"Just when I thought it couldn't get any dumber..."

"Heroes does something like that..."

The Heroes finale aired on NBC last night, and after commenting last week about how I thought it might hurt them, I thought it would be necessary this week to discuss at length how it actually turned out.

First, one very interesting thing to note is that Heroes is written by multiple people, but last night they gave the writing credit to one of their big guns...Jeph Loeb. A friend of mine recently passed along some of Jeph's comic books, and he's had a ton of writing credits under his belt, so, needless to say, I was pretty excited to see him listed as the primary writer for the season finale.

Another interesting choice was made that I did kind of expect. It wasn't a hard ending. In other words, it was much more Empire Strikes Back than it was A New Hope. It ended, but there's a lot more to be resolved.

I won't go into details, because I don't want to add too many spoilers (although you should feel free to do so in the comments), but those were two things I found intriguing. But what did I think overall?

"...and totally redeems itself!"

Okay, yeah, I really liked last night's episode. I thought it was definitely up to par with Season 1 (although, Season 1 is still better overall). The writing was tight, it made sense, it cleared up some loose ends, it contained a good deal of action and suspense, and it left things open.

There were still some story arches that definitely needed more effort. We still didn't get connected to some of the emotional consequences of the show. Some of the things that came up (okay, one spoiler), like Nikki's, "I have a virus" didn't really pan out well. It needed more attention drawn to it, but they ran out of time. So, it wasn't all perfect, but it was pretty good.

Moral of the story? Not sure. But, definitely don't rush your story home at the last minute. If you've got a guy on third base, don't have him steal home plate just before a rain delay. Wait it out, keep the suspense up, and when the rain has passed, drive him home (all right, bad analogy).

If you're gonna send him home, though, make sure he's fast. Real fast. Bring in a substitute runner...like Jeph Loeb. I guess a really good writer can come in and clean things up really well, even with a struggling storyline.

Excellent writing. It's fun for a writer to watch another writer just kill. It's inspiring.

What'd you guys think of the season finale?

Spiderman vs. Fantastic 4 (Cont'd)

Pop Culture Wars

Comics usually deal with pop culture in some way. Captain America was born because the thought of an American superhero demolishing Nazi Germany is...well...pretty freakin' cool. In fact, comics tend to deal with pop culture directly, and the superheroes generally encounter present day problems that they need to solve.

But, do we really need to see Spiderman as an emo kid? I have no personal issues with emo kids (is that even how it's spelled?). And, yeah, it did get me to laugh, but it just doesn't seem to fit. It's not just Spidey, either. The Fantastic 4 are attempting to deal with their own fame and fortune (which is a pretty common problem we all encounter). In some ways we see the same thing with Spiderman.

Here's my take. Superheroes are something we all would love to become, but honestly, it's more interesting when they're dealing with our common-day problems. When Spiderman is having trouble at school because he's too busy, I can relate to that. But, when the Human Torch is deciding whether he should drive a Porsche or a Ferrari, I'm just shaking my head.

Winner: Tie. The first two Spiderman films did a better job, but the third brings it down a notch.

Overall Production Value

It's amazing what we're seeing in movies these days. One minute you're seeing Neo as Keanu Reeves, and then boom he's...a computer generated Keanu Reeves? (I'll let you decide which one was a better actor) It's pretty cool what can be done with special effects now-a-days.

The same is true of these two movies. And, before I go any farther, just let me say...I really like the way Spiderman was put together. I think it's a pretty strong franchise contender. The special effects are great. The way things move and the way the movie feels is excellent. And, as far as I'm concerned, it's a pretty accurate portrayal of the comic books. It's just a good ride.

Then there's choice of actors. Both movies have their fair share of bad acting, and even their share of good acting. But, the production values are pretty high.

Winner: Spidey

The Wrap Up

I'm not sure how many of you will disagree with me, but I find the Spiderman trilogy much more engaging than the Fantastic 4. I think the story-telling is better, the execution is better, and overall, the feeling you get when you're done watching is just...better. Is Spiderman the best comic book movie out there? Naw. I like Batman Begins and X-Men (the first one) better, but it's pretty good.

My vote goes to your friendly neighborhood guy in the blue and red tights. Where does your's go?

Spiderman vs. Fantastic 4

Clash of Titans - Battle #1

This past weekend I watched both Fantastic 4 movies, saw American Gangster, and then proceeded to watch Spiderman 3 as well. Needless to say... too many movies. And, as a writer, I have to admit that I tend to over-analyze the things that I watch. My writing professor in college told me that it would happen. I denied it, but here I am. A critic. It's a good practice, I think, for writers to analyze other works, because hopefully you can use those insights to write better stories.

Since I write adventure stories, I thought I'd share my thoughts about the comic book movies I watched over the weekend. I'd love to hear your thoughts as well.

The Characters

When I watched X-Men for the first time, I really liked it. It mainly focused on Logan's (the Wolverine) story, but branched out into others as well. It worked. But, then, in the two sequels, there were a lot of mutants running around, and no single character was the focal point. In analyzing Spiderman and the Fantastic 4 I draw the same conclusion. Stories need to be focused on just a few primary characters.

Why? Well, let's take Spiderman. We're constantly following him. We see him when he's happy, when he's sad, when he can't control his emotions, and when he rises to the occasion. The character has different sides, different moods, and different postures. Just like us. It's his story, and we can relate to that.

When you take on a story with more characters, I think it becomes very important to concentrate on a single, primary character. Sure, the other characters should be multidimensional, too, but we can really only focus on one. We can really only watch one person struggle. Spiderman does. The Fantastic 4? Well, not really. There's four of them, and for the most part they only show us one or two core emotions. They do grow, but the growth seems superficial.

Winner: Spidey

Action, Adventure, and Storytelling

To be continued next post...