Ben Affleck is Batman?

I've just read Variety's report that Affleck has been cast as Batman opposite Henry Cavill's Superman in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel sequel. I'm in disbelief given Affleck's professed disappointment at having played my favorite superhero, Daredevil, and his resulting vow never to play a superhero again.

The report is probably true, though. I liked Ben well enough as Daredevil. I don't know that I'd believe him as a darker, broodier Batman, but his Batman may not be as dark as Bale's anyway. The key will be for the characters to balance each other. Since Cavill's Superman is darker, Affleck's Batman may be lighter. There's room for that without reentering Joel Schumacher territory.

Here's what I thought when news of the movie broke at San Diego Comic-Con.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE FLASHPOINT PARADOX

My review of Warner Bros.' latest DC animated movie is at Crimespree Magazine's blog.

Superman vs. Batman

One of the scoops at San Diego Comic-Con this year was that, in the sequel to Man of Steel, Superman would be pitted against Batman, bringing to mind their battle in The Dark Knight Returns.

There is already much speculation as to how the movie will be plotted. Zap2it.com Contributing Editor Billy Nilles calls the premise a bad idea, asserting that writer David Goyer and directer Zack Snyder have "irreparably altered Superman's philosophy".

While I also found Man of Steel's final battle clumsily contrived, the rationale behind the sequel may be as simple as profit. Thanks to Tim Burton, Bruce Timm, and Christopher Nolan, Batman is probably Warner Bros.' most lucrative property. Meanwhile, though Superman hasn't been as successful at the movies, he remains popular enough to have afforded TV's Smallville ten seasons. Regardless who plays Batman or how problematic the plot, people will go see it. The powers-that-be are risking very little.

BEWARE THE BATMAN

Cartoon Network's computer-animated Batman series premiered today. I like its quirky villains, its new take on Alfred as a more action-oriented bodyguard, and, most of all, that he and Batman were hurt as a result of all that running and jumping. The voice acting was also fine. I'm just not sure the generically clean look of computer animation fits Batman as well as it did Green Lantern.

If I Wrote a Superman Movie...

As pleased as I am with Man of Steel, Superman brawling with bad guys has always seemed crude to me. This has long been his m.o. in comics and cartoons. In Warner Bros. Animation's 2001 Justice League cartoon, Superman was deliberately powered down so he would need his super friends' help.

My Clark Kent/Superman would have traveled the world, gaining insight into every culture and himself. He would be aware of how powerful he was, of how much damage he were capable of, and would be firmly against aggression. His instinct, like a Jedi's, would be to defend, not to attack. He would not punch, but would slip, block, and use submission holds. Not adding to villains' violence, he would not cause as much collateral damage.

He would be a rescuer and would use his power to nullify villains' power such that, when Superman arrived, they might simply give up.

I know. It would probably never sell. But I'll keep dreaming.

Avengers Assemble

Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes was, in my opinion, the best Marvel cartoon in decades, finally rivaling Warner Bros. Animation's DC Comics projects. Yesterday, Disney XD previewed its follow-up, Avengers Assemble, which will air in earnest this summer.

I was concerned that Avengers Assemble might be too full of itself with the success of the live-action movie and that it might be similar in tone to Ultimate Spider-Man, too jokey for my taste. Neither is true. I'll miss Earth's Mightiest Heroes' voice cast, but Assemble's is fine at first listen. I'm on board for at least the next episode or two.

SUPERMAN UNBOUND

At the Crimespree blog is my review of the latest DC Universe animated Superman release—starring the voices of Matt Bomer, Stana Katic, John Noble, and Molly Quinn.

When nine years old you reach, look as good you will not.

I'm paraphrasing Yoda to commemorate this blog's ninth anniversary because I won't be around in nine hundred years. The start date had no significance to me at the time. I began blogging because January typically feels like thirty-one Mondays, and I wanted something to break out of the funk.

Many blogs have come and gone in nine years. I'm still here because this blog still serves to collect my thoughts. Some days I look back through the archives, but seldom very far. I want this to be a living record. As Kierkegaard said, "Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards."

Last year I learned January 11 is National Milk Day in the U.S., and as a fan of the short-lived ABC Family series The Middleman, I thought the day should also be dedicated to its milk-loving hero as played by Matt Keeslar. If you're a fellow fan, have a marathon of Shout! Factory's DVD set, or read the unaired season finale in comic book form, The Doomsday Armageddon Apocalypse (also YouTubed as a table read at San Diego Comic-Con 2009), or read Javi Grillo-Marxuach's recently-blogged Middleman-Star Trek Christmas crossover.

Follow me on Twitter as I wrap up a week saluting the show's cast and crew.

The CW's Arrow

When I heard The CW was planning a grittier superhero show with Arrow, I approved, but concept is one thing, execution another. Developer Greg Berlanti's work on 2011's live-action Green Lantern was nothing outstanding, but I was a fan of Susanna Thompson, here playing Oliver Queen's mother, from NCIS, and of Paul Blackthorne, here playing Dinah Lance's father, from SyFy's The Dresden Files. I had also enjoyed producer Moira Kirkland's work on Castle.

Most important, I was a fan of Green Arrow from Justice League Unlimited and Smallville but had not read any Green Arrow comics. My friends at The Nerdpocalypse were quick to point out much of the pilot episode's cheesiness and how it seemed to deviate from the character's canon. For the first seven of its ten seasons, I criticized Smallville for similar departures. Later I realized Smallville was trying for, and deserved to have, its own take on Superman. This prepared me for the liberties taken with Green Arrow.

The producers say they're going for realism. They want a show as much about family dynamics as about heroics. It remains to be seen how realistic they can be, but with each episode, Arrow grows on me. I think it helps that I'm less invested in Green Arrow than I was in Superman. I can watch the show objectively and for entertainment value.

BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, PART ONE

My review of Warner Bros. Animation's most ambitious direct-to-video project to date posted today on the Crimespree Magazine blog.

DAREDEVIL Vol. 1 by Mark Waid

As a fan of Mark Waid's Superman: Birthright, I was excited to hear he would be working on Daredevil, and have just read Issues 1-6 of his run in trade paperback.

Though DD is my favorite superhero, I hadn't kept up with recent runs that saw him get very dark. Daredevil is well suited to trials by fire, but Waid tackles the equally important question, "How does he bounce back?"

Previous predicaments persist—Matt Murdock was outed as Daredevil, and business at the law firm of Nelson & Murdock has taken a hit—but, armed with a fresh perspective on the past, old Hornhead is ready for the next round.

I've Finally Seen: MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS

The stars aligned for me to see the movie yesterday, almost seven weeks after it premiered, with one friend who had taken the day off for his daughter's pre-k graduation and another who had made time on a two-week swing into New York from Wisconsin.

In short, I thought the movie handled the tough task of showing how great individual characters would bounce off each other and eventually gel together. I'd seen Joss Whedon pull off nuanced team-building on BUFFY, ANGEL, and FIREFLY, yet I wondered how it would happen for Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Thor, Natasha Romanoff, and Clint Barton. Great characters are great because they seem like no other.