Age of the Geek

Looking on the bright side
     I considered making this week’s column about “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” but I’m not going to for two reasons.
     One, I haven’t bothered getting around to see it yet. I’d long assumed the movie was going to be a train wreck and, from what I’ve read from critics, comic book fans and even some comic book writers, I wasn’t wrong in that assumption. So at this point I’d only be seeing the movie to confirm my misgivings about it were correct.
     Two, I feel like my column has been really negative lately. From the rise of Donald Trump to the problems of outrage culture to Zack Snyder’s inability to make a good superhero movie, it seems like there isn’t much to be happy about these days.
     So this week is dedicated to optimism and celebrating the good things happening in geek culture.
     For instance, while DC’s super heroes are getting a thrashing at the box office, the television incarnations have been a far greater success story. “The Flash” is the best comic-to-television adaptation on the air at the moment, and there’s no lack of competition in that regard.
     Not only do we have a trio of shows on the CW forming an unprecedented level of continuity for primetime television, but who would have thought that we’d see a show about Supergirl on CBS of all places? Or that it would turn out to be pretty decent to boot, in spite of being sanitized for CBS’s wider demographic?
     The recent crossover between “The Flash” and “Supergirl,” while not the best written hour of television ever produced, was still the most fun I’ve had watching superheroes be superheroes in a long time.
     Meanwhile over on Fox, we have “Gotham,” a show that I had initially written off as a show about “Gotham City before anything interesting happened.” How wrong I was. While Ben McKenzie continues his tradition of being the weakest part of any Batman related project he’s involved in, he’s propped up by what may be one of the best supporting casts out there.
     And that’s just on the DC side of the fence.
     While, “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” continues to be just good enough to justify its primetime spot, it’s Netflix where Marvel Studios is really shining. With “Jessica Jones” and two seasons of “Daredevil” under their belt, Marvel Studios is halfway through their most ambitious set-up for a crossover since “The Avengers.”
     Outside of television, “Deadpool” is now the highest grossing R-Rated movie in history. A well deserved win for Fox, who needed a pick-me-up after last year’s “Fantastic Four” flop. The success of “Deadpool” along with good vibes from the upcoming “X-Men: Apocalypse” gives me hope that we’re in for a solid run in the X-Men film franchise. Something I wouldn’t have thought possible a decade ago. (Holy buckets, has it really been 10 years since “X-Men: The Last Stand?”)
     So what if the first time Batman and Superman appeared on screen together it was in a movie that fundamentally misunderstands the characters? It’s entirely possible that 10 years from now Warner Bros. will have finally figured out what they’re doing and get it right.
     In the meantime, there’s still plenty out there to enjoy.
 
     Travis Fischer is a news writer for Mid-America Publishing and is rooting for the Anti-Monitor.