wanted to see Joker interact with Superman in live action for a while now but I guess that won't happen in the near future. 

2. Bat Family

Every director attached to Batman projects seems to hate the idea of introducing the Bat Family.
Is it because Shumacher failed so miserably at bringing Robin and "Batgirl" to life? Why is it that the likes of Barbara Gordon, Jason Todd, Tim Drake and Damian Wayne have never seen the light of day on the Silver screen? There could be so many stories they could take inspiration from if they wanted to introduce these characters, instead we are stuck with Carime Falcone, Jim Gordon and Lucius Fox who make an appearance in almost every iteration of the Caped Crusader. Why? 

3. The Joker problem

Is it really possible to introduce another Joker who would be the fourth in the last 5 years? Regardless of what you think about the other portrayals, introducing another Joker seems to be risky and that's why there's been no mention of a plan to bring this character into the fold. Most of the problem resides in last year's Joker movie. The movie that won WB an Oscar and made them over a billion dollars is also the movie of their damnation for the character. No actor will be as good (according to critics and random moviegoers) as Phoenix was, and in the meantime we have created a situation where Harley Quinn, Joker and Batman are in three separate universes never to be seen interact with one another.

4. Gotham spin off on HBO Max

It is no secret that HBO Max has not seen the financial numbers it was expecting but the recent announcement of the Gotham spin off sounds like a dumb idea. Exploring Batman year 1 from the point of view of the GCPD without being able to use Batman (most likely) or tackle any of the big villains that the movies want to use? 

Seems to me that it will be an even worse version that Agents of the Shield who got downgraded to cleaning up after the Avengers. 

5. Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne
I admit that I could be wrong about this and if so I will admit it when the movie comes out but I got a bad feeling from the trailer regarding the portrayal of Bruce Wayne. While I was positively impressed by the portrayal of Batman I couldn't help to feel underwhelmed by the scenes where Pattinson was not wearing the cowl. It's not a question of size, although he could have bulked up for the role, but more of facial expressions. Bruce Wayne is the mask of Batman. The character's true mask is when he's not wearing one and by acting as an eccentric billionaire is able to hide away his feeling. Not too sure I dig Emo Batman.

There you have it, my list of 5 things about The Batman that I don't like. 

What are your thoughts about this list? Let me know in the comment section below. 

-theheroblogger

 

Is the DCEU dead or can it be revived?

 Hi Guys, 

It's been a while since I've used this platform to voice my opinion on comic book related content. 

Needless to say that after the release of the theatrical cut of Justice League back in 2017 and everything that followed I lost my interest in the DCEU for which I had had a lot of passion and love up until that point. The face-deformed Superman, the "thirsty" joke and everything that Joss and Geoff forced into the movie made me really upset and angry. I've been campaigning for the release of the Snyder Cut since day one knowing there was a whole movie locked away somewhere at WB that needed to see the light of day.

Since then every other release of DC movies has been met by myself with utter disinterest (Birds of Prey and Joker), pure disgust (Shazam) and a great surprise (Aquaman). Among the releases of these movies over the last three years I've realized that Whedon and Johns had won, their wish of seeing the DCEU turn into a Marvel duplicate had been realized. 

Even Walter Hamada, head of DC Films, repeatedly said that WB had no interest in pursuing a shared universe considering the under performance of Justice League. Once again WB proved that they had no idea what they were doing. They are in the business of making money and fail to realize how profitable a shared universe can be and won't pursue it because Justice League, a movie they heavily interfered with, failed their expectations at the box office. 

My enthusiasm and faith in WB, however, drastically changed in January 2020 when Ezra Miller popped up in Crisis on Infinite Earths Hour IV and I knew at that point that the power structure at WB had shifted and there could be hope for a shared universe/ multiverse down the line. 

Then the snydercut announcment, then Ben Affleck announcing his return as Batman in the Flash movie, so now the question is: Can the DCEU be revived or is it too late? 

Technically yes, the actors are still there under contract for their individual movies and it wouldn't be difficult to bring back all of them for a Justice League sequel and to tie in their individual movies. Zack himself gave us a hint in the Reel in Motion live stream a week ago that a Justice League 2 is not completely off the table and he seemed to be hopeful about a possibility of that happening. 

I guess it will all come down to reception of the Snydercut or rather how much profit it can generate. At this point, AT&T and WB should know that Snyder is a polarizing director. People seem to be drawn to his movies simply to profoundly hate on them therefore the Snydercut will definitely not be a critical success however if it can be a financial success then by slightly lowering the budget for a sequel they could green light a project that most DC Fans would love to see and most importantly for WB pay money to see. 

If enough people show support and interest in a sequel then WB will follow the money trail and allow for the DCEU to live again and for Snyder to complete his 5 movie arc vision. 

What are your thoughts on the DCEU potentially coming back? Would you love to see Zack's 5 movie arc completed? 

-theheroblogger

 
   #Hallelujah #Snydercut #Ben Affleck