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Imagine watching B89 in its entirety without Joker's prosthetics.

https://youtu.be/BxTqGuZAxSQ

Well, it looks like the sequel is delayed to October 20-friggin-26.

2027

Gunn claimed a few weeks ago that there hasn't been a first draft completed yet, but if Reeves stated he has a script and is planning to shoot next year, then this latest delay reeks of sabotage. Gunn can spin any other bullsh*t all he wants, but where there is smoke there is fire.

I never had any interest in the Reevesverse, but I've followed the behind-the-scenes news and it's not the first time that fishy stuff has affected that franchise. Reeves said there were plans to develop TV spinoffs based an Arkham Asylum and GCPD in his universe, but then they didn't come to fruition. The most suspicious moment was Gunn claiming the Arkham show was always set in his DCU once he and Safran came on-board, but then that project got scrapped. The GCPD project never got off the ground because it was a show primarily about a corrupt cop (sounds like The Shield but based in Gotham City), but Reeves said the project was scrapped because the studio wanted to focus on marquee Batman characters. There was also talk about Clayface, Joker and Catwoman getting their own TV spinoffs on Max at one point, but now Clayface is announced and set in Gunn's universe instead. Now this supposed film sequel has been delayed five years and seven months after the first film?

Either Reeves is being forced to join Gunn's DCU, or he is being pressured to the point of he'll quit. I can't say care after the sh*t that happened to Snyder, Affleck and company, but it goes to show WB will never change its dirty habits.

[seventeen years old]

So, that Creature Commandos sh*t came out, and despite the supposedly rave reviews, the show is full of toilet humour, necrophilia and sex scenes. On top of that, events from Gunn's Suicide Squad movie and Peacemaker (minus the Justice League cameo) are supposedly canon, because there's no way Gunn would ever reboot his own sh*t. Great way to start the DCU, right?

But on top of that, Gunn uploaded a five-second video of one of the actresses on the show recording kissing and moaning sounds for one of the sex scenes in the show. This f***wit is co-CEO of DC Studios, and out of all things he could've shared behind the scenes of his new show, he shares THAT. Meanwhile, some fans are claiming the character designs for Rick Flagg Snr and the Princess he had sex with are modelled after Gunn and his wife. I can believe that, because Gunn himself has a cameo of himself in the opening credits typing on his laptop. Creepy narcissism is off the charts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFGQFD2RROw

Those who have watched the show claimed that the Princess is seventeen years old, while Flagg Snr is in his fifties. If that's true, it's gross, but it's not surprising knowing he wrote it.

Meanwhile, Gunn is confusing everyone on social media about the status of Reeves Batman. Apparently,, Reeves reportedly said the script for the sequel is finished, but Gunn not only denied this, he even claimed a first draft isn't even finished yet. While denying rumours that Clayface and Scarecrow would appear in the sequel, Gunn suddenly announced a Clayface movie has been greenlit and will be set in his DC universe.

What a confusing mess, and reeks of ulterior motives going on behind the scenes.

I'm watching this interview of Paul Williams who played Penguin in BTAS. Aside from looking back on his experience working on the show, he revealed he nearly wrote songs for Donner's Superman, but he had creative differences and didn't like "Can You Read My Mind?". He sings the song he wanted to write, which he explained was a reference to Superman turning back time. Pretty cool bit of trivia.

https://youtu.be/AZIRbzRLfKc?t=1349

Holy crap, Penguin as a kid was shot on film with the parents. I never knew this was planned, nor did I know these film dailies even existed. But unlike the shots of Batman driving the Batmobile, the frames on the left appear to be screen tests.



All I could find out about the actor who played young Oswald was her name was Nitko Botelho, and she played one of the Penguins who discovered him as a baby at the end of the opening credits.

Now I'm curious to know if there were any actual scenes of this deleted concept got filmed at all.

I was reading this article praising Neal Adams as a Batman comic book artist, and I was surprised to learn that he hated Joker, Penguin and Riddler. There's no citations for it though.

I can see the comparisons between Batman and Ra's al Ghul and Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty. Moriarty always admired Holmes as his intellectual equal, and Ra's al Ghul complimented Batman as "detective" is pretty obvious, so it's not so surprising to hear Adams was a big Sherlock Holmes fan.

Neal wanted to do more. He helped created Ra's al Ghul to be Batman's Moriarty; he loved Sherlock Holmes. He drew (in my opinion) the sexiest woman ever when he drew Talia and drew the best Alfred of all time. His Robin was always Dick Grayson, a brilliant gymnast and loyal to a fault.

Neal knew Batman needed big adventures. That's where Ra's Al Ghul came from. That's where sexy Talia came from. That's where Man-Bat came from. A desire to expand Batman from the "clowns" — the Joker, the Riddler, the Penguin. Neal secretly hated all of those characters. He never did the Penguin because... well, an umbrella helicopter? Maybe he could deal with the Joker — and he did, with Denny, in one of their very best stories — but he really wanted to expand Batman's world.

https://13thdimension.com/why-neal-adams-is-still-the-greatest-batman-artist-of-them-all/

A trailer for a Mega Drive/Genesis port for the 1992 SNES Batman Returns game. Not too radically different despite what's being shown, except for the two-player mode where you can play double Batmen.

https://youtu.be/pq0S5wBPkF0

I rewatched Dredd for the first time in years. I'm happy to say it still holds up. It may be a simple plot and Judge Dredd himself lacks character development compared to Judge Anderson, but it's very good action indie film nonetheless. Karl Urban's gruffness is perfectly suited in this role, and the Slo-Mo drug taking special effects are very artistic. Seeing as Alex Garland wrote the script, those moments remind of these trippy visual styles in Annihilation and Devs. Still Ma-Ma isn't the most sophisticated villain in the world, but her brutality as a drug lord is effective enough. Much better Judge Dredd film than the 1995 Stallone original, although I still enjoy the latter for a good laugh.

Superhero films can encourage prosocial behavior, new study finds

A new study published in The Journal of Psychology suggests that superhero films, despite often depicting violence, can promote prosocial behavior — actions meant to benefit others, such as sharing or helping. By showing a specific scene from the 2016 film Batman v Superman, the researchers found that viewers who identified with Batman or believed his actions were morally justified were more likely to help others in a subsequent task.

While previous research has shown that prosocial media can encourage helpfulness and cooperation, violent media has typically been associated with increased aggression. Superhero films, a genre with widespread popularity, often mix these two elements. The researchers wanted to explore how these films might affect viewers, particularly in terms of empathy and moral reasoning, which could influence whether viewers engage in prosocial behavior despite the violence on screen.

The study involved two experiments, each with 200 Brazilian participants, who were randomly assigned to either an experimental group or a control group. The experimental group watched a 3-minute and 47-second clip from the movie Batman v Superman, in which Batman fights multiple armed villains to rescue Martha, a captured character. This scene was chosen for its combination of violent action and a clear prosocial motive—saving a life.

In contrast, the control group watched a neutral video that featured colorful shapes forming various patterns. This video, which had no violent or prosocial content, was meant to serve as a baseline for comparison.

After watching the videos, participants were asked to complete a prosocial behavior task. They were told they were helping with another study by distributing pieces of chocolate to future participants who liked the treat. The number of chocolate pieces each participant allocated served as a measure of their prosocial behavior.

The researchers also measured participants' levels of empathy after viewing the videos. To do this, they used a scale that assessed three different types of empathy: affective empathy (sharing another person's emotions), cognitive empathy (understanding another's perspective), and associative empathy (identifying with the character in the video).

In the second experiment, the researchers introduced an additional measure—moral justification. Participants were asked to evaluate whether the violent actions taken by Batman were justified. This was done using a series of statements such as "The main character's actions were necessary" or "It was impossible to deal with this situation in any other way."

In the first study, participants who watched the superhero scene reported higher levels of empathy than those in the control group. More specifically, viewers showed increased associative empathy — they identified more with Batman and his mission to save the hostage. This identification with the hero was the key factor that indirectly boosted prosocial behavior.

While participants in the superhero group didn't give significantly more chocolate than those in the control group overall, the effect of the movie on prosocial behavior was seen through the increase in empathy. This suggests that feeling connected to the hero and understanding their motives could encourage viewers to be more generous and helpful in their real-world actions.

The second study revealed that moral reasoning also played a role in prosocial behavior. Participants who watched the superhero scene were more likely to believe that Batman's violent actions were justified. This belief, in turn, was linked to higher prosocial behavior, as measured by the chocolate allocation task.

Essentially, when participants viewed the hero's actions as morally right, they were more inclined to engage in helpful behavior themselves. The researchers theorized that the portrayal of superheroes as protectors and defenders likely led viewers to accept their violent actions as necessary for the greater good, which then translated into a willingness to help others.

In short, simply watching the superhero scene did not directly cause participants to behave more prosocially. Instead, the participants who empathized with the characters or believed the violent actions were justified were more likely to act in a helpful way afterward.

While the study offers valuable insights into the effects of superhero films, it is not without limitations. One limitation is the use of an online experiment, which may reduce the level of control over participants' environments and behavior. For instance, distractions during the video could have affected participants' responses. Additionally, the study only used a single method of measuring prosocial behavior (the chocolate allocation task), which may not fully capture the complexity of prosocial actions in real-world situations.

Another limitation is the sample size and demographic characteristics. The participants were predominantly young adults from Brazil, which may limit the generalizability of the findings to other age groups or cultural contexts. Future research could address this by replicating the study with different age groups and in various cultural settings.

The study, "Superhero Films' Impacts on Prosocial Behavior: The Mediating Role of State-Empathy and Violence Justification," was authored by Isabella Leandra Silva Santos and Carlos Eduardo Pimentel.

https://www.psypost.org/superhero-films-can-encourage-prosocial-behavior-new-study-finds/

So basically, those who identified with Batman's actions in the BvS warehouse scene as necessary under the circumstances tend to be more empathetic and likely to help others. Normally I wouldn't think you'd need to organise a psychological study to hypothesise this. If I'm being honest, you can use other superhero films with similar scenes to hypothesise such a theory. On the other hand, it does amuse me that the impression I get from this report - whether it was intended or not - is those who criticise the warehouse scene e.g. "Batman wouldn't do this or that" are likely coming from people who have zero empathy themselves. From what I've seen of the disgusting vitriol towards Snyder over the years, I would not at all be surprised.

I found this fan-made video uploaded less than a week ago by a B89 fan. A very nicely done animated piece that gets the atmosphere and mood of Burton's Gotham City right. I love the attention to detail, from the glimpses of the Joker to the doctor who helped in the tampering of the chemicals at Axis going missing. This pays tribute to the Burtonverse much better than any of the recent comics and films.

Check it out:

https://youtu.be/BScwUeHzvAQ