VALENTINES WITH SUPERMAN, WONDER WOMAN & A BATMAN KNOCKOFF

THE BATMAN TV SHOW IS 50 YEARS OLD

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Last week marked the 50th anniversary of the debut of the TV series Batman on ABC. Here is a promo ABC ran during the first season. Above is a comic book advertisement and some TV magazine covers.

Female Comic Strip Character Movie No. 4: THE NEW ORIGINAL WONDER WOMAN

Last year, I started a series of reviews of films based on famous female comic strip characters. I put it on the back burner while blogging about other subjects, thinking I'll go back to it soon. Exactly a year and about a week after my last post on this subject, I'm back to the series.


Before people starting trying to argue here, 1) there was a newspaper strip based on this comic book from 1944 to 1945, 2) yes, this is a made-for-TV movie, but most pilot films for TV shows ended up being show in movie theaters over seas and 3) at this moment, this is the only live action film version of this character.

I'm going to start this off by giving this movie the biggest compliment of any comic book or comic strip based film could receive. The New Original Wonder Woman is the most faithful adaptation of a comic book superhero's origin story ever. No strange tweeking to make the movie realistic or give the character a motivation for being a superhero. This also looks like the scenes from the comic book origin.

The origins of this movie and the subsequent TV series is interesting enough to be a movie. It begins in 1966, when Wonder Woman comes up in the top five of a poll, commissioned by ABC TV, of comic strip superheroes Americans would want to see brought to television. Batman, Dick Tracy, and the Green Hornet were ahead of her. Producer William Doizer turned Batman and Green Hornet into weekly series and made a good rather good pilot for Dick Tracy, that sadly was not picked up. He made a short pilot for Wonder Woman that everyone is glad didn't make it.

For years this was available on bootleg collector videos, but is now on YouTube. It was probably not picked up by the network, because unlike the other three Doizer adaptations, this doesn't even try to be serious or faithful to the original concept of the character. Also, this version of Wonder Woman closer to a sitcom about a superhero from the producers of Get Smart called Captain Nice, that was on the air at that time over on NBC.

Beginning in the mid-50s, DC Comics began revamping their characters from the 40s. However, the ones that had remained successful through the 50s were changed last and very little was changed (Batman was given a yellow circle around that bat on his chest, Superman left the Daily Planet to be a TV newscaster and Green Arrow grew a beard to look like Richard Harris). Wonder Woman, however, got the worst end of it. She lost her superpowers, started wearing jumpsuits and became a judo expert. It was this version that spawned a 1974 pilot film staring Cathy Lee Crosby (That's Incredible) as a super-powered secret agent in a red, white and blue jumpsuit. The movie aired but was not picked up for a TV series. On top of that, these comics were not successful.

We can thank Gloria Steinem for bringing DC to its senses. In the July 1972 issue of Ms. magazine, she put a picture of the classic Wonder Woman on the cover with the caption "Wonder Woman for President." In an editorial, Steinem decried then current "powerless" version of Wonder Woman. She also put together a collection of Wonder Woman stories after DC refused to put out one, as they had for Superman and Batman. In January of 1973, DC brought back Wonder Woman in her original costume with superpowers and, in the fall of 1973, she was appearing on the cartoon The Super Friends.

Now back to this 1975 TV movie. It is obvious that the influence of the Batman TV series was involved. Of course, if you have read this blog very long, you know that is perfectly fine with me. An obvious tip off that this is going to be a lighthearted version of Wonder Woman is that two of the Nazi's are Kenneth Mars, who played a Nazi in The Producers and a German constable in Young Frankenstein, and Henry Gibson, who would later play a Nazi scientist in Brenda Starr and The Burbs (and an Illinois Nazi in The Blues Brothers).

They send off a Nazi pilot, played by Eric Braeden (formerly Captain Hans Dietrich of Rat Patrol and future Victor Newman on Young & the Restless), who gets into a dogfight with Col. Steve Trevor, played by Lyle Waggoner. Both men parachute after their planes are destroyed, the Nazi shoots Steve before landing in a school of circling sharks. Steve lands on Paradise Island, which is populated by a race immortal women known as the Amazons.The movie focuses quite a bit on Steve before introducing our main character, probably because Lyle Waggoner was well known thanks to being on The Carol Burnett Show.

Steve is discovered by Princess Diana (Lynda Carter), daughter of Queen Hippolyta (Cloris Leachman). The Queen says that once Steve is well enough to travel, he must be taken back to the United States. Diana offers to take him back. Her mother says no. She says there will be a contest to determine who is the best Amazon and the winner will take Trevor back to the USA. At the end of the Olympic-like contest, the winner reveals herself to be Princess Diana. Her mother agrees and gives Diana a red, white, blue and gold outfit to wear and an invisible plane.

I had to include a photo of Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman

Diana takes Steve to a hospital and manages to stop a bank robbery a few moments later. After the bank robbery, the newspapers dub her "Wonder Woman." She is hired by a sleazy talent agent (played by Red Buttons) for a vaudeville show, but figures out he can't be trusted (turns out later in the movie that he is working for the Nazis). She manages to become a nurse at the hospital to take care of Steve.

From there we go back to an original story involving a Nazi plot to bomb a military base. Most of this movie is based on stories that appeared in All Star Comics #8 and Sensation Comics #1. Much of the dialogue is word for word from these comics, including Steve thinking he was saved by "an angel." Also, she is first shown wearing the skirt from the first stories, although her mother tells her she can take it off if it "gets in the way."

The only major changes are that in the origin story, Steve Trevor's plane crashes on Paradise Island, where in the movie his parachute lands there. Also the crooked talent agent is named Al Kale. In the movie his name is Ashely Norman. I should also note that Steve Trevor's commanding officer is named Gen. Blankenship in the movie and TV series, while in the comics Steve and Diana worked for Gen. Darnell.

Now my major beef with this movie is they left out one of the more interesting aspects of the origin story from Sensation Comics #1. In the movie, Diana just shows up, in a nurses outfit, working at the hospital and taking care of Steve. In the comics, there is a great explanation of how she got to be a nurse and her secret identity. Wonder Woman finds a nurse crying because her soldier husband is going to be transferred to South America and she doesn't have the money go with him. Wonder Woman notices that when the nurse takes off her glasses, they look alike. She ask the nurse her name and she says "My name is Diana Prince" and Wonder Woman says "What a coincidence! My name is Princess Diana!" So they trade identities. In the next story, she takes a job working as Steve's secretary (which happens at the end of the movie).

I'm only going to write about the pilot movie, as the TV series ran three more seasons and eventually went off in another direction. The New Original Wonder Woman itself can stand alone as an adaptation of Wonder Woman and her origin, as well as one of the best comic adaptations ever.

THE ODD FOREIGN SUPERHERO BOWL

As you know from reading this blog, I love just about anything having to do with superheroes, which has never set will with folks here in the Ozarks. I've been told I should like "real heroes" (Is there such a thing?).

Since we are coming up on Super Sunday and the Super Bowl, I thought it would be cool to give a shout out to those odd foreign superheroes of the movies.They turned up on Saturday matinees and Saturday afternoon movies from the late 60s until the advent of home video, where they would soon make their home.

From Japan:

ULTRAMAN

STARMAN

SPACE CHIEF

PLANT PRINCE or PRINCE OF SPACE

Mexico:

SANTO or SAMPSON

BLUE DEMON

BATWOMAN

Italy:

FANTASTIC ARGOMAN

SUPERARGO (No relation to Fantastic Argoman)

3 FANTASTIC SUPERMEN

FLASHMAN

Look for these superheroes on YouTube and enjoy the unique way foreign countries create superhero movies. Especially the Italians. The incidental music in both Flashman and The Fantastic Argoman sounds very much like the incidental music from The Beverly Hillbillies.  The Fantastic Argoman's super power is he induces suicide!



Now if we only had action figures of these guys (actually I bought a Ultraman action figure. My five year old great-nephew plays with it, but calls him Silver Man).

MONSTER PHOTO FUN Part 6

WHAT THE NEWS MEDIA DOES NOT UNDERSTAND ABOUT COMIC BOOKS

SUPERMAN & BATMAN HAD SONS

I have been thinking about writing a post about this subject for quite some time. As a person who has worked in journalism and the news media, I feel I can make and accurate constructive criticism, unlike some people have unfortunately been forced to work with (i.e, scummy talk radio people).
This has to due with the coverage of a subject I have loved all my life: comic books.

The news media coverage of the comic books has improved since the dark days of the 50s comic book controversy, when the newspapers and radio commentators were calling comic books "trash." There is a generation that grew up reading many of the older characters, so when a story comes along about a "shocking storyline." The biggest news recently has been "Archie Andrews will die taking a bullet for his gay friend, Kevin." Next came the story "Captain America is being replaced by a African-American." Even stranger is some outlets reporting "Thor gets sex change."

This leads idiots on Facebook to whine that the evil media is corrupting our kids and it is the end of America (Or as they say Murica).

The truth complicated on both sides. First off, these stories are usually used as filler, at the end of a newscast or filler for the entertainment section of a newspaper. These are written quickly without very much research into the subject. The story is also simplified to just give the idea, so the details of the story are left out.

The main thing that is left out of these stories is that comic books have what are called alternate universes. This has been going on since the early days of Superman and Batman. Archie is no exception. Archie has cashed in on popular trends over the years. He was a Man from UNCLE-like  secret agent, a superhero and X-Files-like paranormal investigator. In the 70s, Betty was a soap opera heroine in a alternative storyline called Betty Cooper, Betty Cooper, and Jughead has even taken up time travel like Dr. Who. The Life with Archie title was revamped as an adult themed storyline about a grown Archie married to Veronica after apparently divorcing Betty. It is this older Archie Andrews who bites the dust in the current issue of Life of Archie. My guess is this wasn't a big success, so this will be the last issue. However, in the regular Archie titles, he will still be in high school, drinking malts with Betty and Veronica.

The Captain America and Thor stories make more sense to the long time fans of the characters, when more details are given. Captain America is injured and his long time sidekick, the Falcon, dons the famous red, white and blue outfit while Cap recuperates. This wouldn't be the first time Cap was replaced. While he was frozen in ice, there was another Captain America in the 50s. They wound up fighting it out in 1972.

After Watergate, Steve Rogers decided quit being Captain America and became a superhero called Nomad. Several people tried to be Captain America and failed tragically.

At one point in the 90s, Captain America was replaced by the government and he had to take on another identity. In a graphic novel called The Truth: Red, White and Black, Steve Rogers found out the super-soldier serum was tested on an African-American soldier before him. So really, nothing new for Captain America.

THUNDER THIGHS (Sorry I had to do it)

Thor is a woman??? Nothing new there either. The idea that someone else picks up the hammer isn't new. In the 70s and 80s Marvel series, What If, both Thor's girlfriend, Jane Foster, and X-Men's Rogue have picked up Thor's hammer.

Of course, this is not the first time the news media have left out details about a "shocking development" in a popular comic book.  In 1988, DC Comics had readers call a toll free number to vote if they wanted the Joker to killer Robin in a story arc called Death In the Family. Fans voted to have him killed. What wasn't reported in the media, what was neglected by the media was the fact that this was not Dick Grayson, but a new (and very unpopular) Robin named Jason Todd. Dick Grayson had become Nightwing in 1984 (and like Falcon, he was Batman for a few issues when Bruce Wayne was hurt).

Also this wasn't the first time Robin had died. He was killed in 1964 (above).

Then again, Batman died, but that was after he replaced Commissioner Gordon and he married Catwoman. Confused yet? This was my first exposure to the alternate universe concept. I received several comics books one Christmas. One of them was the issue above with Batman in a coffin.

Truth is this had happened before too.

In DC Comics Earth-1 featured the modern superheroes and Earth-2 featured the Golden Age versions. Some may remember a few months ago, there was a story about a upcoming "gay" Green Lantern. It was the son of the Earth-2 Green Lantern, which you wouldn't have known from any of the mainstream news media stories.

In 1992, the big news was the death of Superman, but that had happened before too.

After Superman's return to life, the news media was a buzz with his marriage to Lois Lane, which DC had already done to death (an early story of this scenario was turned into an episode of the 50s TV show). They even conceived several Super-babies.

DC also had Lois dying after marrying Superman and committing suicide.

Then again, Superman killed Lois once.

Also, the recently media mangling of the Captain America storyline isn't all that shocking considering that in one early 70s story, Lois Lane had Superman use a machine to turn her into an African American woman.

Now, you are probably saying, "Why didn't the news media cover those stories?" It all goes back to my earlier points. Before the late 80s, comic books were seen either as stupid kids stuff or trash that will corrupt kids. In the late 80s, there was a boom among Baby Boomers that collecting comic books were a great investment. They were not just something on a newsstand, they were big business. Also, many people in the media were of the Baby Boom generation and had grown up with these comics. It was apart of their lives. These characters are icons that are old enough to be our grandparents.

At the time, these other stories were done, it was simply to grab the attention of a kid at the supermarket newsstand. Essentially, that has been the complaint of the death of Superman and death of Robin stories. DC issued commemorative issues and they sold so well that they are pretty worthless now. 

Yet, going back to what I stated earlier, much of the confusion goes back to a lack of research on this subject. To many reporters, there is just one Archie, one Superman, one Batman, one Green Lantern. There is also no knowledge of comic book history and it's alternate universes. That is part of the real world.  It isn't as important as political bickering or plane crashes. Why bother?

Because you can still end up with egg on your face if you screw the story up. Us comic book geeks will nail you for your mistakes. Also, the people who hate any form of entertainment media will want to use it as an excuse to censor the industry much like Dr. Frederic Wertham did in the 50s. Even if it wouldn't come to that, you still have cranky adults who would forbid their kids from any enjoyment of comic books because of what they heard in a badly researched news report on comic book. Even if it is about comic books, we in the news media need to get the facts straight.

My opinions are why I'm considered the Super-Villain of the Ozarks!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

BUNNIES AND SUPERHEROES

SUPERMAN (George Reeves) & EASTER BUNNY

HOPPY THE MARVEL BUNNY

DOLLY PARTON AS EASTER BUNNY

ELVIRA, EASTER BUNNY OF THE DARK

I HOPE THIS BUNNY COMES TO MY HOUSE